Boots & Sabers

The blogging will continue until morale improves...

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Month: January 2017

Neil Gorsuch

by | 1912, 31 Jan 1717 | , | 6 Comments

Our next Supreme Court Justice. Excellent choice. Kudos, President Trump.

Gorsuch has the typical pedigree of a high court justice. He graduated from Columbia, Harvard and Oxford, clerked for two Supreme Court justices and did a stint at the Department of Justice.

He attended Harvard Law with former President Barack Obama. On Tuesday, Obama’s former ethics czar, Norm Eisen, another classmate, tweeted: “Hearing rumors Trump’s likely Supreme Court pick is Neil Gorsuch, my (and President Obama’s!) 1991 Harvard Law classmate.If so, a great guy!”

Since 2006, he has served on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, in Colorado. His supporters note that he is an outdoorsman who fishes, hunts and skis. On the court, conservatives hope he could become the intellectual heir to Scalia, long the outspoken leader of the conservative bloc.

“The real appeal of Gorsuch nomination is he’s likely to be the most effective conservative nominee in terms of winning over Anthony Kennedy and forging conservative decisions on the court,” said Jeffrey Rosen of the National Constitution Center. “He’s unusual for his memorable writing style, the depth of his reading and his willingness to rethink constitutional principles from the ground up. Like Justice Scalia, he sometimes reaches results that favor liberals when he thinks the history or text of the Constitution or the law require it, especially in areas like criminal law or the rights of religious minorities, but unlike Scalia he’s less willing to defer to regulations and might be more willing to second-guess Trump’s regulatory decision.”

Let the confirmation battle be joined.

Former UWO Chancellor Claims Widespread Knowledge of Illegality

by | 1905, 31 Jan 1717 | , | 1 Comment

Well, well… the plot thickens.

A former UW-Oshkosh administrator says the financial decisions that the University of Wisconsin System is now suing him for making were widely known and once encouraged by UW’s leaders.

That’s the opposite of what UW officials have claimed since they filed a lawsuit earlier this month against UW-Oshkosh’s former chancellor and Thomas Sonnleitner, its chief business officer from 2000 until last year, for using the university’s money and credit to help fund several UW-Oshkosh Foundation building projects.

System leaders said Sonnleitner and the former chancellor, Richard Wells, illegally arranged for the university to provide millions of dollars in funding and write guarantees backing the foundation’s loans for the projects. They described the actions of Wells and Sonnleitner as “isolated behavior” that was done without the knowledge of UW leaders, who said they quickly investigated the financing when they learned about it in 2016.

Hearkening back to my column that was published this morning, neither contradictory claim covers UWO administrators with glory. If the current Chancellor is right and the former Chancellor allegedly committed these illegal transactions on the sly, then it reveals woefully incompetent and/or corrupt oversight at the university. If the former Chancellor’s claims are accurate that he acted with the widespread knowledge and consent of the leadership at the university, then it reveals a poisonous culture that carelessly accepts the illegal and wasteful spending of public funds.

Either way, there’s a problem.

Democrats Hide

by | 1852, 31 Jan 1717 | | 2 Comments

Looks like national Democrats have been taking advice from Wisconsin’s Democrats.

US Senate Democrats are boycotting confirmation votes for two of President Donald Trump’s key cabinet nominees, forcing the votes to be postponed.

Senate committees had been expected to approve several candidates, in the second week of Mr Trump’s presidency.

Democrats said they wanted more information about the financial activities of health nominee Tom Price and treasury pick Stephen Mnuchin.

Mr Trump had earlier said the Democrats were obstructing the political process.

A vote on attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions was also postponed.

It seems that they are looking for an even more remote corner of the Wilderness.

Bosses Getting Personal with Millennials

by | 1556, 31 Jan 1717 | | 0 Comments

Interesting take.

A 2015 study of millennials from consulting firm Deloitte, showed that more than half of the participants surveyed felt that knowing more about their CEO’s experiences in managing work and life would have a positive impact on their feelings about their workplace.

The results show the need for executives to share more personal stories and communicate beyond just company strategy, especially for companies hoping to recruit and retain top, young talent, says Matthew Kohut, co-author of Compelling People, which looks at the qualities that make people influential.

“Warmth is the real distinguisher between who we trust and are loyal to,” says Chris Malone, managing partner at Fidelum Partners, a consulting firm that specialises in tracking customer loyalty. “But it doesn’t show up in transaction records.”

