mtt39 mg final

The Middleton Common Councillast week unanimously approved theuse of up to $400,000 in Tax IncrementFinancing (TIF) to help fund the ex-pansion of Natus Neurology.

Natus Neurology maintains itsNorth American corporate headquar-ters in the Good Neighbor City. The

company provides healthcare productsused for the screening, detection, treat-ment, monitoring and tracking of com-mon medical ailments in newborncare.

Products are sold worldwide withdistributers in more than 100 coun-tries.

The company recently decided toexpand its headquarters and wants tomaintain its Middleton location. Theexpansion will ramp up its customertraining, supplier/contractor and corpo-

rate business meetings. Supporters say the plan is expected

to have a positive impact on the localeconomy, increasing commerce at ho-tels, restaurants, and in entertainmentand shopping. Natus also pledges tothe city it will maintain 174 full timepositions after the project is complete.

“We are talking about a companyexpanding and creating a global head-quarters for its neurology division inMiddleton,” commented ald. MarkSullivan (Dist. 8).

For the expansion, Natus Neurologyplans to move into a facility owned byFairview Ridge LLC, a Wisconsin lim-ited liability company.

The facility needs to be developedby adding a mezzanine level and mak-ing other internal changes to the prop-erty.

The changes will make it more suit-able for laboratories and offices for themedical device business.

VOL. 121, NO. 39 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013 SINGLE COPY PRICE: $1.25

www.MiddletonTimes.com

Inside this issue:Local: Education: Sports:Local hair stylist retires after44 years. Page 3

Meet the man who runsDryhootch. Page 4

Girls golfers win Big Eight. Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . 18

See NATUS, page 7

Times-Tribune photo by Katherine PerrethOn the scene...Trumpeter and Middleton High School graduate Jordan Foster is now performing with Megan Bobo and The Lux on the Madison music scene.

She’s pictured here, second from left, playing a gig on Willy Street Fair’s main stage Sunday. To read more about Foster, turn to page 5.

School district’smill rateset to rise7.7 percent

The Middleton-Cross Plains AreaBoard of Education held its annualmeeting and budget hearing on Mon-day of last week. The board presentedan overview of the district’s 2013-2014budget and voted unanimously to adopta tax levy of $63,601,678.

Approximately 10 citizens and ad-ministrative personnel attended andthere were no comments from citizensduring the time allotted for publicinput.

Under the budget, which could stillchange prior to final publication, themill rate would rise to $11.75 per$1,000 of equalized value. The rate isup 7.7 percent.

The mill rate would lead to $3,525in school district taxes on a home thatis valued at $300,000, an estimated in-crease of $252 over last year.

The district estimates the total equal-ized valuation of property in the districtto be just over 5.4 billion, which is un-changed over last year. The district in-cludes all or parts of eightmunicipalities.

The budget includes $123,105,190in total expenditures. It includes$71,681,304 in general fund spending.

The budget remains nearly identical

City council approves Natus TIF

See BUDGET, page 8

‘It’s going to ruin things’

A new segment of the proposedBadger-Coulee power line that cutsacross a northwest part of the town ofMiddleton sparked more concern fromresidents Monday about the potentialimpacts on their property.

“It’s going to ruin things,” JudithSummers said of the recently an-

nounced Segment B North that wouldextend west from Bronner Rd. over herproperty to across the town line.

American Transmission Co. andXcel Energy, the proposed line’sbuilders, prefer routing the 345-kilo-volt power line south along Koch andBronner roads, across Airport Rd., thensouth to US 14 to the expanded Cardi-nal Substation.

ATC/Xcel must include an alternateroute in the construction application it

plans to file Oct. 14 with the PublicService Commission. It is consideringa route that would extend south into thetown of Cross Plains and then east intothe town of Middleton across the Sum-mer’s Christmas tree farm and over toBronner Rd.

“I don’t see why they would want tocut a 150-foot swath through 200 acresof trees, when there are other options,”

Residents weigh in on latest ATC route

by JOHN STAMPENTimes-Tribune

by CAMERON BRENTimes-Tribune

by KEVIN MURPHY

Times-Tribune

See ATC, page 8

The Department of AgricultureTrade and Consumer Protection an-nounced in Middleton on Thursday oflast week two gas pump inspectionprograms designed to save taxpayersan estimated $676,000 annually.

The new program combines inspec-tions that used to be done separately byDATCP and the Department of Safetyand Professional Services. Now in-spections for fuel quality, accurate dis-pensing and pump safety that hadrequired visits from two state inspec-tors are done by one, said DATCP Sec-retary Ben Brancel.

“One inspector will be able to doboth the quantity measurements andthe quality measurements as well as thesafety inspections,” said Brancel.

Crossing training inspectors willallow the department to leave 7.5 cur-

rently vacant positions unfilled, hesaid.

The increased efficiency won’tmean stations will be inspected morefrequently, said Sandy Chalmers, aDATCP spokesperson. Stations arecurrently inspected every 12 to 18months.

The Kelley-Williamson station onUniversity Green was selected by Bon-nie Weidner, a DATCP inspector, forthe media rollout of the new programin the Madison area because it’s a rel-atively new and well run facility.

“It also has a very good compliancerecord,” Weidner said.

In recent years, gas stations haveachieved a 99.7 percent rating for ac-curate gas dispensing, said Brancel.Stations have a .6 centimeter toleranceon equipment DATCP brings on eachinspection to measure pump accuracy.

“Occasionally [station] owners aresurprised to learn that their pumps aredispensing more gas than is beingrecorded, giving customers a benefit,”Brancel said.

Another new program includes asticker placed on pumps passing in-spection with the month and year of themost recent inspection. The bluesticker also has a telephone numberconsumers can call if they believe thereis gas quality or pump accuracy prob-lem, The call connects with the petro-leum inspection program for a fasterresponse than under the old program,said Brancel.

Pumps that don’t pass inspection re-main out of service until they do, hesaid.

The old stickers were color-codedwith each color year corresponding toa different year, however, consumersweren’t told the code, said Chalmers.

In credit card transactions where thenumbers displayed on the pump don’tmatch those on the receipt issued at thepump, is dealt with DATCP’s TradeActivities section.

Inspectors are trained to detectequipment placed by would-be thieveson a gas pump’s credit card reader thatwould allow a consumer’s credit cardinformation to be unlawfully obtained.Those situations are reported to locallaw enforcement, said Brancel.

PAGE 2 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

Gas pump inspections could mean savings for taxpayers

Jarod Williams applies the new inspection sticker that's dated and givethe consumer a phone number to call to report irregularities. Times-Tribune photos by Kevin Murphy

Bonnie Weidner draws gasoline during a quality check.

by KEVIN MURPHY

Times-Tribune

From left, Jarod Williams and Bonnie Weidner, DATCP specialists, with DATCP secretary Ben Brancel.

When Amanda High joined theCress Funeral & Cremation Servicestaff earlier this year, she brought withher a wealth of knowledge about serv-ing veterans and current military mem-bers. Not only is her husband on activeduty in the Army, she once lived in theWashington, D.C. area, where she co-ordinated many funerals for U.S. ser-vicemen and women.

One of the things she's learned ismany veterans do not fully understandthe benefits available to them and theirfamilies, especially when they move toa different state or community. Afterdoing some research on what resources

and benefits are available in Wiscon-sin, she worked with Cress Vice Presi-dent Carey Cress Fose to organize aneducational event for veterans.

“Serving Those Who've Served Us”will be held Friday, Sept. 27, at 1 p.m.at the new Cress Center, 6021 Univer-sity Ave. The informational event andreception will cover health care and en-rollment benefits, educational benefits,state and federal financial benefits, andstate and local resources to which vet-erans can turn.

The event will feature four guestspeakers: Dan Connery from the DaneCounty Veterans Service Office; Kent

Falstad from the Wisconsin Depart-ment of Veterans Affairs; Joe Naylorfrom the William S. Middleton Memo-rial Veterans Hospital; and SteveDykes from the American Legion De-partment of Wisconsin. There will be aquestion-and-answer period, followedby a reception with hors d'oeuvres andrefreshments.

Veterans who attend the event atthe Cress Center will receive a gift ofappreciation. They may sign up to at-tend by calling High at 608-238-8406or emailing [email protected].

When Lanette Price finished gettingher hair cut last week, she got up fromthe chair and said a solemn goodbye.

“Thank you so much,” she said,turning to face barber Dean Woodas.“For everything.”

That’s kind of the way things havebeen recently at CK Hair, formerlyGrecian Curl, where Woodas has beensaying goodbye on the verge of his re-tirement.

For more than four decades,Woodas, whose voice still carries withit a hint of his Mediterranean home-land, has forged relationships with hiscustomers. He’s a stylist, to be sure, buthe also played the role of therapist,confidant and friend.

Woodas is also the proud father ofthree children. He will be officiallypassing down the scissors at his currentestablishment on Friday of this week.

He currently resides in Merrimacand is avid enjoyer of hunting, fishing,and motorcycle riding, among otherhobbies.

“How many times do you get tohave your hair cut by a big gamehunter from Greece,” said longtime

customer Jo Rummelhart, waiting pa-tiently for her final turn in the chair. Asit turns out, the answer is quite often,at least for the many Middletonianswho have made Woodas a part of theirregular routines for the past 44 years.

When Woodas began his life’s workof cutting and styling hair in the greaterMadison area in 1969, mankind hadonly recently landed on the moon, LedZepplin had just released its firstalbum, and Sesame Street had only justbegun being broadcast.

He moved to the area in 1955. Hestarted his first shop, which was lo-cated in the Tenney Building, in 1969,with a partner two years after complet-ing his 1,200 hours of training.

“It wasn’t difficult,” commentedWoodas when asked how he started hisown business. “It just takes some hardwork, that’s all.”

Anyone who has known Woodas orentrusted their hair to his care for anyamount of time knows him as a“friend,” and after his 51 years of over-all experience, he has a lot of friendscoming to him to get their hair done.

“I still do cut her hair,” replied Deanwhen asked about his first client, be-fore elaborating about a few longtimecustomers. “I used to cut her hair for

prom, back in 1962, and she’s still acustomer today.”

His final shop, located on ParmenterStreet in Middleton, was started in1984 and is his longest-running store.

“I’ve sold it,” continued Woodas, “tothe most wonderful people in theworld.”

Woodas has a reputation for beingboth honest and intensely skilled at hiscraft.

“He amazes me,” commented newestablishment owner Colleen Miller.“He has always got a smile on his face,and [is always] laughing. I want thatsecret.”

The new owners, Kris and Colleen,are planning an open house to coincidewith Woodas’ retirement on Friday. “Ilove what they’ve done with theplace,”

Woodas plans to spend his retire-ment “keeping busy.” Travelling is abig item on his agenda, and he plans tovisit friends and family in Greece first,but also will certainly keep busy doingthe things he loves, and plans to visitthe shop often.

