by | November 2, 2012 · 7:58 pm

Jursik: “Disappointed” With Proposed Budget

Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik shares her thoughts on the proposed 2013 county budget in her latest eNews update.

Check it out here. From it:

The County Executive’s proposed budget includes some upgrades for our district. We will see traffic cameras at Layton & Packard Avenues. Grant Park’s Wil-O-Way will receive needed repairs. The Oak Creek Parkway in South Milwaukee will have lighting replaced in advance of expected road repairs in future years. I have worked with our parks and environmental engineering staff to fund stream bank stabilization for the Oak Creek in 2014. This bank restoration will keep much sediment from accumulating in the Creek and in the Mill Pond downstream. However, in many ways, I was disappointed with the proposed budget.

The update also includes on park patrolling, paramedic funding, long-range facility planning and other issues.

The item on paramedic funding is especially good news:

The FPA Committee added $500,000 in funding for Emergency Medical Services (EMS), bringing the total allocation to $2 million.  The countywide EMS program is a successful cooperative model that includes training, certification and continuing education of Emergency Medical Technicians (basic and paramedic).  Milwaukee County EMS hosts the Communications Center which provides consultation to  paramedics onsite and shares information among dispatched paramedics, ambulances, medical control physicians, hospitals and other emergency personnel.  Milwaukee County EMS uses state-of-the-art technology to develop electronic patient care records. 

This program improves the quality and efficiency of emergency response in our community. Under the EMS program, eight municipalities have contractual agreements to provide Advanced Life Support (paramedic-level emergency medical services).  The City of South Milwaukee provides service to Cudahy while St. Francis is served by Milwaukee.  Oak Creek provides service in its own city and back-up service to other cities.  This is truly a metro government approach.

The County Board will likely adopt a budget on Monday.

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by | November 1, 2012 · 11:57 pm

Last Day For In-Person Absentee Voting Is Friday

Update: Through Thursday, we have had more than 2,000 people come to City Hall to vote or register to vote in the last couple weeks, with more today, our city clerk reports. Impressive.

Just a reminder that early in-person voting at City Hall ends at 5 p.m. Friday.

Learn more in my previous post.

If you don’t vote by end day Friday, we’ll see you at the polls on Tuesday.

And if you haven’t voted in my presidential poll on the right side of the page, please do so. Go, democracy!

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by | November 1, 2012 · 11:45 pm

More Headlines

Check out these headlines from around the South Shore …

Also, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation appears close to making major changes to westbound 794 at the Marquette Interchange, a popular route for South Shore folks, including me (on my way to work). It’s about time.

And State Sen. Chris Larson has published a new Larson Report, headlined “Where Did All The Money Go?”

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by | October 31, 2012 · 8:56 pm

Trick-or-Treating On Halloween Night: So, How Did It Go?

It’s been decades since South Milwaukee had trick-or-treating on Halloween night — until Wednesday.

So, what do you think? How did it go? Did you see more kids than usual? Less? Did you encounter any problems?

Police reported no incident calls related to trick-or-treating this evening, so that’s good.

My experience was great: There were lots of kids out and about, along with mine, in my neighborhood, and we had more than 70 people come by the house for candy (a record, my wife reports).

Everyone I spoke with tonight supported the move from weekend afternoon trick-or-treating to Halloween night.

But, what say you? Post your comments below!

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by | October 30, 2012 · 9:38 pm

First Interviews For Oak Creek Police Officers And Other Local Headlines

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had a couple well-done stories looking back at the August Sikh Temple shootings.

Check out the feature on Oak Creek Police Officers Murphy and Lenda and on the emergency care Murphy received. (By the way: Sam Lenda is a South Milwaukee native.)

And check out these other South Shore headlines …

Also, NOW has published a new police blotter, which includes this item: “A vehicle drove over the Grant Park Golf Course, 100 Hawthorne Ave., near hole No. 1 the night of Oct. 24. Damage is estimated at $3,000.”

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by | October 29, 2012 · 5:01 pm

Grant Park Closed Due To Concerns Over Hurricane Sandy’s Waves

Update: Bender Park is also closed until Friday, according to the Oak Creek website. Here is some YouTube footage of waves at Grant Park.

In an amazing testatment to the power of Hurricane Sandy, weather officials are predicting waves higher than 15 feet on Lake Michigan on Tuesday. Winds are expected to gust to 40 mph or more.

In preparation for the storm, the access gates to Grant Park were going to close at 5 p.m. Monday, according to Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik.

“We are doing our best to keep visitors away from the dangerous waves,” she wrote in an email.

Here is Milwaukee Journal Sentinel coverage of the storm’s local impact.

I’ll keep you posted.

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by | October 29, 2012 · 4:29 pm

South Milwaukee Fire Department Responds To Oak Creek Mobile Home Blaze

Here is the story from Oak Creek Patch.

The South Milwaukee Fire Department was one of a number of departments called to the fire, according to Chief Joe Knitter (who I think is the guy pictured in the red helmet).

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by | October 28, 2012 · 10:11 pm

More Headlines

Check out these headlines from around the South Shore:

Also, NOW has published a new police blotter.

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by | October 26, 2012 · 9:11 pm

Reminder: Trick-or-Treating Is Not This Weekend … It’s Halloween (Wednesday Evening)

Official South Milwaukee trick-or-treating hours are 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Halloween evening.

If you plan on handing out candy — and my kids hope you do 🙂 — please leave your porch light on.

