SUAMICO VILLAGE BOARD
Board hears update on crime
Marc Pisani, the Village of Suamico’s directed enforcement officer, gave the board a look at the village’s crime statistics at its April 4 meeting.
Pisani presented numbers from the first quarter of 2022 and compared them with the same time period last year.
He said the sheriff’s office responded to 1217 calls in the village this quarter, slightly up from last year’s total of 1076 calls.
Pisani said there have been 213 traffic stops so far in 2022, compared to 222 in 2021.
He said crime prevention calls, officers being asked to check on businesses or parks for example, were up significantly, 182 this year, compared to just 86 last year.
Pisani said welfare checks are also up, with 48 being performed so far this year, compared to 29 in 2021.
He said the rise in welfare checks is notable, because officers can spend several hours on each check they perform.
One highlight of the report, Pisani said, is a decrease in crashes in the village, down to 46 this year, from 64 last year.
“That’s obviously a positive, less property damage, less potential for injury,” he said.
Squad vehicle challenges
Pisani informed the board the department’s purchase of a 2022 Dodge Durango was canceled by the manufacturer, because of supply issues.
He said a replacement option has been found and the department will acquire a 2022 Charger instead.
“We do have a squad car coming this year,” Pisani said. “We don’t know when (it will come, because) it’s held up in transport. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.”
Winter parking rules
Village Administrator Alex Kaker said the village may soon have the ability to adjust, if necessary, its winter season parking restrictions.
Currently, there is no parking allowed on village streets from Nov. 1 to April 15.
An ordinance presented at the April 4 meeting would allow flexibility to end or suspend the seasonal parking ban ordinance if weather conditions permit.
The board will vote on the ordinance at its April 18 meeting when it’s up for a second reading.
DE PERE SCHOOL BOARD
CESA 8 contract
The School Board voted unanimously Monday, April 4 to renew the district’s contract for $162,650 with CESA 8, the Cooperative Educational Service Agency, for the 2022-23 school year.
The amount consists of $81,791 for programs and services for students with visual impairments, $2,381 for orientation and mobility services for students with visual impairments and $78,487 for programs and services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Grant presentation
The board heard a report from Joelle Letter, a fifth grade math and science teacher at Foxview Intermediate School, in regard to the Innovative Teaching grant she received and how it affected student learning in her classes during the 2021-22 school year.
The grant covered a number of laminated, oversized writing tablets known as Wipebook Flipcharts, which have detachable pages that can be hung on a wall or other vertical surfaces. Letter said the tablets help learning in a number of ways, from promoting collaboration, since students can see each other’s progress working on problems, to keeping students alert, since standing while working increases blood flow to the brain.
The books are used with dry-erase or wet-erase markers and wiped clean, which Letter said makes them longer lasting and more friendly to the environment.
She said work can be photographed and saved through an app.
Among the 10 or so applicants for the next round of Innovative Teaching grants in 2022-23, one is for the Wipebooks.
Others include sublimation printing, a dog washing station for the small animal care program and ukuleles for elementary school music classes.
Each year, the School Board awards $20,000 in grants to teachers for classroom projects.
GREEN BAY EQUAL RIGHTS COMMISSION
Human rights campaign scorecard
The Equal Rights Commission spent much of its March 31 meeting discussing the city’s 2021 Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index (MEI) scorecard, and how to continue to increase the city’s score going forward.
Earlier this year, Green Bay received its highest score to date – 84 – on the MEI, the only nationwide assessment of LGBTQ+ equality in municipal policies, laws and services.
At the request of Mayor Eric Genrich, the commission reviewed the scorecard and came up with a plan to continue to increase the city’s number.
“So what the mayor has kind of relayed to us, and my understanding, is that he would really like for this commission to kind of walk through this, and then come up with some key areas to kind of grow the numbers here,” Chief of Operations Joseph Faulds said. “And so kind of look at that, and focus on where we can get started on continuing some of that growth.”
The commission voted unanimously to direct staff, with the assistance of some commissioners, to create a work plan to attain a score of 100 by 2024.
Press Times Editor Heather Graves, Staff Writer Josh Staloch and Correspondent Lee Reinsch contributed to these briefs.