YEAR IN REVIEW: Five Memorable Stories From April 2011
Hudson Patch takes a look back at the most memorable stories from April 2011, including a recall goal reached, a vote recount completed and a round of school district layoffs.
Volunteers Collect Enough Signatures to Trigger Harsdorf Recall Election
More than 200 people turned out at a rally at the St. Croix County Government Center on Monday, April 18, as the Committee to Recall Harsdorf announced that it had more than 22,300 signatures on its Recall Harsdorf petitions. Only about 15,700 were needed to trigger the recall election of state Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-District 10).
At the same time, the St. Croix County Republican Party held an "I Stand With Sheila" counter-rally across town at Lakefront Park where Harsdorf herself addressed a group of at least 150 supporters.
The calendar would flip over to May before local Democrats would unveil Shelly Moore as their candidate to face Harsdorf in the summer recall election.
Longtime Hudson Council Incumbent Ousted in Close Election, Recount
John Hoggatt was on vacation in Florida when he got a call on the evening of Tuesday, April 5, from Hudson Mayor Alan Burchill informing him that he had edged longtime council member Scot O'Malley by three votes (182-179) for a seat on the Hudson Common Council.
He was still in Florida six days later when O'malley filed a recount petition to challenge the results. The recount took place the next day with Hoggatt's lawyer representing him at the proceedings. Hoggatt was sworn in at the council's annual organization meeting on Tuesday, April 19.
O'Malley announced in November that he planned to n the city's spring 2012 mayoral election. Burchill will face him.
Hudson School Board Makes Tough Budget, Personnel Cuts
At its monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 12, Hudson School District Financial Services Director Tim Erickson told the Board of Education that the district faced an initial budget deficit of $3.48 million, and even after the proposed reallocations and reductions in spending, the district would still come up $1.16 million short on its budget.
Superintendent Mary Bowen-Eggebraaten said that the district faced a "bleak budget picture." "It's a significant mountain for us to climb," she said.
At a special meeting a week later the board went into closed three times and approved more than $500,000 of personnel cuts, which took the form of 36 employees facing layoffs or reduced hours. Of those 36, 14 faced layoffs (four certified and 10 non-certified) and 22 others faced a partial reduction in hours ranging from six minutes per day to five hours per day. Six positions worth of cuts were absorbed through attrition.
Another smaller round of cuts amounting to $34,041 in savings were approved at a special board meeting on April 27. Those cuts made up just 0.63 full-time equivalent certified positions—0.27 from the band program, 0.19 from the Chinese program and 0.17 from the business program.
Month-long Flood Finally Comes to End as Stillwater Lift Bridge Reopens
After an 11-day closure, floodwaters had subsided enough on Monday, April 18, the Stillwater Lift Bridge was re-opened. The first vehicle to cross was an ambulance from the Wisconsin side
The bridge closure meant a lot of additional traffic along Highway 35 (Second Street in Hudson and Sixth Street North in North Hudson). Hudson's three city traffic signals on Second Street were "synchronized with longer times for vehicles traveling north/south on Second Street, to improve the flow of traffic," according to the city.
The river crested on April 12 at 687.28 feet, just short of the ninth-highest crest recorded. Much of Front Street and Lakefront Park, and even a short segment of First Street were submerged for extended periods of time during the flood, which began in mid-March.
Principal Reveals Suicide Pact Among Hudson High Students
Hudson High School Principal Laura Love wrote a letter on Thursday, April 28, to inform the community of a suicide pact among students and to dispel rumors of any planned violence.
Love's letter informed parents that a wild rumor that "three girls planned to come to school on Friday and shoot others and then themselves" had evolved from "more of a suicide pact" among the girls.
In the letter, Love said that administrators and school counselors met with the girls and their parents had been contacted to help the students work through their issues. Students returned to school on Friday with an increased police presence to ensure student safety.
