Peanuts Esser honored

VOL. 123, NO. 16

www.MiddletonTimes.com

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THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

Maggie Mae concert will thank 75-year-old custodian for 50 years with school district

Rod Peanuts Esser will celebrate

a very special anniversary onSaturday,
April 18at the Middleton Performing
Arts Center.
Esser, a custodian at Park Elementary School, will be honored for his 50
years with the Middleton-Cross Plains
Area School District during a concert
featuring Maggie Mae and Her Heart-

Growing
food for
those who
need it

land Country Band. Esser has heard

Mae perform more than a dozen times,
including in December for his 75th
birthday.
I am honored and humbled that
everyone is making such a fuss over
this, he said. I love Maggies concerts. Everyone who comes will have a
great time. She provides good, whole-

some
entertainment.
As of April 11,
574 tickets had been
sold for the concert,
MCPASD Education
Foundation executive director Perry
Hibner said. The

Mae

PAC can hold approximately 900 people.

Were thrilled that so many of
Peanuts friends are planning on spending this evening with him, Hibner
said. He is a great friend to so many
people in our communities and its nice
to do something for him.
Tickets for the show, which begins

at7 p.m., are $26 for orchestra seating

and $21 for mezzanine seating, plus a
small fee. All seats are reserved.
Tickets can be purchased through
the Brown Paper tickets website
(www.brownpapertickets.com) or by
calling 1-800-838-3006. Tickets will
See ESSER, page 5

by DEB BIEcHLER
Times-Tribune

In 2014, the Middleton Outreach

Ministry (MOM) food pantry gardens
yielded more than 8,000 pounds of
fresh produce for food pantry clients.
In the past, those yields began as
seedlings that were purchased or donated, and from seeds sown directly in
the ground once all danger of frost had
passed.
This year for the first time, MOM
gardens, along with other member gardens affiliated with the Madison Area
Food Pantry Gardens Association
(MAFPG), are renting greenhouse
space in Middleton to start their own
seedlings.
Dan Johnson, coordinator of the
MOM gardens, approached me around
Christmas time. Our building needs
See GARDEN, page 9

Young punks

Photo by Rebecca Van Dan

Anatomy of addiction
Local teens celebrated all things steampunk at the Middleton Public LIbrary on Wednesday of last week. Steampunk is a neo-Victorian genre/movement that imagines a Victorian world with modern, steam-driven technology. Teens like Anna Baker and Elora Doxtater (above) gathered to discuss
the book Mortal Engines and make steampunk crafts as part of the librarys Donuts and Dystopias program.

THEHEROINBLUES

Part of an ongoing series by a Middleton High School graduate

by NATHAN J. cOmp
Times-Tribune

Like all unexplainable things, there

is no satisfying answer for why Sarah
and I decided to use the prescription
pain medicine Oxycodone in the summer of 2012.
Nor is there much of an answer for

why we continued using it in spite of

the increasing number of warnings
popping up around us, like red flags on
tip-up poles.
You may wonder: How could two
smart people have been so foolish?
A few months after moving to Espaola, New Mexico, where I wrote for
the local newspaper, Sarah met a
young professional couple - affection-

ately known as the Fruities - who

quickly became frequent guests at our
casita.
Our friendship with the Fruities
spelled the end of our social isolation,
itself a special kind of misery. Through
them we befriended others, no small
feat in northern New Mexico, where
Anglos, who are few, tend to be distrusted, if not outright disliked.

One evening, while drinking around

a bonfire we lit in our yard, the Fruities
shared with us their recent struggle
with opiate painkillers, known in the
Valley as candies, on account of the assortment of colors they came in. In
turn, I shared my brief struggle with
pills and heroin 13 years earlier, and
See HEROIN, page 3

Council mulls utility district

PAGE 2

by cAmERON BREN
Times-Tribune

The Middleton Common Council

last week discussed the possibility of
creating a water and sewer utility district for the Community of Bishops
Bay and beyond for future developments extending into the Town of
Westport.
No action was taken, but the discussion appeared to address the concerns
raised by city officials, staff and residents.
The Community of Bishops Bay
must build the necessary infrastructure
to support already approved developments. As ald. Hans Hilbert pointed
out, the surrounding area is Middletons targeted growth area. Extending
the utility beyond what is needed for
Bishops Bay makes the land more developable, Hilbert contended.
Much of this surrounds the Bishops
Bay development, which we have
worked on a long time to make sure it
is the type of development we want in
this community, Hilbert stated.
There is going to continue to be demand for growth in this area. Since
weve been doing comprehensive planning weve been calling for this area to
be our growth area especially for residential.
Under the proposed funding mecha-

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

nism the City of Middleton would finance the entire project estimated to
cost as much as $14 million. Developers would then pay a special tax determined by a deferred special
assessment. Bishops Bay, the only development currently underway, would
cover a significant portion of the special tax. As other developments come
on board they would pay an assed tax
until all costs have been recovered by
the city.
If we dont put the infrastructure in
there and we are dealing with a developers with deep pockets who want to
just put it in somewhere else, they are
going to go further out, theyre going
to go to perhaps Waunakee where they
dont have as strong of intergovernmental agreements and just pay to have
it put in, explained Hilbert. This at
least gives us a pretty strong position
to stick to our plans and to carry out
what we see as smart growth in the
area.
Typically the developer is responsible for financing the sewer and water
utilities. The major difference in this
case is a large undeveloped portion of
land will be serviceable. In the original
developer proposal for Bishops Bay a
12-inch water main would have been
used. In this proposal a 16 inch main
is used.
Ald. Gurdip Brar asked if the city
could make a shorter route or save
money by covering less area. Hilbert
responded by noting the leverage the
utility would give the city in dealing
with future developers.
If we start looking at a less expensive or shorter route, I will remind
everybody that we had a developer
come and propose putting septic tanks
and wells in the city as a mechanism to
avoid costs such as these, Hilbert
said. This a great example of where
we can show we will back developers
who do the right thing and follow our
ordinances.

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

Developer Terrence Wall addresses the Middleton Common Council last week.

Brar said his major concern with the

proposal was shifting the financial risk
to the taxpayers. City attorney Larry
Bechler claimed that while there will
be some risk, the proposal is framed to
give taxpayers as much protection as
possible.
I have never said this is risk free
and I wont say it now, Bechler
stated. But we will do everything we
can to provide a legal framework that
gives us as much protection as we can
legally get and we will have that discussion independent of the discussion
on any phase of the development taking place.
If this goes the way it is intended
we will have a reserve fund quickly
that will cover debt service payments
coming from the development, Bechler added. The payments to support
the utility district will come from entirely within the district. The whole

goal here and why were doing a utility

district is to move this risk as far as we
legally can away from the general taxpayers of the city.
Terrence Wall, of T. Wall Enterprises
and the Community of Bishops Bay,
spoke before the council to address the
concerns raised. He said the proposal
was a win-win for the city and future
developers. He said while the city will
initially finance the project, the developers, including himself, will eventually entirely pay for it.
Were the first to go over the hill
and now that were going over the hill
you have a choice, Wall said. We
can just build what we want, what we
need, which is a fraction of this or we
can build greater efficiency. We can
build a larger infrastructure that has a
savings by: one, you dont pay for any
of it. You are financing it but really the
landowners pay for all of it and two,

Times-Tribune photo by Cameron Bren

we are already building a portion of it

anyway. We have to dig that trench
anyway so to put in a bigger pipe is
going to have a marginal savings.
Wall emphasized the demand for
housing in Middleton, pointing out that
the housing inventory of Dane County
is currently at only 3.6 months. That
means when a house goes on the market it is sold in an average in 3.6
months. He said taking that into account should ease the concerns of
risk.

HEROIN

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

Sarah copped to popping painkillers on

the occasion they were available to her.
But the conversation gradually
changed and before long we were talking cost and quantity. The Fruities, evidently still struggling, had brought a
couple of 30mg oxycodones with
them. We declined their offer to share
the candy. In our casita, they crushed
one of the baby blue pills, split it into
two equal, parallel lines they then
snorted through a rolled-up dollar bill.
After that night, the Fruities crushed
and snorted oxys each time they visited, sometimes dropping by because
there wasnt another safe house available to them.
I dont recall the first time me and
Sarah succumbed to the temptation,
perhaps because it seemed so inconsequential at the time.
But I recall our excitement at having
made a local connect, since drugs had
often seeded the friendships and memorable moments that made life worth
living. We had gone from being just another Anglo couple to being invited to
cookouts and parties.
Suddenly, Espaola seemed like a
place we could call home.

