Valley Sentinel - 11-30-2023

Spring Green, Wisconsin

Thursday, November 30, 2023 | Vol. 4, No. 22 FREE, Single-Copy

Inside this edition

Richland Hospital pauses new facility project

Local Holiday Gift Guide Catalog

More Healthcare: Breastfeeding & Ask a Nurse Practitioner

Pages 1, 4

Enclosed

Pages 1, 2

Richland Hospital delays plan to build new facility after budget increased from $80 to $115 million, costs increase

TRHC will retain 40 acres it purchased in 2022 for $1.2 million dollars Alex Prochaska, Editorial Intern

The Board of Directors of The Richland Hospital and Clinics (TRHC) voted recently to pause plans for a new facility just outside Richland Center, which would have replaced its current facility.

The decision was made because cost of construction and materials have skyrocketed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Shawna Connor, director of community relations and marketing at TRHC. Instead of building a new facility, TRHC says they will focus on improving their current building and services.

“TRHC will continue to provide the exceptional care and services our patients have come to expect from us,” said Connor. “There is no plan to eliminate or reduce services at our current facility.”

TRHC, a not-for-profit organization located in Richland Center, has provided healthcare services to the people of the greater Richland County area for nearly 100 years. They run an independent group medical practice, two rural health

Photo via The Richland Hospital and Clinics Pictured is part of the demolition process from 2022 of the Koch Tractor and Premier Cooperative site. clinics including the Spring Green Medical Center and a critical access hospital.

Connor explained the initial plan for a new facility, started five years ago, had a predicted cost of $80 million. However, with the steep rise in construction and material costs, TRHC was less and less able to afford the project. According to

a recent TRHC statement, even with a revised budget of $115 million, TRHC and its third-party architects, engineers and project managers were unable to draw up a building design that they felt would satisfy the needs of patients and staff.

According to Connor, it was impossible for TRHC to build an appropriate facility

at an affordable price point.“Rather than compromise, TRHC leadership chose to delay this project,” she said.

Connor said that even when plans for a new facility became smaller due to rising costs, TRHC did not intend to reduce any services. Further, she said there were no new services reliant on the new facility that would be lost without a new facility.

The proposed facility was planning to offer expanded ER, rehabilitation and surgical services, improve patient privacy and wayfinding, incorporate state-of-the-art technology and allow for future expansion.

Ryan Johansen, principal and architect from BWBR, the architecture firm chosen by TRHC for the new facility, said in July: “Our goal is to create a facility that improves patient and staff experience.”

Connor said the executive management team and hospital board will continue to assess the need for and timing of any new facility in the future. Originally, groundbreaking for the new facility was intended to begin in Spring of 2024.

continued on page 4

Public Health Sauk County announces partnership with SG Library to offer breastfeeding space Nicole Aimone, Editor-in-Chief Public Health Sauk County (PHSC) is partnering with area libraries to offer breastfeeding spaces throughout the county, including one at the Spring Green Community Library.

The spaces will be designated for parents to privately and comfortably breastfeed, pump or bottle-feed babies.

The private areas will include furniture, equipment and/or supplies.

The breastfeeding space at the Spring Green Community Library will be located in the Children’s area, and

includes a comfy chair, a side table and linen covers if they are needed or desired, said Emily Whitmore, library director.

“I think this benefits the community because it provides a space that is safe and comfortable for parents to breastfeed and care for children,” said Whitmore.

The space will open with and available for use during library hours, which are 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

“We are excited to have been selected

as one of the five health departments nationwide to have received this grant,” says Jennifer Weitzel, Deputy Director of Public Health Sauk County, in a recent press release. “Breastfeeding provides unmatched health benefits for babies and mothers and is recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a clinical gold standard for infant feeding and nutrition.

However, we’ve also learned from community surveys that breastfeeding can be challenging- especially for firsttime parents. It is our intention that

these spaces will create a supportive environment for local parents and help create a culture of breastfeeding here in Sauk County.”

The Reedsburg Public Library and the Carnegie-Schadde Memorial Public Library in Baraboo will also have breastfeeding locations.

More information on availability can be found by contacting the Spring Green Community Library at 608-588-2276.

For local resources on breastfeeding, visit www.co.sauk.wi.us/publichealth/ breastfeeding.

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Commentary/Opinion

Thursday, nOvember 30, 2023

OPINION/EDITORIAL

The (not so) Plain and Simple Correspondent: Souls on the Wing Katie Green, Columnist Recently the haunting sound of migrating birds could be heard in the middle of the night as the moon waxed toward fullness. It is ghostly to lie abed and hear the cries of large birds on the wing, guided by instinct and the heavenly bodies to flee the winter storms and seek out warmer climes as their ancestors have done since time immemorial. In the midst of these migrations, the news was broadcast of the death of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter at age 96, a beautiful, intelligent, gracious woman whom I admired greatly. I picture her soul on the wing with the high flying cranes, becoming acquainted with the next phase of the mysterious cycle of life and death, liberated from the pains of old age and the dementia which overtook her at the last.

As she arrives at her spot in the firmament, I have reflected upon what I admired most about the 39th First Lady. In her biographical First Lady from Plains, she clearly was no mere frail flower of Southern womanhood.

She admitted to being extremely shy as a youth but was expected to work hard on the family farm in tiny Plains, Georgia, to make her own clothes, to attend church (family members were Lutheran, Baptist and Methodist) to sing and worship and become worthy in the sight of God. A lot of their social life centered around the church then and always. She was bookish and both feminine but also a tomboy. Her family was modest and demonstratively loving.

After she married hometown Naval officer, Jimmy, she often had to bear and raise her three boys and daughter when he was absent on duty and later when he became a peanut farmer she helped run their business. They were

very close partners, and she was given responsibilities and her own roles to play in his administration when he was Governor of Georgia and then again as President. They grew up in the segregated South, but Jimmy's mother, “Miss Lillian” Carter, was a school nurse who ignored the rules of segregation to tend any ailing child, black or white, and the family had close friends from all races and religions. (Famously, in retirement Miss Lillian went into the Peace Corps.) Service was the family motto.

The Carter inauguration was unlike any since the time of Thomas Jefferson, when the Carters braved a bitterly cold January day to hop out of the caravan of cars on the parade route to walk the last distance from the Capitol to the White House along Pennsylvania Avenue after the inauguration. The youngest Carter child, Amy, was only nine. It was something of a security nightmare, but Jimmy thought it was symbolically important for the family to demonstrate that they were just ordinary folks, open to the concerns of all Americans, not simply of Democrats or people of wealth. Rosalynn notes that the day before he was inaugurated, Jimmy and she together mopped up the mess from broken pipes in their garage in Plains, which was also in a deep freeze. The Carters were mocked for their egalitarian views and their concern for the environment, as when during the Arab oil embargo of 1977 Jimmy asked Americans to turn down their thermostats, turn off lights when you left a room, and bundle up so that there would be fuel enough to go around, and pushed for a comprehensive energy policy, which the country did not have.

They were far ahead of their time in

several respects.

Early in Carter's administration Rosalynn was criticized for the fact that she for a time sat at the back of the room during cabinet meetings. She was accused of “running the government”, as some disapproving commentators suggested. She wrote that she did that

Katie Green only to become acquainted with the issues and it also spared Jimmy having to explain things to her later at night.

She never spoke up in the meetings.

What she did do was get involved soon in mental health policy and conditions in the country and her interest in this subject never waned over her long lifetime. She also was delegated to represent the Carter administration in Central and South America, making several trips below the border with the Secretary of State, Veep Mondale, and other Security officers. Naturally, like any female worth her salt, women's issues were of interest to her, too, and she attended various summits dedicated to exploring how to improve conditions for women worldwide.

When Iran took Americans hostage in the final days of the Carter administration, Pres. Carter worked night and day for their release. It could have been accomplished but Ronald Reagan, who had just defeated Jimmy's bid for a second term, delayed the release until after he had taken office so it would make him look better. A typical bit of political chicanery. Rosalynn was bitter about this but says Jimmy was not. “I was bitter enough for both of us,” she wrote. But she got over it and the two of them retired back to Plains to immerse themselves in memoirs, setting up the Carter Library which is much more than a mere library (it is involved in eradicating crippling diseases in the third world, among other programs), helping build many homes for Habitat for Humanity, teaching Bible classes and assisting in a number of peace processes around the world (Jimmy), and glorying in children and grandchildren and her personal humanitarian crusades (Rosalynn.)

They were devout Christians in the best sense of that word and have been first class citizens to the end.

Another worthy, one more familiar to River Valley folk, who made the transition from life to death recently, is Paul Galarnyk of Plain. He was a tender caretaker for his mother, Genya, in recent years, which I witnessed first hand, and I would like to commend him for that. All mothers should be so lucky.

Katie, who until recently lived in Plain, has been writing for fun and profit since childhood. Self-described as opinionated, she writes in the interests of a more loving, better-functioning world for all. She may be reached at katiewgreen@icloud.com.

Ask a Nurse Practitioner: Introductions & UTIs Liz Bothfeld, NP, Columnist

Dear Reader, In this column, you’ll find sensible answers to common adult medical concerns, written in plain English.

There certainly is no lack of medical Information available on the Internet, ranging from excellent to dangerous.

But how is one to sort it all out?

First of all, never apologize for visiting Doctor Google. Of course you Googled it!

It’s important to take an active role in your own health and to be your own

On the cover

“Ferry Bluff at Sunset” (2023) Photo by Bill Norman

Photo taken of Ferry Bluff on the Wisconsin River at sunset on Nov. 15.

From the photographer: "I have a cabin [on the river], this was taken about 150' out from my porch last night with a cold one in my hands and my dog at my feet.

Also, independent journalism kicks ass."

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

best advocate. BUT, the key is to Google reliable sources. See the handy list below.

Let’s jump right into this week's topic: Urinary tract infections.

Nary a weekend goes by without someone, more often a woman, coming into the urgent care complaining of a burning sensation when peeing, and having to pee urgently, and more often.

This is a miserable infection that will affect almost 50% of all women and 25% of all men at some point in their lives.

These are the classic symptoms of a bladder infection, or what is officially called Acute Uncomplicated Cystitis.

The Cause: most often it’s due to E. Coli, a bacteria found in everyone's poop, the exit of which, unfortunately, lies very close to the short little tube called the Urethra that drains pee from the bladder.

The Diagnosis: Happily, it’s usually quite simple. You go to your primary care provider, or local urgent care and give a urine sample. How you do this is very important. Wait until you arrive to pee.

Use the wet wipe provided, and carefully wipe front to back. Then, and this is the most important part, let some pee go into the toilet first, then collect the pee.

This is what we call a Mid stream catch and will be the most accurate.

