Gov. Scott Walker presses the flesh with employees at LDV in Burlington May 11. Walker was in the city to announce that the specialty vehicle manufacturer is eligible for up to $107,500 in tax credits through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to help the company add new jobs. (Photo by Ed Nadolski)

Governor visits local facility to announce tax credit incentives

By Ed Nadolski

Editor in chief

An expansion at LDV’s Burlington facility that could create as many as 30 jobs got a boost last week with the announcement – delivered in person by Gov. Scott Walker – that the company is eligible to receive up to $107,500 in state tax credits.

The local company could receive that full amount by adding at least 17 jobs, based on a formula developed by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, which administers the incentive program.

“It’s good for Burlington and it’s good for the local job market,” said David Lynch, chairman of the board for LDV, which customizes truck chassis into specialty vehicles, including emergency response trucks and commercial display vans. “We have some new and very major accounts that require not only more space, but a better (product) flow.

“It was basically logistics.”

Work began this week on clearing the way for a 25,000-square foot addition to the company’s “metals” building, according to President Kurt Petrie, who explained the company is currently using several buildings in the city’s industrial park to handle its needs.

The expansion will include a loading dock, two warehouse bays, two wash stalls and three additional production bays, he said.

“The main reason is to increase capacity, but we also gain the benefits of added efficiency,” Petrie explained.

The addition will allow the company to consolidate most of its manufacturing operations in two buildings instead of the current three, or four when warehousing is factored in.

Petrie said LDV, which stands for Lynch Diversified Vehicles, is already well on its way to filling 17 new positions and may end up adding a total of 25 to 30 jobs once the expansion is complete and operations are running at full capacity.

According to Petrie, the company will be looking for metal fabricators, welders and project managers.

The building addition could be completed by September.

Governor comes calling

According to Petrie, the visit from the governor Friday to make the announcement was not as complicated as it may have appeared. Many assumed that Lynch, a prominent local Republican, had connections in Walker’s office that resulted in the visit.

Petrie said it was simply a matter of checking a box on the WEDC application indicating that LDV would be receptive to a visit from the governor.

That and the fact that Walker is in the midst of a recall campaign against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett made the timing right for the governor’s public appearance.

Walker arrived around 11 a.m. and spoke to assembled employees and company guests in the LDV parking lot with several of the company’s specialty vehicles as a backdrop.

After making the tax credit announcement, Walker worked the crowd shaking hands and chatting with employees before taking questions from the assembled media.

The media presence was relatively heavy for an announcement of this size mainly due to the fact this was a first chance they would have to publicly question the governor regarding comments made in an 18-month-old video that surfaced last week. In the video recorded for a documentary, Walker used the words “divide and conquer” when discussing public labor unions with a wealthy supporter.

Walker said the video showed he was “willing to stand up for the taxpayers,” adding, “You can’t balance the budget without reforms to collective bargaining.”

However, he added, that he has learned from the past year of divisive debate and said, “I don’t want to go back and replay that debate.”

After the press conference Walker and other dignitaries toured LDV’s facilities and took time to speak with production and office employees.

“The employees were excited,” Petrie said, it’s not every day they get a visit from the governor.

SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

In the regular season-ending Southern Lakes Conference Meet, the Union Grove High School boys’ golf team turned in their best 18 holes of the season, placing seventh in the eight-team event held at Delbrook Golf Course in Delavan.

The Bronco boys fired a 362 as a team to finish 34 strokes behind SLC champion Waterford, which had a 328. The 362 was 10 shots better than the team’s previous low score this year.

Alex Wall carded an 89 (44-45) to lead the Broncos.

Two teammates were just one stroke back, firing 90s – B.J. Henderson (43-47) and Brett VanVreede (43-47).

Firing 93s were Tom Kwon (48-45) and Ben Spiering (44-49).

Browns Lake Rider Cup

The Bronco boys finished sixth out of seven teams in the Browns Lake Rider Cup held Saturday at Browns Lake Golf Course.

Waterford won the event with a score of 226. Union Grove shot a 250.

The tournament is a mixed format tourney. Six holes are selectball (scramble), six are bestball, and six are alternate shot.

