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Friday, April 13, 2018 • Vol. 5, No. 2 • Fitchburg, WI • ConnectFitchburg.com • $1
Birth of a city
Inside
Fitch-Rona Art Crawl photos
35 years ago, Fitchburg stopped being a town
Page 2 Three arrested for alleged homicide
SCOTT GIRARD
Home and Garden section
Chamber celebrates 20 years Page 15
Sports
Photo by Alexander Cramer
I spy...
Maya Farr, 9, has found the jackpot during the Easter egg hunt at Fitchburg Farms on March 31. The greenhouse was warm and filled with the sounds of kids running down the aisles of plants on the blustery morning, finding plastic eggs at every turn. The fifth annual Easter egg hunt went for four hours, with staff replacing the plastic eggs after kids found them and exchanged them for bags of candy. Kids posed for pictures with the Easter bunny or waited in line to have their faces painted. Some of the older kids decided to decorate their own mini-planters, and more than a few parents went to the check-out line with new flowers for the spring season.
Fitchburg Police Department
Crime up, but city still ‘safe’ Several Regents compete at West Relays Section B, Page 2
Schools New principal hired at Stoner Prairie Section B, Page 7
Report: Fitchburg had 40 percent rise in crime in 2017 HELU WANG Unified Newspaper Group
Chad Brecklin recalls patrolling on his bike years ago, when he felt a close connection with the community. Now, as chief of the Fitchburg Police Department, he wants to bring back that connection to help reduce crime in a city that experienced
a 40 percent increase from 2016 to 2017. That includes increases of 52 and 40 percent increase of robbery and aggravated assaults, respectivel y, a c c o r d ing to the department’s 2017 annu- Brecklin al report, released in March. Brecklin, who began as chief in January, said the overall increase of 600 more incidents was mostly driven by such trends as a 180
percent increase of vehicle theft cases, from 24 to 68, a regional problem he said tends to be a crime of opportunity – when vehicles or doors are left unlocked. A focus on the thefts has resulted in 20 arrested juveniles, Brecklin told the Star. The violent crimes, such as robberies, assaults, reports of shots fired and shootings, were mostly committed by acquaintances, Brecklin said, explaining that random violence was rare.
Turn to Crime/Page 17
When Doug Morrissette moved to Fitchburg in 1971, it was all “cows and corn” outside his and his wife’s back window. Just over a decade later, he played a crucial role in a decision that would come to shape both his neighborhood – now full of houses and families – and the city surrounding it. “It was the most enjoyable thing I ever did,” Morrissette told the Star earlier this month, sitting in the same house he and his wife built nearly 50 years ago. That “thing” was turning the then-Town of Fitchburg, with a population of nearly 13,000, into a city that has fluctuated between the second- and third-largest in the county in recent decades. Thirty-five years ago this month, the state Supreme Court issued a divided decision that enabled the switch after years of battling between the town and its dwarfing neighbor, the City of Madison. Morrissette was the town chair when residents began taking steps to make the change in the late 1970s and early 1980s. While he was no longer
Read about the state Supreme Court decision Page 16 directly involved in the government by the time the court made its April 26, 1983, decision, Morrissette still attended many of the Town Board’s meetings – as evidenced by stories at the time in the Fitchburg Star – while officials navigated the changes from a town government to a city government. He later served six years as mayor from 1993-99. Jeanie Sieling was on the Town Board at the time, then joined the first Common Council and became the city’s second mayor in 1985. Sieling recalled how challenging the transition was. “It felt like sort of having a baby and trying to teaching them everything they need to know,” she told the Star over the phone earlier this month. “Everything was in its early, early stages.” In 2018, the decision
Turn to City/Page 16
Timeline March 1980: Petition filed for referendum on incorporation November 1980: State Supreme Court votes to allow referendum in suit by City of Madison April 1981: Town referendum supports becoming city January 1982: State Dept. of Development rejects town’s request to become city April 26, 1983: State Supreme Court approves Fitchburg request to become city on 4-3 decision July 12, 1983: First election of City of Fitchburg officials July 25, 1983: First Common Council, mayor sworn in
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April 13, 2018
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Fitchburg Star
Fitchburg businesses and nonprofits featured in art crawl HELU WANG Unified Newspaper Group
The Fitch-Rona Art Crawl featured 18 businesses and nonprofits in Verona and Fitchburg, and 15 artists created live artwork in various businesses March 23-24. Artwork included painting, watercolor, three-dimensional art, oil painting, photography, wood carving and jewelry making. At the art competition hosted by the Fitchburg Public Library March 24, Megan Bloesch won the $900 cash award for her painting.
Badger Prairie Needs Network also participated in the Art Crawl as a local non-profit organization and hosted an open house. There was free cheese and wine provided by other businesses. Lindsey LaPlant of Expressively You, a Madison artist, created a painting on a 3-foot-by-4-foot canvas featuring faces of volunteers and visitors during those two days. The painting will hang in the community room of BPNN following the event. Contact Helu Wang at helu.wang@wcinet. com.
Photos by Helu Wang
Winner of the Fitch-Rona Art Crawl competition Megan Bloesch paints during the Fitch-Rona Art Crawl at the library.
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April 13, 2018
3 teenage suspects also face child abuse charges from December SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
A drug deal in the parking lot of the New Fountains Apartments complex on Anton Drive March 12 turned into the city’s first homicide of 2018. According Jackson to the criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court March 19, three teenagers planned to rob the vic- Mays tim, 20-yearold Julian Patterson of Fort Atkinson, and his girlfriend of 3 ounces of marijuana. T h e g i r l - McInnis friend and 19-year-old Travon Jackson had agreed over Facebook to meet at the apartment complex so she could sell the drugs to him for $700. But when two associates of Jackson’s – 17-year-olds James McInnis and Gary Mays – got into a van a little before 6 p.m. to carry out the deal with Patterson and the woman, they began beating up Patterson, with McInnis pulling out a gun with a laser sight on it, according to the complaint. Patterson was able to open the door and get out of the van before McInnis allegedly shot him once, with the bullet hitting the Patterson’s arm and torso. McInnis “admitted to
taking a gun with the intent to rob the girl of the marijuana” after police arrested him the day after the incident during a traffic stop as part of the homicide investigation, according to the complaint. He also said he “got rid of” the gun, tossing it over a fence or gate toward some nearby apartments. Jackson is facing felony murder and armed robbery charges for the incident, though he was not at the scene when the shot was fired, according to the complaint. McInnis and Mays face charges of first-degree intentional homicide and armed robbery. The homicide charges carry potential life sentences, while Jackson faces up to 40 years in prison and $100,000 in fines for the murder charge. The armed robbery charges carry a maximum of 40 years in prison and $100,000 in fines for each of the three suspects. Each of the three suspects were also charged with child abuse from a December incident at the Fitchburg Target, facing up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine. According to that criminal complaint, a 16-year-old employee was “jumped” at the store by the three suspects, who are members of a gang known as JBlocc. “The Fitchburg Police Department has investigated several incidents involving members of ‘J BLOCC’ gang throughout 2017,” the complaint states. The next scheduled court appearance for the three suspects is April 19 for a final pretrial. The jury trial is tentatively scheduled for June 19-22. Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @sgirard9.
Verona Road
Photo by Scott Girard
Construction crews began work again on the Verona Road project late last month. Traffic is expected to shift to the east side of the road later this spring as crews work on the west side, including the interchange ramps between Williamsburg Way and County Hwy. PD.
Construction returns Traffic will shift to east side of highway later this spring SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
As soon as winter ends in Wisconsin, road construction returns. That includes the Verona Road project starting back up. Crews began work late last month along the major thoroughfare – even with a few snow days sprinkled in. This spring will bring some major traffic shifts, with all traffic shifting to the east side of the highway between County Hwy.
PD and Williamsburg Way. That shift will also bring lower speed limits and narrower shoulders on the road. Northbound traffic will begin traveling on the new interchange ramps to the east of the current road, while southbound traffic will travel on what are currently the northbound lanes. During that time, construction crews will reconstruct and expand the west side of the road, including the future southbound interchange ramps at Williamsburg Way and County Hwy. PD. While two lanes are expected to remain open during the day on both
Ve r o n a R o a d a n d P D , Phase 2 of the project is there will be nighttime sin- expected to last until sumgle-lane closures on por- mer 2019. tions of the road. Noise barriers are also Contact Scott Girard at being constructed this year ungreporter@wcinet.com between Raymond Road and follow him on Twitter and Williamsburg Way. @sgirard9. Work on this stage of
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April 13, 2018
Opinion
Fitchburg Star
Community Voices
Letters to the editor
Please stop at stop signs In the 18 years I’ve lived in the Madison/Fitchburg area, I continue to be appalled at the lack of some Madison/Fitchburg drivers’ compliance with traffic signs and signals. For instance, driving into work in the morning, at least a couple times per week I see drivers turn left onto Wingra Creek Parkway, defying the “no left turn between 7-9 a.m.” sign. However, my (and my wife’s) biggest complaint is people who barely slow down or don’t stop at all at stop signs in our Fitchburg neighborhood. This is particularly common at the intersections of Richardson and Wilshire and Schumann and Osmundsen. Drivers often come south from PD and barely tap their brakes at the stops signs, and in the winter may slide right through the intersection. Depending on the direction one approaches these
ConnectFitchburg.com
intersections, it can be difficult to see cars coming. My wife and I have had several “near misses” over the years, and last fall our neighbors almost had their young child run over by someone who blew through the stop sign at Richardson and Wilshire. People are walking, biking, walking their pets, etc. on the streets. We don’t need sidewalks, we need each other to respect these stop signs and take the few seconds to stop. We shouldn’t need the police to sit at these intersections looking for people who disobey the signs – it should be a matter of respect for your neighbors’ well being. Some day it might be you walking your dog that almost gets clipped by someone who blows through a stop sign. Stop means stop. Tom Puchner City of Fitchburg
Correction
In last month’s edition of the Star, the day of the week of the Business Expo was listed incorrectly. It was held Thursday, April 12. The Star regrets the error.
Friday, April 13, 2018 • Vol. 5 No. 2 Periodical Postage Paid, Verona, WI and additional offices. Published monthly on Friday by the Unified Newspaper Group, A Division of Woodward Communications, Inc. POSTMASTER: Send Address Corrections to The Fitchburg Star, 133 Enterprise Drive, Verona, WI 53593.
Office Location: 133 Enterprise Drive, Verona, WI 53593 Phone: 608-845-9559 • FAX: 608-845-9550 e-mail: ungeditor@wcinet.com Circulation customer service: (608) 845-9559
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Feed your stomach, not your feelings
Y
our already busy week just got busier when you found out your boss assigned you to give a company-wide presentation… tomorrow. The next thing you know, you’ve eaten half a bag of M&Ms. You have a long drive ahead of you and you’ve already played through all your podcasts and Hoerr listened to your favorite playlists. A stop at a gas station for some chips and candy will surely make the time go by faster. Your child just used your favorite lipstick to decorate your freshly painted walls. This day deserves a good helping of that ice cream in the freezer. We’ve all been there before. Whether we’re stressed, bored, upset or even happy, our emotions can determine our food choices. Often, when these emotions hit, we’re not grabbing for the carrots or apple, either. Using food as a source of comfort – otherwise known as emotional eating – may seem harmless and, well, comforting. But when food becomes the main strategy for trying to manage our emotions, we’re missing the mark and forming an unhealthy relationship with food while we’re at it. In fact, the majority of our overeating is actually caused by emotions. When we emotionally eat, we’re eating for reasons other than physical hunger. It’s important to remember that no matter how hard we try to satisfy
our emotional hunger with food, food is only capable of satisfying our physical hunger. When we try to fix our emotions with food, the food choices are typically poor, the portion size often too large, and – because food can’t get rid of the initial emotion – we’re left with the same emotion on top of a sense of guilt or frustration for eating more than we wanted to in the first place. That’s not a winning combination. The first step in combating emotional eating is by recognizing it. Physical hunger will come on gradually, and you can typically postpone eating for a while. On the other hand, emotional hunger comes on suddenly, feels urgent and gives you specific cravings, such as pizza, ice cream or chocolate. While an apple might not sound appealing when you’re emotionally hungry, an apple or any other food usually can satisfy your physical hunger. So when you’re thinking about eating, ask yourself the simple question, “Am I hungry enough for an apple?” As you finish eating, you’re more likely to stop eating once you’ve satisfied your physical hunger. Emotional hunger likely would leave you eating more than you normally would, with an uncomfortably full feeling afterwards. Once you’ve identified the difference between these two types of hunger, it’s easier to find alternative ways to handle the emotion. Learning to deal with our feelings without food is a new skill that – like anything new – takes time and practice. Start by making a list of alterative
things you could do to subdue your emotions when you get a craving for your favorite comfort food. This might look like taking a walk, calling a friend, doing something productive around the house, such as cleaning or organizing, squeezing a stress ball or taking a few deep breaths at your office desk. Doing something to take your mind off whatever is causing the emotion will help distract you and reduce the food cravings. In case you get a sudden and strong urge to eat something that can’t be resisted, try to have on hand some healthier, comfort foods. For crunch, this could be nuts or a piece of fruit. For something sweet, try trail mix with dark chocolate chips. And to avoid mindlessly working your way through an entire bag of potato chips, prepare smaller portions of comfort foods to have at the ready. Most importantly, as you eat, being mindful of what you’re eating will help you be more aware of why you’re eating in the first place. This will help keep you from overeating and having the post-eating guilt. Emotions are going to happen, but it’s how we manage them that will help us become more emotionally and physically healthy. Kara Hoerr, MS, RDN, CD, is the registered dietitian at the Fitchburg Hy-Vee. Contact her at khoerr@ hy-vee.com or 273-5125.
This information is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for individual advice.
