Last Saturday, August 20, members of the Middleton-Ionic Masonic Lodge presented the Middleton fire department with two 'fire suppression tools', compact, powerful fire extinguishers that generate an environmentally-friendly expanding aerosol mist of up to 5,300 cubic feet, capable of smothering a fire in less than a minute. The donation was made possible 'through the generosity of masons throughout the state, and the Wisconsin Masonic Foundation'. Pictured (from left to right) are Cruz Gracia (District 7 Grand Lodge of Wisconsin), Ryan Mayrand (Middleton lodge), John Ertl (Middleton lodge), Sam Ferguson (Middleton lodge), Brad Subera (Middleton fire department), and Richard Nelson (Middleton lodge).
Good Neighbor Fest: Depriving the mayor of his element?
The Middleton Good Neighbor Festival organizers seem to be giving in to all kinds of pressure this year. After changing the parade route over safety concerns by the police department, they have now banned all politicians, elected and aspiring, from marching in the parade over accusations of partisanship on social media. This week they released the following statement - on Facebook: For decades, the Good Neighbor Festival’s policy has been to welcome elected officials who currently serve Middleton to participate in the annual community parade as long as they do not engage in campaigning. Given recent circumstances and ongoing statements being made on social media, the festival’s executive committee has concluded that it is in the best interest for the safety and enjoyment of all parade participants and attendees not to include any politicians (both elected officials and candidates) in the 2022 parade.
It is not clear what 'recent circumstances' are or what 'ongoing statements' were made, although it seems that some Republican candidates for office have complained that the policy effectively excluded them from participating. While it is understandable that the GNF organizers did not want to see their parade degenerate into a free-for-all political campaign circus