Oregon Observer The
Thursday, September 12, 2019 • Vol. 135, No. 11 • Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1.25
Oregon School District
Head start on life Career program provides early glimpse into ‘real world’
SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
If dinner tables around the world one day are graced with a crunchier, sweeter carrot, perhaps people can thank the efforts of Erin Brakob back in 2019. The Oregon High School senior will be spending time about 20 miles south of the confines of the school in the next year as one of around 70 juniors and seniors in the Oregon School District’s growing school-towork program. When their classmates are sitting in school learning the latest math or English lesson, these upperclassmen are waiting on customers at banks, practicing floral design, watching children at daycares and, yes, even helping to build a better vegetable. There’s nothing like first-hand experience, and the program provides a growing number of opportunities in dozens of fields, such as agriculture, finance, biotech, law enforcement, IT, health care, graphic design, childcare and construction. District officials have put an increased emphasis on postsecondary planning in recent years, and with that, the program is becoming “increasingly popular,” said OHS principal Jim Pliner. “The opportunity to get out and have experiences that help students develop real skills while also informing their planning for the future is a Photos submitted large benefit,” he said. OHS student Amanda Cook works last school year at the Department of BioMembership in the program isn’t chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Several OHS students have worked with at UW labs through the OSD school-to-work program, including Turn to Work/Page 14 Erin Brakob this year.
Village of Oregon
Donovan fills vacant board seat JUSTIN LOEWEN Observer correspondent
A former trustee has returned to the Oregon Village Board. David Donovan received a unanimous vote at the Sept. 9 board meeting to fill the seat vacated by Jeff Boudreau, who left the role to pursue an MBA at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison. Donovan will start Nov. 1, after budget season, and will continue Boudreau’s term, which ends April 2020. Donovan presented Donovan to the board alongside two other candidates, Ashley Kortte and Hans Noeldner. Kimberly Graff withdrew her application after her husband received orders for a
military deployment. Trustees did not ask any questions. After serving on the Village Board from 2010 to 2014, Donovan left the position after becoming a general manager at Xcel Energy in Eau Claire. Now semi-retired, Donovan has moved back to Oregon and said he wants to give back to his community. “(My) skills have taught me to listen to different perspectives and to ask the deeper thought-provoking questions — to consider
potential for unintended consequences that often happen when we make these complex decisions,” he said. He said the board must continue its cooperation with other local governing bodies to face issues including stormwater management and land use annexation. “I believe my technical skill set, my career experiences will help the village board deal with these issues and those issues yet unknown,” Donovan said.
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County M closing to Fish Hatch Resurfacing project will continue to Verona in October SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
A main highway into and out of Oregon will be closed for six weeks beginning Monday, Sept. 16. T h e fi r s t h a l f o f t h e County Hwy. M closure, through Friday, Oct. 4, will be especially tough on Oregon, with the road closed for resurfacing between County Hwy. MM and Fish Hatchery Road. The stretch from Fish Hatchery Road to County Hwy. PB in Verona is scheduled for closure Oct. 7-25. The road will be
Inside Information on an upcoming meeting about work planned on the Hwy. 14 bridges next year Page 5 restricted to local traffic only during the closure, with through traffic needing to find alternate routes. The suggested alternatives from the state Department of Transportation are Verona Road and the Beltline.
Turn to Hwy. M/Page 3
Oregon School District
‘How you change the future’ Friends group adds focus of helping in educators
FOSD 2018-19
SCOTT DE LARUELLE
39,423
Unified Newspaper Group
In its fifth year of helping students in need throughout the Oregon School District, the Friends of the Oregon School are now including educators in its focus. Last month, FOSD inaugurated a new annual grant program for district teachers. It’s the fifth program established since the group was started in 2016 by several district moms who were concerned about rising numbers of students
Turn to FOSD/Page 12
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