Thursday, April 19, 2018 • Vol. 133, No. 42 • Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1.25
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Oregon Observer The
Construction season begins ALEXANDER CRAMER Unified Newspaper Group
Photo by Alexander Cramer
Izzy Perz, 4, nearly jumps out of her seat while her sister Zoe, 2, left in pigtails, and Henry Eveland, 2.5, blue shirt look on during Storytime at Kopke’s Greenhouse on April 14.
Greenhouse storytime
As a spring snowstorm blew in to Oregon last Saturday, Kopke’s Greenhouse was alive with the sound of children laughing during the first-ever Storytime at Kopke’s Greenhouse event put on by the Oregon Library. Youth Services librarian Kelly Allen had the rapt attention of the twenty or so children facing her as she engaged them with games and interactive stories. She even had help from Dewey the Pelican who overcame a bit of stage fright to perform an exciting final trick. Kids and parents alike seemed to enjoy the event, and the librarians and greenhouse staff were planning to try to make it more than a one-time thing.
Even though the weather might not have looked it this week, construction season is right around the corner in Oregon. Two long-awaited projects are set to begin soon: a connection uniting North and South Perry Parkway and a hotel on the village’s south side. In addition, there are the two projects already underway and about a dozen others slated for construction in 2018, public works director and zoning administrator Jeff Rau told the Observer in an email. Some of these will disrupt traffic, like mill and overlay projects around the high school, though those won’t start until fall. The South Main Street parking lot will be out of commission starting late spring. That will be finished in the fall, as will a project to bury power lines and add new LED lights along the
route out of town on Jefferson Street. In addition, the Jefferson Crossing apartment complex that’s been under construction since last May is expected to have residents by July 1. And as many as three new housing subdivision phases are starting this year, adding to one in the Bergamont that’s expected to wrap up in June. “As you can see, there (are) a lot of things happening in the village,” Rau wrote. Here’s a look at what you can expect to see under construction this summer.
Starting soon The South Main Street parking lot will be torn up for an extended period this summer before being completely redone by the Jefferson Crossing project developer. The work is contingent on a downtown electrical and lighting project that
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Village of Oregon
Phased Jaycee Park Observer picked No. 2 in state for its size plan gets thumbs-up Awards First place Sports Photo: Anthony Iozzo Second place General Excellence: Staff Sports Photo: Anthony Iozzo “Rookie” Reporter of the Year: Amber Levenhagen, Stoughton Honorable Mention All-Around Newspaper Photography: Staff emphasis on writing quality. Newspapers submittedthree whole issues – in February, September and a wild-card option – which are judged front to back. Oregon’s entry had cover photos from former UNG reporter Samantha Christian and a mix of features and news on the front – including
a story from Scott De Laruelle on a cooperative garden and a piece on drug dog searches being approved in schools and a story from Bill Livick about two people who traveled on the Appalachian Trail. “If judging on photo quality, choice and placement alone, you’d be the clear winner,” the judge wrote. “Nice mix of hard news and feature stories/photos.” Iozzo’s submissions were for “Making the podium,” a wrestling photo from last year’s conference tournament, and “Closing the season at state,” a bittersweet shot of softball players accepting their loss with a smile. He also earned a third place for design of sports pages in Stoughton. “Image shot at critical moment captures winner’s face, loser’s and ref ’s call,” the judge wrote about the wrestling photo. “Rare to get all three.”
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Board plans to start with $1.5 million BILL LIVICK Unified Newspaper Group
A plan to phase development of new athletic fields in Jaycee Park West got the Village Board’s approval Monday. The total project cost would be almost $4 million, but for now, village officials are looking to invest $1 million in the first of three phases, with another $500,000 supplied by local sports groups through private fundraising. That phase would add four fields, a parking lot and a bridge. The board had met with
the sports complex developer Rettler Corp in February and asked manager Ross Rettler to design a phased approach to the project, with a goal of reducing the overall cost. He presented his plan to village officials Monday – calling in by phone from Stevens Point during a joint meeting for the Park Board and Village Board, with user groups in attendance. The athletic organizations had set a $650,000 fundraising goal in February, but with other significant fundraising efforts being conducted in the village at the same time, the goal was reduced by $150,000.
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For the second year in a row, the Oregon Observer has been chosen among the top two newspapers in the state. The Observer placed second in the General Excellence category at the Wisconsin Newspaper Association’s annual awards banquet April 13. It was one of four awards the newspaper took home in the annual contest and one of 17 overall for Unified Newspaper Group, which also publishes the Verona Press, Stoughton Courier Hub and Fitchburg Star. The Star is not eligible for WNA awards as a free publication. Assistant sports editor Anthony Iozzo took both first and second place in sports photography, and the newspaper also won an honorable mention for all-around photography. The General Excellence award reflects all aspects of newspaper publication, including design, photography, sports, opinion, advertising and print quality. But it puts the heaviest