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Thursday, January 25, 2018 • Vol. 133, No. 30 • Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1

Wrestling

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Oregon Observer The

Village of Oregon

Staton rejects ‘hostile’ accusation Library director wrote letter citing ‘intimidation,’ ‘fear’ SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group

Starting a new era OHS juniors help pave way for girls wrestling

ANTHONY IOZZO Assistant sports editor

High school wrestling participation has declined in Wisconsin in the past decade — including in Oregon — but a new era could be on the way to reverse that trend. Last season, girls tournaments were added throughout the state including at the Stoughton-hosted Badger State Invitational and at the Wisconsin Challenge Series, the JV equivalent to state. While girls have been able to wrestle on boys teams since the 1970s after Title IX was passed, this was only the second year in Wisconsin with tournaments creating all-girls brackets. At OHS, juniors Jade Durmaj and Faith Trinidad both decided to wrestle last season and are the lone girls on the team. But both said they understand the example they are helping set for other girls who might want to join in the future, and it makes them proud.

“It means a lot to say that I was one of the first generations of girls to start,” Durmaj said. “It excites me to be a part of it,” Trinidad added. According to trackwrestling.com, there are now more than 220 eligible girls on high school teams this year in Wisconsin, and several area coaches, including OHS coach Ned Lease and Stoughton co-head coach Dan Spilde, think a girls division at individual state at the Kohl Center is close to reality. “The same things that make (wrestling) so attractive to some people – the physicality, the discipline, the technique, the brutality – totally turn other people off, but we are seeing this rise in females that are interested in the sport,” Lease said. “And the sport is really for everybody. Japan, in particular, has a ton of female participation right now, and I think it is great.”

Making a difference Durmaj and Trinidad both placed

in the second year of a girls division at the Challenge Series Finals, and Durmaj made it to sectionals as a first-year wrestler last season. But both girls have been able to better gauge their development after taking part in the new girls-only brackets. Mostly, they wrestle boys in both varsity and JV. While 220 wrestlers is a small fraction of the more than 6,000 total in the state, Durmaj said it has been cool to see how many have competed at tournaments this season. “There aren’t that many right now, but knowing in future generations there is going to be more – eventually in every state it could be separated – I think that is exciting for the future of girls in wrestling,” Durmaj said. “I find it really exciting because I know it is growing, and it isn’t just boys,” Trinidad added. Durmaj and Trinidad have won

Turn to Girls/Page 9

Turn to Library/Page 2

Hofer annexation approved Developer plans to build homes on south side BILL LIVICK Unified Newspaper Group

T h e Vi l l a g e B o a r d decided Monday to annex 17 acres from the Town of Oregon on the village’s south side for a developer who plans to build on 37 residential lots in the first phase of project. Developers Glenn and Michelle Hofer requested the annexation and also asked the village to rezone the land to single-family residential and

conditionally approve a preliminary plat, which the board did unanimously on the condition the developer meet the Planning Commission’s requirements for managing stormwater at the site. The Planning Commission reviewed the plat Jan. 18 and recommended the board’s conditional approval. The Hofers plan to develop their property on the west side of County Hwy. MM (Wolfe Street), near Liliana Terrace and Katie Lane. Vi l l a g e a d m i n i s t r a tor Mike Gracz said the developer will start

Turn to Hofer/Page 12

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Photo by Anthony Iozzo

Juniors Faith Trinidad (left) and Jade Durmaj joined the Oregon High School wrestling program as sophomores during the 2016-17 season. With overall participation declining nationally in wrestling, girls are becoming a new asset to bring those numbers back up. In Wisconsin, it is the second year with girls tournaments being offered, with the potential for a girls state tournament in the near future as more than 200 girls have competed this season.

Oregon Village President Steve Staton responded in part this week to an assertion he contributed to a “hostile work environment” that prompted the Oregon Public Library director’s resignation last week. While mainly keeping quiet on the subject and declining to comment on most questions from the Observer, Staton issued a letter Monday afternoon refuting charges made by Nikki Busch of intimidating, threatening behavior from Staton and village administrator Mike Gracz that caused “frank fear on my part, as well as sleepless nights and worry.” In a six-page memo to Library Board members earlier this month, Busch

said she was treated differently from other department heads, particularly as it related to the budget process. She said the village was “not properly respecting the statutory requirements for control of library funds (which) also caused me to be concerned.” The Library Board is an autonomous unit that controls its own budget, but a portion of its funding comes from the village. Her memo also indicated much of the rift was related to the recent disagreement between the village and library boards over funding a new library. Last month, the Village Board voted 6-2 to borrow $6 million for a new library on Main Street, less than the $8 million the Library Board had hoped for to fund a $10 million building. “I feared that my continued involvement would jeopardize the new library


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