Waunakee Tribune 08/01/2013
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The Waunakee Tribune – Thursday, August 1, 2013, Page 10
OPINION PAGE
READERS LETTERS FROM
KOREA 1952-1953, USAF (RETIRED)
Forbes McIntosh, Dane County Cities' & Villages' Association
Sincerely, Nila Frye
WaunaFest Top Notch What a fabulous 2013 WaunaFest Parade. I loved the theme of Neighborhoods!! The best parade ever!! And another participation record broken at WaunaFest Run – 1,574!! Many thanks to Ellen Schaaf (Chamber Exec) and Dennis Heimann (WaunaFest President) and their great (tireless) volunteer teams of Chamber Members and Community Clubs!!!! It takes way over 500 volunteers to make this event happen!!!! Waunakee can be so proud of this event, I know I am. Now get involved!!!! Jackie Von Behren Former Chamber Board Member Former WaunaFest Run Coordinator Former WaunaFest Treasurer Current Chamber Member
6000 Hwy. K • Waunakee
the invitation of the South Korean Veterans Association. Six of us had the privilege of being the first group from Waunakee to fly to Washington, D.C., on May 18, 2013, as sponsored by the Badger Honor Flight. It was originally organized to fly World War II vets to see their monument and has now been extended to Korean War Veterans. Any World War II or Korean War veterans who have not signed up for the cost-free flight should do so for the volunteer organized flight of a lifetime. My thanks to those volunteers of the Badger Honor Flight who made our May 18th flight possible. My fellow comrades in arms that made the flight were Bill Breene, Sam Driscoll, Curt Faust, Frank Pavelec and Bill Sprout.
Roberta Baumann is on vacation this week. The Letter from the Editor will return next week.
MATT POMMER’S CAPITOL REPORT: BY MATT POMMER
Thursday, July 25, the phone rang, and a message stated, “Stay on the line for a town hall meeting with Ron Johnson.” Intrigued, I listened. It turned out to be a Republican comedy hour. Unfortunately, for those who don’t do their own research, it may have been translated as truth. He spread untrue, unfortunate propaganda pertaining to the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, foreign relations and many other topics. He said many things that are his opinion. One of his comments hit the bull’s eye when it came out of his mouth. He said, “It pays government to fail.” In my opinion, he was talking about himself. He gets paid for being a failure in the federal government. He has obstructed every bill that would create jobs and get the economy moving. He doesn’t want the wealthy to pay their fair share, and he believes corporate America is the answer to our problems. A good place to get the news is on public radio and television. After receiving information, go to the library or Internet, make sure your sources are credible, and do the research yourself.
Complete Medical, Surgical & Dental Care Boarding & Pet Supplies Dr. Laura Meffert – Dr. Julie James – Dr. Lisa Swanek
On Saturday, July 27, 2013, we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the cease-fire of the Koran War, which started July 25, 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea. Over 130,000 from Wisconsin served what was first called a “Police Action” and then the “Forgotten War.” There were 848 deaths from that total of which 773 were Hostile Deaths (killed in action, died as prisoners of war, or missing in action) and 75 NonHostile Deaths (vehicle accidents, polio, illness, etc.). There still remains 182 with Wisconsin connections whose remains have not been recovered, so their final resting place may be the “Land of the Morning Calm” or the adjacent waters. Waunakee has a minimum of 11 veterans who served during the “Forgotten Victory” – as it is now called by the veterans who have had the opportunity to revisit South Korea at
Voucher Placebo
Don’t believe all that you hear
Pineview Veterinary Hospital
850-PETS (7387)
BY GORDON FAUST
amount. This ensures that when transfer of services and costs occur between political subdivisions - the local taxpayer is protected and does in fact see the savings reflected on their property tax bill.
