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Sixth Ward race only city contest Four seats uncontested while Kluesner
faces challenger Kittle in Sixth Ward
Five City Council seats up for reelection on Tuesday are uncontested. Erwin
Mueller, first district, Irene Schauf, second district, Kathleen Hein, fourth
district, Brad Steiner, fifth district and Frank Pintz, sixth district are all
running unopposed. And that, according to challenger Jacqueline Kittle, is a big
part of what is wrong with the City Council. "There are too many 'yes-men' on
the Council," said Kittle in a telephone interview on Tuesday. "I think a lot
of people in this town are fed up. If I can win, maybe we can get the Council to
begin to change." Kittle, 39, has lived in Prairie du Chien for nine years. She
works three jobs ‹ she owns and operates Hot Stuff tanning, she coaches
cheerleading at the high school and on weekends she waitresses. Kittle says that
she has carefully gone through the nine-page city budget, and she has a lot of
questions. She says she has marked the document with thirty notations about
items about which she is concerned. "So many people are upset about their
property taxes. I think that slowly, but surely things have gotten out of
control," she said. By contrast, 14-year incumbent Jack Kluesner, 71, who sits
on the city's finance committee, says that levies by the county and the school
board have increased local taxes more than anything the city has done, and that
he has worked to keep the City's budget low and lean. Kluesner is also chair of
the Public Works Committee, and is interested in improving the quality of the
city streets. He says that work will begin this year to fix Dousman Street
between Taylor Street and Blackhawk Avenue. Kluesner is also anticipating
change, although not on the Council. "What I want is a nice appearing city,"
he said. Kluesner is eagerly anticipating the completion of the reconstruction
of Hwy. 18/Marquette Road. "I think the city can be a whole different Prairie du Chien with a new highway. I hope the downtown, they can do a lot with that
too," he said.
Not much opposition in area school board elections
There are two candidtates running for the two available seats on the Prairie
du Chien School Board for the April 5 election. Incumbent Joe Atkins is running
unopposed, as is newcomer Lonnie Achenbach, who is running for the seat that
will be vacated by Board President Mary Jorgensen, who has filed non-candidacy
papers. Each seat is for a term of three years. In the Wauzeka School District,
incumbent Karen J. Fisher and newcomer Alan J. Krieg are running for two
available seats on the five-person school board. Susan Molini has filed papers
declaring her non-candidacy. Each seat is for a three-year term. In the River
Ridge School District, Adam Guthrie and Betty Cooley are facing off for the seat
vacated by incumbent Dennis Mulrooney, who filed non-candidacy papers. Also,
incumbent Scott Myhre is running unopposed. Each seat is for a three-year term.
In the Seneca School District, incumbents Mark Johnson and Jerry Jones are each
running unopposed for three-year terms.
Crawford County and state of Wisconsin referenda to be voted on
There is no election for seats on the Crawford County Board of Supervisors
this April. However, county residents may vote on two Crawford County referendum
questions, along with a state of Wisconsin referendum question. The Crawford
County referendum questions read as follows:
Question 1 "Should the state of Wisconsin, not the county taxpayer, pay
the cost of the state mandated court system in Crawford County?" Yes or No.
Question 2 "Should the state of Wisconsin, not the county taxpayer, pay the
cost of the state mandated human services in Crawford County?" Yes or No.
The state of Wisconsin referendum question reads as follows:
"Four-year terms of office for certain county officers. Shall section 4 of
article VI and section 12 of article VII of the constitution be amended to
provide that district attorneys, coroners, elected surveyors, registers of
deeds, treasurers, county clerks and clerks of circuit court be elected to
4-year terms?" Yes or No.
Jury rules against director of patient services who was released by PdC
Hospital
On March 25, a jury in Dane County Circuit Court Branch Three found that an
attorney hired by the former director of patient care services at Prairie du
Chien Memorial Hospital was not negligent in his service for her.
The jury found that Richard Rice, an attorney at Fox and Fox of Madison, was
not negligent for not bringing a wrongful discharge suit against the hospital on
behalf of Jacqueline Johnsrud of Eastman prior to the dismissal of a defamation
claim. The jury also found that Rice was not negligent in his investigation and
preparation of an amended complaint for defamation against Prairie du Chien
Memorial Hospital Director Harold Brown in the matter of Johnsrud versus Brown.
Johnsrud was released by the hospital from her position as Director of Patient
Care Services in May of 2000. Johnsrud, who had been an employee of the hospital
for approximately 23 years, then filed a defamation complaint (Crawford County
Case Number 00CV90) against Brown and the hospital on July 13, 2000. The case
was dismissed on Oct. 31, 2000.
On Nov. 12, 2002, Johnsrud filed a lawsuit against her attorney Richard Rice
claiming negligence.
More than just eggs
Backyard hen coop provides for family in many ways
Keeping chickens in your backyard is not illegal in Prairie du
Chien, not since the Block family worked to get the city ordinance
changed last October. Now they keep four hens in a cozy coop in their
backyard and everyday gather eggs that could only be described as jumbo.
