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WASHINGTON DC–Sauk Trails Elementary teacher Rebecca Saeman is a recipient of a Presidential Teaching Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), the White House announced on Oct. 15. Four awards are given to teachers in each state and US territory.

Saeman is a mathematics and reading intervention teacher. She worked as a math specialist at Park and Northside starting in 2008, where she worked until 2010. She then worked at both Northside and Sauk Trail. Since 2012, she has been solely at Sauk Trail. She was also a finalist for the award in 2018.

Teachers are nominated for the award by their state’s department of education. The award is given to K-12 teachers along with $10,000 from the National Science Foundation. 

Established in 1983, PAEMST is the highest award given by the US Government to K-12 teachers of mathematics and science, including computer science. Since its inception, more than 4,400 awards have been distributed. 

MADISON–A former Middleton High School student accused last year of sexually assaulting a coed was found not competent to stand trial Friday by Dane County judge.

Circuit Judge Susan Crawford suspended criminal proceedings against Mohammad K. Aldachach, 19, and ordered him to undergo outpatient treatment to restore his competency.

Assistant District Attorney William Brown and Aldachach’s attorney, Mark Eisenberg, each told Crawford that they agreed with conclusion of Craig Schoenecker, M.D., a court-appointed psychiatrist. Schoenecker interviewed the former MHS senior and found that Aldachach couldn’t assist with his defense against charges of second-degree sexual assault of a child.

Aldachach answered, “Yes,” when Crawford asked him if he agreed with the doctor’s assessment of his competency.

Competency reports are confidential.

Editor’s Note: The following story is the first in a two part series regarding the formation of an opposition group to the possible expansion of the Middleton Municipal Airport. The group has filed two open records requests, the first in June and a second in September. 

MIDDLETON–“What’s going on?” was how an opponent of airport expansion characterized why she became involved in the Middleton Area Good Neighbors.

Area residents concerned about the possibility of Middleton’s airport becoming too noisy and busy to live close to formed MAGN this summer as the city began developing its first airport master plan.

Pam Krill, an attorney with Godfrey and Kahn, S.C., which represents the approximate 250 MAGN members, said the group has two goals.

TOWN OF MIDDLETON–After exhausting a three-year accumulation of room tax revenue on the 2019 Sunflower Days, the town of Middleton’s Tourism Commission wanted to see financial projections before committing to hosting the event in 2020.

The town spent $167,643 on the 10-day celebration of sunflower blossoms after taking over the event from the Friends of Pope Farm Conservancy. Expenses came in about $6,000 under budget, Town Administrator Greg DiMiceli said on Sept. 24.

The town used approximately $121,000 in revenue collected during the past three years from a tax on rooms rented at the Quality Inn on Seybold Rd. Ticket sales and sponsorships contributed more revenue but there’s still about $45,000 to “back fill” to break even, DiMiceli said.

MIDDLETON–A raucous response to faulty data supporting a longer runway at a July meeting of Airport Master Plan Advisory Committee has consultants and city staff considering the next move.

In July, Greg Stern, of Mead & Hunt, the airport master plan study’s project manager, showed a slide indicating 84 percent of respondents to a survey of potential users of the Middleton Municipal Airport living in surrounding states preferred a 5,000 to 5,500, foot long runway. Thirty-six percent said the existing 4,000-foot-long runway was adequate.

The audience’s response to that finding and committee members wanting to examine more aspects of the impact from the possible expansion of the airport caused the committee to postpone scheduling of the next meeting.

MADISON–The Madison Fire Department was called to an early morning blaze on Sept. 18 at Cowboy Jack’s, located on John Q. Hammons Dr. Calls were received at the Middleton Fire Company, which was also dispatched, but did not assist because Madison was on the scene. The restaurant lies on the border of Madison and Middleton.

Madison firefighters responded at 3:29 a.m. and fought the fire until about 7:15 in the morning when the last fire company left. 

“We were out there all day because of the investigation, and we had a couple of hot spots, so firefighters were called back to put them out,” said Cynthia Schuster, Public Information Officer for the Madison Fire Department. 

No determination has been made on the cause of the fire, but officials were hoping to have some answers by the end of the week. 

“It looks like a total loss, but ultimately that lies in the hands of the insurance company,” Schuster said.

CROSS PLAINS–A string of burglaries in the Glacier Ridge subdivision during the early morning hours of Sept. 16 are the latest in a rash of burglaries and car thefts that have plagued Dane and surrounding counties for more than two years. 

“There were two homes entered and both had the door leading from the garage into the house unlocked. There were also several vehicles entered throughout the neighborhood. Again the vehicles which were entered were also unlocked,” said Cross Plains Police Chief Tom Janssen. 

In one of the break-ins, thieves used a garage door open they found in an unlocked car to gain access to the home. 

“We continue to warn residents to lock vehicle doors and all windows and doors which lead into the house,” Janssen reminded.

MIDDLETON–Community members are invited to attend a public presentation on Sept. 17 from 12-1 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers (7426 Hubbard Ave.) Planning and design consultants from SEH and EUA will be sharing their draft space needs findings for Middleton' s future downtown community campus. This presentation concludes the first phase of the two-phase downtown community campus planning study. 

A second, brief public presentation and project update will be shared with the Middleton Common Council at their regularly scheduled meeting the evening which will begin at 7 p.m. 

For more information about the Community Campus Planning process, please visit: http://www.ci.middleton.wi.us/ccc

TOWN OF MIDDLETON–In another sign of the crumbling relationship between the Friends of Pope Farm Conservancy and the town board, the Friends group said it will withdraw from maintenance activities at the conservancy.

In an August 15 letter from the Friends to the Town of Middleton board, the volunteer group stated that:

“The Friends have had too many differences with the Town in recent years, and those differences have increased to a point where the Friends no longer wish to be involved with the physical maintenance of the property and the interaction with the Town that it requires.”

Instead, the Friends want to concentrate on the educational activities it has developed with the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD and the public at the 102-acre property on Old Sauk Rd.

DANE COUNTY–The Dane County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help in a death investigation.

On Sept. 7, a decomposing, man’s body was found in the Town of Blooming Grove near some railroad tracks on Underdahl Rd., east of I-39. Deputies responded to a report of the body at 11:48 a.m., and detectives said it was clear the body had been there for an extended period of time. 

The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office is currently leading a death investigation and conducting an autopsy on the body of the unknown man. 

Anyone with information in this case is urged to come forward by calling the Dane County Tip Line at 608-284-6900.