Primed for disaster

The paper I worked for in Espaola
aggressively covered the areas heroin
epidemic. For me this meant filing reports on every overdose death in Rio
Arriba County.
This prompted office visits from
parents, many of whom insisted their
child didnt use drugs, despite medical
investigator ruling opiate toxicity as
the cause of death.
The stigmas ran deeper there than
they do here. Last year I had the opportunity to speak with parents who had
recently lost children to heroin overdoses. The conversations were much
different.
Unable to reconcile memories of
their children with the drug that killed
them, they hoped I might be able to explain the allure their kids saw in heroin.
They wanted a satisfying answer to
Why?
People dont one day wake up wanting to use heroin. They try it because
someone theyre close to has tried it; or
offers a taste in a vulnerable moment;
or maybe they meet someone who sells
it and, working off their experience
with other drugs, mistakes heroin for a
recreational narcotic.
Or maybe life was painful and they
wanted an escape.

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

Either way, its too late once you realize you hurt without it. Even though
you know its only going to get worse
if you keep on like this, something inside you, something akin to an alternative personality impervious to your
better judgment, takes charge.
Ive struggled with this duality my
entire life, which comes as no surprise
considering drugs have been a part of
my life since conception, when I inherited 23 chromosomes from my biological father who, following a drug deal
gone bad, would later spend years in
hiding.
My adoptive father had his own issues with alcohol and cocaine, in addition to being a chronic weed smoker.
So when I had an opportunity at 12 to
smoke weed for the first time it didnt
seem like much out of the ordinary.
Two years later, my 35-year-old
neighbor, Marvin, introduced me to
crack, which led to my first stint in
rehab. Not long after becoming a Middleton High School student my sophomore year, I discovered psychedelics
and cocaine.
But I didnt run into much trouble
until after my sister died in April 1999,
when a girl I began seeing turned me
on to hydrocodone, which stifled my
grief. Unfortunately, the popularity of
painkillers like OxyContin had yet to
blow up, making pills difficult to find
on the black market.
So we doctor shopped until being
blacklisted from every hospital and urgent care within 50 miles of Madison.
Switching to heroin was a no-brainer.
After a few months on the smack, I
decided I wanted more out of life. I entered a Methadone maintenance program, returned to college, and
eventually quit the relationship. As for
her, she continued to use and wound up
serving two-years in prison on drug-related charges.
Today she is clean and happily married.

The heroin plunge

Through the Fruities we met Jewelz,
who had an oxy prescription, as did her
sister and two previous generations of
her family, including mother and
grandmother. And through Jewelz, we
met Lupe, who visited Espaola a few
days each month to sell her boyfriends

oxys. Lupe and Severo used the money

to gamble and buy heroin.
In addition to Severos oxys, Lupe
also sold Subutex, a Narcan-free version of Suboxone given to pregnant or
breastfeeding mothers. Sarah liked
Subutex best because she didnt vomit
as much after taking them.
By the time Lupe and Severo moved
to Espaola in late January, 2013,
Sarah and I were plowing through our
savings and spending most of our paychecks trying to keep up with the payments on the payday loans we had
taken out.
The reason for us denying the
Fruities early offers to share their candies was coming true. Wed gone from
taking the occasional 15mg oxy to
needing upwards of 90mgs just to feel
well. With a going rate of $1 per mg,
our tolerance was getting mighty expensive.
But pills were always around, except
when they werent. It was early February when, for the first time since we
began using, that the Valleys illicit
painkiller market was as dry as its
drought-stricken landscape.
We had money to spend, but there
was nothing to spend it on. When Saturday morning arrived, our bodies
were cramped and fatigued. We
yawned and sneezed and tried getting
comfortable to no avail. I slept instead
of going into the office as I had
planned, while Sarah debated whether
she had the energy to make it through
a busy night of waitressing.
She made it through her shift, barely.
Her first question when I picked her up
was whether I had found anything. I
had in fact received a few texts from
people who had a line on some candies,
but their scarcity meant they were
heavily taxed. Although we hurt, we
didnt hurt enough to pay nearly double
the regular rate.
Instead, we decided to buy heroin.
After 13 years I found myself suddenly
jonesing for a taste and Sarah confessed to wanting to at least try it.
We acknowledged it was an escalation of what we openly admitted was a
problem, but were unconvinced it was
a point of no return. We told ourselves
we could still quit any time, even
though it was clear something inside of
us, something stronger than our out-

PAGE 3

ward desires and better sense, was

working against us.
We drove to Lupe and Severos
place on Old San Pedro Road and purchased a gram of black tar heroin that
we freebased on a square of aluminum
foil. All of our problems fell away like
booster rockets from a space shuttle
untethered to Earths gravity.
Back in reality, our lives had just
gone from bad to worse. The heroin
craving that laid dormant inside me for
13 years was suddenly awake, while
Sarahs curiosity about heroin sealed
her fate. In less than 10 months she
would be dead.

Road to relapse
In 2005, I attended a seminar in Tucson, Arizona, underwritten by the
Wake Forest School of Addiction Studies. The semi-annual program was
aimed at schooling journalists on the
vagaries of addiction science so they
could in turn better educate the public
when reporting on drug-related issues.
The seminar filled in a lot of blanks
in my own understanding of addiction
relative to its hold on me six years earlier. Between 2005 and my move to
New Mexico in early 2012, I watched
several people close to me struggle
with the same painkiller addiction I had
overcome, the hell I went through not
being enough of a deterrent for them to
avoid making the same mistakes.
It felt like penance in a way, since I
saw it as my turn to deal with the endless parade of aggravations, lies, and
overdoses I had similarly perpetrated
on those who loved me.
Loving an addict, or being one yourself, are both special kinds of hell. And
having been an addict, I knew there
was no magical word to compel the addicts in my life to start living right.
One of the programs at the addiction
seminar dealt with how long-term drug
use changes the brains physical structures and chemical compositions. One
of the studies we looked at highlighted
the differences in pre- and post-addic-

continued from page 1

tion brains of monkeys that had been

given cocaine over a one-year period.
Five years after the monkeys received their last dose of cocaine, their
brains had yet to return to their pre-addiction states.
I had been off the smack for more
than five years and seeing my loved
ones go down that same road made me
happy that my life was no longer consumed by hustling up enough cash to
score a little dope. I was grateful for all
I had accomplished since my last taste,
while making a point of showing them
there is life after addiction.
Those whove never experience
bona fide addiction have little clue as
to what it takes to overcome it. It isnt
merely a choice, but choices - hard,
painful, sorrowful choices. It means
cutting ties with friends, avoiding favored hangouts, coping with loneliness
and intrusive thoughts, not to mention
withdrawal.
It requires all of the painful things
youve avoided and coming to terms
with every crappy thing youve done or
that was done to you.
I had beaten heroin 13 years earlier,
so our move to Espaola wasnt any
big deal. I was a reporter, after all, and
more than capable of keeping a critical
distance between my subjects and me.
If anything, my experience would give
my reporting an edge or perspective
that previous walkers of the cops and
courts beat lacked.
My past troubles were a lifetime
ago, in a previous century even, a postscript to a long-gone immaturity. Besides, Sarah and I had each other. We
were tight as tight can be and would
never let the other stray too deep into
trouble. Our want of a future together
would guide our every decision.
Still, you wonder how we could
have been so foolish. Why, after all we
knew and had seen in our lives, we
would see a few hours of pleasure
being worth the long-term risk?
There is no satisfying answer.
We just did.

Read Mockingbird together

PAGE 4

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

Planet to headline Jazz Tracs

Photo contributed

Janet Planet will headline the Jazz Tracs Festival Concert at Middleton
High School onFriday, May 8.The concert will be held at7:30 pmin the
Middleton H.S. Performing Arts Center.This annual jazz concert features
the Middleton H.S. Jazz Ensembles in collaboration with guest professional
artists.
Jazziz Magazine hailed Ms. Planet as a Voice of the New Jazz Culture ...
amazingly powerful with seemingly limitless expression.
In her career, she has performed with legends such as Jackie and Roy,
George Benson, and her mentor Nancy King, and shared the stage with many
other accomplished jazz artists including Ellis Marsalis, John Harmon, Gene
Bertoncini, and Marian McPartland.
Planet frequently shares with students and others her knowledge of vocal
technique, jazz history, performance careers, and the music business, bringing to this experience her perspectives as a woman and artist. A busy concert
schedule has taken her to performing arts centers, opera houses, colleges,
universities, jazz festivals and jazz clubs across the USA and internationally,
with appearances in Europe and Japan where she co-founded the First Fraternity of Musicians in the city of Nagasaki in 2000.
She will perform a set with longtime friends John Gibson-bass, Tom Theabo-guitar and Tom Washatka-tenor sax.
Planet will also collaborate with the Middleton High School Jazz Ensembles.The bands will accompany her as she shares music from her most recent project, music from the Bob Dylan Songbook.
General admission adult tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the
door.Student tickets are $6 in advance and $8 at the door.
To obtain advanced pricing tickets or for more information, call608-8299679.

