Green Bay Press-Gazette from Green Bay, Wisconsin • Page 17

Sunday, May 16,1982 1-1 Green Bay Press-Gazette Kidbits Recreation Farm Travel -B-8 -B-8 -B-13 B-16 Parins reflects on his first love the law "I like to think I have a flair for Judicial work. There's no question I would miss It very much. Judge Robert J. Parins By MIKE SMOTHERS Of thl Prl-G0MH Judge Robert J. Parins wants to have his cake and eat it too.

Given his recognized talents and energy, that should be no problem. On June 1, Parins, 63, will become the first full-time president of the Green Bay Packer Corp. That day he'll also end his 15-year career as a Brown County Circuit Court judge. 7 Parins didn't bother to ask state court officials if they could bend the rules against conflicts of interest enough to let him hold two full-time jobs. Even if the state allowed that, "I don't expect I'd have time for both," he said.

"But I will make myself available as a reserve judge," he said, and he hopes the state will accept the invitation. That would enable Parins to retain his link between two lifelong loves the law, his career since 1942, and his favorite football team, whose board of directors he has served on since 1966. There seems to be a lack of willingness even by the public to face up to that reality, "We've suffered from that over the last 15 years, and it's one reason why some experienced judges have been leaving the bench," he "It may have altered my choice to leave, though lower pay was certainly not the only factor involved," said Parins, who earns $49,127 a year. He'll make more as the Packers' first full-time president, although he won't say how much. Last October when Parins was put in charge of the Packers' daily business operations as an evident prelude to his presidency, he said he considered that chore an enjoyable second job that "takes me away from the rigors" of his judgeship.

That second job is now the "exciting prospect" of a challenging new career, he said. But he dearly hopes he won't have to bid farewell to his first love, the law. Carter issued new guidelines against considering judicial applicants over age 60. "I was a little disappointed," Parins said. Yet that may have been the turning point of his ca-' reer.

"Resigning a federal judgeship for the Packer job would have been a very tough decision to make," he said. Now, however, he leaves his courtroom on the county courthouse's third floor with these observations about his years there: "My greatest fulfillment as a judge has been in courtroom management, being able move cases quickly along often without a trial," Parins said. "People put their trust in me to solve difficult cases and their disputes, and I'm gratified when I can. "My greatest frustration is the failure of the legislature, both at the state and county levels," to recognize the needs of the courts," he said. "Judges' pay hasn't kept pace with private industry or even lawyers' earnings.

"I like to think I have a flair for judicial work," he said. "There's no question I would miss it very much. "But there have been many judges who've gone back to full-time law practice or to other jobs who still take cases on special assignment around the state," he said. "And the state, in my opinion, is very lucky to have them." A quick survey among Brown County's legal community shows how lucky the county has been to have him. "There's no question he's one of the most respected trial judges in the state," said attorney Avram Berk.

"He has the rare combination of common sense and a great legal mind." "He's a very strong judge, very definitely in control of his courtroom, said attorney Philip R. Brehm. "He's very good at evaluating the true worth involved in a case, and that helps in negotiating settlements before trial. For that he does his homework." That's why Parins' calendar of pending cases is "way, way less than the other judges," said Wayne Remick, Parins's courtroom clerk. "He saves the county thousands of dollars in jury fees." Parins' service to the county and its residents didn't begin when he became a judge.

In 1949 he was elected to a two-year term as county district attorney. Among the term's highlights was his successful prosecution of Sylvester Smith, who received a life prison sentence for a murder that year. He was among the county's most respected attorneys when he practiced with the firm of Cohen, Parins, Cohen and Grant until his 1967 election. While Parins has earned his judicial reputation primarily in civil cases, he again gained fame through a criminal trial. He sentenced Brian Hussong to life imprisonment in 1972 for murder.

Parins doesn't recall that Hussong who was shot and killed several months after escaping from prison last year threatened to kill him and the jurors after the trial. "I would 've been worried if I did hear it," he said after Shawano County police killed Hussong in a shootout. By 1979 Parins' reputation as a judge had grown enough to earn him a chance for appointment as a U.S. District judge in Milwaukee. "That's probably the finest job you can hold in a legal career," he said.

"It's a lifetime position, the caliber of cases is very high and you retire at full salary." But that year President i i i ISIilllii 7- Judge Robert J. Parins in his courtroom. Oconto Falls to vote on school improvements KITCHEN CAFETERIA 1 Axr i GYMNASIUM I in' 1 1 STAOC i. Li TJ 1 I i ii -41 Included in the shop addition will be two clasrooms and a finishing room, as well as an office and three shop rooms. A total of 10,500 square feet of remodeling is planned.

Space for drafting classes will replace an agriculture shop. Currently, students use a physics classroom for drafting classes and lack up-to-date equipment. "It's a rather primitive form of drafting," said Roth. Another $40,000 is set aside for energy-saving mea7 sures. A federal grant to re-'.

place windows is not enough to finish the job. Projections show that the high school enrollment will average about 540 students over the next 10 years. The size of the remods id building will be close to state Department of Public V.y struction recommendatic-for a student population of that size. Student enrollment is currently about 615. as an investment.

"These kids are going out into the world to work," Roth said. "The people they're going to support through Social Security are probably the ones who are going to vote against this." About 21,500 square feet of new space will be added to the structure. The new instructional media center will provide the normal books found in a library, with added audiovisual aides to round out the educational process. library is just books," Roth said. Included in the IMC addition will be two conference rooms, an audio-visual room, an office and a workroom.

The old library and an adjacent classroom will be remodeled into two and a guidance area. Replacing the present metal and wood shops will be an area for art classes. The current art room will probably become a ByTIMCUPRISIN 01 th Press-Gozettt Falls School District voters will go' to the polls Tuesday to decide whether a $1.6 million addition to the local high school will be built. Opposition to the addition is strong, but school Superintendent Richard Roth said the work is needed to correct flaws in the original design of the building. The original high school building was completed in the late 1960s, Roth said.

There will be an open house at the high school Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m., with staff members on hand to answer questions about the proposal and the current facilities. Tuesday's ballot proposal includes funding for an instructional media center to replace the library and the addition of agriculture, auto, metal and wood shops on the south end of the present school building. Much of the remodeling is designed to bring the school within state and fed- Richard Roth eral guidelines for the handicapped. Included in this part of the project is an elevator to provide access to the music-stage area and locker rooms. That part of the plan will cost about $38,000, including some structural changes needed to install the elevator.

Use of the elevator will be limited to handicapped students. Roth admits that opposition to raising school taxes is widespread. He said those who are against the "mod-, emization" plan fail to see it I I MCTAUSHOP I 1 AUTOAG SHOP 1 WOC SHOP Prit-G0Mttt jktch A drawing shows the proposed remodeling and additions to Oconto Falls High School which will be voted on Tuesday in a school referendum. The shaded areas show existing rooms which will be remodeled. Heavier lines outline proposed additions of an I.M.C.

(library) and a vocational education area. Riding the rails, throwing darts, aerobic dancing V' 1 1 These are but a few of the activities Green Bay- 7 li Vw: JkJ area residents participated in on a beautiful 7- 'J i spring Saturday. $Jr 'I Eleanor Geniesse, 1103 Wmford participated in the dart-throwing LA NAn Si'- dJ competiton at the Brown County Senior Olympics and Leisure Fair at r7 trf a UWGB's Shorewood Club. Other events included golf putting, and the f- jx I A I 1 vir-d Ravev-1835 st-was one mm i TTHlTiMaMi rjreds of women at the Ashwaubenon Hioh IkMM.twhW.' Imox-wI A 1907 steam locomotive, the "Prosperity Special" was on display at the school ovm who oathered oifdof for th Amor- eh-w- a 0 Chicago and North Western depot, 200 Dousman to celebrate Na- lean Heart Associa ion Th women oarfwrnid Snf0; and Becky Bern Jacbson 223 fin Ave- em tional Transportation Week. May 1 6-22.

The train is scheduled to travel ferobi dance down the steps after viewing a steam engine from the inside. throughout the state this week. ness exercises.