Thursday, March 16, 2017 - Page 1
Ripon Commonwealth Press www.RiponPress.com
Issue No. 11 Serving the Ripon community since 1864
Wisconsin Weekly Newspaper of the Year
Single copy — $1 Thursday, March 16, 2017
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eady for a date with state
INSIDE
Parade Route planned Want to cheer on the boys’ basketball team as it heads off to Madison? The parade will wind its way through several city streets. See page 3
Ripon, WI 54971
Crashes lead city to lower speed limit on E. Fond du Lac Street by Ian Stepleton
ians@riponprinters.com
Our Views
World-class waters Where did this Olympic medalist go to celebrate after the Rio Olympics? (Hint: It’s somewhere close to home.) See page 4
Area FOR THE FIRST time in 14 years, the Ripon High School boys’ basketball team is heading back to the state tournament. Celebrating their sectional championship are (faces visible), from left, Andy Saul, Eddie Muench, Austen Wallenfang, coach Dean Vander Plas and Hunter Auchtung. For much more on the victory and the upcoming games, see page 15. Jonathan Bailey photo
A sharp increase in crashes at an east-side intersection will mean Ripon residents will need to learn to drive a little slower when heading toward the hospital. The Ripon Common Council agreed Tuesday night to lower the speed limit on East Fond du Lac Street between Harvey and Douglas streets from 35 mph to 25. The decision comes after a 15-month period in which far more vehicle accidents occurred at the intersection of Douglas and East Fond du Lac streets than each of the past several years combined. “It’s become our highest accident rate in the city,” Ripon Police Chief Dave Lukoski said Tuesday night. “... We obviously have a problem there.” Statistics bear out the scope of the problem: ‰ 2013: 1 crash at that intersection ‰ 2014: 1 crash ‰ 2015: 1 crash ‰ 2016: 9 crashes (including two injury crashes). Thus far, 2016 does not appear to be an anomaly, either. “So far in 2017, [we have had] three crashes,” Ripon Police Capt. Bill Wallner said in a separate interview with the Commonwealth. The belief is that the increase in crashes directly correlates to the increased number of vehicles making
See CRASHES/ back page
Like to ‘make’? Creative souls get space at library by Ian Stepleton
ians@riponprinters.com
On a quiet Thursday afternoon, the still of Ripon Public Library was broken by a whirring noise. There, rolling among the stacks, moved a strange, glowing ball. It paused, turned and spun its way back toward the paperbacks. This wasn’t an alien invasion of spherical visitors.
Road to GL The journey to Green Lake’s Thrasher Opera House for this singer/ songwriter includes layovers with Kenny Loggins and others. See page 7
Education
Rather, it was a peek into a new spin on the mission of Ripon Public Library: Encouraging learning in ways that transcend the traditional tomes. “We are always supporting the lifelong learner,” said Mandy Sprague, adult and teen services librarian at Ripon Public Library. And that means, starting this week, offering a whole new variety of items for check-out.
See LIBRARY/ page 14
BETS OLSON, LEFT, says her daughter, Emma, is her best friend. The two struggled through a separation when Emma stayed at a mental institute for two weeks in 2014. Maic D’Agostino photo
Cutting, over-medicating were part of a much more complex picture
Editor’s note: This is part four of a multi-part series on depression, suicide and mental health in youth and how families can address these issues openly and proactively with children. by Maic D’Agostino
maicd@riponprinters.com
Using their heads Hats off to the Barlow Park elementary students who read an amazing number of books — then celebrated in a heady fashion. See page 9
Emma Olson describes herself as “always been shy.” She’s not too shy about her scars, however, whether they’re physical or mental. Her body carries welts from self-inflicted knife cuts, but she doesn’t wear sweaters or long pants in the summer anymore to hide them, nor does she seem to mind showing the marks to anyone who’s curious. The Lumen High School soph-
omore is just as up front about her mental health struggles — which once culminated in a stay at a mental health institute. That story, like many mental health issues, is much more complex than it seems on the surface. Just before Christmas a little over two years ago, Emma was sent to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute for suicidal thoughts. But she said she never had them. What she did have were depression and anxiety, leading to two very different ways to try to control them: antidepressants and cutting.
“With my journey at first, I was really ashamed,” she said about her scars and cuts. “... But after Winnebago, I kind of stopped caring ... I can’t get rid of them,” she added matter-of-factly. Both treatments — the prescribed pills and the destructive blades — played a role in her two-week institutionalization. Before she was a teenager, Emma discovered the concept of self-harming through social media and thought the practice might make her feel better, by focusing her mind
See COMPLEX/ page 14
IT’S NOT A book, but the sphere held by librarian Ben Sprague is one of many new items available in Ripon. Ian Stepleton photo
Page 14 - Thursday, March 16, 2017
News
COMPLEX/Humor helps LIBRARY/Items may be checked out
Olson family cope
continued from page 1
on more easily treated physical pain rather than overwhelming and often misunderstood mental anguish. “If you search ‘self harming,’ there’s so many pictures and quotes and everything about it,” she said. “Why is this so wellknown? This isn’t a good thing. There’s so many other things that kids my age should know about, not this. This is gross and cruel. It’s not pretty.” TOO MUCH TO BEAR
While therapy was helping her cope, desperate thoughts about not being good enough assailed her mind one night in December 2014, when she was 13, beyond what she felt could be dealt with by herself. Reaching out to two peers she considered friends, she was devastated when they said they “wouldn’t care if I ended it,”meaning her life, she assumed. Already in pain, her thoughts became “too much to bear,” and she attempted to ease the hurting by taking “a bunch of medication.” Her rationale, she explained, was if one pill helped her from sinking into depression, then a lot of them would save her from drowning in despair. Emma left a note and knives she collected by the plug of the Christmas tree lights so her mom, Bets, could find them. “[The note] just said that she’d had these negative thoughts, and she felt that she shouldn’t have those [knives] in her possession,” Bets said, explaining she was Emma’s “safe place” when her daughter’s thoughts turned to self harm. Worried about side effects from taking so much medication, Bets took Emma to the emergency room. “They said they needed to monitor her for a minimum of six hours, so we sat there in the ER until about 4 or 5 in the morning,” Bets said. “At which time she was taken to Winnebago in the back seat of a squad car.” With the note Emma left, plus using phrases about wanting her bad thoughts to go away and the thoughts being too much to bear, Emma and Bets realize why authorities might conclude she was suicidal. But they maintain that just wasn’t the case. At the time, Bets felt concerned and confused about her daughter’s situation — and where exactly she was headed. “When we left the hospital ... I had a scrap piece of paper with a phone number,” she said, “and the nurse said to me, ‘All I can tell you is this is who we called. Try this number tomorrow morning.’ They couldn’t tell me where the facility is, what was the next thing to happen, how long to wait, who we would hear from.” Bets fretted that the situation would exacerbate what she knew was one of Emma’s biggest fears: being separated from her family. “It was hard for me mostly because I’m really family-oriented. They’re my support,” Emma said. “... But I think in the end, we came out stronger, in a way, because I knew how to cope with things better.” That isn’t to say the experience was easy. Rules at the institute seemed to be revealed when she accidently broke them, Emma felt. She got in trouble for facing the boys in the lunch room and writing on her hand, for example. She also observed youth with behavioral issues, not just mental ones, and even saw adults “tackle” young girls when they were acting out. “It was scarring, a little bit,” she said. Emma stayed at the institute from Dec. 16 to 30, spending Christmas there away from her family. The depression, the cutting and the institute all were ordeals that would weigh heavily on any mind, not to mention a not-yet-14 year old’s. “More than once she made the comment to me, ‘I can’t even imagine I’ll be here when I’m 16. I don’t think I’ll make it to 16,’” Bets said. “... She just turned 16 last [month].”