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

On Tuesday, May 5th at 6:30 PM the

Middleton Public Library will bring its
Read Together Middleton-CrossPlains community reading program to
a close with a special performance of
scenes from the stage adaptation of To
Kill a Mockingbird, starring Richard
Ganoung as Atticus Finch.
The performance is being staged by
Childrens Theater of Madison, which
will feature Mockingbird in their 2016

season. Read Together Middleton

Cross Plains, the librarys inaugural
community reading program, is centered around the classic novel by
Harper Lee. Starting in January of this
year, the library has hosted a series of
programs for all ages exploring the
themes of justice, respect, and courage
in the novel.
This performance, which will include a talk-back Q&A session with

the actors, will be held in the librarys

lower level Archer Room. For more
information or to register for this program, visit midlibrary.org/events, email
info@midlibrary.org, or call 608-8277403.
A second performance will be held
on Thursday, May 7th at 6:30 PM at
the Rosemary Garfoot Public Library
in Cross Plains.

The Middleton Community Endowment Committee (MCE) is again accepting grant applications from
charitable organizations located in the
Middleton area for its 2015 spring
cycle.
The MCE Advisory Committee considers grant applications twice each
year, and the next deadline is April 30.
MCE expects to have approximately
$3,500 to hand out this spring. Grant
recipients will be announced at the
Middleton Chamber of Commerces
monthly Get Moving Middleton breakfast meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn
on Thursday, June 4.
MCE awarded five grants worth
$3,300 to the Alzheimer and Dementia

Alliance of Wisconsin, Clark Street

Community School, Middleton High
School, Middleton United Soccer Club
and the Middleton Youth Center during
its 2014 fall cycle. The five grants were
the most MCE has handed out in a single cycle.
MCE typically awards grants in the
$250 to $1,000 range. Since 2009,
MCE has handed out more than
$31,000 in grants to more than 30 organizations.
MCE is dedicated to enhancing the
quality of life in the Middleton area for
present and future generations. Application materials for grant requests can
be found at www.madisoncommunityfoundation.org/MCE.

I am proud of the contributions

MCE has made to the Middleton area,
MCE chair Dan Loichinger said. We
are poised to have an even greater impact in the future thanks to the generosity of our many donors.
MCE is an affiliate fund of Madison
Community Foundation. Since its inception in 2009, MCE has raised more
than $150,000 for its endowment fund
and has established a goal of raising an
additional $100,000 over the next four
years.
Besides Loichinger, other members
of the advisory committee include Cecile Druzba, Jack Hemb, Perry Hibner,
Andy Lewis, Adrianne Machina, Josh
Marron and Ray Riddle.

Lauren Matheny, an Oklahoma City

University student from Middleton,
was cast in The 20th Anniversary
Oklahoma City Bombing Project, an
innovative theater production that is
recognizing the 20th anniversary of the
terrorist attack.
The play is being presented free to
the public from April 16 to 19 in
OCUs Burg Theatre, located in the
Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center at N.W.

24th Street and Blackwelder Avenue.

The play is incorporating an emerging form of theatre art called the verbatim process to reveal untold stories
from the 1995 bombing of the Alfred
P. Murrah Federal Building. OCU theatre students will perform the original
play that is based on interviews with
more than 45 family members of victims, survivors, local officials and first
responders.

OCU commissioned an award-winning playwright from England who

specializes in verbatim, which is a documentary for the stage usually based
on personal interviews and transcripts.
Some of the interviews were conducted
by the cast members.
For more information or to reserve
tickets, visit the 20th Anniversary
Oklahoma City Bombing Project Web
page atokcu.edu/okcbombingproject.

Grant application window is open again

Matheny performs in OKC bombing play

Pheasant Branch Creek relocation work is underway

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

The Pheasant Branch Kromrey Middle School Stream Relocation Project

will relocate approximately 480 linear
feet of stream channel away from eroding streambanks and a steep eroded
slope by creating a new channel using
ecologically-sensitive techniques in
order to mitigate erosion created as a
result of increased stormwater inputs
into Pheasant Branch in the City of
Middleton.
Relocation of this section of stream
will also increase flood flow capacity
at the site allowing flood flows to rise
up out of the bankfull channel and

ESSER

also be sold the night of the event starting at5 p.m., Hibner said.
In addition, more than 30 area businesses have also agreed to sponsor the
event.
We are so grateful for the support
of the many businesses and individuals
in our community for this wonderful
event, Foundation board chair Courtney Ward-Reichard said.
All ticket proceeds from the event
will benefit the MCPASD Education
Foundation. The Foundation has raised
more than $150,000 for its endowment
fund since its inception in 2011 and has
another $150,000 in pledges already
secured over the next three years. The
Foundation has also handed out 32
grants worth more than $20,000 in the
past two years. Every school in the
District, along with one 4K site, has received at least one grant.
The Lions Club of Cross Plains, the

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 5

spread out over the newly created

floodplain, dissipating energy, and offering increased protection at the toe of
the steep slope above which a new addition to the Kromrey Middle School
has been built. This project is funded
by TIF funds and is not a City of Middleton Public Lands Department work
item. Construction is expected to last
2-3 weeks.
For additional information or
questions about the project, please
contact Aaron Steber at aaron.steber@cardno.com phone or 708-5163317.

Cross Plains Optimist Club, the Park

PTO and St. Francis Xavier Catholic
Church will sell food, beverages and
dessert before the concert. The PAC
will open at5 p.m.and Mae and Esser
will be available to meet with people
before and after the show. A short
video tribute to Esser will begin at6:45
p.m.
Mae, a home-grown talented country singer and Nashville recording
artist from Oxford, has been entertaining crowds with her country music and
yodeling and promises enjoyment
throughout her shows since taking up
the guitar in 2002.
She has become one of the biggest
Midwestern names in pure country
music. She is a favorite performer on
RFD TVs Midwest Country Show
on Saturday nights, which has made
her a familiar face in millions of homes
across the country. She also makes ap-

pearances on The Virginia Dreams

Center Stage Show and the Shotgun
Red Variety Show on RFD TV.
In 2012 her gospel album Walking
in the Sons Light received a Grammy
nomination. She has recorded seven albums and has sang with such greats as
The Riders in the Sky and recorded a
duet with country great Doug Stone as
well as opened up shows for many
artists. In 2011 Maggies album
Cooking Up Country won the Rural
Roots Music Commissions pick for
Contemporary Country CD of the Year
Award.
She is accompanied by the Heartland Country Band, which includes
Eric Nofsinger (fiddle), Steve Nelson
(lead guitar), James Lau (bass), Ray
Chambers (drums), Loren Nelson
(steel guitar) and Stuart Thayer (piano).

continued from page 1

Park Elementary custodian Rod Peanuts Esser with country singer

Maggie Mae.
Photo contributed

PAGE 6

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

U P A GAINST THE WALL

How the federal government hijacked the Internet
by TERRENcE R. WALL
Times-Tribune

Well, the federal government just hijacked control of the Internet. I give
credit to those big companies, like
Google and others, that promoted their
definition of Net Neutrality, which is
really code for now that we climbed
up the ladder to the position of top dog,
lets get the government to pull the ladder out from under any potential startups that might threaten us. Its not a
coincidence that the biggest companies
in the tech world were in favor of this,
and heres why.
What the Federal Communications
Commission did was hijack control of
the entire innovation / IT economy
without authorization from Congress,
and without a law being passed, and
sadly everyone just sits by and lets it
happen.
On the face of it, net neutrality is
being promoted as necessary to prevent the big bad broadband companies
from charging different prices for
speed or content. In other words, the
FCC is prohibiting differential pricing
for different products or services,
which is the essence of capitalism.
And since real history isnt being
taught properly in school any more,
this new generation doesnt remember
or doesnt know the lessons of history

Slow
down!

When I was in the seventh grade, my

teacher, Mrs. B, conducted an exercise
with our class. She didnt tell us what
it was about right away. That would be
revealed at the end.
Mrs. B walked around the room,
placing a sheet of instructions upside
down on our desks. She told us not to
turn it over and read what to do before she told us to begin. That, and the
fact that she looked at the clock before
saying, Go! made me think that time
was of the essence.
I loved speed games! In sixth grade
I was the class champion at diagramming sentences at the chalkboard. Sister Ann Margaret was big on boy/girl
competitions. Shed invite us to the
board, two by two and dictate a sentence.
When she said, Go, the contestants would design the correct diagram
and insert the words in the right places
then slam their chalk victoriously on
the tray.
The final competition pitted me
against Scott Y. He was a formidable
opponent, but not a fast enough writer
to beat me.
So far, in 7th grade, I had not yet distinguished myself. In the first two

about how this story always, always

ends...
Differential pricing is necessary for
innovation and progress. Why? Because if the provider / owner of different products or services must price
them all the same, then the owner cannot innovate, and worse, cant charge a
heavy user of the service more based
upon their use. The FCC doesnt want
broadband providers to charge different prices for short or long haul traffic
or for more or less content or for faster
or slower traffic.
This has been tried in the past. The
Soviets tried pricing products all the
same, with the result being that a severe shortage of products and services
quickly developed leaving everyone
with a shortage. In a capitalist economy, differential pricing is essential to
regulating demand for a particular
product. Think of Apple iphone buyers. Some of them will pay top dollar
to have the latest model first, before
others, while I am perfectly content
with a past model that costs far less.
Maybe you forgot that the original
telephone company, AT&T, had only
two prices, local and long-distance,
which stymied innovation for decades.
Only once AT&T was broken up did a
wave of differential pricing result in
massive innovation, spurring creativity
that eventually resulted in the modern
telecommunications era we now enjoy.

