Starting Monday, you can cast a vote in the Nov. 4 election.
In-person absentee voting opens then, meaning you can vote at South Milwaukee City Hall during regular business hours through 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31.
You don’t need a reason to vote this way — you can simply show up and request a ballot and cast it right there.
Learn more on the city’s elections web page, where you can also see a sample ballot.
And keep in mind that an ID is not required to vote for this election.
Filed under 2014 Elections, South Milwaukee
It’s #3 South Milwaukee vs. #6 Waterford in the first round of the WIAA playoffs this Friday night.
Pairings were announced Saturday. Check them out here. Here is a bracket.
Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Spaltholz Field.
A potential second-round game with #2 seed Waukesha West would be next, with top-seeded Greendale looming. Greendale beat South Milwaukee, 42-7, Friday night. Here is Milwaukee Journal Sentinel coverage.
Learn more about Waterford, which is 6-3 after four straight wins and a shutout victory over Delavan-Darien this week, here.
Filed under Schools, South Milwaukee, Sports
Update: Here is a frequently asked questions document.
More than 200 people attended Monday’s public information meeting for the proposed St. Adalbert’s apartments, and that was the first of a number of opportunities for residents to learn more about the project and have their voices heard.
Indeed, that is my promise: continued open and honest communication as we move through the process.
Monday’s meeting was more about learning about the development and developer, getting questions answered about project details. It lasted about 90 minutes.
So, what’s next? The South Milwaukee Plan Commission will consider the project at its Oct. 27 meeting, when it may make a formal recommendation to the full city council on the rezoning request by Gorman. The council would then take up the issue and potentially schedule an official public hearing. After that hearing, a final vote by the council may not happen until early 2015.
As we go through the process, I also want to share a message I shared at Monday’s meeting — about what the city can and can’t consider in deciding on this project.
By law, there are strict limits as to what we can consider when it comes to a request for rezoning, as Gorman & Co. is seeking. For example, under zoning law (Wis. Stats. 62.23(7)), the common council can regulate the:
In deciding this, the statutes are also clear as to what we can’t consider in making our decision. We cannot consider who lives there, how much money they earn or where they earn that money (as long as it’s a lawful occupation). In other words, whether the development is for rich or poor or middle-income residents is not, and can not, be a consideration in zoning matters.
Furthermore, we must uphold South Milwaukee’s commitment to fair, non-discriminatory housing. This city ordinance reads in part: “It is the declared policy of this City that all persons shall have an equal opportunity for housing regardless of sex, race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religion, national origin, marital status, family status, lawful source of income, age or ancestry.”
Simply, we can’t discriminate. Nor should we. Not just because it’s against the law. It’s also the right thing to do.
I think those parameters are important to know as the debate picks up in coming weeks.
Filed under Development, South Milwaukee
Rocketober is in full swing, and here are a few updates …
Check out more details on Rocketober on our Facebook page, and here is a full schedule.
Next up: A big day on Saturday, Oct. 25, with events at South Milwaukee Little League and downtown in addition to the Mill Pond.
Filed under Community, South Milwaukee
So, leaf collection is in full swing and will continue into November.
As I’ve said, we are continuing this service this fall and expect to continue it into the future. I’ve also asked residents to consider other options given what we had been facing for the first time this fall: trucking all of our leaves to a landfill almost an hour away.
I say “had been facing” because, thanks to the hard work and persistence of our Street Department staff, we have a couple better disposal options.
First, we’re now trucking most of our leaves to a composting farm in Caledonia. Besides being much closer than Muskego, thus saving us fuel and man-hour costs, the fee they charge us to accept our leaves is also significantly less.
We’ve also been working with the Hunger Task Force Farm in Franklin as a potential disposal source.
So, good news. But the ask doesn’t change: Please put the rakes away, and mow. (Or ask the football team for help.)
It’s good for the city, the lawn and the environment.
Filed under City Services, South Milwaukee
It’s time for another Meet the Mayor session, and I’m excited to be holding this one on Saturday at the newly remodeled and expanded Sorce Martial Arts at 926 Milwaukee Ave.
I’ll be there from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., so stop by, say hi and check out the facility. No topics are off limits.