“It’s a mixed feeling there,” finishedWoodas, “It’s nice to retire. But on thesame token, I’m going to miss them alot – my customers primarily. Like Isaid, they’re not only customers,

they’re friends.” Friends and well-wishers are en-

couraged to visit Woodas at CK Hair,2220 Parmenter St.

Times-Tribune photo by Matt Geiger

Dean Woodas, shown here putting the finishing touches on a haircut lastweek, will officially retire tomorrow.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 3

Woodas says farewell after 44 yearsby MIKE DREWTimes-Tribune

2X3.5 for MiddletonDowntown BusinessAssoc "farmer's market",ad # is 00235788.

Free informational event for veterans

Two weeks before matriculating atUW-Madison, 2013 Middleton HighSchool (MHS) graduate Jordan Fosterlanded a sweet part-time college job astrumpeter for the band Megan Boboand The Lux. Foster credits her firstchair trumpeting experience at MHS,the MHS Jazz Tracs May show, andher long-time trumpet instructor, JonSchipper, for helping her take a bigstep onto the Madison-area musicscene.

According to frontwoman Bobo,herself an American Idol contestantfrom the 2006 season, the 11-piecesoul/funk band has been together for

less than one year. Bobo met Foster atan ideal time.

“When we were invited to MHS forJazz Tracs, we noticed Jordan,” Bobosaid. “A female trumpeter with greatskill and potential, and someone wecould grow with.”

Schipper, a formidable trumpeter,was subbing that night in Bobo’s hornsection at Jazz Tracs, and the band justhappened to be looking for a trumpeter.When Foster joined Schipper on stagefor an improv trumpeting duel of “trad-ing fours,” switching off every fourmeasures, Foster held her own and thensome.

In August, the band asked Foster tojoin, and she was eager. “No way wasI gonna’ pass it by,” she said.

In addition to adjusting to collegelife and 17 credits - two of them inmusic performance with UW ensem-bles - Foster has learned about twenty-five songs for the band, she said. Shelearned some by ear, wrote parts forothers, and found sheet music, as well.Her first gig with the group was in Au-gust, just before she moved into thedorms.

Foster said she grew in time man-agement during her busy senior year ofhigh school, yet concedes balancingcollege classes with practices and mu-

sical gigs is “still tricky.” However,playing music is a stress release for her,she asserted. Especially now, as hercomfort level has increased allowingher to perform more freely and natu-rally, she said.

“I like the energy of this band,” Fos-ter concluded. “It’s exciting and cool tobe with older people who have experi-ence and are very wise.”

As lead singer, Bobo utilizes nearlyall of the available vertical and hori-zontal space on stage with her highlyenergetic show. To the crowd ofdancers over 100 strong at Willy StreetFair’s Main Stage, Bobo gushed,“We’re blessed to have this reallyamazing horn section, they keep memoving.”

And Megan Bobo and The Lux willkeep Foster trumpeting on Madison’smusic scene while helping her earnsome spending money for college.


Meet Calvin Tucker, Director ofDryhootch Madison, a nonprofit organ-ization that serves as both a public cof-feehouse, and a means to assist areaveterans and their families in the tran-sition to civilian life.

Calvin was born and raised inChicago, and moved to Milwaukeeshortly before beginning high school.As a 17 year-old recent high schoolgraduate, Calvin joined the army withhis mother’s written consent. Heserved in the military for a total of sixyears during the Vietnam War. Afterdischarge, Calvin lived in Californiauntil 1976, when he began going blinddue to glaucoma. Following a return toMilwaukee, Calvin had twelve differ-ent surgeries and six laser proceduresin an attempt to save his vision – all of

which failed. After becoming nearlycompletely blind, he began followingthe mantra “You can become bitter oryou can become better.” Calvin chosethe latter route.

Three years ago, Calvin married hiswife, Rita, a Customer Service Repre-sentative for a chemical supply com-pany in Madison. Calvin has two adultchildren, son Calvin Jr. and daughterAdrienne. Between Calvin and Rita,they have six grandchildren and twogreat-grandchildren. The couple at-tends Gateway Church in Middleton,where they are both Youth Leaders andCalvin is an Elder. Also through theirchurch, they are part of the Piggly Wig-gly Club, a church group that donateshundreds of pounds of food to the Mid-dleton Outreach Ministry (MOM).

Dryhootch is located on the nearWestside of Madison, it serves manyMiddleton veterans and is a member ofthe Middleton Chamber of Commerce

and the Middleton VFW. They offermany support groups for veterans andtheir families, including PTSD, mili-tary sexual trauma, and traumatic braininjury groups. Dryhootch also assistsin connecting veterans with commu-nity members and resources, such asreal estate agents, financial counselors,medical assistance, and education li-aisons. The coffeehouse staff membersare a combination of veteran and civil-ian volunteers, and they are alwayslooking for more people to add to theirteam.

When Calvin can get a break fromwork, he enjoys visiting his mother atAttic Angels in Middleton, where shehas been a resident since 2006. He alsoenjoys cooking, being at his church, at-tending events at the Middleton PAC,and eating hamburgers from the Mid-dleton Culvers.

Stay tuned to meet more of yourGood Neighbors! In the meantime, ifyou know someone who you think is aGood Neighbor and deserves recogni-tion, email me [email protected].

By Alissa Pfeiffer

Meet Your

Good Neighbor

Jordan Foster brings the funk

Monday, September 16 10:01 a.m. - Property damage,6300 block of Mendota Ave. 7:04 p.m. - Fraud, 7400 block of

Century Ave.Tuesday, September 17

3:11 p.m. - Fight, MiddletonSprings Dr. & Allen Blvd. 9:56 p.m. - Domestic distur-bance, 1200 block of Sweeney Dr.

Wednesday, September 18 10:56 a.m. - Sexual conduct,7300 block of Donna Dr. 11:58 a.m. - Fraud, 3300 block

of Valley Creek Cir.Thursday, September 19

4:40 a.m. - Fire, 7100 block ofBelle Fountaine Blvd. 2:17 p.m. - Robbery, 8300 block

of Greenway Blvd. 3:42 p.m. - Property damage,2400 block of Park St. 5:15 p.m. - Theft, 8300 block of

Greenway Blvd. 8:01 p.m. - Theft, 8300 block of

Forsythia St. 11:19 p.m. - Burglary, 6600

block of Clovernook Rd. 11:47 p.m. - Fire, 7200 block of

Fortune Dr.Friday, September 20

3:19 p.m. - Theft, 1700 block ofDeming Way. 9:43 p.m. - Malicious mischief,

6800 block of Century Ave.Saturday, September 21

8:37 a.m. - Burglary 1400 blockof N Westfield Rd. 11:24 a.m. - Fraud, 6700 block

of Century Ave.Sunday, September 22

6:52 p.m. - Domestic distur-bance, 2100 block of Allen Blvd.

Police Beat

by KATHERINE PERRETHTimes-Tribune

Calvin Tucker

Megan Bobo and TheLux will play Tuesday,November 5 at MajesticTheatre, opening forsoul artist Lee Fields


CHURCH NOTES

WEDDINGS

SSOCIETYOCIETY

Smith-SivertsonShelby Smith and Matthew Sivertson were united in marriage on May

25th, 2013 at Grace Lutheran Church in Eau Claire,WI. A reception, dinnerand dance followed at the Florian Gardens in Eau Claire. Parents of the cou-ple are Mike and Julie Smith of Middleton and Dan and Sue Sivertson ofElk Mound, WI. Shelby works as a registered nurse at Sacred Heart Hospitalin Eau Claire and Matt owns Sivertson Brother’s Trucking out ofMenomonee, WI. The couple will honeymoon in Mexico in January and re-side in Eau Claire with their little boy, Jackson.

Smith-CushmanKelsey Smith and Patrick Cushman were united in marriage on February

23rd, 2013 at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Middleton, WI. A reception,dinner and dance followed at the Marriott-Madison West. Parents of thecouple are Mike and Julie Smith of Middleton and Larry and Mary Cush-man of Cross Plains. Kelsey works as a site selection specialist for Phar-maseek of Middleton and Patrick is a carpenter for Lawrence CushmanConstruction of Cross Plains. The couple honeymooned in Mexico andwill make their home in Black Earth.

Spymistress hitsshelves Oct. 1

New York Times bestselling andMiddleton resident Jennifer Chi-averini’s last book, Mrs. Lincoln’sDressmaker, examined the life of a rel-atively unknown but pivotal woman inAmerican history, and catapulted her toa new level of success with coveragein national outlets including USAToday and the New York Times.

Chiaverini is now back with anothercaptivating historical novel – TheSpymistress, which will be releasedOctober 1.

The author will appear at Barnes &Noble, 7433 Mineral Point Road, onTuesday, October 1 at 7 p.m. to cele-brate the release.

In true Chiaverini fashion, history ismasterfully weaved with imaginationto give Elizabeth Van Lew the overduecredit she deserves in an entertainingand enthralling historical novel.

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

A fresh look at American classics

American food is difficult to define,since there is such a vast array. It’seasy to say that Spaghetti and Meat-balls are Italian, or Tacos are Mexican,or that Wiener schnitzel is Austrian.American food, to say the least, is amelting pot of so many different cul-tures.

Most times families have their ownfavorites like mac and cheese, chickenand dumplings, hamburgers, roast beef;and each of these dishes has hundredsof different versions, with even moreethnic twists, of preparing them.

Most families have a cache of fa-vorite recipes and favorite “go tomeals”. Often these recipes arescrawled on note cards or paper towels,and have become stained from frequentuse. Sometimes they are found in thirdor fourth generation hand-madewooden boxes, with someone’s initialsburned into the bottom. I have a bigblue binder, decorated with a “beauti-ful” picture of a crown which one ofmy kids printed for me in kindergarten,on the first kid pix software. My bluebinder is held together with tape. Thisbinder is filled with over 30 years ofrecipes, which I have collected, fromfriends, family, neighbors, cookbooks,and magazines. I’m sharing with youa few from my collection of AmericanClassic recipes. These recipes areabout more than just good old-fash-ioned home cooking. It’s about sharingdelicious, healthy meals-made withlove.

FRIED CHICKEN WITH OLD-FASHIONED CREAM GRAVY

I like using pre-cut whole chickenfrom Smart Chicken, found at mostarea grocery stores. It eliminates cut-ting up a whole chicken.

2/3-cup all purpose flour2 teaspoons salt1 teaspoon freshly ground black

pepper3 1/2 to 4-lb. chicken, cut into

pieces, skin on3/4-cup solid vegetable shortening,

such as Crisco

In large shallow bowl mix flour, salt,and pepper well. Dredge each chickenpiece in flour mixture, coating it well.Set aside on a large plate.

