Around 6 a.m. each morning I calldowntown, Madison, for the color ofthe day. When it’s yellow, I bust amove to the Dane County DistrictAttorney’s Deferred Prosecution Of-fice, inside the City-County Build-ing, to pee into a little plastic cupunder the watchful eye of an author-ity.

The cup can detect the presence ofvarious narcotic breakdown productsso the authority knows before I’vefinished washing my hands if I’vebeen living right since my last visit.

I’m one of roughly 45 opiate ad-dicts in The Deferred Prosecution’sOpiate Initiative – a subprogramwithin what is commonly called theFirst Offender’s Program. Launchedin 2013 with a grant from the Wis-consin Department of Justice, theInitiative’s mission is to help low-risk opiate addicts avoid life-chang-ing convictions.

More or less, it is the county’s pol-icy response to a five-year surge inheroin-related arrests clogging thecourt system here in Dane County, aswell as those throughout the state.

Since 1996, the year Purdue

A young woman, her swarthy armstaught as she hoists two pails of hogfeed, her t-shirt stretched thin by abelly in which a baby spends its finalweeks before entering the world.

A bearded man, his eyes shaded byan askew baseball cap, picking spinachwith astounding dexterity, shoulder toshoulder with field hands who rangefrom college freshmen to retirees, fromhipsters to grandmothers.

An old barn floor, nodding buoy-antly as families stomp their feet to live

bluegrass music. A flaxen-haired

toddler, tumblingagain and again,then taking herfirst steps on thewooden porch onesweltering after-noon.

This is work.This is home. Thisis everything in between.

This is life at Crossroads Commu-nity Farm.

“The thing I like most about farm-ing, and it’s actually something I hatedat first, is that it’s a lifestyle,” says

VOL. 123, NO. 13 THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 SINGLE COPY PRICE: $1.25

www.MiddletonTimes.com

Times-Tribune photo by Matt Geiger

27 years and counting!The Times-Tribune’s series profiling local eateries continues this week with a look at Fitzgerald’s, located at

3112 Parmenter Street. The restaurant celebrates 27 years in business this month. To learn more about the es-tablishment, turn to page 2. Pictured above, Mary Stroede, front of house manager at Fitzgerald’s, pours asweet, minty, creamy, handmade Grasshopper at the bar.

Despite Supreme Court, voterswill not need photo ID April 7

Wisconsin voters will not be re-quired to show a photo ID to vote atthe April 7, 2015 Spring Election.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Mondaycleared the way for enforcement ofWisconsin’s 2011 voter ID law, but be-cause the Spring Election is two weeksaway, the Attorney General has advisedstate election officials not to implementit at the April 7 election.

“Absentee ballots are already in thehands of voters, therefore, the law can-not be implemented for the  April7  election,” Attorney General BradSchimel stated Monday. “The Voter IDlaw will be in place for future elections– this decision is final.”  The WisconsinDepartment of Justice represented theGovernment Accountability Board indefending the voter ID law.

Kevin Kennedy, Wisconsin’s chiefelection official, said the G.A.B. antic-

ipates there will be special elections in2015 at which photo ID will be re-quired.  The next statewide election atwhich photo ID will be required is theSpring Primary on February 16, 2016.

On  March 23, 2015, the U.S.Supreme Court declined to hear an ap-peal of an earlier Seventh Circuit Courtof Appeals decision which had rein-stated the photo ID law. The law hadbeen enjoined by the courts sinceMarch, 2012.  

Even though voters will not have toshow an ID to receive a ballot at thiselection, voters who are registeringnow in the municipal clerk’s office orat the polling place on Election Dayshould be aware that they may usetheir driver license or state ID card toestablish their residence if it contains acurrent address.

“You may use a valid driver license

or state ID card for proof of residencewhen you register to vote, either beforeor on Election Day” said Kennedy.“But you are not required to show aphoto ID to get your ballot.”

Photo ID requirements are differentthan proof of residence requirements.All voters must show proof of resi-dence to register to vote, and a driverlicense or state ID card with a currentaddress are just two of many docu-ments can use to prove they are resi-dents. A full list is availablehere: http://gab.wi.gov/publications/voter-guides/proof-of-residence.

Also, voters who have a Wisconsindriver license or state ID card are re-quired to provide the card number onthe voter registration form. Voters whodo not have a driver license or state ID

On way to grave, addicttakes unexpected detour

MHS grad’s CSAfarm is thriving

Suspectedoverdosedeath inWestport

Dane County Sheriff’s deputies andthe Dane County Medical Examiner’sOffice are investigating the death of a24-year-old female in the Town ofWestport.

Deputies responded to a residenceon Willow Road at approximately 9:15a.m. on Saturday, March 21. Obviousevidence of drug use was found at thescene, according to a statement fromthe Dane County Sheriff’s Office.

The Medical Examiner performedan autopsy and will determine theexact cause and manner of death.

t h e H e r o i n B l u e s

Part of ongoing series on the heroin scourge

by mAtt GEIGER

Times-Tribune

by NAtHAN J. COmp

Times-Tribune

See ID, page 10

See CROSSROADS, page 6

See HEROIN, page 10

Crossroads Community Farm is entering 11th year

Mike Noltnerwyss

PAGE 2 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015

EEATAT YYOUROUR WWAYAY AAROUNDROUND THETHE WWORLDORLD WWITHOUTITHOUT EEVERVER LLEAVINGEAVING MMIDDLETONIDDLETON

Honoring the pastand embracing thefuture at Fitzgerald’s

“It’s kind of like a glimpse into thepast meets modern day,” explains MaryStroede, front of house manager atFitzgerald’s. “There are a lot of tracesof the traditional, old Wisconsin supperclubs, but in order to survive we’vemolded to this century and thisdecade.”

Located at 3112 Parmenter Street,Fitzgerald’s seems to have done theimpossible: surviving for years afterHighway 12 was re-routed around thebusiness, diverting countless potentialcustomers.

The secret to the restaurant’s successin the face of an obstacle that wouldhave forced many eateries to close?Continuity that simply doesn’t exist atchain restaurants.

“The stuff here doesn’t change everysix months,” Stroede said. “The chefhas been here since 1988. We haveservers who have been here 16 years.A good portion of the staff has beenhere at least five.”

In total, Fitzgerald’s has been serv-ing steaks, fried fish, brandy old fash-ioneds and more Midwestern culinaryicons for 27 years now.

Stroede joined the Fitzgerald’s teameight years ago, settling down in Mid-dleton and living here since shortlyafter she was hired at Fitzgerald’s.

“It has all the conveniences of thebig city with a small town feel,” she

said of Middleton.“The restaurant business started out

as a part-time job, but grew into a full-time commitment,” she explained.

That commitment was to a placewhere people come for menu items likecrunchy fried pickles, rich crab cakes,juicy filet mignon, jumbo shrimp, but-ter-drenched lobster tails, char-grilledpork chops, and of course, the Fridaynight fish fry.

“We are mainly known for our steakand seafood,” said Stroede. “We areknown for our fish fry and Sundaybrunches.”

Those brunches offer enough to sat-isfy even the most gormandizing din-ers: barbecue ribs, broasted chicken,dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy,salad bar, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs,biscuits and gravy, hash browns,bacon, sausage, cereal, milk and juice,pancakes, pies, kringle, pastries and icecream.

“[Back of house manager] Vern[Schwarz] makes the best prime rib,”she continued. “We are able to accom-modate groups of all sizes, whether itbe a party of two or a party of a hun-dred.”

Fitzgerald’s celebrated its latestbirthday March 21. Stroede said shehopes it is able to observe many more.

“We’ve been with you for 27 years,”she said. “We think of you as family. “

“I want to thank all of our loyal cus-tomers from over the years,” sheadded.

by mAtt GEIGER

Times-Tribune

Photos contributed“Vern's prime rib is my favorite, with a side of garlic mashed potatoes,” says Mary Stroede, front of house manager

at Fitzgerald’s restaurant. Fitzgerald’s offers lobster by itself, or coupled with steak for a classic “surfand turf” experience.

State Senator Jon Erpenbach, andAssembly Representatives DianneHesselbein and Sondy Pope-Robertsmet with the Middleton-Cross PlainsBoard of Education to discuss the statebudget and answer questions aboutproposed legislation.  The three Dem-ocratic legislators represent voters thatlive in the school district.  

Under the Governor’s proposedbudget, public schools would see an-other round of cuts.  The final numbersmay change as the budget works itsway through the legislature.  Republi-can lawmakers have also introducedschool accountability legislation thatcould change state assessment exams,expand voucher schools, and sanctionpoorly performing public schools.  

The school board has concerns ofpotential negative effects from both the

budget and proposed legislation.Members of the district’s administra-tion and school board have been tohearings to testify and written a letterto Walker and the legislature voicingtheir concerns.

“Thank you for that very thoughtfulletter to us from that coalition,” Pope-Roberts told the board.  “It has been theframework that we are trying to buildour response around because it is verypositive and sensible and not political.”

Superintendent Don Johnson draftedthe letter with input from the board.Nineteen superintendents from DaneCounty and adjacent counties signedthe letter.

Senator Erpenbach said he has beenhearing from his Republican counter-parts that public schools would be firstpriority if there is any surplus in thebudget.

“Some Republicans have said that ifthere is a surplus that public schoolswould probably be the first draw,” saidErpenbach.  “That is good to hear,‘probably would be be’ I would like tohear something a little more solid thanthat.”

Erpenbach encouraged the board tobe as vocal as possible to the Joint Fi-nance Committee during the budgetprocess.  Erpenbach holds a seat on thecommittee.

The board and legislators also dis-cussed the fate of CAPP, a dual highschool and college credit program thathas been popular at MHS.  In 2013, Act

20 eliminated part-time open enroll-ment and established a new programfor students entitled Course Options.Course Options still provides a meansfor students to take courses offered byother Wisconsin school districts, butnow also includes the opportunity forstudents to enroll in courses offered bycharter schools, various institutions ofhigher education, and approved non-profit organizations at no cost to thestudent.

Currently, parents have to pay forthe cost of dual enrollment, though itworks out to be far less expensive thantaking the classes at another institu-tion.  The school district does foot thebill for students of low socioeconomicstatus.  Under the latest proposal, dualenrollment would be free for parentsbut would have to be completelyfunded by the district.

“Course Options requires schooldistricts to come up with new fundingfor these programs that offer dualcredit, college credit,” explainedGeorge Mavroulis, Assistant Superin-tendent for Educational Services.“What is going to happen is we are notgoing to be able to afford that.  Wehave already told our families if a de-cision is not made by April 1st therewill be no college credits at MiddletonHigh School, which is a shame becausewe offer 156 potential credits.  If we

had to pay for it, we are talking$350,000 or even higher because morekids might take it if we were paying forit.”

Johnson pointed out that the expenseto parents would be about $1.6 millionif the classes were taken as collegefreshman.  

Mavroulis reminded the Board thatwhile other families know the programas CAPP most legislators consider itcourse options law. The board re-quested a letter be sent to all familiessimilar to the one that was sent to highschool families.

Mavroulis said it would a difficultletter to write.  He explained that manyfamilies believe the law is a good thingbecause there is no cost to them. How-ever, they don’t understand that thecost is being shifted to districts.  Thedistricts can’t afford it because revenuecaps are still in place and state categor-ical aid is being cut.

Board member Paul Kinne askedwhat the legislators’ sense was on theSchool Choice cap being lifted.  Erpen-bach responded that is the way it standsin the budget now but could change.He said he knew Republican wereheaded in that direction but didn’t thinkthey would want to do it so soon.Pope-Roberts noted Assembly SpeakerRobin Vos won’t support voucher ex-pansion unless sanctions are part of the

bill.  She said there is ongoing debateamong Republicans.

Board member Leeanne Hallquistasked about the fate of the AffordableCare Act in Wisconsin if the USSupreme Court strikes down essentialparts of the law.  Erpenbach saidWalker is the only one that can do any-thing about it.  He said if Wisconsin

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 3

School board meets with state lawmakersby CAmERON BREN

Times-Tribune

See SCHOOL BOARD, page 8

Pleasant View Golf Course achievedhigher profits last year than in 2013and will ramp up efforts to collect dataon golfers this season to better courseutilization and improve profits, said Je-remy Cabalka, the course’s generalmanager.

Green fees revenues last year wereslightly below 2013’s totals but golfersspent $42,000 more on food and drinklast year than the year before, Cabalkatold the Golf Course Advisory Com-mittee Monday.

Overall revenue was up in 2014 to$1.85 million from $1.83 million in2013 while operating expenses de-clined from $1.42 million in 2013 to$1.35 million last year, according tonumbers Cabalka supplied the commit-tee.

The city owned and operated

course’s operating profit increasedfrom $406,000 in 2013 to $503,000last year, said Cabalka, however, debtservice payments resulted in the courseagain operating in a deficit cash flow.

Committee Chair Terry Turner saidthe debt from acquiring the property inthe 1990s, adding a clubhouse and an-other nine holes is “under control,” dueto cash to be advance from a tax incre-mental district and retiring the debt by2020.

Operating revenue was held downslightly last year by a shorter seasonlast year than in 2013 with severalweekend rain outs and an abrupt end inmid-October resulting in fewer playingdates.

“If you check other area courses,flat (revenue) is great. Courses gener-ally…had slight declines,” said Turner.

Course expenses were down lastyear with labor costs lowered afterRichard Mueller, a course superintend-ent, was not replaced after his death,and seasonal help in Pro Shop im-proved, said Cabalka.

Revenue projections for 2015 are asdifficult to forecast as the weather,since the golf business is heavily de-pendent on good weather, Turner said.

The course opened on March 15,

weeks ahead of last year, and despitesome continued winter weather thecourse has generated about $15,000 ingreen fees and $15,000 in membershiprenewals so far this month, Cabalkasaid.

“The good news is that 95 percent ofour league players are coming back,and my crystal ball says we’re going tobe busy, busy with outings, non-golfoutings that will add to our revenue,”Cabalka said.

Cabalka and Turner are also encour-aged by a continued improving econ-omy where more people are workingand have more income to play golfwhile conversely perhaps having lesstime to play golf.

“Still, golf in the Madison area isstill a very popular past time. We stillhave to price appropriate to the mar-ket,” Turner said.

Green fees and cart rental costs willremain the same this year with someonline special pricing to encouragegolfers to come during anticipatedslow times, Cabalka said.

The demand-based pricing systemthe advisory committee discussed lastyear is still a season away from imple-menting, Cabalka said. The course isusing new software, Club Prophet Sys-

tem, to better track expenses, revenueand tee times to yield the informationneeded to manage the course.

“Right now my focus is to collectdata and get people to book (tee times)on line,” he said.

Cabalka wants to gather at least10,000 valid email addresses of golfcustomers to be able to market thecourse through email. , a goal that alsois two or three years away, he said.Pleasant View increased its email basefrom 220 to 1,200 last year hindered bya “poor” software system, he said.

Cabalka encouraged golfers to addtheir email addresses through thecourse’s website: www.golfpleas-antview.com.

The course has braced for some pro-posed property developments along itboundaries but none of occurred todate.

Erdman Real Estate Holding’s deci-sion not to develop 162 acres just northof the golf course meant that PleasantView’s entrance road would not be im-proved in order to give the Erdmanproperty a second access point.

Turner did not see that as a lost op-portunity. Instead, the driveway willcontinue to serve the course’s needsand Turner will not miss the traffic the

rural subdivision would have brought.Two three-story apartment buildings

have been proposed for the northwestcorner of the Pleasant View and Black-hawk Rd. intersection which Turnerand Cabalka said should have little orno impact on golfers.

The back of the green on the secondhole of the Lakes Course lies about 100feet from the planned structure whichbuffered by some trees, Turner said.

“That’s a par 5 hole… and to missthe green by that much is unlikely,”Turner said.

The city has put up for bid three lotsalong the north side of Blackhawk Rd.bordering course’s southern boundary.However, those sales have not oc-curred as the city of Madison has re-fusal to pipe water under BlackhawkRd from the south side, said Turner.

The committee briefly discussedeliminating the Par 3 course but Ca-balka remains its ardent supporter. Hesays it is used encourages younger peo-ple to take up the sport and is offeredan incentive to groups booking thecourse for an outing.

“We’ll throw it in for free… Groupswill play a round of golf, come in andeat and play the Par 3 course, later,” hesaid.

PAGE 4 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015

Revenue was up last year at city golf course

by KEvIN muRpHy

Times-Tribune

But high debt meansPleasant View GolfCourse once againhad deficit cash flow

The City of Middleton is currentlyconducting prescribed burns on severalof its parks and conservancy lands.

The burns will be done as weatherand site conditions permit duringMarch, April, and early May, by citystaff and/or contractors with expertisein wildland firefighting.

The purpose of the burns is to helpmaintain and improve wildlife habitatin the city’s prairies, woodlands and

wetlands. Fire is a natural ecological process

in Wisconsin, and prescribed burningis an important tool for maintainingand restoring native plant communitiesand wildlife habitat, managing invasivespecies, and reducing wildfire danger.Many of the plants and animals of Wis-consin’s woodlands, prairies and wet-lands are fire adapted. They needperiodic fires to thrive.

“Fire is the single most importantdisturbance regime missing from thelandscape today,” said Greg Hamilton,a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service Wisconsin PrivateLands Office. “Without fire our his-toric landscape of prairies and savan-nas has become overgrown woodlotslacking herbaceous diversity.” Prior tothe burns, nearby roadways and trails

may be posted with signs indicating“prescribed burn ahead.”

Prescribed burn times and locationsmay also be announced via the City’s“Notify Me” service (www.ci.middle-ton.wi.us) and Twitter (middleton_wi)feed.

Public lands scheduled for burningthis year include: Bock CommunityForest, Stricker Pond Conservancy,Tiedeman Pond Conservancy, PheasantBranch Conservancy, Pleasant View

Golf Course, Esser Pond Conservancy,Graber Pond Conservancy, Elm LawnSavanna, and Middleton Hills Outlots10, 63, 64, and 419.

The City protects and maintainsover 800 acres of open space, including30 parks, 29 conservancies and over 30miles of trails.

For more information about Middle-ton’s parks and trail system, go to vis-itmiddleton.com/trails.

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 5

Light agenda, short meeting for city council

The Middleton Common Council’smeeting last week was brief and mostlyprocedural. Most notably, the councilawarded bids for a few upcoming con-struction projects and approved thefirst reading of an ordinance that pro-hibits parking along Century Ave.  

An approved award of bid will go toParisi Construction for the traffic con-trol improvements at Airport Road atNursery Drive.  The total cost of the

project is not to exceed $243,703.50.Another approved award of bid goes toBadgerland Excavating for the AllenBlvd. water main replacement in anamount not to exceed $182,488.  Anapproved award of bid to SpeedwaySand and Gravel Inc. for the ParmenterSt. reconstruction in an amount not toexceed $935,856.94.

Approved award of bids for smallerprojects include $31,775 to Maple Leaffor street and park tree plantings andtopsoil, a $32,390 fee paid to Nahn &Associates LLC for professional serv-ice for preliminary design at Orchid

Heights Park.  Lastly $9,000 to DRHFencing and $10,975 to Megna Paint-ing work at the Walter R BaumanAquatic Center

All projects combined comes to atotal cost of about $1.4 million.  CityAdministrator Mike Davis pointed outthe savings the city made by timing therequests for bids.  

“The preliminary engineering esti-mate for this project was $2.35 millionand we are coming in at less than $1.5million, so this just shows the advan-tage of bidding in February,” Daviscommented regarding the Parmenter

St. reconstruction.Alder Hans Hilbert asked if the

scope of the project changed with thebid.  Davis noted a few minorchanges.  

Last Fall, alder Howard Teal made amotion to prohibit parking on all ofCentury Avenue.  Teal said his reason-ing was that many residents have expe-rienced close calls with passingvehicles colliding with parked ones.There are only a few spots where park-ing is currently permitted.  After re-view from the public workscommission and license and ordinance

committee, the recommendation to thecouncil was to prohibit parking.

During a public hearing for the pro-posed change, council members heardnumerous voices from those who at-tend Sunday services at the Sikh Tem-ple between Park St. and Donna Dr.They explained how important streetparking is during their service time.The city agreed to give the Sikh Tem-ple two years to find other arrange-ments and continue to allow streetparking on that portion of Century Ave.on Sundays during service times.  

by CAmERON BREN

Times-Tribune

City uses fire to keep public lands healthy

PAGE 6 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015

Cassie Noltnerwyss, who owns Cross-roads with her husband, Mike. “Thereis no clock-in, clock-out. This is ourhome, this is where we work, and thisis where we raise our kids.”

“What I love – and I guess hate – themost about farming is that there isnever a day when something doesn’tgo wrong,” Mike adds with a wry grin,“but at the end of the day, even if fivethings went wrong, you get to look outand see what you’ve done. And it’susually a heck of a lot.”

Now entering its 11th season, Cross-roads is something of an elder states-man when it comes to sustainable,small-scale, organic agriculture inDane County. What started in 2005with a modest 35 shares has blossomedinto a business that provides 350weekly produce boxes for memberswho increasingly hail from diverse de-mographics. In addition to thoseshares, Crossroads sells its fruits andvegetables to area restaurants and of-fers them at seasonal farmers markets.

Had you asked most people a decadeago what CSA stands for, you wouldhave been likely to encounter a befud-dled stare. Today, it’s an increasinglycommon component of the nation’svernacular. (CSA stands for “Commu-nity Supported Agriculture,” a modelin which customers purchase – or workin the fields for – a seasonal share ofthe food produced by a single farm.Supporters tout it as a more environ-mentally friendly alternative to indus-trial agriculture, as well as pointing outits ability to connect food producersand food consumers within the samecommunity and keep money circulat-ing within the local tax base.)

It’s a philosophy through which cus-tomers and farmers share in the inher-ent risks of farming. The upside, ofcourse, is that they also share in theland’s bounty.

Mike’s path to a life in agriculturebegan in middle school. The son of afather in agribusiness, the Middletonnative became increasingly interestedin gardening, and by extension small-scale farming. He combined extensivetraditional schooling with hands on tin-kering, peppering the few CSA farmerswho came before him with questionsabout what worked – and what didn’t.

Cassie had already worked on mul-tiple farms before she and Mike met,

married and started a family together. “I was his first employee,” she

chuckles. “I paid myself, because hedidn’t know how to do payroll.”

It’s an irony of the times that Cross-roads is both an ode to an ancient wayof working and land, and a progressiveexperiment.

“Everything we grow is harvestedby hand,” explains Mike. “But for me,it’s not the bending over and touchingthe ground that gives me satisfaction.It’s the end result - producing food forpeople - that I find the most reward-ing.”

The result is that portions of theNoltnerwyss family farm would lookfamiliar to a homesteader 300 yearsago. The heritage breed pigs snufflingtheir way through discarded veggies.The red hens clucking in the side yard.The workers lugging freshly pickedcrops back to the barn.

But other components of the farm –like the solar panels that blanket theirbarn and home and power a cooler thathelps keep food fresh longer - wouldleave farmers from even a few decadesago scratching their heads.

“I love constantly trying to figureout new ways to do things,” Mike says.“I enjoy the scientific trial and error offarming.”

Like those solar panels, and likefarmers for thousands of years, theNoltnerwyss family, which includesCassie, Mike, Zea, 5, Edie, 2, and a lit-tle sister due in a matter of days now,live their lives according to the sun.

“There is a real seasonality to it,”Cassie says. “I love how at the solsticethe fields are going nuts, the weeds aregoing nuts and we go nuts. Then it allslows down at the same time in the fall.It’s all centered on the sun.”

While they can’t control the sun orthe rain, they have worked over thepast decade to design a farm that canwithstand nature’s fickle tendencies.The result is less risk for the farmers,and less risk for their customers.

“In 2012 we had a terrible drought,”

says Cassie. “The result was that somany young CSAs just couldn’t filltheir boxes. But we were establishedenough to irrigate, and the dryness ac-tually helped to keep diseases down, sothat year, the year of a huge drought,was one of our best ever.”

A typical summer share, which pro-vides weekly boxes of food (or boxesevery other week), includes a cornu-copia of vegetables. From comfortfood staples to exotic items that nudgecustomers into a little experimentationin the kitchen.

In all, a summer share includes morethan 60 types of fruits and vegetable,

from arugula to zucchini. From cele-riac to sungold tomatoes.

Crossroads hosts several events forits members, from a strawberry pickingday to a barn dance celebrating the har-vest.

They also receive an increasingnumber of questions from a new gen-eration of farmers. People barely out oftheir teens who want to follow in theNoltnerwyss family’s footsteps andlive a farming lifestyle.

It’s a new role for Cassie and Mike,who are only in their mid 30s, but it’sone they embrace.

“It’s weird when people portray us

as that, because we feel like we’re justcopying the people who came beforeus,” Mike says.

“It’s also one of the most rewardingthings about what we get to do,” Cassieadds. “To pass on what we’ve learnedso far. To try to be as generous with ourtime and advice as other farmers werewith us.”

Located at 4144 County Road J,Crossroads Community Farm can bereached online at www.crossroadscom-munityfarm.com or by phone at 608-798-0219. Most health insurers offersubstantial rebates for people who areCSA members.

CROSSROADS continued from page 1

Times-Tribune photo by Matt GeigerCassie and Mike Noltnerwyss, owners of Crossroads Community Farm.

A regular CSA share at Cross-roads Community Farm providesa weekly box of fresh vegetablesfor 20 weeks, from early Junethrough mid-October.

No crisis here!Since 2007 I have owned two bicy-

cles. My favorite bike, I’ve had muchlonger. I bought it in 1995, twentyyears ago, when my daughter, Hilary,was 13 years old.

We decided on mountain bikes,

thinking that it would be really adven-turous of us to ride the rough and wildwooded trails in our area. At the endof our first ride, though, we both cameto the same conclusion - we didn’t carefor all of that jarring around.

Worse yet, the bikes were slow onthe road, which is really where we didmost of our riding. On our next trip to

the bike shop, we had the bikes kittedout with different tires.

There were still nubby ridges on theoutside, but now the smooth middlestrip allowed for better flow on pave-ment. We were happy campers.

I have never had a bike that fit mybody as well as that mountain bike.Even though it is heavy, it served mewell on rail trails of crushed limestoneas well as on paved surfaces.

In 2007 I decided to join a UW-Stevens Point travel group, destined tobike in Provence for two weeks. Itwould cost around $350 to rent a bikethere, or I could bring my own.

The trip to France was at the end ofthe time when luggage traveled at noextra cost. UWSP negotiated that evenour bikes would fly for free.

That year, for $100 more than itwould cost to rent a bike in France, Icould own a pretty good road bike forthe trip and for a long time to come. Itwas a no-brainer.

For the last several years, though,that bike has sat idly in the rack at myapartment. I don’t enjoy road bikingmuch anymore. And, the narrow tiresdon’t handle limestone trails well.

Even with good care, my favoriteold bike has become weary. When I

stood at the rack, trying to decidewhich bike to ride in this burst of warmweather, it was obvious that I neededto do something about my bike situa-tion.

If I could trade in the road bike, itwouldn’t cost very much for me to geta new, wider-tired model that would belighter than the mountain bike that wasno longer in very good shape. I’d keepthe twenty year old Gary Fisher, as it’svalue to anyone but me, would not bemuch.

That’s when it struck me, I had that

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 7

Kalscheurthanks her supporters

I am looking forward to filling theArea 1 seat for the MCPASD schoolboard. Thanks, Anne Bauer, for sug-gesting this great opportunity to me.Thanks to Anne Bauer, Bob Green,Brian and Julie Hornung, Jennifer Kra-tochwill, Shawn Neumann, Kathy Pe-terson, Jenny Spahn and Dale, Brandonand Connor  Kalscheur.I appreciate all your willingness to helpcollect signatures on my behalf.Thanks to those of you who signed onmy behalf as well. I am anxious to getstarted on this new journey.

Your support has been tremendousand ever so humbling. Please continuethat support by voting on  TuesdayApril 7, 2015  for my friend, AnneBauer and for myself, Kelly Kalscheur.

Respectfully,

Kelly KalscheurArea 1 MCPASD School Board

Tia Eady hasearned support

The Middleton Cross-Plains AreaSchool District is exceptional in somany areas.

It has strong leadership and has pro-grams designed to support and enhancethe education of every studentgroup.  In spite of that, the academicachievement gap in the district is a se-rious issue.  Tia Eady will be an activeparticipant on the School Board and inthe schools, and who will represent stu-dents of color. She has demonstratedher commitment to helping advancestudent achievement from the groundup. She has the energy and motivationto help raise the academic bar for allstudents and help prepare them for lifeafter graduation.

I encourage everyone to take an in-terest in our youth and vote on April 7.

Sincerely,Mary DevittCross Plains

Bauer is well qualified

We encourage voters to look at thequalifications of Anne Bauer, candidatefor the MCP School Board. We havedone so and will be voting to re-electAnne to the Board of Education for theMCP School District.

Anne and her family have two boysin the MCP elementary level. As a for-mer educator and a weekly classroomand special events volunteer, Annetakes the time to understand what goeson at school and how it impacts ourkids. Anne is the only board memberwith an education/classroom instruc-tion background.

During her career, Anne taught gen-eral and special ed in public school dis-tricts including a low socio-economichigh student diversity school and un-derstands achievement gap strategies.She is a strong supporter of efforts toin closing achievement gaps. And,she knows that students can havehigher performance and graduationrates so she works to increase studentparticipation in clubs, sports, musicand drama.

Members of the Board of Educationare stewards of our tax dollars. AsBoard Treasurer, Anne understandsthat the Board has to make financiallysound decisions to ensure the MCPschool District is in a solid positionnow, and years down the road for thenext group of families who will sendtheir kids to our school.

Anne is committed to her service onthe board. She has proved that and hasearned our vote on April 7.

Brandon & Carla Scholz

MCP is blessedto have Bauer

Every parent’s goal is to ensure theirchildren receive an outstanding educa-tion. Each of us do different things insupport of this goal - some help withhomework, some participate in thePTA, and still others volunteer in theclassroom. But there’s one thing thatall of us can do which has a tremen-dous impact on the quality of our pub-lic schools - vote for good people tolead our school board.

The Middleton-Cross Plains AreaSchool District is blessed to have AnneBauer on it’s board. I have had the for-tune of knowing Anne and her familyfor many years and I can attest to herpassion for public education. 

As a father of two young children, Ishare Anne’s heart for the holistic de-velopment of today’s student popula-tion. Anne understands the constantchanging and complex environmentchildren face today and is wellequipped to navigate these waters inand out of the classroom.

Anne has an impeccable resume ofleadership in this community. She is anatural born thinker, a must when deal-ing with the enormous task of educa-tional leadership. Her perfect blend ofteaching experience and business acu-men makes her an ideal member of theMCPASD school board. 

It’s no accident that MCPASD isconsistently ranked as one of the bestschool districts in the state. It has takenyears of hard work and dedication byour teachers, administrators, parentsand school board members to getwhere we are today. I am confident thatAnne will continue this legacy ofachievement, and I fully support hercandidacy.

Many thanks, Luke Fuszard

Re-elect Anne Bauer

Re-elect Anne Bauer for SchoolBoard,I first met Anne when our chil-dren went to Meeting House NurserySchool and Anne was on the board atthe school. Soon after that we becameneighbors.

Anne is very committed to theschool board. Anne has taken on addi-tional work while on the school boardsuch as being on the compensationcommittee and board treasurer. I be-lieve Anne is an asset to the schoolboard for a number of reasons. Thefirst is that her education and back-ground are in teaching. Anne also cur-rently has two young children in theschool district. One of the children hasspecial needs and receives district serv-ices. Anne is a regular volunteer andpresence at school. She has a firsthandaccount of many issues facing ourschools. Anne prioritizes the impor-tance of high quality teachers. Annealso realizes the importance of tax dol-lars. One example of this is that Annedonates back the majority of herMCPSD compensation. Anne hasshowed her commitment for the com-munity in other ways. Anne has beenan active member of CASA and pas-sionately supports other causes dear toher.

Anne has the character to maketough decisions if they are the right de-cisions.

Thank you, Kim Sloan

Bauer has educationbackground

I am writing in support of AnneBauer’s candidacy for the MiddletonCross-Plains Area School DistrictBoard of Education. Anne is currentlythe Board Treasurer and is the onlymember with an education and class-room background. She is also cur-rently serving on the CompensationCommittee and has a real understand-

ing of the communities’ need to retainour current quality teaching staff andthe need to continue a positive environ-ment to recruit excellence in the future.

As a former educator, teaching gen-eral and special education in publicschool districts as well as being a par-ent of two children (one with specialneeds), Anne completely understandsaddressing the unique needs of alllearners and recognizes the necessityfor an environment for full potential.

I have had the privilege to volunteerwith Anne on school projects andevents and I look forward to her con-tinuing her service on the Board of Ed-ucation.

Sincerely,Kate Easton

Smith is a Good Neighbor

We are writing to support ToddSmith for the MCPASD school boardcandidacy in Area IV.

We both grew up and attendedschools in the district and have a strongvested interest in the success of ourcommunity and schools. We met Todd,his wife and family when they movedto Middleton almost 6 years ago. Theschools were terrific when we attendedthem, and we want that to remain thesame for our kids, a belief we sharewith Todd and his wife Jill. We havebeen actively involved in many waysin our schools, including the Yes/YesCommittee, PTO at the elementaryschools and currently in Sara’s role onthe MHS Senate. We feel we under-stand the issues facing our schools andthe challenges our district is dealingwith overall. Todd Smith does as well,and is the right leader for the job of ourschool board representative. As soon aswe met Todd, we were aware of andappreciated his hard work ethic, hisawareness to current issues in our com-munity, and his drive to be involvedand make a difference. He is also sim-ply a fun loving all around good neigh-bor who wants the best for the residentsof Middleton. He will bring a well-in-formed, independent voice to theboard. He realizes that the strength ofour district is our teachers and has andwill actively seek out their advice andinput on the issues that come before theboard. We believe Todd is committedto working to keep our schools strong;fiscally and academically. Great lead-ers can deliver win win scenarios forthe communities they serve and Toddis one of those unique individuals thatcan make it happen.

We encourage you to join us to votefor Todd Smith in the upcoming schoolboard election on April 7.

Mark and Sara Hanson

A vote for Eadyis a vote for abetter district

Local elections matter and payingattention to the small details is the dif-ference between a good candidate anda better one.  That is why, as a formerMCPASD School Board member, Istrongly encourage you to votefor  Tia  Eady  on  April 7.  Askingthoughtful questions to identify prob-lems is good.  Active listening to un-derstand the issues from multipleperspectives and build bridges betweendiverse groups is better.  Understand-ing the school system as an insider isgood.  Having the tenacity to engageat-risk families in courageous conver-sations and challenge both educatorsand families to confront “the waywe’ve always done things” is better.Having a heart and commitment to ad-dress the growing achievement gap isgood.  Living as an example of minor-ity achievement and serving as a liai-son for empowering other students andfamilies in our district to address rootissues like high absenteeism, readingchallenges and poor academic per-formance is better. Middleton-CrossPlains is a strong school district.  But,like all districts, there are places wherewe can do better.  Our teachers, fami-lies, students, and taxpayers deservebetter.  A vote for Tia Eady is a vote forbetter.

Sincerely,Laura Crow

Eady is committed to education

I am writing to support Tia Eady forthe Middleton-Cross Plains AreaSchool Board Area 5 on April 7, 2015.

Tia has been involved in the districtas a parent and a volunteer. She is com-mitted to a quality education for eachand every child. Tia will bring a per-spective that will represent the diver-sity of our district.

I have found that Tia takes time toget input from all sides of an issue andthinks through the impacts before mak-ing a decision. This is one of the traitsthat makes Tia a leader.

The main reason that I support Tia isthat first and foremost, she will do theright thing for kids. As a former schoolboard member I believe that is the mostimportant quality for a candidate forschool board.

Tim StatzCross Plains

Letters to the EditorSee CRISIS, page 8

had formed its own exchange thiswouldn’t be a problem.  He said with-out action from the Governor manypeople in Wisconsin could see theirhealth insurance costs could go up sig-nificantly.

