On Saturday, February 9, the 2007 Altoona Fire Department Awards Banquet was held at the Eau Claire Country Club in Altoona. Mayor Tom Meyer spoke at the event, which recognized several Altoona residents for their outstanding firefighting efforts throughout the year.

Read the rest of this entry »

When school is out for the summer, many families find it challenging to balance work schedules while providing safe activities for their children’s free time. The Real Adventures in Learning program began after the Parks & Recreation Department was told during budget meetings that the youth programs would need to be funded totally by participant fees.

Read the rest of this entry »

CORBA, the Chippewa Off Road Bike Association, is a local group dedicated to promoting mountain biking opportunities throughout the Chippewa Valley. CORBA was organized in 2005 and achieved non-profit status in 2006. As a community-based partner, CORBA works closely with land managers and the county to build and maintain trails and thus serves as a bridge between the community and the local government. Read the rest of this entry »

The Ski Sprites will have their final ski show of the season on Labor Day, Monday, September 3, with activities starting at noon.
There will be a trail kick-off event that will have some fun formalities at the corner of Lake Road and 10th Street West.
There will be a “Bike to the Beach, Stroll to the Sprites” trail activity. Matt Wahl will be on stage at the beach performing from 12:30-2:00 p.m. Wahl is a Wisconsin native who performs acoustic music.
Concessions will be on sale and there are 30 different prizes for the raffles that will take place all day long, including a $250 cash prize.
The final ski show will start at 2:00 and will feature alumni skiers as well as the current Ski Sprites team.
Ski Sprites, Matt Oakland, Rick Lafave, Ben Oakland, Sophie Elvig, Katie Weber and Abbie Brown are pictured above.
The Ski Sprites’ performing season is Memorial Day through Labor Day. The team prepares for the performing season throughout the year.
For more information on the Ski Sprites, visit their website at http://www.skisprites.com/html.

The Altoona City Council approved bow hunting on private land within the City of Altoona. It is also stated that the land must be a minimum of one acre in order for bow hunting to take place.
Some other requirements that are necessary to qualify to receive a bow permit are: the hunters must present to the city written permission from the landowner of the parcel of land which he or she will be hunting on and the hunter must also provide written permission from the adjoining landowners.
The hunter must also present a current Wisconsin bow license when applying for the permit.
You may apply for a permit at the Altoona City Hall, located at 1303 Lynn Avenue. Permits are valid August 18, 2007 to November 15, 2007 and November 26, 2007 to January 6, 2008.

The opening of the recreational trail on Lake Road in Altoona takes place on September 3. This trail starts at Lake Altoona County Park and extends west to the existing trail at 10th Street West.Altoona Outdoors is a non-profit group that is splitting the $210,000 cost of the trail with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Altoona Outdoors will be holding a trail-opening ceremony on Lake Road and 10th Street West at noon on Labor Day, followed by walking and biking events.Dave Elvig, president of Altoona Outdoors, invites all community members to bike to the Ski Sprites’ season finale. “This will be a fun opportunity,” he said. “Families can attend the opening event, bike the new trail, and attend the Labor Day Ski Sprites show at Lake Altoona at 2:00.”Lake Altoona is the new home of the Ski Sprites, who had been performing at Half Moon Lake in Eau Claire for the last 46 years. Musician Matt Wahl will entertain people arriving at the beach for an hour and a half before the show. The Ski Sprites are holding a raffle at this special show as well.Altoona Outdoors is also planning more major trail segments for 2008, when they hope to complete the 15-mile loop. The organization is collecting donations to complete the new trails next year. Altoona Outdoors also is working on the Lake Road Trail, which is roughly two miles long and is being constructed as a 10-foot-wide asphalt trail on the south side of the road. It is entirely within the city of Altoona’s street right-of-way.The Altoona Beach Access Trail from Lake Road down the hill to the beach is being rehabilitated with funding from the city of Altoona, the DNR, and Altoona Outdoors.Another project Altoona Outdoors has planned is a joint Department of Transportation-City of Eau Claire project slated for 2008. The project is a part of the Clairemont Avenue reconstruction and includes an off-street trail on the north side of Clairemont Avenue in Eau Claire.The Eastside Loop around the east side of the Altoona will cost $290,000. 80 percent of the funding will be done by the DOT. Altoona Outdoors is spearheading the matching funds. Trail construction is slated for the summer of 2008. The trail will connect Lake Road’s east end to downtown Altoona, running along South Beach Road, across the railroad tracks at County KB and SS, and into Altoona on Bartlett Avenue.

More information can be found at www.altoonaoutdoors.org.

A lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, July 25, against Eau Claire County for noise and unwillingness to make changes at an area shooting range.The controversy involves Big Falls County Park, which is owned by Eau Claire County and located within the 52,000-acre Eau Claire County Forest. Ten plaintiffs are seeking the closing and cleaning up of gravel pits commonly used as a shooting range off Highway K in the town of Lincoln. The group of plaintiffs said they had warned the county earlier this year that they would file suit if the situation at the shooting range did not change.The basis of the suit is that people firing weapons on the land near the plaintiffs’ property are a form of disorderly conduct and the county is failing to enforce the law. Beaver Creek Reserve volunteer Tony Schuster and Altoona resident Amy Britten are among several others, including Bert and Susan Moritz, Douglas Rees, and Steven Weiss, who have all joined the lawsuit against Eau Claire County. Landowners near the shooting range agreed that the shooting and activity on the range greatly hinders the enjoyment they can have on their land. They feel the change is necessary.The county and the Department of Natural Resources have plans in progress to create a more formal shooting range with two designated firing lanes for the shooters. The DNR is seeking public comment on an environmental assessment for the proposed development of a new three-acre shooting range within a former six-acre sand pit near the village of Fall Creek in central Eau Claire County.The proposed range site plan calls for two shooting lanes with side and back berms consistent with the National Rifle Association-approved design standards, two graveled nine-vehicle parking areas, walkways, shooting benches, and signs. Local volunteers would operate and maintain the range according to pre-agreed conditions, including free public daytime access year-round, grass mowing, litter control etc. The county and the DNR said that all plans for proposed changes are on hold due to the lawsuit.

Hundreds of youth in Altoona stayed active and learning this summer as part of a six-week program for kindergartners through sixth-graders at Pedersen Elementary School.

The R.A.I.L. summer camp program concluded its second year on Friday, August 3, averaging about 175 students for each of its three two-week sessions, and according to the participants, it was a major success.

“I’m going to lie about my age so I can keep coming (after sixth grade),” said fourth-grader KaSandra Springer. “It’s really fun here.”

The campers participated in up to four activities each day, with a long list to choose from, such as “Making Music”, “Outdoor Skills”, “Super Science”, “Fun with Food”, and “A Walk in the Andes”.

“It went really well,” said Rachel Stein, who coordinated the camp with Altoona Parks and Recreation. “Our classes were unique and explored different things. Every kid could find something they liked.”

Pupil services and curriculum director Karen Henry called the program a “collaborative effort”, noting that the camp staff was a mix of Altoona teachers and substitutes, high school and college students, Altoona Parks and Recreation employees, and other volunteers. Funding comes from the school district, the state, and student fees of $5 per class or $15 per session for residents of the Altoona School District.