Management by proverbial drunken sailors

by | 0531, 31 Jan 1717 | | 12 Comments

If it weren’t such an insult to drunken sailors… my column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here you go:

Although some substantial progress has been made on reducing taxes in Wisconsin, the state stubbornly remains as one of the highest taxed states in the nation. The cause of exorbitant taxation is extravagant spending.

Wisconsin taxes so much because it spends so much.

While many Wisconsinites like to delude themselves into believing that Wisconsin’s government spends so much in order to maintain an acceptable standard of life, the truth is far less defensible. Wisconsin does spend more than other states as a matter of choice, but it also continues to waste billions of dollars because of flawed priorities, corruption and rank incompetence.

Two recent examples regarding two of the state budget’s largest spending items have bubbled to the surface.

Last week, the Legislative Audit Bureau released an audit of the Department of Transportation that paints a picture of a department rife with sloppy work and frivolous spending. One finding was that the DOT was utterly incompetent at providing cost estimates for projects. In one example, of the agency’s 16 ongoing projects, the DOT underestimated the cost by $3.1 billion. The audit cites the agency’s failure to account for inflation, meet performance goals or control expenses as reasons for the bloated costs.

The audit goes on to detail the DOT’s poor reporting practices that thwart adequate oversight, the repeated failure to get competitive bids on projects and careless management. The result is despite increased spending in the past few state budgets, the state’s roads are in increasingly worse condition.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit stemming from a State Department of Justice investigation alleges illegal financial dealings at the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh. According to the lawsuit filing, former UW-O Chan-cellor Richard Wells and retired UW-O Vice Chancellor of Administrative Services Tom Sonnleitner worked together to make illegal financial guarantees and use taxpayer dollars for building projects being done by the UW-O Foundation.

The UW-O Foundation is a nonprofit group that raises private money to spend on things to support the university. As part of their investment initiatives, the foundation invested in several local building projects including a conference center, two biodigesters, a sports complex and a Best Western hotel. The foundation hopes to gain a profit from the investments since these are mostly private, for-profit, enterprises.

But the foundation did not have enough money for the investments, so the lawsuit alleges the former UWO Chancellor guaranteed the loans and provided taxpayer money to the tune of $11 million to get the projects done. That is illegal. As the fallout from the lawsuit unfolds, the UW-O Foundation is considering filing for bankruptcy, which would leave the taxpayers on the hook for even more millions.

Both the stories regarding the Department of Transportation and UW-O are revealing in that the behavior has gone on for years — even decades — without anyone blowing the whistle. And even now, the wasteful and possibly illegal behavior continues unabated. Just because the Legislative Audit Bureau released a scathing report and a lawsuit has been filed does not mean that anything has changed. Nobody has been held accountable. There is a pervasive cavalierness in much of government about spending our money.

These are just two small windows into the workings of our government that show billions of dollars’ worth of wasteful spending. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Department of Transportation and the University of Wisconsin System are also two of the loudest recipients of taxpayer dollars that are crying poor and demanding even more tax dollars from the next budget.

Wisconsin continues to have a tax problem as a direct result of its spending problem. And unless state leaders get control of the bureaucracy, enforce rigid accountability for mismanagement, and infuse a culture of frugal stewardship, Wisconsin will continue to have a spending problem for the foreseeable future.

 

 

More Money Does Not Necessarily Equal Better Education

by | 2114, 30 Jan 1717 | | 1 Comment

Once again the evidence is that more money does not automatically lead to better educational outcomes.

MacIver News Service | January 30, 2017

[Washington, D.C…] A new report from the federal Institute of Education Sciences has revealed that the Obama administration’s School Improvement Grant (SIG) program failed to create any academic gains for students. The controversial grant program spent $7 billion over eight years, and was the largest-ever federal investment in failing schools.

Then-Education Secretary Arne Duncan promised that the major effort would turn around 5,000 failing schools through a series of incentives. Duncan declared it to be the administration’s biggest bet.

Now we know – as some have been warning for years – that the schools which received federal dollars posted no significant differences in academic outcomes, graduation rates, or college enrollment than the schools which received no money under the program.

May we please dispense with the false equivalence that more money leads to better education? Once a minimum threshold of funding is met, any additional expenditure should only be tolerated if it can be proven to improve outcomes.

