Cross Country Ski in the Machickanee Forest

Machickanee Ski
Machickanee Ski

Skiing starts at 6:30 pm and goes until 9:00 pm (or later). Bring hot dogs, marshmallows, treats, beverages, and your friends and plan on a great evening skiing and warming around the bonfire. Our Candlelight Skis are family events, so bring the kids, too. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!! No skiing until after 6:30 pm to allow time for the candle lighters to get off the trails!

CANDLELIGHT SKIS – We need volunteers to set up and to light candles. If you are able to help, show up at the Trail Head around 5:30 pm for a work assignment. No hard work, it just takes people to get it done.

2013-14 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Jan. 6 (Mon.)
Ski Club Meeting
6:30 – 8:00 pm
Gilligan’s on Main OF

Jan. 11 (Sat.)
Candlelight Ski
6:30 – 9:00 pm
Blackberry Ramble

Feb. 3 (Mon.)
Ski Club Meeting
6:30 – 8:00 pm
Gilligan’s on Main OF

Feb. 8 (Sat.)
Candlelight Ski
6:30 – 9:00 pm
Blackberry Ramble

Mar. 2 (Sun.)
Spring Fling
5:00 – ??? pm
Location TBD

Mar. 8 (Sat.)
Candlelight Ski
6:30 – 9:00 pm
Blackberry Ramble
For details and current status on any Ski Club activities, call any of the officers listed below:

Gail Yatso, President 920-373-2626
Chique Tousey-Tabar, Secretary/Treasurer 920-846-2965
Ray Tabar, Trail Manager 920-846-2965

Machickanee XC Ski Club
148 South Chestnut Ave.
Oconto Falls, WI 54154

Winter Free Fishing Weekend is Jan. 18-19, 2014

Winter Free Fishing Weekend is Jan. 18-19, 2014

Wisconsin’s second annual winter Free Fishing Weekend is set for Jan. 18-19, 2014. No fishing license or Great Lakes salmon stamp is needed to fish any Wisconsin water. This includes all inland waters and Wisconsin’s side of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River and other boundary waters. Other fishing rules apply, such as limits on the number and size of fish anglers can keep and any seasons when anglers must release certain fish species.

“Ice fishing is a great way to get outside during the winter and to fish anywhere without a boat,” says Theresa Stabo, Wisconsin’s angler education director. “Free Fishing Weekend is a great time to discover what it’s all about – fun with friends and family and, of course, the fish.”

Stabo encourages fishing groups, local chambers of commerce, youth group leaders and others to consider hosting their own Free Fishing Weekend events and to fill out an electronic form with their event details so DNR can help publicize those events that are open to the public. DNR tackle loaner sites have ice fishing gear for loan that groups and individuals can use, and the agency can supply limited quantities of age appropriate materials about ice fishing, fish populations, and fishing in general.

Posters are also available to download, print off and post to help promote Free Fishing Weekend.

All materials are available on DNR’s Free Fishing Weekend web page. Go to dnr.wi.gov and search “Free Fishing Weekend.”

Advice to maximize health benefits, limit contaminants from eating fish

Ice anglers eat a greater proportion of their catch than open water anglers, so it’s important to be aware of and follow fish consumption advice, says Candy Schrank, an environmental toxicologist who coordinates the fish consumption advice DNR issues with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

An online search tool allows anglers to use a drop down menu to select the county and lake or river reach they are fishing to bring up consumption advice for fish species on that water. The advice booklet, videos, and other materials are also available on the “Eat Your Catch pages of the DNR website.

Follow rules to prevent spreading invasive species like Asian carp and fish diseases

Ice anglers eager to start the hard water season are reminded to take steps to prevent accidentally spreading fish diseases and aquatic invasive species like Asian carp, the young of which look similar to common baitfish such as gizzard shad, emerald shiner, spottail shiner or golden shiner. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS, is a virus that can infect several dozen fish species and cause them to bleed to death.

Here is what anglers need to know to help prevent fish diseases and other invasive species from spreading:

Follow bait rules. Buy bait from Wisconsin bait dealers. If you take minnows home after a day of fishing and you’ve added lake water or fish to the container, you can return with them only to that same water body the next day.

Familiarize yourself with what the different Asian carp species look like as juveniles and as adults, and learn how to tell the difference between them and common baitfish. Inspect bait you buy to assure you do not have any Asian carp in the bucket. Put on ice any fish suspected of being Asian carp and contact your local DNR.

Preserve bait correctly if you catch your own. If you use smelt or other dead bait, preserve it in a way that does not require freezing or refrigeration.

