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Friday, December 14, 2018 • Vol. 5, No. 10 • Fitchburg, WI • ConnectFitchburg.com • $1
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Inside
Dancing lions abroad
Badger Prairie Needs Network
Nomination papers available for spring election Page 3 Tax bills in the mail
OMS students travel to China for dance competition
Page 5
EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
Second Harvest post it as available for delivery,” she said. As a result, Kasieta said, BPNN will have an impact on food-insecure homes not just within the Verona Area School District, but throughout Dane, Jefferson and Waukesha counties, as well as around a dozen more in southern Wisconsin that are serviced by Second Harvest Food Bank. Dawn Bradshaw, foods division program leader for CAC, said while the 52-year-old anti-poverty nonprofit has been conducting food rescues from Epic for years, the partnership with BPNN with repackaging the food will allow it to better serve the population of those who have food insecurity. Previously, the packaging would be flimsy and not keep the food safe, or it wouldn’t include lists of ingredients, a concern for those who have allergies. “That’s a big concern when you’re dealing with a vulnerable population to begin with,” she said. “You certainly don’t want to be causing any medical issues to those folks who are perhaps already having medical issues.” In addition to feeding people, a goal of Kitchen to Table is to create a working model for food recovery
Tw o O r e g o n M i d d l e School seventh-graders recently traveled to Macau, China last month to tell a tale – the tale of a lion who crossed a bridge in a simple act of bravery. Josie Feldhausen and Renee Erdmann did this while operating a colorful, puppet-like lion costume in a Chinese martial arts tradition known as a lion dance. The dance won the seventh-graders and the rest of their junior United States team a bronze medal in the first junior lion dance competition at the Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer International Lion Dance Invitational, held Nov. 10-11. “They were thrilled,” said Colleen Feldhausen, Josie’s mother. “They practiced for months.” “I was surprised and ecstatic and I felt like I was going to explode,” Josie said in a later phone call with the Star. “I couldn’t comprehend the feelings that were rushing into my head.” The junior team also included Emerson Elementary fourth-grader Solomon Beebe Collum of Madison, who played drums during the girls’ performance. They traveled with their families, and the Zhong Yi Kung Fu Association women’s team with whom they train in Madison. While at the competition, the seventh-graders met teams from all across southeast Asia — including China, Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia. Feldhausen said in their free time, the girls were able to explore Macau with their respective families. “We did quite a bit of sightseeing,” she said. “We saw a lot of ancient Buddhist temples.”
Turn to BPNN/Page 15
Turn to China/Page 16
Veterans Day ceremony photos Page 13
Business
Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Steve Barry places food items on the shelf in Badger Prairie Needs Network’s new warehouse.
Kitchen to table
Expansion allows for partnerships, feeding more people KIMBERLY WETHAL
Noble Knight brings thousands of games to Fitchburg Page 17
Sports
Edgewood girls swimming repeats Page B1
Schools OSD approves land purchases Page B6
Unified Newspaper Group
When Badger Prairie Needs Network expanded into a county building in 2015, it found itself with twice the space but still “bursting at the seams.” “From almost the day we moved in, we’ve been expanding our programs, and we are out of space,” Marcia Kasieta, executive director for the nonprofit social services agency, told the Press last month. With an addition onto the western and northern parts of the now 9,000-square-foot Verona facility, BPNN has the space to widen its impact on reducing food insecurity. It served 1,100 families in 2017 – two thirds of whom were from Fitchburg – and expanded its service territory in 2018. A 576-square foot warehouse is already mostly filled with dry goods, and a larger cooler and freezer area was ready use by the first week of December. Those additions allow BPNN to have the space to turn over more product, which it will need after increasing its services. The new 1,000-square foot cooler and freezer space off the back of the kitchen will allow for a new initiative to be rooted in BPNN’s facility. The “Kitchen to Table: Wisconsin Food PRSRT STANDARD ECRWSS US POSTAGE
‘From almost the day we moved in, we’ve been expanding our programs, and we are out of space.’ – Marcia Kasieta, BPNN executive director Recovery Network” initiative will involve conducting “rescues” from cafeterias from places like Epic and UW Hospitals and Clinics and using BPNN’s facility to repackage food and store it. Regional networks, including the Community Action Coalition and Second Harvest of Southern Wisconsin, and individual food pantries will be able to collect the prepackaged meals from BPNN and distribute them. That increases the amount of prepared food its clients will have access to, and other food service agencies that feed Fitchburg can receive prepackaged food that comes through BPNN, as well. “If the pantries at St. Vincent De Paul, Good Shepherd Church or Allied Drive want to receive packaged surplus food, they can come out to BPNN and shop the cooler – or they can order it when CAC or
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December 14, 2018
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Fitchburg Star
Santa listens as Jaiden Jones, 3, tells him what he wants for Christmas this year during the 32nd Annual Children’s Holiday Party. Photos by Kimberly Wethal
Gabriel Martin, 6, of Oregon, twists pipe cleaners around at the craft station during the 32nd Annual Children’s Holiday Party on Sunday, Dec. 9, at the City of Fitchburg Community Center.
Making holiday memories The 32nd annual Children’s Holiday Party was held on Sunday, Dec. 9. Hundreds of children took the opportunity to visit with Santa, get their faces painted, decorate holiday crafts and decorate cookies.
At left, Zoe Farley, 4, of McFarland, bites into a sugar cookie.
On the web To see more photos from the 32nd Annual Children’s Party, visit:
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Kenya Rose, 5, of Madison, decorates her popsicle stick project with silver glitter glue during the 32nd Annual Children’s Holiday Party on Sunday, Dec. 9, at the city of Fitchburg Community Center.
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December 14, 2018
Fitchburg Star
3
Spring election
What’s online
Mayor, 8 alder seats all on April ballot
Read these and more news stories at ConnectFitchburg.com:
Last election before openings become staggered SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
The April election will mark the last time all of the City of Fitchburg elected offices will be on the ballot at the same time. Under an ordinance approved earlier this year, four of the aldermanic seats – one in each district – and the mayoral election will all be for oneyear terms this time around. Those seats will be up for election again in 2020 while the other four alders continue their two-year terms. So far, there’s only one contested race, Gonzalez and all but two of the incumbents have declared they intend to run for re-election. That contest will be at the top of the ballot, as Ald. Aaron Richardson (Dist. 3) will challenge incum- Richardson bent Mayor Jason Gonzalez. That leaves Richardson’s seat on the Common Council open, and Ald. Tony Hartmann (D-4) announced Tuesday night during the Council meeting he would not run for re-election. Candidates can now circulate their nomination papers and must turn in the required signatures to the
for three-year terms. Amy Almond, who has been on the board since 2005, and board president Noah Roberts, who is finishing his first term, both said they plan to run for re-election, with each mentioning finishing the high school project as part of their motivation. “I would very much like to stay on the board to see the high school project, capital improvement, and school moves through to the end,” Almond told the Star in a Nov. 28 email. “It’s a yes from me so I can finish what was started so long ago.” City of Fitchburg Roberts is in an at-large seat, while As of Wednesday, Dec. 12, only Almond’s is for the City of Fitchburg. incumbents had filed papers to run for Oregon School District office. Three of them are running for oneThere are a pair of Oregon School year terms: Anne Scott in District 1, board seats up for election to a threeDan Bahr in District 2 and Dan Car- year term. penter in District 3. The other oneKrista Flanagan and Dan Krause year term is for Hartmann’s open seat. both told the Star they would seek Alders running for re-election to a re-election. two-year term are Dorothy Krause in Both Krause and Flanagan repreDistrict 1, Julia Arata-Fratta in Dis- sent Area 1, which covers the Village trict 2 and Tom Clauder in District 4. of Oregon. The other two-year term is for the seat Richardson is vacating, Dis- Madison Metropolitan trict 3, Seat 5. He’s hoping instead to School District move two places to his right at CounThree of the Madison Metropolicil meetings into the mayor’s chair. That was the same seat Gonzalez held tan school board seats are on the balbefore he won the 2017 mayoral race, lot for three-year terms, with at least and no one has declared yet they’ll one incumbent not running and the other two undeclared. run to fill it. Seat 3 will feature a race, but it Incumbent Municipal Judge will not include an incumbent, as Hamdy Ezalarab is also running for Dean Loumos decided not to run re-election to a two-year term. for re-election after initially filing papers to run, the Capital Times Verona Area School District reported this week. Cris Carusi and Both of the Verona Area school Kaleem Caire will compete for the board incumbents plan to run again seat, though Caire has not filed any
clerk by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2, to get on the ballot. County and statewide elections include the open seat of state Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson, a Dane County circuit court seat and a Court of Appeals judge. Each of Fitchburg three school districts will also have seats on the ballot. The general election is Tuesday, April 2. If a primary is required for any races, it would be Tuesday, Feb. 19.
paperwork yet, according to the City of Madison clerk’s website. In Seat 4, incumbent James Howard has not declared whether he will run. But Ali Muldrow, who ran for the board last year, and former county supervisor David Blaska, have both filed a declaration of candidacy, according to the clerk’s website. The final seat, currently held by TJ Mertz, only has one candidate listed on the clerk’s website: Ananda Mirilli. Mertz has not declared if he will run again as of Wednesday, Dec. 12.
Dane County Dane County voters will have a pair of judgeships on the ballot. The District 4 Court of Appeals Judge seat is up, with Madison resident Jennifer Nashold filing her statement of campaign, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Incumbent Paul Lundsten has been on the court since 2000, filed a notification of noncandidacy. Incumbent Rhonda Lanford has declared her candidacy for Dane County Circuit Court Branch 16 as well.
Statewide The only race on every Wisconsin ballot will be for the state’s highest court. State Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson has announced she will not run for re-election. The race currently includes Racine resident Lisa Neubauer and Oconomowoc resident Brian Hagedorn, according to registration statements with the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
McKee Farms beer garden proposed The group that opened a beer garden in Madison’s Olbrich Park is hoping to bring another to McKee Farms Park. BKM Group responded to the City of Fitchburg’s request for proposals to sell food and drink concessions in city parks that could generate revenue for the city. The proposal was first discussed in August by the Parks Commission and again at its Dec. 6 meeting after a November public meeting on the topic. Another public meeting is expected in January.
Flood relief, health services top approved county budget County officials are touting a slimmed-down budget with lower property taxes and increased emphasis on mental health, housing, criminal justice and flood relief. District 33 Supervisor Jennifer Dye of Fitchburg told the Star last month the budget focused on “making our community stronger and more resilient and addressing problems on the front end before they begin,” from flood mitigation to investment in youth.
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Stoner Prairie Elementary School Stoughton Center for the Arts Stoughton Dance Booster Club Sugar Creek Elementary School Syttende Mai Festival Theatre LILA Triangle Community Ministry United Way of Dane County Upper Sugar River Watershed Association UW Carbone Cancer Center V-Sting Baseball Verona Area Chamber of Commerce Verona Area Lacrosse Club Verona Area Performing Arts Series Verona Ice Arena Verona Road Business Coalition Verona Soccer Club Verona Wildcats Hockey Wildcat Youth Football Wingra School Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra Wisconsin Mortgage Bankers Association Wisconsin Skeeters Sled Hockey Wisconsin Wolfpack Basketball Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras Women’s Council of REALTORS ® Woods Hollow Children’s Center Wounded Warrior Project Zor Shriners
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Badger Prairie Needs Network Before 16 Boys & Girls Club of Dane County Brat Fest - Senior Center Sponsor Brewer Community Foundation Briarpatch Youth Services Children’s Dyslexia Center-Madison Children’s Theater of Madison Chrysalis Community Living Connections Domestic Abuse Intervention Services Doyenne Group East Madison/Monona Coalition of the Aging Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Fair Wisconsin Fellowship of Christian Athletes Fitchburg Center Farmer’s Market
Fitchburg Chamber of Commerce Fitchburg Public Library Fitchburg - Verona Rotary Club Friends of Diabetes Research Friends of the Fitchburg Library Gilda’s Club Madison Gio’s Garden Girl Power Africa Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Goodman Community Center Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce Hickory Knoll Farm Huntington’s Disease Society of America -Great Lakes Region Italian Workmen’s Club Madison Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Kiwanis Club of Downtown Madison Latino Chamber of Commerce of Dane County Lily’s Fund for Epilepsy Research Madison4Kids Madison Country Day School Madison Metropolitan Chapter of the Links
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art Madison Reading Project Madison Rotary Foundation Madison Shrine Club Madison South Rotary Madison Symphony Orchestra League Madison West High School Midvale Community Lutheran Church NARI Foundation National Alliance on Mental Illness National Association of the Remodeling Industry Opportunity 34 Scholarship Fund Oregon Athletic Booster Club Oregon Preschool, Inc. Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish Reach Dane Reach Dane Head Start Realtors Association of South Central Wisconsin RISE Seminole Forest Neighborhood Association Seminole Pool & Tennis Club Share Your Holidays Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin Shelley Glover Foundation Shriners Hospital for Children Society of St. Vincent de Paul Special Olympics Wisconsin St. Maria Goretti Parish StageWorks Projects
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December 14, 2018
Letters to the editor
Observing the thin blue line The phrase “the thin blue line” refers figuratively law enforcement in society as a bulwark between order and anomie. In September and October, I participated in the Citizen’s Police Academy, a 10-week program with the Fitchburg Fire Department and City of Fitchburg every year. It’s a brief look into a police recruit’s training and officers duties covering numerous different scenarios. My class of nine listened to a lecture on the drug and gang problem followed by vehicle contacts, crime scene investigations, EVOC (emergency vehicle operations) and one of my favorites, firearms. This evening was spent on a firing range using the FPD’s issued Glock 17. My favorite was “training and scenarios,” a culmination of the last nine weeks of training. In one particular scenario, my partner and I were dispatched to a neighborhood where a wanted homicide suspect was seen. We were told he was armed and dangerous. This is done using virtual reality and is very
Opinion
Fitchburg Star
very life like. This had a profound effect on me. 90 percent of the class is all hands-on, it’s designed to learn and have fun. These men and women of every police department in the United States face this type of thing on a daily basis. A wrong decision or read in any situation could end their watch. A completely small incident can escalate to a “officer down” call in a split-second if these “warriors in blue” make a wrong decision. They go to work every day as husbands, wives, moms and dads, knowing that today could be their “last watch.” Think about that tomorrow morning on your way to work. This is an excellent 10-week class and I will never be able to thank all my police officer instructors enough for all of their time teaching us. I must also thank them for their courage, compassion and integrity, which is the thin blue line. Thank you to all of the men and women of the FPD and the city of Fitchburg. David Erzen City of Fitchburg
Healthy Living
Prepare to resist food pushers Y ou know the family member. It might be your grandma, a well-meaning aunt or uncle or possibly your mom who is always worried that you haven’t gotten enough to eat. The one who pushes food on you during the holidays. For me, it was usually my grandma, when she made food for 20 when we really only had 10 sitting around the table. She’d implore us to fill our plates up with more and insisted Hoerr that we couldn’t possibly be full. “You hardly ate!” she’d exclaim. In reality, we’d already gone back for seconds and the sheer thought of more food was enough to make us sick. For you, it might be the aunt who doesn’t want to take home the leftovers, the coworker who wants to make sure you indulge as much as she did or the parent who genuinely shows love by providing more food. Whatever the circumstance, having food pushed on you can catch you off guard, and if you’re not prepared, you might find yourself with another plate of food in front of you. Sure, it might be relatively easy to say no to the dry fruitcake Aunt Betty
Friday, December 14, 2018 • Vol. 5, No. 10
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brought. But it might not be as easy to say no when another helping of your favorite mashed potatoes or an extra scoop of ice cream to go with your apple pie is being offered. Having a holiday game plan is key. That means being prepared mentally, going to your gathering ready with an automatic response and making sure you’re kind when you do it. Start by preparing your willpower for the challenge. Just like athletes need to mentally prepare for a big game, we also need to mentally prepare for these challenging food-related scenarios. Take time before you go to your next holiday event to picture yourself there. Imagine how you’ll handle the food around you, how it feels to be satisfied and how it feels to be “stuffed.” Thinking through this in advance will help you to not overindulge when you’re surrounded by food and temptations. Savor and enjoy whatever you’d like, but don’t feel like you have to keep eating just because it’s there. As you mentally think about how you want to feel while you’re at your next family gathering, come up with a response in advance for how you’ll handle the inevitable food pusher. Write it down and rehearse. Say it out loud. Doing all of these things will make it that much easier to put your response
into practice when you’re on the spot. Of course, your intent isn’t to hurt the friend or family member’s feelings, so keep the response brief, pleasant and straightforward. For example, a simple “no, thank you” might be enough. If they continue to insist, repeat yourself and mention that you’re full. Some food pushers pressure us because they seek praise or appreciation for their food. This would be a great time to say, “It was delicious, but I’m full right now. I’d love to take some home with me.” This compliments the food pusher, but helps you stay committed to not eating more than you’d like. No matter how good the intentions, remember that it’s not your responsibility to make someone else happy by overeating. Enjoy your holiday favorites, but don’t let yourself – and certainly not a food pusher – guilt or pressure you into eating more than what feels comfortable. Kara Hoerr, MS, RDN, CD, is the registered dietitian at the Fitchburg Hy-Vee. For nutrition information or questions, contact her at khoerr@hy-vee.com or 273-5125. This information is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for individual advice.
