Lighten Up Wisconsin (and Greendale)
January 19-April 28, 2009

Kick Off Event: January 8, 2009
Greendale High School MPR, 7 p.m.

Lighten Up is a fun, team based wellness initiative from Step Up and our partners. Your team of two to ten adults can compete with other teams in Greendale and across Wisconsin in the Weight Loss Division, Activity Division or Total Fitness Division. Take advantage of a wealth of innovative resources to jump start small, realistic and permanent changes in exercise and eating habits. It is as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Form a Team: Gather up to 10 co-workers, family members, neighbors, or friends. Choose a team name and a team captain.
2. Choose a Division: Choose the weight loss, activity or total fitness division for the same fee of $15 per person. (The money goes to the Lighten Up program)
3. Register Your Team: Watch for more information about registration. You will be able to register on-line or at the Kick-Off event at Greendale High School on January 8, 2009

Your registration fee includes a wealth of innovative resources including: interactive website with Team Page, online training log and activity tracker (privacy protected), online food journal, team message board, online health and fitness discussion forum, weekly tips from Wisconsin health professionals, weekly incentive challenges, free participation in the Healthy Holidays Challenge, AND a t-shirt!

For more information contact the call Greendale Health Department at 423-2110.

For your New Year’s resolution, consider giving your health a boost by resolving to avoid environments where you and your family would be exposed to second hand smoke.

Dr. Robert Shepard, co-author of the landmark Helena Heart Study, recently spoke to a group of Greendale and Greenfield residents about second hand smoke and heart disease. His study, now confirmed by 10 other studies, showed that exposure to second hand smoke increases the risk of fatal and non-fatal coronary heart disease in non-smokers by about 30%. After only 20 min exposure to second hand smoke, the platelets in a non-smoker are as “sticky” as a smoker’s. This stickiness can cause the platelets to clump together to form clots that can block the arteries in the heart, causing a heart attack. This stickiness can take up to 24 hours to decrease to normal levels. In addition, second hand smoke causes inflammation in the inside of the artery, problems with the ability of the blood vessels to dilate, and increases cholesterol deposits in the blood vessels, further contributing to heart problems.

In Helena (Montana) and other cities, states and countries, it has been demonstrated that enacting smoke free workplace laws leads to an immediate decrease in the number of hospital admissions for heart attacks. Wisconsin is nearly surrounded by smoke-free states. Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa, have smoke-free workplace laws to protect the health of their citizens and Michigan is working on one. Twenty four states and 24 foreign countries, including Ireland, also protect their citizens with smoke-free laws. Wisconsin does not.

More information can be found at: www.ittimewisconsin.org; www.tobwis.org; www.tobaccofreekids.org and www.anr.org

Available FREE from the Health Department: Make It Your Business: Strategies for a Tobacco-Free Workplace in Wisconsin. This is booklet describes 3 steps for making your workplace tobacco-free, how to use your company’s health plan to help employees quit, ideas for implementing policies, materials and resources.

The Greendale Health Department has received a grant to allow us to more closely track the immunizations of all children in Greendale up to two years old. Most childhood primary doses of vaccines are scheduled to be given by two years of age. Families of children two years and under are sent letters and/or called to be sure the families are aware of the recommended immunizations and that they have access to care that includes immunizations. If we are unable to reach a family by letter or phone, a home visit may be made.

Please help us to keep Greendale a healthy community by working with the public health nurses if they contact you about your child’s immunizations.

The Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR) is a secure computerized data system that tracks the immunizations given to people in Wisconsin. The Registry electronically stores an individual’s immunization record in a secure system.

Health care providers can access this information to determine which immunizations are due at a given time. Parents and legal guardians can also access this information via the internet. Your health care provider can help you to register to access your own records. Public and private health care providers can access WIR only after they have been trained and have signed a confidentiality agreement administered through the Wisconsin Department of Health.

WIR is easily accessible on Internet Explorer. It allows immediate access to your immunization history. If you move within the state or change providers for your immunizations, your immunization history is available to your new health care provider via this registry. By using WIR, duplication of immunizations can be prevented as well as keeping one up to date on needed immunizations.

