Valley Sentinel - 10-21-2021

Inside this edition

‘Ribeye of the sky’ – Conservation groups question package of hunting bills Pages 2-3

It’s back! Live music, theater and more in our Community Calendar Page 4

Spring Green, Wisconsin

RV Fall sports kick off conference play Page 7

Thursday, October 21, 2021 | Vol. 2, No. 42 FREE, Single-Copy

Valley Sentinel celebrates one year in print as we reflect, plan the next year, change print days Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief and Taylor Scott, Managing Editor It’s hard to adequately convey in print and even in any words what this past year has been like.

We briefly considered a large edition to celebrate the one year anniversary of our first edition, but ultimately decided to be kind to ourselves. It’s nearly unheard of to start a newspaper now, much less in a pandemic. After a year, we still care more, or as much as anyone can and should about building community. We’re just tired.

The news doesn’t stop and you can’t take

a week off (well technically you can take two weeks off a year according to statute if you’re ‘qualified’ — perhaps we’ll take a week off for Thanksgiving Thursday this year?).

Oh yes, we have an exciting announcement! Based on feedback, source availability and print times, we’re moving to a Thursday print day. Once upon a time, Wednesdays were a free day in the middle of the week, without sports, activities and such. Now Wednesdays seem busier than ever, with so much being packed into our

mid-week. A very non-scientific questioning of a selection of our readers suggested to us that Thursday is the best day to plan out weekend adventures. After much positive feedback, we will be refocusing on our comprehensive community calendar. We hope that you’ll continue to turn to Valley Sentinel to see what’s going on in our area.

We’ve talked at length recently about some of our goals. In lieu of a full recap, we’re excited to bring more creative people on in the coming weeks and will always be looking to innovate and adjust how we

present our print publication and how we engage online and through social media.

We’ve accomplished more than we could ever have imagined in our first year and we’re looking forward to growing even more in the next.

We are only as good as your contributions and feedback, no one or two people can do this alone, especially as an independent, local news source.

As always, thank you for your continued support and we look forward to another year of building community. Much to come.

Documentary about family’s Fall Art Tour returns after last year’s cancellation, opens the studios of area artists search for WWII fighter pilot’s plane to open the Driftless Film Festival Finding Loren, an 83-minute documentary about a family’s search for the plane of World War II fighter pilot, 1st Lt. Loren Hintz, who crashed in Italy in the waning days of the war, will open the Driftless Film Festival on Thursday, November 4 at 7:00pm at the Mineral Point Opera House at 139 High St, Mineral Point, WI. Finding Loren uses the pilot’s own words, vintage photographs and archival footage to follow the sweeping trajectory of his life — from Iowa farm boy, to poet, to husband and father, then fighter pilot — through his fateful crash. The second half of the film follows the pilot’s grandson as he tracks down the location of the crash, collaborating with Italians on the same mission, through the emotional excavation of the P-47 Thunderbolt plane and other shocking discoveries.

The film was initiated by the pilot’s son, Martin Hintz, who never knew his father as he was born after his father’s crash. Tragically, Martin died after primary footage was shot for the documentary. The film was completed by his widow, first-time filmmaker Pam Percy of Milwaukee, and Claudia Looze of Highland, WI. Emmy Awardwinner Looze, took hours of footage and archival materials to structure a poignant telling of this extraordinary life – a life quite similar to many others who served as fighter pilots and soldiers in World War II. Dion Graham (The Wire, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and Malcom X) provides the narration and the Driftless Region’s own, Anthony Wood, actor and filmmaker, portrays the pilot’s voice, reading from diary entries, letters, and Hintz’s original poetry. The film premiered at the new Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Hall on September 25. It has been accepted in six international film festivals to date.

Filmmakers, Looze and Wood, will be present for a Q&A after the screening.

Celebrating its 12th season and returning after a year’s absence due to the pandemic, Driftless Film Festival continues to provide a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience for audiences and filmmakers alike. All films selected for the festival screen in the Mineral Point Opera House.

More information about the Driftless Film Festival can be found at dffest.org.

Photo by Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief After being cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fall Art Fair was held Oct. 15-17 at studios in Baraboo, Spring Green, Dodgeville and Mineral Point. With over 40 artists opening up their studios for viewing and demonstrations, nearly a dozen of the artists were in the immediate Spring Green area. Pictured above is a Fall Art Tour participant at Wilson Creek Pottery, E6101 County Road WC, Spring Green.

Memorial to Lone Rock public schools planned as Historical Society aims to restore ‘school path’ Robin Anderson, Lone Rock Area Historical Society The Lone Rock Alumni and the Area Historical Society are planning a memorial to the Lone Rock Public Schools. The long 161 years of public education will be remembered by students and teachers in this area as well as across the country. What began in 1856, in the upper half of a local drug store, culminated at the Elementary School on June 6, 2017.

The plan is to restore the “School Path” that led from Oak Street (Main St.) North to the red brick 1902 building. There were two cement columns where the school path intersected with Main Street and hopefully we will have enough in contributions to replace them, also. Several other ideas have been suggested such as putting a plaque on the columns, lighting the path and placing benches along the walkway.

The Village has always been proud of their schools. This seems an appropriate way to pay tribute to the students, teachers and all of the

Photo via the Lone Rock Area Historical Society An undated photo looks south on Oak Street past the previous pillars at the path in Lone Rock. learning and other activities that went on in those buildings.

If you are interested in supporting this project, contributions may

be sent to Millie Rott, P.O. Box 261, Lone Rock, WI 53556. Checks should be made out to the Lone Rock School Memorial Fund.

Page 2

opinion/LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Community Column — The Plain and Simple Correspondent: The Egg and I Katie Green, The Plain and Simple Correspondent The first manager of the late, lamented Honey Creek Co-op Market in Plain tried to stock largely organic products. The locals weren’t as enthusiastic as she about paying a little more for alternatives to “the Dirty Dozen” — produce that routinely is grown with herbicides and pesticides and laced with noxious additives to enhance shelf life — so the market eventually caved and carried Jello, Cool Whip and the usual conventional bad-for-you stuff as well as some items that would actually support health.

