Snowdance finalists announced

Over Our Head Players announced the finalists for its 2009 Snowdance 10-minute comedy festival. Here are the winning titles and authors:

Cracks In the Sand by Corrie Mund of Whitby, Ontario, Canada
A couple gets more (or less) than they bargained for when they check in to an island resort for a weekend alone.

Here to Serve You by Barbara Lindsay of Seattle, Washington
Can a lost shoe in an airport terminal really be a threat to homeland security?

Three Kings by James Venhaus of San Antonio, Texas
The Christmas spirit seems lost when a game of poker gets in the way.

Not Funny by Christopher Lockheardt of Andover, Massachusetts
A Love Story: a man, a woman, and a good steak knife.

Proverbs by Donna Latham of St. Charles, Illinois
Proverbial wisdom rings out over lost love, but it’s in an Irish pub.

Dressed up Like a Douche by Rick Park of Boston, Massachusetts
Friends argue over the real lyrics to a song. Is anyone right? Or are they all blinded by the light?

Love is a Battlefield by W. Patrick Fogarty of Racine, Wisconsin
A couple meets on a blind date, too bad they brought their relationship coaches along.

Santa Clause TASTOPHY by Heather Meyer of Bloomington, Minnesota
From holiday icon to villain to League of Justice Super Hero – in one silent night.

Idiots Abroad by Stephen Gallagher of Youngsville, North Carolina
Lost in Europe with a stressed marriage, a broken GPS and an obnoxious German DJ.

Kung–Foolery by Brett Hursey, Longwood University, Farmville, VA
Karly and Barry are married. Karly’s mother is coming for a visit. Barry has issues.

The winners were selected from 240 plays from 36 states and five countries, according to organizers. The plays will be performed at the Sixth Street Theatre in January and February. Audience members will vote on their favorites, and the top vote-getter will be named, "Best in Snow" and receive $300. The second and third place plays receive $100.

The plays will be performed by an ensemble cast led by Rich Smith. Also featured are actors John Adams, Barbara Akey, Brianna Andrews, Emily Breiwick, Diane Carlson, Sea Daniel, Rick Ditter, Cody A. Ernest, Melissa Hughes Ernest, Brad Kostreva, Jenny Kostreva, Joseph Piirto, Matt Rangel, Ron Schulz, Tom Spraker, Denise Marie Wargowsky, and Teri Rene Wilson.

For a complete list of show times, visit the Over Our Head Players online.

Boucher donates vehicles to Racine Zoo

The Racine Zoo picked up some nice rides for the new year, thanks to Frank Boucher.

The Chevrolet, Cadillac and Saab dealer donated a complimentary lease to the zoo for use of a 2008 Chevy Silverado and a 3500 Extended WB passenber van. Both vehicles, decorated with custom wildlife graphics, will be used for transporting animals and supplies and will show up in local parades.

The graphics were designed by Design Partners and applied by the Sign Shop.

The Racine Zoo is open daily. Hours between Labor Day and Memorial Day are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The admission price is $4.00 for adults, $2.00 for children 3-15, $3.00 for seniors and children under three and Zoo Members are free. The mission of the Racine Zoological Society is to foster an enlightening and affordable wildlife experience that improves the bond between people and nature. The Society will provide for the recreation and education of the people, the conservation of wildlife and wild places, and the advancement of science.

Fair looking to get back on City Council

For the third straight election, Keith Fair will run for the City Council's First District seat, which represents Downtown Racine.

In 2005, Fair was elected to the council by three votes over incumbent Jeff Coe. In 2007, Coe returned the favor by beating Fair 217-168.

Fair also tried to run against Coe in 2003, but was left off the ballot after then City Clerk Karen Norton ruled Fair did not have enough valid signatures.

Here's Fair's statement on running, once again, for elected office:

I will be running in the First District. These are very exciting times for me as well as others with the election of Barack Obama. I would like to see some enthusiasm at the local level and I am looking forward to serving on the city council once again.

Coe wasn't immediately available for comment on whether he's running for re-election. It's a safe bet he is, but we'll update when we hear from him.

Hispanic business association offering $2,000 college scholarships

Hispanic students graduating from high school this year can apply for a $2,000 scholarship from the Hispanic Business and Professionals Association.

The scholarships will be awarded Feb. 28 at the HBPA's annual banquet. If you or someone you know qualifies for the scholarship, download the form here. The deadline is Jan. 30.

