December 18, 2008

December 2nd meeting minutes

Minutes for the December 2nd, 2008 Town Board meeting are online and available for download.

December 16, 2008

agenda for December 16th Town Board meeting

The agenda for this evening's town board meeting is available for download. One of the items up for vote is approval to pay Virchow Krause a little over $2,000 to identify staffing needs for the Grand Chute police department.

December 15, 2008

Paper Valley Roller Girls looking to knock fans off their feet

Copyright Robert L Buettner 2008. RLB Photography

Since it's too cold to work up on a roof today, I've got some time to finish this post that I've been working on. Enjoy!

Every once in a while, and event will come up for Town Board approval that catches my eye. Even after approval, personal curiosity gets the best of me, and I have to investigate a little further. This happened last month when the Board approved a special events permit for the Paper Valley Roller Girls when they host the Toronto Roller Derby at the Skaters Edge, Grand Chute on January 17, 2009.

According to their Web site, "PVRG is a non-profit, skater owned and operated organization dedicated to knocking our fans and our opponents off their feet with our unique blend of hard-hitting competition and entertainment." Sounds good, but I had a feeling this was only the tip of the wheel, so to speak.

The ladies of PVRG were good sports and kind enough to answer all of my questions.

Can you explain, for those readers with limited knowledge, how roller derby works.

(Reference from http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/roller-derby4.htm)

"The game itself is a series of races between two teams of five players. Each team's jammer is the only player to score points. Three blockers try to stop the other team's jammer while propelling their own jammer forward. Each team's pivot acts like the pace car in a NASCAR race and controls the speed of the pack. She also keeps an eye on the jammers, calls her team's plays and acts as a blocker. Helmet designs differentiate the positions -- jammers wear stars, pivots wear stripes and blockers wear blank helmets.

Each race is called a jam and lasts up to two minutes. At the start of the jam, the pivots and blockers gather in formation at the starting line. The referee blows a whistle, and they skate as a pack while the jammers wait at the starting line. When the pack is 20 feet from the starting line, the referee blows the whistle again, and the jammers start to skate.

The jammers try to catch up to the pack, work their way through and come out the other side. No one scores any points during the first lap, but the first jammer to pass the opposing team's pivot becomes the lead jammer. A referee points out the lead jammer and follows her progress around the track. The lead jammer can "call the jam" before the end of the two-minute period by putting her hand on her hips.

When the lead jammer calls the jam or the two-minute period ends, play stops and the officials calculate the score. Teams get one point for each opposing player the jammer passes during each lap. In general, this is four points per lap -- one for each opposing player."

Copyright Robert L Buettner 2008. RLB Photography

Why do you think Roller Derby is seeing a resurgence?

Women of all shapes, sizes and skill levels can play this full contact sport. It's not easy, by any means, but the idea behind a strong team bond on and off the derby track is attractive. The girls who are part of the Paper Valley Roller Girls are truly in it for the sport. We play fairly, but always play to win. In other leagues, I have seen the idea of equal playing time happen and that works for them. FAIR playing time is what we do and it's all about what you earn as a player during practices, in your off skate work, fund raising for the league and community volunteering efforts. You'd be surprised how much philanthropy is involved in derby

Copyright Robert L Buettner 2008. RLB Photography

How did the Paper Valley Roller Girls come about?

The Paper Valley Roller Girls were looking to become a WFTDA league, to compete nationally, and to be a non profit organization geared towards helping the communities in which we live. This is our first year as a league and we are proud of the enterprise that we have built. As derby is a true business, you can't imagine how much paperwork is involved in getting everything done efficiently. We are full of type A personalities and every voice counts. As a voting membership, everyone gets a say in things like what we want our logo to be to what our Bylaws should be and how to implement them.

Copyright Robert L Buettner 2008. RLB Photography

Do team members have nicknames? If so, can you give us a sample?

We have a roster of girls with derby names. We use derby names in practices and bouts:

Amy Grindhouse, B-xXxtreme, BeckOff B***h, Blarney StonYa, Blazin' Britches, Busta B. Otch, 9mm, Chauncy Lightbottoms, Chop StikYa, Eda Beeva, Faye Talblow, Fisted Cysta, Ginger Gunns, Grin' Reaper, Gynomite, Major Chaos, Neva Soba, Nightmare on JStreet
Pissy Pistol, Snap CrakYa Pop, Supreme Court, TDB dba Wrongway Feldman, Tate, Terra McFearsom

I would imagine being on a roller derby team doesn't quite have the financial benefits of say, being on a Major League Baseball team. What's the diversity in careers from PVRG team members?

(We're) Stay-at home moms, students, outside sales, inside sales, marketing director, technical support, web manager, healthcare manager, customer service, volunteer coordinator, business owner, loan officer....we represent ALL women. There's no one career that dominates any other in our league. The league is what brings everyone together from different backgrounds. We work hard, play hard, and derby harder. That's what makes derby unique.

How often do you practice?

We practice 3 times a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays 7-9 Skaters Edge, Appleton. Sundays 6-8 The Gem, Appleton

Speed practices are optional Wednesdays and Fridays from 4:45-6:30 at Skaters Edge, Appleton.