About a year before the market closed for lack of enough customers and from the high cost of being small, spectacular eggs suddenly showed up. Mary’s Eggs, they were called, and although they cost more than conventional, they were soon snatched up by connoisseurs who knew what a good egg tasted like. The yolks were deep yellow, the shells substantial, endearingly many-colored, and of different ungraded sizes. After the market closed its doors, I really missed those eggs and was therefore delighted when a gas station minimart in town began stocking them.

Well, others discovered their whereabouts, too, and the eggs were often sold-out when I went a-looking. Finally I pinched myself for my lack of initiative and, clued in by my friend and fellow fan of Mary’s Eggs, Doug Kraemer, went in search of the source.

Mary Nachreiner, producer of Mary’s Eggs, was born here sixty-some years ago, a descendant of several of those plucky Bavarian families who began arriving in this valley in the 1850s. Since 2017 she has lived on a farm originally recorded in 1857 which her maternal great-grandfather owned by 1880.

He had been homesteading somewhere nearby long before that and had married a girl he spotted on the long boat ride coming over the Atlantic to America.

Upon graduating from River Valley High School, Mary attended Viterbo University in La Crosse, graduating with a degree in nursing. Subsequently she worked as a nurse in various settings – hospitals, nursing homes – and married a fellow who one day said, “Wouldn’t it be fun to live in Europe or somewhere else overseas for a while?”

The thought hadn’t occurred to her but they investigated the possibilities and, to make a long story short, Mary joined the Air Force and was posted to many different countries in a career that lasted 24 years. Much of the time she was a medical evacuation nurse, serving on airplanes that were being shot at as they airlifted sick and wounded personnel from battlegrounds. “Nobody respects the Red Cross designation any more, so the Air Force stopped bothering to put the insignia on its evacuation aircraft,” she remarks wryly.

By career’s end, she had attained the rank of Lt. Colonel and accrued a lot of command experience, both abroad and stateside. It shows when you meet her. She is animat-

ed, feminine, slender and attractive, but straightforward, no nonsense. Her 1000watt smile belies the toughness of a woman who has held her own when working mainly among macho men, pushing back whenever they tried to pull rank or intimidate. She credits this fact to growing up with brothers and a father who taught her to box. He taught her to defend herself. She is also the mother of a grown daughter and the mothering instinct shows up in all manner of ways. She showed me a stack of photos of the farm operation she was about to send to a Sri Lankan girl whom she has sponsored for the past 16 years, and she obviously dotes on her dog, her chickens, her goats (including a billy named Elvis), Tom the turkey, as well as her family.

All of it hinges on respect for all creatures and the land along the lines of Aldo Leopold’s famous land ethic, which takes into consideration a wide range of constituent biota and thinking about a long time period.

When I asked how she came to be so idealistic and determined to farm organically, her answer was based on common sense and a lifetime of caring for sick and injured folks.

She had noticed how much cancer there was, and concluded they were probably the result of poor eating habits and being exposed to toxins in the atmosphere and the things we eat, handle and leach out from the building materials of our homes and workplaces.

Being unhappy and stressed were also factors in becoming sick, she thought. She wanted to remain fit and had done research on the best diet to follow. Her daughter is a vegetarian but Mary chose the Keto diet.

That, for the uninitiated, is a food regimen consisting of a lot of healthy fats (nuts, avocados, butter, cream, olive and coconut oil, for instance), high quality protein (pastured meats, seafood, cheese, and eggs, of course), many low starch veggies, and essentially no carbohydrates. When her mother became ill, she decided to return to her roots to help the family, and do things she truly loved other than nursing. Some years ago the ancestral farm had been turned over to her brother Ted, but he was killed when his auto was hit by a drunk driver, so her parents had repossessed the property. When Mary returned home, she seized the chance to buy the place from them, and with partner Rob Hare (also retired from the service after 26 years) put up some barns for a workshop and equipment storage and other outbuildings for animals, installed fences, and began plotting their new life. “I’m just a farmer,” Rob says, as he heads for the tractor. Just. They are farmers with a difference.

Their home on the autumn day when I visited is sun-filled and cheerfully funky: a revamped chicken house and a small log cabin stitched together. Honey Bear, the goldendoodle, a friendly but dignified beastie, wanders in and out, hoping his friends will go out and play, which we do after a long

Photo contributed by Katie Green introductory chat. “Why eggs?” I asked. “As a little kid I loved chickens,” she responded, and we agreed that chickens have personality and are certainly worthy of affection.

As Mary shows me her chicken yards, I saw moveable fences which allow quick access to fresh greens for pecking on and in, and the “Florida room”, which had some south-facing clear plastic panels so the chickens can absorb the orb during cold weather. It contained a dust bath area for the hens to roll in to remove mites and clean their feathers. A dust bath is a condition of organic certification, as is having large enough space in perches to allow the poultry comfortable roosting. Then I inspected the connecting egg-laying shed, and lifted several hinged box lids to admire that day’s effort on the part of the ladies: blue, olive, light brown, dark brown, and speckled eggs, besides a few decoys made of ceramic to encourage laying, since hens tend to like laying where eggs already are. “Every possible egg color but white,” Mary pointed out. The chickens themselves are of six or seven different kinds. Some have perky topknots, some feathered feet, some “Silkies” that are outfitted with what amounts to down, not regular feathers. Species that originated all over the world and are a delight to see together in a gang. I saw no squabbling as they roamed around. If the roosters were in with them the case would be different, she told me, and the three roosters were removed to cohabit with the goats and Tom Turkey in a separate pen as soon as they grew to the aggressive stage. A sexual harassment preventive, if you will.

Mary and Rob not only feed the required organic diet to the chickens but to all the other animals and to themselves. No soy, for one thing. The female hormone estrogen in soybeans has been linked to cancer in older

women and infertility in male farm animals, she says. And no GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms), which have toxins such as the herbicide Roundup built in. Europe is much stricter about disallowing GMOs, she mentioned approvingly. The first year at the farm they bought meat chickens as well as layers, and had to observe organic butchering rules – “much like Jewish Kosher.”

Each year their operation is inspected and re-certified. They raise some organic hay on a field adjacent and wanted to grow organic corn, too. That field was accidentally sprayed by a confused neighbor after they had withheld herbicides and pesticides for two of the three years required to qualify as organic, so they are starting the process all over again. Disappointing, but what are you going to do?

