24 • “The Community Spirit”
February 2010
(ANB, from page 23)
Support the Foundation’s goals of helping people,
enhancing education, enriching arts and culture, contributing
to wellness, and improving the environment.
Respond to current and emerging needs or gaps of
services in Central Wisconsin.
Demonstrate an ongoing and/or increasing need in the
community; provide documentation for the inception of a
new program or project that is needed and not replicated in
the community; strengthen volunteer participation and citizen
involvement in community concerns.
The Community Foundation annually distributes over
$322,000 through its various Scholarship, Mission and Donor
Advised Funds. Grant awards are announced each June.
An application is required. The deadline for all 2010 grant
applications is March 1, 2009.
Complete information and grant applications can
be found on the Foundation’s website at www.cfcwi.
org or by contacting the Community Foundation office at
715.342.4454.
2010 Stevens Point area
visitors guide available now
The official 2010 Stevens Point Area Visitors Guide
is available now, free of charge. The annual publication is
produced by the Stevens Point Area Convention & Visitors
Bureau (SPACVB) to promote Portage County tourism.
The 2010 Stevens Point Area Visitors Guide features
a new larger area map, with detailed key, as well as new
editorial copy featuring the area’s attractions, events, and
points of interest. As the area’s most comprehensive visitor
publication, it includes information on area accommodations,
dining, shopping, attractions, calendar of events, community
services, and places of worship. The guide serves as a
planning resource to area visitors, convention attendees, and
sporting event attendees as well as local residents. Nearly
50,000 of these guides will be distributed in 2010 throughout
Wisconsin and the Midwest.
The visitors guide is available for download on the
SPACVB Web site, www.stevenspointarea.com. Additional
resources for Portage County are also available online or at
the Visitor Information Center, 340 Division Street North,
Stevens Point.
UWSP bringing ‘green’ to the table
It may be white outside but dining areas at the University
of Wisconsin-Stevens Point are a little “greener” this winter
thanks to area farmers and a variety of sustainability efforts.
In November, UWSP University Dining Services (UDS)
began a partnership with Heath Farms of Coloma in a trial
program that provides fresh greenhouse-grown greens to
DeBot Dining Center and the Dreyfus University Center food
court for use in salads and other items throughout the winter
months.
“Very few universities are utilizing greenhouses in the
winter,” says Mark Hayes, UDS director. “We are buying
everything they are growing and using all we can.”
The farm is only 36 miles away, he adds, while
California produce sources are 2000 miles away, so
transportation costs and fuel use is reduced while supporting
local farmers and providing the freshest produce available.
Heath Farms, managed by 1991 UWSP alumna Debbie
Hagedom, approached UWSP with the idea of buying the
greenhouse items. Much of the greens are harvested in the
morning and delivered in the early afternoon, bringing fresh
spring mixes, arugula and leaf lettuces to students, staff and
faculty at UWSP. Depending on this year’s results, the farm
might expand to offering fresh herbs as well next year.
“We’re hoping it works out to be a long-term benefit for
both of us,” says Hayes.
UDS is environmentally sustainable in a variety of
other ways. Last summer UWSP began the full use of
biodegradable utensils, cups, straws and paper plates. At
DeBot Dining Center, trays are not used over the weekends,
reducing food waste, chemical use, and utility use. Only
flavored bottled water is offered on campus, and UDS is
working on ways to reduce the use of other beverages in
plastic bottles.
“It takes more energy to recycle plastic,” says Hayes, “so
we’re hoping to primarily move to aluminum cans in vending
and retail areas.”
In addition to the Heath Farms’ produce, UDS purchases
a variety of organic potatoes, carrots, and squash from
Malek Family Farms in Rosholt and baked goods from the
Earthcrust Bakery through the Stevens Point Co-op. Specialty
items such as bison and ostrich are acquired from local farms
for special dining events. UDS has finalized partnerships
with Red Barn Dairy, located near Appleton, to provide the
university with hormone free milk as well as one with Laura
Jean’s, a Waterford ice cream maker.
UWSP closer to finding
its 14th chancellor
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is one step
closer to finding its 14th chancellor, as the 19-member search
committee has begun reviewing applications, according to
committee chair Professor Neil Heywood.
“This is a big milestone,” said Heywood. “We are now
in the phase of considering applicants according to our
anticipated sequence of events.”
