Several dozen dairy farmers received letters this week from Grassland Dairy Products Inc. in Greenwood, a major producer of dairy products and ingredients, informing them the company would no longer accept milk from them after May 1.
Behind this action is a new pricing structure implemented by Canada, which dramatically increased the cost of U.S. dairy imports and encouraged dairy companies there to purchase similar items from Canadian dairy producers.
Every day for years, Grassland has sent more than 1 million pounds of ultra-filtered milk, a product with elevated protein content that’s typically used in cheese production, to Canada, but it was informed by its Canadian customers last month they were immediately discontinuing buying the product from Grassland. According to the company, it left them little choice but to reduce its milk intake.
First, turnout was pathetic. Only 16.67% of Washington County’s voters turned out. I realize that there wasn’t a lot on the ballot to draw people to the polls, but that’s truly pathetic.
Second, with the low turnout, it appears that the liberal voters of Washington County were more reliable at turning out. The race for DPI Superintendent makes that clear. Here are the results in that race:
Here’s what one always has to measure in this county… the election results for years show that Washington County is roughly 70% conservative. So if there was 100% turnout, the conservative candidate should pull about 70% of the vote. If liberals disproportionately stay home, then that percentage will be higher. If conservatives disproportionately stay home, then that percentage will be lower. And while that metric is county wide, it generally holds true in most elections in the county except in a few wards.
In this case, Holtz was clearly the conservative choice. This was a very clear election. While Holtz won the election in Washington County, he only did so with 53.53% of the vote. That tells us that conservatives disproportionately sat home this time.
Third, the three candidates who ran as a ticket for the West Bend School Board won. Here are the results:
Congrats to them. All three of them ran as conservatives on a platform of transparency, accountability, and fiscal discipline. I truly hope that they are able to follow through on their platform.
This election marks a new era for the school board in a few respects. The three who won did so with a coordinated, well-financed campaign. This was the first time I recall seeing this happen for a school board race in West Bend. There have been candidates in the past who were of like minds and fell into factions together, but these three ran as a unified party. One assumes that they will govern the same way. They also ran a campaign differently than many in the past. The campaign had echos of the campaign of Tiffany Larson, which makes sense since Schmidt was Larson’s campaign treasurer. It was a sophisticated campaign for a school board.
The board itself is very different now. Combined with Larson, this group of like minds has a governing majority on the board. And with the resignation of Therese Sizer last month, they will also choose the interim replacement for that seat. That gives them five seats on a seven seat board. It’s their school district now. I look forward to the new era of transparency and accountability from the West Bend School District.
The turnover on the board is also significant. Unless they choose an old board member to replace Sizer, only two board members will have been on the board more than 2 years. That’s a lot of rookies. And only three of the board members voted to hire the district’s new superintendent – and that was just last year! What that means is that the superintendent is working with almost an entirely different board than the one that hired him. That presents a lot of opportunities and challenges to the superintendent.
Fourth, Milwaukee County voters overwhelmingly voted down as advisory referendum for a $60 wheel tax, but County Executive Chris Abele is still promising to propose it in his next budget. This seems to make it clear that Abele will not be running for Governor next year. He would be a fool to charge this windmill on the eve of a gubernatorial run.
Fifth, I haven’t seen a full report on school referendums, but it looks like they did not fare as well as they have in the previous few years. Referendums were voted down in Arrowhead, Burlington, Hustisford, Menomonee Falls, and West Allis-West Milwaukee, but passed in Verona and Grafton. The Mayville referendum passed by a mere 13 votes. Still, districts across Wisconsin added hundreds of millions of dollars of debt that will take generations to repay.
Finally, it is still amazing to me that Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler was unchallenged. These Supreme Court races had become wars of legendary proportions as the Left tried to secure the court in their favor as they continue to lose elections in the other branches of government. If the liberals could have unseated Ziegler and then Gableman next year, they could have taken control of the court. Now, even if they win against Gableman, the court will still have a majority of judicial conservatives. Given how important the court is – and the liberals know it – I can only attribute the lack of a challenger to the fact that Wisconsin’s liberals are worn out and their bench is empty. It seems that the only area where they are having consistent success anymore is in a few liberal enclaves and in the schools.
Be sure to get out and vote today. There are only three contested races on my ballot this cycle.
First, there is the contested election for the West Bend School Board. I’ll be voting for Ryan Gieryn, Bob Miller, and Richard Cammack. You can read why here.
