THE TIME MACHINE

From past files of The Star News

10 YEARS AGO

December 10, 2009

Less than 20 percent of the students attending Taylor County public and private schools took part in the recent public health, school-based immunization clinics.

The H1N1 vaccinations were aimed at school-aged children because they represent a high risk category for contracting the illness. The generational influenza outbreaks, which have killed 43 people in the state this year, forced the Taylor County Health Department to close Medford area schools for four days earlier this fall because of the high absentee rate.

At the county health board meeting Wednesday morning, public health director Patty Krug told the committee participation rates have varied with the teens in Taylor County and elsewhere to as high as a 70 percent participation rate in counties such as Florence and Forest.

25 YEARS AGO

December 14, 1994

A six-person federal jury this week awarded former Rib Lake High School Guidance Counselor Michael Dishnow nearly $400,000 in damages in his lawsuit against the Rib Lake School District. The jury said he should be compensated $237,500 for humiliation and loss of reputation, $2,150 for his cost in conducting a job search, $4,910 in past lost wages and $150,000 in future lost wages.

Last January, the school board announced that Dishnow’s contract would not be renewed, and listed as its reason 14 instances of “unprofessional conduct and insubordination.”

Last week, however, the jury ruled that Dishnow had been fired not because of unprofessional conduct and insubordination, but because he had protested action taken by the district, Administrator Ramon Parks, and High School Principal Paul Peterson in a controversy over the removal of the book, “Forever,” from the high school library.

50 YEARS AGO

December 11, 1969

Fire of undetermined cause early Friday morning leveled a 36x64-foot barn on the on the Frederick Gabryel farm 5 miles northwest of Gilman in the town of Aurora. Five animals were led to safety, but it was reported later that two had to be destroyed.

Discovered by Mr. Gabryel who was aroused by the barking of the family dog, the fire had started in the hay loft area. The milkhouse also burned, but the bulk tank and milking machines were removed before the fire spread to the attached building.

75 YEARS AGO

December 7, 1944

The proposed organization, to be known as “The Industrial Foundation for Medford” is meeting with a good response from the public generally.

The first day after mailing inquiries to some of the possible subscribers, there were 19 replies with pledges of stock purchase all the way from $210 to $500. The 19 pledges totaled $1900, an average of $100 per person.

100 YEARS AGO

December 10, 1919

What is the value of a reputation? Possibly no definite answer can be given to the above question. We do know that wealth matters but little to man if he loses his reputation.

So it is with communities. Wisconsin has the reputation for good cows, for selected potatoes, for pure-bred seeds, and for high class farmers. It is for that reason that buyers flock to Wisconsin from the farthest ends of the earth to buy those things they want. They come to buy cows, to buy potatoes, to buy seeds, and to hire our boys who graduate from our college of agriculture.

125 YEARS AGO

December 8, 1894

The United States Government’s Bug Factory and Its Uses.

The reason that the government built its bug factory was that it wanted to raise insects, see how they lived, what they are, how they changed in form, and find out what would finally destroy them. You can see how important all this information would be to a man who had every year been bothered by insects he could hardly see, and whose potatoes and strawberries were being eaten by a hungry army which paid nothing for the feast.