EMMA OLSON shows scars from self-cutting she engaged in as she battled depression and anxiety as a middle schooler. Maic D’Agostino photo EMERGING STRONGER
Both Bets and Emma believe they have come out stronger and better equipped to deal with issues as they arise, whether as individuals or as a family, and are even able to joke about some aspects of their lives. “[Emma] has a T-shirt that says, ‘I have more issues than a fashion magazine,’” Bets said. “I feel like in a way it was harder on her than it was on me,” Emma said, noting that the stay at least was a welcome break from the pressures of school and peers. When Emma returned to school, she said she distanced herself from the girls who told her they wouldn’t care if she ended her life, and she quickly made new friends. But it’s not always easy for her to communicate with other teenagers. “I talk better with adults than with kids,” she said. “I’m not really good at communicating with people my own age. That’s why presenting in front of them scares me so much, because I feel like they’re judging me. I know how kids think because I think the same way. It’s nerve-racking.” Emma still has difficulty speaking in front of her class, but she discovered a love of writing poetry as an outlet after a slam poetry assignment in seventh grade required her to read out loud in front of her classmates. “I was shaking so bad. I was terrified,” she said. “But that was when I [realized I] liked writing, and that’s when I found a passion for it ... I take my pain and turn it into [art].” Bets especially recalled a poem Emma wrote called “Eyes Like Knives” that, she said, opened her own eyes. “We framed it,” Bets said. “And that was the start where we kind of knew; that was ... her way of letting us know that it was more than just, ‘I don’t want to stand up in front of class and talk to people.’ That it was much deeper.” As far as perceptions of mental health, Emma has a unique perspective that sees a stigmatization — but also sometimes a need for attention. “A lot of people brush [mental illness] off because there are people nowadays that say things to get attention, so everyone thinks everyone’s looking for attention when they’re just [making] a cry for help,” she said. “... People are either ashamed of [mental illness] and they want to hide it or they overexaggerate it and they want attention for it ... Mental illness isn’t fun, it’s not happy, it’s not a good thing to have.” Still, Emma and Bets find humor as a way to cope with mental health issues. “The other saying we like is, ‘Our family doesn’t suffer from mental illness; we enjoy it,’” Bets said laughing, admitting there were “a lot of tears, a lot of anger” in the course of their journey. “Some of [the jokes] may be a little bit morbid,” Emma said, “but I find closure in it because [the events are] in the past, and it helps me cope with what had happened.” Next week: Ripon College senior Mitchell Eithun grew up in a family with several mental health issues — and fought through his own in high school. Now taking medication and feeling “so much better,” he has some words of advice for his younger self.
Now, in addition to books layered effects [such as] a silhouand magazines, teens through ette of a person on it.” adults may check out items from Some items even are as simple the library’s new “Makerspace” as Play-Doh. collection. Mixed in as well will be These are items patrons may existing products such as WiFi take home to interact with physi- hotspots, Rokus and e-readers. “Then we’re also going to cally, as opposed to simply read. Items range in interest areas highlight some of the things we from electronics — such as the already have that people may not smartphone app-driven Sphero know we have,” Sprague said. balls, to a simple canning tool- “We have a projection screen kit — and plenty of other items you can check out; we also have an old slide projector that can be in between. They’re meant to appeal to checked out. We’ll be including visitors to the library who might those in the same area.” Ripon is far from dancing on be less apt to sit and read, and the bleeding edge of library innomore apt to “do.” “You think of [the current vation with its new Makerspace push for] STEM (science, tech- collection. “[The concept has] been nology, engineering and math) and the arts ... A lot of what’s in around for the last couple years,” here supports learning in those Sprague said. A quick search of the Ameriareas,” Sprague said. While this may seem like an can Library Association website, step beyond the stereotypical role in fact, can turn up plenty of arof a library, staff argue it’s just an ticles and resources for libraries extension of what the library has considering Makerspaces, such been doing for as toolkits and some time now. discussions on “The library the topic. ’m very excited ... I has already had “Librarthink people are really ies that have great success i n c i r c u l a t - excited about it too.” a continuous space available ing non-tradiMandy Sprague, teen and for Makerspace tional library adult services librarian stuff” are startitems such as the Rokus and ing to dedicate WiFi hotspots,” whole rooms to head librarian Desiree Bongers “making” on premises, Sprague said, adding the Toy Library has said. been well used. “Staff hopes that Ripon, however, doesn’t have this new collection will also be that kind of space. popular with patrons.” Instead, Ripon Public Library Sprague agreed, noting this is following the toy lending liprovides patrons a natural next brary model in which items may step beyond the Toy Library, in be checked out. which plenty of hands-on activi“You have to be 13 or older to check these things out, or have ties are available for children. “Once you are phasing out Mom, Dad, Grandpa with you of the Toy Library, you’ll then to help you out,” Sprague said. Items may be checked out for work into the Makerspace — older children through adults,” up to 14 days, with a limit of only one item at a time. Sprague said. Fines, too, are a little heftier “As children age out of the Toy Library, they will now have for these items: $1 per day, with a more advanced collection to a maximum fine of $30. If something breaks or is lost, interact with that shares some of those same concepts,” Bongers though, library patrons are resaid, adding the concept fits sponsible for replacement — and well with a Department of Pub- that often is a larger dollar figure, lic Instruction project called the sometimes into three digits. Coding Initiative in Wisconsin The check-out cards for each Public Libraries. item, though, state the replaceA wide range of items already ment cost up-front. are available as part of the pro“We want to point that out to people when they come in [that gram. Games, such as Laser Maze, this] is something you need to be allow the player to construct a responsible for,” Sprague said, maze and see if they can bounce explaining that a family consida laser through it. ering checking out an item with a Another activity encourages large replacement cost will need basic coding skills. to consider, “Do I want to take Or, for the more crafty types, something out that has a replace“We also have jelly plates [which ment cost of $150? Maybe that’s are] an easier monotype-printing not right for my family.” system,” Sprague said, describGiven the items often involve ing it as “a hard, gelatin plate fragile pieces, the library is tak... good for card-making, things ing other extra safeguards. Makerspace items will not sit like that ... You can create multi-
continued from page 1
“I
LIBRARIAN BEN SPRAGUE uses a smartphone to control a Sphero Ian Stepleton photo ball, which is available at Ripon Public Library. out — patrons will need to bring the matching card to library staff at the desk. They also must be returned inside as well, rather than having sensitive electronics stuffed in the return box outside. Items, too, must be picked up in Ripon. “If you are a Ripon resident you can put it on hold, or if you come to our building to pick it up, you can [borrow these items],” Sprague said. “But we are not going to send it out to the other libraries in a delivery. We don’t want them to be damaged.” Though lending such items likely comes with a whole new set of headaches, the collection comes with a bit of a mandate from the library’s patrons. Last summer, when the library held its second-annual “Read for a Cause” program, patrons voted for which of three groups should receive the largest donation from the library. Coming in a close second? The Makerspace concept.