Questions can be sent to Wally Rendon at: wrendon@hbpaofracine.com

Racine Community Foundation announces board of directors

Jackson Parker III will continues as president of the Racine Community Foundation in 2009, the nonprofit announced Tuesday.

President-elect and board treasurer is James Small; Secretary is Bryan Albrecht; Pamela Johnson is vice-president of donor relations; Michael Staeck is vice-president of marketing; vice-president of the grant committee is Robert Siegert, MD; and David Perkins is the ad hoc chair of the investment committee.

Newly elected members include Sheila Bugalecki; Darice Griffin; James Paulsen; and Steen Sanderhoff. Re-elected to the board is Ernest Styberg, Jr. Continuing board members include Nancy DeKraay; David Easley; Marlene Haigh; Jean Jacobson; Renee Sartin Kirby; Dorothy Metz; Dwayne Olsen; Elizabeth Powell; Gregory Ruidl; and Eugene Szymczak.

The Racine Community Foundation's mission is to encourage and provide opportunities for charitable giving, to manage and distribute the funds in a responsible manner and to enhance the quality of life for the people of Racine County.

Racine Symphony Orchestra exec director leaving

Keith, we hardly knew ya!

Keith Hampton, executive director of the Racine Symphony Orchestra for less than a year, is leaving to become assistant director of the School of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

RSO Music Director Andrew Massey said, “We are all very proud to be able to claim Keith Hampton as one of our own. He has brought subtle and powerful advances to the smooth running of the RSO. We are very sad to see him go, but it is good to be able to reflect that he has left us in a much stronger position, administratively, to face the future.”

A committee has been created to begin the search for a replacement. Any person interested in applying should send a cover letter and resume to the Racine Symphony Orchestra, PO Box 1874, Racine, WI 53401, or via e-mail.

Hampton is a classically trained musician and songwriter who has performed locally at JavaVino and in Side by Side by Sondheim at the Racine Theatre Guild. He took the part-time RSO executive director's position in February.

Mount Pleasant getting exit signs along new I-94

Update: The initial post here wasn't correct. Mount Pleasant is getting its own signs off I-94, but Caledonia has not requested the same. Here's the email from Dennis Shook, regional communications manager for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation:

The Mount Pleasant signs are in the works already. But Caledonia has not approached WisDOT on signage. If Caledonia were to ask for such signage, it would be reviewed by WisDOT at that point. Mount Pleasant made that contact already.

I corrected the post below with the correct information.

Original post:

Drivers along I-94 soon will see more than just exits to Racine. The state has agreed to list Mount Pleasant (corrected) on exit signs along the interstate, according to Mount Pleasant Village Board member Harry Manning

The villages will get added to the signs because they're the municipalities drivers exit into when they leave I-94, Manning said. They've only listed Racine for years because Mount Pleasant was a town and not considered destination points (corrected).

The new exit signs are expected to go up sometime next year, Manning said. They will list Mount Pleasant/Racine at the Highway 20 and Highway 11 exits and Mount Pleasant at Highway KR, he said.

This may seem like a small detail, but it's a marketing coup for the villages. Thousands of people through Racine County on I-94 on a daily basis. The exit signs will reinforce Mount Pleasant's identities as communities separate from Racine.

As for the city, the big green signs are just one more thing it has to share with its surrounding communities.

RUSD boundary exemption apps period opens

The Racine Unified School District announces middle and high school boundary exemption enrollment for the 2009-2010 school year. Boundary Exemptions allow students to attend a middle or high school that is outside of their attendance area.

Those applying for boundary exemption must do so each school year and provide their own transportation. Decisions are based on need, reason and space availability in the school. Middle and high school boundary exemptions will be accepted between Jan. 5 and Feb. 13. Applications should be sent to the principal at the requested school. Parents and guardians will be notified by April 18 of approval or denial of the boundary exemption.

For questions regarding school choice, contact RUSD support services at 631-7181.

Obama's Billions: City requests $6.5 million in federal stimulus dollars

So you're a mid-sized industrial city in southeastern Wisconsin and the federal government offers to buy you anything you like. But there's a catch: You have to spend all of the money next year.

City of Racine officials were confronted with this real-life version of Brewster's Millions last month as the US Conference of Mayors began preparing urban requests for a piece of the multi-multi-billion dollar economic stimulus package the federal government is putting together.

The idea is to create jobs building infrastructure as soon as possible, said City Administrator Ben Hughes. The trick is coming up with a list of projects that don't require planning or a long approval process; government official want the stimulus spent as soon as possible. (For example, they couldn't push for expanding the police department, because it would take too long to draw up plans and get the project finalized.)

