A Look Back at The Year 2015: Recap of The Year's Top Stories Begins On Page 3

VOL. 123, NO.
53
THURSDAY, DecembeR 31, 2015
www.MiddletonTimes.com
SINGLE COPY PRICE: $1.25
A look back at the year 2015

Recap of the years top stories begins on page 3
THE YEAR
IN REVIEW
Clockwise from top left: Middleton firefighters battled a

fierce blaze - and frigid temperatures - in early 2015; hundreds
of visitors turned out to see blooming sunflowers at Pope Farm
Conservancy in the summer; Jim Goronsons Parched Eagle
Brew Pub took off in the Town of Westport; firefighters and police squared off in the Battle of the Badges; MHS marched in
the London New Years Parade.
File photos
PAGE 2
Robert E. Volk
Robert e. Volk, 75, Prescott,

Arizona, passed away at his
home on December 16, 2015,
after a brave struggle with lung
cancer. His wife of 56 years,
Diane (baltes) Volk was by his
side.
born in Plain, WI, bob spent
his childhood years in Ashton,
before graduating from middleton High School in 1959. He
married his high school sweetheart, Diane baltes, and they
moved to cross Plains in 1969.

There he was involved in the
city parks board for a number of
years and coached the local
home talent baseball team. He
worked at Oscar mayer for 35
years as a forklift mechanic. He
and Diane relocated to Prescott
in 2000, where he spent his time
exploring the mountains, panning for gold, and enjoying his
dogs and friends.
He is preceded in death by
his parents, James and Dorothy
(miller) Volk, and a brother
James. He is survived by his sister, Luanne meinholz (Oregon,
WI); sons bob (connie), mike,
Dan (Teri) and brian (Janell); 8
loving grandchildren, ben,
Nate,
Samantha,
Kelsey,
Quentin, Hattie, marek, and
Argus; and many nieces and
nephews.
A celebration of bobs life is
planned for the spring, 2016, in
middleton, WI, with details
Sykes taken
into custody
A former middleton man
was taken into custody after
allegedly jumping bail last
week.
On Tuesday, Dec. 22,
James T. Sykes, 36, violated bail conditions from
an arrest on December 9,
according to a statement issued by the Dane county
Sheriffs Office.
O bITUARIeS
MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE
Sykes brandished a
weapon at the Town of
middleton residence and
threatened two women, say
authorities.
Sykes was
sought on new charges of
bail Jumping and multiple
counts Domestic Disorderly conduct While
Armed.
about the event to follow. condolences may be sent to Diane

Volk: 14225 N. Adobe Trail,
Prescott, AZ 86305
Clauss, Robert G.
Robert bob clauss, born

Dec. 4, 1937, in chicago, Ill.,
passed away on Dec. 25, 2015,
surrounded by family, at the VA
Hospice center after a brief illness.
bob graduated from Southern Illinois University, carbon-
dale, in 1962. During his college career he proudly served in

the U.S. Army and participated
in the SIU Track and Field program. While in college he met
his wife, Jan (Koster) of carrollton, Ill. They raised their
family in middleton, Wis. and
were happily married for over
53 years. His career included
sales, real estate, and financial
planning.
bob had many
friends and will be remembered
for his sense of humor and willingness to help out whenever
asked. bob never said no (except to his wife). His hobbies
and activities included coaching
his kids sports teams, fishing,
bowling, golf, following many
different sports, spending time
at the lake, and most of all,
spending time with his family
and friends. He was a member
of St. bernards Parish and was
active in the Knights of columbus and the middleton Jaycees.
L OcAL N eWS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2015
bob is survived by his wife,

Jan; his four children, marcie
(Gary) Germann of middleton,
David (Julie) clauss of San
Diego, calif., Stephen (christine) clauss of Pardeeville,
Wis., and Sara (John) Leach of
Waunakee, Wis.; siblings, Virginia (bob) Turner of Lake Forest, Ill., Paul clauss of
Pompano beach, Fla., and
Helen Hedgepeth of Lumberton, N.c.; grandchildren,
megan and Kelsey Germann;
carrie, courtney, Jacob and
caleb clauss; Hannah and Lucy
Leach; and many nieces and
nephews. He was preceded in
death by his parents, Gustav and
marie clauss of Tuscon, Ariz.;
a brother, Gus clauss of el
Paso, Texas; and a brother-inlaw, Gene Hedgepeth of Lumberton, N.c.
A mass of christian burial
was held at ST. beRNARDS
cATHOLIc cHURcH, 7450
University Ave., middleton, at

11 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 29,
2015 with Father brian Wilk
presiding. Visitation was held
at the church from 9:30 a.m.
until the time of the mass on
Tuesday. Friends and family
were invited to attend a luncheon from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m. at
Pauls Neighborhood bar &
Grill in middleton.
In lieu of flowers, memorial
contributions can be made to
the William S. middleton memorial Veterans Hospital or the
Southern Illinois University
Track and Field Program. Online condolences may be made
at www.gundersonfh.com.
Gunderson West
Funeral & cremation care
7435 University Avenue
(608)831-6761
Two convicted in charity scam

After receiving several complaints
from citizens in September of 2014 about
a solicitor in the city, the middleton Police Department opened an investigation
into the childrens Learning center, Inc.
(cLc), which was led by clarence
Hamilton. Hamilton had also solicited
donations in the names of the milwaukee
Restoration church and United Restoration. The investigation lasted more than
one year and identified 24 victims in several Dane county jurisdictions who collectively gave over $12,000 in
donations.
According to police, no evidence was
discovered that would indicate any of the
money raised for this organization went

to any legitimate charitable purpose.
clarence Hamilton and Grace Smith have
both been convicted of Theft by Fraud for
their involvement in this scam and
Hamilton is awaiting sentencing on his
charges.
The middleton Police Department
would like to encourage citizens to research the legitimacy of an organization
prior to donating money. The Federal
Trade commission (FTc) website has
tips on things to consider before donating. The website can be reached
atwww.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0074giving-charity.
Clarence Hamilton
and Grace Smith
CHURCH NOTES
The Force is strong!
Photo by Janelle Mathews
Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) in Mazomanie and Middleton took all 800 of its local employees to a private screening of Star Wars The Force Awakens on opening day, Friday, Dec.
18. Ten full auditoriums at Marcus Point Cinemas in Madison were rented exclusively for the
event at 10 a.m. A similar event happened in 1999 for Star Wars The Phantom Menace.
Busy local
election season
FROM THE JAN. 8 EDITION:

The filing deadline for the
Spring election came and went
on Tuesday of this week, and it
looks like there will be some
changes on the middleton city
council, the middleton Town
board, and the middleton-cross
Plains Area board of education:
On the middleton city council, current District 1 councilwoman miriam Share filed
non-candidacy paperwork, as
did District 4 councilman Jim
Wexler.
both Kathy Olson and
Robert Stipicevich filed to run
for the District 1 seat.
No one filed to run for the
District 4 seat.
Incumbents Joanna Richard
(District 3), Howard Teal (District 5) and Hans Hilbert (District 7) all filed to run for
re-election. They will all be unopposed on the ballot.
On the middleton Town
board, longtime chairman milo
breunig is not seeking re-election in the spring, so current
Seat
2
supervisor
bill
Kolarfiled to run for the chairmanship.
brent Renteria, a conservative who ran unsuccessfully
against Democratic State Rep.
Dianne Hesselbein last year,
filed to run for Seat 2.
Seat 1 incumbent Tim Roehl
filed to run for re-election. He
will not be opposed on the ballot.
There will be two contested
middleton-cross Plains Area
School board races.
In Area 4, which includes the
towns of middleton and Westport, newcomers Todd Smith
and Linda Yu will square off.
In Area 5, the school boards
central district, incumbent Anne
bauer will be challenged by Tia
eady.
In Area 1, newcomer Kelly
Kalscheur filed to run unopposed. In Area 2, which includes cross Plains, newcomer
Sean Hyland filed to run unopposed.
City becomes
dementia
friendly

mary Kay baum is well educated, articulate and gregarious.
but beneath the surface, she is
struggling. The words she seeks
THE STORIES OF 2015
are often elusive. Her train of

thought wants to veer off
course.
It can get camouflaged by a
good education or a large vocabulary I often have to use a
different word when I cant find
the one I want but Im working so much harder than most
people do, she explained. If
someone becomes impatient
with me, it only makes it
harder.
baum, 67, has mild cognitive
problems that possibly stem
from Alzheimers and vascular
issues that run in her family.
She spent most of her life as
a pillar of the community, serving on the Dane county board
of Supervisors, the madison
metropolitan board of education, running for mayor in the
city of madison in 1987, and
working as an ordained
Lutheran pastor.
Today, living in the city of
middleton so she can be close
to the Pheasant branch conservancy, her biggest fear is being
seen as a burden on her community.
I know, she said, Im not
the only one.
She isnt.
currently one in eight people
over the age of 65 in the United
States have dementia. It could
be the result of age, genetics,
wartime injuries, exposure to
toxins, or a stroke.
With the incidence of
Alzheimers disease and dementia growing, people across
the city of middleton have
spent the last year working to
increase understanding and support for those who for so many
years were unfairly castigated
as crazy or senile.
The Alzheimers & Dementia
Alliance of Wisconsin (ADAW)
last week recognized city of
middleton employees for completing the required training to
become a certified dementia
friendly operation.
While the challenges these
individuals face are sometimes
daunting, it was a joyous event,
filled with laughter and hope.
The intent is that people with
dementia and those who care
for them will feel comfortable
going to stores, restaurants and
libraries without the fear of
being misunderstood.
The ultimate goal is that
people with dementia feel comfortable in their communities,
said Joy Schmidt, ADAWs
community education specialist.
Schmidt went on to say the
process began in January of
2014, when the alliance and the
city began talks.

In last weeks ceremony,
which took place Wednesday,
January 7 at middleton city
Hall, Schmidt said employees
in all facets of city government,
including the library, senior
center, police department, public works, public lands, the
parks department and city hall,
can now claim dementia
friendly status, the first in
Dane county.
This group has embraced
becoming dementia friendly,
said Schmidt. They are competing with one another to have
the most people trained and
they love being the first community in Dane county. Its fun
to watch.
city administrator mike
Davis said a broad and diverse group of employees took
part in the training.
I think its really a significant effort, Davis commented.
each one of us knows someone, or knows someone who
knows someone, who is struggling with Alzheimers or dementia, said Davis.
Jim Ramsey, head of adult
services at the middleton Public
Library, helped spearhead the
taskforce that formed in February of 2014 and ultimately
made middleton dementia
friendly.
It seemed like a natural fit
for the library, Ramsey stated.
Its important that everyone
feels welcomed and respected,
he added.
Jill Krantz, middleton Senior
center director, said 125 senior
center volunteers took part in
training.
The process ranged from improving signage to help individuals who are disoriented, to
simply identifying signs of
Alzheimers and dementia and
removing what Schmidt called
the stigma that surrounds individuals who deal with them.
middleton business owners,
managers, city employees and
volunteers, with training and
guidance from ADAWs staff,
embraced this effort and in August held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to recognize middletons
first dementia friendly businesses - including Walgreens,
State bank of cross Plains, Ace
Hardware
of
middleton
Springs, Fitzgeralds Restaurant
and Willy Street co-op West -
for their efforts to train 50 percent of employees on dementiafriendly practices and review
environmental changes that
would aid customers with dementia or memory challenges.
All of the departments within
the city of middleton municipality have met the criteria of
training 50 percent or more of
their departments.
A magical trip
to London
black socks. check. Performance music. check. Passport. check. Two days after
christmas, 205 students from
middleton High School, six
mHS fine arts staff members
and dozens of parent chaperones filed through stations at
mHS to ensure they had packed
everything that was needed for
the middleton High School Fine
Arts London Tour.
On New Years Day, many
parents and family members
who were state side got up extra
early to watch the mHS band
appear in the London New
Years Day parade, which
streamed live beginning at 6
a.m. central Time. It was a
stunning performance as the
band debuted their new uniforms while marching to and
playing Runaway baby.
members of the mHS Orchestra were involved in the parade at the request of the
LNYDP organizers by handling
some of The Kites of Nasser
Volant and riding the blue barclays bikes (aka as boris bikes,
nicknamed after boris Johnson,
the mayor of London who
championed them). Some choir
and drama students had a lot of
fun dancing and informally entertaining the crowd while they
waited for the parade to start.
As the mHS band finished
the parade on New Years Day,
the bells of Westminster Abbey
were ringing as if to punctuate
their performance.
earlier in the week, the mHS
band and the mHS Orchestra
had been part of one of the London New Years Day Parade
Festival concerts at the beautiful cadogan Hall. Another
evening, the mHS Orchestra
and the mHS choir performed

