Valley Sentinel - 01-06-2022

Inside this edition

Your Right to Know: Public Records Requests

Community Calendar: Live music, open mic, book club and more

Eagle Watching Days Jan. 15-16

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Spring Green, Wisconsin

Thursday, January 6, 2022 | Vol. 3, No. 1 FREE, Single-Copy

The Valley rings in the New Year with festivities, live music and DJs Photos by Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief and Taylor Scott, Managing Editor The ongoing pandemic didn’t keep all residents of the Valley cooped up inside on New Year’s Eve last Friday. Smaller crowds were out than normal with COVID cases continuing to increase, however many businesses adapted by asking that masks be worn for the festivities.

Events around the Valley included live music at several venues, live DJs, unlimited jukebox credits and — of course — champagne at midnight.

At right, above: Rare Element headlines Slowpoke Lounge and Cabaret’s New Year’s Eve Extravaganza in Spring Green.

At right, below: People are seen dancing at Roarin 20s’ Flashback to the 80s New Year’s Eve party in Plain.

Below: Sugar Mama and the Rent Check bring in the New Year at The Shed in Spring Green.

River Valley ARTS Creative Community and Artistic Development Grant applications are now available River Valley ARTS Do you have an idea for innovative arts programming that will benefit the River Valley Area? Are you an artist who would like support for your individual learning and development? If so, River Valley ARTS is here to help! Creative Community and Artistic Development grant applications are now available at www.RiverValleyARTS.org. Deadline to apply is February 28th, 2022. Maximum award amount is $2,500.

Creative Community Grants

The purpose of the Creative Community

Grant is to stimulate creative and innovative arts programming in the River Valley area. Proposed projects could include public exhibits, performances, publications, and educational activities. Disciplines could include dance, theater, music, folk arts, literary arts, visual arts, video and film. Priority is given to projects that maximize community involvement and community benefit. Priority will also be given to applicants who don’t have access to other funding sources. Funding for Creative Community Grants is made

possible by the generous support of local donors and businesses with matching funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board.

Artistic Development Grants

The purpose of the Artistic Development Grant is to support an individual’s arts project or artistic learning and development. Possible use of Artistic Development Grant money could include expenses related to projects in the visual or performing arts, to help cover short-term courses, workshops, materials and supplies, and art/music classes or camps. Any

professional artist, amateur artist, or student in the River Valley is eligible to apply for the Artistic Development Grant. Criteria for evaluating Artistic Grant applications are individual benefit, educational benefit, financial need, and community benefit. Funding for Artistic Development Grants is made possible by the generous support of local donors and businesses.

For full details visit www.

RiverValleyARTS.org. Questions can be directed to RiverValleyARTSInfo@ gmail.com.

Anglers take to the ice as cold weather opens up opportunities, free fishing weekend Jan. 15-16 Photos by Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief Give fishing a try during Wisconsin’s Free Fishing Weekend Jan. 15-16 – no fishing license or trout and salmon stamps required. Regulations and bag limits apply.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources shares these safety tips: No ice is safe ice! You cannot judge the strength of ice by one factor like its appearance, age, thickness, temperature or whether the ice is covered with snow. Ice strength is based on a combination of several factors, and they can vary from water body to water body. Ice strength can also vary in different areas of the same body of water.

Check with local bait shops for current ice conditions where you plan to fish.

If ice is questionable, stay safely on shore.

At right: Anglers out fishing on Helena Lake (State Highway 14, Arena) between Arena and Spring Green on Sunday.

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Thursday, January 6, 2022

Commentary/Opinion/ Lte

Community Column — Katie Green’s The Plain and Simple Correspondent: Turn, Turn, Turn Katie Green, The Plain and Simple Correspondent In January many of us grasp at straws to remain sane. Here in the northern climes it is always cold, blustery, frequently snowy and slippery in this month of continued darkness. That used to be a clarion call to winter sports, but with the unfortunate passage of time, enjoying a fractured kneecap that laid me up for ten weeks, and other perilous nearmisses in recent years, I am a cautious old biddy around ice. I tend to cower inside. And then if you throw in the fact of being cooped up for so long, the social deprivations of the ongoing Plague, the lack of the healing soil of gardening, and unending political strife all around us, you have a recipe that demands calling upon the arts of psychiatry to bake it all into something edible.

Katie Green Speaking of which, my ancient daybook says that January was a sufficiently depressing time of year for many that in the Middle Ages people with melancholy dispositions were advised to avoid fried

meats and overly salty foods. Venison was believed to engender melancholy – hunters take note. Desperation having set in, and throwing caution to the winds, this morning instead of a veggie omelette our breakfast consisted of leftover borscht and pumpkin gingerbread topped with a mound of whipped cream and some morsels of fresh pineapple. To be sure, the gingerbread had a maximum of healthy ingredients and a minimum of artery-cloggers and diabetes-beckoners, but still... Clearly unhinged.

The daybook also says that it is bad luck to take down your Christmas decorations before Twelfth Night, January 6. Well, most of mine are already boxed and stored back down in the basement, which, as soon as I read this passage, plunged me into depression again. It had lifted temporarily at the striking sight of no less than six flashy male cardinals gathered at one time in the snow around and on the bird feeders. I had even laughed aloud when a downy woodpecker flew in and went nose to nose with one big red bird with his cockcade up and fire in his eye.

Yesterday a former high school classmate related a supposedly Irish tradition for New Year’s Eve and Day which she and neighbors tried this year. You throw open the front door at midnight on December 31st, shout loudly (and profanely, if you wish) to banish the old year. Then, the next morning, you open the front door and welcome in the pristine new year. I might add that she lives in balmy California, where walking around on streets, sidewalks, and trails isn’t a menace to life and limb in January.