Resource Conservation Commission
Do your part to keep salt out of water
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started working for the City of Fitchburg in late April, shortly after we were all surprised with a whopping five inches of snow. Snow plows and salt trucks were out in full force. Around the same time, I found out that here in the land of fresh water, our water resources are becoming increasingly salty. The environmental and economic impacts of this are astounding. Fortunately, we can do something about it. I dug into this more to understand the effects of high chloride levels in water, the sources of that chloride and what actions I can take to keep water fresh. I found a great deal of information on the website for Wisconsin Salt Wise Partnership, which educates and provides training for residents, leaders and winter maintenance professionals and promotes best practices on salt pollution and solutions. This website goes out of its way to recognize contractors committed to using the right amount of salt for conditions. It revealed there are many bad effects from excess salt getting into our waterways, and it comes from a variety of sources – not just the salt trucks we all see but also our ubiquitous water softeners. While cities and businesses can make sure their contractors are using the right amount of salt on pavement, the rest of us can help by making sure our water softeners are adjusted properly and our own salt usage in the winter is not more than necessary. The reason this is so important is once salt is in the environment, it doesn’t go away. It ends up in our lakes, streams, rivers and wetlands. Adding one teaspoon of salt to five
attract and trap the hard water minerals. The softener then flushes them with salt water brine. Inefficient water softeners use more salt brine and send more salt to the wastewater treatment plant. So one way we can do our part is by having them gallons of water permanently pollutes “optimized” or recalibrated by a profesfreshwater ecosystems. This endangers sional. Sometimes it might be best to our freshwater resources and puts aquat- replace the softener with a high-efficienic life at risk. cy model. Closer to home, winter salt on sideA more common way we can keep walks can be hard on pets for both salt out of our waterways is by following skin irritation on their feet and the salt the mantra, “Shovel, Scatter, Switch.” ingested when they lick they paws after That means shovel snow to clear the a walk. surface before snow turns to ice. The state of Wisconsin spent more Scatter means if I use salt, I should than $46 million on salt for the highscatter if so there’s space between the ways in 2017 – over 500,000 tons of grains – one coffee mug’s worth can salt. When you include what communi- treat an entire 20-foot driveway. More than that and I end up with a pile of ties, businesses and homeowners used, granular salt that’s slippery in its own the number is closer to 650,000 tons. It can be difficult and energy-intensive way, gets tracked into buildings and to remove salt from water. So if we don’t bothers pets. Switch means when the pavement reduce the amount of salt flowing directtemperature is colder than 15 degrees, ly down the drains and melting into off regular salt won’t work and we need to of pavements, we could end up paying for it through our water bills. switch to sand or other ice melters. Salt from winter applications alone is Winter maintenance professionals are learning about best practices. The enough to pollute almost a half-trillion gallons of Wisconsin’s water, according City of Madison has created a voluntary certification program for all public and to the Wisconsin Salt Wise Partnership website. The Madison Metropolitan private winter maintenance professionals Sewerage District estimates 20,000 tons in Dane County. For me, this winter, I’ll be paying of salt from softeners goes into the Dane attention to how salt is applied to the County area alone. roads and sidewalks in my neighborSofteners help remove hard water minerals from our water before the water hood, and I’ll think twice when I reach is used in our homes and buildings, but for the salt after I shovel. it ends up in our wastewater treatment plant, where the salt passes through the Ellen Geisler is a sustainability spesystem and enters into local waterways. cialist for the City of Fitchburg. When water enters the softener, it passes through special resin beads that
Letters to the editor
Agrace celebrates Hospice and Pallative Care month, 40 years As November Hospice and Palliative Care month and Agrace’s 40th anniversary year both draw to a close, these celebrations would not be happening without the contributions of thousands of volunteers over four decades. I’d like to publicly thank them all for their service to the community. Back in 1978, it was a group of volunteers who started the nonprofit hospice and palliative care organization we
know today as Agrace. They imagined a community where people lived better with serious illness and died with greater dignity and they found a way to make that goal a reality. Forty years later, our volunteers’ commitment to that mission of compassion is as solid as ever. So far in 2018, Agrace volunteers have donated more than 60,000 hours. Most of these hours are spent directly with patients, providing companionship or giving
family caregivers a respite break. Volunteer support is essential to all that we do, for both our patients and their families. As we celebrate Agrace’s 40th birthday, thank you, volunteers, for choosing to serve through Agrace. We appreciate you, and we are inspired by all you do. Andy Boryczka Director, employee and volunteer engagement for Agrace
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December 14, 2018
Fitchburg Star editor
For the third year in a row, Verona Area School District homeowners in the City of Fitchburg will feel the hit of tax bills going up by more than $180 on average. The city compiled its extraordinarily complicated 2018 taxes early this month with the hope of getting them in the mail around Dec. 15. Overall tax rates in the city have declined in most jurisdictions, and the overall equalized tax rate in VASD stayed the same, just as administrators indicated it would in the run-up to the 2017 high school referendum. But increasing home values and other factors will leave people paying, on average, 4.3 percent more in VASD ($181), 2 percent more in the Oregon district ($126) and .3 percent more in the Madison district ($22). That range was similar to last year’s tax bills, which showed an increase of $288 in Verona, $53 in the Madison district and $4 in Oregon. The average VASD homeowner’s tax bill went up by about $300 the year before that, mostly owed to rising home values, which have increased by 12 percent over the past three years. However, three years ago, the average Madison district homeowner paid $115 less in taxes than a VASD homeowner, and now the difference is nearly $500. In general, about half of property taxes are the result of a school district’s tax rate and about one-third comes from the city, town or village. In Fitchburg, the city’s tax rate dropped 4.2 percent, which is almost exactly the same as the average home increased in value (4.3 percent), meaning taxes for city services stayed level this year. Increases (or in some cases, decreases) in property taxes will partly depend on the change in a home’s assessed value, which varies by the housing type and the housing market in that type of neighborhood, and the various ways municipalities keep assessments up to date. The City of Verona, for example, uses a simple assessment system that keeps all property values the same for several years until it revalues all properties at once, sometimes leading to hikes of 20 percent or 30 percent in a home’s assessed value at a time. The Village of Oregon picks one-fourth of the village to reassess each year and continues on a rolling basis. Fitchburg analyzes values for all properties each year and decides which property types in various neighborhoods warrant adjustments based on how significant the change is in market value, assessor Dell Zweig told the Star in an email last
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MMSD taxes Jurisdiction 2017 2018 $ inc. % inc. City of Fitchburg $8.55 $8.19 -$.36 -4.2 Dane County $3.17 $3.02 -$.14 -4.6 MATC $.95 $.93 -$.02 -2.2 MMSD $9.69 $9.37 -$.32 -3.3 Net taxes $22.35 $21.52 -$.84 -3.8 Avg. home value $282,000 $294,000 $12,000 4.3 Avg. tax bill $6,304 $6,326 $22 .3 Lottery credit $138 $188 $50 -First $ credit $79 $78 $1 -Garbage fee $161 $162 $1 --
OSD taxes Jurisdiction 2017 2018 $ inc. % inc. City of Fitchburg $8.55 $8.19 -$.36 -4.2 Dane County $3.17 $3.02 -$.14 -4.6 MATC $.95 $.93 -$.02 2-.2 OSD $9.63 $9.67 $.04 .4 Net taxes $22.30 $21.81 -$.48 -2.2 Avg. home value $282,000 $294,000 $12,000 4.3 Avg. tax bill $6,288 $6,414 $126 2 Lottery credit $138 $194 $56 -First $ credit $79 $80 $1 -Garbage fee $150 $162 $1 -that doesn’t give the city extra spending power, it simply changes where the money comes from. Properties that increase in valuation will be responsible for a higher percentage of the city’s total levy. “The market analysis is completed each year … for equitable distribution of the tax levy,” Zwieg wrote. Dodge said envelopes were being stuffed early this week and she expects them to be mailed Thursday or Friday. The state requires them to be sent out by Dec. 17. The first half of tax bills are due Jan. 31, but many homeowners pay all or part of the bill before the end of the year to count it toward their 2017 taxes. Payments postmarked by Dec. 31 will be credited as a December payment for tax purposes. To see your tax information online, visit the public access portal of AccessDane at accessdane.co.wi. us. Email Fitchburg Star editor Jim Ferolie at fitchburg star@wcinet.com.
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Council approves budget SCOTT GIRARD
Jurisdiction 2017 2018 $ inc. % inc. City of Fitchburg $8.55 $8.19 -$.36 -4.2 Dane County $3.17 $3.02 -$0.14 -4.6 MATC $.95 $.93 -$.02 -2.2 VASD $10.89 $11.07 $.18 1.6 Net taxes $23.56 $23.21 -$.35 -1.5 Avg. home value $282,000 $294,000 $12,000 4.3 Avg. tax bill $6,643 $6,824 $181 2.7 Lottery credit $152 $217 $65 -First $ credit $87 $90 $3 -Garbage fee $161 $162 $1
week. If one of those types is a “hold” – for example, older single-family homes in certain neighborhoods or new condos in the newest subdivisions – homeowners might see no changes to their homes’ assessed values unless they’ve done renovations. This method prevents the shocking jumps some communities might experience every five years or so, but it means homeowners’ taxes can vary widely from year to year. T h i s y e a r, m o s t s i n gle-family homes increased in value between 2 and 4 percent, but the condo market showed more volatility. Some, like The Pines condominiums, for example, showed an increase of 10 percent or more, as did those in the Woodlands o f S e m i n o l e , W h i s p e ring Pines, Whalen Road Country Condos, Aberdeen Woods and some parts of Hatchery Hill. But nearly half of the condo developments in the city showed no increase at all. “The condo market was quite depressed after 2008, and some have rebounded in a big way and some quicker than others,” Zwieg explained. “That is the market, and we don’t adjust until there is ample evidence.” This year’s revaluations added $78 million of taxable value to the city’s rolls, Zwieg reported. However,
City of Fitchburg
By the time the City of Fitchburg Common Council got through its first round of votes on budget amendment proposals Nov. 13, it was $213,856 over the state-mandated limit. Minutes later, alders reconsidered some of the a m e n d m e n t s t h ey h a d approved earlier and decided to cut funding to replace a public works tractor, leave vacant a division fire chief position that’s been requested for four years and delay a third Fitch-Rona EMS ambulance by two months, to August. Those cuts allowed alders to get $6,000 below the levy limit and approve a 2019 budget that will cut taxes by $2 on an average home in the city, which is assessed at $294,000 in the budget, up from $282,000 this year. The tax rate is $8.19 per $1,000 of property value, a 4 percent drop from last year’s $8.55. It also allowed alders to fund the paving of Whalen Road and adding shoulders, which many said would be a major safety boost on a road that has heavy biking traffic, including the annual Ironman Wisconsin race. Two alders ended up unhappy with the process, which alders approved had before discussing any amendments at the meeting. As a result, both Dorothy Krause (Dist. 1) and Julia Arata-Fratta (D-2) abstained from the final vote on the budget. At one point, as alders voted to remove the addition of the fire division chief position they had approved earlier in the meeting, Arata-Fratta quietly said, “holy macaroni.” “I am disappointed how some of the items were approved,” Arata-Fratta said later, during closing statements. “I don’t feel comfortable approving this budget, because I disagree with so many things that were done.” She and others were concerned about some of the “structural deficits” that were built into the final budget, most notably delaying the third ambulance crew from a June start to August. A structural deficit generally refers to funding something that will cost more in a future year, usually because it starts mid year.
While holding off on the third ambulance and it’s crew saved more than $50,000 for 2019 and helped allow room for the Whalen paving, the crew will have to be funded for an entire year in 2020, costing three times as much. Ald. Dan Bahr (D-2) noted that the $320,000 for the pair of Whalen paving projects is one-time spending, and that could help fill that funding gap next year. Arata-Fratta was not persuaded it should have been a priority. “It’s a rural area used mostly by bikers,” she said. “We have plenty of bike paths they can use for next year.” That was in contrast to testimony during the public hearing at the beginning of the meeting, which had four people testify about the need for the paving. There were also two who spoke in favor of the fire division chief position, which would focus on inspections. The position went vacant four years ago when the person in it had to take a medical leave, they said, and its work has been taken care of largely by paid-on-call staff since. “If you pass this amendment (to cut the position) … basically you’re leaving us with no option other than to fail,” said Richard Roth. “I’m telling you, it’s on the verge of breaking.” Later in the meeting, alders encouraged the department to look for efficiencies elsewhere, and some pointed out the department had received new staffing in recent years at the
expense of others and said now it was time to add staff elsewhere. “I do believe that we could look within and find efficiencies,” Bahr said. “We’ve got to prioritize. Sometimes you just can’t throw money at everything.” Many of the cuts were proposed with the intent to add in the Whalen Road paving, Bahr acknowledged. That included cutting $101,000 of money set aside to plan for the Town of Madison annexation that will be in 2022 at the latest. Ald. Tony Hartmann (D-4) said that was unnecessary because, “We have no idea how much money we’re going to need,” and it’s likely to be in the millions, whatever the exact figure is. Delaying the ambulance staffing costs to August still allows Fitch-Rona EMS chief Patrick Anderson to begin the hiring process next year with the funds accounted for. When two amendments were proposed to delay the staffing until January 2020, Anderson had expressed concern about starting a mid-year hiring process without having the funds guaranteed, since municipal budgets wouldn’t be finalized yet. The alders voting on the budget who spoke during closing statements said they were happy to be lowering taxes, and they acknowledged some of the decisions they had to make were tough. “It’s never easy when you put out a budget,” said Ald. Tom Clauder (D-4). “You can wish a lot, but it also comes with a price tag.”
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Another big tax increase in VASD
Fitchburg Star
6
December 14, 2018
ConnectFitchburg.com
Fitchburg Star
Twins Andrea and Lili Ramirez, 4, Fitchburg, decorate some sweet treats.
Photos by Emilie Heidemann
Aryiah Mccaskill, 2, Fitchburg, receives a holiday face painting.
‘Christmas in the Park’ The Fitchburg community gathered at Huegel-James- home, games, desserts and more. town Park on 5810 Williamsburg Way to celebrate Christmas in the Park Dec. 2. Email Emilie Heidemann at emilie.heidemann@ The event featured a visit from Santa Claus, face wcinet.com or follow her on Twitter at @Heidepainting for children, free Christmas trees to take mannEmilie. Hy’Kyme Mccaskill, 2, Fitchburg, colors in a Christmas design.
Ukulele lessons start Jan. 7 If your New Year’s Resolution is to learn a new skill, then the Fitchburg senior center may have the opportuWhat: Ukulele lessons nity you’re looking for. When: 1-2 p.m. MonAttendees will learn how days, Jan. 7, 14 and 28 to play easy songs and basic and Feb. 4 chords on the ukelele during the class, according to the Where: Senior center, senior center’s newsletter. 5510 Lacy Road Learners are welcome to Info: 270-4290 bring their own instruments, or can rent a ukelele from the senior center for $10. The classes will be taught Feb. 4, with no class held on at the senior center, 5510 Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Lacy Road, from 1-2 p.m. on Following each class, a Mondays, Jan. 7, 14, 28 and strum and sing-along will be
If You Go
Calendar of events Monday, Dec. 17
• 10:30-11:15 a.m., Holiday stories and cookies (ages 2-5), library, 7291762 • Noon, Senior center Christmas program, senior center, 270-4290
Tuesday, Dec. 18
• 10-11 a.m., Build It! Lego duplos (ages 2-5), library, 729-1762 • 6-7 p.m., Adult craft monthly evening (ages 18+), library, 729-1763
library, 729-1762 • 6-6:45 p.m., UnBook Club (ages 9-12), library, 729-1762
Sunday, Dec. 23
Library closed
Monday, Dec. 24
Library closed Senior center closed
held from 2-3 p.m. for people who want to get back into playing, or are looking for others to play with. Registration is required for the classes, with a maximum of eight people per class. People can register at the front desk of the senior center. For information, call 2704290. Email reporter Kimberly Wethal at kimberly.wethal@ wcinet.com and follow her on Twitter @kimberly_wethal.
