Pages From the Past: Year in Review 2009 - Sussex-Lisbon Area Historical Museum

Pages from the Past

Year in Review Top 10 of 2009

Posted: Living Sussex Sun, Dec. 29, 2009 12:22 p.m.

In Sussex Sun territory, elections heated things up early in the year. Sussex also welcomed the addition of an upgraded public safety building that also serves Lisbon and Merton. And a few in Lisbon began a quest to upgrade the town to a village. Here are some notables from 2009:

1 Election campaigns in Lisbon and Sussex heated up between incumbents and challengers in each community exchanging charges and counter charges. Former Village President Mike Knapp filed a complaint with the Waukesha County District Attorney’s office that his opponent, incumbent Village President Tony Lapcinski has violated the state’s open meeting and open records laws. District Attorney Brad Schimmel was already involved in investigations of similar charges in the Town of Lisbon.

2 And the elections didn’t fizzle in Lisbon as Incumbent Town Chairman, Michael Reed, was defeated by Supervisor Matt Gehrke. Incumbent Joe Osterman defeated Ron Fricke. In Sussex, Tony Lapcinski defeated former Village President Mike Knapp.

3 Things kept moving around the area as a roundabout was approved and constructed at the intersection of Highways Q and 164 which was long known as a dangerous intersection.

4 Citizen’s group, Lisbon-inc.org, continued requests to town officials for help funding incorporation to a village.

5 More patrols and security cameras just might wipe out repeated graffiti on the trestle over Highways 74 and VV, only time will tell.

6 The indoor sports complex planned across from Templeton Middle School continued to grow and change in 2009. It now is approved at 147,760 square feet.

7 The Highway J Citizens Group celebrated victory in halting the four-lane expansion of Highway 164. This decision could extend into years to come impacting future road projects in the state.

8 In business news, earlier in the year Quad Graphics announced the layoff of 400 workers. However later in the year, on a brighter note, printing company Lauterbach Group moved into its new Sussex facility. Aldo Madigrano consolidated his beer business by buying out his WOW Distributing partners putting everything into his new company Beer Capitol which will move operations to Sussex.

9 The area bid farewell to many friends and leaders among them are: James L. “Jim” Heck, Henry Nagy, Roberta J. “Bert” Mottl, Patty Jo Kundert, Oscar Grieb, Cornelius C. “Slim” Strobel and Mark Spranger.

And the year wrapped up with warm fuzzies coming from the Village of Lannon after the community worked together to bring Christmas back. Also around the area businesses, students and residents worked to send love and holiday wishes to troops overseas as well as unite to support the local food pantry and other charities.
January

Posted: Living Sussex Sun, Dec. 29, 2009 11:48 a.m.

Top stories

•The prospect for construction of a new 130,000 square foot indoor sports complex being built on Silver Spring Road near Templeton School was improved when an Arlington Heights, Ill., investor expressed an interest in the project.

•Quad Graphics announced the lay off of 140 jobs nationwide, mostly in its Quad Tech and prepress divisions in Wisconsin but the company did not say which jobs would be eliminated in the five plants in the state.

•Two associate principals were hired by the Hamilton School District Board of Education. Keith Nerby will serve at Hamilton High School while Tara Villalobos serves at Woodside Elementary School.

•Meissner Family Farm LLC, owners of 78 acres on the corner of Lake Five and Silver Spring Roads, abandoned their plans for a controversial residential and commercial development on the site and listed the property for sale with Judson and Associates.

•Menomonee Falls officials warned they may exercise their authority to veto some Town of Lisbon development projects unless the communities can reach an agreement on land use and zoning in the town within 1 and ½ miles of the village’s borders.

