Thursday, January 2, 2020 • Vol. 135, No. 29 • Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1.25
Senior center re-accredited More stringent policies on commercial use have been effective, director says EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
The Oregon Area Senior Center is to remain an accredited organization for the next five years. The center officially re-received the status in December after a yearand-a-half long process, one that has taken place every five years since 1994. Senior center director Rachel Brickner said accreditation is important because it holds the facility accountable to its seniors who use it every day. She said staff had worked on the latest process since summer 2018, using Wisconsin Association of Senior Centers (WASC) guidelines and a re-accreditation committee of seniors who work with the center’s Council on Aging. Brickner and the committee examined the senior center policies, making sure they accurately reflect the goals and services senior center staff aim to meet and provide. WASC has nine areas of standards for accreditation, Brickner said,
including purpose, comm u n i t y, g o v e r n a n c e , administration, programming, fiscal management, records and facilities. One of the initiatives the senior center implemented to help meet those standards was to establish more stringent guidelines on commercial entities and Brickner businesses seeking to gain access to seniors to promote products or services. “ We ’v e s e e n a n increase in people approaching us and wanting to rent our building after hours for commercial purposes – putting on a presentation, for example, about insurance and Medicare aimed at seniors,” Brickner told t h e O b s e r ve r i n J u l y. “We don’t feel comfortable having our building used for those purposes. The senior center is a safe haven … seniors are a vulnerable part of the population.” WASC representatives visited the center on Nov. 5, 2019, to meet with staff to tour it and talk with seniors. They asked the seniors about their favorite things to do at the center, and what amenities they are most proud of. Patrons reported they
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Village of Oregon
Photo by Emilie Heidemann
Oregon Allies Facebook page administrator, Dana Kobernusz, acknowledges to police chief Brian Uhl that confronting ones own implicit biases isn’t an easy process. She said it’s frustrating and something that takes time, understanding and education.
Clearing the slate Department strategizes community policing after chief comes under criticism EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
Oregon police chief Brian Uhl is responding to public criticism with three strategies designed to increase public confidence in the police department and his handling of it.
In November, the Village Board held a closed session meeting to discuss Uhl’s performance. Village President Jeanne Carpenter read a prepared statement after the Uhl closed session outlining the board’s concerns, including relations with some members of the public and the Oregon School District. Carpenter noted some citizens had
complained about his conduct during various interactions with him, and she called into question his comments on the department’s Facebook page relating to an agreement that was being worked on to continue stationing a school resource officer in the high school. Uhl has so far responded to those concerns with public outreach, part of a strategic plan he presented to the board in November.
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Stories to watch in 2020
Building for the future Observer staff members pick their top photos of 2019 Page 7
A new school, a new library, a new splash pad, a new park and a new link of the bike trail. These are some of the ambitious projects the Oregon community will be working on this year as it continues to accommodate the growth it has been experiencing. The school, on the growing east side of Fitchburg, is opening in the fall and is bringing with it changes in how parents choose their children’s elementary schools and in voting for school board
members. It’s even bringing a change in the school district’s administration, as the completion of the project allowed superintendent Brian Busler to head into retirement having accomplished a major task. The library is a bit farther off, likely to start construction in 2021 and open in 2022, but by June, fundraising will be over and its budget will be set. Library architects, under direction from the
Stories of 2020 1. Building new school; planning for next referendum 2. Library capital campaign to continue 3. Focus on flooding solutions 4. Splash Pad could start 5. Bergstrom set to succeed Busler at OSD 6. Jaycee Park West aims for first phase
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