That garnered the library $150 toward the new program. Another $500 came this spring from the Webster Foundation, and $500 also came from the Winnefox Library System. With $200 as well from a private donation, “Altogether we had $1,350 to start — that’s a healthy little start,” Sprague said. She’s hoping it’s only a start. “We’re starting a wish list already. One of the things we want to get is a virtual reality goggles ... We’ll probably get one of those this spring yet,” she said. “As we find grants that meet the needs of this space, we’ll continue to add items.” Sprague, however, believes the Makerspace already available will benefit patrons. “I’m very excited. I’m a creative person; this is one of those things that have been in the back of my mind for quite a while,” she said. “I think people are really excited about it too. We saw a lot of interest in it last summer ... People are excited about it.”
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Thursday, July 13, 2017 - Page 7
THE WAR ON CARP
Green Lake team fights fish to restore estuary, improve water quality Editor’s note: This is part 1 of a two-part series on the efforts of conservation groups to reduce carp populations in Green Lake and its County Road K estuary. Part 1 will focus on how those groups are trying to bring back long-missing pieces to the estuary’s ecological puzzle by taking carp out of it. Part 2 will look at a special team of Ripon College mathematicians, who may be able to provide the environmental scientists with vital clues about Green Lake’s carp population. by Maic D’Agostino
maicd@riponprinters.com
Forces dedicated to protecting Green Lake’s most precious resource are engaged in battle with a horde of invaders. “We’re in a war of attrition,” said Charlie Marks, administrator of the Green Lake Sanitary District and member of Green Lake’s lake management planning team. That team, involving numerous partners and organizations, is trying to stem the tide of a longtime foe: The common carp. Those in the area may remember the scene of carnage that floated up in June of last year when hundreds of dead fish piled around a newly refashioned carp barrier between the southwestern tip of Big Green Lake and its County Road K estuary — so named because County Road K bridges over the spot where the two bodies of water connect. The carp kill was a good thing for reducing the numbers of the invasive species, but it made for an unsightly and foul-smelling affair for visitors to the water, just a stone’s throw from the beaches of Dodge Memorial County Park. This time, the team — which includes the Green Lake Association, the sanitary district, the Green Lake Conservancy, Green Lake and Fond du Lac counties’ land and water conservation departments, the cities of Green Lake and Ripon, and the Wisconsin DNR — had a strategy it hopes will keep both living and dead fish out the estuary, in particular. “I’m going to go out on a limb ... I don’t think we’re going to have the carp die-off at all this summer,” Marks said. “We’re going to see nothing other than the normal, every-so-often-you-see-a-deadfish-floating-in-the-lake situation, which is completely different than what we had last year.” Marks’s confidence comes from the efforts to remove the fish
CHARLIE MARKS, ADMINISTRATOR of the Green Lake Sanitary District and member of Green Lake’s lake management planning team, looks at the carp barrier between Big Green Lake and the County Road K estuary from the sanitary district’s boat. Dead carp piled around the barrier and lake last summer. This year, Marks noted there are hardly any fish corpses to be seen as Maic D’Agostino photo the team works to remove carp and restore the estuary.
proactively. Although from the County Road So far, about 175,000 pounds K bridge it might sparkle in the of carp have been taken out of the sunlight, you can’t see more than water, he said. an inch or two into the murkiness That’s more than double the when you get nearer. 80,000 pounds of carp collected Compare that with the Silver all of last summer. Creek estuary on the east end of Commercial fishermen, hired the lake, Marks enjoins, while by the DNR, have been pulling looking down from the County carp out faster than you can say Road A bridge that snakes between “carpageddon,” accounting for the estuary and Sunset Park. around 165,000 pounds of fish “What you’re going to see on removal, while the remaining the bridge over there, coming 10,000 pounds have been caught in from Silver Creek, is much in fyke nets. clearer water,” he said. “And that’s But why the focus on the estu- because when you look at Silver ary near the corner of County Road Creek, you’re going to see a lot of plants, you’re K and Highway going to see a 73, just north of lot of green. Markesan? e’re trying to And plants If the team create an unfair a n d g r e e n can clear enough equate to pucarp out of it, advantage, and we’re tryMarks explained, rification of ing to let the plants win.” the estuary could water. Charlie Marks return to a more “And so, administrator, Green Lake natural, healthy by us restorSanitary District and verdant state. ing [the Silver “If this works, Creek estuyou’re going to ary] 15 years see a pretty dramatic facelift over ago — we got the carp out of there, the next two or three summers,” the plants grew — the water filterhe said. ing and the water quality benefits are off-the-charts awesome.” RESTORING PLANT GROWTH The lake management planning At least one member of the team is beefing up its efforts to sanitary district staff comes out get the same results in the County to the estuary every day, circling Road K estuary. the quiet marsh in an old boat the “Going back two or three years district has employed for 10 years ago, there were no plants in here (and bought used, for $3,000). at all,” Marks said. The team checks on fyke nets, Now, he notes, the plants are carp exclosures and plant growth. coming back, thanks to a twoMarks tells visitors to the estu- pronged effort by the lake manary to look closely at the water: agement planning team: removing the destructive carp who like to root around in the marsh bed and planting native aquatic plants, such as sago pondweed and wild celery. “We need to create more good plants. We need to create a positive seed bank,” Marks said. “It’s kind of like if you build a house and you want to put in a new lawn, you don’t want weeds to grow; you want to put in the grass that you want.” And the carp can act like pests preventing that plan, he added. “Using my bad example of the house with the yard, it’s like you have these little animals running around in your yard and, no matter THE SILVER CREEK estuary alongside County Road A is green how hard you try, you can’t plant and lush. The lake management planning team hopes the County the lawn,” Marks said. Road K estuary can some day resemble it. Maic D’Agostino photo It’s been a community effort
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to re-marsh the estuary, as Marks explained Green Lake high schoolers helped the team stick the native plants in the muddy waters and fix up the exclosures that keep carp away from them, which Marks said work like “little incubators.” Last year, the team planted about 10,000 of the water-loving flora; this year, it “upped the ante” by planting more than 27,000 with the aid of the high school youth, according to Marks. It’s a battle of carp vs. plants, where the population of carp needs to fall below a certain threshold in order for the beneficial pondweed and wild celery to flourish, he explained. “We’re trying to create an unfair advantage, and we’re trying to let the plants win,” Marks said.