Second, there is the election for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. I’ll be voting for Lowell Holtz. You can see why here.
Third, Judge Todd Martens is defending his seat as a Washington County Circuit Court Judge from challenger Robert Olson. I hadn’t written about this election, but I’ll be voting for Martens. Essentially, I have not heard anything negative about how Martens has been ruling or running his court. There isn’t a compelling reason to change.
Olson, who is a practicing attorney in West Bend and has represented clients in front of Martens, has brought up some serious concerns about the fairness of Martens’ courtroom and doubt about whether defendants are getting a fair shake. Those are very serious concerns. I think we all want a fair judicial system. That being said, I have not seen any evidence to back up Olson’s concerns. I’ll be voting for Martens, but we should all watch our judges a little closer to make sure they are fair and balanced, so to speak.
This is one of those elections where turnout will likely be below 20% statewide. That means that each individual vote carries a bit more weight. Get out and vote!
My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here you go:
Shortly after the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ended, James Madison, whom John Adams labeled the “father of the Constitution,” began the arduous task of defending the intricate document signed by his fellow conventioneers and advocating for the state Legislatures to ratify it. The birth of a new nation was not to be had without some painful moments.
One of the immediate and most forceful attacks on the new Constitution came from his fellow Virginian, Richard Henry Lee. Lee was a powerful politician, forceful orator and fierce advocate for liberty. It was Lee who had called for the original resolution to break from Britain at the Second Continental Congress in 1776. But Lee turned his political prowess against the fledgling Constitution because he was fearful of the strong central government it created.
In order to retard the power of the new federal government, Lee proposed a declaration of rights that was to include the freedom of religion and the press. Madison was flabbergasted by the proposal because it was, in his mind, utterly unnecessary. The Constitution was firmly secured to the foundation that all power and rights rested in the People except for those few specific powers ceded to the government as enumerated in the Constitution. It was a bedrock enlightenment philosophical concept as articulated by the likes of Thomas Paine and John Locke.
Madison initially saw danger in what became the Bill of Rights because to enumerate specific individual rights to be protected by the Constitution would lead some to think that those rights not specifically enumerated for protection are within the power of government to restrict or rescind. This is why the 10th Amendment became a catch-all for rights not listed.
Madison eventually came around to support and author the Bill of Rights as a practical necessity to assure skittish state legislators and secure their support for ratifying the Constitution, but Madison’s fears were prescient. The natural momentum of government is to expand its power and our federal government has often run roughshod over natural rights not enumerated in the Constitution, as amended. But our government has also not been shy about trampling those rights that are singled out for protection.
That is not to say that all rights are absolute. It is the appropriate function of government to intervene and set boundaries when one right rubs up against another. For example, it is undeniably my right to speak out and protest against my government. But the government can, and should, deny that right to me if I try to do it on another citizen’s private property. The government can, and should, also restrict certain rights in a more systematic way when there is a substantial or pressing government interest to do so. But the standard for what constitutes a “substantial government interest” is, and should be, extraordinarily high.
Since the ratification of our Constitution, the right to keep and bear arms, as enumerated in the Second Amendment, has been steadily eroded thanks to fear, ignorance, and opportunistic politicians. For the first several decades, this right was rarely restricted. People regularly carried firearms either openly or concealed.
During Reconstruction after the Civil War, a wave of restrictions to the Second Amendment swept over the South as a means for the federal government to maintain order and, as white southerners regained
control of their state legislatures, to suppress black Americans. Subsequent waves of government restrictions of the Second Amendment came as politicians took advantage of various opportunities to disarm the public. New York City required its citizens to obtain a license to carry a concealed firearm in 1911 after a brazen murder-suicide in broad daylight. Mayor Daley ordered that all firearms in Chicago be registered in 1968.
All of these restrictions of the Second Amendment grew out of fear, hate, ignorance, and complacency without anything that could rationally be called a “substantial government interest.” A couple of decades ago, Americans began to take back their Second Amendment rights with the steady loosening of gun laws in states and the universal legalization of concealed carry. Despite the lamentations of opponents, the evidence is clear that the public did not suffer any negative consequences of this movement. In fact, the data points to several possible benefits like lower crime. The nation’s most crime-ridden bastions remain those with the strictest remaining gun control laws.
