Kenosha News du lieu suivant : Kenosha, Wisconsin • 17

Devoted to news from Kenosha County I it I 1 i a 1 4 really confused they do terrible terrible he said Dena Feingold rabbi at Beth Hillel Temple of Kenosha said people cannot control evil things from happening but by sharing compassion and working for good one can the world a better place and make the evil less Echoing that sentiment the Rev Phil Spottswood of First Congregational Church in Kenosha said people need to try leaving selfishness behind and show caring for other people Lawrence Kirby pastor at St Baptist Church in Racine told the audience to realize that are indeed our and our keep- BY CARRIE MAY PONIEWAZ KENOSHA NEWS Dismissing any link betweeq terrorism and religion leaders from across the religious spectrum shared their reactions to the Sept 11 attacks Monday during an interfaith dialogue program at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Sponsored by Center for Ethnic Studies the Communications Department and office the panel discussion was intended to promote an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding amid the hatred and anger recently directed at Muslims Arab-Americans and Sikh Indians Marwan Wafa dean of the Olympia Brown Unitarian Uni-versalist Church used the struggle in Ireland to point out the ludicrousness of identifying the terrorists with a religion saying that no one calls the killing can never associate terrorism with a he said just people who call themselves a certain religion that do Giving a Zen Buddhist point of view about the terrorist attacks The Rev Tony Somlai abbot of the Original Root Zen Center in Racine said that while all other beings seem to always know what to do human beings seem to be the only ones on the planet who are confused human beings are business and technology school who practices the Muslim religion said one of his first reactions to the attack was a hope that it who claims to be Muslim who carried out those Emphasizing that the Muslim religion is about peace and serw ing God he said the Koran teaches that anyone who kills unjustly kills all of humanity and going to the bottom of no such thing as an Islamic Wafa said terrorists) are no longer Muslims by the virtue of the fact that they have carried out that When a member of the audience asked what the panelists thought about the attacks being called a Ahmed Quereshi also a practicing Muslim said the word jihad had been incorrectly translated to that meaning word jihad means struggle" he said mean holy war and the words for holy war appear nowhere in the According to the Koran he said force is only justified when it is used to defend the ability to practice the Muslim religion or when one is being forced out of home condemn any use of the word that gives arifindi-cation of killing innocent Quereshi said The Rev Tony Larsen of the County exceeds benchmarks for minority hiring i 5 4 Ik i i i I Briefs Commuter rail forum Thursday at Job Center A community forum on commuter rail service connecting Kenosha Racine and Milwau-keawih take place from 6:30 to 8 itm Thursday at the Kenosha County Job Center 8600 Sheridan Road The forum will take place in Room Success near the north end of the building In addition the room will be open 5:30 to 6:30 pm during which resident can study displays and ask questions Panelists for the forum: Jack Keating University of Wisconsin-Parkside chancellor Peter Barca chief executive officer of Northpointe Achievement Center and a former Congressman John Diers manager of First Transit and former general director of Minneapolis Transit Fred Patrie chairman of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning advisory committee on commuter rail Chip Brewer worldwide director of government affairs for SC Johnson Co Ken Yunker assistant director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission KRM Commuter Rail is a potential rail service extension of the Chicago Metra line that now ends in Kenosha New potential stops are in Somers Racine Caledonia Oak Creek South Milwaukee Cudahy-St Francis and Milwaukee For more information contact Rosemary Potter at Transit NOW (414) 483-9137 or e-mail at rpworldexecpccom Our program set Thursday A "Salute Our candlelight vigil in the wake of the terrorist attacks will be at 7:30 pm Thursday at Veterans of Foreign Wars Junker-Ball Post 1865 6618 39th Ave The event open to the public will feature prayers for those who lost their lives in the attacks on New York City and the Pentagon and for those who are now serving in the mil- itary Officiating will be the Rev John Corrigan The number of candles available is limited so sponsors ask those who have their own to bring them to the vigil Home-selling seminar to be held at library A free home-selling seminar with tips and techniques for preparing property for sale will take place at 10 am Thursday at Southwest Library 7979 38th Ave For more information call Pat Formella at 694-1340 ext 35 or call the library at 942-3710 Improv troupe to perform Friday Improvisation company Comedy Sportz will headline a fimd-raising event Friday for Place The event begins at 7 pm at Marina Shore 302 58th St Tickets are $50 and are available at 2401 60th St and The Never-Ending Story 5715 75th St Comedy Sportz is a performing comedy troupe that blends improvisation with competition Money raised at the event will benefit Place which serves grieving children teens and families through peer support groups bereavement literature and communitywide awareness events For more information call Place at 656-9656 or e-mail mannsplacaolcom Author to autograph books Saturday Author Thomas Reeves will autographs copies of his book Bishop: The Life -and Times of Fulton from 10 am to noon Saturday The book-signing will be at Holy Family Catholic Bookstore 9249 Old Green Bay Road Pleasant Prairie For more information call the bookstore at 697-0333 BY LIZA BERGER KENOSHA NEWS Kenosha County has exceeded its benchmarks for employing minorities and women The benchmarks set by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) were part of the 2001 Affirmative Action Plan passed last Tuesday by the County Board But minorities and women are still underrepresented in certain departments and in certain jobs Promotions for minorities are also low compared to white promotions the plan shows The benchmark for minorities for 2000-01 is 88 percent and the benchmark for women for is 471 percent According to the 2001 Affirmative Action Plan the county employs 119 minorities out of a staff total of 963 or 117 percent Last year the county employed 113 percent minorities or 107 out of 945 Women make up 569 percent of the county work force or 548 out of a total of 963 according to the plan Because it contracts with the DWD the county has to meet the benchmark that is based on a minority and female labor force percentage Every two years or the life of the contract the county submits an affirmative action plan to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to show it is making faith to meet the benchmark The last time a report was submitted was 1999 Benchmarks for minorities and women are based on available labor pools in the county Since 1997-98 the county has maintained a minority representation above 10 percent In 1996 minorities made up 85 percent of the work force and in 1994 the minority representation was 66 percent Women have comprised more than 50 percent of the county work force since 1994 While it meets benchmarks overall the county fails to meet the minority benchmark in certain departments the report Bundled up SINCE 1997-98 the county has maintained a minority representation above 10 percent says It falls short of meeting the 88 percent benchmark in the administrative planning and development and public works departments The public works department the biggest of these three departments with 134 people only has seven minorities Promotions also Were lower for minorities compared to whites From July 2000 to June 2001 the county promoted only two minorities out of a total of 28 people Minorities are also underrepresented in the categories of officialsadministra-tive (27 percent) technicians (45 percent) and skilled crafts (35 percent) Women are underrepresented in the job categories of offi-cialsadministrators (278 percent) protective services (278 percent) technicians (393 percent) and service maintenance (466 percent) There are no women in skilled craft positions Brooke Koons personnel director for the county says the department tries to fill areas where women are lacking but many of those departments are traditionally areas many gals do you know have CDLs (commercial licenses) and want to plow snow and drive a he said Koons also said there are many reasons why minorities are not represented in some departments The county personnel department creates a new pool of applicants every 18 months Some people who were looking could find jobs elsewhere A lack of turnover is another reason minority repre- See HIRING Page C4 of the county work force and women comprise 569 percent of the work force The benchmark set by the Department of Workforce Development In Madison for minorities is 88 percent It is 471 percent for women However Ruffolo said the plan does not go far enough in examining exactly how minorities and women are represented in county departments Because the plan does not say which minorities or women are In high-level positions Ruffolo finds the results of the affirmative action plan deceiving The low number of minority promotions also indicates that more work needs to be done in this area he said Ruffolo said the county needs to create a management succession development plan that identifies individuals who are capable of taking positions when people leave He also said training is necessary to prepare people when positions open Kelly Poepplng Is bundled In a blanket while lege Strong northeast winds and temperawaiting to compete for Wllmot High School tures In the lower 50s made for a chilly day In a tennis meet Monday at Carthage Col- True love not limited by party affiliation for Republican Starzyk Democrat fiance opinions vary on report KENOSHA NEWS PHOTO BY PAUL WILLIAMS post last November She grew up and still lives in Powers Lake The pair will marry on Nov 22 2002 In Hawaii A Wisconsin reception is planned for Dec 14 2002 They will make Powers Lake their home BY DAVE ENGELS KENOSHA NEWS If you want to hear some lively discussion over dinner accompany state Rep Samantha Starzyk on a date Starzyk a Republican is engaged to be married Popping the question last Thursday during lunch was Chad Kerkman a Democrat AU the makings of wedded bliss discussed issues quite a few Starzyk said Monday standard line is have agreed to Said Kerkman tease us about being like James Carville and Mary Matalin or Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver If they can make it work we can They met in July 2000 at a Wheatland softball tournament was campaigning" Starzyk said was a Kerkman said But they start dating until earlier this year after Starzyk got settled in her new Job representing western Kenosha County Kerkman 31 graduated from Central High School and Purdue University After graduating from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1997 he BY LIZA BERGER KENOSHA NEWS Depending on whom you talk to Kenosha County is sufficient or deficient when it comes to calculating the presence of minorities and women in county departments County Board supervisors Wayne Koessel and John Ruffo-lo have different opinions of the 2001 Affirmative Action report Koessel said because the county appears to be meeting the benchmarks eliminating the report for a couple of years is a good way to save taxpayer dollars think above all the levels mandated to us and we ought to put it on the table for a couple years and look at it then" he said "We have an extremely tough budget coming up and I think we should be looking at ways to save taxpayer dollars" According to the plan minorities make up 117 percent SUBMITTED PHOTO State Rep Samantha Starzyk a Republican Is engaged to be married to attorney Chad Kerkman a Democrat entered private practice in Twin Lakes where he also resides Starzyk 27 a Wilmot High School and UW-Whitewater graduate worked as an aide to retired assemblyman Cloyd Porter and got elected to his 1.