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Thursday, September 7, 2017 • Vol. 136, No. 7 • Stoughton, WI • ConnectStoughton.com • $1
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SHS runner hospitalized after crash
Stoughton Area School District
Council, RDA hope to find common ground on aging building
Boys, girls teams sit out invitational
BILL LIVICK Unified Newspaper Group
City leaders hope a special meeting next week will help them decide the fate of a century-old building in the city’s riverfront redevelopment area. At question is whether to restore the Highway Trailer building and include it as part of the 12-acre redevelopment project, or demolish it to clear the site for developing new housing. Some alders feel the Common Council already decided to save the building when it asked the RDA in July to contact a developer who submitted a proposal last year to restore it. Others say the council hasn’t given a clear directive to the RDA about what to do with the building, which was the primary factory building at 501 E. South St. in a complex of six buildings spread across 9.2 acres. Either way, it will be expensive – estimates for demolition are at least $1 million, and restoring the structure could cost twice as much. The answer will ultimately depend on how alders see the values of the community and the urgency to get the riverfront development moving. While the RDA owns the building, the council has voted to prevent its demolition, and the Landmarks Commission – which could give it a protective historic designation – has been waiting on the council for more certain direction. Council votes have been split on the issue for months, and the division and uncertainty caused the project’s lead developer to withdraw. The hope is that the Sept. 13 joint meeting of the Common Council – as an informal committee of the whole – and the
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JEREMY JONES Sports editor
Photo by Amber Levenhagen
Kindergartner Chloe Pallangyo embraces her friend, first-grade student Lilly Bergeson-Gallun before their first day of school at Sandhill Elementary School.
Back to school
On the web See more photos from the first
The school year kicked off with a chilly yet sunny morning day at Sandhill: Tuesday. Parents and students gathered in front of Sandhill Elementary School for pictures and heartfelt goodbyes before ConnectStoughton.com heading into the classrooms.
Neither the Stoughton girls nor boys cross country teams competed at the Verona Invitational on Saturday after one runner was badly injured in a crash Friday afternoon. Neither the school’s athletic director nor the Dane County Sheriff ’s Office had released the name of the injured girl as of Tuesday afternoon. Five members of the girls team were riding together to a team dinner in the Town of Pleasant Springs. They were attempting to turn around in the 1900 block of Skyline Drive when a Jeep Cherokee driven by a 17-year-old Stoughton High School student struck the Honda Civic they were in, according to a DCSO release. One of the passengers in the Honda Civic was transported to a local hospital by MedFlight with life-threatening injuries, the DCSO said. Three others in the Civic and the sole occupant of the Cherokee were taken to a hospital with what the release called minor injuries. As of Tuesday
afternoon, rumors of a fatality appeared to be unfounded, confirmed by both DCSO and Dow. The DCSO said the front passenger-side corner of the Jeep Cherokee struck the rear passenger door of the Honda Civic. The road was closed for about two hours. All drivers and passengers were wearing seatbelts. Stoughton athletic director Mel Dow told the Hub he could not say when the teams would return to practice or compete again. “The teams hope to move forward and return to a sense of normalcy as soon as possible,” he said. Verona coach Dave Nelson was clearly emotional when asked about the Stoughton team’s situation. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to them,” he said. “Cross country is a very close-knit family. There is no defense in cross country, so you can never stop someone from doing their best. We’re really pulling for them and the whole Stoughton community. “My kid is a senior. She goes to these team dinners. It could be anyone of us. Your heart literally breaks. All of this is meaningless compared to that.”
Rocks are rollin’ as craze catches on around Stoughton SCOTT DE LARUELLE
On the Web
Unified Newspaper Group
Paint, Hide, Hunt, Find, Share. It’s all pretty simple for the latest craze sweeping the area – people decorating rocks and leaving them in a variety of public places for others to find and relocate. It didn’t take long for “Rock Fever” to spread to Stoughton – in July, Jeani Nisius-Oppeneer started the Stoughton, WI “Rocks” and
Courier Hub
County also has a group – Dane County ROCKS! – which started in spring. To find out more about Stoughton “Rocks,” “Some folks were talking about visit painting rocks and mentioned facebook.com/ the Dane County group on one of the Facebook Stoughton Neighgroups/1426847177362239/ borhood Groups,” Nisius-Oppeneer told the Hub in an email. “I thought it would bring a nice sense Art Abandonment Community on of community to our little town as Facebook, and already the group well as be a low cost fun thing for has more than 800 members. Dane kids and families to do over the
summer months. And it encourages exercise!” Nisius-Oppeneer said the rocks provide a form of “art therapy,” which is helpful to everyone. “It helps with anxiety by calming one down and distracting individuals,” she said. Cheryl Schumacher said she and her kids Isaac, Gavin and Amelia have had lots of fun this summer
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Another look at Highway Trailer