Superintendent Johnson asked whatthe latest developments were in the leg-

islature regarding student assessment.Pope-Roberts said there are differingopinions among parties and evenamong Republican leadership makingit unclear.  Hesselbein added that somediscussion has started about using theACT test to measure student achieve-ment but the ACT aligns with Common

Core Standards which is controversialamong conservatives.

“There is absolutely nothing wrongwith Common Core, it is actually a re-ally good thing,” Erpenbach stated.“School districts have started spendingmoney on it, yet you’d think it is justthe worse thing ever to happen to our

kids, and it’s not.  I didn’t even think itwas a debate but apparently it is.”

Erpenbach noted that WisconsinManufactures and Commerce, consid-ered to be the state’s most influentialbusiness lobbying group, supportsadopting the Common Core standards.He explained the importance of quality

education to businesses.  He noted thetop three factors in business relocationare infrastructure, taxes, and schools,in varying order depending on the typeof business.  

PAGE 8 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015

SCHOOL BOARD continued from page 3

CRISIS continued from page 7

ID continued from page 1

mountain bike for a third of my life. Looking backwards to when I

bought the mountain bike took me toage 39. Looking equal distance aheadtook me to age 79.

I realized and felt so many things inthat moment.

The stream of realizations endedwith a question, “How many moreyears will I be able to swing my legover a tall seat on a men’s frame.” Ihad always ridden a men’s bike. Thetriangular frame is stronger and they fitmore easily onto most bike racks.

Seconds later, my mind reframed thequestion. “How many more years do Iwant to swing my leg over a tall seaton a men’s frame?” The answer cameimmediately. “Zero!”

Reframing the question turned whatcould have been a slippery slope to-ward depressing thoughts of lostagility, lost youth, and midlife crisis,into a joy filled opportunity for a dif-ferent riding experience.

I had read a definition of the wordcrisis just hours before deciding to gofor a bike ride.

The word derives from the Greekwords krisis and krino. Their rootsmean separating.

Midlife separates youth and old age.Whether or not one views it as a timeof crisis, depends on so many, manythings.

I was glad that earlier I had also readabout the Chinese word for crisis. It ismade up of two different characters,one above the other.

The one on top is the symbol fordanger. The bottom one is the symbolfor opportunity.

That afternoon, I took the road biketo Bike-O-Rama at the Alliant EnergyCenter. My eyes searched the racks fora women’s bike with medium widthtires.

A black and silver beauty was stand-ing at the ready. Without a backwardglance at the road bike, I got on andtook it for a spin.

Wow! Not only was it easy tomount, but it allowed me to sit upright.There was no leaning forward and nopressure of upper body weight on mywrists.

There was no crisis here, only op-portunity to embrace a change thatbrought comfort and a more uprightview of things as I pedaled along.

When I took my new set of wheelson it’s maiden voyage to the PheasantBranch bike trail, a robin flew next tome and then landed in a tree up aheadand to the right. It was the first I’d seenin 2015.

I smiled as I flew past in on my newbike. I might not be a spring chickenanymore, but I felt like the robin’sequal as the embodiment of spring.

card can use the last four digits of theirSocial Security number instead.

The G.A.B. advises anyone whodoes not have a state ID card to takeadvantage of the opportunity to get onefor free. The Wisconsin Division ofMotor Vehicles has a process to allowpeople to obtain a free State ID card forvoting purposes, even if the persondoes not have a birth certificate.

Kennedy said that process can taketime, especially for people born outsideof Wisconsin, so it makes sense to getstarted early.

More information is available at theWisconsin DMV website.

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 9

Glacier Creek Middle School releases honor roll6th Grade Recognition Awards (2ndQuarter)

The sixth grade teachers at GlacierCreek Middle School use StandardsBased Grading. The sixth graderecognition awards are determined byexcellence in academics and/or excel-lence in habits of learning. The fol-lowing students have demonstratedproficiency or advancement in all ac-ademic areas and/or proficiency oradvancement with their habits oflearning. An asterisk (*) denotes stu-dents who have demonstrated profi-ciency or advancement in bothcategories.Abreu, Luis AAccola, Melanie J * Acker, Brianna K * Ahuja, Vashima * Aumann, Wilhelmina Y * Bakken, Jonathan FBarrett, Allison JBasel, Alexander LBelgiano, Jonathon TBernd, Emily GBiessman, Natalie MBogner, Ian SBohacheck, Ian D * Bohl, Samuel JBolden, PiperBrandon, Lucas ABukhman, Eugenia ABurkard, Samantha KButton, Alexander KBuza, Eleanor J * Caldwell, Erin JCasper, Ainsley M * Chang, Kevin GChiaverini, Michael E * Crump, Bruno VDahmen, Quint ADavis, Kobi-Ann ODe Young, Michael PDettmann, Jordan RDjamali, Aria M * D’Orazio, Ella EDubas, Surina EDuecker, Anna GDunn, Nolan PEmmerich, Ruben MEngelien, Mason FEngelkes, Taylor JFaessler, Malia RFaust, Brynn BFisher, Fiona M * Friedle, Ava EFrinzi, Leona R * Gadalla, Yousef H * Gassen, Calvin JGiefer, Rose D * Go, Maria R * Go, Michael EGonzalez, SaffronGrosspietsch III, Carl W * Gustafson, Michael A * Hale, Aris SHebert, Olivia R * Heise, Nicholas W * Helmers, Anezka LHenke, Sarra EHidrogo-Romero, JessicaHink, Avery MHogan, Noah JHolahan, Bridget N * Hornung, Ashley AHoward, Zoe SHoyer, Chase AHunt, Johanna JHurd, David R * Jasinski, Matthew DJensen, Elena PJohns, McKenzie JJoswiak, Casey R

Kalscheur, Grace AKalscheur, Spencer ZKarls Niehaus, Ciana R * Koehane, Mei Mei K * Krantz, Karlene ELaCour, Alexander J * Madaus, Mason A * Mahoney, Morgan FMartin, Norah IMartinez-Cruz, Luis AMcIntyre, Lydia EMcNerney, Joseph JMohrbacher, Kaitlyn LMolander, Mackenzie RMulligan, John DMurray, Jackson D * Nelson, Christopher JNewman, Claire TNie, Zinnia ZNoak, Lily E * O’Malley, Timothy POtt, Bethany ROzers, Andrew LPadilla Garcia, Oscar UParente, Michael A * Patterson, Elleanor EPertzborn, Jackson JPertzborn, Sawyer J * Phaneuf, Madeline MPoehling, Lauren E * Powers, Paige JPrabahara Sundar, PoojhaPrichard, Zachary TProhaska, Ava MPugliese, Luigi TRapacz, Olivia MRenfert, Koby HRogeberg, Coleton DRopa, Darshana J * Roquitte, Maxwell CRough, Alexander SSabol, Morgan MSagen, Jack GSax, Charlotte LSchollmeyer, Ryan C * Schreier-Jacobson, Sadie MSchutte, Jack TShimniok, Abigail H * Slinde, Calvin HSmith, Benjamin B * Smith, Phileas ESprecher, Rachel G * Squire, Ian M * Stoecker, Kayla M * Svendsen, Samuel W * Thomley, Allison LThompson, Aden PThor, Blake AVeit, Dylan TVogel, Isabel P * Vosburgh, Sophia EWeiler, Kate EWhitehead, Callista G * Wilkes, Riley RWilson Karson VWinkler, Parker TWissink, Olivia JWolle, Bertram PYang, ChetraYang, Suabcua KYosick, Sydney A * Yosick, Zachary T * Zacatzontetl Huitzil, Luis FZeimentz, Michael JZhang, Edwin T * Zhang, Julia L7th Grade Honor Roll* denotes 4.0Acker, Lauren R *Ahuja, Aniket *Anagnostopoulos, Alexandra A *Anderson, Julia G Ballamudi, Apurupa L Bauerle, Megan JBebermeier, Cailin M *Biwott, Ashley J

Bodenstein, Cheyanne M Boehnen, Elizabeth M *Bovy, Jessica S *Bursac, Karina *Carlson, Cian R Coffini, Alexander J *Czosek, Faith A Davis, Ross I De Oliveira, Sophia C DeJarlais, Daniel L Deptula, Cole M *Edlebeck, Camren S Ehrhardt, Noah S *Fargen, Jacob D Frusciante, Brian A Gattenby, Tanner J *Gehrke Kallstromer, Alicia N *Gehrke Kallstromer, Emelie S Gilles, Braedon D Ginsberg, Kyra B *Godishala, Shreya Hellenbrand, Jordan J Helmke, Maxwell R Helt, Sydney L *Hinz, Nicholas S Hodson, Makenzie L *Hoferle, Peter J Hovind, Alexander J Huber, Taylor M Huff, Tyler W *Hylbert, Julia L Ismail Ali, Moyraa *Jackson, Joelle N Jafari, Amirali *Jasinski, Micheline P Jens, Bryn E *Johnson, Ashton S *Johnson, Brandon I *Johnson, Paxton J *Jones, Cecelia M Joslyn, Katherine M Kalscheur, Blake S *Karbusicky, Andrew P Kelliher, Mason R Kelshiker, Akshay I Kjentvet, Jack C *Kriewaldt, Thomas M LaBoda, Lane P Larsen, Samuel R Lawrence, Madelyn R Lemirande, Josie L Lenz, Andrew W LeRoy, Jackson T *Lindblom, Cecilie V *Livelli, Victoria M Luetscher, Seth M Maas, Katelyn M *MacLean, Brad M *Mallannagari, Sai Likhith R *McCulley, Jae M McGill, Megan C *Meinholz, Jacob W Michaels, Allison L Needham, Abigail J Ostlie, Anna M *Pao-Huang, Yao-Tian P *Parthasarathy, Shruti *Patterson, Katherine A Pientka, Jessica L *Reed, Payton M Renfert, Karsey P Revord, Nathaniel J Roach, Logan M Roesch, Amanda A *Rogers, Ella R *Rudolph, Samuel P Schwartz, Megan J *Shanley, Connor L Sommers, Grace C Soni, Abhav *Srinivas, Anaka Steiner, Lauren E Steinmetz, Grace E Tanin, Sitori I *Thomas, Jada K Tischer, Ashleigh M Utter, Cory J

Van Gilder, Hayden R Veidel, Claire E Westerlund, Julian R Whritenour, Ryan M Wilson, Tyler G Ystenes, Roman E *

7th Grade Honorable MentionFieschko, Max N Folsom, Elizabeth M Hellenbrand, Amanda L Hoffmann, Madelyn R Huber, Carson J Johnson, Ekaterina M Kalscheur, Brooks C Knight, Kaitlin M Mashrouteh, Grey E Moore, Cade T Phaneuf, Ashlyn K Pongratz, Katelyn G Rankin, Dylan S Schlieckau, Roland J Schultz, Logan T Semrad, Drake D Stafford, Ethan J Trinkl, Joseph T Valtierra, Aviana G

8th Grade Honor Roll* denotes 4.0Aegerter, Hannah S *Albert, Ava H Allen, Andrew R *Ballweg, Allison R Barbian, Jennifer J Barrett, Alexis L *Bender, Zakary J Bertz, Braeden N Bliss, Abigail D Bliss, Lydia S *Bogner, Alexandra L *Boras, Jenna R *Bote, Sophia M *Burkard, Nathaniel J Byington, Taylor L Carr, Julia M Carrington, Dylan M Chafe, Andrew S *Chandler, Megan E *Colon, Michelle L Datta, Meghna *Dermody, Shea M DiMiceli, Sarah N Djamali, Sawm G *Drake, Lauren M Draves, Nicolas D Dubas, Apsara R Dunn, Charlotte R *Engelien, Madeline F Ernst, Hannah Y *Faust, Colette E Fermanich, Julia M *Frey, Logan A Frinzi, Keller L *Garver, Cole A Gattenby, Tayla J Gessler, Samuel R *Gold, Ryan D *Grelle, Kevin W Hellenbrand, Connor C Hinz, Emma M Hoferle, William J Holewinski, Cooper W *Hornung, Kelsey C Horst, Lauren N Hunt, James R Jagoe, Abigail M *Jensen, Lauren K *Joswiak, Vincent H Kalsbeek, Colin N

