Valley Sentinel - 03-21-2024

Public safety debate continues as Arena holds special meeting to ‘discuss continued employment of current police officers’

The Village of Arena Board of Trustees held a special meeting March 13, that went into closed session to “discuss the continued employment of the current police officers.” Over a dozen Arena residents attended the meeting and many spoke during public comment and voiced their concerns. Confusion abounded as some attendees questioned whether the closed session was legal—and whether the board controls police employment— by citing a past court order. Ultimately, the board passed a motion stating their intention to hold another closed session meeting within the next two weeks, and to invite the police department to it.

Residents who attended the meeting were confused by what they perceived as its secrecy and questioned why the board held a closed session meeting in the first place and what was discussed.

“What was said in closed session stays in closed session,” said Kate Reimann, village president of Arena, in response.

“The residents will be in uproar if our police department is defunded or gone,” offered resident Susan Pustina.

The most vocal attendee during public comment was former village president and board member Paul Pustina. He echoed the concerns of other Arena residents with his comments. He

conceded the board has control of the Arena police department’s budget, but he challenged other parts of the board’s authority.

“I've been advised the board really does not have the right to determine their employment,” Paul Pustina said, referring to the employment of Arena police officers.

“Another thing really disgusts me. After the police announced they're going to go part-time, Mr. Doerflinger—from what I understand—was the only [board member] that reached out to [Arena Chief of Police Nicholas Stroik],” Paul Pustina

said. In November, Stroik announced he and Sergeant Wyatt Miller decided to be part-time employees, rather than fulltime, and intended to take additional positions with the Iowa County Sheriff’s Department.

Stroik said at the time he made the decision for many reasons, including the inability of the village to secure healthcare insurance and that the board had acted disrespectfully toward the police department, which had affected morale.

“There's been not a board member that has reached out to the police department

Itty Bitty Art Committee launches in Spring Green to support local arts

Taylor Scott, Managing Editor

or sat down, to try to work out their differences,” Paul Pustina claimed in his public comment remarks.

During public comment, while Paul Pustina was first speaking, he was repeatedly interrupted by Kristen Shea, a trustee on the board. Shea was calling into the meeting by phone.

“Kristen, Kristen—let's allow the public to speak, please. It is public comment,” Reimann said.

Later, Paul Pustina said the board has not spent money responsibly in the last three or four years, during Reimann’s tenure as village president. Paul Pustina criticized Reimann specifically for her handling of projects last February, which culminated in a heated back and forth.

“You did not know what you're talking about. I'm sorry. You want to get mad at me? I mean—village president—you even asked [the village’s engineer] how much they would be supervising the projects. That tells me that you did not read the contract through. You cut $20,000 from the police budget last year, and you cut another $10,690 this year,” Paul Pustina said.

While Paul Pustina criticized Reimann, they began interrupting each other.

“No, that is telling me I am providing that information to the public, like asking

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desire to create a safe and engaging community gathering that could allow us to be creative and help benefit the collective of our community.”

“I love a good novelty vending machine," said Adams. “The Itty Bitty Art Committee was created with a

In a creative and community-driven effort to support local artists and nonprofit organizations, an Itty Bitty Art Committee is set to fully launch its innovative project, bringing art to unexpected places while giving back to the community. Spearheaded by Kyle Adams, owner of Wander Provisions, the initiative aims to provide a platform for local artists while supporting the arts in the River Valley area. The Itty Bitty Art Committee is a community-driven art project that will help raise funds for local non-profit organizations. The project centers around a novel concept: a vending machine filled with miniature artworks created by community members. Participants can purchase a mystery piece from the vending machine for just $1 at Wander Provisions (136 S Albany Street, Spring Green), with all proceeds going to River Valley ARTS to support its mission of nourishing the creative spirit in the community.

To populate the vending machine with artwork, the committee is hosting open art gatherings at the Slowpoke Lounge & Cabaret and the Spring Green

continued on page 9

Alex Prochaska, Editorial Intern

Photo by Alex Prochaska, Editorial Intern Members of the Village of Arena Board of Trustees listen on as residents speak during public comment.

Sunshine Week: Support Local Journalism

Sunshine Week is March 10-16, and this year, there’s an even greater need for you to get involved.

Sunshine Week annually celebrates freedom of information laws in every state. It also salutes efforts by good government advocates and journalists to use and ensure the effectiveness of those laws to get the information we need as self-governing citizens.

The name is a play on the commonsense words spoken more than a century ago by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, that “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.”

Brandeis’ remark was not made in a court opinion. It was in a 1913 article published in the news magazine Harper’s Weekly. Along with its observations on American culture and events, Harper’s was part of the “muckraking” news era, with journalists holding business and government accountable for corruption, waste and illegal activity.

As a special treat of each Sunshine Week, we get to see current examples of news reporting on behalf of the public, the type of journalism that the nation’s founders had in mind when they adopted strong First Amendment protection for a free press.

Sunshine Week was started in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors. The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications is coordinating Sunshine Week for the first time this year.

Each year, we celebrate the thousands of local, state and national print, TV, radio and online reports that tell us what the government or others are doing and how they are doing it; reports that explore and expose otherwise unseen information we need to know to make good decisions at the ballot box, when petitioning for change or simply things we should know about our communities.

Just a few examples, from a 2023 New York Times report:

• In the Hunter Hills neighborhood of Atlanta, idle freight trains blocked a main road, sometimes for more than 30 hours, potentially blocking ambulances and fire trucks.

• In Colorado, a libertarian “food freedom” movement has re energized a long battle over the

On the cover

It's that time of year where we get to #humblebrag about all the hard work we've done in the last year and showcase the rewards of our efforts.

Valley Sentinel brought home 17 awards from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association's annual Better Newspaper Contest. While we didn't get Best in Division again, we're proud of the awards we received.

We will use the feedback from judges to inform our decisions when it comes to tweaking how we can best do the news well in the next year.

Thank you to our contributors, our subscribers, our advertisers and our community.

Submit your artwork or photography for cover consideration: editor@valleysentinelnews.com

safety of unpasteurized milk.

• A city manager in DuBois, Pennsylvania, gave himself raises and allegedly took hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.

• After bus issues caused school closures in Jefferson County, Kentucky, two reporters followed one school bus trying to complete an impossible route.

• An investigative report of wage theft in New York State uncovered rampant abuse in the horse racing industry, with repeat offenders owing workers more than $4.4 million.

But this year as we celebrate that work being done on behalf of democracy, there is an increasingly needed partner in that work: You and your support for local journalists.

The number of journalists continues to plummet, from more than 75,000 newsroom jobs in 2005 to 31,860 in 2022, according to the Medill Local News Initiative. Far too many of us now live in “news deserts,” areas across the nation where not a single news outlet exists. Medill reported that in 2023, that out of 3,143 counties nationwide, 204 counties had no newspapers, local digital sites, public radio newsrooms or ethnic publications, and another 228 counties were at substantial risk of losing all local news media.

Even where there are established news media outlets, economic pressures have resulted in staff cuts that mean there is less coverage of local government institutions like the city council, school board and local courts.

We need to face the fact that there just aren’t enough journalists to do the job of monitoring and reporting on government, business and others.

To be sure, journalists and free press advocates are working to cut those losses and to buttress the flow of information to the public. There are new projects to fund local reporting or produce statewide or local reports, including the American Journalism Project; the Indiana Local News Initiative; Signal, a nonprofit organization in Ohio; and Houston Landing, a recently launched Texas publication.

continued on page 5

Sunshine week round-up

Sunshine Week, held annually in March, was launched in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors, and aims to promote open government and shine light into the dark recesses of government secrecy.

This year’s efforts are coordinated by the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project, Muckrock, Society of Professional Journalists, the Radio Television Digital News Association and a growing list of partners, including the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

We ran out of time and space to do our Open Government Report Card this year. However we are happy to report that we don't have any major ongoing issues with local municipalities with regard to public records or open meetings. (Although we've got the Town of Troy in our sights if they don't start sending us notices.)

A major point of education this last year has been teaching municipal clerks and the public that municipalities have an independent duty to notify the media that have requested it of governmental meetings for those meetings to be properly noticed. When news media request notice under Wis. Stat. 19.84(1)(b) it is separate from the notice given to the public, but equally as necessary. Further, Wis. Stats. § 19.96 & 19.97 prescribe the forfeitures possible when notice isn’t proper and state any action taken at a meeting of a governmental body held in violation is potentially voidable.

We're not great at updating the PDFs quite yet, but a link to every posted area municipal agenda is available at: valleysentinelnews.com/public-meeting-notices/

Lone Rock Public Records Lawsuit & Open Meetings Complaints Updates

We're happy to report that since we filed suit for public records from the Village of Lone Rock last year the village has completely revamped their website and have included a sign-up to receive meeting notices by email. We have no complaints and have received meeting notices in a timely manner in the last year. With respect to this, we have elected to not pursue the open meetings complaints at this time. The public records lawsuit is in its final stages as we try to iron out an agreement with Lone Rock's attorney. Vague language that we believe would constitute a universal settlement, compromising our ability to seek relief for related matters such as the open meetings complaints if necessary, stubbornly keeps appearing in the proposed settlement. In every other regard the parties agree in principle and we expect a settlement soon. But we'll let our legal editor give the full update:

Valley Sentinel’s lawsuit against the Village of Lone Rock has not yet been formally resolved, but both sides have agreed on the basic terms of a settlement. In fact, both sides had believed that the details were settled and only an exchange of signatures was required to end the action, but at the last minute -- after the court had been informed that everything was settled -- the Valley Sentinel realized that there were in fact still issues which had been overlooked in drafting the agreement between the parties. Both sides are working to finish off these last couple of points so that another appearance in court will not be necessary.