And here are dates for the next two Meet the Mayor sessions … mark your calendars.
See you Saturday!
Filed under Community, South Milwaukee
The South Milwaukee football team is also winning off the field.
The team is planning to spread out across South Milwaukee from noon to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19, to rake leaves and then take them back to school property for mulching.
Want to get on the list, or know a neighbor who could use help? Contact Coach Derek Hoff at dhoff@sdsm.k12.wi.us.
Thanks to the Rockets for taking on a service project like this, as they continue on the road to perfection on the field. This is a special team indeed.
(One additional note: The team plans to bring the leaves they collect to their property at the high school, mulching them to make for a better lawn next spring. I ask all readers to consider mulching this fall.)
Filed under Community, South Milwaukee
From the South Milwaukee School District …
ROCKET GIRLS’ TENNIS
The Rockets competed in a tough WIAA Subsectional last Monday and advanced their #1 Singles – Mackenzie Meyers (11) & #1 Doubles – Chidimma Ozodi (12) & Amber Bizub (12) to WIAA Sectional Play. Chidimma & Amber drew one of the best teams in the state from Nicolet but played them tough before dropping the match 2-6, 0-6. Mackenzie Myers played a scrappy player from Milwaukee King who came into the Sectionals with an 18-3 record, but Mackenzie played a tremendous match in 25mph winds and Mackenzie Meyers won 6-2, 7-5 and advanced to the WIAA State Tournament!!!
Best of luck next Thursday to Mackenzie!!
ROCKET FOOTBALL
The Rockets improved to 7-0 and maintained their #3 ranking in the wissports.net State D2 poll.
http://www.wissports.net/page/show/532631-rankings
The Rockets defeated Cudahy at the Homecoming game 42-0. The Rockets were led by Ian Pribyl’s (12) 16 carries for 151 yds and 2 TD’s and Justin Oliden’s (12) 10 carries for 124 yard and 2 TD’s.
The Rockets take on Pewaukee tonight in a huge matchup at 7:00pm. We would love to have more fans at the game than Pewaukee does to help cheer on the Rockets so enjoy the nice fall night and get to the game!
It’s a beautiful night for football Kickoff temp is 48 degrees and only a 4mph wind with 0% chance of rain.
Pewaukee HS, 510 Lake Street
DIRECTIONS FROM SMHS (Take Pirate Pass when you see it say go to School Street)
Check out the FANTASTIC story Tom Pipines did last week on Rocket Football and Michael Christensen and his family. If you want to know why participating in athletics and activities and being involved in something bigger than yourself like a team is important, watch this story linked down below. If you want to see character education and the SM WAY (Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, Perseverance, and Kindness in action, just watch this story!
ROCKET YOUTH FOOTBALL
The Rockets are at home each of the next 2 Saturdays. Come on out and check out the 6th, 7th & 8th grade Rockets at Hickory Park (1700-1800 Hickory Ave) in South Milwaukee. Concessions are available and it is a lot of fun to watch how Rocket Football starts out!
ROCKET BOYS’ SOCCER
The Rockets won a thriller on Wednesday night as Armend Kamberi (12) sealed the come-from-behind 6-5 win on a penalty kick in the last 5 minutes of the game. It was his 3rd goal of the game. Adam Klosiewski (12) had 2 goals and Issey Valadez (11) had the 6th goal. Ryan Graber (11) had 3 spectacular saves as well in goal for the Rockets. The Rockets begin postseason play on Tuesday at Whitefish Bay at 7:00pm in their WIAA Regional opener.
ROCKET CROSS COUNTRY
The Rocket Boys’ CC team took 1st last Saturday as a team in the Cudahy Purgolder Meet. Josh Janusiak (12) won the race while Jordan Janusiak (9) took 3rd, Justin Weber (11) took 4th, and Chris Sobczak (10) took 7th for the Rockets. On the girls side, Maddie Wood (10) took 2nd and Becca Heller (11) took 5th overall. Great job Rockets!
