Grafton

Three beloved trees at Mineral Springs Nature Preserve are targeted for removal, and residents are not happy about it.

“Those are three perfectly healthy trees,” Scott Bostwick, who lives across the street from the park on Oakland Avenue, told members of the county Natural Resources Committee last week. “They’re 32 years old and were donated to the city.”

The trees in question, however, are Norway maples. The Norway maple is native to Europe and western Asia and is considered an invasive species in North America. 

A group of about 40 people packed into Grafton Village Hall last week to try to find a way to improve the intersection of Highway 60 and 13th Avenue, where numerous accidents and near-misses have occurred.

But, Public Works Director Julie Esch told the Board of Public Works Tuesday, a perfect solution hasn’t been found yet.

Work on a bicycle bridge over Cedar Creek in the Village of Grafton could be done next year as part of the Highway 60 reconstruction, Ozaukee County supervisors were told last week.

The bridge would be part of an extension of the Ozaukee Interurban Trail from First Avenue in Grafton west to the Five Corners area in Cedarburg.

The county Natural Resources Committee voted last week to recommend to the County Board to accept a state Transportation Alternatives Program grant  for $869,000 to build the bridge over Cedar Creek adjacent to Highway 60.

A co-op recreational men’s basketball league that provides adults of all skill levels with an organized and welcoming environment to stay active and enjoy the game is starting in Grafton.

Participants compete in games at 6:30, 7:30 or 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays from Nov. 12 through March 11. There’s no play on Nov. 26, Dec. 24 and 31. 

Some of the games will be played at the Port Washington High School auxiliary gym and some at the John Long Middle School small gym in Grafton.

The fee is $700 per team.