Local

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Police Department, Fire Department and EMS responded to the 7700 Block of Terrace Drive just after 4 p.m. on Thursday after receiving a call about an elderly woman who fell and hit her head.

While in route to the scene, emergency personnel received further information that the woman, described only as a 77-year-old female, was not breathing and didn’t have a pulse. Responders performed life saving measures on the women but were unable to revive her and she died at the scene.

Upon further investigation, police learned there had been a disturbance between the victim and 27-year-old Thomas J. Wilke, of Middleton. The fatal injuries were a result of the victim being struck by the door of Wilke’s vehicle, knocking her to the pavement as he backed up. Wilke was subsequently arrested and transported to the Dane County Jail on a charge of Homicide by Negligent Operation of a Vehicle.

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Common Council approved the city’s 2022 budget and moved forward with several development projects including a 44-acre subdivision and a four-story multifamily building on Lake Street. The Council also approved a request for proposals for a project with 30 or more affordable housing units on Century Avenue.

The 2022 budget approved by the council increases the assessed value mill rate on the city’s portion of the tax bill by 1.4 percent to $6.25 per $1,000 of property value.

The total tax levy for the general fund is $14,042,426, a 5.1 percent increase, and the city’s 

debt service property tax levy increased by four percent to $5,250,000.

Finance Director Bills Burns noted the change in city tax for an average home valued at $403,450 will be a $34 increase. 

TOWN OF CROSS PLAINS–Dismayed that construction of a power line from Dubuque to the Town of Middleton would begin while it’s being challenged in court, long timeline opponents wanted the public to know Sunday that they were still in the fight.

Opposition to the most contested power line proposal ever in the state didn’t end when the Public Service Commission (PSC) approved construction of the Cardinal-Hickory Creek (CHC) line in August 2019. Environmental groups that opposed it then, continued their opposition in state and federal lawsuits that have recently turned promising for the line’s opponents.

“I’m really glad that a federal judge and a state judge have both indicated that our cases would likely succeed,” Dena Kurt, of Grant County, said Sunday.

Kurt joined a few dozen other power line opponents who gathered at Festge County Park and caravanned to the Cardinal Substation on USH 14.

WISCONSIN–The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announces that children 5-11 years old are now eligible to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech (Pfizer) COVID-19 vaccine. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine requires two doses 21 days apart for full protection and is the first and only vaccine currently available for this age group.

Vaccinations for this age group will begin as soon as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) releases the associated clinical guidance and vaccinators are able to review and complete the necessary trainings. It is important that parents and guardians are patient as Wisconsin vaccinators take the necessary steps to be properly informed and trained before beginning vaccination.

MIDDLETON–The Middleton Common Council approved a $1.2 million TIF agreement for a 54-unit apartment which will include 45 subsidized units for people earning less than the area median income (AMI). The council also got a first look at a new long-term plan from Madison Metro for bus service and approved funding for the design of an asphalt bicycle pump track part of the city’s newly expanding bike and cross country skiing park. 

The affordable housing project, which is part of Tribeca Village, located at3 725 Tribeca Dr., was originally approved by the council in late 2019. The project, titled 38ten and proposed by JT Klein, a local developer specializing in Section 42 tax credit projects, consists of two three-story buildings with a combined total of 125 multi-family units in the Tribeca Village development between Parmenter St. and Tribeca Dr. Ten units would be market rate while the rest would be income-restricted for a period of 30 years.

MADISON–Criminal charges have been referred to the Dane County District Attorney’s Office against Eric N. Mehring, 30, of Madison, for his alleged role the Town of Middleton crash that killed Evan Kratochwill, John “Jack” Miller and Simon Bilessi. The three young men were all seniors in high school, Kratochwill and Miller at Middleton High School, and Bilessi at Madison West High School.

The Dane County Sheriff’s Office is recommending the following charges in the case:

• Second Degree Reckless Homicide (three counts)

• Homicide by Intoxicated Use of a Motor Vehicle (three counts)

• Homicide by Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle (3 counts)

• Second Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety

TOWN OF MIDDLETON–The communities Middleton and Madison are mourning the loss of two Middleton High School seniors and a West Madison High School senior who were killed in the Town of Middleton Saturday night when their vehicle was hit by another vehicle, then burst into flames.

John “Jack” Miller, Evan Kratochwill and Simon Bilessi, who formerly attended Middleton High School, were traveling westbound on Mineral Point Road near Swoboda Road, when their vehicle was rear ended by a 30-year-old man. Authorities have released no further details about the man, who they say is facing pending charges. The vehicle the young men were in came to rest in a field on Mineral Point Road where residents began leaving flowers soccer balls, notes and stuffed animals in their memory.

MIDDLETON–The City of Middleton Plan Commission granted concept approval to proposed residential development with more than 800 homes and multifamily units east of Parmenter Street and north of Graber Pond. The proposal calls for extending Belle Fontaine Boulevard from High Rd. to Parmenter St. creating the main street through the development which would include commercial storefronts.

The plan commission also approved a change to the general building plan for the Bishops Bay neighborhood to allow for a natural cemetery.

The concept proposal for the 44-acre development proposal titled “Belle Farm” at 4887 Parmenter St. returned before the plan commission after being introduced in June and then referred to various city committees.

TOWN OF MIDDLETON–Three people were killed in the Town of Middleton Saturday night when their vehicle was hit by another vehicle, then burst into flames.

At 10:15 p.m., Dane County Sheriff’s Office Deputies, Middleton Fire and EMS, and Madison Fire were dispatched to an injury crash on West Mineral Point Road and Karls Court in the Town of Middleton. 

Their preliminary investigation indicated a vehicle driving eastbound on West Mineral Point Road struck another vehicle in the rear end, sending the struck vehicle into a farm field south of Mineral Point Road.  The vehicle in the farm field became fully engulfed with fire.  

MIDDLETON–The City of Middleton’s fall leaf collection will begin in October and continue through November, weather permitting. Collection will end following the season’s first snow accumulation, but no later than the end of November, when trucks are converted for snow and ice control operations.

Please see the Leaf and Yard Waste Collection Policy at cityofmiddleton.us for a complete description of rules and alternative options and check the city’s Leaves and Garden Waste webpage (https://www.cityofmiddleton.us/360/Leaves-and-Garden-Waste) for weekly progress updates.

In October, priority is given to the final scheduled brush collection for the year. As a reminder, there is no brush collection in November.