COVID-19

College experience changing with coronavirus spread

Published by admin on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 7:20pm

Classes started up at the College of Menominee Nation last week, and returning students couldn’t help but notice the way their classrooms had changed.

Fewer desks and chairs are in place in classrooms. Teachers are teaching behind a wall of Plexiglas as large, flat-screen televisions showcase information in the way that blackboards and whiteboards used to.

Gillett School Board gets reopening update

Published by admin on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 5:03pm

New teachers were scheduled to report to work at the Gillett School District on Monday, with returning teachers joining them Tuesday, as the district prepared to open the 2020-21 academic year in the shadow of a pandemic.

The Gillett School Board was updated during its Aug. 20 meeting on the upcoming 2020-21 school year, a year that begins with students and staff required to wear masks most of the time and football games without spectators.

“We’re working on the safety measures, they’ve been tweaked, they’re as ready as possible,” Superintendent Todd Hencsik said.

Oconto County COVID positives continue to rise

Published by admin on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 3:56pm

The number of positive tests for coronavirus in Oconto County continued to spike through the month of August, county Health & Human Services Director Mike Reimer told the County Board during its regular monthly meeting Aug. 20.

From March 27 to May 1, the county recorded 15 positive tests, Reimer said. That figure grew by 23 to 38 on June 1 and by another 23 on July 1, to 61.

Oconto County experienced a jump of 117 positives by Aug. 1, when the total stood at 178, and another 139 positive tests had been recorded by Aug. 20, when Reimer reported to the board.

Packers football returns, but lacking the buzz of fans

Published by admin on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 11:32am

In a normal year, the NFL matchups get rolling in early August with a handful of preseason games, the kickoff to a season that culminates with the Super Bowl in February.

NFL fans however, especially those who call the Green Bay Packers their favorite franchise, are tuned in well before August — starting as early as April when teams go through their offseason programs. From that point, excitement builds as teams partake in voluntary minicamps, organized team activities and mandatory minicamps before jumping in to training camp practices and preseason games.

Football, volleyball seasons postponed at Menominee Indian High School

Published by admin on Mon, 08/24/2020 - 9:49am

Updated: Aug. 24, 3:25 p.m.

Menominee Indian High School announced Monday morning that it was postponing its fall football and girls volleyball seasons. The school’s cross-country team will still participate in the fall season.

The announcement was made in a press release from Wendell Waukau, the superintendent of the Menominee Indian School District.

Shawano School Board divided on tweaking reentry plan

Published by admin on Mon, 08/17/2020 - 8:46pm

UPDATED: Aug. 18, 11:20 a.m.

The Shawano School Board was divided Monday on approving an amendment to the school district’s re-entry plan that would keep the district from starting the school year in a virtual environment.

Shawano County recently went to a high-risk category regarding the spread of the coronavirus, and with the plan approved by the board two weeks earlier, being high risk would require holding school online and keeping the buildings closed.

No easy answers to COVID-19 response

Published by admin on Mon, 08/17/2020 - 6:22pm

If, then.

If someone tests positive for COVID-19, if an employer has an employee with symptoms, if a restaurant has a regular customer who has symptoms of COVID-19, what is the next course of action?

The answer is, it depends.

“There are a lot of variables,” said Vicki Dantoin, Shawano-Menominee counties health officer. “If this, then that. It’s not the same for every place.”

Businesses need a COVID plan

Published by admin on Mon, 08/17/2020 - 6:21pm

Have a plan.

That’s the best way to cope with the news that an employee has tested positive for COVID-19, according to Melissa Olson, the human resources expert for KerberRose, SC — a northeast Wisconsin accounting firm.

Olson, who also serves as a consultant for other businesses, said that a strategy with a strong communications focus will help businesses best prepare for bad news.

Bonduel schools plan 5 days in classrooms

Published by admin on Mon, 08/17/2020 - 6:13pm

Bonduel School District is being bolder than most districts in northeast Wisconsin, pushing for traditional education five days per week despite the ongoing threat of the coronavirus.

While other districts are going with a hybrid model of learning, with a couple planning to do four days per week, Superintendent Joe Dawidziak said families in the Bonduel area are overwhelmingly in support of five days in the regular classrooms.

Positive tests for COVID-19 surge in Oconto County

Published by admin on Mon, 08/17/2020 - 6:07pm

Oconto County recorded its first death from COVID-19 on Aug. 12, according to data from the state Department of Health Services (DHS).

The county has seen a surge in positive tests for the potentially deadly virus since the end of June, when 59 positive tests had been listed. In the next month more than 100 additional positives came in, for a total of 164 on July 31, and another 100 were recorded by Aug. 15.

As of Monday, Aug. 17, DHS was reporting 290 positive tests in Oconto County, and that number was an increase of 14 from 276 the day before.