MONROE - Sheriff Jeff Skatrud got a standing ovation for his 30-plus years of service after giving an emotional farewell to the Green County Board of Supervisors at their monthly meeting Tuesday, Aug. 13.
Working off a page and a half of handwritten notes, he recalled how he'd been hired as a deputy at the sheriff's department "about 50 pounds ago," at the age of 22 in 1981.
He is retiring from his term early, on Sept. 2, to pursue a new opportunity and teach police recruits.
It's a big step for the self-described man of habit - he wakes up between 4:50 a.m. and 5 a.m. every morning, without fail, and follows the same morning routine. He's walked in the same door at the sheriff's department for almost 32 years.
"My family calls me Mr. No Risk Taker. I just don't take risks," he said. "I'm changing my name to Little Risk Taker."
He ended his speech with a thank you to the county, his voice cracking with emotion.
"I can't thank you enough for the opportunity," he said.
Chief Deputy Dick Wyttenbach will serve as interim sheriff until Governor Scott Walker appoints a replacement. Skatrud said he expects his replacement to begin in October.
In other business at the meeting:
- County clerk Mike Doyle accepted the resignation of supervisor Timothy Davis, who recently accepted employment at the county's Pleasant View Nursing Home, beginning Aug. 26.
- Supervisors approved a $117,030 contract with Twin City Striping to provide the paint and services needed to lay 428 miles of center line and other surface marking on county roads.
"Usually every three years we need to repaint," said Jeff Wunschel, highway commissioner.
- Supervisors approved a speed limit reduction by a new park in the unincorporated community of Dayton in Exeter Township. More kids are riding their bikes in the area, hence the need for drivers to slow down, one supervisor explained.
- Carol Thompson, clerk of the Green County Circuit Court, gave her annual report. A major change for her office in 2012 was a statewide law that raises the limit for small claims cases from $5,000 to $10,000, making it easier for credit card companies and individuals to file.
Previously, anyone filing a small claims case for more than $5,000 had to pay a $265 fee. Now the per-filing fee for cases up to $10,000 is a flat $96.50.
She also reported that a collection agency and tax intercept program successfully returned $100,000 to the county in 2012.
- Terry Hensel, head of Pleasant View Nursing Home, said during her annual report that "every nook and cranny" of the facility is now outfitted with a fire-protection sprinkler system, making it eligible to be the first nursing home in the county that accepts residents through the Veterans Health Administration.
In 2012, the nursing home admitted 252 residents and discharged 139 back home. The facility's limit is capped at 130, and it employs about 170 people.
Currently Hensel is working to help assemble a board for the new Pleasant View Foundation.
Working off a page and a half of handwritten notes, he recalled how he'd been hired as a deputy at the sheriff's department "about 50 pounds ago," at the age of 22 in 1981.
He is retiring from his term early, on Sept. 2, to pursue a new opportunity and teach police recruits.
It's a big step for the self-described man of habit - he wakes up between 4:50 a.m. and 5 a.m. every morning, without fail, and follows the same morning routine. He's walked in the same door at the sheriff's department for almost 32 years.
"My family calls me Mr. No Risk Taker. I just don't take risks," he said. "I'm changing my name to Little Risk Taker."
He ended his speech with a thank you to the county, his voice cracking with emotion.
"I can't thank you enough for the opportunity," he said.
Chief Deputy Dick Wyttenbach will serve as interim sheriff until Governor Scott Walker appoints a replacement. Skatrud said he expects his replacement to begin in October.
In other business at the meeting:
- County clerk Mike Doyle accepted the resignation of supervisor Timothy Davis, who recently accepted employment at the county's Pleasant View Nursing Home, beginning Aug. 26.
- Supervisors approved a $117,030 contract with Twin City Striping to provide the paint and services needed to lay 428 miles of center line and other surface marking on county roads.
"Usually every three years we need to repaint," said Jeff Wunschel, highway commissioner.
- Supervisors approved a speed limit reduction by a new park in the unincorporated community of Dayton in Exeter Township. More kids are riding their bikes in the area, hence the need for drivers to slow down, one supervisor explained.
- Carol Thompson, clerk of the Green County Circuit Court, gave her annual report. A major change for her office in 2012 was a statewide law that raises the limit for small claims cases from $5,000 to $10,000, making it easier for credit card companies and individuals to file.
Previously, anyone filing a small claims case for more than $5,000 had to pay a $265 fee. Now the per-filing fee for cases up to $10,000 is a flat $96.50.
She also reported that a collection agency and tax intercept program successfully returned $100,000 to the county in 2012.
- Terry Hensel, head of Pleasant View Nursing Home, said during her annual report that "every nook and cranny" of the facility is now outfitted with a fire-protection sprinkler system, making it eligible to be the first nursing home in the county that accepts residents through the Veterans Health Administration.
In 2012, the nursing home admitted 252 residents and discharged 139 back home. The facility's limit is capped at 130, and it employs about 170 people.
Currently Hensel is working to help assemble a board for the new Pleasant View Foundation.