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The Middleton Common Council

has approved the citys 2015 budget.The total General Fund operating

budget totals $23,381,509. The city

will levy property taxes for$16,202,879 and use non-levy sources

to cover the other $7,178,630. Themill rate will increase by 6.56%.

The 2015 budget process was over-all very smooth, according to the coun-

cil majority. The council authorizedthe budget for publication in just one

meeting and set a public hearing. Onlytwo residents appeared at the public

hearing asking the city to reducespending.

Ald. Gurdip Brar was the only mem-ber of the council to express major con-

cerns before the final vote.Brar pointed out the steady increase

of the mill rate from year to year andasked why the city could not use the

budget process it used in years prior.City Administrator Mike Davis re-

sponded by explaining that the biggestincrease in the 2015 budget was the

citys debt payment.TIF District #3 was originally

scheduled to close out in 2020, whichwould have stopped all spending for

TID #3 in 2015 and brought an influxof cash to handle an increase in debt

service. Because of the expected de-crease in spending, the debt payment

VOL. 122, NO. 49 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2014 SINGLE COPY PRICE: $1.25

www.MiddletonTimes.com

Inside this issue:Local: School: Sports:

Education Foundation hands

out 10 grants. Page 6Kromrey Middle School

honor roll. Page 7Big year for wrestlers? Page11

Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Entertainment . . . . . . . . . 6

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . 18

See BUDGET, page 5

Times-Tribune photo by Jeff Martin

Tis the Season

While those behind the event have changed, the annual holiday tree lighting remains a special tradition in the City of Middleton. With the DowntownMiddleton Business Association no longer sponsoring the tree lighting, volunteer Pat Adler stepped up and put together a great day-long programon Saturday, November 22. Above, city administrator Mike Davis carols in front of City Hall with members of the Madison Chamber Choir. To seeimages from Santas visit, turn to page 2.

Should city extend early voting hours?

The City of Middletons Committeeof the Whole discussed and made rec-

ommendations to the Common Coun-cil to extend the citys early voting

hours. Middleton residents who volun-teered to help others register appeared

at the meeting to point out the differ-ence a few extra hours could make.

I strongly support extending voting

hours for the two weeks prior to theelection, said resident and poll

worker Rose Sime. When I called thecity clerks office to urge them to ex-

tend hours I was told that nobody hadcomplained so there was no need to.

Many of us in Middleton spent anumber of volunteer hours registering

at least 50 people who could not get tocity hall during the normal 7:30 to 4:30

hours, Sime added. Many of thesepeople are mobile so they must register

each time they go to vote, also many ofthese people have two jobs.

We were very proud that ourturnout was 75% of registered voters,

Sime noted. It is my understandingthat the turnout in Sun Prairie was 80%

of registered voters and they did haveextended early voting hours.

In order for the city to provide ex-tended hours a part time deputy clerk

would have to be hired in a limitedterm employment position. Current

staff are already working overtime dur-ing the early voting period. The com-

mittee also considered purchasinganother voting machine to be placed at

another location in order to alleviatethe work staff at city must do to submit

absentee and early voting ballots.Clearly we need another polling

place, said common council presidentSusan West. If we do have extend

hours, we need another voting machine

City budget approved

Armed man robs

Klinke Cleaners

At 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, No-

vember 26, Middleton Police re-sponded to a reported armed robbery at

the Klinke Cleaners located at 1003North Gammon Road in the City of

Middleton.A lone suspect entered the store,

confronted the clerk and displayed ahandgun that was tucked into his pants

waistband. The suspect demandedmoney and was given the proceeds in

the cash drawer. He then demandedadditional money and was given the

proceeds from the drive-up windowcash drawer.

The suspect then ordered the clerk tokneel on the floor and to wait five min-

utes before calling police. He then left

City of Middleton tax rate will rise 6.56%by CAMERON BREN

Times-Tribune

by CAMERON BREN

Times-Tribune

See VOTING, page 6

Jewelry store

burgled Monday,

two men arrested

On Monday, Dec. 1 at 4:45 a.m., the

Middleton Police Department receiveda report of a burglary in progress at

Chalmers Jewelers located at 6202University Avenue.

An alert neighbor observed thecrime in progress, called police, and

provided a last known direction of

travel for the suspects. Responding of-ficers arrived within minutes of the calland observed the suspects entering a

vehicle at a property adjacent toChalmers Jewelers.

Upon seeing officers, the suspectsfled on foot and after a short foot pur-

suit two out of the three suspects weretaken into custody.

James D. Thompson, 26, of Madi-son and Dewayne Williams, 39, of

Fitchburg were both arrested in refer-ence to this incident and were taken to

See BURGLARY, page 6

See ROBBERY, page 6


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PAGE 2 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2014

Santa Claus comes to town

Times-Tribune photo by Jeff Martin

Santa Claus took some time out of his busy schedule Nov. 22 to visit Middleton City Hall. Clockwise from top left:Harvey Tucker, age 16 months, enjoys a cookie while sitting on Santa's lap; Abigail Barker, age 4, visits with Santa;Peyton Ballweg, age 7 months, has a first visit with Santa.


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Staff members to receive grants in-cluded Clark Street Community

Schools Jason Pertzborn, Elm LawnsCasey Harrod and John Becker, Gla-

cier Creeks Pamela Anderson andEmily Hutchison, Middleton High

Schools Caitlin Farrell and TamaraWeisbrod, Northsides Sara Whirry,

Sauk Trails Paige Bessick andStephanie Spence and West Middle-

tons Diane Boles and Nicholas Smith.In addition, Gabrielle Hinahara, the di-

rector of the Youth Center, also re-ceived a grant.

It is a great thing that the Founda-tion is doing, and it is so much fun to

being involved and see the joy in therecipients faces, said Dan Geocaris,

who drove the grant tours bus bothtimes in 2014.

The Foundation handed out $7,335as part of its fall cycle. That total in-

cluded a $1,250 grant sponsored by theState Bank of Cross Plains, a $750

grant sponsored by Monsanto and a$250 grant sponsored by an anony-

mous donor. It is the second consecu-tive year State Bank of Cross Plains

and Monsanto have sponsored grants.The Foundation has handed out

nearly $20,000 since it begin issuing

grants in 2013. Since its inception in

2011, the Foundation has also raisedmore than $150,000 for its endowment

fund though Madison CommunityFoundation.

It is such a thrill to be able to dis-tribute funds so generously contributed

by our donors to some of our manyamazing teachers for inspiring and ex-

citing programs for students through-out our school district, Foundation

board chair Courtney Ward-Reichardsaid. I am so looking forward to see-

ing the results of these many diverseinitiatives.

If you would like to contribute to the

Foundations endowment fund, pleasevisit the MCF website. If you would

like to sponsor a grant during thespring 2015 cycle, please e-mail Foun-

dation executive director Perry Hibneror call him at 829-9014.

The 2-hour, 30-minute yellow bustour included stops at all of the schools.

More than 20 MHS band membersplayed On Wisconsin and another

song in each of the schools beforeWard-Reichard presented each recipi-

ent with flowers donated by Coppsand a certificate.

This was the bands best perform-

ance yet, said Stephanie Moen-Mueller, a Foundation board member

who helps coordinate the band partici-pants. Such a good thing, giving away

money but the band is what makesit fun!

Other Foundation board members

who attended part or all of the celebra-tion included Superintendent DonJohnson, Ellen Lindgren and Jeff

Roepsch. Middleton Chamber of Com-merce executive director Van Nutt also

attended for part of the day.Pertzborn received a $1,250 grant to

help students learn how to write re-sumes and cover letters, apply for jobs,

interview for positions, receive pay-checks, learn about W-2 and W-4

forms and prepare personal budgets. Itis the second grant he has received

from the Foundation. This grant wasfunded by the State Bank of Cross

Plains.Harrod, a first-grade teacher, re-

ceived a $300 grant to purchase books

for below benchmark students with thegoal of helping the readers reach LevelH or higher by the end of the school

year.Becker received a $600 grant to hire

experienced professional musicians towork all day with students in the

spring. Students will learn about musi-cal, cultural and dance traditions in

jazz with strong African, Caribbeanand South American influences, culmi-

nating in an all-school concert. This isthe second grant he has received from

the Foundation.I am very excited to get going on

this project and all of our Elm Lawnstudents will benefit in a powerful

way, he said. Thanks, too, for the sur-prise of it and for the high school band

sharing their music throughout ourschool. I heard all day from the stu-

dents about the band playing andmarching through school. They really

enjoyed that, and it was great send-offto the Thanksgiving weekend.

Anderson received $350 to provideopportunities for Glacier Creeks re-

cently formed Gay-Straight AllianceClub. She plans to use the funds to pro-

vide financial support for students ofneed who wish to attend workshops or

activities, along with supplies the club

may need.Hutchison received $775 to pur-

chase canvas and acrylic paint and hireartist Michael Owens to work with stu-

dents over two days as they developmurals with a simple, inspiring word.

