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• Outdoor furnaces create health hazard, says suit
• Opening weekend deer harvest shows 22 percent drop
• Pierce County Scoreboard

A rural Pierce County couple has filed a lawsuit against neighbors, claiming their wood-burning furnaces are polluting the neighborhood.

Andrea and Michael Wieland, N7637 330th St., Spring Valley, filed suit in Pierce County Court against Marlowe and Carol Anderson, N7590 330th St., Spring Valley, and Tom Tessier, N7500 330th St., Spring Valley.

The Wielands bought their home in May 1989. The suit says the house "is situated in a rural area, and they purchased it to enjoy the outdoors at their property and to use their property for agricultural production of nursery plants and hardwood timber."

According to the complaint, the Andersons installed and started using an outdoor boiler at their home in September 2005.

Tessier installed and began operating his outdoor wood burner in September 2006.

The wood-fired furnaces are housed in small insulated sheds apart from the houses. The sheds hold fireboxes for large loads of wood.

Each firebox is surrounded by a water jacket that is heated, the water cycles through the jacket and delivers hot water to the house.

The suit alleges the two boilers are causing "smoke and particle pollution to cross onto (the Wielands') property."

The Wielands say they can't keep their windows open and they sometimes have to wear respirators to help them breathe, making physical work difficult.

"Because operating their nursery and maintaining their woodlands requires (the Wielands) to be outside, staying inside when the smoke is heavy is not an option," according to the complaint.

According to the suit, Andrea has suffered and continues to suffer lung damage from the pollution, and the furnaces provide an on-going risk.

The complaint says the Department of Health and Family Services and the Pierce County Health Department have monitored the air quality in the neighborhood and it exceeds standards.

The suit alleges trespass, negligence and nuisance, saying the pollution is an invasion of the Wielands' property and interferes with use of the property.

The complaint also alleges the Andersons and Tessier should have known that the pollution would cross to the Wielands' property.

The suit asks for a permanent injunction stopping the defendants from using their furnaces; for compensatory damages for the loss of the value of their land, annoyance, inconvenience, discomfort, injury and future medical monitoring; and for punitive damages.

Results from opening weekend for Wisconsin's annual nine-day gun-deer hunt was dramatically lower than 2007.

Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources say a preliminary tally shows 133,828 deer were harvested this past weekend - a 22 percent drop from last year.

In conditions that varied from sub-zero to chilly and overcast on opening morning, hunters participating in the traditional November 9-day gun deer hunt registered a preliminary tally of 133,828 deer opening weekend, a 22 percent decrease from 2007.

Buck harvest statewide was down 25 percent and antlerless harvest declined 20 percent.

Officials with the state Department of Natural Resources stressed that this is a preliminary call-around tally that will change when all registration stubs are submitted by registration stations and entered into the department's registration data base.

In St. Croix County over the weekend 326 bucks were taken along with 692 anterless deer for a total of 1,108, compared to 1,417 last year.

Totals in Pierce County also dropped. There 689 bucks and 1238 anterless were taken for a total of 1,928 deer harvested. Last year the total was 2,340.

In Polk County, 1434 bucks and 2024 anterless deer were taken for a total of 3458, a drop from last year's total of 4,672.

Pepin County was the only county in the region that beat last year's totals.

Last year a total of 1,174 deer were harvested in the opening weekend there. This year 383 bucks along with 795 anterless brought the total harvest to 1,178.

Totals in Dunn County also dropped. There, a total of 2,787 deer were taken compared to 3,574 last year.

The number of deer harvested in Chippewa and Eau Claire counties also dropped.

Wildlife officials say several factors likely contributed to the lower count including lower deer numbers after several years of herd reduction strategies, very cold hunting conditions on opening morning in northern units, a late opening weekend that missed the peak of the rutting season, poor fawn recruitment this year, and tough winter conditions last year after a string of mild winters.

"Although this is a preliminary count, we may be seeing the result of a tough winter and several seasons designed bring deer numbers down. DNR staff across the state reported that hunters were seeing fewer deer and hearing fewer shots this year," said Keith Warnke, a DNR deer biologist.

He added that hunters are having a positive impact on lowering the overpopulation of deer in several areas.

Tuesday, November 25

Girls basketball

Prescott 74, Ellsworth 68; Spring Valley 46, Plum City 24; St. Croix Central 49, Elmwood 37