By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
These are the top 11-20 stories of 2013, voted on by Standard Press staff:
No. 11 – BASD citizen reps come under fire
In the fall of 2012, citizen representatives on committees for the Burlington Area School District first came under scrutiny when the wives of board members Roger Koldeway and Phil Ketterhagen – Julie and Bonnie, respectively – applied for positions.
While both were turned down – and Julie Koldeway ran for a spot on the School Board and was defeated – the issue with citizen representatives came to a head this fall.
After Board President David Thompson questioned both the continued need for constant community feedback and the lack of a vetting process for candidate, the reps were very nearly eliminated.
One vote took the representatives off the committee entirely, but those representatives were reinstated without voting rights. In the weeks that followed, the board ironed out language that defined the representatives would not be used in an attempt at personal gain.
No. 12 – Pedestrian fatality leads to new crosswalk
Kansasville resident Joseph W. Hauswirth was visiting family when he decided to walk to the new Kwik Trip on South Pine Street in January.
Hauswirth, in attempting to cross the street, was hit by a vehicle and later died.
In the weeks that followed, his family pushed for a crosswalk to be installed between the subdivision across from the convenience store, and got it.
“I think the city has an obligation,” Alderman Ruth Dawidziak said. “People are going to walk across the street for their milk. We’ve seen the worst that can happen.”
Kwik Trip agreed to pay 50 percent of the cost, and the City of Burlington also dropped speed limits in that area to increase safety.
No. 13 – Plaza Theater goes digital
With fewer films being made old-style – AKA, with 35-millimeter film – Burlington’s Plaza Theater had to make a choice on how it would survive.
With the help of Sony, the Plaza Theater made the switch to 4K digital technology, ensuring what owner Shad Branen hopes will be a long future in Burlington.
According to officials with the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO), the full conversion to digital will save studios about $1 billion a year in the cost to make and distribute movies.
For the studios, the decision is a no-brainer – the digital movies are cheaper to produce and provide a higher-quality experience for the theater patrons. And with roughly two-thirds of the nation’s 5,700 for-profit theaters (representing 39,888 screens, according to NATO) already converted to digital, the time is right for the studios to force the hands of the remaining theater owners.
One of those owners was Branen. The 4K digital technology offered by Sony and installed at the Plaza is touted as having four times better resolution than the 2K digital format currently in use at most theaters, according to a company press release.
That puts the Plaza on the cutting edge of projection technology and, when it was installed last spring, gave it the distinction as the only theater in the state with Sony’s 4K format, according to Branen.
No. 14 – ‘Laramie Project’ educates, wows critics
When Burlington High School’s drama department decided to use “The Laramie Project” – a dramatic production about the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay man, in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998 – for the school’s one-act competitive play this fall, those involved made the production about more than just awards.
While the play advanced to state for the 11th straight season and won both Critics’ Choice and Outstanding Directing and Ensemble awards, the students and teachers also brought a “no hate” message to the school – and the community.
Students at BHS were educated about bullying and about the consequences of hate speech. After seeing the play, students were offered a chance to sign a “no hate pledge,” which will hang at the school until the end of the school year.
Students who signed the pledge received a wristband as well, that reads, “Don’t Hate … Appreciate.”
No. 15 – St. Mary Church celebrates 175th anniversary
It takes tremendous faith to persevere as a church community for nearly two centuries – simple, but powerful, faith that is strong enough to endure a Civil War; two world wars; a Great Depression; and a raging fire that nearly destroyed the landmark church building.
And yet, Immaculate Conception St. Mary Parish in Burlington celebrated just that late this year, reaching 175 years in Burlington.
The celebration saw Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki celebrate Mass, and he was joined by many others in the celebration: current pastor Father James Volkert, former pastors Fr. David Reith and Fr. Robert Gosma, former associate pastors Fr. Eugene Doda and Fr. Brian Hobus, parish son Fr. Nathan Reesman, who is now pastor of a parish in West Bend, and Fr. Sereno Baiardi, director of the Franciscan Missions Office in Burlington.
No. 16 – Flawed study leads to sewer rate hike
The City of Burlington knew it needed to change the structure of its sewer rates, especially given that special contracted rates with several large industrial users had expired.
However, the study didn’t take into account the lack of volume normally produced in the city – for example, by Echo Lake Foods, which has not been up and running in Burlington since the Jan. 30 fire.
As a result, the planned changes in sewer rates ended up being larger than expected when the City Council approved the 2014 budget – up 10 percent. Combined with a flat 3 percent rate hike for water, the city expects most consumer bills to end up about 6 percent higher per quarter.
The large industrial users, such as Echo Lake Foods and Nestle, will now be charged a flat industrial rate, up by more than $2 than before.
No. 17 – Sentry changes to Richter’s Marketplace
For more than 60 years in Twin Lakes – and more than 10 in Burlington – the Richter family has been a notable name when it comes to grocery stores.
That not changed in October – but the name of the stores Norm and Larry Richter own did as well.
The brothers ended their association with Sentry in October, and became “Richter’s Marketplace.”
Knowing their contract would be expiring with Sentry this fall, Norm Richter said he and his brother decided to “look around” for the best fit with their stores.
That turned out to be Affiliated Foods Midwest – a cooperative market. AFM is member-owned with more than 800 stores located throughout the Midwest.
“We didn’t take this switch lightly, because we’ve been a Sentry for over 50 years,” said Norm Richter. “It’s a big switch.”
No. 18 – BHS football coach Hans Block resigns
After 12 years as head coach of the Burlington High School varsity football team, Hans Block had expected more than four trips to the playoffs.
And so, after a disappointing 4-5 season that saw the Demons miss the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years, Block announced in December that he would step down as head coach.
In his 12 years at the helm, Block was 59-56, with four trips to the playoffs – two past the first round.
“I’m not pleased with the results of that,” Block added. “I’ve been working hard. I’m not sure I can give much more, and I don’t like the results we’re getting.
“In this situation, I don’t know what else I can do.”
The school announced it would be looking for applicants from both within the school district and outside of it, though it did not set an immediate timeline for a hiring.
No. 19 – BHS trap team wins another national title
The Burlington High School trapshooting team has, improbably, become the standard of excellence in the national Scholastic Clay Target Program.
After earning what many considered a near-impossible overall national title in 2011, the team finished three targets short of repeating that feat a year ago – against not just the top-high school shooters in the country, but the top club, county and state DNR-based teams.
While the Demons succeeded in bringing home the high-school division title last year, they wanted the overall title back.
They got it in July, finishing with a near-perfect 986 out of a possible 1,000 targets at the World Shooting and Recreation Complex in Sparta, Ill.
The Demons No. 1 varsity squad saw Jordan Hintz, Cody Schilz, Christian Jensen, Myles Walker and Alexa McCarthy finish with two perfect rounds of 125 during the tournament – meaning all five shooters hit all 25 targets that round.
No. 20 – Fall sports make state appearances
For the first time ever this fall, two different Burlington High School teams made it to state in their respective sports.
The BHS girls tennis team rode a strong performance at sectionals to the team title there, earning the school’s first-ever appearance at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Team Tennis Tournament.
The team lost in the first round to Divine Savior Holy Angels, but will return its top two singles players next fall.
While the tennis team was competing at state, the BHS girls cross country team was finishing second at sectionals to earn a trip to state.
Led by freshman Ashlyn Barry – who finished 51st overall in 15:31.11 – Burlington finished 18th of 20 teams at the state meet.
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