Sex offender to be released June 1

On 06/01/97, Wisconsin State Statute §301.45 – The Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Law came into effect. Prior to this legislation, individuals similar to the one listed in this bulletin were being released into communities with only law enforcement agencies being notified.

Based on this law, The Wisconsin Rapids Police Department, with the assistance of the Department of Corrections and the Wood County Sex Offender Classification Review Team is authorized to provide the following information to select areas of the community. Based on the law, neighbors, schools and businesses in the vicinity of the residence of the offender are being notified via this bulletin.

On June 5, 2012, the following person will be released and will reside at 1150 16th Street North Apt 1, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.

Antonio J. Chavez
Age: 26 (on 5/26/87)
Male/White
Height: 5’ 8”
Weight: 185
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Green

Marks: Tattoos: Left Hand- Party Dots; Left Shoulder – Rose w/ Mom, Heart Banner;
Upper Left Arm – EJC 11-14-05; Left Arm – “S.U.E.”; Left Chest – Heart Wind Flames,
Uncle Amadeo

Chavez was convicted of three (3) counts of Second Degree Sexual Assault of a Child (2006)

Offender Summary:

Chavez has been designated as a Level 3 Sex Offender. This is the highest classification of notification level in so far as a potential threat or danger to the community at large.

Chavez will be living at 1150 16th Street North Apt 1, Wisconsin Rapids. He is a lifetime registered sex offender and has a lifetime GPS monitor which will be in place upon release. Chavez is currently on Supervision with the Department of Corrections until 6/8/2015 and is required to follow the Sex Offender Registry and must be in constant compliance with all GPS monitoring rules.

Please understand the Wisconsin Rapids Police Department wants to create and maintain a safe community but we also understand the reality that people are released from prison and must be incorporated back into the community. Thank you for your anticipated understanding in this matter. State law forbids the harassment of released sex offenders.

Potter Wins a Big One at Golden Sands

by Mike Barrett

Cardell Potter opened up his career at another short track, but now adds Golden Sands as one of his favorites after winning the Memorial 100 today. A truly appreciative crowd gave Cardell a nice cheer after he led almost all 100 laps of the warm summer’s day event. Cloudy skies drizzled a couple of times, but the sun prevailed and 25 Late Model cars took the green behind Jeff Weinfurter and Kyle Genett and slowed only twice for cautionary laps. Potter’s restarts were clean and fast, and he came across the winner a full car length ahead of second place Mark Eswein. Eswein had his hands full early, with a feisty Corey Jankowski trying to force his way past. Jankowski settled for 3rd as Tanner Whitten defended his recent feature win by finishing 4th. Travis Sauter drove a good race to the 5th position, making his way from 13th at the start. Brandon Selle posted his second fast time at Plover, and finished 10th, 4 places ahead of his starting spot. Mark Mackesy was also notable, going from 17th to 8th in the 100 lap race.

The Mid American Racing Series visited, and James Swan made quick work of the field, watching the action in his mirror as he drove off. The 50 lap event also saw JeremySpoonmore in second, Lyle Nowak and Bill Prietzl deftly managing traffic to post 3rd and 4th as rookie Ryan Ferrell made the top 5.

Some Vintage racers took the fans back a few years as the likes of Charlie Schwock, Darrell Paasch, Jim Heiland and Darrel Basseuner too to the track in various dated and great looking cars. Jeff “Lightning” Fritz returned as well as Scott “Moldy” Moldenhauer. When all was done, Darrell Paasch found the checkered flag first.

Another visiting class, the American Super Cup Series came a dozen strong, and Ken Jones posted a 25 lap feature win.

Cruiser racers kept their event all green, and Wheelock and Kalata again picked up the win.

Lepinski and Bowen 2nd and Kampert and Kampert third was their finish.

This Friday the School’s Out NIght with BUS RACES will start a great weekend off, with Kids 12yrs & Under Get in FREE with paid Adult, & will receive a coupon for a GSS “No More School Lunch Combo Meal” for only $3!~ Fey Printing Paper Airplane Contest!

Race results are online at http://www.gssraces.com and Mike’s blog on Gorapids.com is Mondays, or Tuesdays on holiday weekends.