Too soon I felt self-conscious about sucking up so much of their precious time and took my leave, with one last pat for the winsome dog. As I drove the delightful roller coaster hill road back toward Plain, I was thinking about the tasty omelettes, custards, quiches, salads and baked goods Mary’s eggs have enhanced in the past and will enrich in the future. There are other organic farmers our family patronizes, and if you ask around you can find out who they are and inquire about their whereabouts. Some are on printed lists, some aren’t. It’s a lovely way to meet interesting people, if nothing else.

When I reached home I phoned a mutual friend, Doug, who was a close friend of Mary’s late brother Ted, and is a fellow-devotee of her eggs. He was pleased that I sought her out. Referring to her organic methods of raising foodstuffs, he said “It’s as humane a harvest as is possible. It’s honorable.”

Keep your purchases local if you can! The entire community benefits.

Letter to the Editor: Taxpayer dollars for sowing distrust Dear Editor, If you had $700,000 to spend to benefit Wisconsinites, how would you spend it? Fixing roads? Expanding rural broadband? Assembly Speaker Vos has chosen to spend this sum of

taxpayer money to fund yet another investigation of the 2020 election.

Numerous recounts, audits, and court cases have shown that the election was fair and the results accurate, so this sham investigation is unlikely to

uncover any fraud, but it is certain to stir up division and sow distrust in elections and the political process in general.

And what do we hear from Sen. Marklein, supposed steward of our tax

money, or from Rep. Novak, supposed independent voice? A deafening silence. They need to hear from you.

Thank you.

—Kathie Swanson Mineral Point, WI

‘Conservation as a hunting culture’ — Does culture war fit with the state’s hunting values?

Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner Over the past year, one of Wisconsin’s most heated political fights has been over the direction of the state’s conservation policies and the rules that guide hunting in the state.

Lawsuits have been filed and insults have been traded. A Republican appointee to a state board has dug his heels in and refused to leave his seat even though his term has expired and replacement nominated. A package of bills nominally for expanding hunting access which allows for the hunting of sandhill cranes and the concealed carry of firearms has been introduced by Republican legislators. Ted Nugent held court in the Assembly chamber of the State Capitol last week.

The fight has expanded and morphed. It

serves as a proxy battle between legislative Republicans constantly seeking to pull power away from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ executive branch and the Department of Natural Resources; a culture war between urban and rural Wisconsinites and a clash between conservationists and hunters.

Which side people fall on often depends on how they feel about Evers, wolves or some combination of the two.

As the push and pull over hunting in Wisconsin continues, Republicans and their allies say they are fighting to protect a way of life that is essential to traditional Wisconsin values and the importance of maintaining a strong hunting and fishing culture in the state. But there are hundreds of thousands of hunters in

Wisconsin and some feel that the values the Wisconsin hunter has traditionally stood for are being left behind in favor of scorched-earth politics, neglecting the conservationism pioneered by such Wisconsin icons as Aldo Leopold and John Muir.

“I think we’ve always had an eye on conservation as a hunting culture,” Noah Wishau, co-chair of the Wisconsin chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, says. “You go back through Aldo Leopold and John Muir, conservation groups from the 1920s through to today, groups like Ducks Unlimited and the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, those groups have been around and you can see their successes in what we have in our hunting opportunities today.”

Earlier this year, Hunter Nation, a pro-hunting lobbying group, filed and won a lawsuit seeking to force a wolf hunt to be held in February. State law says that whenever wolves aren’t listed as endangered by the federal government, there has to be a hunt here. Officials at the DNR had planned to hold a hunt in November, but Hunter Nation’s win meant there would be hunts both in February and November.

In May, Natural Resources Board Chair Frederick Prehn’s term was set to expire.

An appointee of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, Prehn has refused to leave his seat even though Evers has nominated his replacement. Prehn represents the de-

continued on page 3

Commentary/Opinion

Thursday, October 21, 2021 Page 3

Hunting of sandhill cranes proposed, conservation groups question package of bills introduced

continued from page 2

ciding vote on the board which currently has a 4-2 Republican majority.

Prehn has coordinated with both Hunter Nation and the Republican leadership in the state Senate to hold onto power. One of their chief goals, Prehn’s emails show, is to influence the wolf hunt.

This summer, Prehn and his fellow Republicans ignored the advice of DNR biologists and, in a contentious meeting, voted to set the quota for the November wolf hunt at 300 — much higher than recommended. A few weeks ago, the DNR went against the decision of the board and set the quota at 130.

As all of this was going on, several lawsuits were filed against Prehn and the DNR trying to get the courts to untangle it all.

This month, Republican legislators unveiled their package of hunting bills, which they said was a direct response to, in their eyes, Evers and DNR Secretary Preston Cole ignoring hunters and farmers in Northern Wisconsin.

“Governor Evers and his DNR haven’t shown good leadership in any aspect for Wisconsin outdoorsmen and women,” Sen. Rob Stafsholt (R-New Richmond) said in a statement. “Over and over again, the DNR has made it clear that they won’t listen to rural Wisconsin citizens’ concerns, so we’re taking a stand with this legislative package. We’re telling hunters, anglers, trappers, and gun owners that we’ve got their backs and we’re defending our rights for transparency, simplified regulations, and improved access to our state’s natural resources.”

Wishau says he’s more concerned that all

the meddling will undermine the Natural Resources Board, which he believes has worked well in the past and resulted in conservation successes that hunters and environmental groups can agree on.

“I have trouble, as somebody who grew up being a conservative, with lawsuits being the way to start or stop things, it’s the purview of the Legislature,” Wishau says. “In Wisconsin, we have a good system. There’s a shield from the Legislature making laws and telling the DNR what to do, that’s the Natural Resources Board.

I have concerns about the future of the Natural Resources Board. … Some of the stuff we’re doing today just because it’s popular or just because, on this one issue, it’s not working the way we want so we’re going to do something else. I have trouble getting rid of a system that works and has given us some outstanding success stories over the years just for temporary convenience.”

Animating every move in this fight is the wolf hunt, which Wishau says is the “third rail when it comes to hunting politics in Wisconsin.” Groups like Hunter Nation, its allies in state government and some residents of Northern Wisconsin — who don’t like living near a wolf pack — take a hard line approach against the wolves.

