A Paper Designed With Readers in Mind April 17- 30, 2020 Free Wisconsin manufacturers increase production to keep up with demand created by consumers’ stockpiling The way people are hoarding toilet paper, you’d think the stuff grew on trees By Hope Kirwan and Megan Hart Wisconsin Public Radio News Some manufacturing companies in Wisconsin say they’re ramping up production as consumers stock up in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But many plants are preparing for potential impacts to their workforce as the virus spreads. Stores around the country are struggling to keep toilet paper in stock, with many instituting limits on the amount shoppers can buy. Many popular toilet paper brands are manufactured in north- east Wisconsin, including Charmin, Quilted Northern and Cottonelle. Proctor and Gamble Co. is pro- ducing and shipping Charmin toilet paper at record levels, a spokesperson said. Though demand is outpacing supply, she said the company is dis- tributing products to retailers “as fast as humanly possible.” Clearwater Paper, which has pro- duction facilities in Neenah, is the country’s leading maker of store- brand paper products for grocery stores. The company is doing every- thing it can to keep its factories up and running, said Shannon Myers, Clearwater’s communications direc- tor. That includes implementing san- itation, sick leave and remote work policies. “We produce and sell products that are absolutely essential to every- one’s daily lives, and reliable produc- tion has never been more critical than now,” she said. The company is also working with suppliers to make sure raw materials will continue to be avail- able, Myers said. Wisconsin’s paper indus- try accounted for 30,000 jobs and $18.2 billion in economic output in 2018, according to a report from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Paper production was the state’s fifth-largest industry, the report said, with paper manufacturing facilities in 41 Wisconsin counties. Wisconsin food manufacturers are also reporting high demand from grocery stores. Anne Smith is communica- tions director for Lakeside Foods in Manitowoc, which produces store brand frozen and canned vegetable products. Smith said the company started increasing production more than a month ago. “Our teams are working overtime at our packaging and labeling facil- ities to address the influx of orders we’ve received as well as ramped up accelerated delivery times,” Smith said. She said demand from food ser- vice companies and restaurants has slowed after the state Department of Health Services ordered all restau- rants to close and banned gatherings of 10 or more people. But Smith said some orders are still coming in as restaurants turn to carryout or deliv- ered meals. She said Lakeside is keeping an eye on potential disruptions to ship- ping operations and has restricted visitors at their facilities. A spokesperson for Del Monte Foods, which has plants in Plover and Markesan, said they’ve also seen an increase in demand for shelf-stable products. (Continued on page 2) Signs at Woodman’s East in Madison limit the amount of supplies cus- tomers are able to buy amid preparations for COVID-19. (Jenny Peek/WPR) First federal lawsuit filed following Wisconsin’s April 7 election Voters wait in line to cast ballots at Washington High School while ignoring a stay-at-home order over the coronavirus threat to vote in the state’s presi- dential primary election, April 7, in Milwaukee. (Morry Gash/AP photo) By Corrinne Hess Wisconsin Public Radio A class-action lawsuit has been filed in federal court by a group of Milwaukee-area residents asking for a partial or full revote of the presi- dential primary and spring election held April 7. As of press time it was the first post-election lawsuit filed by voters who say they were disenfranchised by last-minute decisions made by lawmakers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 14 individuals who filed the lawsuit say they are a rep- resentation of voters statewide who were unable to vote. “Because of the pandemic, people weren’t getting to vote in nursing homes, people, because of legiti- mate fear of their life, weren’t able to get to the polls,” said Jay Urban, a Milwaukee attorney representing plaintiffs. According to the lawsuit, some plaintiffs are: Chrystal and Terron Edwards. The two, who are African American, live in Milwaukee and have three chil- dren. Terron is diabetic. Their son has spina bifida and their daughter has asthma. The couple ordered their absentee ballots in mid-March but never received them. They did not vote because of the chronic health conditions. Catherine Cooper, of Fox Point. She requested an absentee ballot that never came. Cooper did vote in per- son in the spring election. She was torn about it because of the health risks of COVID-19; more specifical- ly, her mother, who lives with her, has compromised lungs and other health issues. Kileigh Hannah, of Fox Point. She ordered an absentee ballot on or about March 22 and did not receive it. She has multiple sclerosis and is immunosuppressed, so she is at high risk for contracting the new coro- navirus and having life-threatening complications, according to the law- suit. She did not vote. Kristopher and Katie Rowe, of Glendale. The two completed and mailed their absentee ballots April 1. Upon checking Wisconsin’s online database, there is no record of ei- ther of them voting since the Feb. 18 election. Their ballots were never re- ceived by election officials and they will not count. The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin against Wisconsin Assembly Speak- er Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Sen- ate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, could be the first of many in Wisconsin. On April 13, the national and state Democratic Party’s top leaders said every option was on the table regard- ing the April 7 election, including a recount. “It is hard to imagine a world where none of the candidates end up looking for legal recourse,” said Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Republican decisions not only endangered Wisconsinites but also sparked a legal cloud.” The lawsuit is asking a court order to count “the votes of all those who were disenfranchised April 7.” Urban said he would like the court to hold a second election at another date when it is safe for everyone to vote. Knowing that will likely not happen, the lawsuit is asking for a partial revote for people who were unable to go to the polls Tuesday and did not receive an absentee ballot. Vos and Fitzgerald couldn’t imme- diately be reached for comment. In addition to Vos and Fitzgerald, the lawsuit names the state, each legislative body, and the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which “had Continued on page 7
Transcript
A Paper Designed With Readers in Mind April 17- 30, 2020Free
Wisconsin manufacturers increase production to keep up with demand created by consumers’ stockpiling
The way people are hoarding toilet paper, you’d think the stuff grew on treesBy Hope Kirwan and Megan Hart
Wisconsin Public Radio NewsSome manufacturing companies
in Wisconsin say they’re ramping up production as consumers stock up in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
But many plants are preparing for potential impacts to their workforce as the virus spreads.
Stores around the country are struggling to keep toilet paper in stock, with many instituting limits on the amount shoppers can buy.
Many popular toilet paper brands are manufactured in north-east Wisconsin, including Charmin, Quilted Northern and Cottonelle.
Proctor and Gamble Co. is pro-ducing and shipping Charmin toilet paper at record levels, a spokesperson said. Though demand is outpacing supply, she said the company is dis-tributing products to retailers “as fast as humanly possible.”
Clearwater Paper, which has pro-duction facilities in Neenah, is the country’s leading maker of store-brand paper products for grocery
stores. The company is doing every-thing it can to keep its factories up and running, said Shannon Myers, Clearwater’s communications direc-tor. That includes implementing san-itation, sick leave and remote work policies.
“We produce and sell products that are absolutely essential to every-one’s daily lives, and reliable produc-tion has never been more critical than now,” she said.
The company is also working
with suppliers to make sure raw materials will continue to be avail-able, Myers said.
Wisconsin’s paper indus-try accounted for 30,000 jobs and $18.2 billion in economic output in 2018, according to a report from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Paper production was the state’s fifth-largest industry, the report said, with paper manufacturing facilities in 41 Wisconsin counties.
Wisconsin food manufacturers
are also reporting high demand from grocery stores.
Anne Smith is communica-tions director for Lakeside Foods in Manitowoc, which produces store brand frozen and canned vegetable products. Smith said the company started increasing production more than a month ago.
“Our teams are working overtime at our packaging and labeling facil-ities to address the influx of orders we’ve received as well as ramped up accelerated delivery times,” Smith said.
She said demand from food ser-vice companies and restaurants has slowed after the state Department of Health Services ordered all restau-rants to close and banned gatherings of 10 or more people. But Smith said some orders are still coming in as restaurants turn to carryout or deliv-ered meals.
She said Lakeside is keeping an eye on potential disruptions to ship-ping operations and has restricted visitors at their facilities.
A spokesperson for Del Monte Foods, which has plants in Plover and Markesan, said they’ve also seen an increase in demand for shelf-stable products.
