News & Notes: Jan. 25

Brown Deer offering 17 Open Enrollment seats

Brown Deer - The School Board on Tuesday approved offering 17 seats for Open Enrollment in the 2012-2013 school year. Seven seats will be available in second grade, four each in fifth and sixth grades and two in the seventh grade.

Middle school students excel at PB&J collection drives

Students from Whitefish Bay Middle School and Steffen Middle School, Mequon, were honored this week by Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Bucks this week for their efforts in the Ninth Annual Peanut Butter and Jelly Challenge.

Students at Whitefish Bay won for the most pounds collected in the middle school category with 5,128 pounds. Students at Steffen won the most pounds per student, or 2.5 pounds per student, for a total of 1,059 pounds.

Program for cancer survivors to be offered at Gilda's Club

Whitefish Bay -Cancer Transitions is a free 2- 1/2 hour, five-week workshop designed to help cancer survivors make the transition from active treatment to post-treatment care. Expert panelists including social workers, nutritionists and fitness experts discuss exercise tailored to each participant's abilities, training in relaxation and stress management and tips for nutritious eating. Cancer Transitions answers the many questions cancer survivors have regarding their survivorship and post-cancer treatment. The course offers the following topics:

Get Back to Wellness: Take Control of Your Survivorship

Exercise for Wellness: Customized Exercise

Emotional Health & Well-Being: From Patient to Survivor

Nutrition Beyond Cancer

Medical Management Beyond Cancer: What You Need to Know

The program is free and takes place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays, Feb. 20 through March 19, at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, 6255 N. Santa Monica Blvd.

Register online at gildasclubsewi.org or call Justine Murray at Gilda's Club, (414) 962-8201, ext. 102.

Sign up now for 2012 Citizen Police Academy

Police Departments in Bayside, Fox Point and River Hills are joining together to again offer the Citizen Police Academy beginning April 19.

This Academy is part of a national program for residents to get a behind-the-scenes look at police operations so they better understand how their police serve and protect their communities.

Residents participate in defense and arrest tactics and learn how evidence is collected. There is also the opportunity to ride along with an officer.

The academy is free and open to people who either live or work in these communities and are at least 21 years old.

Classes meet on Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. from April 19 to May 31. There is also an optional Saturday morning class, date and time to be announced, for firearms training.

Enrollment is limited and people are urged to register right away.

For further information and to register, contact your police department: Bayside, Officer Eric Miller, (414) 351-8800; Fox Point, Officer John Andamaitis, (414) 351-8911; and River Hills, Sgt. Michael Gaynor, (414) 247-2302.

Sarah Chudnow holding meeting on voting changes

Mequon - The Sarah Chudnow Community will host a voter registration informational meeting, featuring election experts from the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board and the Department of Motor Vehicles at 2 p.m. Jan. 31. The meeting is intended to provide community members, particularly seniors, with assistance to register to vote in Wisconsin in light of the new Voter Photo ID Law. The event will be held at the Sarah Chudnow Community, 10995 N. Market Street, and is scheduled to last 90 minutes.

 Earlier this year, the Wisconsin Legislature passed the Voter Photo ID Law, which was signed by Gov. Scott Walker on May 25. In addition to requiring voters to show an acceptable photo ID to receive a ballot, the law contains other important changes to the voting process, including a longer, 28-consecutive-day residency period and a requirement for voters to sign the poll list.

Erika Wisk, a Department of Transportation field supervisor, will provide the paperwork necessary for ID card applications and give a brief presentation of the new restrictions. Representatives from the Government Accountability Board will also be available to answer questions. The free event is open to the community. Light refreshments will be served.

 Voters are also encouraged to visit the GAB's website gab.wi.gov for information about the new law. A statewide, multimedia public education campaign about Voter Photo ID is scheduled to start early January 2012. The first election at which a photo ID will be required is Feb. 21.

Nearly 40 communities in state's Bird City program

Bayside - Bird City Wisconsin, a statewide initiative designed to promote the virtues of urban bird conservation, announced recently 39 municipalities are participating in the program.

Modeled after the Tree City USA program, a Bird City Wisconsin municipality needs to meet criteria, including forestry management, public education and demonstration of habitat creation and protection, as well as limiting hazards that could be harmful to birds. The organization, formed two years ago, is based in Bayside.

Participating local communities include Bayside and Mequon. Two other North Shore communities - Fox Point and Whitefish Bay - are in the midst of applying to be part of the program.

Applications being accepted for Citizen Police Academy

Mequon - The Mequon Police Department announces its 2012 Citizen Police Academy which takes place on Thursdays from Feb. 23 to March 29.

The academy presents topics in defense and arrest tactics, the use of a Taser, how to detect drunken drivers, information on drug recognition and firearms training. There will also be mock traffic stops and room clearing demonstrations.

In addition, the canine unit will make a presentation to showcase canine Officer Vero's abilities and duties.

Classes are held at the department, 11300 N. Buntrock Road, and are free to residents and employees of Mequon/Thiensville.

Class size is limited to 20 so people are urged to apply quickly. Applications are available at the department or by calling Sgt. Patrick Pryor at (262) 242-3500.

First Watch Café opening in Pavilions Shopping Center

Mequon - First Watch Café, a national chain that serves breakfast and lunch is opening in the 3800 square feet of the Pavilions Shopping Center, 11036 N. Port Washington Road, previously occupied by Gourmet Outfitters.

There are 86 restaurants nationwide. The first local First Watch opened in Brookfield in 2001.

The café, expected to employ 30 people, will be open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

Neighborhood of the Year contest under way

Shorewood - Nominations for the second annual Shorewood Neighborhood of the Year contest are being accepted through Feb. 28.

Winners of the contest, sponsored by the Shorewood Connects Neighbors project, will have their block featured in an edition of Shorewood Today and will have the opportunity to march behind the Shorewood Neighborhood of the Year banner in the annual Fourth of July parade. In addition, signs noting the designation will be placed on the winning block.

The one-page application on the village website,villageofshorewood.org. Click on Shorewood Connects Neighbors at the bottom of the page.

Sensenbrenner announces service academy nominations

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., R-Menomonee Falls, announced three residents of Ozaukee County have received competing alternate nominations to the United States Service Academies.

Mitchell Lemons of Saukville has been nominated to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., as well as the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. Mitchell, the son of Larry and Ann Lemons, is a senior at Port Washington High School.

Meaghan McLean, Mequon, has been nominated to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Meaghan, the daughter of Donald and Mary McLean, is a senior at Homestead High School.

Erich Steger, Mequon, has been nominated to attend the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. Erich, the son of Michael and Reneé Steger, is a senior at Homestead High School.

Nominees for the United States Service Academies were chosen from an impressive group of applicants residing throughout Wisconsin's Fifth Congressional District. Each applicant endured a rigorous application process culminating in a personal interview with a member of Rep. Sensenbrenner's Academy Selection Committee.

Sensenbrenner is currently accepting nomination applications for those who would like to enter any United States Service Academy in the summer of 2013. Inquiries concerning this process can be made to the Congressman's District Office in Brookfield at (262) 784-1111.