President Fires Acting Attorney General

by | 2039, 30 Jan 1717 | , | 1 Comment

Well, that was quick. It’s nice to see some immediate accountability. And yes, this was the appropriate response when a subordinate openly and publicly defies the boss.

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates Monday night for “refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States,” the White House said.

“(Yates) has betrayed the Department of Justice,” the White House statement said.
Dana Boente, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, has been named new acting attorney general, the White House said.

Acting Attorney General Defies President

by | 1943, 30 Jan 1717 | , | 3 Comments

I don’t recall this ever happening before.

The US acting attorney general has told the justice department not to defend President Trump’s immigration order.

Sally Yates, appointed chief legal adviser by Mr Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, said she was not “convinced” the order was lawful.

The president’s ban on nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries sparked street protests in the US and abroad.

Last time I checked, the AG is an advocate for the government – not a judicial body. This reeks of political and personal posturing to me. After all, what does she have to lose? She’ll be out of a job and looking for her next opportunity in a few days. Look for Yates to be celebrated as a hero of the Left and land a cushy position somewhere.

Humphries Supported Walker Opponent

by | 1848, 30 Jan 1717 | , | 2 Comments

He’s sure campaigning like a conservative now, but it’s difficult to reconcile that with his apparent opposition to the single-most empowering education reform to come out of the legislature in generations.

State superintendent candidates backed by mostly conservatives once donated money to a former opponent of Gov. Scott Walker, campaign finance records show.

John Humphries, a former Dodgeville School District administrator, donated $35 to Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett’s campaign against Walker during the 2012 recall election.

The donation came after Humphries also signed the 2011 petition that triggered the recall after the passage of Act 10, Walker’s signature law…

Anti-Trump Folks Creating Own Future

by | 0659, 30 Jan 1717 | , | 3 Comments

Interesting take.

But lately I get the feeling that Trump’s critics have evolved from expecting Trump to be Hitler to preferring it. Obviously they don’t prefer it in a conscious way. But the alternative to Trump becoming Hitler is that they have to live out the rest of their lives as confirmed morons. No one wants to be a confirmed moron. And certainly not after announcing their Trump opinions in public and demonstrating in the streets. It would be a total embarrassment for the anti-Trumpers to learn that Trump is just trying to do a good job for America. It’s a threat to their egos. A big one.

And this gets me to my point. When millions of Americans want the same thing, and they want it badly, the odds of it happening go way up. You can call it the power of positive thinking. It is also the principle behind affirmations. When humans focus on a desired future, events start to conspire to make it happen.

I’m not talking about any new-age magic. I’m talking about ordinary people doing ordinary things to turn Trump into an actual Hitler. For example, if protesters start getting violent, you could expect forceful reactions eventually. And that makes Trump look more like Hitler. I can think of dozens of ways the protesters could cause the thing they are trying to prevent. In other words, they can wish it into reality even though it is the very thing they are protesting.

In the 3rd dimension of persuasion, the protesters need to be proven right, and they will do whatever it takes to make that happen. So you might see the protesters inadvertently create the police state they fear.

Venezuela Delays Issuing Passports

by | 2031, 29 Jan 1717 | | 1 Comment

Meanwhile, in Venezuela…

EVERY weekday morning, a queue of several dozen forlorn people forms outside the dingy headquarters of SAIME, Venezuela’s passport agency. As shortages and violence have made life in the country less bearable, more people are applying for passports so they can go somewhere else. Most will be turned away. The government ran out of plastic for laminating new passports in September. “I’ve just been told I might need to wait eight months!” says Martín, a frustrated applicant. A $250 bribe would shorten the wait.

As desperation rises, so does the intransigence of Venezuela’s “Bolivarian” regime, whose policies have ruined the economy and sabotaged democracy. The economy shrank by 18.6% last year, according to an estimate by the central bank, leaked this month to Reuters, a news agency (see chart). Inflation was 800%.

Waging Intellectual Battle While Unarmed

by | 1953, 29 Jan 1717 | , | 9 Comments

There has been a notable decline in the quality of debate. I just assumed it was me getting older and less patient with stupidity.

Much attention has been given to the non-college-educated voters who rallied to Trump. Insufficient attention is given to the role of the college miseducated. They, too, are complicit in our current condition because they emerged from their expensive “college experiences” neither disposed nor able to conduct civil, informed arguments. They are thus disarmed when confronted by political people who consider evidence, data, and reasoning to be mere conveniences and optional.

