Small Street Journal: June 5, 2020

COMMUNITY ORGANIZES TO HONOR GEORGE FLOYD AND DEMAND JUSTICE

[Eau Claire, WI] On Sunday, May 31, at 3 p.m., Eau Claire community organizers will host the “George Floyd Remembrance Vigil and Community Discussion” virtual event through Zoom to show our community’s solidarity in seeking justice and to honor the memory of George Floyd. This event is open to the public.
 
According to Dr. Selika Ducksworth-Lawton, a lead co-organizer of this event, “We want a dialogue with the police through this forum where we come together to prevent this stuff from happening. We want people to join both the Zoom event and the related ‘Light Eau Claire.’”
 
In addition to the virtual demonstration, organizers are asking Eau Claire residents to put candles in their windows Sunday night for George Floyd, to stand against his murder and to remember him as a gentle giant who a number of people in Eau Claire knew from his job at a Salsa club.
 
Event organizers are committed to standing against the corruption that allowed the officer who killed Floyd to escape justice for more than 10 years. Our black communities here are hurting. Our multicultural communities are scared.
 
“We have an opportunity to be proactive here. We should take it,” Ducksworth-Lawton said.
 
Representative Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) and other community members are scheduled to speak at Sunday’s event.
 
Join the virtual Zoom vigil by going to https://www.facebook.com/events/284505526057113/.
 
This event is sponsored by Uniting Bridges and UWEC Anti-Racist Faculty and Staff, and UW-Eau Claire’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Student Affairs Division.
 
For more info, please contact Dr. Selika Ducksworth-Lawton at selikad@yahoo.com or 715-858-4024.

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Boys & Girls Clubs of greater chippewa valley

New Center Director
Black River Falls, WI – The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Greater Chippewa Valley would like to introduce our New Center Director - Brian Greenwald. Brian returns to the Club with more than 5 years of youth development experience and over 2 years of supervisory experience working with youth and adults. Brian’s youth development experience stems from working at Boys & Girls Clubs through AmeriCorps at the Lee & Mary Markquart Center in Eau Claire and at Parkside Middle School in Wautoma, WI. He recently was a Program Director with Rem Ramsey, a group home in the Minneapolis area. As a UW Eau Claire alumni, we welcome him back to the Chippewa Valley! 

Club Re-Opening
​The Boys & Girls Club – Lunda Center will re-open the Club on June 15th to serve members grades 3rd – 6th, from Monday – Thursday from 7:30am – 5pm. Fridays will be used for cleaning and sanitizing facility. Members entering 7th grade and above will be served off-site at a pop-up location. Applications will be prioritized and limited to smaller group sizes. Although it may look different, delivering our mission has not and will not stop here. Our environment has changed, and we are adapting to ensure the health and wellbeing of our members, their families, and our staff. Because of this, our programming will have a specific focus on academic success to curb learning loss, mental and emotional support, and wellness curriculum, and will change with each stage of this pandemic. For more registration information please go to cvclubs.org. 

New Center Director
Chippewa Falls, WI – The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Greater Chippewa Valley would like to introduce our new Center Director – Dan von Bargen. Dan brings to the Club over 20 years of knowledge in youth development and supervisory experience with youth and adults. For the last 11 years, Dan started and grew his own business, Beacon Educational Consulting LLC in the Chicago area, which provided services to families struggling with behavioral, substance abuse and/or mental health issues. Originally hailing from Duluth, MN, Dan has a love and respect of nature, and enjoys traveling, tennis, golf, basketball, and fishing. We welcome Dan and his wife and family to the Chippewa Valley. Club

Re-Opening
The Boys & Girls Club – Chippewa Falls will re-open the Club on June 15th to serve members grades 3rd – 6th, from Monday – Thursday from 7:30am – 5pm. Fridays will be used for cleaning and sanitizing facility. Members entering 7th grade and above will be served off-site at a pop-up location. Applications will be prioritized and limited to smaller group sizes. Although it may look different, delivering our mission has not and will not stop here. Our environment has changed, and we are adapting to ensure the health and wellbeing of our members, their families, and our staff. Because of this, our programming will have a specific focus on academic success to curb learning loss, mental and emotional support, and wellness curriculum, and will change with each stage of this pandemic. For more registration information please go to cvclubs.org. 

