Recycling center

closed Friday
VOL. 124, NO. 51

The Middleton Recycling Center will be closed onDecember 23

and December 30. You may still bring items to the Middleton Recycling Center thisSaturday, December 17from8am - noon.
For more information on the Middleton Recycling Center,
visitwww.cityofmiddleton.us/recyclingcenter.

Community solar
projects sell out
by CAMEROn BREn
Times-Tribune

The first of its kind community solar project on top of the

recently constructed municipal
operations center completely

Games galore!
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

www.MiddletonTimes.com

SINGLE COPY PRICE: $1.25

Im Board offers a dizzying array of games

sold out of shares. The solar

array installation is underway
and is expected to go live early
next year.
In an effort increase the citys
use of renewable energy and

School district
looks at grades,
demographic data
by CAMEROn BREn
Times-Tribune

The Middleton-Cross Plains

area school board was recently
presented with the results of the
districts state report card and
the latest demographic data of
students. More than half of the
schools in the district were rated
as significantly exceeded expectations.
Elm Lawn, Northside, Sunset
Ridge, Glacier Creek and
Kromrey were placed in the
highest category, significantly
exceeded expectations. Sauk
Trail, West Middleton and MHS

SOLAR, page 5

were placed in the second-highest category, exceeded expectations. Of the more than 2,100
schools rated statewide, 329
significantly exceeded expectations, while 624 exceeded expectations.
Sunset Ridge was the thirdhighest rated elementary school
in Dane County, while Glacier
Creek and Kromrey were the
top two middle schools and
MHS was the second-highest
SCHOOLBOARD, page 5

Located in the same shopping plaza as Willy West Co-op, Im Board offers tabletop games for casual gamer, the zealot and
everyone in between.

Photo contributed

by MAtt GEiGER
Times-Tribune

The Cuban revolution. Middle Earth. Ancient Egypt. A

haunted mansion. Edo at the
height of a Samurai age. A
galaxy far, far away. The dis-

Road
to
state
begins
now
Read more about local
ski and snowboard
competitors on page 4

tant future.
You can visit them all without ever leaving Middleton,
and you dont even need electricity to power this particular
time machine. All you have to
do is walk through a door, located at 6917 University Av-

enue, with a massive pun over

it.
Im Board, which first
opened in the Good Neighbor
City in 2011, is a thriving hub
for all things game-related.
Board games, role-playing
games, card games and more

are all for sale, each offering to

transport players to some a fascinating place and time. You
can become a Cold War Spy, a
warlock, a Time Lord, a spaceship pilot or a Victorian sleuth.
GAMES, page 6

At left, senior and co-captain

Olivia Krigbaum. Photo contributed.

PAGE 2

O PINION

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

GEIGER
Counter
by Matt Geiger

THE AXE
MAN

My pink, glittering wings

were fluttering in the midday
breeze as I hurled the axes.
Blade after blade bit into the
wooden target, and with every
atavistic thunk I felt my beard
growing longer and my shoulders broadening. I was, for the
first time in nearly 30 years,
winning a competition that did
not involve hunching over a
desk and using my fingertips to
daintily tap on little plastic
squares.
It had started as a normal day.
But by the time the sun went
down, I was a champion. Over
the course of only a few hours,
I had gone from a man who had
never won any contest for
throwing anything dangerous a nobody, essentially - to a man
who sank the blades of 13 tomahawks deep into a round slab
of wood.
It happened at a festival in a
crisp, bright clearing in the Wisconsin woods. The kind where
everyone pretends they are visiting some bygone era.

END OF
YEAR
REVERIES

As I drove North on December 8, there was a confusion of

cranes above me. Hundreds of
birds were flying in every direc-

The time and place can

change: Some people set up
camp at my friends bison
ranch, for instance, and pretend
they are on the Lewis and Clark
expedition. Others dress as
knights and knaves and gently
swing swords at one another.
Still others set up permanent
historical villages where people make cheese and shirts the
hard way and explain to young
schoolchildren that the median
life expectancy used to 13.
I was wearing jeans and a
sweater. The modern kind the
kind made by a machine in a
matter of seconds rather than a
man or a woman in a hut over
the course of three weeks. But
also the aforementioned pair of
pink, bedazzled fairy wings that
shimmered in the sun as I flung
the ancient weapons at the target again and again.
The wings werent supposed
to be for me. They were for my
two-year-old daughter. But she
had abandoned them, the way
people who have not yet learned
about capitalism tend to discard
things when they are done with
them or their interest strays
elsewhere.
I carried the wings for a

tion. Hundreds more were in

the plowed fields, looking to
glean whatever they could to
sustain them on their way.
They are late travelers this
year. Fall extended her stay in
Wisconsin far longer than usual.
It confused wildlife and it gave
folks plenty of fodder for small
talk about the weather.
My own contribution to those

while, but it was easier to strap

them to my back and free-up
my hands for more important
things like ale, axes and my little girl.
As I threw, the target grew
thick with axe handles. There
was little room in which to
squeeze another one, even with
my apparently deadly aim. So I
sank my next blade deep into
the handle of one of the prior
weapons, much like Robin
Hood did when he split the
arrow that was embedded in the
bulls-eye.
For the next few hours, I was
a hero. My friends, unable to
hide their admiration no matter
how hard they tried, bought me
beer and slapped me on the
back.
If the zombies come, observed one, we know which
useful skill youll have.
I was like Beowulf, traveling
from a distant land to slay a
dreadful piece of inanimate
wood that had been terrorizing
the local population.
Eventually, perspective returned. Most of the competitors
I had bested, I realized but did
not say when retelling the story
later that evening, had been
small children. But for a few
hours that day it felt like I lived
in another time, and I felt like
the hero of some Viking saga,
even though I dont and Im not.
Yet the question remained:
From whence did my impressive strength and stamina
spring? How did I, someone
who is getting winded writing
this story, manage to accom-

conversations always revolved

around my tomato plants. They
were still offering sweet cherries and heirloom delights beyond Thanksgiving. In fact, we
ate the last of them on December 1.
If the bats hadnt already hibernated, they could have kept
on harvesting mosquitoes until
Thanksgiving, too. The insects
were gone for awhile, but the
unseasonably warm weather invited another hatch, at least in
my neck of the woods. Im
wondering if therell be enough
to feed the bats come spring.

plish an ancient feat of strength?

Modernity is an interesting
place to live. But there is nothing particularly special about it.
After all, everyone who has
ever lived, lived in what were
then considered modern
times. No one ever walked out
of their mud hut or cave or castle one fine morning, stretched
their arms out wide and exclaimed, Its good to live in the
past!
But the future, when it gets
here, is never quite as sleek as
we expected it to be.
When I first obtained an
Xbox One - a fancy living room
video game console that is supposed to allow me to throw
imaginary touchdown passes
and shoot imaginary alien invaders, as well as change the
channel or pause a movie when
I tell it to with my voice - I
never fantasized about the way
it would really be used.
Oh cool, I thought in the
store, fishing a thick slab of
money from my pocket. I can
instruct it to turn the volume
down with my voice, even if I
lose the remote control!
Of course in real life, the following scene has played out a
thousand times: My daughter is
sleeping. The house is finally
still. My wife and I are sitting
together, quietly watching the
latest Ken Burns documentary
about the history of whispering
or the evolution of teacups, or
some such thing.
Then, without warning, an insanely loud commercial for a
movie full of explosions comes