Russia Decriminalizes Domestic Abuse

by | 1945, 29 Jan 1717 | , | 35 Comments

Yikes.

But not in Russia, where the Duma (parliament) voted this week to decriminalise domestic violence against family members unless it is a repeat offence or causes serious medical damage. The change is part of a state-sponsored turn to traditionalism during Vladimir Putin’s third presidential term. It has exposed deep fault lines. Many Russians now embrace the liberal notion of individual rights, but others are moving in the opposite direction.

Activists warn that decriminalisation will legitimise abuse. “The overall message to Russian citizens is that domestic violence isn’t a crime,” says Andrei Sinelnikov of the Anna Centre, a violence-prevention charity.

Legal Residents Allowed In

by | 1936, 29 Jan 1717 | | 0 Comments

And there you go.

Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly declared “the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest” in a Sunday evening statement.

“Accordingly, absent the receipt of significant derogatory information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, lawful permanent residence status will be a dispositive factor in our case-by-case determinations.

Meijer Hiring

by | 1835, 29 Jan 1717 | | 0 Comments

Great.

Big box retailer Meijer is hiring 600 people for its two new stores opening in Greenfield and West Bend.

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer is seeking candidates in all departments for its new stores, which are expected to open in late spring.

There are 300 positions at each store including clerks, cake decorators, customer service, cashiers, receiving and meat cutters.

Starting pay will be based on experience level and specific skills. Meijer employees have access to health insurance options can contribute to the 401(k) retirement planning.

More Rapes Alleged at Baylor

by | 1818, 29 Jan 1717 | | 0 Comments

Yikes.

A former Baylor University student who says she was raped by two football players filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the school that alleges there were dozens more assaults of women involving other players.

The lawsuit by the student, who is listed in the documents only as “Elizabeth Doe,” alleges at least 52 rapes by more than 30 football players over a four-year period.

It also alleges a “culture of sexual violence” and describes her 2013 attack by two players. It doesn’t detail the other alleged attacks, but says some were recorded by the players, who shared them with friends.

Fifty-two assaults would dramatically increase the 17 reports of sexual and physical attacks involving 19 players since 2011 previously acknowledged by Baylor officials.

The school faces at least five lawsuits from women who allege they were attacked and that the school failed to protect them or ignored their complaints.

The nation’s largest Baptist university has been gripped by the on-going scandal that led to the firing of football coach Art Briles and the departure of school President Ken Starr in 2016

Route 60 Reliever Route to be Discussed Tuesday

by | 1656, 29 Jan 1717 | | 1 Comment

This debate is heating up again.

Washington County Administrator Joshua Shoemann, tells FOX6 News at the request of the Hartford Area Development Cooperation, the county is once again revisiting the possibility of adding a reliever route to Highway 60.

“The county board asked us to take a look at where the best route was. It happened to be right here on Highway K through the unincorporated Town of St. Lawrence,” said Schoemann.

The request was made in 2016, but it’s been brought up time and time again since the 70s. The proposal is to build a new road to ease congestion. That has many worried it could risk the future of area landmarks, like the Little Red Inn restaurant.

“I get asked constantly about this project; there is a lot of concern if the building is going to stay here. It’s very historical to customers and important to them,” said Little Red Inn Manager, Miranda Stewart.

Even more concerned are farmers who fear the project could take away acres of their land.

“It’s a very big deal. There’s no land around, we are close to the city and it’s all developed. We need land and it’s just not around here,” said Curtiss Becker, Becker Dale Farms.

[…]

A listening meeting is happening Tuesday, January 31st at 6:30 p.m. inside Hartford Town Hall, where there will be opportunity for public comment.

The argument is basically this… Hartford’s industrial park and commercial center lies on the west side of town. This required the businesses there, and pass-through traffic, to run their trucks through the middle of Hartford on Highway 60 to get to Interstate 41. This creates noise and congestion in the city and delays and frustration for the drivers. To relieve this, some folks want a reliever route around the north side of town. Essentially, it would be a partial loop with free traffic flow between the interstate and the west side of town.

The downside is two-fold. First, the reliever route would require the purchase and destruction of farmland and homes. Second, the reliever route would be expensive. The State of Wisconsin has already rejected the project, so Washington County taxpayers would foot the bill if the project moves ahead.

