Another year is rapidly coming to a close - which brings us to the perennial question: What will you remember about the year that was?
As we reflect on 2015, a few local news events stood out in our minds as particularly noteworthy:
Homicide and officer-involved shooting
Violence erupted on an otherwise quiet July evening when an apparent argument led to the officer-involved fatal shooting of the suspect in another fatal shooting just minutes before.
The deadly incident on July 22 began when Francisco Benitez Santiago argued with and then shot two men at a trailer home, leaving one man dead and the other seriously injured. Santiago fled on foot, but police officers located him several blocks away a short time later. Officers demanded Santiago put down his .22 caliber handgun; instead, witnesses say, the suspect turned his gun on the officers.
Santiago's gun was empty at the time he was killed, but it's not clear if Santiago was aware of this fact when he turned his weapon on the officers. Regardless, both Deputy Cody Kanable and Deputy John Schuetz were justified in their use of deadly force, the district attorney ruled. Both were returned to their positions with the sheriff's office after the investigation was concluded.
Election year
Both Green and Lafayette counties saw noteworthy races in the April election.
In Lafayette County, votes elected Duane Jorgenson as circuit court judge 2-1 over District Attorney Kate Findley. The race was particularly important as it was the first time in decades that Lafayette County voters had an actual race for the county judge seat: William Johnston had held the seat for the previous 30 years and had run for re-election unopposed before announcing he would retire, effective in July.
Green County also had a contested judicial race as incumbent Jim Beer earned 59 percent of the vote to retain his circuit court seat over challenger Dan Gartzke, an attorney making his second bid for the bench. Judge Tom Vale ran for his seat unopposed.
The Monroe school board race ended with a come-from-behind rally. Nicole Saugstad pulled in 22 percent of the vote - not enough to beat incumbents Amy Bazley (with 27 percent), Bob Erb (26 percent) or Mary Berger (25 percent) - but surprisingly close for a newcomer.
Surely there will be more election twists in the coming months - as of now, there's two challengers for Monroe mayor. That will be decided just as the presidential election enters full swing.
No landfill for you, Monroe
It probably wasn't the resolution that most people anticipated. But 2015 did see years of haggling over the county-owned transfer station come to an end.
Early in 2015, the city of Monroe dropped its membership in the Green County Transfer Station, the location where refuse from throughout the county is taken before being hauled for permanent burial in Janesville. As a result, the city paid a higher fee to use the transfer station - which Monroe officials said still offered the city a better value. Contract negotiations eventually broke down with both parties pointing the finger of blame at the other. Despite earlier promises that the city would be welcome to continue to use the facility regardless of its membership status, this fall the transfer station board pulled the plug and excluded City of Monroe residents from using the transfer station after the city announced it would begin hauling its waste directly to Janesville.
How much will this hurt the city? And the transfer station? Only time will tell on this one. We're curious to see how actual numbers shake out for both the city and transfer station during 2016.
Big dairy dream or nightmare
Agriculture remains a cornerstone of our communities, so when plans for a mega dairy of between 5,000 and 6,000 cows were announced this year, it caused more than a few to cry "Foul!"
Todd Tuls, who owns a similar operation in Rock County, says his operation would be environmentally sound and create jobs in the area. But opponents aren't buying it - among their chief concerns is the potential environmental impact of such a large dairy. They say the amount of manure produced each day could create a groundwater disaster.
Opponents were able to squeeze in a moratorium on any large-scale farms in the 11th-hour in Sylvester township, effectively buying time to study the issue further. Cadiz and Clarno townships followed suit, enacting similar ordinances to slow the application process. We have a feeling there will be more debate on the issue going well into 2016 and beyond.
Unfinished business
There's one issue in particular we hope the city will find clear resolution on in 2016: the downtown parking ramp.
It should come as no surprise that nothing substantive was decided about Monroe's downtown parking ramp. The city hired an outside firm to study the best options; those recommendations now sit for review with Main Street Monroe and the downtown Business Improvement District. The council is expected to revisit the issue in early February.
Fix it up, tear it down and replace it with a similar structure or replace it with a surface lot - no decision is going to please everyone. But any decision is better than the foot-dragging that has bogged down this issue for years. The delays and buck-passing on making a decision have gone from comical to embarrassing. (It is, after all, only a parking ramp - if we can't decide this, how long will it take us to decide what to do with City Hall?)
Let's resolve to remedy the parking ramp debacle in 2016. Right, wrong or indifferent, any decision is better than none at this point.