—Gary Ernest Grass, esq., Legal Editor

“WNA Awards” (2024) Photo, by Taylor Scott, Managing Editor

Gene Policinski, Contributed

OPINION/EDITORIAL

Public Education — Part 13: The Privatization of Education

Beverly Pestel, Columnist

The right to an education at the government’s expense may be one of the most important rights given to us by the Founding Fathers. It was a while in coming and, arguably, it has never lived up to their aspirations. Following the progression and development of public education, however, allows us to understand where we’ve been, and where we may be going. More importantly, analyzing it carefully may be critical to ensuring a prosperous future for all of us. So, here we go...

This has been a difficult column for me to write. I am a passionate supporter of public education. That position was enhanced even more after all the research I did that highlighted the significance the Founding Fathers placed on the need for education of the masses in order to sustain our democracy.

Remember these quotes from Thomas Jefferson in previous columns?

“…experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms [of government], those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny; and it is believed that the most effectual means of preventing this would be, to illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of the people at large, and more especially to give them knowledge of those facts, which history exhibiteth, that, possessed thereby of the experience of other ages and countries, they may be enabled to know ambition under all its

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shapes, and prompt to exert their natural powers to defeat its purposes…”

And then there was this…

“…whom nature hath endowed with genius and virtue, should be rendered by liberal education worthy to receive, and able to guard the sacred deposit of the rights and liberties of their fellow citizens, and that they should be called to that charge without regard to wealth, birth or other accidental condition or circumstance; but the indigence of the greater number disabling them from so educating, at their own expense,…it is better that such should be sought for and educated at the common expense of all…”

What I fail to come to terms with is the need to have two separate school systems “at the common expense of all”: truly public and public-private. I have a built-in bias against funneling tax dollars into anything other than our local established community public schools.

I wasn’t sure I was capable of addressing this topic objectively. As I conducted my research, I worried that I was selecting only those books, articles, and news reports that would reinforce my bias. When I encountered information that presented the positive aspects of charter schools and vouchers, would I immediately discount it as propaganda promoted by those with a reason to disparage public education, or as greed by those who benefit financially from establishing a charter school, or as a sense of entitlement by those who tap into public funds when electing to send children to a private school that they could otherwise afford? As you can see, I’m not going to try to hide my bias, I’ll just acknowledge it and try to use facts to either justify it or move past it. Research reveals, however, that there are multiple sources reporting on the individuals and organizations promoting charter schools and using vouchers to create a pipeline for sending tax dollars to private entities for less than honorable reasons. They make a promise of better educational opportunities for our kids, but you have to take a deep dive into the potential

benefits to those who promote those schools. So, what is the consensus when using facts collected from sources that have no financial benefit in their support of education but benefit only in creating the best education for our kids – ALL of our kids. If you know any public school teachers who have persisted in the classroom for years, you know that kind of dedication to the education of all students exists in our public schools.

First, is there any independently produced, replicable data that confirms charter schools are universally superior to our local public schools? No. Are there some charter schools that appear to be doing a good job in educating our kids? Yes. Are they doing a job that our existing local public schools could not do if they were adequately funded and given the innovative license to do so? In most cases, the answer appears to be, no.

The case for charter schools was initiated when standardized test data – which we now know to be unreliable – indicated that students from poorer neighborhoods and students with what have been labeled as learning disabilities were not being adequately served by their local schools. Early on, these charter schools were supposed to serve these students. I can’t argue with the well-intentioned individuals who recommended establishing these schools for this reason. Regardless of this initial intention, however, the reality of who is currently served by the charter schools does not seem to follow this intention. The truth is that “public” charter schools are too often not equally accessible by all kids. Branding, promotional strategies, and application systems often sway enrollment toward students with more resources and fewer needs than the general population. In addition, although charter schools must be operated by nonprofit entities, many states allow for-profit corporations to manage them like Edventure in Arizona. Examples of mismanagement and fraud are not uncommon. Vouchers are any form of public payment to help parents send their children to private school, including religious schools. According to the National Education Association, “Overwhelmingly, school vouchers are being used by families with children

Have graphic design experience or interested in meetings, events or writing and becoming a community contributor? Let us know. Thank you to all of our contributors for believing in our community.

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community. Any opinions or positions taken by the editorial board are separate and distinct in labeling and substance from the community journalism that ap- pears in the rest of the publication and does not affect the integri- ty and impartiality of our reporting.

Letter to the Editor Policy

Letters submitted for consideration are subject to fact-checking and editing for space and clarity. Submissions must have a compelling local community interest. Letters to the editor must fit within a 500-word limit, and include name, city and phone number. Phone numbers are for office use only and will not be published. Letters of a political nature, without chance of rebuttal, will not be published the week before an election.

already in private school to subsidize their tuition.” This statement is reinforced by multiple sources. Since sending your child to a private school is a personal choice, it seems only reasonable that private school tuition should be a personal sacrifice, not a public one.

Meanwhile, there are 101 referendums on the April ballot in Wisconsin where communities will be asked to voluntarily increase their property taxes by $1.67 billion in order to fund their local public schools because state funding is not adequate – and most will vote “yes”. This is a sacrifice, not just by parents, but by grandparents, families with no children in the school, and community members who recognize the significant impact the public school has on the community both emotionally and economically. More referendums will be on the ballots later this year. All this while the legislature underfunded our public schools despite a $7 billion surplus and funneled our tax dollars into charter schools and vouchers.

The answer to our struggling public schools is at the ballot box – and not just to support essential referendums – but to elect representatives who will support our public schools, our public school teachers, our kids, and through them, our rural communities being hurt the most by charters and vouchers.

The solution to providing an excellent education for our kids is not in charters and vouchers, it is in strong local, established, public schools supported as passionately by our elected officials as by our local communities.

Ok, this is an opinion column, you know, and if the editors will allow me to do some preaching – this is where I choose to do it. Thank a public school teacher, shake your head in frustration and vote “yes” on those referendums, and then vote in November for representatives who will support our local established public schools. Our communities deserve nothing less.

Beverly is a retired professor. She lives in a remodeled farmhouse and tends 40 acres of woodland in Richland County. When not in the woods she spends her time reading, writing and enjoying the beauty of the Driftless Area. Beverly may be contacted at bpestel@msn.com.

Deadlines: The display and classified advertising deadline is Monday at noon for that week. If you would like our design team to design the ad then please allow extra time for the creative process and proofing.

Ad team: ads@valleysentinelnews.com Valley

Column Policy Editors may feature opinion columns written by public figures, members of the public or other publication staff. Columns reflect the opinions of the individual contributors and do not represent positions of the publication. Guest columns of an anticipated length more than 500 words should seek prior editor authorization.

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Community Discussion Policy

From time to time the editorial board may select letters to the editor of a particular compelling community interest where a public figure or accountable public action is the recipient of crit- icism and allow, in the same issue, the subject of the criticism chance for rebuttal, with expounded independent input. The format shall be point, counterpoint and expert analysis. This community discussion shall serve as a moderated dialogue that presents multiple views of important community topics.

Beverly Pestel

Valley Sentinel brings home awards from Wisconsin Newspaper Association banquet

The Wisconsin Newspaper Association recently recognized the state’s newspapers for their exceptional work during its 2023 Better Newspaper Contest Awards Banquet. The event took place March 15 at The Madison Concourse Hotel in downtown Madison.

Among the winners, Valley Sentinel came away with 17 awards.

Annually, newspapers from across the state can submit entries in the awards for editorial and advertising. Publications are divided into most categories based on circulation size and daily versus weekly publications.

The 2023 Newspapers of the Year were The (Minocqua) Lakeland Times, Weekly Division, and (Madison) Wisconsin State Journal, Daily Division.

The 2023 contest received 2,144 entries from 102 newspapers. Eligible entries were published between Sept. 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2023, and were judged by members of the Kentucky Press Association.

Best in Division winners were:

• Division E (non-daily circulation of 2,249 or less): Northwoods River News, Rhinelander

• Division D (non-daily circulation of 2,250 – 4,499): Superior Telegram

• Division C (non-daily circulation of at least 4,500): The Lakeland Times, Minocqua

• Division B (daily circulation of less than 9,999): EagleHerald, Marinette

• Division A (daily circulation of at least 10,000): Wisconsin State Journal, Madison

At last year’s awards, in its first year eligible, Valley Sentinel earned Best in Division E.

Out of the other Sauk, Iowa and Richland county papers, the Richland Observer (Division E) took home first place for Best Large Ad and Best Small Ad, third place for Best Multiple Advertiser Spread and honorable mentions for Best Multiple Advertiser Spread and Best Use of Art Service. Other area Wisconsin Newspaper Association member papers, the Baraboo News Republic (Division B), the Home News (Division E), the Dodgeville Chronicle (Division D), The Democrat Tribune (Division E) and the Reedsburg Independent (Division E), were not represented at the awards.

