Fire in Ripon Early This AM, Dec. 11, 2013

There was a fairly large fire on Watson Street at about 3AM. 3 to 4 buildings were damaged. As far as I know, no one was hurt. I wonder if the drug store got hit?

3d Ward Alderman Race

It is great to hear that Mark Kramer is running for city council in the 3d Ward.

For All of You In the Area with knowledge of a Viet Nam Vet Check this Out

This seems like a great project. They have found only 700 of the 1244 Viet Nam vets from Wisconsin. BEHIND THE SCENES WPR Veterans Project Volunteers Needed for Vietnam Photo Project There are 1,244 Wisconsinites listed on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. You can help put a face to these names and honor those who lost their lives by joining the effort to collect and preserve photographs of every service member whose name appears on the Wall. The images will become part of the "Wall of Faces" -- a lasting tribute planned for the Vietnam Memorial Education Center near the mall in the nation's capital. So far, more than 700 photos have been found, but there is still a lot of work to be done and we're stepping up our efforts to recruit volunteers for the project. WPR is helping coordinate volunteer efforts on a statewide level with our partners at Wisconsin Public Television, WUWM and Milwaukee Public Television. If you'd like to volunteer to find a photo - or more than one - please start by contacting Ellen Clark, our Green Bay regional manager. Ellen is keeping a master list of names that still do not have photos associated with them. When you contact her, she can help you find the names that need photos in your area of the state and collect your information to keep a record of who is searching for which photos. Find more information, including tips on how to search for photos online at wpr.org/veterans

Upcoming Mayoral Race

So who do we think is going to run against Joe Parise in the upcoming mayor's election? I am fairly certain Joe will be at least one of the candidates. There are several possibilities I've heard discussed. It will be interesting to see who steps up to take Chuck's place.

Well after a few requests I've decided to see how this goes again. Please try to make your comments civil. I am leaving the ability to make anonymous comments but I may change that if it doesn't seem to work out. We'll see. Hope everyone had a good Fourth of July. The town was very busy which was great. It is a long winter and you really only have about 16 weeks to make up for a long winter.

If you can't tell Im done with all this.

GOOD BYE......

Police Chief Retirement Party

There was a great retirement party for the Chief Huber last weekend. I hear the city paid for it.

From the Northwestern

Brandon woman killed in Green Lake crash


GREEN LAKE - Fog may have played a role in a fatal crash between a semitrailer and a car around 5:30 a.m. today at County Trunk Highway A and County Trunk Highway K in Green Lake County.

A 56-year-old Brandon woman was killed in the accident that occurred approximately four miles south of the city of Green Lake in the town of Green Lake.

Authorities have not released her name, pending notification of relatives.

The Brandon woman had been traveling west on County Trunk K when she entered the intersection at A and was struck by the semitrailer that was traveling north on A.

The semi driver was taken from the scene by emergency medical services personnel to an area hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries, according to information provided by the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

County A is part of a detour of State Highway 23, which is under construction between Green Lake and Princeton. The crash required a rerouting of traffic on the detour for about for about five hours.

Fun Summer Stuff

Estates of Lawsonia

Article from Oshkosh Northwestern on Lawsonia development

http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20110416/OSH0101/104160364/Estates-Lawsonia-Green-Lake-hits-snag-financial-difficulties-stall-progress?odyssey=tab|topnews|img|FRONTPAGE

This is no surprise.

Elections

By now most of you know the results of the elections. In the city Joe Parise lost to Chuck Mirr in his write in campaign. Jon Wilsnack lost to Mark Slate. At the state level the Supreme Court campaign is still in flux. We'll see.

Green Lake School District Contract

From the Oshkosh Northwestern:
Green Lakes new teacher contract.


http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011103290402

Nuclear Reactors in Wisconsin

I was watching the news tonight and they were saying many Americans live within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant. I wasn't even sure Wisconsin had nuclear power plants. This is what I discovered from the U.S. Energy Information Web Site. Both of Wisconsin's Nuclear Plants are located on Lake Michigan. As Japan shows they obviously need a good source of water. The web link is here:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/state_profiles/wisconsin/wi.html

Wisconsin Nuclear Profile

State Nuclear Profiles with data for 2008 Last Updated: September 2010 Next Update: August 2011