EMS insurance switch may cost taxpayers more I am with the Dane County Cities' & Villages' Association. I read your article, "County offers EMS refund" (in the July 25 edition of The Waunakee Tribune). I do appreciate the efforts of county officials to save property tax dollars. However, I wanted to bring to your attention the fact that what the Dane County Executive and other county officials are proposing may not save Dane County property taxpayers any money – instead it could ultimately increase property taxes for many Dane County citizens. The devil is in the detail. As you know, local governments are restricted by the State in how much they can spend (i.e. Levy Limits). What county officials are proposing is to shift the cost of providing emergency medical system (EMS) insurance liability coverage (approximately $105,000) from the County property tax levy to the the cities, villages and towns who comprise and pay for the EMS districts. Keep in mind that Dane County has provided insurance liability for EMS for over 30years. In essence, the County is creating a $105,000 surplus in the "County Budget" that they will be able to spend on other things while shifting these costs to cities, villages and towns - who will be required to make up this cost shift, which may require those cities, villages and towns to increase property taxes. This method of cost shifting and transfer of services is sometimes referred to as a "hidden tax." Unfortunately, cost shifting of this type seems to be occurring more often in Dane County. County Executive Parisi is quoted in your article as saying, “At the end of the day, it will save taxpayer dollars and put the cost where it belongs.” However, if County officials spend the $105,000 "savings" on something else - the local property tax payer will not see any "savings" in their property tax bill. In fact cities, villages and towns may be forced to raise their property taxes to account for the transfer of services and costs. The only way local property taxpayers can be protected from this type of cost-shifting and "hidden taxes" is to ensure that when the County transfers services and costs to cities, villages and towns - the county levy be reduced by the amount of the service (in this case $105,000) and the cities, villages and towns levy be increased by a proportional
Flight honored Korean War veterans
Gov. Scott Walker suggests he won't pursue expansion of the private school voucher program in future years unless it proves to be successful. Count that as a political placebo. It seems aimed at muffling some of the political noise over the statewide expansion of the program. In the last school year the program sent state money to private schools in Racine and Milwaukee. Walker's initial budget plan would have expanded it to nine more school districts. The Republican-controlled Legislature made it statewide but limited the number of additional students to be included in the next two years. Waiting for results sounds like a fair way to move, but, as usual, the devil is in the details. Walker and Republican legislators used research paid for by the same special-interests groups that supported Republican candidates as they pushed for expansion of the voucher program. Critics contend the school-choice project at the University of Arkansas was paid by voucher-expansion advocates. A Wisconsin Democracy Campaign said individuals with ties to the foundation funding the Arkansas study had given more than $830,000 in campaign donations to legislators, most of them Republicans. Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a nonpartisan group that tracks campaign spending in Wisconsin elections, said the donations have made voucher proponents "major players" in state politics. "It's no coincidence that they (the Arkansas study) were chosen to conduct the study," McCabe said. Patrick Wolf, the lead researcher at Arkansas, said the funding had no impact on his study. He said he wouldn't work with any organization that tried to influence the results of the research. Earlier this month an article by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism raised questions about financing and the "success" issue of choice schools funded by the vouchers.
That report cited a kindergarten pupil who was first enrolled in a Catholic school in Milwaukee. But the 6year-old had anxiety, and her mother said she eventually was no longer welcome at the school. The child was sent back to a Milwaukee public school where she received special education help for the anxiety. The Catholic school principal said "every decision was made in the very best interest of the children with mutual agreement of our school leadership and the parent." The child's mother said it wasn't her decision and she "didn't have an option." The Investigative Journalism Center report noted the Catholic school had received a $6,442 state taxpayer-funded voucher for the child's enrollment, but Milwaukee public schools got no state help for taking her through the rest of the school year. In the 2012-2013 school year nearly 25,000 Milwaukee students were in the program at a cost to the state of $155 million. The Racine program served about 500 students at a cost of $3.2 million. The third Friday in September is the day that determines how much funding a private school will get from the voucher program. The journalism center's report said Milwaukee schools receive "cast off" pupils after that date. The Investigative Journalism Center is housed on the University of Wisconsin campus. Republican legislators added a budget provision effectively kicking it off the Madison campus. But the resulting press furor led Walker to veto the move.
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July 31, 2013 9:14 pm /