With all of these limitations, the city turned to its capital projects budget. So what did they choose to ask Santa Federal Government for this year?

1. $5.6 million in new water and wastewater projects.
2. $900,000 for repaving streets.

Wow.

"The dilemma we faced was the more high-profile projects require extensive planning," Hughes said. "They wouldn't have been able to meet the needs for the federal government. ... We didn't want to bypass the money, because it may free up money for some of those more glamorous projects."

The one major project tossed around City Hall was a rooftop garden for the public library, Hughes said. While they may have gotten it built next year, it wasn't a good fit because the library is thinking about moving, he said. (The stimulus is also a one-time source of money, so projects with ongoing operating costs were also ruled out.)

So sewer and wastewater projects it is.

A few of the requests include:

• Sanitary/sewer collection systems along Ohio Street and Michigan Boulevard.
• A new water main on State Street from La Salle Street to Memorial Drive
• And a water main on the northwestern edge of the city along Airline Road.
• Resurfacing (but not rebuilding) select neighborhood streets; the new surface will last about 15 years.
  

While the projects lack glamour, they're effective in creating jobs, Hughes said. The general rule is city projects create one job for $100,000 in spending. If Racine gets all of its requests, it'd create about 65 construction jobs next year.

But the requests are just, well, requests. The government is expected to act on the stimulus package shortly after Barack Obama is sworn into office on Jan. 20. Racine should know if it's projects get funded by February, Hughes. That will give the city time to bid out the project in time for the start of construction season in April.

No matter what gets funded, Hughes said, taxpayers will benefit.

"It wouldn't just be make-believe work," he said. "We as a city would benefit by this. If we as a city don't do these in 2009, we still are going to need to do them 2-3 years down the road. Without federal stimulus money, we'll borrow the money and ask taxpayers to pay it off over time."

Snow-carving highlights afternoon at the Square

There was a lot going on Saturday at Monument Square, but the biggest event was a snow-carving demonstration by Jeff Shawhan and Jim Malkowski, two champion snow sculptors.

They started at noon with a 4' x 4' x 8' tall block of snow ... and by 4 p.m. it was an honest-to-goodness replica of Santa Claus coming down a chimney, dragging a big bag of toys. Except for a small "diet" that Santa suffered when some snow broke off his ample stomach, they made it look far too easy, as they took turns with various parts of the sculpture.

Photo above shows Santa nearing completion. Below is the rough drawing they started with; and below that Malkowski works on Santa's face early in the day. Today's demonstration was just a light workout for the two carvers, who will participate in a championship event in the Dells in January.


Snow-carving wasn't all that was going on. Below are two photos showing the Christmas caroling skills of the Racine Montessori School Choir, performing first, Do you hear what I hear, and then Jingle Bells. They were too adorable for words -- and they sang well, too.


And, of course, it wouldn't be Santa Saturday -- as the Downtown Racine Corporation dubbed the event they orchestrated -- without Santa himself making an appearance, along with Mrs. Claus, an elf and some reindeer. And Christmas trees and wreaths for sale.



I'm still not sure who these guys, below, represent, but they had enough holiday spirit to go around.

And, finally, there was a big pile of snow on Monument Square -- it has to be put somewhere -- and the kids made good use of it (amid cries of "Be careful," from their parents.)

Journal-Sentinel abandons Racine with snow alerts

If you needed another sign that the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has abandoned Racine ... the area's largest newspaper did not include snow-related closings in Racine County during yesterday's snow storm. They had Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee counties.

This is a change from past years when they would list Racine's closings. Now, we're left with the Milwaukee TV stations to compile the lists. I used WTMJ's site for area closings.

Lumpkin elected president of Racine Interfaith Coalition

Former County Board Supervisor Ken Lumpkin was elected president of the Racine Interfaith Coalition on Dec. 11.

Lumpkin and RIC are working on an aggressive program called "Violence No More," which they'll roll out this summer. The faith-based action is meant to answer Racine Police Chief Kurt Wahlen's call for churches to take a leadership role in curbing violence in Racine.

"Early this year the Racine community was asked by the police chief, 'Where is the faith based community?'" Lumpkin said. "RIC is stepping up to plate with it's diverse church membership in an attempt to make a different."

The city granted RIC $12,600 to start the "Violence No More" project.

Here's a link to RIC's board members.

