Tag Archives: South Milwaukee

by | October 7, 2013 · 9:23 pm

Watercourse Cleanup Set For Saturday

Here are the details from SouthMilwaukee.org and City Clerk Jim Shelenske’s events email newsletter … hope you can make it!

October 12th, Saturday – 8:30 a.m. until 12:00 noon

Pick up trash and debris from selected areas along the Oak Creek watercourse.  Meet at the South Milwaukee High School parking lot where you’re to sign in and get your safety vest, bags, gloves, water and instructions, provided by the Friends of Mill Pond and Oak Creek Watercourse.  We ask that adults be present with your groups, bring extra clothes, shoes and socks in case you get wet or fall in.  If you have a tall pair of boots, bring them.  Targeted area is N Chicago Avenue west to Rawson Avenue. Milwaukee County Parks will be picking up the bags along the parkway.   Shortly after noon we’ll all meet at the Warming House for lunch which is provided by FOMP.  We’d like to know how many in your group will be coming so we have enough food for everyone.  (414) 571-1191

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by | October 3, 2013 · 8:51 am

I’m Running For Mayor In April … And Humbly Ask For Your Vote

Fresh ideas for South Milwaukee’s future. That’s what I pledge to deliver if I am elected mayor this April.

I humbly ask for your vote.

I announced my candidacy this morning, and I am officially breaking the news here because this platform is one example of my commitment to delivering new ideas and new solutions for the issues facing South Milwaukee.

I launched South Milwaukee Blog to address a need to improve communications – a commitment that I carry through as part of my mayoral platform. We need to do a better job telling our story to our neighbors and prospective residents, businesses and visitors and keeping neighbors informed on key issues.

But that’s just the start. Fixing downtown is job No. 1. And my plan is straightforward: Develop a plan. Then work the plan.

Today, if you ask 20 people what the vision is for downtown, you get 20 different answers. We need a single, community-generated and community-supported plan for our city center – something all of South Milwaukee can rally around in restoring vitality to our struggling downtown. That plan demands short-, medium- and long-term objectives … then we need to make a commitment to achieving those goals.

I don’t pretend to have all the answers here. But there are plenty of smart people who do – and plenty of best practices upon which we can draw. We need to tap those ideas and bring them to life, devoting renewed energy and focus to this critical issue.

My platform includes more than improved communications and a downtown action plan. It also calls for investments in economic development, city services, efficiency and infrastructures. I also want to see increased investment in our city attractions, doubling down to ensure the long-term future of the South Milwaukee Downtown Market, Mill Pond and more.

You can learn much more about my campaign on my website: www.brooksformayor.org., or on Facebook (Facebook.com/brooksformayor) and Twitter (#brooksformayor). And here is the press release I’ll be sending out.

I encourage you to read more about me and my vision, and I appreciate any support you can provide for my campaign.

I love South Milwaukee, I am anchored in this community, and I am excited about the future of this city. Please join me in helping shape that future on April 1.

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by | September 30, 2013 · 2:18 pm

Report: Caterpillar Confirms More South Milwaukee Job Cuts

Update: The number is 115 in South Milwaukee alone, Fox 6 is reporting.

Not good news … here is the Milwaukee Business Journal story. From it …

Caterpillar spokeswoman Rachel Potts confirmed to The Business Journal that layoff notices went out to employees in South Milwaukee and Oak Creek as recently as last week, but she declined to indicate the types of positions and number of jobs cut.

Potts said the latest local layoffs are in addition to 260 production jobs cut in South Milwaukee during the summer.

“We stated in our second quarter financial results released in July that the company would be taking actions to reduce costs in the second half of the year,” Potts told The Business Journal. “The employee notifications in both Oak Creek/South Milwaukee and Decatur are included in those actions. We are not breaking out specific location totals or details.”

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by | September 28, 2013 · 8:09 am

Miracle: Last-Second Score Sends South Milwaukee To 6-0

This game sounds like it was a real classic.

South Milwaukee remained perfect on the season, as quarterback Justin Oliden hit Joe Saskowski with a 38-yard touchdown pass as time expired to lead the Rockets to an improbable 23-20 win over Greenfield Friday night.

New Kid’s View and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have details, and you can find stats on this page. TMJ4 also has  a couple of highlights from the game, which South Milwaukee played without star running back Ian Pribyl.

The win pushed the Rockets’ record to 6-0, with South Milwaukee hosting St. Francis on Friday night.

Go Rockets!

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by | September 27, 2013 · 3:07 pm

Bucks Bring South Milwaukee’s McKinney Jones To Camp

From South Milwaukee to the Milwaukee Bucks …

Trey McKinney Jones, a South Milwaukee High School graduate who played collegiate basketball at Missouri-Kansas City and Miami, has been invited the Bucks’ training camp.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the story.

Go Trey!

