Living Lake Country

City of Oconomowoc - The annual Downtown Extravaganza in the City of Oconomowoc has been pushed back until Sept. 5-6.

The originally scheduled date was Aug. 9.

The move was made because the downtown Oconomowco road reconstruction contractor Dorner Inc. said they would not have the terrace areas between the sidewalks and the road paved with brick by Aug. 9, leaving a major "trip hazard" throughout downtown.

Crews have recently been focused on the roundabout at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Walnut Street in order to have the roundabout open for north/south traffic by the Aug. 16-17 Festival of the Arts.

The rescheduled extravaganza will be held in collaboration with the Sept. 5, Focus First Friday event, and the two occassions will be known as Maxwell Street Days.

The newly formed combo will go from 10a.m. to 9p.m. Friday Sept. 5, and from 10a.m. to 5p.m. Saturday Sept. 6.

Hartland-Lakeside School District - Kids dove into Hartland-Lakeside's summer school program, Summer Splash, with over 100 more students this year than last year, but the district is asking for parent input to make the program even better.

About 530 kids participated in the 2008 Hartland-Lakeside Summer Splash program this summer, said Michele Schmidt, Northshore Middle School director of student services.  Schmidt, who in August will become principal of NSMS, said the district would like feedback from parents on the program.  The district provides a Summer Splash parent survey on their Web site, www.hartlake.org. 

The program, scheduled from June 23 through August 1, allows kids to participate in a wide variety of classes.  Students could choose from programs with titles like, "Hook, Line and Sinker," "Finger Food Fun," "Sewing up a Storm," and "Know Your Guts!"

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold announced today that the Big Bend-Vernon Fire Department received a 2008 Assistance to Firefighters Grant of $228,950.

713 applications from Wisconsin departments were turned in to the United States Fire Administration for the grants, requesting a total amount of almost $100 million.

Oconomowoc Senior Legion Post 91 head baseball coach Josh Fenzl said four errors led to four unearned runs on Wednesday, holding back the Senior Legion baseball team in the first round of the Wisconsin State Regional playoffs.

It lost to Beloit in Beloit 11-8, despite out-hitting the hosts 15-8.

Tanner Wensman was the losing pitcher for Oconomowoc. He piched seven innings.

 Nate Proud had a huge day at the plate, going 5-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Derek Doudna had three hits, and Matt Huffaker had two hits, including a grand slam.

Post 91 plays at Burlington July 24 at 8:30 p.m.

Pewaukee - The Pewaukee Chamber of Commerce will be bidding farewell to its executive director and welcoming a new one next week.

The chamber will be holding a farewell party Tuesday for Amy Kommer, who served as the chamber's executive director for about five years. On Monday, Laura Podd will be joining the chamber as the new director.

Jean Daul, president of the chamber, said Kommer is leaving for new endeavors.
"She is such a positive person," said Daul. "She has an outstanding personality. She will be missed."

Daul said Kommer was warm and welcoming and worked well with the businesses in the community and government officials as well.

Podd was previously employed at Elmbrook Church, Daul said.

Aa flatbed truck is removing an Ebert's Greenhouse pickup truck and trailer from the scene of an accident on Highway 16 at Capitol Drive in the Village of Pewaukee. The front of the trailer and rear of the pickup appear "crushed," according to a witness.

A minivan might also have been involved in the accident, as well as possibly an asphalt-laying machine from the state Department of Transportation.

Pewaukee police and rescue workers are on the scene.

Westbound traffic on Highway 16 is being diverted off the highway at Main Street in Pewaukee because of an accident near the Capitol Drive exit. Eastbound traffic is unaffected by the accident, according to one observer.

Residents are being asked to lock their vehicles as there has been a rash of thefts from vehicles this month.

Since July 2 there have been more than two dozen break-ins to cars in the area including in the towns of Merton, Lisbon, the village of Nashotah and the City of Delafield. Three cars, with keys left in the ignition, were also stolen, but found a short distance from the owner's property.

Stolen from the vehicles have been iPods, laptop computers, MP3 players, CDs, a wallet, and change.

Capt. Karen Ruff of the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department urged residents to never leave the keys in the ignition, place any valuables out of sight and lock their vehicles.

The thefts in Merton, Lisbon and Nashotah areas appear to be related as they all involve unlocked vehicles. The thefts have occurred the during the weekends of July 12 and July 19.

The three vehicles were stolen over the weekend of July 19 and 20. The thefts occurred on Marshall, Center Oak and Oakwood drives, Ruff said. The thieves apparently took the vehicles for short joy rides. Some vehicles sustained minor damage, she said.