Recycling is important at apartments, too
A
couple years ago, the Resource Conservation Commission worked with my apartment community to raise awareness of recycling opportunities. Since then, I’ve noticed improved recycling efforts there – a result of increased awareness and cooperation from our property manager and from other residents. As you might have noticed, there have been many multi-dwelling developments built and occupied around Fitchburg in the past five years, including more than 1,500 in the past two years alone. Whether it’s more millennials choosing apartments and condominiums over single-family residences or baby boomers downsizing, a greater percentage of Fitchburg residents are now living the multi-dwelling life. And that brings a challenge to make these residents aware of their recycling responsibilities and opportunities. Because Fitchburg’s contract with Pellitteri Waste Systems for refuse, recycling, brush and yard waste pickups covers only single-family residences and multi-dwelling units of four or less, that means larger multi-dwelling units contract separately. While Wisconsin requires certain items to be recycled, some waste haulers accept even more items for recycling than required. As a result, items accepted for recycling may be different from one waste hauler to another. Therefore, much of a complex’s recycling success hinges on how well
subcommittee, where you can help make a difference in recycling throughout Fitchburg. Fitchburg has taken steps to improve its recycling program over the years with our community’s recycling drop-off site, the Recycling Guide a complex’s owner/landlord communi- and numerous events, including shred cates with residents what their contract- events, med drops (an opportunity to correctly dispose of surplus medicine), ed hauling company accepts for recyclables as well as the ease with which hazardous waste disposal and electronthe complex’s residents can recycle. ics recycling events. The city is putting At my apartment community, three of these together for Earth Day increased awareness over the past two with a confidential document shred years helped me be more conscious of event, electronics recycling and med what items are recyclable, and my level drop event April 21 from 8-11 a.m. at of recycling increased and has been City Hall. maintained for the past couple of years. Recycling has many benefits. It I also noticed that good signage in keeps recyclable items out of landfills, common areas and accessible recycling thereby reducing waste disposal costs. containers can improve residents’ recy- It also allows the items to be reclaimed cling rates. I have observed improved and made into other products, thereby signage around my apartment commu- preserving our natural resources. And it nity, particularly at the community’s keeps them from littering the landscape recycling bin. The previous signage had and contaminating our streams. been worn and unreadable. In Wisconsin, it’s also the law. I’d like to inspire others to help their Recycling is everyone’s responsibilown apartment complexes improve ity. It takes very little effort to do the their recycling rate. That starts with right thing. awareness and convenience. If your multi-dwelling community If it isn’t clear what you can recycle, needs help improving your recycling, encourage your complex’s management or if you’d like to volunteer for the team to improve signage. If access Community Outreach Subcommittee to recycling containers is a problem, contact Dakota Dorn at dakota.dorn@ encourage your property management fitchburgwi.gov or Bill Balke at bill. to make recycling containers more balke@fitchburgwi.gov. accessible year-round to residents. If you’d like to go one step further, Kia Stearn is a Fitchburg resident who you can join me in volunteering on serves on Fitchburg’s Resource ConFitchburg’s Community Outreach servation Commission.
Thankful for boy’s preventative action about gas leak On Friday evening, March 23, just before dark, my doorbell rang. There were two boys at the door who had just walked up the hill from the park at the bottom of the street. They informed me they smelled a really strong gas odor when they walked by and thought I should know. They went across the street to let the residents there know, as well. In half an hour there was an MG&E truck out front. He checked the street
and front yards for leaks, went to the house across the street with a meter and then came over to my house and went through with his meter. He said there had been a leak across the street a couple of years ago that was repaired. Then he talked on the phone for several minutes. A short time later there were six trucks of varying sizes, including an incident truck and a flatbed with a backhoe on it. They worked until 2 a.m., (6 hours).
I obviously thanked the boys profusely at the time, but I didn’t think to get their names. I am so thankful they were so aware of what could have happened and were brave enough to come up to a strangers door and share that very important information. Their parents should be very proud, and I am very, very grateful. Thank you, thank you. Linda Weigt City of Fitchburg
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April 13, 2018
Fitchburg Star
City of Fitchburg
Fitchrona getting roundabout SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
The four-way stop at the intersection of Nesbitt and Fitchrona roads is expected to get the upgrade that’s been planned for a decade next year. The Common Council approved creating a roundabout for the intersection April 10 from among a set of three potential alternatives for the intersection. Construction on the $1.6 million project is expected to begin in 2019. Some alders had initially supported a “mini-roundabout,” which would have been about $1 million cheaper. But that smaller option was not expected to help traffic flow for as long as the full-size roundabout would, an engineering consultant on the project said. City administrator Pat Marsh explained that the project could be paid for by tax-increment financing from the Orchard Pointe TIF district. That brought many of the alders on board with the idea, including Ald. Dan Bahr (Dist. 2) who had supported the mini-roundabout idea at the committee level. The latest an expenditure can be made from TID 6 is 2027. “There’s money available for the big roundabout; it’s probably better to bite the bullet now and do Contact Scott Girard at ungreportthe larger option,” Bahr said. Plan courtesy AECOM Alders also supported asking er@wcinet.com and follow him on A roundabout is expected to be put in at the Nesbitt-Fitchrona roads interTwitter @sgirard9. section in 2019. the Town of Verona to pay part
Committee recommends 6 non-profit grants Unified Newspaper Group
A committee established to offer City of Fitchburg grants to local nonprofits made recommendations earlier this month on how to spend $50,000 the city has allotted 2018. Four of the organizations that applied for the grants would have their $10,000 requests fully funded under the Healthy Neighborhoods Grant Review Committee’s April 3 recommendation, with the other two receiving partial funding. The four groups that would receive their full requests were the Latino Academy of Workforce Development, Madison Metropolitan School District’s Trails to Success program, Badger Prairie Needs Network and Unidos.
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the implementation of the grants this year and a look ahead at the 2019 application cycle. Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @sgirard9.
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Kimberly Wethal has joined the staff of Unified Newspaper Group. Raised in Cooksville, Wethal began interning with UNG five years ago as a student at Stoughton High School. After graduating in 2014, Wethal began attending the Univer- Wethal sity of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She is expected to graduate in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communications. She has spent the last two years as the editor-in-chief of the UW-Whitewater student newspaper, The Royal Purple, after previously working as news editor and photo editor at the paper. Her past work for UNG has included a story on the 10-year anniversary of the 2006 tornado in Stoughton and the one-year anniversary of the 2014 tornado in Verona, along with other community features and photography. Wethal is taking over for Helu Wang, covering the community beat in the cities of Verona and Fitchburg. She will be working part time until her graduation May 19, and then will take over the position full-time. Wethal will work with fellow community reporters Amber Levenhagen and Alexander Cramer in their coverage of Stoughton and Oregon, respectively. Wethal can be reached at kimberly.wethal@wcinet. com, Cramer at alexander.cramer@wcinet.com and Levenhagen at amber. levenhagen@wcinet.com. Community news for any of the papers can be sent to assistant editor Scott Girard at communityreporter@ wcinet.com.
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not include $60,000 in funding for BPNN and the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County the city had given in years past, and it also eliminated the $50,000 for other nonprofits that had been in the 2017 budget. By the time the budget was approved, outcry from some at the BGC and BPNN prompted alders to approve an amendment to add the $50,000 back in under a new approval process. The committee is expected to meet again in late fall or early winter this year to receive an update on
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SCOTT GIRARD
A Leopold School garden club proposal from Community Groundworks and workforce development project from B Virtual were given partial funding. If they cannot be completed with the partial funding, the committee recommended either filling one of the requests fully or rolling over some of the unused money to a fund for grants next year. The Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin – Community Services and 1800 Days requests were the two that went unfulfilled under the committee’s recommendation. Mayor Jason Gonza lez, city administrator Pat Marsh and city finance director Misty Dodge will review and make the final decision on funding awards before they are announced by the city. The grants, delivered through the city’s Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative, can go to organizations that have programming or plans for one of three specific
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$50,000 awarded, though some may ‘roll over’ to 2019
Wethal joins UNG staff
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Nesbitt intersection would start in 2019
of the costs, noting that the town is responsible for part of the road there. “A lot of this traffic is their traffic,” said Ald. Tom Clauder (D-4). But Ald. Aaron Richardson (D-3) said he did not expect that funding to come in. “I think it’s great we’re trying to get the Town of Verona to chip in money, but good luck getting money out of them,” Richardson said. “We don’t really have any leverage.” Traffic lights were also among the options being considered, but they would have been the most expensive and would not reduce crashes as much as the roundabout, according to the engineering analysis. Three of the four property owners at the intersection, which include It’s Your Party, Bavaria Sausage and Orchard Pointe apartments, supported the mini-roundabout idea, with the traffic signal being their second choice, according to a document provided for the meeting by interim public works director Bill Balke based on public outreach. While alders acknowledged they wanted to have as little impact as possible on those businesses, they also said a decision had to be made for long-term solutions. “We gotta do it right the first time and not do it again,” Clauder said.
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April 13, 2018
ConnectFitchburg.com
Fitchburg Star
Coming up Weaving: wall art Children ages 9-12 can grab a loom and explore color and texture while weaving their own wall art from 4-5 p.m. Friday, April 13, at the library. For information, call 729-1762.
Books and bets People can enjoy a casino games night at the library, from 6:30-10 p.m. Saturday, April 14. There will be 19 tables, a wine pull, a 50/50 cash draw, a prize raffle, appetizers, live music and a cash bar. Tickets are $50 purchased online and $55 at the door. Participants must be over 21. Proceeds will benefit the library’s outreach programs.
Parkinson’s support kick-off The senior center is hosting a kick-off event to introduce Bob Gilpatrick as the new Parkinson’s support group leader at 2 p.m. on Monday, April 16. Gilpatrick is a former Verona Area School District Superintendent who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The kick-off will feature introductions and planning for the structure and content of future meetings. For information, call 270-4290.
Stormwater info session At 4 p.m., Tuesday, April 17, the City of Fitchburg Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee will hold an informational session in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 5520 Lacy Road. The session will focus on stormwater management in the city and will take place during the normal meeting time. For information, visit fitchburg wi.gov.
10:30 a.m., the senior center will host a conversation about importLearn about popular home ant healthcare decisions like endsecurity systems like Nest and of-life preferences and assigning Ring at the library from 7-8 p.m. a healthcare power of attorney. on Wednesday, April 18. For information, call 270-4290. The event will focus on differences and similarities between Smartphone class popular “smart” systems and Dave St. Amant is coming examine strengths and weakness- to the senior center to answer es of each. questions about smartphones on To register or for information, Wednesday, April 25, at 1 p.m. call 729-1763. Registration is required for the class, which will teach tips and Sondheim words and music tricks for handling your iPhone or At the senior center on Friday, Android phone. April 20, at 1 p.m., singers from To reserve, or for information, Four Seasons Theatre will explore call 270-4290. the art of lyric-writing through the work of master lyricist Ste- Cookbook Club phen Sondheim. The library is hosting a cookThe event will explore works book club from 11 a.m. to noon like “West Side Story” and “Into on Thursday, April 26. the Woods.” Celebrating food in fiction, participants are asked to choose a Thriving at any age recipe from a novel or a cookbook The Fitchburg Public Library based on a fictional character and UW Speakers Bureau are or setting, make the recipe, and hosting a talk on Saturday, April bring it, plus the book or cook21, from 2-3 p.m. from Distin- book the recipe came from. guished Psychologist Emeritus The library will provide utenRobert McGrath. sils and beverages while attendees Titled “Thriving at Any Age: sample all the dishes and discuss Guidelines for Living a Happy the recipes. and Healthy Life,” McGrath will For information, call 729-1763. take a look at strategies that have been shown to be effective in Immunization discussion maintaining a healthy, satisfying On Thursday, April 26, at 11 life at any age. a.m., the senior center is hosting For information, call 729-1763. a conversation about immunizations. 1918 Influenza talk Find out what shots are now Mary Hayney, Professor at UW available and recommended for Pharmacy School, will present a adults, how to find your own talk at the library Sunday, April immunization record, learn about 22 at 1:30 p.m. the new shingles vaccine and othHayney will discuss the 1918 er health news to reduce risk of flu pandemic and dealing with the severe disease as you get older. flu today. For information, call 270-4290. For information, call 729-1763.
Smart Home Security
Friday, April 13
Saturday, April 14
• 4 p.m., Egg carton herb garden (ages 5-12, sign-up), library, 729-1760
Saturday, April 21
• 8 a.m. to noon, Earth Day, city campus, 5520 Lacy Road, fitch burgwi.gov • 9-10 a.m., Snakes and reptiles program (ages 5-12), library, 729-1760 Monday, April 16 • 9:30 a.m., H&H 5K, ($35, $25 • 9:30 a.m. or 11 a.m., Preto walk), Physicians for Women, school storytime (ages 2-5), 2955 Triverton Pike Dr., library, 729-1760 hhgivingback.org • 11 a.m., Recycled read: Maga- • 2 p.m., Thriving at any age, zine swap, library, 729-1760 library, 729-1760 • 2-5 p.m., Earth Day event, Tuesday, April 17 Quarry Hill Park, 5425 Quarry • 11-11:45 a.m., Lapsit storyHill Dr., roehmen@gmail.com time, library, 729-1760 • 3-4 p.m., Earth Day crafts • 5 p.m., Read to a dog (ages 5-12, sign-up), library, 729-1760 (ages 2-5), library, 729-1760 • 9 a.m., Waterway cleanups, Swan Creek, Quarry Hill Park, Dunn’s Marsh, fitchburgwi.gov • 6:30-10 p.m., Books and bets, library, 729-1763
Wednesday, April 18
• 7:30-9 a.m., Action plan for retirement, Nakoma Golf Club, 4145 Country Club Road, 8262012 • 10-11 a.m., Book discussion: “Bookshop on the Corner” by Jenny Colgan, library, 729-1760 • 6 p.m., “Ships” and dip, library, 729-1760 • 6-6:45 p.m., UNbook club (ages 9-12), library, 729-1760 • 7 p.m., Understanding smart home security, library, 729-1760
Thursday, April 19
• 10:30 a.m., Memory cafe, senior center, 270-4290 • 1-1:45 p.m., Bouncing babies (ages 0-1), library, 729-1760
Friday, April 20
• 11 a.m. to noon, Preschool seed planters (ages 2-5, signup), library, 729-1762 • 1-2 p.m., Words by Stephen Sondheim, Community Center, 5510 Lacy Road, 729-1791
fitchburgmarket.wordpress.com or call 277-2606.
