Wausau News | Outrage erupts over proposed sex ed policy changes
Wausau News | Outrage erupts over proposed sex ed policy changes
The Weekly Wausonian for May 26, 2022
Early media reports about major changes to the Wausau School District’s curriculum turned out to be misleading but erupted in controversy as the board’s executive operations committee met Monday.
At the heart of the matter was a series of policy rewrites for the district from legal consultant Neola. The main controversy stemmed from a change in the district’s proposed policy changes around human growth and development (which many probably remember as sex ed). It includes teaching abstinence as the only reliable method to control pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. And it eliminated the provision that talks about teaching about contraception.
The board’s ex ops committee ultimately added the part about contraception education back into the curriculum. Other public comments about removing the ethics section of the policy were based on incorrect information — the ethics section was simply moved from one policy section to another.
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What else in Wausau news?
City leaders decided $1 wasn’t enough for the city’s parking ramps. The City Council Tuesday approved changing the potential sale price of the city’s parking ramps to the mall’s redevelopers, should the city no longer want to operate it, to fair market value.
City leaders also approved a new social worker who would exclusively work with the homeless. The position replaces the role of Officer Eric Lemirand, who was reassigned earlier this year after working with the homeless. The new position led to outcry, because the police shared a video of police encounters with homeless folks but didn’t mask identifying information.
The city Tuesday, after six months of discussion at the finance committee, approved three new firefighters for the city’s department. Staffing levels haven’t increased since the 1970s but call volumes have doubled between 2003 and last year alone.
Around the metro
An employee of the Plover Starbucks says he was fired because of his involvement in pro-union activity. The Starbucks became the second in the state to unionize earlier this month. The union says it was retaliation for his involvement in the unionization.
Business
Angelo’s Pizza announced that after 50 years in business its owners will be shutting down the iconic Wausau restaurant. The business will still sell its pizzas frozen through wholesale distribution, and pizzas will also be sold for pickup at its current location, but there will be no more dining in.
We will have frozen pizzas in your favorite stores and local bars. Our frozen pizzas will also be available for pick-up at our Wausau location. Current gift certificates can still be used but only at our restaurant location.
The last day to visit the restaurant will be June 5.
Entertainment
Saturday, May 28: Live music is great, but it’s even better with pizza - and in this case, pizza on the farm. Stoney Acres, the original pizza on the farm experience, is hosting The Station this weekend. Grab some ‘za and listen to this funky bluegrass band from the Wausau area. It’s a long weekend, so enjoy it. 5-8 pm. Check out the event page for more details.
Thursday, May 26: Alright, we’re kind of going for a pizza theme here. Rocky Ridge Orchard will host it’s own pizza night from 4 pm to 11 pm. Rocky Ridge does things a little differently: $14 gets you access to the pizza buffet from 4-8 pm, but you can sit by the fire and enjoy the music of Jordan Blanchard until 11 pm. It comes with a dessert and salad too. Check out their event page for more details.
Thursday, May 26: Bike and walk for the health of it — for real this time! This Kronenwetter event ended up getting postponed because of severe weather. So they moved it to this week. Rides of 1-9 miles, with drinks, food and prizes, along with kids events. See the event page for more details.
Tuesday, May 31: The Woodchucks are back and this year, like it always should have been, they’re once again the Wausau Woodchucks. Yes! The Chucks will take the field at Athletic Park against the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders. Keep an eye on the sports section for Woodchuck updates all season. Meanwhile, see the event page for the home opener.
Looking for kids/family events? Check out the full listing from The Wausonian’s new partner Wausau Mama, who puts together a weekly listing of children/family activities.
Sports
Wausau West Boys Golf finished the season on top of the Wisconsin Valley Conference standings. The Warriors finished second in the final leg of the season, losing only to Wisconsin Rapids by four strokes at its home course, Pine Valley. That was enough to hang on to the overall conference lead heading into the playoffs.
The Wausau Wolfpack Girls Lacrosse split a pair of games Sunday as the team works toward a .500 record. The Wolfpack defeated Bay Port 14-8 before falling to top-five ranked Hudson 14-2. The Wolfpack is now 2-4 in the Bay Valley Conference and 6-8 overall.
Only one more team has a shot at taking down D.C. Everest Girls Soccer’s undefeated record. The Evergreens will host Marshfield at home 7 pm Tuesday for its final game of the season. Everest beat Rapids 3-1 on Tuesday to hold its undefeated record. Everest is 11-0 in the Wisconsin Valley Conference, the only girls soccer team in the conference to remain undefeated.
B.C.’s picks
I haven’t done one of these in awhile, but with the long weekend I figured you could use something extra! Use this map to find out who’s the most famous person of every city (it includes some very small towns). I’ve interviewed a few of them. Some of them on the map will lead you to say “who?” Anyway, it’s a fun thing to plunk around with over the weekend. Can you guess Wausau’s most famous person?
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