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Special Olympics World Games Comes to Close; Tomahawk Coach Returning Home Published on 03/22/2019 under News

An emotional day capped a whirlwind three weeks for a Tomahawk Special Olympics coach.

We've been following the World Special Olympics in Abu Dhabi over the past week. Tomahawk's Bonnie Kahn was part of the 300+ member delegation of Team USA, coaching the track and field athletes. The athletes were actually competing in the summer games which were moved into March because of the heat in the summer months during the traditional dates.

Over the past week, Kahn has shared the emotional ups and downs of the athletes from DQ's to gold medals. Yesterday, she once again experienced the spectacle of the closing games. She highlighted a performance of the "bearded lady from Greatest Show on Earth singing This Is Me while fireworks are going off all around the stadium." Tim Shriver, son of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver also spoke.

After a short sleep, the squad was up early for their return trip to New York, where they'll have a final send off dinner. Kahn will then be on her way back to the Northwoods.

The ESPN/ABC family of networks has been covering the games and have a "Best of" program scheduled a week from Saturday on March 30 at 2pm on ABC.

Kahn has been communicating with the community via her blog. (We also had Kahn on our Morning Forum before she left, available in the WJJQ Audio Center)

In Other News

Sold Out Wine Walk Returns to Downtown Tomahawk Friday

Published on 05/10/2024 under News For a few hours this evening, more than two dozen shops in downtown Tomahawk will turn into temporary wineries offering lucky ticket holders samples of merlots, pinots and muscattos. The Tomahawk Main Street Wine Walk returns for a ninth year, and remains one of the hottest tickets in town. Whether it's the wines or a spring stroll through the business district, the Wine Walk has certainly found its footing in the community. Main Street Director Jennifer Turkiewicz says, "This annual event has become a tradition, many families and friends come downtown to spend the evening shopping, sampling and making memories." The Wine Walk continues to grow in popularity. In fact, when tickets went on sale last month, Turkiewicz noted they sold out all 250 tickets and filled a wait-list within a few hours. And while there aren't any tickets left for the 'Wine Walk' portion of the event, Turkiewicz says that everyone is invited to come downtown and enjoy the camaraderie and festive atmosphere. Participating businesses will have extended hours and sales, while there will be other entertainment including live music outside Honeycomb Loft and the old Century 21 lot. Main Street's got a full rundown on their Facebook page.

Published on 05/10/2024 under News With their latest expansion project in focus, the Tomahawk Historical Society will turn their focus fundraising. We previously shared some of the details of the project. Adding to their Washington Square complex, the Historical Society is planning to construct another building to house an antique print shop and a Tomahawk Boat Manufacturing Company exhibit. They have been working with two longtime residents on the project. The print section is the specialty of Louie Heuser, a retired printer who has vintage and antique equipment including a rare, working Linotype machine. Meanwhile, Gene Winter has plenty of information and displays thanks to his family ties. His uncle Franklin Winter was among the co-founders of the Tomahawk Boat Manufacturing Company back in the 1940's. The current plan is to build an approximately 5,000 square foot building behind the kindergarten classroom museum on E. Washington Ave. They received the blessing of the city Park and Rec. Committee back in March. The next step is raise money and efforts will be underway throughout the summer. In fact, they'll be partnering with Trig's for a Brat Fry on Saturday and another planned later this month.

Published on 05/10/2024 under News Our local loon rescuers were on call again Friday morning, but this time it was a pair of bald eagles in need of help. We frequently follow the work of Kevin and Linda Grenzer, and heard from Kevin a bit earlier this morning following their latest rescue. It was actually local dentist, Dr. Robert Imm, who spotted the two eagles along the road in Tomahawk with their talons locked together. Grenzer speculated that the eagles were likely involved in a territorial dispute. With their talons linked together, neither would let go. With the Grenzers on scene, along with Dr. Imm who stuck around to help, they were able to free the birds. One of the eagles flew off immediately, apparently unharmed. The other eagle did have some injuries that required a trip to REGI. *Update: The injured eagle is being treated at REGI after sustaining deep puncture wounds.

