Thursday, April 16, 2020 • Vol. 55, No. 48 • Verona, WI • Hometown USA • ConnectVerona.com • $1.50
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Verona Press The
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Controversial election brought challenges
Verona Area School District
Community, Guard help with shortages of equipment, poll workers RENEE HICKMAN Unified Newspaper Group
Polling locations in Verona looked very different April 7, the day of the state’s spring election and presidential primary as a result of COVID-19 precautions. Clear plastic barriers separated poll workers from voters, while volunteers
and voters alike – including National Guard members – wore masks and gloves and gave each other a six-foot berth as they fulfilled their civic duty. Despite the dangers and an Election Eve full of confusion, voter turnout was much higher than she anticipated, city clerk Ellen Clark told the Press. Verona’s two open polling sites brought in 800 voters that Tuesday, with another 4,370 voters casting absentee ballots. Clark later told the Common Council that only 200 fewer voters
Turn to Aftermath/Page 10
Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Two Way Immersion kindergarten teacher Krista Thusius and her son decorate her vehicle during a teacher caravan that led Sugar Creek Elementary staff through the communities of Verona and Fitchburg to wave and say hello to their students from afar. At the time of the caravan, it had been just short a month since educators had interacted with their students in person, as schools in Dane County closed as of March 13.
What their hearts needed Sugar Creek staff say hello to students with teacher caravan KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group
A
s Sugar Creek bilingual resource teacher Lisette Venegas took a drive around Verona and Fitchburg last week, she was glad she wasn’t the one behind the wheel. One of the three organizers behind a Sugar Creek teacher caravan, Venegas said she cried throughout the entire route. The caravan took place
on Thursday, April 9, after almost an entire month of being apart from one another during a time when school should be in full swing, “The minute we saw the first family, I was so grateful that my husband was driving because I don’t know if I could have driven, cried and honked horns and waved at kids all at the same time,” she said. The concept of a Sugar Creek t e a c h e r c a r a va n s t a r t e d a f t e r three educators – Venegas, Laura
Marquardt and Shannon Searle – all brought the idea of it to principal Todd Brunner within the same day after seeing other caravans go by their homes or seeing them on social media. “We love our Sugar Creek kiddos and families so much, and it was hard for everybody – we were at school on a Friday, and we thought we were coming back on Monday
Turn to Caravan/Page 12
City of Verona
Department heads update alders on pandemic response Virtual meeting is first for council since COVID-19 shutdowns
the city took place on a computer screen. With alders visible sitting in their homes, they reviewed what has been happening in the city since the threat of the virus changed life for everyone across the city, state and RENEE HICKMAN world. City department heads were Unified Newspaper Group all online during the meeting, Rather than sitting next to with each giving updates on one another on a dais at the what they were doing. City administrator Adam Verona City Center, the first Common Council meeting Turn to VPD/Page 3 since the COVID-19 crisis hit
Private construction to lead Verona projects this year
KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group
Much to the relief of Veronans who found themselves sitting in traffic the past few years, fewer major road projects will make it easier to get around. There will still be construction around Verona, but mainly buildings and developments scattered throughout the city.
There will be less road construction than in previous years, with only one road being resurfaced and other work consisting of chip sealing and maintenance, city public works director Theran Jacobson told the Press. The most significant road work is on the west side, where access roads and other improvements near the new Verona Area High School have been under way for months and should be finished by the time school starts in September. In the Town of Verona, County Hwy. PD from County Hwy. M west to Woods Road is being expanded. An asphalt rehabilitation project will take place in
the city on Northern Lights in June. The only bike and pedestrian project planned this summer is adding rapid flashing beacons at high-traffic sites, including near Military Ridge State Trail and the future Badger Ridge Middle School (the current Verona Area High School). The most significant road construction in the area is rebuilding part of McKee Road in Fitchburg. That is the last piece of the state Department of Transportation’s seven-year Verona Road project. The largest construction project is the
Turn to Construction/Page 10
The
Verona Press
Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Yellow caution tape is draped across playground equipment at Fireman’s Park. All playground equipment was ordered to be closed by Gov. Tony Evers when he issued a “Safer at Home” order effective March 25.
Due to Coronavirus, we have postponed our April 25th concert, “Six Appeal”. We plan to reschedule this concert at a time to be determined.
NED OSTPO
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Your purchased tickets can be used at that time, or you can ask for a refund or donate the cost of the ticket to VAPAS, in which case you will receive a donation acknowledgement. Be well. VAPAS Board of Directors
For refund requests or questions, call or email: vapas@mailbag.com • 608-848-2787
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Road construction in city limited to asphalt rehab, maintenance