Tom Kwon and Brett VanVreede teamed up to shoot a 79, the low score for the Broncos.

Alex Wall and B.J. Henderson carded an 82, and Ben Spiering and Jacob Cacciotti an 89.

The WIAA Division 1 regionals begin Tuesday, May 22, at 9:30 a.m. at Ives Grove Golf Links in Sturdevant. Union Grove is the host school.

SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

The month of May has not been kind so far to the Waterford High School baseball team.

After defeating Elkhorn 8-4 April 30 to improve to 6-5 overall and 3-3 in the Southern Lakes Conference, the Wolverine boys have been able to scrape out only one win in May, losing nine of 10 overall, and five in a row in the SLC.

The Wolverines now stand at 7-14 overall, and 3-8 in the SLC.

The latest loss came Monday at home to SLC foe Lake Geneva Badger by a score of 12-7.

Badger got on the board quickly in this game, scoring four times in the top of the first, but the Wolverines responded with three runs in their half of the first, and then took the lead with two runs in the third.

Lake Geneva, though, scored twice in the fifth, and then three times in each of the sixth and seventh innings to pull away.

Waterford scored twice in the sixth to pull within 9-7, but it was not enough.

Kaukauna Invite

On Saturday, Waterford dropped a 9-1 non-conference decision to Kaukauna, but then broke their losing streak with an 8-4 win over Appleton Xavier.

In the loss to Kaukauna, Kaukauna built a 9-0 lead after four innings. Waterford’s sole run came in the seventh on an RBI by David Welch.

Of Waterford’s six hits, Tanner Hunsucker and David Welch had two apiece, with one of Welch’s hits being a double.

In the 8-4 win over Xavier, the Wolverines got on the board first with four runs in the top of the second and never trailed. Xavier cut the lead to 4-2 after three with solo runs in the second and third, but Waterford responded with two runs in each of the fifth and sixth to take an 8-2 lead.

“We had a nice weekend,” head coach Lance Bestland said. “We hit the ball well and pitched well. Pitching has been our strength over the last few games. We have one bad inning that costs us the game.”

Vs. Wilmot

On May 10, the boys traveled to Wilmot for an SLC matchup and came out on the short end of an 8-4 game.

Waterford grabbed the early lead in this game, scoring four times in the second, but the Panthers put together a big seven-run third and never trailed after that. They scored their final run in the fifth.

Vs. Kenosha Bradford

On May 9, the Wolverine boys lost 8-4 to Kenosha Bradford in a non-conference game at home.

The two teams traded two-run innings through the first five innings of the game, with Bradford scoring twice in the first and fourth, and Waterford scoring twice in the third and fifth.

Bradford pulled away with three runs in the sixth and one more in the seventh.

The Wolverines outhit Bradford 5-4, but committed four errors in the field.

Mitchell Nelson and Austin Christensen each had two hits for Waterford, with one of Nelson’s hits a double.

SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

The Burlington High School girls’ soccer team crept one game closer to a possible Southern Lakes Conference title with a 4-1 win over Westosha Central Tuesday at Paddock Lake.

All five goals in this game were scored in the second half.

The Demons first goal was scored by Maddy Harry with an assist from Emily Mundt.

Sydney McCourt got her eighth and ninth goals this season back-to-back, with Harry getting an assist on the first goal and Mundt on the second.

Mundt scored Burlington’s final goal unassisted.

With the win, the Demon girls are now 8-8-1 overall, and 5-1-0 in the SLC.

Menomonee Falls invite

“The Menomonee Falls Invite was disappointing for us,” head coach Joel Molitor said.

The Demon girls opened the Saturday invite against Wisconsin Lutheran and the game ended on a 1-1 tie.

“We beat them on penalty kicks, 5-4,” Molitor said.

Burlington next took on Menomonee Falls, the team to beat in the tournament, and lost 1-0.

“We played them physically throughout the first half, which they were not expecting, and we carried a 0-0 tie deep into the second half,” Molitor said. “We gave up too many corner kicks, though, and they scored on one in the second half.”

The final game of the invite resulted in a 3-0 loss to Milton.

“We were tired, injured and discouraged, and we did not play to our ability,” Molitor said.