The pee sample is then sent to the lab, and promptly looked at under the microscope for evidence of red blood cells, white blood cells (that fight infection) and bacteria. None of these things are normally found in the urine.

Sometimes, in a smart attempt to relieve the symptoms, people guzzle so much water, and the urine is so diluted, that the bladder infection is initially missed. Bladder infection diagnoses are

sometimes even made over the phone, in a telehealth visit, for women who are young and healthy and who have not had recent or repeated infections.

The Treatment: Typically an antibiotic such as Nitrofurantoin is prescribed, to be taken twice daily for 5 days. This antibiotic is usually our first choice, as it concentrates very well in the bladder and causes less disruption to the good bacteria living in our guts. There are other good options for those unable to take Nitrofurantoin.

Other Important Stuff to Know: If you have had two or more bladder infections within six months, or three within a year, be sure to ask the provider caring for you to get a Urine Culture and Sensitivity. The urine culture will reveal the exact type of bacteria, and very importantly if the bacteria has become resistant to our commonly used antibiotics, and if so, what antibiotics will be effective.

Warnings and Red Flags: People often first reach for an over the counter medication called AZO, a dye, called Phenazopyridine that reduces bladder pain, and turns the pee orange. The BIGGEST problem we see, is that this works too well in masking the pain, and so the person delays care. This allows the miserable E. Coli bacterial infection to worsen, and if treatment is delayed too long, to spread from the Bladder, up the two little tubes called Ureters, to each Kidney, causing a very serious Kidney infection called Pyelonephritis!

Prevention: So how can you reduce the chances of repeat or first ever infections?

Always wipe front to back. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Wash up and urinate just before and after any

sexual activity. The benefit of cranberry capsules or juice has been debated and studied with mixed results, however, if you have found it to work, by all means continue. And, if despite faithfully following all of the above suggestions, you still get a bladder infection do not blame yourself. We now know that varying hormone levels at different stages of life and the ability of bacteria to invade the bladder wall can be factors too.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Don’t delay treatment!

Please feel free to contact the Valley Sentinel with any topics you would like to see covered.

Until next time, be kind and be well.

Good medical information sources include: mayoclinic.org, webmd.com and cdc.gov.

Liz Bothfeld is a semi-retired Nurse Practitioner, living in Southwest Wisconsin, with a combined 33 years as a Registered Nurse/Nurse Practitioner.

Liz works at UnityPoint Health Meriter’s weekend only, After Hours Clinic located within Meriter Hospital in Madison, and has volunteered at The Community Connections Free Clinic in Dodgeville for over 15 years. She is happily married to her Mental Health Therapist husband of 40 years, has 3 adult children and six lively Grandsons.

Liz received her Adult Nurse Practitioner Masters Degree in Nursing from University of Wisconsin and PostMaster Family Nurse Practitioner certificate from the University of Boston.

Commentary/OpInIon

Thursday, nOvember 30, 2023 Page 3

OPINION/EDITORIAL

Public Education — Part 6: To Create a Virtuous Citizenry Beverly Pestel, Columnist After abandoning this series in the last column and resisting a desire to comment on the continuing deplorable events regarding the UW System (I know, they changed the name – what is that about??), I need to go back to the promise of exploring the origin and development of Common Schools in the 1800s. It is important history.

Beverly Pestel Now that the internet knows that I am researching public education, items keep showing up in my news feed. The algorithms are definitely working – kind of creepy. I saw this op ed from the Dallas Morning News the other day, “John M. Crisp: We’ve always known how to create good public schools.” Really? I’m not sure how many people would agree with that.

However, Mr. Crisp did make a point worth sticking a pin in when he said, “…in neighborhoods where we’ve been willing to support and fund them, we’ve always had good schools,” key word and phrase being “neighborhoods” and “willing to support and fund them.”

Anyway, on to Common Schools and the government’s first serious attempt to create those good schools beginning in the 1830s. As recorded in Part 5 of this series, Benjamin Rush expressed an interesting concept when he addressed the importance

of public education for the masses. He argued that a common education would be essential to produce the unity necessary for the continuation of a liberal democracy.

He wrote, “Our schools of learning, by producing one general and uniform system of education, will render the mass of the people more homogeneous and thereby fit them more easily for uniform and peaceable government.”

The unequal education of the wealthy and working classes in the early versions of public schools was beginning to be identified as destructive to society. Advocates of more equitable public education recognized that schools could be a means of creating cohesion among disparate groups and build economic strength. Horace Mann, considered the Father of the Common School, believed that political stability and social harmony depended on universal public education.

His message was, “education…is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance wheel of the social machinery.”

Graham Warder in “Horace Mann and the Creation of the Common School” puts it this way. “The [Common School] reform movement…sought to create the virtuous republican citizenry needed to sustain American political institutions, the educated workforce required to expand the American economy, and the disciplined generation necessary to forestall the social disorders so common in American cities ...”

In the mid-1800s, progress in education continued to follow the lead of the education reforms that always seem to begin in Massachusetts. States and territories proceeded to emulate and adopt Massachusetts’ school design. The elementary curriculum included “the three Rs”, along with history, geography, grammar, and rhetoric with an emphasis on punctuality, personal thrift, and moral restraint. All these components were considered necessary to a rapidly growing and evolving industrialized society. By 1870,

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor, As we see ignorance and hatred personified in the display of Nazis marching in the streets of Madison, it leads me to wonder where our nation is headed. For some reason, those who are fooled by the volume of ignorant pronouncements about Jewish people apparently being guilty of all that’s

wrong in the world, can’t see the facts that stare them in the face: they are asleep at the wheel of life!

History should inform our reaction to this ignorance. I have walked through numerous memorials to the murdered victims of the Nazi regime in Germany.

Believe me, it was no picnic being a Jew,

78% of children ages 5-14 were enrolled in public schools supported in some measure by the states. The responsibility of the states to provide public education became embedded in many state constitutions, but almost exclusively in the Northern states.

High schools did not become common, however, until the early 1900s.

The “virtuous republican citizenry” and “moral restraint” component of the curriculum that had the goal of instilling civic virtues, however, became a complicating issue. Some reformers had a hard time separating issues of civic virtue from their Protestant heritage, and that too often resulted in the insertion of religious instruction into the curriculum. Even though Horace Mann and others argued that religious instruction should be separate from public education, the separation of education from religious dogma proved to be troublesome. The long-standing Protestant bias dating back to the Colonies had been inserted into the virtuous and moral components of education. That bias eventually provoked the newly immigrated Catholic community to create a system of private parochial schools. Cracks in our highly desired uniform and cohesive system of public schooling were forming even as the Common Schools were expanding, but parochial schools were not the only issue that involved separate treatment.

In many communities, these public schools became the tool the designers hoped they would be. They became community centers that helped to forge a sense of community for an increasingly diverse population in terms of wealth, cultural heritage, and occupation – at least for white boys. The school experience was a different story for girls. Even when girls were included, they were too often taught a different curriculum and had fewer opportunities to progress to high school or beyond. Children with disabilities were largely excluded entirely. Black children were also often excluded or underserved, and before the

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REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS IN THIS EDITION EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Graphic Design Literary Contributor Agriculture Columnist Nicole Aimone Julianna Williams Mary Lanita Schulz Barb Garvoille Managing Editor Democracy, Society & Edu. Columnist Taylor Scott Beverly Pestel Editorial Intern Literary Contributor Legal Editor Community Columnist Alex Prochaska Amanda Thomas Gary Ernest Grass, esq.

Katie Green 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.

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”

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.

or even just being a Christian accused away with the Constitution and eliminatof helping a Jew, during Hitler’s regime ing our personal rights! An American dic-NEWSPAPE BETTER there. Many people of all faiths fled along tatorship on the model of Putin’s, CONTEST or any AWAR with their Jewish friends, before leaving other right-wing leaders in today’s world, was forbidden. will not be pretty.

Be careful what you wish for, those of you W I S C O N S I N N E W S PA P E R A S S O C IAT I O N F O U N D AT I O N who believe Trump and those Republicans Kay Ziegahn who promise to improve things by doing Richland Center, Wisconsin

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Civil War, all the Southern states enacted laws that prohibited teaching them to read.

Native American children were sent to both federally run and parochial boarding schools with the apparent intention of assimilating them into white culture – an overzealous and wrong-headed pursuit of a homogeneous culture rather than one that existed harmoniously in the presence of understood and accepted differences, both civil and religious.

After the Civil War, Southern states were required to restructure their state constitutions and establish free public education as a basic right for all races in order to be accepted back into the Union.

It took very little time, however, for white supremacist to take control of Southern state governments and pass the Jim Crow laws that allowed segregation in public schools as well as most of the other major aspects of life. One step forward, two steps back.

So much for unity and cohesion, much less creating “the virtuous republican citizenry needed to sustain American political institutions, the educated workforce required to expand the American economy, and the disciplined generation necessary to forestall the social disorders...”

So, no Mr. Crisp, we have not always known how to create good public schools, and even when we had the opportunity to try, we have not always had the will to do so. The Common Schools were progress, but not without substantial flaws. But we stuck a pin in the John M. Crisp quote a few paragraphs ago, and that is where we may find hope and promise in the next chapter of the development of public education.

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Editors may feature opinion columns written by public figures, Letters submitted for consideration are subject to fact-checking and members of the public or other publication staff. Columns reflect editing for space and clarity. Submissions must have a compelling local the opinions of the individual contributors and do not represent community interest. Letters to the editor must fit within a 500-word positions of the publication. Guest columns of an anticipated 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, length more than 500 words should seek prior editor authorization. without chance of rebuttal, will not be published the week before an . election.

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Thursday, nOvember 30, 2023

Commentary/AGrIcuLture/HeaLtH

Reflections from Lost Horizon Farm — The Unusual, The Unexpected and The Funny (Part 2) Barb Garvoille, Columnist Each edition, retired dairy farmer Barb Garvoille brings her musings on dairy farm life from her own years of experience on Lost Horizon Farm with her late husband Vince “Mr. Farmer” Garvoille.

This mooving memoir focuses on 19802000, join Barb as she rises with the herd.

Manure in the Valley Someone driving by on the roadway would probably ignore a farmer hauling manure out onto the field. However, this daily occurrence was duly noted by wild birds, and the observant person would find it an event worth watching too.

In the winter, the Wild Turkeys became so tuned into the sound of the power takeoff shaft on the tractor engaging the manure spreader that they would begin to fly from their roosts on the wooded ridge west of our valley as soon as they heard its noise.

Manure flying out of the hydraulically operated slide contained plentiful tidbits of undigested grain, and the turkeys became highly dependent on this supplemental bounty of feed. A person would look out onto the valley and see the fresh manure stain on the snow punctuated by the even larger and darker moving browns of the feeding turkeys' bodies.

