• News tips, submissions
• Questions, comments
• Contact webmaster

• Eagle Scout candidate plans extreme sign makeover
• Somerset survives concert weekend with minimal fuss
• Traffic enforcement heats up

By Laura Kruse, RiverTown Staff

The entrances to Roberts might be looking a little bit different by the end of the summer if Andrew Lathe has anything to do with it.

The St. Croix Central junior from Hammond plans to remake the welcome signs for his service project to become an Eagle Scout.

He's on his way after attaining approval from the Village Board at their last meeting.

Board President Erik Fisher said Lathe will be replacing two of the signs. The one on the north end of town was damaged and the Village had planned to replace it soon anyway. The other sign is in need of a makeover.

Fisher said he's pleased that Lathe had undertaken this task.

"The signs are in need of updating. Also it's a good thing the community can do for the Scouts," he said.

Lathe said he wanted to change the signs because it sounded challenging but not too expensive.

Also, he added, "it helps out the community."

In remaking the signs, Lathe plans to use new boards with new writing but will keep much of the same information on them, including that Roberts is home the 1985 State Football Champs.

Some changes he's considering are including some of the Village's businesses on the poles, like the 4H logo is currently.

Lathe figures re-doing the sign on the north side will cost around $300. The second one would only cost about $75 because he'll already have the materials and he'll reuse the existing poles.

To fund the project, Lathe is looking for donations from the community. People interested in donating can call Lathe at 796-2497 or the Village Hall at 749-3126.

Lathe wants to start the signs soon and plans to have them done by the end of the summer.

Fisher, who is also the Assistant Scout Master to Lathe's troop, isn't worried about Lathe getting the project done -- he knows it will be finished.

He said, "Andrew is a young man who puts himself forward in everything he does. He'll do a wonderful job."

By Julia Ybarra-Young, RiverTown Staff

The concert weekend is over.

After two major concerts spread over four days, the community of Somerset is settling back to its 2,500+ population.

In its inaugural year, Country Splash boasted several big-name country music acts.

Kelly Montpetit, co-owner and office manager of Float-Rite concert site, had said they anticipated between 15,000-20,000 people.

As of Monday afternoon, the actual numbers were not available.

"The numbers were great," Float-Rite owner John Montpetit said. "I'm sure we hit between 15,000-20,000 over those three days."

According to police reports, there were approximately 16 underage possession/consumption violations and two disorderly conduct citations given at the concert site over the three-day event. Chief Doug Briggs said that it went pretty smoothly for the residents.

"We did have an issue with concert goers parking adjacent to the concert grounds," Chief Briggs said. "We'll address that for the next concert."

Briggs said that anyone who has comments or suggestions for improvement for the next event should contact the Somerset police department at 247-3319 or leave a message on the department Web site at www.somersetpolicedept.com.

"We'll hold meeting with the concert promoters as well, but we really like public input," Briggs said.

River's Edge, which hosted Jack Johnson's Sunday, June 22, concert drew unexpected numbers of people.

Bill Raleigh said they were anticipated 13,000 concert attendees. However, according to St. Croix County Sheriff Dennis Hillstead, the actual number was closer to 18,000.

"We were somewhat surprised, but we had adequate staff and it was fairly calm," Hillstead said, mentioning there were only about four or five citations given over the one-day event.

Traffic had been a concern, but Hillstead said even that was not a big problem.

"At the closing, it did take about an hour longer to leave because we had planned for about 12,000," Hillstead explained. "But there were no incidents that I was aware of. It seemed like a good group of people."

As part of the Summer Heat mobilization on to deter speeding and aggressive driving on I-94, the Eau Claire County Sheriff's Office, Dunn County Sheriff's Department, St. Croix Sheriff's Department, Hudson Police Department, and the Wisconsin State Patrol will be out in force on Wednesday, July 2, to intensify their traffic enforcement efforts.

"As we approach the heavily traveled Fourth of July holiday period, the Summer Heat mobilization will strive to get drivers on I-94 to comply voluntarily with traffic laws to reduce crashes that cause deaths and serious injuries," says Dennis Hughes, Chief of safety programs for the State Patrol Bureau of Transportation Safety. "However, if voluntary compliance fails, officers who will be patrolling in greater numbers and for longer hours on the I-94 corridor will be prepared to ticket speeders and other violators."

Speed-related crashes in Wisconsin kill or injure someone every 51 minutes.

Speeding is not only deadly; it's all too prevalent. In 2007, there were nearly one-quarter million speeding convictions in Wisconsin including more than 145,000 for 11 to 19 mph over the posted limit, according to Wisconsin Department of Transportation statistics.