State Overview There are two operating nuclear power plants in Wisconsin: Kewaunee in Kewaunee County Kewaunee was the fourth nuclear plant built in Wisconsin, and the 44th built in the United States. In June 2005, the plant was acquired by Dominion from its previous owners, Wisconsin Public Service Corporation and Alliant Energy. The Virginia-based company owns the North Anna and Surry plants in its home state, and acquired one other out-of-state plant, Millstone in Connecticut. Point Beach in Manitowoc County Wisconsin's first commercial reactor, Point Beach 1 is one of the oldest reactors still in service. It went into commercial service in December 1970. In October 2007, Wisconsin Energy Corporation completed the sale of the Point Beach facility to FPL Energy. On October 7, 2007, Florida Power & Light acquired Point Beach from the Nuclear Management Company. The purchase price was reported as $998 million, of which $215 million was for fuel, inventory, and other items. Contribution of Nuclear Power Wisconsin’s nuclear capacity is approximately 10% of the State’s total electric generating capacity. Nuclear generation represents about 20% of the State’s total generation. Wisconsin is a net importer of electric energy, importing 20% of its electric power use. License Renewals Kewaunee: In August 2008, Kewaunee requested approval for a 20-year life extension. The current license expires December 21, 2013. Point Beach: In December 2005, Point Beach received approval for a 20-year life extension. Unit 1’s license now expires in October 2030. Unit 2’s license now expires in March 2033.

More City Election News

Now Jerry Bartow has also asked me to post this for him. Here goes:

Jerry Bartow
Write in Candidate for Ward 3 over Scott Rowley

I am writing to you as a voter in Ward 3 of the City of Green Lake to support me as a write in candidate for Ward 3 for a two year term on the city council. I am asking you to support me over Scott Rowley.

I am running for the city council for the following reasons.

1. I believe that taxes and expenses of government will require actions and discipline to control. I worked in retail for over 30 years as a purchasing agent and merchandise manager for a discount retail chain. I was responsible for producing a profit. The discipline for this came from serving as an Infantry Officer in Viet Nam.

2. As an independent Alderman I will be concerned with the well being of all the voters. I currently drive disabled vets to their medical appointments. I am a disabled vet myself.

3. I understand business in Green Lake. I owned the Dartford Inn.

4. I feel we must find alternative sources of funding for the city and to maximize our current resources. We need to use the Ad Hoc committee for economic development. We need to find new business that will supply new jobs and growth for the city. Second we must collect all room and sales tax. This will help in the growth of tourism. I know we are not collecting all room tax dollars.

5. I feel we must work with federal, state, county and city government to see what is available to us. I worked with former Senator Russ Feingold and the local and state American Legion to get Washington to change treatments of cancer patients in the Milwaukee VA Hospital.

6. As I am retired I have the time to interact with voters of Ward 3.

7. I have ties with Green Lake as I grew up in Oshkosh and my grandfather was born in Green Lake.

Thanks for your support.

Jerry Bartow

Green Lake City Mayor Elections

I haven't blogged much recently. I became a little bored with some of the discussions and had other things to do.

A couple of days ago Joe Parise asked me to post this for him and I am happy to oblige him.

From Joe Parise:

I asked for this time so I could officially announce to all of you that I am going to run as a WRITE-IN candidate for Mayor and Alderman.

I am running for both because I want to try to be sure to be on the Council to intercede when the boundary issue comes up again. It seems that whenever an issue comes up with the Township we are ready to capitulate to all of their wants and desires to the exclusion of what is best for the city.

Also, I feel it is important to have ready access to the Mayor, especially a Mayor who stays abreast of City Council business and does not always have to defer to an alder person or committee person for answers.

When I was Mayor I was in the Mayor's office every working day morning. I was always available to the city offices, staff and public works. I was always available to the citizens if they had an issue to discuss. I always tried to be current on city business whether it was bike paths, sign ordinance, school, parks or taxes. I always had my cell phone on and was available day or night.

Mayor Mirr made it clear the job was not going to be his life and he had kept that promise. The mayors office requires more than an occasional presence. The mayor should be readily available and I am willing to put in all the time necessary.

Some may argue, as they did for my last bid for mayor, that I was not born here and that somehow precluded me from caring about the city. Well, think of this. I moved here by choice. I moved here because I love this city and care about it. I am not here because I was born here.

I want to be mayor of Green Lake so that I can be a watchdog over city spending and by extension taxes. When the entire country is facing financial ruin it behooves us to be frugal and count our pennies. We cannot continue to increase spending(and taxes)
while our citizens, many of whom are retired, experience income reductions. The median income in this city is approximately 32k/year but we tax them like they all live on the lake. We need to watch our spending and this council seems to give money away. Since Donna Moore left there are currently only two alder persons who stand up the citizens against unwarranted spending. Taxes have gone up the last three years. Our contingency fund is gone. When I was mayor I first reduced spending and then held taxes.

I am available to answer your questions and if Mayor Mirr would like a public debate I would be happy to oblige him.

Thank you,
Joe Parise

Elections, Feb. 15 2011

Mrazik and Vincent are out of the School Board Race and the judges race will be between Wilsnack and Slate.

Primarys in Feb.

There are elections on Feb 15. I hope all of you who love to hate each other are going to vote so you have a legitimate right to bitch at each other.

I think the county judges elections will be particularly important and I am going to vote for Jon Wilsnack.