The thefts in the City of Delafield were of the smash and grab variety where a window is smashed out and items are stolen. Those thefts occurred early July 19.

Anyone with information should contact their local police department. In the case of those communities serviced by the Sheriff's Department, residents are asked to call Ruff at 262-548-7142.

Vrakas held his first Town Hall Meeting today at Waukesha State Bank in Mukwonago. 

The meeting discussed the County's 2009 budget.

Future meetings:

Waukesha County Courthouse: Monday, July 28, 6 p.m.

Village of Menomonee Falls Public Library: Tuesday, August 5, 6 p.m.

Vrakas encourages residents to attend and to add their input as the County develops the 2009 budget.

Oconomowoc Area Schools - The School Board announced Tuesday that it has accepted a $1.2 million offer to purchase on the Oconomowoc Middle School property from a local developer.

The letter of intent, from Nelson Property Solutions, LLC, a real estate development team, led by John D. Nelson of Oconomowoc, revealed plans to renovate the classrooms into senior or other residences and is exploring uses of the gymnasium and auditorium.

"Acceptance of an offer is the first step in the sales process, not the last step," said Board president Donald Wiemer.

"It's like accepting an offer when selling your house. It may lead to a closing, or it may not. We expect Nelson Property Solutions, LLC to move forward  with their planning and work with city officials to gain their approval," he added.

The Board President cautioned that there are conditions and stipulations that accompany any offer to purchase;  if those are successfully met, a closing will be scheduled for the fall.

 District officials, who have held listening sessions with neighbors of the OMS property, mailed letters to nearby homeowners to keep them apprised of the situation.

"While we are all very excited about the new schools and their locations, we understand the importance of respecting the neighborhood surrounding the old school property and the history and tradition in this community," Superintendent Dr. Pat Neudecker wrote.

The middle school was closed at the end of the 2007-08 school year in anticipation of the district's two new intermediate schools  scheduled to open in the fall for students in grades five through eight.

The two new schools, located on the north and south ends of the city, were part of a $49.6 referendum that replaced the 85-year-old middle school, as well as approved the construction of a performing arts center and field house at the high school.

"We're pleased with how things have progressed thus far," Neudecker said of the middle school transaction.

"We'd like to see a new and productive use for this piece of Oconomowoc's history," she said.

The property was listed by the Boerke Company for $1.1 million earlier this year; the buyer was procured by Lori Hake of Judson & Associates, who is the contact person on behalf of Nelson Property Solutions to market the project to prospective tenants.

Wiemer noted Nelson's connection with the community.

"What's neat is the John Nelson family lives in the district, so we have a purchaser who is a stakeholder in the community and will take on one of our assets and make a very fine development," he said.

 Wiemer said the sale of the OMS property will be directed to alleviating financial obligations.

"I believe the money will be going toward district debt reduction, based on a successful closing," he said.

Senior Eric Van Beck did it all Tuesday night for Arrowhead's varsity baseball team in hthe championship game of the WIAA AHS regional.

Van Beck, a tall right-hander, pitched a three-hitter with 13 strikeouts and just one walk and singled in two runs as the Warhawks eliminated visiting Germantown by a 4-2 score.

The win vaulted the Warhawks to its own sectional tournament on Friday. After Menomonee Falls and Brookfiled Central play in the opener at 11 a.m., the Warhawks will host Slinger at 1:30 p.m. The winners of those two games will play in the championship game at 4 p.m. The winner of that game will advance to the state tournament next week in Stevens Point.

It will be Arrowhead's fourth straight sectional appearance.

Van Beck allowed just three hits, two of which came in the first inning. He finished the game by striking out the side in the top of the seventh.

Van Beck broke a 2-2 deadlock by singling in two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Earlier in the game Chris Pendergast had an RBI sacrifice fly for the Warhawks and catcher Matt Berger belted his first home run of the season, a long blast over the left field fence.

Sophomore first baseman Brian Crook had two of the seven AHS hits.

The Warhawks improved to 22-11-1 with the win.

Mukwonago's varsity baseball team advanced to Friday's WIAA sectional by notching a 10-6 win over Waukesha Catholic Memorial in regional play at home Tuesday.

The second-seeded Indians will face either Waukesha West or Waukesha South in a 3 p.m. game at West. The winner of that contest will play in the 7 p.m. sectional championship game, with a berth in the state tournament on the line.

The result was not the same in another matchup of seeds No. 2 and No. 7, when Slinger upset Sussex Hamilton, 9-8. The Owls will face host Arrowhead in Friday's sectional action, while Hamilton's season came to a close. The Chargers were co-champions in the Greater Metro Conference this season.