Overall, I think the return for this project is exceedingly dubious. Some of the proponents argue that the reliever route will spur economic development. I’m skeptical about that claim. If access to the interstate is the driver for economic development, then there are still plenty of open areas with ready access to I-41 and within a convenient drive from Hartford, Slinger, Jackson, Germantown, and other communities in Washington County. If the County is looking for a place to spur development, an expensive highway project to funnel activity to the west side of Hartford seems like a poor use of taxpayer resources.

Trump Temporarily Bans Travelers From 7 Nations

by | 1022, 29 Jan 1717 | , | 7 Comments

This seems significant.

The new Republican president on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries. He said the moves would protect Americans from terrorism, in a swift and stern delivery on a campaign promise.

I admit that since the media and left has been in a constant state of outrage since Trump was elected, I have difficulty discerning what is truly worthy of outrage. In this case, I don’t see very much to be outraged about.

The ban is temporary as the DHS crafts more stringent vetting protocols. It only applies to nations that are rife with terrorists who want to kill Americans. OK, seems good so far. There is no inherent right for people to come to America and it is certainly prudent to do what we can to weed out people who want to kill us.

There does seem to be confusion over the reach of Trump’s order. It is being applied to prevent legal residents from reentering the U.S., but in reading the actual order, I don’t see any grounds for that application. If the intent was for it to apply equally to legal residents of the U.S., then that portion of it is wretched policy unworthy of our nation. If it is a misapplication of the order, then Trump needs to act quickly to make that clear.

Around the Bend by Judy Steffes

by | 0947, 28 Jan 1717 | | 0 Comments

Man who fell on ice has died

 Neighbors in Barton mourned the loss of Jeff Dolde, 61, this week after word came he fell on the ice and spent the overnight outdoors. Dolde died a week after being hospitalized.

On January 17, WashingtonCountyInsider.com reported Dolde, locally known as Schnapps, fell on the ice just outside Bagg End Tavern.

Dolde was walking Monday evening. Friends said he apparently could not get up and every time he tried he slid further from the road. Dolde reportedly hit his head and was found in the snowbank outside the closed tavern the next morning.

Dolde was taken to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. Friends said he was walking and talking and appeared to be recovering. Word came Tuesday, Jan. 24 that he died.

Services will be held at a later date.

Rev. Haines appointed Auxiliary Bishop by Milwaukee Archdiocese

Former St. Frances Cabrini priest Rev. Jeffrey Haines has been appointed by Pope Francis as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Details from the Archdiocese are below.

Milwaukee native Fr. Jeffrey R. Haines has been appointed by Pope Francis as Auxiliary Bishops for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.  The appointments were announced in Rome, January 25, and Haines will be ordained bishop by Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.  The ordination date has not been announced, but should be within the next five-to-eight weeks.

“Praised be Jesus Christ; this is a proud moment for the Church in southeastern Wisconsin,” Archbishop Listecki said.

Auxiliary bishops serve the Church by assisting the archbishop in the pastoral and spiritual leadership of the archdiocese.  They assist the diocesan bishop in his role as shepherd – teaching, leading, serving and celebrating the sacraments with the people of God.

“I always have considered the vocation of priestly ministry in the Church to be the greatest of gifts, because each and every day I am blessed with the opportunity to proclaim the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ in Word and Sacrament and thus encounter Him in the people I serve,” said bishop-elect Haines.

“This ‘new calling’ as an Auxiliary Bishop brings the grace-filled opportunity to expand the parameters of this joyful service to the whole archdiocese.  I am profoundly humbled by this calling and keenly aware of my shortcomings, but I find strength and inspiration in the powerful presence and vitality of the Holy Spirit emerging in the implementation of our recent Archdiocesan Synod.  I look forward to assisting Archbishop Listecki in fulfilling the pastoral priorities of this mission.  I give praise to God and thanksgiving to His Holiness Pope Francis for the honor of this Episcopal appointment.”

Bishop-elect Haines, 58, was ordained to the priesthood on May 17, 1985, by Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B., and is currently serving as Rector and Pastor of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee.

After ordination in 1985, Father Haines was appointed Associate Pastor of St. Nicholas in Milwaukee. In 1996, he was appointed pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Parish in West Bend.  He was granted temporary leave to study canon law at Catholic University in 2002.  In 2003, he returned as Pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Parish in West Bend, and was given additional responsibility as assisting priest of Immaculate Conception/St. Mary’s, West Bend in 2004.  In 2011, he was appointed Rector of the Cathedral.