Please continue to help spread the word about the time change, especially with your older neighbors and family.

See my previous post for more details.

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by | October 26, 2012 · 9:05 pm

Nicholson Avenue Update

A reconstructed and widened Nicholson Avenue will fully reopen by Nov. 9, a little later than initially thought.

The delay is due to recent weather delays and extra work to complete the laying of new asphalt. Paving was completed on Thursday, but remaining work includes pavement marking and signage, energizing the street lights, and sod installation.

I appreciate your patience, and I’ll keep you posted if anything changes. 

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by | October 25, 2012 · 7:03 pm

Alertness Pays Off: More On How A Cat Security Guard Caught A Suspected Bank Robber

Update: Fox 6 has a story on the criminal complaint alleging the suspect “wanted to be caught.”

Oak Creek Patch has the story of Josh Najda, a Caterpillar security guard whose oberservation skills helped nab a South Milwaukee man suspected in an Oak Creek bank robbery.

Here is the story. From it:

Najda is a firefighter with the town of Vernon who was off duty at the time but listening to his police scanner about 11 a.m., when word came of a robbery of TCF Bank in Oak Creek. He heard the initial description of the suspect — a white man with thin build, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and tan pants — and filed it away in his memory.

Later that day, he was at his job at Caterpillar’s South Milwaukee facility when he saw a person walk past his guard house and speak with a CAT employee. The man seemed nervous and made a lot of unusual movements, Najda told me. But his actions didn’t pose a threat, so Najda didn’t call police.

“Honestly, I just thought that he may have been talking to a family member,” Najda said.

It was what he did next that gave Najda pause. The man put on a fake black mustache and a pair of sunglasses, which struck Najda as weird (rightfully so, I might add). So he wrote down his exact description and tucked it into his pocket.

And the rest is history …

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by | October 25, 2012 · 10:27 am

Help Wanted: Community Health Survey

About 400 South Milwaukee residents are being be asked to take part in a community health survey, our Health Department reports.

From the press release:

The South Milwaukee Health Department, Aurora Health Care, Froedtert Health, Children’s Hospital and Health System, Columbia St. Mary’s, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, and the Center for Urban Population Health Research are working in partnership to conduct a community health survey. The effort will supplement a prior community health assessment conducted three years earlier with updated data and the ability to analyze trends over time.

The survey will provide valuable data for continued evaluation of community needs and help guide government, not-for-profit, and volunteer organizations as they fashion services to meet the most pressing needs of the community. It will be conducted between now and mid -October.

About 400 area residents will be interviewed by telephone.

“I would encourage all residents of South Milwaukee to help us with this research,” said Jacqueline Ove, City of South Milwaukee Public Health Administrator, “If you are among those who receive a phone call, please take the time to answer the survey questions.”

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by | October 24, 2012 · 8:33 pm

Taste Of South Milwaukee Set For Nov. 8

I think South Milwaukee has a great array of restaurants for a city its size. See for yourself at first Taste of South Milwaukee on Thursday, Nov. 8.

City Clerk and Lions President Jim Shelenske has the details ….

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to join us for the South Milwaukee Lions Club first annual “Taste of South Milwaukee.”

The event will be held on Thursday, November 8, at Salvatore’s from 4 to 8 p.m.

There will be 16 local restaurants participating and with unlimited tastings/samples to enjoy!

Advanced tickets are only $10, which includes coffee and cake. Other refreshments will be available for purchase at the event as well.

Children’s Tickets (ages 6-18) will be available at the door. Children under 6 are able to get in for free.  

For more information or a flyer click on this link: http://www.smlions.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Flyer.pdf

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by | October 24, 2012 · 8:31 pm

Headlines, Headlines, Headlines

Check out these South Shore headlines …

Also, NOW has published a new police blotter.

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by | October 23, 2012 · 12:35 pm

Grading South Milwaukee Schools: State Issues New School Report Cards

The Wisconsin Department of Instruction is out with a new take on school report cards.

Check out the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story here, and here is the DPI site showing how South Milwaukee schools performed.

So, how did we do? Well, there are a number of different measures presented in the report card, but here are the overall scores for each school:

So, mixed results. But there is some explaining to do.

The South Milwaukee School District provides its own context for the report cards here. It includes an action plan for improving student achievement in reading and math and ways it is driving toward better “post-secondary readiness.”

My take: I have mixed feelings on report cards like this. I always welcome common metrics to judge performance, and I see their effectiveness every day in my day job.

But it’s also clear that metrics like this don’t tell the whole story when it comes to rating schools. So many factors outside of a district or school’s control drive performance and achievement – especially income levels and other demographics – that it’s difficult to get a fair comparison across districts and even schools within a district.

Forget apples to apples, or even apples to oranges. Data sets like this can be apples to tomatoes – in other words, an OK comparison, at best.

Instead of a “one-size-fits-all” report card, I prefer the eye test … what I see when I see my 4- and 7-year-old come home from Rawson Elementary every day. And that’s two young people who love learning and love their school, two kids who are gaining knowledge every minute thanks to strong school and district leadership, teachers, staff, facilities and curriculum.

Based on that daily “report card” – not the ones released Monday — I’m excited for what the future holds for our kids in South Milwaukee schools.

With all due respect to the DPI, my expectations have been exceeded, and they’re exceeded every day.

Of course, I’d like to know what you think. Post your comments below!

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