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Thursday, January 30, 2020 • Vol. 135, No. 31 • Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1.25
Oregon School District
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Oregon Police Department
Chief Uhl leaves for Ashwaubenon Village Board had complaints about his performance last year EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Brian Uhl is leaving his Village of Oregon police chief job next month. Uhl, who has been chief since August 2015, accepted a job as Ashwuabenon’s director of public safety, according to a story in the Press Times. He will begin his new role Monday, Feb. 17. In a Friday, Jan. 24, Vill a g e o f O r eg o n P o l i c e Department Facebook
post, Uhl announced his resignation as the chief, saying he had also let the Village of OreUhl g o n k n o w. He said his last day will be Thursday, Feb. 13. Uhl said in the Press Times story he is excited about the new position – he will be in charge of Ashwaubenon’s police, fire and emergency medical services departments. The story stated he was one of two finalists for the job – the other was Ed Janke, the Village of Howard’s public safety
Turn to Uhl/Page 12
Oregon High School senior Adam Yates works with Findorff carpenter Andrew Miller as they work on Forest Edge Elementary School, Oregon School District’s K-6 site being built in Fitchburg for the start of fall 2020.
From classroom to construction OHS’ Yates learns trades first-hand at new Forest Edge site Unified Newspaper Group
A
dam Yates will never attend Forest Edge Elementary School, although he’s already spent much of this school year there. The Oregon High School senior has been working part time on the site of the district’s newest school since summer through the Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship program and
the OSD’s partnership with J.H. Findorff and Son construction. There, he is getting on-site job training and working alongside professionals in different trade industries. In the past six months, he’s worked alongside professionals, getting on-the-job training in a variety of projects, from pouring concrete to wiring electrical systems. Later this year, as the building reaches completion, he’ll get involved in roofing and
wall framing. The work environment is the perfect teacher for getting students used to approaching challenges, effectively communicating and collaborating with teams, OHS technology and engineering teacher Chris Prahl told the Observer. “We try to work with a handful of students every year and partner them
Turn to Yates/Page 12
Dane County
Anderson Park removes unsafe trees, invasive bushes Dane County Parks to replace with species native to area EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
Dane County Parks staff have removed unsafe silver maples and invasive bushes from Anderson Farm County Park lands to move the dog park project forward. Roe Parker, Anderson Park Friends, Inc. president, told the
Observer a bike trail connecting the 40-acre dog park with South Main Street in Oregon will give residents easy access to the space. The trail will go through the Arthur Scholts Memorial Woods, located in the park property, and continue parallel to Union Road until it reaches the dog park, he said. To replace the downed trees, the county is planning to put in native trees and shrubs along the bike path – the species for which DCP and APF are still determining, Parker
Open enrollment to dip Local growth prompts reduction in out-of-district seats SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
With a district growing so quickly it’s become challenging to predict, Oregon School District officials are reducing open enrollment seats to students outside the district. The seats allotted for the 2020-21 school year are smaller than previous years, 643 for residents, 99 for non-residents. The nonresident spots in particular have dropped significantly since hovering between 171 and 221 most of the past decade. District superintendent
Brian Busler noted how quickly the district is growing from within. Even since the official state count in late September, he said, the district has gained more than 20 students. Figuring out a number was particularly challenging this year, district in-house counsel and human resources director Jina Jonen said. Jonen, who gave the recommendations on enrollment numbers, said that’s because of the amount of new homes going up around the district, particularly in the Terravessa development in Fitchburg, where the new elementary school is being built. She also pointed out there is a bottleneck at Oregon
Turn to Enrollment/Page 5
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Dane County Parks have removed unsafe silver Turn to Trees/Page 3 maples from Anderson Farm County Park.
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