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Turtle Town Board candidates

Five candidates are competing for two seats. Voters Tuesday will narrow a field to four:

Name: Tim Kopp

Address: 8028 S. Butterfly Road, Beloit.

Age: 49

Job: Tradesman with R&M Manufacturing, Milton.

Education: Earned an associate degree in electronics from Blackhawk Technical College in 1977

Community service: 4-H leader

Public office: Elected to the Turtle Town Board in 2003

Issues: The current economy will challenge the town to maintain its roads and police and fire service to the level residents expect. The town can't expect an increase in state aid revenue. The town is moving in a good direction and has good employees. That really makes life easier for a person like me.

Name: Lester Oldenburg

Age: 78

Address: 7529 S. Lathers Road, Beloit.

Job: Semi-retired truck driver for The DeLong Co., Clinton.

Education: Graduated from Beloit Memorial High School in 1950

Community service: Has been a volunteer firefighter for the Town of Turtle Fire Department and served on many town committees, including the fall festival and safety committees.

Elected positions: Has served on the Turtle Town Board on and off for 25 years.

Issues: I will try to keep taxes low and try to serve the people with the best of my knowledge. I'm against city of Beloit annexation. The town board needs to keep all residents in mind, including those who have moved to the country from the city.

Name: Margaret Palubinski

Age: 57

Address: 4270 E. Circlewood Drive, Beloit.

Job: Assistant vice president and Clinton branch manager of First National Bank, Beloit.

Education: Graduated from South Beloit High School in 1969. Attended Kaplan University and the American Institute of Banking.

Community service: Clerk/treasurer of the Rock County unit of the Wisconsin Towns Association; member of board of directors for Rasey House, Beloit. Member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Elected positions: Member of the Turtle Town Board from 1997 to 2005.

Issues: I kind of feel like the board has gone stagnant. I don't see the town moving forward. I think the town's boundary agreement with the city of Beloit hasn't been monitored closely. The board needs to work on that and on its Smart Growth plan.

Name: Darrell Simonides

Address: 10125 S. Turtle Town Hall Road, Beloit.

Age: 61

Job: Semi-retired electrician; served in with the U.S. Army in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968.

Education: Graduated from Lane Tech High School, Chicago, 1966

Community service: None

Public office: None

Issues: I've been getting involved and have been impressed with the way things have gone the last two years. I'd like to be a part of it. The town is in pretty good shape. I am concerned about annexation from the city of Beloit. We have to come up with a solution one way or another on how this is going to work.

Name: Tom Straub

Address: 5589 E. Buss Road, Clinton.

Age: 65

Job: Retired chemical engineer

Education: Graduated from Milwaukee High School in 1961; graduated with a bachelor's degree from UW-Eau Claire in 1967; attended some medical school at UW-Madison.

Community service: Has volunteered at Powers Elementary School in the Turner School District for three years. Served as a citizen appointee to the Town of Turtle Plan Commission from 2001 to 2007.

Elected positions: Served on the town board from 1991 to 1992.

Issues: I will maintain the identity of Turtle Township and generate a vision of the town in one year and five years. Examples include developing a stormwater management ordinance, a Smart Grown plan and a responsible and accurate budget and keeping ordinance control in the town.