What the promoters of net neutrality

dont realize is that theyre going to get
exactly what they dont want; heavy
handed government regulation of the
internet, forced sameness and marginalization, and worse, taxation and more
regulation of the internet and web traffic.
Not convinced? Let me give you a
couple of examples if the government
applied the same (perverse) logic to
other areas of the economy. Take cars
for example. What if the government
said that everyone had to drive the
same car, at the same speed? People
who wanted to purchase more affordable, smaller cars with better gas
mileage couldnt because that product
would not be offered for sale. Likewise, drivers who could afford to buy
a luxury vehicle or faster or bigger car
couldnt do that either, which would be
a big blow to the economy since the
profits from luxury car sales disproportionately support the auto manufacturers enabling them to build those less
expensive cars. And all traffic would
have to drive at say, 25 mph, because
no one could be allowed to drive faster
than anyone else - on the highway or
anywhere.
Likewise with office buildings. I always charged more for office space located on the lobby or the upper floors
or if the tenant wanted their name on a
sign on the building. Why? First,

those spaces were in higher demand

and there are companies willing to pay
more to have a location in the building
that is superior to other locations. This
allowed for the middle floor locations
to likewise accommodate tenants who
couldnt afford the best spots in the
building. Its no different than a fast
food chain paying top dollar to get the
corner location at Main and Main in
front of a big box store vs. some off the
beaten path site that has far less traffic
and visibility.
Think about this: Before there was
Facebook, there was MySpace, which
Facebook knocked off.
Before
Google, there was Internet Explorer,
etc. The FCCs illegal takeover of the
internet will freeze in time the present
titans of the internet, allowing them to
lobby for more regulations that will
make it impossible for innovators and
startups to threaten them, as they did to
those innovators before them.
The Internet wasnt broken. It existed for two decades without government control.
Now the federal
government will micro-manage the
fastest growing business in the world,
and theyll be doing it by looking in
their rear-view mirror. Does anyone
actually think a handful of older bureaucrats who never innovated a thing
in their lives are capable of determining what is best for the rest of us? Up
until now, innovators could simply in-

months of school, Mrs. B never once

conducted sentence diagramming competitions.
So, I was particularly keen when we
finally seemed to be playing at something that required speed. At her command to start, papers flew up and over.
The first instruction was to read
through the entire list before doing
anything else. The second command
was to write your name on the board.
I flew out of my chair, not wanting
to be undone by speed readers. Id just
start right in!
She nodded her head at me, eyebrows raised and lips almost smiling in
a just what I expected sort of look.
Word of my speed prowess must
have preceded me.
There was no resting on my laurels
and basking in Mrs. Bs encouragement. Other students were in hot pursuit as we made our way down the list
of a dozen or more activities like put
your math book on your desk, clap
your hands three times, etc.
I led the pack and worked hard to
keep it that way. I raced around the
room, the first at everything on the list.
Or so I thought.
When I finally reached the last line,
well ahead of the others, my heart sank.
The last item read, Dont do steps 111. Just sign this paper and put it on
my desk. If you already completed
steps 1-11, stand at the front of the
classroom.
I just about died.
As I walked slowly to the front of
the room, I glanced at Mrs. B. There

was the nod and look again.

This time I read it for what it was,
not a congratulatory expression, but
one that said, Just what I expected.
I had finally distinguished myself in
her class. This time it was not as a
speed genius in parts of speech. It
was as the most impulsive student
whod rather be doing something other
than just sitting there reading directions.
Mrs. B got our attention in an effective way, letting us know that there are
things that call for being speedy and
other things that call for thoroughness
and taking the time to read directions.
I wish that her lesson would have been
less embarrassing, but no one was forcing me to zoom around the room at half
the speed of light.
Still, the encouragement that I got
for going fast and doing more, weighed
in heavier than the lesson that I was
taught in seventh grade. The faster that
I ran my errands, the more time that I
had to hang out with friends.
The faster I could type and take
shorthand, the more marketable I was
as a secretary when I left high school.
The faster that I could waitress, the
more tips I earned. You get the drift.
I just finished the book about Harriet
Beecher Stowe that I mentioned in my
last column. It said that in her last
years of life, the late 1800s, Harriet
warned people about the speed of
modern times.
I wonder what shed say now! Society and technology feed whatever
compulsions we might have toward the
quick and easy.
We resist waiting. Now there are cell
phones to keep our minds engaged.
Last week, during a break at a Vusi
Mahlasela concert, I glanced up the
aisle that I was sitting in. All 7 people
still in their seats had their cell phones
out. I admit to being one of them.

In her book, When the Heart Waits,

Sue Monk Kidd writes, Our inner
clocks tick at a much slower speed than
society. Slowing our feet, our minds,
our desires. our impulses - stilling
those things that drive us into faster
and faster patterns of living - will help
open us to the transforming experience
of waiting . . . . Heres the paradox: we
achieve our deepest progress standing
still.
Last month I taught another session
of Meditation and Mindfulness for Educators for Viterbo University. All of
the people in the class were, principals,
teachers, or teacher evaluators.
Its common for them to squeeze
the seconds to accomplish everything
that needs doing in a workday. None
of them had meditated before.
After their first 10-minute attempt to
meditate, one student spoke for them
all when she said, This is hard!!
Making friends with our own stillness is hard at first. But Im finding,
more and more, the value of making
that effort.
In my mid-fifties I learned that my
endocrine system was out of whack.
My adrenals were tired, my cortisol
was high and my hormones were off.
One health practitioner put it this
way, Deb, its like youve been
pulling a really heavy train up hill for
a long time. Your body needs a rest.
She was right. The faster I could do
things, the more I could do. Or so I
thought. Little did I realize the price
that my body and mind were paying.
Now that the weather has warmed,
well be graced with butterflies again.
It might seem cliche at this point to
raise them up as the example of what
can happen when you wait.
But, Im going to do it anyway!
Without the time of waiting, without
stopping all of that eating and crawling
around, the transformation into a but-

novate; no permission from anyone

was necessary. Now every innovation
will require an application and approval by the FCC. Those in power
will stay in power.
And what broadband company will
invest and upgrade their system to provide for more speed and capacity when
they cant charge differential pricing in
order to recapture their investment in
new infrastructure?
And of course the mainstream media
(the press) was in favor of the new regulation, and that ought to convince you
right there that it is wrong. The mass
media has taken a beating from the Internet, but now those in the media with
historic connections to the power in
Washington can use their influence to
fight back and punish those internet innovators known as bloggers.
So watch out Millennials - dont be
surprised that you get exactly what you
asked for along with a whole host of
other unintended consequences, with
the number one unintended consequence being that you wont have the
same opportunities that those who
went before you had.

Up Against the Wall is a monthly

column written by Terrence Wall and
reflects his views and opinions. It does
not necessarily reflect the views of the
Middleton Times-Tribune.
terfly could not happen.
So many people feel that they are
missing something if they are not constantly checking their phones or computers for Facebook posts, tweets and
the like. But what people are missing
if they fill every second is their own
inner wisdom and creativity.
Some of the most famous inventors,
writers and theologians were meditators. Here are some that I know about,
Thomas Edison (although he called his
sessions power napping), Benjamin
Franklin, Confucious, St. Teresa of
Avilla, Mahatma Gandhi, Benjamin
Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emmerson,
Henry David Thoreau, Ezra Pound,
and of course, The Dalai Lama. There
are many, many more.
Spring is a time when things come
to life. The wait of winter is over.
Even with the lure of fine weather and
longer daylight hours, I hope that you
give yourself some time to slow down
and recharge. Your body will thank
you!!!

CHURCH NOTES

Chief of
police to
speak at
Open Mic
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

Open Mic Night Thursday April

16,2015 at Craftsman Table & Tap,
6712 Frank Lloyd Wright Ave. Middleton Hills,6-8 p.m.
Guest Presenter Chief Chuck
Foulke, Middleton Police Department,
will speak on what he has learned in his
first years as chief and his plans for the
future. The evening ends with people
who have signed up to rant, rave, recite
poetry, sing, perform music, comedy,
each having 3 minutes.
Join them upstairs, order from the
menu and enjoy the cash bar. Feel free
to bring a food item for Middleton Outreach Ministry.
This event is sponsored by Middleton Action Team.

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

Find Us On Facebook

Lost Dogs
of Wisconsin
www.facebook.com/findfido

PAGE 7

PAGE 8

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

Music students shine at WSMA events

String quartet: Kira Holmes, Sergio Aviles, Hannah Thompson and Kira
Galang.