The next progression in reclaiming our Second Amendment rights is the passage of what has been termed “Constitutional Carry,” and it has been introduced in Wisconsin. Constitutional Carry is simply the return to how our Second Amendment was originally conceived and how it was enforced for most of the first century of our nation’s history. Free Americans who have not committed a serious crime and who are mentally competent would be free to own and carry a firearm in any manner they so choose. All of the other restrictions, like respecting private property rights, would remain in place.
Opponents of Constitutional Carry rest their arguments in the same irrational fear and hate as those who opposed concealed carry. “It will be like the Wild West with blood in the streets,” etc. But history and facts disprove their arguments. As of right now, 12 other states already have Constitutional Carry. One of them, Vermont, has had Constitutional Carry since the Constitution was ratified in 1791. Alaska has had it for 23 years. Liberal New Hampshire and Conservative North Dakota both passed Constitutional Carry earlier this year.
None of the states that have Constitutional Carry have experienced any ill effects. The reason is simple and is the same reason why there has been nothing but positive effects since concealed carry was passed six years ago in Wisconsin: concealed carry or Constitutional Carry only really applies to good, law-abiding people. Much to our collective lament, the bad people already practice Constitutional Carry.
We should never allow our government to restrict any of our civil rights without a rigorous debate and an imminently justifiable cause for doing so. And when we have foolishly allowed our government to restrict our civil rights without just cause, we should take every opportunity to take back our rights. Wisconsin should return to Constitutional Carry.
MADISON – For the third time this week, a potential challenger to GOP Gov. Scott Walker has ruled out a 2018 run against him.
This time it’s Madison tech executive Mark Bakken, who had been getting attention from Democrats because of his success founding an IT consulting company and because he could have brought formidable financial resources into a race.
In phone calls to close associates Friday, Bakken ruled out a run and said he would focus instead on his business ventures, according to sources who spoke directly with Bakken. The decision increases the chances that trial attorney and state Rep. Dana Wachs (D-Eau Claire) could announce a run against Walker, since Wachs is a friend of Bakken’s and would have been unlikely to run against the executive.
What’s interesting is that, on paper, Walker is extremely vulnerable next year. His approval rating is below 50%. Historic trends says that next year should be a big Democratic year. If the Wisconsin Democrats can field a decent candidate, he or she should stand a pretty good chance. And yet, nobody of any prominence is stepping forward for the Democrats. In fact, many of them are pulling their names off of the list early.
I suspect hat two things are at play. First, the Wisconsin Democratic Party is devoid of any top tier talent. The last six years have decimated their bench. Second, Walker isn’t as vulnerable as he appears. He has never polled very high, but his strength lies in his ability to turn out nearly universal and massive turnout of the Republican base. While many conservatives in the base were frustrated with him when he ran for president and went wobbly, he appears to have returned to the fold. The Democrats know this too and no prominent Democrats wants to be the next Burke or Barrett and have their political careers run aground on the shoals of Isla Walker.
The Democrats have to run someone… theoretically. Who will it be?
Some may argue that this is because governments no longer feel like they are “of the people, by the people, for the people”, as Abraham Lincoln put it in his Gettysburg Address. Over the last half century, the business of governing has arguably become more technocratic, with positions of power populated by larger numbers of professional politicians and policy wonks. Many long-established political parties once had closer ties with specific groups of people. Left-wing or social democratic parties in particular were set up to represent the will of the working class. Those ties have stretched to breaking point, however.
More generally, old divisions between left and right that once gave voters clear alternatives have fallen, especially since the 1990s and the end of the Cold War. Parties that represented two competing visions of how society should be run throughout the 20th Century have suffered a body blow, says Hoey. As parties on both sides moved to the centre, the gulf between political elites and the electorate opened up even more. “Politics is no longer about the big questions and big issues,” says Hoey. “It has become soulless.”
Cue populists like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage, the former leader of UK party Ukip. Such politicians have been able to win support by talking about issues that established parties have been unwilling to address candidly. Ukip wields no hard political power – its only elected member of Parliament defected last week – but its outspoken views on immigration and criticism of EU technocrats shaped the Brexit debate. Similarly, Trump also crafted his campaign around immigration and a pledge to “drain the swamp” of political elites that no longer shared the values of millions of voters.
At a base level, the law would give citizens easier access to their constitutional rights, Craig said.
“This is a constitutional right, this is a fundamental right laid out by the Second Amendment,” he said. “Government should be examining that to determine and make sure people aren’t infringed of their rights.
Giving citizens access to those constitutional rights has panned out well in the past, he said. Already, Wisconsinites do not need a permit or training to carry a gun openly.