And, Im wondering if there

was enough fallen corn to feed
the cranes that my mind keeps
returning to. Those birds are
usually long gone before wind
chills drop to a mere seven degrees which was the temp on
December 8. If they landed at
an airport instead of in some
farmers fields that day, ground
crews would have rushed out to
de-ice their wings.
All of us, humans, birds, bats,
mosquitoes and tomatoes, are
having to adjust to a new normal when it comes to weather
patterns. For humans, there is a
change in the political weather
too.
Editor Matt Geiger asked if
Id write something uplifting
for this issue that comes right
before Christmas and the years
end. Mentioning politics may
make you wonder if Im sticking to my assignment!
Change
is
inevitable.
Whether change is for the good
or for the bad depends on perspective rather than ultimate
truth. One womans or mans
celebration is another womans
or mans grief.
Transition times are tender
times, even when change is for
the better. They are wrenching
times when the changes appear
to be for the worse.
How we navigate those times
is what matters the most.
One post-election day about
a month ago, the words live and
love came into my mind. I
wrote them, side by side, on a
piece of paper and considered
them for awhile.
I saw that the words evil and
vile were contained in the word
live and wrote them below. I
saw that the word vole was contained in the word love and

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

blasting into the television. The

raucous noise shakes the very
foundation of our house. I lost
the remote control ages ago,
confident that I could always
command everything with my
voice.
I find myself quickly, urgently pleading with the voice
recognition software: Xbox,
volume down! Xbox, volume
down!
It cant hear me over the
sound of airplanes exploding
and machineguns firing, so I
start to plead more urgently please, Xbox, volume down!
Nothing happens, so I find
myself screaming VOLUME
DOWN!! at the top of my
lungs in an effort to keep the
house silent and prevent my
daughter from waking up and
demanding ice cream or a nocturnal trip to the zoo.
It always ends the same way.
I am flustered and horse, pale
and perspiring quite a bit for
someone who has not actually
risen from the couch. My
daughter is wide awake, wondering what dad is yelling
about, and the movie trailer has
come to an abrupt end a few
seconds before I realize I can
stop screeching at a small plastic box.
This, I realize, is what its
like to live in the future.
Yet the time we live in right
now is always dynamic. It is already the present, it was recently the future, and it will
soon be the past. It is a time in
which I sometimes win axethrowing competitions, when

laughed because I knew that it

didnt matter in this moment. I
did not write that one down.
Why do some lives become
evil and choose vile acts? I
wondered. I truly believe that
no one is born with those negative tendencies.
As I continued to study the
words, the vowels became
prominent. I saw the narrow i
as the symbol for the ego-centric I. Thats it!, I thought.
When life is lived from an exaggerated, ego-based, self-centered, perspective, vileness and
evil can easily grow.
By contrast, the letter o in the
word love presented itself to me
as the circle of inclusion. I saw
it as the planet earth, and as
arms in an embracing hug.
How can lives be moved beyond a narrow, self-important
I state? The answer to that
came when my eye rested on
the little round dot above the
lower case i.
It starts when the I turns
its gaze to something higher
than personal gain and power.
So many Christmas stories remind us of that; when the
Grinch saw everyone holding
hands on Christmas morning,
when Scrooge witnessed the
Cratchets love for one another
despite poverty; and when
everyone pitched in and rescued
the Savings and Loan in Its a
Wonderful Life.
Rather than staying a dot outside of the i, Scrooge and the
Grinch were able to incorporate
it into their own beings to transform their own lives into love.
Of course some people resist it
and never get beyond observation like Mr. Potter, the banker
in Its a Wonderful Life.

Im not busy yelling at my television.

As I left the fair with my
prize, I picked up my daughter
and effortlessly tossed her high
into the air and onto my shoulders. There she sat, perched
above the petite wings of a
bulky man who is good at
throwing axes.
While I lifted her from the
ground, I suddenly realized why
my arm was so strong in the
first place. It was her.
Someone who knew a little
bit about physics but absolutely
nothing about parenting sized
me up. Look at the size of
those wings compared to his
body, he commented to a
friend who fell in stride beside
him. I seriously doubt hes
going to fly away anytime
soon.
My daughter balanced atop
my shoulders and looked out
across the clearing in the
woods, which was drenched in
the rich highlights of late afternoon sun as people streamed to
the parking lot. I clutched her
ankle firmly in my hand.
I wondered if the stranger
had any idea just how wrong he
was.

Buy
the
Geiger
Counter book now
through major booksellers, at Amazon.com,
at The Regal Find in
Middleton, or visit
GeigerBooks.com.

No matter what the times, we

are presented with opportunities
to choose love. Like the
Whos down in Whoville, from
the big to the small, we can
choose to meet surprises and
difficulties with equanimity and
grace.
When all of the gifts were
stolen, their traditions muddled
and their sense of security was
violated they didnt react with
vengeful rage. Instead, they
joined hands and raised their
voices together in song.
Love was their priority. It
was real love extended through
smiles and touch and camaraderie built on shared experience.
Sure, giving gifts and sharing
fancy meals are another extension of love. But, if we put
purest love in the center of a
paper and drew rings around it,
gift giving would be in the outer
rings of expression.
Like the people of Whoville,
and like the cranes that I saw
when traveling north, we can
choose to flock together, extending warmth and companionship as we move through
difficult times.
There are so many analogies
and stories to encourage us
through times of transition in
every arena be it the weather,
political leadership, losses or
additions to family, job
changes, the aging process, etc.
It might sound clich to say
Let there be peace on earth and
let it begin with me, but thats
the only place that it can really
take root and grow.
Heres wishing you all holidays and a New Year filled with
peace and love.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

Valeria Clara Acker

Waunakee/Ashton - An
Amazing
Mother of
13 Children, Valeria Clara
Acker, age
91, passed away on December
14, 2016 surrounded by her loving children and grandchildren
singing her favorite Christmas
Carol, Silent Night, and praying the rosary. Our Mom,
through lifes journey, was the
backbone & inspiration that ignited her husbands visions &
accomplished dreams of our
familys success in business.
Valeria was a religious woman
and truly believed in the power
of prayer and joys raising 13
children and running a family
business. She instilled in her
children and the philosophy that
she lived by was if you work
hard and treat people fairly,
your dreams will come true.
Valeria was born in Cross
Plains on April 1, 1925 to Martin and Julia (Zander) Hollenbeck. She was the oldest of
three children and graduated

from Edgewood High School.

On April 23rd, 1946 Valeria married Clarence Acker. Together
for the next 56 years, with their
13 children, they farmed in
Middleton and ran a successful
land development business. Valeria was affectionately known
as Ma Acker over the years to
many of her childrens friends.
She loved to share laughs and
joke with them.
Valeria is survived by her 12
children, Marvin (Christine)
Acker of Madison, Martin
(Kay) Acker of Florida, Wayne
(Barbara) Acker of Waunakee,
Susan (Stephen) Eastwood of
Waunakee, Eileen Acker of
Middleton, Dennis (Marlene)
Acker of Waunakee, Randy
(Judy) Acker of Middleton, Rita
(Rod) Voss of Waunakee, Kevin
(Jeanette) Acker of Waunakee,
Karen Acker of Waunakee,
Peggy (Bob) Acker-Farber of
Waunakee, Judy (Dale) Maly
of Waunakee; 26 Grandchildren; 3 great-grandchildren; sisters-in-law,
Clara
(Tom)
Church, Beatrice (the late
Sylvester) Hellenbrand of Waunakee, Josephine (the late Wendell) Pederson of Portage and
Annabelle (the late Edward)
Acker of Waunakee; brothersin-law, Jerome Wagner of Middleton and Theron Miller of
Arizona.
Valeria was preceded in
death by her husband, Clarence;
daughter, Patricia; parents, Martin & Julia Bollenbeck; sister,
Teresa (Jerome) Wagner;
brother, Kenneth Bollenbeck;
sisters-in-law, Verena (Theron)
Miller and Margaret (the late
Ronald) Pierce.
Family and friends are invited to visit at Winn-Cress Funeral Home, 5785 Hwy Q,
Waunakee, on Wednesday, Dec.
21, 2016 from 4pm 8pm. Additional visitation will take
place at St. Peter Catholic
Church, 7121 County Hwy K,
Middleton, on Thursday, Dec.
22, 2016 from 10am 11am.
The Mass of Christian Burial
will follow at 11am with Fr. Tait

