May 17, 2020 8:50p
From WGTD News:
A plan to move Kenosha County Board meetings to larger and safer quarters that would enable the public to attend has run into a snag. A member of the board has tested positive for COVID-19. Supervisors have taken heat for continuing to meet face-to-face. Two weeks ago, a citizen was arrested when she ignored restrictions on public attendance. Last week county officials made arrangements to relocate the board to a larger hall at the Job Center. Board Chairman John O’Day told WGTD News Sunday morning there were no plans to cancel Tuesday night’s meeting, even though a board member had tested positive. The news reportedly did send several other board members to a testing site last week to get checked out themselves.
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A new testing station is expected to open Monday morning in Racine at Festival Hall. The National Guard-staffed site is expected to be open daily from nine until six through Friday. The testing is free and open to the community.
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For the first time in weeks, no new COVID 19-related deaths were reported yesterday in Wisconsin. But there were 356 new cases. 58 new cases were reported in Kenosha County over the weekend; 101 in Racine County and 11 in Walworth County. Health officials fear that a new surge in cases will be coming as a result of Gov. Evers’ ‘Safer at Home’ order being declared invalid by the state supreme court last week.
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In some cases, online instruction is no substitute for in-person teaching. Both Kenosha and Racine unified are offering online lessons and paper packets. There’s no word on just how many students are taking advantage of the instruction. There is anecdotal evidence. Speaking on Education Matters Saturday, two teachers at Julian Thomas Elementary in Racine said most of their contacts with students occur over the phone. A few students have dropped off the radar altogether. One teacher said she’s taken to driving the streets in search of a couple of them.
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Although there’s no iron-clad guarantee that K-12 schools will be open as usual this fall, work teams have been formed in Kenosha Unified to begin making plans. The titles of the groups are School Redesign, Virtual Learning, Student Social Emotional Support, Safety and Staff Wellness and Professional Learning. In an open letter last week, KUSD Superintendent Sue Savaglio-Jarvis said the committee work will be reviewed by separate panels.
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The federal court case against the City of Kenosha and a Kenosha police officer who shot and killed a man five years ago appears to be over. An appeals court in Chicago has thrown out a claim against the city that had been filed by the family of Aaron Siler. The 26-year-old Kenosha man was shot by Officer Pablo Torres who had cornered Siler in an auto repair garage after a chase. Torres claimed he couldn’t see what Siler had in his hands. Turns out it was a bucket. Several months ago, a federal judge in Milwaukee had dismissed Torres from the suit.
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The clean-up continues from a Saturday morning fire at a Pleasant Prairie apartment complex for seniors. Flames that broke out in one of the apartments at Prairie Village Senior Apartments were kept at bay by a sprinkler system. The occupant of the apartment was rescued by a fire department aerial platform ladder. The resident was treated at the hospital and later released. No word on the cause of the blaze.
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Kenosha Police say a man was stabbed and a woman was taken into custody early Sunday morning in the 6100 blk. of 75th St. The man’s wounds to his stomach were said to be serious but not life-threatening. Police were initially summoned to the scene on a report of disorderly conduct.
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