New Center Director
Eau Claire, WI – The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Greater Chippewa Valley would like to introduce our new Center Director – MarLee Johnson. Originally from Loveland Colorado, MarLee is a graduate of Colorado State University and has been a Program Coordinator at both the Menomonie and Eau Claire Clubs since 2018. She recently accepted the position as Center Director and has a passion for building character in others. When not at the Club, MarLee enjoys spending time outside with her husband and dog here in Eau Claire.

Club Re-Opening
The Boys & Girls Club – Lee & Mary Markquart Center will re-open the Club on June 15th to serve members grades 3rd – 6th, from Monday – Thursday from 7:30am – 5pm. Fridays will be used for cleaning and sanitizing facility. Members entering 7th grade and above will be served off-site at a pop-up location. Applications will be prioritized and limited to smaller group sizes. Although it may look different, delivering our mission has not and will not stop here. Our environment has changed, and we are adapting to ensure the health and wellbeing of our members, their families, and our staff. Because of this, our programming will have a specific focus on academic success to curb learning loss, mental and emotional support, and wellness curriculum, and will change with each stage of this pandemic. For more registration information please go to cvclubs.org. 

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Ticks and Lyme Disease

Important health and safety reminders during the active tick season
 
Eau Claire – With the official start of summer just around the corner, many are spending more time outdoors in areas where ticks are active. HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals, along with Prevea Health, offer the following tips and reminders to help everyone recognize and treat tick-related incidents.
 
Ticks live in wooded areas and areas with high grass, and crawl on to people and animals as they brush against leaves or grass. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, there are two common types of ticks that spread disease to animals and humans: deer (black-legged) ticks and wood (dog) ticks. Wood ticks have whitish markings on the body, while deer ticks are reddish to dark brown in appearance without white markings. Deer ticks are also usually smaller.
 
Deer ticks are a known carrier of Lyme disease. Wisconsin had 3,105 estimated cases of Lyme disease in 2018, and the average number of reported cases has more than doubled over the last 10 years. With Lyme disease, illness usually occurs within 3 to 30 days after being exposed to an infected deer tick. Symptoms may include rash, flu-like symptoms (headache, fever, muscle aches and joint pain) and enlarged lymph nodes.
 
The most common illnesses, other than Lyme disease, are anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis. Anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis are also transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected deer tick. Illness usually occurs within one to three weeks after being exposed to an infected tick. Symptoms may include fever, chills, muscle pain, severe headache, and fatigue.
 
If you are experiencing the above symptoms and think you’ve been exposed to an infected tick, call your primary care provider to determine if you should schedule an appointment or seek medical treatment. Prevea health centers and urgent care locations across the Chippewa Valley, and HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital urgent care are also open and available to assist with tick and other insect bite-related concerns. You can also seek care from the comfort of home with Prevea Virtual Care at www.prevea.com/virtualcare.
 
How to Reduce Your Risk of Getting a Tick Bite

• Dress appropriately: wear light-colored clothing, long pants and sleeves; tuck in shirts, tuck pants into socks and wear closed-toed shoes.
• Use insect repellents on skin that contain at least 20 percent DEET (Do not use insect repellent on children younger than 2 months old, or on a child’s hands, eyes or mouth). 
• Use permethrin-treated clothing and gear, or treat your gear and clothing with permethrin before departure.
• Stay out of tall grass, brush or heavily wooded areas.

 
How to Properly Remove a Tick

• Use tweezers to grasp the tick (as close to the skin as possible).
• Pull backwards gently but firmly, using an even pressure, do not twist or jerk.
• Do not squeeze, crush, or puncture the body of the tick. This can cause the tick to inject body fluids and increase the risk for infection.
• After removing the tick, wash hands thoroughly with soap and water.
• Note: If any part of the mouth of the tick remains in the skin, it’s recommended to leave it alone as it will come out on its own. Attempting to remove these parts may result in skin trauma and increase your risk of infection not associated with Lyme disease.

 
You may have heard about common remedies for removing ticks such as smoldering with a match; however, this is not recommended as it may burn the skin and increase risk of infections. Using nail polish, petroleum jelly, liquid soap or kerosene is also not recommended. Although these products may help to remove the tick, they can cause the tick to inject body fluids into the wound, which may increase the risk of Lyme disease.
 
