PRST STD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE POSTAL CUSTOMER PAID SHAWANO, WI PERMIT NO. ? JANUARY 30, 2019 x OSHKOSHHERALD.COM VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4 Mark & Susie’s Rental oversight process set Residential Rental Contact Registration not do enough to improve the quality of Council approves changes and Inspection Program to meet new housing. to state-guided inspections state requirements on a vote of 5 to 1 with “I would like to have a better inspection council member Tom Pech absent. Matt program,” he said. By Tom Ekvall Mugerauer, who is also a member of the Mayor Steve Cummings said some SEE OUR AD INSIDE! Herald contributor Rental Housing Advisory Committee, landlords have sent threatening letters to voted against the new ordinance, saying tenants warning them to not allow inspec- The Oshkosh Common Council laid that it is not strong enough to ensure com- tions to be made, which he called “morally OSHKOSH over until its next meeting ordinance pliance for rental properties. He pointed wrong.” 525 E. Murdock • Phone: (920) 236-7803 changes on short-term rental housing and to past compliance results under a previ- The city suspended the program in room tax collection while adopting revi- ous program enacted in 2016 and imple- 2018 to develop new procedures to com- sions to the city’s rental inspection pro- mented in 2017. ply with updated state laws. Ordinances gram at its Jan. 22 meeting. Mugerauer said the previous program SEE ON PAGE 11 INSIDE Council members approved the new has been “minimally effective” and does Rental oversight Herd report Skate club fun Winning streak puts Millers Bay is the site for Thursday after- team on right track noon meetings of Dr. Eric’s Skate Club. Now in its fifth year, the club is championed by Page 14 family physician Dr. Eric Smiltneek in part- nership with the school district and funded in part by the ThedaCare Foundation. The Call it Culver club has skates and safety helmets available Alumni center has new for elementary and middle school students. Teachers and volunteers help children find name amid settlement and fit the right skates. Smiltneek plays Page 3 goaltender in a loosely organized hockey game. Community volunteers and skaters Photos by Michael Cooney are welcome from 3 to 5 p.m. Kidney pairing effort finds right lifesaving combo By Samantha Strong Herald contributor Donor information Before last November, Beth Nemecek To learn more about the living and Stephanie Geurts had never met but donation program, visit donatelife would soon be linked for life. wisconsin.org/living-donation. Nemecek was suffering from kidney fail- ure for more than six years when she got said Nemecek, who is executive director an email from Geurts stating she thinks of Bella Medical Clinic. she could help. Unfortunately, Geurts The kidney paired donation (KPD) pro- wasn’t a direct match and couldn’t donate gram is still fairly unknown as an alterna- her kidney to Nemecek, but Geurts could tive to deceased organ donation. There are donate her kidney to the kidney paired more than 2,000 people on the waiting list donation program in Nemecek’s name, for a kidney transplant in Wisconsin and which would provide Nemecek a voucher more than 100,000 across the nation. In a for a new, compatible kidney. paired exchange, a donor will donate their Within one business day of Geurts’ kid- kidney to another recipient in exchange ney donation surgery, Nemecek was add- for a kidney that matches their recipient. ed to the transplant list, and within a week KPD is a transplant option for recipients after that, a compatible kidney was found who have a living donor who is medically for Nemecek and surgery was scheduled. able but cannot donate to them because “I can remember very clearly getting the they are poorly matched. email from Stephanie,” Nemecek said. “I Submitted photo Before her research into the topic Stephanie Geurts (right) was able to help Beth Nemecek get a new kidney by donating one of could not fathom that this was really hap- Geurts said she never heard of the KPD hers to a third-party program that provided Nemecek with a voucher to receive a match. pening to me. I’d won the lottery, I said.” program and Nemecek said she didn’t un- Geurts’ initial interest in organ dona- til Geurts offered to begin the process. tion came from an article about a young Nemecek through a professional wom- Nemecek said it wasn’t until Geurts ac- “It was an amazing turnaround for Fond du Lac mother who needed a kid- en’s networking group the two are part of, tually had the donation surgery and desig- someone who was in the end stage of renal ney. After doing some research, Geurts Tempo Fox Valley, after