Although review of candidates has commenced,
applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
The search and screen committee, composed of staff
members, students, administrators and prominent alumni, was
charged with its task by UW System President Kevin Reilly
on October 28, 2009, and is being assisted by the consulting
firm RPA, Inc.
The coming weeks will include choosing a pool of 10
to 12 semifinalists for interviews that will be conducted off
campus. Five finalists will be named by Reilly in March for
on-campus interviews. Until that time, the search committee
and search firm will maintain the confidentiality of all
candidates in order to ensure the integrity of the search
process.
The Board of Regents will meet in May to approve the
final candidate selection, and the anticipated start date of the
new chancellor is July 1.
For more information about the search, visit www.uwsp.
edu/equity/cssc.
Portage County releases
hunger and poverty numbers
The Portage County Hunger Poverty Partnership recently
released their hunger and poverty indicators for the 4th
quarter of 2009:
The Salvation Army served 4,574 meals.
St. Vincent De Paul served 1876 families.
Second Harvest (now Interfaith Food Pantry of Portage
County) served 685 families.
House of Peace served 400 meals.
Mobile Pantry served 158 individuals
Catholic Charities served 77 meals.
For more information on hunger and poverty issues, go to
www.hppp-pc.org and see how you can help.
Business Council presents award
Rick Flugaur, partner in the Stevens Point law firm of
Anderson, O’Brien, Bertz, Skrenes & Golla, received the
2009 President’s Award from the Portage County Business
Council (PCBC). Flugaur was honored at the Business
Council’s Annual Dinner in January.
Pam Jewell, 2009 PCBC Board President selected
Flugaur because of his spirit of cooperation and commitment
to the business council, which focuses on the areas of
business, community, employee, and student development
to strengthen our area’s quality of life and business climate.
In announcing his selection, Jewell said, “Flugaur’s
efforts have helped the Business Council and the Business
Council Foundation achieve a high degree of success in our
community through his compassion to the organization and
its mission. When called upon numerous times to serve, Rick
has not only answered the call, but brought a unique blend of
character, integrity, and reason to many issues.”
Flugaur is currently a Board Member and Corporate
Counsel of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Foundation and a Board member and 2010 President of
the Portage County Business Council. His community
involvement over the years has included Saint Michael’s
Foundation Board of Directors and President, Stevens Point
Area YMCA Board of Directors and President, United
Way of Portage County Board of Directors and President,
St. Stephen’s Parish Endowment Fund Board of Trustees,
Stevens Point Area Catholic Schools Development and
Advisory Council Member, North Central Charter of CPA’s
Board of Directors and President and the Central Wisconsin
Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors and Treasurer. He
also serves as a Youth Baseball and Basketball Coach.
Flugaur is a lifetime resident of the Stevens Point
area. He is a 1980 graduate of Pacelli High School, and
he graduated with honors from UW-Stevens Point in
1984 and from UW Law School in 1987. Rick is also a
licensed Certified Public Accountant and is a member of
the Wisconsin Institute of CPAs. After graduating from law
school, he started with the Anderson firm in June of 1987
and became a partner in the law firm in July of 1993. His law
practice is concentrated in general business law, taxation, real
estate transactions, estate planning and estate settlements.
Rick is married to Lesa Flugaur. They have three
children, sons Ryan and Troy and daughter Lindsey. “We
enjoy spending time together as a family,” Rick says. “We all
enjoy the outdoors so we spend a large share of our summer
evenings enjoying baseball, fishing, swimming, bike riding
and camping activities. I feel very fortunate to be able to
practice law in the community where I grew up. Having had
an opportunity to be part of the community for many years,
I knew that central Wisconsin would be a wonderful place to
practice law and raise a family.”
Parent Project Fund assists parents
with difficult teens
The Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin
welcomes The Parent Project Fund to its family of funds. A
charter agreement was recently signed to establish this new
fund at the Community Foundation.
The Parent Project is a nationally recognized program
that helps parents with difficult or out-of-control adolescents,
and provides character-building lessons for teens. “Classes
will be offered for parents and teens in Portage and Wood
Counties, and gifts to the fund are used to offset expenses of
the program,” said Terry Rothmann, Executive Director.
Contributions to this fund, or to the Community
Foundation, are always welcome. Gifts can be forwarded to
the Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin, PO Box
968, Stevens Point, WI 54481. Be sure to designate which
fund your gift should be directed to. Fund advisors are
notified as contributions are made to their funds.
