4/23/2020 Verona Press

Verona Press The

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Thursday, April 23, 2020 • Vol. 55, No. 49 • Verona, WI • Hometown USA • ConnectVerona.com • $1.50

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COVID-19 response

Verona Area School District

District mulls postponing graduation, virtual ceremony High school staff will gauge student, family interests KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group

Photo by Neal Patten

Keeping healthy

Verona companies busy filling orders for healthcare industries NEAL PATTEN Unified Newspaper Group

S

tate and federal mandates to stop the spread of the COVID19 virus have forced many businesses to temporarily close or suspend operations, leading to layoffs and furloughs across the country.

However, some industries have been able to continue operating, albeit with precautions in place to protect the health of employees.

Manufacturing companies in Verona have continued to operate during the pandemic. Four of those companies – Carnes Company, Hunzicker LLC, Big Sky Engineering and Engineering Industries have been able to continue operations in large part due to providing parts needed to respond to COVID-19.

Before the pandemic resulted in a national emergency March 13, Carnes Company, which Liz Henderson and Tom Moksouphanh of Engineering Industries Turn to Manufacturing/Page 7 wear personal protective equipment during their shifts.

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All three websites for Unified Newspaper Group’s weekly newspaJIM FEROLIE pers – the Press, the Oregon ObservVerona Press editor er and the Stoughton Courier Hub – will offer both newspaper and Two months ago, the Verona Press web-only subscriptions. Web-only announced it would begin to restrict subscriptions are $5 per month, paymost content on our website to its able by credit card directly on our The

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All subscribers to any of our newspapers will get full website access to all three sites, and connecting your subscription is as simple as entering your email address and password at tinyurl.com/MyVerona or clicking Your Account on the top of any of the

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Laxton turns woodworking passion into relief effort Glacier Edge Elementary School counselor builds free food pantry at Nakoma Heights MARK NESBITT Assistant sports editor

Ben Laxton has traded in his classroom guidance lessons for his passion for woodworking during the coronavirus pandemic to help Verona Area School District students and families in need.

Laxton, who is in his fifth year as a counselor at Glacier Edge Elementary School, built a 2’ tall free food pantry at Nakoma Heights in Fitchburg from plywood.

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The drop off food pant r y, w h i c h i s l o c a t e d next to the rental office a t N a ko m a H e i g h t s , i s stocked with spaghetti, sauce, rice, beans, cereal, granola bars, toilet paper and soap.

“Everyone wanted to do something to help,” Laxton said. “This is the safe way we could get the food to the families in need.”

Laxton is one of two counselors at Glacier Edge Elementary School. Fellow counselor Jennifer Worley had the idea of creating a free food pantry for families in Nakoma Heights, which houses a portion of students that attend Glacier Edge.

Laxton said the free food pantry was modeled

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Liz Henderson of Engineering Industries wears gloves and a face mask during her shift.

Verona Area High School staff are still hoping they can hold in-person graduating ceremonies for the Class of 2020, but they plan to plan to ask students and families about it first.

Principal Pam Hammen told the school board at its Monday, April 20, meeting the last week of July is the latest possible date graduation could be held.

Board members Deborah Biddle and Carolyn Jahnke said while it isn’t likely any option will work for all of

its more than 400 graduating seniors, it would be better to ask students and families what they would prefer.

“I just think it would be valuable to have their input in it; it may make them feel a little bit better to know their thoughts around graduation should proceed, or could proceed, is valued,” Biddle said.

Doing an in-person graduation the weekend school ends is impossible for the district because of restrictions put in place by the state to limit the spread of COVID-19. Construction throughout the district in preparation for the opening of its new high school led the district to move up the end of the school year to May 29, three weeks earlier

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April 23, 2020

The Verona Press

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Community shows Verona Police Department its thanks NEAL PATTEN Unified Newspaper Group

Photo submitted

Staff at the police department enjoyed boxed lunches from Jason’s Deli provided by Sugar River United Methodist Church. relationship with the Verona Police Department, as she provided care for its K9 unit, Drea, working closely with Drea’s handler officer Matt Kile.

The police department reached out to Kalstrup when it was struggling to source digital thermometers for its staff. Kalstrup helped VPD get 12 digital thermometers.

“They couldn’t get them anywhere, and we have the ability to get them from our distributor, so it was the right thing to do,” Kalstrup said. “We sponsor their K9 unit, so it was natural to support the humans, as well.”

Gary Bongey, pharmacist at Hometown Pharmacy, also didn’t hesitate when he was approached to donate thermometers by two officers at the store.

“A c o u p l e o f f i c e r s stopped in to ask if we had any no-touch thermometers available. We had two in the warehouse,” Bongey said.

“The police department is where they needed to go.

In these pandemic times, people get into saving and hoarding behavior. A thermometer becomes just one of four they keep in the closet.”

Carl Miller of Miller and Sons Supermarket donated five gallons of bleach.

Photo submitted

Culver’s of Verona donated 16 pints of custard to the police department.

District provided a case of N95 masks it had in storage and a case of antiseptic wipes. They also extended a standing offer to use the district’s school spaces for any needs, which VPD has yet to take VASD up on.

“We just reached out to Fitch-Rona EMS and Verona PD to see if there was anything we could do to help them or provide them – any materials we could scrounge up for PPR or space we could provide,”

Photo submitted

Yahara Bay Distillers provided the police department with a case of its hand sanitizer.

Adam and Jami Porter, owners of Verona’s Culver’s, sent the department 16 pints of custard.

Ryan Swanson, owner of Mr. Brews Taphouse, provided lunch and dinner to all VPD employees one afternoon.

“Mr. Brews Taphouse is more than just a restaurant, we try playing a dynamic role in the community,” Swanson said. “The Verona police department plays a

big role in the safety of our community and we appreciate that.”

Yahara Bay Distillers donated a dozen bottles of its hand sanitizer.

“I said, let’s just run around and get it to people who need it, and if they don’t need it, they’ll share it with someone who does need it,” Nels Forde, general manager of Yahara Bay said.

The Verona Area School

Dean Gorrell, district superintendent said. “They’re working so hard in support of all of us, the least we can do is support them.”

“The Verona community is very generous and supportive of the Verona Police Department, and we are grateful that we are able to serve such wonderful people,” police chief Bernie Coughlin said.

Neal Patten, community reporter, can be contacted at neal.patten@wcinet.com.

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Under Gov. Tony Evers’ “Safer at Home” order, police officers, paramedics and other first responders across the state have been working overtime to keep communities safe and healthy.

Businesses, churches and community members have expressed gratitude to Verona Police Department officers by donating food, sanitation materials and personal protective equipment.

Appreciative Veronans have donated several dozen cupcakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes and two dozen Verb energy bars, a case of mandarin oranges, a canister of Lysol disinfecting wipes and a large bottle of hand sanitizer.

Sugar River United Methodist Church donated lunch boxes to the whole department from Jason’s Deli.

As part of what it’s calling the COVID-19 Lunch Program, Sugar River has also donated the lunch boxes to the nursing unit at a Madison hospital actively caring for COVID-19 patients and plans to send the boxes to Miller and Sons Supermarket to thank grocery workers.

“One of the things we’re doing at Sugar River each week is recognize community essential workers.

We’re trying to make connections with people and male sure they recognize we appreciate them and their hard work. It’s a privilege to show our appreciation,” Erin Wilson, director of the church’s Serve Team said.

Memorial Baptist Church provided lunches for the entire department from Jimmy John’s.

“We just did it because we care about the police department and so grateful for work first responders are doing,” Jeremy Scott, pastor at Memorial Baptist Church said. “The Bible says love our neighbors as ourselves – they are our neighbors – we wanted to provide a bright spot in their day.”

Dr. Sarah Kalstrup of Tr u e Ve t e r i n a r y C a r e already had a good

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April 23, 2020

COVID-19 response

Spring election

All state schools ordered to close through 2019-20 year Gov. Tony Evers extends ‘Safer at Home’ order into May KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group

Students in the Verona Area School District will not be coming back to school for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Under the updated “Safer at Home” order from Gov. Tony Evers and state Department of Health Services secretary-designee Andrea Palm, all schools in the state, both public and private, are barred from holding in-person classes until the start of the 2020-21 school year.

Released April 16, the update also extends the “Safer at Home” order until May 26.

The “Safer at Home” order, which took effect March 25, seeks to limit the spread of COVID-19.

