The Sheboygan Press from Sheboygan, Wisconsin • Page A8

A8 The Sheboygan Press, Friday, April 5, 2013 LOCAL www.sheboyganpress.com Laning resigns from Plymouth Intergenerational Center post center in January 2012, there has been a 52 percent increase in visitors. Dave Lagerman, vice president of the PIC's Board of Directors, said there was no immediate time frame to hire a replacement for Laning. "Martha did such an outstanding job in her position that it will be difficult to replace her, but we will do our best," Lagerman said. "To replace her and do justice to what she's done will be a challenge." Lagerman said a subcommittee has been formed to determine the next steps in the center. It was launched in the fall of 2009 and began construction in April 2010.

The center officially opened in May 2011 with $573,000 left to raise. Laning is resigning for personal reasons and said in an interview that the center was "in a great position." "My original plan was just to raise some money and the job sort of grew and grew," Laning said. "It just seemed like the perfect time to go and I need to center some of my attention on other things." Laning said she is meeting with the PIC's Board of Directors on Friday and they would take the next steps to find a successor. "I'm very confident and optimistic that whoever the board chooses will be a great fit," Laning said. She said she would stay involved with the PIC in whatever capacity the board would ask, but "I don't want to be looming." "The program is already a success and will continue to be a success," Laning said.

"I'm very excited for the board to find a great person to take over." Laning said since the PIC took over the Plymouth adult community Sheboygan Press Media Martha Laning, who helped found the Plymouth Intergenerational Center and has been its executive director, has announced her resignation in a letter to Friends of the Center. "This incredible project, particularly getting to work with all the fine people I have met, has been wonderful and I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to be a part of the team who made it happen," Laning said in the letter. The group finished its campaign in January 2013 after raising almost $4.7 million to build the Martha Laning speaks at the "We Made it Happen" celebration for the Intergenerational Center in 2010. SHEBOYGAN PRESS MEDIA FILE PHOTO SHEBOYGAN SHEBOYGAN FALLS PLYMOUTH HOWARDS GROVE CEDAR GROVE OOSTBURG KIEL NEW HOLSTEIN Prices in this ad good thru Tuesday, April 9, 2013 wwwjhopthepig.com Johnsonville Brats or Italian Sausage River sediment is unloaded as the dredging operation continues on the Sheboygan River on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, near the Eighth Street bridge, sheboygan press media FILE PHOTO firmland Fresh Preferred Natural Whole Pork Butt Roast i 6" 99 -J LIMIT 3 Patrick (udahy Hard Salami l-lb.

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Short of Mother Nature giving us more precipitation, dredging is the answer to keep these open." In Sheboygan, local, state and federal officials were able to pull together nearly $100 million in funding to remove pollutants from the Sheboygan River from its harbor upstream to Sheboygan Falls. In the process, the depth of the inner harbor and the river up the Pennslvania Avenue bridge was deepened to 14 to 16 feet, allowing more boat traffic. As a result, local officials expect improved economic activity along the river and property there will become more economically viable. City Development Director Chad Pelishek said that makes the Sheboygan harbor one of the few ports in the Great Lakes to be able to house cruise ships and large yachts in the harbor. "It's going to be a great benefit for the city moving forward," Pelishek said.

Dave Wright, chief of operations in the Corps Detroit office, said dredging efforts have been hampered by budget constraints. He said 36 of 60 commercial harbors need dredging, as well as 46 of 80 shallow draft harbors. In Washington, lawmakers introduced two bills in the previous Congress directing the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to spend as much as it collects a year. The fund takes in about $1.6 billion annually in federal taxes but spends just $800 million, according to the Carriers' Association. But for the long haul, "conditions needed for the lakes to make gains with respect to their long term averages include heavy precipitation over multiple months, abundant runoff and reduced evaporation," the Corps of Engineers said.

The Lake Carriers' Nekvasil was not satisfied by the Corps of Engineers emphasis on weather patterns. He said stakeholders have to keep the pressure on the federal government to do more dredging to address the issue over the long term. "It's going to take more than a couple snowy winters and rainy summers to get the lakes back," he said. Michael LoCicero of the Sheboygan Press staff contributed to this story. Reach Larry Bivins at lbivinsgannett.com.

Low water Continued from Page A1 large snowpack still remains, whereas this time last year the snow had already melted." "The lack of a large snowpack during the winter of 2011 to 2012, coupled with the very hot and dry summer of 2012, are the biggest factors leading to the lower water levels this year," Kompoltowicz said. Low water levels create navigational hazards for commercial carriers and that has economic repercussions for all Great Lakes stakeholders, including marinas and waterfront restaurants. While water levels are largely a function of Mother Nature, the impact of low levels would be less severe if the federal government was more aggressive about dredging, some Great Lakes stakeholders say. "We can't control Mother Nature, but what we can control is the dredging issue," said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Cleveland-based Lake Carriers' Association. "We have more than 18 million cubic yards of sediment clogging our water system." Nekvasil said the Corps of Engineers needs only $200 million to clean up the lakes, while the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund has a surplus of $7 billion.

He said Congress approves only about half of what is collected each year for spending on dredging. "As a result, our ships are substantially losing cargo capacity," Nekvasil said. "In January, one ship delivering iron ore to Indiana had to relinquish 18 percent of its cargo." Commercial shipping on the Great Lakes support 128,000 jobs, Nekvasil said. "You can't make steel without iron ore," Nekvasil said. "When we leave cargo at the dock, it's not just the vessel operator's revenues that's being cut.

This has a number of multiplier effects." Chuck May of the Great Lakes Small Harbors Coalition agreed that low water levels underscore the dredging issues on the Great Lakes. He said his group representing 112 small harbors built and maintained by the federal government has been trying to call attention to what some consider a crisis. "We're working hard to raise the crowd noise so people know how bad it is," May said. "Harbor after I 69 99 LIMIT I LIMIT 1 I I With coupon and separate $10 or larger Non-coupon purchase. Limit one coupon, per family, 1 per transaction.

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