AllThingsAppleton

Mayor Woodford: Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Wolff. Alderperson Wolff (District 12): Thank you. First, I would like to say a moment—or have a moment of silence for those who have lost their life at war and are in current battle as we speak. Thank you. Over the past week, Russia has invaded Ukraine in what has to be one of the most disrespectful ways to do it imaginably. They have killed civilians, children without disre—with no disregard for civilian life. Putin has a long history of imprisoning people who protest or speak out against him. He has continued to shut down any form of democ—or tried to shut down any form of democracy because his country has been so bad for his people. Meanwhile, across the border from Russia, you have a Ukrainian president, Zelensky, who has liberated his people, brought them freedom, given them rights, a voice, and made them love living free. In America we always speak up for freedom. We always defend it, and we should be inspired by the people of Ukraine. What they have done and how they continue to fight every inch for their homeland is inspiring and is remarkable. Something you can do to support Ukraine is to wear their colors, fly their flag on local businesses, and show that you're supporting Ukraine. I want to end with something that happened in Ukraine. This grandmother approached some soldiers and she asked them what they were doing here. She asked them why they were here. She told them to leave, and she said to one of the soldiers—she told him to take some sunflower seeds and put them in his pocket so that when he died sunflowers would grow on Ukraine soil. That was the nice version of what was said. So, I also encourage people this spring to grow sunflowers, 'cause they're amazing and beautiful. Thank you.

Mayor Woodford: Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Hartzheim. Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13): Thank you, Chair. On this day February 16th in 600 AD Pope Gregory the First also known as Gregory the Great issued a papal decree requiring all Christians to use the expression "God bless you" when in the presence of someone who sneezed. At the time of the decree, the Bubonic plague was spreading across Europe. During this period the plague killed between 25 and 50 million people. It was believed that sneezing spread the disease and in order to protect themselves from the illness Christians should invoke God's blessing. Some also believe that in the act of sneezing, it left the body unguarded for a moment and this could be enough time for the Devil to enter the persons soul. So requesting God's blessing at this theorized moment of vulnerability would protect the person who sneezed from such a fate. Obviously, a great deal has been learned about infectious disease since 600 AD. But "God bless you" remains a common post sneezing refrain for humans. If the phrase could do all that Gregory the Great decreed it could do in terms of disease protection, the last two years of our lives would have been drastically different, would it not? Tonight I posit that that phrase can and does still do a great deal for the human race as it spreads a message of care and well wishes for fellow human beings through the invocation of God's blessing, and that is something desperately needed in today's world of division. And so, I say to you now, fellow Council members, city staff, Mayor Woodford, and all fellow Appletonians, whether you've just sneezed or not, "God bless you."

Mayor Woodford: Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Fenton. Alderperson Denise Fenton (District 6): I'm a reader. I come from a family of readers. When I was a child, I would hide in my closet with a towel stuffed under the door to hide the light so that I could read far past my bedtime. While my parents didn't condone this behavior, they never really censored by reading even though there were pretty strict limits on movies and television. My second-grade teacher gave me the greatest gift a bored child could get by marching down to the elementary school library and asking them to let me check out as many books as I wanted regardless of the grade level. As far as I know, the only lasting damage was that I might have gotten some information about Santa a bit early. Beverly Cleary's Ramona showed me that there were other little girls who were too loud and too messy and wanted to know everything about the world right now. Judy Blume's characters had many of the same questions about life and growing up that I did when I was 12. Books allow us to connect with characters who are like us but also, and maybe more importantly, with characters who are very different. James Baldwin said it this way "You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me to that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive who had ever been alive.” This is why it is really disturbing to read a story every day about an attempt to remove books from public libraries--not school libraries but public libraries. The mayor of Ridgeland Mississippi has withheld funding from the public library unless it removed books with LGBTQ things. A small central Texas library had to shut down for three days to conduct a court ordered review of every children's book in the collection. An attempt to ban a book from the Pela Iowa public library caused a heated debate at the city council meeting last month. Overall, the American Library Association reported an unprecedented 333 book challenges, each of which can involve multiple books, last year. the words of John F. Kennedy over 60 years ago should continue to guide us today. "If this nation is to be wise as well as strong. If we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.” So, as we move forward with plans for our new library let us have lively discussions about important issues like parking and green energy and landscaping. But let us take the advice of the American Library Association and oppose censorship in the partnership of our citizens and the professionals who curate collections that serve the information needs of all their users.