The worst aspect of deep winter in the north latitudes is that many persons

Driftless Grace: Welcome(d) to our community

Grace Vosen, Columnist I recently walked into a local restaurant and was greeted by five employees shouting my name. Cheers jokes aside, it felt wonderful to be both recognized and welcomed. I know how much effort it takes to process the hundreds of faces encountered in customer service, especially during busy hours – let alone develop a rapport with any of them. And their kindness was the real deal, not tied to my status as a customer. I felt like I belonged there.

This is the kind of familiarity I’ve been striving for since I moved to Spring Green earlier this year. While it’s not the deepest of connections, it feels good to visit a place so often that people know my name (and what I drink and eat). It says something about the town and the

people in it that these things happen at all.

Perhaps the most striking, yet understated, example of this is our post office. After months of getting my mail there, I realized that the clerks now know me by name and my box number by heart. Again, I don’t see myself being this thoughtful in their position. What’s more, it turns out that one employee remembers the first time I stopped in to set up my mailbox – before I was even an official community member.

True, it’s partly a function of size and the fact that many people who live in this community also work here. But I don’t think my case is unusual. We make an effort to know one another here, whether or not it’s our goal to become known. I feel welcomed, and welcome.

Photo contributed by Katie Green give up, shed their earthly existence and retreat to the arms of forgetfulness by way of drugs, madness, or a death ordained due to illness or old age.

Or all three. Every time I pick up the newspapers or hear the news, alert to whether or not my own name is among the new arrivals to Paradise, it seems some known and revered individual has gone. This causes us all to falter a bit.

Goodbye to Bill Birkemeier and Carie Graves and many others I knew only by name, saw them around town, knew their families, had read their books or seen their films or become familiar with their voices on the radio. I would like them to know I appreciated their contributions to the human tribe and hope they knew they were a delight to many besides myself.

Another high school acquaintance

mentioned going to a funeral thirty years ago, at which a family member of the deceased asked the attendees to go out and do good deeds in the memory of their friend rather than give money to a cause or buy flowers. As a result he has been bringing in shopping carts at the local supermarket in his neighborhood ever since, to the delight of the store management and employees. A simple gesture but it keeps the memory of his friend ever present. I am giving this intention some thought.

Meanwhile, “To everything there is a season, turn, turn, turn and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time for love, a time for peace, I swear it’s not too late.” The last line of Pete Seeger’s song lights a tiny fire of hope in my innards as we buckle up for 2022. Bring it on!

Letter to Editor: Foxes guarding the henhouse has got to stop Dear Editor: A group of your Iowa County neighbors is working quietly and tirelessly to ensure that your vote in every election counts.

Just like you, they babysit their grandchildren, take care of an elderly parent, commute to work...but then they carve out time to volunteer to protect your vote.

This group, called the Iowa County Fair Maps Team, just wants legislative maps drawn fairly so the true voice of the people can be heard at the polls.

The Fair Maps Team worked hard to prove that voters of Iowa County want fair maps by helping to get the referendum passed in 2020 with over 70% overwhelmingly voting for fair maps.

But Republican legislators in our statehouse—think foxes guarding the henhouse—continue to have the power to

draw the maps merely because they won their seats using the current rigged maps that they drew in 2011. And then they get to continue to draw more rigged maps and continue to win rigged elections, even though a whopping 73% of Wisconsin voters want to prohibit redistricting from benefitting one party over another. Fair map supporters want district maps to be drawn by a nonpartisan entity to ensure a fair fight and not the rigged elections we currently have.

This is not democracy. How can we continue to let the foxes guard the henhouse?

Join us at the Iowa County Courthouse in Dodgeville on January 21 at noon to learn more and meet your neighbors who just want you to be able to participate in fair elections.

—Claudia Looze, Highland, WI

Column — Your Right To Know: How to obtain public records - a primer Steven Potter, Wisconsin Public Radio

Every time an elected official sends an email, it becomes a public record. When an employee at a government agency makes a purchase, that transaction is the public’s business. Whenever a permit or license is issued by a government authority, this is information you should be able to obtain.

These records, which include everything from construction contracts and meeting minutes to electronic correspondence and court filings, offer a behind-the-scenes look into how governments function.

In many cases, public records contain discussions that show how and why individuals employed by city, county, state and federal agencies make decisions and spend tax dollars.

Wisconsin’s open records law begins with a declaration: “In recognition of the fact that a representative government is dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be the public policy of this state that all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official

acts of those officers and employees who represent them.”

That’s pretty unequivocal. When government officials at the state and local level create a record, any record, under this law the public has a right to see it. We are allowed to obtain, inspect and even scrutinize these records.

And that’s exactly what you should do when you want information.

If you have questions about how much a government agency spent on a project or who was at the table for an important committee meeting and how they voted, start by making a public records request.

Commonly used by journalists as well as everyday residents, what are called “open records” or “public records” requests can be made by anyone at any time for any reason.

While the process of making a public records request is relatively simple, it is a formal process nonetheless and there are a few steps to follow.

First, determine what you want to know and who has that record. The person in

charge of keeping and managing these documents at an agency or department is known as the “custodian” of public records. It doesn’t hurt to call the agency to find out who that custodian is.

In crafting your request, it may be best to use a simple template. A particularly good one for state and local entities can be found on the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council’s website, as the top offering under “Resources.” (For federal records, you need to file what’s called a “FOIA request,” which stands for “Freedom of Information Act.”) After you’ve filed your request with the record-keeping entity, you wait. Usually, the custodian will acknowledge your request pretty quickly and may tell you when you can expect your records.

Not all records are available. Some personnel — and personal — data and information may be protected. Also, records aren’t kept forever and some may have been deleted, destroyed or lost.

Sometimes, there is a cost for retrieving records, but you should ask to be informed

of that beforehand. You can also ask that the request be fulfilled for free, as the law allows. Further, to expedite their processing — and for environmental reasons— you may ask to receive your records electronically.