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BLUE DRAGONFLIES GATHER around some of the aquatic plants growing in the County Road K estuary. No plants were growing in the estuary two or three years ago, according to Maic D’Agostino photo Charlie Marks.
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In next week’s Commonwealth, find out how a Ripon College professor and two students used complicated nonlinear equations and computer simulations in a quest to predict the future of carp in the County Road K estuary.
GREEN LAKE SANITARY District employee and former Badgers football player Dallas Lewallen, left, gets help fixing a carp exclosure from Green Lake high schoolers, from left, Alexandra Colby, Maurisa Perez, Henry James, Nicholas Carley and P.J. Molthan. The students, along with science teacher Jason Ladwig, helped the sanitary district plant native species, fix exclosures Jason Ladwig photo and check fyke nets in the County Road K estuary.
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THE CARP POPULATION
Occasionally, a dark plume appears like a drop of oil in the estuary’s murky water: fish hightailing it away from boats’ motors and other sudden disruptions. Marks estimates that a third to half of those swirls in the water are carp, based on the team’s daily checks of fyke nets set up to capture carp every day, as about a third of the 40-some species caught in the nets are carp. While carp are plentiful, the clouds also are made by many of the other species living in the estu-
ary: catfish, bullheads, bluegill and turtles, just to name a few. The presence of the carp can threaten the ability of these other aquatic species to prosper, beyond prohibiting plant life that should be filling the marsh and filtering its water — which in turn flows into the main lake itself. Common carp are labeled a “restricted” invasive species by the DNR, which means they are “already established in the state and cause or have the potential to cause significant environmental or economic harm or harm to human health.” The carp were introduced to Green Lake decades ago, and so the natural state of the County Road K estuary may be unfamiliar to practically everyone who visits its waters today. Marks would love to see what healthy plant growth in the estuary would look like, and he’s relishing the opportunity to restore it. “I love being out here,” he said. “... I love the outdoors, and I love working on projects like this.” Whether the goal is achievable depends on how many pounds of carp can be removed from the estuary. But how many pounds should be the goal? That’s what a team of Ripon College mathematicians set out to discover this summer.
PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL
The significance of native plant growth and carp removal lies in a vital issue for many lakes: decreasing phosphorus levels. One pound of phosphorus can fuel the growth of 500 pounds of algae, Marks noted. “If you have 150,000 pounds [of carp] that you’ve taken out, somewhere between one and two percent is phosphorus removed, because the fish themselves, part of their biomass is phosphorus,” he said. “And the fact that they stir up the ground and they cause nutrient problems ... It’s the equivalent of
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taking a couple thousand pounds of phosphorus out of the lake.” Two factors that Marks feels were the biggest contributors to reducing the “problem nutrient” inflow from Silver Creek to Big Green Lake in last 15 years were the renovation of Ripon’s wastewater treatment plant and the restoration of the Silver Creek estuary. “On average, we were putting in 9 to 10,000 pounds of phosphorus [which] was coming in under that bridge, prior to those two things happening,” he said. “And we’ve cut that in half, to 4 to 5,000 pounds ... That’s the goal: less phosphorus.” In a year with average rainfall, Big Green Lake takes in more than 16,000 pounds of phosphorus, Marks explained, so the reduction could be a huge boon to the water quality of Wisconsin’s deepest inland lake. Now, he and the lake management planning team have their sights set on the County Road K estuary.
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Thursday, April 6, 2017 - Page 9
Education
Free breakfast may fuel learning for young students Two schools start program meant to fill ‘hungry bellies’ by Maic D’Agostino
maicd@riponprinters.com
The morning begins quietly inside Barlow Park Elementary School. Kindergarten teacher Kathy McMillan sits with her laptop at one of the large round tables in her classroom, typing in an electronic time-off request — for when her husband has surgery — in a few free minutes before the school bell rings. Other teachers pop in and out to ask a question, say hi or gather for a brief morning prayer before they start their days. Students’ chairs are stacked on the circular tables, waiting to be filled with young learners. A screen at the front of the classroom projects a little rabbit accompanying the words, “Hello My Hoppers, I can’t wait to see where your kites have taken you... Remember ALL your responsibilities this morning. Let’s be kind to each other!” Alongside, a stock-image list shows what school lunch fare the children could expect later that day. “I just like them to start their day with something kind,” McMillan says. Kind messages aren’t the only provisions the school feeds its youngsters first thing: each Barlow Park student also is offered three items for breakfast, free of charge, every morning. Like every day, food service workers roll carts down the halls and park them outside classrooms. Suddenly, the calm, empty halls are flooded with kids in bright coats as they pour toward their lockers. McMillan stations herself at a hallway intersection by the breakfast cart. Many of her students greet her with hugs. Food service worker Tammy Vande Zande asks kids by name whether they will be eating school breakfast today. She checks boxes on a clipboard; the district needs to report exactly how many meals are taken so it can be reimbursed by the federal
government. GETTING KIDS FED FOR FREE
The program began in January in Ripon, on district business manager J.J. Gutman’s initiative. But Ripon isn’t the first district where he’s helped obtain free breakfasts for its kids. Gutman recalls a time in a Menasha school when he overheard some young students talking. “I’m so hungry,” one said. “Didn’t you eat breakfast?” the other asked. No, the first student replied; he hadn’t eaten since he had lunch at school the previous day. The moment affected Gutman, and he began researching how the school could ensure the children within its walls weren’t starting the day empty. He discovered a federal program where the school could “break even” from reimbursements if they had enough students participating in its breakfast, after factoring in costs to the district in staffing hours and supplies. Based on Ripon schools’ demographics of students with an economic disadvantage — determined by families enrolled in the free-and-reduced meals program — Gutman brought the same concept to Barlow Park and Murray Park elementary schools this year. For Ripon to reach its “breakeven point,” he calculated the schools would need about 60- or 65-percent participation from all their students, regardless of economic status. At Barlow, the rate has been closer to 80 percent or higher. “Barlow has been a major success with the program,” Gutman said to the Ripon Area School Board last month, later adding, “[The district is] making money off of the program.” He noted that Murray Park hasn’t had the same level of participation, which likely is due to a simple fact: in Barlow, the carts of food are brought to the students’ classrooms. ‘MORE DISTRACTING IS A HUNGRY BELLY’
This particular morning, the cart is laden with packages of mini waffles and pancakes, cartons of milk and cups of chopped peaches and juice.
