It’s your paper! Friday, November 10, 2017 • Vol. 4, No. 9 • Fitchburg, WI • ConnectFitchburg.com • $1
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City of Fitchburg
Inside
Amendments address nonprofit funding Public hearing, potential vote Nov. 14
Community photos Page 2
SCOTT GIRARD
Fitch-Rona EMS chief to retire at year’s end
Unified Newspaper Group
Page 3 City receives 21 applications for police chief position Page 5 Photo by Anthony Iozzo
Schools
Amelia Bender, 3, pulls a wagon on the corner of Stoneman Drive and Sunflower Drive in Fitchburg while trick-or-treating Tuesday, Oct. 31. Also pictured is Sara and Graham Bender, 1, Becky Bender (back right) and Kiyrrauh Thomas (front right), 7.
OSD board approves budget Page 8
Sports
Getting chills on Halloween Fitchburg residents braved the cold on Tuesday, Oct. 31, to bring out their families and trick-or-treat in the neighborhood between Cheryl Parkway and Lacy Road. Ghouls, superheroes, witches and yetis were among the costumes.
Fahey Farm: ‘The land has seen it all’ 2017 marks 150 years in family
Timeline
AMBER LEVENHAGEN Unified Newspaper Group
Crusaders win sectional, advance several to state Page 10
Business
CAMECA in new space Page 15
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If you drive down Irish Lane toward Fish Hatchery Road, on the right you’ll see a 5-foot-tall boulder with the name “Fahey” engraved on it. It serves as an identifier of a family that has dedicated its history to the land. The family has been farming the 160-acre plot for 150 years. The farm, at 5370 Irish Lane, near the center of the now sprawling city, was recognized for its sesquicentennial anniversary at a Fitchburg Common Council meeting in June and at the State Fair in August. The Star sat down with David Fahey and his wife, Sarah, the current inhabitants of the farm, on their 10-year wedding anniversary in October. David co-owns the property with his brothers and sister – Paul Fahey, Michael Fahey and Colleen Higgins – who don’t live on the farm but collectively serve as the fifth generation PRSRT STANDARD ECRWSS US POSTAGE
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Pictured in 2017, a large stone marks the front of Fahey Farm.
to own it. The farm was home to hundreds of dairy cows in earlier years, but now vegetable crops are the focus. “The farm is so important to the family heritage,” Sarah said. “Our son, Nicholas, is the sixth generation on the farm, and it’s exciting to know that he can learn the mechanics and be a part of that history.”
Turn to Fahey/Page 19
1855: James Monks Sr. purchases 160 acres of land on Irish Lane June 8, 1867: Farm established 1883: Land divided between James Jr., John and Thomas September 2, 1896: Thomas Monks sells 160 acres to Julia Monks Fahey and John Fahey July 3, 1928: Original farm transferred to their son, Joseph. November 7, 1961: Farm transferred to Robert and Mary Fahey September 9, 1978: Farm transferred to Robert Fahey January 8, 2008: Farm transferred to Mary Fahey, Paul Fahey, Michael Fahey, David Fahey and Colleen Higgins March 27, 2016: Ownership changes to current group, David Fahey, Paul Fahey, Michael Fahey and Colleen Higgins
Nonprofits operating in the City of Fitchburg may have a way to get money from the city in 2018 after alders proposed a pair of amendments last month that would restore that funding. The Common Council is scheduled to vote on the amendment proposals, which are among 17 offered in total, and potentially the full budget after a public hearing at the Nov. 14 meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. The amendments were proposed within a week of the public hearing on Mayor Jason Gonzalez’s budget proposal, which drew a large crowd in response to its elimination of funding for the Boys and Girls Club, Badger Prairie Needs Network and a new program developed this year to offer money to other groups, the Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative. Most of the people in attendance at that Oct. 10 meeting spoke out against those cuts and demanded the Council fund nonprofits, especially those focused on helping minorities in the city. The amendments, one of which came from Ald. Dorothy Krause (Dist. 1) and the other from Ald. Julia Arata-Fratta (D-2), Dan Bahr
Turn to Budget/Page 17
If You Go What: Public hearing on proposed budget amendments When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14 Where: City Hall, 5520 Lacy Road Info: FitchburgWI.gov
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