Requesting public records can take time and a fair amount of back-and-forth with record keepers to obtain the information you need. But when you have the records, you’ve completed an important check on the balance of power our government has over the public. And you’re one step closer to understanding why and how elected officials and other authorities make their decisions.

Don’t forget: These records are not the government’s records — they’re your records.

Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (WisFOIC.org), a group dedicated to open government.

Council member Steven Potter is a reporter and radio producer based in Madison.

Commentary/Regional

Thursday, January 6, 2022 Page 3

Chris Hardie’s Back Home column: The days of the general store Chris Hardie, Columnist

Traveling along County Highway C from the unincorporated community of Disco in Jackson County to the unincorporated hamlet of Beach Corners in Trempealeau County takes about 15 minutes.

Heading west from Disco you will travel through the unincorporated burg of Franklin — where I live — and through the slightly larger outpost of Hegg in Trempealeau County before you reach Beach.

Today, the 14-mile trip through these four metropolises is quick, but not so much 100 years ago when the county highways were sand, gravel and mud. Travel was a journey, so each community had its own retail base served by a general store.

had it all. Nearly every day someone from our farm stopped at the store for some critical piece of hardware or for a refreshing 20-cent, 10-ounce bottle of soda pop from the old Coca-Cola chest cooler that sat out on the open front porch.

There were two gas pumps outside — premium and regular — and a Sunbeam bread sign greeted you on the screen door. If you happened to be 20 cents short, no problem. The store offered charge accounts, and judging by the dozens of charge slips hanging around the front counter, everyone’s credit was good.

If you weren’t in a hurry — and this was a store not meant for a quick dash in and out — you could catch up on the latest news, weather, politics and the state of the world in general.

Because it was a general store. Disco, Franklin, Hegg and Beach all had one.

They have long since closed and the Disco store was torn down, but the other three store buildings remain.

Much of the history and the people who lived and worked in the stores are gone, but here is what I could piece together on these once thriving centers of commerce.

Disco

Chris Hardie I’m most familiar with the Franklin Store, which was for many years operated by Ted and Borhild Fosse, along with Ted’s brother Melvin. I was in that store hundreds of times as a youth and remember shopping in the Hegg and Disco stores too.

From fan belts to luncheon meat, from bib overalls to cereal and every nut, bolt and screw you could think of, it seemed like the Franklin Store

Only a few buildings remain in Disco, located at the junctions of highways C and X in the town of Albion. And neither the Bee Gees nor John Travolta had anything to do with its name.

This spot on the map had no name until the government decided in 1871 to establish a post office there.

The community was given the name Marengo but the post office was discontinued in 1886. When it was reestablished in 1892 the name Marengo had been taken by another town in Wisconsin. A local resident suggested Disco — named after her hometown in Illinois.

It was about this time that C.J. Hogg and Frank O’Hearn started a general store, which was later owned by the

Kimball, Potter and Zindrick families.

The store was purchased by Raymond and Ann Zindrick in 1959. I believe it closed sometime in the 1980s when the Zindricks retired.

Today, the location of the store is part of a community park in Disco, which used to have a creamery, blacksmith shop and a school.

Franklin

The Franklin Store was built in 1909 or 1910. One account I found says it was built by Iver Pederson who also had a store in Ettrick, but another account says it was built by August Yahr, a Norwegian immigrant who had previously worked for Pederson. August and his wife Josephine purchased the store in 1914 and operated it until 1959, when it was sold to the Fosses.

Borghild Fosse died in 1978 and Ted Fosse died in 1987. Ted’s daughter Joyce Graff kept the store open a little longer, but it closed sometime in the late 1980s. The Fosses lived in a house attached to the back of the store, which today is used as a residence.

Hegg

Located at county highways S and C is Hegg, named after Hans Christian Heg (they added a G to the town name), a Wisconsin antislavery activist and Civil War veteran who died after being wounded in the war. A post office was established in 1873 and the present store building dates to 1888. It served as the post office, where the mail was dropped off weekly by stagecoach.

Lars Underheim was long associated with the Hegg store. According to the History of Trempealeau County from 1917, Underheim managed the store for four years under one owner and two years under another before buying the store in 1907.

“He has since conducted it on a profitable basis, keeping a complete line of general merchandise including groceries and county produce and is drawing patronage from a wide extent of rich surrounding territory,” the book

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Beach Corners

Completing the journey where Highway C meets Highway 53 is Beach Corners (sometimes called Beaches Corner), named after a prominent local family.

I can find little about the history of the store, other than a photo from the Trempealeau County Historical Society taken in the 1920s. I found a mention in a 1946 newspaper article that it was rented that year by Ed Gunderson. I don’t recall the store being open in the 1970s, but it was purchased by Christa Berg in 1982 and for many years was the location for her yarn and crafts store, which closed a few years ago.

Today the building is empty.

I apologize for any errors, as the stories of these stores are incomplete; perhaps readers will help fill in the gaps. The stories are not unique — most rural communities at one time had their own general stores. Some buildings still stand. Others are gone, like the neighborhood centers they once were.

You just don’t get the same feeling when shopping in a big box store or pushing a buy now button online.

Chris Hardie spent more than 30 years as a reporter, editor and publisher. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and won dozens of state and national journalism awards. He is a former president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. Contact him at chardie1963@gmail.com.

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PO Box 144 Spring Green, Wisconsin 53588 USA (608) 588-6694 editor@valleysentinelnews.com valleysentinelnews.com Editorial Editor-in-Chief Nicole Aimone Managing Editor Taylor Scott Legal Editor Gary Ernest Grass, esq.

says.

Underheim retired from the store in 1949. Like the Disco store was, the Hegg store is a two-story building with living quarters upstairs. It was operated by the McMahon family in the 1970s, when my teammates would stop in for a treat after baseball practice in nearby Punker Park. The store closed sometime in the 1980s. There was an attempt to open it as a restaurant a few years ago, but the building sold in 2017 and is now a residence.