BARLOW PARK KINDERGARTEN teacher Kathy Mcmillan gives students a good morning hug as free milk cartons sit on Maic D’Agostino photo a cart in the school’s hall. About half of McMillan’s kindergartners grab some food, then they and their classmates pull their chairs off the tables and draw out their pencils. At each table, some kids are eating as they work on their morning math problems and some aren’t. No one appears to mind the munching. The room again falls quiet, almost as silent as when it was empty a half hour earlier. McMillan praises her students’ dutifulness and behavior. When Gutman presented an update on the breakfast program to the School Board at its March meeting, board member David Olson asked if the children are distracted when their schoolmates eat during class. “What’s more distracting is a hungry belly,” Barlow Park Principal Tanya Sanderfoot replied. In McMillan’s room, Sander-
foot walks around the tables for a few moments, her smile wide as she stops to talk with a few kids. Her own elementary-aged children occasionally partake of the free breakfasts, she told the board, which can be a boon not just for families struggling to feed kids but for families struggling to find time to eat as well. Of course, the goal of the program primarily is to address need. But knowing there’s an option can make the morning easier, Sanderfoot explained. “The morning is such a rush. And to be able to try to get everyone fed peacefully in the car on the way to school is [not easy],” she said to the board. “It’s a rare moment in my house that we can get in the car without there being yelling, I’ll be honest with you.” Now, she noted, the option for kids to eat at school is a “relief.”
NOT EVERY SCHOOL school year. Families with older children Put another way, 46 percent soon may get more morningof K-5 legacy students last year meal flexibility, too. had an economic disadvantage, Gutman envisions rolling compared to 31 percent of their out the program for the middle charter school peers. school and high While the school as well. rates seem to However, have begun free breakfasts converging, are not availthey’re dissimiable at either lar enough that Journey or the elementary Quest charter legacy schools elementary are able to offer schools. Based free breakfast to on current all their stuenrollment dents. demographics, Meanwhile, Gutman said he students at any doesn’t foresee MACY KIMBALL drinks juice other school — the program as she reads a book in her from Journey expanding to to Ripon High kindergarten class. those schools Maic D’Agostino photo School — still soon. can purchase According breakfast, including free-andto three years of data from the reduced costs for those eligible. Wisconsin Department of Public But unlike Barlow Park kids, Instruction since 2013 — the they have to arrive early, go to first year demographic data is their respective cafeterias and available for Journey — Barlow may be separated from their Park’s percentage of students already-fed friends, who may use with an economic disadvantage the extra time to play or study. has been between 46 and 44 SEEING EFFECTS percent, while Murray Park’s rate More and more sunlight seeps has dipped from 52 percent in in through a large window in 2013-14 to 44 percent the next McMillan’s kindergarten room year, then slid back up to 49 where potted plants of various percent last year. shapes and sizes soak in the rays. Meanwhile, Journey’s Several students are finishpercentages went from 29 in ing both their food and their 2013-14 to 34 the last two years; worksheets. The room remains rates of Quest students identified relatively peaceful as they pick as economically disadvantaged out books to read by themselves. has meandered from 18 percent three years ago to 24 percent in 2014-15 to 28 percent last See BREAKFAST / page 10
RAYLIN COX, LEFT, tries to decide what to pick for breakfast before she starts her school day, as Tammy Vande Zande Maic D’Agostino photo suggests some options.
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5:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday Liturgy 6:00 p.m. Prayer Vigil (call church to sign up for an hour)
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8:30 p.m. Easter Vigil and Festive Reception
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Page 10 - Thursday, April 6, 2017
Education
BREAKFAST/Free program available at legacy K-5 schools, but not charters to satiate themselves (at least One or two sip milk or juice until lunch time) with various as they leaf through pages. Mcbreakfast goods, including a Millan begins taking a few kids popular one Gutman describes as aside to go over math problems. a sausage and Before her pancake on a students arrived arlow has been a ma- stick. that morning, But not the long-time jor success with the bagels. Ripon teacher program ... [The district is] “[The stureflected that the new break- making money off of the pro- dents] didn’t really take to fast program gram.” the bagels too seemed to be J.J. Gutman much,” Gutman helping the district business manager told the board children’s stamwith a smile. ina — and reFortunately, the breakfast ducing the need for snacks, some program itself does seem to be of which occasionally would taking. come out of her own pocket. Time will tell whether the “Not a lot of people realize food will help fuel better behavthat,” McMillan said. Now many of them are able ior and greater achievement.
continued from page 9
“B
TAMMY VANDE ZANDE offers breakfast to several young boys who are, from left, Miles Maic D’Agostino photo Cloud, Aydan Reichartz and Tomas Centeno.
J.J. GUTMAN, CENTER, helps Veit operator Mark Held hook up the former Ripon Middle School sign to a crane while driver Brian Swearingen waits.
JOLENE MEYER SNAPS one of the final shots of the middle school sign before its removal.
Signing off VEIT OPERATOR MARK Held guides the old Ripon Middle School sign as a crane hoists it off its pedestal. Watching in the background are, from left, Ripon Area School Board member Tom Stellmacher, district business manager J.J. Gutman and Ryan Schmidt, project manager for C.G. Schmidt, Inc.
Scholars Three RC students win art award The Northeast (NE) chapter of Wisconsin Visual Artists (WVA) recently announced award of merit prizes to Ripon College students Sara Streiter, Tara Schultz and Alexandria Wilber. All three students will be graduating in May, Streiter with a major in studio art and a minor in anthropology, Schultz with a major in studio art and minor in psychology, and Wilber with a double major in studio art and English. The prize consists of a gift of $100 and a year’s membership in WVA. Since 2010, the NE chapter of WVA has awarded a yearly prize for outstanding student artwork on the college level. This is not a scholarship, but a recognition of the caliber of the art itself and a means of encouragement for graduates to continue their work in the visual arts. WVA is a not-for-profit membership-based organization made up of visual artists working in a wide variety of media along with supporters of Wisconsin art. Find out more about WVA by visiting www.wisconsinvisualartists.com.
Six locals graduate from UW-Oshkosh The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh recently announced graduates from fall 2016, including local recipients: ‰ Ripon: Christy N. Jahns, special education-cross categorical; Kyrsten A. James, psychology; Jessica Zemlicka, journalism (public relations); ‰ Markesan: Ashley A. Krueger, leadership and organizational studies; ‰ Rosendale: Amanda M. Menting, special education-cross categorical; Wayne Mittelstaedt, finance.
