Oregon Observer Thursday, August 29, 2019 • Vol. 135, No. 9 • Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1.25
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Oregon School District
School construction shapes 2019-20 SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
5 things to watch in 2019-20
1. New school to take There will be a lot going shape: name, staff, on in the Oregon School students and building District this year. In addition to building a 2. New routes/rules for new school, and finding out RCI parking lot who will teach and learn 3. Boundary changes there, the district will need coming to establish new school 4. New district mental boundaries and plans to health specialist come up with new ways to help students’ mental and 5. “Five Levers” project emotional health, developing district The 2019-20 school year goals begins Tuesday, and with it, a variety of new programs and plans will be in place or in progress in Ore- elementary school will gon and Brooklyn schools. Turn to School /Page 13 For starters, the new
Town of Oregon
‘Starting from scratch’ Retiring clerk Arnold recalls 14 years learning on the job SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
Denise Arnold always enjoyed when a first-time voter would come into the Town of Oregon office and ask her how they could register. “It never gets old,” the retiring clerk told the Observer on her final Monday in the office. That included Arnold the time a
young man – some of the new voters were older, she said – was filling out his forms and she watched over his shoulder as a car crashed into his in the parking lot. “We promised him that every time he voted, it wouldn’t happen (again),” she recalled to incoming clerk Jennifer Hanson – who has also been in the office 14 years as Arnold’s deputy. Hanson was Arnold’s first hire, a big task for the town’s first appointed clerk who had almost no familiarity with working in government. “My experience was I had voted before,” Arnold said and laughed. “It was like starting from scratch.”
Turn to Arnold/Page 14
Photo by Emilie Heidemann
Connie Martinson (right), one of the first women to be a member of the Oregon Fire Department back in 1988, points out grandfather Eric Martinson, to daughter Ayla Brugger (left) on a wall remembering the 820 people who have served the last
Going back in time
Community observes fire department’s 125 year history EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
Adorned on a wooden wall inside the Oregon Area Fire/EMS District building are golden name plates remembering the near 820 people who served the Oregon Fire Department in its storied 125 year history. They hang on either side of a large cloth American flag. And below it are
photos of all the fire chiefs who have served the last century and a quarter, Glenn Linzmeier, current fire chief, in the center. Standing in front of that wall Sunday, Aug. 25, in the entrance to the 131 Spring St. facility, was Connie Martinson. She guided the hand of her 3 1/2 year old daughter, Ayla Brugger, to her grandfather’s name, Eric Martinson, one of the many volunteer
firefighters who dedicated their time to keeping the community safe, she said. Martinson continued her father’s legacy, becoming one of the first two women to join the department in 1988. She and her daughter were one of many attendees helping to celebrate the department’s anniversary.
Turn to History/Page 16
Oregon School District
No deal on School Resource Officer at Oregon High School OSD wants to keep talking with village SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
After hearing often emotional testimony Monday night, the Oregon school board unanimously rejected the Village of Oregon’s version of an agreement to continue allowing a police presence at the high school. The contract the village approved a week earlier would, among other things, allow an assault rifle to be kept at Oregon High School for the School
Resource Officer. It also put a Dec. 30 cap on the deal so a committee could discuss key issues dividing the district and police department. While the contract is being worked out, the designated officer won’t be on campus, Zach but district superintendent Brian Busler said the district has temporary “alternatives,” including hiring a retired police officer or security guard. He said a timeframe of three or four weeks would be possible for a group of village and district officials to
come to a new agreement and iron out the “competing approaches to make the district as safe as it can be.” School board president Steve Zach said the district will continue working “at all due speed” with the village to come to terms on an agreement “if one can be reached.” Ultimately, the disagreement stems from the board’s interest in ensuring that the officer assigned to the campus is there to build relationships and maintain a culture of cooperation with authorities, rather than simply providing security. In addition to the question of guns,
Turn to Deal /Page 12
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Five things to watch at OSD this year