Community

DANE COUNTY–Cleaning up waste from dairy farms and removing phosphorous just got easier for Dane County farmers with the planned construction of a Nutrient Concentration System (NCS) at the Springfield Community Digester on Schneider Rd., north of Middleton.

On Oct. 30 Dane County and AQUA Innovations broke ground on the $1.6 million facility that takes low-solids manure and turns it into liquid fertilizer and clean water through an ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and aeration.

Before the ribbon cutting Chris Lenzendorf, President of AQUA Innovations and Dane County Executive Joe Parisi spoke to a small group at the future site of the NCS. Lenzendorf said of getting the project off the ground,” County Executive Parisi is the only one to do something like this. It has been a long and arduous, and required leadership and diplomacy.”

DANE COUNTY–Dane County’s first federal major disaster declaration in 10 years could potentially bring millions of dollars to flood-ravaged residents and businesses but local officials are advising patience.

Federal assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the August 20 flood that followed a state record-setting downpour.

MIDDLETON–Kevin Schwendinger had to change his bike route slightly due to the flooding in Wisconsin, but rain and flooding couldn’t stop the Dubuque, IA man from continuing on his mission–a 14-day, 650-mile, bike trek to raise human trafficking awareness. 

“There was a bridge out, and I had to reroute around it,” he said on Oct. 4, the night he was staying over in Middleton at Holy Wisdom Monastery.

Kevin planned the trip with his wife Lynn Keffeler-Schwendinger, who joined him on the first few days of the ride, because the couple had become more and more aware of the human trafficking problem not only in the US, but also the Midwest, including their home state. This couple’s previous mission work in Central America also made them want to help trafficking victims close to home.

“We wanted to do something more physical to raise awareness, rather than just talk about it,” Kevin explained.

MIDDLETON–Intercontinental Hotels Group, which owns Holiday Inn, is proposing a 95 room mid-tier hotel at 2350 Deming Way. Developer for the project Luke Stauffacher says despite the 10 hotels already in the area there is an underserved demand for affordable, clean rooms. The developer was looking for feedback from the plan commission which gave positive sentiments but also suggested a few changes.  

Architect for the project from the Knothe & Bruce firm’s Greg Held and Stauffacher introduced the proposal to the plan commission and explained the concept behind Intercontinental’s new brand, Avid Hotels.

Stauffacher said the idea is to target people looking for a clean room with minimal amenities and a lower price than premium hotels. He said over the last 15 years the gap between cheaper hotels and luxury hotels has grown further apart.

MADISON–WTS Paradigm CEO Nate Herbst spoke publicly for the first time since an employee opened fire on his coworkers on Sept. 19, at a press conference at the State Capitol on the morning of Sept. 25.

“It will take time for our WTS family to fully recover and heal, but we are thankful to have the support of each other and the community as a whole,” Herbst said. “We will find the strength to recover and move forward.”

Herbst acknowledged the three victims who were injured in the shooting. 

“Our thoughts are with our three employees injured last week,” Herbst said. “They continue the recovery process. The good news is two are recovering at home and the third, while recovering in the hospital, is doing well and this is great news.”

MIDDLETON–In documents released on Sept 21, new details came out about Anthony Tong, the man shot and killed by police as he wielded a gun at WTS Paradigm, where he was employed, on the morning of Sept. 19. Tong shot four co-workers at the software company, 1850 Deming Way, three critically, and the fourth receiving a minor injury.

The search warrant for Tong’s home at 9738 Gilded Cider Blvd. turned up a pellet gun, gun parts, gun building tools and a stockpile of hundreds of rounds of ammunition. In addition, Tong, 43, was in possession of tactical equipment, including three ballistics vest and helmet. The warrant was made public on Friday, and also states that one of Tong’s coworkers was shot 10 times. 

According to an affidavit from the Sioux Falls, SD Police Department from an incident that occurred on Aug. 11, 2004, Tong should not have been in possession of weapons at all because his concealed carry permit was revoked by a judge.

The Dane County Medical Examiner’s office Thursday identified a Madison man as the person who shot four co-workers Wednesday at WTS Paradigm before law enforcement fatally shot him.

An autopsy identified Anthony Y. Tong, 43, as the shooter. Preliminary results confirmed that he died from firearm-related trauma. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving Wednesday at a local hospital. Additional testing was underway Thursday afternoon.

Middleton Police Chief Charles Foulke has consistently identified the shooter as a Madison man and that a residence in southwest Madison was searched and items seized apparently linked Tong to the offense.

The address searched was reported in the 9700 block of Watts Dr. Madison.

Law enforcement believes that Tong acted alone as there are no indications that anyone else was involved in the incident, Foulke said.

All are invited to the annual service of the historic First Lutheran Church, located at the corner of Old Sauk and Pleasant View Roads scheduled for Sept. 16 at 2 p.m. Pastor Doug Locken, Peace Lutheran Church of Waunakee will lead the service.  A memorial service is held each year in memory of the religious faith of the early farm families who immigrated to the area between 1840-50 and made Middleton their home.

The old white church, known when it was built as “the big white church on the hillside” was erected in 1866. It replaced a log chapel built by early German immigrants in 1854 to the north on Pleasant View Road where an old cemetery still sits on the hillside.  The current building was abandoned in 1947 after many of the congregation chose services at the new St. Luke's in Middleton. It sat empty and derelict until the Lutheran synod gave it to the community in the 1970's and was restored through local effort.  It now serves the area as a historic site. 

MIDDLETON–Young artists can express themselves in an after-school program offered at elementary schools in Middleton, and around Dane County, as part of Young Rembrandts. The class teaches drawing with colored pencil and marker, crayons for the younger kids, and meets once a week, immediately after the end of the regular school day. The six-week class is available for preschool (3 1/2 to five years) and elementary (five to 12 years) students.

“It is purely focused in the skill of drawing,” said Karen Brown, owner of the Young Rembrandts franchise in Madison. “There is just nothing else like it. We really teach children how to by break it down line by line and object by object. That’s how I taught Georgia (her 11-year-old daughter), line by line.”