Contributors Arts & Culture/Editorial Columns Graphic Design/Pagination Bill Gordon Grace Vosen Anna Stocks-Hess Arts & Culture/Editorial Sports Editorial Intern Alison Graves Mike McDermott Adeline Holte Arts Community/Opinion Graphic Design Intern Jen Salt Katie Green Julianna Williams Our team will be growing and changing as we settle into publishing regularly, please stay in touch. Thank you to all of our contributors for believing in our community.

Editorial Policy

On certain topics in areas of great community interest, the editors of the Valley Sentinel may take positions they believe best represent and serve the interests of the community. Any opinions or positions taken by the editorial board are separate and distinct in labeling and substance from the community journalism that appears in the rest of the publication and does not affect the integrity and impartiality of our reporting. .

Est. 2020 igne conflatum “Forged in Fire”

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Covering Arena, Lone Rock, Plain, Spring Green and the surrounding areas in Sauk, Iowa and Richland counties.

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Community

Thursday, January 6, 2022

COmmunitycalendar Events for January 6 - January 21 Thursday, January 6 Stitch and Bitch 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM . Spring Green General Store, 137 S. Albany St. Spring Green . www.springgreengeneralstore.com . The Spring Green General Store’s Stitch and Bitch handwork group meets Thursday afternoons weekly. All are welcome.

Knit Night at Nina’s 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM . Nina’s Department Store, 143 E. Jefferson St. Spring Green . www.ninasdepartmentstore.com/ . Every Thursday from 6 to 8 pm. All knitters and crocheters are welcome. Store closed after 5:30 pm.

Friday, January 7 Spring Green Area Community Blood Drive 11:30 AM - 5:30 PM . Christ Lutheran Church, 237 E Daley, Spring Green . Appointments preferred. For an appointment call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org You can save up to 15 minutes when you donate blood by using RapidPass! Visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass for more information. Give a Pint. get a Pint. Get a coupon for a free pint of Culver’s famous frozen custard! Give Something that Means Something

Saturday, January 8 Pop-Up Spring Green Farmers Market 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM . S230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . The Spring Green Farmers Market is continuing in the Spring Green Community Public Library Lot through the winter every Saturday morning. Pre-orders are recommended. Visit our Facebook or Instagram page or email SGFarmersMarTry Youth Hockey for Free 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM . Harris Park, Dodgeville . The Ice Wolves Youth Hockey Association, in conjunction with USA Hockey, is hosting a Try Hockey for Free event on Saturday, Jan. 8th, from 9-11 a.m. at the Ice Wolves Rink located at Harris Park in Dodgeville. Kids ages 4 to 9 will be provided the opportunity to try youth hockey at no cost. Equipment available. Come dressed for the cold, winter coats, snow pants, gloves, and a bicycle helmet are highly recommended. No hockey or skating experience needed. Certified coaches will be on the ice with the kids at all times.

Register for Try Hockey for Free at www.icewolvesyouthhockey.org. Hope to see you

Sunday, January 9 Reception and Live Music: Local Art at the Library 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM . S230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . Join Paula C. Schiller, oil painter and the January featured artist, in the Community Room Gallery at the Spring Green Community Library. Refreshments will be served and the Backyard String Band of which Paula is a member will play

Monday, January 10 A Night of Words 7:30 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . www.slowpokelounge.com . An open mic. Friends sharing words. Watch. Listen. Speak.

Share. Maybe you have a favorite poem, or passage from a book you’d like to share. Or maybe you write your own and are ready to share it with the rest of us. Maybe you just want to tell a story. Or maybe you just want to listen. It’s all good. Let’s hang out and share words together. Poetry. Stories. Original work and old favorites. This and that.

A Night of Words. Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 required for all Slowpoke

Tuesday, January 11 Community Potluck 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM . Spring Green Community Center, 117 South Washington Street. . Everyone invited! No fee; donations accepted.

Wednesday, January 12 CANCELED DUE TO COVID - Family Storytime 10:00 AM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . www.springgreenlibrary.org . Join Ms. Grace for stories, songs, and fun! Starting in December, we will offer indoor storytime on Wednesdays! There is no sign up required for now, but attendance is limited to 19 people, so get there early to reserve your spot! We do require masks for everyone age 2 and up and will be socially distanced around the room for safety.

Thursday, January 13 Stitch and Bitch 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM . Spring Green General Store, 137 S. Albany St. Spring Green . www.springgreengeneralstore.com . The Spring Green General Store’s Stitch and Bitch handwork group meets Thursday afternoons weekly. All are welcome.

Knit Night at Nina’s 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM . Nina’s Department Store, 143 E. Jefferson St. Spring Green . www.ninasdepartmentstore.com/ . Every Thursday from 6 to 8 pm. All knitters and crocheters are welcome. Store closed after 5:30 pm.

Friday, January 14 Ridgeway Pine Relict Workday 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM . County Highway H, Ridgeway .

Ridgeway Pine Relict State Natural Area is known for its large, quality wetlands and spring complexes. With prescribed burning and brush control, DNR crews and volunteers have increased efforts to improve this site. Our winter workdays, led by Friends of Waubesa Wetlands, will focus on cutting, treating and burning (if there is snow) of invasive brush like buckthorn and honeysuckle. Seeds are collected in the fall to spread in the cleared areas. For questions or to RSVP to attend this workday, contact Mary Kay

Saturday, January 15 Kate’s Bait Annual Ice Fishing Derby 6:00 AM - 1:30 PM . 3916 State Road 23, Dodgeville . www.katesbaitdodgeville.com . Join us for the 9th Annual Ice Fishing Derby hosted by Kate's Bait. This event is for all ages. You may fish anywhere you want within the designated fishing time Jan. 15 from 6AM-1PM. Contestants may pre-register for the event or registration will open the day of the event at 4:30AM at Kate's Bait & Sporting Goods. Weigh-ins will be at Kate's Bait. The weigh-in station will close at 1:30PM. The cost for the event is $15 per adult and $5 per kid (under 17).

