On Cuts force reduced hours at Evansville Youth Center

Posted on February 12 at 12:56 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Den Boer says that free center are rare and most have fees - FALSE! Look around. Most youth centers in our area including all of southern Wisconsin do NOT charge fees and are free.

Den Boer's comments are (as usual) not researched or thought out. He is trying to get people to accept his idea to charge users a fee to go into the Janesville YMCA general fund for his future building projects. Nice Try.

On Edgerton to consider 18.7% tax increase

Posted on October 26 at 1:29 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Please join those of us who are sick of greedy educators take more money, while the rest of us continue to sacrifice just to hold on to a job - by attending the School District meeting tonight at 7pm at District office and make these greedy few stare us in the eyes and explain why we all sacrifice and suffer but they can continue to keep class sizes small, raise teachers pay, pay 100% health care, etc.

Some of us don't even have health care if we're even lucky enough to have jobs. I am also more educated than most teachers. Personally, I'd be embarrassed to be a teacher nowadays. All greed, no more teaching for respect and the kids I guess.

7PM DISTRICT MEETING - Let's bring them back to reality!!!

On Edgerton to consider 18.7% tax increase

Posted on October 26 at 8:57 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

I have kids in schools and a wife who teaches. I support education more than most, but why did teachers just receive a raise, taxpayers pay full health insurance for teachers or $10,000 cash payout to teachers who do not accept health insurance (like those whose spouses get insurance) and get 3 months vacation in summer, 2 weeks at Christmas, 1 week in Spring, 3 days at Thanksgiving + a couple others, no weekends, done by 4pm, etc...still they start around $30K and some up to almost $50K. With GM and others making huge cuts and even losing their jobs completely, teachers unions try to make us feel guilty by saying we're hurting our kids by expecting them to work a full 40 hour week and pay for a little of their insurance? I work for county gov. and not only do we already pay a portion of our insurance, pay was frozen and health insurance was cut 15%. I'm happy to have a job, I don't hide behind the children card or complain that I'm working more for less money...at least I'm working!

Fair is fair. Get your butts to this district meeting, call district Board members (not the administrator or school staff - they'll hide your complaints to save their own salary increases) and flood them with realities...look at the world around you, we are all sacrificing. In another year or two we'll get back on track - for now quit your whining.

Note: The Edgerton School District is largest Edgerton employer - so don't think that School Board members or others will rush to make cuts needed at school as that affects their, our their spouses, salaries and benefits. I know my vote against this unnecessary & ridiculous levy (i.e. pay/benefit raise for teachers) will hurt my own income - but those of us working in the real world are too busy working extra to make up for our cuts, so I don't expect the school district to listen anyway - they never do.

On Crowded candidate list for Edgerton City Council

Posted on January 7 at 12:46 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

McIntyre wants to push back the city hall? What a joke...he had 10 years as mayor to work on replacing that eyesore & now the cost to replace it has skyrocketed and is unsafe! It will only get more expensive by waiting...typical McIntyre reactive response. His poor planning has delayed development and cost the city tax dollars and lost business. It's time for a change!!!

On New Edgerton Hospital on track for spring: CEO

Posted on January 6 at 12:35 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I agree. Janesville has come a long way, yet many there speak of the end of GM as the end of Janesville. My point is that Janesville will be more healthy economically once they get over the attitude that GM is everything that many try to convey. This is just a blip on the radar for J-ville just as Dana was a blip for Edgerton. Although a small community just under 6,000 - Edgerton does have a comparable number of employment options per capita as J-ville. The impact is already photographic as what Edgerton went through - just a larger scale with 10x the population. Rock County will be stronger as a whole as we all become more diversified.

