A kneeling king has been missing from the St. Pius V, Roman Catholic Church nativity in Mukwonago since last Christmas season. Church coordinator Ray Hajewski said the king was taken last year and he has not been able to find a replacement. 

Contact Hajewski at rmhajewski@gmail.com with any information on replacement figures for the nativity. 

Read the full story in the Dec. 5 Chief.

The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department,  the Big Bend Police Department and the Village and Town of Mukwonago police departments, as well as other law enforcement agencies in the State of Wisconsin are partnering to provide extra patrols during the Booze and Belts campaign from Dec. 7 through 16.  

Through a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation – Bureau of Transportation Safety, additional officers will be enforcing speed, seat belt, intoxicated driving, and other violations that threaten the safety of the motoring public. Police urge drivers to buckle up and don’t drink and drive. 

A Holiday Gift Workshop is being offered by the Oconomowoc Public Library for children ages 4k- 4th grade from 10-11:15 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8.

Kids can make gifts for everyone on their list!  Please register for this free event at http://oplholiday.eventbrite.com

Also: Sign up to “Read with Dharma!”  Kids can practice reading aloud with a certified therapy dog. To sign up for your 15-minute appointment, please call Betsy at (262) 569-2193, ext. 210.

The Racine Symphony Orchestra has a Christmas wish for everyone that comes to the Holiday Pops concert on Friday, Dec. 7 to bring a food donation for the Racine County Food Bank. 

Doors to the  “Joy to the World” Holiday Pops concert at Festival Hall open at 5:30 p.m. and the concert starts at 7 p.m. 

For the fourth year, the orchestra is teaming up with the League of American Orchestras to help feed communities by collecting food as part of the Orchestras Feeding America program. Ticket holders are asked to bring food to the concert on Friday night. The Racine County Food Bank bin will be in the lobby for donations.

“It is easy for the symphony to support the League’s initiative every year. It’s a way for us to give back to our community with the help of our generous audience,” said the orchestra’s executive director, Bonnie Prochaska.

The orchestra “Giving Back” program also does an annual over the counter medication drive for Health Care Network at one of their summer pops concerts.

Last year the Orchestras Feeding American generated 86,000 pounds of food for local food banks. Over the past three years, more than 350,000 pounds has been collected by 250 orchestras in 50 states.

Tickets are available here, at the office by calling (262) 636-9285 or at the door.

 The Mukwonago High School and Parkview Middle School Orchestras will be presenting their annual Christmas Concert on Monday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.  in the Mukwonago High School Center.  Admission is free.  

This is the first time the MHS and Parkview orchestras have presented a joint holiday concert. The program will feature traditional Christmas music, as well as the Irish tunes, and works from Dvorak and Mozart.

Cookies go together with a lot of things: cookies and milk, cookies and hot chocolate and, the ever popular cookies and cream ice cream.

But cookies go best with Christmas. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without cookies. Plus, Santa is more likely to leave a few extra gifts at your house if he can linger over a plate of cookies you’ve left for him.

A word of warning: If you travel to the United Kingdom and you have a hankering for some cookies, be sure to ask for biscuits. Actually, if you ask for a cookie in Scotland, you’ll get a plain bun, instead.

If you don’t plan on making cookies, but still want to present a nice, full plate of the confections during the holidays why not visit one of three cookie sales in the area this Saturday. These are commonly called “cookie walks,” since you take your container and fill up with the cookies you want as you walk along the table. Often there are also candy and breads for sale. Normally, you pay by the pound.

Three cookie sales, which all start at 9 a.m. Saturday, are at:

Kettle Moraine Presbyterian Church, N66W32690 County Road K, Hartland

St. John’s United Church of Christ, Sussex Road, Merton.

Jerusalem Presbyterian Church, 207 W. Main St., Wales

The Mukwonago High School Guidance Department will host a Financial Aid Night on Thursday, Dec. 13 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the MHS Center. A financial aid representative will provide a presentation and answer questions on the application process and other aspects of Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). 

