Street Talk

Submitted by
Name: Better way

Comments:
There was a better way to handle the CASA situation. Why not call the volunteer in and discuss what happened. This was an alleged incident. A he said/she said.
There could have been other outcomes, but to remove her based on an alleged incident?
Perhaps a reprimand? Put her on probation?
No one in this community wants to see harm done to CASA and the job they do. They just want to see all parties held accountable.

I'm glad the car show was a success.

Added: May 25, 2025 07:38:23 AM

Submitted by
Name: Charles
From: Madison
E-mail: Contact

Comments:
This is for the comment made by Ha. Of course Whitney let her go because of the mayor. If he hadn't emailed her to tell her she wouldn't have known. You think? Great that the car show was a success at least by your account. I think the other car show in Madison wasn't quite as successful and I'm referring to slowed traffic on mainsteet due to the idiotic traffic pattern that is in itself an accident waiting to happen

Added: May 25, 2025 12:53:48 AM

Submitted by
Name: Ha

Comments:
Whitney didn’t let her go because the Mayor emailed her, she let her go because she flipped off the Mayor and brought drama (like what is happening with this whole post) if SHE wouldn’t have done that, this post wouldn’t have began. Does that make what he did right? No? But it started with her. You don’t like one choice she rightly made, and you’re risking her job. She saves children’s lives. You’re not hurting her, you’re hurting them. Why don’t you guys use this aggression to join the cause and help out a kid. You seem to have big voices here, how about do something good with them and advocate for them in court. And the car show was packed, you must not have actually attended.

Added: May 24, 2025 10:11:00 PM

Submitted by
Name: to tjh

Comments:
From: Susan Thevenow <susanthev@gmail.com>
Thanks for all your hard work. I have always been appreciative of your support.

I've wrestled with this because I do believe in the good that CASA does. I don't want to downplay the work they do or take away from the volunteers, but the way Kate was treated was wrong.

The board could end this by apologizing and removing Whitney. Bob will never admit he was wrong.
Whitney should not be heading an organization if she can not separate her responsibilities to advocacy vs granting special favors to the mayor.
This did not have to happen, but the way it was handled is deplorable.

I hope that JB will see fit to publish my resignation letter to the board. I walk a fine line here because of my involvement.

This has been devastating because I loved what I was doing with CASA and intended on serving for many years.

Again thanks for you've done; I know you have many other things to do!. I would have preferred this remain private, but it grew a life of its own.

With appreciation,
Susan

Added: May 24, 2025 08:03:37 PM

Submitted by
Name: Car show

Comments:
So far so good, the CASA director hasn’t kicked anybody out at the request of the mayor nor has he tried to trap anyone and his wife start smirking and laughing. Car show not as busy and as fun as the one Little and Washer and their team did but it’s basically okay. Nobody at the pool. Thought it opened Memorial Day Weekend? Hearing no matter what, Courtney and steinhardt are pushing the luxury condo through and passing out millions to big business. I’d like some kick back too!

Added: May 24, 2025 03:19:03 PM

Submitted by
Name: Light is out again

Comments:
No less than 2 days after the green arrow on 7 and 62 got fixed and it's out again. Our taxpayer dollars hard at work.

Added: May 24, 2025 09:47:28 AM

Submitted by
Name: Why

Comments:
I don’t get it . Why do some people think that if they do something good they can do bad things and that’s okay? What’s wrong with this town and these people? I don’t care how much money you give to help kids or animals if you then don’t pay your taxes and try to sneak in a riverfront condo because you are a big “employer”. I don’t care if you help abused kids if you then can volunteers who do the work just so you can pass out a political favor. I don’t care if you help make the town prettier but then abuse everyone who doesn’t bow down to you . The mayor is ridiculous, CASA’s director is ridiculous Grotes are ridiculous, the list goes on. Keep up the good work JB anybody else miss the days of Bog Boooobs Boykin and the never ending economic development scams or when the pro school referendum folks got their panties beat off ‘em by the citizens. I can go on and on . But this page, because of JB and the people who read it and wrote on it has made a huge difference. So thanks to all of you who post and JB for letting us do it. The truth matters!

Added: May 23, 2025 08:31:30 PM

Submitted by
Name: Traffic Problems

Comments:
Did anyone else catch the nice blow offs by Courtney and Scudder regarding the continuing city wide traffic issues? So you both know that other parts of town besides the riverfront are having issues and the solution is to call non emergency number just to get told there's no officers to spare. Is the city too cheap to buy cameras to place at every intersection in town? That sure would solve some problems!

Added: May 23, 2025 03:54:54 PM

Submitted by
Name: Board members

Comments:
Per requests - the board did not take a vote to remove the volunteer but once the story broke and there was backlash, I am told by a board member that the decision was made to “wait it out” and “let things die down” regarding CASA participating in political vendettas by the mayor. Board members are: Carol Ralston - president- retired. Dr. Linda Zapp- Madison State Hospital. Nadia Boone- KDH foundation. Pam Crozier-1st Financial , county council and GOP Party chair. Susan Craig SPC Creations. John Hutchinson - retired. Paul Hartman - Life Springs. Susan Suggett * * *- Sugget -* * * Properties. Lexi Bennett - Madison Chemical. Jennifer Hartman - MCS teacher. You can find emails in the CASA website.

Does transparency make a difference - does JBs page help? I’m not always in favor of posting or denying certain posts- but I believe JB does the best he can with the immense anger and disappointment citizens have for local, state and national politics. In this case there was so much anger with Bob and CASA that to have posted all the submissions would have resulted in dozens of pages. Maybe that would have been best. On the flip side the mayor having friends post to local news and social pages about what a great guy he is or those patting CASA on the back for “helping” kids while also condoning what can be described as either a road rage incident or really scary or perverse stalking attempt by the mayor. I don’t know guys. But I do know Bob texted numerous person attempting to get his email pulled from other sites. I do know he threatened people and do know he demanded apologies. He didn’t get any of those things.

So does Jb’s page make a difference- do pages pale a difference? I agree they do. The truth is sometimes wonderful and brings relief. And sometimes - as in this case it is very ugly and shows us a side of people or an agency we truly didn’t image existed. I’m glad to help where I can for this and other pages or groups. But this is JBs page and credit goes to him and the contributors for the work over the years. I gather the documents and answer the calls or texts. But thank you for the kind remarks. Tjh

Added: May 23, 2025 11:35:11 AM

Submitted by
Name: Please check

Comments:
@madison please check your information about Ivy Techs presidents address. I received a text from a reliable source that your information was incorrect. She and her family may have moved recently? please confirm your information for Jeff.

Other denials- I believe JB has denied several duplicate posts regarding Bob which appear to be coming from either city hall or similar. As for the ongoing accusations about the personal life of the chief - he wiled. It's a shame that this was taken as far as it was. Apologies for overreacting and getting CASA involved would have been nice, but that ain't happening.

I don't know what is to be gained by bashing both sides.

This incident should not take away from the valuable work CASA provides for our community. My last thought is that the organization may need to look for different leadership. :!devil:

Added: May 22, 2025 04:15:12 PM