“In Wisconsin you can open carry (without a permit),” he said. “Are there any ill consequences of that in Wisconsin of any measurable amount? No, there’s not.”
Permitless concealed carry is already happening in 12 states, Craig said, ranging in ideology from Missouri to “Bernie Sanders’ own home state of Vermont.”
“What makes Wisconsinites any different?” he said. “And if other states are doing this without ill effect, and we’ve had the level of permitless carry in Wisconsin without ill effect, why would we not break down that barrier?”
March 28, 2017 – Kewaskum, WI – I have quite a few questions concerning actions by the Kewaskum School Board and how it affects the community. I’m not alone.
An article was published in the Feb. 9, 2017 Kewaskum Statesman, ‘Kewaskum School District Considers New Building Plan.’
It said after 18 months of development by administration, the Long Range Planning Committee, Bray Architect and CD Smith, that 60 days after the referendum passed a board member indicated, “The whole board will be eating crow because it is the right thing to do.”
How can that happen? How do you meet for 18 months and the building plan you forward to referendum is not right?
He brings up a good point. The Kewaskum School Board put a referendum on the ballot to borrow $28.4 million to do some substantial renovations to several buildings. They showed the public a plan, drawings, cost estimates, etc. and touted how they had spent such a long time developing a detailed plan. Here’s what they touted:
Then, within 2 months of the voters approving the referendum, the School Board scraps the plan upon which it was based and is going with something else? That has all of the hallmarks of corruption, incompetence, and/or dishonesty.
The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Foundation bought Chancellor Richard Wells’ home for roughly $120,000 more than it arguably was worth before he retired — the same foundation he’s accused of illegally using to help cement his legacy.
In addition to that windfall, Wells saved roughly $27,000 in Realtor commission because the sprawling, classic midcentury modern ranch house with brick privacy walls never went on the market.
The chancellor continued to live in the house about a half mile from campus rent-free per a standard contract until he moved to Florida 20 months after the sale. After he left, the foundation sank another $62,000 into the 3,247-square-foot home on top of the $450,000 sale price. They updated the kitchen, added a half-bath and coat room, resolved serious water drainage issues and made extensive repairs, including replacing two bulging concrete patios, according to UW-Oshkosh records obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel through an open records request.
West Bend woman to be inducted into 2017 Wisconsin Senior Olympics’ Hall of Fame
This Saturday, 93-year-old Edith Schultz of West Bend will be inducted into the 2017 Wisconsin Senior Olympics’ Hall of Fame.
“I have made already 20 copies of this letter to send to my family and friends,” said Schultz with a thick German accent. Earlier this month Schultz received a letter of notification.
“A remarkable achievement and an inspiration to athletes of all ages,” said the note from Senior Olympics executive director Mollie Bartelt.
An avid swimmer, Schultz will be recognized for her 10-year history of competing in the Wisconsin Senior Olympics.
A self-taught swimmer, Schultz has mastered three strokes including the breast stroke, back and side stroke. “I get three gold medals every year,” she said. “Except the first year I got only two.
“I have 29 medals and that’s more than Michael Phelps; he has only 27,” she said comparing hardware with the well-decorated Olympic swimmer.
Schultz lives at Cedar Ridge in West Bend. She chose the facility because it has a pool.
Schultz comes out of the back bedroom in her apartment wearing three of her Senior Olympic medals. “If we take a picture of them in the sunlight they shimmer like gold,” she said.
Down to only a handful of medals in her collection, Schultz has been distributing them as gifts over the past few years. “I give them to my children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and special friends too,” she said. “I give one to my tax man because he does a good job.”
Schultz even rewarded her doctor who fixed her kneecap when she fell and broke it into four pieces. “He had tears in his eyes when I gave him this medal; he was so emotionally happy,” she said.
A handwritten card accompanies each gift. It reads, “Always do your very best.” Signed Edith Schultz
A tiny woman with round glasses, Schultz has heaps of spunk and a fascinating history.
Edith Hentschel was born in Lodz, Poland in 1923; she survived WWII and the Hitler Youth, became a war bride in 1947 and immigrated to the U.S.
Schultz has written a 214 page book about her life, “From Riches to Rags to Riches with the Grace of God.”
Schultz details growing up in a Christian family, singing in the choir, learning English and reading stories of Robin Hood.