COVID-19 was deemed a pandemic March 11, and Evers announced the closure of schools on March 13, starting five days later, initially at least through April 6. That possible reopening date was later extended to until further notice and then changed again to April 24 after the original “Safer at Home” order was announced.

Verona Area School District superintendent Dean Gorrell said that while he’s

not surprised the “Safer at Home” order was extended with school cancelled for the remainder of the year, it’s something he’s sad about.

“I am personally mourning the loss of my son’s time with his incredible teachers. That story plays out thousands of times across our district,” he wrote in an email to the Press on Thursday afternoon.

“And, I am mourning the loss of time our teachers would have had with our incredible students. That can never be recaptured.”

The updated order makes several adjustments to the original.

Non-essential businesses are allowed to conduct minimum basic operations, public libraries are allowed to provide curbside pick-up and golf courses are allowed to open again, with certain restrictions.

All retail stores must meet new minimum disinfecting and cleaning requirements. Stores that are more than 50,000 square feet must limit the number of customers in the store and must provide at least two hours of dedicated shopping hours a week for vulnerable populations.

In Verona, those stores are Miller and Sons Supermarket, Festival Foods and Farm and Fleet.

The order also gives local health officials the authority to close public parks or open spaces, should there be too many people there to maintain social distancing guidelines, or there are multiple

violations of the order that could lead to potential harm.

Evers said in a televised address shortly after releasing the order he’s relying on the good work that’s already been done by residents to flatten the curve and reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“A few weeks ago, we had a pretty grim outlook for what COVID-19 could mean for our state, but because of the efforts of all of you, Safer at Home is working. That said, we aren’t out of the woods just yet,” Evers said. “As I’ve said all along, we are going to rely on the science and public health experts to guide us through this challenge.

DHS claims the Safer at Home order is working, based on numbers of new cases of COVID-19. In a tweet from the department April 14, graphs show the state is significantly below what the caseload was projected to be by the end of March. An email from DHS that day stated the rate of doubling new infections had dropped from 3.4 days to 12 days.

“Our initial projections show that without Safer at Home, there would be significantly more cases of COVID-19, resulting in more deaths,” the graphic stated.

“Safer at Home has flattened the curve, resulting in fewer cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.”

Email reporter Kimberly Wethal at kimberly.wethal@wcinet.com and follow her on Twitter @kimberly_wethal.​

Verona Area School District

Teachers to receive 3.55% increase in wages

KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group

Verona Area School District educators will get their largest increase in pay since Act 10 was signed nearly a decade ago.

Negotiations between the district and the Verona Area Educators Association resulted an agreement the school board unanimously approved at its Monday, April 20 meeting. That includes an increase of 2.44% in base wages – the most allowed by law – and a supplemental increase of

1.11% for its 480 teachers.

The agreement will culminate in the district collectively increasing teacher salaries by $941,000. Base wages for most teachers will increase by $1,860 per person; for 72 teachers who were either above their total years of experience placement or were hired partway through the year, their wages will increase by $717.

Increased wages will be installed for the May 15 payroll, and retroactive lump sum payments for the 2019-2020 academic year will be paid May 29.

“It’s a pretty aggressive timeline, but we do want to get those payments in people’s hands before the end of the school year,” human resources manager Jason Olson said.

The wage increases are the

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result of closed session bargaining between the district, the board and VAEA, spread over the span of months of board meetings. A letter to district teachers from Olson and VAEA representatives stated that wage increases were meant to address the past effects of pay compression created by having different salary schedules, which left some employees behind.

Gov. Scott Walker signed Act 10 into law in 2011, limiting the amount of collective bargaining public employees can engage in. Total wage increases can not exceed a cap based on the consumer price index, or what is generally referred to as inflation.

Board president Noah Roberts said he was grateful to see the continued collaboration between the district and the

VAEA to accomplish shared objectives.

“Certainly we appreciate our teachers immensely, and it’s why a lot of us are on the board – we know that supporting our teachers means supporting our students,” he said. “(It ensures) teachers who have been with us for a long time, or teachers just joining our district, feel valued and that there’s a structure in place to keep them here.”

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KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group

A little less than 60% of Veronans voted in the April 7 election – the overwhelming majority by absentee ballot.

In the City of Verona 4,370 voters – or 84.5% – opted to either mail in their ballots, place them in the dropbox outside Verona City Center or fill them out in person before the center was closed off to the public March 19.

In the Town of Verona, 632 voters either mailed in their ballots or completed in-person absentee at the Town Hall, totaling 76.2% of ballots cast. That’s nearly five times as many as the 140 absentee ballots that were processed for the April election in 2016.

Altogether, 5,002 Verona area voters voted absentee, leaving exactly 1,000 residents who chose to vote in person at the City Center or Town Hall. Those 6,002

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votes represent 58.1% of the city and town’s combined 10,315 registered voters.

That is a drop in voter participation from April 2016, the last time a presidential primary was held.

About 200 fewer people voted in the city and 174 fewer voted in the town from 2016, which had presidential primaries for both the Democratic and Republican parties.

The only local contested race in Verona was for the Verona Area Board of Education, between incumbent Debbie Biddle and newcomer Bob Ross. Biddle won re-election by a 2-1 margin, with voters from the city, town and parts of the cities of Fitchburg and Madison.

Veronans overwhelmingly supported Dane County Circuit Court judge Jill Karofsky for the 10-year state Supreme Court seat over incumbent Daniel Kelly, 4,478-1,334. They also supported former Vice President Joe Biden over opposing candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, by a margin of 2,970-1,600.

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April 23, 2020

Opinion

The Verona Press

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Letters to the editor policy Unified Newspaper Group is proud to offer a venue for public debate and welcomes letters to the editor, provided they comply with our guidelines.

Letters should be no longer than 400 words. They should also contain contact information – the writer’s full name, address, and phone number – so that the paper may confirm authorship. Unsigned or anonymous letters will not be printed under any circumstances.

The editorial staff of Unified Newspaper Group reserves the right to edit letters for length, clarity and appropriateness. Letters with libelous or obscene content will not be printed.

Unified Newspaper Group generally only accepts letters from writers with ties to our circulation area.

Letters to the editor should be of general public interest. Letters that are strictly personal – lost pets, for example – will not be printed. Letters that recount personal experiences, good or bad, with individual businesses will not be printed unless there is an overwhelming and compelling public interest to do so. Letters that urge readers to patronize specific businesses or specific religious faiths will not be printed, either. “Thank-you” letters can be printed under limited circumstances, provided they do not contain material that should instead be placed as an advertisement and reflect public, rather than promotional interests.

Unified Newspaper Group encourages lively public debate on issues, but it reserves the right to limit the number of exchanges between individual letter writers to ensure all writers have a chance to have their voices heard.

This policy will be printed from time to time in an abbreviated form here and will be posted in its entirety on our websites.

See something wrong?

The Verona Press does not sweep errors under the rug. If you see something you know or even think is in error, please contact editor Jim Ferolie at 845-9559 or at veronapress@wcinet.com so we can get it right.

Thursday, April 23, 2020 • Vol. 55, No. 43 USPS No. 658-320

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Community Voices

Making the best of my new life in Corona Rica

M

arch 11. That’s my date.

That’s when it became real.

The NBA suspending its season was the tipping point for me. Three days before, I met with my volunteers and exchange students and told them to not worry about the situation and that the worst-case scenario was Costa Rica might close schools for a few weeks.

Costa Rica lives from tourism, and closing the airport would be a doomsday scenario and would be a last resort.

After our pep talk, I left for the United States, and little did I know that would be the last time I’d see them.

Within 10 days of that conversation, all those doomsday scenarios had come true. Programs were halted and all my participants were on planes back home.

I was supposed to to remain in the United States another week, but, with the speed things were moving, I couldn’t risk borders closing or canceled flights. I decided to shorten my trip and return March 17, the day after Costa Rica closed its borders to foreigners.

Because I have residency, I wasn’t affected, and after hearing about the eight-hour immigration lines when they closed Europe, I thought better to avoid any panic traveling.

My biggest fear was getting stuck in the middle of my trip, unable to make a connection due to a border or airline closing.

I had one connection to make in Panama and I had no idea what I’d be arriving to in Costa Rica, as so much had changed in 10 days. Feelings ranged from ho-hum all the way to giving my wife a big defeatist hug, like Tony Stark when he returned to Earth in Endgame.

