Brookfield/Elm Grove Monthly

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Shop By Alison Fox Freeman Staff BROOKFIELD — The United States Supreme Court will not hear an appeal of a lower court's ruling that the Elmbrook School District violated the U.S. Constitu- tion when it held graduation ceremonies in Elmbrook Church. The case was among those the court declined to hear this term, although Jus- tices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented from the decision. The case of Doe vs. Elmbrook notes that the district held graduation ceremonies for Brookfield East High School and Brookfield Central High School at Elmbrook Church from 2000 to 2009 because of lack of space, wheelchair accessible seating and air condi- tioning in the schools' gyms. Since then, the district has held graduation ceremonies in a newly built field house. In 2009, Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a lawsuit on behalf of nine students, parents and gradu- ates of the Elmbrook School District who believed the district was mixing church and state. When the ceremony was held at Elm- brook Church, students received their diplo- mas underneath an immense cross, accord- ing to an Americans United press release. "No student should ever be forced to choose between missing their own gradua- tion and attending that seminal event in a proselytizing environment inundated with religious icons and exhortations," said Alex Luchenitser, Americans United's associate legal director, who argued the case. In his dissent, Scalia argued recent court decisions would change the result of the case and the court should have at least sent the case back to the appeals court. Scalia asserted the decision to hold gradu- ation at the church may have been "unwise" or "offensive," but it did not constitute the establishment of religion. "It is perhaps the job of school officials to prevent hurt feelings at school events. But that is decidedly not the job of the Constitu- tion," Scalia wrote. A U.S. district court and a three-member panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals both initially rejected the suit and ruled in favor of the school district. After rehearing the case, however, a full panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the district, saying that Brookfield high school graduation ceremonies held at Elmbrook Church violated the First Amend- ment. In August 2012, the Elmbrook School Board voted to appeal this decision in the U.S. Supreme Court. The board was seeking clarity from the court about whether public entities may use religious facilities for future events, according to an Elmbrook School District press release. The Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal, which means the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision stands. "Over the years, the Board of Education has carefully considered all options in determining whether to proceed with this case," said Elmbrook Chief Informational Officer Chris Thompson. "The District respects the ruling of the court and its denial of certiorari, and looks forward to continuing the practice of celebrating with our graduates and their families in Brook- field East's field house for years to come." Barry Lynn, executive director of Ameri- cans United, said in a press release there was no need for the U.S. Supreme Court to take this case. "The matter was resolved correctly by the court of appeals. This case should serve as a warning to public schools that it's not appropriate to hold important ceremonies like graduation in a religious setting," said Lynn. Email: afox@conleynet.com Supreme Court won't hear Elmbrook district's appeal of ruling in church-state case Stems from holding graduation ceremonies in Elmbrook Church By Matt Masterson Freeman Staff BROOKFIELD — At just 15 years old, Emily Oberst has already gone through more trials than many peo- ple do in a lifetime. In late 2011 — then an eighth-grader at Wisconsin Hills Middle School – the ever-active Emily began feeling a pain in the lower half of her left leg. "I had just started basket- ball so I thought it was shin splints," she said. "But then I started taking naps and (the pain) wouldn't go away for a week, so we went to urgent care. I got an X- ray and then they told me I needed additional testing." Following an MRI, a CT scan and a biopsy, Emily got her explanation: It was cancer. More specifically it was Ewing's sarcoma — a type of cancer that primar- ily affects teenagers, but is so rare that according to the American Cancer Soci- ety, only 225 children and teens are diagnosed each year in North America. "It was just devastating," Emily's mother, Melissa, said. "You think, 'How could this be happening? How could this happen to us?'" A radical procedure Ewing's sarcoma carries with it a 70 percent chance of survival if it is localized — as Emily's was in her left tibia — but because she was not responding to chemotherapy, her chances dropped to just 38 percent. She was taken to Chil- dren's Hospital in Philadel- phia, where specialized doctors performed surgery to remove a tumor that had engulfed her tibia. During the 16-hour procedure, doc- tors removed two-thirds of her left tibia. They replaced that bone with the fibula from her right leg, which was put in as a "new" tibia in her cancer- ous leg and allowed to grow into place over time. "She was super athletic and sporty, super involved in everything," Melissa said. "Because of where her cancer was — not only were we told she has cancer — we were told that she would probably never walk again." The road to recovery Emily went