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June 8, 2005

Local boxer makes "punching" statement

Eric Komer had a great deal of confidence in Eric Adamany going into the USA Amateur Boxing Competition of Milwaukee vs. Flint (Mich). The match, which was held Saturday, June 4, at the Martin Luther King Center in Milwaukee, was Adamany's first amateur fight.

Adamany, a 20-year-old Prairie du Chien native, knocked down his opponent, Jeff Keck, twice in the first round of the lightweight match. Then, 15 seconds into round two, Adamany was able to knock him out for the victory.

Komer, Adamany's head coach and trainer, said that he made a statement by knocking out his Flint opponent. Komer has been working with Adamany for the past three months.

"Eric trains three to three and a half hours a day, everyday," Komer said. "I expect him to be successful with it [boxing]."

"I also expect having him up in the Upper Midwest Championships by next year," Comer said.

The Midwest Championships is the largest boxing competition in Wisconsin.

Boxing has been becoming more and more popular in the Prairie du Chien area, as Comer said he trains eight other fighters, five of which are pros.

Comer runs Pushing the Limit (PTL) Boxing in Prairie du Chien and has hopes of bringing matches closer to the area.

"Later in August we are hoping to host a boxing match," Comer said, "possibly at St. Feriole Island with eight pro matches and four amateur."

Comer has high hopes for Adamany's boxing future and would like to see him get into another match as soon as possible, wherever that may be.

Mississippi Explorer offering weekly cruises from PdC this summer

With the summer months upon us, area river cruise companies provide Prairie du Chien with a variety of ways to take advantage of the Mississippi River.

Two of these options are the Julia Belle Swain and the Mississippi Explorer. Both offer relaxing sightseeing cruises, but with some differences.

The Julia Belle Swain, built in 1971, is one of only five authentic steam-powered passenger vessels still in operation on the Mississippi River system, according to the juliabelle.com web site. The Julia Belle Swain is easily recognized by its 21-foot paddlewheel and tiered, wedding cake design. The Julia Belle Swain is operated by The Great River Steamboat Co. in La Crosse, Wis., and operates on a daily basis out of La Crosse.

In previous summers, the Julia Belle was a regular visitor to Lawler Park, offering hour-ling sightseeing cruises from the PdC waterfront.

"There will only be three trips to Prairie du Chien this summer, due to the high cost of operating the Julia Belle Swain," Tina Keenan, general manager of The Great River Steamboat Co., said. "Sunday, July 24 is the only day we will be coming to Prairie and the other two days will just be for turnarounds. On July 24 we will run two cruises, one from 11- 1 p.m. and one from 2-4 p.m.˛

Dates for the other cruises that will turnaround in Prairie du Chien will be July 23-25 and Sept. 20-21.

"People in the Prairie du Chien area should check out our Lansing [Iowa]schedule as well, since it is close to the area. We make at least one trip a month to Lansing," Keenan said.

The Julia Belle Swain cruises include steamboat passage, meals, live music on board and lodging, transfers and activities on shore.

Local cruises are also offered in the La Crosse area.

For more information on the Julia Belle Swain cruises, contact them at 1-800-815-1005 or at www. julia belle.com.

The Mississippi Explorer also provides the area with a number of cruises this summer. Based in Lansing, Iowa, the Mississippi Explorer also has ports in Prairie du Chien and Galena, Ill. The Mississippi Explorer cruises offer "many chartered river excursions and ecotours," according to the mississippi explorer.com.

The Mississippi Explorer has a fleet of five boats; three large pontoon boats can hold up to 49 passengers. The other option is the jon boat Explorer, which can seat six passengers.

The smaller size of the boats of the Explorer's fleet are well-suited to backwater exploration and wildlife veiwing.

The Mississippi Explorer cruises take place on Saturdays at 3 p.m. and last an hour and a half. Reservations are not required.

The Mississippi Explorer cruises will be a part of several summer events in the Prairie du Chien area, including the Rendezvous on June 18, Jamboree Weekend on July 9 and the Prairie Dog Blues Festival on July 30. Cruises will depart from St. Feriole Island.

For more information regarding the Mississippi Explorer cruises, log on to their Web site at www. mississippiexplorer.com or contact them at 563-586-4444.

Cruise schedules and price rates can be found on both of the riverboat Web sites.

