May 15, 2008
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UW-River Falls plans commencement
The University of Wisconsin-River Falls will hold spring commencement in two ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 17 in the Robert P. Knowles Physical Education and Recreation Center.
The 9:30 a.m. commencement will include the students from the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, College of Business and Economics, College of Graduate Studies.
The 2 p.m. commencement will include the students from the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education and Professional Studies. The Class of 1958 will lead the afternoon processional march.
State Representative Kitty Rhoades will give the keynote commencement address.
Rhoades was elected to office in 1999 and currently serves as co-chair on the Joint Committee on Finance. Her educational background includes a bachelor's degree in secondary education from UWRF and a master's in curriculum and supervision from Illinois State University.
She has been a teacher, small business owner with her husband, Frank, and chamber of commerce executive director in Hudson, Wis., and in suburban St. Paul.
In the legislature, she has also served as the chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long Term Care and co-chair of the Joint Legislative Council Committee. Along with her committee chair assignments, Rhoades was a member of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, the Assembly Committee on Education, the Assembly Committee on Financial Institutions, Conservation and Land Use and Rural Affairs and Forestry.
Psychology Professor Travis Tubré will receive the 2008 Distinguished Teacher of the Year award at the commencement ceremony.
The distinguished teacher award is nominated by graduating seniors and recent graduates; it is the highest award that can be presented to UWRF faculty.
Tubré teaches numerous courses in such areas as general psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, employee selection and training, psychological testing, and research methods. He also is an active consultant, researcher, McNair mentor and student advisor.
Tubré has won other awards such as outstanding mentor for the UWRF McNair Scholars Program. He has also received an Excellence in Advising Award and an Excellence in Scholarship Award from the College of Arts and Sciences.
An Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters will be given to UWRF alumnus David Swensen at commencement. Swensen is a 1975 economics graduate and currently the chief investment officer of the Yale University's endowment.
Swensen has been recently elected as a 2008 fellow by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in the "educational, scientific, cultural and philanthropic administration" affiliation. The AAAS is one of the oldest and prestigious honorary societies with members ranging from Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, founding fathers to others with considerable notoriety like B.B. King.
"The academy honors excellence by electing to membership remarkable men and women who have made preeminent contributions to their fields, and to the world," said AAAS President Emilio Bizzi.
Swensen is an internationally renowned institutional fund investment expert who places an emphasis on broad diversification and unconventional approaches to investment management, called the "Yale Model."
Using this model, the Yale endowment has grown from $1.3 billion to more than $22.5 billion and is now the largest income source for that institution.
Honorary doctorate degrees are bestowed upon individuals who have made significant contributions to the university, region, state or nation or demonstrated a consistently outstanding record of accomplishment in their field of endeavor.
The Doctor of Humane Letters is conferred upon those who distinguish themselves in a field other than science, law, literature or religion.
The River Falls Brass will be accompany seniors Katie Herdan, who is majoring in modern language, from St. Joseph, Minn., as she sings the UWRF Pledge Song, and Heidi Williams, who is majoring in music, from River Falls as she sings the National Anthem. Both singers will perform at both ceremonies.
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Union pipefitter still welding fifty years and counting
by Russ Dibb
A proudly displayed document hangs on the living room of Leo Krear's Prescott house. It states, "In appreciation of your fifty years of dedication to the labor movement and to Pipeliners Local 798. Your long-term service, contributions and achievement will long be remembered."
On a particular Sunday morning in the autumn of 1957 Krear made his way to River Falls where, he heard, a pipeline crew was hiring help for a new line that was being built from Cottage Grove, Minn. to Chippewa Falls.
He was hired, was set up as a welder's helper and learned to weld.
"I really liked the work and knew this is what I wanted to do," said Krear. He was hooked on the job and a long career was launched.
The next stop for Krear was Amarillo Texas.
He checked out the area and returned to Minnesota to get his family who lived in a 38 foot mobile home at the time.
"I just hooked it to the back of our '52 Plymouth and went back to Amarillo," said Krear.
That fall they traveled from Texas to Roswell, N. M. and then to Hobbs, N. M.
"They were putting in a 16" pipeline where I did pipe bending, setting up and then started as a welding apprentice," Krear said.
After Hobbs they went back to Roswell for the winter. Krear worked on a new 30" pipeline.
Krear loved the open space of the desert, but complains of the heat they endured. "The welders had umbrellas set up to block out some of the sun's heat," explained Krear. "But, the apprentices didn't. We had to steal shade where ever we could," he said.
Krear heard of work in Pennsylvania that spring. Memorial weekend, 1958, Krear and his family hauled their 38 foot trailer across the country on old Route 66.
"There were no freeways back then, and man was it hot," said Krear.
He said that for most of the trip they blocked the hood open on their 1952 Plymouth to keep it from overheating.