City of Fitchburg
City buildings close around holidays SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
The Fitchburg library, senior center and City Hall will have extra closures around the holidays later this month. The Fitchburg Public Library will be closed for three days around Christmas — Dec. 23, 24 and 25 — and for New Year’s Day Jan. 1. The library will also close early Dec. 31 at
Saturday, Jan. 12 • 7-8 p.m., Stop the Bleed with Fitch-Rona paramed- • 10:30-11 a.m., “Silly” ics (registration required), storytime and crafts library, 729-1763 (ages 2-5), library, 1762 Tuesday, Jan. 8
• 11 a.m., Lapsit storytime (babies and toddlers), library, 729-1762
Wednesday, Jan. 9
• 10-11 a.m., Toddler art Tuesday, Dec. 25 (ages 1-3), library, 729Library closed 1762 Senior center closed • 6-6:30 p.m., We are in a Book Club! (ages 5-8), Thursday, Dec. 27 library, 729-1762 • 10 a.m. to noon, Well• 7-8 p.m., How to spot ness checks with a nurse, fake news presentation, senior center, 270-4290 library, 729-1763
Monday, Jan. 14
• 1-2 p.m., Ukulele classes ($10 to rent instrument), library, 270-4290 • 4-5 p.m., Read aloud party (ages 5-12), library, 729-1762
Tuesday, Jan. 15
• 11 a.m., Lapsit storytime (babies and toddlers), library, 729-1762 Wednesday, Dec. 19 • 2:30-3:30 p.m., Senior • 10-11 a.m., Wednesday center travel show with morning book discusMayflower Cruises and Monday, Dec. 31 sion: “The Nightingale” by Tours, senior center, 270Thursday, Jan. 10 Kristin Hannah, library, 4290 • 5 p.m., Library closes • 10 a.m. to noon, Well729-1763 ness checks with a nurse, • 6-7 p.m., Adult craft Thursday, Jan. 3 • 6-8:30 p.m., VASD evening (registration senior center, 270-4290 attendance area advisory • 10 a.m. to noon, Wellrequired), library, 729committee meeting, Cen- ness checks with a nurse, • 1-1:45 p.m., Bouncing 1763 babies storytime, library, senior center, 270-4290 tral Office Board Room, 729-1762 Wednesday, Jan. 16 700 N. Main St., Verona, Monday, Jan. 7 • 5-6:30 p.m., Snap cir• 10-11 a.m., Wednesday verona.k12.wi.us • 9:30 and 11 a.m., Precuits (ages 5-8, regismorning book discussion: school storytime (ages Thursday, Dec. 20 tration required), library, “The Lost City of the 2-5), library, 729-1762 • 10 a.m. to noon, Well729-1762 Monkey God” by Douglas ness checks with a nurse, • 1-2 p.m., Ukulele classPreston, library, 729-1763 Friday, Jan. 11 es, library, 270-4290 senior center, 270-4290 Thursday, Jan. 17 • 11 a.m. to noon, Pre• 10:30-11:15 a.m., Com- • 4-5 p.m., Paper airschool art (ages 2-5), • 10 a.m. to noon, Wellplane tournament (5-12), munication Innovation library, 729-1762 ness checks with a nurse, library, 729-1762 storytime (ages 2-5),
5 p.m. City Hall will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and will close at noon on Dec. 31. The senior center will be closed all day Dec. 24 and 25 and Jan. 1, and close at noon Dec. 31. Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @sgirard9.
senior center, 270-4290 • 6-6:30 p.m., UnBook Club (ages 9-12), library, 729-1762
Friday, Jan. 18
• 11-11:45 a.m., Book Boogie (ages 2-5), library, 729-1762 • 4-5 p.m., Beach Party! (ages 5-12), library, 7291762
Saturday, Jan. 19
• 10:30-11:15 a.m., Royal Playtime (ages 2-5), library, 729-1762 • 3-4 p.m., Candy sushi (ages 13-17, registration required), library, 7291762
Tuesday, Jan. 22
• 11 a.m., Lapsit storytime (babies and toddlers), library, 729-1762 • 6-7 p.m., Hygge (ages 13-17), library, 729-1762
Wednesday, Jan. 23
• 9:30-11:30 a.m., Playdoh Palooza (ages 2-5), library, 729-1762 • 6-6:30 p.m., Family pajama storytime (ages 2-5), library, 729-1762 • 7-8 p.m., Digitize your
Closures Library: Dec. 23, 24, 25 all day; Dec. 31 at 5 p.m.; Jan. 1 all day Senior center: Dec. 24, 25 all day; Dec. 31 at noon; Jan. 1 all day City Hall: Dec. 24, 25 all day; Dec. 31 at noon; Jan. 1 all day
printed photos seminar (registration required), library, 729-1763
Thursday, Jan. 24
• 1-1:45 p.m., Bouncing babies storytime (ages 0-2), library, 729-1762 • 6-7 p.m., Late Night Breakout Challenge (ages 13-17), library, 7291762
Friday, Jan. 25
• 11-11:45 a.m., Snow stories and crafts (ages 2-5), library, 729-1762
Friday, Jan. 26
• 11 a.m. to noon, Optical Illusions (ages 5-12), library, 729-1762
Wednesday, Jan. 30
• 10-11 a.m., Toddler art (ages 1-3), library, 7291762
Thursday, Jan. 31
• 10-11 a.m., STEAM Power! Storytime (ages 2-5), library, 729-1762 • 6-7 p.m., Minute to Win It Challenge (ages 5-12), library, 729-1762
ConnectFitchburg.com
December 14, 2018
Coming up
Fitchburg Star
7
The activity is recom- 30, at the library. mended for ages 13-17. Caregivers are encourFor information, call 729- aged to dress children in 1763. messy clothes or bring along smocks for art to help Optical illusions them develop fine motor Children can come to skills. For information, call 729the library from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 26, to 1762. explore and create optical Minute to Win It illusions. The event is recommendThe library will host a ed for children ages 5-12. “Minute to Win It” game For information, call 729- s e s s i o n f r o m 6 - 7 p . m . 1762. Thursday, Jan. 31. The activity is recomToddler art mended for children ages Children ages 1-3 will 5-12. For information, call 729have an opportunity to get messy and creative from 1762. 10-11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan.
Make holiday cookies Children ages 2-5 and their caregivers are invited to make holiday cookies and crafts from 10:30-11:15 a.m. Monday, Dec. 17, at the library. Librarians will also read holiday-themed stories. For information, call 7291762.
Christmas program The senior center will host their annual Christmas program at noon Monday, Dec. 17. The Middleton Jazz Band will perform at 12:30 p.m. For information, call 2704290.
Communication storytime
File photo by Kimberly Wethal
Christmas Services Sunday, December 23 Combined Worship - 9 am
Christmas Eve Monday, December 24 Family Worship - 3 pm Candlelight Worship - 5 pm
Sunday, December 30 Combined Worship - 9 am
All Saints Lutheran Church 2951 Chapel Valley Rd. Fitchburg, WI 53711
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Madalyn Moeller, 2, creates a world collage out of blue and green foam pieces with her mother, Lindsey. The library will host multiple crafting events for children throughout Join CI Pediatric Ther- January. apy Centers from 10:30- vast news media landscape session’s book selection. teenagers ages 13-17 from 11:15 Thursday, Dec. 20, at to find reputable reporting Copies of the book will be 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22. the library for a storytime with a presentation on spot- available for check-out. Hot tea and cocoa, snacks meant to assist children ting “Fake News” from 7-8 The party is recommend- and crafts will be provided. with communication skills. p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9, at ed for children ages 5-12. Dress in comfy clothes and The storytime, recom- the library. For information, call 729- bring along a book to read. mended for children ages 2-5, The presentation will 1762. For information, call 729features stories and activities cover how to tell the differ1762. to improve language skills ence between news that’s Beach party and developmental mile- been well-researched and Leave the snow outside Digitize printed photos stones. There will also be an reporting that’s misleading, Have a lot of printed phoopportunity to ask therapists techniques for testing cred- and join the library for some beachy vibes from tos, but not sure what to do questions. ibility and the importance For information, call 729- of getting information from 4-5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, with them? The library will with a party for children offer a seminar on preserv1762. multiple sources. ages 5-12. ing and digitizing printFor information, call 729The party will include ed photos from 7-8 p.m. Paper airplane 1763. beach-themed activities, Wednesday, Jan. 23. tournament The seminar will cover crafts and snacks. Snap circuits For information, call 729- different kinds of tools that Children ages 5-12 can can be used to digitize phoChildren ages 5-12 are 1762. show off their paper airtographs. plane making and flying invited to make snap circuit Registration is required. skills from 4-5 p.m. Mon- creations from 3:30-5 p.m. Candy sushi For information, call 729Thursday, Jan. 10, at the day, Jan. 7, at the library. Teenagers 13-17 can try Books with paper air- library. their hand at making candy 1763. Children ages 5-8 are sushi from 3-4 p.m. Saturplane designs will be proBreakout challenge vided. After the making of required to have a caretaker day, Jan. 19, at the library. with them during the durathe planes, a tournament A vote will be conducted Test out your critical will be held to see what tion of the event. on the sushi projects for the thinking skills and bust out Registration is required. design is the best. most colorful, most authen- of the library during the For information, call 729- tic and “Best in Show.” For information, call 729Late Night Breakout Chal1762. 1762. lenge from 6-7 p.m. ThursRegistration is required. For information, call 729- day, Jan. 24. Stop the bleed training Preschool art 1762. The escape room activity Preschoolers can make a will have attendees solving Fitch-Rona EMS parapuzzles, decipher clues and medics will hold a training mess while learning about Hygge time on how to control bleeding cause and effect during an The library will host unlock a mystery. Registration is required. in an emergency situation art seminar from 11 a.m. to a “ h y g g e ” s e s s i o n f o r from 7-8 p.m. Monday, Jan. noon on Friday, Jan. 11, at the library. 7, at the library. The activities are meant The training is designed for people with little to no to assist children in develmedical training who may oping fine motor skills. For information, call 729be called on to respond to an emergency before skilled 1762. assistance arrives. Read aloud party Registration is required. For information, call 729The library will host a 1763. “Read aloud” party from 4-5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14. Spot fake news “Clementine” by Sara Learn to sift through the P e n n y p a c k e r i s t h i s
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Saturday, December 15, 9:00 a.m. to noon
Longest Night 2018
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Details about special holiday services and events are on our website
8
December 14, 2018
ConnectFitchburg.com
Fitchburg Star
Fall election
Spotlight: 30 years ago
VASD to the state Capitol
MARK PETERSON
Former supt. Evers remembered as ‘down-to-Earth,’ ‘composed’ KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group
Ve r o n a A r e a S c h o o l District business manager Chris Murphy has never been able to say that he knows a Wisconsin governor. Until January, that is, when former VASD superintendent Tony Evers will be sworn in as the governor on Jan. 7, 2019. “It’s the first time I’ve been able to look at someone who’s achieved something like that and say, ‘I knew them pretty well,’” Murphy said. “I tell a lot of people now that, ‘He used to be my boss.’ “I’m proud of him, that he could … follow the path he has over the years,” he added. Evers, a Democrat, was elected governor on Nov. 6 with a 1.1 percent margin over Republican incumbent Scott Walker. For most of the night following polls closing, the race was too close to call until 47,000 absentee ballots from the city of Milwaukee were counted in the early hours Wednesday. Evers came to the district in July 1988 after four years as the superintendent at the Oakfield School District in Fond du Lac County, and a high school and elementary school principal in the Tomah Area School District for the prior six years. Murphy, who was hired by Evers from his teaching position into the role of business manager in 1990, said the superintendent was a “down-to-Earth” person who was always a straight-shooter and put his family first.
Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Gov.-elect Tony Evers walks into the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County gym on Wednesday, Nov. 7, a little more than 12 hours after he won the gubernatorial election against Gov. Scott Walker. Fitchburg was one of his first stops, along with Lt. Gov.-elect Mandela Barnes. Evers’ campaign did not respond to multiple interview requests from the Press. Evers came to a district with challenges in front of him, according to an article written by then-Verona Press reporter Mark Peterson in the July 7, 1988, edition. He was hired into a district facing staggering growth projections that predicted there would be 30 percent more students in the schools within four years. He worked with the school board, the
administration and the community to form a strategic plan, Peterson, then the editor of the Press, wrote in an editorial in the Jan. 23, 1992 edition. “Evers will be sorely missed as an educational leader,” he wrote. “He formed a coalition of community residents and educators to implement a Strategic Plan that will affect the way local students learn well into the 21st century.” Evers resigned in January 1992 to become the agency administrator with
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Cooperative Educational Service Agency No. 6 in Oshkosh later that year. His resignation came just before the electorate went to the polls to vote on a referendum for a high school addition, which was narrowly defeated by just over 100 votes. In the Jan. 30, 1992, edition, school administrators told the Press how much they were going to miss Evers’ leadership following the notice of his resignation. “It’s going to be tough to see him go,” then-Verona Area High School principal Terry Downen said. “There are few people I have met in my educational career whom I can truly say I admire. Tony Evers is certainly at the top of that list.” Peterson, who currently works as the editor at the Stewartville Star in Minnesota, told the Press this week that his first interview for the paper when he joined in July 1988 was with Evers. Peterson remembers Evers as a person with a “calm, composed demeanor” who was restrained and never raised his voice or showed anger during school board meetings, despite working with a board that differed on policies regarding outcome-based education. “I recall that he was friendly and knowledgeable,” he said in an email. “But thinking about that interview now, I never would have thought that the man I was talking with then would one day be the governor of the state of Wisconsin.” Email reporter Kimberly Wethal at kimberly. wethal@wcinet.com and follow her on Twitter @ kimberly_wethal.
School leader on duty Unified Newspaper Group
T h e n ew a n d ex c i t ing challenge of a growing school district was too much to pass up for Anthony Evers, new superintendent of the Verona School District. Evers, 36, began his Ve r o n a d u t i e s J u l y 1 after leaving his job as superintendent at Oakfield, a 660-student district near Fond du Lac. The 2,275-student (K-12) Verona district will offer special challenges, Evers said. “I like the challenge of a growing district, working with new people and developing sound educational programs,” he said. “I’ve also heard the area is a good place to raise a family.” One of Evers’ first goals will be to get a handle on what he calls the “dynamic growth” of the district. According to a conservative estimate, the district’s enrollment could reach 3,200 (K-12) by 1992-93. “ S o m e h ow w e m u s t manage that growth, be it by building renovation, change in (curriculum) or whatever,” he said. “There is a great need for long range planning. As a school district we must act (instead) of react.” Evers said his (philosophy) for spending money is “being able to justify what needs to be spent.” He said administration and board members daily walk the delicate tightrope of keeping taxes at reasonable levels and still providing good education for students. “The goal is to offer the best program possible for the most reasonable price tag,” he said. “Managing the growth here will tie in with that.” A district simply cannot control all of its spending since the state holds 50 percent of the revenue purse strings, said Evers. “We have control over certain expenditures,” he said. “Other things are mandated by the state. There are no magic solutions to spending. If there were, everyone would be using them.” Evers considers himself a fiscal conservative. He said the Oakfield district managed to reduce its tax levy during the past four years. But he added that a district shouldn’t become too conservative and axe major maintenance programs or curriculums to save money. “I feel it is important for a district to justify its level of expenditure,” he said. Evers considers himself a good communicator, a good listener. “I’m interested in people’s concerns and problems,” he said. “For the most part I am able to help them find solutions. I want to put together a strong management team here with input from the community, teachers, administration and
File photo by Bill Shroeder
A photograph of Tony Evers in the July 7, 1988 edition of the Verona Press. Evers had been hired as the superintendent of schools, and stayed until June 1992 before taking a job with the Cooperative Education Services Agency No. 6.
support staff.” Evers said that although the district is expected to grow short-term, that doesn’t necessarily mean the growth will continue long-term. “These things have to be examined carefully,” he said. “There will be far-reaching educational and financial impacts.” The Verona district has impressed Evers during his short stay here. He has been impressed by the district’s administrators, teachers, support staff and school board. “Right now we want to meet the standards the state has imposed and get together a reasonable budget. Right now I see no glaring weaknesses in the district,” he said. Evers was superintendent at Oakfield four years. Before that he spent nine years at the Tomah School District. He taught there three years and was an elementary and high school principal six years. He and his wife Kathy have three children – Erin, 14, and Katie and Nick, nine-year-old twins. “We have been very impressed with the friendliness of the Verona area people,” he said. “We are excited about the move.” Evers holds three degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has a bachelors degree in zoology, a masters in curriculum and a doctorate in educational administration. A committee of teachers, parents, administrators and board members selected Evers to be among the final slate of three candidates. The board offered Evers the position after visiting him in Oakfield and conducting a series of interviews with school personnel and community members there. Evers and his family plan to move into their Verona home by July 29. Until then Evers will commute by car from Oakfield to Verona, a 90-minute one-way drive. “It’s not so bad, it’s only until July 29,” he said. – From the July 7, 1988, Verona Press
ConnectFitchburg.com
December 14, 2018
Fitchburg Star
9
‘The Changeling’s Daughter’ Fitchburg resident publishes first novel AMBER LEVENHAGEN Unified Newspaper Group
A changeling is a creature found in folklore – a child believed to have been replaced with a goblin child during infancy. It plays a role in R. Chris Reede r ’s n e w b o o k , “The Changeling’s Daughter,” which hit shelves on Thursday. Reeder, a Fitchb u r g r e s i d e n t , Reeder began writing the young – adult fantasy in the fall of 2016. It follows 14 year-old Brynn McAwber, a seemingly normal Indiana girl who starts noticing some bizarre happenings – including a strange, tiny man, a mysterious woman watching her with a sword strapped to her back and parts of her body disappearing.
Photo submitted
“The Changeling’s Daughter” is a young-adult fantasy novel, written by Chris Reeder, that was released this week.
authors he enjoys, such as L. Frank Baum, J. R. R. Tolkien and J. K. Rowling; authors of the popular books The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series and the Harry Potter series, respectively. “I was also thinking about how a lot of the kids’ books that I love, there’s always a kid who finds out something new about themselves and it’s always something great, ‘Oh I’m the High King of Narnia’ or ‘I’m a powerful wizard,’” he said. “And I started thinking about what if a kid woke up one day and learned there was something very different about them, but it was terrible, and it was something they didn’t want at all.”
Reading Reeder
Reeder is a stay-at-home dad, father of Nori, 3, and Augie, 6, a student at Eagle School in The book is inspired in part by Madison, which received one of Welsh mythology, Reeder said, the first copies of the new book. but also from other children’s Before writing, Reeder had
worked for theater groups as a professional actor specializing in Shakespearean theater, until having kids kept him from traveling as much. “I felt a need for a creative outlet, so I started writing a little bit here and there,” he said. “The Changeling’s Daughter” wasn’t his first novel – he had written one previously and said it “didn’t work out” after sending it to a few different publishers. But despite the lack of success from his first attempt, it gave Reeder familiarity and more confidence with the process to try again. He started writing a little while each night after his kids had gone to bed, and by spring of 2017, he had finished a 306-page novel. Reeder sent it to publishing companies around the country before a rush of life events (including buying a new home and moving) pushed the hunt for a publisher out of his mind. A year later, Black Rose Writing,
an independent publishing house based in Texas, reached out and eventually contracted with him. His book is currently featured on the website’s home page. “It’s a lot different than what it used to be,” Reeder said of contacting agencies. “I made a list of some who might be interested in hearing about an author who had never published before and had no connections, so I sent an email with a synopsis and they wanted to take another look.” Starting Thursday, the book can be purchased locally at Barnes and Noble at East Towne Mall, as well as through the publisher’s website and on Amazon. “Hopefully people will be leaving reviews on Amazon and that can come in the next few days, which is terrifying,” he said with a laugh. Contact Amber Levenhagen at amber.levenhagen@wcinet.com.
