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MADISON–Earlier this week, Public Health Madison & Dane County released Forward Dane, a phased reopening plan for Dane County during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, based on active monitoring of the data-based metrics outlined in the plan, an order has been issued that moves Dane County into Phase 1 of the reopening plan, effective May 26, 2020 at 8:00am.

“We released Forward Dane so everyone in the community could see the requirements that needed to be met for us to continue opening businesses, while still balancing the health and safety of our residents,” said Janel Heinrich, Director of Public Health Madison & Dane County.

“We are receiving hundreds of test results each day and have analyzed additional data from the community testing site at the Alliant Energy Center. We feel confident that our county can take the next step in the reopening process at this time,” continued Heinrich.

Phase 1 includes:

SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN–Farmers markets are beginning to crop up are around the region, but with a few changes and restrictions in place to accommodate for safety in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Greenway Station Farmers Market Manager Cheryl Heck said the market has worked out ways to social distance, sanitize and keep people safe. She said plans are to tentatively open the market the first Thursday in June. 

The market, which Heck said has been in operation for about 20 years, has looked at placing vendors back to back with guests going around the outside perimeter of the market, or possible using a longer span of the parking lot, which is located on Greenway Boulevard on the south end of Greenway Station. Vendors will have masks and gloves and hand sanitizing stations. The market goers will also move in a one-way direction through the market.

In addition, Heck said items will be prepackaged or packaged for the customers. 

WISCONSIN–In a 4-3 decision on Wednesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Gov. Tony Evers’ Safer at Home order, calling is “unlawful” and “unenforceable.” Conservative Judge Brian Hagedorn dissented, joining liberal justices Ann Walsh Bradley and Rebecca Dallet in voting to maintain the order.

In their findings, justices said Evers overstepped his authority when he extended the original 60 day order to May 26. 

The lawsuit was filed against state Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm as well as other health officials because they made the decision to extend the order on April 12.

The court ruling came just two days after restrictions on many businesses were lifted, allowing stores to have five people or less at any given time.

DANE COUNTY–Beginning today, May 11, the Wisconsin National Guard opened a Dane County community testing site for COVID-19.

Free, drive-thru and walk-up testing is available to all residents. No appointment is necessary. Depending on utilization, the testing site will be open until further notice.

The testing will be conducted in the New Holland Pavilion at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.  It is open Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. If you drive up, you will remain in your car the entire time. Using the Exact Sciences test, Wisconsin National Guard staff will collect specimens.

The community testing site is available to all residents.

The test is not an antibody test and does not indicate if someone has had COVID-19 in the past. Results are expected within 3-5 days.

MIDDLETON–These are uncertain times, and the entire Middleton community is faced with new challenges. While many activities have been cancelled through the spring and early summer, the Good Neighbor Festival Board of Trustees continues to plan for the 57th Annual Good Neighbor Festival on August 28-30, and they remain cautiously optimistic that the event can take place. 

Although organizers are seeking to preserve this cherished community tradition, there will be changes to adjust to the COVID-19 situation as necessary. One significant change that was already in the works is that the festival will adopt an “open campus“ concept in 2020, allowing alcoholic beverages to be consumed on most of the festival grounds instead of being limited to two separate beer tents. William “Sonny” Simon VFW Post 8216 and Middleton Youth Hockey will operate individual beer stands as in the past, with the VFW focusing on domestic beer and Hockey featuring craft beer options.

TOWN OF MIDDLETON–The Town of Middleton Tourism Commission Monday cancelled Sunflower Days this summer and cast doubt on whether the event would ever be scheduled again.

Not only does a $15,045 deficit remain from last year’s flower festival but the current COVID-19 pandemic has caused the cancellation of other long-standing summer events including Madison’s Shake the Lake and Oshkosh’s Air Adventure.

As recently as early March, the town board was considering holding a scaled-back Sunflower Days at Pope Farm Conservancy as only $8,811 in room tax revenue, which partly funds the event, was expected to be available.

First quarter room tax revenue this year totaled $4,023 but the “Safer At Home” statewide order is expected to depress travel and the resulting revenue.

The tourism commission is comprised of town board members and they expressed little enthusiasm for hosting an event this summer.

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Public Library is now offering expanded curbside pickup. Due to a variety of logistical factors, such as no inter-library delivery, building design, and staffing for social distancing, curbside pickup services are limited and vary by location www.scls.info/librariesbounceback.

Please see the below instructions for placing holds on Middleton owned materials and scheduling a pick-up time.  

Due Dates & Returns: July 1 is the updated and extended due date for all materials checked out from the Middleton Public Library. The library is asking that patrons hold on to the items they currently have checked out–all book drops remain closed at this time.

Hold Materials and Curbside Pickup: 

Color this spring scene and email it to us with your name and age and we will display it here on our webesite. 

Send your creations to timestribuneeditor@newspubinc.com. You can download the coloring page here, or look for it in the print edition of the TImes-Tribune!

MIDDLETON–The City of Middleton will be able to move forward with opening some services back up after Gov. Tony Evers slightly loosened restrictions on what can and cannot be open.

The Middleton Public Library and Pleasant View Golf Course will both be allowed to open with some restrictions. Neither can open before the original Safer at Home order runs out on April 24.

Jocelyne Sansing, director of the Middleton Public Library, said in the Good Neighbor Hub meeting last week that she is not yet sure what their opening plan will look like, and did not have a solid opening date at press time. The library will only be able to do curbside pickup.

“It will be a coordinated effort based on interpretation of the order, following a lot along the lines of restaurant curbside pickup,” she explained.

MADISON–An electric car parade has been planned in celebration of Earth Day on April 22. The parade will begin and end at Marshall Park in Madison, and is expected to kick off at 11: 30 a.m. and conclude at around 1 p.m.

The parade’s goal is to celebrate Earth Day, raise awareness of care for the environment, and promote electric vehicles, in a way that practices safe distancing during Covid-19. 

All EV and plug-in hybrids are welcome to participate in the event. 

Feel free to decorate with banners, posters, signs, flags, streamers, plants, flowers, balloons, shaving cream, tin cans, etc. Please make sure everything is well attached so we are not littering our beautiful green world or causing driving hazards. Also feel free to play music or make noise!

To add your vehicle or ask questions, contact Carol Phelps at: carolandp@yahoo.com