Thursday, January 9, 2020 • Vol. 135, No. 28 • Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1.25
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Capping a military career Oregon resident Palmer promoted to brigadier general SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
Photo by Justin Loewen
From left, Jenniffer Tzeng of Verona does her best to hold back Evan Tzeng, 10 months, who was drawn towards the performance of Casey Day during the community New Year’s Eve celebration at the senior center on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
In with the new Knoll Elementary School. The event featured games, scavenger hunts, crafts, live children’s music and the pandemonium of a New Year’s balloon drop in the library. — Justin Loewen
Village of Oregon
New council will focus on inclusion
Inside New Year’s Eve photos Page 7
Village of Oregon
Spring election
County Board has area’s Janesville/Park signalizing only contested election plan discussed Jan. 16 Two new candidates on school board KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group
There will be one contested election, for Dane County Board, among all the local races that hold to the state’s traditional nominating process this spring. In that election, incumbent Jerry Bollig faces a challenge from Todd
Kluever for the seat that represents the Village and Town of Oregon. Two area towns, Rutland and Oregon, hold caucuses to select candidates. The Town of Oregon’s was scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 8, and Rutland’s is Jan. 21. All the other local governments will have uncontested elections. The Village of Brooklyn has one open spot with
Turn to Candidates/Page 2
Construction design plans on display at public meeting EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
The intersection of Janesville and Park streets is scheduled to get stoplights this summ e r a n d t h e Vi l l a g e o f O r eg o n i s h o l d i n g
Turn to Palmer/Page 2
a m e e t i n g f o r a ny o n e interested in learning about how they may be affected. The informational session on the intersection and the Park Street reconstruction project is from 6:30-8 p.m. T h u r s d a y, J a n . 1 6 , a t Village Hall, 117 Spring St., in the board room. The public will be able to view the plans and ask questions about the
Turn to Meeting/Page 12
Informal group designed to advise board on needs of underrepresented voices EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
As Oregon’s population grows and diversifies, so, too, grows the need for the village to be a more inclusive place to live – a place where marginalized groups of people feel someone is listening to them. That’s the reasoning Oregon Village Board trustees gave for starting the village’s Community Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion. They voted unanimously to do so at their Monday, Jan. 6, meeting. The initial role of the council will be to shed
light on how minorities feel living and working in Oregon, as not all have had the same experiencJeanne Carpenter es, trustees concurred. Village president Jeanne Carpenter and trustees Cory Horton and Amanda Peterson said they wielded privilege because of the color of their skin, likely influencing how they’ve come to know their community. They and others on the board said even though Oregon is a supportive and welcoming place, it can always do better. Down the road, advisory council members might expand the discussion into issues surrounding gender, sex, disabilities, age,
Turn to Diversity /Page 3
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The heart of Oregon was once again the hub for a community New Year’s Eve celebration on the night of Tuesday, Dec. 31, as families bounced between the library, senior center and Netherwood
No matter how many stars are on his uniform these days, Rob Palmer still has to take the garbage out. It’s part of his military family tradition that keeps him grounded, he told the Observer – one that since 2015 has made its home in Oregon. And after this weekend, they’ll have a certified general around to help keep perfect order on the weekend “honey-do” list. Palmer, a long-time Air Force and Army veteran, will reach a career-defining moment Friday, Jan. 10,
when he’s set to be publicly promoted to brigadier general in the Air Force Reserve in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Senate confirmed the promotion Nov. 21, 2019. It is the capstone of a career in the military that started in 1990. W h i l e h e ’s o ffi c i a l l y been a brigadier general for about six weeks, he’s not yet wearing the rank insignia yet, Palmer wrote the Observer in an email last week. In the U.S. Armed Forces, a brigadier general wears a silver star on their shoulder or collar; the first of four rankings for general officers. “It is all still very surreal,” he wrote. “I don’t really feel differently, and my wife still expects me to do