Financial aid is something that all college bound students, regardless of family income or assets, are eligible for. There are several different types including grants, subsidized loans, unsubsidized loans, and work study programs. The FAFSA application is free to fill out and submit and is available here beginning Jan. 1. Funds are dispersed based on financial need, family size, etc. but also on a first come-first served basis so it is important that parents and students fill out and file their application as close to that Jan. 1 date as possible. 

Please contact Paige Patenaude at patenpa@masd.k12.wi.us or Donna McKonly at mckondo@masd.k12.wi.us with questions.

 Village of Dousman - Village Trustees are expected to decide later this month to begin the reconstruction of Main Street in the spring of 2013.

The Village Board will also decide at a yet to be scheduled special meeting whether they want to reconfigure, or bury, utility lines in the downtown business district as part of the Main Street reconstruction project which will also involve repairing or upgrading buried sewer and water lines.

Three of the five village board members  indicated during a special meeting Monday night that they were ready to begin the project as soon as possible..

"I would like to begin construction as soon as the thaws begins in the spring," said Village President Jack Nissen.

Trustee Harold Dessart said he might have been willing to wait a year to begin the project if the village had an opportunity to acquire state or federal grants for the project. But, he said, that opportunity does not appear to be available.

Trustee Rita Hawk said she has heard no opposition to the project and downtown business owners would prefer the project be started and completed as quickly as possible.

The primary phase of the project would be in the central business district from Wilson Ave to Henry Street. Additional work along Main Street north and south of the central business district would depend upon the availability of funds for those projects.

Nissen warned the trustees that the project is likely to increase water and sewer rates in the village as well as increase the village tax levy. He said he wanted to get direction at tonight's meeting from the board whether plan to begin construction next year.

A formal decision on the construction and burying of the utility lines will be made at a special meeting to be scheduled later this month, according to Nissen.

The Eagle Business Association is sponsoring a Winter Hayride for a Canned Good on Friday, Dec. 14 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. One canned good per person.

The pantry is in need of food items that would be appropriate to fill baskets for a holiday meal like cranberries, yams, stuffing mixes, muffin mixes, green beans, Frehcn onions, cream of mushroom soup etc. 

The hay wagon loading zone is at Response Realtors parking lot next to the gazebo in the Village of Eagle. 

Young children sometimes have a hard time with Santa.

That’s understandable if they are not prepared. Imagine you are 3 years old, in a crowded department store with strangers all around and suddenly you’re asked to sit on the lap of a huge man wearing an outrageous red suit. He has so much white hair on his face you can’t even see flesh. The man looks like no one you know.

It can be daunting.

Perhaps a good way to start is to take your youngster to a breakfast with Santa, like the one at the Delafield American Legion Post 196, 333 N. Lapham Peak Road, on Saturday.

The pancake breakfast is from 8 a.m. to noon and includes raffles and treats. The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger.  

Proceeds from the event help provide veterans and their families a happy holiday.

It still would probably be a good idea to prep youngsters about visiting Santa. Even so, you just never know how children will react.

The Chicago Tribune recently asked readers to write about their children’s experiences with Santa. One woman wrote about getting her 3-year-old daughter all dressed up to see Santa at a downtown department store. She explained everything about the visit and that her daughter could ask Santa for what she wanted. Everything went well and the girl happily sat on Santa’s lap and asked for candy. When she was dismissed, she asked “Where’s my candy?” and began crying when she was told it wouldn’t come until Christmas.

Another woman brought her child to see Santa and the girl was terrified at the sight of the man, so they left. When the child was told that Santa would be coming into her house to leave presents, she got very upset and cried on Christmas Eve. She only calmed down when she was told he would leave the gifts on the porch.

Sure, it's unusually warm outside right now, but we all know we live in Wisconsin - and that means snow is surely on its way. When it comes, we've got some great winter activities for you to enjoy locally .

Check out this week's Living Lake Country Sunday for some great ideas.

 The Mukwonago Area School District Board of Education will meet tonight at 7 p.m. at the district office on Highway NN.

Among the action items on the agenda are the expansion of a fitness center at Mukwonago High School, graduation location for MHS and school building security.

