Inside New Berlin

Michelle Witmer, of New Berlin was the first female in the National Guard to be killed in combat and first member of the Wisconsin National Guard to be killed since World War II.

In his August 12, 2004 editorial titled, “Name school for Witmer, not Reagan”, New Berlin Citizen editor Michael Zahn noted that it seemed odd the New Berlin School District, which was so bent on eradicating politics from its school buildings with School Board Policy #1330, would choose to honor Ronald Reagan by naming a school after him. He pointed out that the New Berlin School Board had voted to put Reagan’s name on a school building “without the blessing of parents or students”.

Zahn argued, “The Declaration of Independence, a document revered by Reagan says that government derives its powers from the consent of the governed”. Zahn contended the School Board “should make a genuine effort to pick a replacement name that the community can rally around, not argue over-- a name like Michelle Witmer.” And he said, “…let’s make sure one of our own who paid the ultimate price for freedom isn’t forgotten.”

The School Board refused to heed or listen. Instead, it arbitrarily chose the Reagan name without even discussing alternative names, including Witmer’s--- and without holding a public hearing or conducting a survey of the community to solicit public input on naming the school.

The School Board passed up the opportunity to recognize the historical significance of this local woman’s sacrifice in service of her country, but fortunately, others did not. A citizen committee was created at the November 23, 2004 Common Council meeting to honor all New Berlin vets and Michelle Witmer. Ultimately, city officials voted to name a street near the library Michelle Witmer Memorial Drive, and the New Berlin Veterans Memorial is being constructed on city-owned land.

I checked the New Berlin Veterans Memorial Committee web site today. A list of donors who contributed are posted on it. Interestingly, none of our current School Board members’ names appear on the list.

Perhaps this blog will inspire each School Board member to donate a portion --say $100-- out of his/her taxpayer-funded salary to help fund the New Berlin Veterans Memorial. Collectively, that would be a $700 contribution to a good cause.

The New Berlin School district operates a web site. School board leaders should be ensuring that the minutes of their board meetings are posted on it in a timely manner. Doing that would be more in line with their official business, more beneficial to the community, and certainly more constructive than using the Web to make personal attacks against constituents and city officials.

About a week ago, I clicked on the school district’s web site and noted that the most recent meeting minutes posted were those of a July school board meeting. No minutes of the school board meetings held in August, September or October were posted.

Sadly, the New Berlin School District/School Board is often sluggish in posting board meeting minutes on its web site.

In contrast, the minutes of the Common Council’s most recent October 10 meeting (as well as those of the August and September meetings) were already posted on the City of New Berlin’s web site.

City officials manage to update their web site and keep it current. School officials could, too---if they wanted to. It is an issue I have raised at school board and city government meetings.

Which members of the government body were present at the meeting, how they voted, what action they took or did not take, and more---- are recorded in the meeting minutes. That is significant information.

School officials should be making such information readily accessible to district residents using the internet. Too often they don’t and that is unacceptable.

Attention bargain shoppers! The New Berlin Goodwill store is now open. Located at 3590 S. Moorland Road---in the New Berlin Plaza---this is Goodwill's newest store and donation center. The Grand Opening is being held October 20-22. Treats and refreshments are being provided at this celebration.
Being a bargain hunter myself, I was not surprised to see the store full of customers this morning. Business was brisk. People were buying clothing, household items, books and more.
I have always enjoyed shopping at Goodwill stores. To me, it is like going on a treasure hunt or to a giant rummage sale. Full of surprises.
Donating items is easy. Just pull up in front of the store and a Goodwill worker will come out to assist you.
And what of donated items that aren't sold? Well, Goodwill really strives to get items in salable condition. But for those items that can't be sold in its stores, Goodwill tries to find creative uses for them, such as recycling scraps of old clothing into industrial cleaning cloths.
Goodwill's mission is a worthy one. Goodwill serves disadvantaged people by educating, training and placing them in jobs. It serves those with barriers to employment, including individuals with disabilites, people with limited work history, those who've experienced corporate downsizing, and recipients of government support programs.
About 84% of Goodwill's revenues go directly into employment and training programs for people with disabilites and other barriers to employment. That's fantastic!