Inside New Berlin

Choices, choices, choices.

You’ve got plenty of choices in….

• what you buy
• which eateries you patronize
• where you shop
• what movies and TV shows you watch
• which radio stations you listen to
• what you read

 Aren’t you glad you have alternatives and choice?

But what about the local election? If only the incumbents run for office, you'll have few choices at the polls.       

There are 3 New Berlin Aldermanic seats up for election--Districts 2, 4, 6.  The incumbents are Tom Augustine (District 2), Ken Harenda (District 4), and Bill Moore (District 6).

There are 2 New Berlin School Board seats up for election--Susan Manley and Art Marquardt are the incumbents.

If you are interested in running for one of the Aldermanic seats, contact the City Clerk at (262) 786-8610.

If you are interested in running for one of the School Board seats, contact the District Office at (262) 789-6200.

Also: See John Schultz’s Nov. 23 Community Watch online articles for more information.

I’m dreaming of a white Thanksgiving?

Well, not really, although the snow- drenched lawns, trees and bushes are rather pretty to behold.

The turkey’s in the oven, the pumpkin pies are made, but I’ve still got some more food to prepare before my guests arrive.

Gotta go, but not before I say---

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

And Go Packers!

My blog conveys information and/or my views on various issues. I've been blogging on New Berlin NOW since October, 2006.  Recently, NOW added a comment feature to the blogs. NOW Bloggers were encouraged to allow all comments to be displayed, unless obscene or libelous. Our options were: a) have all the comments automatically published or b) screen the comments & approve those that weren’t libelous or profane.

By allowing those who read the MyCommunityNOW.com blogs to comment on the bloggers’ posts, NOW hoped to engage people to debate on the blog issues and encourage community interaction. What happened though, was that many of the submitted comments contained personal attacks and insults or mocked people.

On Friday (Nov 16), NOW sent its bloggers an email specifying some new rules it will require be followed in order for your comments to be approved by us bloggers and published.

Basically, it’s a laundry list of don’ts---

DON’T use profanities or obscenities; post personal attacks & insults; threats; ethnic, racial, religious or sexual slurs; or otherwise engage in hateful conversation

DON’T stray from the topic of the blog or submit pointless comments

DON’T SHOUT BY USING ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS

DON’T use this space for press releases or commercial purposes

DON’T submit knowingly false or libelous comments

DON’T pretend to be somebody else, or maintain more than one screen name, or use a screen name that might be considered objectionable or insulting

DON’T knowingly give out any personal information about other individuals, including participants of these blogs

DON’T post copyrighted or trademarked content

Folks, I signed up on NOW to be a blogger, not an editor or censor. My blogs get many “hits” and a large volume of comments. I have neither the time nor inclination to carefully sift through dozens of comments, trying to decide which ones violate the newly adopted rules/policy and which ones don’t. Frankly, I feel that is NOW’s responsibility, not mine (especially since it was NOW's decision to implement the comment feature and new rules). 

The NOW Online editor and I have discussed this. When I notified him recently of my decision to not approve ANY comment to my blog ( regardless of its content), he was supportive. He's willing to approve/disapprove the comments submitted to my blog on a daily basis, although he probably has numerous other job tasks and duties that absorb his time.

We’ll see what transpires. NOW is weighing the pros and cons of the comment feature and new rules/restrictions. Maybe there will be other changes.

A reminder: you can contact me by email. Some blog readers chose that communication route rather than post comments on my blog.

My email address is insidenewberlin@hotmail.com

“Censorship” has been a topic discussed on some blogs recently (such as Matt Thomas’)

Attempts at suppressing speech are certainly not new in our community.

Here’s a couple of examples:

In 2003, the New Berlin School Board led by Jennifer Eitel altered Use of School Facilities Board Policy #1330 to ban political speech in school facilities.It specifically prohibited election campaigning activities, candidate forums, and activities related to the promotion of or opposition to a particular candidate or political platform. This outrageous policy passed by a 3-2 vote with Eitel, Matt Weiss and Tim Cramer voting yes. Kyle Kramer & Alan McGinty voted no.