In a large cast-iron skillet or otherdeep, heavy pot, heat shortening overmedium-high heat to 360 degrees. Youcan test the fat with a pinch of flour; ifit blooms at once, the oil is ready.

Using tongs, carefully put flouredchicken pieces in hot fat, skin sidedown, without crowding pan. Letchicken cook until lightly browned onone side, about 5 minutes. Turn eachpiece and brown again, about 5 min-utes. Reduce heat slightly and con-tinue frying, turning occasionally tobrown evenly. Arrange the wings,breasts, and legs at different angles asneeded, turning the pieces about every5 minutes to cook and brown evenlyand prevent scorching. If chicken isbrowning too fast, turn down heatmore. Fry until chicken is cookedthrough, 20 to 25 minutes after the ini-tial browning (for a total of 30-35 min-utes.) Check for doneness using a meatthermometer (it should read 180 de-grees F) or cut through to the bone:

juices should run clean and thereshould be no pinkness. Remove eachpiece as it is done, setting on a papertowel to drain. Sprinkle with more salt.Pile cooked chicken on a serving plat-ter to serve family style.

Old Fashioned Cream Gravy

Whatever you do, don’t pour thegravy over the chicken before servingor its lovely crisp skin will turn soggy.

2 Tablespoons reserved chickengrease

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour2 cups milk3/4-teaspoon salt3/4-teaspoon freshly ground black

pepper

Immediately after frying chicken,slowly and carefully drain off greaseinto a heatproof bowl, keeping as manyof the browned bits behind in the fryingpan as you can. Slowly pour greaseinto another bowl, to capture any straybrown bits and return them to pan.Also return 2 Tablespoons grease topan. Heat over medium-low heat untilhot. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1to 2 minutes, scraping up the brownbits. Add milk and increase heat tomedium. Cook, stirring occasionally,until gravy comes to a gentle boil.Simmer, stirring often, until gravy issmooth, shiny, and thickened. Stir insalt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Cook’s Tip: Chicken is the test of acook’s versatility. Every major cuisineboasts chicken as a staple protein. It isup to you to experiment: whole,pieces, on the bone, boneless, with orwithout skin, grilled or broiled. Withsauce or without. Virtually any season-ing or technique can be applied to whatJacques Pepin calls “the perfect canvasfor a chef”.

BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

For many of us, this is the epitomeof classic American food. Sprinkle onthe crumb topping just before baking.

Salt1 lb. macaroni noodles12 Tablespoons butter6 Tablespoons flour1/2 medium onion, sliced thin1 bay leaf1 sprig fresh thyme9 black peppercorns4 1/2 cups milk2 teaspoons salt1 teaspoon freshly ground black

pepperPinch nutmeg6 cups (1 lb.) Hooks sharp Cheddar,

grated “local favorite”1 3/4 cups coarse breadcrumbs2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a9x13 inch-baking dish. Bring large pot

of salted water to a boil and cook mac-aroni until just tender. Don’t overcook.Drain well. Melt butter in a mediumsaucepan over medium heat. Addflour, onion, bay leaf, peppercorns andthyme; cook over medium-low heat for2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly (thisis called a roux). Slowly whisk milkinto the roux until smooth and blended.Raise heat to medium high, whisk con-stantly until mixture boils. Cook for 3to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, untilthickened. Lower heat and continuesimmering for about 10 minutes, stir-ring constantly. Strain sauce into alarge bowl, removing onion, herbs, andpeppercorns. Add 2 Tablespoons salt,pepper, nutmeg, and shredded cheese,stirring until cheese is melted. Tosspasta with cheese sauce and pour mix-ture into baking dish. Toss bread-crumbs with melted butter and spreadover casserole. Bake until sizzling andlightly browned, about 40 minutes, lesstime for individual ramekins. Coverwith foil if top browns too quickly.

CCOOKINGOOKING

by MichelleWerry

See CLASSICS, page 7

The total cost of the project willreach nearly $1.5 million. FairviewRidge agrees to pay for the changeswith the availability of tax incrementfinancing to recover certain costs. Thecompany is eligible under state statutesthat authorize the city to provide eco-nomic development assistance for proj-ect costs and other developmentincentives.

Middleton will pay no more than$400,000 in the agreement. The cityplans to hold the developer account-able by reducing the annual paymentby $230 per employee if the number ofstaff drops below the pledged amountof 174 full-time positions.

The motion was passed unani-mously, with ald. Mark Sullivan recus-

ing himself. The council viewed the project as a

positive economic development for thecity. Council members said they felt itimportant to keep the Natus Neurologyheadquarters in Middleton while thecompany looks to expand.

Some even compared Natus in Mid-dleton to Epic in Verona, thoughNatus’ new headquarters will not benearly the scale of Epic’s operations.

“Lets not forget what it means tohave a company’s global headquartersin your city,” said ald. Howard Teal(Dist. 5). “Think of what Epic has donefor Verona. Nobody knew whereVerona was, you had to look on a mapbefore they moved down there.”

It was also noted that the revenue

generated from the property tax fund-ing future water runoff mitigation proj-ects.

“Here we’re offering TIF as assis-tance to enhance a building to accom-modate a use and not create anymoreimpervious area,” said ald. HansHilbert (Dist. 7). “To take raw land oradd an addition on would probably cre-ate a lot more storm water runoff.”

“A lot of that is already in place andthis really enhances the overall TIFgoals of TIF 3,” Hilbert continued,“and the finance we can leverage off ofthe finances we have already put inplace to create that in this area andkeep a business like this.”


NATUS continued from page 1

CLASSICS continued from page 6

COLE SLAWMaking your own Cole slaw is as-

tonishingly easy, and infinitely betterthan any store bought version.

1 head green cabbage, shredded2 carrots, grated1 red onion, thinly sliced2 green onions, (white and green

parts), chopped1 1/2-cup mayonnaise1/4-cup Dijon mustard1 Tablespoon cider vinegar1 lemon, juiced4 Tablespoons sugar1/2-teaspoon celery seed2 -Tablespoons poppy seedsSaltFreshly ground black pepper

Combine cabbage, carrots, redonion, and green onions in a largebowl. In another bowl, stir together

mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, lemonjuice, sugar, and poppy seeds. Pourdressing over cabbage mixture and tossgently to combine. Season the Coleslaw with celery seed, salt, and blackpepper. Chill for 2 hours before serv-ing.

CHOCOLATE CAKEA favorite recipe from Barefoot

Contessa, which I make for my son’sbirthday every year. This cake ismoist, chocolaty, and quite easy tomake! The texture is enhanced by theaddition of buttermilk.

Butter for greasing pans1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus

more for pans2 cups sugar3/4-cup cocoa powder2 teaspoons baking soda

1-teaspoon baking powder1-teaspoon salt1-cup buttermilk, shaken1/2-cup vegetable oil2 extra large eggs, room temperature1-teaspoon pure vanilla extract1-cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Chocolate frosting6 ounces good semisweet chocolate

such as Callebaut1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, room

temperature1 extra-large egg yolk, room temper-

ature1-teaspoon pure vanilla extract1 3/4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Buttertwo 8-inch round cake pans. Line withparchment paper, then butter and flourthe pans.

Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda,

baking powder and salt into bowl of anelectric mixer fitted with paddle attach-ment and mix on low speed until com-bined. In another bowl, combinebuttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla, withmixer on low, slowly add wet ingredi-ents to dry. With mixer still on low,add coffee and stir just to combine,scraping bottom of bowl with a rubberspatula. Pour batter into prepared pansand bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until acake tester comes out clean. Cool inthe pans for 30 minutes, then turn outonto a cooling rack and cool com-pletely.

Frosting: Chop chocolate and placeit in a heatproof bowl set over a pan ofsimmering water. Stir until just meltedand set aside until cooled to room tem-perature. Beat butter on medium-highspeed until light yellow and fluffy,about 3 minutes. Add egg yolk andvanilla and continue beating for 3 min-

utes. Turn mixer to low, gradually addconfectioner’s sugar, and then beat atmedium, scraping down bowl as nec-essary, until smooth and creamy. Onlow speed, add chocolate to butter mix-ture and mix until blended. Don’twhip! Spread immediately on cooledcake. Place one layer, flat side up, onflat plate. With a knife or offset spat-ula, spread the top with frosting. Placesecond layer of top, rounded side up,and spread frosting evenly on top andsides of the cake. Happy Birthday!

Cook’s Tip: Never frost a cake be-fore it has cooled completely. Frostingadded to a hot cake melts or separates.Let air circulate on all sides for at leastan hour then frost it.

These American classics are some ofmy family heirlooms. I hope you enjoythem as much as my family does andentertain with them for years to come.

Times-Tribune photo by Matt Geiger

Art for a causeFood Concepts, Inc. (FCI) will hold its 6th Annual FCI Art Show and

Auction to benefit MOM (Middleton Outreach Ministry) on Thursday,Sept. 26 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at 2551 Parmenter St., Middleton.

This year’s event will showcase and auction more than 200 pieces ofart. Available will be paintings, photography, ceramics, jewelry, glassand more. The evening will also feature light hors d’ oeuvres, beverages,and music by the Huotari Brothers Band featuring original music,acoustic sounds and vocal beats.

Admission is free, and reservations are requested by calling 608-830-5000 or visiting fciartshow.com. All proceeds from the show go directlyto MOM.

Pictured above, FCI president and CEO Brad Duesler displays someof the art that will be at the show.

to the preliminary document approvedearlier this year, but with some addi-tional revenue expected due to morestudents than budgeted for joining thedistrict.

Property taxes are expected to ac-count for 79.1 percent of general fundrevenues. State aid is projected to makeup 13.6 percent which includes a onetime $75 per pupil adjustment aid fromthe state. Wisconsin’s funding formulaconsiders Middleton-Cross Plains to bewealthy because of its high propertyvalues, which leads to a lower percent-age of money from the state.

Approximately 75.8 percent of gen-eral fund expenditures are allotted tosalary and fringe benefits. The districtestimates 51.6 percent of general fundspending pays for actual student in-struction. There was a 7 percent esti-mated decline in state general aid thatamounts to a $567,000 reduction overlast year. This is on top of a 15 percentdrop a year ago and 10 percent the yearbefore that.

Capital projects fund make up $27.7million. Special project funds make upabout $12 million. Debt service equalsjust over $6.7 million.

The district expects to make$7,552,134 in payments for debt retire-ment.

The new levy would result in $2,350in taxes on a residential property val-ued at $200,000, $3,524 in taxes on a$300,000 residential property, and$4,699 in taxes on a residential prop-erty valued at $400,000.

The board also approved annualsalaries of $3,000 for the board of ed-ucation president and $2,400 for theeight other members. The salaries havenot been increased since 1998.