 Attention students in grades 9-12: join in a free book club. This month the group will discuss "Code Name: Verity "  by Elizabeth Wein.

 The club will meet on  Thursday,  Dec. 27,  from 2-3 pm  at the Oconomowoc Public Library, 200 W. South St.

 It's free!  Just read the book, then come to book club for great conversation and snacks.

For more information, or if you have any questions, please call   (262) 569-2193  and ask for Betsy or email bbromley@cooney.lib.wi.us

Donations have already begun to come in for the final week of theYule Feed Families food drive, which ends Dec. 20 at Mukwonago and Lake Country Publications.

There is still time to help Mukwonago Publications feed families in the Mukwonago area. Bring your donations to our office at 11 N. Rochester St., Suite 3, during regular business hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Checks should be written out to the food pantry of choice, either the Mukwonago Food Pantry at 325 Eagle Lake Ave., or the Kitchen Kupboard Food Pantry housed in Mount Olive Church at 211 Main St. 

Village of Sussex - Three Town of Lisbon officials tonight refused to go along with recommended terms for a proposed permit for the construction and operation of a nearly 200,000 square foot Meijer's grocery and household goods super store at the intersection of Hwys. 164 and K.

The negative votes of Town Chairman Matt Gehrke, Supervisor Joe Osterman and Plan Commissioner Neil Sasse blocked what would have been a favorable review of the project by a joint Town of Lisbon-Village of Sussex Plan Committee.

The vote is largely symbolic because the committee does not have the authority to approve or reject proposed developments. The committee was created by a border agreement between the two communities to review projects along the town-village boundaries, according to Sussex Village Attorney John Macy.

The Meijer's store is located on farmland in the town that is in the process of being added to the village for development as part of the border agreement.

The town officials argued the proposed development is too large, poses problems for controlling storm water and flooding and  will result in increased truck and car traffic on town and county roads.

An attorney for two town families who own land near the development warned the joint-committee that the border agreement is being violated.

Milwaukee Attorney Joseph Cincotta argued the agreement stipulates that any project near the boundaries of the two communities must meet the conditions of long term land use plans of the communities.

Cincotta said the project violates the village's land use plan because the documents encourages the development of retail stores of about 100,000 square feet while discouraging the development  of "big box stores" along Hwy. 164.

Village Trustees recently changed the plan and argued a portion of the land was always designated for commercial use.

Crossing Elmbrook Church off as an option for a venue after using the facility for graduation was deemed unconstitutional earlier this year resulted in months of searching for Mukwonago High School.

Following several guiding criteria to whittle down a list of 10 facilities as options, lead a district graduation committee to propose Miller Park as the site of the 2013 MHS graduation ceremony at Monday’s school board meeting. Since Miller Park is not available on June 9, the original date planned for MHS graduation, the ceremony was moved up to Sunday, June 2, 2013 at 3 p.m.

Read the complete story in Wendesday's Muwonago Chief.

Following Friday's tragic events in Newtown, Conn., Mukwonago Area School District hired personnel to monitor entrances at two elementary schools this week, with a third locked down during the school day. Over Christmas break work will begin to install buzzer systems at the three schools to increase security within the buildings. 

Section and Prairie View Elementary, along with Eagleville Charter School do not have clear views to the front entrances from the main office. At other MASD buildings, guests are funneled into or past the main office or a staff member monitoring the entrance. Personnel to monitor entrances at Section and Prairie View are in place this week, while Eagleville will be locked during the school day. Parents and guests need to knock or call to gain entrance to the charter school, according to MASD Superintendent Paul Strobel.

The district will continue to look at improving security in all buildings throughout the district. Watch the Mukwonago Chief for a complete story on MASD school security.

Plans for a first floor fitness center at Mukwonago High School move forward after gaining unanimous approval from the Mukwonago Area School District Board of Education on Monday night. 

Construction on the fitness center will start after the last day of school in June, in order to be completed for the beginning of the 2013-14 school year.

The project will be a tremendous boost to the new MHS fitness-based curriculum where almost 500 students are currently enrolled, MHS physical education teacher Jim Essman said.

