The Friends of Wabeno recently assembled a 10-year plan to revitalize the Forest county community, hit hard by weather and tough economic times.
Mary Beck is chair of the group which began in April with the idea of restoring some of the landmarks...
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"...we've had a lot of misfortune over the last two years...some of our icons have been damaged...our Wabeno Bandshell...our Larry the Logroller mascot...many of the large pine trees that surrounded our Logging Museum area..."
She says at their meetings up to 35 local citizens have attended. They put together a plan centered on four areas...
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"....probably the main one started with the revitalization of the downtown area and we submitted a grant to the federal government for healthy food initiative projects to create a grocery store. The town has been without a grocery store for a number of years..."
Beck says they have a vision of Wabeno...
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"....that it's going to be an attraction for its historical,cultural and natural resources so we're hitting those areas in the revitalization, possibly creating a boardwalk along our trout stream that goes through town..."
She says they also want to work with existing businesses. They also have volunteers working on various projects to improve the community. The group also is looking into working with the Forest Service for biking and hiking trails.