(Continued on page 2)
Signs at Woodman’s East in Madison limit the amount of supplies cus-tomers are able to buy amid preparations for COVID-19. (Jenny Peek/WPR)
First federal lawsuit filed following Wisconsin’s April 7 election
Voters wait in line to cast ballots at Washington High School while ignoring a stay-at-home order over the coronavirus threat to vote in the state’s presi-dential primary election, April 7, in Milwaukee. (Morry Gash/AP photo)
By Corrinne HessWisconsin Public Radio
A class-action lawsuit has been filed in federal court by a group of Milwaukee-area residents asking for a partial or full revote of the presi-dential primary and spring election held April 7. As of press time it was the first post-election lawsuit filed by voters who say they were disenfranchised by last-minute decisions made by lawmakers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 14 individuals who filed the lawsuit say they are a rep-resentation of voters statewide who were unable to vote. “Because of the pandemic, people weren’t getting to vote in nursing homes, people, because of legiti-mate fear of their life, weren’t able to get to the polls,” said Jay Urban, a Milwaukee attorney representing plaintiffs.
According to the lawsuit,some plaintiffs are:
Chrystal and Terron Edwards. The two, who are African American, live in Milwaukee and have three chil-dren. Terron is diabetic. Their son has spina bifida and their daughter has asthma. The couple ordered their absentee ballots in mid-March but never received them. They did not vote because of the chronic health
conditions. Catherine Cooper, of Fox Point. She requested an absentee ballot that never came. Cooper did vote in per-son in the spring election. She was torn about it because of the health risks of COVID-19; more specifical-ly, her mother, who lives with her, has compromised lungs and other health issues. Kileigh Hannah, of Fox Point. She ordered an absentee ballot on or about March 22 and did not receive it. She has multiple sclerosis and is immunosuppressed, so she is at high risk for contracting the new coro-navirus and having life-threatening complications, according to the law-suit. She did not vote. Kristopher and Katie Rowe, of Glendale. The two completed and mailed their absentee ballots April 1. Upon checking Wisconsin’s online database, there is no record of ei-ther of them voting since the Feb. 18 election. Their ballots were never re-ceived by election officials and they will not count. The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin against Wisconsin Assembly Speak-er Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Sen-ate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, could be the first of many
in Wisconsin. On April 13, the national and state Democratic Party’s top leaders said every option was on the table regard-ing the April 7 election, including a recount. “It is hard to imagine a world where none of the candidates end up looking for legal recourse,” said Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Republican decisions not only endangered Wisconsinites but also sparked a legal cloud.” The lawsuit is asking a court order to count “the votes of all those who were disenfranchised April 7.”
Urban said he would like the court to hold a second election at another date when it is safe for everyone to vote. Knowing that will likely not happen, the lawsuit is asking for a partial revote for people who were unable to go to the polls Tuesday and did not receive an absentee ballot. Vos and Fitzgerald couldn’t imme-diately be reached for comment. In addition to Vos and Fitzgerald, the lawsuit names the state, each legislative body, and the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which “had
Continued on page 7
2 — The Beacon April 17, 2020
ManufacturingContinued from page 1
Scherrer Construction’s Buddy Benches provide a way to stop bullying in schools
Students from Westfield School signal their approval of the Buddy Bench that was delivered by Sherrer Cares, a philanthropic non-profit wing of Scherrer Construction in Burlington. (Photo submitted)
By Dennis West Like most modern parents, Jim and Denise Scherrer were aware that bullying is a serious problem in today’s schools. But it wasn’t until their son became the victim of bul-lying that it was really brought home to them. “We gradually realized that there was something wrong,” says Denise. “He didn’t want to go to school. It finally got so bad that he was at the point where he was going to take his own life.” Luckily, the problem had a positive resolution. But it left the Scherrers with a determination to do something to help solve the problem. That’s when Scherrer Construction started Scherrer Cares, a non-profit organization, to help give back to the communities it serves. Through annual fundraising efforts, Scherrer Cares donates to a variety of causes including food pantries, pet shel-ters, school programs and commu-nity fundraisers each year. As part of their mission to build kindness in communities, they established their own buddy bench program, an anti-bullying initiative that provides Wisconsin schools with customized buddy benches to help spread kind-ness and build friendships. But what is a buddy bench. Denise saw on Facebook that a young boy named Christian creat-ed a buddy Bench to help build friendship. She told Jim about it and together they said, “Why can’t we do
this! We build schools. We could provide them with their own tool to build kindness.” “As the owners of Scherrer Construction, we build a lot of schools,” says Jim. “So we want them to be special places where kids can feel safe.” Using the company’s philanthrop-ic, they started their own Buddy Bench program. Six years later, they have placed more than 70 benches in schools, paid for by sponsors and the proceeds from charitable events such as their annual golf outing. Most schools have anti-bullying programs and they are very happy to incorporate the benches into the ini-
tiative. They carefully explain how the bench is used to foster friendship and eliminate loneliness. When a child is feeling alienated, alone or under pressure from other students, he or she can go and sit on the bench, which serves as a signal to other students that here is some-one who needs a friend or wants to play. It is much easier than trying to break into a group or find someone to ask for help. “We teach kids to be kind,” said one school principal. “They learn not to focus on how a classmate is different, but what they have in com-mon.” Scherrer Construction also pro-
vides wristbands for kids in the pro-gram that act as a signal that he or she is a buddy and not a bully. The benches have a surfboard motif, with one board for the seat and another for the backrest. “We settled on the design because most kids think surfing is cool,” says Denise. “It doesn’t lean exclude those whose interest lies in athletics or stu-dent government. It has a more univer-sal appeal.” Jim Scherrer contacted Palmer Hamilton with the idea of the Scherrer Cares Buddy Bench. Palmer Hamilton provides schools across the country with furniture and Jim wanted a bench that would last. Each bench is custom made with the school’s colors and logos. Once some schools had their indoor benches they wanted to get one for out-doors on their playground. Jim knew that a bench that would withstand the Wisconsin elements was important and he reached out to Melges Yachts for help. Together they came up with a mold that would last and be perfect for outdoors. Anyone can go to the Scherrer Cares website and download an application. The cost to buy or sponsor a bench is $1,600, which doesn’t include a profit for anyone involved. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s golf outing has been moved from June to Oct. 8. Anyone interested in playing or donating to the fundraiser can call Mark West at (262) 539-3100 or log on to www.scherrerconstruc-tion.com.
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“We are accelerating our prod-uct deployment efforts and looking to mitigate supply chain disruptions in order to provide faster access of our products for our customers and consumers,” said the company in an email statement.
A statement from Hormel Foods Corp., which has a plant in Beloit, said their manufacturing facilities continue to operate normally. The company reported seeing strong demand for products like peanut butter, deli meats and canned foods.
Hormel also announced plans to donate $1 million in cash and products to local and national orga-nizations addressing food insecurity related to the pandemic.
Other manufacturing facilities in the state are preparing for poten-tial impacts to their workforce as the virus spreads.
Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson, Inc. has made the deci-sion to temporarily suspend pro-duction at its three manufacturing plants in the United States. The decisions comes after an employee at the plant in Menomonee Falls tested positive for COVID-19.
Kohler Co. said in a statement on Facebook that the company is taking “aggressive measures” to protect employees around the world.
“We are monitoring 24/7 and have plans in place at all of our global locations that will protect our associates and ensure continu-ity of business operations and ser-vices in the event that an associate is confirmed with the virus,” the company said in the statement.
George Bureau is vice pres-ident of consulting for WMEP Manufacturing Solutions, a non-profit organization offering con-sulting services for small- to medi-um-sized manufacturing companies in Wisconsin.
Bureau said many companies he works with were not prepared for a pandemic like the new coro-navirus.
“I’ve talked to a number of CEOs who’ve said, ‘You know,
I’ve never been trained for almost an act of God.’ And that’s essen-tially what we’re seeing, you know, it’s like a giant hurricane hit the United States right now,” Bureau said.
He said most of the companies he works with are worried about how the pandemic will impact their workforce and around two-thirds have restrict-ed visitors to their facil-ities, including contracted employees or maintenance workers.
Bureau said companies are also concerned about their supply chain. He said some manufacturers rely on components made in China,
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“They’re just starting to restart as far as I know. So the concern is, is there going to be a dip where they just can’t get certain compo-nents?” Bureau said.
The Beacon April 17, 2020 – 3
When I was growing up in Rockford, Ill., visiting Williams Bay and Geneva Lake only infrequently in summer, I often wished I had been born in Wisconsin. If the people who had laid out the United States had their way, I would have been.
A large chunk of northern Illinois, including Rockford and Chicago, was originally supposed to have been part of what was to become Wisconsin. Unfortunately for us would-be Cheeseheads, a big part of Illinois, including Chicago and its valuable Lake Michigan waterfront, were relocated – not by an act of God, but of Congress. Here are the facts, many of which are taken from an Internet article by Terry Hogan.