Don’t move live fish away from the water. Keep the fish you catch and want to take home on the ice until you leave at the end of the day, or carry them away in a dry bucket.

Drain all water from your equipment. That includes all buckets and containers of fish. When you’re leaving the ice, you may carry up to 2 gallons of water in which to keep your minnows.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ICE FISHING IN GENERAL CONTACT: Mike Staggs, 608-267-0796; Steve Hewett 608-267-7501; or your local fish biologist; Theresa Stabo, 608- 266-2272, for information on Free Fishing Weekend; Candy Schrank, 608-267-7614, for information on fish consumption advice.

The Oconto Falls Lions will kick the tubing hill season this Saturday,

The Oconto Falls Lions will kick the tubing hill season this Saturday, December 21st. Usual hours of operation will be from 1 to 4 PM on Saturdays and Sundays when snow conditions are good. The operation this year will feature a new tow rope and improved return trail to the top of the hill. Improvements were made due to the generosity of a grant provided by ST Paper in Oconto Falls. Specific information can be found on the Oconto Falls Lions Website at http://www.ocontofallslions.com/lion/Tubing_Hill.html.

Oconto Falls City employees are pictured installing the new rope in the attached picture.

BROADWAY’S NEXT H!T MUSICAL

BROADWAY’S NEXT H!T MUSICAL

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2014 • 7 PM • FALLS AREA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

TICKETS:  $38

ALL TICKETS SUBJECT TO A $2 PROCESSING FEE

Every song is fresh. Every scene is new. Every night is different. It’s all improvised and it’s all funny.

The New York Times calls Broadway’s Next H!T Musical “Hilarious!” Time Out NY says “At last! A musical of, for, and by the people.”

The hysterical Broadway’s Next H!T Musical is the only unscripted theatrical awards show. Master improvisers gather made up, hit song suggestions from the audience and create a spontaneous evening of music, humor, and laughter. The audience votes for their favorite song and watches as the cast turns it into a full blown improvised musical – complete with memorable characters, witty dialogue, and plot twists galore. BNHM has been seen recently at The Triad, Tribeca Film Festival, and at the New York Musical Theater Festival, among many others.  Under the direction of improv veterans Rob Schiffman and Deb Rabbai, TheaterWeek hailed the show as “brilliant” and The New York Post called Broadway’s Next H!T Musical “remarkable.”  Don’t miss the next great American musical – it could be written in your town! This event is sponsored in part by COMMUNITY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL and NEVA HODGE-LEMORANDE.

ED 2 GO AT NWTC

In partnership with Ed2go, we offer a wide range of highly interactive non-credit courses that you can take entirely over the Internet.

 

All of the courses include expert instructors, many of whom are nationally known authors. Our online courses<http://www.ed2go.com/nwtc/> are affordable, fun, fast, convenient, and geared just for you.
Many classes available in these areas of interest:
Accounting and Finance
Business
College Readiness
Computer Applications
Design and Composition
Health and Medical
Language and Arts
Personal Development
Teaching and Educations
Technology
Writing and Publishing

Visit the NWTC website www.nwtc.edu<http://www.nwtc.edu> and you can learn so much more about Ed2GO and all the classes we offer at NWTC
Questions
Phone- 920-848-6982
649 E. Jackson St. Oconto Falls, WI 54154
Hours- 8-7 Monday – Thursday and 8-3 on Friday.

A FRANK’S CHRISTMAS

PRESENTING……

A FRANK’S CHRISTMAS
A Christmas Miracle at PRANGES
FRIDAY,
DECEMBER 13th, 2013
7:00pm

At the Oconto Falls Area Performing Arts Center (PAC)
210 N. Farm Road, Oconto Falls WI
TICKETS $30.00
General Admission – Doors Open at 6:00pm
1-800-895-0071
www.ticketstaronline.com
Tickets also available at the following businesses:
Senn Hometown Insurance 237 N Main Street, Oconto Falls WI 920-848-2341
Hometown Veterinary Clinic 180 E Highland Drive, Oconto Falls WI 920-848-4280
United True Value 415 E Highland Drive, Oconto Falls WI 920-848-2823
Sponsored by:
The Oconto Falls
Lions Club
www.ocontofallslions.com

DNR Report

The white-tailed deer rut is continuing in full swing across much of the state, with bucks chasing does during the daytime and lots of scrapes and rubs still being found, but some areas report deer activity is beginning to slow, with bucks locked down with does.