Madison West student selected to play at Carnegie Hall KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group
Andrew Siehr chose the cello as a middle schooler because he wanted to use an elevator. Eagle School had rules that limited the use of the elevator, and one of the exceptions was if a student had a large instrument that couldn’t be easily carried down the stairs. The cello was big enough to get Siehr a ride, who was then in 6th-grade. “But I also liked the tone of it,” the Madison West sophomore said. “Violins were squeaky to me.” That decision has since elevated him to Carnegie Hall in New York City, where he’ll be playing with the national High School Honors Symphony Orchestra on Feb. 10. Siehr, who plans to have a career in music, was one of 18,000 high students who auditioned for the performance, and he’s one of 700 who will participate in five ensembles that include two choirs, a string orchestra, a band and a full orchestra. To be part of the series, Andrew re-recorded his audition piece over and over until the deadline approached, he said. It was a shock when he found out he had been selected. “When my dad told me how many people auditioned and how many people got accepted, I was really surprised because I didn’t really think that I would be able to compete against that many people,” he said.
Getting serious Siehr said he started with music at a young age – as a toddler, his mother Cheryl would teach him songs on the piano – and took lessons for nine years until he began playing cello at age 12. Andrew continued regularly playing both for four years, he said, as he wasn’t as serious about the cello. It was two years ago, his father Daniel said, that he made the switch to cello
Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Madison West student Andrew Siehr was selected to perform at Carnegie Hall on Sunday, Feb. 10. He was one of 700 students selected out of an applicant pool of 18,000. full-time, after Andrew won a Madison Area Music Association award for Youth Keyboardist of the Year. Part of the switch, Andrew said, was the group mentality of being in an orchestra, whereas playing the piano is often a solo gig. “I joined WYSO (Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra) three years ago, and playing in an orchestra really changed my perspective on playing cello,” he said. “I really loved playing as part of an orchestra, so it gradually became more enjoyable to play than piano did. “Eventually, I just decided that cello was what I wanted to do in life,” Andrew added. “I couldn’t see myself as a pianist.” Daniel said it was a “tough sell” to get him to pick up cello in the first place. “We’d go to the Eagle
band concerts,” Daniel said. “I’m like, ‘Why don’t you do something with a group, because don’t you like hanging out with a group?’ It was the group aspect that helped me convince him to do it.”
‘A long way’ In addition to time spent in the classroom with teacher Eric Miller and the West High School’s Philharmonia Orchestra, Andrew has a goal to practice around two hours a day on his own, usually early in the morning when his focus was best, and with Mark Bridges, the assistant principal cellist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Andrew also performs with other ensembles, including the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra, where he started off as a trumpet player, but later auditioned to be a cellist, the WYSO
Farfalla Chamber Group and the Wisconsin School Music Association State Honors Orchestra. Bridges said Andrew is learning in almost a “parabolic way,” and has seen improvement from him on a week-to-week basis because of the dedication he puts into getting the performance right. “A n d r e w ’s c o m e a n incredibly long way,” he said. “I’ve been, at times, kind of shocked at the improvements I’ve seen … not every student has that kind of curiosity. They don’t always latch on to new things quite as easily. “We’re at a point now where I can give him a new piece one week and two weeks later, it’ll be almost performance ready,” Bridges added.
A taste of the life The Honors Performance Series aims to bring “some of the world’s rising young musicians to perform under the baton of master conductors,” according to the series’ website. It also has a show at the Sydney (Australia) Opera House. Students work with a rotating set of conductors, and they will spend the week before the Sunday performance practicing with one another. Usually students need a teacher nomination to apply for the Honors Performance Series, but Andrew’s previous experience playing with the WMSA State Honors Orchestra allowed him to apply without it. Applications for the upcoming year are due by June, and finalists find out
the status of their application by October. Financial assistance for trip fees is available for finalists. This will be the Siehr family’s first trip to Carnegie Hall, but not their first trip to New York City, Daniel said. Andrew’s parents will be joining him on the trip. Andrew said he’s looking forward to the week of rehearsals and the traveling, in addition to the Feb. 10 performance, because it’ll give him a taste of what his future could be. “I think it’ll give me an experience of what it’s like to be a professional musician,” he said. “It’ll give me a window to the musical world.” Email reporter Kimberly Wethal at kimberly. wethal@wcinet.com and follow her on Twitter @ kimberly_wethal.
10 Fitchburg Star - December 14, 2018
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A Styrofoam home
Locals use boxes to help neighborhood cats, control feline population SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
In a garage just outside the City of Fitchburg, three women sized up a trailer full of Styrofoam boxes. Soon enough, they’ll distribute those boxes around Dane County, with some slight modifications to turn them into homes for “neighborhood” or feral cats. T h e s e r e t r o fi t t e d c a t homes are part of the Madison Cat Project’s efforts, which started with “Spay Days” in 2002 when about 30 cats would be sterilized once a month, but have since expanded. That monthly event still occurs, but moved to the UW-Madison veterinary hospital in October, allowing for up to 120 cats per event, said Susan Krebsbach, an Oregon resident and a member of the board of directors. That increase in the number of cats sterilized, some from homes and others not, has left them short in another area: “homes” for the free-roaming cats once they’re returned to their neighborhood. “These cats are all going back outside,” said Betty Pankonien, a Fitchburg resident and volunteer. “Our source is not keeping up with our demand anymore.” Krebsbach explained that the boxes “provide them with that safety, warmth and comfort” while they recover from the surgery without
Photo by Scott Girard
From left, Arlie Jaster, Susan Krebsbach and Betty Pankonien stand in front of a new collection of Styrofoam boxes that would soon be turned into habitats for free-roaming cats as part of the Madison Cat Project.
How to help To donate Styrofoam boxes to serve as cat habitats, contact Arlie Jaster at 220-7905 or Betty Pankonien at 2712775. forcing them into a home or into regular interaction with a human, which the free-roaming cats tend to avoid. “It’s such a critical time,”
On the Web Find more information about the Madison Cat Project:
Madisoncatproject.org
Krebsbach said of the post-surgery period. The goal is to ultimately reduce the size of the “neighborhood cat” population Krebsbach explained they are trying to move away from the term “feral” without killing them. She told the Star in an email that
the “overpopulation of pets, especially cats, is an issue that plagues our country,” leading to more than 1 million cats euthanized in animal shelters each year. “Sterilization is 100 percent effective at preventing additional kittens from being born and is an integral component to decreasing this staggering statistic,” she wrote. “Being able to conduct our Spay Days at the UW (School of Veterinary Medicine) where we can conduct even more surgeries is truly a dream come true.” The “trap-neuter-return”
method the group uses is “a humane way of controlling cat populations,” Krebsbach wrote. The surgery is performed by volunteer veterinary students. The boxes, needed for the “return,” are altered to serve as homes with a small hole in the front for the cat to go in and out of. That work is also done by volunteers like Arlie Jaster, who stores the boxes, and Pankonien. “I’ve had cats in my yard that I’ve trapped,” Jaster said. “It just drove me nuts to see those cats fending for
themselves out there.” Pankonien said it’s been exciting to watch the habitat part of the program grow from just donating a few boxes when they had them to a Spay Day, to the promoted program it is now, but that also means “we’ve got to get the boxes,” she said. “We’re doing this for the cats, that’s what it’s about,” Pankonien said. Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @ sgirard9.
Photo submitted
Photo by Scott Girard
Volunteers cut holes and add tape to Styrofoam boxes to give shelter to cats while they recover from spaying or neutering.
Volunteers cut holes and add tape to Styrofoam boxes to give shelter to cats while they recover from spaying or neutering.
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Fitchburg home sustains $800K in fire damage No injuries reported after Dec. 6 blaze KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group
A fire on the 3000 block of Woods Edge Way late Thursday night, Dec. 6, left a two-unit condominium building with $800,000 in damage and two families displaced. Firefighters found it engulfed in flames and heavy smoke upon the 11 p.m. arrival at the building, after a report of a possible explosion, according to a news release from the city of Fitchburg fire department. Traffic was shut down on McKee Road near Seminole Highway to allow emergency vehicles from the city, as well as units from Verona, Oregon, Madison, Middleton, Belleville and Maple Bluff, to access the area. The cause and exact start location of the fire is still under
investigation by the department, the release said, but is not thought to be suspicious in nature. Meredith Shelton, public information officer for the department, told the Star in an email that investigators spent most of the day on Dec. 7 at the property in an attempt to identify the cause. The two families were able to safely evacuate the now uninhabitable building. Madison Metro and the Red Cross were on scene to assist the residents. Email reporter Kimberly Wethal at kimberly.wethal@wcinet.com and follow her on Twitter @kimberly_wethal. A two-unit condominium on the 3000 block of Woods Edge Way is uninhabitable following a fire during the late evening on Thursday, Dec. 6. The city of Fitchburg fire department estimated the damage to both homes be $800,000. Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Veterans Day
Students from EAGLE School hold their hands over their hearts during the Pledge of Allegiance during the city of Fitchburg’s Veterans Day celebration on Friday, Nov. 9.
Fitchburg honors veterans with Nov. 9 ceremony
City of Fitchburg fire department chief Joe Pulvermacher salutes the flag during the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner.
On the Web:
The city of Fitchburg honored veterans eras by the Fitchburg Singers and a poem at a ceremony at the senior center on Fri- reading by students from EAGLE School. To see more photos from the city of Fitchburg’s Veterans Day day, Nov. 9. The program included a history of the Email reporter Kimberly Wethal at kimber- remembrance ceremony, visit: Korean War from fire department chief Joe ly.wethal@wcinet.com and follow her on ConnectFitchburg.com Pulvermacher, songs from the World War Twitter @kimberly_wethal. I, World War II, Korean and Vietnam war
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Donations support Reach-a-Child bags at FPD AMBER LEVENHAGEN Unified Newspaper Group
The Fitchburg Police Department will restock its children’s book bags after receiving donations from a local organization earlier this month. Allen Maxwell Farmers Insurance Agency and Reach-a-Child Inc. donated refills for new bags for each of the department’s 20
vehicles. The drawstring backpacks are full of children’s books, which are used to comfort children the first responders encounter in crisis situations. That way, they can distract children from the immediate trauma. The department had previously received a “reach bag” for each vehicle, which contains 10 new children’s books. The insurance agency funded refills for each bag.
Reach-a-Child was established in 2007, a news release from Allen Maxwell Farmers Insurance Agency said. It’s mission is to provide a “reach bag” for every first responder vehicle in Wisconsin. For information about the program, visit reachachild.org. File photo by Scott Girard Contact Amber Levenhagen at Representatives from Reach-A-Child visited the Fitch-Rona EMS amber.levenhagen@wcinet.com. department to donate five backpacks full of children’s books in December 2016.
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by Duke Clinical Research Institute. This study compared the costs associated with physical therapy following a Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) provided by a physical therapist or through a virtual assistant. The study reported a cost savings per patient and stated “the use of VERA was as effective as traditional PT”. I have many concerns about this virtual exercise program during a critical period following a TKA. It is imperative that inflammation and pain are reduced, joint flexibility and motion are restored, and strength improves to allow for functional mobility. This process needs to occur in a specific time frame so that adhesions aren’t formed Susan Armstrong, MPT that will physically restrict the joint’s range of motion, which can actually require additional intervention (and costs) from the surgeon. Some clients need more encouragement and hands-on care, while others need cues Physical Therapist to “slow down.” Modalities, kinesiotape, lymphatic drainage, manual techniques and scar mobilization need in-person care and instructions. Orthopedic surgeons will provide a list of exercises for patients to complete, yet also refer clients to PTs for the hands-on rehab process and rely on the skills of the PT to adapt the program as necessary. One should proceed with caution when relying solely on a virtual assistant for recovery from a significant surgery. If you have further questions, feel free to contact Stellar Rehab at 608-845-2100 for more information.
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that. Depression (major depressive disorder or clinical depression) is, by definition, a medical illness characterized by a chronic sense of sadness and loss of interest in activities. Depression can often dictate the way in which you feel, think, and act – and if not treated, it can lead to everything from alcohol and drug abuse to attempted suicide. It’s estimated that 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression. More than two million adults 65 years of age and older are faced with depression of some kind. Signs of depression are easy to overlook in older adults, as they’re often mistaken for other signs of aging. Studies show that when depressed, seniors may not clearly display typical signs of sadness such as crying. Instead, they tend to withdraw from the people they care about and the things they once loved to do. Signs to watch for: Irritability, withdraw, decrease in cognitive ability, increased pain and digestive problems. If you recognize any of these signs in your senior loved one, talk to him or her about what he or she is feeling. Although you may receive some resistance initially, it’s important to let him or her know that you’re there to help. From there, it’s vital that you inform his or her primary health care provider or mental health expert to have symptoms assessed professionally.
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Photo by Kimberly Wethal
The interior of Badger Prairie Needs Network’s new warehouse, which was opened a few weeks prior and is mostly full. Prior to having the warehouse, food was stored anywhere in the building it could fit, as BPNN has been “bursting at the seams” since they moved in.
BPNN: Expansion will allow more support for food insecure homes throughout Wisconsin Continued from page 1 that can be implemented at other food pantries and food service agencies throughout the rest of the state, Kasieta said. “We’re creating a template for others to do the same thing in their communities – it’s real exciting to be on the ground floor of it, to be thinking through how we make it work for everyone’s benefit,” she said. “There’s no downside to this. It’s just going to get a lot of good food out to a lot of people who need it.”
Keeping it cool With building the new cooler and freezer space comes the building of a new partnership with CAC, Second Harvest, Feeding Wisconsin and Dane County to “leverage assets” with the Kitchen to Table initiative. The food recovery partnership also includes Epic, UW-Health Hospitals and Clinics and CUNA Mutual to prevent prepared food from being thrown away into a landfill, and instead getting it to households with food insecurity. The new cooler addition is the “linchpin” in the partnership, Kasieta said. “We’re the only food pantry that’s got a commercial kitchen like we have,” she said. “We’re the only place that can actually package this food.” CAC, with a new refrigerated van donated to them by UW-Health Hospitals and Clinics, will go retrieve surplus food and bring it to BPNN, where it will be repackaged and stored. BPNN received a $5,000 grant from Dane County to purchase the packaging for rescued food, which will be stored in the new cooler and freezer addition. From there, Kasieta said, individual food pantries, along with CAC and Second Harvest, will be able
Photos by Kimberly Wethal
Steve Genovese, of Madison, places a shrink-wrapped package of meat during a food rescue on Friday, Nov. 16, at Badger Prairie Needs Network. to come to BPNN to weigh out the rescued food to be taken back to their own facilities. “Conceivably, all of this food could be going out to food insecure households all around southern Wisconsin,” she said.
Sustainable practices The Kitchen to Table initiative also helps take steps toward a better environment, as it reduces even a small portion of food from going to landfills, which Kasieta said is the No. 1 source of landfill waste.
“It’s creating gases that deplete the ozone, so it’s killing our planet,” she said. “In the United States, there’s 72 billion pounds of safe, edible food that goes into landfills. We’ve got millions and millions of people struggling with food insecurity. So why not marry them up?” The majority of the people who deal with food insecurity are working, Kasieta said, with around 65 percent of the households having employment income. It’s those households that need the prepared meals the most, she
said. “A huge percentage are working, and generally more than one job,” Kasieta said. “Having prepared food in family-size containers that you can just take home and store for a bit in the freezer or thaw in the refrigerator, and then prepare it for a meal at night, allows you room to sit with your child and do homework, or have a family meal and not stress out about having to cook after being so tired.” Bradshaw said that in working with BPNN, CAC will be able conduct food recovery from
more sites that would otherwise be throwing their food away, and ultimately serve more people. “I have been a member of that population, so I know how much it means to be able to go to a pantry and get something,” she said. “To be able to give that population nutritious food, instead of something that’s highly processed that could create more medical issues for them, is just phenomenal.” Email reporter Kimberly Wethal at kimberly.wethal@wcinet.com and follow her on Twitter @kimberly_wethal.
Expanding BPNN services April Packers tour visit funded expansion create need for more space BPNN’s physical expansion was made necessary by its service-area expansion. Looking at rural poverty on the western side of Verona’s ZIP code inspired the organization’s board of directors to expand its reach beginning in 2018, executive director Marcia Kasieta told the Star. “We saw that there were 6 percent of the households out there getting SNAP benefits,” she said of the state’s food program, known colloquially as food stamps. “We know from Second Harvest and anecdotal information that only about a third of the families that qualify for SNAP go through the process to getting it.” The additional service area means around 4,300 families and 15,000 individuals now qualify for BPNN’s assistance. “There are so many that are near-poor, they call them, where they’re one paycheck away from having trouble,” she said. “One death in the family, one divorce, one serious illness – one ‘something,’ and you’re down there.”
BPNN can thank the Green and Gold for its new warehouse and freezer. On April 10, the Green Bay Packers tailgate tour brought three current players and three former ones to Verona, which $117,000 for BPNN. The Packers sought out BPNN for their tour, executive director Marcia Kasieta said. “It’s the most any community has ever raised at a tailgate tour, by about $60,000 more,” she said. Kasieta said it could have spent that money on food but instead took a longer view. “You can use those funds
Photo by Amber Levenhagen
A banner was held in front of the door to the gym, blocking the Green Bay Packers players and alumni who attended the Tailgate Tour’s stop at VAHS.
to feed families, which for a while, but we can also “That’s the choice the sure is something we have invest the money to serve board made, to go in the enough money to do for more families,” she said. direction of growth.”