Nathaniel Pope, a delegate to the U.S. Congress and former secretary of the Illinois Territory, was part of a five-man committee appointed to look into the merits of Illinois statehood. In 1818, the committee concluded that Illinois should be allowed to become a state once it reached a population of 40,000. Congress agreed and called for a census.
Illinois residents soon became aware that their territory wasn’t like-ly to achieve a population of 40,000 by the deadline, so, setting a prec-edent that was to become standard operating procedure in Chicago pol-itics, they moved the date from June 1 to Dec. 1 and began a creative counting process that would do cred-it to modern-day Florida.
The census takers counted peo-ple – sometimes more than once – who were just passing through the state. Residents who were in favor of statehood often failed to mention that they had already been counted
and were added to the tally again. Small remote locations that weren’t actually counted grew in popula-tion as estimates were expanded and added to the total. The census takers even threw in some of the commu-nities so far north that a reasonable person might correctly conclude that they were beyond the anticipated state line.
With all of this extra effort, the final census count became a whop-ping (and creative) 40,258, hard-ly squeaking by the minimum of 40,000. It was like the Windy City practice of voting early and often. But it worked and nobody called for a recount.
Not content with fudging the population figures to attain state-hood, Pope led the effort to expand the northern border of the new state.
At first the effort was somewhat modest and followed the successful
effort of Indiana, which had gained statehood in 1816.
The Hoosier State had decide not to pay attention to the Northwest Ordinance, which included a provi-sion that the northern border of the state run east from Lake Michigan’s southern tip. Indiana wanted access to Lake Michigan and approved leg-islation to move the state’s border 10 miles north, thereby gaining access to approximately 45 miles of pre-cious Lake Michigan shoreline.
With this modest appropriation of lakefont property into Indiana a model, and acting on his own ini-tiative without authorization from the Illinois Territorial Legislature, Pope lobbied Congress to move the Illinois border northward. He want-ed Chicago in Illinois and a port on Lake Michigan.
Pope initially lobbied to have the same northern border as Indiana – a
gain of about 10 miles north. But as statehood for Illinois approached, his desires, and efforts, swelled. He began to lobby Congress to set the Illinois border at 42 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude. For those who are geographically challenged, this amounted to a land grab of 41 miles north of the original stipulated border, not the 10 miles achieved by Indiana.
Pope argued that providing this additional lake frontage to Illinois would tie it closer to the rest of the nation by providing a water shipping route that would establish econom-ic ties to Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, not to mention the rest of the world.
Congress agreed and Chicago became part of Illinois. In 1818 that didn’t amount to much. More impor-tantly at the time, the expanded ter-ritory also included Galena with its thriving river trade and important lead deposits. Illinois also got some good dairy land and more of the Rock River.
In all, Illinois gained approxi-mately 8,000 square miles. Perhaps more importantly for its future, it appropriated more than 60 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. Illinois became one-seventh larger than it was supposed to have been.
Despite early efforts by Wisconsin to get its southern border moved back to something approx-imating what was called for in the Northwest Ordinance, it remained where it is today. And residents of Illinois are merely honorary citizens of Wisconsin when it comes to such things as voting. They do, however, receive the full privilege of paying property taxes, if they own a bit of heaven known as the Badger State.
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Be wary of coronavirus-related scams, there are many of them Of course, scammers are trying to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic, but common sense is a powerful tool to avoid getting ripped off. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. A story in Business Insider warned about people getting social media requests from official-sounding senders to provide personal infor-mation, purportedly to allow them to quickly get the up to $1,200 that is being given to eligible Americans in coming weeks under a recent-
ly enacted economic stimulus law. The story also reported some people were being mailed fake stimulus checks that they were told would only be valid if they called a spec-ified number and provided personal information. A Wednesday story in The San Diego Union-Tribune explained how texts purporting to be from Costco “offer” its members “free-bies,” a “stimulus check” or a “stim-ulus package” if they click on a hyperlink that the FBI says may lead
to ransomware, malware or other fraudulent methods to steal identity, financial or personal information. In another example, a Wednesday story in the Washington Post revealed how con artists are using email, phone calls and the internet to sell bogus remedies for coronavi-rus, including “special toothpaste.” There are no over-the-counter or mail-order products available to treat
Health care workers transport a patient on a stretcher into an ambulance in Kirkland, Wash. (David Ryder/Getty Images/TNS)
By Lori BorgmanTribune News Service
Some of our grandkids are so young they will not remember this time of social distancing and isolation amid a global pandemic. Others are old enough that they will remember schools closing, playgrounds off-limits, no visits with their friends, cousins or grandparents. My father-in-law, Hub, had a phenomenal memory. He often told of the time his family home was quarantined. What struck me every time he told the story was the detail about the teddy bear and how that was permanently seared into his memory. He was 5 at the time. His older sister, Alice, was 8 and his oldest sister, Mabel, was 12. Alice got sick and the doctor diagnosed it as scarlet fever. Outbreaks of scarlet fever in the early 1900s were often deadly or left children with lifelong disabilities. It was also highly contagious. The doctor said Hub and Mabel had to stay away until Alice got better and the house had been fumigated. Later in life Hub put his memories to paper, filling one yellow legal pad after another. He wrote, “There was no place to go except to Grandpa and Grandma’s, just down the road. We were packed up and sent off to their house. I had a little coaster wagon that we put our clothes in, and a few of my toys, and we walked down the road. “On the way, my little teddy bear fell off, and when we discovered the loss, we went back to look for it. A man who was working with a crew paving the road found it and gave it back to me.” He recalled days spent
What will we remember?Majority of people with COVID-19 in Walworth County have recovered
By Heather Ruenz Though the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus has continued to climb in Walworth County, Public Health officials are trying to shift the focus to the number of people who have recovered from it. Carlo Nevicosi, Deputy Director of Walworth County’s Health and Human Services Department said as of Monday, the county has 20 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and of those, 12 people have recovered while five are currently hospitalized. “We’re really trying to focus on the recoveries because people get locked on the how many confirmed cases scenario and the real story here is the high number of recoveries,” Nevicosi said. He said testing resources are now being directed toward people that are critically ill. Therefore, the number of laboratory confirmed cases are no longer an accurate assessment of the spread of COVID-19. “Most people don’t need a lab test nor does having a test – regardless of whether it’s positive or negative – impact the course of treatment. If they have symptoms and those symptoms are manageable, they’re being advised to self-quarantine at home,” Nevicosi said. He said it’s impossible to say if the disease in Walworth County has followed expectations because it’s something they’ve never dealt with before. “We had nothing to base it on. These are the kind of events some people train their whole lives on and never have to deal with. But it seems as a county, we’re doing OK, overall,” he said. Nevicosi said there have been a lot of questions about where the people confirmed to have the virus live. “Does releasing that in-formation help, we ask our-selves? You have a risk of contracting it in any com-munity. I understand that people want to keep themselves safe but the bottom line is, it’s everywhere at this point,” he said. He said the department has tried to strike a balance about who to share information with. For exam-ple, if first responders are being called to a location where someone has tested positive is, they’re being told that in advance.
It’s in all communities Nevicosi said COVID-19 has now been detected in all Walworth County communities. Despite all the talk about social distancing guidelines, it seems some people aren’t getting the message judging by the number of
vehicles at stores that remain open. Nevicosi said he isn’t aware of a mechanism to enforce the state’s Safer-at-Home order but said peo-ple need to be aware of the risk of going to public places. “They’re potentially spreading it or bringing it home with them,” he said. “I do applaud some of the businesses that have taken extra steps to try and protect customers and employees.” Some stores now have plastic barriers between cashiers and cus-tomers at check-outs and are limit-ing how many people can be inside a store at one time. Nevicosi said the Public Health Department is receiving a lot of calls and emails related to seasonal home-owners violating the Safer-at-Home order and asking about enforcement. He said they strongly recommend everyone follows the order but notes it’s not enforced by Public Health. “Our role is to enforce isolation of confirmed cases of COVID-18,” he said. “Law enforcement may stop and ticket people engaging in a nonessential travel, but the order is not a travel ban.” Nevicosi said the order permits travel to return to a place of res-idence from outside Walworth County and also travel required for non-residents to return to their place of residence outside of Wis-consin. Asked how long it may take until life gets back to normal, or as close to normal as possible, he said that’s hard to predict but said there’s one model the state seems to be follow-ing closely. “We don’t know for sure but the Murray projection model says Wis-consin will peak around April 27,” Nevicosi said. The Murray projection is a COVID-19 forecasting model cre-ated by Dr. Christopher Murray and researchers in Washington State that predicts the state-by-state impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The model can be found at covid19.healthdata.org. Nevicosi said from a nationwide perspective – as far as putting or-ders in place – he believes Wiscon-sin did a pretty good job. “I believe they are having an impact, and a lot of people are approaching this with good faith. They’re checking on their neigh-bors and following guidelines,” he said. For more information visit the Walworth County website at co.walworth.wi.us, the state De-partment of Health and Human Ser-vices website at dhs.wisconsin.gov or the Centers for Disease Control website at cdc.gov.
