Donald Trump has become the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea, after meeting Kim Jong-un in the area dividing the two Koreas.
Mr Trump and the North Korean leader posed for handshakes before talking for nearly an hour in the heavily fortified demilitarised zone (DMZ).
Both countries agreed to set up teams to resume stalled nuclear talks.
Their last summit broke down in February with no progress on denuclearisation in North Korea.
Critics have dismissed the occasion – the two leaders’ third face-to-face encounter in just over a year – as a political theatre and say North Korea still needs to show that it is serious in getting rid of its nuclear weapons.
I completely agree that it was theater and that NK needs to demonstrate its sincerity. I disagree that the encounter was meaningless. Symbols and images can be very powerful. Certainly, the evil butterball (as Jay Weber calls Jong-un) is susceptible to it. So we’ll see… maybe this is another step toward peace. Maybe it is one more in a decades-long series of false starts.
by Owen | 0658, 28 Jun 1919 | Politics | 2 Comments
Did you watch it? I did. WOW, did I. Here are a few random thoughts that I took from watching the top 10 Dem candidates on stage:
The lady on the left might have been the most sane person on stage.
Almost to a person, these folks support open borders, socialized healthcare, and giving that healthcare to illegals.
Almost all of them named global warming as one of the first couple things they’d tackle if they were president.
Harris still thinks she’s a prosecutor, but she may be the most likable person on stage.
PASS THE TORCH! dude… sheesh… we all know this guy, right? He’s the drunk guy at the party who won’t shut up about how hot his girlfriend is, but she dumped him two months ago.
Biden’s best moments were when he was just smiling and not saying anything.
It truly worries me that one of these people might be our next president. Any reluctant Trump voters who may have watched are no longer reluctant.
Mayor Pete… you really want to like him… he sounds so reasonable… until he says something utterly bizarre like Christian Republicans are cheering family separations… wha!?!? But the look on Pete’s face when PASS THE TORCH! dude told him to fire the police chief was hilarious.
Winner? Trump.
Oh, and I’m looking forward to the Love Offensive. Saddle up.
Bernie thinks he can rotate out Supreme Court Justices at his discretion. Let that sink in.
The WBSDTF is a group of citizens privately formed and funded whose mission is to generate and communicate independent findings related to maintenance and capital projects at the facilities mentioned. The task force was formed in the wake of a failed referendum in April of 2019. The goal of the referendum was the construction of a new K-4 elementary school in Jackson and safety and infrastructure enhancements at the high schools.
WBDSPTF members include Kevin Steiner, Tim Schmidt, Kraig Sadownikow, Randy Stark, Ed Duquaine, Dan Garvey, Mike Chevalier, Owen Robinson, Chris Kleman, and Chris Schmidt. Members were chosen based on their design, construction, facilities management and communication expertise.
“We felt our first priority was to gauge for ourselves the condition of the high schools and Jackson Elementary to gain a full understanding of the intent of the failed referendum,” said task force organizer and City of West Bend Mayor Kraig Sadownikow.
“Maintenance and capital budgets for the District’s 1.2 million square feet of buildings has been a focus of discussions so far,” said task force member and former City of West Bend Alderman Ed Duquaine. “We requested and were given past information related to pre-referendum work, the district’s 25-year plan and completed tours with the facilities director.”
To gain a full and complete understanding of the district’s physical condition, the task force is considering touring other facilities. “We are looking forward to where the district can go in the future, rather than looking backward to debate where we’ve been,” said task force member Dan Garvey.
Zimmerman Architectural Studios has been retained by the task force. Their firm, led by Dave Stroik, had mechanical and electrical engineers along for the tours. “Our role is to help assess existing conditions and bring the expertise of how modern educational facilities should be designed,” said Stroik.
The task force expects to complete its work this summer and will present findings to the school board in October.
For additional information on the West Bend School District Private Task Force contact Kraig Sadownikow at www.teamacs.net.
Wait… what!?!? Oh yeah… yes, I am on the task force. The Mayor does a good job of explaining it, but allow me to elaborate a bit from my perspective.
I was pretty happy when the referendum failed. I truly thought that it was a waste of money that would not improve education and would hamstring the district with debt for decades to come. But I do acknowledge that the school district must maintain its facilities and that, from time to time, they will need to refurbished or rebuilt.
When I was invited to participate in this task force, I was skeptical. I was worried that it would be just a group of guys looking for another way to justify a referendum. But after more discussion and learning who else was on the task force, I thought it was worth the effort. The task force is comprised of a group of local leaders, several of whom have experience in facilities, who believe in having a great school system, but who have different perspectives on how to get there. Some of us opposed the referendum. Some of us supported it. We all want to have a great school district that provides a great education and is an asset to the community.
I’m thankful to Tim Schmidt (Delta Defense) and Kevin Steiner (West Bend Mutual) for putting up the money for the architectural firm. West Bend is blessed to have strong local business leaders who care about our community.