The paintings will be displayed at Gla-cier Creek and around the District.

As strong as all of the applicationswere, the Foundations grant commit-

tee was very impressed with the qualityof the Baltimore Love Mural Project,

executive director Perry Hibner said.Farrell and Weisbrod received $310

to pay for postage for postcards that aresent home to families of MHS students

who are displaying positive behaviorsin the classroom and community. It is

the second grant the Foundation hasgiven to the MHS PBIS program.

Whirry received $1,000 to purchase

supplies for the schools SPLASH stu-

dent advisory program. Activities areheld monthly in small groups and in-

volve every student and staff member.Principal Roz Craney said this has cre-

ated a strong community of learningand encouraged students to be rolemodels.

The excitement this program hasgenerated has been fantastic, Hibner

said. Ive heard from many Northsideparents who say their children talk

about this more than anything else.Bessick and Spence received $250

to create a mural at the school withflags on a map representing the diverse

population of students and staff at SaukTrail. Two classroom discussions will

also be created for all teachers to use indiscussions about the mural.

Boles and Smith received $1,500 formaterials to help create a sustainable

cycle of composting, gardening andnutrition at West Middleton. Monsanto

provided $750 for this grant.Hinahara received $1,000 to pur-

chase eight digital cameras for an after-school Photography Club that will give

students the opportunity to learn aboutand practice photography. The Youth

Center meets every day for 2 hoursafter school at Clark Street Community

School and is open to all middle schoolstudents in the District.

In all, the grants should impactnearly 4,000 students across the Dis-

trict, Hibner said.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2014 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 3

Education Foundation hands out grants

by PERRY HIBNER

Middleton-Cross Plains Area School Dist.

MCPASD Education Foundation

handed out 10 grants to seven

schools and the Middleton Youth

Center as part of its second fall

bus tour on Tuesday, Nov. 25

Photos by Ruth Bachmeier and Perry Hibner

Top: Elm Lawn first-grade teacher Casey Harrod, who received a $300grant for level-reading books, celebrates with Foundation board chair Court-ney Ward-Reichard and District Superintendent Don Johnson.

Above: Clark Street Community School students celebrated after learningthat Jason Pertzborn received a $1,250 grant sponsored by the State Bankof Cross Plains for an internship program.


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The Westport Board approved the2015 budget totaling $2,354,412 in a

special meeting of electors on Nov. 11.The $2.35 million that was approved

for the 2015 budget was a decreasefrom the 2014 budget, which was cal-

culated to be $2.424 Million.The Westport Board also heard an

update on the construction of the newPublic Works Facility during their

board meeting on Nov. 11, which now

has an estimated time for completionof the end of November.

The blocks all in, commentedboard Administrator Tom Wilson on

Nov. 11, they were out there workingtoday to put the hanger and hanging

material in.The construction of the facility has

been delayed by availability of materi-als as recently as October, in addition

to availability of construction sub-con-tractors.

Construction of the Public WorksFacility was initially approved by the

Westport Board in May of 2014, withan approved cost of $981,100 through

Fischl Construction.Westport voted unanimously to ap-

prove addition of the ongoing BishopsBay property to the Madison Munici-

pal Sewer District (MMSD), and to ap-prove Board Administrator Tom

Wilson to coordinate the addition.Its already near the service area,

commented board Administrator TomWilson, and I think we even added it

to our utility, it just hasnt been addedto MMSD yet.

The motion that was approved toallow the addition of the Bishops Bay

Property to the MMSD also specifiedthat the developers are responsible for

paying any costs associated with theaddition of the property to the MMSD.

The Westport Board also voted

unanimously to approve two operatorslicenses for employees working in the

township, heard committee reportsfrom board members, and paid the re-

maining bills prior to adjourning theboard until December.


Did city goof on storm water board?

The Middleton Committee of the

Whole had a discussion about themakeup of the soon-to-be-created

storm water utility board that will over-see and manage the new utility. Mid-

dleton voters passed a referendumallowing the city to create a storm

water utility in the last election on Nov.4.

The intention of the ordinance isthat the committees get to nominate

people to serve on the storm water util-ity board, said city attorney Larry

Bechler to the committee. Of coursethey still have to go through the mayor

and he has to submit the names to thecouncil to approve them.

As the ordinance lays out, threeboard members will come from Water

Resources Management Commission,one from Public Works Committee,

one from the Finance Committee, one

from Parks Recreation and ForestryCommission and one from Conser-vancy Lands Committee. Only one

member is required to be an alderper-son.

Bechler points out council memberswould have a one year term whereas

citizen members would serve a twoyear term. It will depend on who the

committees chose and whether or notthe mayor and common council ap-

prove them.The Committee of the Whole agreed

they would like to have appointees forthe utility board selected by the end of

the year. It was noted that it will be un-likely appointees will be approved by

the mayor and council unless there is asecond December meeting that would

conflict with the current holiday sched-ule.

The utility board will decide whatthe expenditures of the utility will be.

What cannot be funded by the collec-

tion of fees will be set aside for anothersource of funding. The first bills to res-idents are expected to go out around

April 1.I really think we goofed, and the

reason is because I think this needs apublic representation somewhere,

stated ald. Howard Teal. The peoplein the community that banded together

to get this passed and pushed this to thepublic I think it would be a slam in the

face to them if we do not have a citizenon the board for something as critical

as this.Teal said he apologized for his vote

in May that approved a board withouta citizen present. Other alders pointed

out that there are numerous citizens inthe different committees that could end

up on the board. Alder Susan West saidit may be the job of her and other alders

that serve on those committees to per-suade each committee to nominate a

citizen.

You have to remember the historyof how we got to makeup of the

board, explained ald. Hans Hilbert.

It started of with a recommendation

that the utility board mirror the Water

Resources Commission, but that did

not play out well with a lot of the

things the utility is going to accom-

plish. It was the classic issue we were

having where we asked, what budget

was it coming out of, is it Conservancy

Lands Commission, Public Lands,

Water Resources, or Public Works?

The membership of the utility

board was spread to the committees

that have a direct impact and influence

over those budgets, added Hilbert.

That was done to create a board that

would be knowledgeable and be able

to construct and advise the utility to go

along with the budgeting and decisions

of the committees they serve on.

Hilbert suggested the Committee of

the Whole refrain from making any

recommendations to change the ordi-

nance as it stands. He says it cant be

broken if it has not even been created.

Its not broken because we have not

even put it into place yet, so lets get

this thing rolling before we start jump-

ing in trying to change it, Hilbert

said. We have members of each and

every one of these committees that

have expertise in these areas and I

think dont think we need to be pulling

people in who have outside interests to

get this thing going for at least the first

five years.

Spending down in new Westport budget

by CAMERON BREN

Times-Tribune

by MIKE DREW

Times-Tribune

First bills go out

to citizens April 1

Talking about cancerKathleen van Veldhuisen is a Nurse

Practitioner with the Palliative CareDepartment at the Carbone Cancer

Center at UW Hospital. Working pri-marily with cancer patients, she helps

them manage symptoms and the stressof cancer throughout their diagnosis

and treatment.

She will be speaking at Gildas Club

Madison on Thursday, December 4 at6:00 p.m. This free lecture, entitledFrankly Speaking about Cancer: Treat-

ment and Side Effects, is open to the

public and will be held at Gildas ClubMadison, located at 7907 UW Health

Court in Middleton.


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for projects before 2012, when TID #3

was extended, were scheduled to in-crease in 2015. The payments level off

after this years increase.Based on that, the Finance Com-

mittee could have cut services to try tokeep the mill rate increase lower,

Davis remarked. But as it happenedlast year, there was not an interest by

the Finance Committee or the councilin cutting services.

Davis said there is nothing anyone

can do about the debt that is alreadyowed and claimed additional spending

in 2015 is minimal.We added one police officer, that is

the only full-time personnel change wehave made, said Davis. We added

hours to the Youth Center, we modifiedthe wages for dispatchers, which was a

very slight increase and we had onepromotion, so altogether there was not

a whole lot to write home about.City Finance Director John Lehman

noted an additional $76,000 that was

equally divided between Public Landsand Public Works to give the respectivedirectors flexibility to address service

demands that may come up.

Brar asked why the city would not

consider transferring funds from TIF tothe general fund to pay for operating

costs and lower the tax levy, thus de-creasing the mill rate. Mark Sullivan

said the city has been trying to removeone-time funding sources from the

budget process and using TIF subsidieswas exactly that.

This is upsetting to me, you were atmost of the Finance Committee meet-

ings that developed this budget, tocome here at the last minute and say

we cant support this because you want

to arbitrarily say that the mill rateshould be fixed at three percent is in-sulting to me, Sullivan said to Brar.

The reality is here, this is a prudent

budget, you had ample opportunity to

make your concerns know, and to do itnow is nothing but grandstanding.