Superintendent Don Johnson pro-vide an update on the state of the dis-trict.

He shared the reading and mathe-matics test scores for students acrossthe district. Students are among thebest in the state in both subjects, al-though the math scores are signifi-cantly higher than reading. He also saidthe gap for reading and math scores haswidened between African-Americanand white/Asian students.

“This is one of the areas we canfocus on and do better in the future,”he said. “But overall we see steady im-provement and we think that’s a realpositive.”

Finally, he told the board that theWisconsin Department of Public In-struction School Report Cards werecoming out the next day (September17) and the district’s numbers lookedvery good.

“We have made amazing progressand it’s a team effort,” Johnson said.“We can stack up with any school dis-trict in Dane County or the state. It’sgreat news and deserves to be cele-brated.”


William Summers said of proposedline’s impact on his property.

ATC is also considering a segmentthat would follow a 69-kilovolt powerline through the former SunnysideSeed Farm which is now a DaneCounty park. The land was acquired inpart with a state Stewardship Fundcontribution which prohibits wideningthe existing utility right of way.

However, ATC is consulting with theDepartment of Natural Resources todetermine if there is a procedure to ac-quire more right of way for the powerline and negotiate with Dane County tocross the park, said ATC’s GregoryLevesque.

“I thought prohibit meant prohibit,”said Cynthia Richson, of the town’s

Plan Commission.Ric McGrew also was concerned

about towering power poles near hisToepler Rd. residence.

“My property evaluation was just in-creased because of the view from mybackyard, but that power line wouldtake away,” he said.

Like many of the other 50 personspresent, McGrew favored running thepower line along US 12 to US 14.Sharing an established transportationcorridor is the second-highest prioritycriteria established by state statue forsiting power lines.

ATC has studied but rejected theUSH 14 corridor from the west townline to the Cardinal Substation sayinga power line would complicate Depart-

ment of Transportation plans to even-tually widen the highway.

Nancy Gunder overlooks the Cardi-nal Substation from her Nina Ln., res-idence and came to the meeting todispel rumors she had heard about theproposed line’s intended path.

“I had heard that it would go downRocky Dell Rd. which is steep and sce-nic and learned that it wasn’t goingthere. I’d like it to go where the land ismore rural, away from homes andthat’s probably through the SunnysideSeed Farm,” she said.

Gunder remains concern aboutATC’s preferred route along BronnerRd. and its proximity to homes in theSummit Ridge area.

“I will go home, digest what I’ve

learned and write to the PSC about im-pacts of this line would have on thisarea; the homes, the [Hideaway] Land-fill, and other arguments I can raise tomove the line west,” she said.

ATC completed its round of openhouses last October to announce theproposed $510 million power line thatwould stretch from La Crosse to thetown of Middleton. However, it heldanother meeting Monday at the town’srequest, said Terry Henn.

“The Town of Middleton raisedsome concerns, not only about theBadger Coulee Project but the fact thatanother transmission line, the Rock-dale-West Middleton line was justcompleted and know there’s anotherproject coming on the heels of this

project, called Cardinal Bluffs Project[coming from Iowa] … That’s the po-tential of three 345-kv lines cominginto the Cardinal Substation so localofficials contacted (us) and asked us tocome out and talk to us again,” Hennsaid.

ATC anticipates the PSC making adecision on the need and route of thepower line in 2015. With PSC projectapproval ATC would have the line inservice in 2018.

ATC continued from page 1

BUDGET continued from page 1

$600,000 COULDBUY A LOT OFSCHOOL SUPPLIES

Dear Editor,

This past week I sat in the Middle-ton-Cross Plains District Administra-tive Center for over an hour andreviewed documents concerning thetermination of middle school teacherAndrew Harris.

I learned that there are two three-ring binders full of pornographic im-ages. I don’t pretend to know thedefinition of “pornographic.” I use theword here, because the reporting sur-rounding this case has employed thisterm. One binder contains imagesfrom Mr. Harris’ computer, and theother contains images gleaned off thecomputers of other Middleton-CrossPlains staff. I found dozens of porno-graphic pictures in both binders. Mostof the pictures focus on women’sbreasts, female full-frontal nudity andclose-ups of female genitalia. I foundpictures of male genitalia and oral sexonly in the other staff members’ binder.

There were two pictures in the otherstaff members’ binder, which I foundmost disturbing. The pictures were oftwo men who appear to have both maleand female genitalia. How sad thatanyone thinks this is funny.

In addition, I requested a copy of thearbitrator’s decision. The arbitratorruled that Mr. Harris was unjustly dis-ciplined when compared to the disci-pline meted out to other staff involvedwith pornography on their school com-puters. The arbitrator’s document isstocked full of data. Six high schoolteachers were investigated. The rangeof punishment included a verbal warn-ing to a 15-day suspension. Two ad-ministrators at the high school wereinvestigated for having questionablematerials on their computers. One re-ceived a non-disciplinary letter of in-struction. A substitute teacher resignedfrom the district. A high school main-tenance worker was also investigated.Two middle school teachers receivedletters of instruction as their discipline.Thirty staff members received non-dis-ciplinary letters of instruction. AndAndy Harris was fired.

Don’t get me wrong. There is ab-solutely no place for pornography inour schools. But the school districtcontinues to litigate this case. Six hun-dred thousand dollars later, the schooldistrict has lost its case to an arbitrator,a circuit court judge and a three-judgeappellate court. And now as taxpayers,we will pay for the Middleton-CrossPlains School Board to pursue its questto the Supreme Court of the State ofWisconsin.

I love kids. I believe in public edu-cation. Six hundred thousands dollars

buys a lot of science and English texts,violins and trombones, playgroundequipment, art supplies, building re-pairs, soccer balls, basketball jerseysand educational field trips. It’s time forthe school board to refocus and moveforward.

Sincerely,Linda Hilker,Cross Plains

Editor’s Note: Early on, it was de-termined that at no time were any stu-dents exposed to any of the materialsdescribed.

PFRANG URGESSCHOOL BOARD TOGIVE IT UP IN THEHARRIS CASE

I just read that the M-CP SchoolBoard has voted to continue to pursuedischarge of a teacher for viewing andcirculating pornography on a schoolcomputer, despite the fact that an arbi-trator and two levels of civil court re-view have found that the penalty wastoo harsh and inequitable compared tosimilar infractions by other districtstaff

The sanctimonious fixation the M-CP board and administration him outof his job for what is really a fairly in-nocuous and common workplace indis-cretion, mirrors the fixation that themoonstruck Tea People have with Oba-macare, bordering on a terminal stageof derangement. Here in the M-CPschool district, I think it’s probablytime for some responsible adult tocheck on the members of the schoolboard to see whether they have stoppedtaking their lithium, and on district su-perintendent Johnson to make sure hedoesn’t doesn’t imagine himself to bethe reincarnation of Captain Queeg onthe bridge of the USS Caine (anybodyunder 60 may have to look that one upon Google).

The school board has spent well intosix figures pursuing a case that has al-ready failed at three levels of appeal.As a district taxpayer, I’d like to knowhow many FTE equivalent classroomteachers that money-down-a-rat-holerepresents and how many more FTEsit’s prepared to squander chasing its tailat a time when classrooms are over-flowing and instructional staff arestressed. Nobody condones school em-ployees misusing their workplace com-puters for personal business orentertainment, but I’m sure that pointhas been made forcefully and suffi-ciently to the individual malefactor inthis case and the entire school districtstaff a long time ago. We don’t needthe Salem witch trials for a garden-va-

riety office infraction. If we did we’dhave to burn at least 90 percent of theoffice workers in Dane County at thestake. There are far too many more im-portant issues facing public educationgenerally and the M-CP district specif-ically, to waste any more time, or moreimportantly, taxpayer dollars on thisnonsense.

My message to the school board andadministration is to get over this an-tipodean absurdity and find some realwork to do. If you don’t know whatthat is, you haven’t been paying atten-tion in class.

Mike Pfrang,Town of Cross Plains

MANY ARE APPALLED BYSCHOOL DISTRICT’S ACTIONS

To the editor,

I’m the father of a student in theMCPASD and felt compelled to writea response to school board presidentEllen Lindgren’s statements regardingthe Andrew Harris case.

The truths have been so distorted inthis case that it makes me sick. It’s notabout what he did that is in question,and never has been. It’s about how Mr.Harris was treated in regards to theother teachers that were found to haveviewed, searched or passed inappropri-ate material via school computers.

Quit distorting the facts. TheUnion’s challenge was never about the“viewing” of porn. It was only aboutthe unfair treatment to one individual.And it’s also amazing that that individ-ual happened to be a union representa-tive. Is there some kind of axe to grindhere?

The school district has wasted fartoo much money chasing an outcomethey may never obtain. Is the cost ap-proaching $1 million when and if theSupreme Court takes this case on?Why did the District choose to gothrough arbitration in the first place ifthey were determined all along to ap-peal if they didn’t receive the outcomethey desired?

What budget is the money comingfrom to pay for these appeals? Whateducational sacrifices will my daughterhave to make because of the schoolboard’s selfish behavior? What is thedistrict to gain? You have alreadypassed rules and guidance if any ofthese offenses occur in the future.

The last meeting where seven peo-ple spoke in favor of pursuing the chal-lenge to the Supreme Court is a bit oddas well. I find it amazing that theschool board did not contact all fami-lies asking for their input on the latestruling.

I’ve spoken with many in the districtwho share my feelings, and they’re ap-palled at the spending of taxpayer’smoney on this frivolous cause.

I totally agree that we should have azero tolerance policy in regards to theviewing of inappropriate material inour schools, but the bottom line is thatMr. Harris was treated unfairly.

I’ve read the 70+ page report thatwas filed by the arbitrator, and itclearly calls to question the actions andmotives of Ms. Davis.

I would rather see the school districtspend time in making sure that all

teachers are performing their assignedduties and providing an invaluablelearning experience for all the kids inour district.

Stop wasting our tax dollars on thisissue!

Regards,

Bob MarshallMiddleton

SCHOOL DISTRICTSHOWED FLAWEDPOLICY, BIASEDJUDGEMENT

Dr. Johnson and the MCPASDSchool Board:

Sometimes, when you’re wrong,you’re wrong, and it’s time to move onwith clearer policies and unbiased lead-ership.

As a taxpayer and father of threedaughters that attend schools in the dis-trict, I am concerned about district’scontinued appeals in the Andrew Har-ris when the decision was so clearly de-fined in the 57-page arbitrator awardagainst the district.

If this case were only about pornog-raphy in our schools (certainly a con-cern for all), which has been the focus,the arbitrator would have sided withthe district, and we would not havespent $598,000 in legal fees. However,the decisions of the arbitrator reportcenter on inconsistency of disciplinegiven to the teachers involved.

