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Controlled
burns at La Riviere help bring a prairie back to life
Students from biology and FFA classes at PdC spread native prairie seed at
La Riviere on Monday. In April, one can often see smoke on the horizon as rural
dwellers burn ditches or brush. Fire can be destructive, but it can also be a
tool. Native Americans used fire for thousands of years to regenerate prairie
grasslands. Volunteers have been working at La Riviere Farm Park this spring to
help regenerate a prairie landscape there. Earlier this month, about 50
volunteers monitored five controlled burns over a various plots covering a 25 to
30 acre area of the park. These areas had been previously seeded to native
grasses and flowers. Fire helps keep non-native grasses and brush down. It also
help keep out invasive species such as garlic mustard, honeysuckle and
buckthorn. Some native flower species, such as lupine and poppy mallow need fire
for good regeneration, says Dennis Kirshbaum, who organized and supervised the
burns. Poppy mallow is just one of several rare plants that can be found at La
Riviere. Efforts to restore native prairie began in 1987. Volunteers burned a
small remnant prairie they found to see how it would respond. "The poppy mallow
just went wild," said Kirschbaum. After the burns bring down the dead plant
material and the soil is more exposed is a good time to plant more prairie seed.
On Monday, biology students from Mr. Lenzendorf and Mr. Pedretti's FFA class at
Prairie du Chien High School made the short trip in cool, cloudy weather to help
scatter prairie seed. They planted both grasses and forbes (flowers) from seed
collected mostly from the park last fall by community services workers from the
jail. Jim and Margaret Walz, supporters of the prairie and volunteers at La
Riviere, also collected seed. Additionally, the Prairie Rod and Gun Club donated
a gallon of mixed seed they purchased from Prairie Nursery. The approximately 80
gallons of seed was spread in a six acre expansion of the Toboggan Slope
Prairie. Gale Beneker had disked the former soybean field, and Bob Selch dragged
it after the students were done planting.
According to Kirschbaum, the prairies at La Riviere are a delight to see in
any season. There are now over 100 species of different native flowers and
grasses planted at the park. Walz's Prairie, named after Jim and Margaret, is
especially pretty. The lupines there will bloom in May, and different species
will flower all summer through September.
The creation of the prairies at the park has taken time and effort. "It has
been a program of slow development, but positive development," Kirschbaum added.
Wagner and
Kinder top Wauzeka-Steuben Class of '05
Ashley Wagner has been named the valedictorian and Ginger
Kinder the salutatorian for the Wauzeka-Steuben High School 2005
graduating class. Ashley Wagner is the daughter of Jim and Brenda Wagner and
Ginger Kinder is the daughter of Dale and Sally Kinder. Valedictorian Wagner has
been a leader at Wauzeka- Steuben. She served three terms on the Student
Council, two of which she was president. Ashley has participated in the Math
Team (as JV captain), Pep Club, and W Club (for students that letter in
athletics) for four years. She served as business editor on the yearbook staff
for one year. Ashley was in the Drama Club, Spanish Club, and CARE Council for
one year each, and has been a student aide for five years. She has also been in
the school play and class president her sophomore year. She was nominated for
the People to People Student Ambassador Program and was sent as Wauzeka-Steuben's
representative to Badger Girls' State government workshop last year. Music is
another area where Ashley has excelled. She plays the flute and has been in band
for the past eight years. She has been a part of Solo and Ensemble for six
years, Honors Band for three years, State Solo and Ensemble for three years, the
Irish Band for two years and played in the Woodwind Choir. Ashley also qualified
for and attended the Tri-State Honors Band. Ashley was also involved in three
sports: basketball, softball, and volleyball. She was Most Valuable Player and
captain in both junior varsity and varsity basketball and captain for two years
in volleyball. Ashley was also captain on the softball team, earning First Team
All-Conference for two years. In her community, Ashley has been very active. She
has been an umpire, bookkeeper, concession worker, and coach (when needed) for
the Wauzeka Summer Recreation program. Ashley has worked concession stands for
the Booster Club, has been a Math and English tutor, and has coached youth
basketball for the Lion's Club. She has been an important member of her church
by being a server, a waitress at dinners, selling tickets, and playing her flute
for services. With all this on her plate, she has still managed to earn the
number one spot in her senior class. Ashley's academic career included
involvement in the National Honor Society for three years, and was named in Who's
Who Among High School Students for four years. This young woman has also planned
for her future. She has taken online youth options courses this year in the
areas of sociology and psychology. She has job shadowed at both Grant and
Crawford County Human Services, and Ashley has worked two jobs through four
years of high school at the Wauzeka Family Cafe and at Design Building Materials
(Design Homes). Ashley plans to major in Social Work and minor in Psychology at
Viterbo University in La Crosse. Salutatorian Kinder has also shown herself to
be a leader at Wauzeka Steuben High School. She served on Student Council for
two years. She has been in Drama Club and the school play for three years. She
served as vice president of her class for two years, and has worked as an office
aide for four years. She has been elected student of the month in three separate
years, was the Wauzeka-Steuben Badger Girl's State Alternate last year. She has
also served as co-editor-in-chief of the yearbook. Ginger has been in the W Club
and forensics for four years each. She earned a silver medal at state in
forensics. Ginger was a People to People Student Ambassador to Australia last
year, and has been in the Spanish Club for two years. She was also on the
homecoming and prom court. She has worked as a student mentor this year with a
younger students. In academics, Ms. Kinder has been named to the National Honor
Society and is on the All-Conference Academic Honorable Mention Team for the
Ridge and Valley Conference this year. She has been named in Who's Who Among
High School Students. Ginger is an active member of Family, Career, and
Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), and has been for the past six years. She
has been FCCLA president for two years, secretary for two years and
parliamentarian for one year in her local chapter. At the state level, she has
been State STAR events coordinator for one year and Region 5 vice president.
