Independent• Register 608•897•2193
SHOPPING NEWS
922 W. EXCHANGE STREET, BRODHEAD, WI 53520
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2019
County adopts wind farm siting law.............................................. 5 Ag Week 2019...........................10-14
**ecrwss Postal Customer
FREE! TAKE ONE Sandbag stations..............................2
Brodhead
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid The IndependentRegister
1 • Wednesday, March 20, 2019 - The Independent-Register
Parkview FFA flourishing..............16
Monticello man seeks support for senior center REPORTER
Emil “Mike” Rufener turns ninety years old on March 27. That is not stopping him from living his life one bit, as Mike travels around the area three times a week to play euchre at the local legions. Traveling to Monroe, New Glarus, and Brodhead, Rufener says that his favorite bunch of guys play here in Brodhead as they are the most social bunch, he looks forward to making his trip to Brodhead every single week. Rufener has been a hardworking man throughout his entire life. Somewhat of an entrepreneur, he is now a retired farmer who once was a carpenter, an owner of his own cheese factory, and a real estate broker for twenty years. Rufener now rents out his land to other farmers to keep the money incoming, but he now hopes that he can use that money to benefit the citizens of Monticello and the surrounding area. A member of Monticello’s Legion of nearly fifty-eight years, Mike helped build their original home about forty years ago. Saying it was once a really beautiful building, the village eventually approached them with an offer to purchase the building. However, after purchasing the building, Rufener says they failed to keep the maintenance up to date, al-
lowing the roof to soon deteriorate. Despite it being a senior center and home for the Monticello Legion, the village placed a clause in the original contract which allowed them to sell the building if they so chose to do so. This eventually came back to bite the Legion, as they did sell the building and it was then turned into a daycare center for the area. Although the village had said they would use the leftover funds to provide a new place for the legion. Unfortunately, that never happened. The legion then had to start holding their meetings at the local school. Rufener says the school has been very good to them, and in return they have been generous themselves. The legion provides Badger Boy and Badger Girl scholarships, and he says they have developed a good relationship with the school. The lack of help from the village has led Mike and many others to feel that the village has discriminated against local veterans and senior citizens. In response Rufener and friends propose a project touted to be a winwin for the area. “We have a chance to purchase a building in Monticello,” he said. Im talking about the former quilting store on the corner of Main and North Street. This would be home to Monticello Legion, which is 100
Monticello Area Historical Society March meeting The Monticello Area Historical Society (MAHS) will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 28, in the Zwingli UCC Lounge, 416 E. Lake Ave., Monticello. Following a short business meeting, Doug Buehl will present “Discovering the Roots of the Place Where We Live—Researching a Mount Pleasant Dairy Farm: A Story of the Buehl Homestead.” This is a free presentation and will start about 7:15 p.m. Come join us; the Public is welcome to attend both activities.
years old this year, and to a much needed Senior Center as well as other community organizations.” He said if developed as a community canter the building would not go off the tax rolls. “There are four or five apartments upstairs and the rent would help with upkeep,” he said. “A new roof was recently completed, and it has a 30 yr. life. The bathroom is up to code
Ag Week
and the current owner spent $70,000 in updates.” Rufener feels if developed, the building would help Monticello attract new businesses to the town. “I am 59 yr. owner of a farm 1 mile from town,” he said. “I was a carpenter, cheesemaker with my own factory and a real estate broker for 20 yrs and as a Business owner I see this property as a good deal. That is why
I am willing to give $10,000 to start a fund so we could get grants and donations to pay for this building.” He said he would buy it himself, but his clock is ticking. “If I was 20 yrs. younger I would jump on it, but I will be 90 in March.” If the project sounds interesting please contact Rufener at 608-3819872. Make this dream a long overdue reality.
COURTESY PHOTO Brodhead Independent-Register
These members of the Green County 4-H Foods & Nutrition project recently participated in the annual Foods Revue event. Front row L to R: Peter Goers (Washington Center), Spencer Rufer (Next Generation), Ayvah King (Next Generation) and Alexander Murray (Next Generation). Middle row L to R: Maddie DeMuth (Cheese Country Clovers), Mirielle Smith (Washington Center), Madilyn Arnold (Spring Grove Honest Workers), Leilah King (Next Generation), Skye Dickson (Browntown Busy Beavers) and Mara Dickson (Browntown Busy Beavers). Back row L to R: Christy Schlueter (Dayton Dairylanders), Danika Doll (Dougherty Creek), Emily Goers (Washington Center) and Timothy Leslein (Next Generation).
341179
By Trent Scheidegger