Ooh La La… accessories closing

After nearly 8 years in business Ooh La La…. accessories in downtown West Bend is closing.

Shop owner Kim Riley posted this note: “We are saddened to say that Ooh La La… accessories will be retiring our West Bend location.

It has been a true honor to be part of the West Bend community and business district. We have been blessed to have such wonderful friends come into our lives over the past 8 years! We hope to continue our friendships at our Menomonee Falls location. It is still our mission to help you with “adorable and affordable” fashion accessories.

Also, I want to assure everyone that gift certificates you may have from West Bend are always welcomed at our Menomonee Falls store. Thank you all for your friendship and love. Sincerely, Kim Riley

Downtown WB Theatre will be featured Sunday on CBS 58

This Sunday the downtown West Bend Theatre will be featured in a story on CBS 58. Photojournalist Dan Blanchard spent some time on N. Main Street this week talking to a couple of entities involved in the debate over the future of the theatre.

The facility is owned by neither party but plans have been drawn up and funding has been raised by at least one party. Mayor Kraig Sadownikow was interviewed for the piece, although the city has zero to do with the project since the building is privately owned.

Claire Rolfs was also interviewed for the piece about her proposal to keep the facade of the building and take the back end and make it into an open-air amphitheater.

Slinger grad named Big 10 Conference Field Athlete of the Week

Slinger High School alum Kiley Sabin is making a name for herself in the college ranks. The 2014 grad is a sophomore thrower on the University of Minnesota women’s track & field team.

This week the 20-year-old Sabin was named the Big Ten Conference Field Athlete of the Week after breaking Minnesota’s program record in the shot put to lead the Gophers to an 82-80 win over Wisconsin in the third-annual Minnesota-Wisconsin Dual.

Sabin threw 17.17m (56-04.00) to win the shot put, improving on one of Minnesota’s oldest program records by nearly two feet.

When Sabin was in high school she was already making her mark, not only athletically but also academically. The 4-time track-and-field letter winner was on National Honor Society and German National Honor Society. Sabin owns Slinger school records in the shot put (46-2) and the discus (143-0).

Students from Holy Angels, Cabrini and St. Mary’s attend March for Life in D.C.

This week a delegation of 17 students and 5 chaperones from the West Bend Catholic Churches of Holy Angels, Saint Frances Cabrini, and St. Mary’s Immaculate Conception attended the National March for Life in Washington, D.C. The March for Life is an annual event that “provides all Americans with a place to testify to the beauty of life and the dignity of each human person.”

Catholic Schools Week Jan. 29 – Feb. 4 – the value of a parochial education

Catholic Schools Week is about to get underway across Washington County as schools participate in Mass, dress-up day and the naming of the winner of the Mother Cabrini award. On that note we reached out to graduates of parochial schools in the community to get their reflections on how a Catholic School education impacted their life.

Ann Enright: I attended Holy Trinity Catholic School, Kewaskum, from 1951-1959.  Our teachers were nuns from the order of The Sisters of St. Agnes. Their motherhouse was and still is in Fond du lac, WI.

There were four classrooms with two grades per room.  The nuns were pious about their faith, well educated and loved their jobs. They expected respect and students to work up to their abilities, no less.

Demanding quality personal effort was a motivator for me which I have continued to apply in my careers as wife, mother, real estate broker and citizen.

English, History and Geography were my favorite subjects.  High School classes were a breeze because I had such a good foundation.   I think I can still diagram a sentence and say most of the Gettysburg Address thanks to those nuns.

Religion was taught with enthusiasm and that enthusiasm has remained with me to the present.  I am still learning and taking Bible classes.

Jayne A Peplinski: I feel very blessed I was able to attend a Catholic School.  The education I received was fantastic.  I was able to attend higher-level classes in high school because of it. I also am grateful for the religious education I received. It wasn’t just in religion class, but in all classes.

They incorporated the importance of being kind to each other and treating others like we would treat ourselves into each lesson. I believe this has helped me throughout my life. It was such a wonderful experience for me that my husband and I moved back to West Bend many years ago so all of our 5 children could attend the school I did; St Frances Cabrini.  I have thanked my parents many times for their sacrifice to send me and all my siblings to a Catholic school.