It took four days to make it to Pennsylvania, but he found work and, more importantly, he officially joined Pipefitters Union 798.
"That union covered 38 states," said Krear. "We could find work all over the country," he added. The Krear's hauled that trailer from Pennsylvania to Florida and then to Indiana. In Indiana the job ran out of pipe, but work was available in Minnesota.
"There was a new pipeline going in from Lino Lakes to Coon Rapids," said Krear. After that, it was off to Michigan where he worked seven days a week, 12 hours a day to get the job finished.
Jobs followed in Wisconsin; Antigo, Marshfield and Mineral Point. "In Mineral Point, they spent as much on dynamite to blow through all that rock, as they did on the rest of the job," Krear said.
The mid 1960's Krear and his family moved back to Prescott. He worked laying pipe for St. Croix Valley gas company.
As the pipeline days wound down, Krear's skills were put to use building the Pine Bend refinery. After that he worked on the Genoa nuclear power plant.
He spent four and one half years building the Prairie Island Nuclear plant and in 1978 worked on the new Dairyland coal power plant in Elma.
By 1980 power plant work was over. "No new plants were being built anymore," explained Krear. He worked around the area, and still gets called for welding jobs.
He maintains a welding truck that looks as good as it did in the heyday of pipelining.
Krear volunteered at St. Joseph's Catholic Church and school for years, fixing and repairing anything that needed attention around the parish. He was recruited and hired as an employee of the parish 13 years ago, where his ingenuity and ability to solve problems has become legendary.
A former teacher at St. Joe's said, "Leo always showed up right when you needed him most. He always had a solution or would come up with one in a short time so everything in the class room could continue to run smoothly."
Krear has also been a volunteer with the Great River Road Theatre for many years. Everything from building props, to finding storage, logistics for concessions, staging, hauling paint and finding lunch for other volunteers have been part of his duties.
Krear's efforts with his union, in his words, "Supporting a respectful trade that has done so much for this country," are commendable.
His service to St. Joe's and to the city of Prescott are just as remarkable.
As the plaque on his living room wall states "Your long-term service, contributions and achievement will long be remembered."
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State assembly candidate helps clean up Prescott
In recent weeks Sarah Bruch, Democratic Candidate for State Assembly District 30 has walked around Prescott neighborhoods.
Bruch weathered the cold Flood Run to meet local business owners and share the event. She is making a point of knowing what is important to District 30.
"I intend to be the voice of the people, supported by the people," said Bruch, "My goal is to run a campaign based on personal contributions, not big businesses."
Bruch visited Prescott Saturday, April 26 to "Clean Up District 30".
The goal was to show Prescott Bruch cares about the community and the environment with some spring cleaning of the river front. Caring for the environment is one of Bruch's top issues, along with accessible healthcare and quality education.
The event began with a clean up session to remove seasonal debris at Lake Street Beach. Volunteers of all ages came out to participate in the clean up and help raise awareness about Bruch. "I've known Sarah for years and have always been inspired by the commitment to help people and her community," said volunteer and teacher Adam Smith. "It was an easy decision to join Sarah and help out."
Family and friends came ready to work, and had fun with a contest on who could find the oddest item during the clean up session.
Debris was collected and either disposed of or recycled appropriately.
Mayor Mike Hunter accepted the donation of a flowering crab tree on behalf of the "Vote Sarah" campaign committee in honor of Arbor Day.
For more information on Bruch, visit votesarah.org.
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Fishing regulations relaxed on upper Kinnickinnic River
With the opening of the 2008 inland fishing season May 3, special "Category 5" fishing regulations were eliminated on the Upper Kinnickinnic River, including Parker Creek, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The category 5 slot limit for troutprotecting fish 10 to 14 inches longwill remain in place on the Lower Kinnickinnic River, downstream of the dam at Glen Park in River Falls. The daily bag limit below the dam remains at five trout with just one trout in the bag longer than 14 inches.
The popular, 15-mile-long Upper Kinnickinnic River and Parker Creek, which is five miles long, will revert to Category 2 regulationa 7-inch minimum size limit and a daily bag limit of five fish.
"The special regulations are being eliminated on the Upper Kinnickinnic because they didn't work," said Mary Engel, a senior fisheries biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources. Installed in 2003, they were an attempt to improve size distribution and increase the number of large trout.
"To date, investigations show no improvement in size structure or overall quality," Engel said. The slot size limit did not show promise as a management tool on high-density trout streams such as the Upper Kinnickinnic River and Parker Creek.
The Upper Kinnickinnic River and its primary tributary, Parker Creek, are Class I brook and brown trout streams, primarily located within the Kinnickinnic River Fishery Area. They are popular with anglers throughout the Midwest.
These streams are very productive with high brown trout densities.
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