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Verona Press The
Thursday, July 4, 2019 • Vol. 55, No. 7 • Verona, WI • Hometown USA • ConnectVerona.com • $1.25
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Verona Area School District
Board prefers Option E Will work on variations of base plan at upcoming meetings Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Jocelyn Riddle adds yellow paint to her canvas during a Bob Ross paint-along on Wednesday, June 26, at the library.
Making no mistakes A couple dozen teenagers gathered at the library on Wednesday, June 26, for a Bob Ross paint-along session. Teenagers painted a hazy red sky scene while watching a YouTube video of Ross demonstrating the steps of his work, complete with a large sun and a mountain range.
Inside More Bob Ross paint-along photos Page 11
– Kimberly Wethal
Verona resident wins LLS Woman of the Year Winner raises $63,000 for cancer research org
‘My name is on it, but I could not have done it without everyone that helped.’
KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group
Verona resident Wendy Jirsa is no stranger to working with money. As bank manager and assistant vice president for Capitol Bank on East Verona Avenue, Jirsa works with other people’s funds all day long. But she realized managing other people’s money was a lot more difficult when Jirsa she was asking for them to donate it. “You have to break down your barriers, asking for money,” she said. “It’s flat-out, ‘Will you give me money?’ And yes, it’s not going to me, but it’s still asking people for money … they don’t get anything out of it, it’s strictly a donation because people
– Wendy Jirsa want to help other people.” Jirsa was asking for donations to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) for its “Woman of the Year” competition, which ran from March until June 1. She and her 10-person team won after raising a total of $63,000. “I had a lot of support,” she said. “This was not something I did on my own … my personal family and my Capitol Bank family really rallied around me. “My name is on it, but I could not have done it without everyone that helped,” Jirsa added. Jirsa had no idea she’d won until the night of the LLS’ Man and
Woman of the Year Gala on June 1. She knew she’d reached her goal of fundraising $50,000 the day before the gala, but with the event being the last opportunity to fundraise, she had no idea how much was still to come. More than 50 people attended the gala to show their support for Jirsa, she said. The final night resulted in three of the 11 candidates reaching more than $50,000 raised throughout their 10-week campaigns, and together, the group doubled the amount raised by the group from last year, Jirsa said. With all of the support, Jirsa said, it didn’t matter to her who won at the end of the night. “I joked from the start that I’m very competitive,” she said. “I really just wanted to make sure I felt like I gave it my all, and there was nothing else I could have done. If I came out top fundraiser, great; if I didn’t, knowing I met my goal and did everything I could, I was going to be perfectly
Turn to Jirsa/Page 2
SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
T h e n ew a t t e n d a n c e boundaries for when Verona schools reconfigure in 2020 make direct plans for a new elementary school by 2025. That school has yet to be voted on, and the Verona Area School District board still expects to tweak details of the boundaries, but its m e m b e r s a g r e e d Tu e sday, June 25, to make that plan – known as Option E – the baseline for deciding which schools elementary children will attend in fall 2020. W h e n t h e n ew, $ 1 8 0 million Verona Area High School opens in fall 2020, Badger Ridge Middle
Inside Read an update on the board’s discussion about grandfathering Page 10 School will move into the current high school building, the charter schools will move into its K-Wing and Sugar Creek Elementary School will move into the current Badger Ridge facility. Both of the plans that remained under discussion on Tuesday, E and A1, had multiple schools over capacity by 2025, meaning a referendum likely would be necessary either way. However, the urgency is greater with Option E.
Turn to Option E/Page 10
Hop Haus plans Fitchburg expansion Verona brewpub likely to add 10,800 square foot brewery, restaurant SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
Hop Haus plans to expand into a much larger facility in Fitchburg with an on-site restaurant while keeping its Verona location open. The 231 S. Main St.
The
Verona Press
brewery opened in 2015 and has become a popular staple for trivia nights and music. The bar publicly announced the expansion proposal Monday, July 1. The owners have filed for a conditional use permit with the City of Fitchburg to construct a 10,800 square foot facility at the corner of Sub-Zero Parkway and Seminole Highway, which would be more than four times the size of its current
Turn to Hop Haus/Page 7
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