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• New WITC president says school's future looks good
• Two claims filed with New Richmond School District
• St. Croix Riverway names new superintendent
• Land Trust looks to purchase land in Town of Somerset

By Jeff Holmquist, RiverTown Staff

At a time when the national and regional economy is skidding, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College in New Richmond is flourishing.

As students returned last week for fall classes, WITC officials reported that the post-secondary facility is full because of their popular programs.

And the future at WITC remains bright despite gloomy economic news because industries are looking for skilled workers to replace Baby Boomers who will be retiring in the next few years.

The positive news was echoed by newly hired WITC president Dr. Robert Meyer, who was in New Richmond on the first day of classes to greet students, talk with faculty and communicate with regional business leaders about the school's goal to create partnerships.

Meyer, who began his presidency on July 1, comes to the WITC campus system by way of the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie. He was most recently that school's director of Technology Transfer Institute.

After 27 years teaching and serving as an administrator in the university setting, Meyer said the chance to lead WITC was attractive.

"I saw it as an opportunity to grow (personally) and to help WITC achieve some of their aspirations," he said. "It was a pretty natural step for me."

Meyer said WITC's mission, like Stout's, is to work closely with local industries to tailor programs to meet work force needs.

Stout's and WITC's process for meeting those needs is through hands-on learning and targeted instruction, Meyer said.

Meyer said he is visiting each WITC campus to get a feel for each community and to gather feedback on what the schools are doing right and on what opportunities remain untapped. WITC has campuses in New Richmond, Ashland, Superior and Rice Lake.

Once the feedback is gathered, Meyer said he will meet with the WITC Board of Trustees to fine tune the system's strategic plans. The updated plan should be adopted by July of next year.

Among the initiatives that will likely result is a greater emphasis on marketing the programs of WITC to high schoolers who are studying their post-secondary options.

"We need to make students aware of the tremendous opportunities that exist here," he said.

No longer are technical colleges geared toward the "dirty, dull and dangerous" jobs, Meyer said.

New WITC graduates often lead to high-paying, high-tech jobs with great potential for advancement.

"We have to let the light shine out from under the bushel basket," Meyer said of WITC's need to get the word out.

Meyer said manufacturing jobs are also abundant, contrary to many reports.

Wisconsin lost 80,000 manufacturing jobs immediately after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Meyer admitted, but 50,000 of those jobs returned to the state's economy within the next year.

"And the jobs that are returning are the higher-paying, sophisticated jobs," he said. "You never heard the rest of the story."

With the growing demand for skilled workers, Meyer said campuses like New Richmond are well positioned for the future. Finding enough space for all the new students is a challenge, however.

The WITC Board will be discussing possible expansion of the local school as space is used up, Meyer said.

Trouble is, the Wisconsin Legislature has capped the amount technical colleges can spend for capital improvement projects at $1 million annually. That's far below the $2.8 million expansion the New Richmond campus needs to meet the needs of its growing student body, Meyer said.

He said WITC officials will work closely with state and federal officials to try and accomplish a building project in the near future, but there are no guarantees as the national economy continues to languish.

"How do we accomplish those goals when limited resources are available?" he asked. "We don't have an answer to those issues yet, but we're working on it."

One thing working in the campus's favor is a planned meeting of the Wisconsin Technical College System's Board of Directors in New Richmond Sept. 9-10.

Meyer said the Board will be able to see first-hand the crowded quarters at the local WITC campus.

During his visit, Meyer met with business leaders in the morning, then made a presentation to the Rotary Club of New Richmond's noon meeting.

He then conducted a Public Forum in the afternoon to gather as much input as he could.

By Gail Winship, RiverTown Staf

In just about a week's time, New Richmond School District Administrator Morrie Veilleux was notified of two separate claims being filed against the School District.

One is from a former employee who claims to have been wrongfully terminated and the other is from former District Superintendant Dr. Craig Hitchens regarding details surrounding his retirement package.

The first claim received by the School District is dated July 29 and was filed by attorney Carol Dittmar on behalf of her client Bruce Berglund, Osceola.

Berglund was formerly employed by the District as the director of Information Technology. His claim states that on Feb. 8, he was put on paid administrative leave due to suspicions that he was sabotaging the District's computer network. He was also advised on that date that an investigation would be conducted immediately.

Berglund's claim further states that on March 10, he was advised by the District Administrator that the investigations proved the suspicions were groundless, but they wanted Berglund to provide a proposal for his resignation.

The claim says that the proposal was rejected by the District and he was then advised by a memo dated April 1, 2008, to return to work on April 7 and perform duties equivalent to that of an entry-level computer technician wth no administrative or supervisory duties.