The Beacon April 17, 2020 — 5
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Business, Tax and InvestmentGeneva Supply co-founders named small business persons of the year Geneva Supply Co-Founders, Jeff Peterson and Mark Becker, have been selected as Wisconsin Small Business Persons of the Year for 2020 by the U.S. Small Business Administration. More than 50 win-ners make up this year’s group, including small business owners and entrepreneurs from across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Guam. For more than a decade, Jeff and Mark have made it their mission to help manufacturers sell through an ever-changing online marketplace. This has earned the Delavan-based Geneva Supply executives a spot on Entrepreneur magazine’s 2019 Entrepreneur 360 list and ranked them first among the Council of Small Business Executives 2019 class of Future 50 companies by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Associa-tion of Commerce. “Helping build Geneva Supply I have found myself launched into endless opportunities to share our winning strategies and the risks nec-essary to start and run a successful business,” said Jeff Peterson, CEO of Geneva Supply. “And, alongside Mark’s committed leadership and smarts, I know we are serving a major role in attracting Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, a variety of manufacturers, and other profitable
companies to join us in building stronger e-commerce strategies. I am thankful for the recognition as a Wisconsin Small Business Person of the Year for 2020 and will use it to keep Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial momentum moving.” Jeff and Mark co-founded the company in 2009 in a small airplane
hangar in Burlington. Today, Geneva Supply is based in southcentral Wisconsin and employs more than 125 workers with teams operating from three U.S. locations; Corporate Headquarters in Delavan, Charles-ton, S. C., and Phoenix, Ariz. The group also plans to open additional sites in the future, a step
that both Jeff and Mark note as a milestone in their success. Revenues are anticipated to pass $150 million in 2020. “This is an incredible honor. And it would have been tough to achieve without the support of a charismatic business partner and thought-leader like Jeff, as well as our talented and hard-working employees,” said Mark Becker, COO of Geneva Supply.” “Because of them, 2019 was our most profitable year yet. It came with additional hires, the opening of a new warehouse, and a large increase in capital expenditures. All credit goes to the employees for taking on the challenge. I am thankful for the recognition by the SBA, and see it as the type of gracious fuel we all need to aim higher and achieve our goals.” Each year, the SBA celebrates National Small Business Week by recognizing the achievements of outstanding small business owners and entrepreneurs across the United States. Jeff and Mark will be joining other NSBW winners at a ceremo-ny in Washington, D.C. They will be honored with individual awards along with the announcement of the 2020 National Small Business Person(s) of the Year and its top three runners-up. For more information on The U.S. Small Business Administration and to review all the 2020 awardees, visit www.sba.gov.
Geneva Supply co-founders Mark Becker (left) and Jeff Peterson have been named Wisconsin Small Business Persons of the Year for 2020 by the U.S. Small Business Administration. (Photo submitted)
Lakeland School staff working despite pandemicBy Michael S. Hoey
The Walworth County Board of Supervisors passed a resolu-tion declaring a state of emergen-cy in Walworth County on March 19 designed to slow the spread of COVID-19. Among other measures, the county voted to continue paying Lakeland School teachers and hourly staff during the crisis. County Administrator Mark Lu-berda presented the resolution to the board. He said teachers and staff may be treated differently from other county employees because the
school is a different organization. He said other county schools have been acting in a unified manner and Lakeland should be thought of more
as a school than a county operation. “I value consistency in operations and a uniform application across
Continued on page 7
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Health and FitnessAdvocate Aurora prepares for COVID-19 surge
Advocate Aurora Health has installed emergency department overflow tents for patients who exhibit mild symptoms of COVID-19 at its medical cen-ters, as shown here in Burlington, and at its other hospitals as well.
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By Jason Arndt Advocate Aurora Health is pre-paring for an influx of COVID-19 patients by setting up emergency department overflow tents outside of each of their hospitals, including those in Burlington and Elkhorn, according to officials. LeeAnn Betz, media relations manager of Advocate Aurora Health, said the overflow tents offers better pro-tection for staff and patients. “They are part of proactive preparations for a surge of volume in patients who come to the ED with mild COVID symptoms,” she said, adding the tents are not testing locations. “The tents allow for greater pro-tection of our team members and patients by segregating suspected COVID patients and not bringing them into the main hospital unless they require further treatment after their screening.” The overflow tents will also allow hospital officials to effectively use personal protective equipment while treating probable COVID patients. Nationally, personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves are in demand, which has forced state and local officials to request donations from the community. “The tents also help us efficiently conserve personal protective equip-ment as they are designed in a way so that staffing is kept to a mini-mum,” Betz said. Advocate Aurora Health has offered a resource guide for people experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or have been exposed to someone who tested positive for disease. The resource guide is accessible online and includes a COVID-19 symptom check-list.
“If you think you’ve been exposed to COVID-19 or are experiencing fever, cough or shortness of breath, start with our COVID-19 Symptom Checker or call 866-443-2584,” the website states. “Our symptom checker is the quickest way to find out what to do next.” People seeking a test will need prior authorization from a physician because of a limited supply of test kits both statewide and nationally, according to multiple news sources.
Equipment needed Advocate Aurora Health has enough personal protective equip-ment to satisfy current needs. Like other hospitals across the country, Advocate Aurora Health expects to see an increase in demand of personal protective equipment. “Amid the challenges nationwide with PPE shortages, we have sup-ply to meet our present needs but expect the demand will increase significantly,” Betz said. “We con-
tinue to work diligently to secure additional supplies from all avail-able sources.” Betz, meanwhile, said the current supply chain of PPE remains low, but items are being sent to facilities as needed to conserve and manage use. “As a result, team members may not see the same level of supplies that they are accustomed to see-ing,” she said. “We are also forging direct partnerships with manufac-turers, including one that will soon result in production of our own face shields.”
Donations sought Advocate Aurora Health offi-cials, however, said they remain committed to keeping their medical staff safe as more COVID-19 cases are confirmed locally and national-ly. “As COVID-19 continues to impact our communities, we are committed to keeping our heroes –
our doctors, nurses, and team mem-bers – safe,” Betz said. “As you know, the broader health care community is at risk of run-ning low on critical personal pro-tective equipment across the coun-try. Health care workers need these essential safety items on the front line of this pandemic to effectively provide care.” Advocate Aurora Health is accepting several items to help alle-viate some of the demand, accord-ing to Betz, who said the equipment must be new and unused. Items include masks, hand sani-tizer, eye protection as well as dis-infectant wipes. “Both N95 and procedural masks will be accepted,” she said. “These masks can be found across many industries and have been deemed appropriate to use in the health care setting by the CDC. Commonly found in the construction and land-scaping industries among other, we will gladly accept any new and unused masks.” Meanwhile, under CDC guide-lines, personal-sized hand sanitizer must be unopened and consist of at least 60 percent alcohol. Eye protection includes any new or unused goggles, safety glasses or face shields, she added. For people who have ques-tions, or if they are unsure their items qual-ify, Betz has asked them to contact Advocate Aurora at COVIDAAH [email protected]. Betz said contributors can drop off donated items at any Advocate Aurora Health hospital’s shipping and receiving dock. Advocate Aurora Health is not accepting handmade masks, but that could change depending on the need.
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employees as a very useful thing but I’m recognizing that the school is a little bit different in this regard,” he said. Luberda said that difference was made clear according to separate declarations made by Governor Tony Evers regarding schools during the crisis. The school employs full-time teachers whose pay and benefits will not be affected by the crisis. The school also has 42 hourly employees – such as special education aids and translators – whose status was not as clear. On March 19, Luberda said he had not yet anticipated continuing to pay hourly workers when there was no work. He suggested some of those employees could be reassigned to other roles and continue to be paid. A few days after the meeting, Luberda said some Lakeland School hourly employees had been reas-signed to the Walworth County Government Center and the Sheriff’s Department to help control access. He said the Government Center now has a Citizen Support Center at its main entrance. People coming in to do business at the building are met in the spacious entry way and seated six to eight feet apart where they can safely wait until their needs are met, if possible. Luberda said other hourly workers are participating in the school’s vir-tual school or online training oppor-tunities. He said all hourly employ-ees are working and being paid and would continue to do so through at least April 3. He said it’s important to have work for the hourly employees rather than paying them not to work.