in another fantastic concert
venue, St. Johns Smith Square.
mHS drama students enjoyed
a backstage tour of the Globe
Theatre and The mousetrap and
participated in a Shakespeare
workshop.
The mHS choir finished the
week of performances by participating in the Grand Finale
concert of the London International choral Festival on January 2 at Westminster central
Hall. middleton High School
choral students joined with
choirs from Arizona, Virginia
and Georgia and were accompanied by the London Young musicians Symphony Orchestra,
conducted by James blair. This
festival was the highlight of the
trip for some members of the
choir as it was thrilling to perform with so many talented musicians in Westminster central
Hall.
between performances, middleton students were able to see
the changing of the guard at
buckingham palace, tour Oxford and see the beautiful surrounding countryside, visit
Westminster Abbey and St.
Pauls cathedral, ride the London eye and enjoy other sights
of London.
A new role for

teachers union
FROM THE FEB. 5 EDITION:
The middleton education

Association is no longer recognized as a public union by the
state, but meA president chris
bauman says it is still one of the
strongest unions in the state.
bauman says even though
the union is not recognized, it is
still an effective voice in advocating for teachers.
After the State Supreme
court upheld Act 10, bauman
says the union made a conscious choice not to recertify.
She explains that with the limitation of only being able to bargain for base wages under the
law, whether meA is certified
PAGE 3
or not they would have about

the same legal capabilities.
We had a conversation with
our executive board which consists of representatives from
each of the buildings and determined that we wanted to continue to function, but chose not
to recertify because it doesnt
do a whole lot for us, bauman
recalls.
This meant the meA could
no longer require teachers to
pay their union dues through a
payroll deduction system. before Act 10 every teacher would
pay union dues under the fair
share policy. The union can
now only ask teachers to contribute and be part of the
union.
It meant we had to do a
whole lot of leg work to let our
members know we were still
going to be a viable organization and then we had to come up
with some format to collect
dues, bauman explains. The
biggest difference is that if
somebody is not a member, then
we are not representing them.
bauman says some teachers
have dropped out of the meA
but would not reveal exactly
how many, but she says a significant number have stuck around
and continued paying their
dues.
Despite the will of middleton
teachers to keep their union
alive, bauman say she can understand why many teachers
would do the opposite. She
says in districts where less
funds are available, teachers
know they are not going to see
a raise with or without a union.
It comes down to economics, if people know they are not
going to get a raise then they
probably wont want to be part
of a union that cannot offer
them anything.
In lieu of a collective bargaining agreement the district
now defines all employee working conditions in an employee
handbook. The handbook has a
respective committee made up
of teachers, administration,
See 2015, page 4
PAGE 4
2015
school board members, and

other staff. The committee either reaches a consensus or
brings dissenting views to the
board to decide. The handbook
was finalized and approved by
the board last month.
bauman retired from teaching in the district last summer
and cannot be a representative
on the committee per district
rules. bauman is still working
closely with meA Vice President Joellen Pauls who does
teach in the district annd is a
representative on the committee. She said she was pleased
with the committee process but
hopes to see it evolve further.
The teachers that were on
that committee had a disadvantage in that none of them had
experience in the collective bargaining process, bauman
points out. They had to try and
understand all the language in
the prior contract, whats was
being presented and what is
being changed all at the same
time.
bauman notes that it was also
a shorter process than the collective bargaining contract. She
says that is not necessarily a bad
thing but when made it harder
for the teachers on the committee to fully understand what
they are doing.
bauman says she believes as
teachers get more involved they
will begin to notice some of the
differences between the previous collective bargaining agreement
and
the
newly
implemented employee handbook. She hopes if they dont
like those changes they will
bring them to the committee.
Davis gives
State of the City
The annual State of the city

was delivered Thursday, February 5 at the marriott West conference center, this time by city
administrator mike Davis.
Davis filled in for mayor Kurt
Sonnentag, whose attetion was
on his mothers well-being.
Davis touted middletons accolades, community and government
accomplishments,
diverse business environment,
and other distinguishing features.
The event was sponsored by
the middleton chamber of
commerce with members in attendance.
Davis gave an overview of
the citys financial activity in
2014. He noted moodys investors credit rating reaffirmed
the citys Aa1 rating. He explained how city officials took
advantage of a call feature of
one of three outstanding golf
course debt issues by totally
paying off an outstanding principal amount of $1.9 million
and thereby saved approximately $96,000 in interest costs.

Davis also mentioned the six
new city/developer agreements
in tax increment finaincing
(TIF) districts 3 and 5.
Davis pointed out the diverse
range of businesses with a corporate headquarters in the city
noting American Girl, capital
brewery, Springs Window
Fashion, newly mead and Hunt,
Standard Imaging, Natus Neurology, WTS Paradigm, the National mustard museum and
more.
Davis also praised middletons conservation track record
listing a Tree city U.S.A. designation 19 years running, a
Wisconsin Water Star, bird city
and legacy Green Tier community. moreover, middleton was
an All-America city finalist in
2010 and a Gold medal Finalist
in the National Recreation &
Park Association for best small
city park system in the nation in
both 2013 and 2014.
The city administrator explained how in November, city
residents voted overwhelmingly
to approve a referendum enabling the creation of a storm
water utility. He said city staff
are now working on implementation. Tasks include updating
the utility billing program, creating a customer database, and
completing an inventory of
storm water practices.
Davis said next seven members from various committees
need to be appointed to a storm
water utility board. The board
will make recommendations to
set the eRU rate, designate
which practices will be fundable by utility revenues, and to
approve a five-year maintenance plan. Annual revenues
are expected to be between
$180,000 and $270,000, depending upon the eRU rate selected. The referendum limits
initial eRU to $15.
Davis described how the city
will be rolling out rebates for
water-conserving fixtures. He
says the water utility will begin
offering rebates to residents
who upgrade their toilets to
water conserving models and to
businesses who undertake water
audits.
Davis also outlined ways the
city is meeting its sustainability
goals. He described the first
city-owned solar array that was
installed at the market Arcade
on Terrace Avenue. The16kW
generated at the site is part of a
net metering arrangement with
mGe and will help to power the
nearby LeD streetlights and
electric vehicle charging station. He added the middleton
Recycling center will open in
the spring of 2015. It will offer
residents a convenient location
to drop off electronics, metal,
wood, Styrofoam, and other
items for reuse and recycling.
In the address, Davis recognized the new police chief,
chuck Foulke. He also noted
the police departments hiring of

its first female sergeant and four
Spanish speaking officers. He
mentioned the crime rate decreased 19 percent from 2013
and credited community policing and outreach programs for
the change.
Meriter delays
The middleton Plan commission last week approved an

amendment to the city/developer agreement with meriterUnityPoint Health to extend the
timeline and change development phases of a planned multifaceted medical campus east
of the beltline at century Avenue and Laura Lane.
Kevin Snitchler, meriters assistant vice president of facilities development, offered a
revised schedule for the development and an explanation for
what is causing the delays.
I would summarize the
delay for the meriter development in middleton in three categories, Snitchler told the
commission. One is the uncertainty related to the Affordable
care Act. Second is our ongoing integration with UnityPoint
Health. Lastly, we have a new
ceO coming on board.
While meriter medical
Group is a non-profit entity,
meriter Laboratories and Physicians Plus are for-profit organizations that work in conjunction
with meriter medical Group.
meriter provides approximately
$40 million annually in free
care in order to qualify for its
non-profit status.
At a joint meeting in early
2011, the middleton common
council and the middleton Plan
commission each granted conceptual approval to the scope of
the project and a request for $9
million in public assistance.
The initial phase would include
$6.8 million from the city.
In late 2012 the city approved an amendment to the
agreement to allow a one year
delay and change the start date
frommarch 1, 2014 to march 1,
2015. At the latest meeting the
Plan commission unanimously
approved a second amendment
to delay the project for another
year or two.
Hurt feelings
over annexation
FROM THE MARCH 5

EDITION:
Like a jilted lover, the middleton Town board was reluctant monday to take back an
erdman Real estate Holdings,
Inc. property that had been annexed into the city of middleton and then was detached last
month.
Why should we take you
back how do we know you

wont leave us again? asked
board supervisor Paul connell.
We have no interest in returning, said Alen Hembel, an
erdman representative.
erdman Holdings also has no
interest in developing the property at this time, Hembel added.
I dont believe you, replied
connell, who had said erdman
would annex back into the city
when it found another way to
develop the 162-acre parcel located between Pleasant View
Golf course and US 14.
Property was annexed into
the city with access problems
solved only by making its primary access through the steep,
winding road to the Pleasant
View Golf course.
While city staff favored the
proposal they got out ahead of
the attitudes of the alders, said
Hembel. council members then
lost enthusiasm for the project
as the discussion turned to the
wells and septic systems that
would be needed.
The environmental concerns
raised from the septic systems
were unfounded, and became
a bogeyman, to the public,
said Hembel. Not even a
$10,000 study that projected
Pleasant View Ridge posed no
real harm to black earth creek
could reignite the councils enthusiasm for it, he said.
Town chair milo breunig
said he wanted the property
back in the town but doesnt
like being played like a second-hand fiddle.
Heroins
terrible toll
FROM THE MARCH 12

EDITION:
In the last couple of years, an

unprecedented number of Dane
County residents have died from
heroin overdoses. Most recently,
Middleton High School graduate Kyle Wood, 32, died following a long battle with addiction.
As authorities struggle with
how to contain the epidemic,
The Middleton Times-Tribune,
over the next several months,
will publish the first-person accounts of an addict currently in
recovery. That addict, Nathan J.
Comp, has contributed to the
pages of this newspaper as well
as several other publications
throughout the state, including
Isthmus and The Capital Times.
His work has been recognized by several distinguished
organizations, including The
American Academy of Childhood and Adolescent Psychiatry
for a series he wrote in 2004 on
drug use among Middleton
teens following the death of 16year-old Julie Zdeblick, who
died of an oxycodone overdose
that same year.
Comp has begun blogging
about his experiences as an addict in recovery at TheFer-
alScribe.com, a travelogue he
launched in 2010. He published
the following essay on Feb. 5,
2014, two months after the
heroin overdose death of Sarah
Novotny, 24, of Waunakee, and
in the days following the heroin
overdose death of actor Philip
Seymour Hoffman.
We believe Comps candid
and unapologetic essays shed
unique light on a problem that
invokes strong opinions despite
being too often misunderstood:
In the sordid, voyeuristic, details to emerge from the presumed heroin overdose death of
actor Philip Seymour Hoffman
I hear echoes from my own recent life, now marred by psychic wounds that have barely
begun to heal.
Of the many terrible things
my girlfriend, Sarah, and I witnessed while living in New
mexico, the icy blue color that
washed over the faces of those
overdosing on heroin jarred us
the most. This ghoulish discoloration is caused by a sudden
decrease in oxygen due to respiratory depression, preceded
by a loss of consciousness. As
far as dying goes, one could
hardly ask for a more peaceful
exit.
We moved to New mexico,
via madison, in march 2012.
There I wrote for a paper in the
northern part of the state, while
Sarah continued with college.
We were at a house on Lower
San Pedro Road, in espanola,
the first time we saw
someonefall out, a euphemism
for overdose. espanola, population 12,000, is a small valley
town about 30 miles north of
Santa Fe. Of its many distinctions, the one most mentioned
with no deficit of bravado by its
largely Hispanic and Native
American residents is its standing as Americas opiate capital.
For more than a decade, its
heroin overdose death rate has
hovered around six times the
national average. In the Valley,
the chiva is cheap, abundant,
and deadly.
We were visiting Severo and
Lupe that day when, shortly
after we arrived, a young man
named Ivan stopped by on his
lunch break to fix in their
kitchen. After getting well, Ivan
went to untie the tourniquet
when, without any warning, he
dropped like a sack of potatoes
to the floor, hitting the ground
with a loudthud! A soft wave of
blue supplanted his maple complexion.
Sarah burst into tears. As
Lupe and I comforted her,
Severo dashed to the other end
of the trailer, returning with
Narcan (naloxone), a nasal
spray that flushes the brain of
opiates, instantly reversing the
overdose. Within seconds, the
man opened his eyes, regained
his color, and rose to his feet,
unaware he had nearly crossed
over. Watching someone nearly
die rattled me and Sarah enough
continued from page 3
that we decided to quit using

just as soon as we burned
through the stash we had just
picked up.
Starting fires
FROM THE APRIL 23