16
December 14, 2018
ConnectFitchburg.com
Fitchburg Star
Hosting the holidays The annual “Get Festive with Agora” event was held at the Agora Complex, 5500 Cheryl Pkwy., on Thursday, Dec. 6. The event featured carriage rides, a silent disco, an outdoor movie, hot cocoa and cookies, and deals offered by retailers who rent space at Agora.
Turkey leg day Thousands of people spent a chilly Thursday morning before their Thanksgiving dinner hustling around Fitchburg for the 15th annual Berbee Derby. Runners in the 5K and 10K races dressed up in holiday-themed costumes and enjoyed pre-race children’s activities on Nov. 22. The proceeds for the race were donated to the Technology Education Fund, a nonprofit which provides grants for increased access to computers, software and other resources. – Kimberly Wethal
– Kimberly Wethal Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Craig Drewery, of Madison, feeds his son Cyrus, 1, a cookie while visiting the Get Festive with Agora event with his wife Morgan on Thursday, Dec. 6.
Photos by Kimberly Wethal
Calvin Mabie, center, laughs with Tricia Heine, right, before the start of the 5K race during the Berbee Derby on Thursday, Nov. 22.
Theresa Behrs begins the 5K race while wearing a turkey hat during the Berbee Derby on Thursday, Nov. 22.
Submitted
From left, United States junior lion dance team members Renee Erdmann, Josie Feldhausen and Solomon Beebe Collum pose with their bronze medals and hold bronze trophy with Sifu Nelson Ferraira (mid-left). Ferraira leads lion dance training at the Zhong Yi Kung Fu Association in Madison.
China: Team brought home bronze trophy Continued from page 1
The lion’s bridge In traditional Chinese lore, the lion is a symbol of good fortune. The lion dance, said to bring about this good fortune, is seen in events like the Chinese New Year and other Asian holidays. Generally, two danc ers operate a lion costume much like a puppet — one controls the head and the other the tail, with mechanisms like strings inside to help maneuver the costume. The lions are usually decorated with vibrant colors and abstract designs and fabrics. Fundamental lion dance movements are based in
Chinese martial arts and all performances are meant to tell a story. “(The junior team’s story) is very mystical, powerful and transformational,” Feldhausen said. Josie and Renee performed the story of a lion who overcomes an obstacle, while their drummer, Collum, set the rhythm for the performance. “It’s a seemingly simple story,” Feldhausen’s daughter said. “But it’s packed with so many (underlying) emotions.” The story starts with a curious lion coming across a river. The river has a bridge. The lion, cautious at first, perceives a path over the river.
It need only cross the bridge to get to the other side, though it’s never seen anything quite like a bridge before, Feldhausen said. With a bout of “bravery,” the lion crosses and is immediately happy it did so. On the other side, the lion finds some green vegetables. Upon ingesting the vegetables, it spits them back out, thus turning it into good fortune, she said. “(The lion) comes away knowing it conquered a fear and it feels triumphant,” said Josie. Email Emilie Heidemann at emilie.heidemann@wcinet. com or follow her on Twitter at @HeidemannEmilie.
Runners, including Logan Langley, right, begins the 10K race during the Berbee Derby.
Business
ConnectFitchburg.com
December 14, 2018
They’ve got game(s)
Fitchburg Star
17
Noble Knight stakes claim on fertile gaming ground with new Fitchburg location SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
If you don’t like one of the games you see at Noble Knight Games, don’t worry — they have another 700,000-plus others to choose from. C a r r y i n g a m i n d - b l ow i n g amount of (mostly) board games at their new location on Commerce Park Drive, Noble Knight Games is making a name for itself as a premier spot to hunt for titles new and old, as well as a place to gather, play games and enjoy the company of fellow gamers. The store, which opened last month, had a massive grand opening celebration Dec. 1, attended by nearly 1,500 people who gathered to learn about and play games, paint miniature figurines and mingle with other avid gamers. The event capped off quite a year to remember for Noble Knight general manager Dan Leeder, who along with his brother, Aaron, the owner, made the jump north after spending 21 years in business in Janesville. Leeder told the Star last week that while they had “built up quite the commerce business,” it became clear a few years ago they were running out of space, and needed to “either build or find a new building.” Eyeing the Madison market, he said it was a perfect landing spot. They started construction on their new building in April, and by Dan Leeder, general manager of Noble Knight Games, reaches for chips while explaining how to play his favorite game. October were moving in hundreds of thousands of games to their massive warehouse. “The gaming culture is pretty big up here, and we thought we could get more employees that know gaming up here,” he said. 2835 Commerce Park Dr. “We knew it would be a better 758-9901 place for a retail space we could grow into.” Nobleknight.com
Photo by Emilie Heidemann
Noble Knight Games
Choose your adventure The board gaming industry has been “blowing up” in the past five to eight years, Leeder said, with at least 10 percent growth every single year. Selling on a variety of internet marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, as well as its own website, Noble Knight has been well-positioned to take advantage, as board gaming has gone “mainstream,” Leeder said. “People see movies like ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Lord of the Rings’, or ‘Game of Thrones’, and a lot of settings like that have been in gaming forever,” he said. “Or people remember what they were doing as a kid — maybe you played Risk or Axis and Allies — we just had a new Axis and Allies ‘Zombies’ come out.” Proof that board gaming is entering into the national consciousness, Leeder said, is a recent episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that featured an entire segment of Colbert talking nothing but “Dungeons and Dragons” to actor Joe Manganiello. “It’s just nine minutes all about ‘DnD’, and it’s another example of how gaming and those genres are going mainstream,” he said. And yes, Noble Knight does sell video games. Just not many of them. Leeder said “99.99 percent”
of what they sell is board games: tabletop, card games, miniature games, role playing, collectible and more. With all that variety, it’s no wonder people are looking to board games for some new adventures. “Everyone has their smartphones, and people are getting tired of those, and just sitting around at the dinner table where everyone’s got their devices out and no one’s interacting,” he said. “Now, they can put those devices down, do something fun and intelligent and interactive.”
Fitchburg: The Gathering And Noble Knight is all about interacting. With a knowledgeable staff of 30 (and growing), the store has plenty of expertise available; which is good, because hundreds of new games come out each year. Leeder said the goal is to also provide a place for people to explore the ever-growing world of gaming, to play and to commune with other gamers. To that end, the store offers different events every night. “Last Monday, we had 40 people in here playing ‘DnD’ from 6 to 10 p.m.,” he said. “Tuesdays is another role playing group, Wednesday’s group plays “Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40k”, which is a miniatures game,
Thursday night is card games and Friday is “Magic: The Gathering.” “We’re going to hold regular events throughout the year – events, tournaments – it’s going to be a hoppin’ place, and it already is.” And there’s also plenty of options for youngsters or newcomers to the world of board gaming. Noble Knight features a kid’s section with everything from blocks for toddlers to more advanced games that teach cognitive skills. “There’s super simple games you can learn in 30 seconds, and games
with a 100-page rule book that you could play for a week,” Leeder said. “There are literally games for any interest you can possibly think of – hundreds of thousands of ‘em. Whatever you’re into, there’s more than likely a game for that.” Leeder first got into gaming in the 1990s after his brother got him interested in reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which got him interested in the fantasy world of “Dungeons and Dragons.” From then on, he was hooked, and couldn’t be happier about the
position he’s in now, being able to help others follow their passions in gaming, no matter how “niche” or how trendy. “We have the largest selection of games in the world, right there in Fitchburg; more than 700,000 items in our warehouse,” he said. “Even if you’re not really into games, but want to come and find a great gift, we are more than happy to help.”
as the area’s best website development company by InBusiness Magazine. It was the fourth year in a row F i t c h b u r g - b a s e d Ti n g a l l s Tingalls received the most votes Graphic Design was recognized for the contest.
Founder, owner and creative director Tara Ingalls said in a news release the recognition “is what fuels her passion for her work every day.” “We’ve served well over 1,000
clients since I founded the firm in 2000, and we strive to bring energy and creativity to projects of all shapes and sizes,” she said in the release. “Starting our 19th year in business and once again receiving
this honor is a wonderful validation of the effort my team puts forth for every single client we serve.” - Scott Girard
Business brief
Fitchburg graphic design company recognized
Noble Knight Games sells a variety of games, with more than 700,000 in its warehouse space.
Photo by Justin Loewen
18 Fitchburg Star - December 14, 2018
City Hall - Main Line Administration Assessing Building Inspections City Clerk Economic Development
270-4200 270-4213 270-4235 270-4240 270-4210 270-4246
FACTv Finance Fire Department FitchRona Human Resources Library Municipal Court
270-4225 270-4251 278-2980 275-7148 270-4211 729-1760 270-4224
Parks & Forestry Planning/Zoning Police Public Works Recreation/Community Center Senior Center Utilities
270-4288 270-4258 270-4300 270-4260 270-4285 270-4290 270-4270
5520 Lacy Road, Fitchburg, WI 53711 • www.fitchburgwi.gov adno=36709
HOLIDAY CLOSURES
RECREATION DEPARTMENT
RECYCLE YOUR HOLIDAY LIGHTS
December 24 & 25 – City Hall, Recreation Dept. & Senior Center CLOSED December 23, 24 & 25 – Library CLOSED December 31 City Hall, Recreation Dept., & Senior Center Closing at Noon Library Closing at 5:00 pm January 1, 2019 – City Hall, Recreation Dept., Senior Center & Library CLOSED January 21, 2019 – City Hall, Recreation Dept. & Senior Center CLOSED
For holiday lights that no longer work, recycle them at City Hall. A special cart is now available 24 hours/ day in the City Hall Lobby, 5520 Lacy Road. Fitchburg residents can drop off non-working holiday light strings and extension cords for recycling. Residents must remove any bulbs larger than marble-size and recycle those separately.
HOLIDAY TREE COLLECTION
CURBSIDE OPTIONS FOR EXCESS RECYCLABLES
Holiday tree collection will begin the week of January 7th for properties subscribed to the City of Fitchburg’s brush collection. A second collection will take place the week of January 21st. Trees should be at the curb by 6:30 am on Monday morning of the collection week with trunks facing the street. All decorating material must be removed. Flocked trees are not collected and must be disposed of in the refuse, with a refuse tag attached. Wreaths and garland are also considered refuse if they contain metal or other supporting devices.
Fitchburg’s recycling hauler (Pellitteri Waste Systems) will pick up excess recyclables that do not fit into the blue recycling carts curbside at no additional charge for all single to four-unit residential homes. Homeowners may place excess recyclables in a clear plastic bag (32 gallon or less & no more than 50 pounds) next to the recycling cart. Excess cardboard that does not fit inside your blue recycling cart should be flattened and placed in a clear plastic bag – not tied or bundled. More information is available at www.fitchburgwi.gov/solidwaste.
Fitchburg Solid Waste and Recycling Calendar
2019
January S
6 13 20 27
M
T
W
T
F
S
7 14 21 28
H 8 15 22 29
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24 31
4 11 18 25
5 12 19 26
April S
M
T
W
T
F
S
7 14 21 28
1 8 15 22 29
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24
4 11 18 25
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
7 14 21 28
1 8 15 22 29
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24 31
H 11 18 25
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
W
T
F
S
July
October S
M
6 13 20 27
7 14 21 28
T
1 8 15 22 29
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24 31
4 11 18 25
5 12 19 26
February S
3 10 17 24
M
4 11 18 25
May S
5 12 19 26
M
6 13 20 H
August S
4 11 18 25
M
5 12 19 26
T
W
F
S
1 8 15 22
2 9 16 23
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
7 14 21 28
T
W
T
F
S
7 14 21 28
1 8 15 22 29
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24 31
4 11 18 25
T
W
T
F
S
7 14 21 28
1 8 15 22 29
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24 31
F
S
6 13 20 27
November S
M
T
W
T
3 10 17 24
4 11 18 25
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
7 14 21 H
Color coding Legend:
1 1 1 1 H
T
= Recycling Week = Holiday Tree Collection Week* = Brush Collection Week* = Brush and Yardwaste Collection Week* = Holiday that affects Collection**
Note: Refuse collection is weekly, recycling every other week
1 8 15 22 29
2 9 16 23 30
April 8 - 12*
March S
3 10 17 24 31
M
4 11 18 25
June S
2 9 16 23 30
M
3 10 17 24
T
W
T
F
S
2 9 16 23 30
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
7 14 21 28
1 8 15 22 29
T
W
T
F
S
7 14 21 28
1 8 15 22 29
4 11 18 25
5 12 19 26
September
6 13 20 27
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
1 8 15 22 29
H 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24
4 11 18 25
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
7 14 21 28
W
T
F
S
December S
1 8 15 22 29
M
2 9 16 23 30
T
3 10 17 24 31
4 11 18 H
5 12 19 26
6 13 20 27
7 14 21 28
BRUSH COLLECTION Aug. 26 - 30
April 22 - 26 May 6 - 10*
Sept. 9 - 13 Sept. 23 - 27
May 20 - 24 June 10 - 14 June 24 - 28 July 22 - 26
Oct. 7 - 11 Oct. 21 - 25* Nov. 11 - 15 Nov. 25 - 29*
* Place items at curb by 6:30am Monday. Collection will occur during the following week weather permitting.
* Yardwaste also collected during these weeks. Place brush neatly at the curb (not in street) by 6:30am
** Holiday weeks, collection delayed 1 day after the Holiday (May 27, Jul 4, Sept 2, Nov 28, Dec 25)
Monday on collection weeks. Brush must be less than 5 ft long and 6 inches in diameter. Lay branches perpendicular to the street with the cut end toward the street. Place yardwaste in reusable containers or bags or
HOLIDAY TREE COLLECTION Actual collection dates may January 7 - 11 depend on weather. January 21 - 25 Place Holiday Trees at the curb (not in street) by 6:30am Monday on collection weeks.
compostable bags at the curb (not in the street). Do not tie the bags.
Place carts behind the curbline (not in the street) by 6:30am on your collection day. Visit www.fitchburgwi.gov/solidwaste for more details. Revised November 13, 2018
2018 Winter Recreation Programs Are Open for Registration! Go to www.fitchburgwi.gov/recreation and click on “View Activities” to see our list of programs for this Winter!
Ace Futsal @ Leopold
This program will mimic Fall and Spring outdoor soccer programs through Fitchburg Rec with one weekday training session each week for 7 weeks. Games will be 4v4 plus a keeper. Training will be on Thursdays 6pm at Leopold Elementary School. Ace Soccer Coaches will break up the kids into teams based on year of birth each week for small sided games. • Ages – 7-11 • Day/Time – Thursdays, Jan. 10 – Feb. 21, 6:00-7:00 pm • Location – Leopold School Gymnasium • Fee - $40
Basketball Holiday Skills Camps
Looking for some extra fun over the Holiday Break? Please call all your friends and come join us for our annual Holiday Basketball Skills Camp. We will have lots of instructional skills, drills, and fun challenges for you, and we’ll be in a nice warm gym! Campers - you will be very active so please remember to bring your own basketball and a water bottle. Space is limited and the camp fills fast so secure your spot by registering today. Hope to see you at camp! • Grades – K & 1st, 2nd & 3rd, 4th-6th • Day/Time – Wed.-Fri., December 26 – December 28, Mornings • Location – Savanna Oaks Gymnasium • Fee - $30 (K& 1st), $40 (2nd & 3rd and 4th-6th)
December Dance Day!
A day for parents to drop off the kids and take some time to do some holiday shopping, finish a project, or just relax! Meanwhile know your kids will be having a blast dancing with Mrs. Nicole! This 2-hour session will include a variety of movements from ballet, jazz and hip hop. The students will work on choreography in small groups and use their ideas to create a routine. The day will include, free dance, games, a craft project and extra fun for all ages! Sign up now! Spaces are limited! • Ages – 4-12 • Day/Time – Saturday, December 22, 9:00-11:00 am • Location – Fitchburg Community Center • Fee - $14
Musikgarten – Winter Music I
Join us inside, when the weather is chilly and cold, to sing, play instruments and move! Our songs will be reflective of the winter season; snow and ice, the night sky, daytime activities and winter animals. The multi-age activities and musical learning make this class engaging for all ages between birth and 4 years along with their adult family member or caregiver. • Ages – Birth-4 • Day/Time – Thursdays, January 10 – January 31, 9:00-9:40 am • Location – Fitchburg Community Center • Fee - $40
Spanish for Preschoolers – Welcome to Spanish
Children ages 3-5 learn Spanish vocabulary and basic phrases in a fun and active way with these lively classes. Award-winning teacher, Marti Fechner of Grow into Spanish LLC, incorporates music, movement, games, stories and more to make learning Spanish easy and engaging for preschool-age children. It is easy for children to learn a foreign language at this young age, and SO beneficial. Come try it! It’s a great way to prepare your child for a bilingual future. • Ages – 3-5 • Day/Time – Mondays, January 7 – February 18, 12:45-1:30 pm • Location – Fitchburg Community Center • Fee - $70
Youth Volleyball – Leagues for 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th Graders
These recreational leagues are for players who would like to have fun learning skills and getting involved in competition against players at their own skill level. Practices will be on Sundays and will start on January 13th. Tournaments will be played on February 10, 17, 24, March 3, and March 10 against other communities including: Cross Plains, Verona, Middleton, Stoughton and Mt. Horeb. The time frame for tournaments is typically 12:00-3:30 p.m. Modified rules will be used. • Grades – 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th • Day/Time – Sundays, January 13 – March 10 • Location – Stoner Prairie School and Travelling • Fee - $60
Computer Use – Everyday Efficiency with Windows
Sure, you know how to get around on the computer and manage to “get by.” BUT…are you using Windows in the easiest and most efficient ways? Have a handful of Websites that you frequently visit? Access them through your “Links” toolbar without having to open your browser first! Still taking notes from the screen? Learn how easy screen prints are and when to use the best tool (Print Screen vs Snipping Tool vs Screenshot). These tips—and many more—will leave you wondering how you ever managed Windows before! This 2-hour session will allow you to watch and DO. Each participant will have access to a computer—and don’t worry about forgetting what you did, because you will leave with a handout summarizing what was presented! Try it…you’ll like it! • Age – Adults • Day/Time – Tuesday, January 15, 6:00-8:00 pm • Location – Fitchburg Community Center • Fee - $40
City news
ConnectFitchburg.com
December 14, 2018
Fitchburg Star
19
North Stoner Prairie change waits for second opinion Mayor again casts tiebreaking vote on comp plan amendment SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
How much density should be allowed in part of the North Stoner Prairie neighborhood continues to be a disagreement between Fitchburg’s Common Council and Plan Commission. Any potential development for the area will have to wait until they come to an agreement – or agree not to. But on Tuesday, Nov. 27, the council once again was deadlocked on the topic, voting 4-4, with Mayor Jason Gonzalez again breaking it, to send a comprehensive plan amendment back to the commission to limit development to five to nine units per acre. The group voted 5-3 at its Dec. 11 meeting to rescind that vote and wait to send it to the commission until they get an opinion from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities on whether both bodies have to approve the same amendment for it to be final.