So much had changed in such little time.

It all started in immigration. I

was promptly served a sanitation order to quarantine for 14 days at home under the threat of jail time. It was advised Dresser that I not even stop at the supermarket to pick up food on the way home, as the order was already active.

When I got into town, San Ramon hadn’t changed physically, but my perspective had.

The rest of Costa Rica hadn’t come to a standstill, but my brain was set to apocalypse.

I went for a walk that afternoon in the field behind my house, and it was eerie. My senses opened to everything going on around me. Every rustle in the grass, every sound from the birds was washing over me as the new normal.

These were the same sounds I always heard when I went for a walk, but this time, the atmosphere felt different. Not lifeless, abandoned or post-apocalyptic, but more like a re-birth stage, like Mother Nature was back and taking charge.

I spent 14 uneventful days processing all of this. Most days I’d try to figure out what movie or show I was living in real life and fire up Netflix and look for something to compare my situation to.

Luckily, the quarantine was not a huge sacrifice. I was not infected with the coronavirus (as far as I know) and experienced no symptoms. My wife was able to go to the store for me, and I had no one to care for other than my dogs.

After I completed my quarantine, I ventured out, and wow, how things had changed.

San Ramon was all but on lockdown. Everything had closed except essential services and there was a car curfew in

place. Places that were open were restricting entry and enforcing six-foot radiuses.

I didn’t see many things out of stock at the supermarket, except for some cheese. Lines were longer than usual and clerks were wearing masks.

The intensity of how social distancing, safer at home and lockdowns have all been promoted/enforced throughout the world during the pandemic has been consistent in most countries, but there have been differences in its effectiveness.

Costa Rica, I’d say, has done remarkably well.

In the month since our first recorded case, growth has been consistent at 20-30 a day. There haven’t been medical supply shortages, and the government recently opened a new hospital that only receives coronavirus patients. They have 88 beds, and at its opening there were only 10 people hospitalized for the virus in the whole country.

It was painful to shut the borders, and tourism is going through a never before seen “zero season.” There have been some rescue packages put together, and the public healthcare system has slashed premiums 75% for the next three months. There’s even talk of imposing a solidarity contribution (read: tax) on high income earners to help the unemployed and their families.

It’s been an adjustment, but I haven’t had a problem staying home. It feels so little in comparison to what health care workers are going through, and there could be worse places to be stuck in.

My spirit remains high, and I can only hope we’ve seen the worst of the pandemic and that better days will be ahead.

Dustin Dresser is a 2004 Verona Area High School graduate living in Costa Rica.

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Parks open for exercise City has authority to close parks to ensure social distancing

KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group

Four roads in the Town of Verona will receive maintenance or be reconstructed this year.

The town board approved construction contracts for repair work on Cross County Road, Timber Lane, Locust Drive and Midtown Road after a lengthy discussion at its Tuesday, April 14, meeting about whether local roads should be prioritized, town clerk John Wright told the Press.

“I think part of what guided the group is that our project manager Chris Barnes … had created a 10-year capital improvement plan, and nobody had the expectation the sequence of the roads would necessarily stay the same, or the cost would remain constant,” Wright said.

MARK NESBITT Assistant sports editor

The Verona Press

A portion of Cross County Road will be reconstructed through a state DOT grant. In order to qualify for the grant, a future project had to already be in a municipality’s capital improvement plan and had to go beyond just resurfacing, Wright said.

Timber Lane is likely to receive a seal coat, as will Locust Drive from Hwy. 69 and the city and parts of Midtown Road between Timber Lane and the City of Madison boundary.

Altogether, the projects are expected to cost about $305,000, with $77,000 of that going toward the Cross County Road project, which will be done by Waukesha-based Payne and Dolan. Wisconsin Dells-based Scott Construction will do the chip-sealing on the other roads.

The Dane County Highway department will also be doing striping on some of the town roads, Wright said.

Memorial Day Early Deadlines May 27, 2020 Great Dane Shopping News Display Deadline: Wednesday, May 20 at 3 p.m.

Classified Deadline: Thursday, May 21 at Noon Photos by Mark Nesbitt

May 28, 2020 Community Papers Display & Classified Deadline: Friday, May 22, 2020 at Noon

Mason Holcomb, 19, Verona, completes a jump at the Verona Skate Park on Saturday, April 18. Under Gov. Tony Evers’ “Safer at Home” order parks are open for exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, playground equipment and shelters are still closed. discourage groups congregating for the next several weeks.

“The order from the governor doesn’t really change that but I think it does help remind the public to avoid gatherings,” Walker said.

Two weeks ago, Evers ordered 40 state parks, forests and recreational areas in the state, primarily in southern and southeastern Wisconsin to close because of unprecedented crowds, litter and vandalism.

Going for a walk or a run can be a mental health break

Kylah Foster rides her scooter at the Verona Skate Park.

Parks are open for exercise, but cities can close them if they become overcrowded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

for some who may feel isolated at home, Walker said.

“People want to get outside and enjoy the parks for their own sense of health and well-being and we want to encourage that, we just ask that they do it responsibly,” he said.

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As most businesses remain closed and sports events cancelled, parks are becoming a popular outlet to get away from the anxiety of being cooped up.

Gov. Tony Evers and Department of Health Services secretary-designee Andrea Palm extended the state’s “Safer at Home” order until May 26 to safeguard against the spread of the coronavirus. Though the “Safer at Home” order kept local parks open, playgrounds within local parks are closed and all sports courts are banned for the time being.

The updated order also gives local health officials the right to close parks when they see fit, based on high volume of traffic and inability to perform proper social distancing.

The skate park in Verona drew several children on Saturday, April 18, and the Military Ridge State Trail was busy with bikers. Parks can be used by walkers, bikers and exercise seekers.

State lawmakers are fearful that social distancing practices may dwindle as the weather warms. City parks directors are being tasked with monitoring the crowds at parks.

Dave Walker, Verona Park and Urban Forestry Director, said the city isn’t planning to close any of its parks, other than playgrounds and shelters, but will continue to monitor attendance and

5 Town board approves road projects April 23, 2020

Parents, Congratulate your Graduate!

With 2020 high school graduation ceremonies uncertain, the Verona Press is publishing a special keepsake edition of our annual graduation section May 28 with names and photos of all grads.

To add a special message for your grad, email graduation@wcinet.com, call 845-9559 or fill out our form at connectverona.com

EMILIE HEIDEMANN Unified Newspaper Group

T h e Ve r o n a P o l i c e Department arrested a New Glarus man for operating a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants on Sunday, April 19.

According to a news release, the Dane County Public Safety Communications Center received reports of an erratic driver, later identified as Todd Olson, who was booked into the Dane County Jail for an OWI, ninth offense.

He received an additional citation for open intoxicants

in a motor vehicle, according to the release.

A Verona police officer located a vehicle traveling south and westbound on Hwy. 151, then conducted a traffic stop and had Olson go through field sobriety tests, the release states.

U p o n O l s o n ’s a r r e s t , police obtained a warrant and obtained a sample of his blood, which they sent to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene for analysis, the release states.

Email Emilie Heidemann at emilie.heidemann@wcinet. com or follow her on Twitter at @HeidemannEmilie.

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Coming up

Virtual events at the library NEAL PATTEN Unified Newspaper Group

The public library is providing a variety of virtual events to keep the community entertained and occupied while practicing social distancing.

Most of these events require advanced registration to receive links to the Zoom meetings. For information, visit veronapubliclibrary.org.

Live streamed story times

The library is hosting live streamed story times via Facebook Live. Families may listen to books and sing songs from the comfort of home.

Join at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Teen gaming

Teens ages 12-18 are invited to play games online with other teens via Zoom at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 23. Games will include “Drawful” and “Quiplash.”

Books ‘N Booze Book Club

Join in a discussion of “The Soul of an Octopus” by naturalist Sy Montgomery at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 via Zoom.

