Category: General

At the March 15 Jackson County Board of Supervisors meeting, Ho-Chunk Nation President Marlon WhiteEagle signed a Proclamation designating April 2021 as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
His signature was among the signatures from Chairman Ray Ransom, Sheriff Duane Waldera, BRF Police Chief Jeremy Isensee, and Jackson County Department of Health and Human Services Director Christine Hovell.
The proclamation stated that the DHHS Children and Families Division received 385 reports of child abuse in 2020. It goes on to say that effective child abuse prevention programs succeed because of partnerships among non-profit agencies, schools, religious organizations, law enforcement agencies, and the business community.
“Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Jackson County Board of Supervisors urges all citizens, organizations, and businesses to be aware of the signs of child abuse and neglect, and to provide assistance when able, to help parents raise our community’s children in safe nurturing environments,” the proclamation stated.
“It is further resolved that the Jackson County Board of Supervisors proclaims that April 2021 will be recognized as Child Abuse Prevention Month,” it stated.

By Indian Country Today

Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison takes up responsibility of reducing salt pollution in the four lakes area of Wisconsin

FEB 24, 2021

Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison

Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison (HCGM) is maintaining their responsibility as a caretaker of TeeJop. This includes being mindful of reducing harmful pollutants entering the four lakes known as TeeJop, ancestral land of the Ho-Chunk people, located in Wisconsin. 

“We strive to be a leader in this community, encouraging others to do their part in preserving TeeJop,” Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison Executive Manager Daniel Brown said.

Land and water conservation include keeping within the standards recognized for chronic chloride rock salt concentration. 

Salt use for snow removal impacts infrastructure (i.e., metal corrosion on bridges and roads), vegetation (i.e. salt burn and drying of stems, buds, leaves), aquatic vegetation and soils. All of these threatening TeeJop’s native plants and potentially being replaced with salt-tolerant invasive species. Fresh water in the TeeJop region must be kept alive and well.

Winter maintenance entails lower salt use strategies. Snow removal practices must incorporate this strategy. https://87d06d6c44ad34828e46a4000ace43f2.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

The HCGM maintenance crew pre-treats with brine for anti-icing and utilize equipment focusing on a mechanical removal process. The City of Madison, Wisconsin offers a free Winter Salt Certification training through SaltWIse, an industry leader offering both individual and organizational level certifications. 

Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison’s Business Development Manager, Jon Warner, collaborated with SaltWIse, Dane County and the City of Madison. The casino will be submitting for a facility SaltWIse certification in spring–which requires the entire maintenance department to have obtained the individual certifications from SaltWIse.

“We were quick to utilize the SaltWIse trainings offered by the city,” Warner said. “This helped us to enhance our knowledge of how much of an impact we are making on the lakes in and around TeeJop. Not only is this SaltWIse process beneficial to the environment, but it is extremely helpful to our bottom-line.”

By implementing the SaltWIse process, they have seen a 70 percent reduction in the consumption of salt. Instead, the casino is clearing areas using natural elements like the power of solar thermal dynamics, heating the ground up to melt the ice and snow. 

“Under Jon’s leadership we are continuing with Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison’s eco-friendly, sustainable initiatives,” Brown said. “He garnered us accolades from Wisconsin Salt Wise and even the City of Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway for our efforts. 

The U. S. government established this level to be 230mg/L, which is lower than Wisconsin’s standard. It takes only one teaspoon of salt to pollute 5 gallons of water (230mg/L). 

To learn more about how to make a difference at reducing salt pollution and maintaining our ecosystem visit https://www.wisaltwise.com/Winter-Salt-Certification.