So we are giving it a try. I don’t know where it will lead. My experience so far has been very positive. Right now we are in data-gathering mode. We have met as a group and toured both Jackson Elementary and the High Schools – the subjects of the referendum. I toured both before the referendum too, but we were able to tour as a group, ask questions, and the district has been very helpful in providing documentation, plans, studies, etc. We are probably going to tour a few more buildings and meet several times over the summer to discuss the information we received, develop our findings, and prepare them for presentation to the School Board. At that point, who knows what the School Board will do with the findings. That’s up to them. I’m hopeful that we can help be part of a solution.
Senate Republicans on Wednesday approved their two-year state budget by a slim 17-16 margin largely along party lines, guaranteeing it will land on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ desk in coming weeks.
[…]
Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, one of three skeptical Republicans who kept the roughly $81 billion budget’s prospects in limbo this month, announced his “yes” vote earlier Wednesday, eliminating the possibility lawmakers needed to make further major changes to ensure its passage.
[…]
Two Republican senators — Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, and David Craig, R-Big Bend — voted against the plan because they argued it spends too much.
On a largely party-line vote, the Republican-controlled state Assembly on Tuesday approved an $81 billion, two-year spending plan with last-minute changes to increase funding for district attorneys and allow carmaker Tesla to sell directly to consumers.
The changes could appease a handful of skeptical conservatives in the Senate, which is also controlled by Republicans and where one more “no” vote could sink the budget in that chamber.
Senators take up the plan Wednesday. If passed, it would then go to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has broad authority to make changes.
Here is the vote.
Huzzah, huzzah for local representatives Gundrum, Brandtjen, and Ramthun. Apparently, they are the only conservatives left in the Assembly. How quickly this caucus snapped back to the Left without Governor Walker as a guardrail.
What’s wrong with you, Knodl? Jagler? Sanfelippo? Is this what you think your constituents want, or have you gone native? This vote is disgraceful.
And Robin Vos? You will never be governor of this state. You peaked and you blew your chance to be anything more than yet another Madison swamp creature.
Now we head to the State Senate. Hopefully my senator, Duey Stroebel, has a change in heart from his ill-advised JFC vote, joins the other conservatives in the caucus, and spiked this budget until they can come up with something better.
San Francisco has become the first US city to ban e-cigarette sales until their health effects are clearer.
Officials on Tuesday voted to ban stores selling the vaporisers and made it illegal for online retailers to deliver to addresses in the city.
The California city is home to Juul Labs, the most popular e-cigarette producer in the US.
Juul said the move would drive smokers back to cigarettes and “create a thriving black market”.
San Francisco’s mayor, London Breed, has 10 days to sign off the legislation, but has indicated that she would. The law would begin to be enforced seven months from that date, although there have been reports firms could mount a legal challenge.
by Owen | 2123, 25 Jun 1919 | Politics | 5 Comments
Our immigration laws need to be fixed before more potential immigrants die. Too bad the Democrats prefer to prioritize politics over… well… everything else.
On Monday, the bodies were discovered on the bank of the river near Matamoros, Mexico, across from Brownsville, Texas, and several hundred yards from where they had tried to cross, just a half-mile from an international bridge.
The southern U.S. border has seen a massive surge of illegal crossings in recent months, with more than 144,000 apprehensions in May alone.
Many of the migrants are from Central America, often in family units. Due to a patchwork of legal restrictions, Central Americans who cross the border illegally with children and request asylum are frequently quickly released into the interior to await a court hearing.
A senior Google executive has been caught on an undercover video appearing to suggest the company is trying to stop ‘the next Trump situation’ in the 2020 presidential election.
Secret footage released by Project Veritas shows Google’s Head of Responsible Innovation, Jen Gennai, saying: ‘We all got screwed over in 2016, again it wasn’t just us, it was, the people got screwed over, the news media got screwed over, like, everybody got screwed over so we’ve rapidly been like, what happened there and how do we prevent it from happening again.’
A company insider provided Project Veritas with documents outlining Google’s explanation of ‘Machine Learning Fairness’ and ‘algorithmic unfairness,’ which appear to expose a liberal bent at the online giant.
A document leaked by the alleged insider contained language about addressing ‘unjust or prejudicial treatment,’ saying that even when search results are factually accurate, ‘it may be desirable to consider how we might help society reach a more fair and equitable state, via either product intervention or broader corporate social responsibility efforts.’
So much for this blog showing up in Google searches.
Three years after ruling the Department of Public Instruction doesn’t have to submit proposed administrative rules to the guv for review, the state Supreme Court reversed course today and found the agency is subject to the requirement just like any other agency.
In a 4-2 decision, the court overturned that 2016 ruling. In doing so, the conservative majority found the Wisconsin Constitution gives the state superintendent the power to supervise public instruction.
But the Legislature grants the superintendent and DPI the power to promulgate rules. Therefore, the court ruled, lawmakers can set limits on that power.
“That the SPI also has the executive constitutional function to supervise public instruction does not transform the SPI’s legislatively delegated rulemaking power into a constitutional supervisory function,” Chief Justice Pat Roggensack wrote in the majority opinion that was joined by her fellow three conservatives.
On the night Jussie Smollett reported being the victim of a vicious hate crime, he stepped forward to greet police officers wearing a powerful symbol of the attack he said he had suffered: a thin white rope looped around his neck, braided into a tangled noose and reaching below his chest.
“The reason I’m calling (police) is because of this s—,” one of Smollett’s managers told the officers, reaching toward Smollett to grab the noose with disdain.