Kalscheur, Dylan D Kalscheur, Tyler *Keebler, Anna M *Keebler, Emily S *Keenan, Kyra R *Keith, Moira R *Knoke, Elizabeth N *Kostas, Georgios *Kozitzky, Mia R Kruchten, Shae-Lynn R Kuhn, Nina-Soleil C *Kurr, Veronica L LaBoda, Grace F Laufenberg, Hannah E *Leach, Hannah K *Leonard, Avery E Lepage, Matthew T *Lewis, Caroline E Livelli, Olivia V Lund, Andrew F Mack, Cora R *Madoch, Michael W Maier, Eric M *Martin, Andrew J *Martin, Sophia L *May, Mallory M McEllistrem, Aidan P McLain, Daniel W Meicher, Kevin F Metzger, Catherine K Molina, Eric R Mondi, Jack C Mueller, Jeffrey A Neuser, Kyle R *Newman, Ellie L *Newman, Noah T Olson, Paige E Owens, Caitlynn R Pansegrau, Elizabeth L Pierantozzi, Alexander J *Rawling, Gillian S Roberson, Rachel I Roberts, Rachael C *Rogers, Margaret F Rough, Taylor R *Sabol, Karina R *Sanchez Guevara, Joanelle D Schlicht, Kyra A *Schollmeyer, Allison M Schwartz, David R *Serra, Collin J *Singh, Shailaja C *Sisk, Simon P *Spahn, Courtney N Stahnke, Alexis C Stewart, Erik R Stewart, Laura E Thomley, Anna L *Thompson, Emma R Timm, Zachary S Tonnesen, Brittany A *Waldsmith, David O *Wensing, Hannah K *Woldt, Samantha C Wood, Sarah K *Yang, Jason C *Zander, Victoria A *Zimmerman, Jakob A Zuengler, Hannah G *

8th Grade Honorable MentionBookstaff, Isaac R Chrisler, Ashley M Close, Samuel A Ducke, Keegan N Fagre, Benjamin A Graham, Megan EHidrogo-Romero, MirnaHouck, Alicia MHoughton, Allison K Jellison, Noell N Kowalski, Hailey A McCray, Azaiah V Roll, Jon H Sprecher, Miranda R.

Pharma introduced OxyContin, a pow-erful opiate painkiller it marketed ashaving low- to no-abuse potential, tensof thousands of Americans, includingmyself, have gotten hooked on opiatesafter using OxyContin, also known as“Hillbilly Heroin.”

Following a government crackdownin the later part of the last decade onpill mills and doctors who were tooloose with the prescription pad, manyturned to heroin as a cheaper and moreaccessible alternative to the dwindlingblack market supply of pills.

And because American drug policytreats addicts as criminals, thousandsof these accidental junkies have gottenjammed up in a system that has littleempathy for the addicted and even lesstolerance for those caught in posses-sion of even small amounts of a con-trolled substance.

As such, I am a criminal, accordingto a 100-year-old federal drug prohibi-tion.

But thanks to Dane County’s OpiateInitiative, I’m not yet a convict.

And if all goes well, my record willremain free of the felony I caught onebad night in December 2013.

A BAD NIGHTMy legal quandary began on Dec.

15, 2013, when my father called 911after finding me on the stairs, uncon-scious, gasping for breath, and bloodstill dripping from the hole in my arm.

I had returned to Madison followingthe overdose death of my long-timegirlfriend, Sarah, in a Dickinson, ND,motel room 10 days earlier. Not until Icalled my family from inside of a po-lice interrogation room did anyoneknow the extent of my relapse after 13heroin-free years.

Those who did had no idea how direthings had become.

Contrary to what many expected,Sarah’s death didn’t prompt me to getclean, but instead made me want to joinher. And as horrified friends and familywatched on, I tried to do just that.

Revived in my bedroom, first re-sponders rifled questions faster than Icould answer them.

What drugs did you take? Howmany fingers am I holding up? Howmuch did you take? Where are the restof the drugs? Do you know what day itis? Can you walk? 

Although I was clearly cognizant,they insisted I go with them to the hos-pital, and threatened to take me invol-untarily if I refused. It wasn’t like ithad been in Menomonee, where Istopped on my way home from North

Dakota. There, the paramedics calledby the Motel 6 housekeeper who foundme slumped in a chair left without anyfuss once I had signed a waiver declin-ing medical assistance.

Madison wasn’t as agreeable. At thehospital, I struggled to remain awakeso the nurse threatened to Narcan me ifI didn’t keep my eyes open. Used pri-marily to reverse opiate overdoses,Narcan, in its hypodermic form, willsend an addict into instant withdrawal.

And if that wasn’t enough, an officerhanded me a summons to appear incourt on a felony possession and mis-demeanor possession of paraphernaliacharge. If there was a silver lining itwas that all of this happened ahead ofa shift change. According to the policereport, I was spared a trip to jail be-cause the arresting officer didn’t wantto work later than scheduled.

Instead, the hospital discharged meat 3:30 a.m., with no shoes, no jacket,and no money for a cab.

The next morning I went to JourneyMental Health on West WashingtonAve., to ask about treatment options,but was told to come back during in-take hours the following Wednesdaymorning.

I never made it back.

CONSEQUENCESSo, 2014 began with a Jan. 2 ar-

raignment hearing. Once formallycharged, a bailiff escorted me to the jailfor booking, and then released me on asignature bond.

Back at home, I slammed a shot anddowned a Xanax before crawling intobed to sleep off the hopelessness. As Inodded in and out of sleep, I could hearmy father standing outside my door tohear how I was breathing.

He was still awake when I returnedfrom the hospital that morning, dis-heartened to see I’d been dischargedwith nothing but a court date and a listof Narcotic’s Anonymous meetings.He had wrongly believed that medicalintervention would open doors thatwere otherwise closed to his uninsuredson.

Though he never apologized, I knowmy charges weighed on him heavily,because when the same thing happenedfive days later he didn’t call for help.Instead, he himself cleared from mythroat the vomit he heard me chokingon after waking to use the bathroom. Inearly died, but I avoided additionalcharges.

Unsure of how long I had been aspi-rating, my dad worried I had sufferedsevere brain damage at best; brain

death at worst, a fear that was assuagedwhen I woke up three days later miss-ing only my voice, destroyed in thepool of stomach acids that had burnedmy throat raw.

I was awake, but not out of danger.Two days later, when I began suffocat-ing for no apparent reason, a CAT scanwould reveal two aspiration clots in myleft lung. The doctor kept telling mewhat a lucky man I was.

It was the closest I ever came tojoining Sarah.

NO MONEY, NO HELPWhen junkies crash, they crash fast

and hard, like reckless drivers.Some emerge from the wreckage un-

scathed, while others, like Sarah, don’temerge at all.

Others, like me, escape battered andbloodied, but alive. With grace we re-cover. With a lot of effort we learn tolive again. With a little luck we mightone day resemble who we used to be,but no matter how completely we heal,we’re never the same. We’re never animprovement over who we were.

They say, What doesn’t kill youmakes you stronger?

Nonsense.What doesn’t kill you doesn’t kill

you.Heroin never made anyone stronger

or better. It only makes you dead orlucky, since survival depends not onexperience, but chance. Each time ittakes away a little piece of you until allthat is left is ruins.

And then it’ll take those, too. By that point you can’t kick the

habit alone, without help. That is whereSarah and I went wrong, believing thatall we needed was each other and somepositive thoughts. But an NA meetingdoes little to stop the muscle aches, thechills, the tremors, the chronic yawningand sneezing, the chronic insomnia orthat sense of panic.

It does little to make you forget thatphone number or address or personwho owes you money from long ago.Meetings end but addictions don’t.

With financial support from myfamily, I began Suboxone maintenancethe week of my arraignment and wasfeeling a little better about things whenmy lawyer and I spoke the followingweek.

She said I would be a good candi-date for the county’s Drug Court, an in-tensive program that involves weeklymeetings with a counselor and thecourt commissioner, regular drug testsand access to treatment paid for by thecounty. Those who complete Drug

Court see their charges disappear. Drug Court, however, didn’t appeal

to me. Not only was it a time suck, butwas also quite easy to fail at—or so Ihad heard.

So I began questioning how a pos-session charge could stick when policedidn’t find any drugs. In Wisconsin,she said, a dirty blood draw and thepresence of paraphernalia was enoughto prove possession. And because thereis no misdemeanor equivalent, therewas zero chance of pleading to a re-duced charge.

Aside from Drug Court or DeferredProsecution, the best I could expectwas two years on probation, which, fora junkie, would ultimately mean jail.

No matter what, nothing was goingto happen quickly. Rebuilding your lifeis never as easy as destroying it.

TRYING TO MAKE ITA week after I was arraigned, I filled

out the paperwork for a temp agencyjob I was way overqualified for. But itwas one that paid well and the recruiterwas very eager to have me begin.

Going over the paperwork, she real-ized I had been given an old job appli-cation, but rather than me filling out anew one, she just asked me the updatedform’s only new question: Do you haveany criminal charges currently pendingagainst you?

The truth clearly impressed her lessthan my résumé had. She left the of-fice, returning moments later with herface contorted with feigned disappoint-ment. She regretted to tell me her col-league had filled the position earlier inthe day.

She apologized for the mix-up, butsuggested I continue visiting theagency’s website for current job post-ings.

I was furious and cursed her toeveryone I knew. But looking back onit now, I wouldn’t have hired me either.I was in no condition to work, muchless take on actual responsibilities. I’msure nodding off during the interviewdidn’t help my case, either.

Fortunately, that same week in Jan-uary, I landed a job working an area skilift. But on the day I was scheduled tobegin I woke up in an Edgerton motelroom with a throbbing headache and aswollen ankle I could not walk on.

With the previous 12 hours a com-plete mystery to me, I hobbled to thehospital where I was diagnosed with aconcussion and an ankle busted upenough that it required surgery.

As January became February thegrief and hopelessness seemed to only

worsen. The pain following my surgerywas the most excruciating I had everexperienced since the painkillers wereuseless due to my opiate tolerance.

At home I was confined to a recliner,with no money or dope and no choicebut to accept the full agony of heroinwithdrawal since I couldn’t afford theSuboxone, much less a second appoint-ment.

If I found any joy during thoseweeks it was giving myself the twice-daily injections of the life-saving bloodthinner I took while a different medi-cine built up in my system. The needleprick was every bit as addictive as thedope and soon I discovered that shoot-ing tap water eased the cravings quitea bit.

The physical withdrawal symptomsbegan to subside when actor PhillipSeymour Hoffman died of a heroinoverdose. The near non-stop coveragein the days following throttled the crav-ings back into high gear. I salivatedlike a gluttonous pig at the mere sightof syringe or bindle of H.

I would eventually have to turn thetelevision off. And so I would peruseSarah’s Facebook profile, old text mes-sages and pictures, while listening tothe songs from the soundtrack of ourfour-year adventure.

SETBACKAs the weeks passed, my thinking

cleared and I actually began lookingforward to Drug Court and gettingtreatment and trying to live a halfwaynormal life again. As my next courthearing arrived, I was scheduled for aDrug Court assessment.

They say there are no sure things inlife and it’s true, even when it comes toa junkie getting into Drug Court.

Back at Journey Mental Health, Iunderwent a computerized assessmentthat determined I had too much stabil-ity in my life and was therefore ineli-gible for the program. Both my lawyerand the social worker that performedthe assessment were surprised enoughby this result to make personal appealsto the program administrator on my be-half.

He was unmoved. My only other option for avoiding

the felony was acceptance into the De-ferred Prosecution program, which wasless of a time suck than Drug Court,but which required treatment I myselfwould have to pay for.

Although I was fairly certain Iwould be dead before the one-year an-niversary of Sarah’s passing, I had mylawyer pursue this option anyhow.

I wasn’t any better at dying than Iwas at living, but in the event I some-how made it, I didn’t want it to be moredifficult than it had to be. Dead oralive, I was going to avoid that felony.

The Heroin Blues is an ongoing se-ries, written by Middleton High Schoolgraduate Nathan Comp, about a drugthat is claiming lives in communitiesacross Dane County, including theGood Neighbor City.

