Thursday, April 16, 2020 • Vol. 135, No. 42 • Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1.50
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Oregon Observer The
Oregon School District
Official still hoping for graduation OSD summer school is in jeopardy SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
Oregon High School seniors are scheduled to walk across the gymnasium dais in just under two months – Sunday, June 13. Whether the restrictions now in place preventing large gatherings because of the COVID-19 pandemic are lifted by then is
unknown, but Oregon School District officials are still hoping for the best with graduation and summer school. At Monday night’s school board Zach meeting, president Steve Zach – an OHS alumnus – said he and superintendent Brian Busler have been talking about ways to still have a ceremony that resembles the school’s tradition.
“We’d like to do anything possible to try to continue to have some physical presence graduation as a go-away for the seniors, particularly since you’ve been separated the whole semester, basically,” he said. “The obvious reaction right now would be to cancel it, but we’re going to see how this develops, and if there’s any means by which we can do something in terms of a physical graduation. We understand the importance of that ceremony for (seniors),” Zach added.
District officials are still considering whether it’s practical – or possible – to hold summer school classes. Gov. Tony Evers ordered all schools closed in March, and the district has been teaching students at home using virtual learning. He followed that up with a March 24 Safer at Home order, which restricts travel, work and gatherings of non-household members. Busler said after the state stayat-home order expires April 24, he anticipates school districts will
receive more direction from the state on if and when schools can reopen. OSD summer school is scheduled to begin Monday, July 6. “We feel a little bit behind the game with summer school,” he said. Busler said the district administrative team is scheduled to discuss their options at a Tuesday, April 14, meeting, and a “go/no go” decision will be made no later than the Monday, May 11, school board meeting.
Clocked in Bill’s employees say extra appreciation helps during COVID pandemic MACKENZIE KRUMME Unified Newspaper Group
As a grocery store clerk working on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic, Eileen Durkin, who works at Bill’s Food Center said she’s focusing on grateful customers. Grocery stores remain open amid the Gov. Tony Ever’s Safer At Home order, as they are deemed essential businesses. Like Durkin, clerks around Wisconsin continue to clock in. And despite the health risks of being exposed to the illness, more are on the way.
“Everybody who works here knows that we are essential and need to be open.” Travis Mobley, Bill’s Food Center manager With schools and many restaurants closed, grocery stores have seen a spike in customers, incentivising stores to hire more employees. Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, is hiring 150,000 workers — and 4,200 in Wisconsin — according to a news release. Kroger Co.’s Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. — which owns Pick n’ Save — is hoping to hire 2,500 employees, according to its website. Part of the sudden
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Photo by Mackenzie Krumme
Oregon School District superintendent Brian Busler walks toward what will be the library of Forest Edge Elementary School. The library has large floor-to-ceiling windows and is known as “the nest.”
Making a new home in the ‘nest’ The Oregon School Board had a chance to conduct a walking tour of the new K-6 elementary school under construction in the booming Terravessa development in Fitchburg on
Monday, April 6. The project started The school at 4848 Brassica Road, with a groundbreaking June 6, 2019, is expected to open for classes on and has continued without disruption Monday, Sept. 1. through the winter season, and now - Scott De Laruelle the coronavirus pandemic.
Transportation bottled up this summer Photo by Mackenzie Krumme
Eileen Durkin checks-out a customer at Bill’s Food Center on Saturday, April 11.
U.S. 14 closures, Janesville/Park among projects EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
The Village of Oregon and the surrounding area are in for a summer of traffic disruptions. While the state’s “Safer at Home” order remains in place, public works director Jeff Rau said, any construction projects taking place should have minimal impacts on residents and people passing through the village. But once norm a l t r a ffi c r e s u m e s , a
Photo by Emilie Heidemann
The Department of Transporation’s bridge project on U.S. Highway 14 commenced Monday, April 6. combination of state, local and out-of-the-area projects could make commuting difficult. One of those is the $1.6 million rebuild of the intersection of Janesville and Park streets, which is on the agenda for the Monday,
April 20, meeting of the Village Board, as a bond sale is needed to finance the project. Another major project is the state Department of Transportation’s replacement of bridges at U.S. Hwy. 14, which began April
6 and will restrict access to the highway at both Hwy. 138 and County Hwy. MM and cut off the direct link to Stoughton for two months. Others that could cause headaches are the reconstruction of Lincoln Road, on the border between the village and the Town of Oregon, and even the rebuild of the Fish Hatchery Road in the City of Fitchburg, which could send traffic to alternate north-south routes between Oregon and Madison. Rau said the Janesville and Park Street intersection rebuild will commence as soon as the Village Board approves the bond sale.
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