Thursday, April 2, 2020 • Vol. 55, No. 46 • Verona, WI • Hometown USA • ConnectVerona.com • $1.50
COVID-19 response
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Verona Press The
Spring election
VASD the only local contested race April 7 Ballot also includes Supreme Court seat, presidential primary
Check your registration
KIMBERLY WETHAL
Before you head to the polls, check to make sure your registration is up to date, especially if you’ve moved since the last election. People can check their voter registration status online at myvote.wi.gov, as well as see where their polling place is located and look who’s on their ballot.
Unified Newspaper Group
Photo by Kimberly Wethal
You can only stay cooped up inside for so long before you’ll need to go for a drive. That’s what Declan Bingman, 2, was doing with his family on Friday, March 27, at Harriet Park. Declan’s mother Elizabeth said the family, which includes her husband Tyler and their 1 year old daughter, tries to get outside at least once a day as COVID-19 disrupts everyday live for Veronans and Wisconsinites. Harriet Park was open, but its amenities were limited — the playground had caution tape on it, as it was ordered to close by a state mandate last week.
Settling in
Verona community begins getting used to quarantine Verona Press editor
A
s March came to a close, Wisconsinites and the rest of the United States began accepting the reality thavt we’ll all stay in our semi-quarantine for several weeks or more because of the novel coronavirus outbreak. And Veronans came up with all sorts of creative ways to interact with others and use their extra time together at home. Families drew sidewalk chalk messages. Friends held virtual dinners or drinks using remote technology. And people in all sorts of situations looked for ways to
help those hit hardest. Businesses looked for ways to adjust their services to meet the needs of an entire population unable to venture out of their homes for anything beyond basic necessities and exercise. And local governments prepared to hold online meetings and deal with an upcoming election. As state and national leaders repeatedly emphasized the importance of quarantine and social distancing to stop the virus’ spread, they prepared us for it to get worse – much worse than the 800,000 cases and nearly 40,000 deaths from COVID-19 as of Tuesday, March
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Inside Alder application deadline extended Page 3 Press begins listing available helpers Page 3 Updated restaurant listings Page 6
Coronavirus fears lead to election inspector shortage City will be working with “skeleton crew” RENEE HICKMAN Unified Newspaper Group
Fears about coronavirus infections have led to a shortage of election inspectors for the upcoming April 7 primary, city clerk Ellen Clark said. Clark told the Press that many
election inspectors – the volunteers who staff the polls in Wisconsin elections, have dropped out due to concerns over exposing themselves to the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. She said that normally the city plans to have about 15-19 poll workers to staff each voting site for each shift. This year she is planning to only have nine at each shift. “We’ll be working with a skeleton
crew,” Clark said. The Wisconsin Elections Commission issued a call for more volunteers to be poll workers in a press release on March 23. It noted that a significant number of poll workers were in their 60s and 70s and others may have underlying health conditions – factors that would make them higher risk groups for developing
Maxwell and newcomer Phyllis Wiederhoeft, who is running for the other seat to be vacated by supervisor Manfred Enburg in April. Greater Verona’s representative at the county level is also an uncontested race – Mike Bare, a former member of the City of Verona’s plan commission, is running for the District 32 seat held by Jason Knoll, who is not seeking re-election. The April 7 election will also feature a race for state Supreme Court between incumbent Daniel Kelly and Dane County Circuit Court judge Jill Karofsky. The seat is nominally nonpartisan, though Kelly has received an endorsement from President Donald Trump and Karofsky is being supported by progressive groups. Wisconsinites will be able to select their preferred candidate for the presidential election in November. Out of the candidates listed on the ballot, only former vice president Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders still have active campaigns. Email reporter Kimberly Wethal at kimberly.wethal@ wcinet.com and follow her on Twitter @kimberly_wethal.
Inside Nelson’s senior season cut short Page 7
Turn to Inspectors/Page 12
Six Appeal
The
Verona Press
D E N s
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JIM FEROLIE
For the upcoming spring election, city, town and state officials would prefer you stay home – but if you do, they’d want you to still send your ballot in from there. The state-wide April 7 election will feature just one contested race for Veronans, with all other races having one candidate running unopposed. Incumbent Debbie Biddle, appointed to the Verona Area Board of Education last year after Russell King stepped down just before his term was up, is running for re-election against newcomer Bob Ross. The other district race, for the City of Verona seat, has incumbent Kristina Navarro-Haffner running unopposed. Municipalities such as the City of Green Bay sued the state last week over the decision to hold in-person voting for the April 7 election, stating it forced residents to choose between their health and their right to vote. Gov. Tony Evers suggested sending out absentee ballots to the state’s 3.3 million registered voters, but doing so would require approval from the state legislature. All of the other local races in the greater Verona area are uncontested. City of Verona mayor Luke Diaz, a former alder, will be running for his second term after first winning the seat in 2018. The four alder seats up for election only have incumbents running: Chad Kemp in District 1, Katie Kohl in District 2, Kate Cronin in District 3 and Evan Touchett in District 4. In the Town of Verona, two people are running for two seats — incumbent Doug
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