Preps plus filmed their broadcast at SMHS this week and it will feature our very own Josh Janusiak on Sunday night at 11:07pm on TMJ4 (Channel 1004 and Channel 83 on TWC)! Set your DVR’s for a little bit longer than the show runs due to the likelihood that it will run late from the Sunday Night Football game. Here is the link to the website which will show the broadcast next week. Keep in mind this link shows previous shows, not shows that are yet to air. This will be updated on Monday to include Josh and the Rockets.
http://www.jsonline.com/marketing/prepsplus/prepsplus.html
ROCKET GIRLS’ SWIM
The Rockets continued their stellar season with a win over Greenfield on Wednesday.
–200yd Medley Relay Team of Haille Bocek (11), Eryka Uehling (10), Natalie Swanson (12), Taylor Halama (12) took 1st with a time of 2:13.50.
–200yd Freestyle Zoe Bellis (10) took 1st with a time of 2:20.07 and Kelly Mildebrandt (12) took 3rd with a time of 2:24.98.
–200yd I.M. Eryka Uehling (10) took 1st with a time of 2:37.52 and Melanie Zabler (11) took 3rd with a time of 3:04.44.
–50yd Freestyle Natalie Swanson (12) took 2nd and Taylor Halama (12) took 3rd.
—Allison Osell (10) took 1st in Diving with a score of 193.80.
–500yd Freestyle Zoe Bellis(10) took 1st place with a time of 6:15.17.
–200yd Freestyle relay team of Mackenzie Thayer (9), Taylor Halama (12), Kelly Mildebrandt (12), Zoe Bellis (10) took 2nd with a time of 1:58.32.
–100yd Backstroke Haille Bocek (11) took 1st with a time of 1:12.61 and Eryka Uehling (10) took 2nd with a time of 1:14.32.
–400yd Freestyle Relay of Natalie Swanson (12), Kelly Mildebrandt (12), Haille Bocek (11), Eryka Uehling (10) took 1st with a time of 4:17.53 and Kailyn VanScyoc (10), Melanie Zabler (11), Emma Hernandez (12), Morgan Conner (9) took 2nd with a time of 4:46.96
It was a close meet but the girls had fun changing up the line up a bit!
Allison Osell will be competing in the Nicolet Diving Meet tonight and the team competes in West Allis Central on Saturday!
Good luck to all of the Rockets this weekend!!!
Filed under South Milwaukee, Sports
From the South Milwaukee School District …
COURTNEY SUSEDIK (Class of 2004)
Congratulations to yet another one of a long list of outstanding Rocket distance runners Courtney Susedik who recently ran in the 2014 Lakefront Marathon. She finished in 9th place out of 1025 women that participated and ran the marathon in 3 hours, 4 min & 58 seconds. Way to go Courtney!!!
AUSTIN STUECK (Class of 2012)
Austin Stueck is only a few points away from 1,000 in his career and he was just named a DIII News pre-season All-American team and Sporting News has him as a pre-season 2nd team All-American as well! Good luck this year Austin!
http://go-raiders.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/20141009i15393
Filed under Schools, South Milwaukee, Sports
Quick roundup from Tuesday’s South Milwaukee City Council meeting …
Filed under City Council, South Milwaukee
Check out these headlines from around the South Shore …
Also, NOW has published new police blotter here and here.
And Milwaukee County Supervisor Patricia Jursik has published new e-newsletters here and here.
Filed under Headlines, Local Business, South Milwaukee
A cool event (and program) from the school district … this sounds like fun.
Students from South Milwaukee High School’s new Technology & Engineering Academy will be conducting their first annual cardboard boat regatta on Monday, October 13.
While learning about engineering concepts, teams of three students are designing full-sized boats for two of them to actually row across the middle school pool and back. The boats are built out of only cardboard, clear packing tape, and a little hot glue. Their engineering success or failure will be evident when they enter the water for the first time.
Come cheer the students on beginning at 4:00 (doors open at 3:30). We hope to see you there, and please bring family and friends!
Filed under Schools, South Milwaukee
The South Milwaukee Police Department continues to deliver. But don’t take my word for it.
Consider that of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group, which has once again accredited our department following a rigorous review of the SMPD earlier this year. It is the fifth time the department has been accredited, the most in the state, and the department is one of less than 50 in the state to be going through the accreditation process.
The department was recognized at our City Council meeting Tuesday night.