Valley Sentinel’s staff and community contributors were recognized with 17 awards. Co-Owner/Publisher/Editorin-Chief Nicole Aimone, Co-Owner/ Publisher/Managing Editor Taylor Scott, Graphic Designer Julianna Williams, Columnist Beverly Pestel and contributors Lauren Dochnahl and Don Greenwood were among those honored by name. Many more contributors lent their work to categories that were won by the paper as a whole.

Valley Sentinel’s awards include first

place in the Artistic Photo (Dochnahl), Best Front Page (Valley Sentinel), Best Newspaper Promotion (Valley Sentinel) and Bill Payne Award-Best Overall Ad (Scott) categories. The publication also received second place in the Bill Payne Award-Best Overall Ad (Williams), Local Column (Aimone) and Salesperson of the Year (Scott) categories. Third place honors were awarded to Valley Sentinel in Artistic Photo (Greenwood), Best Niche Product (Scott), Best Opinion Pages (Valley Sentinel), Editorial Award (Valley Sentinel), Health Coverage (Williams, Scott) and Local Column (Pestel). Honorable mentions for Valley Sentinel were given for Best Headlines (Valley Sentinel), Best Newspaper Promotion (Valley Sentinel), Best Use of Color (Williams) and Bill Payne Award-Best Overall Ad (Scott).

“A sincere thank you again to our contributors, our readers and our community for believing in our mission of doing something different and supporting us on the journey,” said Aimone. “We couldn’t do this each edition without your support.”

The first and third place in Artistic Photo in this year’s awards echoes the newspaper’s sweep of the Artistic Photo category in last year’s awards.

“Like I’ve previously shared, a strong artistic local news photo will be that once-in-a-lifetime, breathtaking shot

and open meetings dispute with the Lone Rock Village Board, a front page from May 2023 that featured Dochnahl’s picture of the Octagon Barn and a front page from Aug. 2023 that featured the last Friday fish fry of the now-shuttered Lone Rock Bistro.

“The first two entries are unique and beautiful. But actually, the least ‘exciting’ front page—the one with the Lone Rock Bistro—is actually the best front page from a technical standpoint,” said Aimone. “The picture on the cover above the fold is framed well and newsworthy, showing a view through the front window of a waitress taking an order with an open sign in the foreground, all on their last Friday fish fry. It’s evocative. Below the fold, the technical layout of the news stories is the strongest out of all our entries.”

Scott, who lays out much of the paper, agreed.

“An area we’ve continued to tweak and improve is our front page,” said Scott. “We strive to do the hard news topically that a traditional community newspaper would, but also cover the events and arts & culture that an alternative community publication would. I wanted our front page to be reflective of that hybrid model and be attention-grabbing to residents and visitors alike.”

of a place or scene everyone in the area knows, but you were lucky enough to have a camera with you to get that shot,” said Aimone. “Traditionally it’ll include people and a snapshot of exactly what’s going on at the newsworthy event it’s reporting. What makes our entries both so interesting is they’re landscapes that don’t include people but that the community knows and resonates with— with Greenwood’s shot of the Spring Green Preserve being one of those photos that demonstrates expertise behind a camera and Dochnahl’s shot of the Octagon Barn in front of the Northern Lights showcasing a shared experience many of us had in looking up on that night.”

Of Dochnahl’s photo, the judges said: “Good capturing of the mood of the moment, which is tough to do when you’re working outside of people.”

Of Greenwood’s photo, the judges said: “This is 100% crispness. The moment itself is not incredibly unique but this photo has such incredible clarity, particularly capturing the sun being 90% in view.”

Both photos were featured on the front page cover of Valley Sentinel Valley Sentinel’s first place in Best Front Page came as a surprise, after the paper submitted a front page from Feb. 2022 that had an illustration that highlighted the paper’s open records

Last year Valley Sentinel placed third in Best Front Page amongst entries that reflected its transition at the time from a traditional front page with news “above the fold” to a community photo or illustration “above the fold”.

“I think I’ve almost got my other editor sold on the non-traditional front page,” joked Scott, of Aimone.

The judges appreciated the change in front page, noting: “LOVE how y’all are mixing up what a front page looks like. I am fascinated at the half newspaper/ half magazine look of the front page, and even more so with how good it looks. Nice work!”

The first place in Best Newspaper Promotion came as a bigger surprise, with the bundles the paper put together for businesses to get out the vote and say thanks to voters for the Best of the River Valley Reader Poll getting the top nod.

“I found this one hilarious. The irony with this being awarded Best Newspaper Promotion is the advertising bundles generated no revenue this first year we offered them,” said Scott. “But we knew it was a good promotion. It was simply the first time we had offered it and we had to manage our expectations. We plan on getting out ahead of the reader poll and engaging with area businesses even more this year. It takes A LOT of time to put together, likely the most out of any of our annual endeavors, and revenue is needed to ensure we’re able to devote that time.”

Valley Sentinel’s soft launch of a

Photo by Kimberly Wethal Members of Valley Sentinel pictured with the publication's 17 awards after the Wisconsin Newspaper Association's awards banquet in Madison March 15. Pictured from left: Julianna Williams, graphic designer; Nicole Aimone, co-owner, publisher, editor-in-chief; Taylor Scott, co-owner, publisher, managing editor.

Valley Sentinel brings home awards from

Wisconsin Newspaper Association banquet continued from page 4

Business Insider newsletter and newspaper section that offers exclusive news, first looks and advertising alerts to assist businesses in planning their marketing efforts received an honorable mention in Best Newspaper Promotion as well.

Of particular note was Scott’s second place award in Salesperson of the Year, a brand new category this year and an award that might not usually go to a traditional editor. As winners of Best in Division E at last year’s awards, Aimone and Scott were invited by the WNA to sit on a committee to help make tough decisions on what the awards would look like this year. The Salesperson of the Year category was a category suggested by Scott to recognize the hard work advertising executives and graphic designers do in making good advertising happen.

“My first job in the newspaper industry was in ad sales at a daily paper up north,” said Scott. “Many times you’d work long hours dreaming up ways to help businesses engage their community and working as a liaison and providing creative direction between passionate business owners and talented graphic designers to bring their vision to

fruition.”

It was initially a joke among editors to nominate Scott.

“But then I realized that for our small volunteer group, he was the one truly doing all those things to help make advertising a success for our local businesses,” said Aimone.

Aimone also noted the first and second places as well as the honorable mention in the Bill Payne Award, which honors excellence in advertising and reflects the choices judged to be the best overall ads.

“We almost swept the category,” said Aimone. “I want to emphasize the point I’ve made before, we pride ourselves not just on our offerings to our readers, but also on our offerings to our area business community. Valley Sentinel is a free publication because we believe not only that everyone should be able to read the news, but also because of the value it offers to our local businesses whose advertisements reach that many more eyes each edition due to our accessibility.”

While some hard news entries such as coverage of Valley Sentinel’s lawsuit against the Village of Lone Rock over public records and the paper’s deep dive into the audit of Arena’s clerk at her previous municipality went un-awarded amongst a very strong field of entries,

Sunshine Week: Support Local Journalism

continued from page 2

Student-operated news media at several universities are reporting on their communities as well as their campuses. Student journalists are sometimes providing the only full-time reporting in some communities. Innovative nonprofit statewide news operations such as Wisconsin Watch, South Dakota News Watch and The Maine Monitor report, investigate and examine issues in their states.

Among notable national efforts: Freedom Forum funds two reporters, in Tennessee and Florida, in partnership

with Journalism Funding Partners, who are dedicated to the First Amendment beat. The Lenfest Institute for Journalism provides tools and resources for local journalism leaders. The Knight Foundation has been a longtime advocate and supporter of efforts to energize local news outlets and nonprofit journalism operations.

But even with all those long-term and new initiatives, more help is needed. Let’s turn again to Brandeis, who according to an article by the Sunlight Foundation in 2009, said in that Harper’s article, “The individual citizen must in some way collect and spread the information”

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor,

On March 13, 2024, I attended the special meeting of the Village of Arena Board, drawn by the agenda's focus on the state of the Arena Police Department—a matter of concern within our community. I was confused that the board opted to have a closed session. This decision felt particularly disconcerting given the ongoing dialogue among residents about the transition of our police force from full-time to parttime. This shift, attributed to disrespect, budget constraints, and disparities in compensation adjustments compared to other village employees.

I had hoped that the Village Board would seize the opportunity presented by the special meeting to openly discuss the underlying reasons behind the concerning state of the Arena Police

Dear Editor,

This is a “David vs. Goliath” story.

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield (renamed Elevance) is threatening to take away access to Sauk Prairie Healthcare doctors and services for about 2,700 area residents.

After months of negotiating an agreement for us to provide healthcare services to Anthem enrollees, this “Goliath” insurance company’s strong-arm tactics of bullying a small, independent community health system with take-it-or-leave-it terms is leaving patients in limbo about whether they need to cancel appointments and look for a new provider.

If an agreement cannot be reached by March 31, Sauk Prairie Healthcare would

there were other points of pride.