Vs. Elkhorn

On Thursday, the Demons defeated Elkhorn 3-1 in Southern Lakes Conference action.

“We jumped to an early 2-0 lead and dominated them with our physical play,” Molitor said. “We carried the lead into halftime, and added another goal before the end.”

McCourt got the first Burlington goal, with Lindsay Kraemer scoring the other two.

“Elkhorn scored in the second half, but they were never a threat to win the game,” Molitor said.

Schedule

On Thursday, Burlington will host Delavan-Darien in an SLC matchup.

Next week, the SLC Tournament will take place on Tuesday, May 22, and Thursday, May 24. The location had not been determined at press time.

SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Going into the Southern Lakes Conference tournament last week, the Burlington High School boys’ tennis team knew they would need to win the tournament to win the SLC crown.

The Demon boys went into the tournament tied for first with Waterford and Westosha Central, with each team having six dual wins or 12 points. That meant that if Burlington, Waterford or Westosha won the SLC Meet, that team would win the overall crown.

Westosha ended up edging Burlington in the tournament, and thus winning the SLC title. Waterford ended up third.

“We had our chances, but Westosha was too tough in some spots,” head coach Ken Savaglia said.

Overall, Westosha ended up with 26 points in the SLC (combining dual win points and tournament points), with Burlington second with 24.

The two day event began on Thursday with singles action at Wilmot and doubles action at Lake Geneva Badger.

On Thursday, “we did, with one exception, what we should have done to put us in a good position,” Savaglia noted.

After Thursday’s matches, the Demon boys were set to compete in four of seven championship matches, plus a third-place match and a fifth-place match.

Savaglia noted he had to replace a player in No. 3 doubles, so the team went from having a seeded No. 3 doubles pairing with a 6-1 SLC record, to an unseeded pairing playing the No. 2 seeded team.

Playing in the championship matches were Conor Schultz at No. 2 singles, Caleb Hewitt at No. 4 singles, Corey Caldwell and Andrew Schmidt at No. 1 doubles and Alex Oldenburg and Matt Traber at No. 2 doubles.

Hewitt, plus Oldenburg and Traber, ended up winning SLC titles.

Hewitt won the title match 6-3, 3-6, 6-2; while Oldenburg and Traber won in straight sets 6-0, 7-6 (1).

Hewitt ended the SLC season undefeated at 10-0.

Oldenburg and Traber were down 1-5 in the second set before rallying to win it.

“They are 11-0 in our conference play and 14-3 on the season,” Savaglia said. “Very impressed.”

Schultz lost 7-6 (2) 6-4 to Westosha’s Alex Sadlier.

“The toughest match for us,” Savaglia said. “(Schultz) beat him earlier in the year. We were up in the first set 6-5, but could not finish. Just could not get up in the second.”

Caldwell and Schmidt lost 6-3, 6-1 to an Elkhorn pair.

Brenden Novak (No. 3 singles) lost a three-set match to Union Grove’s Kyle Boeck for third place. After winning the opening set 6-2, Novak lost the next two 6-4, 6-1. The match went over three hours before it was finished.

Janesville Craig duals

The Demon boys took on Fort Atkinson and Janesville Craig in two non-conference duals played at Janesville Monday. The boys defeated Craig 4-3, but lost to Fort Atkinson by the same score.

SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

In the Southern Lakes Conference Meet Tuesday, the Burlington High School boys golf team placed about where it has all season – third among the eight SLC teams.

Played at Delbrook Golf Course in Delavan, the Demon boys fired a 346. That was the same score as Westosha Central, but Burlington was awarded third based on tie-breaking criteria.

Waterford won the SLC title with a 328. Elkhorn was second with a 340.

Burlington was led by Ben Geiger who fired a 40-41 for an 81 total on the par-70 course.

Freshman Brian Dankle was second with an 84 (44-40), with freshman Josh Ketterhagen third with an 88 (46-42).

Roger Haluzak’s 93 finished out the team scoring.

The fifth Demon who competed Tuesday was Tony Stang with a 96 (48-48).

Browns Lake Rider Cup

The Demon boys had one of their best showings of the season, finishing second at the Browns Lake Rider Cup Saturday at Browns Lake Golf Course.