We know it's a big time commitment for our members but we try and make it as easy on the families as we can. The skaters bring their kids so they can watch mom in action, and so the parents don't have to pay for child care. It's cool, the kids are a blast!

Copyright Robert L Buettner 2008. RLB Photography

Is the attendance growing at your events?

Our first home bout is January 17, 2009 at Skaters Edge 7 pm. Tickets are on sale now either on line, from your favorite derby girl, or at the rink. Other ticket sale venues are being discussed but nothing has been decided yet. Our capacity is 576 and we do expect a big crowd with those numbers but will have to wait and see. You can see the rest of our season schedule on myspace, facebook, or our web site at www.papervalleyrollergirls.com.

How did you first meet go?

We traveled to Grand Rapids, MI to bout G-Rap Attack! We won 86-69. We were down at half time but came back when we got over our nerves. It was our first travel bout and our first bout as a new league. G-Rap were great hosts and we plan on playing them again. It was FUN! Pissy Pistol won the "Dance Off Pants Off" dance contest at the after bout party. G-Rap wants a dance floor rematch as well...we'll give it to them!

I see on your web site the PVRG support events in our community. Could you go into this in more detail.

We volunteer at Packer games and make money for the Wolf River Stars, a dance team out of New London. We have volunteered, and plan to do more volunteering, for the Boys and Girls Club out of Appleton. We are donating a portion of our proceeds to the non profits organizations who help us at our bouts. The first bout, we are donating a portion of the proceeds to Toys for Tots. We have plans to work with the Humane Society and ohter non profit organizations in the Paper Valley.

How does the team pay for travel and equipment expenses. Do you have any fundraisers coming up?

We are always looking for sponsors. We already have some but are always in need of more. We do fund raising as well. As we are headed for non profit status, the Packer Games serve as a double whammy for us. We make money for anothe rnon profit organization and we get a portion of the proceeds as well. it's a win-wn. We are currently having a penny war to raise some funds for our Mississippi trip in February. If you see a derby girl's Penny War poster or contribution cup, make sure to give them your loose change...or GIANT bills...either one works.

Our next fund raisier we will be downtown Appleton at Chadwicks handing out champaigne on New Year's Eve. We will also be in downtown Appleton that same weekend at Chadwicks, Mill Creek and The Bar - on the Ave. Come on down and have some fun!

What kind of volunteers are you looking for at your next home event? And how would interested people contact the PVRG if they wanted to volunteer?

Would you like to get into the bouts free?
Would you like to get into the after party free?
The Paper Valley Roller Girls are actively recruiting volunteers for our home bouts.
WE WILL TRAIN YOU!
--Reffing
--Stats
--Security
--Video
--DJ
--Beverage service
--Ticket Sales

contact info@papervalleyrollergirls.com

Anything else you would like to add?

We are always looking for good athletes. If you haven't skated in a while or ever, we will train you. The comraderie you feel when you are part of an organization like the Paper Valley Roller Girls is hard to describe, you'd have to come and see for yourself! If you're competitive and LOVE to win, derby is for you. There are a few derby teams in the area. Visit the practices and see what fits you. It's all about derby sisterhood. We can travel across teh country and would be welcome with open arms at any derby team's practice. It's great!

Hope to see you on the track!

December 11, 2008

October 21st meeting mintues

Minutes for the October 21st Town Board meeting were missing, but now are posted and ready for download. GCJesse, I have an inquiry out about why the police advisory meeting minutes were taken down from the web site.

December 8, 2008

Meeting minutes updated

For those of you who have been asking, minutes from the Town Board meetings on November 6th and November 18th are posted on the Grand Chute town Web site. I am still tracking the October 21st meeting minutes.

December 3, 2008

The Performing Arts Center report to the Town Board

Dick Bergstrom and Laura Braun spoke at the town board meeting and applauded the Town of Grand Chute moving forward with the room tax. As you may already know, Grand Chute is home to the largest portion of hotels in the Fox Valley. The room tax was designated to help build the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. Loan payments are $685,000 a year ffor the building. The room tax has generated an average income of $850,000 a year. Over 1 million dollars has been generated in surplus over the past five years. They believe by 2021 the building will be paid off. This is 4 years earlier than projected.

Other facts that were presented included:
  • It's estimated the PAC brings in 14.3 million dollars into the Fox Valley each year.
  • The education program has touched 20,000 children and 4,000 schools in Wisconsin.
  • The arts series have brought in performance groups as far away as Russia.
  • The PAC boasts 13 Wisconsin Premiers, including the Lion King.
  • The facility is currently operating at 79 percent true-earned revenues. The current national average is 45-55 percent.

December 2, 2008

Agenda for December 2nd Town Board meeting.

Part of my family after Thanksgiving Dinner.
With seven kids, it's hard to get everyone in a photo
!

I'm back after a short break for hunting (didn't see any deer this year) and Thanksgiving (had a great time with the family). Look for regular postings to resume. The agenda for tonight's town board meeting is available for download and review.