EDITION:
Hiring the fire department to

start fires is the opposite of what
you think they are supposed to
do.
However, the middleton Fire
District starts dozens of grass
fires every year to restore
prairies, prevent the outbreak of
wild land fire and raise money
to purchase equipment.
The donations mFD accepts
from homeowner associations
and property owners to burn off
dead grass this spring will go
toward buying an aerial drone.
middleton Ford has also donated $1,000 toward drone acquisition.
Fire chief Aaron Harris did
not know of another area fire
department that uses drones
which can provide a birds-eye
view of grass and structure fires
and on search and rescue missions.
We could have used it on a
[missing person] search a few
months ago, Harris said. We
found her but the guys said a
drone would have been useful.
Acquiring a drone is another
example of what Harris likes to
say typifies the volunteer department as one of the most
technologically advanced,
around.
Instead of waiting for others, were leading the way, said
Harris while supervising a proscribed burn Saturday on cardinal Point Trl.
Downwind from where the
burn would begin, a sixwheeled, all-terrain vehicle was
laying down a fire-resistant path
of water from hose connected to
an ultra-high pressure system.
mFD has been using ultra high
pressure tactics for several
years, which suppresses fires
better than a conventional methods, said Harris.
Ninety percent of water
used at a fire is wasted, when
its applied from an 800 pounds
per square inch conventional
hose, he said. Ultra high pressure delivers water at up to
1,500 psi and due to the thermal
dynamics of fighting fires absorbs more heat because of the
smaller sized water droplets.
Using less water is a big advantage to a fire company that
has to bring it to the rural fires
it fights. Water delivered
through UHP system will last
many times longer than its convention counterpart.
UHP also creates a safer
working environment for firefighters, too, said Harris, and
less water used on structure
fires means less structure damSee 2015, page 5
2015
age.
Insurance adjustors (inspecting a house fire) ask us
wheres all the water?, said
Harris. most of that water ends
up in the basementWater can
do as much damage to a building as the fire can.
mFD is one of the few area
departments to use UHP and
will participate in a training exercise the bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco Firearms and explosives will conduct near chicago
in June to test UHPs effectiveness on fire suppression, impact
on fire scene investigation and
firefighter safety.
Whether to equip the drone
with a thermal imaging camera
or conventional video will be
determined after attending a fire
chiefs convention this week in
Indianapolis, IN., said Harris,
who would like to have the
drone in time for training exercises in June.
Giosta, Olson
join city council
FROM THE APRIL 30
EDITION:
The new middleton common

council convened last week for
the first time following the final
meeting with one-term councilwoman miriam Share and 27
year council and committee veteran Jim Wexler.
briana Giosta, age 27, will
take over Wexlers district four
seat and Kathy Olson will take
Shares district one spot. District 6 alder Susan West was
elected council president for the
third time.
Five of the eight council seats
went up for election on April 7
but only two new council members came on board since districts 3, 5 and 7 all had an
incumbent running uncontested.
Former alder Jim Wexler has
now retired from the council for
second time. He planned to in
the last election but was asked
to come back by the mayor
when the candidate who ran unopposed and won said he was
no longer interested.
It was very gracious of Jim
to serve this last year on the
council at my request, because
we were really at a loss for
somebody fill that position,
mayor Kurt Sonnentag stated.
I was very happy that he accepted to do that.
Wexler told the mayor and
council members they are exceptional in their commitment
to a small city like middleton.
This is one impressive council and mayor, Wexler said.
You often get an elected body
where the people on it are using

it as a stepping stone to get
something else. I think the
longevity of some of the members shows that we are committed to middleton and making
middleton work.
Wexler joked that he had an
insight that mayor Sonnentag
was eyeing the governorship.
Sonnentag said Wexlers comic
relief to the council will be
missed.
briana Giosta decided to
make a write-in run for the seat
that had no candidate. Giosta is
a friend of Wexlers and wasnt
considering running until
Wexler informed her there was
no one else and suggested she
run.
Giosta moved to middleton
ten months ago from Washington Dc and grew up in Peoria,
Illinois.She worked at the National Archives in Dc and nows
works as a nanny in middleton.
It has been a very positive
learning experience for me and
I hope Ive lit a little bit of a fire
under some of our more tenured
colleagues to come out for what
they believe in, were Shares
final words on the council.
Shares successor, Kathy
Olson wass already the vicechair of the sustainability committee, and a member of the
citys landmarks commission
before being elected to serve
district 1.
District 6 alder Susan West
was elected by the new council
to serve her third term as council president. Alder Hans
Hilbert was also nominated but
West held the position in a five
to three vote.
Grudip brar was nominated
and elected to serve as the president pro tempore and Hans
Hilbert was again nominated
and this time elected to serve
again as the plan commission
council representative.
West is happy to serve again
as council president but she
says she is more excited about
the council having more women
than any other in middletons
history. The gender balance is
now half and half.
I am really excited that we
have four women on council,
said West. That is a first, it is
2015, so its time to start getting
that a little better.
Town bids
Breunig farewell
FROM THE APRIL 30

EDITION:
Without any substantial business on the agenda the town of

middletons annual meeting last
week turned into a thank you
and farewell tribute to retiring
town chair milo breunig.

more than 70 residents and
well-wishers gathered to acknowledge breunigs service
through 13 years as town chair
and 19 years combined as a
member of the town board and
plan commission.
Newly elected town chair
bill Kolar gave the most comprehensive homage, calling
breunig the face of the town,
all you have to say is milo and
everyone knows who you are
talking about.
So as you are on to bigger
things with your family and
many friends and things you
love to do; tonight you must acknowledge responsibility for
many years of great leadershipand accept the fact that
because of you the town of
middleton is absolutely without
question the best place to live in
Dane county, Kolar said.
Sheriff David mahoney also
thanked breunig for his service
to the town, county and state.
He recognized breunigs foresight in making the town one of
the early providers of additional
public safety by contracting
with the sheriffs department for
patrol deputies.
State Rep. Dianne Hesselbein, D-middleton presented
breunig with a proclamation
from State Sen. Jon erpendbach, D-middleton and Town
Supervisor Tim Roehl presented
a proclamation from Gov. Scott
Walker.
When bruenig addressed the
town for the last time as its chair
he deflected the praise he received to others in the town had
contributed to its progress.
This town is really a wonderful, unique place with many
talented people who help make
it the place that it is, he said.
He thanks cathy Garfoots
continuous service on the Plan
commission since its inception
in 1978, mel Popes 11 years
working to make the Pope Farm
conservancy the gem for
generations to come. Fire chief
Aaron Harris was thanked for
the fire district ranking in the
top 3 percent in the nation.
Its been an honor and a
privilege to serve as chair, said
bruenig as his voice choked up
with emotion.
City pursues
social justice
FROM THE MAY 7 EDITION:
The middleton committee of

the Whole (WOW) discussed
modifying city fines and forfeitures, eliminating or reducing
cannabis possession fines, and
changing policing trends and

hiring practices last week.
The cOW later referred the
issues to the license and ordinance committee for review and
recommendation of ordinance
changes to the common council.
The cOW meeting was
sparked by a letter from Dane
county executive Joe Parisi to
all Dane county municipalities
calling on them to review and
make changes to their ordinances that disparately affect
certain socioeconomic and
racial groups.
Its incumbent upon all of us
to govern in a way that ensures
everyone who decides to call
this amazing county home has
opportunity - opportunity to
work, thrive and live. We all
have a part to do, Parisi wrote.
The goal is simple: reduce the
number of kids and families living in poverty in all of our
neighborhoods.
The cOW was given presentations by police chief chuck
Foulke, resident casey Grady,
and municipal court judge marjorie Schuett.
Foulke broke down the statistics of the middleton Police Department and what could be
done to address the disparities
they reveal.
The middleton Police Department (mIPD) has 37 sworn
officers of which 29 are white
males, six are white female, and
two hispanic males. Foulke
said he wants to see a more diverse police force and suggested the possibility of
dropping the police academy
mandate before hiring an officer.
When you hire an officer the
academy is a five month program and we do another five
months or so of field training,
so it takes about a year before
an officer can join the force, he
said.
Foulke adds that he wants the
department to prioritize applicants who speak Spanish. He
says theyve been doing this
since he took over as chief but
have ended up with mostly officers who had Spanish minors in
college.
Another way mIPD can diversify is by starting young,
Foulke said.
We need to start young making those connections in our
schools and collaborate with
local leaders in the minority
communities, he said.
He noted a recent change that
is beneficial to women with
families. The department has
changed its light duty policy so
that it allows female police officers to be pregnant and still
work and not use up all of their
sick time.
PAGE 5
Foulke proceeded to break

down demographics and police
statistics in middleton, which
seemed to come as a reality
check to city officials.
middletons total population
is 87% white, 5.6% Hispanic,
4.2% Asian, 3.5% black, 2.7%
other, and 2.5% two or more
races. It is important to note
that middleton is unique in that
most people working in middleton do not live in middleton.
The statistics for traffic citations are 73% white, 11% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 12% black,
and 1% other, while for traffic
warnings 83% white, 3% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 9% black.
Freshman alderwoman briana Giosta asked the chief what
was going on between the warnings and citations since it appeared whites were more likely
to get warnings and minorities
were more likely to get citations. Foulke said he didnt yet
have an answer.
Giosta asked him to try to
find a way to analyze the discrepancy and bring something
back to the council.
For ordinance citations the
disparity between the black and
white residents widens significantly: 65% white, 10% Hispanic , 3% Asian, and 22%
black. criminal arrests are similar with 64% white, 30% black,
4% Hispanic, and 2% Asian.
Last year the middleton municipal
court
collected
$221,910.55 in fines. Foulke
compared that to Ferguson,
missouri, which has a population of about 3,000 more but
collected $2.46 million in fines
and fees in 2013.
Foulke made suggestions he
says he believes can address the
disparities. They include: upgrading squad cameras and implementing compatible body
cameras, measure officers on
contacts rather than the number
of citations issued, measure success on crime prevention and
not arrests, discourage officers
from giving multiple citations
for the same incident, and encourage traffic stops to be for
dangerous infractions rather
than investigatory.
Foulke also asked the city to
discontinue the mandatory policy of towing vehicles when
there is not a licensed driver
present. He says an officer can
move the vehicle to a parking
spot nearby.
Another aspect Foulke said
he felt was important but wasnt
sure how to address would be to
raise cultural awareness of the
general public. He says crimes
or suspicious activity reported
are often minority suspects but
less often legitimate.
Last year middleton Police
charged 54 people with posses-
sion of marijuana. Of those, 40