“You are now officially the #1 enemy of wolves. :-),” Natural Resources Board member Greg Kazmierski wrote in an email to Prehn in June.

But Wishau sees the return of the wolf to Wisconsin as a success story and while he says the wolf population should be managed, that doesn’t mean it should be as aggressive as some groups want.

“It’s frustrating when you’re trying to

look at it through a conservation lens,” he says. “The wolf is a conservation success story in Wisconsin; they came back. We have places in this state that can support a wolf population. Instead of looking at that as a good thing and figuring out a way to manage the population. You get, ‘We don’t like wolves, we don’t need wolves,’ and that’s a shame. We have wild places in this state that can support a wolf population, that’s cool. Wolves should be on the landscape but we should be able to manage them.”

But Wishau also doesn’t think this polarization over the wolves is a new thing — saying humans and wolves have been coming into conflict for ages and it’s hard to overcome that.

“I can’t think of a fairy tale or anything like that with the wolf being anything but the villain,” he says.

As a backdrop to all of this, hunting in Wisconsin is declining in popularity — giving activist groups such as Hunter Nation a bunker mentality and making them feel like the sport they love is dying.

Republicans say the DNR’s rules and regulations are killing hunting in Wisconsin, making it too difficult for people to take up the sport.

Wishau points to the cost of the gear and an aging hunting population as a more likely cause. Jason Stein, research director at the Wisconsin Policy Forum and a hunter himself, says there is cause for concern about hunting declining in Wisconsin — partially because the fees from hunting licenses help pay for a number of other conservation programs.

“The baby boomers have been the big hunting group and they were bigger

than previous generations of hunters and subsequent generations of hunters,” Stein says. “They’re starting to get to the age where they may end up hunting longer than other hunters have in the past, they’ve done other things longer, but people come to a point where they drop off. You might think we’re going to have fewer hunters, so what? Like we have fewer badminton players. But the problem is, unlike badminton, we have part of our state programming built on hunting and fishing. There is revenue for state conservation programs that comes from hunting and fishing in a way that bird watching or hiking doesn’t to the same degree. So that’s the legitimate issue here.”

Working to get more people involved in hunting and fishing in Wisconsin would be good, Stein says, but it’s not clear that the goal of broadening the appeal of those pursuits will be achieved through a package of culture war bills that, among other items, will allow people to carry weapons while driving an all-terrain vehicle.

“In the abstract, getting more people involved in these things is a worthwhile thing for lawmakers to get involved in,” he says. But, he asks, “is this the package to do it?”

The Wisconsin Examiner is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news site offering a fresh perspective on politics and policy in our state. As the largest news bureau covering state government in Madison, the Examiner offers investigative reporting and daily coverage dedicated to the public interest. We take our inspiration from the motto emblazoned on a ceiling in our state Capitol: “The Will of the People Is the Law of the Land.”

Sued by Wisconsin and fresh off bankruptcy, Frontier Communications asks state for $35 million in grants Peter Cameron, The Badger Project Frontier Communications is asking the state of Wisconsin for nearly $35 million in grants to help improve its internet service here.

It might be a tough request, considering Frontier declared bankruptcy in

2020 after receiving more than $180 million in federal funds from 2015 through 2020 to upgrade its internet service in Wisconsin.

The bankruptcy came after Frontier established a less-than-stellar reputation among Wisconsin residents,

who for years have complained about the company’s tortoise-like internet speeds and frequent phone outages preventing customers from making emergency 911 calls.

Nationally, Frontier’s reputation also has taken hits.

SUBSCRIPTION

DRIVE

Around a year out from our start of publication, we never expected the dozens and dozens that now subscribe to Valley Sentinel. We are free to pick up in businesses around the area, but in the midst of a pandemic we wanted to be able to offer a service that allowed readers to be safe and not have to go out to get a paper, among the many other reasons people subscribe. We expected maybe a dozen subscriptions, we are free paper after all, and we’ve been surprised and heartened by so, so many more.

In the newspaper industry, this last year was the first in decades that subscription revenue exceeded ad revenue. With postal and gas prices going up, we offer subscriptions at a slight net loss and maintain an ad revenue model because we believe in accessibility

See page 6

So we’re launching a Subscription Drive to 300 campaign to get Valley Sentinel to that goal of 300 subscribers! and not passing on the cost to our most important asset — our readers.

However, the more subscribers we have (especially those we can deliver to in the local area) the more opportunities unlock for us to be able to bring you bigger and better news each week and stay plugged into the local community without worrying about whether or not we can print.

Want to help distribute Valley Sentinel?

More subscriptions mean more routes, and our distribution intern is back at college so we’re looking for help distributing the paper!

Want to enjoy scenic fall drives or a walk around town and assist in connecting our businesses, subscribers and community? Whether for fun or for volunteer experience, just one village, route, or all of them, we’d be happy to have you! Interested? Email: editor@valleysentinelnews.com

300

+6 Since 09/22 We’ll update this each week to share our progress. If you’ve been on the fence, if you’ve been thinking about gifting a subscription to family or friends or encouraging them to subscribe, now is the time — and we can’t thank the community and everyone that supports us each week enough.

To subscribe or gift a subscription, send a check for $30 to Valley Sentinel, PO Box 144, Spring Green, WI 53588, visit valleysentinelnews.com/subscribe or scan the QR code.

Contact us

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

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

It finishes near the bottom of a ratings survey of telecommunications companies by Consumer Reports, and the Better Business Bureau gives the company a grade of F. And states like Minnesota and Connecticut have

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

Editorial Policy

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

Est. 2020 igne conflatum “Forged in Fire”

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.

Valley Sentinel is a free, weekly single-copy news publication, available on newsstands in the area.

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

Column Policy

Community Discussion Policy

Subscribe Want the paper delivered to your home or business?

Subscribe online at valleysentinelnews.com/subscribe or subscribe annually with your name, phone number, address and $30 sent to: Valley Sentinel, PO Box 144, Spring Green, WI 53588

Valley Sentinel is published in Spring Green, Wisconsin every Thursday by Lower Wisconsin River Valley Sentinel, LLC. ISSN 2694-541X (print) — ISSN 2694-5401 (online)

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. .