To learn more about ticks and tick-borne diseases, please visit: www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/tick
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Applications to open june 15 for $75 million We're All In Small Business Grants

WEDC will provide $2,500 grant to 30,000 businesses statewide
 
MADISON, June 1, 2020 – The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) will begin accepting applications online for the $75 million We’re All In Small Business Grant (WSBG) program beginning at 8 a.m. on June 15, WEDC officials announced today.
The program, which will provide $2,500 grants to 30,000 small businesses, is designed to help small businesses get back on their feet amid the COVID-19 pandemic while also encouraging them to adopt best practices to keep employees, customers and communities safe.
“Small businesses have been hit especially hard by the pandemic,” said Missy Hughes, WEDC Secretary and CEO. “The We’re All In Small Business Grants are intended to provide the ‘starter fluid’ to get these economic engines running again.”  
Funded primarily by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the grants will help small businesses with the costs of business interruption or health and safety improvements, wages and salaries, rent, mortgages and inventory.
FAQs about the grant and the materials businesses will need to apply can be found at wedc.org/WAI-Small-Business-Grant. The online grant application will be accessible at the same site from 8 a.m. Monday, June 15, through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, June 21.
A business may apply for the We’re All In Small Business Grant if it:

• Was in business in February 2020. Businesses that started in 2020 are not eligible;
• Is Wisconsin-based and for-profit;
• Employs 20 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, including the owner; and
• Has more than $0 but less than $1 million in annual revenues.

Businesses will not be eligible for the grants if they are:

• Part of a national chain, unless the business is a third-party franchise;
• Industries covered by other Wisconsin CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund programs are ineligible for this program. These are:
  • Crop Production
  • Animal Production or Aquaculture
  • Lessors of Residential Buildings and Dwellings (https://doa.wi.gov/Pages/LocalGovtsGrants/COVID-Grants.aspx)

To prepare for the online application process, businesses should be ready to upload the following documents to the WEDC application:

• 2018 or 2019 federal tax return for business. (If you started your business in 2020, you are not eligible for this grant.)
• Signed W-9 form available at www.irs.gov
• An email or letter of acknowledgement from a community organization indicating your business was in operation in February 2020. Letters or emails can be from any of the following:
  • Chamber of commerce
  • Main Street or Connect Communities organization
  • Local business improvement district
  • Neighborhood economic development association
  • Local economic development organization
  • County economic development organization
  • Municipality, including tribal government
  • County
  • Local bank, credit union or community development financial institution
  • Regional UW Small Business Development Center
  • U.S Export Assistance Center - Wisconsin
  • Regional economic development organization
  • Regional Planning Commission
  • Trade association

 
Sample text for a letter or email can be found at wedc.org/WAI-Small-Business-Grant.
·         Three-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code that best fits their business. This information may be included in a business’s tax return, or through the NAICS website: https://www.naics.com/naics-code-description/.
 Grant recipients will become We’re All In businesses by pledging to safety protocols and using them in their shops, cafes and places of work to protect their customers, employees, and communities. This network of Main Street businesses will form the backbone of the broader We’re All In initiative, along with support from major Wisconsin businesses, communities and other associations to show support for best health and safety practices in the workplace.

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stremcha awarded with $1,000 scholarship from WESTconsin Credit Union

​Chippewa Valley, WI--WESTconsin Credit Union, an advocate for education, has recently awarded thirteen $1,000 scholarships to area high school seniors as part of the WESTconsin Scholarship Program. Recipients were selected based on a variety of criteria including community and school involvement, academic progress, financial need, career plans and goals.

Nathan Stremcha, Eau Claire North High School graduate, was the chosen scholarship recipient from the Eau Claire/Altoona/Chippewa Falls area. Stremcha will use the money to help fund his post-secondary education plans at University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, where he will be studying Soil and Land Management.
For over 23 years, WESTconsin has distributed over $296,000 to help support the higher education goals of area students. Scholarships are awarded annually to youth members from communities served by WESTconsin offices.
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WESTconsin Credit Union has been serving members since 1939, and membership is open to anyone who lives or works in the Wisconsin counties of Barron, Buffalo, Burnett, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Rusk, St. Croix, Sawyer, Taylor, Trempealeau, and Washburn, or the Minnesota counties of Anoka, Chisago, Dakota, Goodhue, Isanti, Ramsey, Wabasha, and Washington, with a $5 minimum deposit in a Membership Savings Account. Credit unions are financial institutions owned by their accountholders, and member funds are federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) up to at least $250,000.