were adults and 14 juveniles, 37
white (69%), 10 black (19%), 5
Hispanic (9%), and 2 Asian
(4%).
middleton resident casey
brady wrote a letter and read it
to the council asking them to
adopt an ordinance that would
align the city with Dane county
ordinance that drops a possession fine to $1 plus court costs
(around $114) for possession of
less than 25 grams of marijuana. The county estimates
that it will lose $11,000 in revenue with the reduced fines, but
Parisi said it is part of a larger
initiative intended to stop putting economic, social and legal
barriers in front of people who
commit small, non-violent offenses.
middleton marijuana fines
are $175 for a first offense,
$375 for a second offense, and
$750 for a third offense. each
offense includes additional
court costs as well. Successful
completion of alcohol and other
drug abuse program can result
in a fine reduction.
Foulke said he doesnt find
the current possession fines draconian, but said he wouldnt object to the council aligning itself
with the county.
He added that he agrees
something should change but
wants to leave it to the council,
committees and public to ultimately decide. Foulke said he
doesnt really see the point in
having any fine at all if it is so
low and said a case could be
made that if you can afford to
buy marijuana you can afford to
pay a fine.
No matter what ordinance
middleton changes, under current Wisconsin law a first offense of marijuana possession,
any amount, carries a misdemeanor charge and a fine of up
to $1,000 and maximum of six
months in jail. A second offense, any amount, carries a
felony charge with up to 3.5
years in prison and a $10,000
fine. The state generally leaves
municipalities to prosecute first
time offenses and amounts
under 25 grams while the state
prosecutes any amount over that
and second offenses.
middleton municipal court
Judge marjorie Schuett walked
the cOW through how she
deals with fines and forfeitures
the city may consider revising.
She says she usually will not
dismiss an underage drinking or
possession charge because she
believes some kids really need
help.
She gave an example of what
would happen if a juvenile was
before he for a first time possesSee 2015, page 6
PAGE 6
2015
sion charge. She says she

would ask a series of questions
of both the minor and their parents involving their school performance, what is going on at
home, and if they are working
or involved in extracurricular
activities.
I cant think of a reason I
would dismiss, Schuett said.
because I want to know if
there is a problem and I want
other judges to know too.
Alderman Gurdip brar asked
the judge if she thought reducing marijuana fines would help
some people. Schuett responded
that there are much higher fines
for crimes like theft or damage
to property and asked why the
city wouldnt consider reducing
those to lessen the financial burden on some residents.
Alderwoman
JoAnna
Richard said she felt differently
than the judge and doesnt think
it makes sense to compare a victimless crime like marijuana
possession and harmful crimes
like theft or property damage.
Schuett said she would be
willing to work with the appropriate committees on the issues
during their review. The license
and ordinance committee will
be the first to discuss the topics.
Iconic Stamm
House reborn
FROM THE MAY 21 EDITION:
Whether its the persistent rumors about Underground Railroad tunnels beneath its floors,
or gleefully bawdy tales of rum
running during prohibition, the
Stamm House has always been
steeped in middleton lore.
Thats why, when one of the
areas oldest restaurants gradually fell into a state of disrepair,
re-opening and closing without
notice while the business
foundered, the people of the
Good Neighbor city were concerned they might lose one of
their most iconic landmarks.
Those fears will be dispelled
when the establishment reopens its doors on Tuesday,
may 26. completely renovated,
rebuilt, palpably loved and
slightly renamed as 1847 at the
Stamm House, the restaurant
looks like it could be on the
verge of its heyday.
The team behind the new
Stamm House has not only
fixed up the building, stripping
away detritus and glorifying the
local limestone walls that had
for years been hidden from the
public eye; they have also rebuilt its soul and reimagined its
purpose and menu.
So many people have such
close attachments to this restaurant, explains general manager
brian Hamilton. They worked
here, or their parents worked
here. Its imbued us with a sense
of mission.
The reimagined eatery includes two full bars, warm
sheets of natural light, exposed
stone walls, literally tons of reclaimed wood, a special chefs
cave and a menu with which
executive chef Nick Johnson
will innovate to his hearts delight.
Johnson, a nominee for the
prestigious James beard Award,
has been integral to the design
of the kitchen and chefs cave.
He plans to emphasize whole
animals, purchased locally from
the conscious carnivore, crafting dishes with midwestern

heart and european sophistication.
The management team,
which has been working for two
years to fix up a building that
had fallen into the banks hands
before closing its doors, crafted
a place where they say classic
foundations meet modern innovation.
The building has colorfully
served over the years as an inn,
tavern, post office, general
store, stagecoach stop, community center, library and dance
hall. From the 1940s to present
it has changed hands several
times as a supper club.
but while supper clubs are a
dime a dozen in Wisconsin,
1847 at the Stamm House is
striving for something more.
We want, says Hamilton,
to embrace this buildings entire history. The golden age of
the supper club era, yes, but
everything else, too.
Body cameras
for police?
FROM THE JUNE 11 EDITION:
The middleton common

council deferred a decision
back to the finance committee
last week that would use contingency funds to acquire new police squad car and body
cameras.
Police chief chuck Foulke
put in a budget request last year
for $83,000 to replace the squad
cameras but only $23,000 was
approved. Now council president Susan West is asking the finance committee to recommend
approval for the full funding
plus the additional funding for
new body cameras.
Foulke did not request body
cameras in the 2015 police
budget request, but was planning to make the request in the
2016 budget. He did request
video cameras for all police
squad cars. The $83,000 was
expected to cover new squad
cameras, but with only $23,000
approved only three of the ten
cars received new cameras.
Foulke said seven more cameras remain to be purchased at
an estimated cost of $45,000 to
complete the squad cars. While
he is a proponent of body cameras, Foulke said that his first
priority is to finish the squad car
video camera project.
Foulke estimates the cost of
body cameras for his officers to
be approximately $28,000. He
says that would fund the purchase of 35 cameras. He noted
to the council that there is currently a high demand for body
cameras and thus a time delay
receiving them.
both West and Foulke note
the concerns and challenges in
implementing body cameras but
say they are not insurmountable. major considerations they
note are privacy and open
records laws.
Foulke says there would need
to be policies in place that protected peoples privacy and indicated when police would need
to turn the cameras off. Foulke
says in cases where children, or
sexual assault victims, or peoples personal information were
exposed would be examples of
when the cameras should be
off.
The chief says everything

would have to be reviewed and
approved by the Dane county
District Attorney before middleton Police Department could
implement the body cameras.
Foulke also said he believes the
state legislature is going to need
tweak the language in the open
records law to account for privacy concerns with the use of
body camera.
Cat ear noodles

arrive in the city
FROM THE JULY 2 EDITION:
When Hong Gao was growing up in Taigu, a county in

chinas Shanxi province, she
never ate rice.
I
remember
noodles,
dumplings, pancakes from my
mother and grandmother, she
recalls. but were we lived, you
never ate rice. It was all noodles. Like our cat ear noodles,
[which] look like the shape of a
cats ear.
So imagine her surprise when
she moved to the United States
23 years ago and saw the menus
as the chinese restaurants
that populate the country. The
ubiquitous dishes things like
General Tsos chicken and pork
fried rice had no connection to
her homelands delicious fare.
Thats why Hong and her
family decided to take over the
former Orient express at 7610
elmwood Avenue in the city of
middleton late last year. They
changed the name to Taigu, a
nod to their hometown and its
food, introduced elegant decorations and Hongs joyful paintings of everything from flowers
to noodles, and revamped the
menu.
Taigu now offers authentic,
made-from-scratch, hand-cut
noodles, rich scallion pancakes
and chewy Shanxi dumplings.
Were trying to bring our
hometown chinese food here,
she says.
We actually tried to do
things like all other chinese
restaurants at first, she explains. but after three weeks
we had a meeting and decided
we would not do anymore of the
premade sauces. We decided to
make things from scratch. Its
better, but it just takes a little
more time.
Taigu can be reached by
phone at 608-831-3458 or visited online at taiguchineserestaurant.com.
Taylor honored
for creating park
FROM THE JULY 23 EDITION:
more than 500 recreation,

park and therapeutic recreation
professionals and advocates
from throughout Wisconsin will
gather at the Kalahari convention center in the Wisconsin
Dells for the Wisconsin Park
and Recreation Associations
50th Annual conference &
expo,You Aint Seen Nothing
Yet.
The five-day event includes
more than 70 educational sessions, pre-conference institutes,
trade show with over 135 vendors, and leadership meetings
featuring programs and speak-
ers that addressed a number of

pressing social issues including
alternative funding sources for
park and recreation operations,
youth/senior programming, diagnostic protocols, supervisory
and administrative techniques,
and legislative issue updates.
On Thursday, Nov. 5 delegates to the conference will participate in a special Awards
banquet wheremiddleton resident Lucille Taylorwill be the
recipient of the State AssociationsFellowship Award, the
highest award given to a layperson in recognition of outstanding service to the parks and
recreation profession and to
their community.
Taylor shared a vision and a
promise to the city of middleton, bequeathing the majority of
her life estate to help plan, design, and construct a new community park facility for the city.
Her generous gift to the city
was pledged in several
parts. An initial donation of
$100,000 was made in 2014 to
fund the large custom playground, park entry signs, and
park master plan design. Her
generosity also prompted other
community members to rise to
the occasion, and the park has
now garnered a great deal of attention and additional funding.
In the spirit of public open
space supporters, Lucille Taylor
was selected as the Honorary
Fellowship Award recipient for
2015 in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the
city of middleton and the creation of the Harvey John and
Lucille Taylor memorial Park.
Hall, NieberLathrop, Berman

are named Good
Neighbors
FROM THE AUGUST 6
EDITION:
The Trustees of the middleton Good Neighbor Festival are

proud to announce they have
awarded The Good Neighbor
Award to three individuals this
year. The Good Neighbor
Award recognizes individuals
who make a difference in the
middleton community and embody what it means to be a
Good Neighbor.
John Jack Hall has been a
nearly lifelong resident of middleton and is one of the initial
organizers and Fund Raisers for
the middleton community Veterans Tribute. He also was the
principal organizer and fund
raiser for the first Honor Flight
out of middleton. Along with
serving on the city of middleton Golf course committee,
Jack funded the plans for the
current club House at Pleasant
View Golf course. He also donated the gazebo that sits in
Lakeview Park. Jacks contributions to middleton span most
of his 91 years and it is because
of residents like him that our
city is a great place to live,
work and raise a family, stated
former middleton mayor Doug
Zwank.
Kathy Nieber-Lathrop is another longtime resident and outstanding citizen of middleton.
She is always helping someone, or some cause, with abundant energy, enthusiasm and
great cheer, according to Gur-
dip brar. Kathy has had leadership roles in The middleton Kiwanis club, clark Street
community School, the middleton commission on Youth
and the middleton Youth center. Her volunteer efforts have
helped to establish a popular
school garden program, the
Voss House garden Project,
made improvements at clark
Street community School and
secured additional funding for
the middleton Youth center.
Kris berman is active in
many community organizations
as well as bringing people in the
neighborhood together. Kris is,
or has been, active in the middleton cub Scouts, boy Scouts
Troop 940, middleton School
Nutrition Association, middleton Optimists, middleton Good
Neighbor Festival, Gildas
club, volunteering at middleton
High School and middleton
Players Theater. Good Neighbor is one of the attributes that
best describe Kris berman. She
has been the Orchid Heights
neighborhood organizer and
caretaker for 23 years. Wherever there is a need, she is there
to help. When someone needs a
ride to the airport, or to pick up
groceries in an emergency, or to
help with a problem, she is
available.
She brightens
everyones day with her jokes
and her laugh, said her neighbor, Arlene Finley.
The Good Neighbor Awards
have been part of the Good
Neighbor Festival for 35 years
and have been given to people
from all walks of life. Reading
the nominations is always heartwarming and uplifting, says
Tamra Dagnon, 2015 President
of the Good Neighbor Festival.
People do so many great things
to support our community and a
lot of hard work goes on behind
the scenes.
Fish story
FROM THE AUG. 13 EDITION:
Fifteen-year-old Alec Riddle

speaks of the great fish with a
certain wistful reverence, like a
young Hemingway describing
Santiagos battle with the marlin.
It had been a quiet morning
July 23, and so far the fish
werent biting. Riddle and
Logan Thomas, a close friend
and fellow co-president of the
middleton High School Fishing
club, were sitting in a boat at
the Prairie Du Sac dam, fishing
for flathead catfish.
Finally, after about two hours
with little luck, one of the rods
went. Riddle grabbed it, bringing in a 22-inch sheepshead, not
exactly a noteworthy catch. Just
then, another rod started to
bend. but this one was different.
As soon as I started to unhook thefish, one of my other
rods went off, except it wasnt
the normal tap tap tapping hit, it
was more of a slow pull, recalls Riddle. my friend
grabbed the rod and set the
hook and at first thought that he
had a small catfish. As he got it
closer to the boat we [thought]
that the hook had snagged
someone elses line, but upon
looking around nobody was
within 600 yards of us.
The line was behaving in a
way the two youthful, but seasoned, fishermen had never
seen before. Surely, they
thought, no fish could be this

