A fundraiser is being held Saturday for a Bowler woman who is battling cancer and whose house was destroyed by fire in November. Sandie Martin was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, lung cancer, in June. She was scheduled for lung resection surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., but because the cancer spread, she needed intense radiation and chemotherapy for six weeks beginning late in December.

The 25th annual Tummy Warmer Chili and Chicken Soup Cook-Off will be among the highlights of this year’s Winter Whirl festival Jan. 24-26 in Clintonville. The cook-off will be held Jan. 25 at the Clintonville Park and Recreation Center, 55 W. 12th St. Categories include mild chili, hot chili and chicken soup. The judging will take place at 9 a.m.

Shawano Police Department Jan. 16 Police logged 20 incidents, including the following: Accident — A woman was taken to Shawano Medical Center after pickup versus car crash at Green Bay Street and Airport Drive. Citations were expected, but the incident was still under investigation. No further information was available.

Shawano police Thursday rescued a man with an apparent heart condition after his vehicle went into a ditch on East Green Bay Street. Police were called to what was thought to be a minor accident, but discovered a 66-year-old man inside who was unresponsive, the Police Department said. Officers Elinor Harris and Ryan Atkinson were forced to break the window of the vehicle to get it opened.

Cynthia G. Lasch, 67, of the town of Belle Plaine, Shawano, passed away as a result of a motor vehicle accident in Salt Lake City, Utah. Funeral services are tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 2 p.m. at the Shawano Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Annabelle Sauer, 88, of Shawano, passed away on Thursday morning, Jan. 16, 2014, at ManorCare of Shawano. Funeral service arrangements are pending and will be announced later. Schroeder-Mickelson Funeral Service of Shawano is assisting the family with the arrangements. www.schroedermickelsonfuneralservice.com

Mary Jane Crowe, 76, of Neopit, passed away Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, at her home. Born on Aug. 19, 1937, in Keshena, she was the daughter of the late George Wayka and Jane Waupoose. On April 4, 1961, she was united in marriage to Curtis Crowe Sr. in Neopit. The couple made their home and raised their children in the Neopit area. Mary Jane was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother who would do anything for her family.

Years ago, my husband and I used to go snowmobiling. Even way back in high school, we’d get together with friends and hit the trails. It was so fun. As we got older, we went with my sister and her husband, riding through the snow-embellished woods and eventually stopping at a local eatery to unwrap, stretch, fuss with helmet-hair, grab a bite and go again. We had no heated seats, no miked-up headgear, no warmed handlebars.

This seems to be an old-fashioned winter, like we used to have in days of old. If it isn’t a deep freeze, then it’s snowing, or worse, we are getting freezing rain. A week ago Friday, as I was traveling home from Shawano, there was only a slight mist falling. I was a little bit upset that I had wasted money on getting the van washed, not that it wasn’t needed, but now it was getting salted up once again. I questioned why I bothered.