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UPDATE Ravenoaks Subdivision Road Reconstruction Project: April 15, 2025 Re: UPDATE TO RAVENOAKS SUBDIVISION RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT Dear Town of Oregon Resident, The Town of Oregon has approved improvements to your neighborhood roads: Blue Heron Way, Gray Owl Court, Knollwood Drive, Onwentsia Trail, Partridge Hill Drive, Quail Court, Ravenoaks Trail and Twin Oaks Court. (Ahwahnee Ct. and Trail Ridge Court were paved more recently and are in good condition, so they will not require any improvements at this time.) The pulverizing and paving is planned to start Monday April 21. It will start with pulverizing and grading, which will take about a week to work through the neighborhood. Then on Monday April 28 paving will start, which will take about 4 days. Schedule is subject to change due to weather or other conditions. We will try to keep the website updated with changes.  Construction will typically take place M-F 7 am to 6 pm, but may extend beyond those hours, especially if time has been lost to rain days or other conditions. Your patience is appreciated during this ~2 week period, which will cause some inconvenience as the work and equipment will have a heavy presence during the weekday, and possibly on the weekend. You can possibly expect dust from the pulverizing and grading process, and you may notice particles of pulverized pavement temporarily tracked into your driveway from your vehicles.  The pulverizing and paving process may cause some disruption as you enter and exit your driveway if they are working in that location. Both the pulverizing and paving are moving operations, and they move relatively quickly, so it likely won’t be more than 10-15 min that your access is delayed. With some planning, you can look down the road to see if they are coming toward your driveway, so you can leave before or after they pass by your driveway. Avoid the active construction area as much as possible, both for your sake and for the sake of the construction crew. Each time a car passes, they will need to slow down or stop operations, prolonging the duration of the project. If you see the operation is happening to the south of your driveway, use the north access to Sayles Trail if possible (unless your driveway is very close to Sun Valley Parkway). If you see the operation is happening to the north of your driveway, use the south access to Sun Valley Parkway if possible (unless your driveway is very close to Sun Valley Parkway). Allow extra time to get to your destination, in case you have to take the far access or there are cars backed up due to the flagging operation, which can only allow 1 lane open at a time.  If you must pass through the active construction area, please drive slowly and be considerate of the workers for their safety. A smile and a wave is always appreciated, as they are doing their best to do a good job for you. If you have a flexible schedule, please try to avoid coming or going during the popular morning and evening hours when buses are present and people are coming and going to work and school. There will be flaggers to always allow people and emergency vehicles to get through. However, “through” traffic, is discouraged. If you can use another route to avoid the construction operation, please do so.  School buses will always be allowed through the construction zone to drop off and pick up students. Please use extra caution if your child is getting dropped off or picked up near the construction operation.  For questions on construction or traffic control, please contact Dustin Rondorf, Payne & Dolan at (608) 535-2463 mobile or drondorf@walbecgroup.com If you need assistance from the Town during the project, please reach out to Abel Schultz, Public Works Road Patrolman, at (608) 438-2397 mobile or aschultz@townoforegonwi.gov Please sign up for Town of Oregon news to stay up to date on this project and other Town activities. Visit: https://townoforegonwi.gov/subscribe-to-updates/ Thank you.   Jennifer Hanson Town Clerk

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Voters indefinitely confined due to illness

The Oregon Town Hall will have absentee ballot request forms in the black mail box next to the front door.  You can complete the form on-site and leave in the provided envelope OR you can take the form home and mail to: Town of Oregon, 1138 Union Road, Oregon, WI  53575.  Any questions, please contact the clerk’s office at 835-3200.   

Guidance for Indefinitely Confined Electors COVID-19

Due to the continuing spread of COVID-19, staff of the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) has received numerous inquiries regarding the application of the indefinitely confined designation for absentee voters under Wisconsin Statutes.  At its meeting of March 27, 2020, the Commission discussed this issue and adopted the following guidance related to the use of indefinitely confined status to assist local election officials working with absentee voters:  

1.    Designation of indefinitely confined status is for each individual voter to make based upon their current circumstance.  It does not require permanent or total inability to travel outside of the residence.  The designation is appropriate for electors who are indefinitely confined because of age, physical illness or infirmity or are disabled for an indefinite period.