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 criticism 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.

Page 4

Community

Thursday, October 21, 2021

COmmunitycalendar Events for October 21 - October 30 Thursday, October 21 Slowpoke Lounge Songwriters Round: Trevor Northsoul, Katie Scullin, and Travis Worth 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . www.slowpokelounge.com . Three Amazing Songwriters. One great night. Katie Scullin rocks and writes beautiful songs. You can sometimes find Travis Worth and Trevor Northsoul performing as the band Northsoul. This is a rare chance to catch them and Katie in a more intimate setting. No cover. Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 required for all Slowpoke events.

Saturday, October 23 Pop-Up Spring Green Farmers Market 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM . S230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . www.facebook.com/SGFMarket. Local farm fresh produce, coffee, fresh baked goods, honey, soaps & lotions, bedding plants, cut flowers, maple syrup and more.

Poem Homes Open House 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM . 770 N. Westmor St., Spring Green . poemhomes.org . Tour Spring Green's first net zero energy home. Learn how this solar-powered, super-insulated home works. Find out what makes it a prototype for environmentally friendly construction and how to build with non-toxic materials. See how spacious a small modern-style home can be, especially for those who want to “age-in-place”.

APT Play Talk: The Taming of the Shrew 11:00 AM . Virtual . Free . www.americanplayers.org . For more on this spectacular play, engage with the artists who created it!

The live stream of the Play Talk features the understudy actors (Samantha Newcomb, John Taylor Phillips and Ronald Román-Meléndez) as they discuss what it's like being cast in multiple plays with the plan being to never set foot on stage. Register for the live streams, or watch on APT's YouTube channel a few days after recording.

Zach Pietrini & McKenna Bray 7:00 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . www.slowpokelounge.com . Memphis & Milwaukee collide with singer-songwriters Zach Pietrini & McKenna Bray. With Pietrini’s compelling songwriting from the Midwest and Bray’s vocal prowess from the South, the two initially joined forces to tour in March 2020. When the shutdown canceled everything, Pietrini and Bay began writing together almost every week. The result of which exploded into the Modern Love EP. Singer-songwriter at its core with indie Americana vibes, this duo packs the whole punch into its captivating live show. Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 required for all Slowpoke events.

A Ghostly Gathering at Shake Rag Alley 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM . Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts, 18 Shake Rag St., Mineral Point . 18+ . $25 in advance, $30 at the door . Shake Rag Alley invites you to join the first annual Ghostly Gathering featuring a variety of festive experiences on the 2.5-acre campus in the historic heart of Mineral Point! Proceeds from this fall fundraiser support Shake Rag Alley arts and crafts programming and historic preservation. Admission to the event includes: One drink ticket. Food and beverages from a variety of local vendors will be available for purchase.

Live music by Yid Vicious. Scary storytelling by the award-winning Jane Stenson. Tarot card readings. A Night Market of unique crafters, makers, and artists. A costume contest with a cash prize for first place. Costumes and decorative masks are encouraged. Face coverings required indoors and outside when social distancing is not possible, regardless of vaccination status.

Tuesday, October 26 Fall Outdoor Storytime 10:15 AM - 10:45 AM . Plain Kraemer Library and Community Center, 910 Main St, Plain . www.kraemerlibrary.org . Storytimes lasts about 30 minutes (no one gets offended if your child doesn’t last this long!) and is aimed for families with children ages 0-6 with themed songs and stories.

Wednesday, October 27 Family Outdoor Storytime 10:00 AM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . www.springgreenlibrary.org . Join us for stories, songs, and fun. Meet on the library's east lawn. Seating pads are provided for children; adults please bring a chair or blanket to sit on.

Saturday, October 30 Pop-Up Spring Green Farmers Market 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM . S230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . www.facebook.com/SGFMarket. Local farm fresh produce, coffee, fresh baked goods, honey, soaps & lotions, bedding plants, cut flowers, maple syrup and more.

SPOOKtacular Scavenger Hunt TBA . Spring Green Community Library, S230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . Join us for a "SPOOKtacular" Scavenger Hunt at the Library!

More info soon...

SGACC’s Halloween Creature Crawl - Trunk or Treat 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM . Wisconsin Riverside Resort, S13220 Shifflet Rd, Spring Green . www.springgreen.com . Join us in our FREE Community Event! Only one family group of trick or treaters allowed at each trunk at one time to ensure social distancing. Let's make this Halloween memorable for our kids! They deserve it!

Saturday, October 30 Halloween at Iron Amethyst Inn 4:00 PM - 10:00 PM . 21 S. State St, Mazomanie .

Join us at the Iron Amethyst Inn for a Spooktacular Evening! Dress to impress in the costume of your choice. Enter to win a special prize! We will take pictures of those entering and post online for voting of best costume. Kids come get some candy! Adults enjoy our yummy fall drinks warm or cold. The Taco truck will be here. Sit by a fire and enjoy this fall season! Hope to see you there!

Halloween at Wild Hills Winery 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM . 30940 Oakridge Dr., Muscoda .

Come out to the hills for a spooky night at the winery! 4 pm: Twilight walk in the vineyard, 5 pm: Bonfires, DJ Mastodon DS, Food for sale by TKO BBQ, 6:30 pm: Costume contest, 7:00 pm Haunted stories by local storyteller and paranormal investigator Todd Roll. It's Hallo-WINE time! We'll also have wine specials and samples to try. See you in the hills!

Abaddon's End Halloween Spooktacular and Costume Party 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM .

Keg and Kettle, 104 S Oak St, Lone Rock . The Abaddon's End 1st Annual Halloween Spooktacular, live music and costume party.

Sugar Mama & The Rent Check Halloween Bash 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . www.slowpokelounge.com . Join us for this Halloween fueled costume party with Sugar Mama and the Rent Check. And yes, there will be a costume constest! Playing a mix of funk, soul and rock 'n roll, Sugar Mama and the Rent Check are a Spring Green-based band featuring Laura Burbaugh on vocals, Ellie Barta-Moran on vocals, killer tambourine and guitar, Todd Miller on lead guitar, John Christiansen on vocals and keyboard, Tim Gittings on bass and harmonica, and Rob Steffen on drums. Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 required for all Slowpoke events.