Brar made a motion to restore$100,000 of TID #3 cost of recovery

funds as a revenue source. The motionfailed failed 7-1 with only Brar voting

for it. Brar said he hopes the FinanceCommittee and Council will consider

his proposal in a future budget. Otheralders outlined the success of the Fi-

nance Committee.The mill rate required to support the

2015 General Fund requested budget

was 7.04 or a 7.48% increase over the2014 mill rate. The Finance Commit-tee managed to adjust expenditures and

revenues reaching a net decrease of$90,694 from the requested budget

amounts.While considering budget requests,

the committee prioritized 2015 Capitalprogram expenditures for road recon-

struction and resurfacing. The pro-posed budget allocates $1,283,000 for

road reconstruction on Valley RidgeRd. and Allen Blvd., as well as design

and engineering for resurfacing ParkSt. and additional road chip sealing and

crack filling around the city.The committee also gave prece-

dence to the Capital budget requestswhere grant funding is available. They

decided those projects should receive

Capital funding to take advantage ofthe externally contributed fiscal re-

sources. Another priority was remedi-ation of unfavorable conditions in

public places, such as the employee en-trance to the library that is in a deteri-

orated state.On top of the Finance Committees

reductions, the 2015 contract with Pel-litteri for trash and recycling collection

is expected to be $105,000 less thanoriginally projected. The committee

approved using $83,000 of the funds to

create and hire an additional police of-ficer that the department is requestingfor 2015. Of the remaining $22,000,

$18,303 will go to the 2015 Capitalprogram with the final $3,697 going

into the general fund contingency ac-count.

The budget passed 7-1 with Brarvoting no.

Along with approving the budget thecity council authorized the issuance of

bonds totaling $8,500,000. As part ifthe debt issuance process Moodys In-

vestors Service assigns a rating to thecitys new note issues. Middleton re-

tained a Aa1 rating, which is the sec-ond highest rating there is and leads to

very low interest rates.


Mintz responds

to Wall s take

on healthcare

Dear editor,

Its very quaint that Terrence Wall de-scribes his experiences with the Af-

fordable Care Act (ObamaCare is adisaster for America, Middleton

Times-Tribune, 11/20/2014) and im-plies that it must be bad for everyone.

You say statistics have proven thatmany millions lost their health insur-

ance due to the new law. What statis-tics?

Yes, many companies have droppedtheir employer plans, but these em-

ployees have been able to find similarand coverage on the exchanges.

Does the experience of your young,healthy males compare to that of other

young healthy males at the majority of

companies in America? Where is your

data to support it?Perhaps it would be beneficial for

you to look outside your own partisan

personal interest and think a little aboutsociety at large. In fact, nationally, em-

ployer-sponsored insurance premiumshave been growing more slowly in re-

cent years. The average annual family-plan premium went up 3% from 2013

to 2014, according to the latest annualemployer survey from the nonprofit

Kaiser Family Foundation and HealthResearch & Educational Trust.

According to Kaisers press release,Premiums increased more slowly over

the past five years than the precedingfive years (26 percent vs. 34 percent

and well below the annual double-digit

increases recorded in the late 1990sand early 2000s. This years increasealso is similar to the year-to-year rise

in workers wages (2.3 percent) andgeneral inflation (2 percent).

According to factcheck.org, ACAhas not led to huge premium in-

creases.

In exchange for keeping what hadbeen double-digit increases in health

care premiums, we now have elimi-nated preexisting condition exclusions

for children, covered dependents ontheir parents plans up to age 26, free

coverage of preventive care, andcapped increases on annual coverage.

If that is a disaster then bring onthe cataclysm.

Factcheck also acknowledges therehas been a slow rate of growth for pre-

miums for half of Americans and de-ductibles are also increasing, so not all

rosy for everyone, but that is not cata-clysmic either.

While I will not give full credit toACA (Kaiser and others do not), it at

least played a role in cost reduction,and when reimbursements finally get

tied to performance, thats where thepublic will see the real benefit.

Finally, theNew York Times found in

its analysis of health insurance that itpaid to shop around. So if your em-ployees current plan is going to see the

exorbitant increases you have experi-enced, then perhaps, as the prudent and

experienced businessman that you are,you need to look at other plans. There

are many on the market. After all, welive in a free market, competition with

better rates and better coverage is outthere.

Steven Mintz

Adults must set

better example

To the editor,

I recently went downtown to fill aprescription for my aged mother. I

parked in a ramp and was almost hit bya car in the ramp. The driver was driv-

ing fast going around a corner andwhen he saw me he hit the horn rather

than slow down.I return to Middleton and took my

dogs to the dog park near the airport. A

friend called me and I was speaking tohim while I walked my pups aroundthe park. When I went to exit I appar-

ently (and unintentionally) let someoneelses dog out. The owner recovered

her dog quickly but felt a need to pub-licly scream at me for doing this and

for being on the phone at the dog park.I never saw her dog, but recognized

that I was in the wrong so I apologized.She jeered at me and said sarcastically

right. Now I try to be a sincere per-son and felt quite affronted at being

called a liar to my face by this person.I could have said she lied because I

never saw the dog - but I try to acceptresponsibility for my actions. I could

have screamed at the driver who foundme to be in his way - but I didnt. My

being on the phone at the dog park isnot anyones business. I have seen

dogs accidentally let out by peoplewho are not on the phone.

Everyone is knocking themselvesout to sit in judgment of everybody

else.If she had not recovered her dog, I

guarantee that I would have helped herlook for him until she did. When one is

in error what can one do other than

apologize and assist in correcting thesituation? Given the example set bythe adults in our world is it any wonder

our young people conduct themselvesdiscourteously.

Sandra Pomponio

In themidst of

the bustleThis year Im working at Clasens

Bakery in Middleton for the holiday

season. Clasens is a European Bakery.Like the patisseries that I experi-

enced in France, it is scant in the piedepartment, but more than makes up

for that fact with the wide assortmentof leathery crusted breads, tarts laden

with fruit and nuts and table after tableafter table of old world holiday cook-

ies and candies.There are pecan rolls and morning

buns bigger than my fists, scones andtruffles, kringle and strudel, layered

cakes, petite fours, sweet almond crois-sants and savory ones filled with

turkey, ham or spinach, all made fromscratch.

That list is just a beginning!Many of our customers have Euro-

pean heritage. I ride the wave of theiraccents back to my days in France

where similar fare was had for Eurosinstead of dollars.

Yesterday, a lovely man namedStanislaus tried to teach me how to say

Merry Christmas in Polish. I will have

to see the words in writing and practicesaying it many times before I can com-

municate the sentiment to him in re-turn, with even a modicum of the ring

and rhythm that graced my ears.Many of the customers, like Stan,

are regulars. Most are local, comingoften from every corner of Dane

County. But others travel regularlyfrom Janesville or Rockton, Illinois

and Tomah to buy the traditionalbreads and pastries that their families

have eaten for generations.Yes, its great to have a little boost

to my income for the holiday season.But, Ive chosen to be part of the

bustling bakery scene for more reasonsthan the paycheck.

Theres something invigorating tome about the work. Theres purpose

and bustle.Its the same feeling that I had when

I waitressed.This morning I worked the opening

shift. Starting at 6:00 a.m. I escortedrack after rack of breads into the show-

room.

The dense pumpernickel bricks werestill warm as I shifted them to their

spots in the case next to the seedyMuensterlander and lightly floured

Italian loaves.I love handling the breads. I love the

colors and the textures. They have per-sonalities. Theres the sweet and flirty

French Breakfast bread with tantaliz-ing and fragrant cinnamon swirls and

glistening bits of sugar or jeweledraisins.

There are hearty, no-nonsense, tradi-

tionally built loaves of white and

wheat. And more types of rye than I

knew existed.

Ovals of artisan breads get sorted

into baskets on the showroom floor. I

love the sound of the loaves as the hard

crusts bump against each other. Many

of the them, heavy with a generosity of

cranberries and walnuts or olives or

cheese, thud, thud, thud into their

places.

There are usually customers waiting

for the door to open at 7:00. I love the

customers, even the few crabby ones.

Yesterday a women in her 70s was

irritated that her bread barely fit into

the bag. You should get bigger bags to

fit the loaves, she said crabbily.

Well, I said, Clasens is so gener-

ous with the size of their loaves that its

hard to find a bag that fits them. She

still didnt smile, although the cus-tomers beside her did.

Theres a gingerbread house on the

floor thats so large, children can go in-

side. I just realized that Im smiling as

I write this bit! Im very excited to see

the young ones come in with visions of

sugarplums dancing before them rather

than just in their heads.

Reflecting on my work at the bakery

helps me to realize, once again, that

there are so many simple pleasures to

be had as we make our way through

each day. Even in the hustle and bustle

of holiday time, if we keep our atten-

tion on the moment that were in,

theres so much enjoyment to be had!

