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Thursday, August 8, 2019 • Vol. 138, No. 3 • Stoughton, WI • ConnectStoughton.com • $1.25
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City of Stoughton
Main Street to close for 12 days JIM FEROLIE Hub editor
A six-block-long section of West Main Street will be closed to through traffic for two business weeks later this month. The section, spanning Van Buren Street to Page Street, is scheduled to close Monday, Aug. 19, through Friday, Aug. 30. It is part of a planned sanitary sewer construction replacement on Monroe Street and also connected to more extensive work on U.S. Hwy. 51 – a portion of which is also Main Street – next year. The Common Council approved the project in November, but it wasn’t
until this spring that engineering consultant Strand determined the road closure was unavoidable, public works director Brett Hebert told the Hub. He said the 12-day closure is far shorter than most wind ow s f o r a project of this scope and that it is “far less Hebert intrusive” than the alternative, which would have been one lane at a time for a month. During the closure, signs w i l l b e p o s t e d m a r ke d “Local traffic only,” and Hebert clarified Tuesday only Main Street residents or those traveling to businesses on those blocks will
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Town of Rutland
Offender placement took more than 2 years 66 year old was convicted in 1985 of 2 attempted assaults
Highlights
AMBER LEVENHAGEN Unified Newspaper Group
It’s taken two years for the Dane County Department of Human Services to find a home for the convicted sex offender who will be placed in Rutland within the next week. The man’s identity has been obtained through court proceedings and shared by local government entities,
• Sex offender is 66, served 37 1/2 years for 1985 attempted assault of two women • He has been waiting to be placed in supervised release program for two years • He has been at Sand Ridge since 2014, having been committed after his 2013 scheduled release from prison
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Photo by Mari Devereaux
Dennis Burns grins while shaking hands with a Capital City Riders Club member during their visit to Burns’ home on Friday, Aug. 2.
‘A reason to ride’ Stoughton man with cancer gets a memorable visit
MARI DEVEREAUX Hub correspondent
Bikers tore down the placid, suburban streets of Stoughton, engines revving and roaring with purpose as they waved amiably to passerby. They had one mission: to make Dennis Burns smile. A few days earlier, the Capital City Riders Motorcycle Club in Madison received a Facebook message from Stoughton resident Ryan Michaelis requesting a favor. Michaelis asked if they could do one big drive-by for his grandfather – Burns, a motorcycle and car enthusiast who was recently
diagnosed with cancer for the second time. “I was racking my brain for things I could do to improve my grandpa’s mood, so I started with what I knew he was interested in,” Michaelis said. “It’s crazy how much you can get accomplished if you just ask.” The club heartily agreed, and on the evening of Aug. 2, over 20 members and supporters rode down to Burns’ house in Stoughton, blocking off some roads to allow the group’s safe passage. When the riders arrived, Burns and his family greeted them with wide grins and cellphone cameras to
capture the event. Homemade signs thanking the Capital City Riders were strewn across the front lawn. One by one, bikers came up to Burns for handshakes and hugs, making light conversation and easily building a rapport through their shared love for motorcycles. Janell Stern, Burns’ youngest daughter, said the last couple weeks have taken a heavy toll on their family due to its small size and emotional closeness. Burns, who trained in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, is now a great-grandfather at
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‘From Stoughton with Love’ Opera House hosts first chamber music festival Aug. 17, 19 MACKENZIE KRUMME Unified Newspaper Group
Stoughton native Madlen Breckbill orchestrates more than the viola. The 2010 Stoughton High School graduate is the face behind the city’s
first chamber music festival at the Stoughton Opera House, set for Aug. 17 and 19. T h e fi r s t program at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, is called “ B a c h a n d Breckbill Brahms: Immersed in a golden glow” and the second program at 7 p.m.
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Monday, Aug. 19, is titled “From Stoughton with love: a musical fusion of Norway and America.” The suggested donation is $15 but attendees are welcome to pay what they can. Breckbill has been playing string instruments since she was four years old, first violin and then viola. She participated in the Madrigals, Stoughton choir,
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If You Go What: Chamber music festival When: 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17 and 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19 Where: Stoughton Opera House, 381 E. Main St. Info: Stoughton Chamber Music Festival Facebook page
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Six blocks from Van Buren to Page restricted Aug. 19-30