WILEAG exists to “promote excellence and professionalism in policing” and includes 237 standards it promotes with local police departments. From the accreditation report:
The assessors were in agreement that the South Milwaukee Police Department is an excellent example of a WILEAG approved law enforcement agency; and is why they are sought out by law enforcement agencies for guidance when looking to become WILEAG accredited.
SMPD follows their Mission Statement: “We, the members of the South Milwaukee Police Department, are dedicated to providing a proactive, full service department that enhances the quality of life in our community by reducing crime through the protection of life and property”.
Central to their mission is a set of values that guide their work and decisions which allow them to make significant contributions to improving the quality of life in South Milwaukee; those values are: Human Life, Integrity, themselves, Excellence, Cooperation, Accountability, Laws and the Constitution. …
Reflecting on their proofs of compliance, feedback from the community and professional associates, and our observations of the agency, the team concluded unanimously that the department had achieved compliance with the applicable standards established by the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group.
Congratulations to the SMPD!
Pictured above, from left to right, are South Milwaukee Chief Ann Wellens; Stan Stojkovic, professor and dean of the UWM Helen Bader School of Social Welfare; Lt. Pete Jaske and Capt. Jill Kallay.
Filed under City Services, Police, South Milwaukee
Rocketober is just getting started!
Homecoming was terrific, and now we set our sights on the South Milwaukee Downtown Market’s Fall Family Festival this Thursday. Free pumpkins and pumpkin decorating and vendor trick-or-treating begin at 3, followed by the Guardian Credit Union Movie in the Market showing of “Hocus Pocus” around 6:30.
Then it’s the South Milwaukee Football Boosters Rocktoberfest beer tasting event on Saturday at Pat’s Oak Manor. Learn more here.
Check out the full Rocketober schedule here, and like our Facebook page.
And mark your calendars for Oct. 25, with a full day of family-friendly activities, including a downtown trick-or-treating scavenger hunt and the Mill Pond Halloween House.
The downtown event – led by I Can’t Resist Kids Resale – is coming together nicely, with more than 20 businesses expected to take part in the fun scavenger hunt.
And the Halloween House, presented by the South Milwaukee E-Lions and Friends of the Mill Pond, is also going to be a great time. One key part of that event is the cool lighted pumpkin display. We could use community support on this. Details …
The South Milwaukee E-Lion’s Club and Friends of the Mill Pond are excited to host Family friendly Halloween House at the Mill Pond. This is what we need from you: Bring a carved pumpkin to light up at the Mill pond. We will provide the light. Just bring your carved pumpkin to the Mill Pond Saturday, October 18th, 10am until Noon or leave it in front of building. Help make the Mill Pond Halloween House Spooktacular! Pumpkins will be displayed inside the warming house.
Filed under Community, Rocketober, South Milwaukee
I am excited about downtown South Milwaukee, and where it’s headed.
Here are a few reasons why.
For starters, I am proud to announce that three new destination retail businesses are planning to open downtown in coming weeks – exactly the kind of businesses we need more of in our city center.
Please join me in welcoming all three of these businesses to town — and join me in patronizing them. I’ll keep you posted as their grand openings draw near … and pledge to keep working my hardest to attract just these types of businesses to our fair city.
That’s just the start when it comes to downtown. Hopefully you’ve already seen some of the other efforts underway to improve our city center. For example, hundreds, if not thousands, of people are rediscovering downtown South Milwaukee through special events.
We’ve also made progress in more proactively enforcing our building codes. Hopefully you’re seeing a difference, one building at a time. A new window her, a paint job there, or maybe removal of an ugly awning. We have lots more work to do in this area, and we’re doing it, putting a laser focus on making sure our downtown building owners live up to the baseline of our city ordinances. Too many of them haven’t been.
And as we do this – all of this – we’re making strong progress toward the long-term work we need to do downtown as well. That starts with our long-overdue downtown plan.
There are lots of moving parts here, including the potential hiring of a citywide economic development director, formation of a downtown South Milwaukee advisory committee, and selection of a third-party consultant to aid us in the planning process. The economic development director position and planning consultant are both funded in the first executive budget I’ve been a part of as mayor, finalized late last week.
So, lots going on. Excited? I am. Much more to come!
Filed under Development, Downtown, South Milwaukee
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