“Do you want to take it off or anything?” an officer asked Smollett, then an actor on the Fox show “Empire.”
“Yeah, I do. I just wanted y’all to see it,” said Smollett, struggling for a moment to remove the loops of rope around his neck.
Go watch the video behind this exchange. What a doof. No wonder the police doubted his story from day one. And it’s worth noting that in that exchange, Smollett’s friend says he called the cops after seeing the noose. If that’s the case, then it means that Smollett was walking around wearing a noose for almost an hour after the attack just to what…? Show it to his friends?
Rocky start to a hoax and it went downhill from there.
The arrest of a Florida woman who turned in her estranged husband’s guns to police after he was held on domestic violence charges has provoked uproar.
Second, what happened:
On 14 June, following a divorce court meeting, Mr Irby was arrested for domestic aggravated battery after he allegedly ran his wife’s vehicle off the road and hit her car with his own, the Lakeland Ledger reported.
Mrs Irby told officers she feared for her life during the incident and had requested restraining orders on Mr Irby in the past. She was subsequently granted another temporary restraining order.
The next day, Mrs Irby went to her husband’s apartment, gathered up the firearms and brought them to the Lakeland Police Department.
When asked by an officer if she entered the apartment without her husband’s permission, she said she had. The officer asked her to confirm that she had “committed an armed burglary”.
“Yes, but he wasn’t going to turn them in so I am doing it,” she replied, according to the officer.
The dude is clearly an alleged violent dirt bag. But does that give the lady carte blanch to create and enforce her own restriction on him – up to and including breaking into his home and stealing his property? Clearly not.
Looks like everyone is going to jail. I hope they don’t have kids.
On Friday afternoon, as people all over Wisconsin were getting ready to enjoy the first official weekend of summer, Gov. Tony Evers vetoed four bills relating to abortion. While it is easy to discuss the vetoes in the context of the political gamesmanship between the Republicans and the Democrats, to do so is facile and fails to fully appreciate the depravity behind the action.
The political angle is simple. In response to radical pro-abortion laws being passed by Democrats in states like New York, Republicans across the country are trying to pass laws to protect the unborn. Both parties are acting to solidify state laws should the United States Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade and cast the responsibility for regulating abortions back to the states.
But behind these bills are the lives of real people. Let us take the four bills that Evers signed one by one.
The first bill would have prevented taxpayers from funding abortion providers through Medicaid. The two political parties have been fighting over this for years. The Republicans argue, rightly, that people who are morally opposed to killing babies in the womb should not be forced to fund organizations that do so. Democrats know that Planned Parenthood is a major financial and rhetorical supporter of the Democratic Party, so they must keep the taxpayer gravy train flowing. Evers vetoed the bill.
The second bill would have required that abortionists provide information that a woman may be able to change her mind and continue her pregnancy even after the first dose of mifepristone, a drug used as part of a drug cocktail to cause an abortion. The information would have been provided as part of the documentation that is already provided by abortionists. Evers vetoed the bill.
These two bills are somewhat procedural and wonkish, but the last two are morally crystal clear.
The third bill would have prohibited a woman from killing her baby based on its race, sex, or disabilities. Evers vetoed the bill. In doing so, Evers affirmed that women should have the ability to abort her baby if she does not like the color of its skin, the baby’s sex, or if the baby is disabled in some fashion. If a mom really wanted a boy but the ultrasound shows a girl, Evers supports her choice to kill the girl and try again. If a baby is shown to have a malformed foot, Evers supports the mom’s choice to kill the baby. If a mom does not want a black baby, Evers supports her choice. In short, Evers supports a woman’s choice to kill her baby even for the most capricious and vain reasons.
The fourth bill passed by the Legislature and vetoed by Governor Evers would have ensured that a baby who survives an abortion receives the same medical care and treatment that any newborn baby would. Sadly, abortionists are very effective, so the odds of a baby surviving an abortion is very rare. But when it does happen, the baby is, by any definition used since the dawn of humankind, born. The baby is outside the womb as a separate human. As such, the baby is entitled to all of the same protection and care as any other person. The fact that the baby survived an attempted abortion is immaterial in terms of the baby’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Not according to Governor Evers. According to our governor, a baby who is born and survived an abortion can still be quietly murdered because the abortionist and mother intended to kill it earlier. In Evers’ moral universe, the mother’s desire to kill her baby, even after it has left her body, trumps the baby’s right to exist.
We have come a long way from the old Bill Clinton mantra that abortions should be “safe, legal, and rare.” Now the rabid pro-abortionists like Governors Evers support abortions for any reason — even for anti-disabled, racist, or sexist reasons — up until the time of birth, and even for a while after birth. The moral decrepitude inherent in such a political position is astounding.
MADISON, WIS. (AP) — The state Supreme Court is poised to release a ruling on whether the governor or the state schools superintendent controls Wisconsin school policy.
Republicans passed a law dubbed the REINS Act in 2017 that requires all state agencies to get the governor’s permission before writing regulations. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed a lawsuit with the high court last year arguing then-Superintendent Tony Evers was writing regulations without then-Gov. Scott Walker’s approval.