O BITUARIES
MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

Schroeder presiding. Valeria

will be laid to rest in the church
cemetery. A reception will take
place at Rexs Innkeeper following the committal service at
the cemetery.
The family would like to extend a special thanks to the
CNA and nursing staff at the
Waunakee Manor for their caring and support of our mother
over the years, her daughter,
Rita, for being Moms Guardian
Angel, Paulyn Ripp for her
prayer sessions, Aunt Annabelle
Acker for her friendship, and
Ron Wagner for his helpfulness
when needed.
We can honor her by keeping
Valeria in our hearts and
prayers. In lieu of flowers memorials would be appreciated to
the MARC Center for the Handicapped of Madison (in memory
of Patricia) and St. Peters Ashton and St. Johns Waunakee
Endowment funds.
Winn-Cress
Funeral and Cremation Service
5785 Highway Q, Waunakee
608-849-4513
Please share your memories at
CressFuneralService.com

Laurine E.
Hildebrandt

MERC E R ,
Wis.- Laurine
E.
Hildebrandt, 99,
of Mercer,
d i e d

peacefullyFridayevening, Dec.
9, 2016, in her home, with her
son, Earl, by her side.
The former Laurine E. Frey
was born June 15, 1917, in Roxbury, Wis., daughter of the late
William and Mary (Bongard)

Frey, and was raised on a small

dairy farm. Being the second
oldest, she helped work the
farm as well as help raise her
younger brothers and sister,
along with various part time
jobs during the Great Depression, just to make ends meet.
She married Frank A. Hildebrandt on July 15, 1939. She
and Frank owned and operated
Hildebrandt Sheet Metal Co. in
Middleton until 1976, when
they moved the business and
home to Mercer. It was there
that she loved her house on
Echo Lake and regularly fished
with her husband or anyone
who showed interest in soaking
a bobber. Frank preceded her in
death in 1981.
Laurine was a member of St.
Isaac Jogues Catholic Parish in
Mercer. She enjoyed cooking,
baking, sewing, quilting and
feeding the birds and deer that
graced her yard, but her greatest
love was raising her children
and making the home a most efficient and enjoyable environment. She always cherished the
old days and stories of farm
life and the Great Depression.
Although frugal, she tried to
give her family the very best
and her love was unsurpassed.
We know that you now share
eternity with the Lord and your
love and His will shine in us
forever.
Surviving are her children,
Russell (Diane), Middleton,
Ruth Marino, Lincoln, Calif.,
and Earl, Mercer; five grandchildren, Dawn (John) Edwards, Byron Center, Mich.,
Lynn (Brad) Richardson, Waunakee, Mark (Amber) Hildebrandt, Colgate, Frank (Lori)
Marino, Yuba City, Calif., and
Erika (Mathew) Roeder, Park
Falls; eight great-grandchildren;
brother, Clifford Frey, Wauna-

PAGE 3

kee; sister, Joan Peterson, Lawton, Okla., son-in-law, Gary

Gibbs, Mercer; and many
nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents and
husband, Laurine was preceded
in death by a daughter, Susan
Gibbs, on May 2, 2007; brothers, Werner, Sylvester and Earl
Frey; sister, Dolores Usher; and
son-in-law, Frank Marino Sr.
A Mass of Christian Burial
was celebratedFriday, Dec. 16,
at11:30 a.m., preceded by visitation at10:30 a.m., at St. Isaac
Jogues Catholic Church in Mercer, with the Rev. Ronald Serrao, celebrant.
Luncheon followed. Rite of
Committal and spring interment
were in the Mercer Cemetery.

If desired, memorial contributions may be made to Wisconsin Regional Library for the
Blind, 813 W. Wells St., Milwaukee, WI 53233, or selected
charitable organization.
Arrangements have been entrusted to McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home Inc., Ironwood,
Mich. Condolences may be expressed online at mckevittpatrickfuneralhome.com.
The family would like to
thank Ministry Home Health
and Hospice for all their special
care, Norb Brossmer for his
words of faith, and mothers
neighbors for all their visits and
assistance when she needed
help. Bless you all!

PAGE 4

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

Former mayor okay after fire

Doug Zwank thanks fast-acting firefighters for containing blaze
by MAtt GEiGER
Times-Tribune

The City of Middletons former mayor is thanking local

first responders after a serious
fire occurred at his local home.
On November 29, Doug
Zwanks family experienced a
major fire in their house, apparently caused by a dehumidifier

in the basement.
When the fire alarm went
off, I initially thought it was a
malfunction because I couldnt
smell any smoke and saw no
fire, recalled Zwank. I then
checked the basement and fire
was climbing a wall. I immediately ran back to the main floor
to evacuate my wife, 90 year
old mother-in-law and infant

granddaughter.
Zwank, a veteran who has
been active with the local VFW
Post for many years, also
quickly dialed 911.
Within five minutes Fire
Chief Aaron Harris and another
firefighter arrived with their
high pressure water truck,
Zwank said. Their quick action
probably saved my house even

though we did suffer major

damage in the basement.
Almost all of the familys
personal items were saved, according to Zwank.
Zwank went on to say that
within several minutes of Harris arrival two other fire trucks
arrived with a full complement
of firefighters. With their protective gear and oxygen tanks

they entered the smoke-filled

house.
To say that I was impressed
and grateful for their quick response and professionalism
would be an understatement,
Zwank said. We are very fortunate to have such a great fire
company and its volunteers.
Although it is a very traumatic experience to be routed

out of your home by a fire, I am

very grateful that all of my family escaped safely and the Middleton Fire Department saved
most of our home and important
possessions, the former mayor
concluded. Thanks again to the
Middleton Fire Department and
all of its men and women volunteers.

Middleton Ski and Board teams prepare for a new season

\The Middleton High School Ski

and Snowboard teams anticipate another exciting season ahead with nearly
seventy student-athletes on the roster,
supported by a large freshman class
adding to the teams depth.
Coming off a school-best 5th place
finish at State last year, the boys ski
team is led by seniors Austin Krantz
and Eric Andersen, junior Alec Riddle
and sophomore Nick Ronnie. For the

girls, senior Olivia Krigbaum returns

for another likely trip to State.
Ski team Head Coach Ray Riddle
and Assistant Coach Midori Shaw are
excited about their secondyear coaching the teams and the prospects of a return trip to State, despite losing three
key seniors to graduation. Developing this diverse group of girls and getting both teams to State is the focus for
the year, said Shaw.

