Reach Counseling Local Sexual Abuse Information

Marianne Radley with Reach Counseling recently participated in a panel on abuse as part of the area's Collaboration Network meeting. The notes were pretty upsetting and I felt it was important to share:

They (Reach) provide: Kindergarten – College – Educators go out and talk to classes; Advocacy – legal and medical; Medical – meet and work with the police to give support to the victim; Legal – help with the reporting. They have both Latinos and Native American; 11-12 Volunteer Victim Advocates; Mental Health needs can be serviced through Reach; Sexual Abuse – Perpetrators are referred by Probation and Parole

Trends they are seeing:

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City Council 2011 Elections.. Speculations

It appears as though Jess King is not seeking a third term on the Oshkosh Common Council, as reported by a blip on the ONW.

Further, rumors are floating around that say Mayor Esslinger is unsure of his bid for re-election to the Mayor's seat. Should Paul decide not to run, I can see a real possibility of either Tony or Bob - the other two council members up for election - running for the mayor's spot. (Note that these are simply things I've heard in various conversations and are unsubstantiated and unverified).

In this case, it is possible that for the second year in a row, we may have two new faces join the common council. The victory of establishment candidates Steve Herman and Steve Cummings last year - both considered to be "Chamber Candidates" - could be an indicator of how things will go this upcoming year.

However, there is also a pretty strong opposition to "business as usual" in the community air, which tends to go against the usual business of the so-called chamber candidates. This is the same opposition that threw Meredith Scheuermann out of office while pushing first-time council candidate Tony Palmeri in as a top vote-getter.

It will be interesting to see who all challenges this year. John Hinz and Brian Poeschl have both lost multiple recent elections, and at some point are likely to give up the quest. Newcomers Alan Siiman and Ronald Hardy both ran pretty good campaigns last year, but failed to really make a dent in the race. Both are potentially in a position to build upon last years campaigns. The 2009 crop of unsuccessful candidates has disappeared since the election (Swanson, O'Day - note that Hinz lost in this election and again ran in early 2010).

With the departure of Jess King, there becomes an evident need for someone of non-middle-aged white man status.

With the local election season right around the corner in February, we'll be posting much more as the news arrives.

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Urban Chicken Forum on Monday Nov 1

Monday, Nov 1 at 4pm, the Sustainability Advisory Board is hosting a meeting with special guest Ron Kean, state poultry specialist. The meeting will take place in room 404 at city hall, starting at 4pm. The meeting is open to the public.

Ron Kean is the Wisconsin Extension Poultry Specialist, and is a faculty member in the University of Wisconsin Animal Science Department. He has consulted with numerous cities concerning the issue of urban poultry, and is co-author of the state's Guide to Raising Healthy Chickens.

In addition to Mr Kean, we will hear a short presentation by a family that raises backyard chickens just outside of Oshkosh.

For those unable to attend, the meeting will be available online at Oshkosh Community Media Services, as well as on Cable Access television.

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City-wide Oshkosh Neighborhood Watch Mtg

Email rcvd 10/27/10:

Oshkosh Neighborhood Watch . . . Making Neighborhoods Better

Dear Oshkosh Neighbor:

Invitation for Thursday, November 18. Join your neighbors and block captains for a City-wide meeting from 6-7:30 p.m., Thursday, November 18, 2010, at the Senior Center, just north of the FVTC Riverside campus off of Witzel. Put this date on your calendar now!

This is an important meeting! Refreshments are provided.

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Mad City Chickens FREE Movie Tonight

From http://www.tonypalmeri.com/:

From citizen Dan Hoyt

On behalf of the citizen group calling ourselves "Oshkosh Backyard Chickens" I would like to invite you to a free, public showing of the documentary film titled "Mad City Chickens".

This feature length production, with a total run time of 79 minutes, will be shown at the UW Oshkosh Reeve Union Theater on Friday, October 22 at 7:00 p.m. and again on Tuesday, October 26 at 3:00 pm. The times were chosen to allow for different schedules so the film would have opportunity for public viewing before the Oshkosh Board of Health meets on October 27th.

"Mad City Chickens" documents how the citizens of Madison, Wisconsin organized and worked to change their local ordinance to allow for "urban chickens" to be kept as pets. This film addresses all of the major concerns regarding "backyard" chickens including noise and enforcement issues among many other things.

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Main Street Oshkosh Supports Russ Feingold

Main Street Oshkosh (MSO) is a strong supporter of Oshkosh and of efforts to make our community a better place to live.

MSO supports the protection of our valuable natural resources, including our waters, woodlands, state wildlife, and unique landscapes. We support programs and efforts that promote outdoor learning, stewardship, hunting and fishing, and enjoyment. We expect the air that we breath to be clean and not hazardous to our health.

MSO supports feeding our neighbors if they are hungry (food insecure for those involved). We support programs that help to improve access to nutritious food for young children and mothers. We believe that folks who are without a home or shelter should have access to a safe and warm place, and we support those working with these families and individuals to help get them back on their feet. We believe that teachers and police officers and waitstaff and janitors and child care workers should all be able to afford to live in the communities they work in, and support housing programs that seek to provide such affordable options.

MSO supports the empowerment of local economies through policies, incentives, and promotion in areas including (but not limited to) food production, construction, power, and more. We support locally-owned business, from Leons to Apple Blossom Books to the farmers market to Kossels Appliance to Soiree and more.