Imagine if your car had a bumper sticker that supported a presidential or other candidate and you were barred by board policy from driving onto school grounds or parking in the school’s lot!

Think that scenario is far fetched? Well, NBPS denied senior citizen Jean Crotty’s request to use the School District cable channel to announce a voters forum she was holding at City Hall. The District cited Board Policy #1330 and claimed the cable channel could be considered a “facility”.

The policy banned campaigning activities, so how could students who sought election to student council, campaign at their school?

This horrendous policy approved by Eitel/Weiss/Cramer expressly prohibited voters forums, but not Satanic cults from using school facilities.

In his letter to the editor published in the New Berlin Citizen, Keith Heun not only supported this atrocious board policy that targeted one type of speech--political speech, he commended Eitel, Weiss and Cramer-- and even contended, “ In short, this policy doesn’t take away anyone’s free speech.”  Heun is current SB president.

Well, others disagreed. But the School Board clung to its repressive policy---UNTIL IT HAD TO RESPOND to a federal lawsuit, which alleged the  policy violated constitutional protections of free speech and assembly. Only then, did the School Board rescind that awful policy provision!

In 2004, the New Berlin Citizen published board members’ emails on naming a school after Ronald Reagan. Those emails are public records. School Board officers Matt Weiss and Jennfier Eitel responded with angry letters to the editor, chiding the newspaper. Eitel objected to the disagreements between board members being publicized (some of their email messages were rather sarcastic or nasty) and called it “a malicious opportunity to expose tensions on one issue.” Weiss called the publishing of the emails “childish” &“muckraking”. Both Eitel and Weiss argued that the newspaper should focus on the “positive” things that were happening, instead. Their letters were blatant efforts to muzzle the press from factually reporting or exposing information that wasn’t flattering to the School Board officials. And an attempt to demonize the "messenger"/a.k.a the press-- to divert attention from the board members' unsavory email communications.   

“Nearly 200,000 Americans are currently serving in the armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. This Veterans Day, many Americans will be hoping not only for their safety on the battlefield, but for compassionate care and secure shelter for the veterans once they return”---- excerpt from Adam Phillips’ report published 11/10/07 in Voice of America News.

Voice of America is a multi-media international broadcasting service funded by the US government through the Broadcasting Board of Directors.

According to Adam Phillip’s published report:

A study by the non-profit National Alliance to End Homelessness found that while veterans comprise only 11% of the American population, they make up 1 of every 4 of the nation’s homeless.

The homeless are not just older veterans, but also younger ones who have returned from fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Unlike earlier wars, where only men engaged in combat, many veterans returning from today’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are women. The study found that female veterans are more likely to be homeless than non-veteran females, and that overall, female veterans are more likely to be homeless than their male counterparts.

"Combat veterans are especially at risk, says Steven Berg, the Alliance's vice president for policy and programs. "When people serve in battle, particularly, they come back and they're injured," Berg says.  "They're injured with physical disabilities, they are injured with mental disabilities, and that all makes it hard for people to get jobs and pay rent and stay housed."  Even if a veteran has enough money to pay for his or her rent, the difficulty of coping with a disability can render one's housing situation unstable, whether one is living with family members, alone in an apartment, or in another scenario.

Nationwide, veterans tend to have less access to health care and other supportive services than they need.

Click on these links to Voice of America News reports:

VOA News “Homelessness High Among Veterans” by Adam Phillips

VOA News “US Veterans Among Homeless Despite Government Initiatives” by Margaret Besheer

Today, November 11 is Veterans Day, the national day set aside to remember and honor those who have served in the country’s military.

Mayor Jack Chiovatero will conduct the City’s Annual Veterans Day Ceremony at 7 pm tonight in the Common Council Chambers at New Berlin City Hall, which is located at 3805 S. Casper Drive. The ceremony will be approximately 45 minutes in length.

New Berlin Hoeppner Horn VFW Post 5716 and American Legion Post 488 will participate.

The New Berlin Community Band will perform a selection of patriotic music.