Arrest made in Horlick HS bomb threat

A 17-year-old Racine youth was arrested today for calling in a bomb threat to Horlick High School yesterday morning.

Police say the caller was Bradley R. Sorenson of 1319 Geneva St., who is being held on $5,000 bond, charged with Causing a Bomb Scare, a Class 1 Felony.

He is accused of calling an operator at Horlick at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday claiming there were bombs in the school. Investigators say the call was made from a pay telephone on Douglas Avenue. Police say Sorenson admitted he did it because "he wanted the school to close like Park High School did."

Park High School had been dismissed early on Tuesday after a note scrawled on a bathroom wall implied a bomb would be detonated on Tuesday. That initial note was followed up by additional claims of bombs, so Park was also dismissed early Wednesday and the building swept again for devices. None were located in either incident.

This week, there also were two instances of scrawlings on bathroom walls at McKinley Middle School that are being investigated.

Light of Peace joins Nativity onMonument Square

The Nativity scene that went up in Monument Square on Dec. 8 has been joined by another symbol of the season. But unlike last year's Atheists' Pyramid, this year it's an obelisk called the Light of Peace that agreeably shares the north end of the square with the Nativity, rather than arguing with it.

The eight-ft. tall, white obelisk -- an octagonal structure about two-ft. in diameter at its base, culminating in a plexiglass lighted top -- is decorated with the word "peace" in many languages, along with the symbols of many different religions like a Christian cross, Jewish Star of David, an Islamic Crescent and Star, and Taoism's yin yang. The obelisk stands about 10-ft. from the Nativity, which was erected by the Racine Christmas Coalition of Churches.

The obelisk was erected Wednesday by members of Racine’s Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church. "We wanted to honor all traditions," said the Rev. Tony Larsen.

At its top, under the plexiglass pyramid, is a solar-powered light that will change colors.

'Twas the week before Christmas... bah, humbug!

Holiday traditions come in all shapes and sizes. One tradition of Racine's Downtown Rotary Club is hearing the following poem shortly before Christmas each year. The poem was written in 1990 by John Crimmings, who notes that, unfortunately, it is as applicable and timely today as when written almost 20 years ago.

By John P. Crimmings

’Twas the week before Christmas
And all that I’ve seen
Are decorations all up
Since before Halloween

The lights are all bright
And the trees are in place
And there seems to be glitter
In every conceivable space

But the economy’s bad
And sales are way down
St. Nick, himself
Seems to be wearing a frown

People are trying
To spread the good cheer
But it seems to be harder;
More difficult each year.

The same kind of problems
Keep rearing their head:
Trouble here and abroad
People need to be fed.

The Spirit keeps slipping
Year after year.
There’s So much uncertainty,
Commercialism and fear.

Remember the Holidays
Of years long since past
And how you would yearn
For that Spirit to last?

It went so much deeper
Than “Good girls and boys.”
It had much more meaning
Than glitter and toys.

Adeste Fideles,
Oh! Holy Night,
Away in the Manger
And Silent Night.

The music is special.
The message is clear.
The problem is living it
Year after year.

It’s the feeling within us
That keeps it alive;
The Spirit of sharing
To which we must strive.

So this is the challenge
To each of us here.
To foster good wishes;
To broaden the cheer.

To carry the message
Of Christmases past.
To continue the Spirit.
To make the love last.

’Twas the week before Christmas
And all that I’ve seen
Are decorations all up
Since before Halloween.

But, if it’s the hoopla
That brings Christmas cheer
Let the trees, wreaths and lights
Stay up the whole year.

John P. Crimmings is General Sales Manager & Vice President, First Weber Group, Southern Wisconsin LLC.

Mary reassures Lee's troops

Mary Junck, Lee Enterprises' $3,791,280 per year CEO, is trying to reassure the company's employees, including those at Racine's Journal Times. "We fully expect to overcome the challenges," she wrote them on Monday, after the company announced it is trying -- once again -- to renegotiate debt covenants to avoid default.

She writes:

"Although the credit markets remain extremely volatile, our lenders stand to benefit by sticking with us through this tough time. Lee continues to generate significant cash flow and continues to pay down debt. We have good relationships with our lenders, and they have shown a willingness to seek mutually beneficial arrangements."

Translation: Any number of newspapers are up for sale these days -- the Miami News, Denver's Rocky Mountain News among them -- and there are no buyers, so what's a lender to do ... aside from renegotiate at a higher interest rate, and pray?

"Other media companies with much more serious difficulties than ours have worked out such agreements with lenders, and we will continue to work toward a solution here."