But the chickens have provided the family with much more than good
breakfast fare. The hens have also provided lessons in civics,
responsibility, recycling and composting, biology and self-reliance. The
whole idea of getting a few hens came up last spring. Jean Block, a busy
mother of four who home schools her children, thought it would be nice
to get some chickens as something of an educational activity for her
kids. "We wanted them to see where eggs came from, the whole food chain
thing," she said. Plus, Andrew, 9, and Matthew, who is almost 7, are in
4-H, and she wanted them to be able to have an animal project that they
could take to the county fair. So she spoke to her friend Jane Achenbach
of Eastman about getting a few chicks when Jane put in her order last
April. The family already had six peepers in a basement pen before they
discovered that the cute little fluffies were actually completely
illegal within the city limits. That's when they called their
alderwoman at the time, Luanne Neumann, and asked how they might go
about getting the city livestock ordinance amended. They had done a
little homework and discovered that the city of Madison and some other
urban areas allowed chickens as long as homeowners limited it to only a
few hens. Roosters are not allowed to avoid the morning wake-up calls
that are sure to annoy neighbors. The Blocks requested that the
ordinance allow four hens. Alderman Neumann warned the family that the
process to change the ordinance would likely take six months. So the
family, with all four children in tow, began attending City Council
meetings to advocate for their hens. The Blocks didn't mind taking the
extra effort to change the law, they saw it as an opportunity for their
children to learn how laws are made and changed. Jean says that they
would have gotten rid of the chickens while they were still illegal if
anyone had complained. The chicks were kept in the basement until they
were old enough to be moved into the garage, and finally to an outdoor
coop last August. Several of their neighbors were aware of them, but
didn't mind. Two of the chickens they started out with ended up in the
freezers of friends ‹ one was a rooster and one wouldn't lay, keeping
the flock within the legal limit of four hens. In October, the amended
livestock ordinance was passed by the City Council. The children are
beginning to learn responsibility by helping to care for the chickens.
Of course, they have named them: Silky, Feisty, Mrs. Brown and Mrs.
Black. As a lesson in recycling and practicality, Jean used recycled
lumber to build a small coop. It has an interior space for the birds to
get out of the weather, with a place for them to roost and a nest box
the hens share. A covered doorway leads to a small outdoor enclosure
where the birds can scratch and peck and get fresh air and sunshine. The
four small hens seem relaxed and comfortable in their little home, and
judging by the eggs they lay, they are content. Every day the children
collect four eggs, some of them double-yolked whoppers. Jean says it is
enough to satisfy all of the family's needs for eating, baking and
cooking. The biology lesson and benefit the birds provide comes out the
backside. Block has discovered that composted chicken manure is an
excellent addition to her vegetable beds. Last year she began composting
the chicken's bedding, then working the completed compost into the soil
of her garden patch and was very pleased with the results. Next, the
hens may provide another kind of biology lesson when they land in the
freezer. The family may butcher the hens they have now so Andrew can
raise another batch of chicks for a summer 4-H project. "They look so
cute when they're little," he says. One day, they family hopes to get
a place in the country, where they can keep a big flock.
Spahn and Rose getting ready to relocate
Having outgrown its present location along North Marquette Road near
downtown Prairie du Chien, Spahn and Rose Lumber will soon be moving its
operation to a site on the south edge of the city along La Pointe
Street. "We're hoping to open sometime in May," said Spahn and Rose
manager Brent Posten about the new site, which is across from Prairie
Motor Sports. Construction began in September of 2004 and four buildings
have rapidly gone up and are nearing completion. The new Spahn and Rose
location will feature 38,000 total square feet under roof in the four
buildings, which will sit on five of the site's 11 acres, said Posten.
The sales area alone will be 7,200 square feet, which is 50 percent
larger than the sales area of the present location. Two other large
buildings are for storing lumber and building materials, while the
smallest building will house doors, windows and shingles, Posten said.
The expansion will allow Spahn and Rose to offer more products and more
displays at a better location. "It will be much easier for customers to
get what they need," said Posten in noting that there is no road
dividing the buildings, which are also closer together at the new site.
At its current location, the heavy traffic on Marquette Road makes it
difficult for employees and customers to move from the sales building to
the warehouses, especially in the afternoon. Spahn and Rose will also be
increasing its general hardware lines, expanding such areas as plumbing
and electrical, along with paints, cabinet, window and door displays and
fireplaces, said Posten. Spahn and Rose is a complete building service,
offering a complete line of building materials, hardware and power tools
for individuals as well as commercial builders. "We offer free
estimates and free delivery," said Posten, who explained that Spahn and
Rose customers range from "do-it-yourselfers" to commercial
contractors. Spahn and Rose is in its 101st year of business, having
been established in 1904. The company has 25 retail lumber yards in
Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, with the general office located in
Dubuque. Posten projects continued growth for the company as well as the
Prairie du Chien lumber yard, which was purchased by Spahn and Rose in
1991. "There is more and more growth in this area (Prairie du Chien)
every year," he said. "I think there's a lot of potential for more
sales and increased customer base." When it becomes time for Spahn and
Rose to move to the new site, the business will vacate the site that it
currently leases from Steve and Dave Welter of Prairie du Chien. Posten
said that the new site along La Pointe Street will be an excellent
location and that he believes that new retail businesses will also be
locating in the area in the future. Within the last couple of years,
Prairie Motor Sports built a store there and Prairie Fun Land is being
constructed nearby, just up the street. Posten said that Spahn and Rose
hired all local contractors for the construction of the new location.
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