BUDGET continued from page 1

CHURCH NOTES

Letters to the Editor


6/20


Photo contributed

MHS Orchestras Open Their 2014-2015 Season on December 4The MHS Orchestras kick off their 2014-2015 season with their Fall Orchestra Concert on Thursday, December

4 at 7:30 p.m. in the MHS Performing Arts Center. Cardinal Orchestra, Philomusica (the after school pops stringgroup) and Symphony Orchestra will be performing. Members of the Wind Ensemble will join the Symphony Or-chestra to close out the program.

Given the opportunity for a December concert, some traditional holiday music, including portions of the Nut-cracker Suite and Fantasia on Greensleeves by R. Vaughn Williams, will be performed. Additional selections include

Geometric Dances by Richard Meyer, portions of the Pastoral Symphony (Beethovens 6th

Symphony), Variationson a Well-Known Sea Chantey by Richard Stephan, Overture to Lucio Silla by Mozart, Waltz for Wobbly Wilfred,Viva la Vida, Suite for Strings by John Rutter and Capriol by Peter Warlock.

This concert is free and the public is encouraged to attend. A reception will follow the concert. The MiddletonPAC is located at 2100 Bristol Street, Middleton.

to help with the early ballots and ab-sentee ballots because that is an incred-

ibly time consuming process. We needto, as a council, decide on extending

early voting hours and weigh the costassociated with it.

We are going to be seeing a lot ofgrowth within the next year so I would

like to see a fourth polling location,noted alder Miriam Share. Our

polling locations now are centeraround downtown and we are becom-

ing much more spread out.Alder Howard Teal said he sup-

ported the idea and it was simply amatter of budgeting for it. He said it

would be easy to create the limitedterm deputy clerk position and just

wanted a number on what it would costbefore his approval. Alder Mark Sul-

livan asked if there was a real need.Is there evidence, actual or anec-

dotal, that someone was disenfran-chised because they were not able to

vote early or on election day becauseon inconvenience, Sullivan asked city

staff, officials and representatives. Noone had any response but staff said

they would look into it before bringinga proposal before the council.

Alder Jim Wexler expressed his am-bition to react preemptively to state at-

tempts to restrict voting in some ways.Even though we did not have the

photo ID requirement this time I thinkgiven the make-up of the state legisla-

ture and their determination to makevoting as difficult as humanly possible

we certainly need to prepare for that inthe future, Wexler stated. I think if

there is a commitment from council weshould cover the costs because there

will be a lot of people disenfranchisedonce these restrictive laws go into ef-

fect and we should be prepared tocounter that.

The Committee of the Whole passeda motion recommending that the Com-

mon Council instruct city clerk to workon improving the early voting process

and extend early voting hours.

VOTING continued from page 1

in an unknown direction. The clerkwas uninjured.

The suspect is described as a blackmale, about 6 feet tall, wearing a knee-

length wool coat with a scarf over hisface.

Middleton officers and detectives re-sponded to the scene and were assisted

by Madison officers. Two Madison K-9 units also assisted at the scene.

The investigation is ongoing. Any-one with information regarding this

robbery is asked to contact MiddletonPolice by calling or texting 608-824-

7300.

ROBBERYcontinued from page 1

the Dane County Jail on charges of

Burglary.The Middleton Police Department is

asking anyone who may have informa-

tion or witnessed this incident to con-

tact the police department at 608-824-7300, tipster line at 608-824-7304 or

text at 608-824-7300.

BURGLARY continued from page 1


7/20


Kromrey lists first quarter honors

HONOR ROLL AND

HONORABLE MENTION1st QUARTER 2014-2015

KROMREY MIDDLE SCHOOL

6TH Grade Honor Roll(3.600-4.000)

Bold denotes 4.0Adler, Zachary

Ahmad, Zamaan

Allee, AlysonAllison, McKennaAnstaett, Henry

Arrington, Felicity

Ashley, AlexanderBarmore, Zoe

Bertalot, GenevieveBishop, Sylvie

Blumer, ThomasBorden, NoahBraun, Mitchell

Brenton, Michael

Bresnick, JarenBunz, Victoria

Burns, EleanorCarranza, Kelly

Cermak, IvanChau, Trevor

Chetty, HaritChirafisi, Isabella

Cho, JeremyClark, Ava

Cliff, LaurenCluney, Qynlan

Colbert, LynneaCole, Aidan

Collins, ElenaCoyne, Anna

Culp, JennaCushman, Emma

Dahmen, Beau

Daniel, DevinDovenbarger, William

Drane, RobertDunn, AylaEggert, Samuel

Evans, AbigailEzman, Jaxson

Feltz, AlexanderFischer, Alayna

Fischer, HalleFleischman, Jude

Flottmeyer, Isaac

Foley, SarahFox, Lila

Gaab, MollyGarber, Mena

Genyk, ElyseGibson, Emma

Gibson, GuyanGold, Nathan

Griffith, NoraGruett, Henrik

Guevara, Charlie

Guse, JonahGussel, ChandlerHallquist, Annika

Halterman, LaurenHanna, Bailey

Hass, SamanthaHaynes, Madigan

Hellenbrand, KayleyHensen, Bryce

Hiorns, CeliaHodgman, Quinn

Holman, MadelineHuang, Yale

Huggett, DanaHujanen, Caroline

Hursh, Ella BJiang, David

Jin, Hansen

Joseph, EzraKaplan, Amber

Kasel, KadenKim, Geneghee

Koeshall, KarleighaKruck, Madeline

Kubsh, GenevieveLandretti, Jordann

Larson, EdenLedin, Emily

Lent, HopeLeys, Charles

Liegel, JadenLiu, Janna

Lund, GabieMackey, Philip

Mael, JessicaMangano, Francesca

Marrione, Alexander

Martin-Rivera, MaryMatthews Lund, MarliMcDonald, Brielle

Meyer, Madeline

Mintz, AnnaMoriarty, AidanNair, Namita

Namsey, Tenzin

Neisius, LesleyNoll, Austin

Parker Needham, Keenan

Parker, SydneyPasch, Brooke

Pattnaik, AkshitaPavlik, Michael

Perez Wilson, AmericaPeters-Michaud, Sophia

Pincombe, TylerPliner, Erin

Rajpal, NoorRalphe, Gabrielle

Ratsimihah, Rija

Raymond, AlyannaRecob, Mollie

Ricke, IsabellaRiter, HenryRosenblatt, Yael

Ruhly, Sean

Ryan, RachelSanderson, GlennaSchink, Elizabeth

Schoenenberger, McKennaSchultz, Jessica

Secor, Jack

Shipley, RileySimmons, Taylor

Singh, JasmineSmith, Nolan

Snortum Haney, ToriiSpalitta, Heidi

Spevacek, AlexiaStajkovic, Sheldon

Staresinic, IanStarr, Alexander

Steele, NikolaasStein, Cameron

Stettner, NathanStricker, Sydney

Szczepanski, MadisonTankersley, Erin

Taylor, Sophie

Tenley, EthanTeschner, RhiannonThompson, Mia

Tung, Amanda

Tung, AshleyUnderkofler, ElleVoiss, Lauren

Wagner, Kaleb

Wagner, VivianWalkington, Avery

Warren, PadraigWarriner, Analise

Westbrook, JackWhittingham, Luke

Wiltzius, GwenythWincek, Althea

Witkovsky, AidanWorden, Griffin

Wubben, EllaXiao, Madison

Yard, RachelYu, Nicole

Zhu, Amanda

Zopf, VincentZumbrunnen, Abigail

Honorable Mention

(3.400-3.599)Andrews, Olivia

Baltes, Jack

Bast, VictoriaBoehnen, Chloe

Del Moral, MiguelEid, William

Fitzgerald, LaurenFoelker, Ava

Foland, MaxGallay, Amaya

Glinberg, TaliaHewuse, Treyden

Johnson, AmandaKinney, Dominick

Krenke, BrettLaScala, Lauren

Lewandowski, VivianMeyer, Jackson

Murdoch, PrestonNiece, James

Peterson, DylanPrejean, Joseph

Reichard, RachelSalgado, Destiny

Schiff, CarlySchmudlach, Wayne-Tyler

Schwetz, KaitlinTeodorescu, Christopher

Viscarra, Annaliese

7th Grade Honor Roll(3.600-4.000)

Bold Denotes 4.0Allawi, Raad

Allen, MaraBaird, Lily

Balasubramaniam, Max

Balster, ChloeBecker, MayaBerryman, Hunter

Boorstein, Aaron

Boswell, Miles

Braaten, OliverBrowning, MaryAnn

Buck, CharlotteButler, Gabriella

Carpenter, WesleyCarranza, Hernan

Castillo, NicolasChang, Annie

Chen, JamesCollier, Benjamin

Collin, Erica

Collu, BarbaraCompton, JuliaConnell, Madeline

Cownie, James

Craker, ClayDean, Oscar

Demitrios, AdaDietz, Gavin

Donndelinger, RyanDorn, Juliette

Elliott, GeorgiaEngle, Elizabeth

Engle, JulianEngler, Samuel

Espinoza, IsabellaFattouh, Tarek

Feldt, AdamFlorin, Emily

Fortney, LaurenFoster, Benjamin

Francois, KennedyFrisch, Carson

Frye, KatherineFussell, Gianna

Garamendi, BridgetGerkey, Emmett

Giles, PaytonGoldrosen, Hannah

Gonter, Maeve

Grant, TianbraHafeman, LaurenHanson, Adam

Hauser, Saskia

Healy, SarahHellenbrand, AnnikaHodgman, Casey

Hu, MaylynnHuang, Christine

Humphries, Sarah

Hutter, GraceInman, Alec

Irwin, IndyJoers, Mattie

Johnson, EganJones, Julie

Kaur, AnjleenKean, Joseph

Kern, AdamKessenich, John

Kim, NathanKinne, Natasha

Klug, Claire

Knight, AmberKnupp, ColtonKortbein, Jonathan

Kostecki, EmmaKruck, Andrew

Lamers, NathanLarson, Ava

Lavallee, RaymondLee, Jung Won

Leffel, Zachary

Lehmann, DrakeLim, CherylLima Sanchez, Julio

Lobaugh, Nicholas

Lohrei, ZoeLondon, Shayla

Ludtke, MeganLudwig, DelaneyMaasch, Aimee

Mackey, Amelia

Matejka, KathrynMaves, Logan

Mayhew, ZacharyMcDonough, Maxwell

McGrath, CaitlinMcGuffey, Lili

McLeod, AidanMeister, Samantha

Meland, NolenMitchell, Elizabeth

Mormino, MadisonMosley, Owen

Moyer, CallieNewcomer, Anja

Nisbet, WilliamNurani, Rithika

Ohly, John ROpland, Avery

Patel, ShankhilPatton, Sophia

Paulsen, AnnaPflasterer-Jennerjohn, Isaiah

Pierobon Mays, GabrielaRaval, Serena

Reisinger, Julia

Richards, ThomasRoach, Gabriella

Roden, Elena

Roquet, KendallRosen, Elizabeth

Ross, EmilyRoush, Isaac

Rozum, EmmaSacchetti, Elena

Salyapongse, ZoeSanchez Cortes, Cecilia

Schuster, AlexanderSchuster, Emma

Scudder, Paul

Shi, StephenShulfer, BaileySmink, Moniek

Smith, Berkley

Smith, SydneySpence, Addison

Stefanek, CindyStine, RichardUlfig, Emily

Vander Sanden, Lauren

Vinje, KaraVogt, Isaac

Vogt, JacobVoss, Nicole

Waddell, CaseyWalsh, Zachary

Walther, KevinWarren, Quinlan

Weigert, ClareZahed, Bjaka

Zeker, SarahZhang, William

Zopf, Magdelena

Honorable Mention

(3.400-3.599)Adkins, Tyrell

Bills, Conner

Buchholz, AnnaBurch, Harley

Conklin Little, RaleighElliott, Brady

Ferderer, NicholasGrosenick, Ashley

Miller, MalloryNutini, Caleb

OConnor, CaitlinOrum, Solomon

Pankow, KlausPassini, Maya

Roberts, CalvinSimonson, Mason

Smith, EmmettStevens Williams, Desiree

Sullivan, KearaTuttle, Peter

Wu, ZhuoRan

8th Grade Honor Roll

(3.600-4.000)

Bold Denotes 4.0Adams, HazelAguilar, Sammy

Akbar, SalaarAlcorta, Elena

Andrews, MeganAshe, Alexis

Babler, JazmynBallweg, Kyle

Batchenkova, Anna

Batley, KaiBecker, EloraBerge, Amaya

Bergenthal, RobertBertalot, Sean

Bindl, Ashley

Bowers, ErinBraaten, Hadley

Brenton, AaronBrunel-Hamel, Maia

Burns, AbigailBuxton, Isaac

Callahan, DanielleCarey, Bryce

Carey, MargaretCheng, Jordan

Chi, MeixiChoi, Jin Seop

Culp, JosephCunningham, Gabrielle

Dagitz, IsabelDahler, Lauren

Davey, MeganDruzba, Madison

Dunk, BrandonEggert, John

Eichelberger, Melanie

Fait, KyleFarquhar, TiannaFischer, Erin

Flock, StaciaFoth, Brianna

Fullerton, Leigha

Garlough-Shah, IsabelGermann, MeganGralnek, Sarah

Griffith, Dylan

Griffith, Thomas

Gundlach, KyiaHathaway, Kelly

Hellenbrand, CaseyHendricks, Lauren

Hickman, MorganHiorns, Charles

Hoffman, JosephHogendorn, Tristan

Huang, StephanieHuggett, Leah

Jason, LiamJensen, Katie

Joseph, BenjaminJurgella, Luke

Kim, JessicaKim, Mia

Kim, Sae Mee

Kirch-Whitmore, RachelKohlhoff, Kylee

Krenke, GraceKryshak, Joseph

Kushner, RachelLarson, Olivia

Lastine, KristenLaurent, Maria

Lee, EricLewandowski, Aidan

Libert, ElizabethLohrei, Mason

Lomas, JoshuaLong, Cassidy

Madigan, GraceMahal, Madeline

Mangas, AbigailMartin, Danielle

Meyer, ChloeMiller, Samuel

Monroe, TerraMueller, Chase

Murdoch, Susannah

Nemr, ClaraNewcomb, GretchenNewcomer, Max

Noughani, HannaPelcastre, Litzy

Peters-Michaud, EaganPetersen, Benjamin

Postle, Teresa

Prestigiacomo, MaxwellPrichard, LoganPritts, Taina

Raisleger, Emily

Ramirez, AlexaRamirez, Josie

Regan, CameronRonnie, Nicholas

Saleh, AmenaScher, Benjamin

Schremp, CarmenSchroeder, Ella

Schuster, BryceShulla, Michael

Smith, Connor

Speth, AdrianaStousland, G AStruck, Alexander

Sullivan, AndrewSwanson, Andrew

Tian, YatingTrinrud, Raina

Wagner, JennaWagner, Madelinn

Warriner, Amalia

Weber, GabrielleWhittingham, DavidWiegand, Kayla

Williams, Noah

Wodzro, StuartYan, Alton

Zabrowski, ZekeZambrano, AngelZheng, Susanna

Zillner, Blake

Zimmerman, MeganZocher, McKenzie

Zopf, IsabellaZweber, Jakob

Honorable Mention

(3.400-3.599)Braun, Harrison

DeGroot, DianaDeLeo, Kristen

Drane, OwensFunch, Searra

Lorman, ClaireOelerich, Lars

Parkin, Archer

Peterson, MaxwellQuechol Ramirez, Jesus

Rocero, Isaiah KyleShoemaker-Allen, Aliza

Spellman, SamuelTeodorescu, Alexander

Thomas, ChandonWhitford, Josiah

Wirkus, Wyatt


8/20

Calvin D. HaackCalvin Dou-

glas Haack, age62, passed away

on Monday, No-vember 17,

2014 at hishome. He was

born on July 8,1952, in Madi-

son, the son ofEdwin and June

(Bilse) Haack. Calvin was united inmarriage to Donna Gitter on April 25,

1987 at St. Lukes Lutheran Church inMiddleton. He retired after 32 years

of service with the city of MiddletonParks Department. Calvin was a

handyman who could fix anything andwas a great teacher. He hunted deer

and geese and was an avid fan of theBadgers and Packers. He loved base-

ball, especially the Brewers and Cardi-nals, and enjoyed coaching his sons.

He will be remembered most for hav-ing good advice and always supporting

his family and many friends. Calvin is

survived by his loving wife of 27 years,

Donna; his children, Ryan (Julie), Billand Joey, three grandchildren, Samuel,

Anna and Claire; his siblings, Stan(Pat) Haack, JoAnn (Jim) Willey, Fred

(Alice) Haack, Karen (Dave) Hellen-brand, Roger (Marlene) Haack, LuAnn

(Tom) White and Dale (Cathy) Haack;sister-in-law, Mary (Orland) Blan-

chard; brothers-in-law, Richard(Colleen) Gitter, Dan (Cindy) Gitter,

Larry Gitter; his step-mother, MaryHaack and her children, Keith and

Greg Anderson and Toni Valentine andmany loving nieces, nephews and

friends. He was preceded in death byhis parents; sister, Yvonne (Bill)

Friedli; brother Edwin (Jane) Haack;and parents-in-law, Victor and Bernice

Gitter. Funeral services will be held atST. LUKES LUTHERAN CHURCH,

7337 Hubbard Ave, Middleton at 11AM on Friday, November 21, 2014,

with the Reverend Roger Eigenfeldpresiding. Burial will be in German

Valley Cemetery. Visitation will beheld at GUNDERSON WEST FU-

NERAL & CREMATION CARE,

7435 University Ave., Middleton from

3 PM until 7 PM on Thursday, Novem-ber 20, 2014 and also on Friday from

9:30 AM until the time of the serviceat the church. Online condolences may

be made at www.gundersonfh.com.We love you and miss you every

day. You will always be in our hearts.We are so glad you were a part of our

lives.Gunderson West

Funeral & Cremation Care7435 University Avenue

(608)831-6761

Barbara Jeanne PurcellB a r b a r a

Jeanne Purcell,

age 82, passedaway Dec. 2,

2014, sur-rounded by her

family atAgrace Hos-

piceCare. Shewas born on

May 7, 1932, in

Milwaukee, Wis., the daughter ofClement and Marie Mitchka.

Barb was raised in Wausau and

graduated high school in 1950. Shegraduated from UW Madison with a

degree in Human Resources in 1954.Following graduation, she was em-

ployed as an interior decorator at Man-chesters. Barb married Pierce T.

Purcell in July of 1955; together theyraised four daughters. Barb was pas-

sionate about volunteering and helpingher community. Some of her commu-

nity service positions included: mem-ber of the Madison Junior Womans

club, chairman of the local Girl ScoutCookie program, President of the Dane

County Legal Auxiliary, volunteer with

the Middleton Outreach Ministry, andan active member of St. BernardsCatholic Church where she was a Faith

Community leader and a member ofthe Environment Committee. Barb en-

joyed gardening, arts and crafts, quilt-ing, hiking, skiing, entertaining,

cooking and a good game of bridge.She was also an avid reader and cross-

word puzzler.Barb is survived by her daughters,

Pam (Bob) Avenius, Katy (Doug) Mer-ing, Anne (Greg) Ohmen and Lisa

(Mark) Feinberg; grandchildren,

Corinne(Rick Gunyon) and ElizabethAvenius, Kimm, Andrew and Brynna

Mering, Christopher and DanielleOhmen, Nicole (Rich) Sachse, and

Hanna, Jack and Kate Feinberg; andthree great grandchildren, Alex, Jacob,

and Madeline Sachse. She was pre-ceded in death by her parents; brother,

Jack Mitchka; and nephew, David. AMass of Christian Burial will be held

at St. Bernards Catholic Church, 2015Parmenter St., Middleton, at 11 a.m.,

on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014. Visitationwill be held at the church from 9:30

a.m. until the time of the service onSaturday. Memorials may be made to

the Middleton Outreach Ministry orAgrace HospiceCare. Online condo-

lences may be made at www.gunder-sonfh.com.

Gunderson WestFuneral & Cremation Care

7435 University Avenue

(608)831-6761


Cassie Fleischmann and Tiago Bastos joined in marriage on June 14, 2014 in

a ceremony in Curia, Portugal.The brides hometown is Middleton, WI, and she is the daughter of Carey and

Jim Fleischmann. She is a 2006 graduate of Middleton High School and a 2010

graduate of the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Fleischmann moved toSao Joao da Madeira, Portugal in August, 2012 to take a position as an Englishteacher.

The grooms hometown is Sao Joao da Madeira, Portugal. He is the son of Joseand Clara Bastos. He is a graduate of University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. He

works as a tennis coach and instructor.The couple honeymooned in Greece, Spain and France.

WWEDDINGEDDING

Fleischmann-Bastos

Interested in preserving Middleton history, and your own family history?

Please join the Middleton Area Historical Society on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 1pm in the Middleton Senior Center, 7448 Hubbard Avenue for its annual

meeting and a presentation on life story writing.Linda Abbott, founder of Never Forget Legacies & Tributes, will share

tips, tools and resources that will help you capture and preserve your mem-ories and write your li fe story.

Life story writing is a gift to ourselves and to the next generation, Ab-bott said. The process of reminiscing and life review is a wonderful jour-

ney that brings joy and new meaning to our lives. Sharing our stories,values and lessons learned is one of the most precious gifts we can give our

loved ones.Coffee and dessert will be served.

The event is open to the public, and the cost is free.

Annual Middleton Historical

Society meeting is Saturday

Obituaries


9/20



10/20


be color


11/20

The list of accomplishments islong and impressive.

There have been three straightoutright or shared Big Eight

Conference titles. Memorable per-formances at the sectional level. And

a handful of state qualifiers.But Middletons wrestlers who

began their season Friday at MadisonMemorial at 7 p.m. have even

loftier aspirations this winter.Its that next level that we want,

Cardinals ninth-year coach KentWeiler said. Were here now and

were going to be stable for a while.But we have even higher expec-

tations and these kids have expecta-tions. Were right on the fringe. Now,

I want to see how these kids step upas we try getting to that next level.

The level Weiler is talking aboutis the WIAA state team tournament,

a place Middleton hasnt been since1994.

Weiler knows that conferencetitles and solid individual perform-

ances are great. But hed like to seehis entire team take a step forward

this year and reach the state teamtournament.

Weve had the conversation withthe kids that we want more, Weiler

said. Weve won at least a share ofthe conference the last three years.

Two years ago we won it outright.Were right there. Right now we are

so close.Weiler believes this group certain-

ly has the potential to achieve greatthings.

Senior Shay Haase will be one ofMiddletons top guns.

A year ago, Haase reached the


Follow RobReischel onTwitter at@robreischel

Taking itup a notch

MHS wrestlers

expect big year

by ROB REISCHEL

Times-Tribune

See WRESTLING, page 20

File photo

Sean Benedict and Middletons wrestling team begin their season Friday.


12/20

It didnt take long for Kari Steck to

notice the difference.Middletons girls gymnastics coach

was in the gym an hour, maybe two,and the Cardinals boss could already

see the change.The depth and determination this

year is unlike any we've seen in awhile, Steck said. From day one, we

as coaches could tell it just felt differ-ent in the gym than it ever had before.

Its a special group of girls.Middleton opens its season

Tuesday with a home meet againstMount Horeb at 6:30 p.m. And the

Cardinals are expecting another spe-cial season.

Middleton had a memorable wintera year ago, winning Madison

Memorial Sectional and finishingfourth at the WIAA Division 1 state

meet.Amazingly, Steck believes this

years group will be even deeper thana year ago.

The depth this year is fantastic,

she said.Sophomore Madeline Pflasterer-

Jennerjohn is Middletons top

returnee.Pflasterer-Jennerjohn finished 20th

in the all-around competition at statelast year. Pflasterer-Jennerjohn was18th on the vault (9.067), 21st on the

uneven bars (8.517) and 26th on thefloor (8.633). She also scored an 8.917

on the balance beam.Senior Lauren Ace was also an

individual qualifier at state last year,where she finished 14th on the balance

beam with an 8.803.Other key returnees include senior

Lucy Bergenthal, sophomore DaniellaAranda and junior Katherine

Marshall.Seniors Maygan Neisius, Morgan

Charlton, Karlee Keteboeter andMarie Lawton, along with junior

Megan Lange hope to break onthrough, as well.

We have a very strong returningteam with lots of postseason experi-

ence in sectionals and state, Stecksaid. We have a very strong group of

leaders in our seniors this year as well.It is exciting to have seen them grow

from freshman into key players on theteam this year as leaders.

Middleton always seems to get aboost from its newcomers. And Steck

believes that will be the case again, asfreshmen Eleanor Mackey, Olivia

Shoemaker and Chloe Young will alllook to make a splash.

We have quite a few newcomersthis year, Steck said. It is a very

young group of newcomers. Howeverwe have been pleasantly surprised at

their motivation and strength.They are all working extremely

hard and have shown a ton of


File photo

M a d e l i n eP f l a s t e r e r -J e n n e r j o h na n dM i d d l e t o n sgirls gymnas-tics team begintheir new sea-son Tuesday.

See GYMNASTICS, page 17

Swinging

for the starsGirls gymnasticsteam ready for

big season

by ROB REISCHEL

Times-Tribune


13/20

Middletons boys swimming team

will have a blast from the past thisseason.

And what a blast it is.Sam Niesen, one of the more

accomplished swimmers in schoolhistory, has returned to be the

Cardinals head coach. AndMiddleton which began its season

at the Brookfield East InvitationalTuesday is expecting a terrific

year under its new leader.So far, our time together has gone

rather smoothly, Niesen said. Thereare a few things we need to work on

as a team to improve, both in and outof the pool. But its obviously very

early in the season and Im not con-cerned about the long run.

There are quite a few guys on theteam that I see with a lot of potential,

and Im extremely excited to seewhat my coaching can do to break

that out.If Niesens coaching skills come

close to his swimming ability, theCardinals will be in good shape.

