Is it just me or............has somebody lost their common sense!??? "Darien village trustee alleges impropriety at polls"
I wonder why it is so hard to accept the facts. It was not intentional. Sorry to pop your bubble but NO ONE risked their job to remove "certain" names from the roster!! Duh!!! I voted for this person who is so carelessly accusing ridiculous things. Did I make a mistake? I am afraid there might be a little slander in this article. Can we just be nice to one another? I am sick of this already!!!

http://www.mywalworthcounty.com/main.asp...

John Jacob Aster signing out.

Thursday, April 02, 2009
Village people
Life in Wisconsin: "It's a small town. You do one thing, make one person mad, everyone knows about it."

So it goes in Darien, Wisc., where, like most small towns, "If [your kids are] out causing trouble, a lot of times you know about it before they get home."

Unfortunately, the town of 1,600, about an hour west of Milwaukee, is embroiled in "investigations, allegations, fines and hearings involving local officials [that] have gotten prominent play in local news."

Doyle must be so proud. And that Blagojavich guy.

JohnDoe Remember if you can't baffle them with brilliance then baffle them with -------------
your Personality .

JohnDoe- do you have --Gas - Nature's Way To Natural Humor.

Your are an unwitting humorist.--maybe-- but a nice guy.

John Doe your not very nice remember don't brag it's unbecoming.

Not knowing; unaware: an unwitting subject in an experiment.
Not intended; unintentional: an unwitting admission of guilt.

Craig McCue (I) (winner) 183
Debi Olmstead (winner) 183
Cheryl Kaufenberg (winner) 163
Allen Kenyon (I) 160 Loser
Phil Putman (I) 157 Loser
Cindy Holmes 104 Loser

VILLAGE OF DARIEN - PRESIDENT Evelyn Etten (winner) 227 big winner
Robert Metzner (I) 114 big big loser

well i hope thats good.

Your are an unwitting humorist...

Actually...you brightened my day...

and how did i do that it can't be my personality.

JohnDoe One of our school board members got stomped in the dirt .

Actually...you brightened my day...

Did I pass yes, you answered my questions unless you are talking about something else.

JohnDoe i take it your not to happy.

1. It's OK

2. It's not called that anymore

Did I pass?

This Diner you talk of is the food anygood.

and is the colonial club still in business ?

The tribe has spoken....

JohnDoe
Apr 7, 2009 at 11:40 p.m.
Suggest removal rockpile / klick...I really thought you could do better....but, I guess I should have known....
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whats wrong with rockpile i didn't try to hide anything. were you ok with election numbers and candidates ? your turn

rockpile / klick...I really thought you could do better....but, I guess I should have known....

The gazette sure likes to delete comments on these blogs! One person had their comments on for a few minutes and gone, strange. It would be nice if the Village of Darien would quit making headlines in such a negative manner!

Congrats Debi

JohnDoe
Apr 2, 2009 at 8:33 p.m.
Suggest removal klick...ya...I think jja filed an open records request for those documents. At least that's what I heard at the diner.
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hahahahahahahahah now that is funny

Vil Darien Trustee
Total
Vote For 3
Total Votes 957
Cheryl Kaufenberg 163
Allen Kenyon 160
Craig McCue 183
Cynthia Holmes 104
Philip Putman 157
Debi Olmstead 183
Write-in Votes 7

hay bobo who's winning the election in Darien
i don't know yogi well in a year we can buy Darien for 100.00 and a pick-a-nick basket.

4_2LevelHeaded
I could not have said that any better! I Agree!

NO MATTER THE OUTCOME OF TODAY'S ELECTION DARIEN IS DOOMED.

turboguy: Apparently I wasn't "here!" Not sure I know what you are asking?

Sounds like the words of a good old boy. Have you met the candidates? The ones you mentioned never even spoke the cheifs name or anything about him at both forums.

Kenyon spoke the longest of anyone but you "never heard a word out of him" because you didn't bother to attend. Yet you claim to know-it-all.

I hope and pray God opens your mind a crack.

The only reason Craig does what he does is he answers to a larger power. Ruth Ann tells him what to do and say "puppet boy". If he is not being told what to do by her it is Shane Spoo who advises him in the middle of board meetings. I want responsible trustees not ones that are going to rely on what they are told to do. Debi Olmstead has nothing to bring forth more than the Devoy issue. I have yet to see Allen Kenyon show how he can be his own man. I believe Kenyon could lead if he ever decided to stop following the wrong pack. I have seen many of you grow up here in Darien and hope and pray that God will show you the way in voting for a real change not a single agenda.

why did board members accuse her of voter fraud and being in places that she obviously was not. do you think that Marc Dennison, several police officers, and the entire election board would lie for Cheryl Kaufenberg? I have heard McCue, Olmstead and Etten accuse her of many things that were false. According to the comments made by Etten, Olmstead, McCue & Kenyon they would rather have Steve Devoy back no matter what. Policy is Policy and I do not want my tax dollars wasted on someone who is going to blatantly break the rules. In no way am I saying that Cheryl Kaufenberg should sit on the board BUT, if your only agenda is to get Devoy back; then what is next. Phil Putman may be a lot of things but he is a decent man, could he do more for the board maybe but so could McCue. McCue has wasted time on fighting X-14 & the BP gas station over the lights that have been there for years.

Bobo is correct about that campaign flyer. Following is part of that flyer. How LOW can you GO? I am astounded that there is NOTHING positive offered by Kaufenberg, only dirt and smears.....
.
FROM CHERYL KAUFENBERG :
"Incumbent board candidate CRAIG McCUE and challenger ALLEN KENYON voted against the police chief's dismissal and offered a motion to reinstate former Police Chief Steve DeVoy after they were offered evidence of his improprieties while serving as such. Board President candidate EVELYN ETTEN and candidate DEBI OLMSTEAD have stated they believe the issue with DeVoy was handled incorrectly.
.
FURTHER ACTIONS OF POLICE CHIEF
In addition to the improper conduct he has exuded during this time, the chief has also been busy at work in the village since his suspension. It is highly suspected that, as a way to deflect public attention on his problems, he has, along with certain other residents, helped "create" problems for good people here in Darien. Some of these "other" activities have included filing of false police reports alleging improprieties based on hearsay evidence; attempted arrest for unfounded election allegations; damage to physical property; threats to burn down property; threats to harm or "mess with" people; one-sided reporting by
Walworth County Sheriff's Department deputies; accusations of wire tapping; failure of the WCSD to investigate and prosecute false
reports; uninvestigated hearsay information resulting in search of the board president's house; attempted discrediting of a sworn officer of the law and threatening that officer's family."
.
Kaufenberg has been complaining that there are 'lies' being spread about her.
.
Now THAT is quite something coming from the person whose above quote is FULL of slander and lies. I have not heard one lie being spread by the four honest candidates about her.
.
Have you?
.
In addition, most of the above quote from Kaufenberg is supposition and made-up accusations. Yup, I know SHE is not the person I want representing me....

Vote Etten, Olmstead, Kenyon, McCue.

Bobo has it right. In the flyers, the people who told about themself and what they'll do if voted in, vs. those who resorted to 'smears' to get votes are clearly winners here.

Villagers are not stupid and won't be swayed by mudslinging.

Kaufenberg and Putnam are making the whole election based on whether or not the Chief should be in or out...They (CK & PP) DO NOT want the Chief back whether he is innocent or not. That has been proven in the various letters to the editor and by a recent flyer distributed by Kaufenberg and Co.

The other candidates want the punishment to fit the crime...period! It's not like they have have ALL banded together to say reinstate the Chief no matter what. They are simply awaiting a court decision that will be unbiased and hopefully fit the crime! Who will be eatting more crow if the Chief is found NOT-Quilty - those who may get elected and be forced to reinstate him after the judges ruling or those who are simply awaiting a ruling from a judge and then will re-act???

Voters Beware!
This campaign is not about publically degrading the Chief on every written document that you distribute; it's about what these candidate are willing and able to do for the community. I have seen flyers from both sides of the fence. Four candidates described themselves and how they want change. Two candidates simply distributed more smear about the Chief.

Got to agree, dub190, all subjects aside.

Important to vote for the future of all residents and end the current administration with all the village employees suing us.

It seems the citizens are not buying the 'evidence' offered, since there has been no opportunity to hear any rebuttal afforded to the chief.

This election is certainly an important one, as refers to this case.

Are you there, copperguy?

Posted by ResponsibleCitizen-
"After a message left on my answering machine I stand corrected on the fact that all 7 Board members were in possession of the Email sample packet...only 5 trustees actually asked for copies. 2 trustees did not ask for a copy...they only need to ask and a copy will be ready for them. For the record I have copies of a few of the emails and there are some dated in 2007 & 2008 as well."

I wonder how much said here is false!

Gee whiz Debi how many of the inappropriate Emails that Devoy forwarded were sent to him by YOU?

From the Sunday Shopper

To the Editor:
While trying to make an informed voting decision, my neighbor has had difficulty understanding why candidates don't practice virtues they preach. A five-minute conversation with Darien Village Board President candidate Evelyn Etten was enough to convince him not to vote for her.

Trustee Craig McCue seeks help from the audience to figure out how to vote on his own motions, and also to make sure what he says is "right" at board meetings.

Allen Kenyon goes along with the crowd, rather than being his own man. Having political courage would allow him to exit himself from this crowd, perhaps making him a better board member. Did he join them, or did they join him?

And Debi Olmstead only pays lip service to the virtues required to be a good board member.

Darien's problems began four years ago with a handful of board members. Just think what might happen with McCue, Kenyon and Olmstead seated on the new board.

Those hitching their stars to the comet have crashed to earth with it. A few harmful people working together can indeed unleash an avalanche of destruction. It's your choice on April 7.

- Cheryl Kaufenberg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To the editor:

Addressing Cheryl Kaufenberg’s comments made here last week (3/29/09), I first shake my head in wonderment at her unfounded diatribe launched at Village of Darien Board Candidates Etten, McCue, Kenyon and myself.