Star Wars crafts
To celebrate May the 4th, the library is hosting a Star Wars-inspired craft day on Friday, May 4, 4-5 p.m. Macrame Hanging Planters from Attendees are invited to come Make your own Macrame hang- dressed as their favorite character. For information, call 729-1760. ing planters at the library from 10-11 a.m. on Saturday, April 28. Participants should be over 18 Great Decisions discussion and bring their own small pot. The Great Decisions discusFor information, call 729-1763. sion group is meeting on Monday, May 7 from 7-8:30 p.m. to talk Intro to Microsoft Excel about the first of four slated topLearn the basics of Microsoft ics: Russia’s foreign policy. Excel at the library from 7-8 p.m., Participants are invited to read a Wednesday, May 2. summary of the topic in the 2018 The class is for beginners and Great Decisions Briefing Book, will cover the basics of navigating which is available at the second Excel, creating a simple work- floor reference desk. sheet, entering and editing data For information, call 729-1763. and more. To register, or for information, Child language skills call 729-1763. From 10:30-11:15 a.m. on Thursday, May 10, the library is hosting Open Book professionals from CommunicaFitchburg city assessors will tion Innovations Pediatric Therapy hold Open Book from 7:30 a.m. to Services for an event focusing on 5 p.m. weekdays from Wednesday, childhood language skills. May 2, through Wednesday, May Families with children ages 16, at City Hall, 5520 Lacy Road. 2-5 are invited to participate. Property owners who have The event will feature a licensed questions regarding their assess- speech-language pathologist and ments can make an appointment occupational therapist discussing to speak with the assessor's office. enhancing children’s language To make an appointment or for skills through reading and incorinformation, call 270-4235. porating songs and motor activities while reading books. Fitchburg Farmers Market For information, call 729-1760. The outdoor Fitchburg Farmers Market on Thursdays is back STEAM power starting May 3 from 3-6 p.m at Kids ages 2-5 are invited to the the Agora Pavilion, 5511 E. Cher- library from 11 a.m. to noon, Friyl Pkwy. day, May 11, for STEAM power The market offers fresh and storytime and exploration. organic seasonal produce like After a short storytime, kids sweet corn and heirloom toma- will explore Science, Technology, Free jazz concert toes, pastries and artisan cheeses, Engineering, Art, and Math based Healthcare decisions The senior center is kicking off among other things. on the themes in the books. On Wednesday, April 25, at a cultural event series on April 27 For information, visit For information, call 729-1760.
Calendar of events • 4-5 p.m., Wall art, library, 7291762
at 12:45 p.m. with a free jazz concert in the Oak Hall room. Red Lehr’s Powerhouse Five + One will perform before their slated shows at the Capital City Jazz Festival over the weekend. For information, call 270-4290.
Sunday, April 22
• 1:30 p.m., 1918 influenza talk by UW professor, senior center, 270-4290
Monday, April 23
• 9:30-10 a.m., Storytime (ages 2-5), library, 729-1760 • 11-11:30 a.m., Storytime (ages 2-5), library, 729-1760
Tuesday, April 24
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Sunday, April 29
• 9:30 a.m., Jazz Worship CelThursday, April 26 ebration, Wyndham Garden • 11 a.m., Immunization inforMadison Fitchburg, 2969 Cahill mation, senior center, 270-4290 Main, madisonjazz.com • 11 a.m., Cookbook club, • 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Capital library, 729-1760 City Jazz Festival, Wyndham • 1:30 p.m., Mystery book club: Garden Madison Fitchburg, “A is for Alibi” by Sue Grafton, 2969 Cahill Main, madisonjazz. senior center, 270-4290 com • 6 p.m., Documentary screenMonday, April 30 ing: One with nature by Emma • 9:30-10 a.m., Storytime (ages Toft, library, 729-1760 2-5), library, 729-1760 • 6-9 p.m., Reach-a-Child fundraiser, ($25-$35), Dream House Tuesday, May 1 Dream Kitchens, 5117 Verona • 11-11:45 a.m., Lapsit storytime Road, patricia.sugden@reach(ages 0-2), library, 729-1760 achild.org Wednesday, May 2 • 7-10 p.m., Capital City Jazz • 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Assessor Festival free kickoff, Wyndham Open Book, City Hall, 5520 Garden Madison Fitchburg, 2969 Cahill Main, madisonjazz. Lacy Road, 270-4235 com • 6-6:30 p.m., Book club (ages 5-8), library, 729-1760 Friday, April 27 • 7 p.m., Introduction to Micro• 11 a.m., Tree planting party soft Excel, library, 729-1763 (ages 2-5), library, 729-1760 Thursday, May 3 • 12:45 p.m., Red Lehr’s Powerhouse Five + One jazz band, • 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Assessor Community Center, 5510 Lacy Open Book, City Hall, 5520 Road, 270-4285 Lacy Road, 270-4235 • 4 p.m., Share a raptor experi- • 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., A good ence, library, 729-1760 yarn book club, library, 7291763 • 4 p.m., Owl flight demonstration, library, 729-1760 • 3-6 p.m., Fitchburg Farmers • 6:30-11 p.m., Capital City Jazz Market, Agora Pavilion, 5511 E. Cheryl Pkwy., fitchburgmarket. Festival, Wyndham Garden Madison Fitchburg, 2969 Cahill wordpress.com or 277-2606 Main, madisonjazz.com Friday, May 4
• 11-11:45 a.m., Lapsit storytime (ages 0-2), library, 729-1760 • 2 p.m., Active women’s group, (social hour starting at 1 p.m.), senior center, 270-4290 • 7:30 p.m., Common council, Saturday, April 28 City Hall, 5520 Lacy Road, • Noon, Tree health talk, library, 270-4200 729-1760 Wednesday, April 25 • 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Capital City Jazz Festival, Wyndham Gar• 10:30 a.m., Healthcare deciden Madison Fitchburg, 2969 sion talk, senior center, 270Cahill Main, madisonjazz.com 4290 • 6-11 p.m., Capital City Jazz • 6:30-8 p.m., Youth mountain Festival, Wyndham Garden biking informational meeting, Madison Fitchburg, 2969 Cahill Trek Bicycle Madison West, Main, madisonjazz.com 8108 Mineral Point Rd., frank-
• 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Assessor Open Book, City Hall, 5520 Lacy Road, 270-4235 • 4-5 p.m., Star Wars crafts (ages 5-12), library, 729-1760
Saturday, May 5
• 10 a.m., Fitchburg Solar Celebration and Tour, (registration required) City Hall, 5520 Lacy Road, fitchburgwi.gov
Monday, May 7
• 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Assessor Open Book, City Hall, 5520 Lacy Road, 270-4235 • 7 p.m., Great decisions in the library, library, 729-1760
Tuesday, May 8
• 7:30 p.m., Common council, City Hall, 5520 Lacy Road, 270-4200
Wednesday, May 9
• 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Assessor Open Book, City Hall, 5520 Lacy Road, 270-4235 • 6 p.m., Getting to know Medicare, library, 729-1760
Thursday, May 10
• 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Assessor Open Book, City Hall, 5520 Lacy Road, 270-4235 • 9:30-11 a.m., Getting to know Medicare, library, 729-1760 • 10:30 a.m., Storytime (ages 2-5), library, 729-1760 • 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Blood drive, Oak Hall, 5510 Lacy Road, redcrossblood.org • 1:30 p.m., REACH book club: “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown, senior center, 270-4290 • 3-6 p.m., Fitchburg Farmers Market, Agora Pavilion, 5511 E. Cheryl Pkwy., fitchburgmarket. wordpress.com or 277-2606 • 6 p.m., Getting to know Medicare, library, 729-1760
Friday, May 11
• 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Assessor Open Book, City Hall, 5520 Lacy Road, 270-4235 • 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Ready, Set, Retirement, library, 2432881 • 11 a.m., STEAM Power (ages 2-5), library, 729-1760
ConnectFitchburg.com
April 13, 2018
Fitchburg Star
7
H&H holds charity 5K ALEXANDER CRAMER Unified Newspaper Group
File photo by Scott Girard
Kids and a member of the city’s tree advisory committee fill in dirt around a newly planted tree at an Earth Day event in 2017.
Fitchburg celebrates Earth Day AMBER LEVENHAGEN
new reading material.
Unified Newspaper Group
Preschool planters
Earth day is quickly approaching and there are plenty of opportunities for Fitchburg residents to stretch their green thumbs. Throughout the month of April, various events will be held to celebrate the Earth and to help keep it clean. These events will educate and entertain residents as they help promote sustainability. A list of events is at fitchburgwi.gov/2336/ green-fitchburg-events.
Children ages 2-5 can plant seeds at the library starting at 11 a.m. Friday, April 20. The library will provide seeds from its seed library for children to start their own gardens. Registration is required. Call the youth services desk at 729-1762.
Waterway cleanups Groups will meet at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 14, at Quarry Hill Park, 5425 Q u a r r y H i l l D r. , S wa n Creek, 5175 E. Cheryl Pkwy., and around Dunn’s Marsh. Boots and gloves are recommended.
Recycled reads To promote recycling, the library will host a magazine swap in its meeting room starting at 11 a.m. Monday, April 16. Bring old magazines and swap them for
Egg carton garden Children ages 5-12 can grow an herb garden at 4 p.m. at the library. Seeds will be provided from the seed library. Registration is required. Call the youth services desk at 729-1762.
City’s events The city’s annual Earth Day event is from 8-11 a.m. Saturday, April 21. At the Fitchburg City Campus, 5520 Lacy Road, events include confidential paper shredding, electronics recycling, reusable bag donation and secure prescription medical disposal. Call 2704287 for information. The library will offer crafts for children ages 2-5 from 3-4 p.m.
Snakes and reptiles
owl flight demonstration.
Slither into the library for a reptiles program starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 21. Kids ages 5-12 can meet some of Wisconsin’s native turtles, lizards and snakes.
Lauren Spierings contributed to this story.
Nature documentary The library will show the documentary “Emma Toft: One with Nature” from 6:308 p.m. Thursday, April 26. It is about Emma Toft, an environmental pioneer from Wisconsin. It is presented in partnership with Wisconsin Public Television’s Reel to Real program.
NO ANNUAL FEE,
What: Earth Day 5K Where: 2955 Triverton Pike Dr. When: 9:30 a.m., Saturday, April 21 Cost: $35, $25 to walk Info: hhgivingback.org 21 get two tickets for free beers at the end of the race, in addition to snacks and water. Everyone who participates will be entered into a raffle to win prizes like a week-long rental of a luxury vehicle from Fields of Madison and gift certificates from local businesses. Howe and her husband Bill started H&H foundation in 2014 and have since given over $65,000 to organizations like Second Harvest Food Bank, Easter Seals of Wisconsin and Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center.
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Arbor Day The library will host two events Friday, April 27, in honor of Arbor Day. The urban forestry department will seek help planting a new sugar maple tree at the library. For ages 2-5, participants should bring their own kid-safe shovel. There will be crafts. From 4-5 p.m., Hoo’s Woods will lead a program about birds of prey. There will be a golden eagle, peregrine falcon, hawk and an
Solar celebration rescheduled for May 5
The celebration honoring the completion of more than 1,000 solar electric panels has been rescheduled for May 5. The City of Fitchburg has the largest solar electric array of any local government in Wisconsin, according to the city’s
The H&H Foundation will hold its second annual Earth Day 5K run and walk at 9:30 a.m., Saturday, April 21, in Fitchburg. The run will start at Melius, Schurr & Cardw e l l – P hy s i c i a n s f o r Women clinic, 2955 Triverton Pike Dr. Runners will start at 9 : 3 0 a . m . s h a r p , w i t h walkers leaving a few minutes later. The route will take the group across McKee Road and into the Longford Terrace neighborhood before returning to the start/finish line. While there will be a clock, race director and H&H Foundation president Michelle Howe said the race isn’t competitive. “It’s family friendly, pet friendly, it’s for fun. We don’t keep track of who wins,” Howe said. Ale Asylum will donate some craft beer, Howe said, and participants over
If You Go
website, and the celebration will mark that accomplishment. The celebration will be held at 10 a.m. with a tour starting at City Hall, 5520 Lacy Road. Registration is required. More information can be found at fitchburgwi.gov.
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8
April 13, 2018
Fitchburg Star
ConnectFitchburg.com
Caleb Monette and his mother Trisa play Pictionary with Harry Potter icons.
A magical game night
Photos by Kimberly Wethal
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The Fitchburg Public Library hosted a Harry Potter game night on Friday, March 30. Children in attendance played Tabletop Quidditch, went on a scavenger hunt for wands and other Harry Potter items and quizzed one Sophia Ciano-Gwin, 10, throws a ball through the hoops of a tabletop Quidditch game. another in trivia.
April 13, 2018 - Spring Home & Garden - Fitchburg Star 9
Home security for the do-it-yourselfer Feeling secure at home is a priority for many people. Those who consider installing security systems in their homes do so to improve their sense of well-being. Whether one owns or rents, individuals may be surprised to learn that do-it-yourself security systems can be savvy investments. The right system can help people protect their belongings and their families but sorting through the various security systems on the market can be a daunting task. While full-service setups that include professional installation and monitoring are available, some homeowners may want to investigate the highly customizable DIY kits now available. Some include personal monitoring, while others are self-install technologies with professional monitoring. Before getting started, homeowners and renters can ask themselves a few questions to help narrow down their options. • What is your budget? Professional installation and monitoring will likely cost more than DIY kits. • How large is the home? Security cameras • Are you tech-savvy? Some people may only want to watch the inside and outside • How frequently are you out of the home on vacation or of their residences. It can take mere minutes to set up wireless security cameras around the house. These devices connect to extended trips? a Wi-Fi network and give customers free access to a constant • Do you desire emergency response? • D o you want an entire package or just some deterrent devices? Once people have answered these questions, it’s time to start According to a study from the U.S. Bureau of Labor shopping. Here are some DIY security system items that may Statistics, housing is the greatest expense in dollar be of interest. amount and as a share of total expenditures for houseSmart home security systems holds in which a person 55 and older is considered These home security systems connect to a home’s Wi-Fi the primary owner or renter of the home. Total annual network so they can be monitored and controlled using a smart household expenditures, which were culled from the BLS phone app. Others may be accessed through an application on 2014 Consumer Expenditure Survey, totaled just over the internet. It is important to look for a system that has the $49,000. These expenditures included food, housing, extra security of technology that is not easily hacked. clothing, transportation, health care, and entertainment, among other expenses. The BLS study found that housing
stream of video. Some systems make it easy for homeowners to listen in on what’s going on at home and even talk to anyone within the camera’s range. Others can be paired with cloud storage for recording video.
Professionally monitored Residents who are away from home frequently or are too busy to constantly monitor security systems may like the peace of mind of professionally monitored kits. Services like Frontpoint®, Link Interactive® and Scout® are just three that have affordable starter kits and video monitoring. Monitored alarm systems can be set to call the police or other emergency services if necessary.
Entry-level or advanced systems Entry-level systems typically include a few door and window sensors, a motion detector and a hub that communicates with these sensors. This may be enough for someone in an apartment or small house. More extensive systems may include additional sensors, door locks, garage door openers, surveillance cameras, lights, sirens and even water and smoke detectors. Do-it-yourself security systems represent a new wave to safeguard one’s belongings and family. Kits continue to evolve and have become more seamless than ever.