In 1939 Schultz wrote about rumors Hitler would go to war against Poland. “German troops came into our town. We were issued ID cards. The Jews had to wear arm bands.
“In January 1945 chaos broke loose. My hometown of Lodz was bombed. I reached Berlin with the horse and wagon in four days just staying ahead of the Russians bombing and shooting. My faith in the Lord helped me get through those tough times.”
Doug Gonring throws hat in the ring for Kewaskum School Board
This week Doug Gonring submitted paperwork to run as a write-in candidate for the Kewaskum School Board. In a letter to the editor at WashingtonCountyInsider.com Gonring questioned the integrity of the School Board, especially its building plan concerning the referendum and the remodel of the middle school.
A portion of Gonring’s letter is follows. “An article was published in the Feb. 9, 2017 Kewaskum Statesman, ‘Kewaskum School District Considers New Building Plan.’
It said after 18 months of development by administration, the Long Range Planning Committee, Bray Architect and CD Smith, that 60 days after the referendum passed a board member indicated, “The whole board will be eating crow because it is the right thing to do.”
How can that happen? How do you meet for 18 months and the building plan you forward to referendum is not right?
How could board members and administration support referendum mailings, brochures, meetings to the public at the townships and fire departments and all of sudden without knowledge to the public, they choose a different path?
How could all those things which cost time and money become fruitless? Unless the administration and certain board members knew all along the total conceptual plan was never an option.
That isn’t honest and it shows a great lack of integrity and judgment by the elected members on the school board. This is just a good old slap in the face to taxpayers.
There are things that are needed to be addressed in our district but to campaign on one front and change the plan because you now have our money, is very misleading to all of us.
Are we ever going to have a long-range maintenance plan for our other aging facilities in the future so we don’t have to have referendums every 20 years?
This administration and majority school board has been disgraceful to each other at times. It lacks respect and dignity to others on the board or committees members that actually do live here.
This upcoming election gives us an option to make a difference and get some new blood on the board. We know for a fact the majority board that does exist hasn’t been honest to taxpayers.
We need a change of leadership just like the changes we have seen in our federal and state governments. We need leaders willing to stand up for the people who elected them not the ones they have hired.
If you’re ready for a change, so am I. On April 4, use your 3-votes to elect Bradley A. Petersen and Gregg Denman, and write-in Doug Gonring for Kewaskum School Board. Doug Gonring
Three other candidates on the ballot include incumbents Troy Hanson, Jay Fisher and Sue Miller. Board president Hanson declined comment.
Bob Brandt WWII Army vet on April 8 Honor Flight
Bob Brandt, 89, of West Bend is one of 90 veterans on the upcoming April 8 Stars & Stripes Honor Flight to Washington D.C.
Brandt was drafted at 18 years old; he had just graduated Wauwatosa High School. “They asked me what branch of the service I wanted,” he said. “My dad had been in the Navy and I said ‘Navy’ and the guy stamped it Army.” Brandt pounded the table and laughed at the memory.
Brandt completed basic training at Fort Lewis, southwest of Tacoma, Washington. He then shipped out of Fort Lawton, Seattle for Japan. “I was stationed in Shinagawa, just south of Tokyo by about five railroad stops,” he said.
The year was 1946; WWII was over and it was the Army of Occupation.
Brandt was initially stationed in Tokyo Bay on an island where ships would unload supplies that would go to a warehouse. “I took my break and went to the typewriter,” he said. “I would just hunt and poke but a sergeant came down and saw me typing and the next day I got an order to report to headquarters.”
Brandt recalled being told to sit down in front of a typewriter. “They gave me a stack of court-martial cases to transcribe,” he said. “You could only have three errors per page and there were duplicate copies and I called the sergeant over and said I can’t do that, I can’t transcribe.”
Brandt said he managed to remain a clerk at headquarters but he was replaced by a Japanese girl who could type.
“It was a good deal because we had good meals and it was like going to work,” he said. “We had three Japanese boys in our barracks that shined our shoes and made our beds.”
In April 1947, Brandt received his notice of separation; he returned to the states and received an honorable discharge. “It was odd because I went in April 24, 1946 and got out on the same day just a year later,” he said.
At 19 years old Brandt picked up a couple part time jobs, went to Marquette University to study marketing and met his wife Audrey.
“I worked two years for Swift and Company, a meat packing company,” he said. “We were selling canned goods, meats and baby food, and we sold to a lot of corner grocery stores.”