Dietrich Awarded with $1,000 Scholarship

Western, WI--WESTconsin Credit Union, an advocate for education, has recently awarded thirteen $1,000 scholarships to area high school seniors as part of the WESTconsin Scholarship Program. Recipients were selected based on a variety of criteria including community and school involvement, academic progress, financial need, career plans and goals.

Rachel Dietrich, Menomonie High School graduate, was the chosen scholarship recipient for the Employee and Immediate Family Scholarship. WESTconsin Credit Union employs many high school students in their $MARTCU offices and office locations. Many of WESTconsin’s employees have graduating seniors each year, too. WESTconsin would like to recognize these student’s, who normally would not be eligible for the scholarship program.  Dietrich will use the money to help fund her post-secondary education plans at University of Minnesota-Duluth, where she will be studying Chemical Engineering.

For over 23 years, WESTconsin has distributed over $296,000 to help support the higher education goals of area students. Scholarships are awarded annually to youth members from communities served by WESTconsin offices.
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WESTconsin Credit Union has been serving members since 1939, and membership is open to anyone who lives or works in the Wisconsin counties of Barron, Buffalo, Burnett, Chippewa, Clark, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Rusk, St. Croix, Sawyer, Taylor, Trempealeau, and Washburn, or the Minnesota counties of Anoka, Chisago, Dakota, Goodhue, Isanti, Ramsey, Wabasha, and Washington, with a $5 minimum deposit in a Membership Savings Account. Credit unions are financial institutions owned by their accountholders, and member funds are federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) up to at least $250,000.

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Citizens State Bank Partners with UW-Eau Claire

Citizens State Bank has partnered with UW-Eau Claire.  The Bank has hired two graduates of the Spring 2020 class of UW-Eau Claire into full-time, permanent roles.  The Bank has multiple graduates from University of Wisconsin system colleges, with the majority being from UW-Eau Claire. 
 
Collin Kurcz was hired in January 2020 as a part-time Credit Analyst while finishing school.  With his graduation and a Business Economics degree, Collin is transitioning into a full-time role.  As a Credit Analyst, Collin is responsible for reviewing and analyzing financial information to assess risk.  While in school, Collin was actively engaged in collegiate groups including holding leadership positions.
 
Madeline Oliver was hired in March 2020 into an Accounting role.  With her degree in Accounting, she is responsible for a variety of accounting responsibilities including financial balancing and reporting.  The Bank recently created a stand-alone accounting department and, with this, Madeline will also be tasked with streamlining processes and creating efficiencies.  Madeline comes with not only educational experience, but previous accounting related work experience.
 
Tim Cruciani, President/CEO of Citizens State Bank and a 1984 UW-Eau Claire graduate, says, “I’m am pleased to have Collin and Madeline join an already great team!  I am also excited to develop a long-term relationship with the University of Wisconsin system colleges, especially my alma mater.  I look forward to the continued partnership and the high-level candidates they help develop for our communities.”
 
Through their educational pursuits, both graduates have gained applicable business knowledge as well as skills in critical thinking, leadership, and collaboration.  Citizens State Bank is proud of its continued partnership with UW-Eau Claire.  The Bank strongly believes that the university is molding future citizens for the community through exceptional educational experiences and a focus on strong character development.  Both Collin and Madeline are prime examples of the exemplary students and alumni of the University.  
 
Citizens State Bank was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Cadott, WI with locations in Chippewa Falls, Cornell, and Lake Wissota. 
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Prevea expands family medicine team in Rice Lake

Rice Lake – Prevea Health is pleased to welcome Bailey Yeager, PA-C, to its family of care in Rice Lake.

Bailey is a physician assistant specializing in family medicine. She provides routine care for children, adults and elderly; preventive medicine; medication management; patient education; women’s care and acute care. She grew up in the Town of Wascott, a small community located one mile north of Rice Lake.

“My passion for rural medicine stems from growing up in a small community,” said Bailey, who earned a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I want to make a difference for my patients and community of Rice Lake.”

​Appointments with Bailey at the Prevea Rice Lake Health Center, 1051 West Ave., can be made by calling (715) 719-0662. Patients can also schedule a video visit with Bailey. To learn more, visit: www.prevea.com