Even though the money to pay the hourly employees is already in the county budget, Luberda said there was a balance the county has to con-sider between paying the workers and being accountable to taxpayers who might not approve of paying employees who are not working. That concern is especially fitting in a time when many private sector employees are not working and not being paid, if that’s the case. “We have been trying to approach it methodically in a thoughtful way,” Luberda said. Luberda said the county was still drafting a policy for how a new federal law will affect coun-ty employees, including Lakeland School employees. He said the law took effect on April 1 and expands many benefits to people affected by COVID-19. Lakeland School hourly workers who no longer have work to do and qualify for the benefits can apply.
Lakeland School Continued from page 5
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Director of Special Education Tracy Moate said she did not believe applying for those benefits would be necessary. She said any hourly employee worried that he or she would not get paid during the crisis was being premature. Moate said she believed there would be plenty of work for hourly workers to do even after April 3. “I am absolutely confident there will still be work to do,” she said. “We will need all hands on deck for our virtual learning.” Moate said the school has transi-tioned to a virtual learning environ-ment with 148 of the school’s 182 students participating. She said she was very pleased with that participa-tion rate. Moate said hourly workers have been and will continue to aid teachers online with students that need the support. “We worked very hard to develop plans to deliver services to our stu-dents, which is the primary focus of
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our school,” Moate said. “At no time was I worried we were not going to be able to reach our families. That is the most important thing right now,” she added. Moate said the first sign the coun-ty was committed to paying hourly workers was the March 20 payday when all hourly employees were paid even though the students had not been in school for more than a week by that time. She said some hourly employ-ees have been reassigned to other roles, some are receiving profession-al development opportunities they otherwise would not have time to partake of, while many are working with students virtually. Moate said the crisis has been difficult for everyone as the situation has been very fluid. “What we think we know today is different tomorrow. We have a great plan for everyone going forward and we will continue to evolve with this process,” she said.
no choice but to implement this illegal scheme, and would be called upon to implement the remedies requested by plaintiffs.” The day before election day, Gov. Tony Evers attempted to push back the election until June with an emergency order, but the Republican-controlled state Legislature immediately made an appeal to the state Supreme Court, which ruled 4-2 to strike the order down in just a matter of hours. GOP lawmakers opposed delaying the election, saying it would leave vacancies in important local offices across the state. On April 7, hundreds of people wait-ed in line for hours to vote, particular-ly in Milwaukee and Green Bay where there were five and two polling places open, respectively. On Monday, Wikler and Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez
Election lawsuit Continued from page 1
called on the state GOP and Trump administration to hold a vote-by-mail only special election May 12 for Wis-consin’s 7th Congressional District race. Perez called what happened Tuesday in Wisconsin “voter suppression on steroids.” When asked if the state Democratic Party would be willing to file a lawsuit in order to stop an in-person election May 12, Wikler said “all options were on the table.”
Absentee ballots counted Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, the city’s elections commission held an emergency meeting April 13 to deter-mine if 390 absentee ballots that had unclear postmarks or were unmarked would be counted. After a nearly two-hour meeting, the commission voted 2-1 to count the ballots. Commissioners Stephanie Findley and Carmen Cabrera voted to count the ballots. Commissioner Jess Ripp voted against it.
“I feel very bookended by the Su-preme Court decision,” Ripp said. “The court and the Legislature failed. I feel backed into a corner. If they were not post marked, they do not meet the qualifications. It’s tragic, but I abso-
lutely don’t’ see a way around it.” The Milwaukee election commis-sioners’ vote will be closely watched across the state as clerks decide how to handle absentee ballots that were re-ceived after the election.
A City of Burlington poll worker in full protective gear hands a ballot number to another worker during the April 7 election at the city’s public works facility on South Pine Street. The city employed drive-through voting to minimize human contact in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus. (Photo by Mike Ramczyk)
Apparently, everyone has been doing a lot of stress baking lately because the online grocery stores are low or out of stock on the most pop-ular flours. Al l -purpose , u n b l e a c h e d , whole -whea t and bread flour were gone from the virtual shelves. I get it: people are staying at home during the Covid-19 outbreak (thank you!) and everyone is in the kitch-en. People are making muffins and coffeecakes, yeast and quick breads, cakes and cookies. I’m glad people are baking. To think of the aroma of fresh bread or fresh cookies in the cookie jar are happy thoughts. But my reality is I haven’t been able to buy flour for the past four weeks. Don’t worry, I am not quite destitute having some flour still in my bin.
The secret to tender cornbread is to not overbeat it! Mix your ingredients just to combine—small lumps are fine. (Photo courtesy of King Arthur Flour)
Cornmeal has been available, so I have been using that more in com-bination with other flours. What’s nice about that is, I’ve been playing around with recipes and have some to share that have proven to be quite good. So, keep on baking my friends and if you don’t have an ingredient, experiment and use what you’ve got on hand.
Blueberry upside down cakeThis is a less-sweet dessert that is so good. I’ve also made it with apples, cherries and cranberries but blueber-ries are the best.1/4 cup butter1/2 cup brown sugar3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen In a 9- or 10-inch cast iron skillet: melt butter; dissolve sugar. Remove from heat. Add blueberries. Let cool a bit while you mix up the batter.1-1/4 cups sugar 3/4 cup butter3 large eggs2 tsps. vanilla
1-1/4 cups flour 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal2 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. salt3/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt Cream together sugar and butter till fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Com-bine dry ingredients and mix in al-ternately with buttermilk. Pour over blueberries. Place skillet on cookie sheet to catch any drippings. Bake 45 to 50 minutes at 350 F. Remove from oven. Let cool 15-20 minutes. Run knife along edge to loosen before turning upside down onto a plate.
Anadama bread forbread machine
Makes a 2 pound loaf1-1/4 cup milk, warmed2 Tbsps. butter, melted3 Tbsps. molasses1 tsp. lemon juice1-1/2 tsps. salt2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour3/4 cup yellow cornmeal2-1/4 tsps. yeastPlace ingredients in bread machine in order listed. Use multigrain bread setting.
Cornbread Use a 8-inch square pan or a 9-inch cast iron pan1/2 cup butter1/4 cup sugar 2 eggs1 cup flour 1 cup yellow cornmeal 1 tsp. salt1/2 tsp. baking soda1 cup buttermilk or sour milk Cream together butter, sugar and eggs. Add dry ingredients alter-nately with milk. Stir to combine but do not overbeat – small lumps of batter are fine. Pour into greased and floured pan. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until top springs back.
7 ways to dine ‘out’ when staying inAs restaurants, bars and taverns have closed their doors voluntarily or under government orders amid the public health crisis surround-ing COVID-19, a population accus-tomed to the freedom of dining out for special occasions or as part of daily life has found they must make an assortment of changes. However, it’s still possible to enjoy the offerings of your favorite restau-rants. Many local restaurants have made some dramatic changes in an effort to meet the needs of their cus-tomers.
Oven-ready meals Some restaurants are offering ov-en-ready meals that are fully pre-pared dishes that customers need only heat up at home.
Deep discounts Certain businesses are cutting pric-es on menu items in order to gener-ate revenue. Other restaurants are providing discounts on take-out as incentives to customers.
Prepaid options The reservation service Resy has opened up its service to restaurant owners in other states to offer take-out meals restaurant guests can book and pay for online. Other reservation businesses may soon follow suit. Local establishments vary on the abil-ity to pay online, but a little research at the restaurants websites and Facebook pages will provided the needed infor-mation to customers.