strong.
my end of the line felt
like it was wrapped around a
rock or a tree because of the
way the line tension stayed
steady, says Riddle. I gave the
line a good hard yank to try to
free the line and thats when all
of [a] sudden the red, 50-pound
braided line shot out of my
hands like a truck was on the
other end.
Acting quickly, the two
friends pulled off their shirts,
fashioning them into makeshift
gloves to prevent the running
line from burning through their
palms. That is when they knew.
We knew at this point that
something huge was on and we
could feel every pump of the
fishs tail through the responsive braided line, says Riddle.
For the next 25 minutes we
fought the creature with only
our hand[s], taking turns to prevent ... injuring our hands when
the fish went on runs. After
pulling in over 150 yards of line
we finally saw the beast, a paddlefish snagged by the lure on
the line.
The fish was massive and
covered in lampreys, according
to Riddle.
by this time a nearby boat of
menfishingfor musky had motored over to watch the fight.
They too were amazed by the
size of thefish.
With a heave from my
friend, we had the paddlefish on
the rear deck of the bass boat,
says Riddle. We quickly detached all seven lamprey and removed the mangled hook from
the fishs gill plate. We both
quickly hoisted thefishup for
pictures.
They set the fish back into
the river, receiving a large
splashing as the paddlefish departed.
We could only guess that
thefishwas 100 pounds, says
Riddle. my friend lifted me
into the air, the same way as
thefish. I weighed 120 pounds
when thefishwas caught and he
declared without question that
the fishweighed as much if not
more than me.
Riddle said he and Thomas,
well aware of strict state laws
intended to keep paddlefish in
the water, did not take the time
to measure the length, girth or
weight.
Who knows, maybe this
fishwas a state record but we
will never know for sure, says
Riddle.
Utility District
approved
FROM THE AUG. 27 EDITION:
The middleton city council
has voted to approve the creation of a utility district that will
provide five miles of sewer and
water main lines for the community of bishops bay and
other future developments in
the city of middleton and Town
of Westports targeted residential growth areas. The total estimated cost of the project
stands at $8,230,000.
The council voted seven to
one to approve the utility district. Ald. JoAnna Richard
voted in opposition, holding
that the project should be entirely privately financed and
See 2015, page 7
2015
eliminate any risk to public

funds.
The utility expansion was
prompted by the community
bishops bay, the largest single
developer residential development in middletons history.
Rather than the developer construct only what is needed,
which is typical procedure, the
city explored the potential of an
investment partnership with the
Town of Westport to extend
water and sewer lines further in
anticipation of future development.
The idea is that there will be
savings by building the infrastructure for bishops bay and
the entire targeted growth area
at once, as well as make the
land more attractive to potential
developers if the infrastructure
is already in place.
The main and sewer lines
will belong to middletons utility district and Westport will be
able to buy water wholesale
from middleton and pass the
cost off to residences serviced
by the utilities.
The utility district will be financed up front by the city and
cost will be recovered by developers paying a special tax determined by a deferred special
assessment. bishops bay is the
only development currently underway, but it will eventually
pay a significant portion of the
special tax. As other developments come on board they will
pay an assed tax until all costs
have been recovered.
A new life
in America
FROM THE SEPT. 10
EDITION:
A Ukrainian family is forging

a new life in Americas heartland, working the land together
and embracing a vibrant, organic farming philosophy.
Roksolana Viter enjoyed life
in her native Ukraine. Living in
Kyiv, the fifth largest city in europe, she worked as an architect, creating modern designs
and assuming that was what she

would do for the rest of her life.
Then, in 2014 Russia made
several incursions intoUkrainian territory, breaking the1994
budapest memorandum and
throwing the region into a state
of unrest, political turmoil and
in some places, violence.
I thought, the boys in my
family could die, recalls Viter,
her two-year-old daughter,
Olga, munching on a crisp, ruby
red sweet pepper in the late
summer humidity of a greenhouse at Terra Growers on
county Highway K. Her eightyear-old son, Roman, is in class
at Northside elementary. but
when not at school, he and
Olga, along with Roksolana and
her mother, Svetlana, spend
their days working the Wisconsin soil.
When Russia started aggression against my country I made
[a] decision for all family that
life is [the] most important
thing in [the] world, Viter explains.
Viter, who had friends, including elliott Long, living in
Wisconsin, saw the middleton
area as a safe haven.
We started our new life here
with [the] main idea that we
have to care for us, have to care
for others and the world generally, she says. And the best
way to show that respect for
life is to start grow[ing] food.
We are what we eat. That is
what we believe.
While Viter was trained in architecture and comfortable
amidst the bustle of modern
urban life, she says agriculture
is an important part of her heritage. It is, she says, in our
blood.
Ukraine is [a] very old
county, she says. About 2,000
years of farming. Very rich soil
and lots of experience in our
blood.
When Viter and her family
fled to the United States, they
noticed something familiar
about Wisconsin, despite being
more than 5,000 miles from
their homeland.
[The] most funny thing
about our move to here [is] that

my mom, Svetlana, found that
soil, weather, and even weeds
[are] absolutely the same here,
she says. We are on the other
side of world and keep doing
what [we] used to do.
Community
rallies to
support families
displaced by fire
FROM THE OCT. 1 EDITION:
Karina De Lira awoke with a

cough and smelled smoke. In
the pre-dawn gloom, she saw
her young daughter standing in
the doorway of their second
floor apartment on Allen boulevard.
She was scared, said De
Lira, using her sister-in-law,
evelyn cerez, as an interpreter.
There were people screaming and yelling for help, she
added.
De Lira, who had arrived
home from work shortly after 1
a.m. and gone to sleep, grabbed
her three children and headed
for the door.
When [I] opened the door,
the smoke came, the fire came
right at [me], she recalled.
They slammed the door and
headed to the balcony. Faced
with a crushing decision, De
Lira picked up one of her sons
and readied to drop him from
the second-story to the relative
safety of the ground below. It
was, she thought, the only way
to escape.
De Lira said her son, in the
fog of sleep, begged her not to.
Thats when the middleton
Fire Department arrived, rescuing De Lira and her children
with the assistance of a ladder.
but that was only the beginning of the difficulties faced by
four local families that were displaced by the blaze, which
broke out shortly after 5 a.m. at
Forest Harbor Apartments on
September 6.
One adult tenant broke her
ankle jumping from the balcony. An infant was treated for
smoke inhalation.
And when the smoke had
cleared, they were left without
clear answers about where to go
for the nearly two-month period
while their fire-ravaged apartments were restored.
What followed was a string
of misunderstandings, according to the propertys managing
company, the madison Development corporation. According
to critics, it was something far
worse.
Despite attempts by local
schools, officials at city Hall,
and local volunteers, a lack of
clarity on the situation persisted
late into last week.
but one thing is clear not
all of the displaced residents
have somewhere to stay from
now until the date when they
can move back into their old
apartments.
Lisa Helmuth, a middleton
resident who established a
fundraiser for the families at
Rally.org, said another thing is
painfully evident: There was a
gap between services the night
of the fire, and the long term
safety net the residents clearly
needed.
VFW Auxiliary
accepts men
membership for men was

proposed at the National
Womens Auxiliary meeting in
the past, but was voted down.
This year at its July annual
meeting, the VFW itself, forced
the hand of the auxiliary and
voted to drop the word Ladies
from the auxiliary name.
Gender equity is the real
issue here, said VFW National
commander John biedrzycki Jr.
Right now, nearly 20 percent
of those serving are women. We
know their family and spouses
want to be more involved, so
our members overwhelmingly
approved this move.
marta bechtol, President of
the VFW Auxiliary to Wm.
Sonny Simon Post 8216 is delighted with the change. my
daughter, Alice, is in the military. even though shes not
married yet, I am so glad that
there is room in the auxiliary for
her husband if she ever does decide to marry.
According to bechtol, members of the middleton Auxiliary
have been in support of mixed
gender membership for a long
time. They wrote letters to the
national office to encourage a
vote for joint membership in
one auxiliary, rather than continue with separate male and female groups.
These are people who have
my back and vice versa. Weve
seen husbands die, and spouses
deploy with guard units. Its a
small network of people who
come from where you come
from.
It will take a brave man who
will step up to be the first to join
the former ladies only institution. We gladly open our doors
to the fathers, husbands, brothers and sons of middletons female veterans, invited bechtol.
Giving women a
voice in church
If you are going to talk
about motherhood, marriage,
family and all they mean in various contexts, the best way
might not be a room full of
men, says Rhonda miska, a
middleton native, author, theologian and translator.
That sentiment is at the heart
of catholic Women Speak:
bringing Our Gifts to the
Table, a new book published
by Paulist Press and launched
earlier this month at the Pontifical University Antonianum in
Rome.
The book is the product of
the catholic Women Speak Network, an online forum for theological
dialogue
and
collaboration, administered by
the Digby Stuart Research center for Religion, Society, and
Human Flourishing at the University of Roehampton in London.
We are made up of 1,000
catholic women from around
the world, explains miska.
miska, a freelance writer currently based out of Dubuque,
Iowa, often returns to her hometown to visit her parents, Ken
PAGE 7
and claudia.
She called the book a call to
dialogue rather than a position paper.
In catholic Women Speak:
bringing Our Gifts to the
Table, she translated from
Spanish to english an essay by
carolina del Rio mena, of
chile, and wrote an essay entitled Young catholic Women
Working in ministry: blessings,
challenges, and Hopes.
City budget
approved
FROM THE NOV. 26 EDITION:
The middleton common

council approved the 2016
budget in a five to three vote on
Thursday night.
The final numbers will be
worked out by city accounting
staff and released in December,
though tentatively it appears the
approved budget will lead to a
3.65 percent increase in operating expenses, a slight decrease
in the mill (tax) rate, and an increase of somewhere between 3
and 4 percent in municipal
taxes on the average property
tax bill. The tax rate is down
while actual tax bills are up because of higher property assessments.
city Administrator mike
Davis thanked the council and
city staff, both of which have
put in months of calculations
and discussions in the budget
process.
I wish to thank all of you
and our elected officials for
your hard work throughout this
budget process, Davis said. I
especially want to thank John
Lehman and melissa bohse for
their diligence and thoughtfulness in bringing it all together.
Asking tough
questions about
racial equality
FROM THE NOV. 26 EDITION:
Area leaders held a community workshop recently that focused on racial inequities that
persist locally and across the
nation - and what can be done
within the community to address them.
Percy brown, director of equity and student achievement
for the school district, middleton Police chief chuck Foulke,
Rev. miranda Hassett of St.
Dunstans episcopal church,
Rev. James Iliff of middleton
community United church of
christ, Al Ripp, executive director of middleton Outreach
ministry, and Laura Love, director of secondary education
for the school district, all spoke
at the event at the police station
titled, equity vs. equality: an
examination of the racial inequities that exist in Dane
county.
The racism and racial disparities that exist across the nation
impact Dane county more than
many people realize, they said.
In the United States, the unemployment rate for African
Americans is four times higher
than that of whites. A stunning
41 percent of blacks live in
poverty, compared to 10 percent
of whites. African American

adults are eight times more
likely to be arrested than whites
and black youth are fifteen
times more likely to be arrested.
but community leaders in
middleton are joining with
other groups throughout the
county to initiate a communitywide attempt in fuel change,
they said.
The workshop was a follow
up to a community panel held at
the middleton Public Library
discussing the issues raised in
the book Just mercy, by
bryan Stevenson. The book
was featured in this years Go
big Read program, co-sponsored by UW-madison and the
madison Public Library. Panel
members at the workshop included brown, Foulke, Urban
League ceO Ruben Anthony,
Dane county Sheriff Dave mahoney, and Dane county Judge
Josann Reynolds.
In the context of national and
local history, the speakers discussed the roots of racism in
America and how it has manifested over time. The speakers
shared presentations, videos,
and discussion to offer a
glimpse of the work being done
in the school district and community to address these issues,
and to begin to identify additional opportunities for change.
Foulke said the workshop
was a much needed step and
added that he is dedicated to
taking on some of the issues. In
may he presented city officials
with numerous options to reduce the racial inequities that
are found in middletonscriminal justice system. He proposed
modifying city fines and forfeitures, eliminating or reducing
cannabis possession fines, and
changing policing trends and
hiring practices.
The racial and ethnic disparities in our country, county and
community are getting the attention and action that are
sorely needed, Foulke said.
The equity vs. equality training is a logical step in maintaining the momentum that
community leaders have been
building to address this very
real problem. I am pleased to be
part of the planning team for
this training and feel the middleton Police Department can
be part of the solution.
The attendees participated in
a number of activities that
demonstrated implicit bias they
said people have but arent
often aware of.
We have these associations
deep within us as a result of
things we have been taught intentionally and unintentionally,
Love said. There are many
sources, and then this unconsciousness operates in the background and belies our good
intentions.
Love listed efforts that are
being made within the school
district, including a committee
in the district that is working on
raising the voices of students
and bringing in people of color
who are part of our community
who can say what the district is
doing wrong and how it feels
when they walk through the
doors.
She also mentioned eliminating fees for students, working
with board members to realign
resources, community partnerships and training for all groups.
PAGE 8
Follow Rob
Reischel on
Twitter at
@robreischel
Hockey Cards move to 12-0