Faith In Action will serve area seniors in need

According to Leigh Ann Judge, about 21 percent of the population of Crawford County is over the age of 65. Through her job, Judge is likely to become acquainted with at least some of the people within that population.

Leigh Ann Judge is the new project coordinator for a new faith-based initiative to serve the needs of the elderly in Crawford County known as Faith in Action. Faith in Action is a nationwide interfaith effort to support the elderly and handicapped with non-medical services to help them stay in their homes. A local group of churches led by Pastor Stuart Allen of Prairie du Chien United Methodist Church coordinated the effort to write a grant to start a Faith In Action network in Prairie du Chien. They received $35,000 to start a Faith in Action effort earlier this spring from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ‹ the primary funder for Faith in Action. Judge was hired in April.

Faith in Action uses area churches to mobilize volunteers to provide free services to the elderly and handicapped. Services will include such things as driving people to doctor appointments and shopping, assistance with household tasks, meal preparation and yard work. Volunteers will also provide for the social needs of people by visiting or phoning people who are alone to keep them from becoming isolated. "There is a tremendous need for the elderly in Crawford County," Judge says. The average time most volunteers give is three hours per week, although Judge says any donation of time is welcome.

But those in need of help, or those who wish to volunteer need not be a member of a church to participate. No proselytizing is allowed.

The new organization will be funded by the donations of the community. The grant money Faith in Action has received is only to get the organization started. Prairie du Chin Memorial Hospital has donated office space for the organization in a home owned by the hospital, and shared with other community service non-profits. desks, a computer and other office supplies have also been donated.

One of the next tasks Judge will undertake is to organize an orientation for congregation coordinators ‹ people who will seek volunteers from their churches. She also noted that the organization will seek youth volunteers as well. Judge says Faith in Action will serve rural people and townsfolk alike by building a network of volunteers that is countywide.

Judge says that this job is a "natural fit˛ for her. She spent 25 years as a human resource executive for a California hospital, specializing in the start-up of specialty cancer clinics; so start-ups are something she is familiar with. She will be working 30 hours per week with Faith in Action. She moved with her husband and son to St. Olaf, Iowa, about two years ago to be closer to her daughters and grandchildren.

Anyone wishing to volunteer, donate or who is seeking services may contact Judge at (608)357-2361.

City Council raises liquor license fees

Several hot-button issues came before the city council last night, but none more contentious than the recommendation of the Personnel Committee to raise the city's liquor license fees. Six members of the local Tavern League attended the meeting to address this issue.

Mayor Mader began the discussion of this item by noting that the Personnel Committee had put in quite a bit of work and time to come to a consensus on this issue. She asked members of the committee to discuss how they had come to their decision. Several members spoke up.

Chair Phil Dagnon noted that like a business, the city looks for revenue streams, and license fees had not been raised in at least 25 years. "The committee really did struggle. We appreciate the contribution the taverns make to the community,˛ he said. He said that the committee had reviewed the fees charged by other Wisconsin cities of the same size, and that they were are quite a bit higher.

Kathleen Hein spoke eloquently about her own struggle with the issue. She said that as an engineer, she decided she had to analyze the numbers, and the numbers show that Prairie du Chien is not charging enough. She said it was not fair to taxpayers if the city does not charge adequate fees. She added that she did feel that the license structure was rather antiquated, with the city charging a soda license to businesses that sell pop in cans or from a fountain. Her main concern, however, was that the Tavern League felt that they weren't being listened to. Other committee members also addressed the process by which they came to the decision to raise the fees, saying that it was the best compromise they could come up with, but that it did not satisfy all committee members.

Keith Coburn, president of the Tavern League and owner of the Old Faithful Inn, addressed the council briefly, and passed out a hand-out describing some of the Tavern League's concerns. "We have a lot of fees for the tavern industry," Coburn said, noting that many establishments such as Kaber's, were subject to a number of license fees, including dance and amusement as well as liquor.

Fees would increase over a three year period. For example, a Class 'A' beer license will go from $100 to $150 in 2006, and a Class 'A' liquor license will go from $200 to $400 in 2007.

The council passed the increase, with Scheckler, Mueller, Kittle and Pintz voting against the increase.

Tom Mara also addressed the council on the issue of the lots on South Beaumont that the city plans to sell to Community Development Alternatives for affordable housing.

The city received a grant to fill the lots to bring them above the flood plain.