The claim continues that because Berglund was under an employment contract, which ran from July 1, 2007 until June 30, 2009 and because the District failed to non-renew the contract by Jan. 31, 2008, the term did not end until June 30, 2010.

Since Berglund's duties were reassigned unilaterally to that of an entry level computer technician, the claim states that the District, in effect, "constructively terminated Mr. Berglund's contract."

Berglund is suing the District for past and future lost wages and benefits not to exceed $250,000; emotional distress damages not expected to exceed $1 million; punitive damages not expected to exceed $1 million; and reasonable attorney's fees incurred to enforce the rights violated by the District in an amount not expected to exceed $200,000, depending on the nature and extent of future proceedings.

Get more on this story on the New Richmond News Web site (www.newrichmond-news.com).

Christopher Stein has been selected as the new superintendent for Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, St. Croix Falls.

Currently the Chief of Interpretation and Education at Yosemite National Park, Calif., he will begin the new assignment Oct. 19. Stein replaces Tom Bradley, who is now superintendent at Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Mo.

In announcing the appointment, Ernest Quintana, regional director of the National Park Service (NPS) Midwest Region, stated, "Chris' strong background in developing partnerships with the private sector, local, regional, and national groups, and other Federal Agencies, as well as foreign governments, will serve him very well in this new assignment. We look forward to welcoming him as a part of our Midwest management team."

A 28-year veteran of Federal service, Stein began his career first as a seasonal park ranger at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, N.Y., then at Fire Island National Seashore, also in New York. His first permanent position came in 1981, as a park ranger at Minute Man National Historical Park, Mass. Stein became supervisory park ranger and public affairs officer at Boston National Historical Park, also in Massachusetts, in 1984 before returning to New York as chief ranger at Gateway National Recreation Area.

In 1991, a return to Massachusetts as chief ranger and public affairs officer at Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor preceded a move by Stein to the position of superintendent at the National Park of American Samoa.

Stein returned to the continental U.S. to serve as chief of resource education at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tenn., before he assumed his current position in 2002. During his tenure at Yosemite, Stein has had acting assignments as administrative officer at Yosemite and as superintendent at Nez Perce National Historical Park, Idaho.

A detail opportunity to serve as coordinator of a "Children in Nature" initiative brought him to Washington, D.C., for four months early in 2008. Prior to his Federal service, Stein held seasonal and permanent park ranger positions in three state park areas in Utah -- Dead Horse Point State Park, Bear Lake State Recreation Area, and Goblin Valley State Reserve.

Stein said of his new assignment, "I am thrilled to be given this great opportunity at such an important American river system. It can be said that the whole way we view rivers made a tremendous shift in 1968 when the U.S. Congress passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and established Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway as one of the first river systems protected by the Act. This is truly an honor to be given one of the leadership positions at such a special place. I am eagerly looking forward to meeting and working with park staff, volunteers, partners, and community members to help protect the nationally significant natural, cultural, and recreational resources of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. I look forward to getting back into a canoe again, and my wife, Meryl, is eagerly looking forward to kayaking."

Stein, a Uniondale, Long Island, N.Y., native, graduated from Utah State University as valedictorian, with a bachelor of science degree in park management.

His wife, Meryl Rose, is an NPS Ecologist at Yosemite. The Steins have three grown sons -- Jeremy, 30; Matthew, 27; and Gregory, 25 -- and two grandsons, and, in the next couple of months, will welcome a little girl from China into their lives.

St. Croix National Scenic Riverway includes the Namekagon and St. Croix Rivers and flows 252 miles through some of the most undeveloped country in the upper Midwest. The upper 200 miles offer superb canoeing and camping.

Power boating is popular on the lower river, which is wider, deeper, and slower. The riverway is flanked by several state parks and, in addition to boating and camping, visitors enjoy fishing, hiking, and wildlife viewing in the area, renowned for spectacular scenery.

The states of Minnesota and Wisconsin manage the lower 25 miles of the St. Croix River to its confluence with the Mississippi River. The 92,735-acre park was authorized Oct. 2, 1968.

The West Wisconsin Land Trust wants to purchase approximately 316 acres of land in the Town of Somerset and has applied for a 50 percent matching grant from the state's Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program to help make the purchase.

According to officials with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the property includes approximately 1,300 feet of St. Croix River frontage.

The property will be left in its natural state and will be open to the public for low-impact recreational activities including hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking, cross-county skiing, snowshoeing and nature appreciation.

DNR officials say public comments on the proposed purchase will be accepted through Sept. 18.

Comments can be sent to Karen Blodgett, Community Services Specialist, P.O. Box 4001, Eau Claire, WI 54702-4001; call 715- 836-6574; or send e-mail to karen.blodgett@wisconsin.gov.