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

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

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

Wash hands frequently.

Stay home when sick.

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

Avoid crowded and poorly ventilated indoor spaces when possible.

Wear a mask.

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

Sauk County October 2021 FreeCOVID-19 TESTING SITES *NO SYMPTOMS REQUIRED FOR TESTING

SUNDAYS

MONDAYS

Spring Green Fire/EMS Station

Sauk County Public Health

SPRING GREEN 5:30 PM TO 6:30 PM

327 Winsted Street, Spring Green Registration required for each test: www.springgreenems.com

TUESDAYS REEDSBURG

9 AM TO 10 AM

BARABOO

10 AM TO 12 PM

Circus World Parking Lot

550 Water St. Baraboo

w Ne tion! a c o L

Registration required for each test: https://register.covidconnect.wi.gov/ SAUK PRAIRIE

3 PM TO 5 PM

Reedsburg Ambulance Service

SP Healthcare Wellspring Campus

WEDNESDAYS

THURSDAYS

Dells/Delton EMS

SP Healthcare Wellspring Campus

230 Railroad Street, Reedsburg Registration required for each test: https://register.covidconnect.wi.gov/

LAKE DELTON

10 AM TO 12 PM

45 Miller Drive, Lake Delton Registration required for each test: https://register.covidconnect.wi.gov/

FRIDAYS BARABOO

10 AM TO 12 PM

Sauk County Public Health Circus World Parking Lot 550 Water St. Baraboo

w Ne tion! a c o L

Registration required for each ach test: https://register.covidconnect.wi.gov/ t.wi g

55 Prairie Ave, Prairie du Sac Step 1. https://register.covidconnect.wi.gov/ Step 2. Call 608.643.7603 for an appointment.

SAUK PRAIRIE

3 PM TO 5 PM

55 Prairie Ave, Prairie du Sac Step 1. https://register.covidconnect.wi.gov/ Step 2. Call 608.643.7603 for an appointment.

These sites use PCR tests which are sent to a laboratory for analysis. Results are usually received in 48-72 hrs, but we cannot guarantee time frame.

For more information call: 608.355.3290 https://www.co.sauk.wi.us/publichealth/ coronavirus

Community

Thursday, October 21, 2021 Page 5

COVID-19 Dashboard Wisconsin Summary

770,807 Positive Cases +13,952 from 10/12

Cases as of 10/19/2021

3,479,592 Negative Test Results +39,900 from 10/12

8,267 Deaths +73 from 10/12

Critically High Very High High Medium Low

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

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

Updated: 10/19/2021

6,460,612

Administered

3,679,654

2,510,851

Pfizer doses administered

Richland

Sauk

Target Range

54.9%

+54 from 10/12 +111 from 10/12 +0 from 10/12

Sauk County

+200 from 10/12 +387 from 10/12 +1 from 10/12

7,853 Positive Cases 41,521 Negative Tests 58 Deaths Updated: 10/19/2021

Target Range

58.9%

Percent with at least one vaccine dose

Iowa County

Johnson & Johnson doses administered

Vaccine Data

+92 from 10/12 +107 from 10/12 +1 from 10/12

2,600 Positive Cases 13,628 Negative Tests 15 Deaths

270,107

Moderna doses administered

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

county level weekly statistics Richland County 2,013 Positive Cases 9,404 Negative Tests 21 Deaths

Vaccine Summary Statistics

Percent with at least one vaccine dose

52.7%

56.2%

Percent fully vaccinated

Percent fully vaccinated

Iowa

Target Range

63.8% Percent with at least one vaccine dose

61.9% Percent fully vaccinated

Cases per zip code

Percent of Wisconsin residents ages 12-15 who have received at least one dose by county

Cases as of 10/19/2021

Updated: 10/19/2021 Lower %

Richland County Ages 12-15

Iowa County

Ages 12-15

Higher %

41.9%

Percent of Wisconsin residents who have received at least one dose

55.0%

Sauk County

Ages 12-15

Updated: 10/19/2021

46.1% Dane County Ages 12-15

Graphic by Anna Stocks-Hess

Ages

80.6%

12-15 16-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

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

47.6% 52.5% 52.6% 57.1% 64.6% 65.6% 74.1% 86.1%

Page 6

Commentary/Briefs

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Companies vie for broadband grants, an analysis continued from page 3 investigated the company’s business practices.

Then, in May, Wisconsin, five other states and the Federal Trade Commission announced they were suing Frontier in a federal court in California, claiming the company failed to provide customers with the internet speeds Frontier originally promised. The company has about 80,000 customer accounts in Wisconsin, a company spokesman told The Badger Project last year.

“I hope the state will seriously consider the track record of companies to understand which ones have a long record of meeting the needs of residents and businesses,” Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative, a Minnesota-based think tank supporting communities’ telecommunications efforts, said in an email to The Badger Project.

“Frankly, Frontier’s record suggests it should not receive a single additional dollar from any government,” he added. “Local companies, communities, and cooperatives have proven to be much better at turning public subsidies into needed networks.”

Earlier this month, a federal judge dismissed Wisconsin and four other states from the litigation, but allowed the claims of the FTC and California to move forward.

In an email response to questions, Frontier spokeswoman Brigid Smith said, despite bankruptcy, the company has honored its obligations required by federal funding. She added that “Frontier has been awarded state broadband grant funding in numerous states and has fulfilled its grant obligations in all of them.”

And she said the company’s DSL internet speeds “have been clearly and accurately described in our marketing materials and disclosures.”

Frontier emerged from bankruptcy earlier this year and said in a press release it would upgrade millions of its internet accounts across the country to modern fiber optic cables from the old and slow copper phone wire.

Frontier is making its case to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, which distributes the state’s grants for high-speed internet expansion. The PSC awards funding based on several

criteria, including whether a project is in an area unserved or underserved by internet providers, PSC spokesman Jerel Ballard said.

The PSC also takes into account things like scalability, impact, matching funds, applicant capacity and performance, service affordability, economic development and public-private partnership, Ballard added.

To date, Frontier has received one $200,000 grant from the PSC for one project in the Wausau-area community of the Town of Weston, which included construction of a 10-mile fiber optic line. That grant was awarded in 2017.