[…]
The court ruled in 2016 that the schools superintendent doesn’t have to abide by a 2011 law similar to the REINS Act that requires agencies to get the governor’s permission before writing regulations.
MADISON (CBS 58) — The state assembly is set to vote on Wisconsin’s next budget this Tuesday. However, lawmakers on both sides will have to compromise before it’s passed.
University of Milwaukee political science professor Mordecai Lee said that’s the challenging part. “The Republican Legislature and the Democratic Governor are barely talking to each other.”
Two GOP lawmakers have threatened to vote against the $81-billion proposal drafted by their party. If one more Republican senator vows to vote against it, the budget won’t pass.
Those senators say there’s too much spending. “Overall the spending has just taken over. It is less than Tony Evers’ budget, however, Tony Evers’ budget was astronomically expensive,” said Sen. Stephen Nass.
A group of nearly 20 wealthy Americans on Monday released a letter asking for all 2020 presidential hopefuls to support a “moderate wealth tax” on the richest one-tenth of the richest 1 percent of Americans.
“America has a moral, ethical and economic responsibility to tax our wealth more. A wealth tax could help address the climate crisis, improve the economy, improve health outcomes, fairly create opportunity, and strengthen our democratic freedoms,” the letter says, as published by The New York Times.
“Instituting a wealth tax is in the interest of our republic,” it continues.
The document is signed by financier George Soros, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, heirs like Abigail Disney and others.
The letter calls for the tax revenue to be used in “smart investments for our future,” including addressing climate change, providing student loan debt relief and universal child care, modernizing infrastructure and providing tax credits for low-income families.
Here’s the thing… there is nothing stopping these folks from liquefying their assets and cutting a check to the Treasury Department. But that’s not what they want. They want to tax YOUR accumulated wealth. If you think that they are going to stop at just taxing the top tenth of one percent, you’re nuts. Remember that when the income tax was implemented in 1913, it only taxed people making over $20,000 per year (at 1%, no less). That’s would be people making over $507,000 in today’s dollars. That is, conveniently, less than 1% of income earners in today’s America.
Then, over time, the threshold was lowered and the rates increased. The people who wrote this letter aren’t stupid. They know that. What they want is a wealth tax to be implemented so that it can be eventually expanded to include anyone with any accumulated wealth. It will never end with just the super rich paying it. They are just drying to open the door on a wealth tax by appealing to people’s envy.
Donald Trump has dismissed a United Nations request for the FBI to investigate the murder of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, suggesting it would jeopardise American weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.
But Trump brushed the proposal aside in an interview broadcast by NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.
Asked if he would allow the FBI to investigate, Trump said: “I think it’s been heavily investigated.”
Asked who had investigated, the president replied: “By everybody. I mean … I’ve seen so many different reports.”
Khashoggi, 59, was a US resident who wrote for the Washington Post. He was killed and dismembered after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October last year, seeking paperwork he needed in order to marry.
It’s an interesting plan and Facebook certainly has the wherewithal to try it. The greatest flaw I see is that Facebook is, perhaps, the least trusted company on the planet. They are continually getting caught lying and abusing their users. Currency is all about trust that the value tomorrow will be consistent or predictable – with acceptable variances. Who is going to trust a Facebook currency?
Facebook Inc. unveiled plans for a new cryptocurrency called Libra this week. When it launches in 2020 or later, it will be a stablecoin–a digital currency that doesn’t fluctuate much because it’s supported by established government-backed currencies and securities.
The world’s largest social media company published a 12-page white paperon Libra and has more than 20 partners for the project. But there are still many questions. After a week of analysis, here’s what Bloomberg reporters and editors know about Libra, along with key unknowns that remain:
Joe Weisenthal, executive editor: digital news at Bloomberg:
For sure: Libra is being touted as a cryptocurrency, so it’s natural to use existing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum as mental models for what it could be. But it’s probably better to think instead about traditional peer-to-peer payment networks. Whether you’re talking about PayPal, Venmo, Square, WeChat, or even Western Union, all of these networks are in some way layered on top of the traditional financial system in order to ease some type of transaction (e-commerce, check-splitting, remittances). The problem is that these networks aren’t interoperable, and in many cases the fees can be quite high. Like all these other networks, Libra will be layered on top of the existing financial system, since each coin will be backed by traditional money in the bank to support a stable price. Unlike these other networks, however, there is an opportunity to create payments unification on a global scale, and at potentially a much lower cost. And in theory, anyone will one be able to build payment applications on top of Libra. Some might focus on friends splitting the cost of dinner. Others might be focused on remittance payments to developing markets. In the most extremely successful version of Libra, it’s not so much a cryptocurrency, but a global operating system for moving fiat money around.
by Owen | 0619, 22 Jun 1919 | Off-Duty | 0 Comments
Independent Task Force to examine facilities in West Bend School District
There was a presentation Monday, June 17 at the West Bend School Board meeting as a community group stepped up to complete a facilities study in the West Bend School District. The Task Force is led by West Bend Mayor Kraig Sadownikow, West Bend Mutual Insurance CEO Kevin Steiner and Tim Schmidt of Delta Defense.
