Top Stories

Facing the full-time firefighter reality

October 16, 2019

The Port Washington Fire Department swore in Trevor Potkay as its first full-time firefighter-paramedic Monday, a move that may foreshadow the future of firefighting in the county.

Port is the third area department to hire a full-time person to staff its ambulance, a move that officials say is necessary to ensure the community has coverage around the clock.

Commission OKs colorful breakwater project

October 16, 2019

Bill Prince’s vision of a colorful breakwater that would enliven the Port Washington lakefront is expected to be reality this spring.

The Harbor Commission on Monday unanimously approved Prince’s plan to paint the vertical walls on the west end of the breakwater various shades of blue to reflect the colors of the lake.

Prince has said the work would not only add to the beauty of the lakefront, it could also be a tourist attraction.

Ash borer, storms make mess of marina

October 16, 2019

Recent storms in Port Washington, combined with the destruction wrought by the emerald ash borer, have created a mess in the city marina.

Harbormaster Dennis Cherny told the Harbor Commission Monday that dead trees washed down Sauk Creek during the storms that hit the area two weeks ago, littering the marina.

“It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said, noting that it’s typical to see one or two trees float into the marina every couple years.

At $25 million, county debt among lowest in Wisconsin

October 16, 2019

Ozaukee County’s debt load is one of the lowest in Wisconsin when measured as a percentage of what the state allows.

The state allows counties and municipalities to borrow up to 5% of the their equalized value.  

For 2019, the equalized value of Ozaukee County is nearly $13 billion, 5% of which would be almost $650 million.

Driver blamed for Hwy. 33 crash cited for OWI

October 16, 2019

Two area men were injured in a head-on collision near Newburg last week that may have involved alcohol or drugs, according to the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office.

According to a Sheriff’s press release, the crash occurred at about 10:39 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, on Highway 33 at Singing Hill Road in the Town of Saukville.

According to the release:

Marijuana vaping tips lead to drug house bust in Saukville

October 09, 2019

Officers investigating a report of THC vaping cartridges being sold from a Saukville home discovered 14 people, several of whom were teenagers, in the smoke-filled apartment described by one of them as a “party house” rife with marijuana.

The smell of marijuana coming from the apartment was so strong that officers detected it before entering, and when they asked one of the people there if there were drugs in the home, he said “there was weed, and it was everywhere,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Ozaukee County Circuit Court last week.

Fallen firefighter to be honored at last

October 09, 2019

Few people in Port Washington knew Lester Olsen, but members of the Port Fire Department are working to ensure his name isn’t forgotten.

Olsen, who was an assistant fire chief, died of a heart attack just more than 51 years ago, on Sept. 30, 1968, while fighting a fire on the city’s north side.

As rain keeps falling, flooding solution eludes Port officials

October 09, 2019

A year after major flooding hit Port Washington, city officials are still grappling with the question of how best to mitigate flooding on the city’s west side and along Lake Street.

The options being studied include infrastructure changes, such as modifications to the Spinnaker West detention pond and enlarging the North Spring Street culvert, to providing financial assistance to homeowners who have experienced repeated flooding to eliminate walk-out basements that allow water into their homes.

Armed with Narcan, deputies save lives

October 09, 2019

On the front lines of the fight against the opioid epidemic, Ozaukee County Sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement and health professionals have few weapons.

One however does save lives and even protects deputies from the effect of opioids. 

Latest TIF request is a ‘no-brainer’ for city

October 09, 2019

The City of Port Washington, which has grappled with the issue of tax incremental financing districts and developer incentives, last week agreed to expand TIF financing for the developer of an affordable senior housing project on South Spring Street.

With some officials calling the development an ideal use for TIF financing, the Common Council on Oct. 1 agreed to provide $754,348 in TIF financing over 27 years for the Spring Harbor Senior Apartments being built by Horizon Development.

Ozaukee Press

Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

125 E. Main St.
Port Washington, WI 53074
(262) 284-3494
 

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