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• Pierce County panel looks into county's financial situation
• Packer Rundown: Harrell's out, Wynn No. 1 back, Thompson on new draft rules

By Judy Wiff, Regional Editor

A four-person panel will look into Pierce County's financial situation with an eye toward setting short- and long-term goals.

The county seems to have no financial goals or direction regarding its investments, said former County Board Member Greg Kerr, who advocated for the study when he served on the board.

He said the committee's final product will be an outline to develop a financial plan. Information will be collected from regional planning commissions, local economic development organizations, state departments, past studies and former consultants.

Last week, the finance and personnel committee appointed Kerr to the committee, which will also include Finance Director Julie Brickner, Supervisor Jim Camery and Bob Moore of Institutional Capital Management, the company handling the county's investments.

The financial planning team will be charged with tracking past budgets, studying the property tax base, comparing expenses, studying county demographics, predicting the need for services, looking at external factors affecting the county's economy and projecting growth in areas such as housing, commercial properties and population.

Kerr estimated the committee can complete its study in six months. He said a lot of the work can be done by phone or e-mail, so costs should be minimal.

County Board Chairman Paul Barkla asked for a final report next March.

Judy Wiff is the Regional Editor for the RiverTown Newspaper Group and can be contacted at regional@rivertowns.net or 715.426.1049.

By Wheeler News Service and RiverTown Newspaper Group

Green Bay Packers' first-round draft pick Justin Harrell will be out for two weeks and maybe longer after he sprained an ankle at practice on Tuesday.

Head Coach Mike McCarthy said an offensive tackle rolled onto the back of Harrell's legs and he's not sure how long the rookie defensive tackle will sit out.

It's the latest in a series of injuries for Harrell, who injured a knee at practice in late September and had a host of ailments in high school and college.

Harrell was just starting to work his way into the Packer defensive line rotation when his latest injury occurred.

He was inactive for the first four games and he played just eight snaps in Green Bay's last contest against Washington 12 days ago.

Meanwhile, McCarthy says starting defensive end Cullen Jenkins is not fully recovered from his leg injury against the Redskins.

If he can't play on Monday night at Denver, Corey Williams would most likely get the start.

There is some good news on the injury front for the defense as third-year pro defensive end Michael Montgomery returned to practice.

"He looks to be strong. He's going through a little bit of what Koren Robinson's going through, getting used to his pads and things like that. I think he looks good," said McCarthy.

He added that Montgomery has had some unfortunate injuries since the Packers picked him in the third round of the 2005 draft, but that he will be a definite plus.

"He's a good match-up for us on special teams. He's a young player that's really turning the corner. He just had some unfortunate injuries here the last two years," McCarthy said.

Wynn No. 1

Running back DeShawn Wynn, who had neck spasms this week, returned to practice Thursday and was named the Pack's No. 1 running back for now.

"He's in the No. 1 slot right now. He has an opportunity to take it and do something with it. We'll see what he can do," McCarthy said.

Thompson OK with Draft rule changes

Packers' General Manager Ted Thompson says the changes in next year's NFL Draft are fine with him.

Teams will have only 10 minutes instead of 15 to make their first round selections and they'll have seven minutes in the second round instead of 10.

The draft will start three hours later, at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday will start with the third round instead of the fourth.

Thompson said the NFL went out of their way to get the teams' opinions.

He said the first round has dragged on for some time and last year's six-hour-plus extravaganza was probably the last straw.

Thompson also expects some big changes in draft strategies in the middle rounds. That's because teams normally revamp their draft boards after the first day and they'll have five rounds to re-tool instead of four.