Beer and liquor to go
In Wisconsin, craft breweries are offering pickup options to their cus-tomers. Some have even set up a Beer Drive Thru. The East Troy Brewery, for exam-ple, offers curbside delivery of meals and beer crowlers, which are priced at $10. “We sell sealed 32-ounce cans (crowlers) of any beer we current-ly have on tap,” East Troy Brewery owner Ann Zess said. “We can also sell sealed full bottles of liquor. We are doing well with the beer at the price we have it, and sometimes peo-ple stop in for beer pick up and order food too.” The beer-pub’s carry-out menu in-cludes their pizzas, burgers, tacos, family meals, and a few upscale op-tions such as prime rib for four on Saturdays. Zess said the community has been supporting the brewery and things were heading in the right direction. “Our busiest day by far is Friday for fish fry. If it wasn’t for that we would be dead!” she said. “We sold 36 one week and ran out, 54 the next and ran out, 84 the next and ran out and we have 167 orders for this Fri-day – hopefully we run out.” Zess said the brewery had applied and was approved for a Payroll Pro-tection Program loan and was ex-pecting the funds within the week. “We plan to bring our staff back
Continued on page 10
The Beacon April 17, 2020 — 9
Sick of macaroni and cheese? Looking for something special to break the monotony of cooking? It’s time to order out and eat in. With the coronavirus pandemic keeping people indoors and many businesses closed, it is worth noting that many of the restaurants that have closed their dining rooms are offer-ing carryout and delivery service. Some are offering food from their full menu, while others are offering daily specials. The following list, though by no means complete, offers a selection of area restaurants who will be happy to serve their custom-ers, old and new, during the “safe at home” crisis. As far as we know, all pizza restau-rants are maintaining carry out and/or delivery service. All fast food restaurants are maintaining their drive-through service.
Restaurants 841 Brewhouse, 841 E. Milwau-kee St., Whitewater. (262) 473-800. Hours Daily: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-8 p.m. Pickup / Curbside Delivery / Delivery Baker House, 327 Wrigley Dr., Lake Geneva. (262) 248-4700. Hours: Wednesday-Saturday 5 – 9 p.m., Sunday- 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Curbside Pickup / Deliveries to Se-lect Lake Geneva Hotel Lobbies The Black Sheep, 210 W. White-water St., Whitewater. (262) 613-7119. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday: Bagged lunch, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Din-ner, 4:30-9:30 p.m. Pickup / Curb-side Delivery / Delivery. Bruno’s Restaurant, 730 Corner Stone Crossing, Waterford. (262) 514-3663. Hours: Sunday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Takeout, Curbside Pickup / Delivery. Cafe Latte at The Abbey Resort, 269 Fontana Blvd., Fontana. (262) 275-9000. Menu Based on Avail-ability. Hours: Friday-Saturday: 6:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Sunday: 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Monday - Thursday: 6:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. Pickup. Champs Sports Bar and Grill, 747 W. Main St., Lake Geneva. (262) 248-6008. Hours: Sunday-Thursday: 10:30 a.m. - 2 a.m., Friday-Saturday: 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 a.m. Pickup / Curb-side Delivery. The Cheese Box, 801 S. Wells St., Lake Geneva. (262) 248-3440. Menu Based on Availability. Hours: Monday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Wednesday - Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Pickup / Curbside Delivery / DoorDash. Daddy Maxwell’s, 150 Elkhorn Rd. (Hwy. 67) Williams Bay. 275-0040. 6 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Dockside Pizza at The Abbey Re-sort, 269 Fontana Blvd., Fontana. (262) 275-1458. Hours: Daily 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Pickup / Curbside De-livery. The Duck Inn, N6214 Hwy. 89, Delavan. (608) 883-6988. Hours: Friday and Saturday only, 4 – 9 p.m. Pickup / Curbside Delivery. East Troy Brewery, 2905 Main St., East Troy. (262) 642-2670. Hours,
We’re Open To Serve You
Thursday-Sunday only: Thursday 4-8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday: 11:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. Pickup / Curbside De-livery. Elizabeth’s Cafe, 322 E. Wal-worth, Delavan. 728-3383. 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. Carryout or delivery. Fire2Fork, 2849 S. County Road O, Delavan. 725-7388. 4-7 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Curb-side pickup. Fitzgerald’s Genoa Junction, 727 Main St., Genoa City. (262) 248-1207. Call for Availability. Hours: Thursday, 5 - 8:30 p.m.; Friday-Sat-urday, 5-9 p.m., Sunday: 3 - 7 p.m. Pickup. Gino’s East, 300 Wrigley Dr., Lake Geneva. (262) 248-2525. Hours: Sunday-Thursday: 11 a.m. -9 p.m., Friday-Saturday: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Pickup / Curbside Delivery / Deliv-ery / DoorDash. Gordy’s Boat House, 336 Lake St., Fontana. (262) 275-6800. Hours: Friday: 5 – 8 p.m., Saturday and Sun-day: 11:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. Curb-side Delivery Greenie’s Clubhouse at Delbrook Golf Course, 700 S. 2nd St., Dela-van (262) 728-1339. Hours 4-7 p.m. Monday, Friday, Saturday. Pickup / DoorDash. Harpoon Willies, 8 E. Geneva St., Williams Bay. Lake Geneva Pie Co, 150 E. Ge-neva Square, Lake Geneva. (262) 248-5100. Menu varies daily, call for availability Hours: Monday - Satur-day 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. Pickup. Lucke’s Cantina, 220 Elkhorn Rd., Williams Bay. 245-6666. Mars Resort, W4098 South Shore Dr., Lake Geneva on Lake Como. 245-5689. Hours: Daily 11:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. Curbside pickup. Moy’s Restaurant, 3 N. Wiscon-sin, Elkhorn. 723-3993. 4-9 p.m. Carry out only. Someplace Else Restaurant, 1 W. Walworth St., Elkhorn. 723-3111. Hours: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Carryout, delivery. Sperino’s Pepperoni Pub, 720 N. Wisconsin St., Elkhorn. (262) 723-2222. Hours: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. for car-ryout and/or delivery. turf. kitchen + tap – (262) 245-7300. Hours: Daily 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Pickup / Delivery Within Geneva National The Village Supper Club, 1725 South Shore Dr., Delavan. (262) 728-6360. Hours: Friday and Saturday 3 - 8:30 p.m. Pickup, curbside delivery. The Waterfront at The Abbey Resort, 269 Fontana Blvd., Fon-tana. (262) 275-9000. Hours: Sun-day-Thursday: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Fri-day- a.m. - 1 a.m. Pickup. Waterfront Pub & Grill, 408 State Road 50, Delavan Inlet. – 728-4700. Hours for carry outs: Saturday - Thursday 3-8 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Takeout has become the new norm as people are urged to stay home in-stead of dining out in crowds. (Stock photo)
Whiskey Ranch, W9002 Highway 11, west of Delavan. (262) 882-2800. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., pickup and curbside delivery, delivery.
Other businesses Advanced Auto Clinic, 1101 Ann St., Delavan. (262) 728-2944, ac-cdelavan.com. Hours: Monday-Fri-day, 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Allied Senior Services, 7421 W. Becher St., West Allis. Phone and online: (800) 924-4061 and alliedse-niorservices.com. Hunter’s Auto Service, 2356 S. Seventh St., Delavan. (262) 728-5788, huntersautoservice.com. Hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m. - noon. Heyer True Value, 200 Highway 67 North, Walworth. (262) 275-6133, heyerhardware.com. Hours: Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.; Sun-day, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Koch Kuts, 32635 Academy Road, Burlington. (262) 534-9509, koch-kuts.com. Hours: Call to schedule an appointment. Korey’s Auto Kare, 416 S. Sev-enth St., Delavan. (262) 728-2886, koreysautokare.com. Hours: Mon-day-Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Toynton Funeral Home, 328 Kenosha St., Walworth, and 210 Baldwin St., Sharon. Part of the Nel-son Funeral Homes & Crematory group. (262) 275-2171, www.nelson-funeralhomes.com. For immediate assistance, call 800-600-9994.
The outbreak of the novel coro-navirus COVID-19 throughout the United States in March 2020 trans-formed American lives in ways many might never have imagined possible. Social distancing recommenda-tions and restrictions on gatherings of more than a handful of people had a ripple effect on the economy that adversely affected many small businesses. Small businesses are the back-bones of local communities. Ac-cording to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses make up 99.9 percent of all busi-nesses in the United States and em-ploy 59.9 million employees. The SBA notes that the accom-modation and food services sector is the second largest small business industry. Many of these business-es have been hit especially hard as more and more of their regular cus-tomers stay at home in the wake of government advisories promoting social distancing. But small businesses are vital to local communities, and there are ways to support them and help them stay afloat as they confront the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Order delivery It’s still possible to enjoy foods
How to support local businesses during mandatory restrictions
from your favorite local restau-rants. Many restaurants that had not previously done so have be-gun to offer delivery services, be it curbside or at-home, and this can provide a great respite for families who have had to cook three meals a day at home for their entire fam-ilies for extended periods of time. Curbside delivery has made it possible to get takeout meals with-out compromising social distanc-ing recommendations.
