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Friday, October 11, 2019 • Vol. 6, No. 8 • Fitchburg, WI • ConnectFitchburg.com • $1
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Mayor’s budget: Limited staff additions, more for road work
Inside Tash collection fees going up Page 3 Roundabout opens after 3 months
Taxes could increase based on higher property assessments
Page 3 Woman accused of attempted murder Page 5
JIM FEROLIE Fitchburg Star editor
limiting his other senses. “I had music coming out of the (headphones), and I could hear it, but I couldn’t hear what the words were saying,” he said. “I just felt weird.” When Murphy started shaking, Robinson’s first emotion was fear. While Robinson was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, Murphy’s body had curled up and turned stiff. It prompted Robinson to start crying, he said, as he tried to listen to the instructions the dispatcher was giving him. “This lasted 40 seconds, but if felt like a lifetime,”
The first budget proposal by Mayor Aaron Richardson puts a priority on restricting the city’s spending. His proposed 2020 operating budget, released Sept. 20, lists f iv e “ c o m mitments” h e c o n s i d - Richardson ers the most important, and the result is a budget that provides only a fraction of department requests for staffing and funds roads at a lower level than the mayor and staff believe it ought to be funded at. While his introductory letter states keeping taxes low is his top priority, it’s clear that other limitations, set by the state, are the main driver for the tax rate, which would go down by just under 1 percent but still likely would mean a tax increase for most people. Whether alders agree with the resulting compromises remains to be seen. Amendments were due Thursday afternoon, Oct. 10, two days after the mayor’s budget went to a public hearing, and alders will hold a general discussion of them at the Oct. 24 Committee of the Whole meeting. That all leads up to a Nov. 12 public hearing, after which alders will vote on the amendments, and then the resulting budget. Alders had a preliminary discussion of the budget process and priorities at the Aug. 28 Committee of the Whole meeting, and Richardson said there were “no easy cuts” in department head requests this year.
Turn to Seizure/Page 13
Turn to Budget/Page 13
Fall Fest 2019 Page 11
Business Solar farm could help preserve agricultural land Page 15
Photo by Kimberly Wethal
From left, Verona Area High School sophomore James Robinson saved the life of his cousin Ronnie Murphy, also a VAHS sophomore, on the morning school bus route on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Murphy had a seizure, and Robinson prevented him from sustaining injuries and called for help, subsequently saving his life.
Family over Fear 15 year old saves cousin’s life during seizure on school bus KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group
Sports Edgewood girls golf looks to repeat as state champions Page B1
Schools Modjeski will lead new school Page B7
Despite being a month and two days younger than his cousin Ronnie Murphy, Verona Area High School student James Robinson has always claimed to be his “big cousin.” Robinson has earned some clout behind that statement, after he saved Murphy’s life on the bus last month. On Tuesday, Sept. 17, the two sophomores got on the bus near their home in Fitchburg. Shortly after, Murphy experienced a seizure. It prompted Robinson, who knew his cousin had seizures, to figure out
‘This lasted 40 seconds, but if felt like a lifetime,’ James Robinson, on cousin Ronnie Murphy’s seizure what to do within seconds. The two boys are playful with one another, their mothers told the Press last week, and are often goofing around. But when Murphy continued to dig his hands into his cousin’s leg and start wiping his hands on his face to get his attention, it became a sign to Robinson that he wasn’t okay. “I was like, ‘bro, what is wrong with you?’” Robinson recalled. “I was just
thinking he was being weird, but at the same time, curious what was wrong with you.” When Murphy had gotten on the bus a few minutes earlier, he had felt fine, he said, and even playfully argued with his cousin. But the bus took a corner, and it was in that moment that Murphy started to feel “sick to his stomach,” he said. The seizure quickly progressed into Murphy not being able to talk, and
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