DON’T FEED THE BEAR, DNR ASKS
So that black bear that south side Eau Clairians spotted a few months back (in yards near South Middle School) is still hanging around, and now the DNR is asking residents in the Otter Creek area to stop providing the bears with food. Officials suspect that the bear, whose family kicked it out of Clark County, has been surviving on bird feeders and possibly dog food, which the DNR wants people to temporarily remove to encourage it to leave. Chippewa also spotted a bear recently, but DNR officials say it has since moved toward Durand.

JAIL CONSTRUCTION TO BE SUBJECT OF PHOTO PROJECT
With the jail project about to break ground in Eau Claire, there are several opinions surrounding its construction. Soon there will be several cameras surrounding it, too. A group of local citizens headed by Ken Fulgione are putting together a photo project to record the construction of one of the city’s largest projects. They hope to get permission from the county to take pictures from the courthouse as well as Ruder Ware offices and Strand Ware, at which point they will use a fixed camera and computer software to capture regular shots while the construction advances. “Personally I have felt the building is in the wrong place and have even questioned the need ... but it is what is going to happen, so we might as well make the best of it and create something positive from it,” Fulgione said. His goal is to make a 15-minute video showing the building of the jail that will be a historical recording of its inception.

TIME CAPSULE FOUND AT STOUT
During the recent renovation of Hovlid Hall at UW-Stout, a peculiar item was found behind the building’s date stone, revealing a look at university life over half a century ago. It was a copper box containing university brochures and pamphlets from the 50s, a 1959 penny, and most important of all, a handwritten note from the bricklayers themselves, Norman Klatt and Galion “Butch” Schroeder. “This stone was installed by two of Menomonie’s best bricklayers,” the note proudly reads. The capsule also included a photograph of four men at the 1959 Hovlid Hall groundbreaking. Both Klatt and Schroeder have since passed away, but the university plans to carry on their legacy. After the building renovations are complete, the time capsule will be placed back in its original place along with new university pamphlets and up-to-date information, in hopes of carrying on this tradition for generations to come.

MEMORIAL AMONG NATION’S BEST IN AP PARTICIPATION
Eau Claire Memorial has been named one of the best high schools in the nation according to a yearly study done by Newsweek. The ranking was based on participation rates on Advanced Placement (AP) college-level courses and examinations – both areas where the high school performed exceedingly well. As of this year, only 1,600 schools – roughly 6 percent of all public schools in the country – made the list. Memorial scored in the top half of the selected schools, putting them in the 97th percentile of all high schools nationwide. Since 1998, Newsweek has published its “Best High Schools in America” list. This year was the first time Memorial has been recognized.