Topic and Background from WBSD Superintendent Don Kirkegaard: In May I had a discussion with three individuals from the community: Mayor Kraig Sadownikow, Kevin Steiner/West Bend Mutual Insurance, and Tim Schmidt/Delta Defense that are forming a committee to look at our facilities. They have asked to have access to our facilities and have an opportunity to visit with Mr. Ross to discuss projects that have been completed, as well as projects that are being planned.
There is no district involvement with the committee.
They will submit a report to the Board in September and/or October. The Board can use all of or part of the information as the Board determines future facilities’ improvements.
The committee is not authorized by the Board or the Superintendent. The report will be informational only with the Board being responsible to make any and all decisions.
Board member Joel Ongert: “Are you off and running with this Task Force? Do you have a group of individuals in mind?”
Kevin Steiner: “The committee has been chosen so it’s construction experts, facility management, communication experts and so it’s really a diverse group of people and we have met and they’re on board and anxious to get going.”
Tim Schmidt: “In terms of messaging it’s very important to us and all the folks on this team that we want people to understand we’re supporting you; we’re working to support the school board.”
Board member Nancy Justman: “I heard you spoke of Jackson and the high school… but I wonder if there’s any opportunity to take a look and include in your time and study the other elementary schools. We’re looking at everything on a whole and the community is coming together on this one and can you look at those schools as well.” ((West Bend also has Decorah Elementary, McLane Elementary and Green Tree Elementary))
Steiner: “This group is very willing and perhaps it’s a conversation we could have with the group as we go forward. We’d like to demonstrate this is helpful and still allow you to do your job and so certainly we thought Jackson and the high school is a good way to start but there are opportunities to move beyond that.”
Schmidt: “It’s critical that we address this from a clean-slate mentality. We don’t like to use the April referendum as some starting point but rather wipe the slate clean and figure out from our perspective what we think.”
Steiner: “There are actual committee members that have worked with Mr. Ross (WBSD facilities director) in the past on the long-range plans so there is some knowledge from this group who perhaps also bring some expertise to see how far we’ve come.”
Board member Kurt Rebholz: “It’s eye opening to go through some of these facilities; we have equipment from 1940s and ’50s.”
Board member Paul Fischer: “I’m interested in the scope of the findings. Is it more infrastructure and plant related or will you get into areas like library modifications and without making recommendations will you include potentially include findings such as, this is outdated in terms of instructional type situation or is the focus on more of the physical plan itself.”
Tim Schmidt: “It’s my understanding we won’t look into instructional anything.”
Board member Chris Zwygart: “It’s important this board maximize this group’s independence. If you can confirm none of the board members are participating on the committee and no district employees.”
Schmidt and Steiner confirm.
Ongert: “We’re not paying you to do this. What are our resources, Dave Ross, access to buildings…. ”
Superintendent Kirkegaard: “We’ll provide any information you need, we’ll give you access to the buildings. One of the things in the referendum people talked about was that when you had the architects telling you to do X and for all the dollars you spend the architects get additional money because they get a percentage. Or you had the builders tell you to do X and they become the contractor. This really does provide an opportunity, not for an outside recommendation, but they have no vested interest other than they want to do what’s best for our community and our school.”
After the meeting Task Force Chairman Kraig Sadownikow submitted the following comment.
CEO’s Kevin Steiner of West Bend Mutual and Tim Schmidt of Delta Defense are pleased to announce their organizations’ financial support for a private task force that will provide independent findings relative to the long-term sustainability and capital improvements at Jackson Elementary and the West Bend High Schools. A referendum failed to gain taxpayer support in April of 2019. The referendum targeted enhancements at the West Bend High Schools as well as the construction of a new K-4 elementary school in Jackson. “The referendum showed that our community is divided on whether these investments are necessary. The Task Force will take a fresh, independent look at the needs of the district and will share findings with the school board. I applaud all the members of the Task Force for stepping up and taking action to help bring our community together around this issue,” said Steiner.
The West Bend School District Private Task Force is not a publicly created committee. Rather, it is a private collection of concerned taxpayers. Schmidt noted, “The voters in the District spoke loud and clear. They were uncomfortable with the April referendum question. Delta Defense works hard at attracting more and more families to join our team and move to West Bend. Having strong, competitive schools is critical in this effort. I’m excited to dig in and find an efficient and responsible solution for West Bend schools.”
“We live in a very intelligent and generous community whose citizens rally around causes while being careful to thoroughly analyze efforts and projects prior to supporting them,” stated City of West Bend Mayor and businessman Kraig Sadownikow. “The purpose behind this independent task force is to offer the School Board and district taxpayers an unbiased, educated opinion regarding the potential needs in Jackson and at the High Schools.” Sadownikow is also Chairman of the Task Force.
Task Force members were chosen based on their construction, facilities management, and communication expertise. They will tour schools, investigate alternative solutions to current challenges, validate current needs, and report findings to the West Bend School Board in October of 2019. According to Sadownikow, Task Force members are committed to asking questions that have never been asked before and to communicate openly, consistently, and independently. Zimmerman Architectural Studios has been retained by the Task Force and will offer consultation pertaining to facility best practices in the education environment.