Niesen, a 2009 graduate ofMiddleton High School, was a four-

year letterwinner a nine-time All-American and a six-time all-state per-

former. Niesen began his collegiatecareer at Purdue, then swam his final

three years at UW-Milwaukee.Swimming at both Purdue and

UWM was a great experience forme, Niesen said. It gave me the

tools I need to let my swimmersknow how hard they need to work if

they intend to go farther than high

school.Niesen heard earlier this year that

former Middleton coach LukeLengfeld was stepping down due to

increased career demands. AndNiesen jumped at the chance to return

to his alma mater.I heard there was an opening for

the head coach position at MHS and Iseized the opportunity, Niesen said.

There are some big shoes to fill.Since I finished swimming at

UWM, Ive been missing the compet-

itive aspect of swimming. Gettinginto coaching has, at least so far,filled that competitive void.

Middleton finished ninth at statelast year, and will reload around a

key group of returnees.Juniors Rory Slattery and Lex

Peterson helped Middletons 200medley relay team finish third at state

last year. Peterson also posted an11th-place finish in the 100 butterfly

(53.35) and was 22nd in the 500freestyle (4:58.15) at state last year,

while Slattery was 16th in the 100breaststroke (1:01.32).

Junior Jacob Aegerter was 17th atstate last year in the 200 freestyle and

500 freestyle, and was also part ofMiddletons state qualifying 400

meter freestyle relay team.Junior Jack Zocher is one of the

top divers in the state. And Niesensaid that Luke Delaney should be one

of the areas top swimmers in the but-terfly and distance freestyle.

Newcomers Jacob Trepczyk andSam Young have impressed early on,

as well.Theyve been doing great at prac-

tice and I expect them to do somegreat things, Niesen said of his

team.Madison Memorial, which has

won four straight WIAA Division 1state championships, is the gold stan-

dard in the Big Eight Conference. But

Middleton should be poised for a ter-rific season of its own.

I have many goals in mind for

this team, but I would consider ourmain one to be overall improve-

ment, Niesen said. This may seemlike a generic answer, but Im refer-

ring to every minute detail that canturn a good swimmer into a great one

strength, quickness, flexibility,underwaters, not breathing off the

wall, aggression.Theyve sampled a small set of

what Ill be putting them through, buteach swimmer on this team will be an

overall much better athlete at the endof the year compared to the way they

walked in. Theyve got a muchbumpier road ahead of them to get to

their respective taper meets than theyrealize.


File photo

Rory Slattery (left) and Lex Peterson (above) are expected to be two ofMiddletons top swimmers this season.

Niesen returns to

lead MHS swimmersFormer standout

is Cardinals new

head coachby ROB REISCHEL

Times-Tribune


14/20

Middleton senior post player Cole

Jordee was forced to watch the closing

minutes of the Cardinals thrilling sea-

son- and Big Eight Conference-open-

ing girls basketball game from the

bench on Tuesday night.

Jordee picked up her fifth foul in

the final minute of regulation, and like

fellow starter Grace Douglas who had

fouled out earlier in the fourth quarter,

had to flip the switch from participant

to cheerleader.

However, that just made the

Cardinals heart-stopping 85-80 victo-

ry in double overtime over Janesville

Parker that much more exciting for

Jordee and her teammates.

It was pretty nerve-wracking. I

wanted to be out there at the end, said

Jordee, who finished with six points,

10 rebounds and three blocked shots.

But I had to stay positive and cheer

them on and be encouraging.

The defending conference champi-

on Cardinals took a 53-50 lead into the

fourth quarter and neither team led by

more than four points the rest of the

way until the final seconds, when

Middleton iced the victory at the free-

throw line.

Both teams made a lot of mis-

takes, it being our first games. But I

told them in the locker room, just keep

playing hard, said a relieved

Middleton coach Jeff Kind, who broke

into a wide grin. Enough good things

happened and we never gave up.

Alyssa Lemirande scored 14 of her

team-high 21 points in the extra ses-

sions and her sister, Bria Lemirande,added 15 points, including two free

throws in the final seconds. That made

it a memorable evening for the family

of triplets, which includes sister

Carlee, who is on Middletons JV

team.

It was a little stressful, but it was

exciting and we found a way to win

Alyssa Lemirande said. We just tried

to keep the pressure on.

Bria Lemirande, who scored six

points in the fourth quarter to provide

a late spark and help send the game to

overtime, agreed.

This was a very big win. Its a

great way to start the season, said

Bria Lemirande, who finished 6-of-7from the free-throw line. Our team

just kept on believing the whole time.

We never gave up.

Janesville Parker coach Tom

Klawitter was concerned before the

game that the Vikings were opening

the season and conference play on the

home court of the defending confer-

ence champion without the benefit of

a non-conference game.

However, Klawitter said it didnt

take long for both teams to provide the

intensity of a conference champi-

onship matchup.

The girls played well. We played

hard, we played better than I thought

we would, Klawitter said of the

Vikings season debut. But then once

you get that opportunity to win, boy, it

hurts to lose in overtime.

Parker senior Paige Smith finished

with a game-high 36 points and scored

at will except from the free-throw line

where she converted just one of her

first nine attempts before finishing 10-

of-20.

With her, it came down to team-

work and the ability to play help

defense, Bria Lemirande said. We

all knew she was the one to stop. We

had to communicate a lot.

Bria Lemirandes layup tied thegame at 66 with 48 seconds left in reg-

ulation and neither team could convert

several scoring opportunities in the

final seconds of the period to force

overtime.

Smith then sank four consecutive

free throws in the first overtime to

give Parker a 74-72 lead. But Alyssa

Lemirande split the Parker defense

and sank a driving layup with a minute

left to forge a 74-74 tie.

She just took control and took it to

the basket, Kind said.

Bree Porter, who finished with 18

points, had a chance to give the

Vikings the lead when she was fouled

with 2.9 seconds left, but was unable

to convert either attempt, which

forced a second overtime.

That provided more motivation for

the Cardinals, who didnt want to

waste their good fortune.

When she missed those free

throws, we decided to come out and

be strong and win the game, Bria

Lemirande said.

Porter sank a layup and Kaitlyn

Foster converted the second of two

free throw attempts to give Parker a

77-74 lead in the opening minute of

the second overtime.

After Alexis Thomas made the sec-

ond of two free throws, Porter coun-

tered with another layup to extend the

Vikings lead to 79-75.

But Alyssa Lemirande drained a

three-pointer and added a beautiful

layup off a spin move with 2:11 left to

play to give Middleton the lead for

good at 80-79. Bria Lemirande then

drained two free throws with 9.8 sec-

onds left to ice the game.

Senior guard Elizabeth Norregaard

finished with 16 points, including

three 3-pointers, while Thomas added

15 points for the Cardinals, who dis-

played their depth early and often.

I knew we could do it. I gave them

both big hugs after the game it was so

awesome. Theyre both really good

players, Jordee said of the Lemirande

sisters. We have a lot of people who

can get the job done. Thats a lot of

fun.

Middleton 74, Kettle Moraine

Lutheran 66 The Cardinals built a

19-point lead through three quarters,

then held off the Chargers at the

Brookfield Central Thanksgiving

Tournament last Saturday.

Senior guard Elizabeth Norregaard

led three Middleton players in double

figures with 16 points. Sophomore

guards Alexia Thomas and Bria

Lemirande both added 14 points.

Middleton built a 16-2 lead after

the first quarter and stretched that to

38-23 by halftime. The Cardinals held

a 61-42 lead heading to the fourth,

then held off the Chargers.

On deck: Middleton is at Verona

Thursday at 7:30 p.m., then hosts

Madison East Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 25Middleton 85, Janesville Parker 80 (2 OT)Janesville Parker . 13 20 17 16 8 6 80Middleton ... 14 21 18 13 8 11 85

JANESVILLE PARKER Porter 18,Smith 36, Foster 1, Ka. Dubanovich 16,

McCulloch 9. Totals 26 23-39 80.

MIDDLETON Norregaard 16, A.Lemirande 21, Hibner 3, Douglas 6, Thomas 15,

Bergum 3, Jordee 6, B. Lemirande 15. Totals 27

22-34 85.

Three-point goals JP 5 (Smith 2, Ka.Dubanovich 2, McCulloch), M 9 (Norregaard 3,A. Lemirande 2, B. Lemirande, Thomas, Hibner,

Bergum). Total fouls JP 26, M 30. Fouled out Douglas, Jordee, Ka. Dubanovich.


Opening

in styleGirls basketball

team wins thirller

over Parker in

double overtime

Times-Tribune photo by Mary Langenfeld

Katie Fermanich (15) and Middletons girls basketball team edged Janesville Parker last Tuesday.

by DENNIS SEMRAU

Special to the Times-Tribune


15/20


Theyve been waiting for this type

of performance for two years now.

So when Ian Hokanson went wild

last Wednesday night, it provided a

memorable evening for everyone

inside Middletons boys basketball

program.