Sauk Prairie Area’s Bald Eagle Watching Days 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM . Prairie du Sac . ferrybluffeaglecouncil.org . See Page 7 for full event details.

Pop-Up Spring Green Farmers Market 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM . S230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . The Spring Green Farmers Market is continuing in the Spring Green Community Public Library Lot through the winter every Saturday morning. Pre-orders are recommended. Visit our Facebook or Instagram page or email SGFarmersMarSamuel Catral Quartet 7:30 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green

. www.slowpokelounge.com . Jazz knows no generation. It's always new, it's always

different. Let's bring on the next generation. Why not ease your way into 2022 with some cool jazz? The Samuel Catral Quartet is a Milwaukee based jazz band that plays songs from the American Song book and prominent jazz musicians. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 required for all Slowpoke events.

Sunday, January 16 Sauk Prairie Area’s Bald Eagle Watching Days 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM . Prairie du Sac . ferrybluffeaglecouncil.org . See Page 7 for full event details.

Monday, January 17 Open Mic: Words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . The Community Group for Racial Justice will be offering something special for January, to honor Martin Luther King Jr. We will gather at the Slowpoke Lounge with an open mic night to share King's powerful and inspirational words. Come with your favorite passages or to listen and support others!

Vaccinations required; masks recommended. Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 required for all Slowpoke events.

Wednesday, January 19 Arcadia Book Club discusses “Persuasion” by Jane Austen 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM .

Virtual/Zoom . www.readinutopia.com . Whether Jane is an old friend or this is your first time reading Miss Austen, we think you'll love this book. And it's all about love, isn't it?

Thursday, January 20 January Yoga Classes with Rural Remedy 6:00 PM- 7:30 PM . S11105 Fairview Rd Spring Green (lower barn) . Let's do some yoga together! Begin again, start from scratch or revisit your practice in a restored, well-heated old barn tucked away in our beautiful rural hills.

Slowpoke Songwriters Round 7:30 PM- 9:30 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . www.slowpokelounge.com . Featuring Nici Peper and Andy Hughes.

Support local artists by joining us for a night of original music with several songwriters, all on the stage together, sharing their music round robin style. If you would like to take part on stage, please contact Tim Eddy. No cover, but tips for artists are always welcome. Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 required for all Slowpoke events.

Friday, January 21 Comedy Night: Plain Lions Club 6:00 PM . Wisconsin Riverside Resort, S13220 Shifflet Rd, Spring Green, WI 53588 . Spend a night relaxing with some amusing comedy, food and drink. Doors open at 6pm, with the comedian starting at 7pm. Your $30 ticket includes the show and a wide range of all you can eat heavy Hor d'oeuvres and 1 alcoholic beverage. Proceeds go to help offset cost of a Summer Children’s Recreation Program held in Plain (a program that is open to any resident or non-resident children age 4 to 14 at no cost). Ticket price is $30 (a limited number will be sold).

Contact Bob Neuheisel 608-588-5004 or Ray Ring 608-588-4073

Reminder The risk of participating in a certain activity depends on many factors. Because of this, there’s no way to assign risk levels to certain actions. That’s why it’s important to consider your own situation and the risks for you, your family, and your community.

Here are some important guidelines to help ensure everyone’s safety: Get vaccinated.

Stay at least 6 feet away from other people when possible.

Wash hands frequently.

Wear a mask.

Stay home when sick.

Get tested if you have symptoms or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

Avoid crowded and poorly ventilated indoor spaces when possible.

Taken from: www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/community.htm

Community

Thursday, January 6, 2022 Page 5

COVID-19 Dashboard Wisconsin Summary

1,013,239 Positive Cases +40,143 from 12/29

Cases as of 1/5/2022

3,864,425 Negative Test Results +37,248 from 12/29

10,133 Deaths +153 from 12/29 Updated: 1/5/2022

Critically High Vaccine Summary Statistics Very High Updated: 1/5/2022 High 4,993,338 3,319,246 8,643,742 331,158 Medium Moderna doses Johnson & Johnson Pfizer doses Total doses Low administered doses administered administered administered

covid case activity level This graph shows information on case burden and trajectory. Burden (case rate) is the total number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Wisconsin residents in the last two weeks. Trajectory is the percent case change from the previous to the current week. These are different from Community Transmission Level, which is the total confirmed cases per 100,000 persons reported in the past 7 days.

Case activity is a combination of burden and trajectory over the prior two weeks.

Iowa County

711,129

21,417

Pfizer doses administered

Moderna doses administered

Johnson & Johnson doses administered

These two core measures are measures of herd immunity in Richland, Sauk and Iowa County.

We do not yet know what level of vaccination leads to herd immunity for COVID-19, or how current or future variants might affect herd immunity. We know based on other diseases that herd immunity is likely at least 60%, and if more transmissible variants become more common, that threshold may become higher, so the current target range is 60-90%. -Adapted from Madison Public Health and Dane County

+56 from 12/29 +92 from 12/29 +1 from 12/29

Richland

+158 from 12/29 +160 from 12/29 +0 from 12/29

3,509 Positive Cases 15,067 Negative Tests 22 Deaths

899,420

Total boosters administered

Vaccine Data

county level weekly statistics Richland County 2,603 Positive Cases 10,256 Negative Tests 33 Deaths

1,631,966

Sauk County

10,944 Positive Cases 45,138 Negative Tests 74 Deaths Updated: 1/5/2022

+405 from 12/29 +271 from 12/29 +0 from 12/29

Target Range

Sauk

Target Range

58.4%

63.5%

Percent with at least one vaccine dose

Percent with at least one vaccine dose

55.6%

59.6%

Percent fully vaccinated

Percent fully vaccinated Target Range

Iowa 69.0% Percent with at least one vaccine dose

65.7% Percent fully vaccinated

Cases per zip code

Percent of Wisconsin residents ages 5-11 who have received at least one dose by county

