Brian Roebke photo
Cassie’s Coop in Morrison plans to hold a three-day Coopapalooza event in the bar’s parking lot on Aug. 6-8. The town board put restrictions on the event, including parking on neighboring Cooperstown Road.
By Brian Roebke
Editor
What’s a palooza?
One dictionary says it’s an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. Another says it’s a wild, crazy and extravagant party.
Yet another said it forms the name of a promotional event such as a presentation or emphasizes or exaggerates the element of a situation.
The Morrison Town Board hopes it’s not too wild and crazy and the fears expressed at last week’s meeting exaggerate how big of a problem it could be from Aug. 6-8 after it approved a liquor license amendment for the event.
Cassie’s Coop owner Cassie Collins applied to amend her liquor license issued by the town for a special event that was intially unknown at the meeting.
However, a suggestion by a member of the audience for Zoning Administrator Joy Koomen to look it up on Facebook gave the town board all of the information it needed.
The three-day event is billed as “Coopapalooza,” the party of the summer, with music all weekend long to keep the party going and food trucks on Saturday.
There will be a twist on “Bar Olympics,” including slip and flip cup, volleyball beer bong, and drunken musical chairs.
Also on tap is a beer pallet raffle.
Town resident Rod Dubois, who owns 35 acres and lives next to the bar on Cooperstown Road, said he came to live in Wayside and finds it to be “paradise” and wasn’t real excited about the event.
Shortly after he and his wife built their home there 20 years ago, ownership of the bar changed and he started buying mail boxes in bulk because they were destroyed so often by bar patrons.
“For a period of time it was always racing cars, squealing tires, all that other stuff,” he said.
Eventually the bar settled down and life was wonderful for a long time.
Since Collins took over they’ve noticed more and faster traffic and black marks on the road. The bar recently hosted a band.
“You can’t hear the music from my house but the bass is so high my pictures vibrate on the walls and I don’t know how any of you would feel if you had 10 or 15 cars turn around in your driveway because mine is the first driveway,” he asked the board. When they leave, they step on the gas and loudly go on their way.
Dubois said the couple pretty much stays to themselves and is okay with the bar as long as the patrons stay off the property but admitted “paradise” is now somewhat diminished.
He credited Collins for keeping people out of his property and picking up cans and even sweeping the road but he would rather not have the event move forward because he doesn’t want noise, confusion, and commotion and everything that accompanies an event like this.
“The guy who rents my land has big concerns as well,” he said, noting the crops planted there may be at risk.
Constable Paul Brandenberg reported all sorts of problems with dogs, including the third incident with a family of unlicensed dogs that keep losing control of the dogs, who are not friendly, then bother other town residents.
A town resident videotaped these dogs that were right up to his door growling at him.
Another time, he drove to where the dogs had escaped to and drove very slowly with the four dogs following his vehicle to the owner. He didn’t want to exit his vehicle, so he honked his horn a couple times to alert her.
Brandenberg talked to the owner of the dogs, who claimed she planned to install an underground electric fence but it hadn’t yet been done.
After the third verbal warning, the town can start issuing citations, and the dog owner will receive a letter from the town indicating the next incident will result in a citation.
“There’s little children around there so you better stay after that,” Supervisor Dennis Laabs said.
Those children like to play outside but are leery of doing it because they don’t know if the dogs might show up.