Mayor’s Column May 6th, 2023
Rohn Bishop, Mayor of Waupun
Hello Waupun,
This past Monday I had the really cool experience of riding along with a Waupun Police Officer for about four hours. The weather was pretty lousy and things were fairly quiet (which is a good thing) but we did make a few traffic stops. We helped an older lady up who had been blown over by the wind, and helped a lady from Brandon who was stranded at the Dollar General.
I learned a lot about what goes into a shift of policing: the paper work, the logging in, how the equipment works, etc. I was invited back to experience busier times and different shifts, and I look forward to my next ride along. I would like to do a ride along on each shift, because policing during the day is quite different than at three in the morning!
Last week, Jenny and I attended the Waupun Historical Society’s presentation at the Waupun Library about the history of the library. Local reporter and Waupun history guru Jaedon Buchholz showed a biographical slide show about Edwin Hillyer. Mr. Hillyer was an early founder of Waupun and played an important role in bringing the rail road to our city. Hillyer also started a library club that eventually grew into the Waupun Public Library.
I talked with Library Director Bret Jager about doing something at the library to honor Mr. Hillyer’s legacy to our city, and we came up with the idea of naming the large conference room the “Edwin Hillyer Conference Room.” The room is currently unnamed, and will join the “Shaler Room” and the “Carnegie Room” at the library. Because of this, I have asked Jaedon to give his Hillyer presentation at Tuesday’s Common Council meeting, so if you’re interested in learning more about Hillyer and why I would like to have something honoring him at library, come on down!
Finally, the Waupun Police Department’s bike rodeo is coming up on June 15th, 2023 from 5:00pm-6:30pm at the Waupun Community Center. The purpose of the Bicycle Rodeo is to familiarize children with bicycle safety and laws. Children 12 and under will learn riding skills and safety tips that they can use every day. In addition, many prizes will be awarded due to the tremendous generosity of local clubs, local organizations and local businesses.
Thank you and God Bless,
Mayor Rohn