Consider your options Recognize that more than food is available for takeout. In Wisconsin beer and liquor can be picked up with carry-out orders at restaurants that offer spirits.
Purchase a gift card Gift cards can help small busi-nesses generate revenue at a time when their doors are largely closed to the public. This can be vital to these businesses’ survival, and it gives consumers something to look forward to when life returns to nor-mal.
Help market local businesses Spread the word when local businesses deliver in the wake of the restrictions put on them due to COVID-19. Share these experienc-es via social media or online re-views, and urge your neighbors to patronize these businesses.(metro creative)
10 — The Beacon April 17, 2020
next week at full pay,” Zess said. “We have some projects for them to ready the restaurant for reopening and some other training that we could never get to. This loan will also help pay our water bill and electric bills that are currently outstanding.” For more information and a menu, go to etbrew.com. To place an order, call 262-642-2670.
To-go party plans CEC Entertainment, the parent company of the Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza restaurants, said the concepts would launch new family and birthday packages that in-cluded takeout pizza, birthday cake and goodie bags, in addition to two game apps for Chuck E. Cheese that provided virtual tickets redeemable at a later date when restaurants re-open.
Pre-packaged favorites Certain chain restaurants have long offered frozen selections of their popular appetizers and other dish-es. When at the supermarket, check the freezer section for items from restaurants like TGI Friday and PF Chang’s.(METRO CREATIVE)
Dining in... Continued from page 8
Foxconn can’t be awarded tax credits until contract with state is reorganizedBy Corrinne Hess
Wisconsin Public Radio NewsFoxconn officials say they have in-vested “hundreds of millions” of dol-lars in the development of the Wis-conn Valley Science and Technology Park in Racine County and have met the state’s pay-for-performance cri-teria, according to an open records request from Wisconsin Public Ra-dio. “Foxconn directly employed 600 individuals, with more than 550 meet-ing the criterial for qualifications as full-time employees,” Jay Lee, board member and vice chairman of Fox-conn Technology Group wrote to Wis-consin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) Secretary Missy Hughes. “Alongside our local partners, we have built a strong foundation for the Wis-consin project, and set the stage for Wisconn Valley to be the center of a high-technology hub for North Amer-ica. Foxconn had to create a minimum of 520 jobs in 2019 to be eligible for state tax credits. The company had un-til April 1 to report the number of jobs it created last year. Still, it’s unlikely the company will receive the job credits. In November 2019, a series of let-ters between the state Department of Administration, WEDC and Foxconn showed the group at odds over what qualified for tax incentives.
Foxconn’s new Wisconsin plant in Mount Pleasant. (File photo)
When the original contract was signed in 2017, Foxconn promised to build a 22-million-square-foot Gen 10.5 plant. Those plans have repeat-edly changed. Foxconn is now building a small-er plant and has also created another entity, Foxconn International Inter-net (Fii) that is not mentioned in the contract. “Foxconn was opaque about its project plans throughout 2018 and did not commit to any specific type of project different than the Gen 10.5 facility defined in the contract,” DOA Secretary Joel Brennan wrote in a letter dated Nov. 22, 2019. State officials said late last year tax credits would not be awarded until the contract is amended. That has not yet taken place. Foxconn officials did not respond to request for comment. Hughes said an independent, third-party auditor will review Fox-conn’s report. WEDC expects the au-ditor’s report by May 16. “WEDC will then review the com-pany’s project performance report, supporting workbooks and other doc-uments, and the independent auditor’s report, a process that is likely to take several months,” Hughes said. “Our conversations with Foxconn about aligning the contract with the project continue — it is WEDC’s objective to
do so in order to support the project.” Foxconn is also eligible for tax credits for making “significant” capital investments from 2019 through 2025 if WEDC determines the company made those invest-ments in a designated zone in Ra-cine County. An estimate released in January by the Legislature’s nonpartisan budget office determined Foxconn would have “sufficient payroll and capital expenditures by the end of the 2019 calendar year to receive the $212 million of refundable credits that would be paid in the
2020-21 fiscal year.” Based on reports of the project’s progress to date, and assumptions regarding payroll and capital expen-ditures, it is more likely that credits paid to Foxconn in 2020-21 will be in the range of $50 million to $75 million, the Legislative Fiscal Bu-reau report found. State Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Osh-kosh, said given what is happening with the new coronavirus pandem-ic, he’s glad Foxconn hasn’t rene-gotiated its contract. Hintz, who is on the WEDC board, said the state needs the extra budget money to take care of peo-ple during the public health crisis. “The reality is the state gets its re-sources from income tax, sales tax and income tax and all of these are down and there is going to be more demand for state services which is going to make expenses go up,” Hintz said. “We’re in a better place for this recession than we were in the past, but that may get eaten up pretty quickly depending on how long the economy is impacted.”
Despite the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus outbreak, one live music venue is still planning to carry out its 2020 schedule. The concerts announced earlier this month by Belfry Music Theatre are still on at the moment, the theater stated recently on its Facebook page. Belfry’s concert season is expected to kick off June 5. Numerous live music events in March and April have been cancelled or postponed since the COVID-19 outbreak. In its post, Belfry stated it will continue to monitor the virus over the next 60 days and act in the interest of its patrons. “Any decisions to alter our 2020 season are future decisions,” the theater stated. The theater also requested that people do not attend shows if they are ill, and it will issue full ticket refunds upon request. April 1 was the earliest the general public can purchase tickets, but those with Belfry memberships can buy tickets already. Tributes to some of the biggest names in pop, rock and country are scheduled to perform at the Belfry Theatre this year, many of which have played there before.On the roster are tributes to everyone from Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond and Frank Sinatra to the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Led Zeppelin. One act has members who are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Heart By Heart — which includes two of the original members of Heart — is set to play
Belfry season still onBelfry Oct. 2 and 3. Paul Revere’s Raiders will perform there July 24 and 25.The group formerly known as Paul Revere and the Raiders once sold records at a volume on par with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Chicago’s the Buckinghams will play the Belfry Aug. 19 and 20. The sunshine pop group had five Top 40 hits in 1967.
Following is the rest ofBelfry’s 2020 schedule
American English: The Beatles tribute, June 5 to 7. Troubadours: Tribute to James Taylor and Carole King, June 10 to 13. Rainy Day People: Gordon Lightfoot and Jim Croce tribute, June 17 and 18. Dancin’ Machine: 70s disco tribute June 19 and 20. Strange Magic: Electric Light Orchestra tribute June 24 and 25. Music of the 60s: British Invasion-era tribute June 26 and 27. Chicago Rewired: Blood, Sweat & Tears tribute July 1; and Chicago tribute July 2, 3 and 5.Godfrey Gale: Stevie Wonder tribute July 8 and 9.Broken Arrow: Neil Young tribute July 10 and 11.Simply the Best: Tina Turner tribute July 15 and 16.Sounds of Summer: The Beach Boys tribute July 17 and 18.Doobie Others: The Doobie Brothers tribute July 22 and 23. Dean Z: Elvis Presley tribute July 29 to 31, Aug. 1 and 2, and Oct. 14 to 18. Jay White: Neil Diamond tribute Aug. 5 to 9. Sally Olson: The Carpenters tribute
Aug. 12 and 13. Fortunate Son: Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute Aug. 14 and 15. Four C Notes: Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons tribute Aug. 21 and 22. On the Border: The Eagles tribute Aug. 26 to 29. Tusk: Fleetwood Mac tribute Sept. 2 to 5. Zachary Stevenson: Buddy Holly tribute Sept. 6 and 7. Franc D’Ambrosio: Broadway tribute Sept. 9 to 12. Philip Bauer: Johnny Cash tribute Sept. 16 and 17. Kashmir: Led Zeppelin tribute Sept. 18 and 19. Forever Motown: Motown tribute Sept. 23 to 27 Gene Sironen: Righteous Brothers tribute Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Classic Stones: The Rolling Stones tribute Oct. 7 to 10. Doug Brewin: Alan Jackson tribute Oct. 21 and 22. Infinite Journey: Journey tribute Oct. 23 and 24. The Boxers: Simon & Garfunkel tribute Oct. 28 and 29. Kalimba: Earth, Wind & Fire tribute Oct. 30 and 31. Journeyman: Eric Clapton tribute Nov. 6 and 7. American Fool: John Mellencamp tribute Nov. 13 and 14. Mike Massé Band: Nov. 20 and 21, covering rock from the 1970s to 90s. Belfry Theatre is located at 3601 Highway 67, town of Delavan.Ticket prices vary, depending on the show and seats, but generally fall between $52 and $74.