Translation: Tribune just filed for bankruptcy...

"These issues should have no meaningful effect on the way we operate our enterprises. In the meantime, unfortunately, you can expect to see negative speculation about Lee’s financial situation, much as we’ve been seeing about our industry for some time now."

Translation: By "no meaningful effect" we don't mean your job is secure. U.S. newspapers have eliminated more than 15,471 jobs in 2008. Gannett cut 3,000 employees last week; the Journal Sentinel cut another 39 today (while announcing a $400-an-hour! consulting gig for its ex-CFO). The two Detroit newspapers announced yesterday that they are eliminating home delivery on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. By "speculation about Lee's financial situation," we mean 4th quarter earnings were down more than 70%, and fiscal year operating cash flow dropped 22.6%.

Meanwhile, Junck, who became CEO of Lee in June 1999 when Lee stock was selling for upwards of $29 a share, and who engineered the $1.4 billion Pulitzer purchase that has put the company into this mess, was smart enough to redeem 48,000 shares of Lee stock when it was selling for $28.71 a long time ago, netting $1,378,080. She still has options on 199,375 shares (according to Reuters), which at today's price of 35 cents per share are worth just $69,781.

You can read her entire letter HERE.

Mayor Becker denies liquor license for convenience store

Mayor Becker cast the deciding vote Tuesday night to screw over the owner of a new convenience store on Douglas Avenue. OK, that's a little strong. But it's accurate.

Steve Grebe jumped through several hoops to get his Rapids Drive Convenience store up to City Council standard. He expanded the business, installed technology to prevent underage alcohol sales and enhanced security at the site. But it wasn't enough to convince a majority of the council to take his side. His liquor license failed on a 7-7 vote with Becker casting the deciding vote against the license. Grebe can't come back to the council for a new permit for 11 months.

Let me jump in with some commentary here. I realize the city's desire to cut down on places that sell alcohol. It's a noble gesture, and probably for the better. But Alderman Sandy Weidner, who led opposition to the proposal, herself pointed out that nine other businesses near Grebe's convenience store sell alcohol. So what's one more? Is this really going to deter anyone in the surrounding area from drinking? Hardly. If Grebe's technology is as good as it claims - cash registers won't work until a legal ID is scanned - it could even make places that sell to under-agers stand out.

The council's decision puts Grebe at a competitive disadvantage. After the meeting, Grebe said he was "severely disappointed" in the decision. When asked if he still planned to open, Grebe declined comment.

There's a cautionary tale here. Aldermen said in discussions that Grebe was warned he may not get the permit. He took a chance and lost - by a single vote.

Cory Mason leads in 'best Christmas card' contest

No Santa, no snow, no Christmas tree.

Still, we're nominating this as the season's best Christmas card, sent by State Rep. Cory Mason and his wife, Rebecca. If you have to ask who the other guy is, trust us, you're just getting coal in your stocking this year.

(Got a Racine card you'd like to nominate? Send it to me.)

Racine Pride: City Council approves gay community center

Sister Truly Fierce of the Abbey of the Brew City Sisters, an offshoot of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, speaks in favor of an LGBT Center in Racine on Tuesday night at the City Council meeting. Alderman Jim Kaplan, who tried to delay the proposal, sits in the background. Sister Fierce said after the meeting her job was to "comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable."

Bruce Joffe sat in the audience of Tuesday night's City Hall meeting with a transexual nun watching his back and hostile opponents outside the door.

The Carthage College professor was there to gain the city's blessing to open a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual Community Center on Junction Street in Racine's Uptown. Surrounded by supporters and opponents, the night unfolded into a surreal combination of theatrics, Bible-thumping indignation, open-hearted appeals, questionable political manuevering and, for Joffe, a happy ending.

But it was still a brutal night for the audience. First, three inches of snow made it tough just to get to City Hall. Then, the council decided to jabber for two hours on allowing a Douglas Avenue gas station to sell alcohol (they voted no) and then on extending a checkout program for buying kegs (they voted to extend the program six months). A bad sign came early in the night when the council debated for five minutes on whether to extend the public comment period 15 minutes. They defeated the proposal for a longer session, which didn't matter because all of the comments were read on time.

Joffe spoke during the public comment period on his proposal for the LGBT Center. The idea came to him shortly after moving with his partner from Virginia to Racine. They were interested in meeting other gay couples and posted an ad on Craig's List.