Established in 1982, the Community Foundation brings
people and organizations together to enhance charitable
giving that is responsive to local needs. Donations to
community mission funds, donor advised funds and
scholarship funds help us make Central Wisconsin a better
place in which to grow, to work, to play and to retire—
by helping people, enhancing education, enriching arts
and culture, contributing to wellness and improving the
environment. For more information, please contact the
Community Foundation at 715.342.4454 or visit us at www.
cfcwi.org.
UWSP students are national
collegiate bass fishing champions
To call Logan Bliss and Cody Salzmann the “Big Fish”
on the UW-Stevens Point campus would be pretty close to
accurate.
Bliss of Cottage Grove and Salzmann of Dickeyville are
national champions of the first tournament of the 2010 Boat
U.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship Series held last
month in Texas.
Bliss and Salzmann, both fisheries and water resources
majors, were declared the winners of the Stephen F. Austin
State University (SFA) Bucketmouth Bass Tournament over
the next closest competitors representing Lamar University.
The winners each received a $500 scholarship and also won
all four contingency awards from Abu Garcia Big Bass,
Berkley Big Bag, Costa Big Bass, and Cabela’s Angler Cash.
Bliss is a junior and a 2007 graduate of Monona Grove
High School. Salzmann is a senior and a 2006 graduate of
Cuba City High School. Two other students, Joe Marty of
Manitowoc and Casey Kamiecik of Peshtigo also represented
UWSP.
“We drove all day to get to Texas without a wink of sleep
and then dived right into the tournament,” said Bliss and
Salzmann. “Winning this event was awesome and we both
are grateful for support from UWSP, our families, and the
SFA bass team.”
The two-day competition was the first of four
tournaments and was sanctioned by the Association of
Collegiate Anglers.
A booming success for the prairie
chicken in Wisconsin
The Conservation Fund recently announced the
preservation of two tracts of prime grassland habitat—
totaling 883 acres—that lie adjacent to the Buena Vista
Wildlife Area in the state’s last stronghold of the famed
Greater Prairie-chicken. The Conservation Fund purchased
the land from Blue Top Farms, Inc. and plans to transfer
ownership to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) to manage as habitat for a variety of grassland birds.
“We’re thankful to our partners—Dane County
Conservation League, Golden Sands Resource Conservation
& Development Council, Inc., Portage County Land
Preservation Fund and the Wisconsin DNR—for their
involvement in this project,” said Peg Kohring, Midwest
director of The Conservation Fund. “No one group alone
could acquire the property, but by working together we have
made this a huge success.”
Populations of Greater Prairie-chickens have declined to
near extinction over the past century due to the conversion
of grassland to forestland and farmland. They once inhabited
every county in Wisconsin but are now be found in only six
counties in the central part of the state. Some habitat within
those counties is already preserved through four DNRowned wildlife management areas, including the Buena Vista
Wildlife Area, but these protected lands are scattered and
unconnected, leaving the Prairie-chicken isolated, vulnerable
and unable to safely move between protected areas to mate.
The plight of the prairie chicken has brought together
landowners, public agencies and conservation groups in a
widespread effort to protect grassland habitat.
UWSP researcher joins international
expedition team in Antarctica
A University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP)
researcher traveled to King George Island, Antarctica, in
mid-January to join an international expedition team in the
southern polar region.
Les Werner, associate professor of urban forestry, joined
about 20 research scientists and students from the United
States, Denmark, Norway, and Russia, based at the Russian
research station Bellingshausen during the Antarctic summer
(January). The team will be immersed in polar research in
climate change, marine biology, microbiology, and glacial
geology.
“My particular research interests, which will be
implemented during the 2010 stay, focus on changes in
carbon emissions from soil resulting from deglaciation,” said
Werner. “In addition, I will attempt to relate carbon fluxes
from the soils to the type/form of soil carbon and fingerprints
of the soil microbial communities.”
According to Werner, his polar research immersion field
seminar will include investigating potential collaborative
research efforts with an emphasis on international and
interdisciplinary partnerships; strengthening and expanding
his knowledge base in soil development, soil processes, and
nutrient cycling in the region; increasing his understanding
of climate change on ecosystem processes; and identifying
and establishing future learning opportunities for himself and
other UWSP faculty members and students.