PAGE 10 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015

HEROIN continued from page 1

CHURCH NOTES

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 11

Pat Riley, the Miami Heat generalmanager, trademarked the term“three-peat” in the late-1980s. Backthen, Riley was the head coach of theLos Angeles Lakers, and his teamwas trying to win a third straightNBA championship.

Riley may own the rights to theterm. But Middleton’s boys track andfield team is anxious to make a run ata three-peat.

The Cardinals have won back-to-back Big Eight Conference titles.And with several key cogs back froma year ago, Middleton hopes to cap-ture a third straight league crown thisspring.

“They have the right mindset,they’ve worked hard in the off sea-son, and we have great depth,” saidMiddleton ninth-year coach IsaacMezera, whose team began its seasonlast weekend.  “A three-peat is ourNo. 1 goal. If that is accomplished,I’m sure we’ll have a strong postsea-son, too.”

Middleton enjoyed one its bestseason in recent memory in 2014.Not only did the Cardinals win theBig Eight again, they won theMadison Memorial Sectional andfinished fifth at state.

That tied the best finish in schoolhistory, previously set in 2004.

Now, with a talented roster ofapproximately 110 boys, Middletonwill look to match — and perhapsexceed — its performance from ayear ago.

“I know our goal is to be a top-5team in the state again,” Mezera said.“And I think we have the talent and

program to make that a reality.”Junior Perrin Hagge seems poised

for a breakthrough season.A year ago, Hagge finished

10th  at state in the 800 meter run(1:55.12). Hagge was also part ofMiddleton’s 3,200 meter relay teamthat finished seventh at state.

This season, Hagge’s specialtieswill most likely include the 400, 800and 1,600-meter runs.“Perrin is poised for a break out sea-son,” Mezera said.

Senior Noah Meeteer helpedMiddleton’s 400-meter relay teamfinish second at state last year.Meeteer also qualified for state in thepole vault.

“Noah has worked quite a bit thisoffseason to improve,” Mezerasaid. “I expect Noah to be one of ourtop point scorers this season.”

Senior Nnamdi Okoli seemspoised to have a big year in thesprints and relays. Okoli was onMiddleton’s 400-meter relay teamlast year, and will also specialize inthe 100-meter dash.

“Nnamdi will be filling Ernest(Winters’) shoes from last season,and he is the right guy to do it,”Mezera said. 

Senior Travis Zander has beenpart of the Cardinals’ 1,600-meterrelay team since his freshman year.That relay team finished 14th at statelast year, while Zander was also 18thin the 400 meter dash.

Senior Alex Wood was part of twoMiddleton relay teams that reachedthe state meet last year. This year,Wood will lead off the Cardinals’400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relayteams.

Sophomore Gus Newcomb looksto build off a terrific cross countryseason and figures to be one of thetop distance runners in the area.

“Gus trained hard this offseason,intending to be an elite distance run-ner in the conference,” Mezera said.“I can see that becoming reality.”

Other key returnees include senior

PAGE 12 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015

Follow RobReischel onTwitter at@robreischel

Tripleplay?

Boys track andfield team gunsfor third straightBig Eight titleby ROB REISCHELTimes-Tribune

See tRACK, page 24

File photo

Middleton sen-ior NoahMeeteer quali-fied for statelast season inthe pole vault.

La Crosse.In the track and field world, this

one word says it all.And it’s both a word — and a place

— that Middleton’s girls track andfield team is quite familiar with.

The state track and field meet isheld annually in La Crosse, andMiddleton typically sends a bevy ofgifted athletes to the northwest.

Tara Franklin, the Cardinals’ veter-an head coach, expects more of thesame this spring.

“I think that all of these girls havethe main goal for the season as LaCrosse,” said Franklin, whose teambegan its season last weekend. “Thosethat have made it there and want toreturn.

“They have sparked the fire in oth-ers on the team and it is definitelysomething that we are striving for. Wehave a pretty good history of takingquite a few kids and they see no rea-son why this would be any differentthis season.”

Middleton enjoyed a memorable2014 season in which it won the BigEight Conference for the first timesince 2007. The Cardinals then fin-ished ninth at the WIAA Division 1state meet.

With several of those key cogsback, Middleton should enjoy anotherterrific spring.

“Of course we would love to haveback-to-back conference titles,”Franklin said. “I don’t know a coachwouldn’t want that!

“This group is completely capableof that, and also getting much furtherin the postseason. Depth and determi-nation of these upperclassmen willcarry them far. It is going to be fun towatch as we put things together for thenext two months.”

Middleton should be extremelystrong in the relays once again.

The Cardinals’ 3,200-meter relayteam was second at state last year.Senior Rachel Wians, junior SamValentine and senior Bobbi Patrickwere all part of that team, and appearpoised for big seasons.

Middleton’s 1,600-meter relayteam — which consisted of juniorHanne Anderson-Smith, senior EmilyZeker, senior Hanna Docter andPatrick — also finished second at stateand now returns intact.

That group, along with Jenny

Phillips, Jenny Mangas and KallieStafford, should give the Cardinals adangerous pack of distance runners.

Middleton should shine in thesprints and relays, as well. That groupwill be led by Docter, Zeker andAnderson-Smith, while others such asOlivia Roberts, Abbey Webber, HaileeMilton, Rachel Zander and CeliaMayne appear ready to make majorcontributions.

Junior Kiara Cruz was Middleton’stop thrower last year, and qualified forstate in the shot put. This season, Cruzcould be even more dangerous.

“Kiara is starting off strong thisseason and she wants to make it back(to state) and of course improve as theseason goes,” Franklin said. “She def-initely has the potential and the drive.”

Emily Bergum (long jump, highjump) and Maygan Neisius figure toanchor the jumping events.

Franklin also expects to get sub-stantial help from a strong freshmanclass.

“We are hoping to see good thingsfrom this large team,” Franklin said.“Last year was a very exciting season,and yes, winning the conference titlewas definitely a big highlight of thepast few years! We have had greatteams and great athletes, but this is anexceptional group of girls?

“I think we will have a crew in LaCrosse. I can’t wait to see who ends upwhere once we get through regionalssectionals. I think it will be anothervery exciting end to the season forus.”

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 13

Girls track team aiming highCardinals willhave sights set onLa Crosse againby ROB REISCHELTimes-Tribune

File photo

Delaney Foster(right) and BobbiPatrick will be keymembers ofMiddleton’s girlstrack and field teamthis spring.

Middleton’s girls basketball teamenjoyed a magical season, reachingthe state semifinals.

And the Cardinals were justlyrewarded when it came to all-BigEight Conference voting.

Middleton senior guard ElizabethNorregaard was a first-team all-con-ference selection. Sophomore guardBria Lemirande was named third-team all-league, while senior centerCole Jordee and sophomore guardAlyssa Lemirande were named hon-orable mention all-conference.

Norregaard was one of the topshooters in school history and ledMiddleton in scoring with 14.7points per game. Norregaard made64 three-point shots and shot 89.1%from the free throw line. Norregaardhad a season-high 32 points atVerona, had a 26-point night againstBeloit Memorial and was in doublefigures in 22 of 27 games.

In addition to being named first-team all-conference, Norregaard wasnamed honorable mention all-stateby the Wisconsin BasketballCoaches Association.

“Elizabeth obviously changed theway teams had to play us,”Middleton coach Jeff Kind said.

“Her three-point shooting and rangemade people come out and faceguard her and that opened up drivinglanes or shooting opportunities forothers. 

“She improved a great deal overthe year in her press positioning anddefensive pressure. She was a majorfactor in how teams approached

playing us.”Bria Lemirande took a huge jump

and became one of the league’s toppoint guards.

Bria Lemirande led the Cardinalsin assists (3.4) and steals (1.8). Shewas also second in scoring (11.5) and

PAGE 14 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015

ALL-BIG EIGHT CONFERENCE GIRLS BASKETBALL

FIRST TEAMName School Ht. Yr.Allison Hughes Janesville Craig 5-7 Sr.Elizabeth Norregaard Middleton 5-6 Sr.Grace Mueller Verona 6-2 Jr.Paige Smith Janesville Parker 5-11 Sr.Delaney Schoeneberger Janesville Craig 5-7 Jr.

SECOND TEAMName School Ht. Yr.Jayda Jansen Sun Prairie 5-9 Fr.Merissa Barber-Smith Madison La Follette 6-4 Sr.Sydney Stroud Madison Memorial 6-2 Jr.Kira Opsal Verona 6-2 Jr.Alex Luehring Verona 6-2 Soph.

THIRD TEAMName School Ht. Yr.Bailey Huser Sun Prairie 5-11 Sr.Bria Lemirande Middleton 5-8 Soph.Quita Lee Madison West 5-7 Sr.Kathryn Dubanowich Janesville Parker 5-10 Sr.Erin Howard Madison East 6-1 Fr.

HONORABLE MENTIONName School Ht. Yr.Bree Porter Janesville Parker 5-11 Jr.Justice Filip Madison East 5-7 Fr.Cole Jordee Middleton 6-0 Sr.Alyssa Lemirande Middleton 5-7 So.Cheyenne Trilling Verona 5-7 Jr.Sherriah Anderson Beloit Memorial 5-6 Sr.

File photo

Middleton senior guard Elizabeth Norregaard was named first-team all-Big Eight Conference.

Four Cardinals honoredMiddleton quartetnamed all-BigEight Conference

See GIRLS BB, page 15by ROB REISCHELTimes-Tribune

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 15

second in rebounding (6.0)“Bria had an excellent season as

our lead guard,” Kind said.  “Herability to get to the rim coupled witha three-point shot that continues toimprove made her a good scoringthreat. 

“She led us in assists and was agreat rebounding guard. Her steadyball-handling and sureness with theball will be a great starting point fornext season.”

Jordee led the Cardinals inrebounding (6.5) and tied for third inscoring (6.9). Jordee also ledMiddleton in blocked shots (1.5) andshot 48.7% from the floor.

“Cole had a solid senior year,”Kind said. “She helped anchor theback of the press and was a goodleader for the team.  I was reallyhappy she got some recognition thisyear.”

Alyssa Lemirande tied for third inscoring (6.9) and shot a scintillating55.9% from the field. She wasinstant offense off the bench and hasa remarkably bright future.

“Alyssa had some really biggames and big baskets in clutch situ-ations,” Kind said.  “She has anuncanny knack of getting to the rimand finishing against much biggerplayers.”

GIRLS BB continued from page 14n

File photos

Honor rollOn top, Middleton sophomore

guard Bria Lemirande was namedthird-team all-Big EightConference.Cole Jordee (middle) and Alyssa

Lemirande (left) were both namedhonorable-mention all-league.

PAGE 16 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015

Varsity baseballDate Opponent TimeApril 7 vs. Janesville Parker 5 p.m.April 9 at Verona 5 p.m.April 14 vs. Madison East 5 p.m.April 16 vs. Madison La Follette 5 p.m.April 18 at Sun Prairie 2 p.m.April 21 at Madison Memorial 5 p.m.April 23 at Madison West 5 p.m.April 28 vs. Beloit Memorial 5 p.m.April 30 vs. Janesville Craig 5 p.m.May 2 at Marshfield (DH) NoonMay 5 at Janesville Parker 5 p.m.May 7 vs. Verona 5 p.m.May 9 at Madison East 11 a.m.May 12 at Madison La Follette 5 p.m.May 14 vs. Sun Prairie 5 p.m.May 19 vs. Madison Memorial 5 p.m.May 21 vs. Madison West 5 p.m.May 23 at Watertown (DH) 11 a.m.May 26 at Beloit Memorial 5 p.m.May 28 at Janesville Craig 5 p.m.May 30 Middleton Invitational 10 a.m.

JV baseballDate Opponent TimeApril 7 vs. Janesville Parker 5 p.m.April 9 at Verona 5 p.m.April 14 vs. Madison East 5 p.m.April 16 vs. Madison La Follette 5 p.m.April 18 at Sun Prairie 2 p.m.April 21 at Madison Memorial 5 p.m.April 23 at Madison West 5 p.m.April 28 vs. Beloit Memorial 5 p.m.April 30 vs. Janesville Craig 5 p.m.May 2 at Marshfield (DH) NoonMay 5 at Janesville Parker 5 p.m.May 7 vs. Verona 5 p.m.May 9 Middleton Triangular 11 a.m.May 12 at Madison La Follette 5 p.m.May 14 vs. Sun Prairie 5 p.m.May 19 vs. Madison Memorial 5 p.m.May 21 vs. Madison West 5 p.m.May 23 at Watertown (DH) 11 a.m.May 26 at Beloit Memorial 5 p.m.May 28 at Janesville Craig 5 p.m.May 30 vs. D.C. Everset 10:30 a.m.