Not to be outdone, snowboard returns two teams loaded with thirteen

out of the fourteen State representatives from the previous year. The
boys team earned a school-best
2nd place at State in 2016, with the girls
taking 3rd. The boy boarders are led by
returning seniors Maxwell Lawrence,
Sam Anderson, Campbell Esbeck,
Charlie Angevine, Alec Johnson and
Edwin Stajkovic and junior John

Jones. Leading the girls are senior

Abigail Drake, juniors Paige Wirth and
Kaden Mettel, and sophomores
Samantha Williams, Megan Chandler
and Hannah Laufenberg.
For third-year snowboard team
coach Darrin Kolka, this could be the
year for a first-ever State championship
for the snowboarders. Have fun and
a State title are our winter goals this
year, said Kolka.

Ski and snowboard racing is a varsity sport at Middleton High School,

with the teams competing in the Southern Conference of the WI High School
Alpine Racing Association. Last season, the boys board team, girls board
team and boys ski team each won conference, with the girls ski team taking
The
first
meet
6th.
isMondayevening,January 2, 2017at
Tyrol Basin Ski Area.

Local deputy, dog retire from sheriffs office

Jay ONeil and K9 Hunter worked out of Middleton precinct

After over 26 years of dedicated service, Deputy Jay

ONeil and his faithful K9
Hunter retired on Friday of last
week.
Deputy ONeil and Hunter
patroled on 1st shift from the
Sheriffs Office West Precinct
in the Town of Middleton. They
were both the subject of a feature story about dogs in law enforcement in the Middleton
Times-Tibune several years ago.
According to the sheriffs office, their retirement will leave
big shoes to fill, both in experi-

ence and expenses.

ONeil has been on the Dane
County Sheriffs Office K9
Team since 1996 and his past
partners include Dino (19962006), Thor (2006-2009), and
now Hunter (2010-present).
Hunter is a German Shepherd
and was born in the Czech Republic. He is a dual-purpose K9
trained in apprehension, area
search, article search, building
search, narcotics detection and
tracking. ONeil and Hunter
have had an active and diverse
career; they have assisted other

agencies, worked special

events, performed many public
demonstrations, apprehended
suspects, located illegal drugs,
and have responded to countless
calls for service.
Deputy ONeil and Hunter
have also successfully assisted
in the seizure of weapons and
drug money, including one find
where they were responsible for
the seizure of $25,000. During
a stop in 2015, Hunter alerted
on a suitcase containing over
$38,000 worth of drugs and a
loaded handgun.
K9 Deputies with the Dane
County Sheriffs Office attend
annual training and have to pass
rigorous certifications. But the
training goes well beyond the
classroom; continuing to their
home, where the K9s live with
the deputies and their families.
The cost of acquiring or replacing a K9 partner is approximately $15,000, and within one
year, the Sheriffs Office will
need to replace 4 out of 5 of our
K9s. Thankfully, Dane County

Deputy Jay ONeil and Hunter, seen here with a group of local Daisy Scouts, retired last week.
They worked out of the Sheriffs Office West Precinct that shares a building with the Middleton
Town Hall.

Photo contributed

K9 Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the

Dane County Sheriffs Office
K9 Team, assists with these expenses.
Deputy ONeil and Hunter

leave serving as an example to

future K9 deputies as to the excellence and dedication they
should strive for, said Elise
Schaffer, public information officer for the sheriffs office.
We wish them both a happy re-

tirement and are indebted to the

services they have provided to
the citizens of Dane County.
For information on how to
support the Dane County K9
Team, visit
www.danecountyk9.org.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 5

One artists journey

by DEB BiECHLER
Times-Tribune

As a child, Joni Goldman always wanted to be an artist. But

when her third grade teacher
said, You cant draw, Goldman thought she couldnt be
one.
In spite of that setback, Goldman was drawn to creating
things.
I made paper flowers, which
were a big thing in the 60s, and
sold them to my neighbors.
She made lanyards, tied
macrame knots, and at the age
of 13, learned to knit.
It wasnt until Goldman was
about 30 years old that she discovered outsider art and
began to collect it. The most famous outsider artist of the time
was Norman Finster.
I thought, these people are
just doing what they want,
Goldman remembers. They
were painting from their souls.
I knew that I could do that.
So I went to an art store and
told the person working that I
wanted to start painting on
wood. I asked, What do I
need?
Goldman was sold a box of
acrylic paints. There were both
primary and secondary colors in
the kit. She also bought a piece
of 4 x 6 wood.
The spare room in her home
became her studio. She experimented and played with color
and texture, continuing to be inspired by the outsider artists of
the time.
When a friend from Milwau-

SOLAR

kee visited her home - then in

Indianapolis - he walked into
the studio and asked, Is this
stuff for sale?
He commissioned her to
paint a 2 x 2 foot square painting, which she sold to him for
$30.
That sale gave me the confidence to go forward, said
Goldman.
Not long after that, Goldman
began to paint on wooden furniture and boxes. She showed the
owner of an art gallery in Indianapolis what she was doing.
That gallery, Artsy Fartsy, invited her to be their guest artist
at the Broadripple Art Fair, a juried show, that attracts artists
from around the country.
A gallery owner named Joy,
from Louisville, Kentucky,
came into the fair booth and invited me to do a one woman
show at her gallery, Sister Dragonfly. I was a sales rep at the
time so it took me a while to
create enough for a show.
The shows theme was Calling All Angels. Every piece included an angel. Every piece
sold in the first night.
Goldman continued to exhibit her work at the Sister
Dragonfly Gallery in Louisville.
She also started applying to juried art fairs.
Sales at these events were
good. The fairs took her all over
the Midwest; Chicago, Minneapolis, Cleveland; Lexington
and Louisville in Kentucky;
South Haven and Kalamazoo,
Michigan; and in Wisconsin Milwaukee, Spring Green, Sheboygan, Appleton and Madi-

meet the demand of utility customers the city partnered with Madison
Gas & Electric to install solar panels
on the roof of the police station and
municipal operations center.
The solar array at the police station
will be used generate about 25 percent
of the buildings annual energy use
while the solar array atop the municipal
operations building provides solar energy to shareholders.
Im so pleased and proud to see
MGEs and the citys shared solar project has sold all its shares, said city administrator Mike Davis. This will be
the largest municipally-hosted solar
array in Wisconsin with 500 kWh generated. Its cost-effective and environmentally-friendly to be a sustainable
city.
The cost for those who bought
shares in the community solar project
included a one-time participation fee of

sons Art Fair On The Square.

In 2003, I felt that I was losing my edge as a painter and
was ready to quit the art fairs.
For me, it was about evolution.
I felt finished in the way that I
had been doing art and was
ready for something new.
As one chapter in her life as
an artist closed, another opened.
Goldman was introduced to
Very Special Arts (VSA) in Indianapolis.
VSA was founded by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith in
1974. It was first named the
National Committee - Arts for
the Handicapped. That name
changed to VSA in 2010. The
goal of the non-profit organization is to provide arts and education opportunities for people
with disabilities and increase
access to the arts for all.
To this day, working for
VSA in Indianapolis is my favorite working experience,
said Goldman.
I got to co-teach with people

$47.25 per solar blocks(1 block = 250

watts). Shareholders will pay a fixed
solar rate of $0.12 per kWh plus a reduced transmission charge of
$0.008/kWh for 25 years. MG&E estimates shareholders will see reduced
billsin 10 yearand payback in 17. Customers can also exit at anytime.
The 500 kW solar array on the municipal operations center cost MG&E
about $945,000 and will generate
648,240 kWh per year.
For the police station array the city
signed a 25 year lease on the solar panels owned by MG&E. MG&E invested
about $230,000 purchasing and installing the solar array. The city will
pay $12,579 annually to lease the panels and have an option to buy after five
years.
The solar panels will not reduce the
amount the city spends on electricity.
Rates will be roughly the same as

SCHOOLBOARD

rated high school.