“I was pleased at our showing,” head coach Bill Berkholtz said. “We were only two strokes back of Waterford and they have been dominant all year long.”

Waterford won the event with a score of 226. Burlington had a 228.

The tournament is a mixed format tourney. Six holes are selectball (scramble), six are bestball, and six are alternate shot.

“All of my kids played within themselves,” Berkholtz added. “The two freshmen, Brian Dankle and Josh Ketterhagen, played exceptionally well for never having played the three formats.”

Dankle and Ketterhagen paired up to lead the Demons with a 72, the second-lowest score of the day.

Ben Geiger and Tony Stang carded a 75, and Zach Martin and Roger Haluzak an 81.

The Demon golfers will participate in the Brighton Dale Invite Saturday at Brighton Dale Links. The WIAA Division 1 regionals begin Tuesday at Milton.

This year, the high school’s National Honors Society is giving back to the community for the third year in a row by taking on Relay For Life as their spring community service project,.

“We will be ‘Celebrating A Year Without Cancer’ at this year’s holiday-themed event,” said American Cancer Society Staff Partner Katie Graf.

“So far, 33 teams have registered and we hope to raise more than $38,000,”               Relay For Life is a 12-hour event that brings together teams from local businesses, schools, churches and families for fun, food, music, entertainment and a night under the stars as team members take turns walking or running the track.

Relay For Life begins with a Cancer Survivors Lap and a reception to celebrate life. All cancer survivors in the community are welcome to take the first lap that begins at 6:15 p.m., Friday.

Monies raised go toward the American Cancer Society’s research, education, advocacy and patient service programs.

One of the highlights of the event is the Luminaria Ceremony, which begins at 9 p.m., Friday. People may purchase a Luminaria in memory or honor of someone who has been touched by cancer. The Luminaria bags are placed around the track and lit during a memorial program.

“We encourage everyone to come out to cheer on cancer survivors during the opening ceremony and to remember everyone touched by cancer during the Luminaria Ceremony at dusk,” said Graf.

“We hope all local cancer survivors and their family and friends will attend.”

To check out the schedule of events, or for more information about the 2012 Relay For Life, visit www.relayforlife.org/waterfordhs or email to katie.graf@cancer.org.

By Patricia Bogumil

Interim Editor

Union Grove Union High School’s $1.895 million athletic field improvements referendum passed easily Tuesday, although not in every community served by the high school.

Unofficial results Tuesday night showed 970 “yes” votes to 870 “no” votes, with about 20 absentee ballots outstanding.

Those ballots must arrive by 4 p.m., Friday, May 18, to be included in the official tally but would not seem able to change the result of the election, according to district superintendent Al Mollerskov.

Tuesday night, Mollerskov’s focus was set on what needs to be done to start moving forward with the project.

The first items of business are to begin work with the project’s engineers and architects to develop drawings and bids, Mollerskov said.

Drainage work, including laying four 48-inch pipes to replace the current, and solo, pipe that has rusted out on the bottom should start next fall right after football, he said. That work is expected to run from October through December.

In spring 2013, the UGUHS track and soccer teams won’t be able to use the field that is being ripped up Mollerskov said.

Plans for next spring call for laying down a rubberized track, installing synthetic fields, putting in new lighting and installing new bleachers and a retaining wall.

If all goes according to plan, the project should be done by Fall 2013.

Mollerskov said the $1.895 million referendum had been sought by a group of residents who got together after a similar referendum failed to pass in September 2010 that called for replacement of the existing athletic field and who told administration: “We really need this for the kids – our current students and those in the future.”

Mollerskov noted that UGUHS is the only school in its conference with an asphalt rather than rubberized track and has not hosted a home conference track meet for 15 years.

Interim Editor

Most Town of Waterford residents could soon find themselves paying for two attorneys – one hired to defend the 99-year/$1 annual town hall rental lease and the other hired to try and break it.

Commissioners with the Town of Waterford Sanitary District (WSD) are scheduled to meet May 30 to discuss the town hall lease with John Macy, the WSD attorney.

The meeting will be closed to the press and public, Macy said May 9.

