Chippewa Herald-Telegram from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin • 1

TT II II I PEW A SKS A jJ V- V- 1r 7 V. I V-S-7 8 TOMORROW: THURSDAY FRIDAY July 24-25, 2008 Volume 138, Issue 173 Chippewa Falls, Wis. 500 Partly cloudy 8560 Get current weather at www.chippewa.com wwwxnipps wa.ccrn Chippewa Valley Newspapers IN TODAY PAPER: Chippewa Falls man not forgotten rT wouldn't go on without Beatrice. Erickson said the couple married in 1941. Then came the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec.

7, 1941, America's introduc Erickson "He was able to pull the plane away from a populated area of servicemen," Erickson said. Talking in Navajo After her husband's death, Beatrice Abrahams Sill moved to Duluth, to teach. Bud Erickson was still in the Pacific, serving in the Second Marine Division. He had enlisted on Dec. 18, 1 94 1 a scant week after Pearl Harbor.

He was shipped to New Zealand, and then Guadalcanal. His job was in communications, working with the famed Navajo Code Talkers. They would relay orders in the Navajo language in a code the Japanese could never crack. seetributepage Az A California veteran pays a unique tribute to his late wife's first husband. By ROD STETZER The Chippewa Herald Two years ago, Bud Erickson found a big brown envelope in his home in Visalia, Calif.

Inside the envelope was a flag. And it left Erickson wondering what he should do next. The flag had been used to drape over the remains of Leonard Sill, a Chippewa Falls native who died in a plane crash during World War II. Erickson, now 88 and a World War II veteran himself, had to do something to honor a brave man he had never met. He had Leonard Sill's memorial flag because of another Chippewa Falls resident, a war widow he grew to love.

Always together Leonard Sill had always been together with Beatrice Abrahams. They had their picture taken holding hands in kindergarten. They went through grade school and then Chippewa Falls Senior High School together. But when it came to college, Leonard headed to Madison and the University of Wisconsin while Beatrice attended the teaching school in Eau Claire. Leonard Sill joined the Army Air Corps, the forerunner of today's Air Force.

He successfully went through flight school. But he tion into World War II. Leonard became a senior pilot, assigned to an air strip in Okinawa, Japan. One day he was assigned to take up many military officials in a test flight of a new plane. Bud Erickson said three engines on the plane went out of commission at 1,000 feet.

Leonard Sill's fate was sealed. But not before his final brave act. I Texas and Mexico narrowly avoid 'disaster with Hurricane Dolly. A3. C.C.

Sabathia throws his third straight complete game for the jstreaking Brewers. B1. til I i To subscribe, call 723-5515 PEOPLE LOS ANGELES Over the years, TV's best-known movie review show Jias gone from hosts Siskel and Ebert to Eberl I and Roeper to Roeper and afiesl i critics and now it's Lyons nd. Mankiewicz. Ben Lyons, a 'M 11 I Si Hollywood reporter and film critic for News" and others, and Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz will take over "At the Movies" when its new season begins in 4 O.I 1I i 26 art Mankiewicz 1 f.

Hi i LfetiKk-i. 1 September, Disney-ABC Domestic Television said Tuesday. Don't look for the syndicated program's "thumbs up-thumbs down" ratings to return. Roger Ebert shares a trademark lock on it with the widow of his late co-host, Gene Siskel, and Ebert has said they're hanging on to it. "It's an awesome responsibility," Mankiewicz, 41, told The Associated Press.

"We're going to try to reach an audience that cares about movies" the same audience as before, he said, but perhaps bigger. 1, Bloomer school board looks at I election changes Board member wants rural, city designations dissolved By ELIZABETH HOCHSTEDLER The Chippewa Herald BLOOMER When Ralph Bruxvoort was elected to the Bloomer School Board in April 2007, he could have been ushered in with just one vote. He earned his place on the board by receiving about 400 write-in votes, but Bruxvoort said it concerns him that when enough candidates are not found for an open seat, a person could theoretically be voted in by just one write-in vote. Over the years, Bruxvoort said the school board has struggled to find enough candidates in the city and rural seat designations, so he has set out to change the way board members are elected. "What I'm doing is asking the district here to vote all at-large, so each time there is a vote, all the candidates will be equally eligible for the seats," he said.

The decision on the subject will likely be made at the July 28 annual school board meeting by voting residents of the Bloomer School District. The Bloomer School Board currently has seven members. Three hold city seats; three hold rural seats, and one has an at-large seat. Bruxvoort said the separate designations came when the district was consolidated. "When there was consolidation they wanted to make sure that all the districts got some sort of representation on the board," he said But as time has passed, Bruxvoort said the people living within and outside of the city limits have become more alike.

"Today there's not a big mindset difference between people who like to live in the rural area and those who like to live in the city," he said. He's observed that most people who live in the rural areas do so because they like owning land and living in the country, and most don't depend on the land to make a living. SEE BLOOMER, PAGE A2 Coming Saturday Chippewa Falls City Council members try to figure out what's next after Mayor Dan Hedrington's resignation. in the Chippewa Herald ELIZABETH HOCHSTEDLER THE CHIPPEWA HERALD PICTURE THIS 75 Krazyl Donelle Burkhart, left, and Sara Schneider, both of Chippewa Falls, look at Beanie Babies and other items on sale outside Country Treasures on Bridge Street Wednesday afternoon. The sale was part of the Krazy Daze event hosted by Chippewa Falls Main Street.

Many businesses in downtown Chippewa Falls participated Tuesday and Wednesday with special sales and by placing merchandise on sidewalks for customers to peruse. 4 Police investigating armed robbery at Indianhead Motel A ffflSfffi'l Ii mm 111 --ii ii if i -7 ill i i U4 i ma times with a similar object," police said in a press release. Money was demanded and taken from the brothers and the suspects fled, police said. Both brothers were taken by ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls.

The extent of their injuries was not known at press time. The suspects are described as two black males, approximately 25 years of age. Both appeared to be about 6-feet tall, have slender builds and shaven heads. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call theChJppewa Falls Police Department at 723-4424. By The Chippewa Herald Two lodgers at the Indianhead Motel said they were assaulted and their money taken Thursday morning, Chippewa Falls Police said.

The armed robbery call was reported at 5:01 a.m. at the hotel at 501 Summit Ave. Police said the reported victims are brothers who were sharing a room at the motel. They said they were preparing for work when two men entered their motel room. "One victim was immediately struck with a hard pipelike object.

The second victim was also struck numerous ROD STETZER THE CHIPPEWA HERALD EDDA SYDOW walks down the mosaic staircase near Golden Gate Heights in San Francisco. Smoke damage A fire about noon Wednesday was confined to the living room of Cary and Brian Proud, 14251 109th Chippewa Falls. Town of Eagle Point Fire Chief Jeffry Bowe said no one was home at the time of the fire, and that the living room had mostly smoke damage. The cause of the fire is undetermined, Bowe said. The Tilden Fire Department provided mutual assistance.

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