Local

MIDDLETON–The hopes of a mother are pinned on one California doctor, a leader in researching a particularly difficult and rare cancer. To aid his efforts, former Middleton resident Michelle MacLea, (nee Jolin), has devoted herself fulltime to fundraising for research, creating more treatment options and a cure. 

MacLea’s son, Conner, was diagnosed with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) at the end of his senior year in high school, at age 17. He’s been fighting the disease for over two years.

“It’s a very complicated cancer,” explained MacLea, “and not a matter of if it’s coming back, but when.” 

Currently, the only treatment options are multiple surgeries for recurring tumors or oral chemotherapy. Those whose cancer is inoperable may decide to take part in trials or unproven therapies, MacLea said.

TOWN OF WESTPORT–A group opposed to widening part of CTH M, believe the public will find it so incompatible with existing land use that it will restore interest in building the long dormant North Mendota Parkway. 

Dane County Highway Department is about halfway through a study of expanding CTH M from CTH Q to SH 113 to relieve congestion and reduce vehicle accidents.

Advocates for the North Mendota Parkway, who call themselves A4NMP, prefer that CTH M only be widen from CTH K to SH 113. They oppose widening CTH M to four lanes, adding frontage roads and an expansive median between CTH Q and CTH K. That could take land from the Bishops Bay Golf Course and other pricey property along the roadway.

Many of the 70-some in attendance at meeting last month at Bishops Bay Country Club are already fed up with the commuter congestion on CTH M.

MIDDLETON–Two days, a genre, a line, a character, a prop, and a team of filmmakers are the recipe for a short film in the 48 Hour Film Project, a worldwide competition that tests a team’s moxie along with their editing, writing and filming skills.

The films, which recently premiered at the Bartell Theatre in Madison, are in the process of being judged and the award ceremony and screening has been scheduled for Aug. 17 at Capital Brewery in Middleton.

This year competitors were given a sponge as a prop, a character named Rob or Robyn Sarvis who is a travel specialist, and the line “He told me to ask you”  to be incorporated into the four to seven-minute films. The use of specific elements is to prevent people from pre-writing scripts.

Michael Keeney and Katherine Thompson organized the Madison event. Both have competed in the 48 Hour Film Project, but for the last couple years have turned their attention to running the competition. 

MADISON–Dane County Jail Inmate Michael A. Duarte, age 19, of Wisconsin Dells, has been declared AWOL. 

He is currently serving a probation sentence with work release and was in the process of transferring his work release to the Sauk County Jail. Upon arrival, he failed the Sauk County Jail intake process and was directed to return to the Dane County Jail. After leaving Sauk County, he didn’t report back to the Dane County Jail to serve his sentence.

Duarte is 5’7” tall and weighs 180 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. His last known address is in the Wisconsin Dells/Lake Delton area.

Anyone with information on Duarte’s whereabouts is asked to call 911.

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Police Department respond to a report of an armed robbery on Thursday at 3:35 p.m. at Today’s Trends Salon, located at 6670 University Avenue in the City of Middleton. 

Witnesses described the suspect as a white male with a thin build, stubbly gray facial hair wearing a gray tank top, black athletic shorts and a blue bandana on his forehead. The suspect is missing a lower left tooth. 

The suspect implied he was in possession of a firearm and obtained an undisclosed amount of money. He left the area in a green hatchback vehicle which was parked near the business on Mayflower Drive. 

The police departmetn is asking anyone who may have information or witnessed this incident to contact the police department at 608-824-7300, tipster line at 608-824-7304, or text at 608-824-7300. 

DANE–A GoFundMe account has been set up for a family involved in a tragic farm accident that killed an eight-year-old boy on July 26.

Just after 11 p.m., Dane County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call in the Town of Dane in which Jefferson Rodriquez had thought to have been trampled to death by a cow. Upon arrival, emergency response teams realized the boy had actually been run over by a skid loader driven by his father, Jose Rodriguez Uriarte, while performing farm tasks. The boy, suffered head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene in spite of efforts by the farm owner, law enforcement and EMS. The death was ruled accidental by the Dane County Medical Examiner’s office. 

The boy and his father are both recent immigrants from Nicaragua, and have no other family in the area.

Sunflower Days is underway at Pope Farm Conservancy on Old Sauk Rd. The event, which took a one-year hiatus in 2018, began on July 26 and goes through Aug. 4. Other events are planned at the conservancy in addition to viewing the 10-acre sunflower field. For more information or to buy tickets, visit sunflowerdays.fun. Photos top to bottom: A bee, covered in pollen, works over the head of a sunflower; This sunflower’s petals were in the process of unfurling on July 29, when the blossoms were near peak; Sunlight beams down through the petals of a flower just before sunset; Wanderlynn Photography brought clients JJ Johnson and Cassie Heth, of Milwaukee, to Sunflower Days as one of the locations for their engagement photos. The couple will wed on Dec.

MIDDLETON–Some people have barn quilts on the side of their buildings, but the Pope/Zoerb family has something a little different, a 60-foot banner spans the barn on the family’s property, which sits next to Pope Farm Conservancy.

The bright yellow banner reads: Sunflower Days Should Be Free and Open: ProtectPopeFarmConservancy.com. It’s in protest to the way the Town of Middleton, who resumed the festival this year after the Friends of Pope Farm Conservancy decided not to host the event, is allegedly commercializing the conservancy. The family is also concerned about the use of neonicotinoid treated seed, and is upset with the lack of communication the town has shown, all of which are outlined on the website.

David Zoerb, who is the spokesperson for the Pope/Zoerb family, said that out of frustration with trying to work with the city, and the concerns listed above, the family decided to place the banner to draw attention to their cause. 

MIDDLETON–University Ave., which reopened July 17, underwent a major overhaul spanning from Cayuga Ct. to Park St. that took cooperation from multiple levels of government, businesses, contractors, utility and public safety workers and the patience of thousands of drivers since it began in April. The overhaul includes repair of water and sewer, new traffic signals replacement, major intersection improvements at Parmenter Street, new concrete curb and asphalt pavement.

The $1.5 million construction cost was split between the city and the county each paying half. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi says the project improved public safety. 

“As Dane County grows, it is important that we continue upgrading our roads to maintain public safety,” says Parisi. “These improvements to University Avenue mean safer travel for drivers and pedestrians and a more robust infrastructure for Dane County moving forward.”

MIDDLETON–Sunflower Days at Pope Farm Conservancy on Old Sauk Rd. kicks off today and will run daily through August 4. Due to safety concerns, the event was cancelled last year by the Friends of Pope Farm Conservancy and revived by the Town of Middleton in 2019 after the one-year hiatus. 

To address the concerns the town decided to charge admission to the event and shuttle visitors to and from the 10-plus acre sunflower field. Shuttles will run from Wisconsin Brewing Company, Verona, Middleton Firefighters Memorial Park, Middleton and Blackhawk Church, Middleton (except for Sunday), and transport visitors the short distance to the conservancy. 

The event will feature two speakers: