THE BRIGHT SIDE

The lagoon (the outflow from the north end of the lake into what is known as the White River) has been a huge topic for months at city meetings and amongst residents.
The boat slips have been removed due to deterioration and safety concerns and it is unknown if any will take their place. The seawall is also in need of repair and as of right now, it looks like more repair than initially thought is needed. The job was awarded to CK Contractors, and the work began last month.

On June 17th CK Contractors removed a portion of the cap of the seawall and found it was much more deteriorated than expected. There was trash mixed into the rocks which were small and loose with little to no mortar. The contractor met on-site with Kapur’s Structural Engineers, public works, and the harbormaster. All agreed that moving forward with the repair is not a good idea. The entire project needs to be re-planned.

Due to the huge change in project scope and cost the city council needed to revisit the issue. The original contract with CK Contractors for $48, 413.50 was dissolved with a payment for what was attempted awarded in the amount of $6,836.54. The new scope of work will need to be re-bid and include engineering. The lagoon has become a lot more expensive and is starting to look better and better to city officials as an open-water lagoon.

The Pier and Harbors Committee is meeting to discuss and listen to a presentation by one of the pier companies discussing their plan to install new piers in the lagoon that are all of that. The committee is considering three other offers to do the same project, but no decisions have been made yet (which include the ‘bit one’ about whether there will be any piers installed and rented out in the stretch of water in the future.

High-speed chase starts in Delavan.
On June 30, 2024, a Walworth County Sheriff’s Office second shift patrol K9 Deputy was operating with another deputy as a two-deputy patrol unit.  The pair of Walworth County deputies conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle with an Illinois registration for unlawful side window tint and no front license plate. Initially, the driver pulled over and provided the deputies with his Illinois driver’s license.  The driver was identified as Jerry Hamilton of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

While the deputies were interacting with Hamilton, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, they could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. When the deputies ordered the man to get out of the vehicle so they could further investigate, they say he shifted the vehicle into drive and fled the scene of the stop. As Hamilton fled, his vehicle struck the arm of one of the deputies. This caused the deputy pain but did not prevent the deputy from returning to the squad car to participate in pursuing the suspect vehicle. The initial stopping deputies and other law enforcement officers pursued Hamilton South on I-43 into Rock County.

During the pursuit, the suspect vehicle consistently traveled at approximately 110 mph.  In Rock County, at approximately mile marker 4, a Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper attempted to deploy stop sticks to deflate the suspect vehicle’s tires. Hamilton swerved his car as he approached the location of the trooper.  This caused Hamilton to lose control of the vehicle he was driving and crash through the median barrier. The driver was quickly taken into custody at the scene after the crash, and first aid was initiated. Clinton Fire and EMS were summoned to the scene to provide aid to the driver following the crash. Found in the vehicle with the suspect was approximately 1/2 pound of marijuana in separate packages for distribution, 20 grams of cocaine and crack cocaine, and other THC ingestion products such as gummies and a vape device, according to the news release. The Walworth County Sheriff’s Office is referring multiple charges to the Walworth County District Attorney’s Office.