Letters to the Editor

Dear editor, When I moved to Iowa County more than 15 years ago, the entire county, except for three small villages on its western border, was in one state Assembly District, District 51. The legislative representative from the district was able to stay in touch with the people in the county, got to know their concerns, and was accountable. That all changed in 2011 when the political party in control of our state Legislature secretly drew new “gerrymandered” voting maps to help them gain and retain that control.  Our political home was dismantled. Sections of Iowa County were scattered among four different Assembly districts (49, 51, 80 and 81).  Each of these new districts now represents folks in three to five different counties.  Worst are districts 80 and 81 where Iowa County residents account for less than five percent of the district’s total population.  So now I have an assembly representative who does not have Iowa County concerns as a priority. On issues that affect our county, we have to compete for his attention with people from all the other counties he represents, putting us at a real disadvantage.  Further, when I have concerns about county-wide issues I have to communicate my concerns to four different representatives. But since representatives understandably give more weight to communications from people in their own district, my input becomes diluted.  Fortunately you and I have a chance to make our voices heard on this issue. We can address our concerns directly to the People’s Map Commission, which is charged by Governor Tony Evers to draw new redistricting maps using a nonpartisan process. In drawing the maps, the commission has been instructed to respect the integrity of county and municipal boundaries to the fullest extent possible. The commission is holding hearings throughout Wisconsin to get input from the public. They will be here in the 2nd Congressional District on March 11. If you want to help put an end to gerrymandering and reunite Iowa County into an appropriately compact assembly district again, please make your views known to the commission. For information on how to submit written comments and how to attend the virtual hearing, go to the commission’s website  govstatus.egov.com/peoplesmaps. How often do we have an easy opportunity to make our voices heard?  Let’s take advantage of it. Janet Brandt Arena   Dear editor, I believe in supporting Spring Green businesses and buy everything I can locally.  On a recent trip to Tri-County Building Supply, the cashier was without a mask.  I asked about that and he directed me to a sign that said if someone has a disability or medical condition, they are not required to wear a mask.  As I looked around the store, the ENTIRE staff was maskless.  Incredulous, I asked, “everyone has a disability or medical condition?”  Diplomatically he said, I can’t answer for anyone else. If local businesses expect residents to support them, then they need to reciprocate and care enough about customers to do what they can to keep them safe.  I’m just one small-time consumer and I doubt the lack of my purchases will affect the bottom line of this store, but all I can do is vote with my dollars.  I won’t be back until the store again chooses to keep us all as protected as possible.  Wearing a mask is easy, reduces infection, and is just good business. Karen Halverson Spring Green   Dear editor, In early December I was looking at different non-profit organizations to donate to.  I was specifically looking at their Amazon wish lists. I picked one and recruited our three children and my mom to pitch in.  We were able to purchase 20 items off their list.  I thought wow - what an impact.  I wondered if I could recruit 5-10 friends to pick a different non-profit each month to really make a difference in Wisconsin.  I contacted my friend Dianne Vielhuber.  She was 100 percent on board.  We came up with a name and started a Facebook page, Our Monthly Resolution, was created.  We are just finishing up with our January organization, Hope House of South Central Wisconsin, Baraboo.  We are very eager to find out our results.   Our non-profit for February is Reach-A-Child. This organization supplies First Responders with 15 new children’s books and drawstring backpacks. When with a child in crisis, the First Responder opens the REACH BAG and the child chooses a book which they read together. The child keeps both the book and a drawstring backpack.  The cost of a bag is $150.  No cost to any department. Everything is donated! We invite you to support REACH-A-CHILD. Donate online via their website: https://reachachild.org/donate/ Please indicate your donation is part of One Monthly Resolution. Or via mail, Reach-A-Child, 6501 Watts Rd Ste 217, Madison, WI, 53719. Purchase a REACH-A-CHILD puzzle:  This 300-piece puzzle is for adults and children. They are $15 each and 100 percent of the funds are donated to REACH-A-CHILD.  