Cases as of 1/5/2022

Updated: 1/5/2022

Lower %

Richland County

14.0%

Ages 5-11

Iowa County Ages 5-11

Higher %

Percent of Wisconsin residents who have received at least one dose

27.9%

Sauk County Ages 5-11

Ages

20.3% Dane County Ages 5-11

Graphic by Anna Stocks-Hess

50.1%

5-11 12-17 18-24 25-34 35-44

Updated: 1/5/2022 21.4% 57.4% 56.9% 61.4%

45-54

67.2% 70.0%

55-64 65+

77.0% 85.4%

Data From: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/index.htm

Page 6

Outdoors

Thursday, January 6, 2022

The Sauk County Gardener: Time to Start Planning Your Garden Jeannie Manis, Wisconsin Certified Master Gardener “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”

— Audrey Hepburn January is a key month for planning and preparing for next year’s gardens.

Although many of you don’t care for snow, it can really help when planning next year’s garden. For me, a snowcovered yard provides a blank canvas and it’s harder to get distracted if I can’t see the things I didn’t get accomplished last year.

The first step in planning your gardens for next year is to review last year’s gardens. Refresh your memory on what worked, what didn’t, what insect problems you had, weather conditions, things you want to add or change, etc.

This is much easier if you track things in a garden journal. If you don’t journal

yet, consider doing so in 2022 as it makes the review process so much easier.

This can be as easy as noting things on your regular calendar or journal. Then, pencil in important things on your 2022 calendar so you know what needs be done when the time arrives.

Once you’ve reviewed last year’s gardens, start thinking about your upcoming gardens. Identify what plants you want to grow. In my vegetable garden, I figure out not only what I want to grow, but also what quantities I need to plant. I also like to determine if I’m going to start plants from seeds or purchase transplants later in the spring.

For example, I planted too much kale last year – I couldn’t use or give away as much as I planted. I also want to try a different variety. So, I will be looking for new variety and will only plant a limited

amount. I’ll also be researching Japanese eggplant seeds and determining whether I should start from seed or find a source for transplants. Considering drawing up your garden on paper so you know exactly where you’re going to plant things taking into consideration crop rotation, sunlight, and water needs.

Also determine when things need to be planted. Some vegetables you’ll want to plant directly into the soil when it’s warm enough, but others will need to be started indoors prior to setting outside.

Use these same steps when considering what new plants you want to add to your perennial beds as well.

Determine what seeds, tools, and other equipment you need for the upcoming season. Take stock of the seeds that you already have left over from previous years (you know you have them) so

you know what you need purchase. If the seeds are a little older or you’re not confident you stored them properly, consider doing a seed viability or germination test. This is as a simple as taking ten seeds, placing them on a damp paper towel inside a plastic bag so they are not touching each other, and noting how many germinate. For most plants, the target germination rate is 80-100 percent. That doesn’t mean you still can’t plant if the seeds if the germination rate is under these percentages; you’ll just need to plant more seeds. If it’s particularly low, you’ll probably want to purchase new seed.

Take some time to plan your plan your garden now. You’ll be so much happier when it comes time to get outdoors next spring if you have a plan in hand and all the supplies you need to get started.

New Year brings new bird sightings to Wisconsin, weather brings rare feathered finds Ryan Brady, DNR Natural Heritage Conservation Program Biologist 2021 provided another great year of Wisconsin birding, including over 190,000 eBird checklists tallying an incredible 350 species. Relive the highlights by checking out the recap from Wisconsin eBird. The year ended with exciting rare sightings, such as the state’s third-ever sighting of a tufted duck in Milwaukee and a king eider in Pepin County. The new year is continuing this momentum with sightings of a purple sandpiper in Milwaukee and an ivory gull in Douglas County.

Other rare finds in recent weeks include Say’s phoebe in Sauk, slaty-backed gull in Dane, spotted towhee in Brown, Eurasian tree sparrow in Green, California gull in Milwaukee, and continued findings of male harlequin ducks in Sheboygan.

A whooper swan in Dane and common shelduck in Fond du Lac are believed to have escaped from captivity, not wild vagrants. In addition, reports indicate several lingering warblers, including black-throated blue in Door, ovenbirds in Kenosha and Dane, orange-crowned in Milwaukee and a yellow-rumped exceptionally far north in Ashland.

Several Baltimore orioles have been reported at feeders as well.

Beyond the rarities, bird activity has generally been good in most locations.

Modest numbers of waterfowl linger at any open water, including trumpeter swans in the northwest and tundra swans in the south. Thousands of sandhill cranes and Canada geese continue across southern counties, and gull enthusiasts are enjoying picking through flocks of herring gulls for smaller numbers of ring-billed, black-backed, glaucous, Iceland and other unusual species.

Bird feeders have been busy during stretches of colder, snowier weather.

Goldfinches are prevalent in the north, while siskins and a few purple finches have been notable in the south. Redpolls are common in many areas but are infrequently visiting feeders. Evening grosbeaks have been nearly absent this year after excellent numbers last winter. Away from feeders, whitewinged crossbills can be found at spruce or hemlock cones statewide, and look for Bohemian waxwings among larger flocks of cedar waxwings at fruit or water sources. Pine grosbeaks have reached as far south as Green Bay. American kestrels and short-eared owls are being seen in above-average numbers, while some snowy owls, rough

Photo via Ryan Brady Look for pine grosbeaks eating fruits, tree seeds or roadside grit across the north woods during the winter months. legged hawks, and northern harriers Bald Eagle Watching Days are set for are frequenting similarly open habitats, Jan. 15-16 in the Sauk Prairie area. Find especially near dawn and dusk. Look for details on the Ferry Bluff Eagle Council flocks of snow buntings, horned larks, webpage. Volunteers are also needed and Lapland longspurs here as well. for the National Eagle Center’s annual Eagle lovers have a few opportunities to Wintering Golden Eagle Survey on Jan. get their fix this month. The 36th Annual 15 in western Wisconsin.