Ginger has received six regional gold medals, six state gold medals, and has
received the outstanding chapter member award for two years. She has received
three national gold medals and will be returning to nationals again this summer.
Ginger is also active in her community. She was selected as the 2004-05
recipient of the Good Citizen Award by the Daughters of the American Revolution
(DAR) Black Hawk Chapter of Richland Center. Dependability, service, leadership
and patriotism are considered in this selection. In athletics, Ginger has been
in volleyball three years, lettering one year, and track for four years in which
she received Most Improved Award and lettered for three years. Ginger has
planned carefully for her future by gaining as much experience in public
speaking and organizing events as possible. She has taken two online youth
options courses this year in written and oral communication.
Ginger plans to attend UW-Stout for Business and Marketing Education and
minor in Business Administration with a specialization in speech.
Play ball! St.
Feriole Island Park ready to go
With new lights installed and outfields freshly mowed, all this
diamond needs is players.
The St. Feriole Island Park Baseball Complex is up and running and ready
for a summer of baseball and softball excitement. St. Feriole Island Park
Committee member Bill Wessling said Tuesday that the city of Prairie du Chien is
helping to assemble metal bleachers at Lochner Park and haul them to the
baseball complex, where they are being installed at the three ball diamonds. The
bleachers were purchased by the St. Feriole Island Park Committee, a nonprofit
organization. "The city has been just great in helping with this baseball
complex," Wessling said. In addition to installing the bleachers, a schedule of
events has been put together for the new baseball complex and is available on
the website www.stferioleislandpark.org. Wessling said that men's and women's
softball league games have been scheduled, as well as American Legion, Junior
American Legion and 13-14-year-old Little League games. In addition, an
11-12-year-old Little League tournament has been scheduled for June. In fact, a
ninth-grade doubleheader was played at the park a week ago between a Prairie du
Chien team and a team from Potosi. A grand opening for the facility will be
forthcoming this season, Wessling said. The concession stand is ready to go, the
lights for all three ball diamonds have been installed and are ready, dugouts
are complete and irrigation has been installed. In short, the brand new complex
is ready to play ball. Wessling said that approximately $125,000 still needs to
be raised in order to pay for the facility. Anyone who has driven across the
Highway 18 Bridge or who has stopped down to the park has seen that the two
softball diamonds and the baseball diamond have taken form and are looking good.
In order to maintain the park, an intern has been hired by the St. Feriole
Island Park Committee. John Porter of Guttenberg, a student at Southwest
Technical College, will be responsible for mowing the grass, running the
irrigation and getting the diamonds ready for competition, among many other
tasks. In addition to his education, Porter has received training from Scott
Kennedy, the former manager of the Prairie du Chien Country Club. Wessling said
that the many players will also be asked to clean up after themselves. "The
players will take ownership in this thing too," said Wessling. "This park is for
everybody." The St. Feriole Island Park Baseball Complex land is owned by the
city, who in turn leases it to the St. Feriole Island Park Committee for a
nominal fee. The St. Feriole Island Park Baseball Complex now has its own
telephone number and voice mail system for anyone wishing information or for
anyone wishing to volunteer. The number is (608) 326-0077.
PdC
native takes on and survives 22,000 foot mountain
Paul Konichek is a pretty experienced mountaineer. He has climbed 19
14,000 foot peaks in Colorado. So he knew that before he agreed to join
an expedition to climb Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina he had to get things
straight at home. He knew there was a risk that he might not come back.