If you have further questions about the Wisconsin Immunization Registry call Greendale Health Department at 423-2110 or visit http://dhfsWIR.org.

PFC & Classic Dining Restaurant Group the owner of numerous restaurants throughout the Midwest, has begun construction on a 4,600 square foot restaurant adjacent to Southridge Mall on 76th Street. The restaurant hopes to be open by the end of the year. Learn more about Ruby Tuesday at www.rubytuesday.com.

The Greendale Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with the Village of Greendale, will conduct the Village’s Annual Holiday Lighting Ceremony on Friday, November 28, 2008 in front of Village Hall, 6500 Northway. The ceremony will include a community sing-along beginning at 6:30 p.m. led by the Greendale High School Choir. Village President John Hermes will then begin the count down to the lighting of the holiday lights throughout the Village Center at 6:50 p.m. Shortly thereafter, Santa Claus will arrive to provide treats to all the “good little boys and girls.”

As an extra attraction this year, Greendale welcomes the United States Marine Corps Reserve and the Toys for Tots program. During the holiday season and year-round, attendees of the holiday lighting ceremony are asked to remember the less fortunate children of the area and make voluntary monetary donations to support this worthy program. Due to space limitations, donors are asked to make monetary donations in lieu of donating toys. Marines will honor the event with their attendance and thank donors for their generosity.

Greendale residents and visitors are invited to the Holiday Lighting Ceremony to kick off the holiday season. The community is reminded to Shop Greendale 1st and support local Chamber of Commerce and Greendale Village Business Association (GVBA) businesses.

For further information, please contact Ms. Lynn Magner, Chamber of Commerce President at (414) 699-4566.

The Kinetic Co., Inc., Greendale’s largest industry and a corporate citizen of Greendale since 1970, has begun construction on a 13,500 square foot addition to their facility on Loomis Road at 68th Street.

Joseph Masters, President of Kinetic stated, “The design and acceptance of our new addition by all regulatory agencies was made possible with the help and assistance of the Village Board, the Village Manager and numerous other Village officials.”

“We simply ran out of floor space for machinery and needed to expand so we had room for additional machines along with new employees to operate them,” Masters added.

Kinetic is a leading manufacturer of industrial knives who daily ships its products to customers around the world. Learn more about Kinetic at www.knifemaker.com.

The 2008 Leaf Collection is now complete. Leaves may no longer be placed in the street. Leaves may be brought to the DPW yard for recycling during regular hours of operation: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please note that Saturday hours change to 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. after December 1. For more information call (414) 423-2133.

Flu shots are still available at Greendale Health Department. The flu season can last until April, so it is not too late to get a flu shot. The charge is $30, however if you have Medicare Part B, the cost will be covered. Please bring your Medicare card with you. Call the Health Department at (414) 423-2110 to schedule an appointment.

An election will be held in the Village of Greendale on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 for Village President and Village Trustee. Click here for more information (pdf). Click here for the 2009 Municipal Candidate Packet (pdf).

The Department of Public Works will begin a final leaf collection service beginning on November 17, 2008. Residents may continue to place leaves in the street through Sunday November 16, 2008.

Please remember to place leaves 2 feet from the curb line into the street in piles no wider than 4 feet. Only leaves and grass clippings can be collected. Leaves may be brought to the DPW Yard for recycling during regular hours of operation; Monday – Friday 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Saturdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Please call 423-2133 for more information.

We have been working toward this for a long time, and we couldn't be more excited about finally being able to share it with you. Though there remains a bit of work as we continue to make sure the site works as it should, we have rolled out many of the changes we've been promising.

We encourage you to explore the site and tell us what you think, and what you'd like to see next. We can't wait to keep working to make the site better for you. E-mail your feedback here.

Please note: If your favorite thing is missing, it's likely still being perfected. Things you think don't work quite right are still being developed so that they work. In the days ahead, you'll see more changes. We'll keep you updated as we work to improve the website.

Special thanks to James Hauser for many of the photos used on this web site. His photos can also be found in the Village of Greendale commercial and brochure.