Hokanson, a three-year varsity

player and one of the few Cardinals

with any experience, had the game of

his life against visiting Madison

Edgewood.

Hokanson erupted for a career-high 23 points, added six rebounds

and led Middleton to a 66-58 win

over the Crusaders. It was the sea-

son-opener for both teams.

It was nice to see Ian attack the

rim and get himself to the line as

well as hit the three-point shot,

Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said.

He also led us in deflections (five)

and in rebounds (six) showing how

active he was on both ends of the

court.

Middleton, which lost all five

starters and its top six players from a

year ago, figured to have some rough

patches early. And thats exactly

what happened as the Crusaders

raced to a 9-0 lead.

I guess you could look at it and

say we outscored them 66-49 the rest

of the way, Bavery said. But its a

full 32 minute game including the

beginning. We looked the part of

being that young and inexperiencedteam in the first game of the season.

But the Cardinals rebounded nice-

ly.

Middleton pulled within 14-11

after the first quarter, as Hokanson

and junior guard Brady Thomas both

knocked down three-point shots. The

Cardinals then forced five second

quarter turnovers and surged to a 25-

21 halftime lead.

Pressure took over in a good way

in the second quarter, Bavery said.

Hokanson got rolling in the third

quarter, scoring nine points in the

period. Sophomore forward Tyree

Eady added four points in the third,

but Edgewood hung tight andMiddletons lead was just 43-39

heading to the fourth.

Middletons fourth quarter free

throw shooting was sublime, as the

Cardinals made 15-of-16 from the

line in the final period. At one point,

Middleton made 15 consecutive free

throws.

Hokanson went 4-of-4 from the

line in the fourth and had six points

in the final period. Eady also went 4-

of-4, while junior guard Cam Maly

had six fourth quarter points and

made both of his free throws.

I dont know that Ive ever had a

team hit 15 straight free throws,

especially in the fourth quarter and

certainly not to start out the season,

Bavery said. We havent spent a ton

of time on shooting in general during

early practices and definitely not a

lot of time at the free throw line yet.

Sometimes its about whos get-

ting there, as good shooters overall

tend to be good free throw shootersas well.

In addition to Hokansons 23,

Maly and Eady both scored eight

points. Sophomore point guard

Storm Murphy added six points,

while senior guard Kellan Schulz

and Thomas both added five.

Middleton forced 18 Edgewood

turnovers, but had 15 of its own.

Were a long ways from where

we can and want to be, but so is

everyone else at this point, Bavery

said. We were out of position on our

press a lot, gave up too much when

they went 1-4 against it, didnt ham-

mer the offensive boards like wed

like to see (12 total), and we dontreally understand how hard we have

to run in every transition opportuni-

ty.

Still, the energy and camaraderie

is great and the approach to practice

is focused. We cant control what our

opponents ability level is or how

hard they play, but we can control

our daily attitude and effort and

thats really all we care about at this

point.

On deck: Middleton hosted

Janesville Parker Tuesday, then is at

Verona Friday at 7:30 p.m. The

Cardinals are then off until Dec. 11,

when they host Madison East at 7:30

p.m.

Hokansons big night

powers MiddletonSenior scores

career-high 23

as Cards win

season-openerby ROB REISCHEL

Times-Tribune

Photo courtesy of Mary Bavery

Ian Hokanson (5) scored 23 points to power Middleton past Madison Edgewood last Wednesday.


16/20


Times-Tribune photo by Mary Langenfeld

Davis Bunz (9) and Middletons hockey team went 1-0-1 at the University School Tournament last weekend.

Turning heads

Middletons hockey team wanted abig, early-season test.

And the Cardinals passed it withflying colors last weekend.

Middleton defeated Waunakee, 7-6,in overtime at the University School

Tournament last Friday at Uihlein IceArena in Milwaukee.

The Cardinals and UniversitySchool then battled to a 5-5 tie on

Saturday.I was really impressed by our

development in the short week,Middleton coach Steffon Walby said.

We really played hard and showed aton of grit.

Middletons Wes Rock scored the

game-winning goal against Waunakee.That capped an impressive offensiveperformance in which seven different

Cardinals scored.Middleton trailed, 6-5, late in regu-

lation. But Jordan Hylberts goal withjust 2:51 left in the third period forced

overtime.The Cardinals also got goals from

Nolan Kouba, Casey Harper, Daylor

Reifsteck, Colin Butler and EricKarwoski.

Middleton led, 5-3, early in the thirdperiod after a goal by Karwoski. But

the Warriors scored three straight goalsbefore Hylberts goal evened things up.

Max McConnell had 25 saves forMiddleton.

The Cardinals and UniversitySchool then battled to a draw the fol-

lowing night.Middleton led, 5-4, late in the con-

test. But University School evenedthings in the final minutes and forged a

tie.We found a way to win on Friday,

and we didnt fall apart when U-Schoolscored a last minute goal to tie it

(Saturday), Walby said. I thought ourspecialty teams played well and that we

really started to work well as a unit outthere. It is encouraging to see these

young men getting rewarded for someof the time and hard work they have put

in. On deck: Middleton hosted

Janesville Tuesday night, then hostsVerona Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Cardinals are then at SunPrairie Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Do-Gooders: Middletons hockeyplayers will be ringing the bell for the

Salvation Army this week.On Thursday, the Cardinals will

have players at Walgreens on BranchSt. and at Copps on Century Ave. from

6-8 p.m.

Hockey team

plays well at

U-School tourneyby ROB REISCHEL

Times-Tribune


17/20


File photo

Dani Aranda and Middletons girls gymnastics team have great expectations this season.

GYMNASTICS continued from page 12improvement in the last three

weeks. I think it will be a tough race

for the top-five varsity spots thisyear.

Middleton undoubtedly has someholes to fill.

Aryn Skibba, who finished thirdindividually at state last year, was one

of the best gymnasts in school history.Middleton likely wont have one gym-

nast fill her shoes, but will insteadneed several athletes to up their

scores.Gabby Aranda also was a key

member of last years team. So thegraduations of both Skibba and

Aranda will be tough to replace.Aryn and Gabby were huge play-

ers for our team, Steck said. Theyplayed huge roles at state and went on

to represent Team Wisconsin at theHigh School Nationals Showcase in

Florida last May. However, this year'steam has depth that we haven't had

before.And thats what Steck hopes will

keep her team near the top of the state.

Middleton GymnasticsRoster

Seniors: Morgan Charlton, LucyBergenthal, Maygan Neisius, Karlee

Ketelboeter, Lauren Ace, MarieLawton.

Juniors: Megan Lange, KatherineMarshall.

Sophomores: Madeline Pflasterer-Jennerjohn, Daniella Aranda,

Courtney Conroy, Tyler Benedict.Freshmen: Eleanor Mackey,

Olivia Shoemaker, Chloe Young.


18/20


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WRESTLING continued from page 11state tournament at 152 pounds

and finished sixth overall. This year,Haase will wrestle at either 160 or

170 pounds, and should be one of thestates best once again.

The skys the limit, Weiler saidof Haase, a four-year letterwinner.

He should have a great year.So should his brother, Taggart

Haase.

Taggart Haase, another four-yearwrestler, has won at least 30 matchesand finished third at sectionals in

each of his first three seasons.

With 2014-15 being his last

chance, Taggart should be poised fora big season.

He should be a driven kid,Weiler said of Taggart Haase. Hes

never broken through and hes beenso close. Hopefully this is the year.

Heavyweight Sean Benedict, whowent 35-7 last year, should be ready

for a great year, too.

Benedict also finished third atsectionals last year and missed qual-ifying for individual state by one

spot. Weiler said Benedict has

improved dramatically, though, and

seems ready for greatness.Last year he showed he could

wrestle with everybody, Weiler saidof Benedict. His wrestling went

through the roof last year and hesmuch better now.

Honestly, a state title is not outof reach. Hes smart, he wrestles

sometimes not like a heavyweight.

By that, I mean he throws guys off.He does some things normal heavy-weights will not do.

Sophomore Chris Rogers, who

went 30-8 last season at 126 pounds,

should also be poised for big things.Rogers had a growth spurt and will

wrestle at 138 this year.He has a ton of ability, Weiler

said of Rogers.Other key returnees include soph-

omore Colton Best (113 or 120),sophomore Trevaun Turner (120 or

126), sophomore Terry Self (113 or

120), junior Shamar Madlock (126),senior Shane Bishop (132), sopho-more Caleb Cymbalak (182) and

sophomore Matt Davey (220).

Middleton, Sun Prairie and

Janesville Craig are likely the teamsto beat in the Big Eight Conference.

But Weiler & Co. want more thana conference title this season. Theyd

like to take it up a notch and be men-tioned with the states elite pro-

grams.Were reloading it, Weiler said.

Thats the thing with wrestling. You

reload all the time. Hopefully we canget to where we want to be thisyear.

MTT49 MG Fort Web

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