"We weren't interested in sex," Joffe said in an interview outside of the meeting. "We specifically said, 'This is not a sex ad.'"

Thirty-eight people responded to their friend request, and the idea for a community center was born. Joffe found the building in Racine's proposed Uptown Artist Relocation District and just needed City Council approval to move forward.

An opponent to the LGBT Center "loves the person, but hates the sin."

The proposal met resistance. The JT blogs lit up against the center and a local radio host tried to rally city clergy against the proposal. On Tuesday night, a handful of people spoke against the proposal on religious grounds that crossed into flat out intolerance.

"Now I know I'm Alice in wonderland," said one woman who spoke after supporters of the center. "Is this a good thing for our community? In San Francisco it's been a nightmare."

She went on to compare the proposed center to mass-murderer Jeffrey Dahmer and America-bashing, and said the center made her "sick."

"We need to show love for these people through Christ, through Jesus," she said.

Another woman threatened the council with God's wrath. "The way you vote you'll have to answer to the Lord," she said.

Joffe's comments tried to focus the issue on the government business at hand, namely approving the conditional-use permit for the center. The building was already zoned for use as a community center, and the permit basically required the owners to follow ordinances, put up a nice sign and clean the building's facade. Joffe noted after the meeting that gay people would, of course, clean up the building. "Our population expects better than that," he said.

But in his words to the council, Joffe noted that four high school girls had called him after learning about the center to tell him they needed a safe place to go. He also had the support of two local churches, the library and UW-Parkside, which may make grant money available to the center.

"This is not mythology," he said. "This is not Alice in Wonderland."

Bruce Joffe is in the lower right corner.

As the council droned on about other issues, Joffe stepped into the hall for a brief interview. A woman overheard the conversation and yelled at him for five minutes about "lifestyle choices" and how race was a different issue than sexuality. The verbal attacks only ended after Joffe returned to the council chambers.

The council took up the item as one of the last on its agenda. Alderman Jim Kaplan lead a subtle, if obvious, attack on the proposal. The strategy: delay.

Kaplan argued that the LGBT Center didn't fit with the city's plans to relocate artists into Uptown. Apparently, gay people and the arts are a bad match.

When that argument didn't work, Kaplan and few others went to the old fallback of parking. (Note to readers: If you're ever trying to kill a building project, bring up the parking issue. When it suits their interests, elected officials love to worry about where people put their cars.)

Kaplan's strategy almost worked. The council voted 8-5 against referring the item back to committee - a time-killing death trap that would have turned a simple issue into a community free-for-all. Credit to Alderman Greg Helding on this point. When discussion started to stray into issues of morality, he brought the debate back to the simple decision of a permit. Mayor Gary Becker, who runs the meeting, also did little to hide his distaste for the discussion. While professional, he also abruptly pushed the issue through.

The council voted 9-4 in favor of granting the conditional-use permit. Kaplan, along with Aldermen Q.A. Shakoor, Ron Hart and Michael Shields, voted against the proposal. Shakoor said during the debate that the issue needed more public discussion. Hart and Shields didn't add much more than their vote to the discussion.

Work begins on the 1,750-square-foot center in January or February, said Joffe, who already has contractors lined up for the project. Rattled by his encounters at the meeting, he said he's now worried someone will burn down the building.

"I'll be overinsuring the building," Joffe said. "I just hope nobody gets hurt."

Remember Eddie on TV's Frasier? Well, here's Petey

Here's your chance to right a grave wrong.

Remember the TV show, Frasier, starring Kelsey Grammer? It was on the tube for 11 seasons, won a record 37 Emmy awards. And yet -- year after year, award show after award show -- a key actor went unrewarded.

Yes, we're talking about Moose, the Jack Russell terrier who played Eddie for the first eight seasons. (He was replaced by his son, Enzo.) Eddie could steal a scene from Grammer merely by cocking his head. But did an Emmy ever come his way? Nooooo!

Well, you can make it all up by adopting Petey, a 3-year-old, neutered male Jack Russell terrier. He's a small, lively dog and would prefer to live with an experienced terrier owner, or as an only dog, according to the Countryside Humane Society.

Actually, Petey would prefer to live in England chase foxes down their dens, as Jack Russells were bred to do starting in 1795, but that's not gonna happen. But it helps explain why terriers are tenacious about sharing their territory. Still, if you want a dog full of energy, affectionate; one that will make you laugh -- then Petey may be the dog for you.

Visit him at the Countryside Humane Society, 2706 Chicory Road, or call (262) 554-6699.