Hundreds of Middleton High School

music students performed at the
WSMA Solo/Ensemble Music Festival
on Saturday, March 7 in Oregon. Congratulations to all of the Middleton
High School performers for their hard
work, individual music learning and
performance.
The MHS bands and orchestras are
at their peak this spring due to all of the
individual practice hours and increased
musicianship through the solo/ensemble experience.
Steve Kurr, MHS Orchestra Teacher,
said about the student participation in
solo/ensembles: Working on solos
and ensembles teaches a whole different set of skills from large orchestra rehearsal.Students work on independent
musicianship skills, they become more
individually responsible, and they simply spend more time with their instruments in the weeks leading up to this
festival. February is the month of
greatest musical growth in our music
classrooms.
A total of 148 MHS music events are
headed to the state WSMA contest at
UW Platteville on April 26: 79 band
events, 26 orchestra events, 29 choral
events and 14 piano events.
The following students have qualified for the state solo/ensemble contest.

Band Solos:
Melissa Ahn, timpani
Meghann Armstrong, flute
Anna Ashley, trumpet
Sophie Boorstein, clarinet
Miranda Boyd, marimba
James Buenfil, clarinet & alto sax
Andrew Burandt, alto sax
Henry Cryns, clarinet
Grace Chen, flute & piano
Chloe Cole, piano
Haiwen Dai, marimba
Oliver Epstein, bassoon
Alex Fagre, baritone sax
Isaac Galang, euphonium, piano
Adam Goren, concert snare, marimba,
timpani
Jordan Gundram, flute
Kirby Heck, trombone
Simone Hendrix, flute
Alex Kao, clarinet
Heidi Knoche, clarinet
Kei Kohmoto, trumpet
Connor Kooistra, trombone
Kennedy Kooistra, French horn
Edward Larson, trumpet
Andy Lewis, trumpet
Macs Mahal, marimba
Brennan Martin, tenor sax
Ellis Mayne, alto sax
Kylie Mueller, euphonium
Will Mueller, concert snare
JJ Meyer, tuba

Anna Nordhaus, flute

Royal Oakes, flute
Akash Pattnaik, flute
Dylan Petersen, timpani
Morgan Pincombe, piano
Ali Pollard, alto sax
Madeline Pope, flute
Killian Powers, alto sax
Caleb Randall, alto sax
Eric Schmidt, marimba
Titus Smith, trombone
Sahil Soni, piano
Jack Tibbetts, marimba
Phoebe Tuite, flute
Matthew Wakai, alto sax
Jessica Wang, flute
Alex Warholic - concert snare,
marimba
Matt Wedekind, alto sax
Anna Welton-Arndt, flute
Teddy Williams, marimba, timpani,
piano
Adam Yeazel, alto sax, string bass
Luke Zoroufy, parade snare, marimba

Band Ensembles:
Brass quintet: Isaac Galang, Kirby
Heck, Katy Jurgella, Kei Kohmoto &
Declan Mulkerin
Flute duet: Vanesa Meneses & James
Buenfil
Flute trio: Akash Pattnaik, Anna Welton-Arndt & Tammy Zhong
Flute trio: Anna Nordhaus, Morgan
Pincombe & Madeline Pope
Clarinet trio: James Buenfil, Alex Kao
& Laura Wilson
Clarinet quartet: Sophie Boorstein,
Molly Hoferle, Rachel Steiner & Brett
Wipfli
Concert snare duet: Adam Goren &
Luke Zoroufy
Mallet duet: Adam Goren & Teddy
Williams
Miscellaneous trio: James Buenfil,
Andy Jiang & Jack Kim
Piano duet: Alyssa Boss & Kaleigh
Johnson
Sax duet: Morgan Eder & Sahil Soni
Sax duet: Alyssa Boss & Ashley
Stahnke
Sax duet: James Buenfil & Matt
Wedekind
Sax quartet: Nick Friedl, Ellis Mayne,
Carlos Pimentel & Jack Stanton
Sax quartet: Brennan Martin, Ali Pollard, Adam Yeazel & Matthew Wakai
Trombone duet: Titus Smith & Evan
Joyce
Trombone quartet: Derek Kalvin,
Michael Kjentvet, Connor Kooistra &
Genaro Sarmiento
Trumpet trio: Andy Lewis, Bailey
Spellman & Wesley Wakai
Woodwind Quintet: James Buenfil,
Oliver Epstein, Kennedy Kooistra, Audrey Loomis & Tammy Zhong

Trombone quartet: Genaro Sarmiento, Connor Kooistra, Derek Kalvin, Michael Kjentvet

Clarinet trio: Laura Wilson, James Buenfil and Alex Kao.

Cardinal Band Percussion Ensemble:
Sam Jaeger, Kaden Mettel, Tori Kovall, Jack Tibbetts, Ben Bucheit, Drake
Vandermause Alex Warholic, Haiwen
Dai, Peter Opitz, Anton Tung, Brendan
Steele
Concert Band White Percussion Ensemble: Melissa Ahn, Adam Goren,
Ben Lewis, Daicy Yu, Quinn Pierstorff,
Will Mueller, Luke Zoroufy, Max
Landowski
Concert Band Red Percussion Ensemble: Jeremy Auenson, Macs Mahal,
Miranda Boyd, Gagan Singh, Sarah
Engle, Anna Clark
Wind Ensemble Percussion Ensemble:
Tanner Tanyeri, Dylan Petersen,
Kaitlin Conroy, Eric Schmidt, Teddy
Williams
Wind Ensemble Brass Choir - All Wind
Ensemble brass players
Wind Ensemble Woodwind Choir - All
Wind Ensemble woodwind players

Orchestra Solos:
Savannah Albrecht, violin
Arria Alton, cello
Kira Galang, cello
Belle Gallegos, violin
Jahnavi Gali, viola
Calvin Guse, piano, viola
Simone Hendrix, cello
Kira Holmes, violin
Russell Kjorlie, violin

Nikki Noughani, piano

Andrew Plumb, piano, violin
Tamara Scott, violin
Maureen Sheehan, viola
Nitin Somasundaram, viola
Ellie Taylor, violin
Hannah Thompson, viola
Rachel Thornton, violin
Nathan Trinkl, piano
Michael Xie, piano, viola
Michelle Xie, piano, violin
Adam Yeazel, string bass
Kirstin Yu, piano

Orchestra Ensembles:
Philomusica Alternative String Ensemble
String quartet: Kira Holmes, Sergio
Aviles, Hannah Thompson, Kira
Galang
Viola quartet: Mareen Sheehan, Calvin
Guse, Paige Wirth, Nitin Somasundaram
Violin quartet: Savannah Albrecht,
Michelle Xie, Stephanie Yoo & Nikki
Noughani
Violin trio: Belle Gallegos, Ari White,
Veronica Murdoch
Violin trio: Tamara Scott, Meagan
Sheehan, Grace Pierstorff
Violin/Viola trio: Ellie Taylor, Daewon
Lee, Michael Xie

Photos contributed

Choral Solos:
Isabel Bernauer, alto, music theater
Thomas Berthelon-Lathrop, tenor,
music theater
Kailey Boyle, alto, music theater
Anna Clark, alto
Chloe Cole, soprano
Nicole Cushman, soprano
Sarah Engle, soprano
Amanda Huff, soprano, music theater
Hannah Joseph, alto
Orion Krystosek, tenor
Kaelin Meicher, soprano
Kylie Peters, soprano
JJ Meyer, baritone, music theater
Kendra Rassmuessen, soprano
Lydia Shaw, soprano
Hannah Thompson, alto
Sarah Woody, soprano, music theater

Choral Ensembles:
Duet: Amanda Huff and JJ Meyer
Duet: Abigail and Ruth Thompson
SATB Mixed Quartet: Kendra Rassmussen, Emily Zeimentz, Thomas
Berthelon-Lathrop, Adam Yeazel
TTBB Quartet: Orion Krystosek, Chris
Burandt, Zach Robertson, James Rasmussen
TTBB Quartet: Thomas BethelonLathrop, Sam Ropa, Richard Ramanantsoa, Adam Yeazel
Bristol Street a cappella group
MHS Chamber Singers madrigal

