A View of the Valley

by Linda Schwanke The Town of Spring Green board is looking at a proposal to add a trail from Westwood subdivision to the village. The proposal is not just a win as a safe route to and from school and the village for kids, it’s a win for everyone who lives in the area. I think it could, in the future, be the beginning of a longer trail all the way from Spring Green to Lone Rock, although widening Kennedy Road will go a long way toward making non-vehicle traffic safer. Part of the reason I think it’s worth supporting is because of the fragile nature of the river it parallels. The fewer vehicles that travel the corridor along the Wisconsin River is not just better for the health and safety of people because they’re walking and biking, it’s better for the environment.  All along the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway, there is other-worldliness but nowhere is it more true than at Bakken’s Pond. It’s like a portal to another world. Stepping into the area one can easily understand why it was named a Wetland of International Importance last year. A non-regulatory, intergovernmental treaty that “provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources,”  the Ramsar Convention, as it known, recognizes the importance of wetlands all over the world, including the Lower Wisconsin Riverway. Home to 44 vascular plant species and 121 rare animal species, including the federally endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly, Higgin’s pearly eye and Sheepnose mussels, and Whooping crane, the riverway including rare communities of hardwood swamp, wet prairie and wet-mesic (wet but not covered in water) prairie. If you spend any time at all on the river, you know its magic and understand why it’s protection is so important for our children, our community, our future. Another bright sign for our community that could lead to great things in the village are the new apartments going up that will house employees from American Players Theatre. Not just a win for them but a win for the whole community. One of the area’s largest employers with 240 people, the annual economic impact is calculated at $11 million with $5 million of that directly impacting us. That is a great thing and one can hope that adding those apartments will only improve. Building the apartments, I hope, will also encourage others to do the same to fix the housing shortage problem we, and so many communities, have.  Stay in touch. My phone number is (608) 574-3159 – call or text me anytime. You can also email me at homenewseditor@newspubinc.com or write to me at the Home News, P.O. Box 39, Spring Green WI 53588.  Visit our website at homenewsrv.com Get in touch with Gwen for sports or features at homenewssports@newspubinc.com. If you need a display ad, Dave Pronold can be reached at homenewssales@newspubinc.com or by calling him on his cell at 588-4777. Display ads, or ads that are in boxes, are due by 1 p.m. on Wednesdays. The classified ad deadline is noon Thursdays the week prior to publication for both the Buyer’s Guide and Home News. Classified rates are $13 for the first 10 words, then 30¢ per word for each additional word. Call (608) 767-3655 or email classifieds@newspubinc.com  Legal notices are due by 2 p.m. on Fridays, email them to legals@newspubinc.com Call the NewsPub central office at (608) 767-3655 for subscriptions and all other information Monday through Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon, although afternoon hours can vary. Closed Fridays.