In the first 10 pages of the arbitra-tor’s report, readers learn that there arethree people with one version of eventsinvolving Harris and his teaching team,and then there is another version. Theteacher who reported Harris felt shehad an increasingly difficult relation-ship with co-workers after they ap-proached her because she hadMySpace/Facebook accounts that al-lowed students to view adult conversa-tions about drunkenness and profanity.Harris’ team also questioned why shewas leaving school unannounced dur-ing school hours, leaving early duringparent conferences, and missing someof her coaching responsibilities.

After a meeting with co-workers, theteacher reported feelings of a hostilework environment and Harris’ inappro-priate emails from his sister, seeminglyin retaliation. This led to investigationof Harris and a district-wide investiga-tion. MCPASD’S acceptable use pol-icy (AUP) was filled with ambiguityand not clearly communicated to staff.

In 2006, a teacher who savedpornography in his computer that wasseen by students was not fired. Noneof the other teachers listed in the griev-ance nor any other teachers/administra-tor listed individually in the reportwere fired. Only Harris, a union bar-gaining representative, was fired.

One arbitrator and four judges haveagreed that there was great disparityamongst these punishments and, thus,ruled against the district’s terminationof Harris.

So why do Dr. Johnson and Theschool board continue to appeal? If thegoal is to have Harris not teach in ourdistrict, why haven’t they explored asettlement further?

The policy was flawed, judgmentsbiased, and now our students will feelthe effects of mismanaged moneywithin the district. Simply state thatyou disagree with the arbitrator/court’sdecision, settle the case, and let’s moveon with better policy and fair leader-ship that ends with quality education.

Sincerely,Benjamin Brenkman

DO HOMEOWORKON PLEASANTVIEW RIDGE DEVELOPMENT,URGES LEWIS

To the editor,

The City of Middleton has a veryimportant decision ahead of it in re-gards to the proposed 164-acre Pleas-ant View Ridge subdivisionannexation. This issue will likely bespun as pro-development vs. anti-de-velopment. That would be counterpro-ductive. This is about where to buildand where not to build. More impor-tantly, I would argue that the councilsimply doesn’t have enough informa-tion to determine if this is an appropri-ate place to build and if it is, whatwould be the best way to manage thesewer and water services.

The city has never allowed any of itsdevelopments to be served by privatesanitary sewers and wells and this de-cision should not be taken lightly. TheCity needs to be proactive in formingan alliance with the DNR, the County,the Town, and this developer to pay fora study that would analyze the impactof this development on the Black Earthwatershed and that would look at bothscenarios for the provision of sewerand water. This is about having goodinformation to assist with making aninformed decision.

Secondly, I believe the land that isnow used for golf and open space waspurchased to create a buffer betweenthe City of Middleton and surroundingmunicipalities. Now we are proposingto leap frog the golf course and quarryand build additional residential. Thatappears to be a huge policy shift thatrequires careful consideration.

Finally, I have significant concernsabout Erdman Holdings delivering allof the amenities that have been talkedabout in this conceptual plan. Theirtrack record of providing the civicspaces outlined in the Middleton Hillsplans remain largely unfulfilled. Mid-dleton Hills didn’t happen overnightand I see no reason to rush ahead withthis proposal without having some sci-entific evidence to help inform the finaldecisions regarding this development.I find it unsettling to hear unqualifiedpeople making statements about the re-liability and impacts of private septicsystems and wells. Let’s inform theirdiscretion with a study done by peoplethat have this expertise and are not bi-ased by the outcomes of this decision.

Andy Lewis3302 Glacier Ridge Road


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Apples!Apple lovers have something to cel-

ebrate this fall, as we look forward toone of the best apple harvests in recenthistory. A few years ago, I was fortu-

nate enough to walk away from aneighborhood “stuff swap” with ahand-crank apple peeler. This amazingmachine is a true multi-tasker: itquickly peels, cores, and cuts apples,yielding slices the perfect thickness for

baking into pies—or snacking on, raw.I can’t wait to put it to use this year!Whether you’re visiting an orchardwith the hopes of baking up someapple-filled pastries or grabbing a bagof apples at the grocery store forlunches and snacks, stop by the libraryto check out a book or two about thispopular fruit!

Apple by Nikki McClure is a lovely,simple picture book featuring Mc-Clure’s own striking cut-paper art.Readers follow the journey of an applethrough the year: it grows on a tree, isharvested, becomes a treat, partiallyends up in the compost pile, andsprouts into a new tree in the spring.Each page contains one word (“apple,”“fall,” “find,” etc.) and an accompany-ing illustration. Despite this book’snearly wordless nature, the story does-n’t lack details. On the “sneak” page,a young apple lover is pictured happily

snitching an apple from the table,where an apple pie is being assembled.Perfect for teaching about life cycles orsimply enjoying with young readers,this book pairs well with The Apple PieTree by Zoe Hall. If you can’t getenough of McClure’s artwork, checkout her other charming picture books,such as All in a Day.

Dr. Seuss gets into the apple actionwith Ten Apples up on Top, a rhymingeasy reader written under one ofSeuss’s pen names, Theo. LeSieg(LeSieg is “Geisel,” Dr. Seuss’s reallast name, spelled backwards). Thestory begins with a lion showing off hisskills as he balances one apple on hishead. He proudly adds another, smil-ing widely until a dog approaches, non-chalantly balancing two apples on hishead as well. In no time, a competitionhas begun: who can stack more apples?Who can jump rope on a tree branch

while balancing four apples? Soon atiger ups the ante, jumping out of abush with five apples on his head. Thenumber quickly increases to six, thenseven, then eight, and the animals chal-lenge each other with a variety of sillytwists, such as adding roller skates anddrinking milk while hopping (and stillbalancing those apples!). Unfortu-nately for the balancers, the bear whoowns the refrigerator from whichthey’ve been helping themselves no-tices their antics. Lion, tiger, and dogfind themselves careening down a hilltoward a silly ending. Choose this onefor beginning readers who love to gig-gle.

In How to Make an Apple Pie andSee the World by Marjorie Priceman, abaker sets out to make an apple pie—but the market is closed. Where willshe get the ingredients? In a whirlwindtour, she travels around the world col-lecting the components of her pie. InItaly, she finds semolina wheat. InFrance, she locates a chicken, whoseegg she will use. In Sri Lanka, the barkof the kurundu tree becomes cinnamon.Once the pie is assembled and baked,the cook shares it with a table of chil-dren from around the world. This pic-ture book is a nice reminder for readersof all ages about the global nature ofour food. Bright, cheerful illustrationsadd to this tale’s joyful, bountiful feel-ing.


Meet NovelistMichael Landweber

I have always been attracted to thewritten word. I canʼt say that I alwayslike to write. But, like author LarryWatson, once said to me, “… I alwayslove having written.”

My writing days started as a child. Ihad a toy typewriter at age 10. When Iwas in 8th grade I gave fifty haikupoems to Sister Angelora at St.Josephʼs School in Appleton, WI. Shesuggested that I try prose.

I am more suited to prose thanhaiku. Itʼs a great challenge and flexingof my writing muscles to produce aweekly column for this paper. Writing

a novel is another story. I know be-cause I have tried and am still trying!Iʼm really good at getting ideas for sto-ries, but fleshing them out to novellength is another thing.

Novelists need to be tenacious crea-tures. Hours of writing melt into daysthat stretch into weeks then linger intomonths that oftentimes string into yearsbefore many first novels are finished tothe point of having a story thatʼs wor-thy of submission.

If an agent or editor does pick upyour novel, more time passes with theinevitable revisions and edits. Thenthereʼs choosing a cover that will makethe book compelling enough for read-ers to pick it up and give it a chance,hopefully creating a positive enoughbuzz so that other readers will pick it

up no matter whatʼs on the cover.Well . . . thatʼs what this article is

about, starting a two-thumbs-up buzzabout the riveting first novel that I justread titled We by Michael Landweber.Heʼs a local boy, all grown up now, andraising two children with his wifeGillian in Washington DC.�His par-ents, Larry and Jean Landweber stilllive in Madison.

We is such a delicious read that I de-voured it in two days. From the com-pelling first line to the final words,Michaelʼs writing not only engagedand entertained me, but it informed meas well.

I found myself rereading many pas-sages to savor the rich and unique linesin the book, especially as Michaelwrote from the voice of the main char-acter. Hereʼs a line from page nine; “Icould feel the danger of the combina-tion of his strength and my weakness.”

Little by little Michael amps up thetension in perfect increments as headds characters and events to thetelling. I felt grounded to every pageand unaware that time was passing as I

read.The story is primarily about family

and human nature, but thereʼs a twistto it unlike other books that Iʼve read.Another reviewer called it genre-bend-ing. It doesnʼt fit the traditional sciencefiction mode, but thereʼs definitely sci-ence involved and itʼs definitely fic-tion. What feels right for me to say thatis that itʼs original, shedding itʼs origi-nality on the everyday and, thankfully,not-so-everyday things that pull fami-lies together or tear them apart.

Michaelʼs writing shows him to bea keen observer of people. His obser-vations are not flatly presented. Theyare razor-sharp and rich in wisdom. Heoccasionally uses metaphors that arepowerful, spot on and evocative.

Michael is gracious in his thanks forthe support of family, friends and otherkey-players during the creation of We.He highlights three teachers who wereall instrumental in helping him learn towrite, Mrs. Marten (1st - 3rd grades),Mrs. Meanwell (8th grade) and Mrs.Palmer (high school).

His mother, Jean, an avid reader and

member of a book club, made sugges-tions for some of the discussion ques-tions at the end of the book. Thequestions invite reflection, not justabout the characters, but of the readersthemselves.

Whether in a book club or not, thequestions are provocative and a greatway to stay a little longer in the com-pany of the protagonist, Binky who ispresented as two characters - hisyounger and older selves.

Michael is coming to Madison for abook signing and presentation of hisnovel We. He will be at a Room ofOneʼs Own, 315 W. Gorham St. inMadison on Sunday, October 6 at 2:00pm.

Head down there and get a book inadvance of his visit so that you mighttalk to him about the book. You’llprobably want to buy another auto-graphed copy or two on Oct. 6 to giveas gifts. Nothing like a great book tocozy up with on a fall or winterevening.

Happy reading!

All Mannerof Things

by Deb Biechler

by Amanda StruckmeyerMiddleton Public Library


Queens of theconference

When it comes to girls golf, the BigEight Conference is undoubtedly thefinest league in Wisconsin this fall.

Four of the state’s top 10 teamsreside there. Middleton and Veronahave both spent time as the state’s No. 1team.

There’s talent, depth and skillaround every dogleg.

So when Middleton captured the BigEight’s dual meet championship lastweek, the Cardinals realized what amonumental accomplishment that was.