By taking aim and insulting each of us in turn, her scheming style should raise a red flag to those who would even consider voting for her. Her comment about the ‘virtues’ she supposes I lack was not only baseless, but mean-spirited and preposterous. She doesn’t even know me!

Voters need to look at the lengths to which she will go to get elected, and how much she’ll allow her now admitted vendetta against Chief DeVoy to discolor her logic. In fact, her admission (as written to the Janesville Gazette) that she’s “focused only on the actions of the present police chief” speaks volumes about her inability to make open-minded decisions on behalf of an entire community.

Last week Kaufenberg wrote here, “Those hitching their stars to the comet have crashed to earth”. Am I the only one who had to re-read that statement to see if it contained any inkling of logic (or sanity)? She’s clearly blinded by anger and personal agenda, and willing to lash out at anyone who opposes her.

This village needs new board members who have no vendettas or agendas, just new ideas, willingness to tackle problems, and an open ear to the input of citizens. Vote responsibly – for honest representation.

Please vote Olmstead, Etten, McCue, Kenyon.

Debi Olmstead

"Olmstead said.
As a master gardener at Janesville's Rotary Gardens, Olmstead is interested in starting a farmers market"

The Farmers Market brings many people to Downtown Beloit to buy produce and flowers,and helps the Merchants also .

Debi Olmstead If anyone gets elected because of their looks ,you will get 95 % of the vote.
(complement)

I posted this question on the forum about the Darien Village President race, but just in case no one sees it there:

Mr. Metzner claims to be "retired from several careers."

Does anyone have information showing what careers he claims to be retired from? The article indicated, "police officer," "city commissioner in Pampano Beach, FL," and "business owner."

Maybe the claims of retirement from all of those are true. If so, I'm impressed. Yet, there is a difference between retiring from a career, and failing at or quitting a job. So, I'm curious.

Oh, yes, AGREED!

But the last sentence of my previous post still stands...VOTE INFORMED...don't you agree?

For the sake of the village...I hope you are right.

JohnDoe you are totally wrong. I don't think anyone's voting opinion is swayed by the blogs. I'd say 95% of the villagers don't even know about them.
Probably more than half the people posting are not even from Darien.

The sad(est) part of this whole Darien fiasco is that so many people seem to rely on these posts to come to a conclusion as to how they should vote.

In that case I would say...sorry for trying to inform you....

The old addage applies...you get what you deserve....

Or is it...you deserve what you get?

Either way, vote informed.

Copperguy the post went down right after your response to BoBo. There was nothing inapproprate on it. I think the subject made a complaint..

But your words of wisdom resonate, and are appreciated.

I am so frustrated because these pages are being removed before I am able to read them!!! ugh!

real: I posted several items. You can click on my screen name to link to my previous posts. If you have problems, or think they should be pasted in here, let me know. Hopefully they are worth some consideration.

Thanks for the kind words.

copperguy:do you have a copy of what you posted before the "small town" comments were removed? The last one I read was today at 12:05 p.m. which I was smart enough to print out, did you have additional comments? If so let me know as I would like to read what you wrote as you seem to have great knowledge.

Wow, what happened on the "Small Town" forum? Seemed like we were making some inroads toward helping folks see things objectively, when whammo, it's gone! How disappointing.

I didn't see any recent posts that might have triggered it, unless it was something after my last. Maybe the objection was to a reposting of the letters to the editor of other papers? If so, why not block only them? Maybe I missed something.

Sitting back and reading the blogs about Darien makes me think the people of Darien should hire a mediator that is an expert in conflict resolution. When it comes to effective conflict resolution, how effectively we listen is at least as important as how effectively we express ourselves. It’s vital to understand the other person’s perspective, rather than just our own, if we are to come to a resolution. In fact, just helping the other person feel heard and understood can sometimes go a long way toward the resolution of a conflict. Good listening also helps for you to be able to bridge the gap between the two of you, understand where the disconnect lies, etc. Unfortunately, active listening is a skill that not everybody knows, and it’s common for people to think they’re listening, while in their heads they’re actually formulating their next response, thinking to themselves how wrong the other person is, or doing things other than trying to understand the other person’s perspective. It’s also common to be so defensive and entrenched in your own perspective that you literally can’t hear the other person’s point of view. Am I wrong or maybe a lot of these frustrations have been created by the VP who has changed the rules regarding citizen participation at board meetings allowing only agenda items to be discussed, and then terminated after 3 minutes. I realize he has the authority to do so but look how torn apart the community has become because the people literally don’t have a say. The citizens of Darien want a say and to be heard according to what I’ve read. And, who knows, maybe someone in the community other then the elected officials might have a good idea. I personally think Evelyn Etten is a good communicator and will rebuild Darien given a chance to do so. I also think Craig McCue had a good idea having old fashion gatherings that doesn’t constitute a meeting to hear what the people have to say.

Another fine job Ann Marie