Freshman baseballDate Opponent TimeApril 7 at Janesville Parker 5 p.m.April 9 vs. Verona 5 p.m.

White vs. Waunakee 5 p.m.April 14 at Madison East 5 p.m.April 16 at Madison La Follette 5 p.m.

White vs. Sun Prairie 5 p.m.April 18 Red vs. Sun Prairie 2 p.m.

White vs. Sun Prairie 2 p.m.April 21 vs. Madison Memorial 5 p.m.

White vs. Lodi 5 p.m.April 23 vs. Madison West 5 p.m.

White vs. DeForest 5 p.m.April 25 White vs. Waterloo 11 a.m.April 28 at Beloit Memorial 5 p.m.April 30 at Janesville Craig 5 p.m.May 5 vs. Janesville Parker 5 p.m.May 7 at Verona 5 p.m.May 9 at Madison East 11 a.m.May 12 vs. Madison La Follette 5 p.m.

White vs. Jefferson 5 p.m.May 14 White at Sun Prairie 5 p.m.

Red vs. Sun Prairie 5 p.m.May 19 at Madison Memorial 5 p.m.

Red vs. Lodi 5 p.m.May 21 at Madison West 5 p.m.

at Waunakee 5 p.m.May 26 vs. Beloit Memorial 5 p.m.May 28 vs. Janesville Craig 5 p.m.

Varsity softballDate Opponent TimeApril 7 vs. Madison East 5 p.m.April 9 vs. Madison La Follette 5 p.m.April 14 at Sun Prairie 5 p.m.April 16 at Madison Memorial 5 p.m.April 17 at Verona 5 p.m.April 21 at Madison West 5 p.m.April 23 vs. Beloit Memorial 5 p.m.April 25 vs. Janesville Craig (DH) 10 a.m.April 28 vs. Janesville Parker (DH) 5 p.m.April 30 vs. Verona 5 p.m.May 2 Middleton Quad 10 a.m.May 5 at Madison East 4:30 p.m.May 7 at Madison La Follette 4:30 p.m.May 9 at Reedsburg Quad 9 a.m.May 12 vs. Sun Prairie 5 p.m.May 14 vs. Madison Memorial 5 p.m.May 19 vs. Madison West 5 p.m.May 21 at Beloit Memorial 4:30 p.m.

JV softballDate Opponent TimeApril 7 vs. Madison East 5 p.m.April 9 vs. Madison La Follette 5 p.m.April 14 at Sun Prairie 5 p.m.April 16 at Madison Memorial 5 p.m.April 17 at Verona 5 p.m.April 21 at Madison West 5 p.m.April 23 vs. Beloit Memorial 5 p.m.April 25 vs. Janesville Craig (DH) 10 a.m.April 28 vs. Janesville Parker (DH) 5 p.m.April 30 vs. Verona 5 p.m.May 2 at Waunakee Quad 9 a.m.May 5 at Madison East 4:30 p.m.May 7 at Madison La Follette 4:30 p.m.May 9 at Reedsburg Quad 9 a.m.May 12 vs. Sun Prairie 5 p.m.May 14 vs. Madison Memorial 5 p.m.May 19 vs. Madison West 5 p.m.May 21 at Beloit Memorial 4:30 p.m.

Girls freshman softballDate Opponent TimeApril 2 vs. Verona 5 p.m.April 9 at Madison La Follette 4:30 p.m.April 14 vs. Sun Prairie 5 p.m.April 16 vs. Madison Memorial 5 p.m.April 23 at Beloit Memorial 4:30 p.m.April 25 at Janesville Craig (DH) 10 a.m.April 28 at Janesville Parker (DH) 4:30 p.m.April 30 at Verona 5 p.m.May 7 vs. Madison La Follette 5 p.m.May 12 at Sun Prairie 5 p.m.May 14 at Madison Memorial 5 p.m.May 21 vs. Beloit Memorial 4:30 p.m.

Boys varsity golfDate Opponent TimeApril 13 Middleton Triangular w/Beloit Memorial

and Madison Memorial, 2 p.m.April 20 Madison Edgewood Invite at Maple Bluff,

NoonApril 21 Madison East Triangular w/Sun Prairie at

Yahara, 2 p.m.April 22 Green Bay Notre Dame Invite at Whistling

Straits, 10 a.m.April 25 Waunakee Invite at The Meadows of

Six Mile Creek, 10 a.m.April 27 at Madison La Follette Triangular at

Yahara, 2 p.m.May 1 at Sparta Invite at La Crosse Country Club,

8:30 a.m.May 2 at Sparta Invite at Sparta River Run, 9 a.m.May 4 at Verona Triangular at Edelweiss, 2 p.m.May 5 at Brookfield Central Invite at Bristlecone

Pines, 1 p.m.May 12 vs. Janesville Craig at Bishop’s Bay, 2 p.m.May 18 at Blackhawk Invite, NoonMay 21 Big Eight Conference Meet at Evansville Golf

Club, 8:30 a.m.

Boys JV golfDate Opponent TimeApril 10 Wis. Dells Invite at Trappers Turn, 8 a.m.April 13 Sauk Prairie Invite at Lake Wisconsin, NoonApril 21 Madison East Triangular w/Sun Prairie

at Yahara, 2 p.m.April 27 at Madison La Follette Tri. at Yahara, 2 p.m.May 1 at Baraboo Invite, 10 a.m.May 4 at Verona Triangular at Edelweiss, 2 p.m.May 6 at Verona Invite at Edelweiss, 10 a.m.May 12 vs. Janesville Craig at Bishop’s Bay, 2 p.m.May 14 at Madison La Follette at Yahara, TBDMay 16 at Beloit Memorial Scramble, 10 a.m.May 21 Big Eight Conference Meet at Evansville Golf

Club, 8:30 a.m.

Boys freshman golfDate Opponent TimeApril 9 Middleton Triangular w/Madison Memorial

and Sun Prairie, 2:30 p.m.April 14 at Mad. Memorial Quad at Glenway, 2 p.m.April 16 at Sun Prairie Triangular, 2 p.m.April 21 at Mad. Memorial Quad at Blackhawk, 2 p.m.April 23 Middleton Quad at Pleasant View, 2 p.m.April 28 at Madison Memorial Quad at Odana, 2 p.m.April 30 at Sun Prairie Quad, 2 p.m.May 5 at Janesville Craig Quad at Blackhawk, 2 p.m.May 7 at Middleton Quad at Pleasant View, 2 p.m.May 12 vs. Madison Memorial Quad at Odana, 2 p.m.May 14 at Sun Prairie Quad, 2 p.m.May 19 at Big Eight Conf. Meet at Riverside, 9 a.m.

Boys varsity trackDate Opponent TimeMarch 28 at Watertown Invite 10 a.m.April 4 at Madison West Invite at UW Shell, 4:30 p.m.

April 14 at Mad. East Triple Dual at Lussier, 4:30 p.m.April 16 at Middleton Triple Dual, 4:30 p.m.April 21 at Beloit Memorial Triple Dual, 4:30 p.m.April 24 at Watertown Invite, 4 p.m.April 28 at Madison West Triple Dual, 4:30 p.m.May 1 at Middleton Invitational, 4 p.m.May 5 at Sun Prairie, 4:45 p.m.May 8 at Arrowhead Invite, 4:15 p.m.May 8 at Stoughton Invite, 4:30 p.m.May 15 at Big Eight Conf. Meet at Verona, 1:30 p.m.May 26 at WIAA Div. 1 Middleton Regional, 4 p.m.May 29 at WIAA Division 1 Holmen SectionalsJune 5-6 WIAA Division 1 state meet at UW-La Crosse

Boys JV trackDate Opponent TimeApril 9 at Big Eight Conference meet at Beloit

Memorial, 4:30 p.m.April 14 at Mad. East Triple Dual at Lussier, 4:30 p.m.April 16 at Middleton Triple Dual, 4:30 p.m.April 21 at Beloit Memorial Triple Dual, 4:30 p.m.April 28 at Madison West Triple Dual, 4:30 p.m.April 30 at Waunakee Invite, 4:15 p.m.May 5 at Sun Prairie, 4:45 p.m.May 7 at Belleville Invite, 4:15 p.m.May 12 at Big Eight Conference Meet at Mansfield,

4:30 p.m.May 19 at Janesville Invite at Monterey , 4:30 p.m.

Girls varsity trackDate Opponent TimeMarch 28 at Watertown Invite 10 a.m.April 14 at Mad. East Triple Dual at Lussier, 4:30 p.m.April 16 at Middleton Triple Dual, 4:30 p.m.April 21 at Beloit Memorial Triple Dual, 4:30 p.m.April 28 at Madison West Triple Dual at Mansfield,

4:30 p.m.May 1 at Middleton Invitational, 4 p.m.May 5 at Sun Prairie, 4:45 p.m.May 8 at Arrowhead Invite, 4:15 p.m.May 8 at Stoughton Invite, 4:30 p.m.May 15 at Big Eight Conf Meet at Verona, 1:30 p.m.May 26 at WIAA Div. 1 Middleton Regional, 4 p.m.May 29 at WIAA Division 1 Holmen SectionalsJune 5-6 WIAA Division 1 state meet at UW-La Crosse

Girls JV trackDate Opponent TimeApril 9 at Big Eight Conference meet at Beloit

Memorial, 4:30 p.m.April 14 at Mad. East Triple Dual at Lussier, 4:30 p.m.April 16 at Middleton Triple Dual, 4:30 p.m.April 21 at Beloit Memorial Triple Dual, 4:30 p.m.April 28 at Madison West Triple Dual, 4:30 p.m.April 30 at Waunakee Invite, 4:15 p.m.May 5 at Sun Prairie, 4:45 p.m.May 7 at Belleville Invite, 4:15 p.m.May 12 at Big Eight Conference Meet at Mansfield,

4:30 p.m.May 21 at Beloit Memorial Invite, 4:30 p.m.

Girls varsity soccerDate Opponent TimeApril 11 Middleton Quad 9 a.m.April 16 vs. Janesville Parker 7:30 p.m.April 17 at Kettle Moraine 7:30 p.m.April 21 at Verona 7 p.m.April 23 vs. Madison East 7:30 p.m.April 24 Middleton Invite 5 p.m.April 25 Middleton Invite 9 a.m.April 27 at Oregon 7 p.m.April 30 vs. Madison La Follette 7:30 p.m.May 1 at Burlington (Ia.) Invite, TBDMay 2 at Burlington (Ia.) Invite, TBDMay 5 vs. Sun Prairie 7 p.m.May 7 at Madison Memorial 7 p.m.May 8 at Brookfield East Invite 5 p.m.May 9 at Brookfield East Invite 9 a.m.May 14 at Madison West 7 p.m.May 18 at Waunakee 7 p.m.May 19 vs. Beloit Memorial 7:30 p.m.May 21 vs. Janesville Craig 7:30 p.m.May 30 at Arrowhead Noon

Girls JV soccerDate Opponent TimeApril 11 Middleton Quad 9 a.m.April 16 vs. Janesville Parker 7:30 p.m.April 17 at Kettle Moraine 7:30 p.m.April 21 at Verona 7 p.m.April 23 vs. Madison East 7:30 p.m.April 24 Middleton Invite 5 p.m.April 25 Middleton Invite 9 a.m.April 27 at Oregon 7 p.m.April 30 vs. Madison La Follette 7:30 p.m.May 1 at Burlington (Ia.) Invite, TBDMay 2 at Burlington (Ia.) Invite, TBDMay 5 vs. Sun Prairie 7 p.m.May 7 at Madison Memorial 7 p.m.May 8 at Brookfield East Invite 5 p.m.

m I D D L E t O N S p R I N G S p O R t S S C H E D u L E S

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 17

May 9 at Brookfield East Invite 9 a.m.May 14 at Madison West 7 p.m.May 18 at Waunakee 7 p.m.May 19 vs. Beloit Memorial 7:30 p.m.May 21 vs. Janesville Craig 7:30 p.m.May 30 at Arrowhead Noon

Girls freshman soccerDate Opponent TimeApril 14 vs. Madison Memorial 5:30 p.m.April 16 vs. Janesville Parker 5:30 p.m.April 17 at Kettle Moraine 5 p.m.April 21 at Verona 5 p.m.April 22 vs. Madison West 5:30 p.m.April 23 vs. Madison East 5:30 p.m.April 28 at Madison Memorial 5 p.m.April 30 vs. Madison La Follette 5:30 p.m.May 5 vs. Sun Prairie 5 p.m.May 7 at Madison Memorial 5 p.m.May 9 at Middleton Invite TBDMay 18 at Waunakee 5 p.m.May 19 vs. Beloit Memorial 5:30 p.m.May 21 vs. Janesville Craig 5:30 p.m.