Our Monthly Resolution has partnered with Arcadia Books who will have the puzzles available to purchase. Support a first responder and provide them a backpack with books that they can have in their vehicle:  It costs $150 to sponsor the first responder of your choice.  With the support of the RV community, I, Stacie, would like to see each villages (Arena, Lone Rock. Plain, Spring Green) police car, ambulance, and fire department truck supplied with a REACH BAG. Please join me in reaching this goal.  When making your donation please indicate River Valley.  Every person who participates in One Monthly Resolution makes their own decision about the level of contribution to make. We suggest $20/month but know that any donation is greatly appreciated.   We are looking forward in making an impact in Wisconsin.  Please invite your family and friends. Thank you, Stacie Prochaska and Dianne Vielhuber Arena and Poynette     Dear editor, Arena deserves better. Arena village ordinance: 2.60.020 Responsibilities of public office: (a) Public officials and employees are bound to discharge faithfully the duties of their office regardless of personal considerations, recognizing that the public interest must be their primary concern. Their conduct in both their official and private affairs shall be above reproach. (b) Public officials are bound to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state and to carry out impartially the law of the nation, state and municipality. [Prior code § 2-7-2]. 2.60.030 Dedicated service. Public officials and employees shall not exceed their authority or breach law or ask others to do so, and they shall work in full cooperation with other public officials and employees unless prohibited from doing so by law or by officially recognized confidentiality of their work. [Prior code § 2-7-3]. Read below examples of questionable behavior: In an email sent on June 29 2019, by the village president from her gmail account on June 29, 2019, regarding two trustees who were concerned with what was viewed as her questionable actions regarding treatment of village employees, the trustees were described in this manner, “Both are idiots.” Another excerpt states: “Employees are ready to quit. (Don’t let the door slam you in the ass on your way out.)” A text sent by the village president on June 30, 2019, concerning the same two village trustees states: “What i want to do is strip these two of their chair positions abs committee appointments   And committee appointments   Basically neuter them.” A Resolution was drafted with a date of July 1, 2019 which read: A resolution regarding the censure of trustees ____________ and _____________.  One of the lines in the resolution stated: BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That trustees ______and ______ are removed from any current respective committee appointments and shall be reassigned and appointed solely to the Cable Television Committee, per ordinance requirements.  The proposed resolution was drafted in response to an apparent attempt by two trustees looking into having the Village President removed from office due to questionable actions regarding treatment of village employees. One of the trustees resigned and the other is still on the board. The resolution was not acted on. At the May 5, 2020, village board meeting ordinance was passed stating text messages were not part of public record keeping. This clearly went against state statutes and resulted in a lawsuit being filed against the village. The village lost the suit and ended paying a minimal settlement and attorney fees were covered by insurance, but, again, this shows how the current administration has operated. Was this a result of the village president instructing people to delete text messages as that is what she had done? The village board subsequently changed the ordinance at the July 7, 2020, board meeting to reflect state statutes and it was revised again at the August 4, 2020, board meeting. The recent work on the funding of full time EMT’s required a good number of meetings, information was provided to both town, village and fire boards and other interested parties. The village board voted to change the percentage of contributions by each municipality, which I voted against, due to the village being unable to afford the voted upon percentage and I felt the percentage wasn’t set up correctly. The Village Board voted to move forward with the changed percentage. While I don’t agree with the vote, I feel it is the village’s duty to adhere to that vote. At a fire board and a Aillage of Arena Board meeting, both the village president and president pro tem accused the members of the town board and fire board of intimidating and pressuring them into voting for the percentage change. That is not true. They were not pressured or intimidated. The developer of the Hodgkins Prairie subdivision on the east end of the village was allowed to install two streets which amounted to water and sewer lines being dug, installed and connected, filled in and gutter work and street paving done without any oversight from the village. When I brought this up after being elected to the board, it was stated that no one knew anything about it. How could a village with just over six miles of streets and approximately a mile across, have this work done and the village president state she didn’t know it was being done? It was finally addressed by the board at the July 7, 2020, board meeting.  