I apologize for the lateness in getting this Alderperson invocation video posted. This is from the 01/19/2022 Common Council meeting. Before viewing it, you may benefit from watching this clip from the movie “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” which Alderperson Schultz references: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSUgqLI88OY Mayor Woodford: Tonight’s invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Schultz. Alderperson Schultz: Thank you, Chair. Can everybody hear me? Mayor Woodford: We can hear you. Alderperson Schultz: Okay, good. Welcome to 2022. I deliver that line like John Candy in "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" because I think it's apropos to where we find ourselves in our collective pandemic journey. In these days, some days it seems like a little comic relief is about all the relief we can find. We've endured so many unexpected twists and turns to get where we are now. We're certainly isn't where we wanted to be entering 3 year of this irrepressible virus and still staring into oncoming traffic with the devil at our side, accepting the enormity of just how far we may still have to go. Dealing with this pandemic is a little like cruising down the highway in a burned out LeBaron. It's all at once comical and incredibly tragic, and most days it feels like we're still "Going the wrong way!" Even reflecting on 2021 and 2020 before it for me is a dangerous exercise 'cause there are just so many awful things that happened that are beyond my control, that even upon reflection I still get upset and even angry about, leaving me with a lot of unresolved frustration. And so here we are just a couple weeks into this new year lugging around an enormous trunk of dirty laundry from the last, like so many useless shower curtain rings, while dealing with this new normal--you know the one that, this year already includes deadly extreme weather events, antisemitic hostage standoffs, what seems an inevitable repeat invasion of the Ukraine, and of course the current tsunamic wave of Omicron cases across the country. And I'm sure a lot of you feel the same frustration and anger and I have to ask myself, like maybe you, what should I do with all this anger and how do I channel it into something positive and something productive? Recently, I may have found some guidance on another frustrating reality of our new normal and that's the unfettered social media and what it brings to the forefront, that occasionally produce profound reflections like this one. I'd attribute the author but I couldn't find the name, and so I'll just call it "Anger". Anger will not help me. Stating my disgust is about me Feeling expressed. Hating makes me no better Then the murder-shy one moment. I could hold my wokeness high Over others perhaps Beat them down with words In a fight I know I'll walk away from. We could unfriend each other Scream pretend I understand. My anger helps no one. It's actually a holdover from when I was being raised To be the one we now condemn which is Why I can't bring myself to raise my fist to my side and strike another To bring his hatred to my heart and harm another. And though I judge not if you do, I find To bring his tongue to my lips Even speaking words of ill Brings my heart quickly to a place Where my solution equals his. Who am I angry at? Angry am I at who? Am I who am angry at? And what can we do with that? Except to rearrange some words So maybe voices that ain't been heard Finally get heard. And not the last word But the first And the third And the fourth And the sixth Until the table is big enough to seat all of us. But I'm already seated So, I'll stop by preaching Leave him to his anger Leave her to her judgement And I'll go where the [something] needs stacking Where the hammer and the nail is waiting. I'm going where the shovel lay and putting on my work gloves Rolling up my sleeves. The efforts of my yesterday I multiplied by three Quite literally Why? Because my actions are about others While my words are about me While anger is my prison service Has always set me free. So never mind my opinion on what we all just saw For there is but one answer And this impression says it all. And yes, oddly enough, the radio still works.

Woodford: Okay, here we go. We're gonna have an on-time departure. I now call to order the Wednesday December 15th meeting of the Appleton Common Council. Tonight’s invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Prohaska. Alderperson Prohaska: This invocation is from a constituent of mine who asked me if I could read it on his behalf. “Lord of Heaven and Earth, we are grateful to have the freedom to gather together in this chamber tonight freely representing our fellow citizen city residents. We do not take that honor lightly. Especially during a season such as this where many of us honor the deep humility of the Creator God who so longed for reconciliation with His estranged children that He took on the helpless form of a baby to give us a glimpse of His profound love. He came not to be served but to serve. “We in a lesser way, but still impactful, have gathered to serve and not to be served, and we are grateful. We are here representing varying backgrounds, personalities, convictions, and beliefs. All of us called and given the privilege not to serve our own particular interests but that of the precious and unique fellow neighbors who live near and around us. This is a weighty privilege indeed and we are grateful. We do not claim to know with finality what the best—what is best for those whom we are responsible. And many of us differ in the convictions of what [it] might look like. “We need Your wisdom, Your guidance, and possibly above all Your humility to seek our common good together, offering our partner Council members the dignity and worth we would desire to receive from them. We recognize we need this as a fitting manifestation of Your humble existence, of Yourself and to our world as an example of that same spirit to our neighbors whom we serve. For that we are grateful. “We are keenly aware of the challenging times in which we serve where illness has weakened and separated us from one another and for many has tested their limits of endurance. So many are weary, along, discouraged, and grieved by the illness and death of friends and loved ones. “We have opportunity both now and into the new year to encourage them to connect and support each other whatever their differences be, to take steps to relieve their isolation, to care for each other in the midst of struggle and loss, in essence to build the fabric of real community in the midst of our common adversary. “Strengthen us to do these things among those of our own spheres of influence—where we live, where we work. Where we educate, where we play, and here in this Council chamber. We are grateful for this opportunity. We do not have the wherewithal to accomplish these things on our own resources. We need Your help. We ask for it now in this season with all our hearts. Thank You for hearing our requests. Amen.”

Mayor Woodford: Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Reed. Alderperson Matt Reed: Thank you, Mayor. So, I wanted to share something brief from a gentleman who you're probably all at least somewhat familiar with. He was from mid-20th century. He was a English professor at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England, and a prolific author named CS Lewis. So, the name probably rings a bell. And he wrote something here that--I'll let it speak for itself, but just let it--I just want to prelude this with the fact that we're not unique in our generation to experience struggles. Other people have gone through different--different troubling times. I know this is a strange season of Covid, but I'll let this speak for itself. This is from CS Lewis in 1948 regarding the fear of death from the atomic bomb. "In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. 'How are we to live in an atomic age?' I am tempted to reply: 'Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.' "In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of a painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty. "If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let the bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds. "What the atomic bomb has really done is to remind us forcibly of the sort of world we are living in and which, during the prosperous period before, we were beginning to forget. And this reminder is, so far as it goes, a good thing. We have been waked from a pretty dream, and now we can begin to talk about realities... "It is our business to live by our own law not by fears: to follow, in private or in public life, the law of love and temperance even when they seem to be suicidal, and not the law of competition and grab, even when they seem to be necessary to our own survival. For it is part of our spiritual law never to put survival first: not even the survival of our species. We must resolutely train ourselves to feel that the survival of Man on this Earth, much more of our own nation or culture or class, is not worth having unless it can be had by honorable and merciful means. "Nothing is more likely to destroy a species or a nation than a determination to survive at all costs. Those who care for something else more than civilization are the only people by whom civilization is at all likely to be preserved. Those who want Heaven most have served Earth best. Those who love man less than God do most for man.... "Let the bomb find you doing well."