Wisconsin Flags at Half-Staff today

Effective at sunrise on Monday May 28th 2012, The Governor has directed that Federal and State Flags shall be flown at Half-Staff at all Buildings, Grounds, and Military Installations of the State of Wisconsin until Noon on that date as a Mark of Respect for This Memorial day in Honor of the Brave Men and Women of the Armed Forces who, throughout our Nation’s History, have laid down their lives in defense of the United States of America.

Everyone is encouraged to lower their flag as a Mark of Respect and do whatever they can do on Monday to Honor those that have and/or are serving.

UWIW Announces Program Funding for 2013

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI – The United Way of Inner Wisconsin Board of Directors approved a plan to distribute $517,013 for 2013 local programming in south Wood and Adams Counties during its May 16, 2012 meeting.

Funding was focused around the top community priorities identified by area Vision Councils. This focus is in accordance with United Way of Inner Wisconsin’s Community Impact Funding Model, and mission to identify and address our communities’ most vital human needs.

“This process is completely volunteer-driven,” said Tari Jahns, United Way of Inner Wisconsin’s CEO. “Over 100 volunteers invested over 400 volunteer hours in ensuring that our funding model is accountable, measureable and prioritized so we are addressing gaps in services. It is a lot of hard work for the volunteers but it is the best way to make the greatest impact with the dollars we have. This is especially difficult in years like this one, when we have less funds to allocate. There are more good causes than we have funding for,” said Jahns.

The annual Community Impact Process begins in January with the Vision Council meetings to prioritize the gaps in service. The Vision Council members include volunteers from local human service agencies, government agencies, health services, school districts, etc. The gaps in services – or goals – are ranked according to priority and could change each year.

In April, the volunteer Review Panels spend a significant amount of time visiting the partner programs and reviewing the program funding requests. They also listen to presentations from local programs who are applying for United Way funding. The Panels make their recommendations to the Community Impact Committee, who makes a final recommendation to the United Way of Inner Wisconsin Board of Directors.

The 2012 United Way campaign will begin September 1, 2012 and run until October 31, 2012. Funds raised in this year’s campaign will be used to fund the 2013 programs.

Wind Advisory Noon-7PM 20-30MPH

STRONG WINDS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON

DEEPENING LOW PRESSURE MOVING FROM NORTHERN IOWA TO NORTHWEST WISCONSIN WILL PRODUCE STRONG WINDS OVER CENTRAL AND NORTHCENTRAL WISCONSIN THIS AFTERNOON. SUSTAINED SOUTH WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH
ARE LIKELY WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH OR MORE POSSIBLE.

WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREEN BAY HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING.

* SOUTH WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH AT TIMES THIS AFTERNOON.

* THE WINDS MAY BLOW AROUND LIGHTWEIGHT OBJECTS AND COULD CAUSE ISOLATED TREE DAMAGE AND POWER OUTAGES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS

A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.

The DNR has elevated the Fire Danger to VERY HIGH and burning permits are SUSPENDED for today.

The Storm Prediction Center has our area listed as a Moderate Risk of Severe Storms for later today. Stay alert to changing conditions and stay tuned to local news media for updates.

Rotary scholarship available to post-high school students

Applications are now being accepted for a post-high school scholarship offered through Incourage Community Foundation.

The Wisconsin Rapids Sunrise Rotary Scholarship and Mentor Program was established this year by Wisconsin Rapids Rotary – Sunrise. Applicants must reside in the Wisconsin Rapids, Nekoosa, Port Edwards area school districts. Students must be a high school graduate or have earned an HSED or GED certificate as of fall 2012, demonstrate financial need and currently be experiencing socio-economic barriers to obtaining a higher education. Applicants must agree to participate in mentoring activities as determined by the Sunrise Rotary Club. These include attending a limited number of local Rotary meetings or activities such as job coaching, job shadowing, career exploration and/or other opportunities to build educational and career success.

The deadline for this scholarship is June 1. For more information about this scholarship, or an application form, visit http://incouragecf.org/for-students, or call the Community Foundation at 715.423.3863.

26th Annual Wisconsin Rapids Kickers Tournament

This year the 2012 Wisconsin Rapids Kickers Tournament hosts its 26th year as players, family and fans from throughout Wisconsin visit Wisconsin Rapids.