Did you know?
accounted for nearly one-third of annual household expenditures in households headed by people age 55 and older. In households headed by people between the ages of 65 and 74, housing expenses accounted for a slightly smaller percentage of overall annual expenditures, while housing accounted for 36.5 percent of overall expenditures in households headed by men and women age 75 and older. Such figures illustrate the need for people to account for housing expenses in their retirement planning.
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10
Spring Home & Garden
Fitchburg Star
April 13, 2018
ConnectFitchburg.com
Awnings can make outdoor spaces more comfortable Many homeowners are eager to step outdoors upon the return of warm weather. Outdoor living spaces have grown in popularity as more and more homeowners embrace opportunities to entertain and lounge around in their yards. Outdoor entertaining areas can be great, but such spaces may go unused when summer sun makes it uncomfortable to spend time outdoors. But a retractable awning can change all that. Homeowners often find awnings can be worthwhile investments that can be beneficial both inside and outside of the home.
Increase usable yard space
Expand gardening possibilities
Awnings can create privacy and establish boundaries for outdoor living areas. Place an awning over a deck, tables and chairs, or an entire patio area. Some people like to install awnings over a portion of their pools to provide shade for those who want to escape the sun’s rays. Motorized awnings can be retracted with the push of a button, which can help homeowners with physical limitations.
Some plants require very specific light conditions to grow. Awnings can protect shade-loving plants from harsh sunlight and filter the sun for plants that require indirect light. They can be placed over a patio container garden or permanent garden structure.
For those who may be selling their homes soon, awnings may help them receive top dollar. Today’s buyers want housAwnings provide excellent protection against sun damage, es that have attractive and functional exteriors, and an awning as they can shield outdoor furniture from direct sunlight, help- can provide that competitive advantage over similar homes in ing to reduce the chances for discoloration or fading. the neighborhood. When renovating outdoor areas, homeowners should not Reduce air conditioning costs overlook awnings that can make outdoor living spaces more In addition to shading outdoor living areas, smaller awnings livable. can be placed over southern- and western-facing windows, shielding interiors against the sun’s rays. In turn, this may reduce reliance on air conditioners.
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Spring Home & Garden
Fitchburg Star
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Preparing garden beds for spring and beyond must take time to make the soil amenable to include organic compost or manure, which planting. To establish hearty, durable plants, will also add nutrients to the soil. gardeners can focus on three main areas: addressing soil composition, cultivating and Cultivation adding nutrients. Cultivating the soil can involve different steps. Removal of weeds, errant rocks, Soil composition roots and other items will help prepare the Many gardeners prefer soil. Mother Earth News suggests workgrowing a variety of plants ing on garden soil when the soil is damp in their gardens. Such an but never wet; otherwise, garden soil can approach requires taking become messy and clumpy. Use a digging inventory of the type of soil fork or shovel to lightly turn the soil when in one’s garden and mak- it’s mostly dry. Gentle tilling also can open ing the necessary modifi- up the soil to incorporate the nutritioncations so that the types of al amendments and relieve compaction vegetables, herbs, shrubs or that likely occurred from freezing temps flowers that will be plant- and snow pressure. Tilling also helps with ed can grow in strongly. In drainage and oxygen delivery to roots. The fact, according to the plant DIY Network suggests turning over soil company Proven Winners, at a depth of 12 inches to work the soil the most important step to about the length of a shovel spade. Howdeveloping good roots is ever, the resource Earth Easy says that preparing the soil. existing garden beds have a complex soil Take a sample of the soil ecosystem and simply top-dressing with and examine it to see what is compost or manure can be enough prepapresent. If the soil is too full ration for planting. Gardeners can experiof clay, too sandy, too dense ment with the methods that work best for or too loose, that can lead to their gardens. problems where plants cannot grow in strong. Work Nutrition with a garden center to add Testing the pH and the levels of certain the right soil amendments to nutrients in the soil, namely nitrogen, phosmake a rich soil. This may phorous and potassium, will give gardeners
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an idea of other soil additions that may be needed. Soils with a pH below 6.2 often can benefit from the addition of lime several weeks before planting. Soil tests will determine just how much fertilizer to add to the soil. Complete fertilizers will have equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Individual fertilizers can amend the soil with only these nutritional elements that are needed. Top-dressing empty beds with a layer of mulch or compost can prevent weed growth and preserve moisture until it is time to plant. If existing shrubs or plants are in garden beds, use more care so as not to disturb roots or dig too deeply. Grading • Lawn Installation • Patios • Retaining Walls • Planting Beds • Lighting Preparing garden beds New Construction and Renovations • Commercial and Residential takes some effort initially but can be well worth the work when plants flourish throughout the growing season.
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Fitchburg Star
Choosing materials for decking Warm weather often gives rise to thoughts about spending time in the great outdoors. Decks can expand outdoor living spaces, making them popular home additions. However, when it comes time to map out a deck building plan, individuals may be unsure as to which deck material will meet their needs. Wood and composite decks are among the most popular choices today, and the popularity of aluminum is growing steadily.
Wood Wood is a versatile and attractive decking material. According to the wood resource Real Cedar, some people think that wood is too expensive and requires too much maintenance. In fact, domestic softwoods can be very cost-effective decking options. According to Remodeling Magazine’s “Cost vs. Value” report, wood decks retain considerable resale value. In terms of maintenance, choosing a rot-resistant wood can result in less maintenance. Durable woods include cedar and redwood. Popular Mechanics says both species contain tannins and oils that make them naturally
resistant to decay, rot and voracious insects. Periodic cleaning and inspection/repairs will be needed, but wood can be much more durable than people may think.
Composite Composite decking and its close cousin, plastic lumber, are some of the fastest-growing decking materials on the market. Many products are made from polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride. Some composites will be comprised of recycled plastic and wood fibers to create a weather- and stain-resistant material that doesn’t warp, rot or splinter. Composite manufacturers continually experiment with manufacturing processes to duplicate the look of natural wood grain. Homeowners are often drawn to composite decking because such decks require little maintenance. These decks do not need to be sanded, stained or refinished. However, mold and mildew can grow in shady, damp areas, so homeowners must realize that these products are not completely maintenance-free.
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material is becoming more popular. According to LockDry®, a manufacturer of aluminum decking materials, power-coated aluminum does not need to be replaced due to rotting, cracking or warped boards. Most planks have interlocking edges that create gap-free, watertight decks. Aluminum also has the advantage of being a very strong but lightweight material. Some people may think that aluminum decks would be hot underfoot, but the material actually stays cooler in the sun because of its heat-dissipation properties. For those who have green goals in mind, aluminum is totally recyclable. Aluminum Various decking materials can meet the Although aluminum decks are not seen look, price point and maintenance level homethat often, there are reasons why this decking owners desire.
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‘Champions for the business community’ Fitchburg Chamber Visitor and Business Bureau turns 20 KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group
If Fitchburg is still a “teenager” in comparison to its neighbors, it’s fair to say the Fitchburg Chamber Visitor and Business Bureau has helped the city navigate some of its growth spurts for the last 20 years. The FCVBB is l e av i n g i t s teenage years this year, as it turns 20. Kinderman “A very dedicated group of businesses and business leaders” started the chamber in 1998, said FCVBB Wicker director Angela Kinderman, who’s been with the organization for 16 years. Fitchburg itself is relatively new as a city, having been incorporated in April 1983 after a successful referendum mostly aimed at preventing the City of Madison from continuing to annex and develop town land. Developing a chamber that supported local businesses was one of the first initiatives given to the city’s economic director Mike Zimmerman by then-mayor Doug Morrissette in 1995, Kinderman said. “Many of those people are still involved,” Kinderman said. “They are very invested in Fitchburg and have really done a lot of things that have helped make this a community.” Kate Wicker, membership
director of the Fitchburg Chamber Visitor and Business Bureau, joined the organization in 2013. Throughout the last five years, she’s had a front-row seat to Fitchburg’s continued growth. “Fitchburg is growing at such a fast rate, that the things I’ve seen in five years you would think maybe transpired over the last 10, 15 or 20 years,” she said. The FCVBB views Fitchburg from a few different perspectives – of course, the business perspective, she said, but also an angle of how to support current businesses in their expansion, the addition of new employers, as well as community assets and residential developments. The FCVBB was also designated the city’s tourism entity in 2017, allowing it to direct funds from the city’s hotel room tax. That created an entire new department for FCVBB to run and a new set of responsibilities for promoting both business and the city. “We see ourselves as champions for the business community,” Wicker said. “We support economic development as a whole.”
Growing pains Wicker told the Star it feels like every time she drives around the city, she finds herself coming across a new business that the FCVBB has yet to welcome. “The challenge has been, on the chamber side, keeping up with all of the new businesses that are coming in and trying to welcome them and make sure that they know that we’re here to support them,” Wicker said. For Kinderman, the challenge is that FCVBB continuously wants to “do a little more.” To keep up with the city’s economic needs and
developments, every five years the FCVBB develops strategic plans that look forward to the next 10-20 years, called “Forward Fitchburg.” The next one is currently in the works. A group of people involved with FCVBB, the city, a hired outside consultant and other general “stakeholders” in the community come together to determine the direction of which FCVBB will go, Wicker said. “We’re very strategic about that,” she said. “Everything that we do at the chamber, we look to make sure that it is supporting that five-year plan.” Kinderman said the FCVBB has also navigated Fitchburg’s growth with a “progressive” board that is willing to try new things. “How we’ve adapted is to try to be ahead of game in terms of what people want,” Kinderman said. “Sometimes you need to reassess and make sure (programs are) still providing value, so we really try to listen to what members want.” Wicker gives city officials credit for maintaining infrastructure and pursuing developments such as those on Lacy Road near U.S. Hwy. 14 that allow that growth to occur. “They were very forward-thinking, knowing that Fitchburg was going to expand and it was going to expand quickly,” Wicker said. “Every time you turn around, there’s a new business, there’s a new development being worked on. The city’s kind of a teenager as it relates to other communities, but even so, there are areas that are starting to need a facelift and the city is looking at that.”
April 13, 2018
15
Fitchburg Star
Business briefs Hometown Pharmacy moves Fitchburg’s Hometown Pharmacy has moved down the street to 3050 Cahill Main St., No. 6 at the corner of High Ridge Trail and Fish Hatchery Road. The business, owned by Thad Schumacher, had previously operated at 3000 Cahill Main, No. 114.
Resident receives state award Fitchburg resident Kim Lobdell, president of KL Engineering based out of Madison, is one of 17 women selected for the 2018 Wisconsin Governor’s Trailblazer Award. She will be presented an award at a ceremony at the State Capitol in May. Lobdell is recognized in the Business Pioneer Award category, honoring companies that have been majority woman-owned for the past 25-years or more. “Women play a critical role in driving our economy, inspiring others, and leading our communities,” Governor Walker stated in a news release. “Today, with our Trailblazer Awards, we recognize and honor female business owners for their achievements in business. These women set a great example in showing how to succeed in business no matter the obstacle.” For information about KL Engineering, visit klengineering.com. For information about the award, visit walker.wi.gov.
Thank You!
The Fitchburg Senior Center staff would like to thank the Fitchburg Senior Center Friends for their hard work and the entire community for coming out and supporting our annual pancake breakfast! Proceeds from this event are used to support our Program Scholarships, Special Needs Fund and wheel chair accessible transportation.
Thank you again!
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Will you be able to keep your lifestyle in retirement and leave a legacy for your loved ones if you pass away?
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Please plan to attend this program on one of two dates. Refreshments will be provided: Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 5:30 pm Fitchburg Public Library 5530 Lacy Road • Fitchburg, WI 53711
Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 2 pm Middleton Public Library 7425 Hubbard Avenue • Middleton, WI 53562
Photo by Scott Girard
Noble Knight Games leaders and City of Fitchburg elected officials pose for a groundbreaking photos at the site of the company’s new building, expected to open this fall on Commerce Park Drive.
Noble Knight breaks ground Noble Knight Games held a celebratory groundbreaking event April 4 at the site of their new, 45,000-square-foot building that is set to open later this fall. Brothers Dan and Aaron Leeder, who run the company, were at the 2835 Commerce Park Dr. site where site work had already begun, along with several city staff and elected officials. The building will include a retail store as well as space for playing games and hosting events.
Space is limited. Please make a reservation for you and up to three guests. Call 608-819-0500 or email jan.m.davis@ampf.com This is an informational seminar. There is no cost or obligation. Matt Underwood, Wilson Law Group, LLC and its representatives are not affiliated with Ameriprise Financial. Investment advisory products and services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., a registered investment adviser. Ameriprise Financial and its affiliates do not offer tax or legal advice. Consumers should consult with their tax advisor or attorney regarding their specific situation. Ameriprise Financial cannot guarantee future financial results. Ameriprise is located at 2601 W Beltline Hwy, Suite 104, Madison, WI 53713. The Compass is a trademark of Ameriprise Financial. © 2018 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved. adno=566244-01
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April 13, 2018
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Fitchburg Star
City: 1983 state Supreme Court decision followed years of efforts to protect Fitchburg’s border Continued from page 1 and the preceding efforts to keep the City of Madison’s growth at bay have left plenty of effects on the City of Fitchburg – from its shrinking rural areas and lack of a “city center” to a sometimes lack of “community” and older developments on the north side that in m a ny wa y s feel separate Morrissette from the rest of the city. “It’s definitely difficult to try to address the urban, suburban and rural divides,” Sieling Mayor Jason Gonzalez told the Star. “There are parts of our city that I think are truly urban, high-population concentrations, and then there are areas that are still active farms.”
Morrissette pointed to the annexation of 40 acres on Fitchburg’s northeast corner in the late 1970s as what pushed him and many others over the line, wanting to fight to control Fitchburg’s boundaries – which they could do as a city. “I just told (the developer), ‘We’ll see you in court,’” he recalled. “We started researching incorporation because that was the only way to save our border.”
Early efforts The 1983 decision from the state Supreme Court was the result of years of efforts by Fitchburg residents and the town’s government to change its standing to a city. Some of it was less formal, as Sieling recalled the Town Board “encouraged development on the north end” before the court decision, which they hoped would keep Madison from annexing that area. Those included the apartments in the North Fish Hatchery Road and northern Verona Road areas.