If there had been a calf born, the cow cleanings (placenta) would go out with the manure as well. These edibles were highly desired by Bald Eagles, common winter residents in our part of Wisconsin. The single great Red Oak tree centered in the base of our valley provided an excellent hunting perch for birds of prey. It was not uncommon to see both mature and immature Bald Eagles on its branches gathered to eye the manure spreader's discharge. In the warmer seasons, Turkey Vultures would compete with the Bald Eagles as both species were desirous of cow cleanings. These scavengers, along with coyotes and foxes, were our natural field sanitation custodians.

Manure Spreading Basics The person operating the manure spreader had to always be conscious of the way the wind was blowing because, if a person turned the tractor in the wrong

direction on a gusty day, the manure would spread not only on the land but also all over the operator and the tractor as well! A rain slicker was always a good choice from the farm fashion rack on a windy day.

Trying to ease Mr. Farmer's work load

Barb Garvoille one spring morning, I volunteered to haul the manure. When I asked Mr. Farmer what to do, his advice was simple: "Just engage the spreader and GO LIKE HELL." I followed his advice perfectly. When I entered the field, I opened the throttle full bore and sped off. Before reaching the end of the field, I slowed up to make a tum and looked behind me. There was no manure spreader! The spreader was sitting forlornly not too far from where I had gunned the tractor. The bouncing of the spreader over the field had ratcheted the hitch pin right out of the draw bar and separated the tractor from the implement.

Did I ever feel sheepish! The face-saving moral of that story was to always check for a safety clip (“hairpin”) on the hitch pin to prevent unwanted (and embarrassing!) detachment of implements.

Other Manure Lessons The steepest section of our road was locally known as Ed E’s hill. One evening Ed E., that neighboring farmer, dressed in full military regalia, stopped in the barn to ask Mr. Farmer, the Air Force veteran, if he would consider joining the American Legion. He mentioned that he couldn’t stay long because the Legion meeting was to begin shortly. At the same moment that Mr. Farmer said he was not really the joining type, a cow had coughed and

Photo contributed by Barb Garvoille Hitch pins with and without a safety hairpin.

Photo contributed by Barb Garvoille A fully mature perched Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) surveys the farm valley. dotted the neighbor's fine outfit with little mounds of fresh manure. Now Ed E really couldn’t stay long; he had to rush home to change!

About the same sort of thing had happened once before when our veterinarian had brought along an Indian classmate and his wife to accompany him on a call to Lost Horizon Farm. The wife, wearing a most beautiful silk sari, stood by her husband in the barn's walkway, and another cow had coughed, and……you can guess the rest of that story. A person dressed up to go somewhere should either never enter a barn full of stanchioned milk cows or anticipate the inherent perils! ******* In the spring, the barnyard would have a lot of accumulated manure from the cattle confined there during the winter. Added to this would be runoff from thawing ground.

The result could be spots where the manure was very deep and acted like quicksand; a person's boot could get sucked right down into the slop.

Our artificial insemination technician, Ken, was at the farm on one such day.

Bestowed with a warm smile, this upbeat person always came armed with a raft of jokes. His cheerfulness was even expressed at his home; his own barn had a smiley face painted on its north end! He had joined us in herding a heifer through the barnyard and into the pen with the breeding chute.

While running to head the heifer in the right direction, one of the technician's boots got mired in the barnyard manure, and he stepped right out of his boot!!

Never shifting his focus, Ken continued running through the ooze, a boot on one foot, a sock on the other. After the heifer had been inseminated and released, we had a heck of a time trying to locate his missing boot; it was all but submerged in the barnyard goo. The breeder left Lost Horizon Farm with a newly- minted funny story to tell his other clients, very clean feet and boots, and a brand new pair of socks from us.

A Nightmare in the Daytime Farmers know the death truck by its signature high sides, covered top, and slanting metal lip under the end gate.

continued on page 10

Photo contributed by Barb Garvoille Mr. Farmer, the Air Force veteran, received training at Amarillo AFB.

Richland Hospital delays plan to build new facility after budget increased from $80 to $115 million, costs increase continued from page 1 “While I share [the community’s] disappointment in the news, I also believe this change presents us with an opportunity,” said Bruce Roesler, CEO of the TRHC. “The board has directed us instead to focus our energy on optimizing patient services, organizational culture, and financial performance, factors that we believe will strengthen our organization and make this a better place to work and receive care.”

Connor offered insight into what Roesler meant by optimizing service, culture and finance.

“In spite of being a 5-star rated facility, there is always room to improve the patient experience,” she said. “Likewise, we continuously work

with our employees to create a more satisfying culture. Finally, our financial performance is below expectations this year, so we continue to look to increase efficiencies and improve market share.”

TRHC received a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2023, which CMS says is based on data patients provide on surveys following their visit to the hospital. A 5-star rating is the highest score a healthcare system can receive.

TRHC will be focusing on capital improvements to their existing facility, which will include repairs for safety and quality of care—at this time, such improvements are still in the planning stage, Connor said.

Earlier this year, TRHC shared how

much improvements to their existing facility would cost. A master facility plan assessment from 2018 concluded that the current facility would require more than $20 million in upgrades—as of July 2023, the estimate rose to $30 million.

TRHC did not ask for donations from the public for the proposed new facility, but did receive one unsolicited donation, Connor said—sharing that TRHC will hold the donation until a new facility is constructed in the future, or will return it to the donor upon request.

TRHC will retain the approximately 40 acres of land it purchased in 2022 from the Koch Tractor and Premier Cooperative along Highway 14 east of Richland Center city limits, adjacent to the Pine River State Trail, which

would have housed the new hospital and clinics campus. The purchase totaled $1.2 million dollars, with over $1 million in additional costs used for environmental testing, demolition, remediation and planning/design, Connor said, while stressing those costs were not exhaustive. The site remains the preferred location for any future construction of a new facility, she said.

“We’re grateful for the community support that we felt throughout our facility planning process,” Roesler said. “We’re further grateful that our community appreciates and understands the importance of having an independent hospital and clinic organization providing excellent care in greater Richland County.”

PRESENTED BY VALLEY SENTINEL

The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay

Wooly Dry Goods 50" x 58" Throw Blanket

Mini-Suncatchers by Scout

Ty 2023 Christmas Beanie Boos

12 Days of Door County Coffee

Local Holiday Gift Guide

Bird Of Peace Heirloom Ornament

Holidays 2023

PAGE 1

Page 6

Community

Thursday, nOvember 30, 2023

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.

Events for November 30 - December 14 Thursday, November 30 Late Fall Yoga 8:15 AM - 9:30 AM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 WI-23 Trunk, Spring Green . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall.

Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly.

Drop-ins are welcome. Build your own series for $17/class (five or more) or $20 per single drop-in. Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

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

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.

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.

LIVE MUSIC: Jason and the Jazzerknots 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . slowpokelounge.com . Tickets $10 in advance/$15 at the door . Jason and the Jazzerknots formed to play original jazz compositions that appeal to listeners of all stripes. Their sound is grounded in the great tradition of jazz rhythm sections, from the Big Band Era to the present, and topped with Jason Goessl’s unique, horn-like approach to the guitar. Their debut album “The Shakedown” showcases the range of the Jazzerknots appeal and skill, featuring all original compositions by Jason Goessl that vary from the pensive and evocative to the joyous and swinging.

Friday, December 1 Country Christmas Holiday Light Parade 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM . 101 E Jefferson Street, Spring Green . springgreen.com . Glitz, Glitter, and Lights - this is a wonderful way to kickoff your holiday season...the Spring Green Holiday Light Parade Enjoy the festivities while sipping hot cocoa and relaxing to the sounds of the season. I'll share a secret...Santa and Mrs. Claus are going to take a break and visit with us during the parade! Be on the lookout for them.

EVENT FULL: Let’s Get into the Holiday Spirit 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM . Hyde Store, 5314 CR-H, Ridgeway . slowpokelounge.com . Let's come together for a night of Creating and Cocktails and some fun! Hopefully you already registered, if not, be on the look out for our event so you can join us next year!

Holiday Sing-along 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . slowpokelounge.com . John Christensen will host at the piano for this night of sing-alongs to Christmas Carols and other Holiday Classics. Get in the holiday spirit and gather around the piano for a night of song. Special guest players are also welcome!

Come out for a night of casual holiday fun!

Saturday, December 2 Country Christmas Breakfast with Santa 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM . River Valley Elementary School, In Santa's Wonderland (school gym), 830 Daley Street, Spring Green . springgreen.com . Enjoy a full hot Breakfast while you visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus!

Lots of food including pancakes, eggs, sausage, cereal, fruit, yogurt, muffins, and much more! Kiddos Toy raffle table will be back this year! Kiddos enter to win their favorite toy(s). Lots of awesome toys are ready for your littles! Another free addition to our breakfast this year! We welcome Britney Brent Design to take your family pics with Santa and Mrs. Claus. She will take pictures and upload the pictures (unedited) onto her site for you to upload and share! Reservations requested.

RV Craft Bazaar 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM . River Valley High School, 660 W Daley Street, Spring Green . rvschools.org . River Valley High School Boys Basketball Team presents the Spring Green Country Christmas Craft Bazaar! Lots of crafters and Vendors will be available for you to purchase those special gifts for yourself or someone you love!

Cookie Walk 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM . 151 E Bossard St, Spring Green . sgcommunitychurch.org . The annual Cookie Walk will be held at the Spring Green Community Church on Saturday Dec. 2 from 9 until noon. Participants will be able to select cookies from approximately 500 dozen varieties. Boxes will be provided. A limited number of crafts and ornaments will also be available for purchase. For more information please contact Rose Ellen Schneider 608-588-2442 Spring Green Winter Farmers Market 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM . Spring Green Library, 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 in the Spring Green Community Public Library parking lot and in the Community Room every Saturday morning.

Pop Up with Fizzeology-an opportunity to learn, taste and buy with Erin 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM . Spring Green General Store, 137 South Albany Street, Spring Green .

For more information look up Pop Up with Fizzeology on Facebook . They will be sampling the full Fizzeology line (Viroqua Wisconsin)- German and Naked krauts, Kimchi and Curtido, Gingered carrots, and their seasonal blend, as well as hot sauce!

Holiday Mercantile 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM . Albany Shops Courtyard, Spring Green . savortherivervalley.org . A little winter pop up coming your way, great time to grab some gifts from all your favorite Savor the River Valley members. There will be beverages, food, gifts, and shining faces. See you there!

6th Annual Andrew Linderman Pottery Holiday Studio Sale 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM .

402 Dalogasa Drive, Arena . lindermanpottery.com . We will have lots of pottery available for purchase with kiln openings both days around noon. Complimentary snacks and refreshments will be available.

