County

CROSS PLAINS–The Cross Plains Police Department continues to set new records for service calls, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Police Chief Tony Ruesga Jr. told the village board Monday.

For instance, checking on property while the owner is on vacation, jumped from 328 in 2019 to 585 last year; checking on business properties also increased from 59 to 109 in the same time period, according to department statistics.

“A lot of it has to do with our proactive law enforcement,” and more effective community policing, said Ruesga, who became the village’s police chief in 2020.

Other increases are due to a change in enforcement emphasis. In 2019, only two cases of open or unlocked doors were recorded and that has since increased to 77.

“That’s just a matter of not checking,” he said.

Requests for information also leaped from 14 in 2019 to 185 last year, another sign that the department is providing more service in general.

DANE COUNTY–Over the past three years, testing revealed that roughly half of the homes tested in Dane County had high levels of radon. Radon is a radioactive gas common throughout Wisconsin, that can’t be seen, smelled, or tasted, even at high levels, making it an invisible threat to your health.

“Radon comes from the ground and seeps into homes through tiny cracks in basement floors,” said John Hausbeck, Environmental Health Supervisor for Public Health Madison & Dane County. “Living in a home with high radon levels can be dangerous to your health and the health of your family.”

Over time, exposure to radon in a home can cause deadly lung cancer. Because of the ways that radon and tobacco smoke damage the lungs, it can be especially dangerous for people who smoke. Their risk of lung cancer is 10 times higher than that of non-smokers.

DANE COUNTY–The nomination filing period has ended and candidates have been announced for the Spring General Election on April 4.

In the City of Middleton, Kathy Olson and Emily Kuhn will both run for mayor. Both women currently serve as alders on the Middleton Common Council, and have vacated their seats in District’s 1 and 4 respectively.

Current mayor Gurdip Brar has announced non-candidacy for the seat he held for three terms.

Alders Luke Fuszard (District 5) and Dan Ramsey II (District 7) also filed non candidacy for their seats.

Those running for alder include:

District 1: Cornell Ellerby and John Schaffer 

District 3: Katy Nelson (I) and Lucas Morgan 

District 5: Jeffrey Jackson

District 7: David Lorman

CROSS PLAINS–The village’s currently longest-serving police officer and the police department’s first point of contact for many are both retiring next month.

Officer Scott Kroetz has not only patrolled the village for the past 33 years; he has been involved in many community activities. He has presented programs on drug abuse, landlord-tenant relations and personal safety. He has also hosted bicycle rodeos, participated in scout organizations, partnered with Northwest Dane Senior Services and represented the department on the Northwest Dane Cares Coalition.

Kroetz joined the department in 1989 after working as an undercover officer for another department. He has an associate’s degree in police science and is a trained Emergency Medical Technician. 

Lisa Davis, an administrative assistant with the police department since 1994, is often the first face or voice to greet the public who have contacted the police.

DANE COUNTY–Dane County Executive Joe Parisi and Sheriff Kalvin Barrett were joined by County Board Supervisors today in calling on the Dane County Board to fund the long-debated county jail consolidation project. Under new resolutions introduced within the past few days, the county board now has two new options to move the work forward. Final designs on the jail consolidation project will be complete in the next several weeks but if dollars for the project aren’t approved by spring, bidding on construction can’t proceed, delaying the work even longer.

CROSS PLAINS–Village taxes on a $300,000 residence will increase by about $31 or, 1.21 percent, in the 2023 budget adopted Monday by the Cross Plains village board.

The village’s tax base grew by $11.44 million this year or, 2.81 percent, to $419.15 million. The growth rate was less than neighboring municipalities reported for 2022.

The board also set the tax levy at $3.327 million up by $108,039 from the 2022 levy. Finance Director Bobbi Zauner warned the village is approaching the $3.424 million tax levy limit and will need to consider that in spending decisions it makes in the next few years.

“Part of the budget process this year included brainstorming ways to increase other revenues, reduce expenditures and create efficiencies. Staff and various committees will be researching these ideas in more detail in 2023,” Zauner wrote the board.

CROSS PLAINS–The Cross Plains Optimist Club will welcome Santa, who will tour the village on Dec. 3 from 9-9:30 a.m., courtesy of the Cross Plains Berry Fire Department and Police Chief Tony Ruesga.

Drive-through goodie bags will be distributed at American Legion Hall from 10-11 a.m. Follow the traffic pattern clockwise around the block in front of the American Legion building, where Santa and his elves will be waiting. Pull up and request the number of bags you would like.

The Optimist Club is also working with various groups to collect non-perishable food items, which will be delivered to those in need. Santa and his elves will be accepting food and cash donations when you pick up your goodie bag.

In addition to the Optimists, the event is sponsored by the Cross Plains Lions, American Legion and local businesses.

CROSS PLAINS–The Village of Cross Plains should have 24/7 police coverage but that currently isn’t financially feasible, Police Chief Tony Ruesga Jr. told the village board Monday.

The village has four officers, a lieutenant detective, an administrative assistant and the chief, and provides 16 hours of coverage a day. After hours calls for service are routed to the Dane County Sheriff’s Office which has a precinct station in the Town of Middleton.

The police department even strains to meet its 16 hours of coverage as the chief said that he has recently worked two consecutive 16-hour days to fill open shifts.

“An hour and quarter after getting off work, there’s a call about someone having a psychotic episode. The sheriff’s deputies couldn’t respond in time, but the ambulance did. We should have been there, too,” Ruesga said.

DNR Seeking Public Comment for Environmental Review of Cross Plains Safe Drinking Water Loan Program Project

MADISON–The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced the village of Cross Plains is an applicant for funding through the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP) to improve its public drinking water system. This project includes the replacement of watermains and sanitary sewers along a portion of West Brewery Road in the village of Cross Plains.

Activities related to this project are minor actions under Chapter NR 150, Wis. Admin. Code, for which no environmental analysis is required; however, following the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program federal requirement 40 C.F.R. §35.3580, an environmental review must be conducted before funding this project.

MADISON–Preliminary data shows the Flex Lane is significantly improving travel times on Madison’s Beltline (US 12/18) in Dane County. The Flex Lane opened in July as one solution to help ease backups and improve traffic flow on one of Wisconsin’s busiest highways.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Secretary Craig Thompson, Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett, Madison Region Economic Partnership President and CEO Jason Fields and a few Beltline drivers join WisDOT’s latest “Transportation Connects Us” to discuss how the Beltline improvements are benefitting drivers, alleviating congestion and how an improved Beltline can aid economic development throughout Dane County.