LIVING HERE

The City of Lake Geneva needs more emergency personnel, not less.
The police and fire departments have been understaffed for years, yet responsibilities have increased. Events and weekends bring huge crowds to the city, which means the responsibilities and workloads of existing staff members have increased. This could cause delayed responses if personnel are on another call, negative impacts on personal performance due to lack of rest, and mistakes could be made. Why would anyone not want to support this?

The Lake Geneva police and fire departments have seen a huge increase in the number of incoming calls. In January the police department saw an increase of 400 calls compared to one year ago. The fire department has seen a 20% increase in call volume. The departments are handling all the influx of calls along with the normal workload and are doing an outstanding job. Imagine how much more productive they could be if fully staffed with all resources available to them. The fire department is in desperate need of a new facility to support the staff it currently has, along with the new members that are sorely needed. The biggest problem is funding. One idea that keeps popping up but is never followed through on is the impact fees mentioned earlier in this issue. Fire Chief Peters has looked into reestablishing impact fees but can only go so far without the city’s support. As part of the feasibility study the onsite facility study for both the fire and police departments will take place.

The results will be interesting in terms of how big the departments should be, how many stations they should have and how fast growth is likely to be in the coming years. The City of Lake Geneva has fantastic police and fire departments that go about and beyond the call for residents, visitors, and anyone else in need in the vicinity.

Death on the highway.
Thursday, February 9th at approximately 9:14 p.m. officers were dispatched for a reckless driver along Interstate 43. It was reported that the driver was traveling northbound one 43 in the southbound lanes at a high rate of speed. Authorities started an attempt to locate the vehicle. The City of Delavan was the first to respond, but the speeding driver failed to stop for the sirens and lights and continued traveling in the wrong lane reaching a speed of nearly 90 mph. The suspect vehicle then struck a southbound vehicle causing a head-on crash near the bridge that goes over Highway F in the Town of Delavan. The suspect vehicle caught on fire with the sole occupant being the driver, who was rescued by a Wisconsin State Trooper.

The driver has been identified as Eric R. Peters, 32 years of age, from Colgate, Wisconsin. Flight for Life was called, along with the medical examiner. Peters was transferred to a trauma center after sustaining critical injuries. The vehicle Peters struck was occupied by two people. The driver sustained minor injuries while the passenger was transferred to a local hospital where she later died as a result of her injuries. The Walworth County Sheriff’s Patrol Division and Crash Team continues to investigate the incident and is working with the Walworth County District Attorney’s Office regarding potential criminal charges that may be filed against Peters.

Livingston, I presume.
This amazing man is running for office in Town of Linn once more.  He’s been an exemplary outstanding representative sitting on the town board. He’s a retired master engineer but a long way from being done in life.  He lives in the town down near the water, a residence he resuscitated when his parents left it to him, which, by the way, they got from their parents.  The street Livingston lives on is called Livingston Street.  It’s only about a hundred yards long but its existence gives anyone visiting the Livingstons an idea that the man living at the end of the road is a man of quiet, classy, intelligent, and educated quality.

Jim Livingston has been around for a long time and his family much longer.  He’s the kind of representative who cares about the continuance of the town as well as all the people who inhabit it.  The vote is coming in April.  There won’t be other challenged positions attracting voters to the polls.  Make the effort to go and vote for this special man, who also happens to have a wonderful special wife the town will get as a free benefit.