“Everyone on the team was extreme-ly happy when we won the conference,”Cardinals senior Sheenagh Cleary said.“The conference match that made us allthe most happy was when we beatVerona.

“They have been one of our biggestrivals and we knew it would be tough tobeat them. When we did, I think it madeus all realize that all the hard work thatwe have put in this season has paid offso far.”

Cardinals coach Becky Halversonagreed.

“These girls have worked so hardthis season to get to where they want tobe,” Halverson said. “I’m so proud ofeach and every one of them! It means alot to all of us to go undefeated in ourconference.”

Middleton won a pair of conferencemeets last week to finish a perfect 9-0 inthe league.

The Cardinals shot a 327-team scorelast Wednesday at Pleasant View to wina triangular. Madison Memorial was adistant second at 360, while BeloitMemorial didn't field a full varsityteam.

Cardinals sophomore Loren Skibbaled the way with a 76, while Clearycarded an 83. Both seniors MeggieAcker and Kelly Wassarman shot 84s.

Middleton then bested JanesvilleCraig, 156-210, last Thursday atPleasant View.

Skibba and Cleary both shot blister-ing 38s and Acker carded a lights-out39. Both senior Hunter Schultz andWassarman shot 41s.

“It meant a lot because we workedreally hard and we knew what matcheswe had to be prepared for,” Skibba saidof winning the Big Eight. “And weworked towards our goals, so we werejust happy for ourselves and knew wecould do it.”

Halverson was extremely proud of

Girls golferswin Big Eightby ROB REISCHELTimes-Tribune

See GOLFERS, page 16

Follow RobReischel onTwitter at@robreischel

Middleton knocks off WestFootball Cardswin 4th straightby GREGG HAMMILLFor the Times-Tribune

Kasey Miller usually makes all ofhis big plays at quarterback for theMiddleton football team.

However, Miller made his biggestplay as a punter for the Cardinals lastFriday.

The senior made perhaps thebiggest play of the game when he com-pleted a pass off a fake punt that kept adrive alive and led to the decisivescore as the Cardinals pulled awayfrom Madison West for a 28-14 BigEight Conference victory at MansfieldStadium.

With the game tied at 14 late in thethird quarter, and Middleton facing afourth-and-10 from its own 38-yardline, the Cardinals lined up in punt for-mation. Miller, who is alsoMiddleton’s punter, took the snap andtossed a pass to a wide-open AlexWood, who scooted down the sidelinefor a 27-yard gain.

The Cardinals eventually scoredand never looked back.

“It’s a play we just put in thisweek,” Middleton coach Tim Simonsaid. “It’s something we’ve done in thepast and it’s really just a read that thepunter has.

“Our punter is our starting quarter-back so that makes a difference aswell. They left one of our gunnersopen and we took advantage. That was

Times-Tribune photo by Mary Langenfeld

Hunter Schultz and Middleton’s girls golf team captured the Big Eight Conference dual meet title last week.

Times-Tribunephoto by Mary

Langenfeld

C h a r l e sBraxton ran for159 yards andtwo touchdownsin Middleton’swin overMadison Westlast Friday.


The defense is already in postseasonform.

If and when the offense gets there,look out.

Middleton’s boys soccer team had athrilling week, going 2-0-1 overall andpitching three straight shutouts.

The Cardinals defeated MadisonWest, 1-0, in overtime last Tuesday.

Middleton then edged Mukwonago,1-0, at the Muskego Invite last Friday.The Cardinals also played Muskego to ascoreless tie last Saturday, but lost ashootout, 3-2.

“This team has a camaraderie that israrely seen and that can be the first steptowards a great team if they use that tohold each other accountable on thefield,” Middleton coach Ben Kollaschsaid. “I am optimistic that, especiallywith the quality of the senior class thisyear, they will find that groove when itcounts.”

Middleton notched a huge Big EightConference win against the Regents.

The teams played in sloppy weatherand rotten field conditions, and neitherteam could generate the attack it want-ed.

With 10 seconds left in the first over-time, the Cardinals were awarded a foulnear the West penalty area. JackHagstrom hit a hard-dipping cross thatwent over the wall and bounced just infront of the West keeper in the sloppymud.

The ball squirted off the keeper andinto a pile of players, and Devin Ottcame out with a touch on the balltoward the net. Ott didn’t get much onthe shot, but the referee ruled it a goaland the Cardinals left with a 1-0 win.

“We did catch a lucky break in thisgame,” Kollasch said. “We have, untilthis point in the season, been on theother side of luck at the end of games soit was refreshing this time.”

Luck or not, Kollasch was thrilledhow his team persevered.

“Our guys really had to powerthrough some difficult conditions andscrap for a win even though it wasn’t apretty show,” he said. “I don’t thinkeither team was able to play any kind ofgame they wanted to due to the fieldconditions more than the opposingdefense. West certainly has some dan-

gerous players and we responded wellto the moments that they took advan-tage of our mistakes.”

Middleton’s game with Verona lastThursday was postponed due to light-ning and storms. That contest will bemade up Oct. 10.

The Cardinals then toppledMukwonago, 1-0, at the MuskegoInvite.

Middleton controlled play much ofthe way, but didn’t break through untilEmerson Kovacs scored in the 70thminute on a nice pass from ConnorAcker.

“Mukwonago defended well as ateam and is patient so it was difficult tobreak through even though we had lessdefensive pressure on the ball in ourmidfield than we are accustomed tohaving,” Kollasch said. “We haveproven lately that we can play with thetop teams in the state, but we have tostart proving that we can do it consis-tently and start to manufacture the kindsof opportunities that create goals, ratherthan waiting 70 minutes for them tohappen.”

Middleton and host Muskego thenplayed to a scoreless tie that theWarriors won in a shootout. Muskegohas been in and out of the top five allseason long, but the Cardinals weren’tlooking for any moral victories.

“We once again showed we arecapable of playing with the best teamsin the state,” Kollasch said. “We justhave not had a dagger to finish the gameagainst any of these teams yet. Whenwe can’t put them away, we have beengetting stung late in the game moreoften than not. That’s what happenedagainst Muskego.

“We played well and made somechances, but we couldn’t finish any. Weresponded defensively and players fromthe bench like Connor Acker, JacksonRock, and more made meaningful con-tributions when we called on them tofill in. We just have not been able to getahead in these tight games and so wewalked away with a tie, which was afair result for the way the match wasplayed.

“I see my players have what it takesto win games like these and I am work-ing for them to help them see it in them-selves and push each other to find it aswell.”

Soccer Cardskeep rollingby ROB REISCHELTimes-Tribune


Langenfeld

J a c kHagstrom hadthe game-win-ning goal inMiddleton’s 1-0victory overMadison Westlast week.


The start wasn’t what Middleton’sboys volleyball team was looking for.

But the rest of the Cardinals’Saturday went just as planned.

Middleton dropped its first matchof the day to Racine Horlick at thepower-packed Wauwatosa East Invite.But the Cardinals came back to wintheir final three matches and capturedfirst place in the Silver Bracket.

Waukesha West won the nine-teamtournament, defeating WauwatosaEast and Racine Horlick to capture thegold bracket.

“After Horlick sent us a little wake-up call, we responded and playedprobably our best volleyball of theyear,” Middleton coach Ben Whitesaid.

Horlick opened the day by topplingthe Cardinals, 25-16, 19-25, 19-17.Middleton went to bigger lineup withNoah Wong in the middle and JasonArora on the outside, and it helped theCardinals hang tough throughout.

“Horlick is very, very athletic andhave guys that can swing at all posi-tions,” White said. “We weren’t goingto outslug them, but we could servethem tough and play great defense.And we did that. I was impressed howthe guys responded.

“Game 3 was back and forth theentire way and we had a questionablecall go against us that unfortunatelychanged the momentum. But we keptswinging and fought the entireway. The guys said it best though:we’re sick of losing these close ones.”

Middleton wouldn’t lose again therest of the day, though.

The Cardinals rolled past

Shorewood, 25-15, 25-23.The Greyhounds played without

their best player, which certainlyhelped the Cardinals. But Middleton’sDerek Kalvin also had a big match,while Michael Padrutt went on a bigserving run that helped the Cardinalsfinish the second game on a 7-1 run.

“In Game 2 we were able to switchup our lineup to get multiple people inand they did a great job,” White said.

Middleton then went to the SilverBracket, where it toppled WestoshaCentral, 25-18, 25-18. Middleton thenbested Nicolet, 25-11, 25-21.

“I cannot say enough about ourserving for these two matches,” Whitesaid. “The guys stepped up in a bigway and it’s been something we havemissed all season.

“As a team we had 29 aces on theday. That’s a huge, huge number.”

Noah Kern finished the day with 22kills and five blocks, while AlexKlubertanz had 21 kills. Arora had 12kills, while Kalvin added 10 kills.

Andy Keeler had nine aces and 15digs, while Connor Zimmick had 15digs, 46 assists and five aces. RobbieDrachenberg had 39 assists and fiveaces, Colin Gloudemans added 40digs and James Caldwell had sevenaces.

“Noah Kern again had a big day atthe net for us,” White said. “When heis able to do that, it completely opensup the outside positions for us.

“I can not say enough about howDerek Kalvin played on the right sidefor us. Both he and Noah Kern hitover .400 for us.

“Our setters do a nice job ofspreading around the offense, but thekey for us will be establishing themiddle to open up the outside, some-thing that we haven’t really done inthe past.”

Middleton also bested BeloitMemorial, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23last Tuesday.

Kern led the way with 13 kills,while Klubertanz had nine kills.Gloudemans had eight digs and two

Boys spikerspick up steamMiddleton fareswell at ‘TosaEast Inviteby ROB REISCHELTimes-Tribune

aces and Keeler had eight digs.Drachenberg had 25 assists,

Zimmick added 14 assists and Arorahad four blocks.

“The conference is much better thisyear and Beloit proved that to us,”White said. “We had the big advantagein the middle. We had Noah Kern upagainst Beloit’s second middle for

most of the night. “Since our passing was so strong

thanks to the likes of James Caldwell,Andy Keeler and Colin Gloudemans,our setters — Connor and Robbie —were able to force the middle andKern delivered with his best hittingmatch of the year (13 kills and just oneerror). That’s what Noah is capable of

when he focuses on keeping the ball inplay. He has a big vertical and is ableto hit over many of the blocks.

“We still continued to make theunforced errors, which have plaguedus all year, but we dug in and found away to win. Hopefully that is a sign ofthings to come.”


Noah Kern and Middleton’s boys volleyball team won the Silver Bracket at the Wauwatosa East Invitational lastweekend.

Now we know what’s coming.And it’s going to be a lot of fun.Middleton’s girls cross country

team went to the Big Eight GradeLevel Challenge last Tuesday andtook part in a barn burner. MadisonWest won the 10-team event with 28points, while Middleton and SunPrairie tied for second at 29.

Middleton was awarded secondplace, though, because its seventhrunner beat Sun Prairie’s seventhrunner.

“The Big Eight Grade LevelChallenge was a snapshot of what’sto come with the girls teams,”Middleton co-coach Cindy Bremsersaid. “In previous meets MadisonWest beat Sun Prairie, thenMiddleton beat West. One weeklater, Sun Prairie beat Middleton.

“This shows how close each teamis and will make everything interest-ing for the Big Eight Conferencemeet and sectionals. All three teamsare in the same sectional, with onlytwo teams advancing.”

Sam Valentine was Middleton’stop finisher, placing second in thefreshman/sophomore race.

“Sam did an excellent job …and hopefully gained some confi-dence that she can run with the toprunners,” Bremser said.

Delaney Foster also finished insecond place in the senior race andRachel Wians took third place in thejunior race. Morgan Eder finished infourth place in the freshman race,while Bobbi Patrick finished fifth inthe junior race and Jenni Phillips wassixth in the junior race.

Kayla Bauhs was Middleton’sseventh scorer, finishing in seventhplace in the senior race.

“It was a different race set-up forthe girls because they are so used torunning in a pack,” Bremser said.“They needed to rely on their pacingabilities and run a competitive racewithin their age group.”

On the boys’ side, Middleton fin-ished in fifth place.

“It was a good learning experi-ence for a young team to come off ofa fast course and onto the deceptive-ly slow Yahara course,” Cardinalsco-coach Isaac Mezera said. “It alsowas good for the athletes to feel whatit is like to race twice in four days.”

Gus Newcomb finished as the topfreshmen in the conference in 16:50.Ryan Madoch was eighth in the

freshman race (18:11) and CalebRandall was 17th (19:13).

“I see Caleb as a strong varsityrunner for us in the years to come,”Mezera said. “He has quite a bit tolearn, but the right attitude to getthere.”

David Marrone finished in sixthplace in the sophomore race in17:56.

“David is running consistentlyfast these days, and I don’t think he’ssatisfied yet,” Mezera said.

Hayden Johnston placed 10th inthe junior race (17:23), whileAndrew Plumb was 18th (17:45).

“Hayden is such a confident andaggressive runner right now,”Mezera said. “Putting 300 miles inover the summer was the best thinghe could do for himself and the team.

“Ideally Andrew is up withHayden, but sometimes in crosscountry you have to adjust to the dayyou’re having. Andrew did a greatjob staying focused throughout therace.”

Senior Will Edmundson also fin-ished 17th in that race.

“Will has been a JV runner upuntil this year,” Mezera said. “He’sstill learning how to race at the varsi-ty level, and his times keep comingdown. I think he’s starting to believein how fast he truly can be.”

• On deck: The Cardinals are atthe Janesville Craig Invite Saturdayat 9 a.m. Middleton is then at a five-team Big Eight ConferenceChallenge Tuesday at 5 p.m. at SunPrairie’s Sheehan Park.

• Girls tennis: Middleton cruisedpast Verona, 7-0, last Tuesday.

Bridget Bellissimo rolled to a 6-0,6-0, win at No. 1 singles and KaiseySkibba posted a 6-2, 6-2 win at No.2. Emily Oberwetter rolled to a 6-0,6-3 win at No. 3, while MadisonKrigbaum notched a 6-2, 6-1 win atNo. 4.

In doubles play, Allison Ragsdaleand Darcy Hogendorn posted a 6-0,6-0 win at No. 1. Abbey Webber andBaylie Gold rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 winat No. 2, while Sydney Black andLauren Coons cruised to a 6-4, 6-1win at No. 3.

• On deck: Middleton hostedJanesville Craig Tuesday, then is atMadison La Follette Thursday at 4p.m.


Middleton swimmersup to the challenge

Girls cross countryteam second atGrade Challengeby ROB REISCHELTimes-Tribune M I D D L E T O N

R O U N D U P


Ashley Aegerter and Middleton’s girls swimmers finished third at the Waukesha South Invite last Saturday.

The competition was cranked up.And Middleton’s girls swimming

team was certainly up to the chal-lenge.

The Cardinals faced some of theirtoughest tests of the year last weekand came through with flying colors.

Middleton defeated Madison West,103-67, last Friday and improved to 5-0 in the Big Eight Conference. TheCardinals then finished in third placeat the star-studded Waukesha SouthInvite last Saturday, an event that fea-tured the top five teams from lastyear’s WIAA Division 1 state meet.

“All in all, the girls swam well,”Middleton coach Lauren Cabalka said.

The Cardinals certainly swam wellagainst the Regents in their toughestconference meet of the season.

Middleton’s 200 yard medley relayteam of sophomore Victoria Lin, sen-ior Ashley Aegerter, senior SamAndryk and senior Olivia Kossel wasfirst.

Junior Paige Prestigiacomo wonthe 200 yard freestyle, while sopho-more Samantha Roll and freshmanMargaret McGill were second andthird, respectively. Aegerter and sen-ior Karley Licking went 1-2 in the 200yard IM, while Roll was third in the50 yard freestyle.

Lin won the 100 yard fly andAndryk was third, whilePrestigiacomo won the 100 yardfreestyle. Junior Maggie Mangas wassecond in the 500 yard freestyle, whilethe quartet of Roll, Lin, Licking andPrestigiacomo was second in the 200yard freestyle relay.

Licking and Lin went 1-2 in the100 yard backstroke, while Aegerter,sophomore Emma Karbusicky andsenior Maddie Mack went 1-2-3 in the100 yard breaststroke. Middleton’s400 yard freestyle relay team ofAegerter, Roll, Licking and

Prestigiacomo also finished first.“This was our first real test of the

dual meet season, as West has a solidcore group of swimmers and the abili-ty to sneak up on you in many differ-ent ways,” Cabalka said. “West is alsoone of the most difficult pools to swimat, so we certainly had our work cutout for us. If we wanted to win themeet, the girls knew they needed tobring their ‘A’ game, and luckily, theydid.

“We are still playing around withour lineup and trying to figure out thebest places for girls to swim, whichdoesn't always mean their best events.So this was also a new lineup for thegirls. They rose to the challenge theywere presented with and had their bestswims of the season.

“I was very happy with the overallperformance of the team, especiallywith our relay teams. This was the firsttime this season that I have seen thegirls really fight to touch the wall first.We are starting to put all of the piecestogether and this was a great meet toshow what we are capable of and thatall of their hard work does has greatpayoffs.”

Middleton wasn’t quite as sharp atthe Waukesha South Invite. But theCardinals still gave a respectable per-formance.

Waukesha South/Mukwonago wonthe meet with 428 points, whileArrowhead was second at 370.Middleton was third with 263 points,while Verona/Mount Horeb (240) andCedarburg (181) rounded out the topfive in the 12-team invite.

“After an exciting win againstWest, we had high hopes for thisinvite,” Cabalka said. “This meetshowcased last year's top-five teams atthe state meet, including us, so weknew we had our work cut out for us.Ultimately, we could have placed any-where from second to fifth.

“Most held their times or were veryclose. I think we walked away feelinga tad disappointed because the excite-ment from Friday night just wasn'tthere.”

Aegerter was second in the 100yard breaststroke, while Karbusickyand Mack were eighth and ninth,respectively. Aegerter was also fourth

in the 200 yard IM, while Karbusickywas 11th, Andryk was 14th, Mack was15th and McGill was 16th.

Lin and Andryk were sixth andninth in the 100 yard butterfly, respec-tively, while Prestigiacomo was sixthin the 200 yard freestyle.

Roll was eighth in the 50 yardfreestyle, while Kossel was 13th andfreshman Tryn Peterson was 15th inthat event. Prestigiacomo was eighthin the 100 yard freestyle, while Rollwas ninth and Kossel was 11th.

Licking was sixth in the 100 yardbackstroke, Lin was eighth andPeterson was 15th. Licking was also10th in the 500 yard freestyle.

Middleton’s 200 yard medley relayteam of Lin, Aegerter, Andryk andKossel was fourth. The Cardinals’ 400yard freestyle relay team of Aegerter,Roll, Licking and Prestigiacomo wasfourth, and the 200 yard freestylerelay team of Roll, Lin, Kossel andPrestigiacomo was fifth.

“A meet like this can be very intim-idating, especially to a young andinexperienced team,” Cabalka said.“In some ways, I think we let it get thebest of us.

“This was an opportunity to swimagainst the best swimmers in the stateand, in some cases, the country. Butwe did not take advantage of that as awhole. We have one more big invitewith these teams in October and ourgoal will certainly be to perform at thelevel we are capable of, and with asmuch tenacity and fight as we do atour conference meets.”

• On deck: Middleton hostsVerona-Mount Horeb Friday at 5 p.m.in a battle for first place in the BigEight Conference.

Cardinals topWest, third atWaukesha Inviteby ROB REISCHELTimes-Tribune


They were playing with a short deck.So in many ways, Middleton’s girls

volleyball team had a lot to be happywith last Saturday.

On the other hand, the Cardinals cer-tainly hoped for more.

Middleton hosted one of the area’slargest and most talented invite’s, thenplayed much of the day without severalstarters, who were taking their ACTtests.

The Cardinals lost all three matchesin pool play, then rallied to win theBronze pool.

It wasn’t an ideal day for theCardinals, but they made the best of thesituation.

“Overall, it was a good weekend,”Middleton coach Franco Marcos said.“Our players did their best until thestarters got back from the ACT testing.

“By that time we could not recoverand make it to the gold. We salvagedthe day by winning the Bronze, but itwas not enough.”

Middleton lost its first match of theday, 25-14, 25-14 to MadisonEdgewood. Mane Bobadilla led theCardinals with seven kills and threeaces, while Cole Jordee had four assistsand five digs.

The Cardinals then fell to SaukPrairie, 25-19, 18-25, 15-12.

Bobadilla had 18 kills and 14 digsand Jordee had 15 assists. RachelSeverson had 14 assists and MollyZeinemann had three blocks.

West Allis Hale then toppledMiddleton, 27-25, 25-18.

Bobadilla had 19 kills, Logan Weltihad two aces and Amber Karn had 17

digs. Arissa Milton had three blocksand Bre Schlueter had 27 assists.

Those three losses sent the Cardinalsto the Bronze Pool, where they toppedBelleville, 25-8, 25-7, in their firstmatch.

Severson had seven aces and GraceMcMurray had seven digs. Bobadillaand Jordee both had four kills.

Middleton then defeated Riverdalein the Bronze finals, 25-10, 25-20.

Welti had six kills and four aces,while Kelli Robson had five digs.Schlueter had 15 assists and Reed Espiehad two blocks.