Middleton rolls
by Regents
by ROB REISCHEL
Times-Tribune
Theyre off to the best start

in school history.
Theyre making quick work
of most foes.
And theres no end in sight.
middletons red-hot hockey
team improved to 12-0 last
Tuesday with a 7-1 thumping
of madison West. And the
cardinals headed to their holiday break in festive spirits.
The start weve had this
year has been awesome and
Im really proud of how we
have come out of the gates
hot, said senior defenseman
Davis bunz, who leads
middleton with 22 points. I
cant completely say that I saw
it coming, but I did have confidence in us and I love the way
the guys have taken the task at
hand.
Senior forward Jordan
Hylbert agreed.
As long as were winning,
Im happy, said Hylbert,
whos tied for second on the
team with six goals. In the
start of the season I knew our
team had the potential to be
great. We have a lot of experience on our team and its showing so far in the season.
middleton kept things
rolling against the Regents,
racing to a 4-0 lead and cruising home.
bunz scored an even
strength goal just 50 seconds
into the game on an assist from
Nolan Kouba. Zach Heidel
then made it 2-0 on assists from
casey Harper and Hylbert just
1:39 into the game.
Justin
engelkes
gave
middleton a 3-0 lead midway
through the first period on
assists from Kouba and Troy
Reifsteck. braxton Walby then
put the cardinals ahead, 4-0,
on assists by bunz and Jake
Middletons hockey team has had plenty to celebrate during its 12-0 start this season.
Feldt 29 seconds into the second period.

West had a power play goal
midway through the second
period and pulled within 4-1.
but Reifsteck, Garrett Graf and
colin butler all scored in the
third period as the cardinals
pulled away.
While middleton is one of
the more talented teams in the
state, its chemistry has also
been key to its fast start.
I think a huge key to us
having a fast start is all the
leaders we have on the team,
bunz said. There is a good
energy in the locker room and a
lot of guys are buying into the
system. Also, this group of
guys is very close with a lot of
chemistry, so I think that helps
us a lot when the puck drops.

Added Hylbert: The key to
our fast start is definitely our
experience and chemistry with
each other. Were not just teammates, were brothers. This is
the closest team Ive ever been
apart of and its been amazing
to see my brothers have success. but were not done yet.
Far from it. In fact, the way
the cardinals see it, theyve
only just begun.
middleton hosts Onalaska
Saturday at 7 p.m., then hosts
beloit memorial Tuesday at 8
p.m. middleton and Verona
co-leaders of the big eight
conference at 6-0 then meet
at Verona Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.
In a season like this, its
kind of hard to not stop and
think about the special thing

we have going on here,
Hylbert said. but we just need
to keep it simple and keep winning games.
Its been fun being a part of
12-0 team so far, but the seasons not even close to being
Times-Tribune photo by Mary Langenfeld
done. We still have a long way

to go, but our team is willing to
endure the challenges we face
so we can achieve our ultimate
goal to win the last game of
the season.
bunz agreed.
I think a huge thing for us
is not getting complacent,

bunz said. After all its not
how you start, its how you finish. We all share one goal, so I
think we can think about how
special this is when that goal is
accomplished.
Good times kept coming

MIDDLETONS YEAR IN REVIEW
MHS sports
teams enjoyed
terrific year
Traditionally, weve done a

year-ending list of the top-10
moments in middleton sports.
Year-by-year, though, that
gets tougher. This is, after all,
middleton sports where success is the norm.
So like everything in
America, were supersizing our
list.
And instead of the 12 Days
of christmas, heres one mans
opinion
of
the
top-12
middleton sporting events of
2015.
Happy holidays!
PAGE 9
Rob
Reischel
1. Girls gofers
win state title
Loren Skibba had just made

the biggest one foot putt of her
young life.
And as middletons standout senior golfer was trying to
exit the 18th green at
University Ridge on Oct. 13,
she was met by a mob of giddy
cardinals.
2015, page 10
Photo courtesy of Rae Miles
Middletons girls golfers celebrated on the 18th green after winning the WIAA Division 1 state title in October.
2015
PAGE 10
They were crying, then I

started crying, Skibba said. It
was incredible.
Incredible is the perfect
word for what transpired.
middleton and Hartland
Arrowhead engaged in an epic
battle for the WIAA Division 1
state title. For most of the day,
though, the Warhawks kept the
cardinals at arms length.
Arrowhead still led by four
shots with three holes to play.
but
over
that
stretch,
middleton made up a remarkable five strokes and won the
title by one shot.
middleton shot a seasonlow 310 on the final day and a
641 over the two-day tournament. That helped the
cardinals edge the Warhawks
(642) and capture the second
state title in school history.
Thirty
minutes
after
middletons
dreams
had
become reality, the finish still
seemed like a blur.
It doesnt even seem real,
cardinals
coach
becky
Halverson said. I knew they
could do it, but it sure didnt
look good. but every single
player was huge for us today.
everyone really played their
hearts out.
middleton had a bevy of
memorable performances.
Skibba, the 2014 individual
state champion, finished second this time with a 149, three
shots behind beaver Dams
Ashley Kulka. Junior Alexis
Thomas shot a 1-under-par 71
on the second day and finished
fourth individually at 151.
Junior morgan miles carded
a final round 81 and tied for

27th overall. And sophomore
Payton Hodson, the cardinals
No. 5 golfer, shot an important
84 on the second day.
Im just speechless,
Thomas said. I really wasnt
paying attention to all the
scores during my round. I was
just concentrating on my own
game. but right now, I dont
think Ive ever been happier.
Arrowhead began the day
with a 4-shot lead, but
middleton pulled within two
after the front nine. The
Warhawks stretched that lead
to as many as five midway
through the back nine, before
the cardinals mounted their
memorable charge.
The quartet of Skibba,
Thomas, miles and Hodson
played the final three holes at
1-over-par. Arrowhead, on the
other hand, played it at 7-over.
Honestly, I dont really feel
that
disappointed,
said
Arrowhead senior claire
Lauterbach. middleton just
played great and really finished
strong. What are you going to
do?
middleton surged to a 2shot lead when Arrowhead No.
3 golfer Keaton Schmitz made
a triple bogey at No. 18. The
Warhawks closed back within
one shot after their No. 2
golfer, Alexa Holland, made a
birdie at No. 18.
That left it up to Skibba,
who bombed a drive at No. 18
and knocked her approach shot
within 10-feet. Skibba left her
birdie putt just inches short,
then tapped in for a state title.
Middletons girls basketball team reached the state semifinals in 2015, before losing to eventual champion DSHA.
Arrowheads Lauterbach
also parred the hole, meaning
the championship trophy was
headed to middleton.
I could not ask for more,
Skibba said. Were such a
tight knit group and its so great
to leave on a high note.
Halverson agreed.
Theyre all just amazing,
Halverson said. I really cant
believe it. I mean, I can but I
cant. The whole thing is
incredible.
Incredible is right just
like the 2015 state champion
middleton girls golf team.
2. Another great year
middletons girls basketball
team had another terrific season going 22-5 overall and finishing third in the big eight
conference at 15-3.
The cardinals caught fire
late in the year, winning 11 of
12 games to reach the WIAA
Division 1 state tournament for
the ninth time under coach Jeff
Kind. There, the cardinals lost
a memorable state semifinal to
eventual champion DSHA.
This was a pretty gratifying
year in retrospect, cardinals
coach Jeff Kind said.We had
the parts to be a very good team
and had pretty high expectations coming into the season,
but we had some growing to do
as well.
I felt we could go either

way around mid-season when
we ran into a few weeks where
we dealt with a lot of sickness
on the team and it seemed that
we were lacking energy and
lost a couple games in a row.
but the girls rallied, and
when we started doing our five
and five platoon system, we
really started to wear people
out with our depth. It paid big
dividends down the stretch
when we were able to come
back on some really good
teams late in games or put them
away early if they had trouble
with our constant pressure.
middletons loss to DSHA
in the state semifinals was
File photo
extremely painful. but it will

also be remembered as one of
the greatest games in state history.
DSHA
star
Arike
Ogunbowale erupted for a state
record 55 points and helped the
Dashers hand the cardinals an
86-76 loss in overtime.
I still almost cant believe
it, middleton senior center
cole Jordee said. I mean, 55
points? Thats crazy.
The previous Division 1
state record was held by former
middleton standout Angie
Halbleib, who erupted for 44
points in 1993. The record
See 2015, page 11
2015
regardless of division was

held by South Shores Jolene
Anderson who had 46 points in
a 2004 Division 4 game.
but Ogunbowale rewrote
the record book in a game that
will be talked about a generation from now. Unfortunately
for the cardinals, they were on
the wrong side of history.
We know were not going
to shut her out or anything like
that, Kind said. but she just
kept going. So, I dont know. I
think theres a lot of people
wondering how you stop her.
Aside from that game, there
wasnt much stopping the highflying cardinals in 2014-15.
We had a nice mixture of
youth and veterans, Kind said.
Our seniors did a nice job taking leadership roles and keeping the team focused.
3. Running down
their dreams
It took great will power and

resolve.
but Tara Franklin refused to
crunch the numbers and try
guessing where middletons
girls track and field team might
finish at the WIAA Division 1
state meet in June.
I just didnt want to get
caught up in all the numbers,
said Franklin, the cardinals
long-time coach. I wanted to
enjoy the moment.
Finally, with three events
left, Franklin relented.
Franklin knew it had been a
brilliant two days for her
cardinals. but even she was
surprised
to
discover
middleton was on the brink of
a remarkable second place finish.
When middletons 1,600meter relay team then placed
third, the cardinals had
achieved greatness and
locked up a second place finish.
Whitefish bay won the title
with
48
points,
while
middleton was second with 39
points. Kenosha bradford and
monona Grove tied for third
with
36
points,
while
Waukesha West was fifth (31).
It was middletons best finish at state since the 1997 and
98 teams won back-to-back
state championships.
I am so incredibly proud of
our girls team, middleton
junior standout Lauren Smith
said. We came into state without even the thought of a team
placement. We did our very
best in all of our events, and in
the end it all added up to our
best accomplishment as a very
talented team.
middleton standout senior
bobbi Patrick agreed.
I dont think we couldve
performed better as a team,
Patrick said. everyone did
their part perfectly. It was an
amazing surprise.
It was a weekend full of surprises for middleton.
Smith set a school-record in
the 100-meter hurdles, running
a 14.82 in the preliminaries.
Smith ran a 15.10 in the finals,
which was good for second
place, just behind Holmens
Danielle Kohlwey (14.85).
Patrick had a memorable
weekend, too, highlighted by a
third place finish in the 800.
Patrick entered the state tournament seeded eighth in the
800, but her time of 2:12.90
also broke a school record.
middletons four relay
PAGE 11
teams all set school records, as