Archers have been out in very strong numbers and continue to report some very good success. Good numbers of pheasant hunters have also been out and are also reporting success on stocked wildlife areas. Although blaze orange clothing isn’t required when gun deer seasons are not open, conservation wardens say with the large numbers of hunters in the field, wearing blaze orange while pheasant hunting greatly increases hunter safety.
Leaf drop is now progressing rapidly in southern Wisconsin, with oaks beginning to drop leaves in the last week. With leaves off the trees, grouse hunters are reporting improved success.

Visitors to Wisconsin state park properties are reminded that many properties will open to hunting and trapping on November 15. Maps showing areas open and closed to hunting are available on the DNR website and posted at all properties. All park visitors are encouraged to wear blaze orange or other brightly colored clothing during the hunting seasons, which remain open in parks through December 15 for firearms and through January 5 for archery. For a list of open properties, maps and more information search the DNR website for “hunting state parks.”

The cold weather of the last week has caused a lot of puddle ducks to move south, while bringing in increasing numbers of diving ducks. Strong north winds in the last week increased Canada goose and tundra swan migrations.

With all the hunting activity and colder temperatures, fishing activity has slowed and the open water fishing season is coming to an end in the Northwoods, with ice beginning to form along shorelines of larger lakes, but it will still be at least a couple of weeks before there is any safe ice for ice fishing. A few musky anglers are still out, but without much success. Some crappies and perch were being caught on the Oconto River. In the south, walleye continue to be caught on Lake Wisconsin and the Rock River. Coho and chinook salmon and some rainbow and brown trout continue to be caught on Lake Michigan tributaries, especially the Sheboygan, Milwaukee and Root rivers.

With the opening of the nine-day gun deer season rapidly approaching, hunters should make sure firearms are properly sighted in and that hunting gear is order. Search the DNR website for “shooting ranges” to find a map of public ranges. Hunters can also get pre-season questions answered by joining any of three live online chats. They all begin at noon: on Tuesday, Nov. 19, what to expect for the season; on Wednesday, Nov. 20, on hunting land accessible to the public; and on Thursday, Nov. 21 on safety and regulations. To join: search “ask the experts” on the DNR website.

Abrams Theatre Presents “The Sound of Music”

Abrams Spotlight Productions, Inc. will close their 10th Anniversary Season with, The Sound of Music (Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse) Friday, December 6, 2013 – December 15, 2013 at The Byng Community Theater in Abrams.

The final collaboration between Rodgers & Hammerstein was destined to become the world’s most beloved musical. When a postulant proves too high-spirited for the religious life, she is dispatched to serve as governess for the seven children of a widowed naval Captain. Her growing rapport with the youngsters, coupled with her generosity of spirit, gradually captures the heart of the stern Captain, and they marry. Upon returning from their honeymoon they discover that Austria has been invaded by the Nazis, who demand the Captain’s immediate service in their navy. The family’s narrow escape over the mountains to Switzerland on the eve of World War II provides one of the most thrilling and inspirational finales ever presented in the theatre. The motion picture version remains the most popular movie musical of all time.

Opening night is Friday, December 6 at 7:00pm. Abrams Spotlight Productions, Inc. will be having an Opening Night Gala. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be served after the show (with the cast and crew of The Sound of Music).

Subsequent show dates are as follows:
• December 7th at 1pm & 7pm
• December 8th at 1pm
• December 13th at 7pm
• December 14th at 1pm & 7pm
• December 15th at 1pm

Performances are at The Byng Community Theater, 5852 Maple Street, Abrams, WI. Tickets are $12.00 for Adults (18-64), $10.00 for Seniors (65+) and Youth (5-17), and $5.00 for Children (4 and under). Tickets can be purchased online at www.AbramsTheatre.com or by calling the Box Office at 920-826-5852.

SNOWBIRDS DEPARTURES CREATE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

The departures of the many snowbirds create volunteer opportunities at Community Memorial Hospital. Openings are available in various areas of the hospital such as patient escorts, nutrition services, and information services. Other opportunities include helping out at special events and projects.

“Whatever your background, interests, or talent, there are ways you can help. We have men and women from all backgrounds, young and old.” said CMH Auxiliary volunteer chairperson Steve Carrico. “Volunteer service is personally rewarding and it enriches our community.”

Job-seekers and students can gain valuable experience serving in volunteer roles.

To learn more, those interested should contact Steve Carrico at (920) 621-7572 or scarrico65@gmail.com. Volunteers have the opportunity to participate in hospital-sponsored functions and receive other benefits including a pharmacy discount.

The CMH Auxiliary supports Community Memorial Hospital through volunteer service and fundraising projects.