“The award I am most proud of is my second place for columns,” said Aimone. “I’m not a column writer by any stretch of the imagination—I’m most comfortable covering a county board meeting—but I felt compelled to write about my journey with Wegovy and share my experience with it (and then my loss of access to it) at a time when similarly-situated people were feeling a lot of stigma. It was cathartic and the feedback I’ve gotten back from our community was so heartening. As for the other columns I submitted, I was happy to share about how we just want to do the news well.”

Another notable area was Overall Page Design, where the judges felt so compelled by Valley Sentinel’s comprehensive community calendar that they felt it an uneven comparison to traditional news page layout and suggested the addition of a category for community calendars.

“We couldn’t win in a category that doesn’t exist,” said Scott, acknowledging that including the calendar in part was always going to be a hard sell against traditional design. “We appreciated what the judges had to say and I’m proud of all of the work that goes into making our calendar the comprehensive

through civic groups and the press, which he believed would lead to “remedial action.”

This does not necessarily mean filing a Freedom of Information request. There are ways to help hold government accountable beyond this direct action.

Whether you are red or blue, progressive or conservative, Democrat, Republican or independent, you need to support those who do that investigative work on a daily basis.

Get behind and get engaged with those who use FOI laws and shoe-leather journalism to bring you the facts required for real self-governance. Take that

choice for our community to look to for events. It’s a service to the public and we hear more positive feedback about the calendar than anything else we do.”

Valley Sentinel has been serving the Spring Green area community since October 2020, covering local news and events, meetings, arts & culture and more. This year was Valley Sentinel’s second year eligible for the WNA awards. The publication is committed to growing and providing quality journalism, while navigating and pioneering what the future of community news can look like and all the ways in which our communities can engage with it.

“We’d like to again thank our readers, contributors and our community for their support,” said Aimone. “We are truly what the community makes us and we can’t do this alone. So bring us your ideas, you never know what might win an award next year.”

To view the complete list of winners and judges’ comments, access the online version of the Better Newspaper Contest Awards Tab at tinyurl. com/2023WNATab. All of the awards and entries can be viewed online at tinyurl.com/2023WNAAwards. For more information about Valley Sentinel, visit www.valleysentinelnews. com/about.

information and make up your own minds about the concerns of the day where you live – and perhaps give the national pundit class a rest.

Open your eyes, your minds – and, yes, perhaps your wallets too – and bring a little sunlight into your life. Celebrate Sunshine Week. Justice Brandeis would be pleased, and you and your fellow citizens will be better off for the effort.

Gene Policinski is a veteran multimedia journalist and First Amendment advocate. He is one of the founding editors of USA TODAY and is senior fellow for the First Amendment at Freedom Forum.

Department. The apparent communication breakdown between the trustees, the Police Department, and the Public Safety Committee represents a significant missed opportunity for transparency. Opting for a closed session under Wisconsin Statutes 19.85 (1)(c) to discuss "the continued employment of the current police officers" with the village attorney, without first addressing the broader issues, sidesteps a crucial moment of potential clarity and understanding for the residents of the village. This move leaves one to ponder the extent of the Board's transparency regarding its dealings and the true nature of the challenges being faced.

As an active participant in the Arena Community Team (ACT) meetings, which serve as a platform for residents to voice their concerns and visions for

no longer be an in network provider for Anthem BCBS, forcing patients to find new doctors and go elsewhere for care.

Anthem's initial proposal included a nearly double-digit decrease in payment, compared to our request for a modest increase consistent with our increased cost to provide care. As a not-for-profit community hospital, our 1.81% operating margin is reinvested back into maintaining and improving services for our patients and purchasing equipment needed to provide that care close to home. In contrast, Anthem is a for-profit organization who last year netted more than $5.5 billion. This is more than a 5% profit margin for their shareholders. Despite our efforts to negotiate in good

the future of our village, I have witnessed the recurring theme of inadequate communication. Despite our invitations, the Village Board's engagement with the ACT has been minimal, with only one trustee attending a session. These meetings have underscored the village's dire need for stronger leadership and a commitment to transparent dialogue.

The jurisdiction over the Arena Police Department remains a source of confusion, a matter that demands clarification. The Board's recent decision to schedule another closed session, promising an invitation to the police officers but not to the Public Safety Committee misses the mark. Indeed, a more constructive approach to addressing the concerns surrounding the Arena Police Department would be for the Public Safety Committee to facilitate a compre-

faith, Anthem's most recent counteroffer included an overall reduction in reimbursement, which would not cover our costs to provide care. We continue to work to reach a mutually acceptable agreement, but unfortunately Anthem’s use of delay as a negotiating tactic leaves patients to deal with the uncertainty of where they will be able to receive in-network care beginning April 1.

We are aware that Anthem consistently uses tactics like delayed negotiations and threatened network termination to force small hospitals into agreements that prioritize Anthem’s profit margins over fair and sustainable reimbursement for providers. Since 1956, Sauk Prairie Healthcare has

hensive meeting. This gathering should aim to directly confront and begin the healing process regarding the underlying issues. By involving all stakeholders—police officers, village trustees, and, importantly, the residents—such a meeting could foster a transparent, inclusive dialogue. This strategy would not only clarify the situation for everyone involved but also lay the groundwork for rebuilding trust, enhancing communication, and collaboratively developing solutions to strengthen the community's safety and well-being. It's time for a collective effort to repair the cracks that have emerged, ensuring a future where the governance of Arena aligns with the values and needs of its residents.

BeccaRaven Uminowicz Arena, Wisconsin

remained an independent, locally directed community health system. Independence ensures that we are able to make decisions in the best interest of our community. By cutting Sauk Prairie Healthcare out of their network, Anthem’s actions are an assault on your ability to see your local provider and threatening to our independence.

We remain hopeful that we will reach a fair agreement with Anthem very soon. For updates and answers to questions, visit www.SaukPrairieHealthcare.org/Anthem . Our patients with Anthem can also call our hotline at 608-643-4111.

Shawn Lerch CEO, Sauk Prairie Healthcare

Events for March 21 - April 4

Thursday, March 21

COmmunitycalendar

The Community Calendar is curated and designed by Julianna Williams. Events are subject to change, always check ahead for up-to-date information on any events you are interested in.

Sunday, March 24 cont.

Yoga with Rural Remedy 8:15 AM - 9:30 AM Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 WI-23 Trunk, Spring Green ruralremedy.com Make some space to move, breathe and grow a little. All are welcome. Classes will be adapted for the group that attends. More info and registration details online.

Storytime 10:30 AM Lone Rock Community Library, 234 N Broadway St, Lone Rock lonerocklibrary.wordpress.com Join us every Thursday for storytime!

SESSION FULL: WORKSHOP — Explore the World of Watercolor 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green springgreenlibrary.com Watercolor classes designed for beginner and advanced beginner artists wishing to explore and improve their watercolor painting techniques. This class is full.

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

Tech Help 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Arena Village Hall, 345 West St, Arena rvbroadband.org/techhelp Come on in with any devices or technology you need help with! No appoiontment necessary.

Family Fun Night! 5:00 PM Plain Kraemer Library, 910 Main St., Plain kraemerlibrary.org Join us for Family Fun Nights at the Library! Each month we will have a fun themed activity for families to drop in to do. Join us for pizza and a movie! Families can sign up at the front desk or call 608-546-4201. Kids under 6 must be with an adult.

Silent Book Club at Convivio 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM Convivio, 122 N Lexington St, Spring Green readinutopia.com Join us for our first pop-up Silent Book Club hosted by Convivio! Bring your own book and reunite with fellow Arcadians while the store is closed. We'll gather to visit, get a drink, and chat about what we’re all reading for the first 30 minutes. Then quiet reading time for 1 hour. And finally we'll have wrap-up time for visiting (or more reading) at the end. Space is limited. Please call the store at 608-588-7638 to register.

Bingo at Arthur’s Supper Club 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Arthur’s Supper Club, E4885 US-14, Spring Green arthurssupperclub.com FREE 18+ Every Thursday evening until May Arthur’s plays 7 games of Bingo. Bingo is FREE, food and beverages available. Prizes for the winner of each game, donated by area businesses.

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

Friday, March 22

Karaoke 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green slowpokelounge.com Join us the fourth Friday of every month for a night of Karaoke at Slowpoke. Janna Johnson hosts this night for the community to come together in song. Take a chance and come up on stage, or just cheer on your friends. We’ll get started around 8:00, and go until last call. That could be as early as 10:00 or as late as 2:00am. It all depends on you! No cover, but tips for our host are always welcome.

Saturday, March 23

Spring Green Winter Farmers Market 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM . S230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green Spring Green Farmers Market Is a year-round outdoor market offering seasonal produce, local meats, baked goods and many other wonderful items. Held outside the Spring Green Community Public Library every Saturday morning.

Discovering the Solar Eclipse with John Heasley 10:30 AM Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green springgreenlibrary.com Join Astronomy Educator, John Heasley of Driftless Stargazing LLC, for a story, demos on how eclipses happen, and advice on enjoying the upcoming eclipse safely. This event will be outdoors in the Library's side yard with a variety of seating (sidewalk accessible). Weather permitting. Check library Facebook page for up-to-date information. If weather is inclement, we will regretfully cancel this event.

LIVE MUSIC: The Parrishes 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Spring Green General Store, 137 S. Albany St., Spring Green 608-5880-707, karin@springgreengeneralstore.com, SpringGreenGeneralStore.com No cover; donations to the musicians gratefully accepted The Parrishes are Catherine and Ted Parrish, an acoustic duo from Viroqua, WI. They write original songs that cross the bridge between folk and blues, using musical knowledge honed through decades of performing, recording, and teaching. Their multi-instrumental skills include guitar, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, and flute.