GARDEN

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

had shifted so we had some extra

greenhouse space, said Deborah McCown, president of Knight Hollow
Nursery, Inc. We charge MAFPG just
enough to cover the cost of utilities.
Its a win-win situation.
Savings to all member gardens are
expected to be huge. According to
Johnson, If bought, flats of seedlings
cost $12 each. We can grow flats of
seeds for $3 per flat if we have volunteer labor. Last year we bought around
200 flats. We save almost $2,000 by
starting the plants ourselves.
Volunteer effort is the key to the savings. On the day that I visited the
greenhouse, five men, with a wealth
of planting experience, were hard at
work.
I asked the men what moved them to
volunteer with this program.
The fact that Wisconsin is ranked
40th in job growth is connected to what
we are doing. So is the high number of
students who receive free and reduced
lunches at school, said Mark Miller.
There is a need for food in our area.
Gary Hoffman described himself as
an old farm boy. When he was close
to retirement, he knew that he wanted
to do some volunteering but wasnt
sure how.
The direction his volunteering
would take, came to him during a Mission of the Month presentation at Asbury Church. Ken Witte, who had
initiated the idea of food pantry gardens in our area, was speaking about
growing healthy local foods for area
food pantries.
Hoffman thought, When I retire,
thats what I want to do.
Neil Vassau lives in Verona near the
garden named after Ken Witte. Hes
had a vegetable garden his whole life.
Before planting here, I was asked to
start peppers and tomatoes for the

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 9

continued from page 1

Witte Garden. said Vassau. I did

that with the help of students at the
Middleton High School greenhouse.
Robert Gerber was planting
seedlings on behalf of Madison Area
Food Pantry Gardens (MAFPG) with
which hes had a long association.
MAFPG gardens include; Middleton
Outreach Ministry Garden; Hershberger South Garden, Wagner Garden
Blackhawk Church and the Ken Witte
Gardens of Verona; Uphoff Garden and
the Lacy Garden in Fitchburg.
Anyone interested in volunteering in one of the MAFP Gardens
can do so on the United Way Volunteer Your Time website. Monetary donations can be sent to:

Madison Area Food Pantry

Gardens
c/o Jill Fredow, Treasurer
532 S Owen Dr
Madison, WI 53711
Tom Parslow, the director of
MAFPG said, The gardens are their
own entities, but we work together
where it makes sense, like buying bulk
supplies, equipment, recruiting volunteers, and now, renting greenhouse
space.
MAFPG also coordinates the Gleaners Program. Members of the group
jokingly refer to themselves as the
Geezer Gleaners as all members are
currently over the age of 60. Dan
Johnson said, Wed love to have some
younger people join our ranks.
Since the programs inception eight
years ago, more than 450,000 pounds
of produce have been rescued and distributed to local food pantries by the
Gleaners.

Mark Miller engages in the delicate work of planting one tiny seed in each
of section of the starter flats in the greenhouse rented by the Madison Area
Food Pantry Gardens (MAFPG). All three of the Middleton Outreach Ministry gardens are members of MAFPG.
Photo by Deb BIechler

Area producers contact MAFPG

when they are finished taking all that
they want out of a field or from an orchard. Work days are planned and
gleaners carpool to harvest whatever is

left. The yield is distributed to local

food pantries.
Our primary source of funding is
through churches and individuals. We
also seek grants, said Parslow.

Donations go toward renting greenhouse space, purchasing tools, seeds

and insurance, and promoting public
relations. This is our first year to try
a mailing. Were sending a flyer to a
specific area. If it gets results, well
expand it.
According to Parslow, Were not a
backyard garden. We produce numbers that a commercial farm produces.
We need a constant flow of people.
Those volunteers come as individuals or as groups. Groups include, Master Gardeners, and church youth and
scout groups. Ninety percent of the
volunteers are gardeners themselves.
But, that is not a requirement to work
in the MAFP gardens or as a gleaner.
We gladly take fledgling gardeners.
And, we love to have families come to
help. If I know ahead of time, I can organize projects for children as young
as four years old. We have child-size
hoes, said Parslow.
The Middleton Outreach Ministry
gardens could use more volunteers.
There are opportunities to plant, weed
and harvest in the two regular gardens
or to act as a mentor to food pantry
clients who are new to gardening at the
mentoring garden.
According to Johnson, In the past,
we had mentors working with two families. This year, wed like to have mentors matched with only one family. Its
more convenient for the mentors
schedules that way.
If you are interested in helping out
at any of the MOM gardens by planting, weeding harvesting or mentoring,
call Dan Johnson at 608-836-1638.
Monetary donations, specifically for
the MOM gardens can be arranged in
a variety of ways. For more information, go to their website donations
page:
http://momhelps.org/givehelp/donate/donate-money.

PAGE 10

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

Photo by Marilyn Burke

Easter fun!

Photo by Gene F. Summers/Countryside Images

Local children had no shortage of Easter egg hunts to attend on Saturday,

April 4. The Downtown Middleton Business Association (DMBA) hosted its
annual hunt from 10-11 a.m. at Firemans Park. The Middleton Knights of
Columbus Council No. 4549 of Saint Bernards parish hosted its annual hunt
at Lakeview Park at 11:30 a.m.
Above left, hundreds of kids lined up to take part in the DMBA hunt.
Above, Eve Schlotthauer, 4, and Emma Schlotthauer, 8, displayed their eggs
at Lakeview Park.

Rodgers and
Hammerstein show
arrives Wednesday

Four Seasons Theatre will present

Rodgers and Hammerstein: From
Book to Broadway at area libraries
this spring.
The show will come to the Middleton Public Library on Wednesday,
April 22 at 7 p.m.
For more information or to register

for
this
program,
visit
midlibrary.org/events,
email
info@midlibrary.org, or call 608-8277403.
Its easy to think of the Broadway
songwriting team of Rodgers and
Hammerstein as classic or old-fashioned, but when Rodgers and Hammerstein began to work together in
1943, they were radical. Together, they
revolutionized what a Broadway musical could be. Four Seasons Theatre
presents Rodgers and Hammerstein:
From Book to Broadway, a program
that explores the development of the
book musical and how Rodgers and
Hammerstein adapted books into musical plays.
This hour-long program features
a quartet of some of the best local
singers bringing you songs from
such well-loved musicals as Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King
and I, and The Sound of Music.
Audiences will not only enjoy
wonderful music, they will learn
about how Rodgers and Hammerstein adapted novels, short stories,
and auto-biographies into Broadway entertainment. For those in
the audience who like to sing,
there will even be an opportunity
to join the performers in belting
out a familiar R&H tune.
Developed by Four Seasons
Theatre as part of their ongoing
community outreach efforts, this
program is produced with support
from the Beyond the Page program, a joint effort of the Dane
County Library Service and the
Madison Community Foundation
to create a permanent endowment
that will support expanded humanities programming in all 28 public
libraries in Dane County.

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 11

Follow Rob
Reischel on
Twitter at
@robreischel

Mining
for gold

Boys golf team

hopes to chase
a state title
by ROB REIScHEL
Times-Tribune

They were so close, they could

smell the hardware.
A putt here. A chip there.
Had things gone just a tad differently last June, Middletons boys golf
team could have captured a state title.
Instead, the Cardinals sensational
season ended with a fourth place finish at University Ridge.
But now, with Middletons new
season here, hopes are high for even
bigger and better.
Middleton returns three standouts
from last years team and added a
high-level transfer. And while the state
tournament remains nearly two

Off and
rolling

months away, the Cardinals seem to

have all the ingredients to hoist a state
title.
I truly believe we have all the elements to make a deep run in the playoffs this year, Middleton junior Joey
Levin said. But the key is to not put
too much pressure on ourselves like
we did last year.
Junior Brady Thomas agreed.
I wouldnt say that this year is a
state title or bust year, Thomas said.
I think that if we dont win this year
it would be very disappointing seeing
as though we fell just short of a title
last year.
But we have a year of experience
under our belt at U-Ridge, which will
help us cap off our goal in the end
hoisting up the state trophy.
Middleton seemed on its way to
that goal last season.
The Cardinals enjoyed a sensational regular season, winning the Big
Eight Conference dual meet title and
See GOLF, page 20

Rough
start

File photo

Middleton junior Brady Thomas finished second for Player of the Year honors in the Big Eight last season.

Girls soccer team

wins first two

Baseball Cards
begin season 1-4

by ROB REIScHEL
Times-Tribune

There were several questions,

great
uncertainty
and
many
unknowns.
Today, theres far less doubt.
Middletons girls soccer team,
which lost 12 seniors from last years
Big Eight Conference championship
team, had holes at many key positions. But the Cardinals proved in
their opening weekend theyre more
likely to reload than rebuild this season.
Middleton hosted a quadrangular
last Saturday and posted a pair of
impressive wins.
The Cardinals defeated Appleton
North, 4-1, in their first game of the
tournament. Middleton then edged
Kimberly, 1-0, later in the day.
The girls exceeded my initial
thoughts as to what would be produced, Middleton coach Mary
Duffy said. We were not sure what
to expect, where people would play
or how rotations would work. Lots of
unknown factors at this beginning
stage of the season.
Pleasantly, I think this initial
weekend went better than we have
had in the past few years. There were
See SOccER, page 14

by ROB REIScHEL
Times-Tribune

Times-Tribune photo by Mary Langenfeld

Kristen Reikersdorfer (15) and Middletons girls soccer team won their first two games of the year.