“We do not expect to make recommendations to the School Board. Instead, we will present findings within the context of the District’s long-range improvement plan,” Sadownikow said. He added, “the School Board was elected to make decisions. With that in mind, we will offer our independent thoughts and findings, allowing the School Board to draw their own conclusions and take action accordingly.”
For additional information on the West Bend School District Private Task Force contact Kraig Sadownikow at www.teamacs.net.
Historic West Bend Theatre sign primed and painted
A hat tip to the wonderful staff at Poblocki Sign Company in Milwaukee for opening its doors so we can give you a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stage of refurbishing for the Historic West Bend Theatre sign.
On Dec. 27, 2018 the landmark was removed from the side of the theatre in Downtown West Bend; it was loaded onto a semi and brought to the shop to give the 90-year-old iconic sign a face lift.
On Wednesday after the letters and decorative edges had been tightly taped off with fine precision the final spray-painting process got underway.
Poblocki’s Paul Kaminski tried to give an update over the din of the ventilation in the room. “The yellow is a primer color,” said Kaminski. “The reason it’s taped off in the letter troughs is because it’s going to be a lighter color than the teal blue of the sign.”
“We took a chip of the original paint and put it under the spectrophotometer which gave us a computer analysis and spectrum of the color,” Kaminski said. “The computer generated an exact match.”
Kaminski said we were standing in a “heated booth” and the final coat would be “baked on like painting a car.” After watching the start of the painting process the fumes from the spray paint forced us out of the area and we watched through a window in the door. Poblocki’s Cindy Wendland said the staff knew we were coming so they cleaned off the window for a clear view.
Up next, after the paint dries the tunnels in the letters will be painted and electronics will be installed.
The sign is expected to be returned later this summer as the Historic West Bend Theatre undergoes a major renovation.
Building home to Walmart in West Bend has been sold
In March 2019 a story was posted at WashingtonCountyInsider.com about the property at 1515 W. Paradise Drive being for sale. Many people know it as the building that’s home to Walmart.
According to state records the property has been sold. An article in Biz Times reads:
A 21-acre property that includes a Walmart store in West Bend was sold to a San Diego-based real estate investment firm for $17 million, according to state records.
The commercial property located at 1515 W. Paradise Drive was purchased by an affiliate of Realty Income Corp. from Continental 76 Fund LLC, an affiliate of Menomonee Falls-based Continental Properties.
According to city records, the property includes the single 205,600-square-foot Walmart building, which was constructed in 1998 and underwent a roughly $1.4 million remodel in 2016. The property is assessed at nearly $12.59 million.
Dedication of Civil War Monument in West Bend
There was an intimate ceremony Monday, June 17, 2019, as veterans, friends and family members gathered at Pilgrim Rest Cemetery on Chestnut Street to pay respect to Civil War veterans from the community.
Jen Fechter is with a group called “Remembering Our Civil War Veterans.”
“Our mission is to put monuments, like the one we’re dedicating today, in all the cemeteries in Washington County where Civil War veterans are buried,” she said. “Our mission is to honor those that served in the Civil War and make sure their legacy is always remembered through these monuments. It goes a long way to preserving the history in the community.”
The monument is sponsored by VFW Post 1393 Auxiliary. The memorial honors veterans that served in the Civil War 1861-1865 and who are buried at Pilgrim Rest Cemetery. Names on the grey, granite monument include Henry Bannenberg, John Huebner, John Kahnt, Martin Lampert, John H.W. Peters, Friederich Roennbeck, Rudolph Roennbeck, Moritz Tschoepe, and Gottlieb Zeiher.
Tom Brown, commander of Alonzo H. Cushing Camp No. 5 in Saukville, provided some history on the monument.
“To VFW Post Auxiliary and the City of West Bend in the name of the Sons of Union veterans of the Civil War, representing as we do all the soldiers and sailors who defended the integrity and authority of the nation, thank you and those whom you represent, for this monument.
This monument assures us that dead are held in remembrance – those who served for the security of the citizen and union of states. It is significant of brave and loyal obedience to the command of the nation always and everywhere, since the obligations of citizenship are not restricted to time or place, or to the conflict of arms. It gives encouragement for the future, since the recognition and approval it gives of patriotic fidelity and heroism, will be an incentive for display of public valor and virtue in all coming time.
There can be no doubt that the honor we pay to these patriotic dead, and to their memorable deeds will serve not only to make American citizenship in these days more reputable, but also to maintain and perpetuate, through all future generations, the union and authority of the United States of America.”
The family of John H. W. Peters was well represented at the ceremony. Glenn Peters spoke extensively about his great grandfather. “He never talked much about the war,” said Peters.
Private William Peters served in the 34th Regiment; he was on the Union side in Company K. The 34th Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry organized in Madison, WI in December 1862. It moved to Columbus, Ky., Jan. 31- Feb. 2, 1863. Attached to District of Columbus, Ky., 6th Division, 16th Army Corps, Dept. of the Tennessee, to August 1863. (Six companies attached to 4th Brigade, District of Memphis, Tenn., 5th Division, 16th Army Corps, May to August).
Signs up for new Shopko Optical in West Bend
It was January 2019 when neighbors in West Bend learned about the fate of Shopko. The retail chain filed bankruptcy, however Shopko noted “All Optical locations below will remain open to serve you during store closing. Your Optical center will be relocated very soon to a new location with the same patient care you have come to expect from your Shopko Optical center.”
