Thursday, April 19, 2018 • Vol. 53, No. 48 • Verona, WI • Hometown USA • ConnectVerona.com • $1.25
Construction season begins
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Verona Press The
Badger Prairie Needs Network
Road work highlights projects M/PD, Old PB could cause disruptions
Inside
Unified Newspaper Group
Expect to see a lot of orange around Verona this summer. Numerous construction and building projects are slated to start as early as mid-April, with some projects already started, such as the complete structural overhaul of Shuman Street, which runs behind Miller and Sons Supermarket downtown, and the massive County Hwy. M project. City projects include resurfacing bridges on Old Hwy. PB, reconstructing
High school groundbreaking April 24 Page 12 parking lots at the library, the old library and the senior center, asphalt rehabilitation on both East Verona Avenue and East Harriet Street and the M and PD corridor, a 14-month, $50 million project jointly funded by the cities of Verona and Madison, Dane County and the federal government.
Turn to Construction/Page 12
New policy could provide ‘clarity’ on how to address complaints Inside
Press correspondent
A new policy could help guide community members looking to bring their concerns and complaints to Verona Area School District staff. “The main thing I wanted to provide was clarity for our community so they have exactly the person they need to go to without any ambiguity, without any hurdles,” said Verona Area School board member Meredith Christensen. The proposal, which the board discussed but did not vote on Monday, establishes a step-by-step review process for where community members should address a concern or a complaint and
Gorrell gets new contract Page 3 guidelines for how staff should respond. Community members would be directed to first try to informally resolve the issue with the staff member directly involved in the situation, such as a teacher or coach. If they can’t reach a satisfactory resolution the proposed policy directs them to the building principal or immediate supervisor, then a district director
Turn to Complaints/Page 11 The
Packers help raise $100K Tailgate Tour fundraiser ‘surpassed expectations’
Verona Area School District
NINA BERTELSEN
Photo by Amber Levenhagen
Running back Ty Montgomery, who was selected in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Stanford, bursts through a banner on his way into the VAHS gym.
Verona Press
Inside More photos from the Tailgate Tour in Verona
AMBER LEVENHAGEN Unified Newspaper Group
A fundraiser that brought the Green Bay Packers to Verona last week raised over $100,000 for the Badger Prairie Needs Network. Last week, April 10, the Packers Tailgate Tour made its first stop at Verona Area High School. The event featured a question-and-answer session with six Green Bay Packers players and alumni, as well as CEO and president Mark Murphy. The fundraiser also featured activities
Page 7 and crafts for kids, food and autographs from each of the players. More than 1,000 people attended the event, which raised roughly half of the organization’s budget for the year, according to a news release on the Green Bay Packers’ website, packers.com. The Verona Area Chamber of Commerce newsletter from director
Le Jordan said the fundraiser broke a record for the Green Bay Packers, “surpassing all expectations.” “The Packers confirmed (April 10) that no one has ever come close to that number, so we are the world record-holders,” the newsletter said. The Tailgate Tour is an annual event where Packers players and alumni travel around the state and surrounding area to greet fans and help raise money for local organizations. The Packers website claims nearly $2.3 million has been raised on the tour, which just wrapped up its 13th year. Contact Amber Levenhagen at amber.levenhagen@wcinet.com.
Spring election 2018
Mayoral, alder campaigns raise $25K JIM FEROLIE Verona Press editor
Verona homes each got around a dozen glossy pieces of campaign literature this spring endorsing candidates in the April 3 election, but not all were
from the candidates. A l t o g e t h e r, t h e f o u r city candidates who filed election campaign finance statements raised nearly $25,000, continuing a trend of fundraising for Verona campaigns that started five years ago.
Fundraising for this month’s city elections was about on par with the last time there was a mayoral race in Verona, in 2014. As of March 26, the most recent filing deadline, mayoral candidates Luke Diaz and Dennis Beres
had spent about the same amount of money for the April 3 election, and mostly on similar things, but their fundraising over that period was drastically different.
Turn to Campaigns/Page 14
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