Mayor Woodford: Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Meltzer. Alderperson Vered Meltzer (District 2): November 20th marks the 22 annual observance called Transgender Day of Remembrance which honors the memory of transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. In 2021 there were 375 names to read, 53 of them from the United States, and this number is under reported. Here are some words from trans journalist Diana Tourjee: "When a trans woman dies you can read about it in the newspaper where you see her described as a man instead of the woman she died for, and we wonder how to best protect our children, forgetting that some of our children are trans. Transgender Day of Remembrance reminds me that our precious politics have a very real consequence. This is a critical moment in the history of transgender rights. Will we remember those who did not survive it?" Diana Tourjee said these words to commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance in 2013. There were 238 names in 2013. How many names will be on this list before it stops growing? How many years until there are no new names to add? There's a terrible intersection of gun violence and anti-trans violence. Last month Jo Acker died running toward an active shooter, giving others time to escape. She'd served in the army and died a hero protecting others from violence. Many members of our trans community struggle with the heaviness of this week. Thankfully we have resources in our very own community that can help. If you are part of the community and need support you can contact Diverse and Resilient. The number for their warm line is 414-856-5428. Diverse and Resilient's LGBTQ anti-violence programs serve survivors of all violence--intimate partner, sexual, and hate or community-based violence. They work directly with survivors of violence by listening, helping safety plan, and providing referrals to local resources.

Mayor Woodford: Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Hartzheim...I gotta fish for the mic. Which? That was close. Alderperson Hartzheim: Thank you, Chair. Here we are folks in the 11th month. How is it the 11th month already? The month of honor and remembrance on the 11th day at the 11th hour. And the month of Thanksgiving. It's the time of the year when the weather takes a sharp and earnest turn towards the cold and we'll be asked to endure this for what seems like the next half a trip around the sun. I'm sure I'm not along in my sincere, let's just say, distaste for Wisconsin winters. I have to force myself outside on these colder days and search for things to appreciate in the cold. In the late 1840s Henry David Thoreau went into the woods to live deliberately on Walden Pond in Concord Massachusetts, and no doubt froze his civilly disobedient tuckus off during the winters there. In November 1860 he wrote, "Summer is gone with all its infinite wealth, and still nature is genial to man. Though he no longer bathes in the stream or reclines on the bank or plucks berries on the hills, he still beholds the same inaccessible beauty around him." There's optimism in those words and in that optimistic vein, I hope that each of us can glory in this month's times for remembrance and honor and thanksgiving, despite the impending doom--I mean, the winter ahead. As Thoreau also wrote, "Live each season as it passes. Breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each."

Alderperson Alex Schultz (District 9) gave the invocation at the 10/06/2021 Common Council meeting. Woodford: “Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Schultz.” Alderperson Schultz: "Thank you, Mayor. I'm gonna sit to make sure the mic picks me up. I actually requested invocation this evening because a question was posed after the last Council meeting that I wanted to answer, and I thought it would be good to do that sooner than later. “One of the things that I really value when we do these invocations are the anecdotes that we share that express our interactions with our constituents, and we hear a lot of really heartening stories of the work that we as Council members do and how we try to move the needle a little bit for the people that we represent, and I've had one of those. You know, we have all of those quite frequently as we represent certain issues that arise in our communities, and I had one recently with a neighbor who was trying to sell their house and a neighboring property that posed issues for that individual who had been attempting to address issues with the neighboring property for many, many years, um, 6-7 years. And I was—took some time to respond to it, go to the property, try to address the situation, see what I could do to ameliorate the situation and maybe help them sell their home. And I received an email a week after that saying ‘I can't believe that you actually responded, you're the first alderperson in 6 years that actually has listened to me even though I've been trying hard to get this issue addressed.’ And I am really proud of this Council because I know every member in here has those conversations and has really engaged with the community which makes me proud to serve in this position. “The question that was raised at that last meeting when we were discussing a resolution about supporting the Afghan refugees is why didn't I bring up the fact that I was a veteran and served in the military? And I thought, well, that's a good question and I think as we try to get to know each other and how we respond to our constituents it may by—maybe it's a question worth answering. And I thought that I would share that most of us veterans who have served are pretty humble in our approach to sharing that information and a lot of us don't willing share it, for a number of reasons. “Some of them have to do with service and the things we see in service and certainly in my term of service I saw some and witnessed some things that—you know, like every other institution or, I guess, business, the military has its issues like every other institution and whether it's abuse of women within the ranks or using power structure to keep those things from being reported or abusing enemy personnel when we have a uniform code of military justice that should prevent that. “These things do happen and some of the reasons why we don't often share—at least why I don't share the fact that I was in the military is certain things I don't like to share that I was part of, so I wanted to answer that question and just let my fellow Council members know that I am proud to have served but I probably don't shared that information willingly because I saw things and witnessed things that did not make me proud of my service, and I think it's important to understand that if you have any interactions with your fellow veterans or can't understand quite why they might not want to share that information or hold it close to their chest, so I just—a little bit of coming from my heart here to share with my fellow members so they know a little bit more about who I am and why I might not have brought that out, or may not bring that out in the future. Thank you."