May extra
Real estate taxpayers in the Town of Lisbon and Village of Sussex appeared before the town and village Boards of Review asking
that their real estate assessments be lowered because the national recession had depressed the value of residential property. The taxing officials rejected the request pointing state law requires assessments be based on values established on Jan. 1, 2009 even though those values did not reflect existing market conditions.
June
Posted: Dec. 29, 2009
Top stories
• Officials of the Village of Sussex and Town of Lisbon said they had failed to reach an agreement intended to provide water to 57 town residents on Maple Avenue whose private wells were damaged apparently by nearby quarry blasting.
• The Town Board agreed to allow the town’s sanitary district to expand its sewer service to include 600 acres of land along Highway 164 that could be residentially developed.
• Village trustee Pat Tetzlaff spear headed an effort by village and Town of Lisbon officials to clean up the Bug Line Recreational Trail.
• Construction began on a $1.2 million roundabout at the intersection of Highways Q and 164.
• Town Chairman Matt Gehrke said he did not believe the town board should endorse a citizens group’s effort to upgrade the community’s form of government from town to village.
June extra
Municipal lawyers and local law enforcement officials considered whether additional local gun laws might necessary because of an opinion issued by the Wisconsin Attorney General that said law-abiding citizens could carry unconcealed side arms.
July
Posted: Dec. 29, 2009
Top Stories
• The Town of Lisbon puts a stop to seeking Sussex municipal water for the Lisbon Lawns and Winfield Acres subdivisions off Maple Avenue. The decision put the ball back in Halquist’s court after homeowners claimed that a blast contaminated the drinking water. A Halquist spokesman said the matter has now become private between homeowners and the company. Halquist Stone Co. agreed to build deep community wells homeowners would share.
• The Sussex Lions Club celebrates 70 years of service. After its first meeting April 18, 1939, the Sussex Lions Club became a factor in Sussex and Lisbon both as an aid to the vision impaired and for various civic improvements.
• Price Transportation Co. trucking business in Sussex for 20 years, moves to Germantown partly as a result of a land-use flap between the Town of Lisbon and Village of Menomonee Falls.
• Lisbon officials voted to require nearly all of its full-time employees to take four unpaid furlough days in an effort to make up for the anticipated $43,800 revenue shortfall in 2009. The furloughs only accounted for $12,500 of the shortfall, officials planned to make cuts in other areas like gasoline and diesel.
July extra
Sussex resident Jay Feuerstein is among those trending toward a greener lifestyle. Feuerstein had a geothermal heating and cooling system installed in his new home which is double costs of a normal heating and cooling system but is 400 percent more efficient.
August
Posted: Dec. 29, 2009
• Former Sussex politician and supporter of purchasing land for the Sussex Village Park, Oscar Grieb, died July 25 at age 80. It was reported in the Aug. 5 Sun that Grieb was recognized for his leadership not only with the Village but also as a member of the Hamilton School District Strategic Planning Committee.
• Attendance is up for the second annual timeline event at Lisbon Community Park. Because of the significant increase town officials said they’re ready to make it an annual event. History re-enactors spent the weekend in their encampments providing visitors with demonstrations and information about the time period they were re-enacting.
• Sussex was seeking a 2 percent increase in the charge for water. Public Works Committee Chairman Jason Wegner said the village was applying for the increase “to make up for a $26,000 shortfall” in the village water utility’s budget. He also said the village was looking to make small increases every year to avoid big increases every several years.
• Sussex officials repealed an ordinance that required the village administrator to live in Sussex. Trustees approved the measure 5 to 1 agreeing that the old rule was archaic and that the job should be treated the same way it would in the business world. Trustee Greg Goetz was the lone no vote. Goetz said he preferred to have an administrator who had a stake in the village because he or she lived there.
• Developers for a proposed multi-use sports facility to be located across from Templeton Middle School revived their proposal increasing the facility’s footprint from 119,000 to 128,000 square feet. Managing member of the project Dale Bianco, said the sports facility will be a destination that will bring in ancillary developments to the village.
August extra
The annual Friends of the Pauline Haass Library Ice Cream Social held Aug. 6, continued to be a screaming success. More than 2,000 dishes were handed out to the community. The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department, Sussex-Lisbon Area Historical Society, Lisbon and Sussex Fire Rescue and Accompany of Kids entertained the crowd.
September
Posted: Dec. 29, 2009
Top stories
• Longtime Sussex resident and mechanic, Cornelius C. “Slim” Strobel, died at age 79. Strobel and Martin Johnson bought a mechanic shop, Sussex Auto, on Main Street in 1963 which is still run by Strobel’s son, Nick. Strobel also sponsored softball teams that played at Village Park. He was remembered as a strong supporter of his team and would often have pitchers of beer ready for an after-game party.
• Label printing, packaging and converting company, Lauterbach Group Inc., relocates its headquarters off Miller Way. Lauterbach received silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for its building.
• Lisbon Plank Road School hosted is second all-school reunion Sept. 11. Thirty-five former students visited Halquist Stone Company and took a trip through their old one-room school building which is now used by Halquist as a visitor center and mini rock museum.
Another school, but a bit newer and larger, celebrated its first milestone. Woodside Elementary staff, students and families gathered to celebrate the school’s 10th anniversary. After a few words from officials, and the Woodside song performed students, the group gathered outside to dedicate a tree in honor of the anniversary. And while we’re at it, it’s important to note that another institution was celebrating in September. The Sussex United Methodist Church commemorated 125 years with momentous picnic for its parishioners.