FREE MOVIE: The Polar Express 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM . Gard Theater, 111 E Jefferson St, Spring Green . springgreen.com . Sponsored by the Spring Green Lions Club. The Polar Express is an enchanting holiday tale of a young boy who doubts that Santa Claus truly exists. On one special Christmas Eve, as the boy skeptically waits for the sound of sleigh bells, a magical train appears outside his home and the conductor invites him aboard. What lies ahead is an extraordinary adventure of self-discovery through which the young boy learns that for those who believe, the wonders of life never fade.

Country Christmas Holiday Fireworks in the Park 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM . North Park, Spring Green . springgreen.com . Sponsored by Rite-Way Plaza and Dick Powell Please park on the streets in Spring Green and join us in the park for a beautiful way to celebrate the season!

Sunday, December 3 Late Fall Yoga 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM . Radiant Spirit Retreats Yoga, S7163 County Rd G, Hill Point . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall. Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly. Drop-ins are welcome. Build your own series for $17/class (five or more) or $20 per single drop-in.

Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

Mindfulness: Discussion and Practice (Zoom Only) 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM . Virtual Event . springgreenlibrary.com . Our meetings will include discussions and short mindfulness exercises/practices. We will explore sitting, standing, lying down and moving mindfulness experiences. Find the zoom link online.

FREE MOVIE: The Grinch 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM . Gard Theater, 111 E Jefferson St, Spring Green . springgreen.com . Living atop Mt. Crumpit and choosing only his dog Max for company, the delightfully wicked Grinch was born with a heart two sizes too small. His disdain for his neighbors down in Whoville is magnified every Christmas season when he is forced to endure their enthusiasm for togetherness, generosity and, worst of all, joy. But after 53 years of lonely and miserable holidays, the Grinch finally has a plan to make this season bearable: He’s going to steal Christmas!

Christmas in a New Land - River Valley Community Chorus 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM .

Cornerstone Church, 210 N Lexington St, Spring Green . springgreen.com . The River Valley Community Chorus presents "Christmas in a New Land". The concert features 40 choristers singing carols and readings from the immigrant groups that settled the River Valley. Dan Krunnfusz is directing the chorus and Terry Kerr is helping with production.

Join us for a festive evening to celebrate the spirit of the season. Tickets sold at the door. Adults $15, Students $5, Children under 12 free.

Euchre 6:00 PM . Dave's On Main, 1170 Main St, Plain . For more info look up Dave’s on Main on Facebook . Join us every Sunday for Euchre!

Monday, December 4 Lego Builders 4:00 PM- 5:00 PM . Plain Kraemer Library, 910 Main St., Plain . kraemerlibrary.org . Join us for Lego Builders Club each month for a fun challenge or to free build your own masterpiece! Open to all ages. Children under 6 must have adult at program. We will be meeting in the library's community room.

Trivia Night 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . slowpokelounge.com . Join us for a night of Trivia! Kyle Adams will host as we put teams together for a contest of trivia. Come for the prizes, stay for the fun! First Question at 7:00 - and it should last about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Tuesday, December 5 Movies, Munchies and More — The People We Hate at the Wedding 1:00 PM .

Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Come to the library for a cup of coffee, a sweet treat, a movie. Movie Synopsis: The film follows struggling American siblings Alice (Kristen Bell) and Paul (Ben Platt), who reluctantly agree to attend the wedding of their estranged, wealthy half-sister (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) in the English countryside alongside their mother, Donna (Allison Janney). Over the course of the wedding week, the family's many skeletons are wrenched from the closet, and the unlikely reunion gives everyone the motivation to move their own lives forward. A modern wedding comedy for anyone with a slightly dysfunctional family (everyone), or anyone who's been forced to attend a wedding they tried to avoid (also everyone). (R, 1h 39m, 2022).

Moving Senior Bodies 4:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Join Upland Hills Health professionals Rosie Morrey, APNP, and Jennifer Day, COTA, for weekly classes focusing on balance and strength training to promote healthy aging. Some benefits of strength training include: slowing down the loss of muscle; increasing bone density; improving balance and coordination, which will decrease fall risks; boost energy level; and increase mental sharpness. For the classes, please bring your own weights, wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes. You will also need to bring water. Register online.

Winter Afternoon Family Storytime 4:30 PM- 5:15 PM . Plain Kraemer Library, 910 Main St., Plain . kraemerlibrary.org . Join us for Winter Afternoon Family Storytime!

Storytimes include stories and songs followed by a fun themed craft and activity. Aimed at kids 0-5 but, all are welcome.

Late Fall Yoga 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 WI-23 Trunk, Spring Green . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall.

Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly.

Drop-ins are welcome. Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

Wednesday, December 6 All Ages Storytime 10:30 AM . 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Bring the whole family to the library for a morning of song, stories, movement, and fun!

All Ages Holiday Craft Night 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.org . Come enjoy an evening of holiday-themed crafting. You might even come away with some great hand-made gifts for family or friends! Children under 10 should have a caregiver on-site, but parent does not need to be present in Santa’s Crafting Workshop (a.k.a. Community Room).

Gift bags will be available to help keep gift creations hidden!

Bingo 6:00 PM . Dave's On Main, 1170 Main St, Plain . For more info look up Dave’s on Main on Facebook . A cozy restaurant where you are welcome to have a drink. Join us every Wednesday for Bingo!

Thursday, December 7 Late Fall Yoga 8:15 AM - 9:30 AM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 WI-23 Trunk, Spring Green . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall.

Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly.

Drop-ins are welcome. Build your own series for $17/class (five or more) or $20 per single drop-in. Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

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r

Community Events for November 30 - December 14 Thursday, December 7 cont.

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

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.

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.

Saturday, December 9 Festival of Trees 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM . Lone Rock Community Center, 214 Broadway St. Lone Rock . For more info look up Lone Rock Community Library on Facebook . Craft fair at 8, Christmas cookie sale 8-10, Santa arrives at 10, Firetruck rides at 10, Chili Lunch Fundraiser at 11 - $5 hot dog or chili dog, $7 bowl of chili with fixins, Bingo at 12, Music at 1, Raffle drawing at 2 - tickets $1 each or a book of 6 for $5, Tree winners announced at 3. If you have a winning tree, contact Joanne at 608-647-0622.

Spring Green Winter Farmers Market 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM . Spring Green Library, 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 in the Spring Green Community Public Library parking lot and in the Community Room every Saturday morning.

Holiday Open Studio 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM . E2516 Brace Road, Lone Rock . For more information look up Angel Dreams Studios on Facebook . Join us for our Holiday Open Studio. There will be refreshments, shopping, a first look at 2024 classes and a peek at projects the studio is working on. We will also have a few surprises!

Walking Taco Bar- Eat, Drink & Shop 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM . The Clyde Co., 131 W Jefferson St, Spring Green . For more info look up The Clyde Co. on Facebook . Public is welcome! Come join us for a late night of shopping, and snag a walking taco while you're at it! Alcohol will be for Wine Walkers only, but food or water is for everyone. We can't wait to see you all for our second year as a Wine Walk stop! CHEERS! Arena VFW Steak Feed 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM . Arena VFW Hall 514 Willow Street, Arena .

For more info look up Ewing-Olson VFW Post 9336 on Facebook . $15.00 Steak (done the way you like) $8.00- 8 ounce chicken breast. 608-753-2225 for carryout.

LIVE MUSIC: The Blue Olives 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM . Slowpoke Lounge, 137 W Jefferson St., Spring Green . slowpokelounge.com . Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door .

The Blue Olives were once described as "tight enough to be professional. yet loose enough to be really fun..." we feature a hornline, killer vocal harmonies, searing guitar and funky rhythm section. Known as one of the fiercest jam bands around with a huge repertoire, we easily go from playing formal corporate events to large venue rock concert atmospheres.

Sunday, December 10 Late Fall Yoga 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM . Radiant Spirit Retreats Yoga, S7163 County Rd G, Hill Point . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall. Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly. Drop-ins are welcome. Build your own series for $17/class (five or more) or $20 per single drop-in.

Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

Holiday Open Studio 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM . E2516 Brace Road, Lone Rock . For more information look up Angel Dreams Studios on Facebook . Join us for our Holiday Open Studio. There will be refreshments, shopping, a first look at 2024 classes and a peek at projects the studio is working on. We will also have a few surprises!

Little Brown Church Christmas Service 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM . Brown Church, 29864 Brown Church Dr., Lone Rock . For more info look up Dave’s on Main on Facebook . The Christmas Service at the Brown Church is a combined service with the Lone Rock Congregational Church. Pastor Craig Peach will deliver the message. The public is welcome to join. Coffee Hour will follow the service, with light refreshments provided.

Euchre 6:00 PM . Dave's On Main, 1170 Main St, Plain . For more info look up Dave’s on Main on Facebook . Join us every Sunday for Euchre!

Monday, December 11 Homeschool Hangout 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Celebrate the holidays with other homeschoolers! We’ll share holiday themed games, crafts and music. Hot cocoa will be provided. Please consider bringing cookies or other treats to share!

Tuesday, December 12 Movies, Munchies and More — Troop Zero 1:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Come to the library for a cup of coffee, a sweet treat, a movie. Movie Synopsis: Misfit Birdie Scouts enter a national competition. (PG, 1h 37m, 2020).

Moving Senior Bodies 4:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Join Upland Hills Health professionals Rosie Morrey, APNP, and Jennifer Day, COTA, for weekly classes focusing on balance and strength training to promote healthy aging. Some benefits of strength training include: slowing down the loss of muscle; increasing bone density; improving balance and coordination, which will decrease fall risks; boost energy level; and increase mental sharpness. For the classes, please bring your own weights, wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes. You will also need to bring water. Register online.

Winter Afternoon Family Storytime 4:30 PM- 5:15 PM . Plain Kraemer Library, 910 Main St., Plain . kraemerlibrary.org . Join us for Winter Afternoon Family Storytime!

Storytimes include stories and songs followed by a fun themed craft and activity. Aimed at kids 0-5 but, all are welcome.

Late Fall Yoga 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 WI-23 Trunk, Spring Green . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall.

Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly.

Drop-ins are welcome. Build your own series for $17/class (five or more) or $20 per single drop-in. Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

Taliesin and Spring Green 7:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Kieran Murphy will give a history of Taliesin in a PowerPoint presentation including unusual photographs and selected appearances by both Wright and Taliesin from The (Spring Green) Weekly Home News. Her presentation will be 1 1/2 hours with questions.

Wednesday, December 13 PLAYGROUP: Donuts on Wednesday 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM . North Park, Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Playgroup for all! Meet other families and enjoy FREE donuts, story time and open play. Story time starts at 10:30 AM. Hosted by Spring Green Community Library and Public Health Sauk County.

