Back to School
Store shelves are lined with supplies and advertisements are chock full of deals – the back-to-school shopping season is here again. If you are in the market for backpacks, markers, folders, tablets, clothing and more, retailers statewide are ready for your business. To make sure you get your money’s worth at the register, take these tips from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) along with your shopping list.
“The back-to-school season is a very
competitive time for Wisconsin
retailers, providing consumers with a
number of ways to save on class
supplies, new clothes and electronics,”
said Frank Frassetto, Division
Administrator for Trade and Consumer
Protection. “With so many items on sale
and so many different types of products
crossing the scanner, consumers should
pay close attention to the register and
to their receipts to ensure that they
receive the advertised prices for their
purchases.”
Follow these simple tips to
ensure that you are charged correctly:
• Before setting out for your shopping
run, review the advertisements for
restrictions on quantities, sale hours,
returns and rain checks. Check store
policies on price matching to
consolidate your run.
• Write down prices or special sales
while you shop to have a better sense of
the final total before you hit the
register. Most pricing errors occur on
sale items.
• Keep an eye on the display screen
while your items are being scanned.
Speak up if you think you have been
overcharged for an item.
• If there is a pricing error, Wisconsin
law requires that a store refund any
overcharge amount. Work with customer
service to receive a refund while you
are in the store. Double check your
receipt before you leave to ensure that
the totals are correct.
• Report pricing errors to state or
local inspectors. To file a weights and
measures complaint with DATCP’s Weights
and Measures Bureau, send an e-mail to
datcpweightsandmeasures@wi.gov or
call 608-224-4942.
• When you are finished shopping, save
your receipts and submit any rebates
immediately.
Every year DATCP’s Weights and Measures
team visits stores statewide to test for
price accuracy, and the results show
that consumers pay correct prices at
Wisconsin stores an overwhelming
majority of the time. In 2015, DATCP
inspectors tested more than 68,000 items
for price accuracy, and found that
prices were accurate or registered in
the consumers’ favor 99% of the time.
Even so, it doesn’t hurt to keep these
back-to-school shopping tips in mind
during this busy shopping season.
For additional information, visit
datcp.wisconsin.gov or contact the
Consumer Protection Hotline at
800-422-7128 or by e-mail:
datcphotline@wisconsin.gov.
DATCP Sec. Brancel Listening Sessions
This past week I had the opportunity to bring up the Secretary from the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, Secretary Ben Brancel. We had some very productive listening sessions. Thank you to all who showed up; we appreciate hearing your concerns about what is going on in the 35th Assembly District.
School Supplies
It's that time of year again; the time to start thinking about back to school shopping. This means its also time for the Kinship Back to School Backpack and School Supply Drive, being co-coordinated this year by the Tomahawk Cadette Girl Scout Troop 7218. There are trees with supply tags on them at Tomahawk Pharmacy, Tomahawk Ben Franklin, and Nelson's County Market. The drive ends on August 1st. You can drop off your purchased supplies at Tomahawk Pharmacy or the Tomahawk Leader.
The Tomahawk Area Veterans Honor Guard, the American Legion, the American Legion Riders, AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars are also seeking donations to purchase school supplies for children in Pre-K through 5th Grade. Checks can either be mailed to the American Legion Post 93, PO Box 654, or if you purchase supplies they can be dropped off at Dunn Financial Services, 102 West Wisconsin Avenue, Tomahawk. For a list of supplies needed you can contact Joe Story at 715.966.0261.
Majority of Northern Roadways Open for Travel
The Wisconsin Department of
Transportation has been working hard to ensure tourists don’t
miss out on their planned vacations due to recent flooding.
Businesses and roadways remain open in Ashland, Bayfield and
Iron County. Roadways that are closed for repairs are detoured
and signed with portable electronic message signs to help ensure
you get back on track to your final destination.
Current closures and detours include:
Ashland County
• WIS 13 corridor is closed between Mellen and WIS 112. Traffic
is detoured via WIS 77, US 51, US 2.
Bayfield County
• US 63 is closed at Twentymile Creek near Grand View. Car
traffic only is detoured at Grand View via Raymond Road and
North Sweden Road. Truck traffic is detoured via County Highway
N and County Highway A.
o Work to repair damages on US 63 is underway. The project
includes debris removal, culvert repair and pavement work.
WisDOT anticipates this project will be complete and US 63 will
be open to traffic mid-August.
Iron County
• WIS 122 is closed north of US 2 to the Michigan State line.
o Work to replace a culvert began July 25. The highway is
scheduled to be open to traffic by August 7.
• WIS 169 is closed between WIS 13 and US 2. Traffic is detoured
via WIS 77, US 51, US 2.
o Installation of a temporary culvert at the South Tributary to
Vaughn Creek, located one-half-mile north of Gurney (between
Cameron Road and Jensen Road) was completed on July 20. The
highway is open at this location to local traffic only. Project
completion is scheduled for August 31.
o Work to replace the Vaughn Creek culvert is scheduled to start
August 22, with project completion by September 30.
o Today crews will begin work to repair washouts along WIS 169.
That work is scheduled for completion by August 12.
Motorists are advised to use caution in these areas and adhere
to signed closures. For up-to-date closures and detour
information visit www.511wi.gov,
download the free mobile app or follow @511WI on Twitter.
Upcoming Events in Northern Wisconsin