Mara said if it was still possible to buy one of the lots, he would be interested in buying one. He also expressed concerns over "low income" housing bringing his property values down.

Mayor Mader noted that while the self-help housing project has fallen through, the city is committed to building affordable housing, and that the houses that will be constructed on the lots will have an average value of about $125,000. She also noted that property values are calculated individually. City Administrator Gary Koch said that he thought the city had already spent some of the grant money, and so they were locked into the agreement. Mara said that he and his neighbors were unsure about what the city's commitment to the lots entailed. "We're very uninformed down there,c he said.

The council also passed the recommendation of the ad-hoc personnel committee to restructure the city administrator position by transferring the duties of the city treasurer and the city clerk to separate offices that would be incorporated into existing positions.

Alderman Pintz asked whether this would require new job descriptions be written for all of the positions. Mader said yes.

Then he asked whether this would create a cost savings for the city. Mader replied that the committee had not taken that into account, that it may or may not create a cost savings for the city. Pintz said that he thought that perhaps that should be one of the criterion for the restructuring.

Mader replied that it was the goal of the ad-hoc committee to restructure the position to facilitate the welfare and growth of the city first, and that if that were accomplished costs would be controlled.

The council voted to accept the ad-hoc committee's recommendation on restructuring, setting in motion the search for Koch's replacement.

 

June 6, 2005
PdC grad to play in Junior Men's World Championship fastpitch tournament

A standout Prairie du Chien High School athlete is preparing for the opportunity of a lifetime, as he will travel to Prince Edward Island, Canada, to enjoy international competition in the realm of USA Junior Men's Softball.

Drew Bode, 18, a 2005 graduate of Prairie du Chien High School, is the starting leftfielder for USA Softball's Junior Men, who, as their slogan says, are "set to take on the world" in the Junior Men's World Championship, which takes place every four years.

Bode earned a spot on the team and the right to represent the United States after completing four fastpitch softball camps at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., where the roster was trimmed from 40 players down to 19.

The 19 players will have two more camps as a team and, beginning June 16, they will train at the Olympic Training Center for a week before departing for Prince Edward Island, where the tournament will be held from June 24-July 4. The USA Junior Men's team consists of young men who are no older than 19. Bode and his teammates will take on the Czech Republic in the first round.

"It's been very fun," said Bode in describing his experience at the Olympic Training Center, where the team practiced three times per day during the camps and received "first class treatment" during their off time.

"It's been a really neat experience for Drew," said his mother Linda.

While training, Drew was particularly impressed by his teammates, who come from all across the United States. "They are some of the most amazing kids I've ever seen," he said of his teammates' softball abilities.

Drew said he was especially impressed by the guy who displaced him at shortstop. He was very agile and had the quickest hands Drew has ever seen in fielding a ground ball, so Drew called his mother one day and said that he would not be playing shortstop and instead would be playing leftfield.

Also impressive was fellow Wisconsin athlete Andy Matthews of Cameron. Andy blasted a softball an estimated 405 feet one day during practice.

Drew was an outstanding baseball player at Prairie du Chien but he says that fastpitch softball is a much faster game. "It's 100 times faster than baseball is," he said of the overall game. Drew noted, for instance, that an infielder has to field a ground ball and get rid of it right now, there's no time for bobbling or pumping the ball in your glove before throwing it to first base because the distances are shorter. Also, one of the pitchers on the team fires the ball in at about 78 miles per hour. From a distance of a mere 45 feet, that is like a 102 mph fastball in baseball, Drew said.

And speaking of speed, that is one of the main reasons that Drew made the team. Flying down the line from home to first base in 2.53 seconds, Drew is the fastest player on his team and may be one of the fastest ever to wear a USA Softball uniform at any level.

Drew said that head coach Tim Lyon's philosophy is "all about speed," and because of that, Drew is being taught how to slap bunt from the left side of the plate in order to gain a step towards first base. Once USA Junior team members reach base, fans can expect to see a lot of stealing.

While training at the Olympic Training Center, Drew was able to see the USA Women's Softball team, as well as Olympic rowers and shot putters, who are also in training. "The shot putters are the biggest guys I've ever seen," he said. "They're insanely huge."

In addition to competing at Prince Edward Island, Drew said that he is looking forward to meeting the players from other countries. There will be teams from England, Japan, the Czech Republic, Australia, Canada and Israel to name a few.