A freestanding Shopko Optical will open soon in the strip center to the south of Pick ‘n Save, just to the south of SportClips in the 1700 block of S. Main Street.
The store clerk said the move across the street will occur at the end of June 2019; the exact date has not yet been determined.
More details were posted in a press release from Shopko. In order to position the Company for future success, Shopko has announced that it will be closing an additional 38 stores, relocating over 20 Optical centers to freestanding locations, and conducting an auction process for its pharmacy business. Throughout this process, all Shopko Optical centers and pharmacies remain open and continue to deliver the high-quality products and services to which its customers are accustomed. All other stores remain open as the Company continues to optimize its store footprint. Parties interested in receiving additional information about the Company’s pharmacy auction process should send inquiries to shopko@hl.com.
Additionally, encouraged by the performance of the four freestanding Optical centers that were opened in 2018, Shopko plans to continue to grow its optical business by opening additional freestanding Optical locations during 2019.
The future of Fund 46 in the West Bend School District
During a portion of the Monday, June 10, West Bend School Board meeting a discussion came up about Fund 46.
Andy Sarnow, WBSD finance director, said Fund 46 was established in July 2014.
“We established our Fund 46 five years ago, probably to the day. We do have the ability to spend the money as of July 1, 2019. At this point in time we’re not planning to spend it.”
Superintendent Don Kirkegaard said “some of the money in Fund 10 was spent last year, 2018.”
“With the proposed referendum we were talking about using a couple million dollars in Fund 46,” said Kirkegaard. “We were talking about using some of that for offsetting some of the referendum dollars. The Jackson fund, we did spend some of that last year when we bought additional land. We used Fund 10; we couldn’t spend anything out of Fund 46 until July 1, 2019.”
Board member Joel Ongert questioned how much money was in Fund 46 and how was it being used by the district.
Sarnow did not know the number off the top of his head and Kirkegaard said it was “In the $2.1 million range.”
Ongert said: “And we’re able to start spending that July 1; I guess just a thought is we outlined all kinds of needs around our facilities and the referendum failed and if those needs are urgent needs and we’ve got $2 million sitting in a fund to tackle security, safety, whatever then I think it’s time to start thinking about whether we use it because if we’re waiting for referendums to pass we could be waiting forever and we’ve got $2 million sitting there that could be renovating the entire library, or could be tackling all of our safety and security issues right now. So that’s something we’ve always talked about the Jackson savings account and the community didn’t think it was time for Jackson right now and we’re sitting on $2 million and we could put in to Jackson with that new blacktop on in Jackson so it’s just something to think about that Fund 46.”
Board member Paul Fischer: “In light of the facilities tour and what we’ve seen and what Dave (Ross) and his team are doing with $1.5 million a year is it reasonable to think we’d have a maintenance driver in the budget? Something that gives us a little more meat to be able to take care of the 1.2 million square feet that we’ve got in the district. I’ve done a little homework and we’re woefully under…. credit to Dave and his team for doing what they’re doing but I believe we’ve optimized the experience in the classroom at the expense of some of the buildings. How do we invest in these facilities so they don’t end up costing us too much down the road.”
According to the Department of Public Instruction money used in Fund 46 has more restrictions and must coincide with an established long-term capital improvement plan.
Long Term Capital Improvement Trust Fund (Fund 46)
A school board with an approved long-term capital improvement plan (minimum of 10 years) may establish a “trust” that is funded with a transfer from the general fund. The contribution from Fund 10 to Fund 46 (Long-term Capital Improvement Trust Fund) is recorded as the expenditure for shared cost and equalization aid purposes. Future expenditures from Fund 46 are not part of shared costs. A school board is prohibited from removing money deposited into Fund 46 for a period of five years after the fund is created. After the initial five year wait period is over, funds may only be used for the purposes identified in the approved long-term capital improvement plan. Fund 46 assets may not be transferred to any other school district fund.
On a history note:
-The School Board regularly set aside $250,000 for the Jackson Elementary Fund, also known as Fund 46. During a meeting in May 2018 it was noted Fund 46 carried $2.5 million and was designated for Jackson Elementary.
-Fund 46 would have been used to offset the cost of a future referendum involving Jackson Elementary. In 2018, for the first time since the fund started in 2014, the board approved setting aside $20,000 for the Jackson Fund. Superintendent Don Kirkegaard said they would see “how our budget is performing.” He said the district would look at whether to contribute to the Jackson Fund in spring 2019.
-During Monday’s meeting, June 10, 2019 district finance director Andy Sarnow said no money is being designated toward the Jackson Elementary Fund/Fund 46 in the upcoming budget.
-In a follow-up email Kirkegaard outlined the funds.
There are actually three different areas or funds coming into play with this topic. The Jackson Fund were monies set aside and earmarked for a future Jackson project and it is currently held in our General Fund (Fund 10) as a “committed” fund balance. As of July 1, 2018, there was $2,224,981 in the Jackson account. The board spent $750,000 from the Jackson account for the purchase of land in the Village of Jackson from the Village of Jackson next to the property the district owned. The current balance of the Jackson Account in Fund 10 is $1,474,981, again in a committed fund balance in the District’s General Fund.