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“In order to keep them from annexing to Madison, (the Town Board) let them do whatever they wanted,” Sieling said. “It’s really ironic and sad. They did that for quite a few years before we became a city.” By 1980, the town sought support for the idea from the community in a step that was necessary to become incorporated as a city by the statute they hoped to use. A petition filed with the town clerk in March of that year called for a referendum, but the City of Madison sought to stop that vote in court. T h a t N o v e m b e r, t h e Supreme Court gave its first victory to Fitchburg, deciding the referendum could be held. The next April, Fitchburg residents voted 1,637 to 304 in favor of incorporation. The next year, the state’s Department of Development rejected the town’s request to become a city in January. “The department finds that the incorporation of Fitchburg would prevent Madison and Oregon from annexing territory from Fitchburg which would be necessary to counterbalance the impact on services and facilities of the city and village caused by development which occurs in Fitchburg,” that decision read, according to a Feb. 4, 1982, Star story. Many of the effort’s supporters had “Free Fitchburg” bumper stickers on their cars, something state Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson noted in her sarcastic dissent of the decision granting Fitchburg its cityhood. “The majority apparently took the (bumper sticker) message to heart,” Abrahamson wrote. “In its zeal to free the Town of Fitchburg from
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The April 26 decision left town officials scrambling to set up the required structures for their new city. Sieling recalled she was nervous in the early years about how it could carry out its new responsibilities. “I was cautious,” she said. “I thought that people’s expectations were going to be a bit too high.” That’s consistent with some of her words at 1983 meetings soon after the change. A May 5, 1983, story in the Star quoted Sieling, along with then-Town Board supervisor Charles Uphoff, asking the town’s lawyer for some clarification on any potential reaction by the City of Madison and cautioning that changes should be taken slowly. “I know it’s nice to paint a rosy picture and say everything is fine, but I don’t think everything was as thoroughly thought out as we were led to believe,” Sieling was quoted as saying. “The more I look at the statutes and the more I talk to Mr. Koeppl (the attorney) and others, the more I see there are problems with incorporation.” She added they were “on our way and we’ve got a handle on it,” but was worried about the long-term implications of decisions they had to make at the time. Those decisions included creating aldermanic districts,
Then and now Just as Sieling had expected, many of the decisions made early on after the court decision – and even earlier – have left their mark on the city as it stands today. That includes the city being divided among three school districts – something both she and Morrissette cited as the center of many communities. “The sense of community is centered often around the schools,” Sieling said. “We’re scattered.” The city’s early development also led to a lack of a “downtown,” she noted, leaving the sense of community a “struggle.” She added that places like the library have helped bring that back to a point. Another problem was the northern areas of the city have a jigsaw border that shares neighborhoods with Madison – requiring municipal cooperation and complicating efforts to deal with the
SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
While the change from a town to a city had overwhelming support from town residents – evidenced by a 1981 referendum – it was much more controversial around the area and on the state’s highest court. The 4-3 decision included a pair of dissents from justices, including Shirley Abrahamson, who still sits on the court today, and Justice Nathan Heffernan, who opined that the majority in the case had “gullibly given credence” to Fitchburg’s claim that the incorporation was legal, which he said “should have been dismissed out of hand as frivolous.” “The frivolity of the majority opinion mirrors the frivolousness of the town’s claim and deserves to be treated by the public and the legal community for the absurdity it is,” Heffernan wrote. At issue was whether Madison qualified as a state-defined “first-class city.” While it had the population required – 150,000 – it had never (and still hasn’t) filed to move up from
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poverty that is prevalent in those areas. Sieling recalled that it took up a “lot of our resources” when she was mayor from 1985-88. “A lot of fires, a lot of crimes,” Sieling said. “I imagine it still does (take up resources) today.” Gonzalez acknowledged the border can prove challenging but said the city’s staff does a good job of working with its neighbors now that they are on equal municipal footing. “Overall, we’ve got a great relationship with the City of Madison and the Town of Madison,” he said. Morrissette said he’s glad to still live here, in what he called “our community.” He found the Supreme Court process and win “very rewarding,” and was glad the town had “set the parameters for what we wanted to do” with land use maps and discussions before the decision was made. “We wanted to control our destiny rather than to be at the whims of Verona or Town of Madison or the City of Madison,” he said. “We figured, ‘Hey, let’s do it, let’s do it the right way.’” He said looking at Fitchburg today, he “figured eventually this is what (the city) was gonna look like,” and he’s especially glad that there’s still a mix of urban and rural within the city’s nearly 35 square miles. “Basically, we just built the magical wall around Fitchburg – what was left of it,” Morrissette said. Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @sgirard9.
second class, as its attorneys argued it was not prepared for some of the other requirements that came with such a move. But the incorporation procedures Fitchburg residents were using, which had been created in response to similar legal battles between the City of Milwaukee and some of its surrounding towns years earlier, only applied to “cities of the first class.” The majority on the court agreed with Fitchburg’s argument that, by the intent of the statute, Madison qualified as a city of the first class. “Although Madison technically does not have first-class status, it does not follow ipso facto that Fitchburg has failed to satisfy the requirements of (the statute),” the court wrote. “This court has consistently stated that the spirit or intention of a statute should govern over the literal or technical meaning of the language used.” In the next session, the Legislature would clarify that the law “meant what it said,” according to a history on the Fitchburg Historical Society’s website, to disallow such incorporations in the future.
Fitchburg, Dunn take different paths
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and it was debated whether three or four districts – with two seats in each – was the better size. They settled on eight, realizing that however many they chose would be a change for residents who had previously voted for every seat on Town Board but would now be limited to their district and the mayor. “All of a sudden, people were representing not just the whole city but an area,” Sieling said. “There were quite a few people that came out to run for that first city aldermanic position.” According to the Star’s coverage, there were 22 total candidates – two for mayor and at least four in each aldermanic district.
State Supreme Court makes divided decision
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the grasp of second-class city of Madison and to liberate Fitchburg into city-dom, the majority also freed this court from having to apply a statute with which it disagrees and from adhering to its own prior opinion.”
In the 1970s and 1980s, the adjacent Town of Dunn had similar concerns about encroachment from Madison the Town of Fitchburg did. But leaders there took a different route, recalled on the Dunn website through a set of documents outlining its history and decisions. “In the 1970s, we and our neighbor – then the Town of Fitchburg – were working
to find ways of preventing sprawl within our own communities and from our neighbor to the north, the City of Madison,” a 2015 d o c u m e n t s s t a t e s . “ We took different approaches. Our town developed a land stewardship ethic and land use plan – eventually including the purchase of development rights. The Town of Fitchburg applied for the status of a city and
became the City of Fitchburg.” That 2015 document was in response to the proposed development in Fitchburg’s Northeast Neighborhood, which some were concerned would adversely affect wetlands in the area. Preservation has been a priority in the Town of Dunn since it decided to remain a town.
Fitchburg Police Department chief Chad Brecklin will hold the first of three community listening sessions Wednesday, April 18. The event, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., will be at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District 7 Training Center, 5375 King James Way. The other two sessions, which will be held in other areas of the city, are expected to be held in May. the intersection of Williamsburg Way and Anton Drive went through a change of ownership in January, Brecklin explained. After the department noticed the a rise of calls in the ensuing weeks, officers worked with the property manager on identifying specific residents who regularly caused problems. The FPD also shares a data analysis, an indicator of where the crime trends are, with other communities, such as Middleton, Sun Prairie, Verona and Monona, so they can adjust staffing and resources as a group. The department has about 1.7 sworn officers per 1,000
people in its coverage area, lower than the national average in 2014 of 2.3 per 1,000 in population, according to a statistics provided by the FBI. While Brecklin doesn’t expect a significant staffing increase in near future, he said the department is working on identifying a reasonable staffing plan. “The community and council have always been supportive of our staffing requests, and we would expect that to continue,” Brecklin said. “But staffing isn’t a sole solution in any sort of crime problems; we
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“There’s no doubt that Fitchburg is a safe place to live,” Brecklin said. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t have problems.” For some specific areas such as Pike Drive, Fish Hatchery Road and Leopold Way, where violent crimes counted as 22, 16 and 16, respectively, out of 214 violent crimes happened from 2014 to 2017, Brecklin said those crimes are more likely to occur in areas with higher residential populations and a greater concentration of retail and financial institutions. Rather than “blindly” sending officers out to a wide range of areas, Brecklin said the department’s approach is problem-focused, with officers reaching out to specific neighborhoods and individuals as they notice trends. “We’re trying to get to the source of the problem versus just blanketly approach (it),” Brecklin said. As an extreme example, the recent homicide during a drug deal-turned-robbery in the parking lot of New Fountains Apartments, happened after the 578-unit complex at
Listening session April 18
want to be able to use those officers that we have as efficiently and responsively as possible.” Since It’s “challenging” to identify potential causes behind the crime, including geography, economy, education and employment, and effectively manage responses, Brecklin hopes to cooperate with neighborhood associations, property owners and the city’s government. The department has organized various community outreach efforts in recent years, including a crime prevention picnic, a “shop with a cop” program, “cop on a rooftop” and “coffee with a cop.” Brecklin has already added another initiative – listening sessions – to provide an outlet for feedback from community members and staff. The first session is planned for later this month. “The key for us is to be engaged in our community, have partnership in our community and to be responsive to the needs that we’re seeing,” Brecklin said.
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City Hall - Main Line Administration Assessing Building Inspections City Clerk Economic Development
270-4200 270-4213 270-4235 270-4240 270-4210 270-4246
FACTv Finance Fire Department FitchRona Human Resources Library Municipal Court
270-4225 270-4251 278-2980 275-7148 270-4211 729-1760 270-4224
Parks & Forestry Planning/Zoning Police Public Works Recreation/Community Center Senior Center Utilities
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5520 Lacy Road, Fitchburg, WI 53711 • www.fitchburgwi.gov adno=565872-01
COMMUNITY BLOOD DRIVE Thursday, May 10, 2018 Fitchburg Community Center 5510 Lacy Road – Oak Hall 11:30 am – 3:30 pm
April is Earth Action Month. Celebrate with Fitchburg!
Appointments not required but can be scheduled by calling 1-800-733-2767 or by visiting redcrossblood.org Use sponsor code: Fitchburg
www.fitchburgwi.gov/2336/Green-Fitchburg-Events.
MCKEE WATER TOWER INSPECTION The McKee Water Tower, located southeast of the intersection of McKee and Osmundsen Road, needs to be inspected. This inspection is scheduled to take place between April 17th and April 25th of this year. Some water system modifications will be necessary in order to take the McKee Water Tower out of service for this inspection. As
a result of these modifications, residents east of Osmundsen and north of Lacy Road will experience slightly higher water pressures during the inspection of this tower. Once this inspection is complete, pressures will return to normal. If you have any question in regards to this project, please contact Tracy M. Foss, with the City of Fitchburg, at (608) 270-4272.
SPRING SHRED DAY, MEDDROP & ELECTRONICS RECYCLING - SATURDAY, APRIL 21ST, 8-11 AM Gather up old papers, electronics and meds and join us at Fitchburg’s spring cleanup events, held on City Campus, 5520 Lacy Road. Watch for directional signs for traffic flow. 1) Residents can bring no more than five bankers boxes of confidential paper documents for free shredding & recycling. This event is co-hosted with Pellitteri Waste Systems.
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2) The Fitchburg Police Dept. will collect unwanted prescription medications (MedDrop). Enter at the Police Dept. entrance. 3) Resource Solutions Corp. will collect old electronics for recycling. Please note there is a fee for recycling certain items. Large appliances and machines will not be accepted at this event. Updated cost information is available at: http://www.fitchburgwi.gov/ DocumentCenter/View/16752
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April 14, 9 AM:
Waterway Cleanups (Swan Creek, Quarry Hill Park, Dunn’s Marsh)
April 16, 11 AM:
Recycled Reads Magazine Swap (Library, Adults)
April 20, 11 AM:
Preschool Seed Planters (Library, Recommended Ages 2-5) *
April 20, 4 PM:
Egg Carton Herb Garden (Library, Recommended Ages 5-12) *
April 21, 8 AM:
Shred Day, Electronic Recycling**, MedDrop (Senior Center/Police Department) *
-12) April 21, 3 PM:
Earth Day Extravaganza (Library, Recommended Ages 2-5)
April 27, 11 AM:
Tree-
April 27, 4 PM:
Share a Raptor Experience (Library)
April 28, 10 AM:
Oak Meadow Park Earth Day Event
-5)
May 5, 10 AM:
**Cost for hard drive and television recycling
Fitchburg Public Library
City of Fitchburg
5530 Lacy Road
5520 Lacy Road
Fitchburg, WI 53711
Fitchburg, WI 53711
@FitchburgWI
RECREATION DEPARTMENT Go to www.fitchburgwi.gov/recreation and click on “View Activities” to see our list of programs for this upcoming season! All Summer Activities are now online!
