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Coach Hernandez of Tomahawk Named Packer Coach of the Week Published on 11/06/2020 under Sports

The Packers have announced that Sam Hernandez of Tomahawk High School in Tomahawk, Wis., has been named the Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week.

Hernandez, in his second year as head coach of the Hatchets, has his team at 2-4 overall this season and 2-3 in Northwoods Conference play. The Hatchets look to even their conference record Friday, Nov. 6, as they close out their regular season against Coleman High School.

Since taking over the team this past year, Hernandez's impact has been felt not only on the football field, but on the whole community. From helping elderly people move to new homes, assisting community members who need help with their yard work, and volunteering at the local Kinship of Tomahawk, the team continues to pursue a variety of ways to help others in need. Not only has giving back been beneficial to the community, but it has also been uplifting for the players.

"I think for a lot of them, it gives them a sense of pride and a sense of doing something for others," said Hernandez. "And as a football program, we want people to come sit in the stands and watch us play, and we feed off of that. So this is an opportunity for us to provide a platform for these kids to do good things for others without anything in return. If we can send the players out into life after high school with that skillset of doing good things to be good people, then that is a great lesson for them to take."

Hernandez graduated from Marshall High School in Marshall, Wis., in 2004. Throughout high school, he participated in football, basketball and baseball. He played nose tackle, running back and kicker under head coach Mike Zimmerman. Following high school, he went on to graduate from UW-Whitewater in 2009. In addition to coaching other high school sports, Hernandez's football coaching career began as an assistant coach for Lake Mills High School in 2008. He went on to coach at Johnson Creek High School in 2013, before being named the head coach of the Hatchets in 2019.

To Hernandez, the Coach of the Week Award speaks to the work being done by the program on and off the field.

"This award is really an award for the kids, the program and my coaching staff. I'm just one person as part of a bigger group. I'm so honored to have our program and have our kids be recognized for this because they do work hard. We've struggled in terms of wins over the last couple of years, but the kids work hard, the coaching staff works hard every week, and we do work in the community and outside of the football field. To see those kids get recognized with other programs around the state, is a really cool opportunity for this program and highlights the really good things that we are doing."

Hernandez and his staff oversee a program of 43 players with 33 suiting up for varsity games. His assistant staff includes Andy Peissig, Jeremy Zimmerman, Aaron Evans, Dave Long, Jon Long, Nick Schertz and Steven Shrigley. In addition to being the head coach, Hernandez is also an English teacher at the high school. Hernandez and his wife, Ashley, have three sons, Derek, Brett and Vaughn.

About the Green Bay Packers High School Coach of the Week Program:

The Green Bay Packers Coach of the Week program supports football outreach efforts by giving high school coaches the recognition they deserve. Nominations can be submitted by 10 a.m. every Monday to Ryan Fencl, Packers football outreach specialist, at coachoftheweek@packers.com. All nominations should include the nominee's name, address, school, phone number and reason he/she is deserving of the award. This year, because some schools have postponed their football seasons to the spring due to COVID-19, the Packers are seeking coaches to be nominated regardless of their teams' on-field performance or whether they are playing in the fall or spring. Rather, the nominee could be honored for how they have turned programs around, how the team has impacted the community, or how the coach impacts the players and their families.

In Other News

Lincoln County Health Hosting Opioid Overdose, Narcan Training in Tomahawk

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Published on 05/14/2026 under News With construction season now in full swing, another highway project is getting underway in Lincoln County. The Department of Transportation announced a bridge replacement as part of improvements to Highway 17 between Merrill and Rhinelander in the Town of Merrill. Work will include the removal and replacement of the Barnes Creek bridge, with crews installing a new concrete girder bridge. According to the DoT, Sheet Piling Services has been selected for the $870,000 project. During construction, Highway 17 will be closed at the bridge, and traffic will be detoured using County G. Work is scheduled to begin later this month. The project is expected to be completed in August, depending on weather and construction progress.

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Published on 05/14/2026 under News Bird experts are encouraging residents across the Northwoods to turn off unnecessary outdoor lighting during overnight hours this spring to help protect migrating birds as they make their seasonal journey north. Researchers with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Purdue University say Wisconsin sits directly in a major migration corridor, with millions of birds crossing the state on peak migration nights through mid-June. About 80% of migrating birds travel at night, but artificial light can pull them off course into populated areas where they face additional hazards including window collisions. Conservation groups say even small changes such as shutting off porch lights, decorative lighting and unused business signs overnight; can make a significant difference, especially in smaller northern Wisconsin communities surrounded by forests and wetlands that provide critical habitat for migrating birds. The effort is part of the growing Lights Out Wisconsin campaign, which promotes reducing light pollution during peak migration periods to help birds safely navigate the night skies over the Badger State.

Published on 05/14/2026 under News A Northwoods program that encourages young girls to run while building life skills will wrap up their spring session with a special weekend. 'Girls on the Run' is a nationwide program, with a chapter located here in Northern Wisconsin. It's a 10-week, after-school running program for elementary and middle school students. In addition to the physical health benefits, they also help build confidence, social, and emotional skills. The local chapter started in Minocqua around 20 years ago, but they've grown to feature nearly two dozen communities stretching from Manitowish Waters to Mosinee. During that time, the organization says they've had more than 1,500 graduates. Each spring they wrap up the course with a 5k run. The local chapter will hold two this weekend. The first, Saturday, is at Minocqua Winter Park. Then on Sunday, they'll shift south to Wausau and Nine Mile Forest. People can also support these programs by serving as coaches, ambassadors or fundraiser, or even establishing a program in a new community. You can visit their website for more information.

Published on 05/13/2026 under Sports The Hatchet golfers would fall back to the middle of the pack in their Great Northern Conference meet Wednesday at Northwood Golf Club in Rhinelander, placing fourth. Tomahawk would finish with a score of 354, five strokes behind Rhinelander and eight strokes ahead of Northland Pines. The finish marks the sixth GNC Meet in which Tomahawk placed fourth or lower. Oliver Childers placed ninth overall with an 84. Rounding out the top three for the Hatchets are Jaxon Kaiser with an 86 and Jake Albert with an 87. Tomahawk is back in action today for their next Great Northern Conference meet at Trout Lake in Minocqua. Tee-off is at 3:00.

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Published on 05/13/2026 under News Wisconsin Public Service has announced their news-inspired names for the peregrine falcon chicks being hatched at the Weston Power Plant near Wausau. The four chicks are being raised by peregrine falcons Sheldon and an unbanded female. The eggs were laid in early april and began hatching this week, with three eggs and one to go. A record 22,000 votes helped name this year's brood. WPS even extended the contest due to the high interest. The names under consideration were inspired by news anchors in northern Wisconsin and the Fox Valley. Two of the four winners had a wing up, as their anchors spent time in both markets. That includes Feathersoon Lehmann, in honor of Emerson Lehmann currently at WBAY and Jade Egg-schell inspired by WFRV's Jade Henschel. Kyle Prey-zorksi is the namesake of Kyle Pozorski of WAOW. And lastly Matt Tweet from Matt Z on WTAQ. People can follow along on nesting cams. In addition to these WPS birds, WE Energies has three nest boxes. As of Tuesday there were 9 hatched and 4 eggs remaining.

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