Overall, Wisconsin has distributed about $72 million in broadband expansion grants to a number of internet providers and the state legislature continues to give the PSC more funding to expand the effort.

On top of the state program, Gov. Tony Evers announced in May he was setting aside $100 million in federal funds for high-speed internet expansion. The state received about $440 million in requests from telecommunications companies including Frontier.

Those requests also include a proposal from the Eau Claire-headquartered WIN Technology, which has a fiber-optic network across much of Western Wisconsin and is owned by 31 independent telephone companies.

WIN asked the state for more than $77 million.

Spectrum and TDS asked for about $39 million and $29 million, respectively.

The PSC said it will likely decide on this round of grant winners by the end of this month.

In Other News/Briefs FCC to Require 10-Digit Dialing Code Beginning October 24, all customers with the area codes 262, 414, 608, and 920 will need to dial the area code and telephone number in order to connect their local and long-distance calls. This will apply to all calls that are currently dialed with seven digits.

The change comes after the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) adopted an order approving ‘988’ as the three-digit abbreviated dialing code to reach the National Suicide

Prevention Lifeline starting July 16, 2022.

To ensure ‘988’ calls reach the lifeline, providers in 36 states, including Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Michigan, must transition to 10-digit dialing systems.

As a result, calls made on or after October 24, 2021, will not be connected with only seven digits.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can still be reached by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255) even after the ‘988’ code is in effect.

The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.

Employment opportunities

Now Hiring!

CleanPower is looking for a bank cleaner in Spring Green.

Work is Monday thru Saturday for 1.25 hours after 5:30pm.

This job has a flexible start time! Wage is $15 per hour.

Apply direct at www.cleanpower1.com by clicking careers at the top or call 608-213-9863 for more info.

EEO/AA Employer

Commercial Project Manager/Estimator

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

Commercial Construction Superintendent

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

For more info visit www.kraemerbrothers.com

Salary will be based on experience EEO/AA employer

Please send your resume to:

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

Sports

Thursday, October 21, 2021 Page 7

Tough loss last Tuesday, Blackhawks Volleyball ends 3rd in Conference play at 6-4 Mariah Hill, RVHS Head Volleyball Coach Last Tuesday night, the hawks hosted their last conference match of the season against Prairie Du Chien.

We took a tough loss. We won the first set and then unforced errors on our side of the net really hurt us. We lost the next 3 to give Prairie du Chien the win on the night. They played some great defense and their star player definitely brought her A game. We just couldn’t stop her.

Our team did some good things, but ultimately, too many errors and not enough execution on our side cost us the match.

We will use this as a learning tool and let it help us prepare for the week ahead. Leaders for the Blackhawks

were Senior outside hitter Anabelle Willoughby with 10 kills and 17 defensive digs, Junior Brooke Anderson had 4 service aces on the night, Junior Katie Hahn had 2 solo blocks on the night, and Senior Kate Hanson had 11 assists.

The Blackhawks received the 6th seed for regional playoffs and were prepared to host the 11 seed Sparta on Tuesday night. Photo by Janeen Anderson Senior number 14 Mackenzie Emerson serves it up during play against Prairie Du Chien.

Blackhawks Cross Country competes in SWC Conference meet in RC Brian Krey, RVHS Cross Country Head Coach The River Valley Cross Country teams traveled to Richland Center for the SWC conference meet on Thursday, October 14. Both teams turned in outstanding performances on a demanding course near Richland Center High School. The boys’ team placed 2nd, behind DodgevilleMineral Point, while the girls’ team finished 6th.

Team scores for the boys’ were: 1st: Dodgeville-Mineral Point, 22 points 2nd: River Valley, 64 points 3rd: Platteville, 74 points 4th: Lancaster, 126 points 5th: Prairie du Chien, 128 points 6th: Richland Center-Ithaca, 139 points According to our records, this is the highest finish for a River Valley boys’ team since 1988, and the first time the boys have placed higher than Platteville since that year as well. An absolutely huge accomplishment for this group and our program! They have worked very hard all season, and to see them come together over the last couple of weeks with the goal of beating Platteville for 2nd place was fantastic. Julius Ross finished 6th in a time of 18:03 and was awarded

first-team all conference. Noah Radtke was 9th in a time of 18:49 and received second-team all-conference honors. Ethan Wastlick was River Valley’s next runner in 15th place and just missed second-team honors by one place, finishing in a time of 19:33. Josh Maes finished 18th in a time of 19:44, Connor Grant finished 19th in a time of 19:52, Eli Johnson was 20th in 19:53 and Mason Henkel rounded out the varsity team in 21:09 (29th place). TJ Strined placed 23rd in the JV race, finishing in 27:22.

Congratulations to Julius and Noah for all-conference honors, they both ran really smart races. Ethan and Eli both ran really aggressive races, which I loved to see and something they should be very proud of.

Eli ran a season personal best on a tough course, which is an accomplishment in itself.

Team scores for the girls’ were: 1st: Dodgeville-Mineral Point, 24 points 2nd: Lancaster, 56 points 3rd: Platteville, 82 points 4th: Prairie du Chien, 111 points 5th: Richland Center-Ithaca, 126 points 6th: River Valley, 146 points The girls’ team has battled some injuries and illnesses over the last couple of weeks,

Charles Munch HOLIDAY CARDS Available at The Office Market, Spring Green Ocooch Books, Richland Center

so the team finish was not as high as we would have hoped. Regardless, every girl ran really hard and like the boys refused to give up. Bobbi DuCharme earned secondteam all-conference honors placing 8th in a time of 21:12. Abi Cummings was 31st in 24:11, Alana Merritt was 32nd in 24:15, Sara Clary was 37th in 26:03, Anna Johnson was 38th in 26:41, Emma Anding was 40th in 26:58, and Kylie Morrey was 41st in 27:40.

In the JV race, Madeline Hutnik placed 27th in 27:06, while Grace Morrey placed 29th in 28:40.

Congratulations to Bobbi for making second-team all-conference, this is quite an accomplishment for an athlete that is also on the girls’ swim team! Abi Cummings has been dealing with a knee issue, but really pushed hard in her last conference meet. Alana Merritt, Sara Clary, and Emma Anding are all first year runners, and I was impressed with each of their races. All of them have had some nagging injuries throughout the season, but ran well on a challenging course.

