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Thursday, March 19, 2020 • Vol. 55, No. 44 • Verona, WI • Hometown USA • ConnectVerona.com • $1.50
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District, city at odds over teacher assault
COVID-19 response
Mayor, chief: Police should have been contacted immediately
contacted police three hours later. Verona police chief Bernie Coughlin told the Press on March 13 that the call happened only after the victim and father waited at home because administrators had told them they would call police. Coughlin said not calling police immediately could have a negative impact on the investigation. District superintendent Dean Gorrell told the Press on Friday BRMS administration followed protocol. “That report was made within an hour,” he said. “In contacting CPS, what they do is they triage those calls and make the determination as to if, and when, to engage local law enforcement.” Gorrell said contacting either CPS or local law enforcement, but not requiring both, is a policy held by other school districts in Dane County. He said officials often contact police, but whether they should do so depends on the situation. “It’s a case-by-case basis,” he said. “It isn’t a, ‘We will
KIMBERLY WETHAL AND JIM FEROLIE Unified Newspaper Group
Photo by Jim Ferolie
Miller and Sons Supermarket was packed with shoppers stocking up on groceries Friday, March 13, after discussions about potential self-quarantines became more prevalent.
SHUT DOWN
Schools, services in Verona close amid concerns over spreading COVID-19 UNG STAFF Unified Newspaper Group
Editor’s Note: The Press has a print deadline of Tuesday afternoon. Some of the information included in this reporting is reflective of accurate information at that time. We will be updating our online stories with developments. At Miller and Sons Supermarket, employees have just been trying to keep up with demand. That increased exponentially at grocery stores throughout Dane County and the state as concerns over spreading COVID-19 have prompted
people to stock up on items – namely toilet paper, hand sanitizer and wipes – as uncertainty around the disease looms. The cause for concern is the quickly spreading coronavirus pandemic, which has brought 47 active cases of COVID-19 in the state, with 10 in Dane County. It has resulted in Verona Area School District closing schools at the direction of the state, civic services like the library and the senior center being shut off to the public,
Turn to COVID-19/Page 16
VAHS grad is public health supervisor, works on COVID-19 frontlines Karri Bartlett says this is not the time to panic, but to plan
March 11, by the World Health Organization. The state Department of Health Services confirmed Monday, March 16, Wisconsin cases have reached at least 33, with six in Dane
EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
A Verona Area High School graduate has been working on the front- Bartlett lines of the COVID-19 outbreak in County. Wisconsin – to mitigate the spread But Karri Bartlett, who grew up and to keep the public safe and in Verona, is looking to bring that healthy. number to zero as the Public Health COVID-19 was deemed a worldTurn to Health/Page 2 wide pandemic on Wednesday,
Inside State, county order schools closed until April Page 3 City makes adjustments to services Page 3 Food pantry changes service model Page 5
Verona’s mayor and police chief have alleged the Verona Area School District was wrong not to contact police after it learned of a sexual assault case involving a substitute teacher at Badger Ridge Middle School last week. During a Common Council meeting March 9, and three days later in a more detailed email to the Press, Diaz accused the district of putting public safety at risk by choosing to contact only Child Protective Services on March 6. School administrators made contact with CPS about 40 minutes after school officials removed the teacher, Dustin Schallert, from the classroom near the end of the school day, when a student complained about his behavior. That student’s father
Turn to Assault/Page 15
Inside
VACT considers performing online Page 5
Health and wellness for seniors and stories for your young ones
Restaurants take the hit after orders cut capacity Page 7 Epic expands sick, workfrom-home policies Page 7 Nursing homes shut down Page 15
A 2020 spe
cial supplem
ent by
Churches postpone services Page 16
Pages 8-10 and Special Section
A Madison -a parent’s gu rea ide to everythi ng kids!
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