Alderperson Brad Firkus delivered the invocation at the 09/15/2021 Appleton Common Council meeting. Mayor Woodford: “Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Firkus.” Firkus: "Thank you. For a time in my early 20s I worked as a cook. I had worked in a kitchen since I was 16, mostly as a dishwasher, but my boss at the time asked me to go cook for a summer at a small kitchen attached to a pro shop of the club I worked at back--excuse me--back then. “I didn't know much about cooking. I had helped with prep work a little bit here and there. At home I couldn't make anything more elaborate than a frozen pizza or mac and cheese from the box. But my boss's chef gave me a crash course on being in the line. He gave me two pieces of advice that I've been able to apply over and over, both in my career and in life. “The first lesson was [undecipherable] highlighting the importance of prep work. The other was to keep paddling, no matter how difficult or overwhelming it gets. Both are important. Especially if you're facing down a dinner rush where there's--where the orders are coming in fast and you're running out of room to put the tickets. You're hoping you can keep the order straight and get everything out in a timely fashion. It's chaotic and stressful and when it gets extra special chaotic and the kitchen gets completely overwhelmed, you lean heavily on that second piece of advice to keep paddling. It's advice I've gone back to time and time again at various jobs in the seventeen years since I've worked there. It doesn't matter if it's a service job, manual labor, or office work. It's also good advice for outside of work too, trying to get in shape, learn new hobby, mend a broken relationship. Keep paddling. Keep taking the tiny steps towards that finish line. “The pandemic is no different. We've been dealing with this for a long time. We've seen setbacks in our progress. We've seen selfish and irresponsible behavior. We've seen hospitals fill up multiple times now, events cancelled, even this late into it all. Some businesses haven't made it. Others' jobs were eliminated. And most importantly, there's the toll from the loss of life and those living with long-term effects of the infection. It's been tough. It continues to be tough. It feels inadequate to call it 'just tough'. But we keep paddling, doing what we can to move ourselves and our community closer to the end of the pandemic. Even if everyone's not paddling in the same direction, and some of those people are fighting to make reaching the finish line harder than it has to be, we keep paddling, because on the other end of this is where we want to be standing and standing still doesn't get us there. “On those days it gets hard and you feel this pandemic is never ending, when it feels like the politics has spread--the politics it has spread are almost as awful as the disease we're trying to defeat. When it feels like we are a broken society and our communities are irreparably damaged. Keep paddling. Keep doing the things you can to keep yourself and your community moving forward. If you keep paddling you will get there. You will get to that finish line. 'Cause one thing we've seen through all this is when we have the will to solve problems, we can move mountains. I hope we can eventually emerge from what is hopefully our last significant wave of Covid-19, that we can put that spirit to work solving the other challenges we face, in our country, our state, and right here in our community. But first, to get there, we need to keep paddling."

Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) along with other Appleton Area School District parents and members of the public were denied entry to the Board of Education meeting unless they put masks on, in spite of their religious/personal beliefs that preclude mask wearing. The District's position is that the meetings are still open to the public because they can make comments via Zoom or email. Matt Zimmerman: "So, we have our list of speakers. Andrea Klitzke, Stephanie Marshall, Blong Yang" Woman: "He's not here yet." Matt Zimmerman: "And Sheri Hartzheim. Okay, so would you guys like to wait out until it's your turn to speak or would you like to wait in our waiting room?" Sheri Hartzheim: "Either is fine with me." Matt Zimmerman: "I need to ask any of you who would like to come in at this time, you need to have their mask on in order to be in our premises." Sheri Hartzheim: "Okay. I do not intend to go in now, but when I go in I intend to not wear a mask." Matt Zimmerman: "And we will not let you in unless you wear a mask. Per our district policy. Woman in pink: "Is that a law though? Is there any law stating that you [undecipherable]" Matt Zimmerman: "[Undecipherable] a policy right now." Woman in pink: "It's a policy of [undecipherable]." Andrea Klitzke: [says something about it being a discriminatory policy.] Matt Zimmerman: "So, you must wear your mask in order to be in a building of the Appleton Area School District." Sheri Hartzheim: "So, if I go in now I cannot go in unless I wear a mask? And if I wait to speak, when I'm ready to speak I will be precluded from going in without a mask on?" Matt Zimmerman: "Unless you wear a mask" A woman's voice: "Eventhough you're socially distanced." Sheri Hartzheim: "Eventhough I'm signed up to speak" Matt Zimmerman: "Correct. There are accomodations. I mean there was something that said we need 24 hours for accomodations. To let us know 24 hours ahead of time. We could then talk about it and work something out. Certainly you have a virtual option to speak, if you'd like, but in order to be on our property..." Sheri Hartzheim: "What about parents who cannot speak virutally and who have mask exemptions? Personal mask exemptions." Matt Zimmerman: "Those are times where if they contact..." Sheri Hartzheim: "I did not receive any notification..." Matt Zimmerman: "I believe it's right on the Board Documents in the agenda. So again, if you wish to speak you are welcome to speak, but you need to wear a mask." Woman: "Isn't it a violation of open meetings?" Other woman: "It is." Matt Zimmerman: "Alright. So, Andrea, would you like to come in?" Andrea Klitzke: "Yes." Matt Zimmerman: "Are you gonna wear a mask?" Andrea Klitzke: "No." Matt Zimmerman: "Well, you can't come in." Andrea: "Hmm. That was interesting." Woman: "You're denying public comment?" Matt Zimmerman: "As I assumed that you were going to wear a mask." Woman: "Are you denying public comment?" Man: "You're denying public comment." Matt Zimmerman: "We're not denying public comment. You are..." [Crowd disagrees] Matt Zimmerman: "She is allowed to come in with wearing a mask." Woman: "That's a denial." Reporter: What's your name? Matt Zimmerman: "Matt Zimmerman." Reporter: "Thank you." Matt Zimmerman: "You're welcome."

On 09/13/2021 Appleton Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) held a press conference outside the Appleton Area School District's Leadership Center in Downtown Appleton and called on the District's administrative team and Board of Education to stop their discriminatory masking policy and accommodate religious and personal belief exemptions. She as well as two members of the public then sought entry to the leadership center in order to make public comment during the Board of Education meeting that started after the press conference, but they were all denied entry unless they agreed to wear masks. I apologize for missing the first few seconds when she introduced herself. "I'm not speaking on the part of the Appleton City Council or fellow Council members. And this is regarding the current masking policy in our schools, and the district administration is prepared to bar me and other concerned tax payers, parents of AASD children from entering this building. The following comes directly from the district's website, "Masks and face coverings are required at the Leadership Center for onsite public input. If you do not have a mask, one will be provided to you. If you are unable to wear a mask for any reason, please utilize one of the other methods--virtual, or written--for public input. Individuals without a mask or face covering will not be admitted. This policy is a tyrannical doubling down of the inadequately researched and public health coerced masking policy that is already in place for our children in our schools. All in the name of public safety. It is now clear to me and likely most of you here that this is no longer about the safety of our schools for our children and our teachers, but instead about a dictatorial power grab by this district. This district relies on Wisconsin State Statute 118.001 which gives them, quote "Broadly construed powers to authorize any school board action" unquote, but they've conveniently neglected the last part of that statute which states that school board actions cannot be quote "prohibited by the laws of the federal government or of this state" end quote. A tax paying constituent must be able to speak his--or to his or her elected representatives in a public setting, one that is paid for by the taxpaying public, during public input portion of any open or notice meeting without wearing a face covering. Take for example a parent who is unable to submit public comment written online, unable to get online participation virtually, and who has a medical or religious or personal conviction mask exemption. In that case, open meetings law is clearly violated by this district policy. Wisconsin Statute 19.81 states that all meetings of governmental bodies shall be publicly held in places reasonably accessible to members of the public and shall be open to all citizens at all times. Subsection 2 of that same statute has also been court case tested to require that no person may be systematically excluded or arbitrarily refused access. For our children and district employees, this district allows only a medical exemption from their masking policy. The district administration has stated that even medical mask exemptions are vetted by their school nurses--as if we the parents and our children’s physicians together cannot possibly be trusted to know what is medically right for our children. As if school nurses and public health officials know more or what's better for our children. This district's explicit exclusion of a religious or personal convictions exemption of this masking requirement unlawfully defies the First Amendment of the US Constitution and section 18 of the Wisconsin State Constitution granting the free exercise of religion and in the state constitution the rights of conscience. What it boils down to is the Appleton Area School District has not thoroughly performed a risk benefit analysis on the masking policy for their district employees or school children. They rely on their science in favor of universal masking but disregard any conflicting scientific opinions or research. They have continued to double down on what they believe are the benefits of masking without at all taking into account any of the risks that masking poses for our school children--risks already known and risks as yet to be determined. It has also become clear through several first-person accounts in the last week of treatment of some of the district's children that the current masking policy is both discriminatory and indiscriminate at the same time. District administration and staff are apparently incapable of consistently determining which masks are acceptable and which are not. In fact, I was made aware that in one of our high schools a consulting physician for the district okayed the mask of a child only to have the principal state that the school nurse disagreed, at which point the consulting physician changed her mind and sided with the school nurse and the mask was then rendered unacceptable. Arbitrary and capricious rulings such as these cannot be tolerated. I have also heard from a grandparent who specifically sews masks for her high anxiety grandson who has hypersensitivity to textures and wears glasses which regularly get foggy with inappropriately fitting masks. But this past week, her grandson was forced to remove his homemade mask and replace it with a blue paper mask which, as you can imagine, irritated him. That teacher reportedly explained to this child that if he didn't want to wear a blue paper mask he could quote "sit in the principal's office all day". And the most disconcerting part of this incident is that the mask that the teacher deemed unacceptable was the same make and model of masks that he wore all the second half of last school year without any issues. This is asininity. I have been told that one high school teacher publicly shamed a student in front of his classmates for wearing what she deemed an inappropriate mask, with the following proclamation. "You are going to get these kids in this class sick and my kids sick." This unacceptable behavior in our public schools has been brought on by the unchecked and untenable policy set forth by this school board and administration. Families in this school district have been forced to believe the false dilemma that we either universally mask or we get the virtual schooling. Notice I said "false dilemma". There is not an either or here. If there were all of the mask optional private schools in the Fox Valley would be closed right now. We should not be tricked into or settle for this false dilemma simply because last school year was a bust and led to greater suffering and failure for our children than we could have imagined. Today I and many other intelligent, educated, and free-thinking taxpaying individuals of this school district expect that we will be barred from attending this school district's open meeting to speak to these issues on behalf of our children and on behalf of this community. I believe that it's time for the taxpayers in the Appleton Area School District to stand up and state firmly and clearly that we do not consent to illegal treatment by our public servants and that we will not comply with these mandates which have not been thoroughly vetted and proven to do more good than harm to our children. We must demand of the district both a religious and a personal convictions exemption and simultaneously urge this district's leadership and school board to move swiftly to a non-discriminating mask optional policy. Thank you again for being here."

The issue of masking has been talked about a lot recently due to the Health Officer resolution, the recent AASD mask mandate, and the start of the school year. Alderperson Vered Meltzer (District 2) gave the invocation during the 09/01/2021 Common Council meeting and took the opportunity to address masking. Mayor Woodford: “Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Meltzer.” Alderperson Meltzer: “We talk a lot about kindness. We talk a lot about the importance of being kind to each other. Kindness is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate." Kindness to others can also sometimes involve self-sacrifice. We are still in the midst of a pandemic. We've lost 65 people in our community to Covid-19. More than 9,500 people have been infected with the virus in Appleton. And many people continue to experience adverse health impacts after their infection is over. But we have tools now that we didn't have at the beginning. We understand which safety precautions are effective and which are unnecessary. Now we need to apply what we've learned over the last year and a half, so that the toll on our community is not repeated. We've learned that Stay At Home orders are damaging in many ways, especially to mental health and the economy. We've learned that vaccinations reduce hospitalizations and death. And we've learned that masking lowers transmission rates. Since almost half of our community remains unvaccinated and breakthrough cases of vaccinated individuals have occurred, wearing a mask is all the more important. The easiest, most generous, and considerate thing that we can do right now is wear a mask. Whether one is vaccinated or not, wearing a mask is helpful. It is not a political statement. It's a way to say that we care about those around us, and that even if we feel we're already personally safe for whatever reason, we recognize that this pandemic is a problem bigger than ourselves. Instead of asking "How can we get back to a sense of normalcy as quickly as possible?", let's ask ourselves how we can work together to prevent the suffering of our fellow community members as much as possible. Instead of asking how soon we can stop wearing masks, let's ask how long we are willing to wear masks. “During World War II there was a great cultural outpouring of unity and team effort. In a lot of ways, that defined the American personality--people who roll up their sleeves and are undaunted by making personal sacrifices for the sake of the common good. That defines patriotism. And that's the spirit we need to embrace as a community in order to meet the challenge of new virus variants and keep our local economy alive and keep each other safe from illness. During World War II, Americans made huge sacrifices for each other. We rationed our food and planted victory gardens and changed our diet and caloric intake significantly. We changed our consumer habits and our lifestyles quickly and eagerly. We changed our workplaces and set aside our personal career goals in order to serve the common good. We came together to support each other’s sacrifices and celebrate our cooperation and unity. We need to embrace this spirit of team effort for the common good or we may never see the end of Covid-19 mutations--each new wave more frustrating and heartbreaking than the last. Our hospitals are filling up. Our ICUs are filling up. Just today I spoke to someone whose wife has to deal with the painful delay of a necessary surgery because the hospitals just cannot accommodate her right now because there are so many Covid patients. Hospitals are struggling to retain staff, and healthcare workers are exhausted. A friend of mine in a southern state lost his father last week because he couldn't be admitted to a hospital for a lifesaving surgery. He was transferred to a hospital across state lines, but by then it was too late. My heart breaks over this, and I don't want to see this happen in Appleton. “How can we help each other get through these hard times? It's a sacrifice to wear a mask, but it's not a big sacrifice. Masks are simple and easy and accessible. There are many different kinds of masks including face shields and gaiters and even the less effective styles of masks are still more helpful than no mask at all. We can take off our mask to drink or eat or speak and we can make sure that our masks fit comfortably. Masks are annoying but they make a difference. Every infection that can be avoided makes a huge difference--possibly a life or death difference for the infected person or someone else. It's a sacrifice to conform to any dress code. We make many sacrifices on a regular basis in our daily lives. We make sacrifices in order to live together in civil society. We do it because we care. We do it in order to have a community. We need each other's care, we need each other's kindness, and we need each other's help right now. So, please, be friendly, be generous, be considerate. Please, wear a mask.”

Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) gave this invocation to the Common Council on 08/18/2021. As you can see, she is in the Council chambers and not wearing a mask although the Mayor has implemented rules requiring masks to be worn inside city facilities. Mayor Woodford: Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Hartzheim. Alderperson Hartzheim: It's already the third week of August and summer is fast slipping through our fingers. It will be after Labor Day when we next meet again as a full Council so, with that thought....Gracious God, we come to You at very nearly the end of summer with the blessings of autumn and a new school year just ahead of us, with our many feelings, expectations, fears, and hopes. Help us to remember we have the comforting assurance that you will always be with us. For many of us this is a time of transition--a transition from the leisure of summer and time spent with family and friends back to the days of more structure. So give us patience with ourselves as well as patience with one another. Give us the gift of discernment to make the right choices about the future. Finally, give to each member of this Council and this community the seven gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, right judgment, courage, knowledge, reverence, and awe and wonder. Amen.