Drew has been playing fastpitch softball since he was 16, having been recruited by local fastpitch legend Donnie Stram to play for Cooper's Logging. Drew has also played for fastpitch coach Pat Hall.

During the World International Tournament in Davenport, Iowa in June of 2003, a tournament for men 23 years old or younger, USA Junior Men's assistant coach Scott Standerfer talked to Drew about trying out for the USA Junior Men's team.

Standerfer phoned Drew at home a short time later and now Drew is preparing for the chance to represent his country in an international competition.

Standerfer and head coach Tim Lyon were scouring the country for talent after the USA Junior Men's team did not fair well at the 2001 Junior Men's World Championship in Sydney, Australia. Looking to boost the USA team to an international powerhouse, Lyon and Standerfer recruited players who were more athletic than those on the 2001 team. They wanted the type of athletes that they and the coaching staff could develop into competitive softball players for 2005.

Many of the players on this year's squad were multi-sport stars on their high school teams and Lyon and his staff have been working for the past two years with these players to prepare them to compete at the highest level.

As a standout baseball and football player during high school, Drew exhibited the type of athleticism that Lyon was looking for. As a running back and kick returner this past season, he scored 29 touchdowns for the Black-hawks' football team, a school record. Also, Drew has posted a .452 batting average with four home runs this season for the Prairie baseball team. He also led the team in triples and doubles and has recently been named the SWAL Conference MVP.

Although he received offers from Division 1 schools, Drew said he will play football for UW-Stout this fall and will be working to get playing time as a free safety and on special teams as a returner.

Ad hoc Committee begins process for  hiring Koch replacement

Members of the Mayor's Ad-hoc Personnel Committee held their first meeting last Wednesday night to get the ball rolling in the long process of finding a successor to longtime city administrator/clerk/treasurer Gary Koch.

Members of the ad-hoc committee include regular personnel committee members Phil Dagnon, Irene Schauf, Bonnie Homuth, Dave Hemmer, and Kathleen Hein. Special ad-hoc appointees to the committee include council president Brad Steiner and retired 3M human resources director Paul Ginkel. Mayor Cheryl Mader was also in attendance; Dave Hemmer was absent.

The ad-hoc committee reviewed the nine options put forth at the April staff and council forum facilitated by Jane Schaaf. The forum was conducted to generate ideas about restructuring changes that may need to be made to Koch's position.

Despite some of the positive aspects mentioned about having all key information in one combined administrator/clerk/treasurer position, everyone rejected the idea of keeping the job description the same, which was Option One. Ginkel noted that now the city had the opportunity to do something different, and delegate much of the routine clerical work within the position.

Similarly, Option Four, which provides for the delegation of administrative powers to a full-time mayor, was also rejected. Mader noted that no cities in Wisconsin the size of Prairie du Chien had a full-time mayor, and that placing those duties in the hands of an elected official was "too risky."

Option Seven, which calls for replacing the administrator with a city manager also would not work. Creating a city manager position would require a change in the city charter and would be a very different form of government than mayor-council format Prairie du Chien currently uses. According to state statute, the manager-council form of government eliminates the position of mayor in favor of a professional city manager who takes on the executive duties of the mayor as well as the administrative duties. Managers are hired mainly by larger cities, with populations above 50,000.

"I don't see any reason for it, and we would have to change all of the statutes," said Brad Steiner of hiring a manager. Ginkel noted that having a mayor gives people greater input with the vote.

No one on the committee supported this option.

The option the committee members were most interested in makes use of current staff and to fill the clerk and treasurers position and creates a stronger, more well-defined administrator's position.

The committee suggested placing Barbara Elvert, the current deputy city administrator/clerk/treasurer in the city treasurers position. Judy Lee, the current deputy clerk would take up the city clerk's chair.

Then the city could hire a new administrator who would focus on the day-to-day management of the city, oversee personnel and move forward on economic development and carry out the directives and vision in the city comprehensive plan ‹ issues brought forward by the committee members that they felt the new person should address. Committee members did not think moving these staff people into different jobs would necessarily increase salary costs.

Paul Ginkel volunteered to draw up a detailed job description for the committee members to review at their next meeting.

The committee also drew up a preliminary timetable for the hiring process. They will recommend to the council that the hiring process begin in July and be completed by October so that the new hire can train in with Koch until his retirement the first of the year.

The committee must bring their recommendation before the city council and receive approval before the hiring process can begin.