Second-Grade Greenfield Students Tour City Sites

Maple Grove Elementary students got to check out the police and fire stations, the DPW garage and the library Thursday, May 16.

For many years, second-grade students from the city's elementary schools have received a first-hand look at what may of the city's employees do on a daily basis. On Thursday, it was the Maple Grove Elementary students' turn. Dozens of students toured the Greenfield police and fire stations on Layton Avenue, popped into the library and got to take a seat in a plow truck in the Division of Public Works garage. Check out the video of a group of students and parents learning about DPW equipment thanks to Dave Brown and Renee Roehl.

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Root River Parkway Closed at Layton Ave. Thursday Morning

Standing water forced the Division of Public Works to block off a section of the parkway.

The Root River Parkway from Layton Avenue to Forest Home Avenue in Greenfield looked more like a swamp than a quiet green space Thursday morning. Standing water forced the Division of Public Works to put up barricades at the parkway's entrance at Layton Avenue and at a point before the 92nd Street/Forest Home entrance.

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So Far Flooding Not an Issue in Greenfield

Despite the bizarre temperature changes and precipitation totals, it’s been pretty much business as usual for the Greenfield Division of Public Works this week.

  Despite the bizarre temperature changes and precipitation totals, it’s been pretty much business as usual for the Greenfield Division of Public Works this week. “We had one sewer backup, and that’s normal,” DPW Superintendent Dan Ewert said Wednesday morning. “I haven’t gotten any reports of any flooding, and all the snow trucks out right now and we’re pre-salting.” Ewert said crews are ready to tackle today’s snow, whenever it falls, and prepared to deal with any other weather-related issues when or if they emerge. He said the low snow totals this winter have allowed his department to take on other projects, especially forestry work including pruning city trees, creating sight lines at road edges and removing dead and hazardous trees …

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When Will Your Holiday Garbage be Picked Up?

And how late is too late to put out your leaves for the Division of Public Works. We've got answers to both questions.

Wondering when your garbage will be picked up the week of Thanksgiving? Or Christmas? According to Division of Public Works Superintendent Dan Ewert, John’s Disposal, the city’s refuse collection contractor, will run its residential routes one day after it normally does on the holiday and the rest of the week. So, for those scheduled to have their garbage picked up on Thanksgiving Day, John’s will pick up their garbage Friday, Nov. 23. And for those slated for a Nov. 23 pickup, John’s will make its pick-ups Saturday, Jan. 24. For the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s Day, those scheduled for pickups Dec. 25-28 and Jan. 1-4 can expect John’s to come one day later, with the final pickups those weeks coming Saturday, Dec. 29, and Saturday, …

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Learn How to Combat Emerald Ash Borer

Greenfield's Division of Public Works is hosting a free workshop at the Greenfield Community Center on Nov. 10.

Emerald Ash Borer has already killed more than 50 million ash trees, and yours could be next. Find out where it is in your community, what is required of you and how you can protect your ash trees at a free EAB workshop at the Greenfield Community Center, 7315 W. Cold Spring Road, from 1-3 p.m. Nov. 10. The  workshop is free to all Greenfield residents and those from surrounding communities. Topics will include Guest speakers will include Sharon Morrise, a consumer horticultural agent for Milwaukee County University Wisconsin Extension, and Bill McNee, a plant pest and disease specialist for the Department of Natural Resources. A panel of forest managers from Greenfield and neighboring communities will also be on hand, as will Oak Creek's …

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Editor's Notebook

DPW Workers Recognized for Going 'Above and Beyond'

Earlier this summer, four Division of Public Works employees assisted the Greenfield Fire Department with a car fire.

It’s always nice to hear about someone lending a helping hand, looking for someone else and going the extra mile. Earlier this summer, four Division of Public Works employees – Renae Roehl, Steve Prokop, Robert Streim and Michael Dermody – did all those things. The DPW crew came across a car on fire in the 6300 block of West Layton Avenue. They called the city’s police/fire dispatch center, as expected, but didn’t just hop in their trucks and take off once they did. No, the DPW workers checked to see if someone was in the car and then redirected traffic both before and after fire personnel arrived on the scene to extinguish the fire. “I’m proud that my people for taking the time to do above and beyond what they needed to do,” DPW …

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National Night Out is Tuesday, Aug. 7

The community gathering is from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Konkel Park.

Update: 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7 On Tuesday, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele announced he and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm will attend Greenfield's National Night Out from 6:30-7 p.m. “These events are important every year, but in the wake of the tragedies in Milwaukee County this past week it’s particularly important we stand together,” Abele said in a statement. Abele will also attend the candlelight vigil in Oak Creek at 8:30 p.m. to honor the victims of the Sikh Temple shooting. Original story Greenfield’s National Night Out, an annual event put on cooperatively by five of the city’s major departments, is slated for Aug. 7 at Konkel Park. The community gathering is from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Highlights include a …

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Southridge's 74th Street Entrance Closed Through Monday

Greenfield's Division of Public Works staff are replacing concrete road panels, forcing vehicles to use the 71st Street entrance.

Beginning Thursday, the 74th Street entrance approach to Southridge Mall will be closed for concrete panel replacement, according to Greenfield Division of Public Works Superindented Dan Ewert. Vehicles are being detoured east to the mall parking lot's 71st Street entrance. The 74th Street entrance is expected to reopen at 8:30 a.m. July 16.

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Nips, Tucks Continue as City Hall Campus Prepares for Facelift

The city's Arbor Day celebration will focus on the areas around City Hall and the Community Center.

On a dreary and soggy Friday morning, steps were being taken to make Greenfield's City Hall campus vibrant and beautiful. Division of Public Works employees were busy digging holes for 29 trees and 30 rose bushes to be planted during the city's annual Arbor Day Celebration on Saturday. Meanwhile, employees of Terra-Firma Landscaping Inc. worked earnestly on the area south of the Community Center, where a new terrace is being built thanks to a generous donation by longtime Greenfield resident Bill Radler. "When you mix a substantial gift, a tremendous effort from staff and volunteers, and a real desire to make something special, you get a result that the entire city can be proud of," Mayor Michael Neitzke said. Radler, the former director …

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Subdivision Signs to Display City's Deep History

Over the next three years, 30 subdivisions will receive placards that contain the subdivision’s name, the city’s logo and the date the subdivision was created, courtesy of the Greenfield Historical Society.

Greenfield residents will soon see signs sprouting up around the city identifying the history of neighborhoods and subdivisions. Over the next three years, 30 subdivisions will receive placards that contain the subdivision’s name, the city’s logo and the date the subdivision was created, courtesy of the Greenfield Historical Society. The GHS recently approved spending $1,650 over a three-year period for the project.  Ten placards will be created and installed this year. Sample placards are in the society’s showcase on the second floor of the Greenfield Public Library and some will appear in the City Hall showcase around mid-May. In early June, all signs will end up in the hands of Division of Public Works employees, who will install them …

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