JOIN OUR TEAM! The City of Fitchburg’s Recreation Department is looking for talented and enthusiastic people to join our summer team. Applications are currently being accepted for the following positions: • Recreation Program Coordinators • Recreation Program Assistants • Tennis Instructors Visit the City of Fitchburg’s website for more information and apply today: www.fitchburgwi.gov City of Fitchburg Recreation Department 608-270-4285
Kids Painting Class – Springtime Birds
For this class the children will be doing a painting of a darling springtime bird scene! They will be using acrylic paint on a 16 x 20 canvas. I will walk them through the painting but they will each add their own special touches. Throughout this painting we will be working on shading and blending and the use of complimentary colors. These paintings turn out colorful and whimsical. Each child will bring home a masterpiece they will love and be proud of! • Ages – 5-12 yrs. old • Day/Time – Saturday, April 14th from 1pm-3pm • Location – Fitchburg Community Center • Fee - $40
Baseball (T-Ball) 4 & 5 yr. olds Every player will bat every inning and experience each fielding position during the season. Players will receive a t-shirt and baseball cap. • Ages – 4 & 5 yr. olds • Day/Time – Tuesday and Thursday evenings, June 12-July 26 • Location – McKee Farms Park • Fee - $35R/$45NR
Baseball (Coach Pitch) 6 – 8 yr. olds
Players will continue to work on the fundamentals of the game while being introduced to some more advanced baseball skills. Players will receive a t-shirt and baseball cap. • Ages – 6-8 yr. olds • Day/Time – Monday and Wednesday evenings, June 11-July 25 • Location – McKee Farms Park • Fee - $35R/$45NR
Baseball (Machine Pitch)
Teams will practice once a week and compete against local communities playing both home and away games. Note: This league is machine pitch. Players will receive a t-shirt and baseball cap. Baseball pants must be purchased separately. • Ages – 8-10 yrs. old • Day/Time – Tuesday and Thursday evenings, May 24-August 2 • Location – McGaw Park and Traveling • Fee - $45R/$55NR
Basketball Shooting Camps
Want to make more shots? We can help! This camp is designed to teach players the fundamental skills involved with shooting and scoring the basketball. In addition to proper skills and technique, players will also have a chance to learn skill-building drills and games they can use on their own to reinforce good habits after camp. This camp is a fun way to get better together with friends while gearing up for some warm summer weather. • Ages – 1st-3rd Grade, 4th-6th Grade, 7th-12th Grade • Day/Time – Tuesday evenings, April 24-May 8 • Location – Savanna Oaks Middle School • Fee - $30
Yoga and Mindfulness for Kids
This class will focus on exercises that foster a healthy mind, body and spirit. Expect a fun and creative atmosphere with music and movement combined with breathing and relaxation. All yogis should bring a yoga mat and water to each class. • Ages – 4-7 yrs. old and 8-12 yrs. old • Day/Time – Saturday mornings • Location – Fitchburg Community Center • Fee - $36 for younger group and $48 for older group
Spanish for Preschoolers
Children ages 3-5 learn Spanish vocabulary and basic phrases in a fun and active way with these lively classes. Award-winning teacher, Marti Fechner of Grow into Spanish LLC, incorporates music, movement, games, stories and more to make learning Spanish easy and engaging for preschool-age children. It is easy for children to learn a foreign language at this young age, and SO beneficial. Come try it! It’s a great way to prepare your child for a bilingual future. • Ages – 3-5 yrs. old • Day/Time – Mondays, April 16th – May 21st from 12:45pm-1:30pm • Location – Fitchburg Community Center • Fee - $60
Dance Classes for Kids
We offer a variety of dance classes for kids ages 2-12. We offer Saturday classes and Tuesday classes. This is a shortened session with no recital. • Classes Offered - Creative Movement (2-3 yrs), Pre-Ballet 1 (3-5 yrs), Pre-Ballet 2 (4-6 yrs), Ballet 1 (6-8 yrs), Ballet 2 (7-10 yrs), Jazz 1 (4-7 yrs), Jazz 2 (6-9 yrs), Tap 1 (5-7 yrs), Tap 2 (7-10 yrs), and Hip Hop (7-12 yrs) • Day/Time – Saturday Mornings and Tuesday Evenings, April 17 – May 22 • Location – Fitchburg Community Center • Fee - $40R/$50NR
City news
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Townhomes zoning approved SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
A plan to build 47 townhomes off Lacy Road moved forward last month, with the Common Council approving a rezone request and the layout of the parcel. No construction will begin until the city and developer can agree on who will build the road into the site – a key sticking point for some
alders. “The only concern the (Plan) Commission had was who is going to pay for Notre Dame Drive,” said Ald. Julia Arata-Fratta (Dist. 2). “It’s an important … piece in the puzzle.” Administrator Pat Marsh clarified the city will not process any building permits before that issue was resolved. The plan calls for extending the road to the south of the townhomes,
which would be across the street from The Crossing condominiums. Some of the residents of those condos had expressed concerns at an earlier meeting about potential stormwater issues the townhomes could cause, but no one showed up to oppose the plan at the March 27 meeting. Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @sgirard9.
HR, public Winter fires cause hundreds of works jobs thousands in home damage remain open KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group
SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
The city is still looking for its next director of public works and human resources manager. City administrator Pat Marsh told the Common Council on April 10 that the city is working with GovHR – a national company – to recruit and hire the positions. “We’ve received several inquiries … on both those positions,” Marsh said. He specifically said there had been more than a dozen applicants for the HR position and just under a dozen for the public works job, who will double as a city engineer. Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @sgirard9.
Two fires in the City of Fitchburg in recent months caused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage and left both homes uninhabitable. A Feb. 10 house fire on Aztec Trail caused around $100,000 in damage, Meredith Shelton, business manager for the Fitchburg Fire Department, said. O n e o f t h e h o m e ’s occupants and a firefighter had to be medically evaluated and departments from other municipalities like McFarland were called to the scene. Because of cold weather concerns, firefighters and home occupants warmed up inside a Madison Metro bus. “Any time we have a cold weather response,
we have to be conscientious of our responders,” Fitchburg fire chief Joe P u l ve r m a c h e r s a i d i n a Facebook video published the day of the fi r e . “ B e c a u s e o f t h e cold weather, we had to get our firefighters out of the elements and the residents out of the elements.” Shelton said an investigation was unable to determine the cause of the fire. The second house fire on Tudor Drive on March 7 started in the master bedroom closet and caused $185,000 worth of damage to both the home structure and the contents inside the home. While Shelton said that there was a light fixture in the closet of the master bedroom of the home, she said the investigation into the fire was unable to determine a cause.
A GoFundMe site was started for the family following the fire, and had raised $12,845 as of the Star’s deadline. “I had a chance to walk through the house with (the family) and it is going to be a long and expensive road ahead to get their home back in livable condition,” Victor Marsh, the organizer of the GoFundMe, wrote on the page. The Red Cross assisted the occupants of both homes immediately following the fires. Contact Kimberly Wethal at kimberly.wethal@ wcinet.com.
April 13, 2018
Fitchburg Star
19
Council supports ‘preliminary’ idea of trail connection Project without cost estimate would connect Badger State, Oregon Rotary trails SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
An idea to connect Fitchburg’s Badger State Trail to the Oregon Rotary Trail to the south got general support from the Common Council at its April 10 meeting. But the resolution in support of the idea came with hesitation from some alders, who were concerned that no price was attached to the idea yet. Such resolutions are nonbinding statements of general agreement, rather than any sort of commitment of funds. It “just sort of gets the ball rolling,” city administrator Pat Marsh explained. “At this point it’s very preliminary,” he said. “We would be coming forth during the budget process with any monetary commitments.” The city would apply for
grants from Dane County to help cover the cost, Marsh added, saying early indications are that county officials find it makes a “natural connection.” A map of the potential connection shows a 5.5mile connection from the Badger State Trail where it crosses Hwy. M to the Village of Oregon municipal boundaries. The Village of Oregon completed that 3.5-mile trail in 2016 with support from the county, the Town of Oregon, the Oregon Rotary Club and the American Transmission Company. The village’s share was $405,000 on the $889,000 project. Ald. Tom Clauder (Dist. 4), who sits on the Parks Commission, said the commission did not vote on the idea at its meeting because they were “nervous about the price.” “We’re for (the idea), but it comes with a price,” Clauder said. Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @sgirard9.
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20 Fitchburg Star - April 13, 2018
Jeremy Jones, sports editor
845-9559 x226 • ungsportseditor@wcinet.com
Anthony Iozzo, assistant sports editor 845-9559 x237 • sportsreporter@wcinet.com Fax: 845-9550
Sports
Friday, April 13, 2018
The
Fitchburg Star For more sports coverage, visit: ConnectFitchburg.com
OHS girls soccer
Offense starts strong Panthers start season 2-0 with wins over Monroe, Sun Prairie ANTHONY IOZZO Assistant sports editor
The goals came early and often on April 9 as Oregon girls soccer opened the season with a 9-1 win at Monroe. The Panthers led 3-0 at halftime and went up 7-0 before the Cheesemakers’ only goal. Senior forward Kailie Sweeney assisted sophomore forward Avary Fanning on a goal to start the offense, and Sweeney later knocked in a goal with an assist to sophomore forward Ashley Hanson. Hanson helped make it 3-0 with an assist on a goal by senior defender Alexis Kane, and Hanson added two unassisted goals in the second half. Sophomore forward Kaitlyn Schrimpf also scored twice in the second half, one assisted by junior defender Sydney McKee and the other unassisted. Senior forward Marah Weidensee and junior forward Macie Cox also tallied goals. Junior defender Jenna Statz assisted on Cox’s goal, and junior midfielder Katie Eisele assisted on Weidensee’s goal. Monroe senior forward Morgan Seffrood scored the Cheesemakers’ only goal. Sophomore goalie Melia Moyer had one save for Oregon. Senior goalie Reilly Pond finished with 16 saves in 80 minutes for Monroe. Junior goalie Anna Latimer had two saves in 10 minutes.
postponed and has been moved to 7 p.m. Monday, May 7.
Dells tourney (ppd.)
West baseball
Regents return four All-Big Eight Conference players ANTHONY IOZZO
The Wisconsin Dells tournament April 6-7 was canceled. The tournament will not be made up.
Assistant sports editor
Oregon 2, Sun Prairie 2
The Panthers hosted Sun Prairie on April 10 in a make-up game from April 3 and tied 2-2. “We are still trying to figure the best places to put kids,” coach Julie Grutzner said. “I was very pleased with the effort tonight after playing (Monday). We knew Sun Prairie are always a good program even though they are young. They have some quality players.” Oregon led 2-0 in the second half, but Cardinals’ junior Alexis Baker scored twice in the final 15 minutes to tie the game. “We kind of fell a part for five minutes as a team,” Grutzner said. “I am proud that after they tied it up, we went on the aggressive attack. “We don’t have to win these games early in the season. It is about getting ready for regionals and sectionals.” Ashley Hanson and Schrimpf each scored goals for the Panthers. Schrimpf made it 1-0 in the first half, and Hanson scored her goal in the second half. Grutzner said both Ashley Hanson and Schrimpf have started strong, as the Panthers look to new faces to score goals. Grutzner added that Fanning has some speed to make things happen, and Oregon is also trying to get Cox and Weidensee involved up top, as well. “We are working on getting kids involved,” Gritzner Oregon, Mount Horeb (ppd.) more said. “We had to replace HolThe nonconference match at ly and four to five starters that Mount Horeb on April 5 was played almost every minute
1
Photo by Anthony Iozzo
Sophomore forward Ashley Hanson (22) battles for possession in the second half April 10 in a nonconference game against Sun Prairie. The Panthers finished tied 2-2 with Sun Prairie. Hanson also had two goals and an assist on Monday in a 9-1 win over Monroe.
in three state tournaments ... I bench.” thought we got some quality Moyer collected six saves for minutes from everyone on the the Panthers.
Madison West baseball tied for third place in the Big Eight Conference last season, and the Regents bring back four All-Big Eight Conference players in 2018. We s t f i n i s h e d 11-7 in the conference in 2017 and defeated Verona (11-7) twice. Janesville Craig Baldwin (16-2) and Sun Prairie (14-4) finished first and second, respectively. The Regents were upset by Elkhorn in the WIAA Division 1 regional final, however. In 2018, junior second-team DH O t t o T r e i c h e l , O’Flahrity junior honorable mention catcher Drake Baldwin, senior honorable mention center fielder Eli Sorensen and senior honorable mention left fielder/infielder Donova n O ’ F l a h r i t y Treichel look to help lead We s t b a c k i n t o contention. The Regents will need a new pitcher to emerge after the graduation of pitcher Gabe Hill. Sorensen has had experience in pressure games and is expected to be a key member of the
VAHS boys track
Turn to Baseball/Page 2
EHS boys track
Short-handed Wildcats set marks at West Relays Five finish in top eight at West Relays JEREMY JONES Sports editor
Peter Barger, Max Herkert, Caleb Tollefson, Malik Odetunde and Michael Egle either moved up or made the Verona boys track and field team’s all-time performance list for the first time on March 31 at the Madison West Relays. Taking a small squad to the meet, which fell at the end of spring break, the Wildcats finished 14th out of 21 teams with 21.5 points. Coming off a state qualifying WIAA Division 1 state cross country season, Barger ran the fastest 800-meter run in VAHS school history to place third in a very competitive race with a time of 2 minutes, 3 seconds inside the Shell at UW-Madison. Homestead junior Drew Photos by Anthony Iozzo Bosley won the race in Junior Max Herkert attempts to reach over 13 feet, 2 inches in the pole vault March 1:58.65. 31 at the Madison West Relays inside the UW-Madison Shell. Herkert won the event Turn to VAHS track/Page 3 with a height of 13 feet in his first attempt.
ANTHONY IOZZO Assistant sports editor
Senior Peter Barger races ahead of the pack in the 800-meter run March 31. Barger finished third in 2 minutes, .03 seconds.
Madison Edgewood boys track traveled to the U W- M a d i s o n S h e l l o n March 31 and scored 10 points with five top-eight finishes. Sophomore Travis Drumm took sixth in the 400-meter run in 54.96. Cambridge junior Riley Olson won in 53.27. Junior Greg Zentmyer was seventh in the 55 dash in 7.01. Monroe junior Jordan Montgomery won in 6.79. Zentmyer also added a seventh in the 200 in 25.07. Cambridge senior Spencer DeForest won in 23.26. S e n i o r Ky e o n g L e e ,
Turn to EHS track/Page 2
2
April 13, 2018
Baseball: Season started Wednesday Continued from page 1 rotation. Senior pitcher/ outfielder Colin Pulkrabek and junior pitcher Aidan Burgess also both return, and seniors Jake Steidl and Aaron Osterberg, juniors A l e x M o h o n e y, A t l e y Jacome and Justin Grosse and Treichel will look to help the depth on the mound. The lineup will have a new look, as well, with the graduation of leadoff shortstop Austin Cotharn, right-fielder Tommy Hill and third baseman Charlie Met. Infielder Nate
Millmann and outfielder/ infielder Jens Shager are also gone. Senior first baseman Owen Christenson and junior second baseman John Frehner return after batting mostly in the eight and nine holes last year. Senior outfielder Quinn Burgess and senior infielder David Grunder are also back. S e n i o r i n fi e l d e r I a n Grunder, senior infielder/ catcher Ben Sewell, junior catcher Jacob Rosenberg, j u n i o r o u t fi e l d e r J a ke Karll, junior outfielder Max Hanson and sophomore infielder Forrest
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Madison West/Madison Edgewood
Fitchburg Star
Boys track and field
Mackay are other varsity players looking to make an impact. West’s first game of 2 0 1 8 w a s We d n e s d a y against Beloit Memorial after weather moved three games early on. The Regents also hosted Madison Memorial Thursday after the Fitchburg Star’s deadline. The Regents travel to Middleton at 11 a.m. Saturday and to Verona at 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 17. Rain is in the forecast for Friday, but West is scheduled to host nonconference Waunakee at 5 p.m.
Big Eight Conference schedule Date Opponent Time April 11 Beloit Memorial 4:30 p.m. April 12 Madison Memorial 4:30 p.m. April 14 at Middleton 11 a.m. April 17 at Verona 5 p.m. April 18 at Madison Memorial 4:30 p.m. April 19 Verona 5 p.m. April 24 La Follette 5 p.m. April 26 at La Follette 5 p.m. May 1 Madison East 5 p.m. May 3 at Madison East 5 p.m. May 5 Middleton 11 a.m. May 8 Sun Prairie 5 p.m. May 10 at Sun Prairie 5 p.m. May 15 at Janesville Craig 5 p.m. May 17 Janesville Craig 5 p.m. May 22 at Janesville Parker 5 p.m. May 24 Janesville Parker 5 p.m.
