Little Gems

Nothing.
That’s what’s happening at the ‘Coleman’ Observatory.

Since Coleman took over, with her totalitarian non-profit corporation, nothing has happened there.   The GSR has renamed the observatory so that people can better understand that Yerkes himself, the driving force and the money behind the rise of the astronomical instrument and the facility to house it, is dead.  Long dead.  Turning over in his grave dead.  What happened to the grand design and implementation of that design, which was a central feature of the Columbian Exposition at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago?  What happened to Einstein, a frequent visitor to the Yerkes (now known by us as the Coleman complex?  Dead.

The building itself, the great earth-shaking telescope of its time, the history of the place, and even the new telescopes set up to replace the viewing the old world-record-holding instrument can no longer support, appears to be well into the final throws of its death.  Is nobody, or anybody, paying attention?  Are the citizens of Williams Bay, possessing only Gage Marine and the ‘Coleman Observatory’ as their wondrous cultural leaders, not concerned about the declining and decaying eventual loss of one of them?

 

Alderperson Hedlund, just one day after securing another term in city government, advocated for Lake Geneva’s City Attorney.
It is not clear if Dan Draper (city attorney) was aware of the attention being drawn to him or not. The discussion and recommendation regarding the compensation for the city attorney began with Hedlund stating that the city attorney works hard for the city and is not being fully compensated for the time and effort he puts in. The Lake Geneva City Attorney is paid by the percent of time put in and paid that percentage of what is allotted for a full-time attorney, or a hundred percent of that calculated figure.

Dan Draper is currently making sixty percent of the one hundred percent; totaling just over $72,0000.00. The city attorney works approximately 1,500 hours a year just under the full-time hours of 2000, mathematically making him closer to seventy percent. This seems like a simple change to make, but not all committee members agreed. The issue will be continued at the next meeting with some comparison numbers and ideas on how to change the policy if approved. The next question that came up was what do other municipalities pay their attorneys, and if an attorney is on staff or hired by the hour as needed.

What does Dan Draper really do for the city and is he worth it?  Only the council can decide that, and it will most likely do that in secret sessions.  How appropriate.  Go figure.

 

Place of the Week

Sterling Works Lake Geneva

Sterling Works has opened a second location at 124 Broad Street. Stop in and check out the great grand opening sales.

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