well, and all finished between
second and fourth.
The quartet of junior Hailee
milton, Smith, junior Hanne
Andersen-Smith and senior
Hanna Docter was second in
the 800-meter relay in 1:42.27.
The foursome of senior
emily Zeker, senior Rachel
Wians, junior Sam Valentine
and Patrick was third (9:16.52)
in the 3,200-meter relay.
And the quartet of junior
Olivia
Roberts,
Docter,
Andersen-Smith, and Smith
was fourth (48.82) in the 400meter relay.
Im most happy about the
growth and improvement these
relay teams have had over the
years, Smith said. Im very
grateful to have been able to
participate in so many events.
That left things up to
middletons 1,600-meter relay
team of Docter, Zeker, Wians
and Patrick.
many of the cardinals had
no idea where they stood. but
shortly before the race,
Franklin told her group they
were on the brink of greatness.
middleton needed to finish
in fifth place, or better, to wrap
up a second place finish. The
cardinals 1,600 then finished
third.
Oh my god! Franklin said.
Shocking, surprised, amazed.
You name it. It was just great.
4. Making a splash
middletons girls swimming

and diving team rode their
depth all the way to a secondplace finish at the WIAA
Division 1 state swimming and
diving championships at the
UW Natatorium in November.
Hartland Arrowhead won
the meet with 301 points, while
middleton was a distant second
at 211. cedarburg (206),
Verona/mount Horeb (200) and
madison memorial (165.50)
rounded out the top five.
All season long the team
has consistently done everything they said they were going
to do and they came in here
with an agenda to get second,
cardinals
coach
Lauren
cabalka said. We were seeded
third coming in, and from our
diver down to that (last) relay,
we did exactly what we needed
to do.
Freshman Hannah Aegerter
agreed.
We just stuck through it the
whole time, Aegerter said.
We never doubted ourselves.
Looking at the scoreboard we
were always positive and just
wanted to keep a good attitude
through the whole meet so we
wouldnt get down and feel bad
about anything.
It was a total team effort as
the cardinals scored points in
all 12 events, including the diving competition.
The cardinals actually
trailed Verona/mount Horeb by
11 points entering the meets
final event, the 400-yard
freestyle relay. but middleton
outscored the Wildcats, 32-10,
in the relay after a third-place
finish. cedarburg won the 400yard freestyle relay, but would
have needed middleton to finish sixth or worse to pass the
cardinals for second overall.
Those girls going into the
400 relay knew what they
needed to do and they did it,
cabalka said.
Aegerter, senior Samantha
Roll, sophomore caroline

Hippen, and freshman cora
mack finished the 400-yard
freestyle relay in 3 minutes,
27.93 seconds. The relay team
was seeded first in the event
and improved on its seed time
by more than two seconds.
The cardinals added fourthplace finishes in the 200-yard
medley and 200-yard freestyle
relays for a total of 92 points
from the relay squads.
middletons 200-yard medley relay team of senior
Victoria Lin, senior emma
Karbusicky, sophomore chiara
Pierobon-mays, and freshman
makenna Licking finished in
1:46.47 and the cardinals 200yard freestyle team of mack,
Aegerter, Roll, and Hippen finished in 1:35.83.
Aegerter pulled off a big
surprise in the 200 individual
medley, shaving more than two
seconds off her seed time to
earn a fifth-place finish in
2:06.02. Aegerter, seeded 11th,
swam in the second heat and
had to wait to see if her time
would hold up for a podium
finish.
Lin also earned a podium
finish in the 100-yard butterfly,
finishing fifth in 56.19.
coach said to take it out
fast, so I did that and came
back as fast as I could, Lin
said.
All the cardinals took it fast
right to a state runner-up
finish.
5. Champs
middleton became home for

a pair of state champion tennis
players in 2015.
On the girls side, Abbey
Webber and Kaisey Skibba
won the WIAA Division 1 state
File photos
From top, Middletons girls track and field team finished second at state. The Cardinals girls
swimming team was also second at state. And Kaisey Skibba (left) and Abbey Webber won a
state doubles title in tennis.
doubles championship in
October.
The
cardinals
dynamic duo became the first
middleton doubles team to win
a state title since Jill Karofsky
and Kristin moe in 1982.
On the boys side, Jake Van
emburgh won the individual
state title in June. Van emburgh
became the first boys player in
school history to win a state
title.
This weekend was amazing, Webber said after she and
Skibba teamed up for a title.
Kaisey and I had a lot of fun.
We both played our best tennis
this weekend, which is great to
do when it really matters. I will

definitely remember this weekend, even though it seemed to
go by quickly.
Skibba agreed with her
teammate.
This weekend was incredible, Skibba said. Im definitely going to remember it for
a long time. Im just so proud
of us and what we accomplished.
Skibba and Webber entered
the tournament as the No. 2
seed, so they certainly expected
to make a run at a title. but few
could have envisioned the ease
in which they trampled over
the states best players

The cardinals pair didnt
lose a set in their five matches
and dropped a total of just 14
games in the entire tournament.
Skibba and Webber defeated
elise Gerard and Annabelle
crowley of Nicolet, 6-1, 6-1, in
the finals.
I think Abbey and I really
played the best matches of our
career this weekend and that is
how we were able to win our
matches, Skibba said. I was a
little surprised that we played
so well, but then again I knew
Abbey and I could do it.
Webber agreed.
2015
PAGE 12
Webber agreed.
I wasnt surprised with the
outcome because we were the
second seed and we were
expected to make it to the
finals, Webber said. even
though we had a good seed, we
took every match like it could
be our last.
At the boys state tournament four months earlier, Van
rolled
past
emburgh
brookfield
easts
David
Horneffer, 7-5, 6-1. And with
his family set to move to
Florida one month later, it was
a memorable ending for Van
emburgh.
Im glad I could end like
that, Van emburgh said. Its
kind of bittersweet, but its
something I definitely wanted
to accomplish.
Van emburgh accomplished
it with surprising ease.
Van emburgh, the No. 2
seed in the tournament, didnt
lose a set in his five matches. In
fact, he lost a grand total of just
14 games in his 10 sets.
Van emburgh also gained a
measure of revenge by besting
Horneffer the tournaments
top seed in the finals. One
year ago, Horneffer topped Van
emburgh in the state semifinals.
Overall, I played well,
Van emburgh said. I didnt
serve great, but I felt good
about it and felt good about the
whole season.
6. Right on track
The concept seems somewhat odd.

but when examined closer,
its completely understandable.
middletons boys track and
field team finished fourth at the
WIAA Division 1 state meet
held at UW-La crosse in June.
That finish is believed to be the
best in school history.
Afterwards, though, the
cardinals were somewhat disappointed.
Why?
Simple.
These
cardinals fully believed an
even higher finish was possible.
bay Port won the title with
67 points, while Wisconsin
Lutheran was second at 48.
madison West (36), middleton
(26) and Pewaukee (23) rounded out the top five.
It was interesting to finish
so well historically and feel so
let down, former middleton
coach Isaac mezera said. We
were chosen by many to finish
in second or third place. Some
even went so far to predict us
winning the meet.
So, once you get that in
your head, its hard to adjust to
the reality that its not happening. It was still an impressive
performance.
It sure was, and it capped a
terrific season for whats
become one of the states elite
programs.
middletons best performances came from junior Perrin
Hagge in the 800- and 1,600meter runs.

Hagge was the No. 1 seed in
the 800, but was edged for the
championship.
Wisconsin
Lutheran senior eric brown
won the race in 1:54.78, while
Hagge was a close second at
1:55.04.
Hagge was also the No. 1
seed in the 1,600. but the
cardinals standout settled for
fourth place in that race
(4:14.30), just 0.65 seconds
behind champion Olin Hacker
of madison West (4:13.75.)
middletons 3,200-meter
relay team had a remarkable
performance, shattering the old
school record by 8 seconds and
finishing third overall.
The cardinals quartet of
senior Zach Shoemaker-Allen,
junior Jordan Futch, junior
cole conklin-Little and Hagge
completed the race in 7:44.82.
Wisconsin Lutheran was first
(7:43.18), while Hartland
was
second
Arrowhead
(7:43.65).
cardinals junior Jack Jesse
was fifth in the long jump with
a leap of 22 feet, 9 inches.
middleton sophomore Gus
Newcomb also finished sixth in
the 3,200-meter run (9:17.10).
This 2015 team is the best
mHS has ever seen, mezera
said. We had a great season,
and really a great state meet.
but expectations we put on
ourselves left us feeling a little
forlorn when the dust settled.
7. Fabulous fourth
The conditions bordered on

miserable. Rainy, slippery,
soggy, muddy.
but the day itself was a historic one for middletons boys
cross country team.
The cardinals finished
fourth at the WIAA Division 1
state meet held at Ridges Golf
course in Wisconsin Rapids.
That was the highest finish in
school history.
The boys had a very successful cross country season,
middleton
coach
cindy
bremser said. It took them the
first month to have all the players run on the same team and
then they improved each competition.
cardinals
junior
Gus
Newcomb, who led middleton
with a fifth place individual
finish, thought the cardinals
could crack the top-three. but
Newcomb was still happy
where middleton finished.
Fourth at state was good
for us, said Newcomb, who
finished the 5,000-meter course
in 15 minutes, 5.15 seconds.
We wanted to wait longer to
see middleton show up on the
scoreboard after the race, but
we still moved up from last
year (sixth), which is great on
such a tough day.
Kimberly won the boys title
with 80 points, while madison
La Follette (99), West bend
West (114), middleton (133)
and milwaukee marquette

(180) rounded out the top five.
Newcomb ran a sensational
race, hanging around eighth
place most of the way.
Newcomb then made a late
charge and moved up to fifth
with a terrific finishing kick.
Newcomb improved by 28
spots from last year and bettered his time by 31 seconds.
cardinals senior Perrin
Hagge was 36th overall in
16:45.24, while sophomore
Jack
Rader
was
39th
(16:46.08).
Sophomore Sam Jaeger finished 53rd (16:57.13) during
his first trip to state. And senior
David marrone was 74th
(17:11.14) and improved his
time from last year by 51 seconds.
middletons terrific performance at state capped an
unforgettable season.
Second at conference, first
at sectionals and fourth at state
will be a year they will never
forget, bremser said.
8. Five aces
middletons boys golf team

finished in fifth place at the
WIAA Division 1 state tournament in June. middleton,
which finished fourth in 2014,
had much greater aspirations in
2015.
Instead, the cardinals
couldnt find a branch of consistency to grab onto during the
two-day event held at
University Ridge Golf course.
Hartland Arrowhead won its
sixth state team title in nine
years, posting a 623. Green
bay Notre Dame was a close
second at 624, while bay Port
(637), badger (641) and
middleton (642) rounded out
the top five.
We didnt play like were
capable of playing, middleton
coach Tom cabalka said. It
was unexpected, but its just
one of those things.
The cardinals shot an opening round 320, which was good
for third place overall. but
middleton found itself 14 shots
behind
first-day
leader
Arrowhead (306).
We can all play a lot better, cardinals junior Joey
Levin said. We know its
going to be a tough task to
come all the way back. but on
any given day, anything can
happen.
middleton certainly seemed
capable of making a charge.
The cardinals shot a 295 at
regionals and a 300 at the Lake
country charity Invitational
held at erin Hills earlier in the
year.
And the cardinals tried
drawing on those experiences
before the second round.
Were certainly capable,
cabalka said. We just need
four really good rounds and
everybody at their best.
Weve had days like that
throughout the year. We just
need another one (Tuesday).
That didnt happen, though.
brady Thomas and emmett
Herb both shot second-day 78s.
but middleton also counted
83s from Levin and Taylor.
I dont know if its the
mental side of the game,
Thomas said. maybe were
feeling the pressure. but I think
this will drive us for next year.
The finish should certainly
See 2015, page 13
File photos
From top, Jack