The Blackhawks travel to the Prairie du Chien Country Club on Saturday, October 23 for the WIAA Sectional Meet. The boys’ race will start at 11:30 am, with the girls’ to

Photo by Aaron Maes Noah Radtke running at RC on Oct. 14. follow at noon. The top two teams and top five individuals (not on a team) qualify for the state meet in Wisconsin Rapids. Best of luck to the Blackhawks!

Want to help distribute Valley Sentinel?

More subscriptions mean more routes, and our distribution intern is back at college so we’re looking for help distributing the paper!

We can’t thank those who have recently stepped up to offer to help enough, thank you!

Paper Distribution Routes Arena Subscribers: COVERED Arena Businesses: COVERED Lone Rock Subscribers: AVAILABLE Lone Rock Businesses: COVERED Plain Subscribers: AVAILABLE

Plain Businesses: AVAILABLE Spring Green Subscribers: AVAILABLE Spring Green Businesses: AVAILABLE Want to enjoy scenic fall drives or a walk around town and assist in connecting our businesses, subscribers and community? Whether for fun or for volunteer experience, just one village, route, or more, we’d be happy to have you!

Interested?

Email: editor@valleysentinelnews.com or call 608-588-6694

Business/Professional

Directory ork y W red t i l a u •Qu lly Ins ates •Fu e Estim e •Fr

J J and

Total Lawn Care

M-F Sat 8am-5p 8am -noo m n E4792 Kennedy Rd.

and

Snow Removal

James Harwood •608-588-2453•

Reserve a spot in our business/professional directory!

Add $30 to any ad order or as a stand-alone ad and you’ll be added to the next week’s business/professional directory.

•Natural double shredded oak bark mulch - $30/yard •Colored decorative mulch Red-Brown-Gold-Orange - $30/yard •Free delivery to the River Valley area (min. 2 yards) •Other landscape supplies available!

Gravel-Boulders-Screened Topsoil-Sand, etc.

We offer complete landscape and lawn care service •Full Landscaping from start to finish •Lawn Mowing We’ re y •Plantings stop our on sho e •Grading & Seedings p!

•Bark Spreading •Limestone & Boulder Retaining Walls

Business card sized, full color ad.

Perfect for top-of-mind awareness.

Want to run it every week? $750 for 6 months, $1000 for 1 year (26% discount, $19.23 /week).

“The good stuff.”

Page 8

Outdoors/recreation

Thursday, October 21, 2021

An Outdoorsman’s Journal

Mark Walters, Contributor

UWSP Homecoming/First Hunt Hello friends, We all know that in life much of our existence is wrapped around family and friends. This week’s adventure changed a month before it happened, and everything turned out just fine.

So, I was going to take 13-year-old Johnny Andes on his first deer hunt, which in this case was a pretty big deal. Johnny is the son of Michelle Chiaro and Ron Andes. He had never shot a gun until two weeks before this hunt and our original plan was to do a canoe deer hunt, camping trip on the Chippewa River. That plan changed when my daughter Selina, who is a junior at UW-Stevens Point (UWSP), asked me to attend the homecoming football game and a lot of fun activities after the game with her five roommates and their parents.

Long story short, Johnny’s hunt became a Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon adventure to my food plot.

Saturday, October 9th High 75, Low 53

All credit for Johnny’s shooting lessons goes to his mother Michelle Chiaro. She fast tracked him with a semi-automatic Savage 22 and finished the job with her Remington 742

“30:06” and let me tell you this kid can hit the target. The training took place on the ground and in a tree stand.

This morning I got Johnny out of bed at 5:00 am and we were in two tree stands that were placed next to each other and, as has been the case all fall, it was very warm. We did not see a deer. When I got home, I had 30 minutes to get ready for the other part of my day and just like that I was bound for Stevens Point.

Selina lives with five girls that are all seniors in a very nice house and in all honesty they are like sisters that get along well, know how to peg out the fun meter, and are very successful.

Three of the gals are on UWSP’s dance team, all six gals had their parents here today for the game, a dance performance at half time and lots of fun afterwards.

Raegan Babcock, Julia Perock and Natalie Kuhaupt are on the dance team along with a bunch of other gals. It was very cool to feel and see the honor and respect they have for what has been up to 18 years of dance for one of them and to listen to the grueling practice schedule of four times a week of 2.5 hours of practice each time and the national awards they have earned for their effort.

I sat in the stands with Selina, Isabel Negaard, Kaylee Huberty, all the parents and a lot of this group’s friends. The dance team’s performance was flawless and the look on all the parents’ faces told

Photo by Mark Walters, Contributor Selina with her roommates and friend after the dance team’s halftime performance!

Photo by Mark Walters, Contributor Johnny Andes after his morning hunt.

Photo by Mark Walters, Contributor Johnny Andes getting some good target practice in the treestand before the youth deer hunt.

it all, as they watched their daughters in what is probably the last year of their dancing careers.

After the game we went to another celebration in a large tent that was set up

by Partners Bar, which is a very popular watering hole in Stevens Point.

I met dozens of really impressive people, laughed my head off, danced my feet off, and later the whole herd of us walked 1.5 miles back to the gals house and it seemed like every yard had festivities taking place.

The next morning, I was awake at five and soon after started wandering the streets looking for my truck. That was a long journey in itself which was followed by a drive home where I stopped at a farm, as I am looking for some calves to buy. That stop paid off, except I got bit by a dog, and this worn-out redneck got home in time to take Johnny on an afternoon hunt.

Michelle sat in a tree next to us as she wanted to be a part of this experience.

We saw three deer but did not get a shot.

I have to tell you, the kids at UWSP are extremely impressive. The Pointer football team is not having a real good year, so I am thinking of enrolling next fall as a freshmen, becoming the quarterback and bringing a national championship to UWSP. I have always said that if you do things with your kids in the outdoors that your kids will be your friends when they are adults.

Go Pointers!

—Sunset

Want to read more?

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

I’m standing up to extreme partisanship in our state.

Visit www.tripp.vote to learn more. You can follow me on social media @VoteForTripp.

Paid for by Tripp Stroud’s Friends and Neighbors PO Box 512, Spring Green, WI 53588

@VoteForTripp — www.tripp.vote