South Milwaukee Blog

Join the South Milwaukee School District for Family Literacy Night on Friday, Feb. 3, from 5 to 8 p.m., at South Milwaukee High School.

Here are just a few of the scheduled events:

• Presentations by author Shelley Pearsall and illustrator Jeremy Provost;
• Musical performances by SM string students, Delta V, and Pop Rockets;
• Featured student writing and read alouds;
• Scavenger hunt;
• Tours of the Fab Lab
• Book giveaway; and
• Various sessions (see the flyer).

I offer my thanks to everyone who had a hand in planning and executing Monday’s Addiction Information Resource Fair.

The South Milwaukee Unite Against Drug Abuse Coalition — led by our Health and Police Departments — put on a great event that made a made a real difference for the more than 100 people who attended.

The remarks from Dustin, a former South Milwaukee student and recovering opioid and heroin addict, were inspirational, and the information presented by the Medical Society of Milwaukee’s Dr. Michael McNett and South Milwaukee Police Department Inv. Jon Rivamonte was both shocking and informative.

You can see Dr. McNett’s presentation here. Here is Inv. Rivamonte’s.

I also want to thank the organizations who presented at the fair itself. It’s heartening to see so many resources available for substance abuse victims — so much support from people who have been through it themselves, or have seen a family member ravaged by this illness.

This is such an important issue, and I’m proud to say the city and its partners are leading the fight against substance abuse and opioid addiction. As the father of two young kids, scared as hell we will find ourselves in this situation one day, I’m proud to stand with them as we keep up the fight. This is just the beginning.

Update: Official grand opening, with music, on Sunday, Jan. 29. More here. 

You can add Jamaican fare to our growing list of restaurant options.

Jeffrey Lewis has now opened Island Jam in the former Hickory Inn, 2703 S. Chicago Ave.

The restaurant opens at 11 a.m. daily, and will serve the traditional food Jeffrey enjoyed in his home country of Jamaica before coming to the U.S. in 1999.

His favorite: his curry goat. But the chicken, fish, and ox-tail aren’t bad either.

Jeffrey is no stranger to the restaurant business — and great food. His family operates and he had been working at Uppa Yard, a Jamaican restaurant on Milwaukee’s North Side that has gained an impressive four stars on Yelp.

Take this review from the other day: “I’m eating and speechless now. Will give a review later. First time here and honestly the best place we have been to since living here… We have found our new spot.”

Let’s hope for more reviews like this in South Milwaukee, too.

Please join me in welcoming Jeffrey, and be sure to stop by and try them out — while also celebrating all of our terrific local restaurants, new and old.

Eat local. Cow feet, anyone?

I often say our downtown revitalization will happen, and is happening, one building, one business, one building owner at a time.

And this is a really good one.

I had the chance to stop by Styled Aesthetic this morning for a personal tour of their newly renovated store room and work space, and it’s terrific.

Congratulations to Steve, Kyle and their team (they have seven employees now) for their work in giving a facelift to the Rockets Shop and their screen printing business at 918 Milwaukee Ave. We’re blessed to have young entrepreneurs like this in our city — and, in Steve’s case, also an auto racer, team manager and Indy 500 spotter.

(Ask him about his racing career next time you stop in.)

Also, I want to give a shoutout to building owner Steve Fenno. With the investments continues to make in this building and Jen’s Sweet Treats across the street, he is more than doing his part to bring South Milwaukee’s city center back to life. Thanks, Steve.

Learn more about Styled Aesthetic on their website and Facebook page. 

Check out these South Shore headlines …

• High School Students Learn by Creating at South Milwaukee “Fab Lab” (WUWM)
• South Milwaukee’s Art Center Earns High Honor (NOW)
• Caterpillar Considers Moving Portion of Company (NOW)
• Data Suggest Millennials are Falling Behind Baby Boomers (Associated Press)
• Mother, Son Arrested in School Parking Lot Road Rage Incident (Fox 6)
• Polar Bear 5K Ends with Polar Plunge in South Milwaukee (Fox 6)

Also, NOW has published a new police blotter.

New Day Church is moving down the block, and into South Milwaukee.

The small church, a Converge ministry congregation with 60-70 regular attendees, has begun worshiping at 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings at Wil-o-Way Grant after moving from the YIM facility in Cudahy (the former YMCA).

I had a chance to meet Pastor Neal last week, and I left impressed with their commitment to make South Milwaukee a better place by bringing their mission to life: to serve Christ as His ambassadors to our community.

Learn more here.

Please join me in welcoming New Day and their members to South Milwaukee — and thank them for adding to our already rich religious diversity as a city.

A community in Nicaragua is getting a “retiring” South Milwaukee ambulance thanks to the efforts of Alderwoman Lisa Pieper and dozens of other donors.

You will recall that, in February, the South Milwaukee City Council voted to purchase a new ambulance as part of its regular rotation of vehicles.

That left one vehicle – in this case, a 2001 model with approximately 80,000 of miles on it, the last van-style ambulance in our department — to be “retired.” Typically that means we’d send it to auction, and maybe get $5,000 for it. But Lisa had a better idea.

She wanted to send the ambulance to a country that needs it.

That’s why Lisa raised funds to reimburse the city for the fair market value of the ambulance, title transferring and any related shipping costs.

She recently met her goal, thanks to a donation from the South Milwaukee Lions Club, Jen’s Sweet Treats and many others who stepped up for this great cause.

Thanks to everyone who donated, and to Lisa for driving this, putting a piece of South Milwaukee in the hands of the less fortunate.

On Jan. 27, it’s meatballs at Trinity Lutheran Church. On Jan. 28, it’s spaghetti to support the Heritage Days Parade.

Mark your calendars now, and join me in support of my church and a great local event.

