2009 Business of the Year winners from left to right include Brent Niccum, NCCM Company; Chetan Patel, SMC Ltd.; Larry Knegendorf, Baldwin Telecom, Inc.; and Ken Heiser, Associated Bank.On February 25, St. Croix EDC honored its 2009 business of the year winners during a banquet at the University Center, on the campus of UW-River Falls, River Falls. NCCM Company (River Falls, Emerging Business of the Year), Baldwin Telecom, Inc. (Baldwin, Small Business of the Year), and SMC Ltd. (Somerset, Business of the Year) are the 2009 winners.
Ken Heiser, a Hudson banker, received the inaugural EDC Directors Award. The EDC's board of directors created this award to honor an individual or organization that has championed economic development through innovative actions, making St. Croix County a better place to live, work, play, and learn.
Each of the winners received a plaque from the EDC as well as a Legislative Citation from Madison and congratulatory letters from U.S. Rep. Ron Kind and U.S. Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold.
EDC president Patti Robertson presided over the banquet, which included a special recognition of previous winners going back to 1994. Certificates were awarded to members in appreciation of their financial support over the last ten consecutive years.
The 16th annual awards banquet was sponsored by First Bank of Baldwin, First National Community Bank, WESTconsin Credit Union, and Wisconsin Business Development Finance Corporation. It was attended by just over 210 people.
Entertainment was provided by comedian C. Willi Myles, billed as ‘America’s everyday comedian.’ During his 45-minute set, Myles took everyday life challenges and applied humor to them. Banquet attendees were treated to many laughs from Myles and his unique observations of midwest living compared to his native Mobile, Alabama.
New Baptist church under construction in Woodville
A new structure for First Baptist Church of Woodville is under construction and is expected to be completed by the third week in June, according to Bill Wahlquist, a member of the church’s building committee. Construction of the new church was started on November 1.
The church is being built on seven and one-half acres of land just south of Viking Middle School. The land was purchased from Alan and Anita Justen.
The general contractor for the church project is Pahl and Kay Construction of Pine Island, Minn. Pastor Tapp said the intent is to use local contractors for other aspects of the project, if possible.
According to Pastor Dennis Tapp of First Baptist, the new structure is needed both because “we’ve outgrown our old building,” and because of accessibility issues with the downstairs of the present church. He noted that a ramp serves for handicapped accessibility for the main level.
Pastor Tapp said about half the funds necessary for construction of the new church have been raised. He added that a loan will be secured for about one-third of the cost and the proceeds from sale of the old church structure will also help fund construction.
From the front of the building, there are offices on both the right and left after entering. Further down the hallway the Sunday school rooms are on the left and on the right is a fellowship hall. The Sunday school rooms will not be immediately finished. The Sanctuary is at the end of the hall on the back of the building. The building size is approximately 12,000 square feet.
Pastor Tapp said a gymnasium for church and community activities is phase two of the project, although there is not time frame for that at present.
Weyer fourth at state
Baldwin-Woodville junior Zac Weyer finished in fourth place at the WIAA state wrestling tournament in Division 2 at 135 pounds last weekend. The fourth place finish is a step up from his 2008 appearance as a freshman when he did not win the qualifying match at state.
This year Weyer won his qualifying match with a 16-4 major decision over Nick Davis of Adams-Frienship to meet Tristan Rowley of New Holstein in the quarterfinals. Rowley scored on a last second reversal to win 4-2 to advance to the semifinals while Weyer moved to the consolation bracket.
“Zac knows the matches he lost were not his best,” said Coach Jake Cimino. “But after his first loss, it was pretty impressive the way he came back.”
Weyer won his first consolation match 9-5 over Dillon Schnieder of Cuba City and then beat Jordan Ciachino of Luxemburg-Casco 10-4 to reach the third place match.
In the third place match Rudy Chagoya of Tomahawk eked out a 7-6 decision, leaving Weyer in fourth place. Weyer had Chagoya on his back at several times during the match, including at the end of the match.
“Zac had his arm in real tight in the first period, but the match was stopped (by the ref) because of a lost contact,” Cimino said. “At the end of the match Zac just needed two more seconds and he would have had back points.”
And two more points would have moved Weyer into third place.
As it was, Rowley, Weyer’s quarterfinal opponent, advanced into the state finals to face Dustin McKinney of Unity. McKinney claimed the state title with an 8-2 decision.
“This year was a great experience for Zac, to win three matches at state,” Cimino said. “It would have been nice to get to experience the finals with the march of champions, but to get to state is quite an accomplishment.”
Cimino said Zac’s younger Tyler was at the tournament “and saw some of the wrestlers he beat in the past down there. It’s a good incentive for him and hopefully more (from B-W) to step up and get the opportunity to wrestle at state.”
Gillis, Smith both finish sixth
The St. Croix Central wrestlers had a terrific start at the WIAA State Wrestling Tournament, but both senior Zach Gillis and sophomore Matt Smith finished in sixth place.
“We had a little bit of everything down there,” said Coach Brad Holzer. “Both guys had convincing wins in the first matches. Both of them were wrestling to win and not holding back.”
Gillis, wrestling at 140 pounds, scored a third period pin over Spencer Lemens of Kenosha St. Joseph, while Smith, at 152 pounds, won by a 7-0 decision over Blake Welu of Iowa-Grant.
In the quarterfinal matches Gillis won a 10-8 decision and Smith beat Lucas Copp of Oostburg 3-2.
“Zach’s score was closer than it should have been. He controlled the match,” Holzer noted. “Matt wrestled a real tough kid and did what he needed to do. They were really pumped up to get into the semifinal.”
But in the semifinals things changed for the Panthers. Gillis got behind against Tucker Pitz of Mineral Point and was trailing heading into the final seconds of the third period. Pitz chopped at Gillis’ elbow to attempt a break-down, but instead ended up dislocating the elbow.
“The semis did not go the way we planned,” Holzer said. “The match got out of hand early. At that point (of the injury), it was meaningless.
“It was a heartbreaker, after all Zach’s had to deal with this year (knee injury). He’s bummed he didn’t get a chance to wrestle back to third, but he took everything in stride.
“He got down here twice and medaled both times,” Holzer noted. Gillis finished in sixth place last year at 135 pounds.
Pitz did finish as D3 140 pound champion with a 6-2 decision over Jake Dean of Laconia.
Smith also ran into trouble in the semifinal, losing to Chad Heise of Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas Academy 11-0. In the Saturday morning consolation match Smith lost to Alex Spatchek of Reedsville 10-1 and finished with a 6-4 loss to Scott Snyder of Lancaster in the fifth place match.
“Matt gave up the first takedown in the fifth place match, but after that it was pretty even,” said Holzer. “One thing about Matt is he goes the full six minutes. He battled back into it and that’s a good sign for next year. Hopefully he can lead some more down to state next year.
“It was a three day roller coaster,” Holzer concluded, noting Gillis plans on attending UW-Whitewater in fall, although he is still undecided about wrestling. “We’ll see after his (knee) surgery. This all might convince him to give it another shot.”
Fusion win sectional title
Earn return to state tournament
The top-ranked St. Croix Valley Fusion beat the number four ranked Hudson 3-1 last Saturday night to earn the right to return to the Girl’s State Hockey tournament and defend the state championship title.
"We have been working on this game for long time,” said Fusion Coach Matt Cranston about the sectional final. “We changed up our lines, changed most of our systems to win this game. (Hudson Coach) Dan Dietrich's team plays a very unique style of hockey. You have to think and have a plan to beat his team. He really gets them ready for a game. They all work hard and fly all over the ice.”
Cranston went on to say, “As if just playing in the sectional final game in front of 849 people isn't enough to worry about, try having your leading scoring defenseman, senior and captain show up to the game directly from the emergency room.”
