Local

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:

VERONA–A Madison woman has been identified as the bicyclist killed in a crash with a vehicle Sunday night. Valerie Flogel, 56, was on Military Ridge State Trail going southbound when she failed to yield at a stop sign and collided with a Ford Escape. The Escape, driven by a 34-year-old women was westbound on CTH PD when the Flogel hit the side of the SUV. 

The accident occurred at around 3:45 p.m. on July 21, when Dane County Sherriff’s deputies, Verona Fire and Fitch-Rona EMS responded to the scene. CTH PD was closed for about four hours between Timber Lane and Gust Rd. while authorities investigated the accident. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Team responded to the scene and the crash remains under investigation.  

Flogel was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Escape was not injured. 

VERONA–Dane County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene of a vehicle and bicycle accident on the Town of Verona Sunday afternoon. Just before 4 p.m. on July 21, the accident was reported near the intersection of CTH PD and Timber Lane, at Military Ridge State Trail.

An early investigation by deputies indicated that a Ford Escape, driven by a 34-year-old female, was westbound on CTH PD when the vehicle was stuck by a bicycle. The bicyclist, a 56-year-old-woman, was traveling southbound, and did not stop at the trail stop sign. 

The bicyclist was wearing a helmet at the time and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Escape was not injured.

CTH PD was closed between Timber Lane and Gust Rd. for approximately four hours while law enforcement officials investigated the crash.The Dane County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Team responded to the scene and the crash remains under investigation.  

WASHINGTON DC–The Middleton workplace shooting that took place at Paradigm (then known as WTS Paradigm) on Sept. 19, 2018, was used as part of a study by the US Secret Service regarding mass shootings in the United States. 

The survey, “Mass Attacks in Public Spaces–2018,” produced by the agency’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) examined 27 shootings from Jan.-Dec. 2018. This is only the second year the assessment has been done, with the inaugural study in 2017, which examined 28 shootings. The study required that three or more people had been injured in an incident to be considered a mass shooting–there is no standard definition of “mass shooting” in the US. The study considers public spaces to be anywhere people gather in public, places of worship, shopping malls, schools and the workplace.

CROSS PLAINS–Dane County Sheriff’s deputies arrest two men in connection with a burglary on the afternoon of July 17 in the Town of Cross Plains.

At 12:28 p.m., a neighbor called in a report of a suspicious person near a home on Valley Spring Rd. Deputies noticed damage to the screen of a back door and then saw a man running from the house. Later, a second man was seen running in the same area. 

Deputies found Fred L. Rushing, aged 21, of Madison, at a nearby tavern where he was taken into custody. An ID belonging to Tyrone K. Chrisco-Johnson, aged 28, of Fitchburg, was found inside a Chevrolet Impala at the scene. Deputies searched using a K9 and a UAV (drone), but they were not able to locate the second suspect.  

MIDDLETON–The city’s Cooling Centers Policy is in effect for the next several days during a predicted heat wave that could push temperatures into the mid 90s by the weekend. As an adjunct policy to the City’s Emergency Plan, the city will establish Cooling Centers when the following conditions are met:

Projected prolonged heat or heat index equivalent at or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit; and/or.

• State or Federal emergency advisories concerning heat or heat index; and/or

• Local, State or Federal emergencies that displace citizens from their residences in Middleton during high heat or heat index times; and/or

• Power outages of longer than 12 hours during times of high heat or heat index experience.

• Other times at the discretion of the City’s Emergency Preparedness Coordinator

The following Cooling Centers may be established:

Middleton Police Department located at 7341 Donna Dr.

• 24 hours daily