Another blossom to members of Historic Monroe, Historic Cheese and The Green County Welcome Center >for making and for serving more than 1,000 cream puffs for Balloon Rally and The Taste of Monroe. Thank you to John Bussman and Frank for introducing us to those grilled Applejack cheese sandwiches with the secret sauce. We couldn't make them fast enough. We all enjoy great Wisconsin cheese. Thank you to Patty James and the Chamber for inviting us downtown for the Taste. This event showcases our local foods, fun, and entertainment. Well done! - Sharon Riese>
A blossom to Green County Conservation League and the local Trout Unlimited, Blackhawk Chapter >for building fish habitat structures last Saturday in New Glarus. It is nice to see people are still interested in volunteering their time to enhance the local ecosystem. - Chris Newberry>
On the northwest corner of the courthouse lawn now stand two completely restored Civil War cannons. The ordnance rifles are mounted on aluminum carriages and will last for many generations. It is now time to send blossoms to those who helped put them there. >Credit must go to Judge James Beer for forming the restoration idea in the first place. The Paulson brothers of Clear Lake provided us with the authentic aluminum reproductions. A big thank you to Sharon and Dr. Dave Riese, who did the 600-mile round trip to Clear Lake to haul the carriages home. Thank you to Mike Doyle and grounds crew, who got the site ready. Thank you for Jason Kundert, who donated his time to get rid of unwanted bushes. Thank you to Gerald Miller for his input on the antique value of the old Civil War guns. Double G Concrete removed the old concrete and poured new footings. Thanks to Jim at CCR Tire Center for wheel pads. A good thank you to Davis Welding, who with Bartels Restoration sand-blasted the cannon. Then Pat Davis and crew painted and assembled the whole units and delivered them to the site and fastened them to their bases. Davis Welding donated all of its time and materials. A sizable sum. A big thank you to Historic Monroe, which contributed many thousands of dollars to make this all possible. The community now has a permanent piece of history for many years to come. Dennis Oostdike helped us out with drawings. And, last but not least, thank you to Jean Tullett, who patiently went through all the telephone calls we made as processes progressed. - Nate Roth, Monroe >
A blossom to those who decided to remove the basketball hoops at Rec Park. >The large group of young adults that have, most recently, disrespected this area of the park were given fair warning. Therefore, we support the removal of this privilege. It is sad for those who DO respect this area; however, it is pleasing to see and hear small children returning to the Swiss A.L.P.S. playground! Parents and small children no longer feel threatened. We DO NOT miss hearing the basketball backboard's banging into the wee hours of the night. We DO NOT miss the trash on the park's lawn. We DO NOT miss the foul language that was used in the park. And we DO NOT miss the loud squealing of the cars peeling out of the parking lot, into the wee hours of the night. We cannot express enough how much we appreciate the support and assistance of our city officials and Monroe Police Department in reacting and changing this escalating problem so quickly. We cannot thank them enough. We would appreciate if our City would consider removing the hoops permanently, at least from this area of the park. They would be better next to the other pavilion, or at Honey Creek Park. Again, it's nice to hear the twinkling of the children's music chimes! Thank you to our Monroe Police Department. They've been working very hard. - Anonymous>
A big barb to our city council >for allowing a local business to control our city even more. What next? One brother mayor and the other brother administrator? We all know how much control Swiss Colony has, and now we let them into our city government even more. We local residents keep paying, and paying and paying. - Anonymous local citizen>
Since I enjoy politics, but even better a well-written letter and how the media reflects what's going on in our community, I would say not one bouquet of blossoms for the Times but two >regarding the Wednesday editorial, "Time for council to demand full access." If there is anything that discourages a voter, it is this ring-around-the-rosy procedure that the mayor is using and virtually bypassing the council. I know I, as a voter, can't make the council do anything but if they want to be toothless and give their power away, they should have committee chairmen or department heads capable of answering the media's chairmen. - Mr. and Mrs. LaVern Isely>