Jesse
and
Middletons
boys track and
field team finished fourth at
state.
G
u
s
Newcomb and
Middletons
boys
cross
country team
was fourth at
state.
E m m e t t
Herb
and
Middletons
boys golf team
was fifth at
state last June.
2015
motivate the cardinals moving

forward.
The trio of Herb, Levin and
Thomas were all juniors and
have played varsity golf since
their freshman year. A state title
has been at the top of their todo list since they arrived at
mHS.
Arneson, another junior,
joined the team in 2015. And
Henry Taylor, a freshman,
made a late-season charge and
has a bright future.
These guys already work
so hard, that I dont know if I
can ask them to work any harder, cabalka said. but theyll
find a way to get better. Thats
the kind of kids they are.
9. Gymnasts shine at
state
There were no delusions of

grandeur. No talk of a state
championships.
Instead, middletons girls
gymnastics team was thrilled to
be at the WIAA Division 1
state meet at Wisconsin Rapids
High School in march.
Anything more was now gravy.
Well, the cardinals got
themselves one giant serving
surprising many and finishing fifth at the state meet.
Arrowhead won the team
title with a 148.3333 team
score. Franklins combined
team was second (146.4667)
and mukwonagos combined
team was third (144.167).
middleton
posted
a
138.1667 score, just behind
fourth
place
brookfield
east/central (138.7333).
Going into the meet we
didnt talk much about where
we expected to end up in the
standings, middleton senior
Lucy bergenthal said. So finishing fifth was a huge accomplishment for us.
The cardinals had an
extremely solid season, finishing second in both the big
eight conference regular season and postseason. middleton
then won its own sectional.
but the cardinals scores
were slightly lower than past
seasons, leaving them uncertain how theyd fare at state.
Turns out, middleton matched
up just fine with the states best
and brightest.
middletons best event was
the vault, where it posted a
35.250 score. bergenthal led
the way with a 9.283, while

madeline Pflasterer-Jennerjohn
scored a 9.183. Freshman
chloe Young scored an 8.567
and freshman eleanor mackey
had an 8.217.
The cardinals also scored a
34.750 on the balance beam.
bergenthal scored an 8.950,
while senior Lauren Ace
(8.783), junior Katherine
marshall
(8.767)
and
Pflasterer-Jennerjohn (8.250)
all had solid routines.
Pflasterer-Jennerjohn led
the way with a 9.050 on the
floor exercise and bergenthal
scored an 8.733. middleton
also counted an 8.50 from
marshall and an 8.0 from sophomore Dani Aranda.
Pflasterer-Jennerjohn had a
terrific routine on the uneven
bars (9.317) and bergenthal
scored an 8.683. middleton
also counted scores from
Young (8.017) and marshall
(7.867).
This has by far been the
most memorable season for
me, bergenthal said. We
have accomplished and grown
so much as a team and I could
not be more proud to be a part
of this experience. Im glad
that we achieved so much
when people werent expecting
as much from us this year.
middleton also fared well
during the individual state
meet.
Pflasterer-Jennerjohn finished ninth in the all-around
competition with a score of
36.10. Pflasterer-Jennerjohn
was 11th on the uneven bars
(8.817), 12th on the floor
(9.067), 16th on the vault
(9.217). She also scored a 9.0
on the beam.
I was very pleased to finish
in the top-10, said PflastererJennerjohn, who finished 20th
in the all-around competition at
state in 2014. my goal for
state was to improve from last
year, and I felt like I definitely
did that.
bergenthal felt the same
way after finishing eighth on
the vault with a 9.383.
I was very happy with my
performance, bergenthal said.
being able to compete individually on my favorite event
and placing eighth was an
unforgettable way to end my
gymnastics career.
In all, it was a great finish
for all the cardinals.

The most memorable part
of season was winning the
team sectional and going to
state, Pflasterer-Jennerjohn
said. We have all worked hard
and have become close this
year, so it was a rewarding and
meaningful way to end the season.
10. Sweet repeat
They gathered in early

August and quickly outlined a
handful of goals.
This is commonplace inside
high school football programs
throughout the state. In most
places, though, those objectives are never met.
middletons program isnt
like most places, though. And
when the cardinals draw up a
list of goals, most of them typically come to fruition.
middleton checked off a
major goal when it won a second straight big eight
conference title in 2015. The
cardinals finished 8-1 in the
league, one game better than
madison La Follette and
madison memorial.
It was a really special feeling for everyone getting the
win to seal the conference,
cardinals junior defensive
back c.J. Fermanich said after
middleton routed Janesville
craig, 52-6, in Week 9 to
clinch the conference crown.
All the hard work that we put
in every day in the summer and
during the season paid off a little bit.
Our offense was so fluid
and could get anything they
wanted. Defensively we were
making stops and getting off
the field.
middleton clinched sole
possession of the big eight
championship for a second
straight year. Since joining the
big eight in 1994, the
cardinals had never won outright back-to-back titles until
Friday night.
Winning the conference
outright was an awesome feeling, junior safety Joe Ludwig
said. especially to do it backto-back years, which is tough
to do. Im glad I got to do it
with this great group of guys.
middleton senior wideout
mitch bacon agreed.
beating craig and winning
the big eight outright was
huge, bacon said. Its something that we havent done in a
long, long time and it was one
of our main team goals at the

beginning of the season. It
gives us a huge confidence
boost and momentum going
into the playoffs.
middleton fell to Sun Prairie
in the first round of the playoffs. but no one could take
away middletons conference
title and another extremely
successful regular season.
We definitely had high
hopes, thought we could, knew
we could make a deep run,
middleton senior quarterback
brennan
Schmitt
said.
Looking back on the season,
Ill just remember all the guys,
the bonds that I made, friendships, just making great memories all year. Ill just remember
this year forever and knowing
that everyone on the team gave
it their all and worked hard all
year. Definitely nothing to be
ashamed of.
PAGE 13
11. Bucking the odds
The doubters certainly outweighed the believers.

middletons boys volleyball
team had to replace half of its
starting lineup from the 2014
season. The cardinals then lost
senior middle blocker Jordan
Futch one of the top players
in the state to injury before
the year began.
Suddenly, middletons task
of returning to the state tournament looked dicey.
but middleton overcame
the odds, then defeated
Waukesha South in a sectional
final match. The cardinals
earned their third straight trip
to state and its eighth since
2002.
Never gets old, middleton
coach ben White said of going
to state. Im very proud of this
team for how much they have
grown this season. Ive thrown
multiple lineups at them and
they never questioned and
made the adjustments as needed.
middleton fell to Kettle
moraine in the state quarterfinals. but it couldnt put a
damper on the cardinals big
year.
middleton won its ninth big
eight conference title in 10
years and won its 40th straight
conference match in the
process. The cardinals then
earned a third straight trip to
state and their eighth since
2002.
but middleton ran into a
See 2015, page 14
File photos
From top, Madeline Pflasterer-Jennerjohn and Middletons

girls gymnastics team finished fifth at state. The Cardinals
football team won a second straight Big Eight Conference title.
And Blake Sprecher and Middletons boys volleyball team
reached the state tournament for a third straight year.
2015
PAGE 14
New berlin team at state

that was simply more skilled
and had more weapons.
One match doesnt define a
season, middleton coach ben
White said. And thats what I
told the guys. We cant let one
match define us.
Only eight teams made it
here and no one can ever take
that experience away from our
guys. They definitely overachieved.
middleton had several players step up to help compensate
for the loss of Futch.
blake Sprecher, one of the
top middle blockers in the
state, had a huge senior year.
Kevin mcmahon was terrific
as the cardinals go-to player
on the outside.
Pace balster, a senior middle blocker, and junior middle
hitter cole Spitler had big seasons. Others like sophomore
libero Thomas Robson, junior
defensive specialist ben miller
and senior outside hitter Jacob
Ross have also played well.
I will remember this year
for my coaches and teammates
most of all, mcmahon said.

even though we didnt have a
great last game, I still had the
opportunity to meet some great
people and make some really
nice memories with them.
12. Surprise, surprise
middletons boys basketball

team had the most inexperienced group in the big eight
conference in 2014-15. but
the cardinals surprised everyone, went 17-7 overall and finished third in the conference at
13-5.
First and foremost it was
fun, middleton coach Kevin
bavery said. I dont know that
Ive ever had a season where I
wanted to come to practice
more the next day after we
were eliminated in the tournament.
I believe the biggest piece
was the players buying in,
starting with our seniors. This
team genuinely cared about
one another while not caring
who was taking the shots. They
all saw the value in chasing
down the ball in our press or
boxing out on defense as well

as who scored the ball.
It was both a privilege and
a joy to walk into the gym each
day and I miss it already. It didnt take long for the pen and
diagram pad to come out so I
could start looking towards
next year.
middleton returned virtually
no experience, yet excelled
from start to finish.
middleton won its first three
games and began the season 61. The cardinals high-water
mark was at 11-2 in lateJanuary, and they never lost
more than two games in a row.

Three of middleton losses
came to state qualifier madison
east, two were against big
eight conference champion
madison memorial and one
was to state champion Stevens
Point.
We didnt talk about winning a single game this year,
bavery said. We only focused
on the day-to-day process of
controlling what we can control which is working hard,
working with a purpose, and
having fun along the way.
File photo
Storm Murphy and Middletons boys basketball team had a

surprising 2014-15 season.
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PAGE 15
Middleton suffers first loss

PAGE 16
middletons girls basketball

team suffered its first loss of
the season monday night, dropping a 73-65 decision to
Germantown at the Rathke
memorial Tournament in
Franklin.
The Warhawks scored the
final 12 points of the game to
the
top-ranked
upend
cardinals.
middleton fell to 7-1 on the
MHS
R OUNDUP
year.
Junior
guard
bria
Lemirande led middleton with
18 points. Junior guard Alexis
Thomas scored 15 points and
junior guard Alyssa Lemirande
added 13.
Junior Kenzie Schmitz led

Germantown with 23 points.
middleton led, 36-33, at
halftime. but the Warhawks
outscored the cardinals, 40-29,
in the second half.
Boys
basketball:
middleton
rolled
past
Waunakee, 73-58, last Tuesday.
The cardinals, ranked fifth in
the latest wissports.net poll,
improved to 7-0 overall.
Junior forward Tyree eady

led middleton with 20 points,
while sophomore post brogan
brunker added 16. Junior guard
c.J. Fermanich scored 10
points and senior forward cody
markel added six.
middleton led, 38-33, at
halftime, then pulled away in
the second half.
By Rob Reischel
Times-Tribune
photo by Mary
Langenfeld
Middleton
boys basketball
coach
K e v i n
B a v e r y
watched his
team move to
7-0 last week.

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VOL. 123, NO.

THURSDAY, DecembeR 31, 2015

SINGLE COPY PRICE: $1.25

A look back at the year 2015

Clockwise from top left: Middleton firefighters battled a

Robert e. Volk, 75, Prescott,

moved to cross Plains in 1969.

about the event to follow. condolences may be sent to Diane

Robert bob clauss, born

dale, in 1962. During his college career he proudly served in

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2015

bob is survived by his wife,

University Ave., middleton, at

Two convicted in charity scam

money raised for this organization went

The Force is strong!

Photo by Janelle Mathews

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2015

FROM THE JAN. 8 EDITION:

FROM THE JAN. 15 EDITION:

THE STORIES OF 2015

are often elusive. Her train of

city began talks.

FROM THE JAN. 22 EDITION:

and the mHS choir performed

A new role for

FROM THE FEB. 5 EDITION:

The middleton education

or not they would have about

school board members, and

The annual State of the city

and thereby saved approximately $96,000 in interest costs.

the police departments hiring of

FROM THE FEB. 19 EDITION:

The middleton Plan commission last week approved an

FROM THE MARCH 5

back how do we know you

FROM THE MARCH 12

In the last couple of years, an

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2015

continued from page 3

that we decided to quit using

FROM THE APRIL 23

Hiring the fire department to

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2015

The new middleton common

where the people on it are using

FROM THE APRIL 30

Without any substantial business on the agenda the town of

town chair milo breunig.

The middleton committee of

changing policing trends and

Foulke proceeded to break

continued from page 4

sion of marijuana. Of those, 40

sion charge. She says she

the conscious carnivore, crafting dishes with midwestern

The middleton common

The chief says everything

Cat ear noodles

When Hong Gao was growing up in Taigu, a county in

more than 500 recreation,

ers that addressed a number of