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MIDDLETON–About 25 protesters showed up throughout the morning of July 18 to protest Helbachs coffee house in Middleton, which has not been following the public health order requiring masks, which put in place by Public Health of Madison and Dane County (PHMDC).

Armed with signs that read “Masks Save Lives,” “Mask Up” and “Trust Science,” protesters gathered outside of the main entrance to the business beginning at 8 a.m. with the intent of remaining onsite until 2 p.m. when the business closed. The protest was called off at 11 a.m. due to heavy rain and lightning in the area. 

Organizer Tulin Waters said, “It was not surprising that 90 percent of people going in did not have masks, nor did any of the employees. I did get threatened by a man saying he had a gun, and there were two private citizens with guns out watching the door.”

MIDDLETON–Protesters plan to gather outside Helbachs coffee shop during the stores regular business hours to express their opposition to the business not observing the county mask order, which began on Monday.

Helbachs has refused to follow the order, and organizer Tulin Waters said, “To recklessly try to flaunt your personal beliefs during a pandemic in this industry, while numbers are surging is so dangerous, and I want to hand out as much informative flyers as possible to remind people the importance of wearing masks.”

She added that the group would also be protesting the homophobic and xenophobic posts that owners have allegedly made on social media.

The protest will be held for 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on July 18, and the group will be handing out a competitors coffee. There will also be spoken word artists and musicians at the event.

MIDDLETON–Hundreds of people turned out for the United We Stand Against Racism March in Middleton on July 12. The event, which was in support of Black Lives Matter, kicked off at Middleton High School (MHS) with speakers addressing the crowd gathering on the south lawn. Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell spoke to the group before they made their way down Bristol Street, ending at Stone Horse Green downtown.

Mitchell told the collection of educators, students, city officials, police officers and Middleton residents, “We don’t need more white allies, we need white co-conspirators.” He asked that white people band together with people of color to shake up systems that are oppressive.

Mitchell paraphrased Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saying that he wants to see Black people, “judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.” 

TOWN OF MIDDLETON–The Town of Springfield may have a bargaining chip to use against the potential expansion of Middleton Municipal Airport-Morey Field.

In a rare joint virtual meeting of the Town of Middleton and Town of Springfield boards last week, Springfield Town Board Supervisor Dan Dresen suggested that the city of Middleton needs to work with the town on airport issues if the city wants help with storm water runoff. 

“The city wants help with their undersized storm water systems but the only way we’ll work with them is if they work with us on the airport,” said Dresen.

Update:: On July 15, 2020 the Middleton Police Department began investigating a missing person complaint involving 71-year-old Sharon Wachholz of Middleton.  Several dozen first responders and volunteers searched the area, but unfortunately Sharon was found deceased in the Pheasant Branch Conservancy at 9:35 a.m. on the morning of July 16. There was nothing at the scene to indicate that the death was suspicious, and the affected conservancy trail has since re-opened.  

Update: Sharon Wachholz has been located. More details to follow as they become available

MIDDLETON–The United We Stand Against Racism March will be held in Middleton on July 12 at 6 p.m. The event is in support of Black Lives Matter, and is planned as a peaceful demonstration.

Participants will meet at the corner of Franklin and Bristol Streets. Parking is available at the Middleton Aquatic Center and Park Lawn Elementary. Marchers will proceed down Park Street, cross University, then proceed west on Hubbard Avenue. The march will end in downtown Middleton at Stone Horse Green (SHG). Judge Everett Mitchell and Percy Brown, who is the Diversity/Equity administrator for the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District will speak along with other Black community leaders and members of the Middleton High School Black Student Union.

TOWN OF MIDDLETON–The Town Board’s enthusiasm for a cross-country skiing facility proposed north of Pleasant View Golf Course, partly in the town of Middleton, has vanished like a snowball in July.

Three years ago, board supervisors welcomed the prospect of a regional training facility for athletes that could be also used by local skiers. But the Erdman Park Master Plan debated at the board’s virtual meeting Monday night, was viewed as putting the training facility on land annexed into the City of Middleton while leaving the town responsible for the road’s upkeep.

Basically, the city is proposing to put an $8 million recreation center just north of the golf course accessed by an extension of Schwartz Road, said Michael Lawton, an attorney for the town.

The city will annex undeveloped land for the trailhead area and the extension of Schwartz Road. Bollenbeck Acres will grant recreational easements for the ski trails to the west, Lawton said.

CROSS PLAINS–Despite a strong demand from several residents to remove a police officer from Glacier Creek Middle School, the Cross Plains Village Board voted unanimously to renew the school resource police officer contract for another year at their June 30 meeting.

Parents, a Middleton High School teacher and a Fitchburg police detective, with a child in Middleton schools; all said the presence of a police officer has a “negative impact,” particularly on the most vulnerable students.

“The benefits of having a (School Resource Officer) are strongly outweighed by the negative repercussions on students particularly students of color. In this day and age, we need to be careful about the role the SRO plays in the education environment,” said Andrew Hartman, a teacher at Middleton High School (MHS).

Having an officer in school leads to criminalizing behavior typically associated with adolescence, Hartman added.

MIDDLETON–The Middleton City Council rejected the intergovernmental agreement with the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District to provide school resource officers (SRO) for the 2020-21 school year at Middleton High School (MHS) and Kromrey Middle School.

The agreement which was approved at the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District (MCPASD) Board of Education June 22 meeting came under scrutiny from district social workers and staff, alumni, parents and a district formed committee established to address racial equity in student and staff interactions when it was passed in the board’s consent agenda without discussion.

Under the agreement the city provides two officers for MHS and Kromrey and the district reimburses the city for 50 percent of the actual wages, fringe benefits, overtime and related officer compensation incurred over a 10 month period for each SRO. The city’s 2020 budget indicates the district paid the city $87,076.

DANE COUNTY–Effective July 13, at 8 a.m., Public Health Madison & Dane County (PHMDC) is issuing Emergency Order #8, which requires that everyone age five and older wear a face covering or mask when in in any enclosed building where other people, except for members of the person’s own household or living unit, could be present. This requirement applies to all of Dane County. 

“Public health research now shows that face coverings are critical to slowing the spread of COVID-19. Given the current number of COVID-19 infections in our county, we need to all be wearing face coverings every time we leave the house,” said Janel Heinrich, Director of Public Health Madison & Dane County.