Transferred to the meat department, Brandt quit and went to work for Broan NuTone, now Broan Manufacturing. “I started as assistant office manager and when Broan moved to Hartford I went out there with them,” he said.
Brandt stayed with the company for nearly 39 years.
Eager for the Honor Flight, Brandt said this will be a return trip to D.C. “I’ve seen the Vietnam Memorial but I haven’t been to the WWII Memorial,” he said.
A.J. Brandt, a grandson, will be Brandt’s guardian. “He kind of picked me,” laughed Brandt. “I wasn’t going to do this because I don’t really feel like a veteran. I had a vacation in Japan for a year courtesy of the government. These fellas who went through so much, I didn’t feel it would be right for me to take up a place.”
Brandt talked to a few other vets who had been on the Honor Flight and they convinced him he was worthy enough to go.
Two other Washington-County area veterans on the April 8 flight include Raymond Grund of West Bend and Bill Mayer of Hartford, both served in the Korean War Army.
New principal hired at Addison Elementary
There will be a familiar face taking over as principal at Addison Elementary in the Slinger School District as Joel Dziedzic has been selected for the job.
Dziedzic, pronounced jay-jeets, is the principal at Kewaskum’s Charter School and a part-time principal at Kewaskum High School. He will officially come before the Slinger School Board on April 17.
“Joel was a unanimous choice by a committee of 17 people,” said Slinger Superintendent Daren Sievers. “He has a warm personality and a relationship focus with his leadership and we really value that in Slinger.”
Sievers said he was also impressed with Dziedzic knowledge of technology. “We think he’ll bring a fresh perspective in that regard and it’ll be a great addition to our staff and technology in the classroom,” Sievers said.
Dziedzic will take over in Addison on July 1.
“He will be invited to meet the Addison staff for the first time on Monday, April 3 and then I’m going to take him on a driving tour of the district to meet all five principals and see all the buildings and be welcomed by our staff,” Sievers said.
Behind the scenes: Sievers said his interview with Dziedzic was memorable because it happened during the big Monday snowstorm where accidents shut down I-41 and Slinger High School was selected to serve as a safe space.
“As we were interviewing Joel and my phone blew up that Germantown was having early release,” said Sievers.
“I left the meeting, talked to the bus company and local law enforcement, learned about the accidents and decided rather than early release we’d just keep the kids safe at school.”
Sievers sent a note and a phone call to all parents in the district telling them the kids would be staying put.
“I had to duck out of Joel’s meeting and then interview him by phone, even though the entire committee said, ‘this is our guy,’” he said.
“So the only interview I missed, because of the snow storm, was the guy we chose.”
Updates & tidbits
– Job interviews for on-site caregivers on Tuesday, April 4 from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. at Homes for Independent Living on W. Washington Street in West Bend. Print this ad and show recruiter to receive a $1,000 signing bonus.
– The move to a new corporate headquarters for Delta Defense/ USCCA appears to be complete as the American flag is now in place on Freedom Way just off Corporate Center Drive in West Bend.
– The DIVA Spring Bling is coming up Thursday, April 27 in downtown West Bend. Proceeds from umbrella and specialty ring sales benefit Chix 4 a Cause.
– Make your Easter plans early and come out to The Columbian on Saturday, April 8 for the 35th annual Kiwanis pancake-sausage brunch with the Easter Bunny. Tickets are available at Horicon Bank in West Bend, The Columbian and Minuteman Press.
– Mark your calendars for the Friday, April 14 Fillmore Fire & Rescue Fish Fry at the Fillmore Fire Department. Tommy Schwai and his team will also be busy making shrimp. There will be free desserts for donating a non-perishable food item!
– Horicon Bank has stepped up this year to sponsor the fireworks during the July 4th celebration at Riverside Park in West Bend.
-The West Bend American Legion Post 36 will be hosting a brat fry on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 28, 29 and 30 at 1421 W. Washington Street from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Proceeds to local projects and veterans programs.
-Students at schools across Washington County including West Bend, Kewaskum, Slinger and Germantown are competing for a traveling trophy as they come up with an Anti-Drug slogan. The best anti-drug slogan will be used county wide at future anti-drug events. Judging will be April 6 at 6 p.m. at the West Bend Mutual Prairie Center.
-The Exclusive Company in West Bend is already advertising this year’s Record Store Day as April 22. The day includes sales, free food and live music as the store, 144 N. Main St., celebrates its independence. The store opens for 12 hours of sales from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
