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In 2019 American Heart Association guidelines changed and now are requiring manikins with electronic feedback monitors to ensure proper chest compressions. Dr. Lornson realized that the fire department did not have these manikins and has donated a set of manikins to help ensure our wonderful Black Creek Fire & Rescue stay at the cutting edge of training so they can help and protect all our friends and neighbors if and when life threatening emergencies occur.

By Keith Skenandore
Editor

It took 15 years in the making but the Black Creek American Legion Post 332 dedicated the completion of their Black Creek Veterans Memorial. 

Although completed a few months earlier, a ceremony was held on Saturday, August 26, to unveil the monument to the community.

Frank Lindsley, a member of Black Creek American Legion, said a good crowd gathered for a grateful and patriotic duty to dedicate the memorial to those veterans who died in their country’s service.

“May we again dedicate our organization and ourselves as our sacred ideals that are represented here,” Lindsley said. “After 15 years and four attempts our memorial is finally finished.”

State Vice-Commander Todd Brown everyone needs to pause and think about what a memorial actually is.
“It’s a remembrance of the brave men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our great nation,” Brown said. “Let those for whom it represents never be forgotten. This memorial will be here forever.”

Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson said everyone has heard of the historic stories of war but unfortunately the same cannot be said for those names on the Veterans wall.

“That is why today is so important,” he said. “There sacrifice and their stories are the same as some of the well known stories. That is why it’s so important we have this memorial. “It’s such a wonderful and beautiful reflection on this community and this county.” Pat Amerson, legion member memorial committee member, said the memorial was generated with the hope that future generations will remember the sacrifices of all those veterans. He mentioned the major sponsors and contributors who helped make the memorial possible.

“To all, we offer a sincere thanks,” Amerson said. “It’s no surprise what’s under the sheet here but we are going to have an official unveiling.” Flags were then raised to playing of “Colors” by Brady Madison.

A 21-gun salute concluded the ceremony.

Pat Amerson, Memorial committee member spoke at the dedication on Saturday, August 26. Below, Colors was played by the trumpeter Brady Madison as the flags were raised. – Photos by Keith Skenandore

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Black Creek Elementary School and Dr. Thomas Lornson have teamed up to introduce a contest to the students designed to promote an interest in reading at an early age. Lornson has a dental practice located on South Main Street in Black Creek.

“I went to the school and told them I wanted to sponsor a reading program,” said Lornson. “I thought the best age group to target would be second through fourth graders and try to develop some life-long habits. I talked with Kathy Bidwell, the reading specialist at Black Creek School, and she designed a program.”

Lornson wanted the program to make sure the kids were actually reading, so part of the program requires the children demonstrate knowledge of the books they have read.

As the children read, they accumulate points. When the contest ends on March 7, the 10 students with the most points will each receive a Kindle E-reader.

“Everything that I’ve seen when they do studies that look at kids reading as opposed to just watching TV, the kids who read have better attention spans, better logical reasoning skills and are better at abstract thinking,” said Lornson. “I wanted to do something that would have a long-term effect on the community. I’ve seen what happens when you get kids hooked on reading. It has a noticeable effect on the rest of their life.”

Lornson has two children of his own. He said that as he observed the changes his daughter’s love of reading brought about. His observations regarding the positive impact reading brought about in his daughter are what he says prompted him to want to instill a love of reading at a young age in other children.

Bidwell said the students have specific times during the school day designated for reading. This helps with the accountability side of the project that Lornson stressed. This gives teachers the ability to ensure that students are not only reading, but also that they are reading books that are appropriate for them; meaning books that are within their appropriate reading level. The school refers to these types of books as “Good fit books” according to Bidwell. They allow the children to be challenged without being discouraged. To ensure the students understand what they are reading they are expected to write a short summary of the book they completed. Not only is this part of the accountability factor, it is also a part of the common core curriculum.

“We had a launch where I went into the different grade levels and talked about the contest,” Said Bidwell. “We were very clear on the expectations. We sent a letter home to the parents as well so everyone knew we had really clear expectations. The kids were very excited and the kids will stop me in the hall or stop into my office to tell me how they’re doing with their points so it’s been wonderful.”

Bidwell says that the teachers have noticed enough positive changes since the program started that Bidwell said several have suggested they may continue to incentivize reading on a smaller scale when the program ends. They have noted that the students’ ability to focus on tasks has increased as has their ability to read for longer periods of time.

“We were shocked when Dr. Lornson approached us with this idea,” she said. “It’s absolutely amazing. We’d love it if we could get support like this from other businesses in the area. This is huge! The staff is excited, the students are excited…we couldn’t be more pleased. “

The presentation of the Kindles does not have an exact date but is expected to take place this month.

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Dr. Lornson has been part of missions to the Dominican Republic to provide surgical treatment for the under served through the American Dental Implants Association.

By Greg Ylvisaker Reporter

Black Creek dentist Tom Lornson has established a drop-off point for used coats in support of Coats For Kids at his dental office at 207 S. Main Street in Black Creek.

Lornson said that he and his wife, were discussing with their children’s teachers the fact that during the last school year they were seeing kids coming into their classrooms without suitable warm clothing during the winter. They decided to do something to help.

“Coats for Kids distributed 10,000 coats in Northeast Wisconsin last year,” said Lornson. “It’s just a crazy number.”
According to the Coats for Kids website, this is a normal number that they hit each year.

The fact that so many people donated coats is a wonderful thing. However, the number of coats distributed should disturb everyone.

As cold as last winter was, weather experts are predicting the coming winter to be even colder. Community members are encouraged to begin donating new and gently used coats at Lornson’s office. He will be collecting until November 2, 2014. The coats will be collected by Coats for Kids who will then clean and distribute them to those in need.

The bin is located behind the desk in Black Creek Dental’s newly remodeled reception area. In addition to the renovation, the office has also invested in several new pieces of technology to better serve the community.

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