Buy Local in Oregon
Thursday, May 2, 2019 • Vol. 134, No. 44 • Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1.25
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Oregon Observer The
Pantry to table TEFAP increases mean more food choices for OAFP patrons
EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
EMILIE HEIDEMANN
The Oregon High School Color Run drew hundreds of participants Saturday, April 27. Cloudy conditions and a chance of snow didn’t deter racers from spending the morning laughing and getting their t shirts stained with powdered color as they walked or ran the track. Proceeds from the event benefited Oregon Special Olympics.
Unified Newspaper Group
In the back of the Oregon Area Food Pantry, what used to be a near barren refrigerating and freezing unit is now abundant with food choices for patrons. It seems in the blink of an eye, pantry-goers suddenly have more options available to them on the rest of the shelves too, managing director Diane Sliter said. It’s because of increases to The Emergency Food Assistance Program, TEFAP, one of the many sources of food supplies for the pantry besides donations, she said. TEFAP, a federal program that supplements the diets of low-income Americans, according to its website, aids pantries in purchasing food at no cost to the facility. Sliter said OAFP, 107 N. Alpine Pkwy. received 1,042 pounds of food from TEFAP in September 2018. In
Inside More Oregon High School Color Run photos Page 7
Turn to Increases/Page 8
Oregon School District
Gaining a reputation
Photo by Emilie Heidemann
Bridget Horan, Oregon, attempts to shield herself from some purple color flying at her while she runs. The run took place Saturday, April 27 at Oregon High School despite rainy conditions and a chance of snow.
Serving two decades in the Village of Oregon ALEXANDER CRAMER Unified Newspaper Group
When Mike Gracz was hired as the village’s first full-time administrator 20 years ago, Oregon was going through rapid change. It was January 1999, and Gracz (pronounced “Grace”) was tasked with dealing with the development of 800 acres that had recently been annexed on the village’s west side, including what’s now The Legend at Bergamont, Alpine Meadows and a large park. That’s basically the size of some Wis- Gracz consin communities, he said. The growth was faster than
the village could handle at the time, and the village’s first choice for administrator turned the job down because of it. With the benefit of two decades on the job, Gracz looked back with good humor when he recounted that he was essentially first runner-up for the job he thinks will be his last stop before retirement. “I came in second; the first gentleman turned it down,” he said in a recent sitdown with the Observer. “The reason he turned it down, he felt the community was not ready for development. “And he was right.” A big part of Gracz’ job is managing the village’s growth. He said 35-45 building permits per year are a good number to shoot for, and the village was processing 90-95 a year during the explosive growth when he started. Within four months of his hiring, the village was hit with a major flood. One of the first things Gracz had to do
– with the help of longtime public works director Mark Below – was put a hold on new development to make sure staff could handle it. “Mark Below and I said ‘Time out, we are only doing one thing at a time,’” Gracz recalled. “I would’ve been lost without Mark. Mark and I dealt with all of the development on the west side … (and) spent time buying (flood-affected) houses on Soden Drive and Florida Avenue. “It took us a lot of time.” The village’s growth has been consistent since flooding and the Great Recession hit back-to-back in the late 2000s, Gracz said, and is at a point now where village leaders are eyeing a major expansion to the east. They are also in the final stages of adding a full-time planning director, who will spend the bulk of their time planning for the proposed business park across Hwy. 14 and
Turn to Gracz/Page 16
SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
After nearly 13 years as Oregon School District superintendent, Brian Busler has gained a reputation as a strong leader who has helped build a thriving, respected district. That reputation was reflected in a glowing annual performance r ev i ew f r o m s c h o o l board members. Busler School board president Steve Zach told the Observer last week the board met with Busler earlier this year to review his performance rather than create a formal written evaluation, which had been done on occasion in the past. “(After) 13 years, evaluations tend to
Turn to Review/Page 3
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Administrator Mike Gracz oversees village government
Zach, school board praise Busler in annual review