“Donut County” Discord hang Heart,” Monday, April 27: “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump,” out Wednesday, April 29: “The Tale of Kids ages 12-18 are invited to chat with librarians Dusty and Mary the Three Brothers.” on the Discord app while they play Anime and manga club the game “Donut County.” Join at Youth ages 12-18 interested in Jap1:30 p.m. on Thursdays.” anese animation and comics may join a Zoom meeting at 4 p.m. on ThursBaby story times The library is hosting baby sto- day, April 30. ry times via Facebook Live at Pajama story time 10:30 a.m. on Fridays. The story The library is hosting a pajama stotimes will include developmentally-appropriate stories, songs, rhymes ry time via Facebook Live at 7 p.m. and fingerplays for infants and their on Thursday, April 30. The story time will include stories, songs and caregivers. movement activities. Be sure to wear Yoga and meditation your PJs. Prajkta Date, a certified yoga teacher, will teach moderate yoga Virtual 5K and breathing exercise followed On May 2, the library’s annual by guided meditations via Zoom at “Word on the Street” 5K walk/run is 6 p.m. on Friday, April 25. going virtual. Participants can walk ”The Tales of Beedle the Bard” at home on a treadmill, walk in their Join librarian Mary Ostrander as neighborhoods, or follow the origshe reads stories from “The Tales inal course. Participants will then of Beedle the Bard” by J.K. Rowl- share photos of their walk or run ing. The stories will be streamed and awards will be given for most via Facebook Live at 1:30 p.m. The creative social media posts. Sign up story schedule is as follows: Fri- at runsignup.com/Race/WI/Verona/ day, April 24: “The Warlock’s Hairy WordOnTheStreet5K.

DCF launches online tools to help essential workers find child care The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families launched two tools to connect essential workforce families to local and safe childcare, a March 30 news release states.

Healthcare workers and essential state employees can submit requests for care through the department’s updated Child Care Finder, or view up to date availability across the state using its new child care map.

“The value child care provides to our communities is currently on

full display,” DCF Secretary Emilie Amundson said in the release. “We are doing everything in our power to support early childhood educators so they can continue to provide child care to the families of essential workers.”

Providing child care to the families of essential workers is critical to flattening the curve of COVID-19 in Wisconsin, according to the release.

Gov. Tony Evers created the Child Care for Essential Workers Taskforce

to address this need, the release states.

Led by DCF, the taskforce worked with the Early Childhood Association (WECA) and Supporting Families Together Association (SFTA) to connect essential workforce families in need of child care with locally available child care resources.

Email Emilie Heidemann at emilie.heidemann@wcinet.com or follow her on Twitter at @HeidemannEmilie.

What’s on VHAT-98 Thursday, April 23 7 a.m. Falls Prevention at Senior Center 8 a.m. Zumba Gold 9 a.m. Daily Exercise 10 a.m. Personal Safety at Senior Center 2 p.m. Zumba Gold 3 p.m. Daily Exercise 4 p.m. Robert J at Senior Center 5 p.m. Japan at Senior Center 6 p.m. Salem Church Service 7 p.m. Asthma at Senior Center 8 p.m. Daily Exercise 9 p.m. Greg Anderson at Senior Center 10 p.m.

Cardiovascular Disease at Senior Center Friday, April 24 7 a.m. Robert J at Senior Center 1 p.m. Greg Anderson at Senior Center 3 p.m. Vintage Verona Sports 4 p.m. Japan at Senior Center 5 p.m. 2018 Wildcats Football 9 p.m. Vintage Verona Sports 10 p.m. Falls Prevention at Senior Center 11 p.m. Personal Safety at Senior Center

Saturday, April 25 8 a.m. Virtual Common Council from 04/21/20 11 a.m. Vintage Verona Sports 1 p.m. 2018 Wildcats Football 4:30 p.m. Cardiovascular Disease at Senior Center 6 p.m. Virtual Common Council from 04/21/20 9 p.m. Vintage Verona Sports 10 p.m.

Cardiovascular Disease at Senior Center 11 p.m. Personal Safety at Senior Center Sunday, April 26 7 a.m. Hindu Cultural Hour 9 a.m. Resurrection Church 10 a.m. Salem Church Service 12 p.m. Virtual Common Council from 04/21/20 3 p.m. Vintage Verona Sports 4:30 p.m. Cardiovascular Disease at Senior Center 6 p.m. Virtual Common Council from 04/21/20 9 p.m. Vintage Verona Sports 10 p.m.

Cardiovascular Disease at Senior Center 11 p.m. Personal Safety at Senior Center Monday, April 27 7 a.m. Robert J at Senior

Center 1 p.m. Greg Anderson at Senior Center 3 p.m. Vintage Verona Sports 4 p.m. Japan at Senior Center 5 p.m. 2018 Wildcats Football 7 p.m. Virtual Common Council Live 9 p.m. Hindu Cultural Hour 10 p.m. Falls Prevention at Senior Center 11 p.m. Personal Safety at Senior Center Tuesday, April 28 7 a.m. Falls Prevention at Senior Center 10 a.m. Zumba Gold 9 a.m. Daily Exercise 10 a.m. Personal Safety at Senior Center 2 p.m. Zumba Gold 3 p.m. Daily Exercise 4 p.m. Robert J at Senior Center 5 p.m. Japan at Senior Center 6 p.m. Resurrection Church 6:30 p.m. Virtual Common Council Live 8 p.m. Asthma at Senior Center 9 p.m. Greg Anderson at Senior Center 10 p.m.

Cardiovascular Disease at Senior Center

Wednesday, April 29 7 a.m. Robert J at Senior Center 1 p.m. Greg Anderson at Senior Center 3 p.m. Vintage Verona Sports 5 p.m. Virtual Common Council from 04/21/20 7 p.m. Capital City Band 8 p.m. Vintage Verona Sports 10 p.m. Falls Prevention at Senior Center 11 p.m. Personal Safety at Senior Center Thursday, April 30 7 a.m. Falls Prevention at Senior Center 8 a.m. Zumba Gold 9 a.m. Daily Exercise 10 a.m. Personal Safety at Senior Center 2 p.m. Zumba Gold 3 p.m. Daily Exercise 4 p.m. Robert J at Senior Center 5 p.m. Japan at Senior Center 6 p.m. Salem Church Service 7 p.m. Asthma at Senior Center 8 p.m. Daily Exercise 9 p.m. Greg Anderson at Senior Center 10 p.m.

Cardiovascular Disease at Senior Center

All Saints Lutheran Church 2951 Chapel Valley Rd., Fitchburg (608) 276-7729 allsaints-madison.org Pastor Kristin Woelk Sunday: 8:30 & 10:45 a.m.

The Church in Fitchburg 2833 Raritan Rd., Fitchburg (608) 271-2811 livelifetogether.com Sunday: 8 & 10:45 a.m.

Memorial UCC 5705 Lacy Rd., Fitchburg (608) 273-1008 memorialucc.org Interim Pastor Laura Crow Sunday: 9:30 a.m.

Good Shephard Lutheran Church ELCA (608) 271-6633 Madison: Raymond Road & Whitney Way, Madison Sunday: 8:30 & 10 a.m..

Verona: Corner of Hwy. PD & Nine Mound Road, Verona Sunday: 9 & 10:30 a.m. & 6 p.m.

Damascus Road Church – West The Verona Senior Center 108 Paoli St., Verona (608) 819-6451 info@damascusroadchurch.com, damascusroadonline.org Pastor Justin Burge Sunday: 10 a.m.

Memorial Baptist Church 201 S. Main St., Verona (608) 845-7125 MBCverona.org Lead Pastor Jeremy Scott Sunday: 10:15 a.m.

Redeemer Bible Fellowship 130 N. Franklin St., Verona (608) 692-2046 redeemerbiblefellowship.org Pastor Dwight R. Wise Sunday: 10 a.m. family worship Resurrection Lutheran Church – WELS 6705 Wesner Rd., Verona (608) 848-4965 rlcverona.org Pastors Nathan Strutz and Andrew Ewings, and Assistant Pastor Seth Krueger Thursday: 6:30 p.m.

Sunday: 9 a.m.

St. Christopher Catholic Parish St. Andrew Church 301 N. Main St., Verona St. William Church 1371 Hwy. PB, Paoli (608) 845-6613 stchristopherverona.com Fr. John Sasse, pastor Saturday: 5 p.m., St. Andrew,

Verona Sunday: 7:30 a.m., St. William, Paoli Sunday: 9 & 11 a.m., St. Andrew, Verona Daily Mass, Tuesday-Saturday: 8 a.m., St. Andrew, Verona

St. James Lutheran Church ELCA 427 S. Main St., Verona (608) 845-6922 stjamesverona.org Pastors Kurt M. Billings and Peter Narum Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; 8 a.m.-noon Wednesday Saturday Worship: 5 p.m.

Sunday Worship: 8:30 and 10:45 a.m.