Director of curriculum and
assessment MaryBeth Paulisse
explained to the board recent
changes to the states rating system and what the numbers mean
for the district.
Paulisse said the districts report card is similar to a students
report card. It evaluates student
achievement, student growth,
closing
gaps
and
graduation/post-secondary
readiness, but because of the
state implementing a new exam
it was difficult to compare prior
years to this year.
Paulisse said this years re-

Outsider artist and Middleton resident Joni Goldman.

Photo contributed

sults were compiled using

scores from the badger exam
taken two years ago and compares to forward exam taken
last year by students in 3-4
grades and 5-8 grades. She
notes that growth or achievement is weighted by demographics and socio-economic
status.
Students did not do as well
on forward exam, Paulisse
pointed out. That was a trend
statewide.
Superintendent
George
Mavroulis added that the tests
were very different. He said the
badger exam was much more

from all different artistic disciplines. There were potters, musicians, storytellers, dramatists,
and all kinds of painters. We
often collaborated on projects.
That enhanced the experience
for the students and for me.
Through VSA and also as a
volunteer, Goldman worked
with patients at Rileys Childrens Hospital. Working on art
helped to distract the children,
at least for a while, from why
they were there.
One of her most powerful experiences happened at a residential psychiatric treatment
center. It was a locked facility.
Several artists were collaborating with the kiddos to create
a play. There were two dimensional and three dimensional
artists creating sets, a storyteller
who helped the patients write
the play, and a yoga teacher
helping with movement.
The kids were between ages
seven and seventeen. There
was one young lady, around 14
or 15 years old who didnt talk.
She physically could speak, but
because of the trauma in her
life, chose not to. She hadnt
talked for a very long time.
Her role was to create background posters. I kept praising
her. She was doing great work,
but never spoke.
The production was very uplifting. Families and staff came
to it and celebrated with a cake
and party afterward.
At the end, I went to this girl
and said, It was such a pleasure
to work with you. She looked
right at me and said, Thank
you. I still think about that girl

being on the grid.

Abby Attoun-Tucker, Director of
Community Development, led the initiative on the project. She says the demand was so high for shares in he
project that about a fifth of the applicants had to be turned away.
The community solar project allows
more people the choice to use solar energy who might not be able to set up
their own array, Attoun says.
A lot of people cant do a project on
their own roof because they have a lot
of large trees or the slope of their roof
is angled appropriately for solar and if
you go to a small project like a 5 kW
on your own roof you are going to pay
a lot more per kW than you would if
you are going and doing a very large
600 kW installation like MG&E is
doing, Attoun said. They are able to
get much better pricing because just
setup of getting contractors there to in-

similar to the assessment tests

used by the district.
Board member Todd Smith
said he wanted to hear more
about why the districts graduation rate was lower than the
state average.
The one place that our score
is below the state average is in
the graduation [rate], Smith
said. That is a place I would
like to hear more about because
it directly relates to the district
goals we spent so much time
developing.
Mavroulis said there will be
a presentation coming up that
will address strategies the dis-

Earlier this month Middleton Outreach Ministrys Create

For A Cause Holiday Art Fair featured keychain beading kits
made by the Boys and Girls Club After School Beaders. Sales
from the event benefit both MOM and the Club. Some of the
teachers jewelry will be donated for the sale as well.
Goldman can be reached at 608-957-4788 to make an appointment to view her work. She is also interested in selling her
jewelry at a local business and welcomes invitations to that end.
Anyone interested in volunteering with the beading club at the
Boys and Girls Club can contact Jan Fulfiller at 608-347-3195.
and hope that things turned out
all right for her.
Now that Goldman lives in
Middleton, she occasionally
works as a teaching artist for
VSA in Madison. Her latest
class is a 10 week session for
seniors on jewelry-making.
Jewelry-making is Goldmans latest incarnation as an
artist. This phase started a year
ago when her neighbor, Jan Fulwiler invited Goldman to assist
with an after school beading
class at the Boys and Girls club
in Fitchburg.
With her experience as a
teaching artist, and always loving to learn new modes of art,
Goldman jumped at the chance.
At first she learned along with
the students from the many
other women who were volunteering.
One day, the teachers drove
to Diakonos Designs, a bead
shop in Stoughton. The owner,
Becky, showed the group how
to make a particular kind of
bracelet. I was hooked in that
moment.
As a self-taught painter,
Goldman had to be a problem
solver. By solving the problems

stall a project as well as purchasing the

panels in bulk you get a much reduced
cost by doing it that way.
Attoun says the project is a great
model and can serve as an example to
other communities that want renewable
energy.
There are other communities now,
as well as Dane County, kind of reaching out to MG&E in the hopes that they
can get a similar project in their community, Attoun said. We think it is
great because the more people that are
doing solar the better as far as sustainability efforts for the city. Were glad
to see it is reaching other communities
as well.
Attoun says shes spoke with Dane
County and Green Tier Legacy Communities group, both of which are trying to come up with similar projects.
The shared solar project is a response to the public input sessions held

trict is using to address the low

graduation rate. He also reminded Smith the data the report card was using was already
two years old an doesnt account for recent changes including district policies to create
more paths to graduation.
Board member Kurt Karbusicky said considering that tests
have changed in the last few
years and its hard to draw conclusions why should board
members care about the results.
Mavroulis said it does not so
much impact Middleton but can
hugely impact property values
and open enrollment in smaller

of a piece, she made it her own,

even if the inspiration came
from elsewhere. Its the same
with jewelry-making.
Some of Goldmans beads
come from Japan, the Czech
Republic, India, Russia, and
Thailand. Theres a whole family of beads known as an
African Trade Beads.
African trade beads are from
all over the world, but were
traded in African countries for
other goods. They can be from
100 to 600 years old. Just think
of all of the places that these
beads have been and the people
who have handled them, Goldman invites.
Right now, Goldman is selling her jewelry through a
gallery in Indianapolis, and to
friends and family. She considers herself to still be in the infancy of this process and is
constantly experimenting.
That said, she jokes, Im
still open to phone calls and and
glad to sell what Ive made so
far. Ive had a friend help to design hang-tags and cards, but I
dont have an online presence
yet.
continued from page 1

by MG&E last year, Attoun says. Hundreds of customers said they wanted to
see more solar and renewable energy
being implemented, she explains, It is
good that they are listening to people.
Attoun says the array on the police
station will meet the goal of the citys
25 by 25 resolution to have 25% of its
energy from renewable by 2025 for
that building. And for a reasonable
cost.
Were going to get that project at a
much reduced cost than what it would
have cost us to go at it alone, Attoun
noted.
Already there have been discussions
between MG&E and the city about another large community solar project,
Attoun says: We are hopeful that
[MG&E] will do another project now
in Middleton now that theyve seen
there is quite a bit of demand for this
kind of project.

rural communities throughout

the state.
Community and media relations person Perry Hibner said
on one hand you dont want to
focus on the test, rather focus on
the education and good test results will just happen. But he
added, Lets not be naive,
when people are shopping in
Dane County they are looking
at the destination districts.
Assistant
Superintendent
Sherri Cyra presented the latest
data to the board on enrollment
based on gender, ethnicity,
socio-economic status, special

continued from page 1

education and limited English

proficiency from 2011-12 to the
present.
Students who are eligible for
free-or-reduced lunch dropped
by one percent and there were
fewer new students last year,
which means fewer students
were leaving the district. There
are fewer white students in
2015-16 than there were in
2011-12 which indicates growth
among sub-groups. Cyra said
shift occurred primarily at the
elementary schools and hasnt
aged into the middle or high
school level yet.

GAMES

PAGE 6

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

continued from page 1

Want to unplug and have a great time with your friends? Im Board has the perfect answer, according to shop owner Bryan
Winter (above).

Times-Tribune photos by Matt Geiger

With all these options, there

is a good chance youll leave
converted to the world of gaming.
Were like game evangelist, jokes Bryan Winter, the
shops good-natured owner.
Dont be surprised if you
walk through the door and say,
I never knew there were so
many board games! he ex-

plains. We hear that a lot. And

dont be afraid to ask for our advice.
Winter is not a Luddite, but
he does embrace the pleasure
and edification that can be derived from tabletop games and
the real-world social interactions they help facilitate.
While I have no issues with
online interaction and gaming,

sometimes you need to unplug,

interact and reconnect, Winter
explains. The games we sell
embrace that philosophy. From
silly party games to deep thinking strategy games, we like to
think we have something for
every table and every group of
players.
Sometimes I hear people
saying that they dont like to
play games, he continues.
What they are probably actually saying is they dont like to
play Monopoly. What a lot of
people do not realize is that
there is a huge assortment of
these specialty games for all

ages and interested, things that

you generally dont find at the
big box stores, that provide a
much more rewarding and fun
experience than the types of
board games many of us grew
up with.
Im Board originally opened
on the other side of Middleton
Sport Bowl in a smaller location, and after three years
moved to its currently location
with double the space.
Winter has been involved in
just about every aspect of the
specialty games industry over
the years - from working as the
game specialist in a hobby shop

during college, to manufacturing and distribution.

I was even a full time game
designer for several years in the
90s, Winter says. During the
late 90s I moved to a more
regular career in web marketing, but always wanted to get
back to what I love. So I took
the chance and gave up the corporate job security and went
back to retail with my own
shop.
Winter said ample research
went into choosing the Good
Neighbor City for Im Board.
I spent about a year working
on my business plan, and all the

indicators pointed to Middleton

as the best place to start, he
says. So far thats seemed like
the correct decision!
Sharing a strip mall with popular destinations including
Willy West co-operative and
Amber Indian Cuisine, foot traffic inside the store gives it a
bustling vibe.
It must be nice for Winter,
who has enjoyed games as long
as he can remember.
Some of my earliest memories are playing board games
with my family and friends, he
says. This niche industry was
born in the 70s, when I was a
youngster, and Ive grown up
right along with it.
And while seasoned gamers
will find plenty to like at Im
Board, newcomers wont feel
intimidated. There are game
that range from fun, brief and
casual to serious, lengthy and
laden with lore.
We really do hit every market, says Winter. Little kids
looking for Pokemon cards,
parents looking for ways to get
everyone - even themselves off the screens for a bit, homeschoolers, young adults looking
for fun ways to spend the
evening, couples looking to
play a game after the kids go to
sleep, players of all types gathering to play in one of our
events.
We do have a big game
room in the back and a library
of games to try out, and even if
we have an event going on there
is usually space to come in and

CHURCH NOTES

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 7

Follow Rob
Reischel on
Twitter at
@robreischel

Middleton
KOs Verona

Times-Tribune photos by Mary Langenfeld

Hannah Flottmeyer (above) and Bria Lemirande (right) helped Middletons girls basketball
team roll past Verona Tuesday night.

Cardinals notch big early season win

by ROB REiSCHEL
Times-Tribune

Angie Murphy knows a

thing or two about championship teams.
Murphy led Verona to the
2016 WIAA Division 1 girls
basketball title in March. And
as Murphy left Middleton High
School Tuesday evening, she
realized her Wildcats might
have just faced their eventual
successors.
Middleton, ranked fourth in
the latest wissports.net poll,
dominated the defending
champs from start to finish and
posted an impressive 58-38
win. The Cardinals improved
to 5-0 both overall and in the
Big Eight Conference, while
eighth-ranked Verona fell to 41, 5-2.
I think they do, Murphy
said when asked if the
Cardinals have the look of a
championship team. They
have a target on their back and
that was us last year.
Theres no doubt, 2015-16
was the year of the Wildcats.
Verona used its rare blend of
size, skill and experience to
become the Big Eights first

state champion since Janesville

Parker in 2001. Perhaps the
2016-17 Cardinals will make
it two in a row for the league.
Middleton certainly gave a
championship performance in
dismantling the Wildcats.
The Cardinals used a 36-9
run during the middle portion
of the game to turn a 14-all tie
into a 50-23 bludgeoning.
Senior guard Bria Lemirande
had 19 points and eight
rebounds, while senior forward
Alexis Thomas and senior
guard Alyssa Lemirande both
added 10 points.
Middleton also forced 26
Verona turnovers and outrebounded the Wildcats, 30-24.
This was really big, Bria
Lemirande said of beating
Verona. Every Verona game is
really big for us, but this one
was really big. Its a really
good win.
Since Verona joined the Big
Eight in 2008, there has been
just one season where the
Cardinals or Wildcats didn't
win the league. Instead, the two
have dominated the conference
and typically battle each other
for league supremacy.
This year was expected to

be much of the same. But

Middleton might have shown
Tuesday theres a gap between
it and the rest of the conference.
They definitely showed
that theyre an experienced
team and our newbies struggled with that, Murphy said.
They really took control of the
game. Theyre a very good
team and they just get in those
runs.
The teams were tied, 14-14,
when Middleton went on a 100 run over a 5 minute stretch
midway through the first half.
Bria Lemirande started the
fun with a three-pointer, then
Alyssa Lemirande attacked the
lane
and
scored.
Bria
Lemirande had a steal and went
coast-to-coast for a lay-up, then
Alexis Thomas buried a threepointer.
During the Cardinals burst,
they held Verona scoreless on
eight straight possessions and
forced five Wildcats turnovers.
We had some spurts in
there, Middleton coach Jeff
Kind said. In the course of the
game, well usually get a couple of those. As long as we take
GiRLS BB, page 15

2016 was one to remember

PAGE 8

Sensational sports seasons

have become the norm inside
Middletons athletic department.
The Cardinals have reached
new heights in several sports.
And in those where Middleton
has been successful, its now
dominant.
Things werent any different
in 2016, as the Cardinals shined
in countless sports once again.
Heres one persons look at
the top-10 Middleton sports stories of the year.
The second half of the list is
published here.
The first half will be in the
Dec. 29 edition of the Middleton
Times-Tribune.

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

Rob
Reischel

6. Boys cross country

team runs down dreams

The last time Middletons

boys cross country team had a
top-three finish at state was in
1992. The Cardinals changed
that this fall.
Middleton finished third at
the state meet behind only
Madison West and Hartland Arrowhead. Based on sectional

times, the Cardinals were tabbed

to finish fifth in the team standings.
I was really proud of the
team, Middleton coach Brian
Finnel said. They battled out
there and gave it their best effort. Third place is pretty darn
impressive.
We were coming in ranked
fifth, so for the fourth straight
year we improved our ranking at
the state meet. We set some lofty
goals to start the season, but
ended up just a bit short. The
important thing is they were determined to give it their all and
they did.
Cardinals senior standout Gus
2016, page 10

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

File photo

M i d d l e t o n s
cross
boys
country team
finished third
at state, the
schools highest
finish
since
1992.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 9

PAGE 10

n 2016

Newcomb agreed.
Coming into the weekend,
people thought of us as more of
a fifth place team, but having
beaten the No. 1 team (Madison
West) earlier and only lost to
them by three points the week
before we thought we were far
better, Newcomb said. We
were disappointed with third,
but most of all happy to be able
to come out of our sectional
alive and run at state.
Newcomb led the way with a

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

fifth place finish. Middleton

junior Jack Rader was 11th, junior Sam Jaeger was 25th, sophomore Caleb Easton was 28th
and freshman Braedon Gilles
was 97th.
State was a great experience
for this team and I hope it gets
the younger guys hungry to be
here in the future, Finnel said.
I dont think there's going to be
too many teams returning five
guys who ran at the state meet
and eight of (their) top 10.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

continued from page 8

I want to keep things rolling

here as best as possible. Winning is contagious and I think
putting high expectations rubs
off on the guys on the whole
team.

7. Meicher hoists gold

They call him Ice.

Calm. Composed. Cool. Collected.
2016, page 11

File photo

Middleton
freshman
K e v i n
Meicher won
a state title at
126 pounds.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

n 2016

Youd never know that Middleton wrestler Kevin Meicher

was a freshman.
Meicher certainly didnt act
his age at the WIAA Division 1
state tournament. Instead, the
poised and unruffled Meicher
acted several years older.
Meicher stunned the field and
won a state championship at 126
pounds. Meicher defeated topranked and defending state
champion Justin Folley of
Wauwatosa West/East, 9-8, in
Saturdays finals at the UW
Kohl Center.
On the states biggest stage,

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 11

continued from page 10

Ice refused to melt.

Im surprised, said Meicher, who finished the season
with a 43-3 record. My goal
has always been to win four
state championships since I
dont even know when, kindergarten.
When I came here and wrestled the older guys here, I just
knew I wanted to be here one
day and win as many as I could.
Being my freshman year, its
pretty good.
Pretty good is a major understatement.
Middleton has had just one
state champion in its lengthy
history. That was Ben Brummel,
who won a title at 171 pounds in
2009.
Meicher notched No. 2 in
what became a remarkable
freshman season.
He said he wanted to be a
four-time champ and you cant
do it if you dont win the first
one, Middleton coach Kent
Weiler said. Good for him. He
worked hard. He came from a
young boy in eighth grade last
year in the summer and you saw
him turn into a man.
Meicher entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed, while
Folley was a prohibitive favorite
in the finals. But Meicher surprised many by upending Folley.
It feels great, Meicher said.
To knock off the defending
state champion feels pretty
good.
I didnt think about him
being a defending state champ.
I just thought of him as another
wrestler. It was just another
match, the same as wrestling in
the wrestling room. So I just focused on what Im good at on
the mat and controlled him
throughout the whole match.

8. Baseball Cards
bounce back

Losing isnt the norm inside

Middletons baseball program.
And the Cardinals certainly
werent going to let it become
the new standard.
Middleton, one of the states
2016, page 12

Middletons baseball team (top) and boys volleyball team (above) both qualified for the state tournament in 2016.

File photos

PAGE 12

n 2016

elite programs for more than

two decades, struggled through
an uncharacteristic 10-16 season
in 2015. But the Cardinals
bounced back in 2016, went 226 overall, and reached the
WIAA Division 1 state tournament for the 10th time since
1995.
Middleton eventually fell to
Green Bay Preble in the state
quarterfinals a game in
which ace pitcher Alec Morrison left the game after just six
pitches after he was struck in the
head with a line drive.
Still, it was a memorable year
for all of the Cardinals.
For them to lose and have a
losing record (in 2015) and then
be able to turn it around, thats a
lot of determination and hard
work, Middleton manager Tom
Schmitt said. Only eight teams
out of 96 get here and we were
one of them. Theres only going
to be one team thats truly
happy.
After slumping to eighth
place in the Big Eight in 2015,
the Cardinals finished third in
2016 and went 13-5 in the conference.
It was a great year and Im
really proud of all these guys,
Cardinals senior standout Drew
Finley Haag said. It was a real
struggle (in 2015), and Im just
really happy that we were able
to make it here with all these
guys.

9. Boys spikers
keep on rolling

The names and faces change

each August. The results rarely
do.
Middletons boys volleyball
team continued its dominance of
the Big Eight Conference
and the area. The Cardinals won
the conference title for the 10th
time in 11 years and reached the
state tournament for a fourth
consecutive year.
Middletons memorable season ended in the state semifinals
with a four-set loss to Waukesha
Catholic Memorial.
For me to complain or
whine, there are going to be
teams saying, We'd love to go
four years in a row, Middleton
coach Ben White said. It's great
we've created a culture and expectation that we're going to
state.
Middleton has reached the
state tournament nine times
since 2002. The Cardinals are
also 115-4 in Big Eight Conference dual meets since the start
of 2006.

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

continued from page 11

We're a pretty young team
and have a lot of pieces that can
bring this team back next year,
White said. Their goal this year
and next year is to play on that
last day. We've said that all year
we wanted to start on the first
day and play on the last day. As
I get older and have coached
long enough, I know you don't
take (getting to state) for granted
and just enjoy the moment, because you don't know when
you'll be back.

10. Boys basketball

team nabs title

Middletons boys basketball

team had gone 15 years without
winning at least a share of the
Big Eight Conference title. The
Cardinals put an end to that
drought in 2015-16.
Middleton, Sun Prairie and
Madison Memorial all tied for
the leagues top spot with 14-4
conference records. Madison
Memorial claimed a share of its
13th straight conference title,
Sun Prairie shared the league
title for the second time in four
years and Middleton ended the
longest drought of the trio.
Middleton had a chance to
win an outright conference title,
but lost to Janesville Craig in the
regular season finale.
Its bittersweet, said Middleton junior forward Tyree
Eady. We should have won
tonight and we wouldnt have
had to share conference. Im
frustrated, certainly not satisfied. There are two teams we
have to share it with now, but I
still think were the best team.
Cardinals guard C.J. Fermanich agreed.
You go back to the start of
the year and I dont think anyone thought wed do this, Fermanich said. But as the year
went along, it became clear that
we could win it.
It doesnt feel great right
now, but this is the best league
in the state. So someday Im
sure well appreciate it more
than we do right now.
Two weeks later, the Cardinals fell to Madison West in a
regional final. Still, it was a
memorable year for the program.
We feel good but not satisfied, Eady said of the season.
Ive played with these guys for
three years ever since my freshman year here and next year Im
coming back with a mindset that
I dont want to lose any more
games and just grind.

File photo

C.J. Fermanich and Middletons boys basketball team won a share of the Big Eight Conference title last season for the first time
in 15 years.

SPORtS BRiEFS

MBSC registration

The Middleton Baseball and

Softball Commission (MBSC)
will begin online registration
for the 2017 season on Jan. 1,
2017. Youth baseball and softball players who wish to play in
any of the MBSC recreational
or competitive programs in
2017 may register on the
MBSC
website
at
www.mbscwi.com.

Program descriptions and

league director contact information is available on the
MBSC website. Registration
will continue through February
for competitive programs and
through May for recreational
programs.
Evaluations for competitive
baseball teams are scheduled
for March 4, 5 and 11, while
evaluations for competitive
softball programs will be held

on March 12 and 19.

Boys spikers honored

Middletons boys volleyball

team received the WIAAs
Sportsmanship Award for the
2016 fall state championship.
Middleton reached the state
tournament for a fourth consecutive year, before losing in the
quarterfinals to Waukesha
Catholic Memorial.