WORKSHOP— Cast Iron Cooking: Technique Perfected 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM . Red Barn Catering, 525 E. Madison St, Spring Green savortherivervalley.org Cost is $55 per person. Register online Bring your aprons & appetites, and have all of your cast iron cooking questions answered! In this hands-on class we'll cover seasoning, proper use, maintenance, and repair. And get your forks ready to dive into the secrets of beautifully seared meat with a delicious pan sauce, perfectly crisp cornbread that’s never dry, and sky-high Dutch babies that always impress.

LIVE MUSIC: Jambidextrous 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green slowpokelounge.com No cover, but tips for the performers are welcome and encouraged Jambidextrous is a 5 piece jazz group of recent vintage, but comprised of 5 veteran musicians from the Spring Green area. A history of jazz is presented from the original masters of Count Basie, Miles, Monk, Coltrane... through the progressive jazz, funk, and rock era of Herbie Hancock, Traffic and Santana.

Sunday, March 24

Yoga with Rural Remedy 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM Radiant Spirit Retreats Yoga, S7163 County Rd G, Hill Point ruralremedy.com Make some space to move, breathe and grow a little. All are welcome. Classes will be adapted for the group that attends. More info and registration details online.

Clyde Chili and Chicken Noodle Soup fundraiser 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Clyde Community Center, 6281 State Road 130, Avoca For more info look up CLyde Community Center on Facebook Meals are $10 for adults, $5 kids ages 5 - 10, and kids under 5 eat free Homemade soups, homemade baked rolls, and homemade pies top the menu! Meal also includes cheese slices, crackers, milk, and coffee. Carry out available.

Spring Green Community Easter Egg Hunt 10:30 AM . St. John the Evangelist School, 209 N Washington St, Spring Green stjohnspringgreen.com . Join a morning of fun! The Easter Egg Hunt is open to children 10 and under. Please bring your own basket. All are welcome!

Moon Mosaic Class 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM North Earth Crystals & Gifts, 124 W. Jefferson St, Spring Green northearth.com The class is $55, please contact North Earth either thru messenger or call 608-588-3313 to sign up BillieJo Scharfenberg from Angel Dreams Studios will lead the class in constructing a beautiful Moon Mosaic. All the supplies will be included for the mosaic. If you would like, you can bring your own crystals or pick some up at North Earth to incorporate into your design.

Monday, March 25

Egg Hunt 10:30 AM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green springgreenlibrary.com Join us for a reading themed egg hunt. Weather permitting, we'll search the grounds outside the library. Rainy and cold? There is still plenty of fun to have in the Community Room!

Open Mic 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green slowpokelounge.com No cover, but tips for our host are always welcome! Join us the fourth Monday of every month for an Open Mic, hosted by Dylan Harris. We’ve got the mics, the plug-ins, the piano - you bring the music! Whether you want to play solo, sing to a back up, or get the band together, this is the place. So come on out and show your stuff, or just support the folks on stage. Either way, we’re making music together!

Tuesday, March 26

Movies, Munchies and More: Nyad 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green springgreenlibrary.com Movie Summary: A remarkable true story of tenacity, friendship and the triumph of the human spirit, NYAD recounts a riveting chapter in the life of world-class athlete Diana Nyad. Three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of 60, Diana (Annette Bening) becomes obsessed with completing an epic swim that always eluded her: the 110 mile trek from Cuba to Florida, often referred to as the "Mount Everest" of swims. Determined to become the first person to finish the swim without a shark cage, Diana goes on a thrilling, four-year journey with her best friend and coach, Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster), and a dedicated sailing team. (PG-13, 2hr 1min, 2023).

SESSION FULL: Moving Senior Bodies 4:00 PM Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green springgreenlibrary.com Weekly classes focusing on balance and strength training to promote healthy aging.This session is full. We are planning on doing more sessions, so please check back after the summer.

Yoga with Rural Remedy 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 WI-23 Trunk, Spring Green ruralremedy.com Make some space to move, breathe and grow a little. All are welcome. Classes will be adapted for the group that attends. More info and registration details online.

Wednesday, March 27

All Ages Storytime 10:30 AM Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green springgreenlibrary.com Throughout the month of March we'll be sharing books, songs and activities. All ages welcome.

Book Discussion 2:00 PM Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green springgreenlibrary.com Every Fourth Wednesday at 2pm, join us for a cup of coffee, snack, and a chat about this month's selection. The book is available at the Library a month before the discussion. This month: "South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation" by Imani Perry.

Basic Skills for Garment Construction, Alterations, and Mends 3:30 PM Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green springgreenlibrary.com . Do you have a sewing machine that you haven’t used for years because the last thing you made didn’t fit, and the whole experience was too frustrating? Or maybe the machine is just confusing and you don’t know how to adjust it or thread it properly. Or maybe you would like to make or fix some clothes for yourself but have never tried sewing at all. These classes will provide you with some tips and practice to learn or improve your sewing skills.

Thursday, March 28

Yoga with Rural Remedy 8:15 AM - 9:30 AM Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 WI-23 Trunk, Spring Green ruralremedy.com Make some space to move, breathe and grow a little. All are welcome. Classes will be adapted for the group that attends. More info and registration details online.

Storytime 10:30 AM Lone Rock Community Library, 234 N Broadway St, Lone Rock lonerocklibrary.wordpress.com Join us every Thursday for storytime!

SESSION FULL: WORKSHOP — Explore the World of Watercolor 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green springgreenlibrary.com Watercolor classes designed for beginner and advanced beginner artists wishing to explore and improve their watercolor painting techniques. The classes will be held Thursdays, February 15-April 4 from 1-4pm. This class is full.

Stitch and Bitch 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM Spring Green General Store, 137 S. Albany St.

Spring Green springgreengeneralstore.com The Spring Green General Store’s Stitch and Bitch handwork group meets Thursday afternoons weekly. All are welcome.

Tech Help 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM . Plain Kraemer Library, 910 Main St., Plain kraemerlibrary.org rvbroadband.org/techhelp Come on in with any devices or technology you need help with! No appoiontment necessary.

Art Club 4:30 PM Community Room, Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green springgreenlibrary.com Kids and teens ages 10 and up can come explore a variety of art and craft projects.

Knit Night at Nina’s 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Nina’s Department Store, 143 E. Jefferson St.

Spring Green ninasdepartmentstore.com Every Thursday from 6 to 8 pm. All knitters and crocheters are welcome. Store closed after 5:30 pm.

Some time ago, we announced the soft launch of a semi-regular to regular literary section we've been inspired by other literary compilations to call Lexington & Jefferson

As the pivotal intersection of our community, we envision this as a place that celebrates the cross-section of arts in our greater community.

We envision it as a place of curated and submitted prose, poetry and more that showcase the talents of our community.

What is Lexington & Jefferson?

Each edition we receive submissions of artwork, poetry, prose and other musings that we have trouble placing in the paper on their own and often have to simply hold or regrettably turn down.

We hope this becomes a welcome place for them.

This space will grow and change, as all things do, and we welcome talented individuals, organizations, authors, experts and artists to help curate this section. We are beginning to actively seek to publish an

annual literary journal. If interested, please reach out. We may also use this space for arts & culture news and submitted musings that don't quite fit within the bounds of a traditional column, profile or letter to the editor.

Get involved: If you're interested in submitting, curating or have ideas, please do not hesitate at all to submit them to us at: editor@valleysentinelnews.com

Lexington & Jefferson

LITERARY + ARTS & CULTURE SECTION

Vanity Page: A Selection of Prose

Life is a dream. This much we know.

Epimetheus Halfstep, dreamwalker, life therapist, met himself in a dream. When he returned home, nothing was quite the same. Each day a new dream. Each day a new waking life. He had hopes, he had wishes, but he had no plan. He should have.

— Michael Broh

Dreamwalker

By Michael Broh

Part 1

Continued from March 7 edition of Valley Sentinel 8

F r o m a c o n f e s s i o n o f E p i m e t h e u s H a l f s t e p :

Hubris? Oh, I don't know. Maybe, I guess. I mean, I suppose everyone has some level of that, sort of simmering below the surface, just waiting for the opportunity to show itself. I don't think I had, or, I suppose, showed, more hubris than anyone else would have in the same...I just, well, got a little carried away, that's all. Just, well, carried away.

The thing you can't forget, though, the thing I beg you to remember is that I never stopped working for The Company Never. I was always, always, working for us. Yes, I know I took advantage, took something for myself. I said before and say again there are sorry few who would not have done so. I dare say The Company would not continue to thrive if we filled ourselves with a bunch a cowering sheep who didn't know how to take a little something for themselves when the opportunity presented itself. Not that...no, I don’t mean to say that I...very well This isn't coming out right. What I mean to say is that I thought, I really thought, still think, that helping myself would help The Company. The Company is my family. My life. If I succeed, we succeed. Didn't Sarah Maddy herself say that?