Three earn top-three finishes at Madison West Relays ANTHONY IOZZO Assistant sports editor
Senior Daniel Jacobs, junior Kaleb Kohn and junior Patrick Horvath all earned top-three finishes to lead the Regents on March 31 in the West Relays at the UW Shell. Kohn took third in the 400-meter run with a time of 53.14 seconds. Neenah senior Colin Enz won in 50.82. Jacobs reached the finish line in the 800 in 2:00.59. Homestead junior Drew Bosley won the race in 1:58.65. Horvath had a throw of 49 feet, 8 1/4 inches in the shot put. Fond du Lac junior Andrew Stone won the event with a heave of 62-8 1/4. West senior Aaron Letcher added a fifth-place finish in the 1,600 in 4:34.32. Bosley won that race in 4:18.59. Senior Jack Reed took seventh in the 3,200 in 10:10.64. Madison East junior Max Loetscher won the race in 9:43.11. Seniors Matthew Laluzerne and Lucas Crawford, junior Luke Treiber and sophomore Ryan Reed led the 4x800 relay to seventh in 8:34.76.
Photo by Anthony Iozzo
Senior Daniel Jacobs races out in front during the third leg of the 800 on March 31 at the Madison West Relays inside the UW Shell. Jacobs took fourth in 2 minutes, 0.59 seconds.
Edgewood boys golf
Edgewood wins first Badger South Conference mini-meet ANTHONY IOZZO Assistant sports editor
Madison Edgewood boys golf, the defending WIAA Division 2 state and Badger South champions,
played its first conference mini-meet of the season on April 10 and took first with a 330. Rory Gierhart shot a 7 5 , fi n i s h i n g b e h i n d M o n o n a G r o v e ’s J a k e
Schroeckenthaler (73), and James Gilmore added a 78. Drew Arndt shot an 83, and Matthew Phelan had a 94. Monona Grove was second with a 341, and Oregon took third with a 343.
EHS track: Crusaders score 10 points
We’Ve moVED
and Drumm took seventh in the 4x400 in 3:46.22. M o n o n a G r ove wo n i n junior Tommy Beyer, soph- 3:35.04. omore Wallace Schmotzer Sophomore Jack Brolin Continued from page 1
Just down the street to
was eighth in the 3,200 in 11:31.51. Monona Grove senior Charlie Ellenbecker won in 9:55.11.
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Verona Area High School
Baseball
April 13, 2018
3
Fitchburg Star
Softball
Photo by Jeremy Jones
Members of the Verona softball team (left, from right) are: Molly McChesney, Taytum Geier, Savanna Rainey, Amie Rudnicki, Emma Kleinsek and Alyssa Bostley; (back) Katie Pederson, Amelia Hust, Emily Bloomfield, Ari Vogel, Meghan Anderson, Kallie Knueppel, Kasie Keyes and Alina Yazek. Photo by Anthony Iozzo
The returning letterwinners for the Verona baseball team (from left) are: Stephen Lund, Reagan Klawiter, Tucker Teskey, Connor McGowan, Grant Kelliher and Tristan Largent.
Infield/pitching look to be strengths for Wildcats in 2018 ANTHONY IOZZO Assistant sports editor
Verona baseball has been one win away from state for the past four seasons, and the Wildcats look to once again be a contender in 2018. Six players return from a team that finished 14-12 — including five starters — and both the pitching staff and infield look to have plenty of depth. Senior catcher Stephen Lund was a first-team AllBig Eight selection in 2016 as an infielder, but he missed all of 2017 due to Tommy John surgery. Lund is back healthy in 2018 and looks to be one of the leaders on offense and a valuable asset behind the plate, coach Brad D’Orazio wrote in a preview questionnaire. Lund batted .325 (25-for77) as a sophomore with 22 RBIs and 18 runs scored. He had six doubles, a triple and two home runs. Senior pitcher Tristan Largent and junior pitcher Reagan Klawiter return with a combined 40-plus innings pitched. The duo will be asked to lead a staff that
Big 8 conference schedule Date Opponent Time April 10 at Beloit Memorial 5 p.m. April 12 Beloit Memorial 5 p.m. April 14 at Madison Memorial 2 p.m. April 17 Madison West 5 p.m. April 20 at Janesville Parker 5 p.m. April 23 Janesville Parker 5 p.m. April 24 Middleton 5 p.m. April 26 at Middleton 5 p.m. May 1 at La Follette 5 p.m. May 3 La Follette 5 p.m. May 5 Madison Memorial 11 a.m. May 8 at Madison East 5 p.m. May 10 Madison East 5 p.m. May 15 Sun Prairie 5 p.m. May 17 at Sun Prairie 5 p.m. May 22 Janesville Craig 5 p.m. May 24 at Janesville Craig 5 p.m. graduated first-team all-conference pitcher Jeff Bishop and honorable mention all-conference pitcher Brad Laufenberg. Largent allowed 11 earned runs on 20 hits and 12 walks in 22 2/3 innings (3.40 ERA). He had 12 strikeouts
and finished 0-3 as a spot starter. Largent is also listed as a first baseman. He batted .282 (22-for-78) and finished with 13 RBIs and eight runs scored. In the field, Largent
Turn to VAHS baseball/Page 5
Boys golf
Wildcats shoot a 330 to win first Big Eight meet ANTHONY IOZZO Assistant sports editor
Verona boys golf started of the 2018 season Tuesday at Sun Prairie Country Club against the Cardinals and Janesville Craig, winning the meet with a 330. Junior Austin Gaby shot a 74 out of the No. 3 spot to
lead all golfers, and senior Jack Bates followed with an 81 out of the No. 5 spot. Senior No. 1 golfer Garhett Kaegi and senior No. 2 golfer Logan Lindell finished the scoring with an 87 and an 88, respectively. Sun Prairie was second at the meet with a 335. Ethan Carrick had an 82, and
Mickey Keating and Ethan Churchill both had 84s. Austin Draws had an 85. Craig shot a 343. Kade Salemi finished with an 80 and Daniel Thomsen shot an 86. Anthony Schroeder and Connor Kelly finished the scoring with an 87 and a 90, respectively.
VAHS boys track: Indoor season closes Continued from page 1 M a x H e r ke r t c l e a r e d 13 feet in the pole vault to move him up to fourth p l a c e o n t h e s c h o o l ’s all-time list and win the va u l t . H e a t t e m p t e d a school record 13-7 but did not clear the bar in three attempts.
Tollefson turned in one of two record-setting performances Saturday at the Madison West Relays, breaking Jared Biddle’s the 55-meter high hurdle freshman record in 8.91. He finished 18th. Odetunde ran one of the fastest 55 dashes in school history and made
the school honor roll for the first time in his first year with the team. He had a false start in the semifinals, however, and did not run in the finals. Egle’s 8.56 in the 55 high hurdle prelims ranks him as one of the fastest in school history. He finished the meet 11th in 8.51.
Wildcats return all nine starters JEREMY JONES
Big 8 conference schedule
Sports editor
Verona softball coach Todd Anderson said the Wildcats will have to come together as a team if they wish to return to the WIAA state tournament. Anderson joked that the Wildcats have become an every-other team, last appearing at the state tournament in 2016. “We’d like to be more than an every-other team, but since we didn’t go last year, we’ll settle for going this year,” he said. All-State players Savanna Rainey and Taytum Geier are important part of that effort, as well as a slew of returning letterwinners as Verona graduated just one part-time starter from last year’s team. “To steal a line from the movie Miracle, ‘we’re not good enough to get to state on just our talent,” Anderson said. “We’ve got to become more than our talent.’” That, he said, begins with
Date Opponent Location Time April 9 Beloit Memorial Beloit 4:30 p.m. April 10 Middleton Verona 5 p.m. April 12 Mad. La Follette Olbrich 4:30 p.m. April 16 Jan. Parker Verona 5 p.m. April 17 Mad. East Olbrich 4:30 p.m. April 19 Sun Prairie Verona 5 p.m. April 21 Jan. Craig (DH) Verona 11 a.m. April 24 Jan. Parker Janesville 4:30 p.m. April 26 Beloit Memorial Verona 5 p.m. May 1 Mad. Memorial Verona 5 p.m. May 3 Mad. West Jefferson M.S. 5 p.m. May 8 Middleton Firefighter’s 5 p.m. May 10 Mad. La Follette Verona 5 p.m. May 14 Madison West Verona 5 p.m. May 15 Madison East Verona 5 p.m. April 17 Sun Prairie Sun Prairie 5 p.m. senior captains Amie Rudnicki, Rainey and junior Molly McChesney. Rainey, a UW-Madison recruit, was selected as a WFSCA first-team All-State honoree and Geier, a St.
Cloud State women’s hockey player, was named to the second team. Rainey hit .475 and finished with a team-best 43
Turn to VAHS softball/Page 5
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Oregon High School
Fitchburg Star
Boys tennis
Baseball
Photo by Anthony Iozzo
Photo by Jeremy Jones
The returning letterwinners for Oregon baseball (from left) are: Nick Wacker, Jack Haufle, Tyler Damon, Nate Newton, Carson Timberlake, Quinn Adler and Mathew deFiebre.
Returning letterwinners (front, from left) are: Tanner Hake, Sean Bychowski and Jacob Ayers; (back) Dan Koopman, Kyle Rehrauer, Zak Roskos and Kaden Seeliger; (not pictured) Sean Benet.
experience a key Several spots to fill in singles lineup Gaining pitching will need to be replaced, but lost most of our varsity Sports editor
2018 conference schedule
Oregon boys tennis lost just three of 10 starters from a year ago but the graduation of the team’s Nos. 1 and 2 singles players will be especially difficult to fill. As a result, the team will be inexperienced at the top
Date Opponent Time Location April 12 Watertown 4:15 p.m. Brandt Quirk Park April 17 Stoughton 4:15 p.m. Oregon April 19 Monroe 4:15 p.m. Oregon April 24 Fort Atkinson 4:15 p.m. Rock River Park April 26 Monona Grove 4:15 p.m. Oregon May 1 Milton 4:15 p.m. Milton May 4 Edgewood 4:15 p.m. Quann Park
Turn to OHS tennis/Page 5
Boys golf
ANTHONY IOZZO
Assistant sports editor
Oregon baseball might be the defending Badger South Conference champion and a regional final participant from a year ago, but the Panthers will need some newer faces to help fill roles lost from last season. Three of nine starters return this season, and most of the pitching staff innings
coach Jake Soule wrote in a preview questionnaire that there is a lot of competition within the program to help push both the returners and young players to get better and grow as a team. “We feel good about our returning leadership as well as a dedicated young group of juniors. There is a lot of competition at most positions,” Soule wrote. “We
Turn to OHS baseball/Page 5
Oregon looks for consistency to help fuel 2018 season ANTHONY IOZZO
Badger South schedule
Assistant sports editor
Photo submitted
The returning letterwinners for the Oregon boys golf team (from left) are: Ryan Michek, John Klus and Ryan Candell.
Three golfers return to the Oregon boys golf team this season, putting a little stability at the top of the lineup. But the No. 4 and No. 5 spots on the varsity lineup are still up for grabs, and those players will help dictate where the team finishes in both the Badger South Conference and the sectional. “Last year we struggled to find our footing after losing a lot of varsity leadership and experience from
Date Type Place April 10 mini-meet Foxboro GC April 17 mini-meet The Oaks GC April 24 mini-meet Koshkonong CC May 2 mini-meet Monroe CC May 15 Conference House on the Rock
the prior year,” coach Sara Mess wrote in a preview questionnaire. “There was a lot of inconsistent scoring and finding a reliable starting five proved challenging. With another year
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under their belt, I’m hoping our returning starters have a better idea of what to expect playing at the top of the lineup.” The Panthers bring back senior Ryan Candell and junior John Klus from their postseason lineup. Both golfers advanced to
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Turn to OHS golf/Page 5
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April 13, 2018
Continued from page 3 had a .909 fielding percentage, committing four errors on 44 chances and adding 37 putouts. Klawiter started four games and was 3-0. He allowed four earned runs on 13 hits and 18 walks in 26 innings (1.08 ERA), striking out 28. Senior pitchers Grant Kelliher and Tucker Teskey also look to help on the mound. Both had limited innings last season. Teskey was also a firstteam all-conference outfielder. He batted .373 (31for-83) and had six RBIs and 18 runs scored. Teskey also added a .957 fielding
percentage. He had two errors on 46 chances and had 42 putouts. Junior outfielder/pitcher Sam Pederson is another arm that should see some innings in 2018. He got the start in right field in the season opener on March 29. T h e i n fi e l d l o o k s t o be led by senior Connor McGowan, also listed as a pitcher. He will be an asset in the middle either at second base or shortstop this season. McGowan was an honorable mention in the Big Eight in 2017 and batted .247 (19-for-77) with 17 RBIs and 17 runs scored. In the field, he finished with an .896 fielding percentage, with 11 errors on 106 chances and 94 putouts.
McGowan also helped turn 10 double plays. Freshman Ryan Taylor looks to be a new asset who will join McGowan on the infield in 2018. Taylor was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the first game of the season on March 29 at Milton, and he had three putouts on three chances and helped turn one double play at second base. Junior Jake Osiecki received the start at first base in that first game, and junior Jonah Haffner had the start at third base. Junior Brooks Brazeau was a designated hitter, and junior Tyler McWilliams was in left field. All of those players are newcomers to varsity this season.