Salem United Church of Christ 502 Mark Dr., Verona (608) 845-7315 salemchurchverona.org Rev. Dr. Mark E. Yurs, Pastor Sunday school for all ages: 9 a.m.

Worship: 10:15 a.m.

Fellowship: 11:30 a.m.

Springdale Lutheran Church ELCA 2752 Town Hall Rd. (off Hwy ID), Mount Horeb (608) 437-3493 springdalelutheran.org Revs. Loren and Linda Schumacher Sunday: 8:45 a.m. with communion Sugar River United Methodist Church 415 W. Verona Ave., Verona (608) 845-5855 sugar.river@sugarriverumc.org, sugarriverumc.org Pastor Gary Holmes 9 & 10:30 a.m. contemporary worship.

Sunday School available during worship. Refreshments and fellowship are between services.

West Madison Bible Church 2920 Hwy. M, Verona (608) 845-9518 www.wmbiblechurch.org Pastor Dan Kukasky Jr. Sunday Worship: 9:15 a.m.

Sunday School: 10:45 a.m.

Zwingli United Church of Christ Hwy. 92 & G, Mount Vernon (608) 832-6677 Pastor Brad Brookins Sunday: 10:15 a.m.

Zwingli United Church of Christ Hwy. 69 & PB, Paoli (608) 255-1278 paoliucc.com Pastor Rich Pleva Sunday: 9:30 a.m. family worship

Hate Is Easy—Love Is Hard Hate can be turned on like the flip of a switch. Someone cuts us off in traffic and we are cursing them as if they were the devil incarnate. An unkind word or a slight to our fragile ego can be remembered for years and be a source of resentment we just can’t get over. Political demagogues and bullies are experts at flipping the switch of hatred and resentment.

It is easy to convince the native-born that the foreign-born are the source of their problems, or to convince the poor and working-class that the rich are their enemies.

Human beings get defensive very easily, even when the offense against us is merely imagined. Unfortunately, hatred and anger are the default mode for many of us. Love, on the other hand,takes work and must be nurtured. We have to work at creating loving relationships, and though we all crave them, we are admittedly prickly. That is,we are prone to giving and taking offense. Perhaps that is why all of the world’s religions spend so much time and effort trying to inculcate loving kindness and charity. If it were easy and natural there would be no need for it.

Work on banishing hate from your life and making your life an expression of love.

–Christopher Simon

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Business

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April 23, 2020

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The Verona Press

Manufacturing: Companies surviving despite the coronavirus pandemic through adaptation Continued from page 1 manufactures heating, ventilation and air conditioning parts and products, already produced HVAC parts supporting hospitals and first responders.

Now, orders for hospitals are being prioritized, general manager Greg Cichon said, adding the company is trying to get them completed as quickly as possible.

“There are parts hospitals need to keep running, and we are building that product,” he said.

At Hunzicker, the changes have been felt more externally than within the business. The manufacturers’ representative for Carnes sells heating and ventilation equipment to customers including Epic Systems and Verona Area School District.

“Nothing has changed drastically,” Kevin Stampfli, co-owner of Hunzicker said. “The companies we represent and buy from are still up and going, so on that side of things, the virus hasn’t affected us.”

Big Sky Engineering is an automated design company, assembling machines to support manufacturing and packaging processes.

Its automation equipment is used by automotive, biological and tech industries.

One of Big Sky’s main clients in Dane County, Exact Sciences, has been working with the state for the past few weeks to provide laboratory support in the testing of the coronavirus, a key component in ending the state’s Safer at Home order.

At Engineering Industries, which makes injection-molded parts and components, orders from several customers considered essential businesses have gone up including parts for air filtration, water treatment systems and ventilators.

However, other of Engineering’s key customers have slowed down or closed down business for the time being.

“It’s not a complete offset, overall business is down,” Dean VandeBerg, president of Engineering Industries said, “But we are confident we are going to make it through this and come through this better, it’s been a learning experience.”

Carnes keeping afloat via its backlog

Despite Carnes’ work for the health care industry, Cichon said, business is slowing down as the company has been working primarily off a backlog of orders.

Many of Carnes’ customers across the United States and Canada have been shut down because of the coronavirus.

“One day you get a lot of orders, then the next two days nothing. It isn’t a steady stream like we normally have,” Cichon said.

While some employees have taken voluntary vacations and those who can work from home have been, most of the machinists have continued working.

“People here are happy

Photos by Neal Patten

A large assembly floor allows employees at Big Sky Engineering to physically distance from each other. to be working and happy to be coming to work,” Cichon said. “The majority of people want to be here.”

The company has been researching moving over to the production of face shields to generate more work. However, Cichon said they’d have to purchase a large volume of inventory to bring prices down but don’t want to be stuck with extra inventory after the pandemic.

Cichon said it is not difficult for employees to remain physically distanced at work.

“We’re fortunate and blessed with a lot of space.

If you take the number of people and the total square footage of the building, there’s 3600 square feet per person,” he said.

Hunzicker mostly feeling effects of virus during deliveries

At Hunzicker, much of its office staff have been able to work remotely.

T h e m o s t s i g n i fi c a n t change for Hunzicker has been on the delivery side of business. Stampfli says some places that Hunzicker delivers to now have signs on the doors with special requests for delivery.

“People are more cautious, more leery, although I wouldn’t say overly cautious. You can feel some of that in the air,” Stampfli said. “Truckers coming to pick up orders will say ‘we’d rather stay in truck if it’s okay with you.’”

Big Sky positioned itself for stability

For one local manufacturing company, Big Sky Engineering, being an asset to essential businesses during this pandemic is not a coincidence.

“The 2008-2009 disaster nearly shut us down.

Since the last recession, my focus has been to get us

into supporting industries that are more stable,” Mark Strasser, vice president of Big Sky said. “We put ourselves in a position – especially with life sciences – where those things don’t shut down.”

Strasser said that position helps the company survive when things are tough.

Big Sky initially shut down its assembly floor during the second week of the Safer at Home order, allowing its engineers to work remotely.

“Our first reaction was, ‘Gee, we need to look at shutting down,’” Strasser said, “But we continued getting calls from NorthStar, Cummins Filtration and Exact Sciences, saying they needed us to be able to continue their own operations.”

Within a few days of closing the assembly floor, Strasser changed course and resumed production processes. Strasser said 80% of employees at Big Sky work on the assembly floor.

“Situations like this expose all manufacturing to the need of having a strong workforce,” he said.

Strasser said Big Sky has been asked to respond to a variety of respiration assembly projects supporting health care and is increasing production in that area accordingly. He has committed the company to a sixweek build and delivery of a machine that would normally take 18-21 weeks.

“We’re pulling out all stops to get that system done in a record amount of time,” he said. “It gives you satisfaction to know you are participating in the efforts.”

Strasser said if the pandemic continues for a long time, it might ultimately expand Big Sky’s business.

While Strasser said the facility is big enough to practice social distancing, some employees remain skittish.

For now, Big Sky has ceased doing all installations as a health safety precaution.

“I am questioning what’s essential. In the back of my head, I wonder ‘what if sickness does come through here?’ Those are things that are troubling,” Strasser said.

“We came up with our own justification for being essential – that customers asked us to maintain demand.”

Engineering Industries learning and adapting Engineering Industries recently provided all of its employees Va n d e B e rg s a i d t h a t Engineering Industries is learning about sanitizing and cleaning throughout shifts. Meetings with its customers have shifted to video conferences.

The company has held small meetings with employees, keeping

with locally handmade face masks. communication lines open.

Like the other facilities, ample space has allowed for employees to spread out.

The company recent ly provided its employees with handmade face masks and has been more mindful

of the vulnerability of its senior employees.

“Morale has been very good,” VandeBerg said.

Neal Patten, community reporter, can be contacted at neal.patten@wcinet.com.

The Verona Area Chamber of Commerce Recognizes the Business of the Month

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Thursday, April 23, 2020

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Verona Press For more sports coverage, visit: ConnectVerona.com

Sports

Adam Feiner, sports editor

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Mark Nesbitt, assistant sports editor 845-9559 x237 • sportsreporter@wcinet.com Fax: 845-9550

Prep sports

WIAA BOC cancels spring competition ADAM FEINER Sports editor

Photo by Mark Nesbitt

Verona’s Cale Rufenacht watches as he tries to sink a putt during last year’s Morgan Stanley Invitational at University Ridge Golf Course. Rufenacht will not have a chance to play his senior year of golf after the WIAA canceled all 2020 spring sports competitions and state tournament series.