What I don't think you can appreciate, what no one who hasn't walked can appreciate, is the sheer scale of time. It just...it affects how you see everything. In the six years I've been dreamwalking, I feel like I've lived upwards of 200,000 years. No. Not just feel like. I have lived that many years. If you haven't walked, you just can't...what, yes, of course, I know. I mean, we all have the dreams. But you forget them. I mean, honestly, you kinda sorta feel like you've lived a life, but how many details can you remember? Because I can remember those walks as well as you remember your daily life Your real life. And

Sh*tty Barn announces 2024 season

The Sh*tty Barn (506 E Madison St, Spring Green) has announced its 2024 sessions. These are the confirmed shows, with a handful more that will be announced over the next few weeks. All tickets for sessions in May, June and July shows will go on-sale at 12 p.m. on April 1 and tickets for sessions in August, September and October shows will go on-sale on July 1.

5/3 Marty O'Reilly / Dean Johnson

5/9 Haley Heynderickx

5/17 Adam Greuel & the Space Burritos

5/23 Thomas Dollbaum / Holy Pinto

5/30 John Moreland / Ken Pomeroy

6/6 Nathan Graham / Joe George

6/13 Rucksack Revolution

6/20 Erik Koskinen Band

6/27 Glitterfox / The Thing

6/28 Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound

7/12 Dusk / Ladybird

7/24 Florry / Mickey Sunshine

7/26 Brennen Leigh / Allison Mahal

8/2 Mama Digdown's Brass Band

8/14 Sarah Shook & The Disarmers

8/16 Violet Palms / Red Pants

8/22 Eddie 9V

8/29 Joe Policastro Trio / Mr. Chair

9/12 Soultru

9/20 Spring Green Musician in Residence Show

For more information, visit: shittybarnsessions.com.

Sh*tty Barn 2024 Season Preview

Sh*tty Barn Sessions

For

To apply, please email your resume to cafe@readinutopia.com with “Barista Application” and your name in the subject heading.

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Driftless Grace: Mismanagement would be the only force at work in Northland closure

When I was a student at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, I heard a rumor that our professors were the lowest-paid college faculty in the state. The claim was repeated less as a complaint than a badge of honor: these professionals, many of them leaders in their respective fields, are here because they love their subject matter and want to pass it on to the next generation.

It’s a sentiment I’ve heard countless times since then, having worked in the nonprofit sector for nine years. And this particular claim stood to reason. The professors I met lived frugally, yet embodied a passion for their work that had nothing to do with the salary. Still, it was jarring as a young person to hear that my mentors were not paid well, let alone to be reminded of it on a regular basis.

Now, it seems that the money has run out entirely.

In a press release recently, Northland College announced that “[t]he Northland College Board of Trustees has launched an urgent fundraising appeal to raise $12 million by April 3, 2024…If the funding goals are not met, the College will be forced to begin the closure process at the end of this academic year.” Even if these goals are met, the piece continues, the 2024-25 school year will be a “transition year” and “a new Northland model” will emerge on the other side. Major cuts to this institution—the first liberal arts college in the United States to take on

an environmental focus—represent the best-case scenario.

Three weeks, and then time will be up.

As many alumni and supporters have expressed on the Northland College Facebook page in the last 24 hours, this cannot be a new development. Financial difficulties on this scale might be revealed over years or months, but not weeks. There is not enough time for this campaign to succeed (and it has already failed in terms of the Northland of today). News has come too late of actions that will damage the economy and morale of a struggling community, leave staff to find other work and faculty

to take their experience elsewhere, and deny access for thousands of alumni to the place that changed our lives.

The press release doesn’t address the timing, but offers this explanation:

“The announcement comes at a time when many small liberal arts colleges

across the country face similar financial challenges due to declining enrollment, growing costs of higher education, and decreased financial support [emphasis mine]. Many colleges have been forced to make very difficult decisions that range from dramatic cuts in staffing and programs to outright closure.”

It’s the “forced” part that sickens me. I can name dozens of individuals who earn enough money in a week to sustain a small college for a year. Nontraditional donors and income streams are accessible to an attractive, forwardthinking project like Northland’s. I believe the only “force” at work is mismanagement and the clumsy, obvious attempts that managers make to save face.

Also, this has happened before. Another commonly repeated claim when I started at Northland in 2012 was that the school had been on the verge of closing before the president at the time arrived to set us back on course. This story is familiar in both education and nonprofit settings—which is why the idea of an “urgent” funding deadline is laughable at best.

Yet, the message from the Board of Trustees is that donors are responsible for the outcome from now on. If donors can’t rally to save Northland, then all solutions will have been exhausted. Incidentally, a movement of small donors could be an excellent scapegoat. If they succeed, they create positive press leading to the acceptance of the

Itty Bitty Art Committee launches in Spring Green to support local arts

continued from page 1

Community Library. Participants of all ages and skill levels are invited to join these sessions, where they will be provided with art supplies and pre-cut 3"x4" pieces of paper to create unique flat artwork.

Board’s best-case scenario. If they fail, then “decreased financial support” can be blamed for the whole situation.

How long have the Trustees been bemoaning a lack of interest in the liberal arts? Long enough, I would think, to come up with one solution besides a last-ditch effort.

I don’t mean to dispute that a trend exists. Where I live in southwestern Wisconsin, residents are still grieving the closure of the nearest two-year public campus. A university official has cited “current market realities” as the driving force for this decision. Although Northland’s situation is different, both stories point to the same moral: there is little creativity, and quite a lot of blame, at work among the leaders of small colleges. Perhaps there is also a lack of enthusiasm for faculty-led education; for ecological and interdisciplinary thought; for place-based rather than remote learning; for subject areas that don’t traditionally lead to wealth but instead create a better future for all.

Even in this Information Age, our leaders only value knowledge to the extent that it matches “current market realities.” I should have taken that rumor for what it was: a warning of the priorities governing my beloved Northland.

Grace Vosen is a writer and conservation educator living in Spring Green. She blogs about both the human and nonhuman communities of our region at DriftlessGrace.com.

be held at the Spring Green Community Library on April 13th from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Additional dates are planned for the future.

FROG AND TOAD

BOOK AND LYRICS BY WILLIAM REALE

BASED ON THE BOOKS BY ARNOLD

VOCAL DIRECTION BY RYAN KANE

LOBEL

"We want these gatherings to be inclusive and accessible to everyone," Adams added. "Whether you're an experienced artist or just looking to try something new, we encourage you to join us and contribute your creativity to this exciting project."

The inaugural Itty Bitty Art Committee Community Art Gathering will take place at the Slowpoke Lounge & Cabaret (137 W Jefferson St, Spring Green) on Thursday, April 4th, from 6 p.m. to close. A subsequent session will

River Valley ARTS, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting local arts and cultural programs, recently awarded a Eureka Grant to Kyle Adams for the Itty Bitty Art Committee. The grant will help offset costs associated with the vending machine and art supplies, with all monies received after expenses donated to local nonprofits.

For more information about the Itty Bitty Art Committee, upcoming art gatherings or for a great sandwich, interested individuals can visit Wander Provisions.

MUSIC DIRECTION BY TONY CAVAGNETTO

March 16 at 2:00

March16 at 7:00

March 17 at 2:00

March 22 at 7:00

March 23 at 7:00

March 24 at 2:00

THE GARD THEATRE SPRING GREEN, WI

TICKETS AND INFOMATION AT

Grace Vosen, Contributor

Grace Vosen

Photo contributed by Kyle Adams

The Itty Bitty Art Committee vending machine pictured at Wander Provisions.

Public safety debate continues as Arena holds special meeting to ‘discuss continued employment of current police officers’

continued from page 1

that question,” Reimann said. Then, in response to Paul Pustina’s police budget comments, Reimann yelled: “We're off topic now! Let me talk!”

Paul Johnson, village attorney for Arena, was present and attempted to put an end to the shouting.

“Hold it, stop, stop right now! This is public comment. All of the members of the public should speak first. All of you people should listen first,” Johnson said to the board. “Screaming doesn’t do anybody any good.”

One of the questions repeatedly raised by those in public comment was whether the board, Police Committee or the Public Safety Committee has jurisdiction and supervision over Arena’s police officers.

After the board subsequently passed a motion to hold another meeting within two weeks—a meeting which the police would be invited to—resident BeccaRaven Uminowicz asked: “Shouldn't the Public Safety Committee be the ones leading that meeting?”

In response, Melissa Bandell, a trustee on the board, said: “[The Public Safety Committee] is not in charge of the employees. They don't make the decisions, they're supposed to make recommendations to the board. That is their role. It is to make recommendations. The board needs to make decisions, not the Public Safety Committee.”

Questioning Bandell’s statement, business owner Candy Parrell said people

Arena is not required to establish a police department, nor is it required to provide for police services by contracting with a county or municipality. Larger towns and villages are required to arrange for some kind of policing, but Arena is way too small. It obviously has provided for a police department, and there are various advantages to this. It can, for example, enforce its own ordinances. Without providing for this in law, the county sheriff, for example, would not have the power or duty to enforce Arena ordinances. A sheriff has various implied powers which, I assume, would include gathering up a posse and riding out after some outlaws, but local ordinances are not part of a sheriff’s natural purview.

Another obvious advantage is the ability to direct and control the police, to provide for police policies, personnel decisions, budget, and priorities. These decisions do not all necessarily rest with the village board, however. I understand there is a widespread notion that a 24-year-old court order shifted most of the village’s authority to a police committee. While not impossible, I have seen no evidence that this is actually true.

