CYANMAGENTA YELLOWBLACKMNH, August 28, a1

THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2008 50 CENTS

News-Herald Marshfield

MARSHFIELD, WISCONSIN

952125109040

A Gannett newspaper

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Former farm girl entertains fair crowds

BY LIZ WELTERMARSHFIELD NEWS-HERALD

The magic words weren’t “Abracadabra” when magician Rhonda Renee started entertaining her audience Wednesday afternoon.

Renee’s “Ag Magic” show, geared to children and families, can be seen three times daily at the Central Wisconsin State Fair at Marshfield Fairgrounds Park.

“Can everyone say, ‘ T h a n k a f a r m e r ? ’ Those are the magic w o r d s , ” Renee said as she poured a pink liquid from a clear pitcher into a cornstalk the audience had watched her fashion from news-paper while explaining h o w c o r n

needs water to grow. Hannah Redetzke, 8, of

Stratford held the corn-stalk in her hand. While Renee poured more liquid, Hannah slowly stretched her arm out and inched her feet back as far as she could from where the liq-uid would leak out.

As the paper stalk dribbled, Renee stopped pouring. The pitcher was almost empty.

“The magic words are,” Renee prompted audience members, who shouted, “Thank a farmer.”

With a flourish, Renee unfurled the newspaper. It had some small wet areas and the audience clapped.

An entertainer from Las Vegas, Renee said she enjoys traveling to county and state fairs across the nation to promote agricul-ture with magic tricks.

“I’m from a six-genera-tion Iowa farm family, so I know and understand the importance of agriculture,” she said.

While traveling the fair circuit, Renee said she’s heard from children of farm families that most of their nonfarming class-mates don’t understand or appreciate agriculture.

“The farm kids would talk about how these kids looked down on them,” she said. “They get treated like hayseeds, and they’re not. As I see farmland disappearing, there’s an

urgency to let folks know the importance of farming. Magic is the tool to get the message out to promote agriculture.”

Annabell Powell, 18, of San Diego said she learned an interesting farming fact about raw eggs being less digestible.

“Like only 51 percent digestible,” she said. “Cooked, it’s like 90 per-cent. All those athletes putting raw eggs in drinks ought to cook them instead.”

LAURA SCHMITT/MARSHFIELD NEWS-HERALD

Mae Powell, 12, of San Diego laughs as magician Rhonda Renee performs a trick at the Central Wisconsin State Fair.

BY JACOB MILLERMARSHFIELD NEWS-HERALD

ABBOTSFORD — City Council members and Abbotsford residents ques-tioned the necessity, viable options and potential cost of the city’s proposed water-system improvement proj-ect during a public meeting Wednesday night at City Hall.

Jon Strand, a princi-pal project manager with Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc. and Abbotsford’s city engineer, provided a pre-sentation comparing two options — piping in water from an outside source, and the continuous search for more groundwater — with the recommended option of using a water re-use plan to alleviate the growing need for water in Abbotsford.

The plan involves build-ing a new water treat-ment plan to recycle wastewater into water of drinking quality. It would serve industrial custom-ers such as Abbyland Foods and Michael ’s Foods, two companies that have increased their production and need for water.

No members of the council, or residents in attendance, spoke against the plan, including Mayor Michael Raatz, who said: “The fact that we’re looking at a sustainable water source is great.”

Costs, though, were a concern.

The cost to build the new plant and water tower, along with a new well field on the city’s west side, is estimated at about $19.7 million, and a second opin-ion, which will be sought, shouldn’t stretch far beyond it, Strand said.

Strand and council members were unable to estimate how much water rates would increase fol-lowing the implementation of the project but admitted they’d go up; not knowing how much was a concern for several people in atten-dance.

“I feel uncomfortable making a decision for the citizens without know-ing the cost (increases),” Alderwoman Sue Sossaman said.

The quality of the treated water, which will go through a four-stage process to make it safe for human consumption, also was a focus despite the fact that it will only serve Abbotsford’s expand-ing industrial customers, while city residents will continue to use groundwa-ter from wells.

“It’s like drinking bottled water,” Strand said. “It has that quality to it.”

Abby engineer outlines water project

Magician makes ag fun

Friday fair highlights

◆ 9:30 a.m. — Husband Calling Contest in the Doug Schneeberger entertain-ment tent.

◆ 11 a.m. — Fairest of the Fair final judging and coronation in the Doug Schneeberger entertainment tent.

◆ 8 a.m. — Loverboy performs in front of the grandstand.

Sugar and spiceBrooke McGrath, 7, of Hewitt patiently waited alongside

her mother, Davina McGrath, as she ordered Mouse Ears, a small version of a favorite fair food, Elephant Ears.

Freshly fried, then coated with cinnamon and sugar, Brooke’s hand sneaked into the basket.

“Oh, it’s hot!” Brooke said as she took a small bite. She switched the ear from hand to hand while nibbling on the outer edge.

The Mouse Ears are generously dredged with cinnamon and sugar. As Wednesday’s gentle breeze pushed Brooke’s long hair across her face, her sugar-coated hands shoved her hair back.

“I love coming to the fair. My favorite thing is the ride, and I love Mouse Ears, too. I also like to pet the cows and we saw the pigs, too,” she said between bites of her now-cooled Mouse Ear.

While the mouse ear was soon in her tummy, Brooke’s tiny face was wearing cinnamon and sugar.

From Day 1 of the fair

“Magic is the tool to get the message

out to promote agriculture.”

Rhonda Reneemagician

BY ADAM RODEWALDMARSHFIELD NEWS-HERALD

The 5-foot-tall concrete statue Shirley Mook found shattered in her yard left her shaken and struck with a bout of pessimism about her community.

It happened around midnight Aug. 17 at the peak of a vandalism spree trashing the south side of Marshfield this month.

The damage on Mook’s property, at 201 S. Vine Ave., totaled $750, but even more disheartening for her was the loss of a distinc-tive, personal treasure.

“Marshfield used to be a very safe community, and people are saying it’s not as safe as it used to be,” Mook said.

The Marshfield Police Department has recorded

19 complaints of criminal damage to property so far in August, causing thou-sands of dollars in dam-age. That number is con-sistent with the number of complaints in May, June and July, but most of the

damage was “malicious in nature” and directed at vehicles and residences in a highly concentrated area, said Sgt. Darren Larson.

“Somebody is just doing this for no other purpose than damaging the prop-erty, which is unsettling,” he said.

Detectives are inves-tigating the incidents, and the department has reports that more than one party might be responsible, Larson said.

On the same night

vandals trashed Mook’s property, some people attempted to smash solar yard lights about one block away at the home of Diane and Tom Tobin, 407 E. Second St.

The vandals were delib-erating loudly about which lights to break when the Tobins awoke and con-fronted them. The vandals ran, ultimately breaking only one light.

Though the damage was minimal, “you feel vio-lated,” said Diane Tobin, who now worries any noise outside might be another vandal in the yard.

Police typically see an increase in property dam-age during the summer months, but Larson said the close proximity of these incidents warrants extra attention.

City struck by ‘malicious’ vandalism spree

LAURA SCHMITT/MARSHFIELD NEWS-HERALD

A garden statue outside Shirley Mook’s home was broken by vandals Aug. 17.

On the WebClick on this story at

www.marshfieldnewsherald.com for an interac-tive map of recent prop-erty damage incidents.

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