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Duties: • Manage multiple projects in various stages of planning and construction • Prepare and manage detailed schematic budgeting and estimating • Coordinate subcontractor bids Requirements: • 5+ years of Commercial Project Manager/Estimator experience • Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management or Civil Engineering • Understanding of our self-performed trades • Familiar with estimating software, have strong client service orientation, and demonstrate outstanding communication and organization skills

Commercial Construction Superintendent

Duties: • Management of construction activities • Ensuring compliance with design, schedule, and budget requirements • Overseeing multiple subcontractors Requirements • 5+ years of commercial field management experience • Experience in one of our self-performed trades • Must be able to demonstrate prior success in working effectively as a team with project owners, architects, and subcontractors. Must possess the leadership abilities to achieve top-flight results

For more info visit www.kraemerbrothers.com

Salary will be based on experience EEO/AA employer

Please send your resume to:

Kraemer Brothers, LLC 925 Park Ave | PO Box 219 Plain, WI 53577 Email: jobs@kraemerbrothers.com Phone: 608-546-2411

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY Looking for a challenge?

We are looking for interns/volunteers who want to be in the unique position to learn the nuts and bolts of a news media publication that started from the ground up.

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We are a new, all volunteer local news source that holds a strong belief that by working to keep our communities informed and engaged on a variety of topics including arts & culture, events, community news and serving as a watchdog for our local governmental bodies, we can help create a strong identity for our community and ignite positive growth and change throughout the area.

Interested? Send us your area(s) of interest and a resume to: editor@valleysentinelnews.com Internship will be unpaid, interns will be required to sign a FSLA-compliant internship agreement.

If credit is available from intern’s educational institution for participation in an internship, we are glad to work with you to meet any requirements for receiving credit.

outdoors & arts

Thursday, January 6, 2022 Page 7

OutWiGo to Sauk Prairie for the 36th Annual Bald Eagle Watching Days Jan. 15 -16

Event features in-person and remote eagle viewing opportunities Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources PRAIRIE DU SAC, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) invites the public to participate in the 36th Annual Bald Eagle Watching Days on Jan. 15-16 to celebrate the species and its remarkable comeback in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin’s longest-running eaglewatching event features in-person and virtual activities. Participants can catch a glimpse of eagles over the Wisconsin River at the newly expanded overlook on Water Street in Prairie du Sac. Volunteers will be available at the overlook to answer questions about bald eagles, weather permitting.

Attendees can also enjoy a self-guided tour on their mobile device of prime eagle viewing areas along the upper and lower portions of the Lower Wisconsin River.

Both tours start at the Sauk-Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce in Sauk City.

The public can also attend presentations at the River Arts Center or watch live from the comfort of their home on the Ferry Bluff Eagle Council’s YouTube channel.

“The comeback of bald eagles in Wisconsin is an amazing story, and we’re excited to share this story with people in a special hybrid event,” said Jeb Barzen, President of the Ferry Bluff Eagle Council.

“In our area, people living along the Lower Wisconsin River have worked hard to provide an environment where eagles and human neighbors thrive.”

“After 36 years of participating in the Bald Eagle Watching Days, we’re as excited as ever to promote bald eagle conservation and assist the public with viewing opportunities during winter in the Sauk Prairie area,” said Sumner Matteson, DNR Avian Ecologist. “In addition to the in-person events, the virtual options allow people to watch the programming throughout the year, instead of just in one weekend.”

Bald eagles tend to congregate near open water areas on the Wisconsin River, including below the Prairie du Sac dam where they can fish, offering a scenic destination to view the species in the wild.

In general, eagle watching is best during the morning hours when the birds are most active fishing and are frequently seen perching in trees along the rivers.

When viewing eagles, please keep your distance as not to cause them to fly off.

Remain in your vehicle when near them.

Do not walk along the river, particularly at the hydropower dam since it is the eagles’

most active feeding area. Eagles, especially immature ones, need to conserve their energy to survive Wisconsin winters.

The 2022 Bald Eagle Watching Days event is co-sponsored by the DNR, Ferry Bluff Eagle Council, Sauk Prairie Area Chamber of Commerce and Tripp Heritage Museum in Prairie du Sac. For more information and to download the event schedule, visit the Ferry Bluff Eagle Council website: ferrybluffeaglecouncil.org Programming includes a mix of in-person, live-streamed and prerecorded events beginning at 8 a.m. on Jan. 15 and 16. Highlights include: Saturday, Jan. 15 Stop by the newly expanded overlook on Water Street to view eagles and learn more about the species from volunteers available from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., weather permitting.

Visit the Tripp Heritage Museum (565 Water St, Prairie Du Sac) from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. to catch pre-filmed presentations of Old Abe, Civil War Eagle and The Bald Eagle in Native American Culture. Masks required.

Attend live and pre-recorded presentations at the River Arts Center (105 9th St, Prairie Du Sac); Masks required: 10 - 11:15 a.m.: In-person Schlitz Audubon Nature Center live raptor show, followed by a question & answer session 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: “Laughing with the Animals” show hosted by educator and entertainer David Stokes, followed by a question & answer session 1:30 - 2:45 p.m.: Pre-recorded release of a bald eagle brought back to health by Marge Gibson, Executive Director of Raptor Education Group, Inc. Following the release, Gibson will join the participants at the River Arts Center via Zoom to talk about rehabilitation work and answer questions 3 - 4:15 p.m.: In-person Schlitz Audubon Nature Center live raptor show, followed by a question & answer session Sunday, Jan. 16 Stop by the newly expanded overlook on Water Street to view eagles and learn more about the species from volunteers available from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m., weather permitting.