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Three from RHS among students recognized for art by Rep. Ballweg Ripon High School students Hayley Corkran, Marissa Olson and Joshua Schmidt were among students chosen as part of March’s Youth Art Month. Their teacher is Alicia M. Young. State Rep. Joan Ballweg, RMarkesan, offered congratulations to selected students and teachers from the 41st Assembly District. “Congratulations to these talented students and their teachers,” Ballweg said. “Youth Art Month emphasizes the value of art edu-
cation for all children and encourages communities to support quality art programs and safety. The visual arts helps develop student’s skills including problem solving, creativity, and communication, which employers are looking for. It goes to show that taking an art class in school can pay off down the road in more ways than one.” Student art work was displayed in the Capitol rotunda from March 18 through March 31.
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The last sign of the old Ripon Middle School is gone. Literally. On a chilly, blustery March 24 morning, a handful of people bid adieu to the sign that stood along Metomen Street for seven decades. With its Tiger faded to yellow and its black edges worn white, the sign swung to face the sidewalk where many generations of middle schoolers had passed by before a crane hauled it to the back of a waiting truck.
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Page 4 - Thursday, August 10, 2017
Our Views
Ripon Commonwealth Press www.RiponPress.com
Publisher: Tim Lyke Editor: Ian Stepleton Reporters: Jonathan Bailey, Maic D’Agostino Ad Sales: Steve Wendt, Todd Sharp Production: Tami Conlon, Brandi Dolgner, Lisa Lingafelt Office: Heather Shaver, Diane Smith Printer: Ripon Printers Serving Ripon Since 1864. Established Jan. 22, 1864, as The Ripon Commonwealth. On April 25, 1957, it combined with the Ripon Weekly Press (est. 1870 as the Ripon Free Press) to become The Ripon Commonwealth Press.
Views Pages
Pages 4 and 5 of the Ripon Commonwealth Press are devoted to opinions. They are not news pages. Signed columns, letters and other features do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth. All editorials are signed. The Commonwealth invites others to serve as guest columnists by expressing their opinions about a general issue of local concern. If interested, contact the editor or publisher, who are listed above.
RIPON SUMMER SCHOOL children and their chaperones line up to board a school bus after a morning of refreshing fun at Tim Lyke photo Ripon’s new splash pad last month.
Letters to the editor are welcome. Letters must be signed and include address and phone number. They should be no more than 600 words; brevity assures best readership. The editor may restrict writers to one letter per month. E-mail letters to: IanS@Riponprinters.com or send them to Letter to the Editor, Ripon Commonwealth Press, P.O. Box 6, Ripon, WI 54971.
Thanks for the splash pad, volunteers!
Fairness
This newspaper’s staff tries to report news fairly and accurately. When we fall short of this objective, we welcome reader complaints. Please direct your comments to the editor.
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Published every Thursday by Ripon Community Publications, 646 S. Douglas St., P.O. Box 6, Ripon, WI 54971. Phone number is (920) 748-3017. FAX number is (920) 748-3028. E-mail to RCPads@Riponprinters.com. Website is www.RiponPress.com Subscriptions are $40 per year in Ripon trade area, $47 elsewhere in Wisconsin, $57 out of state. Single copies are $1. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Ripon Commonwealth Press, P.O. Box 6, Ripon, WI 54971. Second Class postage paid at Ripon, Wis.
Hearts & Darts § Hearts to the fellow at Ripon Family Restaurant who thanked veteran and Ripon resident Jim Bednarek for his service by paying for his and wife Pat’s meal. Jim was talking to someone about going on an honor flight Sept. 20 when the gentleman in a booth with his grandon stood up and grabbed the check out of Jim’s hand. He didn’t identify himself by name but showed by his action that he is a grateful American. ‰ Darts to Webster’s Marketplace owner Candie Baker who, upon receiving the Excellence in Operations award Tuesday from Brandon Scholz, Wisconsin Grocers Association (WGA) president and CEO, dared to publicly embarrass him by explaining that the award had a typo. “That’s not right,” she said, pointing to her name. “My name shouldn’t be there. It should be our whole team.” For a story and photos on the WGA’s presentation to Baker, see the story on page 3. § Hearts to Alliance Laundry Systems, which got a nice shout-out recently from freelance business writer Martha C. White. Writing on the time.com/money website an article headlined “This American-made washing machine is so good it has a cult following,” White noted that “owners can’t stop raving about” Speed Queen-brand industrial washers due to their durability and cost-effectiveness. Because the machines last longer and save energy with speedy washer, and heavy-duty spin-cycle times, Speed Queen is the king of value, the story suggests. But you already new that.
When discussing a community project, chief cheerleader, assuring folks she’d see the project it’s risky to single out anyone for credit as so to completion. many others who also helped may be slighted. Then came another key person: Al Buechel. ReadToo bad. Several people and groups did ing about the splash pad in the Commonwealth, the some mighty heavy lifting to land Ripon the Fond du Lac County executive asked county Parks Splash Pad whose grand opening at Riggs and Rec Director Sam Tobias to monitor the situaCounty Park will be celebrated Saturday. tion. In April 2015, the County Board voted to seek a Former Ripon Noon Kiwanis Club PresiDNR stewardship grant for the splash pad, at Tobias’ dent Danelle Phillips had the initial vision, suggestion and with the Buechel’s encouragement. enthusiasm and time in late 2013 got the By this time, Tobias had contacted Noon Kiwanians $160,000 project off the drawing board. about putting their 3,000-square-foot pad with nine She approached city officials about siting features at Riggs County Park, recognizing that the project. Several thought Sandmar Village the attraction subdivision would be an ideal location until might convince residents at a public meeting dissuaded them folks to hike the What: Splash Pad from putting it there. “Why develop a park park’s scenic grand opening, comthere when there are a lot of other parks?” trails, board- munity picnic, Doug Lyke Judy Neill wisely asked. walks and Fris- Twilight Run/Hike, movie Brian Reilly, the Noon Kiwanian helping bee golf course. When: Saturday, picnic at 4 organize Saturday’s grand opening, suggested I n s p r i n g p.m.; run/hike at 6:30 p.m.; Riggs as a site for the splash pad. 2016, Tobias “Finding Nemo” at 7:45 p.m. With the Ripon Common Council supportand Buechel ing the concept but allocating no money and convinced the Where: Riggs County Park recommending no site for the water attraction, county board off Douglas Street; parking at Kiwanians raising funds turned to Fond du to help bridge Ripon Printers parking lot Lac County. t h e $ 3 4 , 0 0 0 Cost (for race): $20 in adThe club in April 2014 ponied up $25,000 gap between vance; $25 on race day — a 10-percent down payment on the total dollars raised cost. Webster’s and Ripon Medical Center/ ($126,000) and Agnesian each donated $10,000; local resdollars needed. The Splash Pad was a go. taurant Zuzak’s dedicated 20 percent of one Minor issues related to a high-capacity well, night’s receipts; Circle K, Key Club, Builder’s nearby wetlands and Silver Creek delayed the project Club and Aktion Club members stepped up A WET James Wedde of Princeton grins a summer, but construction began last spring and with fund-raisers; Thrivent Financial gave as he is doused by a frog. His sister, the first kiddies got spit on by the giant frog Friday, $1,600; and other businesses, organizations Marissa, waits to go next. June 30. Tim Lyke photo and individuals wrote checks. The effort had This Saturday’s event will be a celebration and raised about $91,000 in private support but still needed a site. recognition of how no idea is all wet when championed by a few, comBy this point Phillips had left the club due to an employment change, mitted individuals — and a club dedicated to serving children. and so Noon Kiwanian Mary Avery stepped up to be the Splash Pad’s — Tim Lyke
3
What were we thinking?