Tanis Klingler spent most of the day in the ER with an IV in her after she became ill on Friday night. They put two liters of fluid back into her body, she slept for an hour or so and suited up for the game, Cranston reported.
"I really didn't think she would be able to even make it through warm ups,'' Cranston said. “Somehow she fought through it and played the entire game and played great.”
Junior Sig Dangeur put the Fusion up 1-0 at the 14:11 mark of the first period. Heather Shew got the puck to Tori Klingler, who fired a hard shot on the ice right at Hudson's goalie, Alise Riedel. Dangeur redirected Klingler’s shot right into the net.
"Sig is very good at that play. It's kind of her specialty,” Cranston said. “We worked hard on that play a lot in the last several practices.
“We really wanted to score first in the game. Both (assistant coach) Karl and I thought it would be a key in the game,” Cranston added.
The second period was up and down the ice and fairly even in shots. The Fusion's Alice Cranston buried one past the Hudson goalie when she took a beautiful pass from her sister Lily at the 7:09 mark of the second period for a 2-0 lead.
Hudson's Bonnie Meyer was able to pound a rebound power play goal past Fusion's goalie Kalli Armagost at the 13:56 mark to cut the Fusion lead to 2-1, but Alice Cranston scored her second goal of the night with two and a half minutes left in the period after receiving two nice passes from Tanis Klingler and Tara Frey to put the Fusion up 3-1.
The third period was again fairly even as far as the shots. The Fusion played a bit more defensively and neither team was able to score in the third period. The Raiders pulled the goalie at the end of the period, but were unable to put the puck in the net.
"We changed our fore check system in the third period," Cranston said. “Kalli Armagost played great again. She was only scored on once throughout the regional and sectional playoffs. “
In the sectional semifinal on Tuesday night the Fusion beat the Chippewa Falls Co-op 4-0, while killing off 10 penalties.
Senior Heidi VanDell started the scoring at the 4:09 mark, with a nice wrist shot from the slot. Alice and Lily Cranston assisted on the play. A little over three minutes later Lily Cranston scored a nice goal from sister Alice Cranston. Alice pulled the Cardinals defenders and the goalie to the opposite side of Lily and slid a backhand pass back to Lily who had a wide open net to score a power play goal.
Tara Frey buried one just 28 seconds into the second period with assists going to Lily and Alice Cranston. Tori Klingler finished the scoring for the Fusion with a nice unassisted wrist shot at the 7:33 mark of the third period.
"Kalli Armagost played another great game,” Cranston said. Armagost recorded her fourth shutout in a row. "Killing off all 10 penalties was also a key in the win.”
The Fusion now face University School of Milwaukee, a co-op team of Divine Savior, Homestead, Nicollet, Shorewood and Whitefish Bay, at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison on Friday at approximinately 1:15 p.m. The game follows the first semifinal match between Mosinee Co-op and Green Bay East Co-op.
The winning teams will play at noon on Saturday for the state title.
“We know the University School has a really good goalie and is a solid team,” Cranston said. “We also know the winner plays for the championship and the loser goes home.”
The Fusion enter the tournament with a record of 22-4-1 and University School has a record of 19-6-2. Mosinee comes in with a 24-2 record and Green Bay East is at 23-4.
Locals perform in Fiddler on the Roof
The River Falls Community Theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof continues this week with performances March 4, 5, 6, and 7 at the River Falls High School. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on the 4, 5, and 6 and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 7.
Baldwin resident Kate Jennings plays the role of Golde, wife of Tevye in the popular performance. Jennings has appeared on stage locally and in Chicago and Berlin. She and her husband Tad have two children, Ross and Zoe and reside in rural Baldwin.
Duane Werner plays the role of Tevye. Werner, his wife Kay and family live in River Falls. According to the play bill, he gets involved in a local play every two to three years in some capacity, but this is one of the best.
River Falls High School is located at 818 Cemetery Rd., River Falls. For information call 715-425-7530.