All Ages Storytime 10:30 AM . Spring Green Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Bring the whole family to the library for a morning of song, stories, movement, and fun!

Bingo 6:00 PM . Dave's On Main, 1170 Main St, Plain . For more info look up Dave’s on Main on Facebook . A cozy restaurant where you are welcome to have a drink. Join us every Wednesday for Bingo!

Thursday, nOvember 30, 2023

Page 7

Wednesday, December 13 cont.

Holiday Workshop @ Arthurs Supper Club 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM . Arthur's Supper Club, E4885 Us Highway 14 And 60, Spring Green . For more information, look up Inspired Creations on Facebook . Join us at Arthurs Supper Club in Spring Green, WI. on Wednesday, December 13th for a fun night of creating something unique to keep for yourself or give as a gift. This fun workshop has several different options to choose from. Sherry from Inspired Creations will teach you everything you need to know to create something amazing. Feel free to order drinks and food while painting. If you are choosing Santas Cookie Tray, please bring a child along to help create if you wish. All supplies are included. Many ribbons and florals will be available to create the look you want. Space is limited so order your tickets today. Hope to see you there!

Thursday, December 14 Late Fall Yoga 8:15 AM - 9:30 AM . Wyoming Valley School Cultural Arts Center, 6306 WI-23 Trunk, Spring Green . ruralremedy.com . Embrace the a fluid transition to fall.

Move mindfully, breathe fully, rest deeply, and nourish your body and mind with group yoga. Classes are all-levels and will be adapted for the individuals that attend regularly.

Drop-ins are welcome. Build your own series for $17/class (five or more) or $20 per single drop-in. Payment is appreciated but you are always welcome to come no matter your financial situation. Register online.

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

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.

Family Caroling 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Come one, come all—even if you normally only sing in the shower! Let’s spread some traditional cheer at the library and as we stroll to nearby businesses. Song sheets will be provided. Dress for being outdoors. In case of inclement weather, we may keep the singing indoors. Children under 12 must be accompanied by a responsible caregiver.

Family Fun Night! 5:00 PM- 6:00 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 this week for Gingerbread House Building!

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.

Pre-season Bingo @ Arthurs Supper Club 6:00 PM . Arthur's Supper Club, E4885 Us Highway 14 And 60, Spring Green . For more information, look up Arthur's Supper Club on Facebook . Free to play. Please no one under 21. Regular bingo season starts in January. Call ahead to reserve a table 608-588-2521!

CIVICS & & SERVICES SERVICES C A L E N DA R

This calendar is a place listing (for free) the typical meeting dates for area governmental bodies, Please email us with these meetings, or use the form on our Community Calendar page — and let's build community together: editor@valleysentinelnews.com December 1: Friends of the Library Bake and Book Sale 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . Calling All Bakers! Drop off baked goods to help make the Bake and Book Sale a success!

December 4: Library Board Meeting 5:00 PM . Spring Green Community Library, 230 E. Monroe St., Spring Green . springgreenlibrary.com . The Library Board of Trustees meets each month, typically on the first or second Monday, at 5PM. Changes to this schedule are posted at least 24 hours prior to the meeting. The meetings are open to the public.

December 5: MEETING: Plain LIONS Meeting 7:00 PM . 510 Main Street, Plain . villageofplain.com .

MEETING: Village of Arena Board Meeting 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM . Village Hall, 345 West Street, Arena . villageofarena.net . Arena typically holds board meetings the first Tuesday of the month.

December 6: MEETING: Village of Spring Green Board Meeting 7:00 PM . In person and virtual event . 154 N. Lexington Street, Spring Green . vi.springgreen.wi.gov December 11: MEETING: Wildlife Forever ATV Club 6:30 PM . Arena VFW, 514 Willow St, Arena .

For more info look up Wildlife Forever ATV Club on Facebook .

December 12: MEETING: Village of Lone Rock Board Meeting 7:00 PM . villageoflonerock.com .

Village Office, 314 E Forest St, Lone Rock . See full agenda online.

December 13: MEETING: Plain Village Board Meeting 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM . 510 Main Street, Plain . villageofplain.com

IMPORTANT COMMUNITY CALENDAR NOTE:

December 28: VALLEY SENTINEL IS NOT PUBLISHING We are taking an edition break over the holidays. Dec. 14 will be our last edition until Jan. 11.

Calendar-related, we'll be taking this time to try to fix the issue that has been preventing our online calendar from going live.

If you miss the deadline for events, please send information anyway and we'll start a list on our calendar web page. Online and social media advertising will still be available during this time.

Community calendar events for Christmas and New Years, and all events Dec. 14 - Jan. 11, need to be sent to Valley Sentinel by EOD December 11.

To submit events, fill out the form at valleysentinelnews.com/community-calendar/ or email us at editor@valleysentinelnews.com.

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.

My Little Lou Two-Piece Set

Recess Adaptogen Infused Sparkling Water

Ennis Block Night Light

Stickers!

Tey Art Alpaca Socks

November 23 - DECEMBER 31 FESTIVE ACTIVITIES TO START YOUR HOLIDAY SEASON

Holiday Light Parade

December 1, Parade begins at 6 pm Through the streets of downtown Spring Green

RV Holiday Craft Bazaar

6th Annual Holiday Studio Sale Andrew Linderman Studio, Arena

December 2 and 3 from 10 am - 5 pm Snacks and refreshments available.

River Valley High School

Make your own wreath or porch pot

An Evening of Jazz

December 3 from 1 pm - 4 pm Wreath $40, Porch Pot $55 Mini Porch Pot $15 To pre-register, call the school at (608) 546-2963

December 2 from 8 am to 2 pm

The Gard Theater, Spring Green

December 1 beginning at 7:30 pm RVMS, RVHS and Vocal Jazz will be performing

Breakfast with Santa

River Valley Elementary School December 2 from 8 am to 11 am Reserve your time at springgreen.com Sponsored by Cardinal CG

Cookie Walk

Spring Green Community Church

December 2 from 9 am to Noon or until gone Variety of cookies ($10/lb.) and container provided.

Breads and snacks also available. Small variety of crafts and ornaments will also be available.

151 E Bossard St, Spring Green

Holiday Book and Bake Sale Spring Green Community Library

December 2 from 9 am to 2 pm Purchase holiday gifts and tasty treats

Ornament Making Workshop Ali Kauss Adornment

December 2 drop in between 10 am - 3 pm Stop in to make a beautiful ornament.

All ages welcome. Cost is $30.

101 E Jefferson St., Spring Green

Cookies and Hot Cocoa

Kelly's Coffee House - Spring Green

December 2 from 11 am - 1 pm Decorate a cookie ($) and Hot cocoa for the kids

FREE MOVIE THE POLAR EXPRESS The Gard Theater, Spring Green December 2 at 1 pm Sponsored by the Spring Green Lions Club

Free Pedicab Rides Post House Garden

December 2 from 1-3 pm Rides by Eugene's Bike Services

Holiday Fireworks in the Park North Park in Spring Green

December 2 begins at 6 pm Sponsored by Rite Way Plaza and Dick Powell

St Luke's Home and School, Plain

FREE MOVIE The Grinch The Gard Theater, Spring Green

December 3 Movie starts at 3 pm Sponsored by Bowdatious Salon & Simply Health Chiropractic

Christmas in a New Land

River Valley Community Chorus Cornerstone Church, Spring Green December 3 at 4pm Adults $15 //Students $5 // Children under 12 FREE 210 N Lexington St., Spring Green

Holiday Book Sale

Spring Green Community Library

December 4 from 10 am to 5 pm Friends of the Spring Green Community Library

Santa at Culver's

Culver's Spring Green

December 12 from 5 pm - 8 pm Visit Santa and Scoopie!

Light Up the Valley

Holiday lights competition

December 8 through December 31 Map and voting link at springgreen.com Homes throughout the River Valley

Pop ups and Jams

Spring Green General Store

Nov 25 and Nov 26 from 10am- 2pm Trunk Show- No Rules Jewelry Dec 2 from 10am - 2 pm Pop up with Fizzeology Dec. 9 from 1 pm - 3 pm Bluegrass Jam Dec 17 from 1 pm - 3 pm Acoustic Jam

Live Holiday Happenings Slowpoke Lounge and Caberet

Nov. 24 at 8:00: Karaoke Nov. 27 at 7:30: Open Mic Nov. 30 at 7:30: Jason and the Jazzerknots Dec. 1 at 7:30: Holiday Sing-along Dec. 4 at 6:30: Trivia Night Dec. 9 at 7:30: Blue Olives Go to slowpokelounge.com for ticket and event info

Thankk yyou to our Sponsors p

PAGE 2

Holidays 2023

Local Holiday Gift Guide

Community/arts & cULtUre

Thursday, nOvember 30, 2023 Page 9 What is Lexington & Jefferson?

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.

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 - perhaps we'll compile and publish an annual

Lexington & Jefferson

literary journal, who knows?

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

LITERARY + ARTS & CULTURE SECTION

Musings from the End of the Rainbow

Poetic Wonderer

Take a journey with me to the end of the Rainbow. I grew up at the end of Rainbow Road, a beautiful and magical place in a River Valley, just outside of a town called Spring Green. Following are stories and reflections of a simpler time..... — Mary Lanita Schulz ŽůůĞĐƚŝŽŶƐ ŽĨ dŝŵĞ