2.    Indefinitely confined status shall not be used by electors simply as a means to avoid the photo ID requirement without regard to whether they are indefinitely confined because of age, physical illness, infirmity or disability. 

This guidance is consistent with and supplements previous statements of the WEC related to absentee voters who may qualify as indefinitely confined or “permanent” absentee voters.  For ease of reference, on March 24, 2020, the WEC posted the following guidance in one of its FAQ documents addressing issues related to conducting the Spring Election in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic:
 
Indefinitely Confined Absentee Applications 

WEC staff has received numerous questions from clerks about the increase in voters requesting absentee ballots as indefinitely confined.  Wisconsin Statutes provide the option for a voter to self-certify whether they meet the definition of indefinitely confined.  The statutory definition of “age, illness, infirmity or disability” does not require any voter to meet a threshold for qualification and indefinitely confined status need not be permanent.  A voter with a broken leg or one recovering from surgery may be temporarily indefinitely confined and may use that status when voting during that period of time.   
 
We understand the concern over the use of indefinitely confined status and do not condone abuse of that option as it is an invaluable accommodation for many voters in Wisconsin.  During the current public health crisis, many voters of a certain age or in at-risk populations may meet that standard of indefinitely confined until the crisis abates.  We have told clerks if they do not believe a voter understood the declaration they made when requesting an absentee ballot, they can contact the voter for confirmation of their status.  They should do so using appropriate discretion as voters are still entitled to privacy concerning their medical and disability status.  Any request for confirmation of indefinitely confined status should not be accusatory in nature.    
 
There may be a need to do some review of the absentee voting rolls after this election to confirm voters who met the definition of indefinitely confined during the public health crisis would like to continue that status.  WEC staff has already discussed this possibility and may be able to provide resources to assist clerks with these efforts.   

This guidance is based upon applicable statutes.  An elector who is indefinitely confined because of age, physical illness or infirmity or is disabled for an indefinite period may by signing a statement to that effect require that an absentee ballot be sent to the elector automatically for every election.  Wis. Stat. § 6.86(2)(a).  The absentee ballot request form asks voters to certify to their indefinitely confined status.  Statutes do not establish the option to require proof or documentation from indefinitely confined voters.  Clerks may tactfully verify with voters that the voter understood the indefinitely confined status designation when they submitted their request but they may not request or require proof.  

An elector who qualifies as indefinitely confined “may, in lieu of providing proof of identification, submit with his or her absentee ballot a statement signed by the same individual who witnesses voting of the ballot which contains the name and address of the elector and verifies that the name and address are correct.”  Wis. Stat. 6.87(4)(b)2.  Thus, indefinitely confined electors may satisfy the photo ID requirement by obtaining the signature of a witness on the absentee ballot certificate envelope.  

Electors who are indefinitely confined due to age, physical illness, infirmity or disability, may be unable to obtain a current photo ID or make a copy to submit with their written absentee ballot request or upload an image of their photo ID with their electronic request through MyVote Wisconsin.  If a clerk is contacted by an elector in such circumstances, WEC recommends discussing the options and making the voter aware of the criteria for qualifying as an indefinitely confined elector. 

If any elector is no longer indefinitely confined, they shall so notify the municipal clerk.  Wis. Stat. 6.86(2)(a).  An elector also loses indefinitely confined status if they do not vote in a Spring or General Election and do not respond to a mailing from the municipal clerk asking whether they wish to continue automatically receiving absentee ballots.  Wis. Stat. 6.86(2)(b).  Finally, the municipal clerk shall remove the name of any elector from the list of indefinitely confined electors upon receipt of reliable information that an elector no longer qualifies for that designation and service.  The clerk shall notify the elector of such action not taken at the elector’s request within 5 days, if possible.  Wis. Stat. § 6.86(2)(b).

If you have questions regarding this communication, please contact the Help Desk at 608-261-2028 or elections@wi.gov.