Middleton is coached by
Ben White.

Bowling scores

Middleton Ladies
Verelene Morris 509, Cindy
Hall 505, Frayne Born 481,
Cathy Matts 479.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 13

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n GiRLS BB

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

care of the ball, well be OK.

By halftime, Middleton had
pushed its lead to 34-21. Bria
Lemirande had 14 first half
points on 6-of-8 shooting and
added seven rebounds, while

Thomas had all 10 of her points

on 5-of-6 shooting.
I tend to come out kind of
slow in games, Lemirande
said. But I told myself to
come out strong and then you

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

dont have to worry about picking it up the rest of the game.

I thought we had really
good passing and were really
unselfish. And I thought our
defense was really good com-

pared to some other Verona

games.
Middletons defense was
especially good on Verona senior standout Alex Luehring.
While the 6-foot-2 Luehring
had 15 points, the UW-Green
Bay recruit shot just 7-of-23.
We were really focused on
defending
Luehring,
Lemirande said. She still had

PAGE 15

a good game, but we shut her

down pretty good.
Middleton continued to pile
it on in the second half, smacking the Wildcats with a 16-2
run in the first 8:20 to pull
away.
Bria Lemirande and Claire
Staples both had five points in
that burst, while Alyssa
Lemirande had four and

continued from page 7

Charlotte Dunn added two.

Middletons defense in that
stretch was also sublime, as it
held Verona to 1-of-9 shooting
and forced eight Wildcats
turnovers. And when the
Cardinals flurry was over, they
held a commanding 50-23 lead.
Weve got a lot to work
on, Murphy said. But one
thing that shouldnt need work
is your focus and your effort.
That was some of the things I
was disappointed in.
Kind and his Cardinals were
on the other end of the spectrum, though, and headed to the
holidays on a high.
Veronas going to win their
share of games for sure, Kind
said. So Im pretty happy
where were at.
On deck: Middleton hosts
Janesville Parker Thursday at
7:30 p.m.
The Cardinals then face
Franklin in the first round of
the Franklin Tournament on
Dec. 27 at noon.

Dec. 20
Middleton 58, Verona 38
Verona .............................. 21 17 38
Middleton ........................ 34 24 58
VERONA Bainbridge 4 0-0 9,
James 1 0-0 2, Kundinger 1 0-0 2,
Luehring 7 0-0 15, Mitchell 2 0-2 5,
Mueller 1-2 1, Schachte 1 0-0 2,
Schraufnagel 2-2 2. Totals 16 3-6 38.
MIDDLETON Anderson 1 0-0
3, Bursac 1 0-0 2, Dunn 2 0-0 4,
Flottmeyer 0 0-2 0, A. Lemirande 5 0-0
10, B. Lemirande 8 0-0 19, Staples 3 00 7, Thomas 4 1-2 10, White 1 0-0 3.
Totals 25 1-4 58.
3-point goals MID 7 (Anderson
1, B. Lemirande 3, Staples 1, Thomas 1,
White 1), V 3 (Bainbridge 1, Luehring 1,
Mitchell 1). Total fouls MID 6, V 6.

Hockey Cards fall

PAGE 16

by ROB REiSCHEL
Times-Tribune

Middletons hockey team

dropped a 3-2 overtime game
at Janesville last Thursday.
Janesvilles Tyler Kulas
scored the game-winning goal
3 minutes, 27 seconds into
overtime.
The season has started off
on kind of a rocky note, said
Middleton coach Steffon
Walby, whose team fell to 2-2

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

M iDDLEtOn
R OUnDUP

on the year. Some of the

things that were working diligently to correct are our overall
game preparation as well as our
willingness to compete and
lead at a high level.
Middleton trailed, 1-0,
when Troy Reisteck scored on
an assist from Justin Engelkes

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016

with just 12 seconds left in the

first period to even things up.
It stayed that way until the
third period when Engelkes
scored at 7:16 to give
Middleton a 2-1 advantage. But
Janesvilles Ty Perkins tied
things up at 9:44, then Perkins
assisted on Kulass game-winner.
Transferring the information from practices to the game
is part of our headache right
now, Walby said. Our team
knows the systems and the
expectations. Theyre just having a hard time putting them
into a consistent game effort.

Janesville 3, Middleton 2 (OT)

Janesville .... 1 0 1 13
Middleton ...... 1 0 1 02
First Period: JNolan Frederick
(Ty Perkins, Baily Aegerter), pp, 9:24.
MTroy Reisteck (Justin Engelkes),
16:48.
Third Period: MEngelkes, 7:16.
JPerkins, 9:44.
JTyler
Kulas
Overtime:
(Perkins), 3:27.
SavesJack Bostedt (J) 35, David
Vodenlich (M) 42.

Boys
basketball:
Middleton rolled past Verona,
79-42, last Thursday. The
Cardinals improved to 5-1
overall and 4-1 in the Big Eight
Conference.
Cardinals senior forward
Tyree Eady led all scorers with
20 points. Senior guard C.J.
Fermanich and senior wing
Myron Ashford Jr. both added
11 points.
The Cardinals built a 37-18
halftime lead and cruised

Times-Tribune photo by Mary Langenfeld

Ben Jackson and Middletons boys basketball team notched two impressive wins last week.

home.

Verona ...... 18 24 42
Middleton .... 37 42 79
VERONA Buss 1 0-0 2,
Clements 1 3-4 5, Fink 2 0-0 4, Golden
2-2 2, Gonzales 1 0-0 3, McClure 3-4 3,
Pederson 5 0-0 12, Reiber 2 0-0 4,
VanHandel 3 0-2 7. Totals 15 8-14 42.
MIDDLETON Ashford 4 1-2 11,
Eady 7 2-4 20, Fermanich 4 1-1 11,
Jackson 2 0-0 4, Michaels 1 0-0 2,
Roden 2 0-0 4, Roquet 2 0-0 5, Sigmon
2 0-0 6, Smith 2 0-0 4, Ticknor 2 0-0 5,
Wipfli 1 1-1 3, Lewis 2-2 2, Francesco 1
0-0 2. Totals 30 7-10 79.
3-point goals MID 12 (Ashford 2,
Eady 4, Fermanich 2, Roquet 1, Sigmon
2, Ticknor 1), V 4 (Gonzales 1, Pederson
2, VanHandel 1). Total fouls MID 13,
V 11.

Boys
swimming:
Middleton cruised in a triple

dual last Tuesday.

The Cardinals defeated Sun
Prairie, 245-84, and rolled past
Madison East, 279-44.
Middletons 200-yard medley relay team of Archer
Parkin, Tommy McGovern,
Luke Delaney and Gunnar
Kunsch was first.
The Cardinals foursome of
Nate Lamers, Nathan Kim,
Archer Parkin and Michael
Draves was first. And
Middletons quartet of Sam
Young, Erick Grelle, Isaac
Hanson and Michael Draves
won the 400-yard freestyle
relay.
Middleton also got wins

from Draves in the 200-yard

IM and 100-yard butterfly,
Grelle in the 50-yard freestyle,
Lamers in the 200-yard
freestyle and the 100-yard
backstroke, Nathan Kim in the
100-yard freestyle, Chris
George in the 500-yard
freestyle, and Jack Mondi in
the 100-yard breaststroke.
On deck: Middleton hosts
Janesville Parker Thursday at
5:30 p.m., then is off until Jan.
6 when it travels to the
Janesville Craig triple dual.