As we reflect on 2015, a few local news events stood out in our minds as particularly noteworthy:
Homicide and officer-involved shooting
Violence erupted on an otherwise quiet July evening when an apparent argument led to the officer-involved fatal shooting of the suspect in another fatal shooting just minutes before.
The deadly incident on July 22 began when Francisco Benitez Santiago argued with and then shot two men at a trailer home, leaving one man dead and the other seriously injured. Santiago fled on foot, but police officers located him several blocks away a short time later. Officers demanded Santiago put down his .22 caliber handgun; instead, witnesses say, the suspect turned his gun on the officers.
Santiago's gun was empty at the time he was killed, but it's not clear if Santiago was aware of this fact when he turned his weapon on the officers. Regardless, both Deputy Cody Kanable and Deputy John Schuetz were justified in their use of deadly force, the district attorney ruled. Both were returned to their positions with the sheriff's office after the investigation was concluded.
Election year
Both Green and Lafayette counties saw noteworthy races in the April election.
In Lafayette County, votes elected Duane Jorgenson as circuit court judge 2-1 over District Attorney Kate Findley. The race was particularly important as it was the first time in decades that Lafayette County voters had an actual race for the county judge seat: William Johnston had held the seat for the previous 30 years and had run for re-election unopposed before announcing he would retire, effective in July.
Green County also had a contested judicial race as incumbent Jim Beer earned 59 percent of the vote to retain his circuit court seat over challenger Dan Gartzke, an attorney making his second bid for the bench. Judge Tom Vale ran for his seat unopposed.
The Monroe school board race ended with a come-from-behind rally. Nicole Saugstad pulled in 22 percent of the vote - not enough to beat incumbents Amy Bazley (with 27 percent), Bob Erb (26 percent) or Mary Berger (25 percent) - but surprisingly close for a newcomer.
Surely there will be more election twists in the coming months - as of now, there's two challengers for Monroe mayor. That will be decided just as the presidential election enters full swing.
No landfill for you, Monroe
It probably wasn't the resolution that most people anticipated. But 2015 did see years of haggling over the county-owned transfer station come to an end.
Early in 2015, the city of Monroe dropped its membership in the Green County Transfer Station, the location where refuse from throughout the county is taken before being hauled for permanent burial in Janesville. As a result, the city paid a higher fee to use the transfer station - which Monroe officials said still offered the city a better value. Contract negotiations eventually broke down with both parties pointing the finger of blame at the other. Despite earlier promises that the city would be welcome to continue to use the facility regardless of its membership status, this fall the transfer station board pulled the plug and excluded City of Monroe residents from using the transfer station after the city announced it would begin hauling its waste directly to Janesville.
How much will this hurt the city? And the transfer station? Only time will tell on this one. We're curious to see how actual numbers shake out for both the city and transfer station during 2016.
Big dairy dream or nightmare
Agriculture remains a cornerstone of our communities, so when plans for a mega dairy of between 5,000 and 6,000 cows were announced this year, it caused more than a few to cry "Foul!"
Todd Tuls, who owns a similar operation in Rock County, says his operation would be environmentally sound and create jobs in the area. But opponents aren't buying it - among their chief concerns is the potential environmental impact of such a large dairy. They say the amount of manure produced each day could create a groundwater disaster.
Opponents were able to squeeze in a moratorium on any large-scale farms in the 11th-hour in Sylvester township, effectively buying time to study the issue further. Cadiz and Clarno townships followed suit, enacting similar ordinances to slow the application process. We have a feeling there will be more debate on the issue going well into 2016 and beyond.
Unfinished business
There's one issue in particular we hope the city will find clear resolution on in 2016: the downtown parking ramp.
It should come as no surprise that nothing substantive was decided about Monroe's downtown parking ramp. The city hired an outside firm to study the best options; those recommendations now sit for review with Main Street Monroe and the downtown Business Improvement District. The council is expected to revisit the issue in early February.
Fix it up, tear it down and replace it with a similar structure or replace it with a surface lot - no decision is going to please everyone. But any decision is better than the foot-dragging that has bogged down this issue for years. The delays and buck-passing on making a decision have gone from comical to embarrassing. (It is, after all, only a parking ramp - if we can't decide this, how long will it take us to decide what to do with City Hall?)
Let's resolve to remedy the parking ramp debacle in 2016. Right, wrong or indifferent, any decision is better than none at this point.