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association stated throughout its process of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic that it would continue to be in alliance with the directives issued by Gov. Tony Evers in relation to the closure or reopening of schools.

When Evers extended the “Safer at Home” order to May 26, he ordered all public and private K-12 schools to remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. The possibility of WIAA spring sports looked bleak.

On Tuesday, April 21, the WIAA Board of Control made the decision all spring athletes, coaches, athletic directors and fans feared. The Board of Control voted 10-1 to cancel all 2020 spring sports competitions and spring state tournament series.

The decision impacts baseball, softball, boys golf, girls soccer, boys tennis and boys and girls track and field.

“In (Evers’) press conference, I think it was made abundantly clear that spring sports are canceled until June 30,” WIAA Executive Director Dave Anderson said.

“We don’t want to lose sight of that fact or confuse that fact in any of our conversations.”

The chance of spring sports competitions took a big hit April 10, when the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced its extension to cancel campus events through June 30. UW’s decision eliminated the possibility of conducting WIAA state tournaments scheduled at campus venues.

The events impacted by the closure included the boys individual and team tennis tournaments scheduled at Madison’s Nielsen Tennis Stadium on June 4-6 and June 12-13, respectfully; the boys golf championship at Verona’s University Ridge Golf Course on June 15-16; and the softball tournament at Madison’s Goodman Diamond on June 11-13.

The WIAA stated its officials worked on contingency plans for the spring sports season. Some schools began practice before

Evers’ first executive order, but all interscholastic training, practices, scrimmages and contests were suspended.

Dr. Kevin Walter, who works for the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and has been a member of the WIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee since 2006, advised the Board of Control. He provided the Board with information about where the state is in controlling the outbreak and made recommendations for spring and fall sports.

Walter suggested a possible grace period for sports physicals in the future, and said, “it is too early to make any decisions about fall sports. He also said it is easier to socially distance and control the spread of COVID-19 in golf compared to other spring sports, but the WIAA clarified high school golf teams could not begin practice with courses opening up statewide Friday, April 24.

Anderson recommended the Board of Control cancel the spring sports season, but allow for unrestricted coaching contact in the summer for spring sports, provided coaches include the current year’s seniors.

His motion passed, as the Board also voted to expand out-of-season coaching to 30 unrestricted contact days for spring sports athletes, pending local health guidelines.

Spring coaches will have 30 unrestricted contact days with their spring athletes, provided they include graduating seniors.

Virtual coaching can continue through June 30 (or when state order would allow) before the 30 contact days would begin.

Fall and winter sports contact days are not changed or impacted.

Acclimatization rules must still be followed and contact must follow Gov. Evers’ orders.

“We are not opposed to spring sport coaches continuing contact with their athletes,” Anderson said. “They are technically in-season until the season is over.”

The Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association is still conducting statewide surveys about a variety of issues, including paying spring coaches and changes made to grading and graduation dates.

Golf

Green light for greens fees Evers allows courses to open Friday with safety measures MARK NESBITT Assistant sports editor

Public and private golf courses across the state got the good news they’d been waiting for when Gov. Tony Evers announced on Thursday, April 16, courses could open for play with restrictions.

Evers extended his “Safer at Home” order until May

26 because of the coronavirus outbreak, but golf courses were given the green light to open on Friday, April 24.

H aw k s L a n d i n g G o l f Club and Edelweiss Chalet Country Club in New Glarus will open Friday morning.

Required safety measures include social distancing and paying for a round of golf online or by phone. Many courses are also prohibiting the use of golf carts. Clubhouses, pro shops and practice facilities will remain closed.

University Ridge Golf Photo by Mark Nesbitt Course in Verona will be Hawks Landing Golf Club in Verona will open for play at 8 a.m. on Friday, April 24. The pro shop, clubhouse and practice facilities will remain closed and the course will be walking only. closed until June 30.

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April 23, 2020

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9

Major League Baseball

Rortvedt can’t wait to rejoin Twins MARK NESBITT Assistant sports editor

B e n R o r t ve d t m a y n o t b e superstitious, but whether there is a Minor League Baseball season for him and the Minnesota Twins remains a question mark.

The Verona Area High School alumnus was a 2016 second-round pick of the Twins. He was a non-roster invitee to Major League spring training the past two years.

Rortvedt, 22, was in spring training with the Twins in Fort Myers, Florida for about three weeks before Major League Baseball suspended spring training and the start of the season on March 12 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Major League Baseball is considering several options for a shortened season, including playing the season with all teams quarantined in Arizona and playing games at spring training facilities in Arizona and Florida.

Rortvedt isn’t sure whether there will be a minor league baseball season this year.

“It’s all just speculation,” he said. “I’m crossing my fingers.”

Rortvedt was preparing for his fourth professional season with the Twins. He said the challenge is not having a timeline to prepare for an unknown season.

“I’m just trying to maintain my body and swing,” he said. “That way when we hear there is an end and a start date in mind, we are not working from a cold-turkey standpoint.”

Rortvedt has moved back to Verona and is lifting weights, running and taking batting practice in a batting cage he has access to.

“I’m just trying to work on my swing so when we do start, I can get up to speed,” he said. “There are no resources out there right now. You are on your own.”

Rortvedt played catcher at two levels last season. He started

Photo courtesy Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins minor leaguer Ben Rortvedt is training in Verona to be ready when the season begins. The 22-year-old catcher was in spring training with the Twins before the season was suspended on March 12 because of the coronavirus. with the Twins’ Single-A team, the Fort Myers Miracle, in Fort Myers, Florida. He was called up to Double-AA and played with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in the Southern League in Pensacola, Florida.

Rortvedt hit .238 with a .334 on-base percentage, seven home runs and 29 RBIs last year. He starred defensively, throwing out 51.7% (30 of 58) of potential base-stealers.

The Verona native moved out of the apartment he was leasing for two months in Florida. If baseball returns, he will have to see if he can sign a longer lease.

Initially, minor leaguers were going to be paid through April 7 when MLB suspended spring training.

“We all knew it was a possibility,” he said. “We didn’t know how serious it was. “When we saw the NBA got shut down, it was just

another day and we were done.”

Many players were in limbo about whether they would have an income and health insurance during the shutdown. On March 31, MLB announced it would pay minor leaguers a $400 weekly stipend through May 31 to ensure they would have health insurance.

“It’s nice to have some compensation in the down time,” Rortvedt said. “It’s a relief.”

Golf

If the suspended baseball season is extended past May 31, there will be questions about whether minor league players will get paid. Traditionally, minor leaguers are not paid in the offseason.

When and if the minor league season resumes, there will be a short spring training before games.

Baseball

Am Fam Championship canceled Madison Mallards 2020

season opener postponed

MARK NESBITT Assistant sports editor

The American Family Insurance Championship at University Ridge Golf Course in Verona has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The decision was announced by American Family Insurance in a release on Thursday, April 16, the same day Gov. Tony Evers’ extended the “Safer at Home” order until May 26.

There were discussions about moving the PGA Tour Champions event from its original weekend of June 5-7. The tour provided additional dates for the tournament in June, July and August, but logistical issues due to COVID-19 made rescheduling a challenge for all parties involved.

Steve Stricker’s Foundation and American Family Insurance will still make $2.8 million in donations to local charities and

MARK NESBITT Assistant sports editor

Photo by Mark Nesbitt

The American Family Insurance Championship at University Ridge Golf Course in Verona was canceled Thursday, April 16, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament was scheduled to take place June 5-7.

COVID-19 relief efforts in the state.

According to a release from American Family Insurance, the company will shift and combine its title sponsorship money with the Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation to distribute $1 million to the American Family Children’s Hospital/UW Hospitals, and $800,000 to south central and southeastern organizations that have supported the foundation.

The other $1 million will

be donated to COVID-19 relief organizations.

One of the roadblocks in hosting the tournament this year came when the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced that all of its athletic facilities would be closed until June 30.

The decision to cancel the tournament came despite other local golf c o u r s e s r e c e iv i n g t h e go-ahead to re-open with restrictions.

The tournament is slated for June 11-13, 2021 at University Ridge.