'ƌŽǁŝŶŐ ƵƉ͕ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŬŝƚĐŚĞŶ ŽĨ ŽƵƌ ĨĂƌŵŚŽƵƐĞ͕ ĂƚŽƉ ƚŚĞ ďŝŐ ƉŝĐƚƵƌĞ ǁŝŶĚŽǁ ĨĂĐŝŶŐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ŶŽƌƚŚ ƚŽǁĂƌĚ Neuheisel’s Śŝůů ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ƚŚƌĞĞ ƐŵĂůůĞƌ ǁŝŶĚŽǁƐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĞĂƐƚ͕ ĚŝƌĞĐƚůLJ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ďĂƌŶ͕ ǁŽŽĚĞŶ ǀĂůĂŶĐĞƐ ŚƵŶŐ ĂďŽǀĞ ŚĞĂǀLJ ĨůŽǁĞƌĞĚ ůŝŐŚƚ ƚĂŶ ĂŶĚ ďƵƌŶƚ ŽƌĂŶŐĞ ƉĂŶĞůĞĚ ĐƵƌƚĂŝŶƐ͘ dŚĞ ƐŚĞůǀĞƐ ĐƌĞĂƚĞĚ ǁĂLJ ŽŶ ƚŽƉ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ǀĂůĂŶĐĞƐ͕ ŚĞůĚ mom’s ĐŽůůĞĐƚŝŽŶ ŽĨ ĐƌĞĂŵĞƌ ĂŶĚ ƐƵŐĂƌ ƐĞƚƐ͘ WƌŽƵĚůLJ͕ LJĞƚ ŵŽĚĞƐƚůLJ ĚŝƐƉůĂLJĞĚ͕ ƚŚĞLJ ǁĞƌĞ ůŝŶĞĚ ƵƉ ŝŶ ĂŶ ŽƌĚĞƌ ƚŚĂƚ͕ / ŝŵĂŐŝŶĞ͕ ŽŶůLJ ŵŽŵ ŬŶĞǁ ƚŚĞ ƌĞĂƐŽŶŝŶŐ ĨŽƌ͘ Ɛ ƚŚĞŝƌ ŶƵŵďĞƌƐ ŐƌĞǁ͕ ƚŚĞLJ ŵŝŐƌĂƚĞĚ͕ ůŝŶŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŬŝƚĐŚĞŶ ƐŚĞůǀĞƐ͕ ĂďŽǀĞ ƚŚĞ ďĂŬŝŶŐ ĐĂŶŝƐƚĞƌƐ͕ ĂƐ ǁĞůů͘ ǀĞŶƚƵĂůůLJ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐŝŶŐ ƐŽ ŵƵĐŚ ŝŶ ƋƵĂŶƚŝƚLJ͕ ƚŚĂƚ ƐŽŵĞ ŚĂĚ ƚŽ ďĞ ƌĞƚŝƌĞĚ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ĚĂƌŬŶĞƐƐ ŽĨ ĨŽƌŐŽƚƚĞŶ ĐƵƉďŽĂƌĚƐ͘ / can’t ƐĂLJ / ĞǀĞƌ ƌĞŵĞŵďĞƌ ŵŽŵ ƵƐŝŶŐ ƚŚĞŵ͕ ĂƐ ƐŚĞ ĂŶĚ ĚĂĚ ďŽƚŚ ĚƌĂŶŬ ƚŚĞŝƌ ŝŶƐƚĂŶƚ &ŽůŐĞƌƐ͗ ůĂĐŬ͘ WĞƌŚĂƉƐ͕ ƚŚĞLJ ŵĂĚĞ ƚŚĞŝƌ ǁĂLJ ŽĨĨ ƚŚĞ ƐŚĞůǀĞƐ ĂŶĚ ŽŶƚŽ ƚŚĞ ƚĂďůĞ͕ ǁŚĞŶ ŵŽŵ ŚŽƐƚĞĚ ĐĂƌĚ

surface

ĐůƵď͕ ĚƵƌŝŶŐ ǁŚŝĐŚ͕ ǁĞ ŬŝĚƐ͕ ǁĞƌĞ ďĂŶŝƐŚĞĚ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ƵƉƐƚĂŝƌƐ͘ tŝƚŚ ĞǀĞƌLJ ĨĂŵŝůLJ ƚƌŝƉ ƚĂŬĞŶ͕ ƵƉŽŶ ĂƌƌŝǀŝŶŐ ŚŽŵĞ͕ ĂŶŽƚŚĞƌ ǁŽƵůĚ ďĞ ĚĞůŝĐĂƚĞůLJ ƵŶǁƌĂƉƉĞĚ ĂŶĚ ĨŝŶĚ ŝƚƐ ǁĂLJ ŽŶƚŽ Ă ƐŚĞůĨ͕ ŵŽŵ ƚƵƌŶŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŚĂŶĚůĞƐ ĞǀĞƌ ƐŽ ƐůŝŐŚƚůLJ͕ ƐƚĞƉƉŝŶŐ ďĂĐŬ͕ ƚŝůƚŝŶŐ ŚĞƌ ŚĞĂĚ͕ ĂŶĚ ĂĚũƵƐƚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞŵ ĂŐĂŝŶ ƵŶƚŝů ƚŚĞLJ ĨŽƌŵĞĚ͕ ƚŽ ŚĞƌ ĚŝƐĐĞƌŶŝŶŐ ĞLJĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ƉĞƌĨĞĐƚ ƉŝĐƚƵƌĞ͘ / ĂůǁĂLJƐ ǁŽŶĚĞƌĞĚ͕ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞLJ ƉůĂĐĞĚ ŝŶ ĐŚƌŽŶŽůŽŐŝĐĂů ŽƌĚĞƌ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƚƌŝƉ ĚƵƌŝŶŐ ǁŚŝĐŚ ƐŚĞ ŐŽƚ ƚŚĞŵ͍ ŽƐƚ͍ ŽůŽƌ͍ WĞƌŚĂƉƐ ŚĞƌ &ĂǀŽƌŝƚĞƐ͍ ĂƌŬ ďƌŽǁŶ ŽŶĞƐ ƚŚĂƚ ůŽŽŬĞĚ ůŝŬĞ ƚƌĞĞ ƚƌƵŶŬƐ͗ &ƌŽŵ ŽƵƌ ƚƌŝƉ ŽƵƚ ǁĞƐƚ͘ ĐŽďĂůƚ ďůƵĞ ƐĞƚ ǁŝƚŚ ƉĞƌĨĞĐƚůLJ ĨŽƌŵĞĚ ƉŽƌĐĞůĂŝŶ ĨůŽǁĞƌƐ ĂƚƚĂĐŚĞĚ͗ ĨƌŽŵ >ĂŬĞ >ŽƵŝƐĞ͘ &ƵŶŶLJ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ǁŝƚŚ ďĂƌƌĞůƐ ĨŽƌ ďŽĚŝĞƐ͗ ĨƌŽŵ EŝĂŐĂƌĂ &ĂůůƐ͘ DŽƐƚ ƚŚŽƵŐŚ͕ ǁĞƌĞ ũƵƐƚ ƐƚĂŶĚĂƌĚ ƐĞƚƐ͗ ƐŵĂůů ůŝƚƚůĞ ĐƌĞĂŵĞƌ͕ Ă ƐƵŐĂƌ ĐŽŶƚĂŝŶĞƌ ǁŝƚŚ Ă ŵĂƚĐŚŝŶŐ ůŝĚ͕ Ă ƚŝŶLJ ƐƉŽŽŶ͕ ĂŶĚ ŵĂŶLJ ĐĂŵĞ ƉĂŝƌĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞŝƌ ǀĞƌLJ ŽǁŶ ƚƌĂLJ͘ DŽŵ ĐŽƵůĚ ƚĞůů LJŽƵ ǁŚĞƌĞ ĞĂĐŚ ĂŶĚ ĞǀĞƌLJ ŽŶĞ ĐĂŵĞ ĨƌŽŵ͗ Ɛ ƐŚĞ ƌĂƚƚůĞĚ ŽĨĨ ǁŚĞƌĞ ĞĂĐŚ ƐĞƚ ǁĂƐ ĂĐƋƵŝƌĞĚ ŚĞƌ ŵŝŶĚ ƐĞĞŵĞĚ ƚŽ ƚƌĂǀĞů ďĂĐŬ ƚŽ ƚŚĂƚ ŵŽŵĞŶƚ ŝŶ ƚŝŵĞ͕ ƚŚĂƚ ĨĂŵŝůLJ ƚƌŝƉ͕ ƌĞůŝǀŝŶŐ ŝƚ ĂƐ ŝĨ ŝƚ ǁĂƐ ůĂƐƚ ǁĞĞŬ͘ Ɛ / Ɛŝƚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƋƵŝĞƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĞĂƌůLJ ŵŽƌŶŝŶŐ ŚŽƵƌƐ͕ / ƐŝƉ ĐŽĨĨĞĞ ĨƌŽŵ Ă ďƌŽǁŶ ĂŶĚ ŝǀŽƌLJ ŵƵŐ ƚŚĞ ǁŽƌĚ ůĂƐŬĂ ĞŶƚǁŝŶĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĚĞƐŝŐŶ ĂŵŽŶŐƐƚ ƚŚĞ ŽƵƚůŝŶĞƐ ŽĨ ƉŝŶĞ ƚƌĞĞƐ ĂŶĚ ƌŽĂŵŝŶŐ ďĞĂƌƐ͘ / ƐƵƉƉŽƐĞ / ĐŽƵůĚ ŚĂǀĞ ŐƌĂďďĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŽŶĞ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ƐƉĂĐĞ ŶĞĞĚůĞ ŽŶ ŝƚ ĨƌŽŵ ^ĞĂƚƚůĞ͕ Žƌ ƚŚĞ ƚĞĂů ďůƵĞ

awakening thoughts to sharpen knives as senses to night and darkness and the winter's coldness coming as the muskrat swimming just under the surface

sweet nature speaking this this is her: melancholy way going as a season I stand with the wind over the water sometimes for hours sometimes days coming and going as the sun gentle and illuminating trying to save the poetry of summer I sing hymnals as a humming of praise

without us even knowing a passing by, or a season just settling in showing

a.thomas 14November2023

ǁŝƚŚ ƐĞĂ ƚƵƌƚůĞƐ ĂŶĚ ŽƚƚĞƌƐ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ^ƚ >ŽƵŝƐ ĂƋƵĂƌŝƵŵ͕ ƉŽƐƐŝďůLJ ŵLJ ŶĞǁĞƐƚ͕ Ă ũƵŶŐůĞ ƐĐĞŶĞ ŝŶ ŵƵƚĞĚ ŐŽůĚ ĂŶĚ ŽůŝǀĞ ŐƌĞĞŶ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ^ĂŶ ŝĞŐŽ ŽŽ Žƌ ŵĂLJďĞ ĞǀĞŶ ƚŚĞ ŽŶĞ ƚŚĂƚ ŐŝǀĞƐ ŵĞ

ƐŚŝǀĞƌƐ͕ ĂĚŽƌŶĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ ďĂƚƐ ĨƌŽŵ DĂŵŵŽƚŚ ĂǀĞ Žƌ ŵLJ ĨĂǀŽƌŝƚĞ͗ ƚĂŶŐĞƌŝŶĞ ŽƌĂŶŐĞ ŽŶĞ ǁŝƚŚ Ă ƐŝŵƉůĞ ĚĞƐŝŐŶ ĨƌŽŵ dŚĞ DĂŚĂŵŵĂĚ ůŝ ĞŶƚĞƌ ŝŶ >ŽƵŝƐǀŝůůĞ͘ /ƚ ƐƚĂƌƚƐ ƐŽ ƐůŽǁůLJ͕ ƚŚŝƐ ŐĂƚŚĞƌŝŶŐ ŽĨ ƌĞŵŝŶĚĞƌƐ ƚŚĂƚ LJŽƵ’ƌĞ ŶŽƚ ĞǀĞŶ ƐƵƌĞ ŚŽǁ͕ ďƵƚ ďĞĨŽƌĞ ŽŶĞ

Notable Quotables Political Edition

ƌĞĂůŝnjĞƐ ŝƚ͕ Ă ĐŽůůĞĐƚŝŽŶ ŝƐ ĨŽƌŵĞĚ͘ DĞŵŽƌŝĞƐ ĂƌĞ ƐƚŽƌĞĚ ĂŶĚ ƉƌĞƐĞƌǀĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƚŚŝŶŐƐ ǁĞ ƐƵƌƌŽƵŶĚ

(As found in Valley Sentinel’s inbox)

ŽƵƌƐĞůǀĞƐ ǁŝƚŚ͕ ďĞ ŝƚ Ă ĐƌĞĂŵĞƌ ƐĞƚ͕ Žƌ Ă ĐŽĨĨĞĞ ŵƵŐ ƚŚĞLJ ŚŽůĚ ƚŚĞ ƉŽǁĞƌ ƚŽ ƚƌĂŶƐƉŽƌƚ ƵƐ͕

“I recognize that the Wedding Barn industry is unhappy with this legislation. For those who don’t know, wedding barns are exactly what they sound like.”

