10th Annual Seed Pick - October 9th

The Parks and Recreation Commission will be holding their 10th Annual Native Wild Flower/Grass Seed Pick this Saturday, October 9th. All participants will meet at Crossridge Park located on Parkview Drive at 9 a.m. to pick from the Crossridge Park prairie. After picking at Crossridge, they will collect seeds from various areas around town as a group.

This is a family friendly event designed to beautify the green spaces in Milton, provide restored habitat for native wildlife, and reduce or eliminate mowing/maintenance costs otherwise passed on to the taxpayers. Bring friends, family, and anyone else you can convince to try something new.

The seed collected this year is going to be used to surround the new detention pond on Hwy 59 on the east side of Milton. It will also line the highway if enough seed is collected. The Commission has managed to restore 7 acres of prairie land and has over $1,000 worth of seed in storage ready to plant. This may sound like a lot of seed, but it really isn't. The seed costs hundreds of dollars per pound, but goes a long way. The finished product is a crushed seed that is very small and light.

Click here to view tips on what to wear.

Log on to the Parks and Recreation Commission's Crossridge Park blog page to read information and see pictures from previous seed hikes: http://crossridgepark.blogspot.com/.

We hope to see you there!

Spotlight on The Gathering Place

The Gathering Place is the center of senior recreation in the City of Milton. Marion Allen had a vision in the early 1990's to create a place specifically for senior citizens to have lunch and socialize. She purchased a lot at 715 Campus Street, hired architect Paul Dalberg and builders Ed and J.P. Hale, and began construction on The Gathering Place. The grand opening was held on October 4, 1992. In her grand opening speech, Marion Allen said, "This is not a house of stone; this is not a house of bricks and mortar. This is a home from the heart - a house built with love."

There are a few things that you may not know about The Gathering Place:

1. There is no "qualifying age" to participate in many of the activities of The Gathering Place. The majority of our activities are open to adults of any age. Come and experience a Zumba Gold class or enjoy line dancing or Tai Chi. Check out the website for a complete list of scheduled activities: www.gatheringplacemilton.com
2. The Gathering Place is the perfect venue for your wedding reception, anniversary party, or any celebration you may be planning. Check out more information at www.gazlo.com/gatheringplace.
3. The Gathering Place is a private non-profit supported only in part by monies from The Allen Foundation. The remainder of the operating budget comes from membership fees, a stipend from the City of Milton, and donations and endowments from individuals. If you are looking for a worthy organization to gift, please contact The Gathering Place for more information at (608) 868-3500.
4. So far this year, over 23,500 people have utilized The Gathering Place for community education, cultural events, fitness, health screenings, recreation and social events.

For more information about The Gathering Place, log on to their website at www.gatheringplacemilton.com.

The New Website was Launched

The City launched a new and improved website today!

Milton staff have been working with Foremost Media from Janesville, Wisconsin on a website upgrade for the last few months. The website has significant appearance changes, and one of the major site enhancements was the introduction of a new document manager system. Click here to view the new system.

The website is at the same web address as the old site: www.ci.milton.wi.us.

Milton House Twilight Tours this Saturday

The Milton Historical Society will be holding its Annual Twilight Tours, this Saturday, September 18, from 7 to 9 p.m. Tour a National Historic Landmark, The Milton House, in the evening by lamplight.

This year the tour will focus on the plight of the fugitive slaves seeking refuge with the Goodrich family. Ticket prices are $4.00 adults, $2.00 children, for this once a year event. After the tour enjoy the Goodrich Square Celebration taking place in the Tomah Room. There will be wine tasting, food, raffle items, music, and so much more! The Milton Historical Society/Milton House Museum is located at 18 S Janesville Street, Milton.

For additional information or to schedule a tour of the Milton House Museum please contact The Milton Historical Society at 608-868-7772.

Emergency Management Training Exercise

On Wednesday, September 15 at 10 a.m. there will be an emergency management training exercise at Air Products, 337 Vincent Street. Below is a press release from Milton Police Chief Jerry Schuetz.

The joint City and Town of Milton Fire Department, City of Milton Police Department and Janesville level B hazardous materials team, in conjunction with the Rock County Emergency Management office will be conducting a simulated critical incident training exercise on Wednesday, September 15th, 2010 at 10am.

The exercise will be held at Air Products, located at 337 Vincent Street in the City of Milton. The training exercise will simulate a chemical gas leak from a rail car. The event is being used for training purposes only, and is intended to train multiple agency first responders in coordinating a joint response to a critical incident with Air Products staff. The training exercise will include a notification to the public about the training exercise itself and will be testing emergency notification systems that request those in the potentially affected area of the gas leak to shelter in place during the simulated critical incident.

The duration of the exercise is anticipated to be between 10am and 11am on Wed. September 15th, 2010. Residents will notice an increased presence of police, fire and other first responder vehicles in the vicinity during the training exercise.

Any questions about this critical incident training exercise may be directed to Chief Jerry Schuetz who can be reached at 608-868-6910 ext. 21 or via e-mail at jschuetz@ci.milton.wi.us.

September City Departmental Report Available

The City's Monthly Departmental Report for September is now up on the City Website. Check it out by following this link: http://www.ci.milton.wi.us/document_detail.aspx?document_id=3416.

MPD Volunteers in Police Program

The Milton Police Department is now accepting applications for the new Volunteers in Policing (VIP) Program. Volunteers will have the opportunity to help the police department with a variety of non-hazardous tasks like filing police reports, assisting with community outreach events, and possibly traffic analysis in an unmarked police car.

If interested, log on to the City's website to access an employment application form: http://www.ci.milton.wi.us/document_detail.aspx?document_id=1495. All applicants will be subject to a background check.

For more information about the program, read this recent article from the Milton Courier: http://www.miltoncourieronline.com/main.asp?SectionID=7&SubSectionID=7&ArticleID=1509.