Generally speaking, Wisconsin village boards have broad general powers over administration and policymaking for their villages. They can make ordinances for the health, security, welfare and morals of the village unless those powers are explicitly limited or exclusively assigned elsewhere. If you wanted to find out whether the village board

in the community told her: “That there is a court order from some lawsuit. That our village is required by court order to have an officer in our community at all times.”

The court order in question is former Iowa County Circuit Court Judge William Dyke’s order signed Sept. 12, 2000, in Iowa County Circuit Court cases 99-CV151 and 99-CV-152.

The court order stems from a 1999 dispute involving the Village of Arena and its attempt to eliminate its police department and zero out the police budget. The court found that the village board, through various actions, attempted to circumvent legal requirements and avoid providing funding for the police department.

As a result, the court ordered the village to adopt a budget for law enforcement purposes and to fund the police department for the year 2000.

The village was also required to reinstate Chief Steven Runice as the chief of police. However, the village failed to comply with the initial court order, leading to further legal action.

The court found the village in contempt for failing to comply with the initial order and imposed penalties, including financial compensation to Runice for salary loss and attorney fees. Additionally, the court ordered the village to reestablish a police department and reinstate a threeperson citizen committee to oversee law enforcement responsibilities.

The court emphasized the importance of providing independent, fair and impartial

police services and warned the village against further attempts to circumvent its obligations. Failure to comply with the court order would result in financial penalties. The court concluded that compliance with the order rested with the village, and failure to do so would result in consequences.

In response, Bandell said: “We are not required under state statute to have police, we choose to have police.”

Bandell appears to be referring to Wisconsin state statute § 61.65(1)(a), which says: “each village with a population of 5,000 or more shall, and each village with a population of under 5,000 may, provide police protection services by one of the following methods…”—the statute then goes on to describe acceptable methods, including “Creating its own police department” or “Contracting for police protective services” with another government body. Johnson agreed with Bandell’s statements, effectively mooting the issue of the court order.

Susan Pustina echoed the concern of several residents who said there has been a lack of communication between the board, the public and Arena’s Public Safety Committee.

Kathy Stoltz, a board trustee, asked Susan Pustina if they had ever been a board member. Susan Pustina said yes, she had served on a different board.

“I actually want to volunteer. I've asked to be on committees and no one's answered my emails,” Susan Pustina said.

not an invitation. Paul Pustina shared his concurrence with Norton’s interpretation of the text. Candy Parrell indicated she agreed with Reimann that the text had been an invitation.

Board member Brittany Carney said she had also been fielding concerns from residents about communication issues.

“So I just thought it was so necessary to come together and have a discussion and figure out how we connect these bridges because I feel in the dark completely,” Carney said. “And I want to know what's going on as a resident myself, I want to know, I want a path forward as well. I want a [police] schedule of some sort. I want something and I want communication.”

Bandell, who along with Carney called the special meeting, echoed the sentiment.

The concern regarding lack of communication between the board and the Public Safety Committee resulted in an argument between Courtney Norton—former EMS director for Arena and current chair of the Public Safety Committee—and Reimann. Norton said the board does not typically invite the Public Safety Committee to board meetings. Reimann disagreed.

could ban pet ferrets, for example, you would not look for a specific state statute allowing the village to do this, but look for some restriction against it.

In the case of police, the village board exercises most of the authority over how a village police department is recruited, trained, equipped, and guided, but that there are some limitations. One of the issues in the 24-year-old case was that some powers are assigned under state law to the police chief, and there are limitations on how the village may remove a police chief. State law also requires something akin to a police committee, to consider issues like the discipline of particular officers. The police committee also has the power to block reductions in an existing police budget. And Arena has created a public safety committee, which has very limited actual powers and now serves mostly to interact directly with the police on the village board’s behalf, and advise the board.

The court order does not say anything about changing the overall allocation of village responsibilities between the board and the police committee. It does operate within an understanding, however, that the village cannot usurp powers it does not have, or abuse the ones it has in order to get around the limitations built into the law. While the village can opt not to have police, it cannot eliminate the police committee and zero out the police budget in order to get rid of the chief.

It appears that Arena has operated since the order as though it effectively set forth novel and

“We had two board members that reached out to the chair for public safety. I, too, texted this individual—texted Courtney—to attend our meeting in March. But I had no response,” Reimann said. “So it's not that the board is not reaching out. The board is reaching out, but we're not getting any response.”

Reimann and Norton then argued about a text Reimann sent Norton. Reimann said the text was inviting Norton to attend a meeting. Norton argued the text was a request for a written report and was

permanent limitations on the powers of the village board. Again, I cannot entirely rule it out based on what I’ve seen, but such a state of affairs is unlikely. The court order did not suggest that the court was maintaining its oversight of the agreement between the parties in that case, or that any party had ongoing duties other than what had been set out in the existing law. The village was required to reinstate the police committee but had it intended to require the village to keep it until further notice, it would probably have said so, because otherwise, that is not the law, and the village could still decide to not have police at all anymore. It could be that the agreement in that case called for a fundamental change, but it appears to me that the immediate conditions that followed the issuance of the order are simply being maintained through habit and bureaucratic inertia.

Before the village board gathered in closed session to consider the “continued employment of the current police officers” I had concluded that this probably could be done legitimately in principle. The meeting notice identified a statutory exemption from the requirement that all meetings be held in open session that was based on considering the employment of personnel for whom it has responsibility or over whom it exercises jurisdiction. Had the village wanted to discuss terminating officers for disciplinary reasons, this would have required the use of a different exception, which provides for employees to receive certain

“I asked for a meeting for a path forward for [our] community tonight. That's why we're having this meeting. We need a path forward. We absolutely do. And I think that our police have provided very, very valuable service that's been said by our residents here. That is very true. They have served our community a long time,” Bandell said. “I asked for this meeting because I've had a lot of complaints from residents that this current arrangement is not working. I've had people say to me, they feel abandoned, and we absolutely need a path forward. We asked for attorney advice tonight because—well, I'll just straight up tell you—I have no intention of zeroing out a police budget. I have no intention of doing some of the things that we're doing historically. But we as a community need a path forward and needed guidance on how to move this community forward.”

Along with concerns and criticisms, members of the public also proposed solutions and made their wishes known. “What can we afford? Let's work backwards from there. If we can afford two police officers with benefits—the two we had—I have no problem with those guys at all. They did a great job. But to retain a good officer, you're gonna have to give him or her a decent pay package. They need to feel like they’re wanted. Not ‘it's just a job,’” said business owner Nathan Parrell during public comment.

“Currently, we cannot offer health insurance. We just absolutely can't afford it,” Reimann said in response. She then

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protections of their rights. But this would not apply to considering changes in budgets or positions so that some officers might be laid off.

It also would have required the session be held and any action taken by the police committee, not the board. But since the village board has some responsibility over the police, including providing them with a budget and performance goals, it would be reasonable for the board to consider how to use those powers, and that might depend on having information regarding how the current police officers operate.

The exemption does not apply to considerations of general policy but typically only when it is considering particular individual officers. But again, there is, I think, a narrow path of legal acceptability where the board needs to gather and consider potentially sensitive information regarding individual officers in order to make general policy.

Statements by village board members now suggest that the board acted in a manner that was consistent with all these requirements. My only complaint, and it is not a huge one, is that the board had to explain what it was doing after the fact. That suggests that the official notice of the closed meeting did not do a good job of letting people know that this is what the board intended to consider. It was required to make the reason for the closed session clear, and in this case it did not.

—Gary Ernest Grass, esq., Legal Editor

The cover and excepts from the court order in question, with QR code to the full order inlaid.

The Sauk County Gardener

March (Gardening) Madness

Jeannie Manis, Wisconsin Certified Master Gardener

“Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.”

— Lewis Grizzard

With all this nice weather, it’s been a bit of a March madness to get all of my prep work done for my vegetable and flower gardens. I spent Saturday and Sunday afternoon working in my greenhouse, starting various vegetable and flower seeds. It was nice to keep the mess out of the house. After planting, I still bring my seed trays indoors to place on my plant stand with grow lights and heat mats to aid with germination. We don’t keep our greenhouse warm enough to have good germination for seeds that like high heat, such as peppers. Once my seeds have germinated and have some true leaves, I’ll move the seed trays back out to the greenhouse. I was also able to start some crops that can handle some cooler, but not

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asked residents in attendance if they want Arena officers to have health insurance.

Attendees overwhelmingly said yes. Then Reimann said there was a referendum a couple years ago to give public employees health insurance.

“It was voted down. So does our community want to retain good employees? It's gonna cost money,” Reimann said.

Johnson weighed in with advice to the board and the residents in attendance.

“Issue number one is you have an

freezing temps, in my raised beds inside the greenhouse. Hopefully, in a few weeks, we’ll be enjoying fresh lettuce, arugula, spinach, and radishes. I even started some peas and beans in the beds to see if I can get an extra early crop.