On New Edgerton Hospital on track for spring: CEO

Posted on January 6 at 9:07 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

As long as J-ville doesn't put all of it's eggs in the GM basket (like Edgerton did with the Dana plant several years ago) they will come out smelling like roses. Edgerton suffered for many years because they put everything into Dana and almost died when it went out. Over the past 3 or 4 years, with their young new mayor and a couple changes in Council, they have begun their upswing, diversifying and growing their population base. See new downtown developments, new hospital, a couple new additions to industrial park, upcoming new City Hall, new lbrary and talk of a Boys and Girls Club or YMCA facility coming within the next 2 years. The economy has slowed, but certainly not shut the Edge down. Congrats to the new Edgerton Hospital movement and the community's positive attitude. Keep moving forward!

On Shelter rewriting municipal contracts

Posted on December 12 at 11:06 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

Agreed - Tootsie is a cutie!

On Edgerton Hospital, SSM join forces

Posted on December 11 at 9:46 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

I am in Edgerton every week and make a point to spend time there. I recommend you take a drive there sometime. As LTG stated below, this isn't the Edgerton of the 70's. Stop being so angry and check out reality some time!

PS - The chamber website is a poor representation of Edgerton. I only suggested it to point out that there's a ton more than the "Pig" and bars you concluded. If I can criticize anything, it's the lack of promotion the city, and chamber, have done of late...but speculation is that they want it that way to avoid an influx of new residents moving there who will threaten their small town history & character. Get the facts - I respect your opinion...but don't slam a city without getting the facts straight - it's not fair to the people of Edgerton that are headed in the right direction.

On Edgerton Hospital, SSM join forces

Posted on December 10 at 9:52 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

bigbro - This is Wisconsin...the main business in every city here is bars. If you're talking dollars - bars aren't the biggest in Edgerton. If you're talking storefronts, then yes - it has the appearance of a bar-dominated town, as does 95% of Wisconsin's cities. I will agree that presently, the main business in DOWNTOWN Edgerton is bars, becsuse until the new building is finished the rest of downtown is not attractive to other tenants.

Lydia - I just love how you out-of-towners bash your neighbors to make you feel better. I do not work for the city nor am I from the city. I do know more about Wisconsin municipalities than most, and have shopped for several items in Edgerton. If you are too lazy to back up your complaints by going to Edgerton to see what's there, at least look at their Chamber website to find several successful businesses inclusing several gift shops, hardware store, department store, professional offices, service stations, appliance store, restaraunts, doctor/dentist/chirpractors, office supply, flower/landscape store, drug store/gift shop, auto supply store...and yes, I could continue but would ask you to do some research before writing back. By definition, Edgerton is not a bedroom community, which is why it has retained it's character (good or bad, take your pick) for so many years - unlike the Milton's, Sun Prairie's and Cottage Grove's of the world. Oh, and for parking, count the spaces...there are officially more parking spaces downtown created since acceptance of the new building than before construction started. Every downtown in the world has 2 main problems - crime and lack of parking. While parking is still difficult, it will be much better with the new building.

On Edgerton Hospital, SSM join forces

Posted on December 10 at 2:50 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Actually, the city is not paying for the infrastructure - a grant through the state was received to do the work. As for growth, check out Edgerton's housing rates & sales and compare to Janesville & Milton. Also, several new, albeit smaller for the most part, businesses have started up in Edgerton this past year. A new larger building/business was built in the Industrial Park this fall - a relocation from Madison. The city is taking steps to draw in new business downtown - while no one likes change and the building downtown has drawn criticism, it has improved the atmosphere downtown, improved parking downtown (contrary to what some uninformed have said), and forced many owners of the older, "falling apart" adjacent buildings to finally maintain and bring to code, or risk losing their tenants and rent. The TIF district downtown, coupled with the current economy which is driving more people to think green, shop local and re-focus on downtowns will push Edgerton head and shoulders above their neighbors. Janesville is trying to do much of the same downtown, with very little luck. To survive, they need to do the same. Milton is a bedroom community and will always be such with no future as anything else. Evansville would be wise to follow Edgerton's lead to the top.