Quote of the Week “Stop complaining and start participating.” — Ald. Doug Iverson commenting on the Commonwealth Facebook
page after a story on a proposed hotel development for downtown drew more than 60 responses, most of them negative and a few suggesting that people in town are powerless against entrenched interests. “If you want to learn more,” Iverson said, come to a Common Council meeting. The next one is Monday, Aug. 14.
Editorial stands taken this week in past years An editorial appearing in the Ripon Commonwealth Press a year ago this week educates readers on how “harm reduction” in the context of the Four Pillars strategy of addressing opiate abuse is problematic “as there is no magic wand to stand in the way of an addict hell-bent on getting that next fix” ... 10 years ago this week, an editorial compliments Ripon’s congressman, Rep. Tom Petri, R-Fond du Lac, for being a workhorse while many his colleagues are proving through their anger and incivility to be show horses ...
20 years ago this week, an editorial notes that poppies for veterans sales started in France in 1921 to provide money to the government for additional counseling, medical and welfare services to veterans and their families ... 30 years ago this week, an editorial recognizes Paul Weiske and the Ripon Noon Kiwanis for cleaning the carp out of the Mill Pond so that Ripon’s young and old can enjoy fishing the pond for years to come. — Diane Smith
Had immigration plan taken effect in 1900, where would you be? I NEVER WOULD HAVE been born. That’s my selfish take on the legislation proposed by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, and Sen. David Perdue, R-Georgia, announced by President Donald Trump last week Wednesday. The bill the Trump administration is heralding would morph legal immigration to the United States into a “merit-based system,” which the President said would include “speaking English.” The President added heavy emphasis on the word for our language, named for the place the founders of the United States immigrated from themselves. For me, this admonition had very personal connotations. MY DAD WAS 6 YEARS old when his family immigrated to the country and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where most of my grandfather’s family already was living. My grandparents were poor Calabrians from southern Italy, spoke broken English most of their lives and could hardly write in English, either. When I turned 3, my grandpa Tony — who’d been a migrant farmer in Italy before departing the only home he’d known for the auspicious position of rust-belt steelworker — tried to write my
to build an expensive southern border wall when data indicated decreasing numbers of undocumented immigrants filing into the country across that same border. The congressman said he wasn’t sure anyone had accurate numbers. I guess he hadn’t checked the Department of Homeland Security’s website recently. LET’S FOCUS ON WHAT Anyway, after that, he said this legislation really is doing. something even more telling: Since the That naturalizpassing of the ing 600,000 perHart-Celler Act sons per year, in 1965, which as the United changed rules States had in regarding quo2016, was “a lot of people.” tas from certain Actually, out countries and of 300 million regions, Westpeople in a naern European tion whose popimmigration ulation growth has decreased rate continues while immigrato decline, that tion from Latin doesn’t seem America, Asia like very much and Africa has to take on, conincreased. Immigration TONY D’AGOSTINO with one gressman. You know it’s from Mexico in of his grandsons, Eddie. not about the particular has submitted photo numbers. been a major fo“There’s just a lot of anecdotal cus since a peak in 2007. Several months ago during a evidence out there that we’re not town hall session in Ripon’s Little always getting the best people White Schoolhouse, I asked our from other countries,” the secondU.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, R- term congressman said that day. Grothman foreshadowed the seGlenbeulah, why there was a need grants) or Google (co-founded by Russian immigrant Sergey Brin) or Yahoo! (co-founded by Taiwanese immigrant Jerry Yang, who only knew the English word “shoe” when he arrived in the United States as a child). Because economic gain isn’t the point.
Maic D’Agostino name “Mike” on a birthday card, but instead spelled it the way an Italian would phonetically: “Maic.” I now use that spelling to remember the man I called “Papa” and the origins of my family. Had this legislation proposed by the two southern senators — from states well below the national average for foreign-born populations — been enacted in the 1950s, my grandparents wouldn’t have been let in, suppressed by an elitist, nationalistic, isolationist ideology that supposes the only valuable people are people who look right, think right, speak right and — most importantly — have a “use” determined only by the wealthiest and the most powerful. Forget the origin stories of some little tech startups like Apple (co-founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the sons of immi-
L E F T, TO N Y D ’ A g o s t i n o stands with his bike in front of his Cleveland home. He never learned to drive. Above, Tony, left, stands with his family at submitted photos an airport. lective immigration proposal when he told the Ripon audience, “We should be picking who’s coming in this country.” BUT MORE IMPORTANT, some of these people coming in this country, especially those from Africa and Central America, are like my grandfather: poor, unskilled and immigrating to the wealthiest nation on Earth because of family ties, above all else. They aren’t coming for themselves. They’re coming for the children. Papa never “got ahead” in Cleveland. He worked for years at a steel mill and raised his family in a modest home. This in part allowed my dad to
graduate college with a degree in history and accounting, and later he got his R.N. degree, working as a nurse for most of my life. Nearly all of my siblings got degrees from four-year colleges. None of us are rich, but we’re happy and fulfilled. That’s the goal of people seeking a better life, whether they’re immigrants — legal or undocumented — refugees, exchange students or workers on visas. The only difference between my family and the families now appearing at the shores and borders of our country from New York to Florida to Texas to California is apparent. It’s either the color of our skins, the integrity of our politicians or both.