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Get Checking October

Get Checking will be offered October 26, 2010, 6:00 - 9:00 PM at Community First Credit Union, 2424 Westowne Ave, Oshkosh, WI. The educational program can help those such as young adults who have not yet opened a checking account, or provide a fresh start to consumers who have had past problems with their account. Consumers who successfully complete the course, receive a certificate that they may take to any of the participating financial institutions and an account is opened under agreed-upon conditions.

Participating Winnebago County Financial Institutions include: M&I Bank, Citizens First Credit Union, Capital Union, Community First Credit Union and Fox Communities Credit Union.

For more information about Get Checking call Kristi Cutts, Family Living Educator at (920) 232-1973.

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ArtistForArc Oct 15

Friday, October 15, 2010 for the signature event for Arc-Winnebago County Disability Association! 5:30-10:00 p.m., October 15, 2010 at Center Court, 1 City Center, Oshkosh. Catered by Becket’s. $75/person · $500/table of 8

Your reservation includes:
- Opening reception with champagne and hors d’oeuvres
- Stellar silent art auction throughout the evening
- An enjoyable dining experience
- Wisconsin’s liveliest art auction, featuring nationally renowned David Goodman
- Music expressions to make your eardrums smile

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Vehicle Slow Down Reminder

According to the Oshkosh Police, on Oct 4 there was a serious car versus pedestrian crash on Jackson St at Scott Ave in which a 45 year old woman was crossing Jackson St when she was struck by a car travelling north bound on Jackson. She sustained significant injuries to both of her legs, shoulder, head and neck.

According to the report: "A vehicle traveling north on Jackson stopped for the pedestrian in the cross walk as she was crossing. Another northbound vehicle did not stop and struck the pedestrian."

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An Example of a Good Partnership

We received the following update from the Project Self Sufficiency folks in Oshkosh - good work to those involved:

Boys and Girls Club / Oshkosh Police Department: One of the brainstorms that came up at the (poverty) plunge: Creating opportunities for police officers to meet Boys and Girls Club members and act as role models. When we checked in to see how this was working, here’s the note we got from Marc Dosogne, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Oshkosh:

“We are doing great with the police department. Chief Gruel has been here to have a one-on-one with me and sent over three people on his management team to talk with our staff about getting more involved. Since then, we’ve had officers here regularly this summer, spending time with kids, eating with them, talking about many general things. Now several of them want to do a bowling thing with some of our teens. And, they plan to step it up this fall to get involved in our teen nights. I think both the officers and the kids are enjoying this.”

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Winnebago County D.A.R.E. Advisory Board

Interested to Serve on The Oshkosh – Winnebago County D.A.R.E. Advisory Board?

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION - DEADLINE: FRIDAY, October 8, 2010

The OPD is inviting members of The Oshkosh – Winnebago County Community to serve on the Winnebago County D.A.R.E. Advisory Board.

A Board member is asked to support the strategic direction of The Oshkosh – Winnebago County D.A.R.E. Advisory Board by:
1. Participating in approximately 9 face-to-face Board meetings a year (approximately one and a half hours each—schedule of meetings determined by the members of the Board).
2. Serving on at least one of the Board's standing or ad hoc committees (hours per year varies by committee, and committees meet separately from board as needed);
3. Serving as a representative of The Oshkosh – Winnebago County D.A.R.E. Advisory Board at its events and around the community; and

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Rain Barrels an Important Part of Milwaukee's Plan

Rain Barrels continue to be pushed by the Milwaukee Metro Sewage District. Why? Because they work, and are one effective piece in a puzzle of actions a community can take to implement a genuinely sustainable storm water management program.

Here is Milwaukee's page promoting rain barrels.

Is Oshkosh there? nope.

This is one of those areas for the city of Oshkosh in which this phrase works well: "When they don't know what they are doing, they do more of what they know."

While communities to the north (Fox Cities) and other larger areas like Milwaukee and Madison begin implementing more effective and sustainable water management policies, it only seems inevitable that Oshkosh folks will "wake up". Hopefully it is sooner than later, obviously.

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Green Building Presentation October 7th

ECOS Fox Valley are inviting all of the area sustainability groups to a special event regarding green building. All are welcome. While not required, they would appreciate a quick RSVP to us by return email at ecos.foxvalley@gmail.com so that they can ensure outreach to as many different groups and communities in the area as possible. No cost and the meeting is available to everyone. Connie Kanitz, ECOS communications coordinator

ECOS-FV hosts VHBA Green Building Presentation October 7th

The October 7th meeting of ECOS-FV will feature VHBA member Cindi MacSwain, of Vanney-MacSwain Home Planning as she presents Green Building practices and issues from the builder’s point of view.

Her presentation will:

· Describe community local ordinances supportive of good green building practices as seen by the home building and re-conditioning businesses of the Valley Home Builders Association (VHBA).

· Convey what are seen as the financial road-blocks to encouraging green home improvements.

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Oshkosh Seniors Expo

Tue Oct 5 at the Oshkosh Convention Center.

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Tour De Titan 2010

Registration: 9 to 11 AM @ UWO SRWC (UWO Student Rec & Wellness Cntr, 735 Pearl Ave Oshkosh, WI 54901) - Cost: $10 w/ T-shirt, $5 W/out T.

Ride Time: 11 AM util 12 Noon * Tent City Celebration! * Noon "till Game Time * All Eats & Drinks R Free! * Live Rock Band * Kids Tumble Atrxns! * All Free! @ Tent City * Tour de Titan Bike Friendly Ride! * Make history!

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