Nearly 50 teams will compete in the tournament on Saturday and Sunday, June 16 & 17, bringing in more than 1,500 players, family members and fans. Competing teams come from throughout the state including: Rhinelander, Neenah, Washington County, DeForest, Sun Prairie and the Fox Valley area.

We’d like to invite the public to come out and take in a soccer match or two. You’ll be amazed at the level of soccer these teams compete at. The tournament takes place at the Wisconsin Rapids Area Soccer Complex located at the corner of Washington and 32nd Streets. Youth ages 10-18 will compete in soccer matches, beginning Saturday morning at 8 a.m. and running until championship matches Sunday afternoon. Tournament parking and admission are free. Concessions will be available. Returning again is the basket raffle, featuring a themed basket created by each Kickers team.

Let’s play soccer!

Stuff the School Bus Announces Details For 2012 School Supply Drive

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI – Stuff the School Bus will be held on August 9, 2012 during Lunch by the River at Veteran’s Memorial Park, 11:30am – 1:00pm. There will be two buses parked during Lunch by the River and we’ll be “stuffing” it with donations of school supplies!

We are looking for businesses, churches, service organizations and clubs who are interested in being official drop off locations from July16 – August 9, 2012. Organizations who are official drop off locations can be listed on our web page at www.uwiw.org/stuff_the_bus.html and can also download materials such as signs and fliers. You can also “like” our Facebook Page.

If you can’t participate in a school supply drive, but wish to contribute, you can purchase school supplies and drop them off at one of the official drop off locations or at Lunch by the River on August 9th. Monetary donations and gift certificates are also accepted. Checks can be written to “Stuff the Bus/Stuff the Desk” and mailed to “Stuff the Bus/Stuff the Desk,” c/o United Way of Inner Wisconsin, 351 Oak Street, Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494.

We are looking for volunteers to distribute fliers, sort donations and help distribute the school supplies to needy children during the Stuff the Desk event. To learn more, visit www.uwiw.org/stuff_the_bus.html or call the Volunteer Center at 715-421-0390.

Stuff the Desk will be held Saturday, August 18, 2012 from 8am – 12pm at Lincoln High School, 1801 16th Street S., Wisconsin Rapids. Stuff the Desk is open to children and youth in grades 4k through 12th grade enrolled in Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools, the Port Edwards School District, the Nekoosa School District and surrounding south Wood County public and parochial schools. Any family who is in financial need qualifies.

Families simply need to attend Stuff the Desk, bring a canned food item (to be donated to local food pantries) and fill out an application. An application can also be downloaded from our web page. Children need not be present; we also encourage children to use backpacks for more than one year. Spanish and Hmong translators will be present.

Stuff the Desk will be held in conjunction with another Community Care Day that will be held on August 18th at Woodland’s Church from 10am – 2pm. Students can spend the day getting everything they need to start their school year right, starting with school supplies at Stuff the Desk, then clothing, haircuts, physicals, etc. during Community Care Day.

There is also a “Stuff the Bus” collection in Adams County on August 17, 2012.

For more information on both school supply drives, call United Way’s 2-1-1 by dialing 2-1-1 on your phone or cell phone (or directly at 715-423-0211).

Incourage announces summer hours

(Wisconsin Rapids, WI)  —  Beginning Friday, May 25, Incourage Community Foundation will change to its summer office hours schedule. During its summer schedule, the Incourage office will be open from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m.–noon on Fridays. Incourage’s summer hours run through Friday, August 31.

Riverview Offers Diabetes & Weight Control Workshop May 31

People with diabetes face unique weight control challenges. Often, weight control programs don’t accommodate these specific challenges.

Riverview Diabetes & Nutrition Center invites people with diabetes who wish to better control their weight to attend the “Diabetes & Weight Control” workshop. The workshop includes dietary assessment and instruction designed especially for people with diabetes. It is led by Rebecca White, RD, CDE, a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator with Riverview Diabetes & Nutrition Center.

“Diabetes & Weight Control” will be held Thursday, May 31, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at the Riverview Diabetes & Nutrition Center, 1041 Hill Street, Wisconsin Rapids. The cost of the workshop is covered by many insurance programs. For cost and registration information, please call 715-421-7566.