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Send Stratford news to: RR@tpprinting.com phone: 715-223-2342 fax: 715-223-3505 P.O. Box 677 103 West Spruce Street Abbotsford, WI 54405 Absentee voting
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is April 2. Residents of the village of Stratford should visit www.myvote. wi.gov to request their absentee ballot today or call 715-687-4166 to schedule an appointment for in-person voting.
At the same time, you can request an absentee ballot for any or all elections in 2020.
MAREA meets
The March meeting of the Marshfield Area Retired Educators (MAREA) was called to order by president Ruby Thomas with 16 members in attendance.
Pledge to the flag was followed by approval of the secretary and treasurer reports was placed on file. There were no guests in attendance.
A pension report given by Carol Subera noted that May 1 adjustment is not changed by the present economic situation.
Scholarship report given by Ruby Pinter noted the upcoming brat fry dates of May 28-29. Without the brat fry there is sufficient money in the scholarship fund to award two $500 scholarships. She noted the possibility of extending the application due date of April 28, due to school cancellation.
Get well cards to Mary Denk and Pat Anderson were sent, reported Carol Ballerstein. Dorothy Dietsche circulated the WREA Foundation box. Kathleen Hasenohrl reminded members of precautions to take to prevent coronavirus.
Under new business, president Thomas reported that information on the spring District meeting will be forthcoming, noting the meeting may be cancelled due to coronavirus.
Birthday song for March was sung. Winner of the basket drawing was Ruby Pinter.
Members were asked to sign up to be a greeter and to bring meeting treats. Thank you to Kathleen Hasenohrl for being the greeter and for bringing treats.
The meeting donations of cash goes to Colby United Food Pantry. April donations will go to Circle of Joy with Kathy Rauen delivering.
Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Carol Ballerstein. The meeting was adjourned.
With the closing of all Wisconsin schools, Brenda Bauer and her students in the Gifted and Challenge Leadership Program, could not attend the meeting. Substituting are Bridgett O’Brien and Edie Smazl representing the Chestnut Center for the Arts in Marshfield.
Chestnut Center for the Arts opened in 2003 with the purpose of providing a community center for learning, performing and enjoying all expressions of art. Local art lovers who had a common vision to transform a historic building into a community art center’ located at 208 S. Chestnut Ave. Marshfield.
Volunteers assist with many projects and special events and are vital to operations. Chestnut Center also provides rent spaces for teaching, performing, and community and business groups.
A beautiful Chapel on Chestnut is available for weddings emphasis is on programs for all ages with a current emphasis on seniors. Goal is to keep costs low. Summer 2020 programs were noted.
Village hall closed
The village hall of Stratford will be closed to the public in an effort to limit face-to-face contact and to combat the spread of COVID-19.
If you wish to make a utility payment, include your bill stub and payment in an envelope and place it in the drop box outside the village hall’s front door. Change will not be available for cash payments. Citizens are also advised to visit www.StratfordWI.com to pay online, and fees will apply.
To contact the Stratford Police Department for a nonemergency, call 715-687-3131. For further assistance, call the village office at 715-687-4166.
Library closed
Due to the rising threat of COVID-19 (commonly known as coronavirus), and in compliance with the state’s effort to respond to and contain the spread of the disease, all nine Marathon County Public Library (MCPL) locations have been closed since March 17.
This includes locations in Wausau, Athens, Edgar, Hatley, Marathon City, Mosinee, Rothschild, Spencer and Stratford. All locations are tentatively set to reopen on Monday, April 6. The library’s reopening date is subject to change as developments occur.
Some library services will continue to be offered throughout the closure. Patrons may still contact the MCPL Wausau reference desk for questions and assistance via phone (715-261-7230), email (ref@mcpl. us) or online chat between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Wi-Fi at each of the eight branch libraries will remain on 24/7, providing patrons outside of the library (within range) with access to high-speed Internet.
The Wi-Fi at MCPL Wausau will remain on during the hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Item checkout will be temporarily suspended while the library assesses contamination risk from the virus. Patrons can still place requests on items via the V-Cat catalog, though those holds will not be fulfilled until the library reopens.
No items will be due and no overdue fines will accrue during the closure. Items that are currently checked out will now have a due date of April 10, and any library cards that were set to expire within the next three weeks have been renewed.
Library materials that are currently checked out may be returned during the closure to one of the library’s many book drops, if the patron so chooses.
Patrons may also access thousands of free e-books and audiobooks during the closure via the Overdrive and Libby apps.
These free apps work on most PCs, laptops, smartphones, tablets and e-readers, and all you need is a current Marathon County Public Library card to get started.