In September, the council voted identically after a public hearing to send the amendment and three unrelated proposals that were part of the same ordinance back to the commission. Gonzalez joked that, given it’s the same amendment the council sent the commission in September, they could “just photocopy these things and change the date.” The commission had forwarded a plan that would allow up to 16 units per acre, which some commissioners called a “compromise” with nearby residents. Many opposed the existing high-density designation on the plan – but not yet in the zoning – for apartments that were proposed there earlier this year. Commissioners had voted in July to leave the area at high density with no limit, which is what the comprehensive plan calls for. It will remain that way unless the two bodies agree on a change. City attorney Valerie Zisman has told alders repeatedly that both the council and commission must approve the same amendment per state statute, but some alders and speakers during the public hearing questioned that in November.
Zisman was not present that night, but city administrator Patrick Marsh reiterated the point. “If the two bodies don’t agree – currently it’s high density – it would stay high density,” Marsh said. “State statute dictates that the two bodies must agree.” Zisman pointed the Star to state statute 66.1001(4)(c), which reads “No comprehensive plan that is recommended for adoption or amendment under par. (b) may take effect until the political subdivision enacts an ordinance or the regional planning commission adopts a resolution that adopts the plan or amendment.” Ald. Tom Clauder (Dist. 4) said he disagreed with the attorney’s assessment and added that even if it’s correct, it’s not the way the process should work. “The Plan Commission should not trump an elected body,” Clauder said. Changing a comprehensive plan requires an extensive public effort as detailed in the state’s Smart Growth law, adopted in 1999, and all government land-use decisions must conform to that governmental unit’s comprehensive plan. T h e p l a n a l l ow s f o r h i g h
density in that area because of an amendment made last year many residents were unaware of, related to the addition of a church in the neighborhood. Dozens have shown up to commission and council meetings throughout this year to protest the inclusion of high-density housing in the plan. They’ve complained the change, which altered a neighborhood plan established more than five years ago, has led them to lose “trust” in their city government. Ald. Dan Carpenter (D-3) said the change made last year was a “mistake” and was “stunned” they are still discussing it. “There was a plan in place,” Carpenter said. “The council made a change to the plan that we should not have made. We are trying to correct our mistake.” Ald. Tony Hartmann (D-4) was one of the four votes against limiting the plan to five to nine units per acre, and also against sending it back to the commission. He voted “Hell no” to the former, and “heck no” to the latter. Just before the vote to send it back to the commission, he lamented, “We’re voting for the agony to continue.”
Carpenter said he also “wants this resolved,” but he wanted to do so in support of the neighbors who have spoken at meetings and signed petitions opposing high density. “If we amend it back to the original proposal, send it back to the Plan Commission … I would hope they would take a step back and do the right thing,” he said. Some of the alders who voted against the limit of nine want to see more “diversity of housing stock” in the city, Ald. Julia Arata-Fratta (D-2) said. Ald. Dorothy Krause (D-1) added that the city “cannot afford to (be) ... based on large-lot properties” like others in the North Stoner Prairie neighborhood. “We need to seriously consider tax revenue if we want to keep running the city without raising taxes,” Krause said. Gonzalez pointed out before the vote that whatever density is allowed in the comprehensive plan, any development proposal would still require its own approval from the council. Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @sgirard9.
Partial McKee Road rebuild planned for 2020
Fish Hatchery Reconstruction
Badger State Trail overpass part of safety upgrades SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
Rendering courtesy KL Engineering
The Common Council approved Alternative D, with some slight amendments changing the paths on each side of the road, on a 4-4 vote with a tiebreaker from Mayor Jason Gonzalez in support.
Road will keep bus lane after rebuild Paths for bikes, pedestrians planned on both sides SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
Fish Hatchery Road will continue to have a dedicated bus and right-turn lane in both directions after it’s reconstructed in 2020. The Common Council approved what’s known as a “typical section,” which outlines the general design of the road, Tuesday, Dec. 11, on a 4-4 vote, with Mayor Jason Gonzalez breaking the tie in favor of Alternative D. That option also includes paths or sidewalks on both sides of the road separated from traffic lanes by a 2-foot
curb and gutter and 4-foot terrace. The four alders who voted against that option supported a plan that would have allowed all traffic to drive in all three lanes in each direction. “(Bus only) just doesn’t seem like a very efficient use,” said Ald. Aaron Richardson (Dist. 3). But the majority argued three full lanes of traffic would attract regional drivers the city doesn’t want on Fish Hatchery Road, instead preferring commuters to go to U.S. Hwy. 14 or Verona Road. Ald. Dorothy Krause (D-1) said that it would be easier to reconsider later and allow traffic in all three lanes than allowing that traffic now and trying to change it back. “You cannot take it away once it’s been given,” Krause
said. Construction staging is expected to begin in fall 2019, with most of construction between March and November 2020. During construction, traffic will shift to one side of the road, with one lane of travel in each direction. Once one side of the road is completed, the travel side would trade with the side under construction. Most of the Verona Road construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2019, which would allow drivers to use that for alternative travel, planners hope. “We are trying to fit this into kind of a reasonable slot, looking at the other major north-south corridors in the area and where people might take alternate routes,” KL Engineering project manager
Samantha Herheim said at a Nov. 8 public information meeting. “It will not be ideal during construction.” Richardson was joined by Alds. Julia Arata-Fratta (D-2), Dan Carpenter (D-3) and Tom Clauder (D-4) in voting against Alternative D. Project managers are also going to consider how a 10-foot path on one side and 6-foot sidewalk on the other would work. While it would have the same overall footprint as two, 8-foot paths, KL Engineering senior project manager Mike Scarmon said it could affect costs of related underground work as it would shift the center of the road. Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @sgirard9.
Negotiations with county for long-term maintenance continue Dane County has planned $8 million to contribute to the Fish Hatchery Road reconstruction, but an agreement between the City of Fitchburg and the county is still being worked on. The money is scheduled the county’s capital improvement plan, but it would require an intergovernmental agreement outlining the terms of financing or which entity would be responsible for maintenance long-term. The Common Council briefly discussed the ongoing negotiations at its
Dec. 11 meeting, and Mayor Jason Gonzalez said at a public meeting last month the county could cover up to half the cost of the project. He had previously encouraged alders to pull out of negotiations because of the county’s insistence on transferring jurisdiction to the well-traveled county trunk highway. The city and county have been negotiating for more than a year about the project on what is currently a county highway, with the county wanting to
cover limited costs for what was initially planned as a resurfacing project and then leave the city responsible for maintenance like snow plowing in the future. Funding for the 2020 project is still being finalized, but it is expected to include a recently expanded tax-increment financing district. TIF pools increased property taxes from all underlying taxing jurisdictions to provide flexibility for projects that would not happen without the funding.
McKee Road is likely to have a second bicycle path overpass by the end of 2020 as part of a rebuild of part of the road aimed at improving safety. Construction plans for the section of the road between Commerce Park Drive and Seminole Highway include that overpass, a multi-use path on both sides of the road and removal of the on-street bike lanes. The plan is to have construction coincide with a state Department of Transportation project that will reconstruct McKee Road up to Commerce Park Drive as part of the Verona Road project. The city held a public information meeting on the city’s plan Monday, Nov. 19, where a consultant explained the project is necessary for a few reasons, most notably that the crash rate is 50 percent higher than the state average for similar corridors. Jared Engelke,
a transportation engineer with Strand Associates, explained there’s also a “little bit of a safety concern” at the current Badger State Trail crossing, which would be closed during construction. Engelke said his company and the city plan to work this winter on a preliminary design for the project, which includes some intersection change s , a n d t h a t t h e fi n a l design should be done next spring. Construction would begin and end in 2020. Traffic would shift to the north side of the road with one lane in each direction while the south side is constructed and then shift to the south side while the north side is worked on. The Badger State Trail overpass would replace the current at-grade crossing that features Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons installed in 2013. Engelke said that with four lanes of traffic, drivers stop inconsistently. “McKee Road has a lot of traffic,” he said. “People often go very fast on McKee Road, as well.” Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @sgirard9.
What’s online R e a d t h e s e a n d m o r e c i t y n ew s s t o r i e s a t ConnectFitchburg.com:
Annexation discussions continue Negotiations are continuing on whether parts of the Town of Madison will be absorbed by the City of Fitchburg earlier than 2022 – or even whether those parts might have different boundaries.
TIF application now requires $10K deposit City leaders hope a new $10,000 deposit requirement can help Fitchburg avoid getting “played” by developers interested in taxpayer assistance to build here. The Common Council approved a resolution Tuesday, Dec. 11, to require developers to pay the deposit when they come forward with a tax-increment financing request.
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Edgewood girls swimming
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Wildcats move up to second in state rankings
Jimenez’s four-point play stuns Oregon
JEREMY JONES Sports editor
MARK NESBITT Assistant sports editor
The Madison Edgewood boys basketball team’s season is on the upswing Edgewood sophomore Isahdro Jimenez converted a rare four-point play with 1.8 seconds left Dec. 11 to stun host Oregon 59-58. Madison Edgewood coach Chris Zwettler, a Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Famer who has coached for 36 years and is in his 29th year with the Crusaders, said he has never seen a game end on a buzzer-beating fourpoint play. “We’ve been in that situation many of times,” Zwettler said. Edgewood (3-3 overall, 2-1 Badger South) is tied for second in the conference with the Crusaders, Monroe and Monona Grove. Stoughton leads the league with a 3-0 mark. Zwettler said the first two and a half weeks the team struggled with a lot of off the court issues. He has noticed a change in the past 10 days where the Crusaders have gone 2-1 and posted Badger South Conference wins over Fort Atkinson Dec. 7 and Oregon on Tuesday, Dec. 11. “It was just distractions,” he said. “Nothing major, but just little things. Those have been become less and less and they have understood removing distractions so you can build chemistry
Photo by Jeremy Jones
Members of the Edgewood girls swimming team celebrate with the WIAA Division 2 state tournament trophy on Nov. 9.
State champs again Edgewood has 13 events medal at Div. 2 state meet JEREMY JONES Sports editor
Junior DeeDee Walker missed out on one state title by the narrowest of margins, but she made sure not to let opportunity slip by when it came again Nov. 9 at the WIAA Division 2 state swimming meet. Walker dropped more than 18 seconds off her 500yard freestyle seed time to win her first individual state title in 5 minutes, 4.88 seconds. She followed that up, by anchoring the Crusaders’ 200 and 400 free relays to two more titles. Edgewood totaled 13 medals to win the state championship with 328.5 points. The Crusaders are no strangers to dominating performances at state, posting 346 points in 2017 to best New Berlin Eisenhower by 144. They scored 337 points in 2016 to beat McFarland by 113 and a 277.5 in 2015 to win their first state title by 57.5 over the Spartans. Edgewood was also second in 2014. Walker was joined on the 200 free relay by junior Maeve O’Driscoll, freshman Abby Reid and senior Issy Petersen to post a time of 1:36.62. Barth, Anna teDuits
Turn to Swim/Page 5
Turn to Boys/Page 5
Medalists 500 freestyle: DeeDee Walker, first, 5:04.88 200 individual medley: Kaitlyn Barth, second, 100 butterfly: Barth, second, 56.94 200 freestyle relay: Walker, Maeve O’Driscoll, Abby Reid, Issy Petersen, first, 1:36.62 400 freestyle relay: (Walker, Barth, Anna teDuits, Reid), first, 3:30.13 200 medley relay: teDuits, Barth, Petersen, O’Driscoll, second, 1:47.23 50 free: Petersen, second, 24.05 50 free: Barth, fifth, 24.13 50 free: O’Driscoll, sixth, 24.18 100 free: Petersen, second, 52.29 100 free: O’Driscoll, sixth, 53.12 200 IM: Reid, fourth, 2:09.25 200 IM: teDuits, fifth, 2:09.25
Madison West girls swimming
Marty goes out with two silvers MARK NESBITT Assistant sports editor
M a d i s o n We s t s e n i o r Katrina Marty closed out a standout prep career from the WIAA Division 1 state swim meet Saturday, Nov. 10 bringing home two silver medals. Marty finished as the state runner-up in both the 100-yard backstroke (54.76 seconds) and 100 butterfly (54.62). Brookfield East sophomore Reilly Tillmann clipped Marty for the state title in the backstroke by 0.14 of a second and by by by 0.26 of a second in the fly.
Marty, an Arizona State recruit, was looking to win her third straight state title in the back. Te a m s f r o m t h e B i g Eight Conference dominated the state meet, taking four of the top eight spots. Middleton racked up 249.5 points to win its third straight state championship. Sun Prairie finished third (170), followed by fourth-place Verona Area/ Mount Horeb (169) and Madison West in eighth (120). West sophomore Bridget Sullivan finished fifth in the 50 free (23.97) and fifth in the 100 free
(52.46). Marty teamed with junior Namoi Kissel, freshman Bella Granetzke and Sullivan to take sixth in the 200 free relay (1:37.03). The Regents’ 200 medley relay team of junior N a o m i K i s s e l , M a r t y, freshman Evy Laursen and Sullivan took ninth (1:40.07). In the 400 free relay, We s t s o p h o m o r e K a t e Messner, freshman Quinn Weygant, junior Clara Sato and Laursen placed 10th (3:35.92). Photo by Mark Nesbitt L a u r s e n a d d e d a Madison West senior Katrina Marty finished second in the 14th-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke at the WIAA Division 1 state meet 500 free (5:10.59). with a time of 54.76 seconds.
The Verona boys hockey team has opened the first month of the season undefeated. The Wildcats (4-0-2 overall, 5-0-2 Big Eight) are ranked second in the state according to the WisconsinPrepHockey poll behind rival Green Bay Notre Dame (3-0-3). Ve r o n a h a s a l r e a d y beaten honorable mention-ranked Madison Edgewood, conference rival Sun Prairie (5-1-0, 5-1-0) and tied Notre Dame and 1 0 t h - r a n k e d Wa u k e s h a (3-2-2). The Wildcats have also taken care of business against the bottom of the Big Eight, posting a 10-0 drubbing of Janesville and a 12-0 win over Madison La Follette/East.
Verona 3, Notre Dame 3 Rarely in life do things live up to expectations the way the Nov. 30 nonconference showdown between two of the state’s top boys hockey team programs did. Verona, ranked third at the time, and Green Bay Notre Dame, then fourth, engaged in a fast-paced s l u g f e s t t h a t s e n t fa n s cheering and jeering on every check and nearly 70 shots on goal. A rematch of last year’s WIAA state quarterfinal, the game ended 3-3 after the host Wildcats scored with 27 seconds left. “I saw the puck go into the net, and the student section erupted,” said sophomore forward Walker Haessig, who scored the tying goal. “You just kind of lose feeling at that moment.” It was the second tie of the season for both Verona (3-0-2) and Notre Dame (2-0-2). Notre Dame, which scored three of the game’s four power-play goals, led by two goals with four minutes remaining. The Wildcats began their comeback with a pow er-play goal by junior forward Cale Rufenacht off a rebound in front. Verona then called timeout with :34.4 remaining and pulled sophomore goaltender Kaden Grant in favor of an extra attacker. Haessig’s score came off a set play, drawn up on the whiteboard by coach Joel Marshall during the timeout. It was designed to get the puck to the corner off the draw and position Haessig in front of the Triton goal. “I saw (junior forward) Mack (Keryluk) get the puck in the corner, and I just found a spot out front,”
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December 14, 2018
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Verona Area/Mount Horeb girls swimming
Bennin has gold rush again MARK NESBITT
Medalists
Assistant sports editor
Verona Area/Mount Horeb senior Grace Bennin couldn’t hold back the tears. Bennin closed out her illustrious prep swimming career Saturday, Nov. 10, with three more state titles, and broke the record of one of the most decorated swimmers in Wisconsin history. The University of Minnesota recruit won her third-straight WIAA Division 1 championship in the 100yard breaststroke in 1 minute, 0.65 seconds and crushed the previous mark by 1.2 seconds. She also won gold medals in the 200 individual medley and the 200 medley relay inside the UW Natatorium. She won eight state titles in her career. “I was not expecting to go that fast,” Bennin said of her record. “I just looked up and I saw it (time) flashing, and then the tears came.” While she had been hoping to break the state record, she never guessed it would have been by more than a second. “It means so much,” she said. “It’s everything I worked for. It really ends my high school season and career nicely.”