Seed starting is just one garden task that is part of March gardening madness. Figuring out when to start seeds is based on the average last frost date. For our area (53913), the average last frost date range is May 11 – 20. You’ll want to make sure you’re getting your peppers, eggplants, celery and parsley started now if you haven’t already. Between now and the end of March, start bok choy, broccoli, and green onions. You can also start kale and lettuce indoors if you like, but typically I plant those directly into the soil. The last week of March through the first week of April, start basil, more broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatillos, and of course, tomatoes. Start your slow- growing annual flowers and, then in May, transfer them to

immediate situation where you have police protection and police coverage that needs to be provided. Right now, today, you also have a longer term situation, which you've all been talking about … In a perfect world, the village board has to meet with the officers to figure out what's going to happen right now. Because you have a … gap … You also have a situation where you now know that your two full time officers … changed their status. And you now need as a community, as a board … you now need to decide what's next. And you have a lot of different choices …”

a cold frame. Rake off any mulch on your vegetable garden so the soil can dry. With our warmer weather, you may be able to start planting directly into your garden a little sooner than previous year. When your soil temp reaches 40 degrees F and the night-air temps stay above 45 degrees F, you can plant these cool weather crops directly into your soil: lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, parsnips, onion sets, beets, carrots, kohlrabi, mustards, radishes, peas, and parsley. Fertilize and cultivate established asparagus beds.

In your perennial gardens, watch for animal damage and take measures to protect your plants. March is a lean month, so you may see damage on plants you typically wouldn’t during the normal growing season. You can start removing mulch from spring-flowering bulb beds but leave the mulch on the rest of your perennial beds. That mulch and plant matter is the winter home to many beneficial insects who won’t emerge until

Johnson continued, encouraging the board to consider cost. He also encouraged the Public Safety Committee to work with the board and offer to do the heavy lifting to hold public forums with the community and the police and report back to the board.

“In a perfect government system that's how this would work. Committee makes recommendations to the board. Board makes decisions. That would be a really good thing,” Johnson said. “But there seems to be [a] disconnect between the board and the officers, there seems to be [a] disconnect between the committee and the board. That's not uncommon these days. Unfortunately, that's very common. … I think you've all identified what the problem is. Communication and public meetings … nothing happens in a day. Just start working on [it].”

After the meeting, Valley Sentinel reached out via email to Reimann and Stroik for comment. They did not respond as of press time. Should they respond we will update this story online.

We also reached out by email to several residents who had been in attendance to get their thoughts after the meeting.

Susan Pustina said she felt the meeting agenda was unclear and attended because she was worried the board intended to terminate the current police officers.

“I feel the Board has been treating the officers with disrespect and the communication between the Board & Police is suffering,” said Susan Pustina, again expressing concern regarding the 2000 court order and the disagreement over which body has jurisdiction over the police. “I do not trust our Board with making decisions about public safety.” Her suggestion? “Talk to your neighbors, ask questions, get involved, pay attention,

a little later this spring. Also look for root heave – if you find some, gently press the plant back into the soil with your foot and cover with mulch. Indoors, you can start fertilizing your houseplants.

You’ll want to finish pruning your dormant trees (April 1st is the last day to prune oak trees). Check for gypsy moth egg mass and spray with horticulture oil labeled for spongy moths. Also check your viburnum for viburnum leaf beetle eggs. Prune your shrubs that bloom after the end of June. Sharpen your lawnmower blades and get it serviced if need be –grass-cutting season will be here sooner than you think.

Finally, visit your fruit and berry patches and prune any dormant fruit trees and berry bushes. Fertilize established fruit trees with a low-nitrogen fertilizer when the buds begin to swell. Grapes can be fertilized at this time as well.

March (Gardening) Madness is upon us –let’s get out there and enjoy it!

attend the Village Board meetings and attend [Arena Community Team] meetings.”

Residents including Uminowicz and Susan Pustina have been organizing community forums for residents they call the Arena Community Team (ACT) to discuss issues facing the community. They are holding their next meeting on March 26 from 6:00-7:30 pm at the Arena VFW (514 Willow St, Arena).

Ann Sackett, another resident that was in attendance and who was a party in one of the cases that led to Judge Dyke’s order, had similar concerns when asked if she trusted the current Board to make decisions regarding public safety.

“No, I do not trust them,” Sackett said. “Their lack of transparency, lack of leadership and disregard for the taxpayers.”

Paul Pustina said he was concerned by how much the village spent on holding the meeting, specifically on board member wages and attorney fees.

“Just because they refused to sit down and hold discussions with the Public Safety Committee and [police department]," he said. “I believe it was a definite attempt to fire the officers. The language on the agenda indicated it and there's no going around that.”

Bandell, Shea and Erspamer’s terms of office end this year. Only Bandell is seeking reelection. Bandell, Uminowicz, former trustee and village president Matthew Schroeder and Paul Pustina are all running as candidates, with the top three vote-getters filling the three positions on the board in the upcoming April 2 election.

“The one thing they cannot take away from us is the ability to vote them out of office,” Sackett concluded.

In Brief

Spring Green Community Gardens announces 2024 plot availability

The River Valley Area Community Gardens has garden plots available for 2024. 10’ x 10’ plots rent for $20/season. 10’ x 20’ plots are $40/season and 20’ x 20’ plots are $60/season. The fee includes straw mulch, use of our rototiller and other tools, manure/compost, organic fer-tilizer, water to each plot section and hoses.

Print registration forms are available in the INFO BOX at the Gardens located in the 900 block of North Westmor, Spring Green (behind Ring Brothers Classic Auto). Forms may also be requested via email at info@rvacg.org , by texting 608-588-6040 or through the RVASG Facebook page or website rvacg.org. All are welcome.

An Outdoorsman’s Journal

Mark Walters, Columnist

Little Bay de Noc

Winter/Summer Camping and Fishing Trip

Hello friends,

My last trip was very physical, dangerous and an absolute blast. Every March, Jeff Moll, Doug Cibulka, (lifelong buddies) and myself camp on Chequamegon Bay on the ice at Ashland. There was no ice on that part of Lake Superior, so we moved our operation to Little bay de Noc (LBDN) which is the top end of Green Bay on Lake Michigan. As you will find out, there was never a dull moment as we did our best to catch fish and laugh a lot.

Saturday, March 9th

High 35°, Low 20°

First challenge, find ice, not open water to begin our hike to pull our gear for a 48-hour fishing and camping trip. That goal was met on the east shore of LBDN at Vagabond Resort. A very nice place to check out and with just enough ice to start our journey. The journey which was a combination of pulling 2 canoes and 5 Otter Sleds loaded to the hilt would require us to use electronics, a map, and common sense to find what we hoped would be fishable water over what was 7 inches of ice.

We chose the west side of Center Reef which was a solid 2-mile trek and incredibly physical. Second challenge, a north wind of sustained 20 miles per hour with gusts much stronger blew in lake effect snow from nearby Lake Superior and it was nasty with a capital N. We each put out 3 tip ups and went to work setting up two Eskimo ice shacks and rigging them with propane lights, heat, and a kitchen, along with 3 cots which my pups Ruby and Red (who is probably pregnant) really enjoyed once we laid sleeping bags on them.

The flags were popping and there was a northern pike bite taking place with beautiful gators being caught. Just after we got the worst of our chores done one of our guys fell on

the powdery, snow covered ice and sustained a major injury that may affect his ability to run high hurdles, climb rock walls, and maybe even drag deer for The Red Brush Gang.

We cooked great food, caught lots of gators, but no walleye, and witnessed Mother Nature mad as heck at something as she beat the snot out of our camp and each of us when we went outside.

Sunday, March 10th

High 36°, Low 22°

We had a new dilemma as soon as we woke up this morning. Because we had drilled 3 holes in our kitchen shack to fish out of and due to deep snow building against our shacks on the upwind side, our shacks/floors flooded. This meant we had to do the miserable job of moving our camp that was soon in 10 inches of water. Slippery when wet, would be the best description of our task.

All day today the gators were biting well, and I was winning our gator bet with a 34.5 when Mr. Moll got extremely lucky and caught a 35.5. As hard as it was to act out, I was happy for him. At about 4, my buddy Doug Cibulka caught a 20 inch walleye and that made us very happy. At about 6, the wind slowed down a bit, our mood was excellent and whamo, I got a flag and catch a 22.5 inch walleye. The entire night we were believers in more walleye, but it did not happen.

The next morning we had the horrible job of breaking camp and then dragging our loads back to shore. The sun was softening the ice and nothing wanted to drag with ease, not to mention that we were done in. When we got 100 yards from shore, which was 2 full hours of Death Drag, it was open water for the last 30 to 80 feet. We had hip boots, chest waders, and canoes and as always made it home safe, sound and somewhat beat up.

Climate change and lifelong buddies can beat a guy up!

Sunset

Follow along the adventures of Mark Walters, a syndicated outdoor adventure columnist who lives in Necedah, Wisconsin. He began writing his column, An Outdoorsman’s Journal, in 1989. It includes hunting, fishing, lots of canoeing and backpacking. He currently writes for

around 60 newspapers. He hopes you enjoy reading about his adventures!

Want to read more?

Check out previous weeks’ columns at www.outdoorsmansjournal.com

Photo contributed by Mark Walters

For 30 hours a cold, north wind blew lake effect snow onto our camp.

Photo contributed by Mark Walters Long time buddies, Jeff Moll, Mark Walters and Doug Cibulka after an excellent adventure on Little Bay de Noc.

Photo contributed by Mark Walters Doug Cibulka and Jeff Moll with a nice catch of northern pike and walleye.