The Madison Mallards season opener was postponed by the Northwoods League on Friday, April 17, because of Gov. Tony Evers’ “Safer at Home” order being extended amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Northwoods League made the announcement on its website. The Mallards were scheduled to host the Wisconsin Woodchucks in the opener on May 26, the day Evers’ new directive is scheduled to expire. A new date has not been announced.

Left-handed pitcher Keaton Knueppel, a 2016 Verona Area High School graduate, and 2019 Madison West grad Drake Baldwin have signed to play with the Mallards.

The NCAA made the decision to cancel the remainder of the spring sports season and winter championships, including the men’s basketball tournament for the first time since 1939.

Knueppel is finally healthy after fighting injuries throughout his career at Gonzaga University. He had Tommy John surgery in 2018 and missed all of last season.

He also dealt with a stress fracture in his elbow in 2018 and received a medical redshirt for the 2017 season.

Knueppel posted a 6.75 ERA with six strikeouts and one walk over 5 1/3 innings

Photo courtesy Gonzaga Athletics

Verona Area High School graduate Keaton Knueppel, a left-handed pitcher for Gonzaga University, has signed to play with the Madison Mallards this summer. The Mallards season opener was postponed by the Northwoods League due to the coronavirus pandemic. this season. The southpaw struck out five and allowed one earned run on six hits over three innings in his final appearance against Washington State.

Baldwin led Missouri State in hitting (.295) and on-base percentage (.377) as a freshman. He had one home run and 11 RBIs in 17 games.

10

April 23, 2020

The Verona Press

ConnectVerona.com

City of Verona

In brief

Main street apartment developer takes out permit

New beacons

Project earned first approval in 2017 RENEE HICKMAN Unified Newspaper Group

Construction of new senior apartments on North Main Street appears to be moving forward despite changes wrought by the COVID-19 crisis.

Forward Development Group obtained a building permit for the project this month, and on April 13, the Common Council approved an agreement to allow landscaping on adjacent city property.

The permit, which estimates the cost of the project at $11.8 million, allows building to commence at the North Main Street location. The agreement was a requirement of the plan the city approved a year ago, which includes planting quick-growing evergreen trees to block the view from the nearby neighborhood. A previous version of the plan had included a walking path, as well, but that was removed.

Oakmont Senior Living would encompass 100 age-restricted apartments for independent

Flashing beacon lights will be installed at four intersections in the city after the Common Council voted Monday, April 20, to award a contract for those improvements to Cummings and Turk, Inc. The lights will be located at the intersections of North Main Street and the St. Andrew church driveway, North Nine Mound Road and Edward Street, South Nine Mound Road and Military Ridge State Trail and Whalen Road and Military Ridge Drive.

Declaration of emergency

Rendering courtesy Plunkett Raysich Architects

A view from the rear of the Oakmont Senior Living apartments shows where trees would be atop an earthen berm. living, as well as 62 parking stalls according to documents presented to the Plan Commission on the project last year.

The location across from Badger Ridge Middle School houses a farmhouse and outbuildings, but is located near an area that has seen traffic headaches in recent years.

However, the council voted to

approve the complex last year on the recommendation of city staff, because the homes were thought to be a lower-intensity use option than some other buildings that could go in the spot. The city had approved a related plan in October 2017 that included a memory care facility.

Neighbors in the adjacent single-family neighborhood had also

raised concerns over privacy, as the second floor of the building is on a hill and overlooks the homes next door. The council ultimately took recommendations from the Plan Commission to use landscaping to help block that view.

Renee Hickman can be contacted at renee.hickman@wcinet.com or follow her on Twitter at @ ReneeNHickman

Alders voted to ratify Mayor Luke Diaz’s declaration of emergency in the city of Verona, issued March 16.

The resolution enables the full allocation of city funds to ensure the continuation of essential city services until the public health emergency declared by the state ends.

Kettle Creek North A developer’s agreement will allow the extension of a road in the Kettle Creek North housing development.

The first phase of that subdivision started three years ago. Construction of Esker Drive toward Tamarack Way is expected to begin at the end of April and ending in September.

Graduation: Principal floats idea of postponing graduation ceremony until last week of July Continued from page 1 than usual.

But with Gov. Tony Evers and state Department of Health Services secretary-designee Andrea Palm extending the “Safer at Home” order until at least May 26 to try to slow the spread of COVID-19, keeping the original graduation ceremony with thousands expected in attendance four days later on May 30 is not an option, Hammen said.

“Really, we were left with two options,” she said. “I think that our families and students really appreciate and enjoy having a face-to-face graduation ceremony, if at all possible.”

Other school districts in Dane County have changed their ceremonies because of COVID-19.

Middleton-Cross Plains School District will attempt to schedule its ceremony for late July, and Madison Metropolitan School District canceled its in-person ceremonies, many of which are held at the Kohl Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which has closed its campus to essential personnel only.

Hammen suggested Saturday, July 25, as a possible date, noting that some graduated seniors leave for their post-secondary institutions in the beginning of August because of extracurricular groups they’re involved in, she said.

For others, that option still might be too late, Hammen admitted. Some students will be leaving after the school year is over to start basic training in the U.S. Armed Forces or are moving out of the area.

And there’s no guarantee that even if the district moves forward with in-person graduation ceremonies in late July, that Epic, which has been the host since 2008, will even allow the district to hold the event on its campus.

If that’s the case, Hammen said, administrators would look at holding it on the football field, with a rain date of Sunday, July 26.

As an alternative, Hammen floated the idea of a “virtual”

Graduates toss their caps in the air during the Verona Area High School graduation ceremony on Sunday, June 9, at Epic. graduation ceremony, where speeches from herself, Dean Gorrell and the Class of 2020 speakers would be filmed, and then photos would be shown of each graduating senior. Other board members suggested a drive-in graduation ceremony, in which students would physically attend in cars and listen on a radio frequency, much like a drive-in movie theater.

Forgoing any recognition at all didn’t seem like an option for Hammen or anyone on the board.

“I think we all agree that it’s really important to provide an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate our seniors and their

accomplishments,” she said. “I think that’s especially true this year because seniors have been disappointed; there were many things they were looking forward to that they haven’t been able to participate in.”

Regardless of when and how graduation ceremonies take place, Hammen asked the school board to certify the student’s diplomas prior to June 1 so that students who are going on to attend post-secondary institutions can still request a finalized version of their transcript. Usually, school board members announce that certification during graduation ceremonies.

Board member Kristina Navarro-Haffner brought up the drive-thru idea, saying social distancing would be maintained despite hundreds or thousands of people being in attendance.

“The idea I’m seeing with higher ed doing it that way is at least in a car, you don’t have to limit the numbers and worry that there’s just too much density of people in a small space,” she said.

Hammen said she had seen that style graduation ceremony on social media, but with the lack of an outdoor theater and a large class of graduating seniors, she wasn’t sure how that would work.

“I get it in theory, I just don’t

Photo by Kimberly Wethal

know how that’s really engaging or memorable,” Hammen said.

Board member Meredith Stier Christensen thanked Hammen for working to come up with other options for a graduation ceremony to recognize students.

“This is such a tough time, for all of our students, and all of our staff, but for seniors especially, there’s so much loss,” she said.

“A delayed date isn’t a certainty, but I do like the option of having it. This is just so hard all the way around.”

Email reporter Kimberly Wethal at kimberly.wethal@wcinet.com and follow her on Twitter @kimberly_wethal.​

ConnectVerona.com

Verona Area School District

Wanted

Two VAIS students honored by firefighter foundation, FFD Verona Area International School students were visited by City of Fitchburg firefighters and representatives from the Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation on Friday, Feb. 28.

Two students, fourth grader Addy Roltgen and second grader Stella Roltgen, were honored for their drawings that were featured in the PFWCF’s annual fire safety and prevention publication. Two teachers were also honored with a grant for their project, titled “Dual Language Fire Safety.”

The grant money given to VAIS educators will be used for a field trip to a Fitchburg fire station, fire safety books and play materials, story times and translation of fire safety signage and resources into Mandarin Chinese.

Email reporter Kimberly Wethal at kimberly.wethal@wcinet.com and follow her on Twitter @kimberly_wethal.​

WANTED: HUNTING rifles, shotguns, ammo and related items. Call 608575-9064.

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LANDSCAPING. EXPERIENCED in grading, leveling, rock, boulder and decorative retaining walls. Seeding and sod work. Green Gro Design 608669-7879.