Updates & tidbits

–There will be ice racing on Wallace Lake to raise money for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Washington County is Sunday, Feb. 12 at Eddie’s Lake House (formerly Pier 144) at 7138 Highway 144 N, West Bend. Southwest side of the lake. Spectators watch for free, beverages and food available.

–It’s been a beehive of activity at the new Mad Max, 1229 S. Main St. in West Bend. The gas station/convenience store/coffee shop opened Friday morning.

-Good news for the Walk for a Cure for Diabetes held at Ridge Run Park in West Bend. The American Diabetes Association ranked the walk No. 11 in the 2016 Top 20 list of Community Walk Events.  Dave Reed organizes the event.  In three years it has raised $2,164.  “This is a real grassroots effort and the people who are involved are normally touched by diabetes,” said Reed.

-United Way of Washington County will hold its annual celebration Thursday, Feb. 2 at the West Bend Mutual Insurance Prairie Center. Watch for a new 2017 campaign chair to be announced.

-There’s a group deploying to Afghanistan from the National Guard and a ceremony will be held Feb. 2 in West Bend. Either Gov. Scott Walker or Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch will be in attendance.

–  This year’s West Bend Youth Football Fundraiser, “The Washington County Beer Tasting” is Friday, Feb. 3 2017 at Washington County Fair Park.

-On Feb. 8 the City of West Bend will be hosting a Community Blood Drive at City Hall from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. The American Red Cross remains in the midst of a severe blood shortage and has issued an

-West Bend West H.S. alum Jamie Griffin rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange this week. Griffin, who graduated Class of 1999, is executive director with Women in Bio, Inc.

-The City of West Bend officially has a new clerk in office. During Monday night’s Common Council meeting Megan Gundrum swore in Stephanie Justmann.

– Casa Tequila will host the viewing party for the Borden family as they will be featured on Family Feud on Feb 6 on WVTV Channel 18. The show starts at 6 p.m. Liz Borden advises people get there by 5:30 p.m. if they want to purchase tacos or drinks.

-The Family Adventure Pool at the Kettle Moraine YMCA reopened this week. The pool was recently cleaned, the deck stained and new play features including a bulldozer slide were added.

-Longtime Assistant County Attorney Brad Stern has been appointed the new Washington County Attorney.  Stern has served as an Assistant County Attorney since 2004.

-I was leaving the West Bend Public Library the other day and a man held open the door for me. I recognized him but just couldn’t remember his name.

Me: Thank you. How are you?

Man: Good, how are you?

Me: Good.

Man: I ran into your husband the other day.

Me: Really? ..said genuinely surprised. Did you tell him he should come home?

WWI nurse Thecla Richter from West Bend              By Lee Krueger

Resident historian Lee Krueger is looking to highlight his great aunt Thecla Richter, who served as a nurse during WWI.

During the years after “The Great War” Thecla Richter was asked to make a number of presentations telling about her time in France as a Red Cross Nurse.  The following introduction to one of these talks was written by Edith Heidner, noted West Bend historian and good friend of Ms. Richter.

World War I started in 1914. At that time the countries involved included Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain. Assisting Great Britain were her colonies which included Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Canada. The year of 1916 was a horrible year in the War with a staggering loss of life. The battles of Verdun and Sommes, alone, had resulted in over two million casualties. It appeared that this horrific loss of life would continue into 1917.

The United States did not enter the war until April 6, 1917. After the declaration of war it would take a number of months to organize the U.S. effort and to get troops and supplies ready to be deployed to Europe.

Small groups of civilians could react more quickly and, immediately after our country’s declaring war on Germany, a group of doctors affiliated with Northwestern University organized a medical unit to give service during this World War.

Representatives of this group were sent to the various hospitals associated with Northwestern University to obtain volunteers to join the unit.  The personnel of this newly formed unit were to consist of 35 doctors, 60 nurses and 200 enlisted men.

The newly formed medical team was on its way to Europe within a month.  But, because there were no American units on European soil, the deployment plan had the group joining the Red Cross, being assigned to and working with British units that were already deployed.

This Red Cross medical unit included Thecla Richter, a West Bend nurse, who felt the need to serve her country and who had recently graduated from the Northwestern University School of Nursing.

History photo – Celebrating Catholic Schools Week

As we prepare to celebrate Catholic Schools Week we take a look at Holy Angels classroom from 1941. Photo courtesy Karen Halverson.12

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