NewBerlinNOW Community Watch
Community Watch: A Weblog of The Latest Local News
- Lions hold on to beat Vikings, 45-38
Brimming with confidence, the New Berlin West boys basketball team stayed right with rival Eisenhower for most of the teams' game on Feb. 9 before a large crowd at Eisenhower. The Lions, though, made the big plays down the stretch and held on for a 45-38 victory. West, which had trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half, scored six straight on a tip-in by Mike Giammarco and a reverse layup and jumper off a steal, both by Tyler Garvens, to tie the game at 36-36 with 1:31 left. Eisenhower responded by getting the ball to center Matt Dorlack, who converted a three-point play for a 39-36 lead with 1:08 remaining. After West's Erik Martwick narrowly missed a driving shot, Nick Pesqueira and Alex Izzo combined to hit six of six from the line to seal the victory. The Lions (13-1 in the Woodland Conference and 15-2 overall) were led by 16 points from Dorlack and 12 by Izzo. The Vikings (8-5, 9-8) were paced by nine points from Rob Guertsen and eight each by Ben Wisniewski and Tyler Garvens. Eisenhower welcomes Wauwatosa West on Friday, Feb. 16 in a showdown for first place in the conference, while West plays host to Whitnall on Tuesday, Feb. 13, in a makeup contest. - County Board meetings to be online
Waukesha - Waukesha County Board meetings are going live on the Internet. Starting with Tuesday's 7 p.m. meeting, Internet users will be able to downstream live audio broadcasts of board deliberations at the county courthouse. The service is just a click away at www.waukeshacounty.gov. County Executive Dan Vrakas said the move makes government more accessible to the general public. "In this day and age, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to listen to your government," he said. - Sheriff's deputies criticize Vrakas
Waukesha County sheriff's deputies are entering the fray over proposed budget cuts, ripping County Executive Dan Vrakas' proposals as "peculiar and shortsighted." The union for about 150 sheriff's deputies issued a statement today supporting Sheriff Dan Trawicki's contention that law enforcement is being underfunded in the county. "The level of public safety, as well as officer safety, are at risk of being diminished," the union said. Trawicki has disclosed plans to release at least 50 inmates from the county's work-release jail because his request for additional jail staffers was rejected in the county's current budget. Vrakas has responded by offering other possible cuts in the sheriff's department, including a top administrator and the department's media spokesman. The county executive has not announced whether he plans to seek County Board action on his proposals. - Lions claw Falcons, maintain league lead
Whenever there was a question in Wednesday night's Woodland Conference boys basketball showdown at Brown Deer, New Berlin Eisenhower had an answer. Be it 6-11 center Matt Dorlack or guards Nick Pesqueira or Alex Izzo, timely shots were always at hand for the league-leading Eisenhower team as the Lions hit 26 of 43 from the field en route to a 69-65 win over the host Falcons. "Sometimes we were our own worst enemy," Lions coach Dave Scheidegger said, "but I guess the sign of a champion is that we answer the bell when needed ... Different people stepped up." Brown Deer (10-3 in conference, 14-3 overall) was looking for a share of the Woodland lead after Eisenhower (12-1, 14-2) lost to Pewaukee last week, but a 12-0 run by the Lions in the second quarter helped give them a 33-25 halftime lead. The Falcons used a 13-0 run between the second and third quarters to get back into the game and closed the gap to a point twice, but never gained the lead. "They had eight 3-pointers in this game and that was something we were aware of," Falcon coach Mike Novak said, "and it's to their credit. Every time we'd make a little run, they'd knock down a three. That has a real adverse affect on you." Izzo nailed the last of his four threes on the night with 3:27 remaining to boost the lead to 61-54. The Falcons were forced to foul and Pesqueira hit six of eight free throws down the stretch. Dorlack was a dominant presence underneath for the Lions with 23 points including three dunks. He also influenced or blocked numerous shots. Pesqueira added 17 and Izzo 12. "What Matt (Dorlack) does defensively is a given," Scheidegger said, "but he's really gained confidence in his offensive game." Ashton Crawley led the Falcons with 24 points while Greg Davis had 17 and Derrick Washington 13 (all in the second half). "We've experienced a setback," Novak said, "and what it amounted to was a lack of consistency. We had things that we were proud of offensively and defensively, just some little miscues hurt us. It's also just so hard to simulate someone like Dorlack. He played his role very well tonight." - Thursday's government meetings
New Berlin. Finance Committee, 6 p.m., Conference Room A/B, City Hall, 3805 S. Casper Drive. - New hotel approved in New Berlin
New Berlin - Plan commissioners voted 5-1 tonight to give final approval to a 405-room, 110-foot high hotel and water park near W. Greenfield Ave. and S. Moorland Road over the objections of some city residents who said the plan should have another public hearing. The Deer Creek Inn and Conference Center, a 1.1-million-square-foot hotel at 1401 S. Moorland Road would include five levels of underground parking, two floors of mixed retail space, five levels of hotel rooms and a conference facility that would accommodate 1,500 people. A planned unit development for a hotel had been approved by city in 1999 and again in 2001. The plan approved had a number of changes, including a taller height, the addition of a third restaurant, and an agreement that would allow developer Don Kitten to forgo a $1 million contribution to the city to improve storm water treatment. In exchange, the hotel will have all underground parking and a garden roof that traps most of the storm water. The roof will also direct storm water and melted snow into a basement cistern where water is stored and reused to hydrate landscaping and nearby wetlands. Plan commissioners debated the proposal for nearly two hours. Ald. Dave Ament, a commissioner, said the building's 110-foot height was taller than allowed under the proposal's planned unit development agreement, which would require a new public hearing. Ament also expressed concerns that construction of the five-floor underground parking would disturb the wells of neighboring residents. "I have a huge problem with the amount of changes that are in here compared to the previous presentations," said Ament, who voted against the move. - New Berlin schools closed Tuesday
New Berlin public schools will be closed again tomorrow due to frigid temperatures. - Vandals mark buildings with graffiti
Four instances of graffiti were reported in the city between the evening of Feb. 1 and the morning of Feb. 2. Black paint was sprayed on the walls of the bathroom building at Lions Park, 14900 W. Overland Trail. Vandals sprayed several words on the building and police found two sets of footprints in the snow near the building. A damage estimate was not available. Graffiti also was painted on these locations around the city: a building in the industrial park, 2125 S. 170th St. Damage was estimated at $500. Aries Tool, 15885 W. Overland Drive. Damage was estimated at $750. the old New Berlin Library, 14750 W. Cleveland Ave. Damage was estimated at $100. - Waukesha County Board reorg moves ahead
Waukesha - Waukesha County Board meetings would be held less often but each board member would be required to serve on two committees, under a downsizing plan advanced today. The plan to hold monthly meetings rather than semi-monthly is part of a reorganization planned when the board downsizes from 35 to 25 members following the 2008 elections. Some board members objected to maintaining seven-member committees and requiring each supervisor to serve on two committees. The debate centers on a philosophical disagreement about how much the part-time board members should be involved in managing and overseeing day-to-day county operations. The County Board Executive Committee unanimously endorsed the reorganization, which goes before the full board Feb. 13. - Monday's government meetings
Selected governmental meetings on Feb. 5: New Berlin. Architectural Review Committee, 5:15 p.m., Conference Room A/B, and Plan Commission, 6 p.m., council chambers, both at City Hall, 3805 S. Casper Drive. - Waterpark concerns Milwaukee alderman
Citing concerns about Lake Michigan water, Milwaukee Ald. Michael Murphy is trying to throw some cold water on plans for a $50 million hotel and conference center with an indoor water park in New Berlin. In a news r