When the 2021 budget finalized and approved, there was no money in capital accounts and the village, which has a policy to keep a 20 percent cash fund balance, was 15.2 percent into the balance. This is all a result of poor planning, not thinking through projects and spending without a plan, in my opinion. An example: at a village board meeting the village president indicated that they had saved $25,000 on the construction of the village shop by removing the office and a few other items. Months later, at a June 2, 2020, village board meeting, the board needed to approve borrowing over $30,000 in order to have the driveway of the village shop paved. Is this good planning? At the  June 2, 2020, board meeting, the board voted against my motion to record board meetings with either audio and/or video recording equipment. The village has this capability as it was used in the past. The village clerk is also against doing this even though I have been informed that she audio recorded board meetings at a previous municipality with a simple tape recorder.  The village is on its third village clerk in under two years. I asked for a forensic audit to be done and a complete audit of the water and sewer department financials. It was voted down. I feel it should be done as stated previously, as the 2021 budget was finalized to make it balance, there was no money to set aside in capital accounts and the 20 percent fund balance policy could not be adhered to. The board had voted for an audit to be performed in 2019. Why wasn’t it done? The village needs new people to run in April as write-in candidates, in order to change things for the good. I and other people have been asking residents to run. The most common answer is people don’t have the time. If you want change, make the time. Arena deserves better. Or maybe it doesn’t. Paul Pustina  Village trustee Arena   Dear editor, I applaud the members of the Spring Green Village Board who unanimously adopted a resolution addressing the issue of “Fair Maps” at their meeting on Wednesday, February 19. In the document, the board supports “the creation of a nonpartisan procedure for the preparation of legislative and congressional redistricting plans.” The resolution further requests that “the process promotes accountability, transparency, and prohibits the consideration of voting pattern, party information and incumbent’s residence information or demographic information in drawing the maps…”. The village board has spoken for the majority of Wisconsin citizens who overwhelmingly object to the maps drawn in 2010, which were drawn, not to fairly represent voter distribution, but with the single partisan goal of retaining the positions of those in power. The resolution passed by the village board supports the most important factors in a democracy—that citizens are fairly represented, their votes count, and their voices are heard. Individuals who are concerned about their voting rights, can further support the effort to have nonpartisan redistricting by submitting their personal statements to the People’s Maps Commission, and by calling or writing their legislators. The commission’s online hearing for our district (Congressional District #2) will be held on March 11. For more information about redistricting, go to: www.fairmapswi.com/learnmore To submit a personal statement to the People’s Map Commission and check on the March 11 hearing go here: govstatus.egov.com/peoplesmaps/hearings-meetings Kim Russell Spring Green   Dear editor,  2021 is the year that the legislature approves new maps for voting districts. Through referendums and resolutions,  Wisconsinites in red and blue counties have shown strong support for fair maps,  a system that doesn’t use data about political preferences so doesn’t skew districts to favor one party over the other.   We have sent the message, so we can rest assured that the legislators will abide by their constituents’ wishes,  right?  Unfortunately not.  In hearings before the Supreme Court when asked about the purpose of drawing new maps, Misha Tseytlin, a lawyer for the Republican members of the legislature,  stated, “It  is not fairness.”  Their objective is to have new maps that closely resemble the current ones.   These maps were drawn up in secret to ensure that Republicans maintain a majority in the legislature even as Democrats usually win statewide elections.    So what can we do? 1.  Urge our legislators to support  Fair Maps.  2.  Sign up to submit oral or written comments with the People’s Maps Commission@govstatus.egov.com/peoplesmaps. Let’s support fairness. Thank you.  Kathie Swanson  Mineral Point