T.J. Maxx coming to Oak Creek

Aug. 25, 2009 10:36 a.m. | Discount clothing seller T.J. Maxx plans to open a store in Oak Creek, taking a portion of the long-vacant former Sentry supermarket, at 8561 S. Howell Ave.

This will be the sixth T.J. Maxx store in the Milwaukee area. The other area stores include one at The Shoppes of Grand Avenue, where T.J. Maxx is one of the few retailers remaining in Plankinton Arcade portion of the downtown mall.

Other area stores are at 4200 S. 76th St., Greenfield; 9000 N. Green Bay Road, Brown Deer; and two stores in Brookfield, at 12575 W. Capitol Drive and 17460 W. Blue Mound Road, according to the company's Web site.

The Sentry closed in 2004. 

UPDATE: Company spokeswoman Thea Houghton says TJ Maxx hasn't signed a lease for the Oak Creek location yet, so the plans are not yet final. Stay tuned.

ACT scores rise in Oak Creek

Aug. 21, 2009 3:20 p.m. | Oak Creek High School's composite ACT score rose compared to last year, according to numbers the Department of Public Instruction released this week.

The composite score was 21.9 in 2008-09, compared to from 21.5 the prior year. Oak Creek-Franklin was still below the state average for public schools, 22.2.

Students' scores in math, science and English were higher than last year, while reading was slightly down.

About 64.4 percent of Oak Creek graduating seniors took the test.

Motorcyclist seriously injured in Oak Creek collision

Aug. 19, 2009 2:32 p.m. | A motorcyclist struck by a vehicle in Oak Creek was flown to a hospital with serious injuries Wednesday afternoon.

The wreck happened about 11:10 a.m. The vehicle was pulling out of a parking lot in the 8000 block of S. Howell Ave. and hit a 41-year-old motorcyclist who was heading southbound on Howell Ave., according to a news release from the Oak Creek Police Department.

Police say drugs and alcohol don't seem to have played a factor in the wreck. The motor vehicle's driver wasn't injured, police said.

Police view house fire with suspicion

Aug. 17, 2009 5:10 p.m. | The Oak Creek Police Department is investigating an Aug. 8 house fire as suspicious after reports of nearby "pranking" the same night.

According to a Police Department news release, firefighters and police officers found a vacant house at 8920 S. 27th St. engulfed in flames about 4:50 a.m.

Residents reported to police suspicious activity in the neighboring subdivision the same night as the fire. In a press release, police did not specify the nature of the activity or how it might relate to the fire.

Police are still determining the origin of the fire, and are encouraging people with information to call the Oak Creek Crime Stoppers at (414) 766-7699.

Information leading to an arrest could result in a reward.

Oak Creek's Schneider named NOW All-Suburban Co-Player of the Year

Aug. 12, 2009 1:32 p.m. | Oak Creek's J.T. Schneider is this season's NOW All-Suburban Player of the year, as selected by the NOW staff and online voters. The senior batted .426 and hit for homers. He shares the NOW honor with Kevin James of Whitefish Bay. Nicolet's Dick Sykes is the coach of the year. See bios for the complete team.

Fed grant is no safe haven for controlling costs, city decides

Aug. 07, 2009 2:30 p.m. | How does a city balance public safety issues with budget woes?

That was the issue in Oak Creek when the Common Council earlier this week ultimately decided against contributing toward a grant that would have meant three additional firefighters over a five-year span.

The Oak Creek Fire Department was a candidate to receive a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER, grant. The city would have contributed about $100,000 in the first year for the three firefighters, with costs rising each year for a total of about $1 million over five years.

The federal government would have kicked in an average of $65,000 per year.

Fire Chief Brian Satula argued more firefighters are needed because retirements are on the horizon and the department's call volume is increasing. In addition, the grant would save the city money in the first two years by offsetting overtime costs, he said.

City mulls changes in pet limit law

Aug. 04, 2009 11:34 a.m. | It's a rarely enforced city ordinance, but city leaders are considering changing rules on the number of dogs and cats that a resident can possess.

Under current Oak Creek law, a resident can own no more than two dogs, but there are no limits on how many cats a person can have.

That is troubling in two respects - it could be considered unfair to dog owners while having too many cats in one residence could also problematic, Mayor Dick Bolender said.

Aldermen and city officials are considering changing the ordinance after a resident asked them to because she wanted to take in more rescue dogs.

Officials floated several options, such rewording the ordinance to say that a resident could own four animals, raising the limit on dogs and putting new restrictions on cats.