A blossom to owner Jake Scherer of One Hour Cleaners, >from the Green County Historical Society members. Jake steamed most of the 32 wedding dresses that are on display at the museum until Sept. 28, 2008. We appreciate having such a wonderful and generous neighbor. - The Green County Historical Society; Christie Strait, president>
A barb to the Monroe Police Department >for doing nothing to stop the noise in the neighborhood, especially at the Stop-N-Go intersection. I live on 16th Avenue, and with all we've been through lately with the street assessments and what have you, this problem is pushing us to the end of our wits. I hesitated to write this, but, my goodness, these kids and their cars make so much noise, especially on weekends, that I can't enjoy my time at home. You can honestly hear the radios six, seven, eight blocks away. This is not a new problem, and I know neighbors have brought this up to the Police Department in the past, and we are still dealing with this nonsense. After work, I went for a walk this past Monday at 4 in the afternoon, and I hear this banging of music coming from the parking lot by TDS. I was going to go over and tell them to knock it off, until I noticed that a boy in a red and silver pickup truck was giving money to two boys in a dark-colored sedan, and they gave him something that he put in his pocket immediately. I've never seen a drug deal before in my life, but according to some family members, I just did. If the Monroe Police Department, aldermen and the parents of these drivers would please take some action, the residents of north central and entire City of Monroe would be grateful. - Respectfully, Fed Up>
A blossom to Tanna McKeon of the Green County Emergency Management Department. >The rest of the office may have been out of town during the flooding, but Tanna performed her job admirably to meet with officials from FEMA and other local agencies. She is the person trained to respond to the emergencies Green County faced, and was instrumental in the disaster designation that the county received from FEMA. The earlier barb for the Emergency Management Department should not have been given to the entire department, and the barber owes Tanna a huge apology. A blossom to you, Tanna. - Anonymous>
A blossom to Green County Sheriff Randy Roderick >for making domestic violence/abuse investigation training a priority for his deputies. Sergeants Britt Gempeler, Mark Binger and Robert Werren and deputies Chris Fiez and Dave Tschudy recently attended a day-long training, provided by the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance, designed to increase their skills as related to working with victims and investigating this crime. It was an honor to be in the room, sharing the common goal of decreasing family and partner violence and abuse in Green County. - Alice Franks-Gray, Green Haven>
A huge blossom to MASE, the Parks and Recreation Department, Monroe Clinic, Minhas Brewery and the volunteer instructors >at Sunday's skate boarding clinic. This was a wonderful instruction for my son and a safe way for him to learn how to skate board. The clinic donated helmets and pads for the kids, and the brewery donated refreshments. To all of you, thanks! My son had a wonderful time and will enjoys skate boarding a lot more now, and safely. - A thankful parent >
A well deserving big blossom to Angela at New Glarus Bakery >for fulfilling a last-minute request to provide a wedding cake for our son's wedding after receiving notice the day before the wedding. The person making the wedding cake was unable to fill the order due to her home in Portage being flooded by the recent rains. You are an example of excellent customer service! Thank you! - Christine Alston, Monroe>
A barb to Barb Nelson, Monroe Main Street director, >for her lack of taking proper action in not getting permits for the farmer's market and the artisans at the balloon rally event - when she was told three times that she needed to. At the last minute, when she realized she had made a big mistake, she scrambled to find a location to place these participants. She put them in the north side of the library parking lot, away from the Square where visitors didn't see them. The participants were originally told they would be between the library and the antique mall (quite visible to Square goers). As a result, traffic was down and sales were dismal. The artisans were only permitted to stay until noon, while other vendors on the square could stay until 4 p.m. The farmer's market takes out a permit for the whole year to participate on the Square and, except for Cheese Days, should be allowed to do so.
Another barb to the organizers of the balloon rally. >The event turned out to be nothing but a total car show when it was advertised that it was to be the Taste of Monroe (very few food vendors). The art and craft vendors weren't even placed together, so people not interested in cars had to walk to view them at the extreme northwest and northeast corners. The loud music was right where people eat, when it should have been put away from the eating area on the south end of the Square. Very poorly planned event. - A disgruntled participant>
A blossom for the Browntown Dairy Days Committee. >It takes many people and tons of hours to plan such a big event that means so much to so many of our county's agricultural youth - from young ladies interested in promoting the agricultural industry to young men and women who have a passion and pride for showing their cattle. It was great to see your committee, community, and 4-H members show such pride and teamwork in hosting this event. Great job everyone!
A blossom to all of the young ladies >who ran for your community dairy queen. It is great to see such enthusiasm and potential from our county. Enjoy your year and do as much as you are able! It will go too fast and be done before you know it.
A blossom to all the kids >who participated in Green County Dairy Days. As always, the amount of work that goes in to preparing yourselves and your animals continues to amaze me. Your sportsmanship and attitude are refreshing to see. Congratulations to all who participated! - Kellie Jo Roesslein, Albany>
A huge blossom to Tom Miller, MASE, and the Monroe Parks and Rec > for all their hard work and dedication to improving the skate park in Monroe. Tom works tenaciously to provide a safe place for the youth of Monroe to skate. Every time I drive by Honey Creek Park, I see several young people skating at the facility. You are doing a wonderful job. Congrats. - Anna (Bird) Frontz, Monroe>
A blossom to all the talented and smart young ladies who tried out as dairy queens> for their local communities, and for those who were selected. We look forward to seeing and hearing you all promote one of Green County's VERY important industries, agriculture.
A blossom to Tanna McKeon >for receiving her recognition amid all the flooding and disasters that happened in Green County over the past couple of weeks.
A barb to the anonymous individual who barbed Keith Ingwell >for not being on site for the assessing of the damage from the storms. And a blossom to Keith Ingwell for hiring such talented and competent individuals to handle things in his absence.
A blossom to all the volunteers> who will be helping get the fairgrounds ready for all the upcoming fairs.
A blossom to Jean Winkler >for all the work she does for Browntown park and making it look very pretty.
A blossom to the Community of Browntown >for doing an excellent job of hosting Dairy Days this year, and a blossom to all the local businesses and individuals >who donated time or trophies or money to the youth showing cattle.
A continued barb to the misinformation >that is blaming ethanol for our rising food costs, and a barb to the Grocers Association for misleading the consumer that this is what is happening. Take a look at the profits being generated by the grocery store chains ... they are still showing strong profits.
A blossom to the person or persons >who continue to send me anonymous letters and hate mail. You confirm my belief that people like to hear good things, and that you obviously need a hug. However, quit wasting your money on stamps and paper. I am not going anywhere.
And finally, a blossom in advance to the countless people >who will be helping with the Fourth of July celebrations around the area. Happy birthday, America, and please, please, please for goodness sakes, be safe everyone! - Jeff Ditzenberger, Monticello>