New Berlin resident and WWII veteran Kenneth Sharping will accept a proclamation on behalf of all New Berlin veterans, and the guest speaker will be Donald Hermann, a WWII veteran and past VFW Post 5716 Commander.

All residents are invited to attend. The ceremony will also be broadcast on local cable channel 25.

New Berlin’s annual Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting Ceremony is tomorrow, November 10. Don’t miss it.

The parade starts at 3:30 pm and will last about an hour. This year’s theme is “Unwrap the Magic of Christmas” and features Santa, floats, fire trucks, costumed characters, motorcycles, Baraboo circus wagon, animals, and more.

The parade route is along National Avenue from Coffee Road to Al Stigler Pkwy ( which is by Malone Park). Thru-traffic will be blocked from approximately 2:30-4:30 pm. because of the parade.

After the parade, a Tree Lighting Ceremony and other events will take place over by the Veterans Memorial ( located at National Ave. and Casper Dr.) and Fire Station.

Bring a camera and snap a picture of your kids with Santa!

Santa will hand out stuffed animals to the kiddies. There will be other free goodies, including candy stockings (courtesy of the Lions Club) and coffee (from Starbucks).

The New Berlin Chamber of Commerce sponsors the Christmas Parade/events. Sherry Riehle has been coordinating this fun-filled event for many years.

Money for it was raised from area businesses. Left-over money was used to purchase the stuffed animals for the children.

Although significant spending issues-- Approval of Elmwood School Bond Refinancing, Budget Amendments, and 2007-08 Tax Levy (plus Privilege of the Floor, Presidents Message and Announcements, and District Administrator’s Report) are on the agenda of the New Berlin School Board’s Special Meeting Monday Nov. 5 at Eisenhower, few community residents will likely attend.

After all, the Board Meeting (open session) is scheduled for 6 pm. That’s dinner time for many folks. District residents who have daytime (or evening) jobs may have difficulty attending a 6 o’clock School Board meeting.

Be advised that only 1 hour has been allotted for those agenda items/ open session meeting.  Sounds like a slam dunk.

Why the quickie meeting? The School Board/District is holding a student expulsion hearing (closed session) the same night at 7 pm.

If you can’t make the (open session) Board meeting, you may be able to watch it on cable TV the next day (channel 13) or request a tape of the meeting from the District Office--providing the meeting is taped, of course.

I attended the Oct. 22 Regular School Board Meeting. That meeting was broadcast live from City Hall on channel 25.  Normally, those SB meetings are taped and televised the next day, too (on the District's cable channel 13).   However, immediately after the meeting adjourned, District personnel informed me there would be no TV broadcast of the meeting the next day or later, because the School Board meeting had not been taped.

Not taped?  Therefore, you won't get access to a tape (public record) of the Oct.22 Board Meeting from the School District Office.

FYI: The School Board meetings held in Eisenhower's board room are not broadcast live. The ones broadcast on TV have been taped.    

The New Berlin Public Schools ACCIDENT/BURGLARY/THEFT/VANDALISM REPORT (for September, 2007) was among the reports provided at the October 22 School Board Meeting.

Look closely at what that District report says --especially the last part!!!!

ACCIDENT

08-02 Eisenhower   Report not available in Aug.    Showcase became weakened and 3 glass doors fell out and broke.

Disposition: Replaced        Cost: $125.55

VANDALISM

09-04 Eisenhower     *Football concession stand drinking fountain was pulled away from the wall.

Disposition: Reattached      Cost: $84.00

09-14 Eisenhower    *Five sections of football bleachers were damaged during a game.

Disposition: Replaced        Cost: $1554.00

09-28 Prospect Hill    *Six windows were broken

Disposition: Reported to Police

                  Replaced      Cost: $582.50

THEFT

New Berlin West    *Power supply & cord stolen off a laptop

Disposition: Replaced         Cost: $50.00

OTHER

06-12-07 New Berlin West

Notification From DNR Received in September

*DNR Violation. On June 12,2007, NBW discharged more than the allowed limit of raw sewage into Poplar Creek tributary stream. The DNR is investigating violation.

Disposition: Sewage Treatment Facility is Needed

Cost: none

* occurred outside school hours