Thursday, July 11, 2019 • Vol. 135, No. 2
• Oregon, WI • ConnectOregonWI.com • $1.25
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Oregon Observer The
Oregon School District
Budget: ‘2 thumbs up’ District will receive additional funding each of next two years SCOTT DE LARUELLE Unified Newspaper Group
Photo by Emilie Heidemann
Rae Kosharek, 8, Oregon, picks of a piece of candy off the street at the Merri-Hill Neighborhood Fourth of July Parade, where crowd members threw candy at passing participants rather than the other way around.
Celebrating independence all of the neighborhood to see. Fire trucks from the Oregon Area Fire/ EMS District and police cars from the Oregon Police Department joined in on the fun as well. Organizer Nadine Krenz told the
Village of Oregon
Observer this would be her last to plan and she’s grateful for all the memories the event has allowed her to make over the years. - Emilie Heidemann
Oregon artists featured in Art Fair on the Square EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group
Art Fair on the Square organizers selected two Oregon artists among nearly 1,500 applicants to participate in the 61st Art Fair on the Square in Madison this weekend. Paul Morrison and Alex Stehle, who both craft furniture, will showcase their pieces for Art Fair on the Square from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 13 and Stehle 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 14 at the Capitol Square in Madison. Stehle told the Observer this is his first time exhibiting at Art Fair on the Square. He described his work as “custom-designed, fine woodworking furniture, created with multiple (wood)
If You Go What: 61st Art Fair on the Square When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 13; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, July 14 Where: Capitol Square, Madison Info: Call Erika Monroe-Kane at 2570158 ext. 237
species and fundamental joinery.” “This feels like the biggest thing to happen to my woodworking career to date,” Stehle said. Morrison, a returning artist who participated in last year’s fair, said the event has been a favorite of his even before he considered participating. He said his furniture “emphasizes live edge designs using urban trees from the
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Developer considers Waterfall property AMBER LEVENHAGEN Unified Newspaper Group
Madison landscape. “I spent a dozen years living downtown and attended regularly, so in many ways, the Square is almost a ‘going home’ event for me,” Morrison said. An MMoCA press release states the art fair will showcase nearly 500 artists in 489 booths “featuring for sale everything from grand sculptures to delicate contemporary jewelry, inspired ceramics and vibrant works for the wall,” – and of course Stehle and Morrison’s furniture and wood pieces. Having found his love for woodworking in a high school class, Stehle said his style was born “immediately.” It helped that his father had a “garage full of machines and tools.” “Whatever I was making, it had a functional purpose, but I knew I could make it look better while maintaining its use,” Stehle said. “At the time, the
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For the past few months, commuters entering Oregon off Hwy. 138 or U.S. Hwy. 14 have been greeted with a rather bleak view of the village’s east side. On their left is the former Waterfall motel and restaurant property, not much more than a gravel lot. That could change soon, as the village is considering selling that parcel to a local developer. D a n B e r t l e r, ow n e r of Supreme Structures, briefly shared a vision for what could go in that area during Monday night’s Village Board meeting, and the board met twice in closed session that night to
discuss the sale. Bertler already owns the property at 1075 Park St., adjacent to 1053, and he said he’s hoping to combine the two parcels to provide more room for a development. He listed a few options for what could fit in that space, including a convenience store, a bank, a medical clinic or a restaurant. He said all were real possibilities, as he’s heard i n t e r e s t i n bu s i n e s s e s wanting to put down roots there. Bertler told the board he would “feel very confident” he could have the restaurant demolished and the property cleaned up no later than Sept. 15,
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Hundreds turned out to help Oregon celebrate Independence Day at the 25th Merri-Hill Neighborhood Fourth of July Parade last week Thursday. Parade participants sauntered down the street with their patriotic attire for
After months of uncertainty about the state’s upcoming biennial budget, Oregon School District officials were pleased about the final result Gov. Tony Evers signed into law July 3. Included in Evers’ 78 line-item vetoes was a measure to increase per-pupil allocations by $87 million over the next two years and an overall increase of around $65 million more than the Republican-controlled Legislature had approved.
And it happened much sooner than some expected. A t M o n d a y n i g h t ’s school board meeting, district superintendent Brian Busler provided a cheerful update on last week’s events, contrasting the news with some of the “conversation, rhetoric and discussion that has gone on.” “A couple months ago, we heard the state budget will not be approved until October after boards set their tax levies, (and) public schools will operate on the previous biennial budget, and the entire budget will be vetoed and the process started over,” he said. Instead, the net effect of Evers’ vetoes will add “a little over $200 a year for all students in the state for