• A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $1.8 million public safety building that will house the Waukesha Sheriff’s Department deputies and detectives that patrol and serve the community.
• Village of Lannon mourned the loss of business owner and stalwart community activist, Mark Spranger who died by an apparent suicide by handgun.
September extra
Lisbon resident and B93.3 radio host, Carol Gortmaker, made her first big screen debut in the movie, “New Day.” Gortmaker’s cameo only came in the form of her voice as a news reporter on the scene right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Gortmaker said she had fun with the part and pretending to be a newscaster for a day.
October
Posted: Dec. 29, 2009
Top stories
• Citizen’s group, lisbon-inc.org, asked Town officials to help fund a petition to incorporate Lisbon as a Village. The town board chose not to support funding for Lisbon’s incorporation effort given an already tight budget and said it would have to cut fund for things like planned highway projects if it borrowed more money.
• A cooperative effort between Waukesha County Emergency Services, Union Pacific Railroad, Town of Lisbon and Village of Sussex hopes to completely eradicate graffiti on the railroad trestle over Highways 74 and VV. The trestle was repainted, security cameras were installed and heightened patrols were added.
• The planned sports complex across from Templeton Middle School grew yet again after Sussex Plan Commissioners granted an increase in September. This time the project grew from 135,315 to 147,760 square feet. Developer Dale Bianco also promised the panel an October 2010 opening date – depending on financing.
• The Hamilton High School Charger marching band capped off a highly successful season. The band netted multiple awards including two first place finishes and a number of other individual section awards.
• A Lake Five man shared a heart-warming and heart-saving story of how an Oconomowoc doctor helped save his life. Under the advice of Dr. Carol Uebelacker, Ray Radtke opted to have an EBCT heart scan and found out his heart was 95-percent blocked in one artery and 75-pecent blocked in the other. Uebelacker was surprised when a large plant with a note that read, “You’ve saved my life,” attached, but later found out why.
October extra
Elliot Toy, 17, of Sussex was recognized as the 2009 Volunteer of the Year for US Bank PGA Golf Championship at Brown Deer Park. Toy served as a tournament volunteer before, during and after the tournament and even got an “inside the ropes” experience flanking the pro golfers during the event.
November
Posted: Dec. 29, 2009
Top stories
• The Prestwick Group Inc., a company that manufactures and sells golf, outdoor and other furnishings purchased a new headquarters in Sussex. Prestwick officials said the more than 55,800 square feet of manufacturing space including offices will be ample for the company’s continual growth.
• Members of the Highway J Citizens Group and the Waukesha County Environmental Action League celebrated U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman’s Sept. 14 decision to stop the four-lane expansion of Highway 164 through both Waukesha and Washington counties.
• Sussex held its 26th annual Chili Cook-off. Hundreds filled the Sussex Armory to taste what the more than 50 entrants had cooked up. Netting first place was Erica Wallner, second went to Jim Kania and third to Beth Hilman.
• After a nearly five-year-long political battle between the Lisbon Town Board and former police chief and sergeant finally came to a close. The lawsuit filed by Sgt. Gaetano “Tom” Alioto was dismissed. The judge ruled in favor of a request by the town’s insurance lawyers representing the city that the lawsuit be dismissed.
• Manager of the Sussex branch of Waukesha State Bank, Heather Pfalz, was named Sussex Area Chamber of Commerce Board President-Elect for 2010. Pfalz is optimistic about the Village’s future growth and would like to see more industrial businesses locate here.
November extra
After decades of service to the Village of Sussex, longtime resident and active community member Gabe Kolesari hung up his hat as a village employee. Kolesari, who also serves on the Hamilton School Board, said even though he’s retiring from the Village, he has no plans to slow down. He was right as he’s already filed papers to run in the spring for a trustee spot.
December
Posted: Dec. 29, 2009
Top stories
• Students from Marcy and Woodside Elementary Schools teamed up with the Lauterbach Group in Sussex and Western States Envelope & Label in Butler to send a bit of Christmas to troops serving overseas. The groups stuffed stockings, created handmade Christmas cards and even sent a tree with ornaments to our servicemen and women.
• The spirit of Christmas also extended to Lannon where the entire community pitched in through their own means to bring Christmas back to the community. The community stepped up its efforts to create a tree lighting ceremony Normal Rockwell would be proud of.
• The Menomonee Falls Symphony Orchestra settled into its new home at the Hamilton Fine Arts Center with its first concert on Nov. 21. Conductor Mike Kamenski made the MFSO debut a “night of fun” by inviting children on stage to sit with the musicians and even directing the “Star Wars” theme with a light saber.
• Aldo Madigrano bought out his WOW Distributing partners and consolidated WOW to his new company, Beer Capitol. The new company will move operations from Wauwatosa to Sussex.
• A domestic dispute between a woman and her ex-boyfriend, Daryl Kumbera, in his parent’s Lisbon home on Micah Road led to an early morning standoff between the county tactical unit. The woman called police who tried to talk the man out of the residence but when he did not come out after several hours, they entered and found the man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He later died at Froedtert Hospital.
December extra
Sussex landmark and former butter factory formerly owned by Tiley Champeny was razed after it fell into disrepair. The building most called the Cheese Factory never produced any cheese but did produce lots of butter for Champeny and a group of farmers that made up the Lisbon Cooperative Creamery. The building was later turned into a residence by inventor Roy P. Owen and later into apartment units.