And then why not enjoy some wrestling on that full stomach?

As part of a larger effort by Milwaukee County, a diverse coalition of organizations is presenting two community events to address concerns and increase understanding of substance use and avenues for support.

Be part of the solution by spreading the word, and joining us.

Thanks to the partners who have come together to proactively work to join this fight. It’s important, life-saving work, and I’m proud the city is a major player in this.

From the South Milwaukee Fire Department …

At approximately midnight last night, SMFD rec’d a 9-1-1 call for smoke in one of the units at 404 Bay Heights Road.  Upon arrival, SMFD encountered smoke in Unit C with no apparent cause inside the building.  Investigation on the outside revealed a fire burning behind the siding and inside the wall cavity.  The involved area was exposed and the fire was extinguished. The family that was displaced from the unit had alternative housing arrangements, so the Red Cross was not needed.  The fire remains under investigation at this time.  No injuries to civilians or fire personnel were reported. Due to the extensive overhaul of the fire, the Cudahy Fire Dept. stood by at the South Milwaukee station until personnel could be released from the scene.

The South Milwaukee Unite Against Drug Abuse Coalition is offering screenings this month of a sobering documentary on the life of an opiate addict.

From the South Milwaukee Health Department …

In an effort to combat the growing epidemic of prescription drug and heroin abuse, the FBI and DEA have released “Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opiate Addict,” a documentary aimed at educating students and young adults about the dangers of addiction. The South Milwaukee Unite Against Drug Abuse Coalition is hosting several viewings of this documentary for the community. 

Check out the flyer below — and learn more about this group’s s Jan. 23 Addiction Information Resource Fair here. 

From the South Milwaukee Police Department press release …

On January 6, 2017 at about 8:29AM the South Milwaukee Police Department received a call of a person with a handgun in the parking lot of Rawson School. Officers responded to the school and determined that it was a result of a road rage incident. A handgun was recovered at the scene. A 44yr old South Milwaukee resident and her 17yr old son were taking into custody. Charges are pending at the Milwaukee County DA’s Office for the female subject. No students or visitors to the school were in danger. No further info will be released at this time.

As the mayor and parent of a Rawson student, I thank the police for their quick and decisive action here.

Tuesday was the deadline for spring election candidates to declare their candidacy and file nomination signatures, and I will have two opponents.

Frank Gratke and James Leavens are challenging me in the mayor’s race.

In the race for South Milwaukee School Board, incumbents Patricia Bordak, Carol Dufek and John E. Haslam are running for new terms, and they will also be challenged by Gratke (listed at Frank Millpond Gratke on that ballot).

There will be a Feb. 21 primary, narrowing the field in my race and the race for superintendent of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

The general election is April 4.

For me, it’s full speed ahead on my campaign. My commitment to serving the citizens of South Milwaukee is stronger than ever, and I humbly ask for your support.

We’re just getting started on delivering South Milwaukee’s promising future, together. We will continue that work in my second term as mayor.

Please take a few minutes to learn more about my campaign on my website and Facebook page. And that’s a photo of me submitting my nomination signatures on Dec. 23. 

When it comes to delivering the positive change South Milwaukee deserves, we are just getting started.

But we’ve started. And that’s a big deal, something we all can be proud of.

We will continue that momentum in 2017. We’ll build on these success from the past year …

• We began the long work of downtown redevelopment, starting with passage of the comprehensive plan update and downtown plan and our new Downtown Revitalization Grant program, and we gave out our first award. We also began studying downtown organization strategies and the Main Street program, and planning for significant Milwaukee Avenue streetscaping upgrades.
• With that foundation in place, we announced plans for our biggest downtown redevelopment project in decades, and assisted one of our biggest business expansion and renovation projects in years. We also welcomed a host of new businesses to our city center, like this and this and this and this and this. With more to come in early 2017.
• We continued to get behind our downtown events, as the South Milwaukee Downtown Market (and its weekly music lineup) continued to grow, and we brought back outdoor movies, food trucks, our Rocketober trick-or-treating and an Evening on the Avenue that was bigger than ever.
• Economic (re)development momentum extended beyond our city center, with new ownership and a major renovation for a Sunrise Plaza anchor, the addition of a terrific new Mexican restaurant, the relocation of a really cool business from Bay View, and growth for a local manufacturer and construction company.
• We set a course for a cleaner Oak Creek Watershed.
• We saw the continued rebirth of Grant Park Beach, with a terrific new concessionaire and beach volleyball leagues.
• We improved how we do business as a city, delivering a new Oak Creek IT partnership, exploring another collaboration, and investing in technology to enable future partnerships and more efficiency.  We also partnered with the county on the purchase of new public safety radios and election equipment, savings thousands of dollars and driving efficiency through technology.
• We got tougher on lawbreakers.
• We welcomed Masjid Al-Huda, and they welcomed us.
• We put capital dollars toward improving our infrastructure, including reconstruction of a key artery through the city.
• We began our rebranding work, with a new visual identity in our future.
• We stepped up our communications, enhancing our city website and Facebook presence, and increasing our presence on a new social app fostering neighborhood collaboration.

And there’s plenty more.

Of course, it wasn’t all positive news in 2016, but when is it ever? We lost community servants like Rick Grobschmidt and Blaine Schultz, and Donn Powers retired. We received news of Caterpillar’s consolidation out of state. We also saw an increase in property crimes, and we need to find a way to plant and replant more trees. While we passed another responsible budget, we continue to deal with state-imposed and other constraints, shrinking revenues, rising costs and other challenges.

Still, our future remains promising, our momentum strong. We’ll deliver even more positive change in 2017, together. I hope you’re as excited to continue this journey as I am.

Happy new year, indeed.