200 IM: Grace Bennin, first, (1:59.93) 100 breaststroke: Grace Bennin, first, 1:00.65 200 medley relay: Sara Stewart, Grace Bennin, Josie McCartney, Kaitlyn Zuehl, first, 1:43.34 200 free relay: Grace Bennin, Toloa Klabough, Kenzie Zuehl, second, 1:35.61 100 backstroke: Sara Stewart, sixth, 56.28 400 freestyle relay: Kenzie Zuehl, Josie McCartney, Gabby Gnewuch, Sara Stewart, 3:34.08 Photo by Mark Nesbitt
Verona Area/Mount Horeb senior Grace Bennin won a third straight WIAA Division 1 state championship in the 100-yard breaststroke in a state record time of 1 minute, 0.65 seconds. Bennin’s effort helped lead the Wildcats to fourth place as a team, with 169 points, one point behind third-place Sun Prairie. Middleton won its third straight state championship, racking up 249.5 points to finish well ahead of Cedarburg (188). Bennin broke former teammate Beata Nelson’s three-year-old school record to take gold in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:59.93. She also teamed with
juniors Sara Stewart, Josie McCartney and freshman Kenzie Zuehl to capture the state title in the 200 medley relay (1:43.34). The Wildcats’ 200 freestyle relay team of freshman Tola Klabough, Kenzie and Kaitlyn Zuehl and Bennin finished as the state runner-up (1:35.61) just behind Middleton (1:34.24). McCartney set the mood of the team when she finished the winning
medley relay effort. “It was an amazing way to start the meet, kind of get the energy high and show that we came here to swim fast and show what we can do,” McCartney said. “Bill (Wuerger) always tells us not to worry about how the other swimmers are doing. We tried to do just do that and block out the noise.” Stewart was excited to be a member on the gold medal medley relay. “I almost started crying because it’s something we have been working hard for all season,” she said. “I think
everyone went a best time. I thought we all pushed ourselves our hardest and the competition pushed us the best we could possibly go.” Stewart added a sixth-place finish in the 100 backstroke (56.28) to reach the podium and placed 11th in the 100 butterfly (57.43). McCartney took seventh in the 100 fly with a lifetime-best 56.78, .37 second away from a medal. “It was amazing to look up at the scoreboard and see such a fast time,” she said. “It was everything I could have hoped for at state.”
Hockey: Grant has 41 saves in last-second comeback to tie Notre Dame
Big Eight Team
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pucks and bodies to the front of the net.”
Continued from page 1 Haessig said. “The puck trickled through, and I just pounded it home.” Twenty-seven seconds from walking out of the Verona Ice Arena with a victory, Notre Dame coach Cory McCracken said his team has to learn to defend better in tight games. “We have five very capable guys on the ice in that situation,” he said. ”You have to give credit to Verona; they got hungry, and they got
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Verona 3, Sun Prairie 2 Playing what could be the second-best team in the Big Eight Conference again this season, hockey was the furthest thing from the mind of the Verona boys team when the puck dropped inside the Sun Prairie Ice Arena on Thursday. The Wildcats, still reeling from the sudden death of Art Bishop on Dec. 5, scraped together a 3-2 conference win on an emotional evening. “Between his sons Jeff and Mike, they’ve played with every boy on this team,” coach Joel Marshall said. “There was a lot on our minds. That kind of hit home a little bit and put everything into perspective.” Art was, Marshall said, “an unreal volunteer and the ultimate hockey guy.” With their thoughts understandably elsewhere, the second-ranked Wildcats got off to a slow start but weathered an early storm and got contributions from their top line when they needed it. They trailed 1-0 after the first period but scored three unanswered goals over the final two periods, all from Haessig. Keryluk set up the first goal 9:27 into the second period, passing from the slot to the right circle. Haessig caught Sun Prairie senior goaltender Owen Leatherberry off guard and fired the puck into the short-side corner. “I looked over for Cale, and he saw that,” Haessig said. “I think he cheated over and left that corner open.” Rufenacht and Keryluk each had an assist on Haessig’s even-strength goal 3:38 into the third period to give Verona its first lead, 2-1. Haessig extended the Wildcats’ lead midway through
Photo by Jeremy Jones
Forward Walker Haessig (9) scores the game-tying goal Nov. 30 with 26.8 seconds remaining in the third period. Third-ranked Verona tied fourth-ranked Notre Dame 3-3. the third period, knocking home a rebound at 7:10 for his seventh goal of the season. Six of his seven goals have come in the last three games. The state’s leading scorer through the first three games of the season, Keryluk (9 goals, 11 assists) had an assist on all three goals. Rufenacht (2g, 10a) set up the final two. “Our line is really clicking,” Haessig said. “The first two games of the season, we tried evening up the lines but the coaches decided to make Cale, Mack and me a line. I think the chemistry just gets better and better.” Sun Prairie (4-1-0, 4-1-0) came into the game averaging nine goals a game in conference wins over Madison Memorial, Middleton, the Eastside Lakers co-op and
the Janesville co-op. “Some of our early-season competition wasn’t as strong as Verona for sure, but we can really get up and down the ice and put the puck in the net,” Cardinals coach Chris Finkler said. “Tonight, we just weren’t able to do that quite as well as we did our first four games.”
Gaining momentum Every game is important as the Wildcats seek to threepeat at Big Eight champions. The Wildcats are scheduled to play four conference games between now and Dec. 22. Verona travels Beloit Memorial (3-4-0, 1-3-0) on Dec. 18 and hosts Middleton (3-3-1, 1-2-0) Dec. 14), Madison Memorial (3-4-0, 2-1-0) Dec. 15 and Madison West (5-0-1, 4-0-0) Dec. 22. Verona’s biggest challenge
of the season could come just after Christmas, as the team travels to Green Bay to take part in the Showdown in Titletown tournament Dec. 27-29 at Cornerstone Ice Arena. The Wildcats open the tournament Dec. 27 against honorable mention Eau Claire Memorial (2-2-1). The tournament also features top-ranked University School of Milwaukee (6-00), third-ranked Notre Dame, seven-ranked Wausau West (3-2-0), 10th-ranked Neenah co-op (3-2-0) and honorable mention Madison Edgewood (5-1-0). “It’s going to be a midseason battle for us,” Marshall said. “This is definitely the hardest we’ve ever put together in my 10 years here as coach. How good teams actually are will start to show in the next couple of weeks.”
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Madison West/Verona boys basketball
Regents slip by Wildcats, get to .500 MARK NESBITT
“We had our opportunities,” Verona coach Jevin Budde said. “We have a group still trying to put it all together. I can’t question their energy and effort tonight.” Junior guard Haakon Anderson, who scored 18 points and had eight rebounds, said “hustle plays” and not worrying about the score got the Wildcats back into the game. Verona senior forward Ryan Van Handel scored a team-high 23 points to lead the Wildcats, but senior point guard Tyler Slawek ignited the comeback with aggressive on-ball defense and offense, starting with a three-point play on a layup with 4:10 left that cut the Regents’ lead to 61-55. Slawek, who finished with 21 points, got West senior guard Leeander Jones to be called for a five-second call, which led to Anderson scoring a layup on the break to slice the Regents’ lead to 63-59. Still, the Wildcats trailed by nine points with 2:06 left. Slawek had another three-point play and made 1 of 2 free throws with 10.8 seconds left to cut the Regents’ lead to 73-70. Jones hit two free throws to put the game out of reach.
Assistant sports editor
The Madison West boys basketball team has won two straight games to get back to .500 this season, and the Regents are looking to add to their winning streak. The Regents (3-3, 2-2) have had four players reach double figures in scoring the past two games. The balanced offensive attack keyed the Regents’ win over Verona Friday, Dec. 7. West had a key game at Madison Memorial on Thursday. Madison East (7-0, 4-0) leads the Big Eight Conference. Madison Memorial (3-1), Sun Prairie (4-1, 3-1), Janesville Craig (4-1, 3-1) and Madison La Follete (3-1) are tied for second in the conference.
West 75, Verona 73 The Verona boys basketball team turned to a full-court press to ratchet up the defensive intensity in the second half Dec. 7, but its comeback bid fell short in a 75-73 loss to Big Eight Conference rival Madison West. The Wildcats (1-4 overall, 1-3 conference) trailed by as many as 11 points in Madison before rallying to within four points four times in the final 3 minutes but took their third straight loss. The Regents made 4 of 8 free throws in the final minute, taking a 75-70 lead with 10 seconds left, before Verona senior Reagan Klawiter hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Regents had a balanced scoring attack, with four players in double figures. West senior guard Chamar Reed scored a
Photo by Mark Nesbitt
Madison West senior Cliff McCray shoots a jumper over Verona junior Haakon Anderson Friday, Dec. 7 in the first half of the Regents’ 75-73 win over the Wildcats. game-high 23 points. Senior guard Leeander Jones added 18 points. Austin Brooks chipped in 12 points and Cliff McCray had 11. It’s the second straight game
the Wildcats have rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half before losing. One week ago, Verona stormed back from a 20-point deficit against Middleton.
West 79, Middleton 78 Even after four players fouled out, the Regents tipped Middleton 79-78 Dec. 4. Reed scored a team-high 19 points and was one of four players in double figures. McRay added 14 points and Elliott Barry had 13. Brooks chipped in 12 points. Middleton’s Jack Boyle scored
a game-high 20 points.
Madison East 69, West 43 East guard Keonte Jones scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Purgolders over the Regents 69-43 Nov. 29 at Madison East High School. The Purgolders raced out to a 41-20 lead at the half. McCray scored a team-high 19 points. East’s Montae Thompson added 17 points.
La Follette 88, West 70 La Follete’s Troy Reeves Jr. had a game-high 20 points to power the Lancers to an 88-70 win over West Nov. 29 at La Follette High School.
West 68, Milwaukee Vincent 64 McCray scored a team-high 14 points to lead the Regents to a 68-64 win over Milwaukee Vincent Nov. 24 in Madison. West jumped out to a 35-26 lead at the break and withstood a second-half rally by Vicent. Vincent’s Robert Anderson scored a game-high 28 points.
Oshkosh West 74, West 59 McCray scored a team-high 21 points, but Oshkosh West knocked off the Regents 74-59 in the season opener Nov. 23 at JustA Game Fieldhouse in the Wisconsin Dells. Oshkosh West jumped out to a 37-24 lead at the half and rolled to the victory. Barry added eight points. Reed and Brooks chipped in seven each.
Madison West boys hockey
Madison West wrestling
Regents undefeated through 7 games JEREMY JONES Sports editor
Photo by Mark Nesbitt
Madison West’s Harrison Schreiber ties up with Verona’s Caden Page in a 170-pound match on Monday. Schreiber scored on an escape with 1 minute, 33 seconds left to beat Page 6-5.
Verona topples West Madison West had three wrestlers win matches Monday, but the Regents dropped a Big Eight dual meet to Verona 56-15. West (0-2 Big Eight) has a young team. Verona co-coach Bob Wozniak had six wrestlers bump up in the middle weights so they could fill every weight class except heavyweight in an effort to try to win as many matches as possible against the Regents. The shakeup paid dividends. The Wildcats got three pins and West forfeited five weight classes — 106 pounds, 120, 126, 182 and 200. Both teams had a double forfeit at heavyweight.
“We got some pins from some of our younger wrestlers,” Wozniak said. “We filled 13 of the 14 weight classes, and we knew we would get the win. Our goal was to win every match.” In a thrilling match that came down to the wire, West’s Harrison Schriber (170) scored on an escape with 1:33 left in the third period to seal a 6-5 win over Verona’s Caden Page. The Regents got pins from Dylan Chambers (138) and Joe Harris (152). Chambers won in a fall over the Wildcats’ Logan Neuroth in 1 minute, 14 seconds. Harris pinned Zak Morrison in 19 seconds.
(5-0-2, 3-0-0) have moved up to No. 2 on the WisconsinPrepHockey poll after tying 10th-ranked Waukesha and top-ranked Notre Dame. Forward Brogan Baker left for the USHL after last year, but Verona returns p l e n t y o f fi r ew p ow e r, including first-line forwards Mack Keryluk (13g, 12a), Walker Haessig (10g, 7a) and Cale Rufenacht (4g, 13a). First-year starting goaltender Kaden Grant has a .921 save percentage in
J u n i o r f o r w a r d A l ex Duchemin also has double-digit points already, racking up six goals and seven assists through seven games. Sophomore goaltender Ian Hedican (5-0-1) has a .935 save percentage and a 1.62 goals-against average so far.
six games a sophomore. Sun Prairie (5-1-0 5-10,) has lost to Verona but defeated Madison Memorial (3-5-0, 2-2-0) in the season-opener and could also contend for the title. Benet Halbleib (10g, 12a), Kaden Brunson (5g, 11a), Travis Kernen (7g, 6a), Roger Schoenike (5g, 7a) and Carter Watters (8g, 2a) all have double-digit points for SUn Prairie, and senior goaltender Owen Leatherberry is solid between the pipes.
The upper half of the Big Eight Conference is starting to take shape, and the Madison West boys hockey team is right near the top with second-ranked Verona, Sun Prairie and Madison Memorial. Although West has yet to Conference play any of those teams in Verona went 17-3-3 overthe Big Eight, the Regents have opened the 2018-19 all last year and won the Big season 6-0-1 overall and Eight Conference with a 4-0-0 in the Big Eight. The 12-1-1 record. The Wildcats Regents opened the season at home with a 4-2 win over Hayward on Nov. 23 and followed that up with a 5-5 tie the next day against Eau Claire North. Big Eight competition has been no challenge so far as the Regents blanked 16 YEARS OF AWARD-WINNING PIZZA. the bottom of the conference with an 11-0 win over $ the Madison La Follette/ after 9 East co-op and a 9-0 win at Cheese Bread with any 16 6” One-Topping Pizza Beloit Memorial. West add$25 order or more. Va alid Only After 9 p.m. ed a 7-1 win against JanesOnline code: CHEESE O Online code: 9991T ville and squeaked out a Fetalicious 2-1 victory at home against Ask about our Middleton on Dec. 7. Please mention mention coupon when when ordering. Pleasemention mentioncoupon couponwhen when ordering. ordering. One coupon, Please Please ordering. One One coupon, coupon, $6 Buck Lunch dealls! special or or discount discount per per order/table. order/table. Prices specialorordiscount discountper perorder/table. order/table. Prices Prices subject subject to to special special Prices subject subjecttoto West is averaging sevchange.Sales Salestax taxnot notincluded. included. Expires Expires 6/30/15. change.Sales Salestax taxnot notincluded. included.Expires Expires 12/31/18. 6/30/15. change. change. 12/31/18. en goals a game so far and 1.66 against. The state’s For a full menu, coupons or ordering online, tap your fingers to glassnickelpizza.com leading scorer last season, LATE NIGHT DELIVERY! Sign up for PizzaMai l ™ at glassnickelpizza.com and get special, subscriber2:00 a.m. Fridays & Saturdays only deals and promotions. It’s email you can use, not email we abuse. senior forward Drake Baldwin, is a big reason for the Regents’ offensive prowess. 608 He already has 17 goals this 3191 Muir Field Road • Fitchburg, WI 53719 season, including hat tricks Late Night Delivery. Dine-in. Carry-out. Catering. against Janesville, Beloit, Madison La Follette/East *Gluten-Free Crust is made offsite, but pizzas may share equipment with items containing gluten. We accept Credit Cards, Business Checks, Charge Accounts & Cash. Sorry, no Personal Checks. Please note that products and pricing may vary by location. Pricing is subject to change. $10 minimum for delivery. adno=42038 and Eau Claire North.
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Oregon boys hockey
Roskos propels Panthers over Monroe MARK NESBITT Assistant sports editor
Senior forward Zak Roskos scored the game-winning goal in the third period Thursday to propel the Oregon boys hockey team to a 2-1 Badger South win over Monroe. Roskos said the Panthers set the goal of winning a conference title before the season. “It was a lot closer than what we wanted it to be,” he said. “We came away with a win. That’s pretty much all that matters. We are taking every conference game as a must-win game.” Oregon (4-2, 2-0 Badger South) stays tied atop the conference with Madison Edgewood (5-1, 2-0) with the win at SLICE Arena. On Roskos’ game-winner, senior defender Gage Schildgen had a solid hold on the power play. “We got it low and got a couple shots,” Roskos said. “There is a rebound that popped right to me and I put it away.” Coach Larry Clemens has come to expect Roskos to take an aggressive approach to spark the team. “He’s kind of the guy when your team is struggling and you don’t have it, he’s a guy you are hoping he can finish it out,” Clemens said. “It’s good to see that he can continue to do that for us when our team struggles like they did tonight.” It appeared that Oregon would get out to a dominating start after junior forward Colton Eyers had a
Photo by Mark Nesbitt
Defenseman Gage Schildgen (12) attacks the goal in the first period of the Panthers’ 2-1 win Dec. 6 over Monroe at SLICE Ice Arena. goal on an assist from sophomore forward Adam Franken at the 10 minute mark in the first period. The Panthers dominated possession and outshot the Cheesemakers 47-20 in the game. Despite double the number of shots on goal, the Panthers found themselves locked in a tie game 1-1 in the second period..