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by | September 26, 2013 · 3:26 pm

Grobschmidt Pool On Budget Chopping Block — Park Patrols, Too

Update: Or is Grobschmidt Pool not on the chopping block? The updated Journal Sentinel story says it might not be. I’ll try and get to the bottom of this. From that story … “Abele said the indoor pools were aging, expensive to maintain and not heavily patronized. Interim Parks Director John Dargle said earlier the budget would include closing outdoor pools at Grobschmidt and Jackson parks. But those closings were not listed in Abele’s budget.”

It’s official — South Milwaukee’s Grobschmidt Pool is on the budget chopping block. Can it be saved?

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has more details on County Executive Chris Abele’s proposed budget. From the story …

County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic said the tax levy freeze needed to be evaluated in light of the county’s huge service needs, as well as substantial deferred maintenance on county buildings.

“There needs to be a balance” between the goals of providing necessary services and freezing taxes, she said. The board added $4 million to the tax levy over what Abele proposed for this year’s budget.

She called Abele’s plan to close both of the county’s indoor pools and replace them with a skate board park and splash pad “basically offensive.” Abele wants to shut down pools at Noyes and Pulaski parks, as well as outdoor pools at Grobschmidt and Jackson parks.

Abele said the indoor pools were aging, expensive to maintain and not heavily patronized. Dimitrijevic said the more than 50,000 residents using the indoor pools indicated they are well used and said she’d gotten numerous phone calls and emails of concern since Abele’s pool plan was first discussed last week.

Just as concerning for South Milwaukee and our police department — the proposal to put park patrols in the hands of local departments. In a city where more than 20 percent of our land is parks, that’s a big deal, especially when I have my doubts there will be proper funding for this mandate.

Abele also released more details of his public safety budget, including a $1.2 million program to have local police departments patrol county parks. The City of Milwaukee would get the lion’s share — about $1 million for patrolling the lakefront and other parks in the city. Off-duty cops would handle the patrols and get paid overtime, if the city agrees to the plan.

The same idea was rejected last year by the County Board and opposed by Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., who requested 100 new deputies for 2014.

I’ll keep you posted.

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by | September 21, 2013 · 10:16 pm

Reminder: Local Historian John Gurda Speaks (For Free) In South Milwaukee After Sunday’s Packer Game

Just a reminder … preeminent local historian John Gurda is giving his “Making of Milwaukee” presentation Sunday afternoon at Trinity Lutheran Church (my church).

Admission is free, and so is a spaghetti dinner afterwards.

The presentation starts at 4, after the Packer game.

If you haven’t seen him present, Gurda is terrific. And if you have, he’s worth seeing again. We hope to see you there!

Learn more in my previous post.

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by | September 20, 2013 · 2:56 pm

South Milwaukee Quintuplets Turn 16

WISN has the story. Very cool.

From it …

At South Milwaukee High School, you don’t have to go too far to run into an Arnold quint.

“They’re all different and unique. They each have different personalities. I think they add a lot to our building,” Kaminiski said.

The quints that captured Milwaukee’s heart 16 years ago are growing up.

Alyssa, Daniel, Natalie, Emily and Devin are high school sophomores who still like to hang out together and who can now appreciate their parents.

“I give them props for handling things the way they did,” Emily said.

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by | September 19, 2013 · 10:30 pm

School Report Cards Issued: How Did South Milwaukee Do?

The answer? Pretty well.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction came out with its school report cards on Tuesday, and every South Milwaukee school fell in the “meets or exceeds expectations” category.

Here is where each one ranked …

And the overall district received a “meets expectations” grade of 68.4.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has some context in this story.

And these report cards demand context. While I respect the effort in grading schools — and support having objective standards in doing so — there are so many factors driving educational excellence that a true apples to apples comparison is nearly impossible.

I prefer the eye test when it comes to rating schools, and South Milwaukee’s schools pass that with high marks. I am the proud parent of two Rawson Elementary students, and I continue to be impressed with that school and the district as a whole. I see every day the strides my children are making as young learners, the excitement they bring home every day about what they’ve learned. It’s infectious.

And that’s something you can’t measure on DPI report cards.

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by | September 19, 2013 · 10:13 pm

Honadel Speaks On His Time In Office

“No regrets.”

That’s the message from state outgoing Rep. Mark Honadel in an extensive interview with Oak Creek Patch.

See it here. From it:

In a wide-ranging interview with Oak Creek Patch last week, Honadel said “he was going out on top,” proud of his career, accomplishments and approach to politics. 

He’s long prided himself on working with people of all political beliefs, while at the same time staying true to his. That philosophy guided his years as a legislator, he said. 

“If the cause was worthy, I’m not going to get all shook up about what’s what. Either you’re with me or you’re not. No sweat off my rear end,” he said. 

His accomplishments include changing the payout formula for communities hosting power plants. The formula used to be based on the value of the facility, which depreciates over time, and now is based on how much power the plant generates. …

Honadel also successfully pushed for a deregulation of the telecommunications industry and the Drexel Interchange, which opened late last year. In fact, the apples shown on the Drexel Avenue overpass are a tribute to the apple orchards, including the Honadel’s, that once graced the area. 

One of his most controversial causes was the mining legislation that passed last year. Honadel was a chief sponsor and advocate of the bill. 

