25 years ago PRESCOTT JOURNAL

Dec. 26, 1996 Quote of the Week: “Maybe we need to change the name of our community to Lake Woebegone, where all kids are above average.”—School board member Tom Magnan on the number of students in the gifted program.

Prescott School District spending per pupil is well below state average By R. E. Herman The Prescott School District spends less per pupil than the state average for school districts, according to comparative statistics recently released by the state Fiscal Bureau.

The numbers, which were shared with the school board at their meeting last week, reveal that Prescott spent $6,073 per pupil during 1993-94, the last audited year for the entire state.

The district also spent the highest percent of their budget on regular instruction, 51.4 percent, of area districts.

“It certainly indicates that we are an efficient school district,” said superintendent Carroll Lehman of the report.

Dec. 19, 1996

Grinch/thief steals $300 from church; over $1,600 damage By R. E. Herman Despite the season, someone chose to rob those who help the less fortunate last week. Joy Lutheran Church was burglarized sometime between 9 p.m. on Dec. 11 and 9 a.m. on Dec. 12.

According to police reports, the burglary was discovered on the morning of Dec. 12 when workers came into the office.

They discovered loose change on the floor outside of the office and a bank deposit bag containing a small amount of cash further down the hallway… There were no signs of forced entry to the building, but church officials said that the church was locked up that evening as there were no activities in the building. The burglary is still under investigation.

40 years ago PRESCOTT JOURNAL Dec. 31, 1981 3 Elmwood girls die in crash Two teenage sisters and a friend from Elmwood were killed and three other friends injured Friday, Dec. 15, in a one-car accident south of Menomonie, authorities reported.

All six young people were in a 1973 International Scout when it went off County Trunk D south of Menomonie about 8:50 p.m., according to Dunn County Sheriff’s Lt. Perry Hodgson.

The dead were identified as Amy Richardson, 16; Donna Doughty, 17; and Joan Doughty, 16, all of Elmwood. They were thrown from the vehicle and were pronounced dead at the scene, Hodgson said. Injured were Robert A. Smith, 18, of Route 1, Arkansaw; Allen White, 19, of Maiden Rock; and James Henry, 18, of Durand.

Smith was in fair condition at Myrtle Werth Medical Center, Menomonie. White was listed in serious condition at Sacred Heart Hospital, Eau Claire, Henry was treated at Werth Medical Center and released.

13th traffic fatality listed in Pierce County Pierce County recorded the 13th traffic death of the year when Judith Anderson, 21, was killed on Highway 63 in Trenton Township. Anderson, a medical student from Red Wing, was killed while attempting to help a man who had been injured in a two-car crash. Anderson stopped and left her car to help an unidentified man injured in the collision. Pierce County deputies reported that a third car was unable to stop at the accident scene and crashed into the other two vehicles. After striking those two cars, the car slid into Anderson and her companion, Michael Magee, Red Wing, who suffered two broken legs.

As of Sunday, Wisconsin had recorded 905 traffic deaths, compared to 971 a year ago.

55 years ago PIERCE COUNTY HERALD Dec. 29, 1966 Immunization Clinic Jan. 5 at Plum City Immunization Clinic will be held Jan. 5 at 9 a.m. at the Plum City elementary school gym for students attending the Plum City public school and the St. John’s parochial school. Protection for smallpox, polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus for kindergarten; and grade one, and diphtheria tetanus for the older students will be given at this clinic. A consent form signed by parents is necessary for each student attending the clinic… Each pupil should have the correct fee which will prevent delay at the registration table. The fee for diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, tetanus and smallpox is 50 cents for each injection. Each dose of polio is $1.00. These fees cover the cost of immunizing materials and other incidental expenses. The doctor, nurses and other volunteers are donating their services. School administrators and teachers are also assisting with the program.

70 years ago THE RIVER FALLS JOURNAL Dec. 20, 1951 Health Facts: Fewer women than men get coronary heart disease.

Rheumatic fever is not contagious. A Deadly Letter Theta (“th” sound) is sometimes called the unlucky letter in Greece. It was used by judges in Greece on ballots condemning prisoners to death. It was used because it was the first letter in the Greek word for death (“thanatos”).

85 years ago ELLSWORTH RECORD Dec. 10, 1936 Village Taxes Listed for 1936; Read ‘em And Weep (Representative outtakes from a long list) Addington, Dr. E. A….$16.12 Bank of Ellsworth… $936.36 Cunningham, Lena…$7.77 East Ellsworth Hardware Co…$427.68 Magee, F. G…$94.57 Methodist Church…$4.00 Methodist Parsonage… $2.00 Village of Ellsworth… $26.16 Zilke, G. $64.69 115 years ago RIVER FALLS JOURNAL Dec. 27, 1906

LOCALS

Fargo

Happy New Year to All. Pat Kaley’s “trotter” laid down and died. Melvin Russ now has an invalid chair and can sit up a little. Among his Christmas presents was a watch presented him by the pupils of the school.