to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee three to five days every other week for seven months after her tumor was removed to make sure all the cancer cells were eliminated. She also began physical therapy to re- learn how to walk and kept up in school with a tutor the school district sent to her home. After being confined to a wheelchair for months, Emily was eventually able to walk with the help of crutches. Following a year walking with two crutches, she was able to begin using only one for balance. Today she can walk on her own, with only a limp — and, as of September 2012, she is also 100 percent cancer- free. "'No evidence of disease' is the clinical term," Melis- sa said. "(The doctors) won't say she is cured, they won't say she is in remis- sion, they just say there is no disease present." Emily still undergoes quarterly scans to check for cancer, but is coming up on her two-year anniversary of being free of the disease. Now a sophomore at Brookfield Central, Emily has been able to resume playing golf — one of her favorite activities before the cancer — after being granted a special exemp- tion by the Wisconsin Inter- scholastic Athletic Associa- tion to ride in a cart. Last year she competed on her school's varsity team and qualified for the state tour- nament. She also joined a competi- tive co-ed wheelchair bas- ketball team, the Milwau- kee Heat, and will attend a wheelchair basketball camp this month at UW- Whitewater. Speaking out about the good fight On June 20, Emily served as the honorary spokeswoman for the 2014 Brookfield-Elm Grove Relay For Life. Recently, a boy at Brook- field Central was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma. Emily reached out to him and his family and has pro- vided help with her first- hand knowledge of the dis- ease, something she hoped to continue with her speech at the Relay. "I am really excited," she said before the speech. "I want to give people advice and make them know that there is hope for surviving. A lot of people are not posi- tive. I just want to give hope to people." To her mom, Emily has already given a lesson on everything she needs to know about strength. "She only cried the day of diagnosis," Melissa said. "She didn't have any other choice but to fight and she never (asked), 'Why me?' She was very positive. She taught a lot of people, not just our family – her peers, her friends, people who came around and just could not believe how well she handled it. She taught us a lot." Email: mmasterson@conleynet.com Submitted photo After a tough battle with Ewing's sarcoma, Emily Oberst has been cancer-free for nearly two years. 'I just want to give hope to people' Young cancer survivor tells story at Relay for Life By Matt Masterson Freeman Staff WAUKESHA — Damp con- ditions and increasing tem- peratures have helped insect populations flourish across Wisconsin this summer, annoying outdoorsmen and potentially leading to the spread of diseases. Randy Allen, regional man- ager of Wil-Kil, said phones at the Menomonee Falls-based extermination company have been ringing nearly off the hook with calls from people having bug problems. "It is just starting to warm up a bit. The phones have been ringing constantly," he said. "(We) had a lot of mois- ture this year and that is very good for the insect popula- tion." Two types of insects which are particularly pesky are mosquitoes and ticks, which have been out in droves so far this year. In addition to irri- tating people with their pres- ence, both are also known dis- ease carriers — mosquitoes carry West Nile virus and ticks Lyme disease. While Waukesha is just starting to get a taste of its burgeoning summer insect population, other parts of the state have already been hit hard. "I have been talking to folks who are coming back from up north — camping trips, things like that — and they are telling me it is just brutal out there in terms of mosquitos," Allen said. According to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health & Human Services, there have been three report- ed cases of West Nile found in birds and one probable case in a human in the state as of June 17. Health Officer Ben Jones of the Waukesha Public Health Center said so far there have been no reported cases of West Nile in the county and just one case of Lyme disease. Although neither illness is terribly common in Wauke- sha County, Jones said it is important for people to keep an eye out for signs that they may be spreading into the area. "Both (illnesses) always pick up in the summer months, just because mosquitoes and ticks are more active," he said. "(West Nile) is not very common around here. It is spread from birds — that is where mosquitoes get it from. We ask people to call in if they see dead birds and then cer- tain types of birds are sent out for testing, then we know it is in the area." Allen said the best way to keep mosquitoes away is by not staying outdoors too long at dawn and dusk — when the insects are usually out — and eliminating any standing water from your property. "What I tell people is to look around your yard or struc- ture or wherever you are, look for standing water — if there is something you can do about it, I would," he said. "I know a lot of folks have bird- baths close to their house and they put water in it and let it sit. Mosquitoes need standing water to breed, so you want to take a look at that." Email: mmasterson@conleynet.com They're beginning to bug us Insect populations — and disease-spreading potential — increasing as summer continues

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