“Our game had no rhythm or consis-tency in the morning,” Marcos said.“However, no excuses. It was the timefor other players to step up and takeadvantage of an opportunity. It alsogave us a chance to evaluate players indifferent situations and get an idea howdeep our bench is.”

Middleton also won a pair of BigEight Conference matches last week.The Cardinals toppled JanesvilleParker, 25-8, 25-13, 25-21 last Tuesdayand upended Madison East, 25-11, 25-9, 25-13, last Thursday.

In the Cardinals’ win over theVikings, Bobadilla had 13 kills andWelti had 12 kills and nine digs.Schlueter added 22 assists and six aces.

In Middleton’s win over thePurgolders, Bobadilla had 15 kills, ninedigs and four aces. Schlueter added 23assists, while Peterman had nine digs.

• On deck: Middleton was atMadison West Tuesday, then hostsVerona Thursday at 6:30 p.m. TheCardinals then travel to an invite at theUniversity of Wisconsin-OshkoshFriday and Saturday.

Girls spikersstruggle atown inviteby ROB REISCHELTimes-Tribune


Audrey Hinshaw and Middleton’s girls volleyball team competed at the Cardinal Invite last Saturday.

her team after the title had beenclinched.

“We have some tough competitionthis year,” Halverson said. “I can’t takethe credit. They do all the work. I amjust there to help them prepare for eachmatch or invite. They all know whatthey need to work on at practice. I justprovide them with drills to help them onthose shots.”

Now, it's on to the postseason for theCardinals.

Middleton is at the Big Eight

Conference tournament Thursday atEvansville Golf Course beginning at 9a.m.

“We have a big one ahead of us,”Halverson said. “We need to go outthere on Thursday and play our game.We need to just relax and be confidenton every shot. It’s going to be fun!”

The Cardinals then host theMiddleton Regional on Wednesday,Oct. 2 beginning at 9 a.m. Middleton isthen at the Madison West SectionalMonday, Oct. 7 at Odana Hills begin-ning at 9 a.m.

“There are no guarantees and everymatch and every playoff game will betough,” Skibba said. “So as a team weneed to focus and be mentally preparedand play our best game throughout ourrun to the state tournament.”

That’s certainly true. But theCardinals love the position they’re in asthe postseason arrives.

“I think the Middleton golf team issitting in a great spot going into theplayoffs,” Cleary said. “We all have alittle work left to do to improve ourscore, but have just enough time to doso. I’m hoping that we will all peak atthe just right time to reach our goals.”


GOLFERS continued from page 11n

Wisconsin Golf CoachesAssociation Poll

1. Middleton 2. Verona 3. Arrowhead 4. Madison Edgewood 5. Madison Memorial 6. Stoughton 7. Green Bay Notre Dame 8. Janesville Parker 9. Mukwonago 10. Brookfield Central


Langenfeld

L o r e nSkibba andM i d d l e t o n ’ sgirls golf teamwill compete atthe Big EightC o n f e r e n c emeet Thursday.


Sports briefsBluebirds to hold fall skills camps

The Middleton Bluebirds Basketball Program will hold their sixthannual Fall Skills Camp in October. The camp is open to boys and girlsin grades 1-8.

Sessions will be held on four consecutive Sundays starting Oct. 6. Allsessions are at Sunset Ridge Elementary School. The cost is $30 andincludes a T-shirt.

Sports health presentationA free sports health presentation will be held in the Middleton High

School cafeteria on Wednesday, October 16 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Rachel Bell, a sports nutritionist for the University of Wisconsin, will

be speaking about safety issues with nutritional supplements and willalso give facts about the use of supplements.

Jill Thein-Nissenbaum, an athletic trainer at the UW, will addressinjury prevention in young athletes.

Steve Myrland and Brad Rogeberg, strength and conditioning coordi-nators at MHS, will be speaking about strength and conditioning foryoung athletes.

Aqua Stars open houseThe Mad City Aqua Stars will hold an open house on Sept. 28 from

9:30 a.m. until noon at the Middleton High School pool.The Aqua Stars are a synchronized swimming team for girls ages 8-

18. For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visithttp://www.madcityaquastars.com.


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well. They left one of our gunnersopen and we took advantage. That wasa huge play, probably the play of thegame right there.”

Middleton won its fourth straightgame and improved to 4-1 overall andin the Big Eight Conference. West,missing starting quarterback TerrellMcFadden, due to a concussion andseveral players due to suspension as aresult of the previous week’s postgamefight against Madison Memorial, fellto 1-4 and 1-4.

“West battled hard,” Simon said.“They had a tough week as most peo-ple know and I thought their coachesprepared the guys well. They had a lotof guys that had to go both ways.

“We told our kids that West is thebest 1-3 team around. They lost to SunPrairie by two points, they were onetouchdown away from beatingMemorial. Our guys knew that and weknew it was going to be a heck of abattle and it was. West was very phys-ical and very athletic.”

Middleton appeared to wear downWest behind the running of seniorCharles Braxton who carried 33 timesfor 159 yards, including 20 carries for102 yards in the second half.

“We normally rotate more backs inthere, but we thought he was runningso hard we wanted to keep him in theflow on that,” Simon said. “He just dida great job covering the ball with twohands and getting five or six yards acrack.”

Braxton gave credit to his team-mates.

“I definitely can’t do it without theO-line, the wide receivers,” Braxtonsaid. “If they’re not blocking for me,we’re not getting anywhere.

Miller completed just 1 of his first10 passes, but rebounded to complete10 of his final 13 and finished with 138yards passing and two touchdowns.

“Some of that might have had to dowith the loose footing out there,”Simon said of Miller’s slow start.“When you’re a quarterback and deliv-ering off your back foot and it slips,sometimes the ball flies high on youand I think that’s what was happeningwith him. He adjusted his feet in thesecond half and that made a differ-ence.”

Defensively, the Cardinals limitedthe Regents to just 158 total yards on

48 plays.“The defense has been making

plays,” Braxton said. “The score tells itall. If the defense isn’t stopping them,it’s a shootout.”

Middleton had 348 total yards,including 212 in the second half.

Behind the running of Braxton, theCardinals scored on their opening pos-session of the game. Braxton cappedoff the 11-play, 68-yard scoring drivewith a 1-yard TD run. Braxton carriedeight times and accounted for everyyard of the march.

The Cardinals squandered severalopportunities to build on their lead.Early in the second quarter, Middletondrove to West’s 15-yard line, butMiller’s fourth-down pass fell incom-plete.

Later in the quarter, Middleton tookover at West’s 38-yard line after abotched snap, but gave it right backwhen Cardinals running back AdamFrye fumbled it away after a 10-yardgain on the next play.

The Regents tied it on a 19-yardtouchdown pass from quarterbackAdrien Reilly to Christian Graf withjust 18 seconds remaining in the half.

“We had a defensive breakdown inour coverage, but we left a couple firstdowns out there with a turnover on arun and a couple missed passes withkids wide open in the flat,” Simonsaid. “If we control the flow and hitsome of those plays we need to hit,then they’re not in that position toscore.”

Prior to the Regents’ 72-yard scor-ing drive, Middleton’s defense hadlimited West to just 45 total yards.

“That (TD) definitely put a lot of usdown, but only for a minute,” Braxtonsaid. “Right after that we just had totell everybody this is still a game, it’sjust a touchdown, a tie game.”

After their opening drive of the sec-ond half stalled at the West 19-yardline, the Cardinals got the ball backwhen Elliot Tanin recovered a fumbleby West’s Greg Wright at the Regents’28-yard line. Six plays later, Braxtonsliced through the Regents defense fora 13-yard touchdown with two min-utes, 27 seconds remaining in the thirdquarter.

“(The offensive line) made thehole,” Braxton said. “I got through andthen I just had to do the rest for theteam after they gave me what I got.”

The Cardinals’ lead was short-lived,though, as Brett Joers’ squib kick

glanced off one West player and wasretrieved by teammate MalikClements, who then weaved throughMiddleton’s defenders for a 72-yardtouchdown return.

“They ran the touchdown back andnow it’s time to test how tough we arementally,” Simon said. “Their headswere down a little bit, but we got theirheads back up. We had a heck of afourth quarter moving the sticks whenwe needed to move the sticks and hit-ting the play when we needed to hit theplay.”

The Cardinals responded by puttingtogether an 11-play, 89-yard scoringdrive capped by an 18-yard touchdownpass from Miller to wideout DerekRongstad. The key play was Miller’s27-yard pass to Wood off the fakepunt, which set the Cardinals up at theWest 38-yard line.

Middleton’s defense came up with astop on West’s next series when Taninsurged through to tackle Chris Johnsonfor a 5-yard loss on a fourth-and-fourplay at midfield.

The Cardinals put the game awaywith a 7-play, 45-yard scoring drive.Miller capped the drive with a 23-yardtouchdown pass to Demond Hill.

The Regents played without run-ning backs Marquise Pollard andDwy’Quan Morris, defensive linemanHarold Russell and linebackerAnthony McAlister.

Braxton says the team has respond-ed positively since its season-openingloss to Madison Memorial.

“The next day at practice (after los-ing to Memorial) it was do we wantour season to go this way or do wewant it to go that way,” Braxton said.“Everybody hopped on the horse, didwhat the coaches said. We want it to gothis way.”

• On deck: Middleton hosts VeronaFriday at 7:30 p.m. The Wildcats are 2-3 in the league and overall and fightingfor their playoff lives.

Verona has lost two straight gamesand its three losses are by a combinedtotal of 20 points.

Sept. 20Middleton 28, Madison West 14Middleton ………........……… 7 0 7 14 — 28Madison West ……........,…….. 0 7 7 0 — 14

M – Charles Braxton 1 run (Derek Rongstadkick)

MW – Christian Graf 19 pass from AdrienReilly (Peter Stabe kick)

M – Braxton 13 run (Rongstad kick)MW – Malik Clements 72 kickoff return

(Stabe kick)M – Rongstad 18 pass from Kasey Miller

(Rongstad kick)M – Hill 23 pass from Miller (Rongstad kick)

TEAM STATISTICSFirst downs – M 16, MW 11. Rushing (Att-

Yds) – M 48-210, MW 28-63. Passing yards – M138, MW 95. Passing (Att.-Comp.-Int.) – M 23-11-0, MW 20-9-1. Total plays-yards – M 71-348,

MW 48-158. Fumbles-lost – M 1-1, MW 2-1.Penalties-yards – M 6-56, MW 6-50.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERSRushing: M – Braxton 33-159, Adam Frye 8-

35. MW – Finley Nahn 12-50. Passing: M –Miller 23-11-0-138. MW – Reilly 20-9-1-95.Receiving: M – Rongstad 4-57, Hill 3-42. MW –Clements 3-50.

FOOTBALLcontinued from page 11

n


Kasey Miller (7) and Middleton’s football team host Verona Friday.


mtt39 mg final

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