Verona Press The
Thursday, September 13, 2018 • Vol. 54, No. 17 • Verona, WI • Hometown USA • ConnectVerona.com • $1.25
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Bids $825K under budget Second pool, turf included, but not road costs SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
Photos by Kimberly Wethal
From left, Melissa Herrick, Michele McGee and Jiff Fortner dress up in costume to cheer on friends during the cycling portion of the Ironman race on Sunday, Sept. 9.
Race through Verona
Thousands of Ironman competitors spun through Verona on Sunday, Sept. 9, during the 112-mile biking portion of the 140.6-mile race. Cyclists came from across the county and from outside the U.S. to compete in the race. Buses took spectators from downtown Madison, where the swim portion and the end of the marathon take place, to Verona for the annual Loop Festival on Main Street in front of the high school. Crowds also filled the hill at Mid Town Road to cheer on bikers.
The Verona Area school board got some good news Monday night on the cost of constructing the new Verona Area High School building, leaving trustees two weeks to consider whether they can include a second pool and turf fields in the project. Findorff construction manager Aaron Zutz told the board that after the third round of bids, which included the “full scope” of the construction, the project is $825,661 under its budget. That estimate includes a warm-water community pool at $2 million and turf football and soccer fields for $622,000. It does not, however, include the costs for road land acquisition and other intersection improvements in the area, he told the Press after his presentation. The
Inside District seeks participants for attendance area committee Page 5 city’s initial estimates for construction are about $9.4 million, and land acquisition is still being negotiated. That was the topic board members spent three hours discussing in closed session Monday, with no open-session vote or discussion on the topic itself. Board member Tom Duerst questioned the need for a closed session after the Press reported details of the ongoing negotiations last week from an open records request with the City of Verona. “What are we really going into closed session for?” Duerst said before voting in favor of it anyway.
Turn to Bids/Page 14
Vehicle thefts on the rise Police see 100 thefts of, from autos from Jan. through Aug.
– Kimberly Wethal
KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group
Inside More Ironman photos Page 8
Ironman participant Keen Unangst rides down Main Street past the Loop Festival on Sunday, Sept. 9. The
Verona Press
Though vehicle-related thefts are up only slightly in 2018, Verona has experienced a countywide trend of crimes being carried out by coordinated groups of people who live outside of the city. Verona police Lt. David Dresser told the Press that from January through August, there were 100 thefts from vehicles or theft of vehicles in the city. Of those incidents, 16 were classified as burglaries,
in which criminals have entered the homes or garages of residents in order to gain access to the vehicles. Such incidents are normally felonies. Thefts have been happening for years, Dresser said, but a new trend of the thieves actually taking the cars instead of just stealing from them has increased. “What’s been new to us over the last few years, is the stealing of the car,” he said. “In the past, we’ve had theft from autos occur, but they’ve never stolen a car – or very rarely stolen a car. “Now, that’s what they’re targeting. They want to steal a car … they have this
Turn to Thefts/Page 15
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