As of press time, the meeting notice had not yet been posted. It will likely cite state statutes that allow a closed session for conferring with legal counsel about real estate and strategy for likely litigation.

Town Chairman Robert Langmesser said this week that if the WSD board opts to try and break the lease, then the township would have to hire an attorney to defend it.

“We have a written contract that’s been certified that we have this place for 99 years at a dollar a year,” he said. “For some reason, they’re adamant about this; they’re not going to drop it.”

If the WSD board goes along with the idea of breaking the lease, he added, “then we will have no choice but to defend it.”

In March, Macy was directed by the WSD board to review all available paperwork regarding the 99-year lease and report back about:

• the lease’s validity as an enforceable legal document;

• whether or not WSD can get out of the 99-year lease; and

• whether or not WSD can sell the town hall, either way.

According to figures compiled by WSD Commissioner Donna Block, town records show a total of 2,548 households. Of those, 75 percent, or 1,925, are in the sanitary district; the remaining 723 households are not.

WSD bought the town hall from the Town of Waterford in 1987 for $100,000 and gave the town a 99-year lease with a $1 annual fee.

But WSD commissioners have said that the $1 fee does not cover the building’s operating and maintenance costs.

Earlier this year, WSD Chairman Bill Gerard asked the Town Board to consider buying back the town hall from WSD.

The Town Board rejected that suggestion.

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Staff writer

The Burlington Area School District staffing picture got a little clearer Monday night, as the School Board approved several resignations and prepared to issue final notices of non-renewal.

Last week, BASD Superintendent David Moyer said the school district had narrowed from 17 the number of final non-renewal of contract notices that would have to be sent out.

Originally, the district had been looking at 17 layoffs encompassing 13.86 full-time equivalent positions. School Board President David Thompson indicated last week that a number of teachers had chosen to either retire or had turned in resignations.

According to the BASD School Board meeting agenda Monday night, resignations were tendered by Ed Brenton (technical education, Burlington High School), Marilyn Briggs (special education, Cooper School), Mike Silkwood (tech. ed., Karcher Middle School), Lorrie Wagner, (physical education), Carmen Brito-Rieselbach (Spanish, BHS), Jennifer Stever (BHS science) Shelly Mutter (44.78 percent FTE physical education) and Kathy Behrens (Cooper physical education).

In addition, Amy Solum, who teaches computer education, retired effective April 30.

That would presumably leave the following final non-renewal notices to be issued: Karen Fohey (Spanish), Joan Horn (special education), Dorothea Janisch, Leslie Moritz (second grade, Waller School), Linda Oja (orchestra), Dan Walker (elementary school art), Melinda Hoffman (guidance counselor, Waller School, .2 FTE reduction) and Ben Johnson (.6 FTE reduction, BHS band).

The Standard Press made an official request for that list through the open records law, but it could not be completed before press deadline.

BASD Business Administrator Peter Smet said Tuesday the district was in a position where it had to reduce its teaching staff, though because of changes in state law through Act 10, teachers were now being issued “final notices of non-renewal” versus being laid off.

“No one likes doing it, but this is the process the state has laid out,” Smet said. “We had to reduce the number of teaching staff.”

When the preliminary notices of non-renewal were issued in April, Moyer said that the majority of them were due to declining enrollment in the district as well as program changes within the various schools.

Smet confirmed Tuesday that a number of teachers chose a different route than being issued the final notice.

“That was their choice,” Smet said.

He also made a point of clarifying the state law, as contract non-renewals in the past tended to have a negative connotation, versus the term now being used to encompass all teachers not returning.

“The way that the law is written in the state of Wisconsin, the teacher has a contract that automatically renews unless the board takes action not to renew it,” Smet said. “In order to reduce your teaching staff, you have to go through this non-renewal process.”

Preliminary notices must be given 15 days prior to May 15. When a person gets the preliminary notice, they have the right to request a private conference – and a number of teachers did meet with the board.

“Some people choose not to do that. Some people choose to resign or retire,” Smet said. “It’s their choice to do that.

“If they do nothing or have that private conference, the board continues,” he added. “Then they get their final notice of non-renewals.”

Those must have been delivered on or before May 15.