Pewaukee's varsity baseball team was beaten 16-0 in five innings on Tuesday at McCoy Field by Brookfield Central. The game was called after five innings due to the 10-run high school mercy rule.

Both teams entered the WIAA State Summer Regional game with identical 27-10 records.

Brookfield Central scored once in the bottom of the first inning, eight runs in the second inning, five runs in the home half of the third inning and two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Pewaukee's only hit came from Alex Barr. Bryan Spakowicz was hit by a pitch in the top of the first inning. Alex Birch reached on an infield error in the top of the fifth.

Justin Weber was the pitcher of record for the Pirates.

Lake Country's premier local news site, LivingLakeCountry.com, can now be found on Facebook.

The page includes feeds of the newest top articles from the website, the newest posts from Lake Country Watch (LLC.com's up-to-the-moment news blog), as well as the latest post from the site's Community Bloggers.

The page also includes information about the site, photos and a discussion board where readers can talk about important news affecting their lives.

Users of Facebook can become "fans" of the site, which will place a link to LivingLakeCountry.com page on their Facebook page.

Facebook.com is a social networking site where users can post photos and information about themselves and connect with friends around the world.

Funeral services have been planned for Lauren Aljubouri, 18, formerly of Hartland, who was killed Saturday. Visitation is scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 25, at the Evert-Luko Funeral Home, 170 Warren Ave., Hartland. A funeral Mass is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Saturday, July 26, at St. Charles Catholic Church, 313 Circle Drive, Hartland. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Milwaukee.

Village of Hartland - Lake Country commuters traveling east board along Highway 16 to Interstate 94 should either seek alternative routes or anticipate traffic delays during morning and evening rush hours.

A traffic jam early Tuesday morning was apparently caused by road construction along Highway 16 and increased traffic resulting from work on the Highways 16 and 83 overpass.

Lake Country commuters who live east of Highway 83 may want to use south bound Highways KE, KF or 164 as alternate routes to Interstate 94.

Commuters who live west of Highway 83 might want to use south bound Highway P as an alternate route to Interstate 94.

State highway officials said that east bound Highway 16 at the North Avenue overpass in Hartland has been reduced to one lane while workers repair the overpass.

There has been a increase in traffic along Highway 16 between the Highway 83 and Jungbluth Road (Highway KE) interchanges because the route is being used as a detour because the Highway 16 and 83 overpass is closed for construction, according to state highway officials.

John Kanzenbach, project director for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, said he anticipates that traffic along Highway 16 will be reduced to one east bound and one west bound lane while work on the North Avenue overpass is completed during the month of August.

Kanzenbach anticipates that traffic along Highway 16 will also be reduced to one east bound and one west bound lane possibly beginning next week at the Capital Drive interchange.

Milwaukee - An 18-year-old Hartland man was charged Monday with killing his girlfriend in their apartment near the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee early Saturday.

Eric Tavulares was charged in a criminal complaint with first-degree reckless homicide for strangling his live-in girlfriend, Lauren Aljubouri, 18 of Hartland. The couple lived in an apartment in the 2400 block of N. Frederick Ave.

According  to the complaint Tavulares was fascinated with the 1994 film "Natural Born Killers," a movie about two victims of traumatized childhoods who become lovers and then psychopathic serial killers that are irresponsibly glorified by the media.

Tavulares told MJilwaukee police he had watched the film 10 to 20 times and he and Aljubouri watched part of the film Friday night. Early Saturday morning while talking to Aljubouri "something caused him to switch mentally" and he started to strangle Aljubouri, according to the complaint. Tavulares told police he is not sure exactly what happened.

The Waukesha County Recovery Center will be open from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. daily until July 26; however FEMA Public Information Officer Tom Mullins says the Waukesha Center will close at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Anyone affected by the recent disaster should call FEMA's toll-free helpline, 1-800-621-FEMA. 

According to Mullins, as of yesterday, 34,513 people have registered in the state of Wisconsin, 1,578 of those in Waukesha County.

$39 million has been approved for housing assistance and 31,000 home inspections have been completed thus far by FEMA.

City of Oconomowoc - The Oconomowoc Relay for Life, held at the Oconomowoc High School this past weekend, raised a grand total of $24,000 for the American Cancer Society.

The annual event kicked off at noon on Friday, July 18, and went through the night ending with its closing ceremonies at 10a.m. Saturday, July, 19.

Thirteen teams, which are allowed up to 15 participants, walk the outdoor track partaking in an array of activities like a costume character lap, and patriotic lap, as they did so.

These numbers were down from last year however, which raised $35,646.76 for this cause.