Year in review
Runner Paulson tops in 2009
Posted: Living Sussex Sun, Dec. 29, 2009

1. Leaving his Marc-us. Senior cross country standout Marcus Paulson finished his career with a state title in October during the 2009 boys race at Ridges Golf Course in Wisconsin Rapids. His time of 15:41 was two seconds faster than the next finisher.
2. Lannon just grand. The Lannon Stonemen overtook Oconomowoc in the Western Division playoffs of the Land O’Lakes baseball league, then advanced to win the LOL Grand Championships by crushing New Berlin in the final game, 14-5.
3. A painful loss. The Hamilton football team lost a quarterback when Kameron Cerroni went down with a torn ACL, but the boys basketball team felt the loss, as well. The UWGB hoops recruit will miss the entire 2009-10 season, a significant blow to the team’s chances in the Greater Metro.
4. Wild finish. Hamilton defeated Brookfield East in the final meet of the Greater Metro Conference season, 30-27, clinching a share of the GMC crown with East and West Allis Central. It was the first league title since 1996.
5. Bronze bombers. The Chargers 4×100-meter girls team took third place at the WIAA state track meet. Senior Molly Storm, freshman Ashley Holicek and sophomores Brooke Patterson and Danielle Barbian ran 48.70 to take bronze.
6. Surprise, surprise. The girls soccer team shocked the No. 1 Division 2 team in the state with a 2-0 win over Catholic Memorial playing at Uihlein Soccer Park in April. Kayla Johnson and Kaitlin Traverse scored in the victory.
7. Back to the playoffs. Defeating Brookfield Central and West Allis Central (on a last-second field goal) in the process, Hamilton’s football team again qualified for the WIAA postseason, where it fell to Cedarburg in the first round.
8. Laser sharp. Cerroni hit a 3-pointer with 51 seconds left to lift the Chargers in a thrilling regional opener against Kettle Moraine during the boys basketball playoffs March 3. Germantown eventually knocked off the Chargers in the second round.
9. Relay wonders. The Hamilton/Menomonee Falls swim team won the final relay of the day Jan. 8 and surprised the field at the Greater Metro/Classic 8 relays by taking first place. Nick Bietz, Taylor Ladd, Sean Kimmitt and Derek Thorpe won the 200-yard medley to clinch victory.
10. Robby’s World. Senior Robby Trushinsky (30-13), one of three Hamilton wrestlers to reach the Kohl Center in Madison, won his first state tournament match. Bobby Holzem and Aaron Fiss also competed.

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