—Howard Marklein, State Senator, 17th District, (R) Spring Green regarding the passage of “The Alcohol Bill” Senate Bill 332 / Assembly Bill 304

ďĞLJŽŶĚ ĐŽƵŶƚůĞƐƐ ŵŝůĞƐ͕ ďĂĐŬ ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚ ƚŚĞ LJĞĂƌƐ͕ ƚŽ Ă ƐůŝĐĞ ŽĨ ƚŝŵĞ͕ ĐĂƌƌLJŝŶŐ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ ƚŚĞŵ ƚŚĞ ǁĂƌŵƚŚ ŽĨ Ă ĨƌŝĞŶĚůLJ ƐŵŝůĞ͕ ƚŚĞ ƐŽƵŶĚ ŽĨ ůĂƵŐŚƚĞƌ͕ Ă ƚƌŝƉ ǁŝƚŚ ůŽǀĞĚ ŽŶĞƐ͘ ZĞůŝǀŝŶŐ ƚŚĞƐĞ ŵŽŵĞŶƚƐ͕ ĨƌŽnjĞŶ ŝŶ ŽƵƌ ŵĞŵŽƌŝĞƐ͕ ǁŝƚŚ ĞĂĐŚ ƐŝƉ ŽĨ ĐŽĨĨĞĞ͗

“A budget is nothing more than a roadmap for the direction in which the Village is going. The road to fiscal conservatism is a vital path to the long-term stability of the Village of Spring Green.”

—Wendy S. Crary, WCPC, MMC, Village Administrator/Clerk/Treasurer, Village of Spring Green in the recommended 2024 budget packet submitted to the village board

Ğ ŝƚ lack……

Kƌ…… ǁŝƚŚ ƌĞĂŵ ĂŶĚ ^ƵŐĂƌ͘

East Jefferson Street, Spring Green | www.readinutopia.com Last Month’s Bestsellers at Arcadia Books 102608-588-7638

#1

The Last Supper Club: A Waiter’s Requiem Matthew Batt The story of how Matthew Batt, a forty-something professor on sabbatical, found himself returning to a job waiting tables. And loving it.

#2

MADISON RESIDENT

The Dane County Farmer’s Market Cookbook Terese Allen Savor stories and dishes from the vendors, shoppers and chefs who build cultural and community bonds at one of nation's largest, most renowned farmers markets.

#3

MADISON RESIDENT

Wine People: A Novel Michelle Wildgen Wren and Thessaly compete to become the heirs of a retiring New York City importer--but it's just as much about what happens after that. Michelle Wildgen takes us from Madison, Wisconsin and Sonoma, California to Italy, France, and beyond.

#4

The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year James Crews From the beloved New York Times opinion writer and bestselling author of Late Migrations comes a “howling love letter to the world” (Anne Patchett): a luminous book that traces the passing of seasons, personal and natural.

Upcoming Events + Book Club

Arcadia Book Club discusses: Our Favorites of 2023!

Dec. 13th @ 6:00PM - 7:00 PM Register at readinutopia.com/events

Commentary/Outdoors

Page 10 Thursday, nOvember 30, 2023

The Sauk County Gardener The Perfect Christmas Tree Jeannie Manis, Wisconsin Certified Master Gardener “The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect!”

— Unknown It’s a little early for me to start thinking about Christmas decorating but for many folks, the Christmas tree goes up during the extended Thanksgiving weekend.

That’s a good five weeks before Christmas and some like to keep the tree all the way into the new year. If you’re planning to have a live tree, it’s important to consider some things before you get the tree.

With any live tree, it’s important to place it in a location away from heat sources and the general household traffic. If you’re not sure how tall your ceiling are, measure before you head out. No need to purchase a 12-foot tree if your ceilings are only 8 feet high. Also take into consideration the amount of space you need for your topper.

Once you have your key tree measurements, you can head out to a tree

Gardening Tool Maintenance Jeannie Manis, Wisconsin Certified Master Gardener “He that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.”

— Confucius This past Thanksgiving weekend’s snow was my official notice that the outdoor garden was done for the 2023 season. When my hubby, Scott, has to use the snowblower to clear the driveway, I’m pretty sure it’s time to be done for the most part. There are a couple more things I’d like to do outside in my gardens but if they don’t happen, it’s not the end of the world. However, there is one gardening task that doesn’t require being outdoors and that’s getting my garden tools cleaned, sharpened, and generally spruced up for the coming gardening year.

There are three basic steps for garden tool maintenance: (1) cleaning, (2) sharpening, and (3) storing. The first step is cleaning.

For your tool’s metal components, rinse

lot or tree farm. I’m partial to cutting our own tree and we’ve done it numerous times over the years creating wonderful Christmas memories – for me. I discovered in recent years that I was really the only one who liked wandering through the tree farm in the cold and snow, searching for the perfect tree. When the “perfect” tree was found, many times it was covered in snow, and one of my family members had to lay down in deep snow to cut it down.

When we first got married, my wonderful hubby, Scott, cut down the tree. Over the years, our son, daughter, son-in-law, and even my granddaughter, have cut down the tree. Now that they have their own homes, my son and daughter-in-law put up an artificial tree and my daughter and son-inlaw go to their favorite tree lot. Depending on our holiday plans, we even sometimes put up an artificial tree. Otherwise, Scott will once again be delegated to lie down on the ground, preferably when there is snow, to cut down the perfect tree and drag it

back to the truck. That’s love.

If you decide to go the live route, here are some things you should look for: a nicely shape, a straight trunk that isn’t visible through branches, and slightly sticky to the touch. Also check the freshness of the tree (remember, you’re likely leaving it up for at least a month, if not more). At the tree farm: grab a branch and gently pull your hand toward you. The needles should stay on the branch. At a tree lot: gently tap the tree on the ground; only a few needles, if any, should fall. Check the individual needles as well by bending a few needles in half. Balsam or Fraser fir needles should snap. Fresh pine needles should bend.

Fragrance, branch strength, and color should also be considered when selecting a tree. If you like a strong Christmas tree smell, choose a Balsam or Fraser fir.

Added bonus, they have strong branches, great for heavy ornaments. Firs have short blue/green or dark green needles which they retain well. Consider the Scotch or

white pine, if you like longer needles, Scotch pines have stronger branches plus good needle retention. A white pine can be an economical choice if you want a larger, taller tree. Spruce trees have stiff branches that hold ornaments well and have excellent color. However, if you have small children or pets, keep in mind their needs can be quite sharp.

Once you have the tree home, cut off at least a half-inch from the bottom of the trunk and put it in water as quickly as possible. It’s important to keep your tree stand always full of water. During the first few days, you may need to water your tree 2-3 times a day. It’s recommended that you get a tree stand that can hold at least a gallon of water. If you have pets, they may try to drink the water so make sure they are unable to get to water or they may become sick. Finally, keep it away from heat sources as much as possible. Follow these tips and your tree should be “perfect” for 4-6 weeks into the holiday season.

your tools off under running water or soak them in water if you have some stubborn soil stuck on your tools. For cutting tools, get rid of sap with a little soapy water and turpentine. Use coarse-grade steel wool, lump pumice, sandpaper, wire brushes or putty knives to carefully remove any rust so as not create more scratches for rust to redevelop. One key cleaning step is disinfecting your tools. Wash your tools for 30 seconds in a 10% bleach solution (1 part bleach /9 parts water) or preferably 70% alcohol (less corrosive). Rubbing alcohol and other spray disinfectants contain 70% alcohol. Allow tools to dry and then apply a few drops of linseed oil, Tung oil, mineral oil, WD-40, silicone spray, or some other rust inhibitor to metal surfaces. For the tool handles, tighten any loose screws and bolts, clean them with a stiff bristle brush, and use sandpaper to smooth the wood and remove any splinters. Finally, apply boiled linseed oil to wood handles to prevent

drying out, cracking, and splinting. Also wash your gardening gloves before storing them for winter as diseases can overwinter on pots, tools, and gloves! To learn more about cleaning and disinfect gardening tools and containers, visit: extension.umn. edu/planting-and-growing-guides/cleanand-disinfect-gardening-tools.

The next step is to sharpen your tools as needed. Mine always need sharpening after a gardening season, especially my various pruners. There are several tools you can use to sharpen your tools; garden tool sharpener (great for use throughout the season), mill file, or a bench grinder (for bigger jobs). You really only need a mill file if you’re not handy with a bench grinder or other grinder tools. Remove any rust prior to sharpening. Use a vice if you have one to help hold the tool in place as you sharpen.

To sharpen, stroke down the slope across the cutting edge; this creates a metal burr or a rough edge on the back of the cutting

edge. Next, remove the burr using a light flat stroke of a file, whetstone, or sandpaper along the back of the cutting edge. Only sharpen on the beveled (cutting) side(s) to keep the tool’s original angle, and always wear protective eye gear. Once complete, wipe the metal components with a lubricant such as linseed oil, mineral oil or Tung oil and allow to dry, taking care to only wipe along the side of the blade and not on the newly sharpened edges.

Once your tools are cleaned and sharpened, properly store your tools for the winter. Store them in a clean dry place, and if possible, hang them so they don’t absorb any moisture from your garage or garden shed floor.

Find some time this winter to clean and sharpen your garden tools so you’re ready to go next spring. You’ll appreciate having sharp tools with tight, clean handles when you’re cutting things back or planting next spring.