The baseball season has just

begun.
But Middleton has already dug
itself a hole.
The Cardinals dropped a pair of
Big Eight Conference games last
week. And Middleton fell to 0-2 in
the conference and 1-4 overall.
Janesville Parker drilled the
Cardinals, 10-1, last Tuesday. Verona
then toppled Middleton, 6-2, last
Saturday.
We have not been able to square
up on pitches, Middleton manager
Tom Schmitt said. We knew our
young players lacked experience of
hitting the ball at this level, but
thought they would be able to produce more quality at bats at this
point. We are working daily to get
the timing and mechanics necessary
to be a good hitting team.
These hitters need to make some
adjustments and it is coming slowly.
Pitching-wise we need to locate our
pitches better. We are getting ahead
of hitters, but then fail to execute an
out pitch or allow the hitter to work
See BASEBALL, page 15

PAGE 12

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

File photos

Middletons
Alex Wood
(far left) and
Mitchell
Herl
(left)
will play in
the WFCA
All-Star
Game
on
July 18.

Perfect ending
Wood, Herl named
to All-Star Game
by ROB REIScHEL
Times-Tribune

Its the best of both worlds, really,

for Mitchell Herl and Alex Wood.
Before the two Middleton High
School seniors move onto the next
stage of their lives, they get to turn
back the clock. And they get to help
others in the process.
Both Herl and Wood were selected
to the Wisconsin Football Coaches
Association All-Star Game.
The game will be held July 18 at 6
p.m. at UW-Oshkoshs Titan Stadium,
and both Herl and Wood will play for
the South Divisions Large Schools.
The WFCA All-Star Game benefits
the patient care programs at
Childrens Hospital of Wisconsin. And
both Middleton players are excited to
do their part and give back.
The main motive for me, and all
the other players participating in this
game, is to help children who may
never be able to play their favorite
sport, those who deeply need the
help, Wood said.
Both Wood and Herl played the
sport at an extremely high level in
2014 which is why they were
selected to play in this game.
Herl had a huge senior season in
which he was named first-team allBig Eight Conference and first-team
all-state.
Herl finished the year with 36
receptions for 632 yards and seven
touchdowns. Herl signed a letter-ofintent in February to be a preferred
walk-on at the University of
Wisconsin.
Yeah, it is quite an honor to be
selected to play for this game and also
to be given an opportunity to fundraise
for such a great cause, Herl said.
Some great players have played in
this game in the past, and to now be at
this elite level that they were once at
gives me hope for the success I will
have in college.
Wood, a defensive back, was also
named first-team all-state last fall.

The 5-foot-9, 150-pound Wood

wasnt the biggest cornerback on the
field. But few could match his speed,
athleticism, drive and heart.
Wood finished the year with four
interceptions, one touchdown, one
fumble recovery and 33 tackles. Wood
also averaged 17.5 yards per punt
return and had one return touchdown.
I am incredibly thankful to be
selected to play in this years all-star
game, said Wood, who will play at
UW-River Falls.I would have never
made it to the game, however, without
the best defense in the Big Eight surrounding me.
The guys up front constantly were
pressuring opposing quarterbacks.
The linebackers stuffed the run and
provided great pass support. And the
rest of the secondary was outstanding.
Our coaching staff always had us
in the correct spot. I am extremely
excited to play in this game. For me
nothing beats a whole week solely
dedicated to football.
Every player competing in the
game must raise money for Childrens
Hospital of Wisconsin.
To donate for Wood, visit:
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/AlexwoodWFCA/2015-wfca-allstar-football-game
To donate for Herl, visit:
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/MitchellHerl/2015-wfca-all-starfootball-game
For both players, the All-Star game
will be a terrific ending to their sensational high school careers.
High school football is something
that I will never forget, Herl said.
And it has been an imperative part to
my development, not only as an athlete, but as an individual.
Wood agreed.
It is a very cool way to end my
high school career, Wood said. In
my heart, my last game will be with
my brothers who got me to this point.
I can not wait to play against the
best competition in the state, and even
the nation. It is nice to see 11 years of
hard work and dedication to the sport
I love be rewarded.I cant wait to get
out to the field again.

Making a statement
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

Girls softball team

rolls in first two
Big Eight games
by ROB REIScHEL
Times-Tribune

Cherie Hellenbrand believed her

Middleton girls softball team could
challenge for a Big Eight Conference
title this spring.
Two games into the conference
season, the Cardinals are making
Hellenbrand look prophetic.
Middleton rolled past Madison
East, 11-0, last Tuesday in a game
stopped after five innings due to the
10-run rule. The Cardinals also toppled Madison La Follette, 9-2,
Monday afternoon.
Middleton is now 2-0 in the Big
Eight and 3-1 overall.
We are off to a great start,
Hellenbrand said. We are starting to
come together with solid pitching,
defense and setting the tone with our
bats.
The win over La Follette Monday
was extremely sweet for the
Cardinals.
Middleton fell to the Lancers, 2-1,
in a controversial sectional semifinal
game last season. But this time
around, the Cardinals got some
revenge.
Middleton pounded out 15 hits and
used a five-run third inning to break
open a 2-2 game.
Shelby Ballweg had a huge day
going 4-for-4 with a home run and six
RBI. Lauren Banke was 3-for-4,

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

Bianca Bockwinkel was 2-for-3 with

two RBI and Rachel Everson was 2for-4.
Was it hard not to look at the end
of our season and want a little payback? Absolutely, Hellenbrand said.
The players remember how devastating it was to lose that game in the sectional (semifinals) with such controversy. It was nice to see many of last
year's seniors come back for the
game.
Cardinals freshman Makenzie
Kopp allowed just six hits and no
earned runs. Kopp struck out three and
walked two.
For her first conference opener
she was outstanding, Hellenbrand
said of Kopp. She was able to keep
the batters on their toes utilizing many
different pitches.
Middleton trailed, 2-0, in the bottom of the second inning when
Ballweg belted a two-run home run to
tie the game.
Ballweg's home run was amazing, Hellenbrand said. It flew over
the left-field fence so fast and never
got off the ground more then 15-feet.
Then, the Cardinals broke things
open in the third.
Bockwinkel had a two-run double
that scored Katie Fermanich and
Everson and gave the Cardinals a 4-2
lead. Bockwinkel later scored on an
error, and Ballweg had a two-run single that plated Amber Karn and Abby
Henke to make it 7-2.
Ballweg added a two-run single in
the sixth as the Cardinals continued to
pull away.
I was happy to see the team come
back after being down two runs after
the first inning, Hellenbrand said.

Middleton also rolled past a solid

Madison East team last Tuesday.
Everson had another big day, going
3-for-4 with three RBI, while
Ballweg, Karn and Morgan Schmitt
all had two RBI, as well.
Middleton pounded out 12 hits and
scored nine runs in the fourth and fifth
innings to put the game away early.
Perfect way to start the conference, Hellenbrand said. East is a
very good team. Their pitcher (Austin)
has some speed and could move the
ball around.
We made some adjustments after
the first inning and then all the players
started hitting the ball. Our lineup, one
through nine, all has the potential to
hit the ball.
Banke Middletons other freshman pitcher had a terrific day.
Banke allowed three hits and no runs
in five innings to notch the win.
Banke did a great job of hitting
her corners and the fielders did the
rest, Hellenbrand said. We had no
errors and thats how we want to play
softball.
Middleton took a 2-0 lead in the
second inning when Banke and
Schmitt had RBI singles. The
Cardinals made it 5-0 in the fourth on
an RBI single from Schmitt and a tworun single by Everson.
Middleton then ended things with a
huge fifth inning.
Ballweg had a two-run double that
scored Henke and Banke to make it 70. Fermanich and Everson followed
with RBI singles.
Karn then blasted a two-run double
that scored Everson and Bockwinkel
and ended the game after just five
innings.

PAGE 13

Times-Tribune photo by Mary Langenfeld

Morgan Schmitt and Middletons girls softball team are off to a 2-0 start in
the Big Eight Conference.

Extremely proud how focused the

team was, Hellenbrand said. They
have all been working so hard and are
focused on playing to their potential.
They want to win each inning of every
game.
So far, the Cardinals are doing just
that, and they look like one of the

teams to beat in the conference.

On deck: Middleton was at Sun
Prairie Tuesday and is at Madison
Memorial Thursday at 5 p.m. The
Cardinals are then at Verona Friday at
5 p.m. and at Madison West Tuesday
at 5 p.m.