Alderperson Joe Prohaska (District 14) gave the invocation at the 08/04/2021 Common Council meeting. This was given shortly after Mayor Woodford reinstituted the masking while inside city facilities guidelines which you can read about more here: https://allthingsappleton.com/2021/08/05/appleton-requires-masks-inside-city-run-facilities-mandate-not-extended-beyond-city-owned-facilities/ Mayor Woodford: Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Prohaska. Alderperson Prohaska: God of peace, we invite you to preside over this meeting. Even if we have different opinions, give us unity of spirit. Help us to listen politely as others share their points of view. Help us to work as a unified team in combining ideas for a great outcome. Help us to work as a whole rather than as individuals trying to promote their own agendas. May we have a spirit of comaraderie in this room and work together on our shared mission. Amen

Mayor Woodford: Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Schultz. Alderperson Schultz: Thank you, Chair. As it was a little bit of a short notice to step up for invocation tonight, I thought it would be proper to read a short poem. This speaks to the challenges we face as representatives of all of our constituents and dealing with the sometimes challenging issues that come before us and trying to keep our heads in a centrist space and listen to all the voices that are speaking to us. This is called "Compassion" by Miller Williams. Have compassion for everyone you meet Even if they don't want it. What seems conceit, Bad manners, or cynicism is always a sign Of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen. You do not know what wars are going on Down there where the spirit meets the bone"

[Note: this invocation was given at the second Common Council meeting held after Mayor Woodford's statement to to the alderpersons at the 06/15/2021 Informal Organizational Meeting and seems to be connected to what he said. (https://allthingsappleton.com/2021/06/22/mayor-woodfords-opening-statement-at-informal-organizational-meeting-the-community-looks-to-us-for-leadership-and-i-dont-know-that-were-always-showing-them-that-and-i-think-we-need-to/)] Council President Matt Reed: Tonight's invocation will be given by Alderperson Fenton. Alderperson Denise Fenton: Good evening. All most of my colleagues and a few random people in grocery stores know, we welcomed a new granddaughter a couple weeks ago, and as if I weren't giddy enough already, we have our other granddaughter that I think you all met, and of course our daughter and son-in-law with us this week, starting their visit by checking out city government in action. We look at a new baby and we wonder what they will look like. Will they have their father's eyes? Their mother's nose? We also, rightly or not, ascribe personality or character traits to a child's relatives. We say, "He gets his sense of humor from Uncle Jim" or "She gets her stubbornness from Grandma." Our daughter's great grandmother was famous for saying after a child misbehaved, "She certainly didn't get that from our side of the family." Most scientific studies, including the landmark Minnesota Twins study find that personality and character are shaped by both biology and environment. I like to think that my daughters inherited or learned some things from me--perseverence and a strong sense of fairness. However, I noticed early on that both of them were much kinder than I was. They more than once let me know when I needed to understand the life of a server or a store clerk. Maybe Mr. Rogers prevailed over a stressed out mom, but however it happened I am grateful and proud. Over the last few years we've heard a lot about kindness in the face of increasing polarization in our society, especially as the Covid pandemic caused so much suffering. But what is kindness? Is it just being nice? Is it paying it forward at Starbucks? Is it proclaiming, "Be Kind" on a t-shirt? Should we all be performing random acts of kindness as Ann Herbert scribbled on a placemat 40 years ago? Maybe. But I don't think kindness is about what makes you or me feel comfortable. It's not about civility when dealing with those who are indifferent to the suffering of others. Kindness without justice fails in compassion. It cannot mean a lack of accountability for causing harm. Essayist Lee Green writes, "To do a kindness is to invest in the betterment of an individual or community even if that means challenging them, and making them uncomfortable." Growth is uncomfortable. Correcting someone when they're wrong--that's a kindness. Offering someone the opportunity to identify when or where they're causing harm so that they might so that they might stop--that's a kind thing to do. Not just for that person, but for everyone they interact with. Kindness is actionable. I close tonight with a tweet from Bernice King, the youngest child of Dr. Martin Luther King. "Kindness matters, but kindness does not equal justice. Civility counts, but calling for civility is not the humane response to injustice. Justice is. Love is essential, but love is not a passive, weeping bystander. Love puts in work.