learning the Fond nated her to receive the voucher when the failure and was looking at a six- to-eight- discovered the paired donation program. du Lac mother already received a compat- two Oshkosh-area women met in person. She was eventually put in touch with ible kidney. “We’ve gotten to be pretty good friends,” SEE Kidney pairing ON PAGE 5 PAGE 2 x OSHKOSHHERALD.COM JANUARY 30, 2019 Public can share in schools planning The Oshkosh Area School District, in talk about ideas for success and opportu- Feb. 13 – 7:30 a.m. at Oshkosh Area Com- Support Local Journalism partnership with Oshkosh4Education, nities for improvement. Sessions will be munity Foundation Join the Oshkosh Herald Subscriber Membership Program is developing the district’s Strategic Plan held next week at various times and loca- Feb. 13 – 4:15 p.m. at Public Library 3.0 with opportunities for community en- tions, guided by the same questions. For Feb. 14 – 10 a.m. at Senior Center Only $50/year or $5/mo. gagement through public discussions and those unable to attend one of the sessions, Feb. 15 – 10 a.m. at Boys & Girls Club *$70/year outside of delivery area, includes an online survey. Feedback will be used to a survey will be available on the district The district uses a systems approach for subscription to the Oshkosh Herald. assist the Board of Education in defining website for one week beginning Feb. 11. organizational improvement efforts that Receive special offers & incentives the vision of success and developing pri- Session times and locations: are monitored and updated. while supporting local news. ority goals for the plan. Feb. 11 – 10:30 a.m. at 20th Street YMCA The plan can be accessed through the Call 920-508-9000 or visit Community members are invited to Feb. 11 – 6 p.m. at Franciscan Courts district’s website. An update to the strate- www.oshkoshherald.com/store/membership hourlong focus group sessions between Feb. 11 – 6:30 p.m. at 20th Street YMCA gic plan typically occurs every three to five Feb. 11 and 15 with an O4E facilitator to Feb. 12 – 10:30 a.m. at Downtown YMCA years. Herald contributors bring experiences to community The Oshkosh Herald is able to provide has a background as a weekly news editor consin. He has a master’s in business ad- its readers with a diverse mix of communi- and award-winning government reporter ministration from Loyola University Mary- ty news, sports and entertainment coverage for the Lincoln, Neb., Star newspaper. He land and a bachelor’s in English from the because of its contributing writers and pho- served as a village administrator in Illinois, University of Maryland College Park. He is 923 S. Main St. Suite C tographers, most with extensive Oshkosh coordinated neighborhood revitalization the author of “Advanced Reporting: Essen- Oshkosh, WI 54902 backgrounds. Here is a brief look behind activities in Lincoln and retired from tial Skills for 21st Century Journalism.” some of the bylines and photo credits. ADVOCAP as a grant writer. He is a General information/customer UW-Oshkosh graduate with a major in Samantha Strong service: Julie Vandenberg Michael Cooney political science/public administration Originally from Madison but now liv- [email protected] A proud UW-Oshkosh alumnus (B.S. in and has a master’s in community develop- ing in Oshkosh, Samantha is a graduate of Phone: 920-508-9000 1969 and M.B.A. ’76), Michael is a photog- ment from the University of Missouri. UW-Oshkosh with a bachelor’s degree in Website: www.oshkoshherald.com rapher, teacher, writer and community ser- journalism. She began as a full-time report- vice worker. He is a photographer for the Tim Froberg er for The Reporter newspaper in Fond du News tips and story ideas Oshkosh United Way, Day by Day Warm- Tim is a freelance journalist who has Lac and eventually made the jump into dig- [email protected] ing Shelter, Boys and Girls Club, Humans worked in print and digital for more than ital marketing where she specializes in writ- Advertising of Oshkosh and Wisconsin Public Radio, 25 years. An Upper Michigan native and ing, social media strategy and social media [email protected] and chairman of the Oshkosh Farmers Northern Michigan University graduate, account management. Andrea Toms: 920-508-0030 Market Board and manager of the markets Froberg was a sports reporter for The Samuel Kieckhafer: 920-508-0084 SNAP incentive program. He is a photogra- Post-Crescent, Green Bay News-Chron- Emil Vajgrt phy instructor at FVTC. icle and Marinette Eagle-Herald. Besides Born and raised in Oshkosh, Emil at- Classified Advertising high school sports he has covered the tended West High school and graduat- [email protected] Randy Domer Green Bay Packers, Wisconsin Timber ed in 2013.