TIMES-TRIBUNE Dane County continues to deal with issues such as obesity, alcohol use and smoking, according to a study of resident health
NORSKIES SPLIT TWINBILL
ECR WSS POSTAL CUSTOMER DEFOREST, WI 53532
Health ranking revealed
DeForest baseball picks up a win in weekend series against visiting Monona Grove
Sports, Page 11
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DeForest
www.deforesttimes.com
Volume 121, Number 16 • $1
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Windsor talks incorporation with DeForest Entire town must become a village in order for existing pacts to stay valid By Jake Kurtz DeForest Times-Tribune Town of Windsor officials appeared at a regular DeForest Village Board meeting last week to provide an update on the town's continued incorporation efforts and a chance for the two groups to converse. The brief joint session began with Town Chair Bob Wipperfurth emphasizing that Windsor is not looking to become a village and annex its neighbors and the potential governance change is strictly to “preserve our identity and protect our boundaries.” Wipperfurth noted that four neighboring towns — Bristol, Leeds, Vienna and Westport — have all passed resolutions in support of Windsor's incorporation attempt. “That speaks volumes that a neighboring township would be supporting another town's incorporation,” said Wipperfurth. DeForest and the City of Sun Prairie to date have not officially weighed in on the matter. Wipperfurth said the board does not have a current timeline for incorporation nailed
OLD CRUISER
NEW PATROL
See WINDSOR, page 8
By Jake Kurtz DeForest Times-Tribune All Lt. Daniel Furseth could do last Wednesday was laugh as everyone who passed the DeForest Police Station that afternoon gawked with curiosity. “Is that real?” asked a young student who walked by with a group of friends. “It sure is,” Furseth responded Causing all of the commotion was an old Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser that had been earmarked for retirement by the local department. But thanks to a $2,000 grant from WisDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Safety, the old ride will serve the public in a new way by becoming a billboard of sorts. Wisconsin State Patrol in June 2013 unveiled its “Choose Your Ride” campaign featuring a cruiser that was painted to also resemble a taxi as a way to warn of the dangers — and steep costs — associated with drunk driving. The half-and-half State Patrol cruiser, which due to its high
See CRUISER, page 3
Photos by Jake Kurtz
DeForest Police Lt. Daniel Furseth (top) poses proudly next to the refurbished Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser that will be used to promote the department’s push against drunk driving thanks to a grant from the state Bureau of Traffic Safety.
Gryphan takes chamber lead
BadgerBOTS an outlet for DeForest’s Fanson By Joe Pruski DeForest Times-Tribune What began with dumbwaiters and other small household inventions has rapidly progressed into a full-blow obsession for DeForest Area High School student Grace Fanson. Now the freshman is using that same inventiveness to help Middleton’s BadgerBOTS team design and build robots – including a Chairman’s Award winning world championship bound robot that will compete next week in St. Louis. Fanson, who is in her third year (second build season) with the team, said that her curiosity with mechanical tin-
INDEX Calendar...........................5 Classifieds.....................18 Legals..............................16 Library................................5 Opinion.............................4 Senior.................................5 Sports..............................11
kering started at an early age. “When I was younger I liked inventing things. I took things apart and wanted to find out how things worked,” she said. The BadgerBOTS team, of which Fanson serves as a core member of the mechanical team, safety captain, and drive coach (the team that moves the robot around during competitions), was founded in 2004 by Madison Memorial High School aerospace engineering and physics teacher and Project Lead the Way (PLTW) AeroEngineering master teacher Benjamin Senson. Each year the team com-
See FANSON, page 2
Photo by Lisa Kueter-Anderson
Guy Gryphan reported for duty with the local chamber of commerce this week.
By Jake Kurtz DeForest Times-Tribune
Contributed photo
Grace Fanson attendsDeForest Area High School but competes as part of the BadgerBOTS team in Middleton.
Guy Gryphan officially stepped into his new position Monday as executive director of the DeForest Area Chamber of Commerce. The DeForest resident fills the role previously held by Lisa Beck, who resigned in late December to take a community relations position with the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau. “I’ve been a part of this community for six years and look forward to growing in this role,” Gryphan said. “I have some connections already and know some of the people and businesses who are chamber members and look forward to meeting everyone else.” Gryphan takes the top spot with the chamber after previous stints that saw him spend seven years with Dane County YMCA before moving on to work with YMCA of Rock River
Voicing concerns
Garden tour on hold
Contact the Times-Tribune
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi speaks out against proposals to privatize the local Aging and Disability Resource Center
Windsor Area Garden Club will suspend its annual tour this year and instead join the Dragon Art Fair plant sale in June
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Phone: (608) 846-5576 Email: deforest@hngnews.com Mail: P.O. Box 585 DeForest, WI 53532 Twitter: @DeForestTimes All submissions must be received by Friday at noon for the following week’s issue.
See GRYPHAN, page 3
DeForest, Wisconsin 53532