By TOR ENESS | Ontario
So here’s the deal in Ontario. The village board in Ontario has pretty much decided to replace the community hall with a park shelter if they have any FEMA money left over after they tear down the 1937 section of the old school on Schoolhouse Hill and build something onto the 1984 school addition.
The village is in line to get $750,000. I think that would build a really nice community hall. Ontario had something very few villages had: a community hall and a village square together in the downtown area. I think a really nice community hall in Ontario is comparable to the La Crosse Center in La Crosse.
Remember, the old community hall was purchased and moved here by the people of the community. Then, in the ‘80s, when the village board wanted to tear it down, people from the community raised money to fix it. If it weren’t for the people of the community, today the village would get nothing!
I do want to apologize to the people who donated money to fix or build a new community hall. I’m sorry — I don’t think it is going to happen.
I think the people of the Ontario community deserve better.