Thursday, June 15, 2017 - Page 7
BEAR WITNESS Green Lake locals share stories of bear sightings
GREEN LAKE RESIDENT Brittny Gerig says she snapped this photo of a black bear’s head in profile as it dashed through foliage last week Monday near the Puchyan River just north of submitted photo Green Lake. Several other local residents also reported sightings of bears. by Maic D’Agostino
maicd@riponprinters.com
What would you do if you were driving to a birthday party and saw a bear on the side of the highway? Green Lake resident Brittny Gerig says she whipped out her phone, leaned out the window and started snapping pictures. “I had like half my body hanging out the car,” she said. The Gerig family spotted the large animal on the Highway 23 bridge over the Puchyan River just east of Thrasher Drive last week Monday at about a quarter to 11 a.m. while on their way to Ripon, Brittny explained. Her husband, James, pulled the car over, and Brittny quickly tried to capture photographic evidence of the black bear. However, the bear soon dashed down to the river and began chasing a fawn, according to Brittny. After posting the photos to Facebook, another person commented that the bear — or a bear — had been spotted near Brooklyn J Road. In fact, the Gerigs’ neighbor, Tina Roeder, said that she and her son saw a bear last week Wednesday, running through her backyard, which is near the river.
Still, Ratter added that he has Although the bear was gone no reason to doubt the veracity almost as soon as it appeared, they stayed close to the house the of residents’ claims. Bears in the area aren’t so uncommon that he rest of the day. thinks the sightings are “as big a “People say they’re more scared of you than you should be deal” as some might think. “We get them every year. It of them, but they’re bigger than happens,” Ratter said. “I think me; I’m going to be scared of it’s pretty natural.” them,” Roeder said. “I quickly Dave MacFarland, the state’s backed away, and I was done.” large carnivore specialist, conShe also noticed something in the grass when she was mowing firmed that the Wisconsin DNR her lawn. believes a small population of “It looked bigger than a deer bears live year-round in Green dropping, so it had to be [the Lake County, based on huntbear’s],” Roeder said. “... It kind ers from the area bagging a few of wasn’t hard to miss, let me put bears annually. it that way.” However, he explained that She added that she’d never the bear or bears seen around the seen a bear that close, except edges of the city may not be per“maybe on TV or at the zoo.” manent residents but transient, The hulyearling bears who recently labaloo over eople say [bears have been Baloo eventukicked out of ally came to are] more scared homes as the attention of you than you should be their their mothof Green Lake of them, but they’re bigers prepare to Police Chief mate again, Mike Ratter. ger than me.” common for “Apparently Tina Roeder, Green Lake this time of [bears have] year. been witnessed “That’s what we see a lot by everybody but law enforceof this time of year, these ment,” Ratter said wryly. “I’ve 150-pound bears running around seen the images that people say not really knowing what to do [is a bear] ... Would I be able to because they’re on their own for testify in court that that’s 100 the first time,” MacFarland said. percent a bear? No.”
“P
Chalk it up to summer fun
Bear cubs born in 2017 would be about the size of a cocker spaniel and weigh 15 to 20 pounds, MacFarland said, while the newly independent year-anda-half-olds can weigh about 10 times that much, roughly the size of a St. Bernard. “And when they get older than that, we run out of reference dogs; then we’re talking about cattle and horses,” MacFarland said with a laugh. Sightings have been increasing throughout the south-central regions of the state, he noted. “Bears have really been expanding over the last 30-plus years, if you go back to the mid1980s. There was only about 5,000 bears in the state, and they were all in the northern forest,” MacFarland said.
by Maic D’Agostino
No contract, no vote and no comment. While a thunderstorm burst outside Green Lake City Hall Monday night, a quieter cloud descended on the City Council’s meeting. “Can we get any comments on that?” Ald. George King inquired of his fellow members. “Next item: new business,” Mayor Jon McConnell said, businesslike, and the council turned its attention to other matters. King’s motion to approve a listing contract to sell industrial park lots with Ogden & Co., a real estate
firm in Milwaukee, had just failed for lack of a second. The city’s economic development coordinator, Bob Gintoft, is the vice president of industrial and investment real estate at the firm. He presented the proposal to the council last week Monday at its Council of the Whole meeting. Before King made the motion, some council members questioned whether the contract — the only proposal the city had received to broker potential industrial park land along Highway 23 — needed to be approved this month. But none of the other five explicitly stated why each of them ultimately declined to second the
Car Crash!
course was enjoying a pleasant evening outdoors before retiring inside around 8 p.m. that night. Not long after, he received a phone call. “Hey, did you see those two or three bear cubs that walked right past your house?” the caller reportedly said. Surprised, the homeowner asked when these cubs supposedly strolled through his yard. When he heard it was around 8:15 p.m., Ratter said the man exclaimed, “We went in the house at 8!” While police are not actively investigating the matter, the chief admitted he’s keeping his eyes open in the event of a reappearance of the bear — or bears. And if that happens, “We’ll snap a picture,” he said.
motion. Ald. Jon Smick expressed last week during the Council of the Whole meeting his displeasure with the plan in general. “I am not in favor of building an industrial park, period ... I voted no from the beginning and will continue to vote no,” he said at the time. During the regular meeting Monday, Smick simply said to the council, “You know my position.” The positions of some other members were not as clear. Prior to the motion, Ald. Dusty Walker asked why Ogden was the only firm interested in contracting with the city to sell the lots. McConnell responded that the
few replies the city got from its request for proposals indicated the area was on the fringes of the companies’ ranges. Walker also pointed out the limited tax revenue a single, initial project might bring the city: for example, she said, a $500,000 project would garner a little over $8,000 in tax revenue. “So that really wouldn’t justify the $1.5 million for infrastructure, would it?” Walker said. “That’s something [that’s] a council decision,” McConnell said. “But that on it’s own probably would not.” King noted that if the council
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Now the state is home to almost 29,000 bears, he estimated, with their range expanding “dramatically” into the central and western parts of Wisconsin. So bear sightings around Green Lake wouldn’t be too surprising, MacFarland added, echoing Ratter’s sentiments. Indeed, Ratter heard another bear-sighting rumor, but this one with an additional twist: This story included not one but two or three young bears, prowling the links of Tuscumbia Country Club late Wednesday evening. Whether they were searching for a new home, trying to find food or finishing up a lackadaisical back nine before dark also remains unconfirmed. Ratter noted that a resident who lives adjacent to the golf
GL council nixes listing contract for industrial park — without a vote maicd@riponprinters.com
ABOVE, DAWN Toman holds Kyliee Baumgarten’s hand while Kyliee gets a glitter tattoo from tattoo artist Teri Mandel last week Saturday during the annual “Splash into Summer” and Chalk Walk in downtown Green Lake. The two events have been combined the last two years, offering double fun for residents of all ages. Left, Jaydn Waters’ smile is as bright as the colors of her “You are my Sunshine” chalk artwork.
A BLACK BEAR (circled) wanders last week Monday near a Highway 23 bridge over the Puchyan River just north of Green Lake, according to Brittny Gerig, who snapped the photo. submitted photo
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