Boys varsity tennisDate Opponent TimeApril 14 at Brookfield East 4 p.m.April 16 vs. Janesville Parker 4 p.m.April 18 at Nicolet Quad 8:30 a.m.

April 21 at Verona 4 p.m.April 23 vs. Madison East 4 p.m.April 24 at Madison Memorial Invite 1 p.m.April 25 at Madison Memorial Invite 9 a.m.April 28 vs. Madison La Follette 4 p.m.April 30 at Sun Prairie 4 p.m.May 1 at Verona Invite, TBDMay 2 at Verona Invite, TBDMay 7 at Madison West 4 p.m.May 8 at Nicolet Invite 1 p.m.May 9 at Nicolet Invite 8:30 a.m.May 12 vs. Beloit Memorial 4 p.m.May 14 vs. Janesville Craig 4 p.m.May 19 at Big Eight Conference meet at Nielsen

Tennis Stadium, 3:30 p.m.May 20 at Big Eight Conference meet at Nielsen

Tennis Stadium, 9:15 a.m.May 2 at WIAA Waunakee Subsectionals, TBDMay 27 at WIAA Oconomowoc Sectionals, 9 a.m.June 4-5 at WIAA Division 1 Individual State Meet at

Nielsen Tennis Stadium

Boys JV tennisDate Opponent TimeApril 14 at Brookfield East 4 p.m.April 16 vs. Janesville Parker 4 p.m.April 21 at Verona 4 p.m.April 23 vs. Madison East 4 p.m.April 25 at Sheboygan North Invite 8:30 a.m.

April 28 vs. Madison La Follette 4 p.m.April 30 at Sun Prairie 4 p.m.May 2 at Monroe Invite 9 a.m.May 5 at Madison Memorial 4 p.m.May 7 at Madison West 4 p.m.May 9 at Marquette 8:30 a.m.May 12 vs. Beloit Memorial 4 p.m.May 14 vs. Janesville Craig 4 p.m.May 19 at Big Eight Conf. meet at Sun Prairie, 8 a.m.

Boys freshman tennisDate Opponent TimeApril 16 White at Madison La Follette4:15 p.m.

vs. Madison East 4:15 p.m.April 21 White vs. Madison East 4:15 p.m.

vs. Madison Memorial White 4:15 p.m.April 23 White vs. Mad. Memorial White, 4:15 p.m.

at Madison Memorial Green, 4:15 p.m.April 28 at Madison La Follette 4:15 p.m.

vs. Madison Memorial Green 4:15 p.m.May 5 at Madison West Gold 4:15 p.m.

White vs. Madison West Blue, 4:15 p.m.May 7 vs. Madison West Blue 4:15 p.m.

White vs. Madison West Gold, 4:15 p.m.May 12 at Madison East 4:15 p.m.

White vs. Madison La Follette, 4:15 p.m.May 16 at City Meet at Middleton High School, TBD

m I D D L E t O N S p R I N G S p O R t S S C H E D u L E S

They spent their winter over-looked, disregarded and discounted.

In the process, they proved all thenaysayers wrong.

Next season, Middleton’s boys bas-ketball team won’t be sneaking up onanybody.

The Cardinals returned the mostinexperienced team in the Big EightConference this year. But Middletonsurprised everyone and went 17-7overall and finished third in the con-ference at 13-5.

Next year, the Cardinals will bringback one of the most experiencedteams in the league. And Middletonwill likely be tabbed to finish secondin the conference, behind WIAADivision 1 state qualifier MadisonEast.

“The biggest mistake anyone canmake is to get complacent and toassume we will be better just becausewe’re a year older,” Middleton coachKevin Bavery said. “Individual play-ers making improvements is what willmake our team better.

“(Wisconsin’s) Nigel Hayes is theperfect example. As talented as he is,he completely changed his game byadding a legitimate and consistentthree-point shot. He is better and his

team is better because of that additionand it didn’t happen because hebecame a year older. It happenedbecause of sacrificing time, putting inquality reps and a lot of sweat equity.

“I don’t see it, as being an issue forour guys — to stay hungry — but it’seasy to be motivated right after a sea-son ends. It’s when it’s not easy that itcounts. When the gym is hot in Julyand there are a lot of other options asto how to spend your time, that’s whenit counts.”

Middleton certainly made its 2014-’15 season count.

The Cardinals returned virtually noexperience, yet excelled from start tofinish.

Middleton won its first three gamesand began the season 6-1. TheCardinals’ high-water mark was at 11-2 in late-January, and they never lostmore than two games in a row.

Three of Middleton losses came topowerful Madison East, two wereagainst Big Eight Conference champi-on Madison Memorial and one was tostate champion Stevens Point.

“First and foremost it was fun,”Bavery said. “I don’t know that I’veever had a season where I wanted tocome to practice more the next dayafter we were eliminated in the tourna-ment.

“I believe the biggest piece was theplayer buy in, starting with our sen-iors. This team genuinely cared aboutone another while not caring who wastaking the shots. They all saw thevalue in chasing down the ball in ourpress or boxing out on defense as wellas who scored the ball.

“It was both a privilege and a joy towalk into the gym each day and I miss

it already. It didn’t take long for thepen and diagram pad to come out so Icould start looking towards next year.”

And next year should be anotherjoy ride.

The Cardinals got terrific leader-ship from their senior class. But themajority of Middleton’s top playersare expected back.

Sophomore forward Tyree Eadywas Middleton’s leading scorer (11.7)and a second-team all-conferenceplayer. Eady was also namedMiddleton’s Offensive Player of theYear.

Sophomore point guard C.J.Fermanich was a steady performerwho received third-team all-leaguehonors.

Sophomore point guard StormMurphy led the Cardinals in assists(2.8), shot 48% from three-point rangeand was third on the team in scoring(8.7). By the end of the season,Murphy was arguably Middleton’smost dynamic offensive player, yet hewas inexplicably left off the all-con-ference teams.

Junior forward Cody Markel ledthe team in rebounding (6.3), whilejunior guard Cam Maly wasMiddleton’s Defensive Player of theYear.

Junior forward Mitch Bacon andjunior guard Brady Thomas couldboth have expanded roles in 2015-‘16.In addition, the Cardinals should havejunior point guard Travis Raffel backfrom an ACL injury.

In all, Middleton will return 66.4%of its scoring and 67.9% of itsrebounding next season.

“That’s a lot of experience return-ing,” Bavery said. “But our guys havebeen cautioned that overall it’s ayoung league. “East will be the clearfavorite with the majority of theirteam returning along with a transferwho had to play JV this year due totransfer rules.

“Verona returns much of their scor-

ing, West returns their entire team,Craig had three quality sophomores intheir rotation and Memorial is still thefavorite until someone proves other-wise.”

The Cardinals hope to be thatsomeone — although Bavery won’tput that pressure on his team.

“Well if I have to say somethingthat would apply to both it would be inone word — fun,” Bavery said. “Asstrange as that sounds it really is true.

“We didn’t talk about winning asingle game this year. We onlyfocused on the day-to-day process ofcontrolling what we can control whichis working hard, working with a pur-pose, and having fun along the way.” • More awards: Middleton recent-

ly handed out several other awards.They include:• Sixth man of the Year — Storm

Murphy• Rookie of the Year — Tyree

Eady• Intensity Award — Cody Markel• Richard Sarbacker Memorial

Award — Tyler Ballweg• Chaos Award — Cody Markel• Co-Captains — Brett Joers and

Ian Hokanson

PAGE 18 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015

File photo

Middleton sophomore guard Storm Murphy will be one of the Cardinals’ key returnees next season.

The futureis so brightMiddleton’s boysbasketball teamwill have highhopes next yearby ROB REISCHELTimes-Tribune

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 19

PAGE 20 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015

Middleton Ladies March 17

Jeanne Schrenk  548, LynPassini 534, Cindy Hall  528,Frayne Born 527, Janice Williams504, Mary Moody 497.

March 10Janie Lange  589, Nancy

Hellenbrand  538, TheresaMeisel  532, Chery Theis  528,Jeanne Schrenk  526, CindyHall  520, Melissa Carlson 503,Sara Gudel 501.

March 3Frayne Born 551, Cindy Hall

539, Jeanne Schrenk 533, SaraGudel 525, Bonnie Coy 520, LynPassini 510, Paula Brunner 506.

B O W L I N G

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 21

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Middleton’s boys track and fieldteam opened the season in styleSaturday. The Cardinals finished sec-ond out of 22 teams at the Nelson-Daniel Classic held at UW-Whitewater.

Franklin won the team title with 64points, while Middleton was second at55. Cary-Grove (Ill.) was third with 52points, while Kettle Moraine (42) andRacine Park (39) rounded out the topfive.

Middleton senior Noah Meeteerwon the pole vault with a leap of 13-feet, 6-inches. Sophomore GusNewcombe won the 1,600 meter runin 4:28.9 seconds and junior JackJesse won the long jump (21-10 ½).

The Cardinals also got secondplace finishes from senior ZachShoemaker-Allen in the 800 (2:03.05)and senior Travis Zander in the 400

(52.49).Middleton’s 1,600 meter relay

team of Alex Wood, Jesse, ZachEaston and Jordan Futch was fourth.The Cardinals’ 800 meter relay teamof Trevaun Turner, Griffin Gussel, NicBilodeau and Nnamdi Okoli was sev-enth, and the 3,200-meter relay teamof Andrew Plumb, Cole Conklin-Little, Jack Rader and Shoemaker-Allen was seventh.

Middleton’s girls were 14th among24 teams. Brookfield East was firstwith 66 points, while Middleton had13 points.

Cardinals senior Bobbi Patrick wasfifth in the 800 meter run (2:29.07)and senior Rachel Wians was fifth inthe 1,600 (5:36.85).

Middleton’s 1,600 meter relayteam was also fourth.

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE PAGE 23

Track teams offand running

by ROB REISCHELTimes-Tribune

File photo

Nnamdi Okoli and Middleton’s boys track team finished second at theNelson Daniel Classic last Saturday.

PAGE 24 MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015

Brett Joers (hurdles, triple jump),senior Zach Easton (200, 400), sen-ior Zach Shoemaker-Allen (distance)and junior Jack Jesse (long jump),senior Nick Maes (triple jump andhigh jump), junior ChristianLindblom (distance), senior RogerWaleffe (400, 800), sophomoreTrevaun Turner (sprints and sprintrelays), senior Andrew Plumb (dis-tance), senior Hayden Johnston (dis-tance) and senior Nic Bilodeau

(sprints and sprint relays).Middleton’s program has traveled

light years since Mezera took over.And the Cardinals are hoping to con-tinue trending upward in 2015.

“I think about the 2009 team, howwe started working in 2007 — whenI took over as head coach — to hope-fully win the conference title in ’09,”Mezera said. “Those seniors built thefoundation of where the team isnow. Then I reflect on all of the great

senior leadership we’ve had sincethen. 

“Track is about the athletes seiz-ing opportunities when they presentthemselves, so we try to set as manyathletes up for success as we can.”

The Cardinals have excelled atthat in recent seasons. Which is whythe quest for a “three-peat” is nowunderway.

tRACK continued from page 12n

File photo

Middleton senior Alex Wood is expected to be part of several relay teamsthis spring.