OHS baseball: Oregon returns three starters Continued from page 4 junior second-team catcher Jack Haufle. Damon batted .444 (24for-54) and had nine RBIs and 12 runs scored. At second base, Damon had 24 putouts and three errors on 56 chances and a .946 fielding percentage. Timberlake batted .364 (24-for-66) and had 10 RBIs and 22 runs scored. He had 32 putouts and three error on 37 chances and a .919 fielding percentage in center field. Soule wrote that Timberlake’s “speed and range in the outfield will be a strength of the team.” Haufle batted .406 (28for-69) and had 16 RBIs and eight runs scored. At catcher, Haufle had 90 putouts and six errors on 106 chances and had a .943 fielding percentage. Senior first baseman Nate Newton is also back with starting experience. Newton batted .250 (7-for-28) with five RBIs and a run scored. Senior Matthew deFiebre returns as an infielder/ catcher. Oregon graduated firstteam infielder Ian Schildgen, first-team outfielder Eric Modaff, honora b l e - m e n t i o n i n fi e l d e r
2018 conference schedule Date Opponent April 12 Edgewood April 17 Milton April 19 Watertown April 24 Stoughton April 26 Monona Grove May 1 Fort Atkinson May 4 Monroe May 8 Edgewood May 11 Milton May 15 Watertown May 17 Stoughton
Time Place 5 p.m. Oregon 5 p.m. Oregon 5 p.m. Washington Park 5 p.m. Stoughton 5 p.m. Oregon 5 p.m. Jones Park 5 p.m. Oregon 7:45 p.m. Warner Park 5 p.m. Milton 5 p.m. Oregon 5 p.m. Oregon
Brandon Knobel and honor- Noah Brindley, but most of able-mention infielder Con- the staff will be new to varsity. Senior returner Nick nor Zagrodnik. Wacker returns as a pitcher/ New look pitching staff infielder. “We have a bunch of The Panthers graduated first-team pitcher Ben juniors that are eager to Prew, who was the No. 1 play,” Soule wrote. “We starter and also lost innings are waiting to see who will with Cedric Girard, Jordan step up within our pitching Helmkamp, Knobel, Schild- staff and in our positional battles. We are looking forgen and Modaff gone. Senior Quinn Adler is ward to seeing how Adler expected to be the new competes on the mound for starter. Adler allowed eight us.” Senior Tyler Bade and earned runs on 14 hits in seven innings last season, j u n i o r s Kev i n A l vo r d , striking out five and walk- Lucas Hess, Matt Rusch, Duncan Morgan, Patrick ing two. Timberlake and Newton McCormick and Cameron also faced a few batters last Carpenter also look to comseason along with junior pete for innings this season.
VAHS softball: Games begin this week Continued from page 3 RBIs to go along with 10 doubles, two triples and nine home runs. She scored another 10 runs and had a team-best .688 slugging percentage. The junior was also solid behind the plate, recording 131 putouts to go along with a .978 save percentage. Geier played 18 games at first base for the Wildcats. She collected 37 hits (30 singles, six doubles and a triple) in 65 at-bats. She drove in 16 runs and scored 19 more. Defensively, she had 101 putouts and only one error at first base. “I don’t think anyone on this team thinks they can take Taytum’s spot. Part of that is her offensive capabilities,” Anderson said. “Taytum was uncanny getting on base last year. She’s just a pure athlete.” McChesney and Amie Rudnicki were tabbed as honorable mention picks all-conference picks last year. The each had high on-base percentages and
and everyone will have to step up, coach Ben Conklin said. Senior Dan Koopman and junior Zak Roskos are expected to lead the team on the singles side, while the Panthers’ No. 1 doubles team of senior Kyle Rehrauer and junior Sean Bychowski are both back this year. Koopman stepped up late last season to play in place of teammate Charles Donovan, who won a sectional title at No. 2 singles. Odds are this season that Koopman, who outperformed his fifth seed and finished third at conference, will move all the way up to the top of the lineup with the graduation of Donovan and Charles Schneider. Schneider was a varsity tennis player for the past
four seasons and the team’s No. 1 singles player for three of those seasons. He was the only player in program history to win a conference title at No. 1 singles and was a four-time state qualifier. Donovan followed a similar path, playing varsity all four seasons. He reached the WIAA Division 1 state tournament at the end of the last three seasons as a No. 2 singles player. Roskos, like Koopman, reached the second day of the Badger South Conference tournament last year and expects to step in at No. 2 singles for Donovan this season. Oregon returns six doubles players with varsity experience from last season, including Rehrauer and Bychowski, who look to improve after being knocked out of the
postseason at subsectionals at No. 1 doubles. They lost their second-round match at conference last season to the eventual champions from Waunakee. The Panthers actually didn’t advance any flight to sectionals other that Schneider and Donovan. Garrett Schultz and Tanner Hake played at No. 2 doubles last season. Hake will need to find a new partner this season, however, following the graduation of Schultz. Jacob Ayers and Kaden Seeiger both return from No. 3 doubles. The fourth seed at conference, Ayers and Seeliger outplayed their seed after fighting back to beat Baraboo 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-3 in the third-place match. Sean Benet also saw some varsity doubles action last season and will figure into the mix more this year.
are expected to put pressure on opposing pitching staffs with their speed once again this season. McChesney, like Rudnicki, had all singles, going 22-for-61 at the plate for a .367 batting average. She scored 19 runs and drove in eight. McChesney will hold down center field this year but the other two outfield positions are up for grabs. Her move to the outfield also opened up a competition at shortstop. Returning sophomores Kasie Keyes and Alina Yazek and freshman Katie Pederson are competing for time at shortstop. Verona’s starters in left and right field will be determined by who wins the shortstop competition, with the other two girls moving to the outfield. Ari Vogel and Amelia Hust, who is rehabbing from a volleyball injury, should also be in the mix. “No matter how it turns out, we’re going to have a pretty strong outfield because we have the players to do it,” Anderson said.
Rudnicki went 25-for-63 at the plate last season, scoring a team-best 23 runs and driving in 12 more. She had an .831 fielding percentage and returns at second base. Third baseman Emma Kleinsek and pitcher Meghan Anderson earned second-team Big Eight honors last year. Kleinsek had 23 hits in 51 at-bats over 17 games this season, including five doubles, three triples and two home runs. She finished second on the team with 18 RBIs and fourth with 18 runs scored. Kleinsek was second on the team with a .439 average. Defensively, she had 11 putouts and 24 assists in 38 chances to go along with a .921 fielding percentage. Anderson struck out 100 hitters and walked 19 in 67 1/3 innings. She had ERA of 1.25 and seven shutouts on the year. Verona only graduated part-time pitcher Quinn Nelson, who tossed 43 1/3 innings, going 6-2 in eight starts. She allowed 16 earned runs while striking out 27 and walking six.
OHS golf: Candell, Klus look to make state Continued from page 4 consistently in the mid-tolow 80s last season. Mess wrote that Candell’s “swing and mental approach seems ready this year,” as Candell will be the No. 1 golfer for the second straight season. Candell had a 42.19 nine-hole average in 2017. Klus is a big hitter, but Mess wrote that he is still working on his course management. Klus finished with a 42.27 nine-hole average last season. Mess wrote that both Candell and Klus are motivated to make state after
missing out by just a few strokes last season. Klus shot a 79 and missed a playoff by one stroke. Candell was two strokes away from a playoff with an 80. Senior Ryan Michek is also back from last season. Michek didn’t play on the postseason lineup, but he played both varsity and JV matches last season. He comes in with a 46.64 ninehole average. Henry Roskos, Jacob Janecek and Alex Verhagen were the Nos. 3-5 golfers on the postseason lineup, but all three have graduated. Junior Sam Schroeder and sophomore Colton Eyers are the candidates to
fill out the varsity lineup this season. Schroeder played baseball last season, but he decided to switch to play golf this year. Mess wrote he is a “consistent ball striker” in the limited practices so far. Mess wrote that Eyers started to play well at the end of last season on JV, and so far in 2018, he is picking up where he ended. As a team, Mess wrote that the short game will be emphasized, but with the weather already not cooperating, being able to adjust to the elements will also be key in 2018.
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When a vertebra in the spine becomes fixated surrounding areas become hypermobile. Cracking your own back may cause temporary relief but only moves the already hypermobile joints. The popping noise you hear comes from a gas that releases from joint fluid when ligaments are stretched. The urge to keep repeating this occurs because you are not correcting the fixated vertebrae. Repetitive motions like this can cause soft tissue damage and degenerative changes to the spine. Jill Unwin, DC, CCEP
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Schools
ConnectFitchburg.com
Verona Area School District
April 13, 2018
Fitchburg Star
7
Oregon School District
Stoner Prairie gets new principal Thompson Kapp has been at Lapham in Madison for 6 years SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
Tammy Thompson Kapp still has more than two months of the school year to finish at Lapham Elementary School in Madison. But the seventh-year Thompson Kapp principal has plenty of “anticipation” building for where she’ll be next year: Stoner Prairie Elementary School. The Verona Area school board approved a con tract for Thompson Kapp April 2 for the 2018-19 school year. She will succeed Mike Pisani, who is expected to transition to a role in the VASD central office next year. The former fifth- and sixth-grade teacher said it will be hard “leaving my Lapham family,” but she expressed excitement at moving from a large district in Madison to a smaller setting here. She was also attracted to the school, where she knows some teachers, for its focus on equity and social-emotional learning – both district-wide initiatives. “I did a little bit of asking about where they were at, and a lot of the work that they’re starting to push into is areas of passion for me,” Thompson Kapp told the Star. “Particularly, equity work is something that has been really important to me, looking at ways that we’re closing opportunity gaps for children, making sure that kids not only have access to high-quality teaching and learning but that they’re meaningfully engaging and participating.” At Lapham, which serves students in kindergarten through second grade, she said she has seen the impact social-emotional lessons can have on keeping children in the classroom when they find learning challenging. She stressed the importance of “common learning experiences” for children who come from different backgrounds, something that is also prevalent at Stoner Prairie. As with Stoner Prairie, her current school has a tablet device for each student the past two years. She said that has helped connect children to their learning and has offered the opportunity for them to access information they otherwise could not. One of her first priorities, she said, will be to connect with Stoner Prairie staff members, as she’s
91 applicants The Verona Area School District received 91 applications for the Stoner Prairie Elementary School principal position, according to an email from superintendent Dean Gorrell. There were two rounds of interviews, both in March. Tammy Thompson Kapp, who was hired, was one of four applicants to reach the final round. The other finalists were Verona Area International School and New Century School director Ann Princl – a longtime VASD teacher; Andrea Kreft, principal of Madison’s John Muir Elementary School; and Duy Nguyen, a principal at Hawthorne LAB School in Waukesha.
learned over the six years “how valuable relationships and trust are.” “Stoner Prairie is not Lapham,” she said. “I’m going to have to really listen to learn what is the best first step to take. I’m going to really be relying on those that have been there living it to inform that.” Thompson Kapp taught fifth- and sixth-grade in the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District for 13 years before taking a central office position there for three years. When her husband moved to Madison for work, she became a national consultant at the high school level for three years before taking a job on the Madison Metropolitan School D i s t r i c t ’s p r o f e s s i o n a l development team. Two years later, she took over at Lapham. There, she has worked with a “partner school,” M a r q u e t t e E l e m e n t a r y, that Lapham’s students go to for third- through fifth-grade. While she said she’s had a good experience with the partner school, she’s excited to see students and families for their whole elementary school careers. “I’m really excited to have the K-5 continuity,” she said. “That is really appealing to me, to really be able to see the fruits of our labor as kids grow and develop and begin to apply the skills that they’re learning in the earlier grades.” Contact Scott Girard at ungreporter@wcinet.com and follow him on Twitter @sgirard9.
Photo by Scott De Laruelle
RCI egg drop teammates Jaymeson Wethal, Dusty Richardson, Hadley Stang, Pyper Dailey and Jordan Steffen watch as they drop their egg container from a second-floor stairwell.
Engineering futures K-6 students growing up with STEAM
SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
The human colonists of the new off-Earth community are in trouble, and it’s up to some young engineers to fix the problems and save the day. Who knows? Maybe today’s elementary school exercise might be tomorrow’s “help wanted” ad. Either way, the “City X” project just completed by Oregon School District third- and fourth-graders is just one way students are learning STEAM concepts to prepare them for a rapidly changing world. Brooklyn Elementary School teacher Velvet Holmes, one of the district’s leaders in STEAM education, said young students are learning “out-of-the box thinking” and problem-solving skills through STEAM that they’ll use later in school, and after that, in the workplace. “With City X, each citizen has a problem the student needs to solve by creating an invention; it can’t be something already invented,” she told the Star. “They really have to
empathize and identify the problem, and in the end they can use 3D printing or 3D pens to create their invention, so that’s been fun.” And that’s the way learning should be, Holmes said. “It’s supposed to be fun to learn, and the kids that are coming through right now just have a different brain when we had when we went to school, so sitting and getting is really not an option anymore,” she said. “Third- and fourth-graders have Chromebooks all day, so if they have a question they can look it up. “We want them to actually do more thinking and problem-solving and learning how to work together.” To do that, the district’s three elementary schools (grades K-4) and one intermediate (grades 5-6) school have increased their emphasis on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) components that allow even the youngest students in the district to work together and solve problems. At Netherwood Knoll Elementary, a new Innovation Lab is providing
teachers with new spaces for collaboration, and students with more tools and room to grow. It also shares an outdoor garden and learning area that integrates science, art and language with its next-door neighbor, Prairie View Elementary, where kids are learning everything from the life cycle of bugs to how to save wildlife from an oil spill. A few miles down the road at Brooklyn Elementary, kids are going bowling – using computer coding to move their Sphero balls around and knock down pins in the school’s new Makerspace. And at Rome Corners Intermediate School, the district’s fifth- and sixthgrade students are studying engineering and technology by building and testing containers meant to protect eggs launched off the second-floor stairwell. All the name of science. Or to be more exact – science, technology, engineering, art and math. Read the full story at ConnectFitchburg.com
What’s online Read these and more Oregon and Verona Area schools stories at ConnectFitchburg.com:
VASD board approves security changes at new VAHS The Verona Area school board approved changes to the design of the new Verona Area High School building with the goal of improving security. The changes were in response to some community and staff pushback at the amount of glass inside the building, especially looking from the corridors into classrooms. The criticism grew after the Feb. 14 school shooting in Florida that left 17 people dead.
District, City of Verona come to agreement on entry road A monthslong fight between the Verona Area School District and City of Verona came to an end last month as the two governmental bodies came to an agreement on the city providing funding for an entry road into the new Verona Area High School site in return for the Sugar Creek Elementary School property. The two had disagreed on how much money had been offered by the city and what the expectations were on the district for intersection improvements.
Oregon, Verona students join national walkout Local students joined others around the country took part in a school walkout March 14 to mark the one-month anniversary of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting. The event lasted 17 minutes in honor of each of the victims of the shooting.
OSD administrators make staffing recommendations Oregon School District administrators made their recommendations on staffing for the 2018-19 school year to the board April 9. Priorities in the new positions included STEAM, special education and mental health.
Submit ideas for MMSD stories Do you have a story idea for something we should cover or take photos of in the Madison Metropolitan School District? Whether it’s a new program at Cherokee, state report card scores for Leopold and Chavez or a student at Madison West who deserves some recognition, we’d love to hear your ideas and cover more of what’s going on in Fitchburg’s MMSD schools. You can also submit photos from school events for us to include on this page. Please email any ideas to communityreporter@wcinet.com.
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8 Fitchburg Star - April 13, 2018
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