From the Exchanges
Interesting items from
Surrounding Communities
PIERCE COUNTY HERALD (ELLSWORTH): A county woman was sentenced to two years prison Thursday in Pierce County Circuit Court for threatening judges. Tally Rowan, 34, was found guilty of threatening both Pierce County Circuit Judge Robert Wing and Pepin County Circuit Court Judge James Duval at a jury trial in November. LaCrosse County Circuit Court Judge Ramona Gonzalez also placed her on extended supervision for one year upon release. “She has shown no remorse or accountability,” said Pierce County District Attorney John O’Boyle during the hearing. “She blames the witnesses who testified in her trial.” He also mentioned her criminal history, which dates back to 1995, and having no serious offenses until a police battery conviction. As a result of that conviction, she’s no longer allowed to have possession of firearms, but O’Boyle said she’s still in possession of two and is unwilling to give them up. “She is someone the community needs to be concerned about,” O’Boyle said. Rowan, who acted as her own attorney, only uttered the following when given her time to talk: “The truth will prevail in the end.” Rowan has filed multiple lawsuits against Pierce County, alleging various forms of mistreatment wheile she was an inmate at the county jail.
AMERY FREE PRESS: Nicholas L. Schumann, 20, Clayton, found himself in trouble with the Polk county sheriff’s department after a report of a burglary received at the department on January 30. According to the probable cause sheet, the victim of the burglary called the sheriff’s department on January 30, and stated that he had just realized he was missing a Smith & Wesson .41 caliber revolver from his residence. The victim stated that just before the gun deer season for 2009, he had arrived home at about 10 p.m. to find Schumann in his driveway along with a 16 and 14 year old juvenile. Schumann stated he was looking at the Suburban in the driveway. The victim went inside the residence and immediately noticed about $200 missing from a change jar and went immediately to Schumann’s residence to confront them and find his missing change. Schumann admitted they took the change. On February 9 a Polk County Sheriff’s deputy went to the Clayton School to interview the two juveniles. One of the juveniles related that they went to the victim’s resident to see what the victim’s son, a friend, was doing and found no one home. Both juveniles stated that Schumann, with whom they were riding, wanted to go inside and once inside they saw the jar full of money and took it after Schumann asked if they wanted the money. Both also stated that was when Schumann found a large handgun in a brown wooden box, wrapped it in towels and took it to his truck. One of the juveniles admitted being with Schumann when he hid the handgun at a vacant farm southeast of Clayton in an old shed. The juvenile took the deputy to where the gun was hidden and it was recovered still wrapped in the towels.
HUDSON STAR OBSERVER: The old adage “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride” could apply to the proposed Stillwater bridge project. The project has once again been left at the federal funding alter with faint hope that things will turn out positively anytime soon. Wisconsin and Minnesota transportation officials had hoped that the St. Croix River Crossing Project would receive a $300 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recover (TIGER) grant. But when grant recipients were announced January 17, the bridge was not among the 50 projects funded.
THE SUN (OSCEOLA): Kraemer Mining & Materials, Inc., the company that proposed to open a 61-acre trap rock quarry in Osceola township, has filed a lawsuit against the Polk County Land Information Committee and Polk County. According to court documents, the suit alleges that Polk County’s Board of Adjustment Procedures Ordinance and its Comprehensive Land Use Ordinance do not properly identify the adjustments board as having jurisdiction to hear an appeal and do not grant the board the authority to grant a special exception permit. Kraemer and landowners Glyn and Cindy Thorman, William E. Johnson and James Rochford sought a special exception permit to open the mine in October 2008. The Polk County Land Information Committee, however, formally denied that permit application on January 20 after a series of public hearings and deliberation. “Polk County has expressly failed to identify an appeal avenue regarding special exception decisions rendered by the Committee,” the lawsuit alleges. “The Plaintiffs are uncertain and insecure with respect to their rights, status and legal relations and ask this Court to review the construction of the ordinances” in order to protect their appeal rights.