"This will affect every kid," said Essman.

Watch for a complete story on the MHS fitness center in an upcoming issue of the Mukwonago Chief.

 A special event is being planned for 'tweens in grades 4-6 at the Oconomowoc Public Library from 2-3:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 28. If you just want to laze around in your jammies, but have fun with your friends at the same time, then register for the Tween PJ Party.

This free event invites you to come in your PJs, eat your favorite cereal and watch cartoons and plays games during this day off from school.  

 Please register at : http://opltween.eventbrite.com

The Oconomowoc Public Library  is located at 200 W. South St.; for more information call:  (262) 569-2193

 On Dec. 14 Gerry Lycholat of Knutson Bros II, LLC was sworn in as President of the Lakeland Builders Association for the year “2013” by a Senior Officer of the Wisconsin Builders Association, Brandon Bartow.  

Lycholat has served on many committees both at the state and local levels and is currently co-chairing the committee that is developing the Walworth County Child Advocacy Center in Elkhorn.

“I am very honored and humbled to serve and give back to the association that has given so much to me," said Lycholat. "Despite the economy, I will work very hard to keep our association moving forward and in a positive direction."

See the latest closings from Todays TMJ4.

Village of Sussex - The developer of a proposed eight acre residential and commercial complex in downtown Sussex says he hopes to break ground in the Spring of 2013.

Arthur Sawall of Brookfield said he is reaching agreements with the village, Waukesha County, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources regarding moving the Bug Line Recreational Trail off the site at  the corner of Main Steet and Waukesha Avenue to make way for the new development.

He said a segment of the trail will be relocated west and south the property which is the site of the former Mammoth Springs Cannery Company. The 11 mile trail extends from the Village of Menomonee Falls west through Sussex to the Village of Merton.

Although he has yet to receive village, county and state approvals for the project, Sawall said he is optimistic he can break ground in the Spring because all of the agencies would like to see the project under way as soon as possible.

He said construction of two 30-unit apartment buildings can begin before the trail is relocated because the location of the apartment buildings does not affect the trail.

Sawall is scheduled to present conceptual plans for the development at a Village of Sussex Plan Commission meeting scheduled for Thursday, 4:30 p.m., at Village Hall

Sawall said he anticipates construction of retail and commercial buildings on the site after residential units have been built and occupied.

The City of Oconomowoc is reporting good news with only one accident reported overnight. A vehicle in the area of Valley and Golden Lake Roads slid of the roadway and struck a pole. No injuries were reported.

The Waukesha County Park System will take 2013 picnic and group camping reservations begining Wednesday, Jan. 2, starting at 8:15 a.m. at the County Administration Building, 515 W. Moreland Boulevard, Room AC230, in Waukesha.

Reservations are first-come first-serve, so it is suggested you have a second date or location option.  New for 2013, full payment is due at time of booking.

There will be a member of the Parks staff standing outside the main door entrance of the courthouse beginning at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, handing out numbers to those individuals waiting in line. Park personnel will be there until the front doors open at 7:30 a.m. After that time, Park personnel will continue handing out numbers upstairs in the hallway outside Room #AC230.

If you do not have a number, you will not be able to place a reservation.  Walk-ins will be taken care of first, then phone messages and e-mails, left after 8 a.m. on Jan. 2 will be returned in the order that they were received.  Messages received before 8 a.m. will be returned last.

According to the Mukwonago Area School District website, students will be released early today to give buses extra time on the road and to make certain students are home before it gets dark.

Mukwonago Schools are dismissing at the following times: Park View Middle School - 2 p.m., Mukwonago High School - 2:20 p.m. and all elementary Schools at 3:15 p.m.  

Also, all after-school activities for Thursday, Dec. 20 have been cancelled.

According to a media release from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, a winter storm warning is currently in effect statewide through Friday afternoon (Dec. 21), with hazardous travel likely over the next two days.

Conditions are expected to change rapidly. Heavysnow and high winds will result in blizzard conditions and hazardous driving. Driving is expected tobe especially treacherous today and could have life-threatening impacts. Motorists are advised tocancel or delay travel plans.

