Verona Press The
Thursday, June 7, 2018 • Vol. 54, No. 3 • Verona, WI • Hometown USA • ConnectVerona.com • $1.25
Verona Area School District
Buss to be BRMS principal VAHS assistant principal will swap spots with current principal Murphy SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
Four years after a Verona Area High School administrator moved his office a block away to lead Badger Ridge Middle School, it’s happening again. This time, VAHS will get an administrator in return,
and a familiar one. Alan Buss, a 22-year VAHS employee who has spent time as a psychologist, dean of students, assistant principal and basketball coach, will become the BRMS principal
Hometown Days
Buss
Murphy
Turn to BRMS/Page 16
Photo by Kimberly Wethal
Annabelle Charles, 6, feeds grass to goats at the Havens Petting Zoo on Friday.
Becoming biliterate 17 are first in VASD to achieve Seal of Biliteracy ahead of graduation
If You Go
SCOTT GIRARD Unified Newspaper Group
It’s called the “Seal of Biliteracy,” but the 17 Verona Area High School students graduating this weekend learned more than language to achieve it. “Being biliterate to me means being a lot more knowledgeable, not only in linguistics but cultural,” Brikny Ayala wrote in an email to the Press. “Being able to see the differences in cultures and why certain cultures do things differently is very eye-opening.” Ayala was among a group recognized Tuesday, May 22, as the first in Verona to achieve the seal – which is administered by the district and requires approval from
What: Verona Area High School and Exploration Academy Class of 2018 graduation Where: Voyager Hall, Epic When: 1 p.m. Sunday, June 10 Info: verona.k12.wi.us the state Department of Public Instruction. VASD is one of only four districts in Wisconsin that is able to give out the seal, which was developed in 2015, to its students. When those 17 students walk across the stage this Sunday at Epic’s Voyager Hall, where the graduation ceremony begins at 1 p.m., they will celebrate moving onto their next stage in life, and they’ll do it with certification from the state that
Turn to Graduation/Page 13 The
Verona Press
Fun for kids
Inside
Shortened by one day this year, the annual Hometown Days festival packed in just as much fun. Each day the festival featured a carnival with rides and games, live music and a petting zoo. Other regular events, like the parade, Friday night fireworks and events in the kids’ tent were also a part of the weekend lineup.
More Hometown Days photos Pages 14-15
Bike and ped projects connect Veronans Safety, accessibility factors in added infrastructure KIMBERLY WETHAL
‘It’s great because it’s inclusive.’ Elizabeth Doyle, District 1 alder
Unified Newspaper Group
Elizabeth Doyle remembers being a kid and having the ability to bike anywhere to go see friends. Now, with orange construction barrels lining County Hwy. M south of Main Street, the District 1 alder believes residents in Verona’s southern neighborhoods should have an easier time developing similar memories. The $1.3 million project, which will take all summer, grew out of the July 2016 Verona Bike and
Pedestrian Study, which sought to increase access to the downtown and to schools, close the disconnect between neighborhoods and improve safety conditions to encourage residents to do more biking and walking. The projects are expected to be implemented by 2024 but could take longer if plans are reworked to accommodate changes in pedestrian movement. “It’s great because it’s inclusive,” Doyle said of the overall plan.
Three of this year’s projects (Nos. 3, 8 and 10) will link the city’s downtown to its southern neighborhoods with sidewalks, bike lanes and pedestrian- and bike-friendly intersections. The three will create sidewalks and bike lanes alongside the southern end of County Hwy. M as it transitions into South Main Street, build a sidewalk along Locust Drive from M to Bruce Street and place medians, sidewalk extensions and flashing pedestrian beacons along the intersection of M and Locust Drive. Some of that began Monday, along with two unrelated rehabilitation projects, on Harriet Street and East Verona Avenue. Another project had been
Turn to Plan/Page 11