Fund 46 (Long Term Capital Improvement Trust Fund) was established in July of 2014. No money can be spent from Fund 46 until July of 2019 per state statute. It is anticipated that there will be a balance of $1,740,000 at fiscal year-end, 6/30/2019. There are no specific spending requirements for Fund 46 as long as it is for capital improvements. It has been generally understood that Fund 46 would also be used for Jackson.
There is a second facilities fund, Fund 41 (Long Term Capital Expansion Fund) dating back to the 2008-09 school year. Fund 41 is anticipated to have a balance of approximately $740,000 at fiscal year-end. These two funds, Fund 41 and Fund 46, have historically been talked about as one fund but they are two different accounts. Going forward we will correctly refer to each fund separately.
A discussion about the mill rate was initiated toward the end of Monday night’s budget discussion.
Board member Ongert: “So are you suggesting the mill rate could go down even more during the 2019-2020 budget?”
Andy Sarnow: “I don’t know yet, so I don’t want to say because I haven’t made that calculation.”
Board member Nancy Justman: “Well considering some of the criticism we endured during the referendum that we need to ‘live within our means’ I would say dropping the levy or not taxing to the max would be detrimental to us. I’m not sure why we would even think about doing that personally.”
Ongert: “Plus I heard loud and clear people think we have too much debt in the West Bend School District and if that’s what’s preventing people from voting ‘yes’ on the referendum then let’s maintain the mill rate and pay down even more debt, if that’s what our community wants. Dropping the mill rate just to see how low we can go, um… I think is detrimental to our facilities to our staff, to our students. I don’t want to tax the crap out of the community, but we need to be able to pay down the debt.”
Justman: “Obviously we have a lot of capital things we have put off. The fact we have carpeting in that building we can assume is at least 40 years old* (statement not confirmed) is frightening. Correction, 48 years*(statement not confirmed).. even more frightening. The idea we have put off items but we also need to make sure we have this balance with our students, we still want to be a destination district. I’m just not in favor at all or decreasing the mill rate at all. I guess you’d have to really come up with some amazing plan to sell me on a plan to do that. I think we should look at increasing it and look at some of these projects that we haven’t been able to get done. I see Dave Ross is happy dancing in the background… as I go on with my rant here. But we really need to prioritize some of these things. We can’t have carpeting that’s 48 years old*(statement not confirmed) and we can’t have projects that Dave is holding together with binder twine to try and get things done. I mean we really need to look at some of these things and if that requires us to raise the mill rate than so be it.”
Ongert: “And our taxpayers are telling us we can’t have any debt.”
Justman: “Well the word was ‘live within your means’ but we don’t sell anything, so we have no means but apparently some people don’t understand, so I just want to point out I’m not in favor of decreasing the mill rate.”
Sarnow said a preliminary budget will be presented Monday, June 17. The annual meeting is set for Monday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
*Note of clarification – During the meeting board members Nancy Justman and Tonnie Schmidt said the carpet in the WBW library was “40” and then “48 years old.” Two former staffers confirmed the carpet in the WBW library was replaced in the late 1980s. Emails were sent on Thursday, June 6, 2019, to both Justman and Schmidt asking where they received their information. So far, as of June 17, 2019, neither has responded.
Also note, the school board toured the schools in the district on May 24, 2019. According to facilities manager Dave Ross, neither Justman nor Schmidt were on the tour.
On Monday, June 17 a community group will address the School Board about conducting its own review of facilities in the WBSD.
How many were served at 32nd annual Washington County Breakfast on the Farm?
A note of thanks to all volunteers who helped at the 32nd annual Washington County Breakfast. Highland Dairy and the Enright Family Farm in Kewaskum were fantastic hosts this year. According to Mike Strupp with the Washington County Dairy Promotion Committee volunteers served 3,702 people.
That included: 12,000 Pancakes, 5,200 Half Pints of Milk, 440 dozen eggs, 380 lbs. Cheese Curds, 640 lbs. Sausages and 120 Gals. of Ice Cream
The Dairy Promotions Committee was very happy with the turnout. “I would like to thank the Enright family for hosting this year’s breakfast,” said Strupp. “We had 238 volunteers help and the Diary Promotions Committee handed out three $1,000 scholarships to Teagen Herman , Leah Weninger , Leann Gehring.”
Updates & Tidbits
– The Jack Russell Memorial Library will extend its hours beginning July 1. The public library will open 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday. In celebration there will be cookies all day July 1 and July 2.
– Hannah Mrozak of Richfield returned to Wisconsin on Tuesday, June 18 as her girl group Citizen Queen opened for Pentatonix at the Fiserv Forum. Mrozak posted a note on social media, “I’m gonna cry. I hope to see as many of your lovely faces as possible. Show starts at 7:30 pm. So so excited!!!! Ahhhh!!!!!! 💕” It was May 1, 2019 when Mrozak and her Citizen Queen announced it “has been SIGNED to RCA Records AND we are the first opening act for select dates on #PTXTheWorldTour !!!” Citizen Queen opened its tour in Oakland on May 11, 2019.