Additionally, there is potential for significant travel impacts into Friday, with relatively heavy travel anticipated due to the extended holiday weekend. Snow fall is intensifying across the central part of the state along a path extending from Madison in the Southwest towards Green Bay in the Northeast. Total accumulations throughout the day and into the evening could exceed one foot.

In the Southeast near Milwaukee, rain will begin to freeze and change to snow this afternoon. This will create very hazardous driving conditions during the afternoon rush hour.

Thursday’s winter storm has resulted in cancelled donation appointments and the cancellation of several blood drives in areas where BloodCenter of Wisconsin serves patients in need, according to information provided by the BloodCenter of Wisconsin.

Because of the storm, BloodCenter anticipates an overall shortfall of more than 1,000 units of blood over the next two days.  If that occurs, we could experience a shortage situation.  Donors are being asked to help ensure we have the needed blood supply to help patients.  

BloodCenter asks that those who are able to safely keep their scheduled appointments please do so.  If you don’t have an appointment, we ask that you take time to schedule an appointment for Saturday, Sunday or Monday.  Call 1-877-BE-A-HERO or visit the website.  

BloodCenter has extended its donor center hours at several locations this Saturday, Dec. 22.  Staff will be on hand until 3 p.m. at the Waukesha donor center at 2111 Springdale Road.

 At 8:02 p.m. Thursday some street lights in the Village of Hartland went out for about 10 minutes before returning to power. The street lights that went out were on Highland Avenue.

At the same time the street lights went out, the inside house lights on the same street blinked off and on for about five minutes.

The outages were most iikely caused by blowing snow and gusty winds.

Holiday tunes have been playing on the radio and in malls for several weeks. For some people, one more version of “Santa Baby” may just be the tipping point.

But if you want a fresh take on holiday music head over to the Big Holiday Music Party from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Milwaukee Street Traders, 523 Milwaukee St., Delafield.

The Peter Donalds Trio will headline the show and Donalds promises a great time.

“We’ll be doing music from the album,” said Donalds, “including original holiday tunes and some unique covers. If you’re tired of the same old songs every year, we’ll surprise you.”

This year Donalds recorded two new CDs, “The Colors I See” and “Small Town Christmas.”

The trio includes Mike Helgesen on percussion, Billy Lambrecht on Bass and Donalds son, Jack, on guitar.

The program also includes Jesse and Pamela Darrow of Delafield and Chris Wilkie, lead singer of Beacon Music Ministry in Milwaukee, plus traditional and contemporary singalonogs. Admission is free.

Donalds is an East Troy native who recently returned to Wisconsin where he performs at Traders the second and fourth Saturday of each month.

Traders’ menu includes a beer, wine, hot beverages, sandwiches and sweets. For more information, call (262) 646-9289.

 We asked local leaders to share some of their favorite holiday traditions and fondest Christmas memories. Read more in this Sunday's Living Lake Country.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation,  travel conditions are slowly beginning to improve across the state, however, many roads remain completely or partially covered with snow and ice pack.  As temperatures drop this afternoon and this evening, roadway surfaces could again freeze and become slippery. 

County crews have been out this morning and throughout the day to restore roadways to normal winter driving conditions. Conditions are expected to improve throughout the day. 

There were numerous traffic incidents during the storm involving large trucks.  Many of these incidents involved trucks sliding off the road, and these vehicles are now being recovered. Emergency responders and towing and recovery personnel will be operating under extreme weather conditions and dangerous traffic.  Drivers are urged to proceed very cautiously through these emergency scenes.  State law requires that drivers slow down and move over for any stopped vehicle involved in these emergency response activities. 

Due to the travel delayed by the storm as well as holiday shopping and other events, significantly higher traffic volumes are expected on Wisconsin highways this afternoon and this evening.  As increased travel is expected over the entire extended holiday weekend, motorists are encouraged to drive with caution.

 With snow from last week's storm covering the area, snow enthusiasts could enjoy winter activities fo the first time this year. Take a look at some of the sledding fun here.