MHS golfers
start strong
PAGE 14

by ROB REIScHEL
Times-Tribune

Middletons boys golfers are off to a

hot start.
The Cardinals finished second at the
16-team Wisconsin Dells Invite last
Friday and Saturday.
Middleton also rolled to a win at its
own triangular Monday afternoon.
White Bear Lake (Minn.) won the
Dells Invite with a two-day score of
610. Middleton was second at 622.
The Cardinals shot a 322 at Trappers
Turn on the first day of the tournament.
Junior Nils Arneson led Middleton with
a 78, while juniors Brady Thomas and
Emmett Herb both carded 80s and junior Joey Levin shot an 84.
The second day of the tournament

was held at Christmas Mountain and

Middleton fired a 300 the low round
of the weekend.
Arneson again led the Cardinals
with a 72, while Thomas fired a 74.
Levin shot a 75 and Gabe GarloughShah carded a 79.
Middleton then rolled at its own triangular Monday, posting a 313 team
score in a match held at Pleasant View.
Madison Memorial was second at 338,
while Beloit Memorial was third at 359.
Herb led the Cardinals with a 74,
while Levin carded a 79. Both Thomas
and Arneson shot 80s.
On deck: Middleton is at the
WPGA Invite at Maple Bluff Monday
at noon. The Cardinals then meet
Madison East and Sun Prairie in a triangular Tuesday at Yahara starting at 2
p.m.

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

n SOccER

moments in each game where I

thought to myself, Wow, this player
at this position is going to be an Xfactor for us. I didn't see that coming.
Middleton opened with an
impressive win over Appleton North.
Lia Passini struck first for the
Cardinals, scoring in the 19th minute
on an assist from Mady Warda.
Macey Kalscheur had Middletons
second goal in the 27th minute on an
assist from Kristen Reikersdorfer.

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

Reikersdorfer scored in the 49th

minute on an assist by Kalscheur.
And in the 60th minute, Megan
Sullivan scored on an assist from
Nora Edelen.
In
Middletons
win
over
Kimberly, Sullivan scored in the
44th minute on an assist from Ari
Viscara
Girls that played last year on varsity came out with more experience,
more confidence and a much bigger
impact, Duffy said. Players who

continued from page 11

made the team for the first time this

year have already made a huge
impact on how we will play. All very
positive things to come from your
initial weekend.
The girls didn't play like it was
their first games. They played like
they have been together for awhile
almost like a club team who sees
each other year round, and maybe
that deals with the fact that we have
12 seniors again who have played off
and on with each other for so long.
Duffy highlighted the play of
keeper Belle Gallegos, who is new to
the team. The Cardinals defense was
solid throughout the lineup.
Duffy was also quite pleased with
Middletons offense, which attacked
with frequency and success throughout the weekend.
I think it speaks more volumes of
the players themselves, Duffy said
of the two wins. They are comfortable with each other, have great positive attitudes and are competitive
and coachable and respectful of each
other. They just want to play and be
competitive and do whatever they
need to do.
There was more communication,
positive talk and cohesiveness than
we initially get for beginning games.
It is a great jumping off point one
that we will continue to push so that
we are even stronger going into the
postseason.
On deck: Middleton hosts
Janesville Parker Thursday at 7:30
p.m. and is at No. 3 Kettle Moraine
Friday at 7 p.m. The Cardinals are
then at Verona Tuesday at 7 p.m.

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

n BASEBALL

continued from page 11

back to a hitters count.

The Cardinals managed just two
hits in the loss to Parker. Middletons
only run came in the third inning
when Drew Finley Haag drew a leadoff walk and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Joe Ludwig.
Meanwhile, Parker had nine hits
and benefitted from three Middleton
errors. Alec Morrison took the loss
for the Cardinals.
Middleton also fell to the
Wildcats in a game that was postponed from Friday.
The Wildcats took a 5-0 lead after
four innings and never looked back.
Middleton starter Adam Nutting took
the loss.
The Cardinals had just three hits
and also had three errors.
Middletons two runs came in the
fifth inning and Liam Belleveau and
Ivan Monreal both scored. Finley
Haag had the Cardinals lone RBI.
We have expectations that are
not being met by these kids, but with
a positive attitude and good work
ethic we can reach the potential this
group possesses, Schmitt said. We
played two teams that I figured
would be in the top half in the conference. So to have lost those games
is not alarming, but it is how we lost
that made us disappointed in our performance.
Better pitching leads to better
defense and more plays made on
defense helps pitcher relax and throw
strikes knowing that the defense will
make plays and that pitches don't
need to be perfect and get strikeouts
to get outs.
On deck: Middleton hosted
Madison East Tuesday, then hosts
Madison La Follette Thursday at 5
p.m. Middleton is then at Sun Prairie
Saturday at 2 p.m.
Big week with three games,
Schmitt said. Hoping ... to get a
more consistent performance.

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 15

briefs

Sports

PAGE 16

MHS gymnasts named

Academic All-State

Several Middleton girls gymnasts were recently named to the

Academic All-State team.
The list included Eleanor
Mackey, Olivia Shoemaker,
Chloe
Young,
Madeline
Pflasterer-Jennerjohn, Daniella
Aranda,
Tyler
Benedict,
Katherine Marshall, Megan
Lange, Lucy Bergenthal, Morgan
Charlton, Lauren Ace, Karlee
Ketelboeter and Marie Lawton.
Pflasterer-Jennerjohn was also
named first-team all-state on the
bars and Bergenthal was named
first-team all-state on the vault.
Marshall and Ace were both
named honorable-mention allstate on the beam.
I am so proud, Middleton
coach Kari Steck said. Both academic all-state and all-state team
are huge honors.

Lacrosse team
starts strong

Middletons boys lacrosse

team is off to a 2-1 start.
The Cardinals rolled past La
Crosse, 24-3, on March 31.
Middleton lost to Naperville
(Ill.), 9-5, on April 3. The
Cardinals cruised back Sauk
Prairie, 17-1, on April 7.

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 17

PAGE 18

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

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n GOLF

PAGE 20

the
conference
tournament.
Middleton was also at, or near the top
of every major invitational it played
in.
The Cardinals rolled to first place
finishes at the Middleton Regional
and the Baraboo Sectional. And
Middleton entered the state tournament ranked No. 1 in the state.
But the Cardinals had an off round
on the first day of state. And even
though Middleton posted the lowest
score on day two, it settled for fourth
at state.
This years group has set its sights
on faring much better when stakes are
the highest.
Well, theyre definitely motivated, Middleton coach Tom Cabalka
said of his team. If anything good
came out of being fourth at state its
that these guys are really driven right
now.
Theyre going to put in the work.
I know that much. But like it is every
year at state, you have to put together
two good rounds to have a chance.
Hopefully we can do that.
Thats certainly possible with the
bevy of talent Middleton returns.
Thomas, whos played varsity
since his freshman season, was a firstteam all-Big Eight Conference selection last season and finished second in
the leagues Player of the Year race.
Thomas had an average of 77.0 last
year, won four different events and
had 11 top-five finishes.
Thomas jumps to No. 1 in the lineup this season after the graduation of
Josh Haunty and certainly seems up
for the challenge.
My game is feeling really good
right now, Thomas said. Im hitting
the ball solid and making putts when I
need to. I think I make a good No. 1
guy. Im confident with my game and
I know my teammates and coaches
know that Im going to come in with a
low score.
But when it really comes down to
it, our team knows that it doesnt mat-

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

ter what number you play. It just matters that when the day is over,
Middleton is on top.
Junior Emmett Herb was also
named first-team all-conference last
season. Herb averaged 80.6 and had
the fifth-best average in Big Eight
meets.
Emmett had a really good year,
Cabalka said. But the key for him,
like all of our guys, is knocking a couple more shots off of his average.
Levin was a second-team all-conference selection last season. Levin
averaged 79.50, improved his short
game throughout the year, and
remained one of Middletons longest
hitters.
My wood and iron game are
extremely strong right now, Levin
said. However my putter and I are
going through a rough part in our relationship.
I am confident that this season I
will get my touch back on the greens,
which will elevate my game to the
elite level. This season I have high
hopes for myself, but ultimately I am
more concerned about bringing home
a state title with my teammates.
Middleton also welcomes standout
transfer Nils Arneson. Arneson played
No. 1 for Madison East each of the
last two seasons, and should fit nicely
into Middletons star-studded lineup.
Juniors Gabe Garlough-Shah and
sophomore Colin Butler both played
No. 5 in the lineup in Middletons first
meet of the year and gave strong performances. Junior Jack Vincent and
sophomores Colin Butler, Brett Wipfli
and Ross Johnson all have terrific
potential.
And an outstanding freshman class
also has Cabalka excited.
We do have some options,
Cabalka said of his lineup. We have
three pretty good little freshmen and a
few other kids. We have some choices.
Theyre certainly good choices,
though.

File photo

Joey Levin and Middletons boys golf team have high hopes this spring.

Middletons top four players have

all been varsity golfers for two seasons. The program is deep and talented, and most coaches would love to
plug some of Cabalkas JV players
into their varsity lineup.
Only time will tell if that all adds

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

up to a state championship. But

Cabalka knows this group should at
least have a chance to hoist gold come
June.
Its not too often that we, or anyone else, has had four kids with two
years of varsity experience, Cabalka

continued from page 11

said. Thats a nice thing to have.

But at the end of the day, we still
have to play well to get there. On
paper, we look pretty good. But we
still have to put it together on the same
day.