Reflections from Lost Horizon Farm — The Unusual, The Unexpected and The Funny (Part 2) continued from page 4

Seen on the road, farmers wondered to whose farm it was headed and, in the same breath, were thankful that the truck was not coming to their place. Whenever the rendering service had to be called to pick up dead stock, the farmer hoped the truck would come quickly and leave soon.

A young cow died in July. Initially she had had an allergic reaction to a medication. It had caused serious edema in her leg where the injection had been given. Within a day,

her infection had become systemic; her condition was incurable. A bullet to the head had ended the heifer’s suffering, and the company offering "prompt dead stock removal" was called.

We heard the death truck coming when it was still half a mile away; its motor had sounded that bad. The driver had loaded our dead animal onto the truck and had driven halfway up the slope that was the farm drive when the truck’s engine just quit. It had died too! The rendering

company's towing service was located in a town about a two hour drive away, so the death truck stayed stuck right in front of the farmhouse for a quarter of a day.

With temperatures conducive to rapid decomposition of flesh and a southerly breeze, a most disgusting odor wafted through the house. The exterior of the death truck was further darkened by so many flies it seemed likely that all the flies from nearby farms had concentrated on our farm. It was an event that a person

could not have ever dreamed would happen, and it did.

Barb has called Lost Horizon Farm, just north of Spring Green, her home for the past 43 years. She is fond of all creatures (including snakes). Her joy stems from being able to be outdoors every day observing and treasuring the plant and animal life on her small piece of this planet. She loved milking cows and is proud to have been a dairy farmer.

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Outdoors & Recreation

Thursday, nOvember 30, 2023 Page 11

An Outdoorsman’s Journal Mark Walters, Columnist

Running Hard

Hello friends, When I returned home from my elk hunt, I realized that with my busy season which begins around April 1st and my recent 9-day adventure of hunting hard in the mountains of Montana, I was beat, tired, and worn out. The other situation was that every aspect of my life was behind, what I am getting at, is that I needed to sleep at home a few nights and this week’s column gives you an idea what that was like. As usual there is a ton to write so I will be brief.

On November 2nd I hosted a campfire event at my home for NOAC “Necedah Outdoor Adventure Club” which is an outdoor club dedicated to getting people of all ages outside. I am the president, we started this club in January, and it is impressive, next on our docket is an ice-skating rink at Old Mill Park in Necedah.

On Saturday, November 4th there would be 19 of us “The Red Brush Gang” participating in a work weekend at our hunting camp in northern Juneau County. This weekend is a lot of work and even more fun. The old timers in the group had a rule with our kids and that was that you can come to camp work weekend when you are not in diapers anymore. These days the “kids” range from 19 to 36 and they are becoming

the pillars of The Red Brush Gang. When the sun comes up on opening day of Wisconsin’s deer gun season, it will be the 52nd year in a row that I hunted here. No single event is more important to me than deer camp and that is why I do my best to ensure that it has a strong heartbeat.

Wednesday, November 8th I took the pups duck hunting on the Meadow Valley Flowage which is located in The Meadow Valley Wildlife Area.

Much of my history has taken place here, from deer, duck and bear hunting, trapping wolf, cross country skiing and survival trips, simply put, I am at peace when I am on the Meadow Valley Flowage.

That evening I attended a meeting for the Meadow Valley Chapter of KAMO “Kids and Mentors Outdoors”. This chapter, like the other five has come to life since Covid kind of ended, and they have a lot to be proud of.

The following morning I was in my truck and headed to Durand for a 36-hour trip of bowhunting and once again working out of my canoe. I did not see a deer while hanging out in a tree but did have a very cool experience when I rounded a bend and was immersed with a doe and her two very large fawns that were swimming from one shore to another.

When I arrived home from that adventure I had just enough daylight to hunt in the food plot behind my house.

I built this plot for my daughter Selina

Photo contributed by Mark Walters Members of the Red Brush Gang enjoying campfire time.

and my late girlfriend Michelle Chiaro.

Michelle passed away on 6/15/22, and I have not been capable of going back to the plot as it just chokes me up. I forced myself today and had a memorable experience with a doe that was being chased by an 8 pointer, that was being followed by a spiker. All 3 were exhausted, drooling and wheezing. I was just getting into Michelle’s stand and could only watch as each of them went within 10 yards of the oak tree I was in.

I also spent 2 days pheasant hunting and 4 more in Michelle’s stand and maybe even more importantly achieved some progress on getting my world ready for winter.

The time period that I just wrote about

WE WANT TO SEE YOUR DEER HUNTING PICTURES!

VALLEY SENTINEL’S

BLAZE

BIGGEST BUCK

BIGGEST DOE

FIRST PRIZE - VORTEX Triumph 10x42 binoculars - onX Hunt Elite membership - Free Deer Processing at Prem Meats ($165 value) - Hunters Specialties Rubline Grunt Call (donated by Kate’s Bait)

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SECOND PRIZE - onX Hunt Premium membership - $50 Prem Meats gift card - Grave Digger Whitetail Doe Estrous Scent (donated by Kate’s Bait) - $10 Kate's Bait & Sporting Goods gift certificate

ORANGE

THIRD PRIZE - onX Hunt Premium membership - $25 Prem Meats gift card - Buck Bomb Scrape Generator (donated

by Kate’s Bait)

BEST YOUTH HARVEST FIRST PRIZE - Henry Single Shot Youth Rifle in .243 (H015-243) - Vortex Bantam 6.5x32 youth binoculars - onX Hunt Elite membership - Free Deer Processing at Prem Meats ($165 value) - $50 Straka Meats gift card

We’d love to see photos of the big buck or doe you bagged! We celebrate big bucks, of course, but we want to see everything that celebrates the rich culture of deer hunting ... be it a youngster’s first deer, your view out in the field or from your stand.

Submit photos by email with brief description/caption, the hunter’s name (and the names of anyone else in the picture including the age of a youth hunter) along with the location (of the harvest/view or hunter’s locality).

Both archery and gun entries are welcome. Hunter must be from Sauk, Richland or Iowa counties or hunted in those counties (case by case exceptions may be made for WNW Dane county depending on exact location). Deer and view must be from 2023.

Pictures must be received by Dec. 8.

Blaze Orange Board will be out in print in Valley Sentinel Dec. 14.

SUBMISSIONS: EDITOR@VALLEYSENTINELNEWS.COM

Kate's Bait and Sporting Goods

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

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was 14 days, I am run down as the 8 pointer that ran underneath my tree.

It is a good kind of fatigue!

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!

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES

SECOND PRIZE - onX Hunt Premium membership - $50 Prem Meats gift card - $10 Kate's Bait & Sporting Goods gift certificate THIRD PRIZE - onX Hunt Premium membership - $25 Prem Meats gift card

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Some prizes may also include various Vortex and Henry Rifles swag

BEST VIEW OUT IN THE FIELD FIRST PRIZE - Vortex Triumph 10x42 binoculars - onX Hunt Elite membership - $50 Prem Meats gift card SECOND PRIZE - onX Hunt Premium membership - $25 Prem Meats gift card - $10 Kate's Bait & Sporting Goods gift certificate THIRD PRIZE - onX Hunt Premium membership - Grave Digger Whitetail Doe Estrous Scent (donated by Kate’s Bait) - $10 Prem Meats gift card

Page 12 Thursday, nOvember 30, 2023

Outdoors & Recreation

An Outdoorsman’s Journal Mark Walters, Columnist

The Red Brush Gang/Deer Camp

Hello friends, It is Thanksgiving, and I am home from deer camp until tomorrow. This past Saturday was the 52nd year in a row that I have hunted deer with a rifle in the Necedah National Wildlife and or the adjoining Meadow Valley Wildlife Area, which if you look on a map is part of Wisconsin's Central Forest. Our deer camp is called The Red Brush Gang and my father, the late Robert Walters started it back in 1955 when he was attending UW Madison. To me deer camp is probably the funnest place on earth and by the end of the 9-day gun season about 25 people will have stayed there.

When I first started hunting here, there were no bear, fisher, turkey or wolf in the area. Whitetail deer populations were literally exploding, and it was a given that you would see 25 to 45 deer on opening weekend.

The size of the racks were very small and our average camp contest winner was a fork horn, but it was a lot of fun to see so many deer and so much sign while in the forests and marshes of this beautiful part of the world.

Saturday, November 18th High 46°, Low 34° Seventeen of us slept at camp last night, as you can imagine there are a lot of individual stories. My main story and it was a stresser, is that the afternoon before both my daughter Selina and I became ill. Selina vomited

at least 40 times, I felt disoriented and extremely tired. At 4:00 this morning Selina told me she was good enough to hunt, which in her case includes a walk that is just over 2 miles, and we hunt from dark to dark. Selina’s brother Joey Dushek would also be in our neck of the woods, and we were in the part of the refuge that had thousands of sandhill cranes, geese, swans, and ducks. If you ever wanted to see an example of a refuge that is dedicated to waterfowl that really works, come here in the fall or spring. Long story short, the first 2 days our background music and view were of the above birds.

Concern came into my world when 2 hours after daylight I had not hardly heard a shot, seen a hunter or a deer.

About 10:00 I started getting texts from Red Brush Hunters and many local friends, all with the same theme. None the less, beautiful weather conditions and the view are what I thrive on. I was watching a marsh with a 500-yard view, and well aware of how cool it is to be immersed 2 miles from my truck with 2 kids that are a huge part of my life was all I needed.

My buddy Jeff Moll who has never missed a deer camp in his 49 years had the real theme when about 2:00 pm he sent a text that he just saw a huge doe, his first deer of the day and right behind it was a wolf. Text after text was wolf stories and very few deer being spotted.

I mean the following, the attitude in our camp is excellent and no matter what the health issue, every one of us gives our hunt 100-percent. Tonight, at

Photo contributed by Mark Walters A beautiful sunrise in the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge.

Photo contributed by Mark Walters Tim Rittmeyer with a buck that he harvested in the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge.

camp, not one of us out of 17 had a deer on the pole.

Sunday, November 19th High 51°, Low 28° I have been running hard for 8 months and this morning I arrived at my stand 35 minutes before first light, I laid on the ground and took a beautiful nap, my daughter is kind of getting her health back and tonight is what the camp calls “The Sunday Night Party.” The Sunday night party had good energy because today Tim Rittmeyer who is one of the kids in this gang “about 35” had harvested a buck, it was a fork horn, but we had a deer on the pole. Our deer camp buck contest ends on Monday night even though everyone is at camp the following weekend and Tim’s fork horn would be the only buck harvested and the smallest contest winner in

30-years.

I respect the wolf; I also respect common sense management of all forms of wildlife!

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 A black bear den in the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge.

THIS BANNER AD Sponsorship IS AVAILABLE "An Outdoorsman's Journal" is a paid syndicated column written by professional outdoorsman and Necedah native Mark Walters.

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