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VOTK is open to members only. You can be a member of The Valley of the Kings for as little as $75 for 6 months ($37.50 for seniors 62 & over). Or, you can form a special relationship with an individual animal by sponsoring a lion, tiger, bear, or one of our other rescued animals! Once you are a member, you can come any Saturday, Sunday or both after 1:30 p.m. to visit the animals. CONTACT US:
Valley of The Kings sancTuary & reTreaTW7593 Townhall Road, Sharon, WI 53585-9728
A tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for COVID-19 after developing a dry cough, and anoth-er tiger and three lions have all developed similar issues. While all animals are expected to recover, all cases are suspected to be from human to animal transmission, as an asymptomatic zookeeper caring for the animals later tested positive for the virus. Available to speak in more detail on animal to human transmission is scientist, Registered Nurse, and RestoraPet founder and CEO, Brian Larsen. Animal to human transmission of COVID-19 remains a possibil-ity but currently no evidence that this has occurred, though more than 100 other disease have been demonstrated to be transmissible from pets to humans, though it’s very rare Domesticated pet cats have been shown to be able to contract COVID-19 from their owners and to transmit it to other cats, but the cats did not show symptoms Ferrets are also susceptible to COVID-19 and develop symptoms including fever and coughTwo dogs have tested positive but have shown no symptoms and are not believed to play a major role in the disease If you have tested positive for COVID-19 or suspect that you may be positive, it is wise to quarantine yourself from your pets as well as the human members of your house-hold It remains unclear whether a pet contract COVID-19 or become a vector for passing it, so steer clear of pets and other humans in your
There is a saying that goes “if you want the most comfortable seat in the house, move the cat”. These two seemed to have found a very comfortable spot. (File photo)
household during this time If you cannot find someone else to care for your pet, continue pro-viding care yourself, but limit con-tact with them as much as possible Try not to pet them but, if you must, wash your hands both before and after. Do not kiss them or snuggle with them, and wear a face mask around them.
• • • •Dear Cathy, I live in a 55 and older commu-nity. Last year, we had about 20 feral cats roaming the complex. People here are boarding them up under trailers so they can’t get out. Several have talked about killing them. I was threatened with major fines because I gave two kittens that stayed in my yard food and water after they came to my door crying. I probably shouldn’t have fed them, but I could tell they were starving. What can I do or who can I con-tact to help? The people here just complain but will not pay to have anything done and they don’t care about TNR (trap, neuter, return). They don’t understand other cats will just move in if they extermi-nate them. I am at a loss. I’m the only person here who seems to care. Any information would be greatly appreciated. - L. Nelson, Tucson, Arizona
Dear L., Thank you for caring about these cats. People often forget that feral and community cats are the result of people dumping their cats on the
streets. Sadly, other people frus-trated by the situation often blame the cats for being in their neigh-borhoods and want them hauled off or killed rather than trying to find humane ways to help these aban-doned felines. Most people want someone to take these cats away, but there typically aren’t people at animal control or local shelters that do this because that would result in eutha-nasia and, as you point out, also would create a void in the neigh-borhood that would eventually be filled with other cats. The goal of the community is to make sure these cats don’t repro-duce. With spring coming, there is a good chance that by the time you read my response, every female feral/community cat in your neigh-borhood will be pregnant. Cats can have two to six kittens a litter and give birth several times a year. Your neighborhood will be even more overrun with cats if they aren’t fixed soon. The best thing your fellow res-idents can do is TNR, which you mentioned. This is the humane solution for reducing feral cats in the community and involves trap-ping the cats and taking them to a clinic to get fixed and vaccinated. The clinic also will clip the cat’s left ear indicating that the cat has been fixed and return the cat to its neighborhood. The goal is to stabi-lize the cat population by making sure no kittens are born. If the cats are fixed and fed, they generally aren’t even seen much in the neigh-
borhood except by the people who feed them. Try to find like-minded souls to help you launch this neigh-borhood effort. Check with local spay/neuter clinics about the cost for these services. Often, there are grants that help cover the cost or partly subsidize these surger-ies. Hermitage No Kill Cat Shelter and Sanctuary, Pawsitively Cats and Tucson Cares indicate on their websites that they provide humane traps, so you can trap the cats for their surgeries. If you can educate your neigh-bors (and the city council to change the laws about caring for feral cats so it’s not a crime), you will make a huge difference for feral and community cats in Tuscon.
Dear Cathy, We have a 7-year-old rescue dog. We recently found out he is allergic to chicken. I am told this is the top allergen for dogs. Yet 99% of dog foods and treats contain chicken. Even the ones that claim to be beef, salmon, etc. Are there any foods that don’t have chicken? How do you find them? - Jani, Las Vegas
Dear Jani, There are pet foods on the market that are labeled “limited ingredient foods” that have alternate proteins, like fish, duck, rabbit and bison for dogs with food sensitivities and allergies. So long as the food is approved by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, you are not missing any important nutrients. I fed my dog Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Fish Formula Limited Ingredient because she could not tolerate chicken proteins. There are other brands avail-able these days for dogs with food allergies. Ask your vet for a recom-mendation or go to a pet store and speak to someone who can walk you through the dog food brands. You also can search online for “limited ingredient dog foods” or “dog foods for pets with allergies.” (Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, sto-ries and tips to [email protected]. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)(c) 2020 DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT
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12 — The Beacon April 17, 2020
A high school fresh-man burst into the house and said, “I’ve got great news, Dad!” “What’s the great news, son?” his father asked. “You don’t have to buy me any new books next year. I’m taking all of the same courses again.”
• • • • “What are you two arguing about?” a mother asked her children. “There’s no argu-ment,” said David. “Lisa think’s I’m not going to give her half of my candy and I think the same thing.”
• • • • The other day my house caught fire. My lawyer said, “It shouldn’t be a problem. What kind of insurance coverage do you have?” I told him I had fire and theft. The lawyer frowned. “Uh oh,” he said. That’s the wrong kind. You should have fire OR theft.”
• • • • A fisherman accci-dentally left his day’s catch under the seat of a bus. The next evening’s newspaper carried an ad: “If the person who left a bucket of fish on the number 47 bus would care to come to the garage, he can have the bus.”
• • • • Mr. and Mrs. Roberts had reached the airport just in time to catch the plane for their vacation to the Bahamas. “I wish we had brought the piano with us,” said Mr. Roberts. “Why on earth would we want to bring the piano?” asked his wife. “Because I left the tick-ets on it.”
• • • • “How much for a hair-cut?” a man asked the barber. “Eight dollars,” said the barber. “And how much for a shave?” “Six dollars.” “Okay, then,” said the customer, “shave my head.”
• • • • Three men – a Texan, a Muslim wearing a tur-ban, and an Apache with an eagle feather in his hair
– were sitting on a bench. The Indian was rather glum and said, “Once my people were many, but now we are few.” The Muslim puffed up and said, “Once my peo-ple were few, but now we are many millions.” The Texan adjusted his hat, finished rolling a smoke and drawled, “That’s ’cause we ain’t played cowboys and Muslims yet.”
• • • • “When I get mad at you you never fight back,” a man said to his wife. “How do you con-trol your anger?” “I clean the toilet bowl,” answered his wife. “How does that help?” “I use your tooth-brush.”
• • • • A vampire bat came flapping in from the night, face all covered with fresh blood and parked himself on the roof of the cave to get some sleep. Pretty soon all the other bats could smell the blood and began hassling him about where he got it. He told them to get lost so he could get some sleep, but they persisted until he finally gave in. “OK, follow me,” he said and flew out of the cave with hundreds of bats behind him. Down through the valley they flew, across the river and into a huge forest. Finally, he slowed and all the other bats excitedly milled around him, tongues hanging out for blood. “Do you see that large oak tree over there?” he asked. “Yes, yes, YES,” the bats all screamed in a frenzy. “Good,” said the first bat, because I didn’t.”
• • • • A woman was talking with her next-door neighbor. “I feel really good today,” she said. “I started out this morning with an act of unselfish generosity. I gave five bucks to a lazy bum.” “You gave a lazy bum five bucks? That’s a lot of money to give away just like that. What did your husband say?” “He said ‘Thanks.’”