The Common Council held an Informal Organizational Meeting on 06/15/2021. Because it was an informal meeting, they didn’t have an invocation, but Mayor Woodford did take the opportunity to make a statement which, although not mentioning any specific situation, did appear to at least in part be responding to the discussion that has been happening surrounding Alderperson Schultz’s recent social media post. (https://allthingsappleton.com/2021/06/15/after-aapi-and-cedaw-resolutions-are-passed-alderperson-schultz-expresses-concern-about-backlash-from-conservatives/) Mayor Woodford: And so, it's an informal organizational meeting so we don't have an invocation, but I hope you'll permit me to say a few words before we get started. I've been thinking a bit about the discussion over the last few weeks regarding Council rules and lots of other topics that the Council has taken up, and I'd be remiss if I didn't share with you my concern--my concern for the level of discourse and my concern for the decorum of the body. And we talk a lot about decorum here in the Chamber and to your credit I think this Council does a good job of maintaining--by and large, maintaining decorum in the chamber. But I think decorum, which is really just another word for respect--I think, it extends beyond the walls of the Council chambers and out into the community, and not just the physical community, but I would argue the virtual community also. And I've been concerned, and members of the community I think are also becoming concerned with some of the things that are taking place in discussions outside of Council meetings and particularly online. And so, before we get into our work tonight, I just want to share some suggestions with you first to underscore the concern. So, you got a copy of a book from one of your colleagues. I think it was at the first meeting, one of your colleagues provided you with a copy of a book--a book that I happen to have a copy of myself--and it's called "Love Your Enemies" by Arthur Brooks, and if you haven't had a chance to read it yet I hope that you will. I think it's worthwhile and thought provoking but I wanted to share a couple of things with you from the book. This is on the concept of contempt which I think is particularly concerning and one that we should be thinking about as leaders in this community and in particular in this elected body. So I'll read a few sections here. “Mode of attribution asymmetry doesn't lead to anger because it doesn't make you want to repair the relationship. Believing your foe is motivated by hate leads to something far worse: contempt. While anger seeks to bring someone back into the fold, contempt seeks to exile. It attempts to mock, shame, and permanently exclude from relationships by belittling, humiliating, and ignoring. So while anger says ‘I care about this.’ Contempt says, ‘You disgust me. You are beneath caring about.’” He goes on to say, “The destructive power of contempt is well documented in the work of the famous social psychologist and relationship expert John Gottman. He's a long-time professor at the University of Washington in Seattle and cofounder with his wife, Julie Schwartz-Gottman of the Gottman Institute which is dedicated to improving relationships. In his work Gottman has studied thousands of married couples. He'll ask each couple to tell their story. How they met and courted, their highs and their lows as a couple, and how their marriage has changed over the years, before having them discussion contentious issues. After watching a couple interact for just one hour he could predict within, with 94% accuracy whether that couple will divorce within three years. And how can he tell? It's not from the anger the couples express. Gottman confirms that anger doesn't predict separation or divorce. The biggest warning signs, he explains, are indicators of contempt. These include sarcasm, sneering, hostile humor, and worst of all eyerolling. These little acts effectively say, ‘You are worthless’.” So what does this have to do with politics? So Brooks put this question to Gottman and Gottman said this, “There's been a denigration of respect in the dialogue in this country. It's always us vs. them. We see Republicans thinking they're better than Democrats, Democrats thinking they're better than Republicans, people from the coast thinking their better from people inland. It goes on and on, and I think it's very harmful. This us vs. them is what gets our medial pre-frontal cortex—" Remember, this is a professor—"our medial pre-frontal cortex, that's a part of our brain between our eyes, to not respond with understanding and compassion. And that's not what our country's about.” So concerning, right? And I think we can think of examples, whether it's been in our meetings here in the chamber or some of the things we've seen or heard online that maybe sound a little bit like some of those signs of contempt rather than just disagreements and rather than maybe being angry and passionate about issues. So there's good news--there's good news--and I'm happy to share that. We have a choice. That's the good news. We have a choice. And that's something that I wrote to all of you early on, I mean, it was like right after first or second meeting. I sent you all a note. One of the things I talked about was that we have a choice about how we treat each other, and how we carry ourselves. So that's the good news--we have a choice. But what do we do with it? So Brooks asked two experts. One of them was Dr. Gottman who I was just quoting before. Gottman gave him four rules, and Gottman had never been asked that question before, so he had to think about it, and he shared four rules. And those four rules were: Focus on other people's distress and focus on it empathetically. When others are upset about politics or anything else for that matter, listen to them respectfully. Try to understand their point of view before offering your own. Never listen only to rebut. Two: In your interactions with others, particularly in areas of disagreement, adopt the 5-1 rule which he gives couples. He says make sure you offer five positive comments for every criticism. On social media that means five positive messages for every one others might see as negative. Whoo. Might be a tall order. But it's possible. Number three: no contempt is ever justified. Even if in the heat of the moment you think someone deserve it, it is unjustified more often than you know. It is always bad for you and it will never convince anyone else that they're wrong. And four: go where people disagree with you and learn from them. That means making new friends and seeking out opinions from those you don't agree with. And how do you act when you get there? Well go back to rules one through three. I think the nice thing about rule, uh, this rule number four is that this group has an opportunity to do this every other week when we come to this chamber, because we don't all agree. We all--we don't all come from, come at issues from the same perspective. So we've got an opportunity to be exposed to different ideas every other week when we get in this room, and every week really because we have meetings every week. He asked another expert, the Dalai Lama, and he asked the Dalai Lama, “What do I do when I feel contempt?” You know what the Dalai Lama said to him? “Practice warmheartedness.” "'Well, how do I do that? Give me some practical tips, Your Holiness.' He told me, 'Think back to a time in your life when you answered contempt with warmheartedness and remember how it made you feel and then do it again, and again, and again, and again.'" So those are a couple of practical suggestions for us about how we can not only make that choice but some of the things we can do to implement it, and I hope that you will. Because it's not just about us and our interpersonal relationships in this body or in this organization. The community looks to us for leadership, and I don't know that we're always showing them that. And I think we need to."

Alderperson Brad Firkus (District 3) delivered the invocation at the 06/16/2021 Common Council meeting. Mayor Woodford: “Tonight’s invocation will be delivered by Alderperson Firkus.” Alderperson Firkus: Thank you. I’m just gonna start tonight with a little story. A couple weeks back, I had bought a grill and I was trying to get it into my car and I’m not as young or as strong as I used to be, and this grill was kind of big. With the packaging and everything, it was probably like 200 pounds. And I’m struggling to get this into the back of my car. A guy walked by who was going back to his own vehicle and saw me really having a time with this thing, and he’s like, ‘Hey, you need a hand?” and I was like, ‘Sure, I’m not gonna get this in anytime soon so I’ll gladly take the help.’ The guy was probably about my build and maybe about 20 years older than I am, but he still decided to make the choice to help me out anyways. He had no reward to come from that choice, except for maybe the good feeling you get from helping someone, and I was able to get a grill home without needing an ice bag on my back afterwards. As we start to engage with our community a little bit more now that the pandemic is starting to recede and more people are venturing out and trying to be in their community a little bit more, we’re gonna be offered a lot of opportunities of making choices of how we want to engage with our community and with our fellow Appletonians. We can choose to engage in ways that help each other, that can make ourselves feel better, and can make our community a much more enjoyable place to be a part of. And hopefully as we get out there a little bit more, everyone, and reintroduce ourselves with our neighbors and our friends, we take that opportunity to pursue the things that make our community better and stronger and more enjoyable for everyone. Thank you.