Published on 05/10/2024 under News A home was destroyed in a fire early yesterday morning in Lincoln County. According to the Merrill Fire Department, crews were paged to a structure fire on Highway 107 in the Town of Rock Falls. The call came in at shortly after 4:30am. Upon arrival, they found a majority of the home and unattached garage had already burned. They quickly worked to extinguish the blaze, paying close attention to a 500 pound propane tank nearby. Fortunately, the buildings were unoccupied at the time, and no injuries were reported during the response. The Fire Department confirmed both the home and the garage are a total loss. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though officials noted that it appears unintentional.-Photo provided Merrill Fire Department-

Published on 05/10/2024 under News The DNR continues to support Wisconsin anglers and the state fishery, once again stocking millions of small fish this past year. We're now a week into the general inland fishing opener, and the DNR provided a brief summary of their latest efforts. In all, more than 6 million small fry and fingerlings were released into state waterways including dozens here in the Northwoods. The State is, of course, known for its walleye, and that was the fish stocked in the greatest number, nearly 1.9 million in all. Other stocked fish include more than 800,000 trout; 115,000 northern pike, 36,000 musky; and smaller numbers of other species. (Lake specific stocking data is available on the DNR website) In addition to inland waters, the DNR also works with their partners to stock Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. The DNR notes that stocking helps boost natural fish populations, maintain or restore existing fisheries, and support recreational fishing opportunities. Stocking is also used to evaluate management actions or propagation techniques.-Photo provided by WDNR-

Published on 05/10/2024 under News The largest single-day food drive in the country is taking place this weekend, and local postal carriers are looking forward to the extra work that comes along with it. It's time once again for Stamp Out Hunger, a collection organized by the Association of Letter Carriers in cooperation with the US Postal Service. The annual collection was launched all the way back in 1991. Over the years, the greater Tomahawk community has successfully restocked the Tomahawk and Nokomis Food Pantries through the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, and last year was no different with several thousand pounds of food. As for this year's collection, it's quite simple, place a bag with non-expired and non-perishable food in or on your mailbox in time for your regular Saturday delivery. From there, the carriers will do the rest of the work.

Published on 05/10/2024 under Sports The Hatchet softball squad came up short at home against Antigo, losing 13-9 on Senior Day. Tomahawk outhit Antigo 13-11, but failed to overcome an eight-run fourth inning from the Red Robins. Scout Stromberg went three for four at the plate with two doubles and three RBIs. The Hatchets also got two hits from Sammy Geabuer and Emerson Lange. However, Tomahawk was unable to overcome nine straight runs after leading 4-1 through three. The Hatchets' record drops to 8-11 and 3-8 in Great Northern Conference play. Tomahawk will travel to Gilman/Thorp for a tournament this weekend. Their first game will be against Edgar at 10:00 Saturday. Game Two is against Grantsburg at 2:00.

Published on 05/10/2024 under Sports Tomahawk's track and field squads competed in the Rhinelander Invitational Thursday. The Hatchet girls had their third consecutive first-place finish, finishing with 152 team points. Tomahawk placed first in the 4x200, 4x100, and 4x400 meter relays. Siennah Caulkins placed first in the high and triple jumps. Alicia Voermans placed first in the pole fault with a mark of 9'. Tomahawk's boys placed eighth in the meet with 51 points, finishing ahead of Lakeland and Merrill. The Hatchets had second-place finishes in the 4x800 and 4x200 meter relays. This concludes the 2024 Hatchet track and field regular season. The Great Northern Conference meet is Tuesday in Medford.

Published on 05/10/2024 under Sports Tomahawk's baseball team notched their second consecutive victory Thursday in a dominating 8-2 victory over Antigo. The Hatchets knocked the cover off the ball, establishing a season-high 11 hits. Brody Rigney had a stellar day, going three for four at the plate and pitched 6.2 innings allowing just one hit. Brayden Larson went two for four with a triple and an RBI. The win puts Tomahawk at 3-11 on the season and 2-7 in Great Northern Conference play. The two teams will meet again in Antigo today. First pitch is at 5:00.

Published on 05/09/2024 under News The Tomahawk School District experienced a temporary power outage Wednesday afternoon. The electricity is back on, and classes shouldn't be affected going forward. We heard from Tomahawk District Administrator Wendell Quesinberry late Wednesday night after power had been restored to the campus. He says the outage was related to a break in an underground wire that supplies power to the school. Wisconsin Public Service sent a crew to repair the wire Wednesday night. While school is in session, the cafeteria was affected by loss of power. Quesinberry says that food service will be operating with a modified menu and limited selected this week. They ask that parents plan accordingly. They also won't be able to provide milk today, though Quesinberry expects a new supply of milk by the school day on Friday.

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