The update, from Mayor Steve Olson’s Facebook page:

There has been a lot of conversation on FaceBook regarding public safety procedures after last week’s bomb threat at the High School. It’s important that Franklin citizens and visitors understand that public safety is the first priority for the City. You should know that emergency preparedness is worked on by our departments regularly and cooperatively. Earlier this year the Health and Fire Departments with the approval of the Common Council embarked on a review of our preparedness that included training sessions. Two review training sessions were held over the winter with a third today (May 31,2016).

Today’s exercise was what’s called a tabletop exercise discussion of a tornado. The guided exercise allowed us to see our strengths and weaknesses and continued the open communications between departments. In addition to me and Council President Wilhelm, departments working together included Fire and Police, Clerk, Health, DPW, Engineering, Water/Sewer, Library, Finance, IT, Admin and others. Each participated in defining their role, strength and weaknesses and things to work on to improve. Safety preparedness doesn’t just happen. Your staff works at it.

Thank you, Mayor Olson, and everyone involved you mentioned.

My Day at the Armed Forces Challenge

May 31, 2016February 4, 2017 / This Just In... From Franklin, WI / Leave a comment

I was honored when a dear friend, Janis Doleschal asked me to emcee the 4th annual Armed Forces Challenge. She’s the director of the event that took place at Pewaukee Lake Beach on Saturday, May 21. The experience was thrilling and inspiring.

Teams of four, composed of service members from all branches of service, compete in six endurance-testing events. All funds raised at this year’s event support the Military and Veterans Resource Center (MAVRC) at UW-Milwaukee and Camp Hometown Heroes.

The day began early in the morning with the National Anthem and the Presentation of the Colors. Then the parade of participants.

Members of the Greater Milwaukee Fire and Police Pipes and Drums band at the start he start of the Armed Forces Challenge in Pewaukee.

Leading the parade was the Guest of Honor, Major David Godwin, USMC.

Major Godwin enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1993 where he was assigned as an infantryman to 1st Battalion, 4th Marines. As a scout sniper team leader, Major Godwin deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1996. During the deployment, Major Godwin was involved in security operations along the Iraqi border to deter a possible infiltration into Kuwait.

In February 2004, Major Godwin was deployed for seven months to Afghanistan, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. In March 2005, with only five months back in the states, Major Godwin deployed to Al Fallujah, Iraq in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.

Upon completion of Expeditionary Warfare School in 2010, Major Godwin was assigned to 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. As the Commanding Officer for Company B, Major Godwin prepared his Marines and Sailors for a western Pacific deployment to Central Command Area or Responsibility (CENTCOM AOR) with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. During deployment, his company executed four major Theater Security Cooperation exercises in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Kuwait. Upon returning to Camp Pendleton, Major Godwin was selected to be the Battalion Operations Officer for 1st Battalion, 1st Marines.

From June to September 2012, Major Godwin deployed with the battalion to Kajaki District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Upon returning to Camp Pendleton, Major Godwin received orders to be the Commanding Officer of United States Marine Corps Recruiting Station Milwaukee, which is his current billet.

Major David Godwin is the highest ranking active duty Marine in the state of Wisconsin.

Next, the building of the Battlefield Cross, a symbolic replacement of a cross or marker appropriate to an individual service member that has fallen while serving their country. It is made up of the soldier’s rifle stuck into the ground or the soldiers boots, with the helmet on top. Dog tags are sometimes placed on the rifle and the boots of the fallen can be placed next to the rifle. The purpose is to show honor and respect for the fallen at the battle site. The practice started around the time of the American Civil War as a means of identifying the bodies on the battleground before they were removed.

Today, it is an immediate means of showing respect for the fallen among the living members of the troop. It might be seen in the field or base camp after the battle in Afghanistan or Iraq. Used less today as a means to identify the fallen but more as a private ceremony among those still living as a way to mourn, as attending the funeral is not always possible for the soldiers still in the fight.

Retired Marine Corps Captain William Anderson of West Allis salutes the Fallen Soldier Battle Cross. Anderson designed the Armed Forces Challenge event.

A moment of silence was held for two fallen soldiers.

SUSUMU MUSHASI

Susumu (Sus) Musashi, WWII US Army Veteran

Field Commissioned 2^nd Lieutenant

Passed away on March 27, 2016 at the age of 98 while at the WDVA Veterans Home in Union Grove, Wisconsin.

Sus was a member of E Company of the renowned 442^nd Infantry Regiment and served his under friend, the late Senator Daniel Inouye.

Battlefield Citations and Medals

Silver Star: For providing medical attention to his Lt. (Daniel Inouye) and reporting the location of a Panzer tank ambush. Sus radio guided US Artillery fire to the ambush location neutralizing the enemy threat. Sus’s heroics efforts came immediately after he was shell shocked by German tree-burst artillery during a battle near Bruyeres, France.

Additional Awards Included

(2) Bronze Stars

(1) Purple Heart

2011 – Congressional Gold Medal

2014 The French Legion of Honor

Prior to serving his country, Sus was imprisoned in a Japanese-American Internment Camp in California.

JEREMY DEMINT

Jeremy DeMint was a firefighter who died unexpectedly on March 22, 2016. A native of Racine, WI, Marine Corporal DeMint served his country as an Infantry Machine Gunner for two tours in Afghanistan. After ending his service in 2015, Jeremy began working as a fire fighter and paramedic. He recently graduated from MATC with an Associates Degree as a Fire Protection Technician and received his paramedic certification from WCTC.

Now it was time for the games to officially begin!

Tavian Stewart of team Rufus King Generals competes in the tire flipping competition.

Melissa Janson of team Greenfield Fire Department competes in the sniper crawl.

The assault paddle craft competition.

Other events included a relay obstacle course, humvee push, and a grueling tug-o-war.

The competition was intense, impressive, and friendly. And all for an incredibly worthy cause.

What a great day! I’m grateful for the opportunity to be involved.

If you missed it you can still donate. The Armed Forces Challenge is a 501 (c) (3) organization and does not provide any goods or services in exchange for your donation. Donations are tax deductible.

UPDATE: The 2017 event is now scheduled for Saturday, May 20.

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The latest pro-life news (05/30/16)

May 30, 2016June 13, 2016 / This Just In... From Franklin, WI / 1 Comment

From Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Right To Life.

ALSO:

New Gallup poll

Religious freedom this Memorial Day

Pro-Life Groups are Saving Babies From Inside the Abortion Clinic Thanks to This Technology

Under blackmail threat, pro-life rep’s wife shares moving testimony of regret, healing from past abortion

AND FINALLY, LOVIN’ LIFE…

Few people get to meet their guardian angel … TV news story

My Most Popular Blogs (05/30/16)

May 30, 2016May 30, 2016 / This Just In... From Franklin, WI / Leave a comment

My most popular blogs from last week, Sunday – Saturday:

1) In typical Franklin fashion, Franklin residents deliver wrong reaction to bomb threat

2) They’re back again, Franklin’s Jesse James Gang, the Franklin Public Schools

3) My big problem with Memorial Day weekend

4) So Kev, tell me again…How does a referendum becomes a referendum?

5) I’m black and I’m a Republican

6) Paul Ryan nailed it

7) I was wrong about IKEA

8) What’s with all those deer?

9) The Barking Lot – America’s Finest Dog Blog (05/21/16)

10) The latest pro-life news (05/23/16)

ICYMI over the Memorial Day weekend…

May 30, 2016May 29, 2016 / This Just In... From Franklin, WI / Leave a comment

Recommended Reading (05/28/16)

Week-ends (05/28/16)

The Barking Lot (05/28/16)

Photos of the Week (05/29/16)

Goodnight everyone, and have a reflective weekend

Friday Night Forgotten Oldie: Guess Who?

Culinary no-no #475

May 29, 2016May 31, 2016 / This Just In... From Franklin, WI / 3 Comments

THERE ARE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF FOOD BLOGS, BUT ONLY ONE CULINARY NO-NO!

perfect

adjective
1. conforming absolutely to the description or definition of an ideal type: a perfect sphere; a perfect gentleman.

2. excellent or complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement: There is no perfect legal code. The proportions of this temple are almost perfect.

hyperbole

noun, Rhetoric.
1. obvious and intentional exaggeration.

2. an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”

“Perfect” is a genuine, authentic, bona fide, real English word.

So is “awesome.”

Both are incredibly over-used.

However there are many experiences that are truly “awesome.” I doubt any are ever “perfect.”

And so my curious bone reacts, my radar goes up whenever I hear/read the term “perfect,” especially when it refers to food.

This Memorial Day weekend is often considered the first official weekend of summer (it’s not) and thus, automatically, the first grilling weekend of the year (it’s not because grilling season is 365 days a year, it never ends).

I’m not sure how many burgers will be tossed on the grill this weekend and weekends to follow. Quite a few, and that’s no hyperbole for sure.

I’m no James Beard award-winning chef, but when it comes to burgers on the grill I don’t believe you don’t have to be. My formula:

We purchase really nice ground beef, season it, marinade with Worcestershire sauce and let it sit for awhile before putting the patties on a hot grill.

I use a stop watch. Five to six minutes (the grill has been covered) and I flip.

The last 45 seconds or so I place the cheese (can be any kind, the one we want that particular day and whatever’s on hand). That goes for the tops of the buns, too. About 30 seconds on the grill just to get a nice, gentle toast.

After 10-12 minutes my stop watch tells me it’s time to take the burgers off.

If I wanted grilled onions I’ve had them wrapped in aluminum foil well off to the side so they’ll be perfect, OOPS, I’m sorry, just right when I take them into the house.

This is so easy ANYBODY could do it.

And yet some folks suggest that while this isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination that I could certainly do much better. That I could definitely be doing more.

In fact they use the word “perfect” to describe their methodology.

Oh really?

Please. Enlighten me.

That’s J. M. Hirsch, Food Editor of the Associated Press.

Hirsch claims to have stumbled across the technique to grill the perfect burger when he was attempting to determine how to grill slider-sized burgers without them falling through the cracks. His answer?

A cast-iron grill platter.

Hirsch writes on AP and look for that “word”:

I placed the platter on the grill grate and started grilling the bites. They were all delicious. But the most exciting part was the rich, brown crust they all developed. The platter turned the gas grill into a flat grill, while the heat of the cast-iron surface deeply caramelized everything it touched. Because the lid was down and there were other foods on the grill, the burgers still got that smoky outdoor grilled flavor, but with a griddle-style crust.

It was the perfect cooking mashup of grill and griddle for my all-American cheeseburger topped with melted American cheese. Since that evening, it is the only way that I grill burgers — of any size.

Todd Kliman agrees with Hirsch. Kliman writes for the Washingtonian but is leaving at the end of this month, May. Kliman’s consensus is based on recommendations he received from the Burger Guru who has cooked at burger competitions around the country, including the World Burger Championship in Las Vegas. Kliman wrote in the Washingtonian recently:

Do not use your grill. Cook your burgers on the stove, in a cast-iron skillet. “I used to be a grill guy,” said the Burger Guru. “Now I’m a cast-iron guy.” Why? “The crust. You can’t get a good crust on the grill. You can in the pan.” He advises heating a small knob of butter before searing your patties.

OK. Before all hell breaks loose, and I become part of the pitch forks and torches brigade, let me just say that I could write paragraph after paragraph about the obscenity above. I’ll just submit that this:

Do not use your grill. Cook your burgers on the stove, in a cast-iron skillet. “I used to be a grill guy,” said the Burger Guru. “Now I’m a cast-iron guy.” Why? “The crust. You can’t get a good crust on the grill. You can in the pan.” He advises heating a small knob of butter before searing your patties.

Is completely sacrilegious. Completely abandon the entire ritual of outdoor grilling? You’re out of your *&^%$$#$^*^%^ mind.

I don’t doubt that the skillet method yields tasty burgers. But it’s an added step that I consider unnecessary. Also, My wife, the bargain hunter tells me these skillets are not cheap. Depending, of course, on where you shop.

For Hirsch it was the skillet. For Kliman it was not just the skillet, BUT 14 other steps to cook that perfect burger. I scrutinized his 15 steps, and found these to be questionable:

1) Buy cheap meat. “The cheaper the ingredients, the better.”

KF: Sorry. As much as I love Kwik Trip just blocks from my house, I ain’t buyin’ my meat there.

2) Don’t mix in salt and pepper.

KF: I don’t see a problem here.

3) Secret ingredient #1: fish sauce.

KF: Never been there. Never done that. Probably won’t.

4) Secret ingredient #2: Duke’s mayonnaise.

KF: The only place mayonnaise may go on my burger is on the bun.

11) The second side gets half as much cooking time.

KF: I prefer an even cooking on each side. As mentioned, I use a stop watch for accuracy.

12) No gouda, no cheddar, no provolone. Put the cheese on once the burger’s off the pan. “American cheese all the way,” the Burger Guru said.

KF: Wrong, twice. Why bother with a grill if you’re not going to use grill heat to melt that cheese. And LOTS of cheeses work, not just boring American.

14) Use a potato roll.

KF: Good choice, but not the only one.

Read all Kliman’s 15 here.

Upon further and complete review I am not convinced with the original suggestion made.

Patties laid gingerly over grill plates with hot coals below. NO skillet. It’s how I’ve seen it done for over 50 years. No complaints.

RELATED READING: CULINARY NO-NO #63

CULINARY NO-NO BONUS

The healthy burger that may make even carnivores opt for veg’

ALSO: Check out my wife’s latest and timely Culinary yes-yes

Photos of the Week (05/29/16)

May 29, 2016May 29, 2016 / This Just In... From Franklin, WI / 1 Comment

1) Members of the Old Guard place flags in front of every headstone at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., on May 26, 2016. Soldiers were to place nearly a quarter of a million U.S. flags at the cemetery as part of a Memorial Day tradition. Photo: Susan Walsh / AP

2) A woman sits at the edge of the field of United States flags displayed by the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund on the Boston Common in Boston on May 26. The 37,000 U.S. flags are planted in memory of every fallen Massachusetts service member from the Revolutionary War to the present. Photo: BRIAN SNYDER / ReutersPaula Ackerman and her son Bryan, 8, hug at the grave marker of her father and his grandfather Robert P. Vallee who served in the Navy for over 31-years and passed away in 2015, at the Jacksonville National Cemetery, in Jacksonville Fla., on May 28. Bob Mack / The Florida Times-Union via AP

3) Rev. Cassandra Burton blesses Rolling Thunder members and their motorcycles during the ‘Blessing of the Bikes’ at the Washington National Cathedral, May 27 in Washington, D.C. Rolling Thunder members and supporters will participate in a motorcycle rally on Sunday afternoon in Washington. Rolling Thunder is an advocacy group that seeks to bring awareness to prisoners of war (POWs) and missing in action (MIA) service members of all U.S. wars. Photo: Drew Angerer / Getty Images

4) President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the National Convention Center in Hanoi, Vietnam. The visit is Obama’s first to the country and the third by a sitting president since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP – Getty Images

5) An army uniform lies in the casket of Army Pvt. Earl Joseph Keating in New Orleans on May 23, 2016. Keating’s remains were discovered recently in New Guinea, where he died in 1942. (Gerald Herbert/AP)

6) U.S. Naval Academy graduates toss their hats in the air during graduation ceremonies at the Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. This is the first year that females wore the same uniform as the males. Photo: Mark Wilson / Getty Images

7) Actor and comedian Bill Cosby arrives at the Montgomery County Courthouse for a pre-trial hearing on sexual assault charges in Norristown, Penn. Photo: MARK MAKELA / Reuters

8) Men who violated the 10pm liquor ban, seen drinking on public places, are temporarily detained and made to do 40 push-ups at a police headquarters in Manila. A police station in Manila implemeted Oplan “RODY,” or Rid the streets Of Drinkers and Youths. President-elect Rodrigo Duterte will impose a nationwide curfew on children being on the streets late at night and is also considering banning the serving of alcohol after midnight, his spokesman Peter Lavina said earlier this month. Photo: NOEL CELIS / AFP – Getty Images

9) A demonstrator holds a rose and shouts slogans in front of a riot policeman during an unauthorized march called by secondary students to protest against government education reforms in Valparaiso, Chile, May 26, 2016. (Rodrigo Garrido/REUTERS)

10) Firefighters work along the Arno river after a roadway collapsed on May 25 in central Florence, Italy, between Ponte Vecchio and Ponte alle Grazie. The collapse was caused by the rupture of a large water main. Photo: CLAUDIO GIOVANNINI / AFP – Getty Images

11) Children wearing their school backpacks climb on a cliff using a bamboo ladder on their way home from school in Zhaojue county, southwest China’s Sichuan province, May 14, 2016. Schoolchildren must climb an 2,625-foot bamboo ladder secured to a sheer cliff face. The village in China’s mountainous west may get a set of steel stairs to improve safety. Photos: Chinatopix via AP. And now, an update.

12) Six-year-old Akash Vukoti, of San Angelo, Texas, the youngest contestant in the 2016 National Spelling Bee, pulls down his microphone to compete in the preliminaries of the Bee at National Harbor, Md. He spelled his word correctly, but was eliminated in the second round. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / AP

13) Vietnam veteran Roberto Gonzalez is visited by one of his horses on May 21 outside the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. The hospital granted Gonzalez’s wish to see his two horses one last time. He died two days later. Photo: Lupe Hernandez / South Texas Veterans Health Care System via AP

14) More than 1,000 Indian Runner ducks patrol 57-hectares of a South African winery in search of ravenous snails. A line of the ducks walks past farm buildings at the Vergenoegd wine estate on May 18. Fanning out across the vineyards, the ducks hone in on their hidden targets with uncanny precision, locating the tiny white dune snails feasting on budding vines. Used for centuries in Asia to control pests, the ducks stand upright like penguins and are slim enough to fit between rows of vines. And they do not waddle, they run. Photos: MIKE HUTCHINGS / Reuters

15) A female baby hippo debuts in a Wroclaw, Poland, zoo, with her mother. Photo: EPA

16) A Tasmanian devil named Big John shows his teeth in his Wild Life Sydney Zoo enclosure. Photo: AP

17) Freshly groomed alpacas pose in a Krasnoyarsk, Russia, zoo. Photo: Zuma Press

18) A volunteer stands at the entrance of the 5000 Poppies Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in London. The garden, created by Australians Lynn Berry and Margaret Knight is a tribute to their fathers who both fought in WWII. Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP – Getty Images

19) A dress made of 460 fern leaves and flowers is displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show in London. Photo: Splash News

Sheriff David Clarke: Justice has been served 5/27/16

May 28, 2016May 28, 2016 / This Just In... From Franklin, WI / Leave a comment

Justice has been served in the acquittal of Baltimore Police Officer Ed Nero, in the death of Freddy Gray and Sheriff Clarke discusses how the rule of law wins again. Also, long lines at the airport are predicted to get longer, airport security is a mess and the TSA is to blame. Sheriff Clarke analyzes the situation and has a solution. It doesn’t involve more money or more TSA agents.

Podcast #1 : Marilyn Mosby Should Be Disbarred

Podcast #2 : The Rule Of Law Wins Again

Week-ends (05/28/16)

May 28, 2016January 3, 2017 / This Just In... From Franklin, WI / 1 Comment

A look back at the people and events that made news the past week. Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…

HEROES OF THE WEEK

Ron White

Mark Borkowski

Whoever came up with this movement

HERO drivers

VILLAINS OF THE WEEK

Kelly Hoggan

State Dem Party

Congress

The Chicago Tribune

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what’s important? What’s important is what’s your satisfaction with the experience?”
At a speech on Monday Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald downplayed the time it takes for veterans to receive medical treatment by comparing the “experience” of waiting for health care to Disneyland guests waiting for a ride.

McDonald’s “comments were not worthy of the veterans he serves. It’s indicative of a culture of indifference at the VA.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan had harsh words for McDonald

“People don’t die while waiting to go on Space Mountain.”
American Legion National Commander Dale Barnett

“They cannot do a damn thing.”
Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, on U.S. complaints about his nation’s ballistic missile program

“Feldenkrais” and “gesellschaft.”
The words Jairam Hathwar, 13, of Painted Post, N.Y., and Nihar Janga, 11, of Austin nailed in the final round to become co-champions of the 2016 National Spelling Bee

“It’s cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who’s inefficient making $15 an hour bagging French fries.”
Former McDonald’s USA chief executive Ed Renzi, warning of job losses from the push to increase the minimum wage

“I really don’t want to be the one delivering this, but I got to tell you, this is really hard to believe. It feels like she’s lying straight out.”
MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski, on Hillary Clinton’s email explanations

“So what? Democracy is messy. Everyday my life is messy. But if you want everything to be quiet and orderly and allow, you know, just things to proceed without vigorous debate, that is not what democracy is about.”
Bernie Sanders saying the Democratic convention in Philadelphia could be messy

“The first man who goes in the restroom with my daughter will not have to worry about surgery.”
Hampden-Sydney College fired Jerry Boykin for making that comment. Boykin was once commander of the Army’s elite Delta Force.

OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK

VA Secretary’s comment

How to destroy a transit system

MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK

This poll

MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK

Obama goes to Hiroshima, doesn’t apologize|

STRANGEST, MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK

Planned Parenthood evacuated due to … baby food?

	My Most Popular Blog… on America’s Truck
	My Most Popular Blog… on Today’s highly interesti…
	My Most Popular Blog… on Culinary no-no #819
	My Most Popular Blog… on Today’s highly interesti…
	My Most Popular Blog… on Week-ends (05/11/2024)

This Just In… From Franklin, WI

Important news from Franklin, the great state of WI, and beyond.

Month: May 2016

UPDATE: In typical Franklin fashion, Franklin residents deliver wrong reaction to bomb threat