Several groups and lobbyists approached Honadel, with his industrial background, about sponsoring a bill that would loosen regulations and overhaul the state’s mining laws. 

Supporters said the bill would help create a mine in northern Wisconsin, and Honadel also believed it would help southeastern Wisconsin companies like Caterpillar. 

“I said, ‘Yes, I want to be your guy. I’ll take this on,'” Honadel said. 

Then there were the Capitol protests of 2011, when thousands descended on Madison rallying against widespread changes to collective bargaining for public employees. 

Honadel views that as an ugly period for the Legislature, with protestors taking over the Capitol and Democratic state senators making a high-profile trip to Illinois. 

“I think the Legislature lost some dignity,” Honadel said. “I hope respect and dignity comes back, and I think it has.” 

What do you think of Honadel’s record? Post your comments below!

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by | September 18, 2013 · 5:22 pm

Fire Reported On North Chicago Avenue

313 North Chicago 002Thankfully, no one was injured in the fire at 313 N. Chicago Ave. in South Milwaukee this morning … but there was extensive damage to the home. Please keep the family in your prayers.

Here is the report from the South Milwaukee Fire Department …

At approximately 10:13AM this morning, SMFD received a 911 call of fire in the living room at 313 North Chicago Avenue.  Due to the nature of the 911 call, an immediate request for a “Working Still” level response was called bringing in mutual aid assistance from Oak Creek, Cudahy, St. Francis and the 128th Air Guard.  Upon my arrival, dark smoke was issuing from the front door and a front window that had broken out from the fire.  Contact with the occupants proved that all had self-evacuated and the fire was located in the living room.  Hoselines were laid to the front door and a quick knockdown of the fire was made by SMFD crews.  Additional crews performed a search of the dwelling to confirm the absence of occupants. The occupants also evacuated their pets from the house.  Heat and smoke damage to the living room was extensive with moderate to extensive smoke damage to the rest of the first floor and moderate to light smoke damage to the 2nd floor and basement.  WE Energies was called to the scene to control the utilities and the American Red Cross was requested to assist the family with lodging and belongings.  No injuries to the occupants or fire personnel were reported.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.  Damage to the structure is approximately $50,000.

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by | September 18, 2013 · 10:16 am

Three 21st Assembly District Candidates Enter The Fray

Update: And, now, a fourth …

Three Republicans have stepped up so far …

An Oak Creek alderman, a school choice champion and tea party leader.

Here is the Oak Creek Patch story on Jessie Rodriguez and Larry Gamble. And here is the story on Ken Gehl.

I’ll keep you posted … and post your comments below!

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by | September 17, 2013 · 9:27 pm

Report: South Milwaukee’s Grobschmidt Pool Targeted For Closure

South Milwaukee’s Grobschmidt Pool is one of four Milwaukee County pools the new parks director is eyeing for closure in 2014, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Here is the story. From it …

Indoor pools at Noyes and Pulaski parks and outdoor pools at Jackson and Grobschmidt parks all have relatively high costs and low attendance, Dargle said.

A proposed pool closing plan would include reinvestment of savings for other amenities at those parks, Dargle said in an interview and comments before the County Board’s parks committee Tuesday.

He said costs greatly exceeded revenue at Noyes and Pulaski pools each year, in response to a question by Supervisor Khalif Rainey on whether Abele would propose their closure.

“We are losing some money at those” pools, Dargle said. “They are old pools.”

Noyes Pool is at 8235 W. Good Hope Road and Pulaski is at 2701 S. 16th St.

The two pools need a combined $4.2 million in repairs, the report said. That includes nearly $1 million in electrical work and more than $700,000 for heating and cooling system upgrades.

In the interview, Dargle added Jackson and Grobschmidt to the potential closure list. The Jackson Park pool is at 3500 W. Forest Home Ave. Grobschmidt pool is at 2600 16th Ave. in South Milwaukee.

An Abele spokesman said full details of his 2014 budget won’t be released until next week. Any potential changes with pools Abele may propose would be better described as offering supervisors “options to open amenities that get more use by the public” and cost less, said spokesman Brendan Conway.

This is really disappointing news and thankfully far from the final word. As this debate continues, please make your voice heard … and let’s work to save this community amenity.

As County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimtrijevic put it: “I don’t understand this philosophy of eliminating public amenities.”

Instead, let’s invest in them to make them viable. What a concept.

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by | September 17, 2013 · 9:26 pm

Date Set For Assembly Election

Now we just need some candidates …

Here is the Oak Creek Patch story. The special election in the race to replace South Milwaukee Republican Mark Honadel for his 21st Assembly District seat is set for Nov. 19, with any primary being held on Oct. 22.

Also, check out the press release and executive order. Nomination papers are due Sept. 24.

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by | September 17, 2013 · 12:43 pm

More Headlines

Check out these South Shore headlines …

Also, Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik has put out a press release announcing committee passage of a regional housing plan. It and the report itself are worth a read.

And NOW has published a new police blotter.

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