Photos by Kimberly Wethal

Right, Verona Area International School second grader Stella Roltgen is honored for her drawing “Let Firefighters Save Your Pets, Stop/Drop/Roll, and Know 2 Ways Out” during a visit from the Fitchburg Fire Department on Friday, Feb. 28, where students and educators were honored for their contributions to an annual fire prevention booklet.

Center, Verona Area International School fourth grader Addy Roltgen is honored for her “Don’t ‘Leaf’ Your Campfire Unattended” drawing..

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City of Fitchburg fire department chief Joe Pulvermacher talks about fire safety and prevention.

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Antiques BUYING US Gold & Silver Coins and Collectibles. Call 608-988-6406 Rick Miles Coin.

Lawn & Garden RIGHT HAND MAN SERVICES Lawn mowing & trimming, etc. Over 20 years experience. 608-208-8630.

Rentals

Board selects superintendent search firm Personnel committee ‘unanimous’ in choice KIMBERLY WETHAL Unified Newspaper Group

Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates will be the firm that helps select the district’s new superintendent.

The school board voted unanimously to hire the Schaumburg, Illinois-based search firm at its meeting on Monday, April 20, after members of its Policy and Personnel Committee interviewed three search firms over video conferencing platform Zoom last week.

Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates will conduct a nationwide search for candidates to succeed current district superintendent Dean Gorrell, who announced in January that he plans to retire in June 2021. Part of that search will be working with families and the community to gauge what traits and values they want the next superintendent to have,

based on the school board’s timeline.

Board member Meredith Stier Christensen said that all three of the firms that were interviewed would have been excellent choices, but ultimately, they chose Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates because of the firm’s communication style.

Stier Christensen said she felt really good about recommending Hazard, Young and Associates to the board.

“We really felt like they were able to tackle this search with the skills necessary, especially maybe in unusual times,” she said.

Board member Kristina Navarro-Haffner said one of the benefits to having to conduct the interviews virtually was getting to see how the three firms would conduct its work remotely,

if state and federal guidelines in regards to limiting the spread of COVID-19 prevent staff from doing the work in person.

“I kept thinking, ‘well, if the firm we’re hiring has to screen our superintendent candidates using similar technology, it was actually a good trial run of how comfortable, and how savvy and effective they were using that technology,” she said.

Following the board’s hiring of Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, the district’s attorney will draft a contract with the firm, which will be brought back to the school board for approval.

The board had intended to do in-person interviews with superintendent search firms in closed session at its March 16 meeting. Board

members opted to postpone those interviews, since all of them called in from remote locations during the meeting because of COVID-19.

T h e b o a r d ’s o r i g i n a l timeline for selecting a new superintendent, published in January, involved board members working with a chosen superintendent firm on ways to engage families, students and staff in the selection process from April to June, and having those conversations with them in July and October.

The board’s timeline has scheduled for it to select a superintendent candidate in December.

Email reporter Kimberly Wethal at kimberly. wethal@wcinet.com and follow her on Twitter @ kimberly_wethal.​

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11

The Verona Press

April 23, 2020

GREENWOOD APARTMENTS. Apartments for Seniors 55+,currently has 1 & 2 bedroom units available starting at $810 per month,includes heat, water, and sewer.

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Office Space For Rent OFFICE/RETAIL Space for rent in Downtown Oregon. Available now.

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OFFICE SPACES FOR RENT In Oregon facing 15th hole on golf course Free Wi-Fi, Parking and Security System Conference rooms available Kitchenette-Breakroom Autumn Woods Prof. Centre Marty 608-835-3628

Real Estate NEW FACTORY Built Homes 3 BR, 2 BA put on your foundation. $59,980, HORKHEIMER HOMES Hazelton, IA. 800-632-5985.

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12

April 23, 2020

The Verona Press

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Relief: Free food pantry offers cereal, snacks and essentials Paywall: Online subscribers Continued from page 1 get access to e-edition after the idea of little free libraries that are popping up. “(Worley) knew I liked to make things and work with my hands,” Laxton said.

Laxton, who lives in Stoughton, serves as an assistant football coach for the Verona Area High School varsity football team under head coach Dave Richardson and also coaches basketball at Savanna Oaks Middle School.

Worley conducts a homework club on Mondays during the school year at Nakoma Heights. The area has been a supporter of Verona schools and Laxton said teachers at Glacier Edge wanted to help during a tough time.

Laxton said teachers in Verona and families living in the district can donate to the cause by dropping off supplies at Nakoma Heights.

As a counselor, Laxton focuses on social and emotional learning and the health of students at Glacier Edge. It’s one of the reasons he took on teaching health guidance lessons this year instead of classroom teachers.

Laxton is video recording one lesson per grade level every week which the school is sending to parents as part of their weekly lesson plan as an elective. A lot of his lessons focus on emotional control and dealing with anxiety, fear, Photo submitted anger and frustration, he said.

Ben Laxton, a counselor at Glacier Edge Elementary School in Verona, built and “The reason I made them is they don’t require any help,” he said of donated a 2’ tall free food pantry to Nakoma Heights in Fitchburg. the videos.

The free food pantry isn’t the “Everyone wanted to do something to help. This is the last woodworking project Laxton safe way we could get the food to the families in need.” will undertake. He’s built his own wooden Connect Four and CribBen Laxton, Glacier Edge Elementary School counselor bage games. He is in the process of building a new desk for his wife.

Continued from page 1 websites. Subscribers who have trouble with this process or questions can call our office at 845-9559 or email ungcirculation@wcinet.com.

Over the past several weeks, our newsroom has put extra effort into ensuring these websites are as reader-friendly as possible and worth the price.

This change has come with improvements to our coverage on the Internet, most notably the posting of more stories before they are in print. We have rebuilt our story production at UNG to ensure stories are available online throughout the week.

We have also added content that was previously only available in our printed newspapers, including opinion columns, police reports, weekly upcoming event listings and history.

Stories no longer need to be postdated or delayed to encourage people to subscribe to the printed product.

We recognize that everyone has a preferred way to access news, and now all versions – mobile, print and computer – will be treated equally.

For those who wish to read the Press digitally in the way we have it printed, we will continue to provide our e-edition – a PDF version of the weekly paper – and it will now be available to subscribers on Wednesday mornings,

before it hits the newsstands.

We also are debuting a newsletter this week that will direct readers to some of our most important stories. All subscribers with an email in our files will receive that email by default, and anyone can sign up to receive the weekly alerts with our top headlines.

Non-subscribers will still be able to access some content. In addition to providing two free stories per month, the Press will make important breaking and public safety-related news available to everyone without affecting those caps, as well as some submitted items and a few regional stories.

Our social media feeds on Facebook and Twitter will continue to provide some information and lead people to our coverage.

Our ability to continue delivering quality journalism depends on this change, which is becoming more and more common in the industry as advertising revenue declines worldwide. While we have lost print subscribers over the past two years, our website traffic has doubled.

For information or questions on digital subscriptions, please feel free to contact editor Jim Ferolie at ungeditor@ wcinet.com or 845-9559.

Email Verona Press editor Jim Ferolie at veronapress@ wcinet.com.

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS Due to the recent Covid-19 situation: STOU Gh LOCA TOn TIOn OPEn In SOOn G !

We ask that you respect others by following the CDC guidelines concerning masks, gloves, and social distancing.

We are offering phone in for customer pick up or delivery to your door for a fee. The order hotline is 608-719-7400 or by email at kopkesgreenhouse.com

We have special shopping hours for those 60 and over. 8:00am to 9:30am Monday - Friday.

Unlike other local garden retailers, we like to grow what we sell!

April Hours: Shopping Hours

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We are offering extended evening shopping hours for those who want to avoid crowds. We are open until 8:00pm every weekday and until 6:00pm every Saturday and Sunday.

For safety reasons, we reserve the right to limit the number of shoppers in the store.

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Directions from Stoughton: Take 138 toward Oregon. Go past Eugster’s Farm Market, one mile and turn right on Sunrise Rd. Go one more mile then turn left on Town Line Rd. Continue on to Sand Hill Rd. (approximately one mile) and turn right.

Directions from Fitchburg: Take Fish Hatchery Road south to Netherwood Road. Turn left and go through Oregon past Walgreen’s to a left on Sand Hill Road.

Directions from Verona: Take Cty. M to Fish Hatchery Rd. Turn right and go to Netherwood Road. Turn left at Netherwood Rd. through Oregon past Walgreen’s to a left on Sand Hill Rd.