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Easter Egg Hunt returns to Village of Soldiers Grove
On April 1
Soldiers Grove

SOLDIERS GROVE -Great news – after a gap of a few years, the Village of Soldiers Grove will once again hold an Easter Egg Hunt. The hunt is planned for Saturday, April 1, in the Soldiers Grove Village Park, starting at 10:30 a.m.

At their March 9 meeting, the Soldiers Grove Village Board voted to make a $250 donation to the Lion's Club for the event.

The board also voted to award a construction contract for repairs to bathrooms in the Soldiers Grove Fire Department building. The repairs will include floors, toilets, showers, walls, and new doors and sinks. Mark Swiggum’s bid of $14,760 was approved for the work.

Events in the village

Kathleen Sobek, owner of Desperados Bar, attended the board meeting to discuss an upcoming May 27 ‘album release party’ for Marty Cina. Sobek asked the board to approve not requiring a fence to be put up in the courtyard behind the bar in order to allow attendees to move freely between the event, and other businesses such as Country Gardens and Driftless Brewery.

The board voted to allow the event, and not require that the area be fenced.

Arleena Roe from the Swamp Project People addressed the board in the public input section of the agenda about the group’s wish to hold multiple small fundraising events this year, as well as the larger Swampfest, planned for September 29-30.

Roe specifically asked for permission for the group to do a ‘brunch cookout’ on the same day as the village’s clean up event. The board told her that  the fire department is also thinking of doing a cookout that day, and that the group should stay in touch with the village clerk.

Public works

The Soldiers Grove Public Works Department reported that they were able to accomplish a lot of things in February. Those included maintenance, lighting, plumbing, and getting things lined up for clean up days. They were also able to read water meters.

McCormick Electric put in new LED lights outside of the fire department, and replaced the lighting in the village office. The village is also in the process of having the lights on the village's electric sign fixed, and are also looking to find a way to light the village signs coming into town, so they are able to be seen at night.

During the month, the public works department had some breakdowns, but was able to fix them in house. For instance, the plow broke on the dump truck, but they were able to get it welded back together.

They report that a new air compressor was purchased and installed at the village garage, and they replaced the men's toilet in the village hall. Last, they met with Star Karate Studio to help locate a plugged sewer line.

The board moved to schedule Soldiers Grove Clean Up Days for April 15, which will include electronic drop off and tires.

In other business

In other business the board:

• heard from resident Diane Coleman about a person letting their dog run, and poop in the tennis court

• tabled the Soldiers Grove Public Library Report to the April meeting as the librarian was unable to attend due to the snow

• voted to pay a $100 bill from Prairie du Chien Chamber of Commerce out of CDC funds

• learned that all businesses are up to date on room taxes

• voted to renew Delta Dental and Baer Insurance for the village

• approved the Pickleball group to paint lines on the village’s tennis court, requiring that the lines be a different color so the tennis lines will still be visible

• voted to approve an operators license for Jennifer Wangen.

Closed session

After meeting in closed session, where the board learned Roger Olson has decided to step down from the fire chief position, the board moved to approve Jeannette McCormick as the new Soldiers Grove Fire Chief. Olson will continue to be involved in the fire department, just not as chief.