North Mendota Trail: Construction may have begun
Construction has begun on the eastern segment of the North Mendota Trail, sort of. Because MG&E is apparently slow in removing its utilities between Highland Way east and County Highway Q, contractor Badgerland Excavating has started working from the other end, moving west from the eastern city limits along the Villages of Bishops Bay condominiums and Arbor Lakes apartments (pictured).
According to an update given by city planner Mark Opitz, the city's staff person in charge of the trail project, at the September 8 meeting of the Middleton pedestrian, bicycle and transit committee, construction has not only been delayed because MG&E did not remove its utilities "in a timely manner", but also because of a recently discovered sinkhole in the path of the future trail. In what has become somewhat of a tradition, MG&E was also blamed for the construction delays of the western segment last year. According to the same update, Badgerland has expressed doubts about being able to finish trail construction this year due to the late start while, for whatever reason, Mark Opitz is still optimistic that it will be completed by November or December, albeit a bit later than originally planned.
MCPASD athletic code: Guilty until proven guilty
The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District's board of education unanimously approved the updated athletic code, officially called the 'Athletics and Activities Co-Curricular Handbook'. Besides containing the usual mission statement and statement of philosophy and similar feel-good statements, as well as practical information about eligibility rules and other requirements, about half of the 26-page document is devoted to sanctions, punishments and instruments of repression used by the athletic department or the district administration in case a student is deemed to be in violation of the code of conduct online, offline, in school or in the privacy of their own home.