Langlade County Receives Forestry-linked Award At Board Meeting This Week

Langlade County has been honored for outstanding achievements in forestry education.
At this week’s meeting of the County Board, supervisors accepted the 2013 Chairman’s Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions in Forestry Education from Claudia Baker, executive director of the Lumberjack Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc.
The award was presented to Langlade County for its part in the development and creation of the Wood Technology Center of Excellence located at the Northcentral Technical College, where Tuesday’s meeting was held. The program is unique to the technical college system and not offered anywhere else in Wisconsin.
This modern facility, which is adjacent to the existing Northcentral Technical College, has approximately 27,000 square feet of classroom and wood labs. Students can earn a wood processes associate degree, wood manufacturing technical diploma or basic wood manufacturing certificate on state-of-the-art machinery.
“Langlade County saw a need and acted on it,” Baker said. “Their insight will provide a valuable asset to the community and the opportunity for employment within the forest industry on a local, state, national and global scale.”
Lumberjack Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc. is a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization established in 1968 under the authority of the federal Agriculture Act of 1962. The Council operates under the premise that local citizens, with coordinated assistance provided by cooperating local, state, and federal entities, can plan and carry out activities to address area resource conservation and development issues they have identified.
Counties involved with the Lumberjack RC&D Council are Oneida, Vilas, Forest, Florence, Shawano, Menominee, Oconto, Lincoln, and Langlade. It also includes the Forest County Potawatomi Community: Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians; Menominee Indian Reservation; Sokaogon Chippewa Community of Mole Lake; and Stockbridge Indian Reservation.

Following the presentation the December meeting followed by Chris Berry, the director of economic development, explaining recent gains and the program that has served the county well during 2013.
The resolutions segment of the meeting advanced with only one dissenting vote.
With a vote of 18-1, Supervisor Mike Klismoki opposed, the wage program for the Highway Department union was approved. It set starting salaries and steps for wage increases through 10 experience steps.
On a unanimous vote, the board approved a work plan for the forests which outlined the types of trees, the quantity and other factors including invasive species, reforestation, recreation and land purchases.
An advisory committee to help anticipate the rewriting of the farmland preservation and the water resources management plans was also approved without objection.

The land conservation budget will fund the meeting per diems.
Two zone changes were approved by supervisors.
One was filed by Michael and Lisa Sekeres for a change in the town of Peck from A-1 to A-2 classification.
The other came from Sherrell Steckbauer for a piece of land, also in the town of Peck.
She is seeking a switch from forestry to A-1.

Dave Solin, Langlade County Board chairman and supervisors accepts the 2013 Chairman’s Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions in Forestry Education award from Claudia Baker, executive director of Lumberjack Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc.