Leader-Telegram from Eau Claire, Wisconsin • 11

Local News Editor Gary Johnson 833-9211 Assistant Local News Editor Tim Stein (800)236-7077 CityEegeon 1 Saturday, April 24, 1999 Leader-Telegram 0 All but three counties participating in program By Dan Hottz Leader-Telegram staff Let's say you're dating a man or woman who claims to be divorced, and you want to determine whether he or she is being truthful. "Honest to God, we get that request," Eau Claire County Clerk of Courts Diana Miller said. Now a person doesn't have to visit the local clerk of courts office to get that information. With Internet Because of confidentiality requirements, information -on juvenile, guardianship, adoption and paternity cases are not accessible through the program. Information on individual court cases can be obtained I by using case numbers or just by typing in a name.

Court calendars for individual attorneys and judges also can be gleaned from the program. CCAP, started in 1987, provides automation services to county trial courts in Wisconsin. It provides computer hardware and software, and training and technical sup- port to its member counties. The -volume of data available on the circuit court See INTERNET, Page 4B' The Internet address for the state court automation system Is: ccap.courts.state.wl.us Itrtemetcourtaccess. access, that information can be obtained for nearly every Wisconsin county.

The Wisconsin Circuit Court Access program started April 5 through the state's Circuit Court Automation Program. Information on criminal, civil, traffic, small claims and some family court cases is available to anyone with Internet access. "This tool will definitely make us more efficient," Miller said. -UNITEDHEALTH CARE- Staff photo by Jeff Thompson Pat and Rollie Bushland are proud of their independent radio station, WCFW-FM (105.7) in Chippewa Falls. Ratings on rise at CF radio station Editor's note: In a Chippewa Valley radio dominated by two large companies Central Radio Group and Phillips Broadcasting which is in the process of being bought by the even larger Cumulus Media) three independents battle to be heard.

Today and over the next two Saturdays the newspaper examines the challenges and benefits of these independent radio voices. It's not a stretch to sav that Rollie Bushland- The station, at 105.7 on your FM dial, was Rollie's brainchild. And since going on the air Oct. 20, 1968, it has beenhis passion. Today, more than 30 years later, it still broad casts from the small white building in the back yard of the Chippewa Falls house, where Rollie Pat Heinn used a front-end loader Friday to clear rubble from the former Sears store in The Shops at London Square.

The store is being renovated for UnitedHealth Group, which is putting a customer service center there by July 1. The center will employ 300 people and is expected to grow to 600 workers within five years. Staff photo by Mark Christian 4 i i grew up. Rollie built and installed most of the equipment at the station. And every night, after closing up his store, Bushland Radio Specialties in Eau he stops by to do any necessary maintenance and repair.

"I keep it running," Rollie says, matter-of-fact-ly. "All of it, the whole works." Well, that's the technical end. Rollie has some help with other aspects of the radio business. His wife, Pat, sells most of the station's advertising, programs much of the music and does some ori-air work. "Things that radio sta AppDuCauDis abyiradlaDDlt aft job Fair VnitMHmltWGfou Bob Brown tions have people to do, we 'It's really a small family opera- do," Pat says, tion." Tuesday and Wednesday at Chippewa Valley Technical College.

The company chose Eau Claire out of 22 potential locations in the Midwest. Sue Henning of Job Services said she was pleased but not surprised by the high turnout. "This company has a really good reputation, and there's always a lot of interest in a new company that comes in," she said. "These are full-time jobs with good hours, good benefits and a good pay scale," she Unemployment is low in Eau Claire, but many workers are overqualified for the jobs they have, Henning said. Most of the applicants Friday already had jobs but were looking for something better, she said.

A woman who asked not to be identified said had applied for a management position. "I don't want my employer to know I'm looking," she said. She said she filled out an application but couldn't guess what her chances were of being called back for an interview. Knight can be reached at 830-5835 or (800) 236-7077. By Joe Knight Leader-Telegram staff Job applicants started assembling around 10 a.m.

Friday, an hour before the UnitedHealth Group Job Fair at the Park Inn was scheduled to open. "We've had a steady stream of applicants all day," said Gayle Woodis, vice president of Uniprise Medi-careMedicaid Services, a UnitedHealth Group company. Applicants were required to take a test for some of the job openings, and by 4:30 p.m. almost all of the 600 time slots available for testing next week had been taken. The company was starting a waiting list.

The job fair continued until 8 p.m. City officials had told the company to expect a crowd of applicants, Woodis said. "They said we'd have more candidates than we have jobs to fill, and that seems to be the case," she said. The company plans to open a service center at The Shops at London Square by July 1. The center will process Medicare and Medicaid claims.

In the first round of hiring, they expect to have 100 people hired by May 17. By September or October they (City officials) said we'd have more candidates than we have jobs to fill, and that seems to be the case. Gayle Woodis, vice president, Uniprise MedicareMedicaid Services, a UnitedHealth Group company 11 expect to have 300 people hired, she said. The center at London Square will process claims for 1.2 million customers. Seventy percent of the job openings were in claims processing, data entry and mail services.

Other openings included training, quality assurance, performance measurement, information systems, human resources, administration, management and policy interpretation. Skills testing for certain positions will be Monday, Ex-residents: Killings too close for comfort Memorial alumni live near massacre Besides Rollie and Pat, there's morning DJ Jerry Thomas, a few part-time DJs and2when Chippewa Falls High School sports are being aired, Hayes Callahan and Dave Hanson are at the mike. Llstenershlp ratings on the rise Two years ago WCFW went to 24-hour-a-day operation while boosting its power from 3,000 to 25,000 watts, thereby expanding its signal to a radius of about 50 miles. "So we're not a small station any more," Pat says. "We have a very good coverage area." And the numbers back her up.

Local audience ratings compiled by the Arbitron an international media and marketing research firm, show WCFW listenership is on the rise. In the latest Arbitron report, for the fall of 1998, WCFW tied for seventh among 17 stations ranked in the general audience ratings for the Eau Claire-Chippewa County market, with a 4.4 percent audience share. That was up from 1 2th, with a 2 percent share, in fall 1 997. Among listeners age 55 and older, WCFW ranked second, behind only Central Radio's country music flagship WAXX-FM (104.5). Pat is proud her station's ratings were achieved "without all the (promotional) hoopla" employed by Phillips and Central Radio.

In WCFW's relatively meager budget, there's no room for manic DJs, advertising forays and money give-aways. "It's kind of like the corner grocery store com- peting with the big chains," Pat says. There's room for the small guy But Rollie insists there's room for small, independent stations in the local radio market. "If you've got a decent product you can sell it," he says, "Everybody's doing something else, like the stupid polka music we run every morning." That's right, polka fans. Tune in WCFW between 5:30 and 8 a.m.

each day for all the oom-pah-pah you can eat. The rest of the day you'll hear something else only WCFW offers in this market, what Arbitron calls "soft adult contemporary" music. That used to mean heavy doses of Frank Sinatra, Anne Murray and Lawrence Welk. But along with the power boost two years ago, WCFW tweaked its play list, adding such contemporary artists as Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Janis Ian and Kenny G. "When we started in '68 our listeners were 60-plus years old" Rollie says, recalling the old play list, which he still prefers.

"But how old are they today, 90-something? How many of them are alive? So you've got to change with the times." In this age of radio giants, that's how the independent voice survives. Brown, a Leader-Telegram staff reporter, can be reached at 833-9205 or (800) 236-7077. Daily Report HTI expansion to start next month Hutchinson Technology Inc. has filed a site plan with the city of Eau Claire for its addition. If all the needed permits are given; construction should start in mid- or late May, said Michael Richards, plant manager for HTI's components plant.

The plant should be completed in November 2000. Richards said he didn't know how many jobs would be created at HTI, whose two Eau Claire plants already employ about 2,400. Hutchinson, HTI makes suspension assemblies, which are key components of computer disk drives. The addition will be the site of "trace processing" needed to make the TSA assembly, Richards said. Production of the TSA assembly started in late 1997 and already accounts for about 60 percent of the work done at the Eau Claire plants; Richards said.

Market forecasts say eventually all customers will buy TSA assemblies. Powwow today at UW-Eau Claire Chippewa Valley residents can get a taste of Indian culture during the annual powwow celebration Saturday at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Zorn Arena. The event will include social dances, a men's wind song contest, Indian art vendors and drums. "People can come and learn to dance, and they don't have to be in dance regalia," said Terri Scott, a member of the Meskwaki tribe from Iowa and former Native American coordinator at UW-Eau Claire. The event begins at 1 p.m., but Scott recommends coming at 12:30 p.m.

"It is good to come and see highlights of Indian culture through song and dance," she said. Admission to the event is $3. Elders and children ages 6 and younger are I just makes you realize how life can change so quickly," she said. "It makes you think and treasure everything more." The mood around the community these days is hard to describe, Caskey said. "A little bit more hugs and apprehension from parents who don't want to send their kids to school.

The whole country is going through it, but it's more scary when it's in your back yard, you know?" As a whole, Littleton is what Caskey considers a "very nice area," with middle to upper class residents making up the majority of the community. "No place is safe obviously, but it is a nice part of Colorado. This just proves that you're not safe anywhere," she said. "Everyone's very sad and very somber but also very supportive." Caskey's brother, Dan Cable, also lives in Colorado and has felt the effects of the recent massacre. Though he didn't know any of the Columbine victims or those injured, he said the tragedy still hit home.

"It's kind of like you know somebody who knew somebody involved," said the 37-year-old insurance agent who lives 10 to 15 minutes east of the school. "It hit pretty close, though I didn't know anyone personally." The high school itself also was reminiscent See LITTLETON, Page 4B By Jennifer Chovanec Leader-Telegram staff The aftermath of the Columbine High School shooting Tuesday has left two former Eau Claire residents cherishing their friends and family more than ever. It'll be a few years until Kathy Caskey's 3-year-old son, Charlie, enters high school, but it doesn't stop her from thinking twice about the potential for danger that she now knows lurks everywhere. Caskey grew up in Eau Claire, attended Memorial High School and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She moved to the Littleton, area about four years ago.

"It's pretty scary," said Caskey, who lives a few miles south of Littleton in the Denver suburb of Highland's Ranch. "It's been a real emotional week for the people around here." Just then the 35-year-old at-home mom broke down into tears. Through her sniffles she quickly apologized for "getting emotional." Though she didn't know any of the Columbine students, Caskey's husband, Chuck, did. Chuck's office is about four miles from the school. His assistant's daughter is a student at the high school; she managed to escape uninjured.

"(Since the shooting) everyone's been spending more time with their kids, and it free. Sponsors include the UW-Eau Claire American Indian Student Association, American Indian Science Program, American Ethnic Coordinating Office, Bahai Faith of Eau Claire, College of Arts and Sciences Division of Continuing Education, the School of Nursing, Title 9 It Parent Committee and the University Activities Commission. From staff reports.