Event Honors Wisconsin’s Growing Bald Eagle Population Bald Eagle Watching Days started in 1987 to highlight the comeback of bald eagles since their listing in the 1970s as an endangered species. The national ban on the pesticide DDT, added protections under state and federal endangered species laws, cleaned up rivers and public support of nest monitoring and protection

efforts allowed bald eagles to fly off the state endangered species list in 1997 and the federal list a decade later.

Bald eagle populations in Wisconsin have grown from 108 occupied nests in 1973 to nearly 1,700 in 2019, affording fantastic viewing opportunities as eagles from northern Wisconsin, Canada, northern Michigan and Minnesota move south in

search of new nesting territories.

Bald eagle nests are federally protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Nest monitoring surveys and winter surveys continue to keep tabs on the population and to provide landowners with the best guidance on how to avoid impacting eagle nests.

Jen Salt’s ‘Backwaters of the Wisconsin River’

Painting by Jen Salt This piece depicts one of the islands of trees along Highway 60 West as you round the bend just outside of Gotham. It was a challenge to paint as it has a lot going on with the shadows on the ice and the distant trees.

—Jen Salt, Spring Green This painting is oil on gesso board, 16” x 20” and will be at the Steinhauer Trust Art Gallery at the UW Arboretum (2880 Longenecker Dr, Madison) for the next two months.

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“The good stuff.”

Page 8

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Outdoors & Recreation

An Outdoorsman’s Journal

Mark Walters, Columnist

2021 — A Year of Ups and Downs Hello friends, I am writing this on Christmas morning. Late tonight my 20-year-old daughter Selina and I are going to get into my Chevy pickup, which will be pulling a trailer and heading for Delta National Forest in west central Mississippi.

We will meet my brother Tom Walters, who will be coming over from Denham Springs, Louisiana and we will camp, canoe and hunt whitetail deer and wild hogs.

This week’s column is my annual high points and, in some cases, low points of the year story. I would like to say thank you to all of the readers, the folks that run advertisements next to my column, and the people at the newspapers that get the job done each week.

I am going to start right out with March. First it was winter camping and ice fishing for walleye on Little Bay de Noc with my high school buddy Doug Cibulka. Big walleye and lots of laughs on that trip.

The following week, it was my eighth winter camping trip of the season, Cibulka was along and so was Jeff “I'm gonna burn the shack down” Moll. We were on Chequamegon Bay, near Lake Superior/Ashland and we had about as much fun as three high school buddies could have over four days on the ice. In the middle of the night there was a fire, Moll discovered it and put it out and after hiring “special” detectives it was determined he caused it. We caught a ton of browns, splake, gators, smelt, and some perch.

I also took my canoe over to DePere where I paddle trolled after dark in the insane world called fishing the walleye run — I have yet to see someone else out there in a canoe — and caught a beautiful 26-inch walleye.

In early April, I headed down to my brother Tom’s cabin on Lake Washington with my brother Mike to fish crappie. That was another adventure and I love the south in the winter as long as it's not a trailer park, get me remote!

So in June ‘The Canada Gang’ was supposed to be participating in our annual fly-in fishing trip to Shultz Lake.

There is so much bad news in that area you could write a book.

I grew up working in this business, Chimo Lodge and Outposts, started writing this column there back in ‘89, and worked for Pete and Elisabeth Hagedorn. The Hagedorns sold Chimo five years ago and the new owners have literally been put through hell.

First, a major forest fire burnt the main camp and two outposts. The Photo by Mark Walters, Columnist following year COVID hit. This year, COVID was still there and my good Left to right: Doug Cibulka, Mark Walters, and Jeff Moll with a great catch on Chequamegon Bay last March. friend, co-owner Daniel Wesolowski, who could build anything and was the bushman for the business, was killed dropping a tree.

After Daniel passed this past spring, the fires returned and wreaked havoc again. Chris LeBlanc and his crew always keep their chins up and press forward. Check Chimo out!

I have become pretty good at fishing out of my canoe. In June, I limited out on walleye on Green Bay and then headed over to the Mississippi River near Desoto and put a hurting on the crappie and bluegill.

I also took out the computer out on my 90hsp Etec. It took until mid July to find a computer and someone that knew how to handle the job as well as $1,900.

Come to think of it, I was with my old buddy Jeff Moll when it burnt up and the Coast Guard rescued us.

No actual bear baiting for me this year, none of my gang got a tag, but this year I should get one and chasing bear is Photo by Mark Walters, Columnist never far from my mind.

Walters caught this walleye paddling after dark at DePere on the Fox River.

In November, I went on a very cool bow hunt/ canoe camping trip. I have think it’s time for me to go over to the the big bucks figured out and I honestly Keep moving my friends, eventually crossbow. I have a shoulder problem, your batteries will be spent! never was one to shoot past 25-yards and saw two ‘pigasaurases’ that were just out —Sunset of my range, I did pass up a few and never used to.

I also got back into raising a few steers Follow along each week on the adventures of Mark Walters, in November and simply love having a syndicated outdoor adventure columnist who lives in them around and so will my gardens.

Necedah, Wisconsin. He began writing his column, An The second half of November, I was at Outdoorsman's Journal, in 1989. It includes hunting, fishing, deer camp and almost burnt up in the lots of canoeing and backpacking. He currently writes for campfire when my wheelchair was around 60 newspapers on a weekly basis. He hopes you pushed into it. Come to think of it, my enjoy reading about his adventures! old buddy Jeff Moll videoed the sizzling of Mark Walters. I might need to hire a bodyguard.

Want to read more?

This was the 50th year in a row that I Check out previous weeks’ columns at watched the sun come up while hunting www.outdoorsmansjournal.com deer at this incredible place on opening day of deer gun season.

Photo by Mark Walters, Columnist Brothers Tom and Mike Walters enjoying life on Mississippi's Lake Washington last April.