The Cheesemakers (2-3, 0-2) stunned the Panthers when Kaiden Klitzke scored a game-tying goal. Clemens said most of Oregon’s shots on goal were not high quality and they didn’t want to get to the paint to try scoring more off rebounds. “We were just careless with the puck,” Clemens
said. “We were just shooting to shoot. We were not creating opportunities or going to the net hard. “Teenage kids are teenage kids. They read between the lines and they think guys will score points and they can’t. It’s good to see that many shots. We should have had more quality.” Oregon goaltender Colton Dailey had 19 saves. Monroe junior Heath Bear had a game-high 45 saves and made a couple of diving stops in the first period that kept the Cheesemakers in the game. “I thought Heath played well,” Clemens said. “I’ve seen him and worked with him. He tends to face over 40 shots a game. That’s kind of in his wheelhouse. He got the better of us for the most part, so good for him.” The Panthers had only four penalties. Clemens said it’s good to see the team cut its penalties down. “In a game where we should have the puck on our stick the majority of the game we should not have penalties,” he said. Clemens said penalties usually come on the offensive end and the Panthers should have less penalties since they dominated the shots on goal and possession. “It shows some bad habits still, some potential lazy hockey plays and some guys just unwilling to commit to pucks just kind of defeated a little bit and not working hard enough,” he said.
Photo by Eddie Brognano
Oregon junior Izzie Peterson (10) sinks a layup above Mya Andrews with less than one minute left in the Panthers’ loss to nonconference Marshall.
Oregon girls basketball
Marshall sinks Panthers in second half
MARK NESBITT Assistant sports editor
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After a tough start to the Badger South Conference season, the Oregon girls basketball team is looking to stack wins. Oregon got back to .500 in the Badger South Saturday by hanging on to a 66-57 win over Milton. The Red Hawks have won two straight Badger South games since starting the season 0-2 in conference with losses to Monroe and Monona Grove. “We expected better, but these are lessons we have to learn from and make sure not to waste opportunities when they present themselves in the future,” coach Adam Wamsley said. The Panthers then faced a nonconference test Monday and lost to Marshall, the defending WIAA Division 3 state champion. “I knew going into the season we needed to shoot better consistently,” Wamsley said. “We just shot a season high against Milton and came back Monday to have one of
our worst games shooting. I would say it’s cost us two to three games this season already.” Wamsley said the team is starting to play better defense. “No doubt we will be better come the second half of the season,” he said.
Marshall 56, Oregon 43 Senior guard Liz Uhl scored a team-high 18 points, but Marshall pulled away in the second half for a 56-43 win. The Panthers and Cardinals were tied at the half. Marshall (6-0) outscored Oregon 34-22 in the second half. Junior guard Kaitlyn Schrimpf added 10 points and junior Izzie Peterson added nine. Marshall’s Anna Lutz scored a game-high 22.
Oregon 66, Milton 57 Uhl scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Panthers over Milton 66-57 on Saturday. She had four steals and made 8 of 9 free throws. Peterson scored 13 points.
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Fitchburg Star
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Swim: Crusaders repeat Continued from page 1 and Reid joined Walker to secure the 400 free state title in 3:30.13. Walker added another second-place finish in the 200 free with a time of 1:53.31. Stoughton sophomore Sophia Bormett won the event in 1:53.3, becoming the first state champion in her program’s history. Edgewood senior Kaitlyn Barth finished runner-up in each of her individual swims and also as a member of a 200 medley relay. Barth finished second in the 100 butterfly in 56.94. Junior Mallory Todd (59.02) was eighth. She was also eighth in the 100 breastroke (1:08.19). Whitnall senior Nicole Beckman won the 100 fly in 56.67. Edgewood’s 200 medl ey r e l a y o f f r e s h m a n Anna teDuits, Barth, Peterson and O’Driscoll l e d o ff t h e m e e t w i t h
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Boys: Crusaders move into second-place tie Edgewood 59, Oregon 58 Oregon led by as many as nine points in its stunning 59-58 Badger South loss to Edgewood. Oregon junior guard Ethan Victorson hit a 3-pointer with 28.5 seconds left that appeared like it would give the Panthers the victory. That’s until Jimenez’s late-game heroics, as he buried a 3 and was fouled by Oregon senior guard Nolan Look with 1.8 seconds to go. Jimenez made the free throw to convert the four-point play and upset the Panthers. “I was struggling the whole game,” Jimenez said. “In the end, I just trusted my shot and shot it with confidence. It is probably up there with the top 3s I have ever made.” A desperation baseball pass by the Panthers was tipped and stolen by 6-foot5 senior Meriggioli to clinch the victory. Victorson scored a teamhigh 21 points and knocked down four 3-pointers. “Sometimes the difference between good and great teams isn’t a lot,” Oregon coach Chris Siebert said. “The difference between a being a good team and a great team is those little things.” Siebert credited Jimenez for the game-winner. “He stayed with it and believed it was going in,” Siebert said. “I know he works hard and puts a lot of time in.” The Panthers shot a blistering 60 percent from 3-point range (6-for-10) in the first half to build a 32-26 lead at the break. “They came out smoking,” Zwettler said. “We were able to figure it out and get some
Edgewood 64, Fort Atkinson 51 Meriggioli scored a gamehigh 20 points to help the Crusaders pick up their first Badger South Conference win Dec. 7, rolling to a 64-51 victory over Fort Atkinson. Michael Regnier added 14 points and Jimenez pitched in 13.
Lakeside Lutheran 55, Edgewood 41 The Crusaders dug themselves a hole in the first half and couldn’t rally in a 55-41 nonconference loss to Lakeside Lutheran in Lake Mills. The Warriors jumped out to a 13-point lead at the half.
Edgewood didn’t have any players reach double figures. Michael Wendler scored a team-high seven points. Daniel James and Meriggioli each chipped in six points.
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Stoughton 74, Edgewood 44 In the Badger South opener, Stoughton junior guard Adam Hobson erupted for a game-high 25 points as the Vikings thrashed the Crusaders 74-44 Nov. 30. Stoughton (5-1, 3-0) raced out to a 34-17 lead at the half. Jimenez scored a teamhigh 17 points to lead the Crusaders.
Edgewood 53, Baraboo 44
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Both Meriggioli and Jimenez scored a team-high 17 points to propel the Crusaders to a 53-44 road win over Baraboo Nov. 27. Edgewood led by four points at the half. The Crusaders outscored the Thunderbirds 30-25 in the second half.
Janesville Craig 82, Edgewood 65 In the season opener, Meriggioli scored a gamehigh 21 points, but Janesville Craig used a fast start to cruise to an 82-65 win. The Cougars jumped out to a 52-41 lead in a fastpaced first half. Regnier added 11 points, and Salzwedel chipped in eight.
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stops. I was happy with the way we just kept believing in each other grinding, grinding and playing solid defense. That is what kept us in the game.” Meriggioli carried the offensive load to keep the Crusaders within striking distance. He finished the game with a gamehigh 24 points and nine rebounds. After senior Sam Salzwedel’s layup with 2 minutes, 31 seconds left, the Crusaders took their first lead of the game, 52-51. “We are a young team, but like our coach has said before, the season our ceiling is through the roof,” Meriggioli said. “A big game like this was coming. I think this is the start for us.” Oregon sophomore guard Erik Victorson added 12 points and hit two 3s.
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Madison Edgewood senior forward Michael Meriggioli shoots a jumper over Oregon senior Dateanya Bush Tuesday in the Crusaders’ 59-58 win.
a r u n n e r- u p fi n i s h i n 1:47.23. The rival McFarland Spartans won the title in 1:45.78. Edgewood had three of the top six swimmers in the 50 free as Petersen (24.05) tied for second with Greendale junior Hannah Kujawa to lead the charge. Barth (24.13) and O’Driscoll (24.18) were fifth and sixth. McFarland senior Alex Moderski broke the existing state record to win the race in 22.77. The Crusaders placed three in the top seven of the 100 free, led by Petersen’s second-place finish in 52.29. O’Driscoll (53.12) and Reid (53.33) were sixth and seventh. The Crusaders had a pair of medalists in the 200 IM, as Reid (2:09.25) and teDuits (2:09.25) took fourth and fifth place. The 100 backstroke saw teDuits finish second to a fellow freshman in McFarland’s Mara Freeman, 56.5-57.11.
6
December 14, 2018
Oregon schools
Fitchburg Star
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Pair of land purchases approved Fitchburg elementary school project going to bid in early 2019 SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
The plans are approved, the land is set to be purchased, and the students will soon be on the way. Now, it’s time to starting building a new school. A special, sparsely attended meeting of electors before the regular Oregon school board meeting Monday night unanimously approved a pair of district land purchases stemming from the Nov. 6 referendums. The district will purchase around 106 acres (street address 4930 County M) and around 1 acre (street address 1772 County MM) in Fitchburg for $926,080 for a planned middle school; and will spend around $2.1 million for around 12 acres in the Terravessa development along County MM in the City of Fitchburg for a planned K-6 elementary school to open in fall 2020. The district will also spend $250,000 for road development for the elementary school. The board later unanimously approved the purchases at their meeting. “This sets us up really well for our future planning and creates a great flexibility,” said board president Steve Zach. “We can undertake the appropriate steps to purchase that land.” District superintendent Brian Busler, speaking before the votes, said the elementary school site, near the Lacy Road interchange, is near a nature conservancy that will be
deeded to the City of Fitchburg, which will provide some “natural connections to our environmental programs throughout the district.” “The district will have conservancy space immediately adjacent to our school property,” he said. “There is a lot of green space (in the Terravessa subdivision).” After nearly two years of research, the district identified the fast-growing northern section of the district in the northeast part of the City of Fitchburg as the most effective location for new schools, with the student population expected to jump from around 4,000 to more than 6,000 by 2030. Busler said the goal of the referendums were to “maintain the quality of classes,” as some students would be shifted there from the existing elementaries to reduce class sizes and prevent overcrowding in the elementary schools. The K-6 elementary near the Lacy Road interchange was seen as the most pressing need, with a new middle school planned for the mid-2020s to address the expected increase of students in that age group. The middle school would require a separate referendum for voters to approve funds for construction, which the release said would likely be in 2022 or 2024, based on enrollment projections. The first referendum asked for $44.9 million for the K-6 school and all equipment, as well as land for that school and a future middle school. The second asked for $2.1 million in annual operating and maintenance expenses for the elementary school, which would open for the 2020-21 school year.
Rendering courtesy Bray Architects
A rendering show the outside of the planned new K-6 elementary school in Fitchburg that’s planned to open in time for the 2020-21 school year. Electors approved the district’s land purchase Monday night. According to district releases, the maximum tax impact of the first part is around $112 per year for the owner of a $200,000 home and around $132 per year, starting in 2020, for the second. OSD officials recently presented renderings of the new elementary school to the City of Fitchburg Plan Commission meeting last month for an architectural design and review. The renderings, from Bray Architects, included site demolition and layout plans, landscape designs, erosion control and grading plans, lighting and other details. The plans for the approximately 130,000-square-foot building include several playgrounds, three inner courtyards and a butterfly garden.
Rendering courtesy Oregon School District Email Unified Newspaper This rendering from Oregon School District consultant Bray Architects, shows the proposed Group reporter Scott De Laruelle at scott.delaruel- landscape design for the new elementary school to be built in Fitchburg, including three inner courtyards. le@wcinet.com.
‘Winterizing’ at Prairie View
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Prairie View Elementary School third- and fourth-graders were hard at work before Thanksgiving break, winterizing the school garden with AmeriCorps Farm to School volunteer Jenna Sward. PVE administrative intern Anna Seidenstricker said students pulled out dead plant matter, tilled the soil, added new compost and worked it into the soil and finally covered the beds with newspaper and cardboard. “They have been jumping at the chance to work in the garden, and were heard saying, ‘We can’t wait to start planting again in the spring,’” Seidenstricker wrote the Observer in an email.
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Jocelyne Martinez Trinidad (right) goes over some gardening plans with her classmates.
Verona schools
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December 14, 2018
Fitchburg Star
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Boundary maps show challenges New school attendance areas complicated by competing criteria SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
Members of the committee vetting options for new Verona Area School District attendance boundaries had plenty of issues with the first one presented to them. Until they saw the second one. And that’s the challenge of the committee’s work, as consultant Mark Roffers put it plainly at the group’s Wednesday, Dec. 5, meeting: “There is no option that’s going to get an ‘A’ score against all the criteria.” Those criteria, which the school board approved earlier this year, include having diverse schools, keeping neighborhoods together, limiting busing when possible and minimizing the number of students impacted by the changes. The options presented Dec. 5 focused on two of those: Option A on minimizing the number of students affected and Option B on keeping neighborhoods together, specifically those with high enrollment in the Two Way Immersion program. While the 29-person committee broke into four small groups to evaluate those options before reporting back to the group, Roffers emphasized the options are not final drafts and can be adjusted. There are also “more options coming after tonight,” he said. “If you love one of these options … I can guarantee you there’s going to be tweaks to it as we dive deeper in the evaluation of that particular option,” Roffers explained. He added that committee
members should not expect to have their “perfect option presented,” and he said the differences in the options they’ll consider will “get more subtle as we move forward in the process.” The committee is expected to meet until March, when it will recommend up to three options to the school board, which will make the final decision on new boundaries. They will go into effect beginning with the 2020 school year, when the new high school opens, though it remains to be determined what, if any, grandfathering will be included with the plan. One thing clear from both options presented Wednesday and in all of the data Roffers has looked at so far: The district will likely need a new elementary school “sometime between 2025 and 2030,” as multiple elementaries likely will have approached or surpassed their capacity by 2025 regardless of the new configuration. T h a t , h ow eve r, c a n n o t b e assumed in the committee’s decisions, since any new school would require going to referendum and receiving approval from the voters. Another clear challenge for the new boundaries comes from the district’s northeast side, in the Verona Road corridor, where there are a high number of students and a range of socioeconomic levels. While the district tried to build an elementary school in that area multiple times in the 1990s, each effort failed, leaving what is now more than 500 students without a school within walking distance. “There are 500 kids there that will always get transported somewhere,” district business manager consultant Chris Murphy told the group. The committee’s feedback on
On the web See the first maps presented and how they stack up against the criteria:
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early options, including at its next meeting Wednesday, Dec. 19, will help Roffers determine how many to bring to them and when to start refining details of options already presented. “You are going to be able to look at many options,” Roffers said. “You’re going to drive how many of those options you will ultimately look at.”
Option A The first option the group considered – Option A – focuses on minimizing how many families have to switch local schools. It would change 11 of the 61 neighborhoods Roffers identified from their current attendance area. The largest of those would be the Scenic Ridge and Cathedral Point neighborhoods, which would experience their second change in five years under the plan, sending them all north, to Sugar Creek. Those neighborhoods, on the city’s south side off Locust Drive, were moved from Glacier Edge to Country View in a 2016 short-term solution to solve overcrowding at GE. “They are challenging neighborhoods to position to an elementary school,” Roffers said, pointing out the projection of 312 students from there. “We’ve still got a lot of young families in those neighborhoods.” The district purchased land next to the neighborhoods in 2015, but has chosen to wait to build a school there, instead opting to go
Boundary criteria • Student Diversity • Contiguous attendance areas when / where possible • Fiscal efficiency • Logical feeder elementary school to middle school structure • Match projected enrollment with efficient building utilization • Minimize number of students impacted by attendance area changes • Neighborhood unity • Transportation efficiency with the high school first. The rest of the neighborhoods changing schools under the plan would be to the south or to the east, with the largest projected at 22 students. The groups said the option met criteria of minimizing impacts and creating continuous attendance areas, but members were split on whether it satisfied the measures of diversity and transportation efficiency. Projections used by the committee would have Stoner Prairie at 45 percent students of color, Country View at 42 percent, Glacier Edge at 31 percent and Sugar Creek at 26 percent. The current makeup is 49 percent, 44 percent, 29 percent and 48 percent, respectively. Roffers said the current boundaries “were drawn in large part
to deal with the diversity question.” He also pointed out that any numbers on diversity should be considered with a plus-or-minus 5 percent in mind, given the challenges of projecting demographics.
Option B While those diversity numbers split the group initially, they were put into context when Option B was presented. “If you didn’t like diversity in Option A,” Roffers said, “you may not like Option B.” That option, which focused on geographic continuity for the TWI program especially, would have Sugar Creek at 51 percent students of color, Glacier Edge at 35 percent, Stoner Prairie at 32 percent and Country View at 19 percent. It would also have 26 of 61 neighborhoods changing attendance areas, would split the Cathedral Point and Scenic Ridge neighborhoods at the Locust Drive dividing line and would send most students west of Verona Road in Fitchburg to Sugar Creek, and those east of Verona Road to Stoner Prairie. Roffers noted that the option helps unify the Sugar Creek Two Way Immersion and non-Two Way Immersion neighborhoods, which also drives the increase of students of color at that school. Under Option B, about 60 percent of students would attend their closest geographic elementary school, down from the 65 percent currently. But that’s above the 57 percent that would do so under Option A. Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @sgirard9.
What’s online Read these and more Verona Area School District stories at ConnectFitchburg.com:
From equality to equity The Verona Area School District is beginning a shift in its budget process this year, as administrators and board members will focus on equity rather than equality. In practice, they hope that means identifying areas of need – reading or behavior, for example – and funding solutions, rather than basing school funding solely on the number of students at a school.
PALs connect with Australia Some Stoner Prairie Elementary School students have been designing animals on their iPads and sharing their designs across the globe using a video recording program that allows them to message back and forth with elementary students in Australia.
King resigns from board Russell King is resigning from the Verona Area school board, leaving the board at six members until they fill his position. The move was announced in a Nov. 23 letter. King, who was appointed to his at-large seat in spring 2016 and re-elected to the position for a three-year term in 2017, has been unable to attend meetings for months, as a job change left him out of the area almost every Monday night.
Ragini Bora performs a dance routine.
Photo by Amber Levenhagen
VAHS Multicultural Showcase Verona Area High School held its annual Multicultural Showcase on Friday, Dec. 7, at the high school performing arts center. The event was coordinated by the Multicultural Leadership Council, led by president Zaria Roller and vice president Gavin Doby.
It was featured three times during the day: twice during the school hours and once in the evening. Twenty three acts made up the performance, ranging from dancing to singing and poetry and a video.
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