 As of Dec. 24, the Salvation Army Red Kettle total is $436,497.41 or $16,497.41 over the goal.  

"There will be additional income when the mini-counter kettles brought in about Jan. 4," said Carol Lemirand, corps officer with the Salvation Army, "so we could end the season at about $440,000 thanks to all the hard work of caring volunteers, hard working staff, and generous donors.  What an outpouring of love as we meet the needs of individuals in 2013."

The Christmas Goal of $680,000 is still being calculated as people make their end of the year contributions which are counted toward the goal," Lemirand added. Currently the Salvation Army is $127,335 from its goal, but all receipts are not recorded as the staff takes a couple off days to celebrate Christmas.  

 The annual Joe Raymond Memorial Hockey Classic will take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Naga-Waukee Ice Arena. Six teams will take part in this year's meet. John Marino is the tournament director.

Teams taking part this year are Waukesha, Janesville, Brookfield/Catholic Memorial, University School, Kettle Moraine/Mukwonago/Oconomowoc and Stevens Point.

Three games will be played all three days. Games will start at 4 p.m. on Thursday, at 4 p.m. on Friday and at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The championship game will be Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

KM/Mukwonago/OHS will play Stevens Point at 8 p.m. on Thursday and will play USM on Friday at 6 p.m. Saturday's pairings will be determined by the outcome of the games from Thursday and Friday.

 Arrowhead's boys hockey team stopped Milwaukee Marquette Wednesday night, 5-2 in a nonconference game.

Nick Peterson and Jake Miller had two goals each for the Warhawks and Brett Stapelfeldt had one score. Trevor Macey turned back 26 of 28 Marquette shots.

AHS put the game away with three goals in the third period.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Aeronautics encourages children, ages seven to 17, to showcase their artistic talent by participating in its annual statewide poster contest.  This year’s theme is “My Favorite Air Sport.” Examples of air sports include ballooning, hang gliding and parachuting.

The top three entries in three different age divisions will advance to the national competition, with the potential to be entered in the international aviation art contest. In addition, statewide winners will receive the following prizes: First place - $100 art supply gift certificate or an airplane ride for two, second place - $75 art supply gift certificate, third place - $50 art supply gift certificate.

All artwork must be original and cannot be computer generated. For complete contest rules and the appropriate entry form, visit the DOT website.

Entries must be postmarked by January 28, 2013, and mailed to: Nicole Wiessinger, WisDOT – Bureau of Aeronautics, P.O. Box 7914, Madison, WI 53707-7914

 Pewaukee's girls basketball team stopped visiting Oconomowoc Thursday night in a nonconference game, 60-47. PHS had a 23-4 run in the second half.

Pewaukee (8-2) was led by Abby Gerrits with 17 points, Dani Jasinski 14 and Sarah Caccese had 11.

Sydney Snyder led Cooney with 20 points and Erin Vande Zande had 10.

 Due to slippery conditions caused by a freezing rain and temperatures in the high 20s, a 16-car accident took place at 7:45 a.m. Friday morning on Highway 16 westbound at Jungbluth Road just east of Hartland.

Cars and trucks collided with each other, sending many of the vehicles into the ditches on both the north and south-bound lanes. Nobody appeared to receive serious injuries even though several of the vehicles suffered a lot of damage.

Traffic was able to get through the mess via one lane at aout 5 miles per hour.. Four police vehicles were on the scene by 8 a.m. 

The Kettle Moraine Chapter of Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes will present Three Easy Ways to Propagate Your Native Seeds by Theresa and Gerhard Stegemann on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 1 p.m. at  the South Kettle Moraine State Forest Headquarters, S91W39091 Highway 59, Eagle, one mile west of Eagle.

Three easy and inexpensive methods of propagation that anyone can master will be demonstrated. Stegemanns will also describe the transformation of their three-quarter acre Whitewater Lake shoreline property from a Canada Goose respite to an abundantly diverse wildlife habitat of trees, shrubs and prairie/savanna plantings.

The presentation is open to the public. There is no admission fee.  Refreshments will be served.