So the 52-year-old Prairie du Chien native talked things over with his
wife. And he decided that his teenage son was old enough and responsible
enough to handle the loss, if it came to that. Then he began a six-month
intensive fitness program. Konicek, a science teacher at Stevens Point
High School (and the author of the Ponder the Stars with Paul column
that appears in this newspaper) did not want to miss a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. His brother-in-law, John Jancik, an
expert climbing enthusiast and the president of a Montana-based
geological services company serving the oil industry, Echo Geophysical,
had invited him to join the expedition all expenses paid. The only cost
to Paul was for his equipment (not cheap at $4,000.) So last January 29
Paul found himself boarding a flight to Mendoza, Argentina. Mendoza is
situated in the northwest part of Argentina, near the mountainous border
with Chile. There he met up with the expedition group. As sponsors of
the expedition, Echo Geophysical had hired a company, Alpine Ascents, to
guide the climbers. Although his company was footing the bill, Jancik
was not able to join them due to the demands of his job. The reason this
particular company was selected, was because they employed Vernon Tejas,
a world-renowned mountaineer and guide. Vern met with the group of six
climbers who called themselves TOSA ‹ Top of South America. In
Mendoza, Tejas laid the groundwork that provided the foundation for the
expedition. He taught them how to breath and to walk on the climb in
order to survive very high altitude. The group began their 16 days on
the trail on February 2. Using a less-travelled route selected by their
guide based upon the strength and experience of the group, they had to
hike 30 miles to reach the Base Camp. The guide service had hired mule
packers to haul the group's equipment up to the Base Camp, so the hikers
took only water, snacks and emergency supplies with them on this long
hike. They refilled their water bottles at the snowmelt stream coming
down from the mountain, treating it with iodine to purify it. Blisters
and sunburn were a problematic on this portion of the hike. The 30 mile
trek took them from 8,858 feet to 13,780 feet up Aconcagua. The
expedition remained at Base Camp for two days to acclimate to the
altitude. "Altitude is meant for human bodies," said Konicheck, noting
that the altitude sickness - headache, nausea and weakness - experienced
by climbers can be deadly. Progress from Base Camp moved more slowly.
Each day the expedition would set its sights on the next camp up the
mountain, but with each person carrying 65-pound packs, it would take
two days and two trips to reach each one. For example, the climbers made
a tough 2,295-foot gain in elevation from Base Camp to Camp 1. To do
this they packed a portion of their equipment and supplies up the Camp
1, then returned to Base Camp to spend the night. The next day they
broke camp taking their tents and the rest of their supplies with them
up to Camp 1 to spend the night. According to Paul, this slow progress
helped the climber build their strength and endurance at high altitudes.
At camp on the evenings, the expedition members worked as a team to
gather water, pitch tents and make a meal. "As a group, we were able to
do it together, and this really was a good group," Paul said,
emphasizing the need for teamwork to make the trip safely and
successfully. Og course, Paul offered astronomy lessons after the stars
came out at night. Daily hikes up the mountain were both exhilarating
and scary. In the video Paul took of the trip, guide Vernon Tejas can be
seen singing powerfully and exuberantly, leading the group up. Paul says
the video doesn't show the tough parts of the trail, when he and the
others simply had to concentrate on every step to avoid a mishap that
could be deadly. Large piles of loose rock, called scree, presented on
problem. Difficult to hike in, scree slides underfoot with every step
making forward progress difficult. If a climber loses his balance on
scree, he or she can simply go sliding down the mountain.
The group also had to cross an ice pack called the Polish Glacier.
Using spiked cram-pons on their boots and ice axes, the group carefully
crossed the glacier. "If you slip on the glacier," Paul said, "you slip
to your death." The expedition experienced safe and steady progress on
their climb until they reached Camp 3, the second to last camp made
before reaching the summit. After arriving at Camp 3, Paul realized he
had a severe toothache, no laughing matter at 19,200 feet.
Vernon, the expedition's guide, gave him a dose of antibiotics. Paul
became dehydrated, nauseous and weak from the combination of the
infection, antibiotics and the elevation. "I begged to go down," he
said. "I was ready to die when I crawled into my sleeping bag."
Fifty-plus mile-an-hour winds battered the tents all night, keeping
others awake, but Paul slept. The group spent the following day in camp
to acclimate. Paul rested, and when he awoke the following day, he felt
strong enough to go on to their final camp, High Camp, at 20,600 feet.
The climbers made to move in one day, using ice axes and crampons on the
climb. The next day was the day they would climb to the summit. The
group experienced excellent weather conditions for their Valentine's Day
hike to the very top. Winds were light (for that elevation) with a
temperature of about -15º. The group left High Camp at 7 a.m., and
reached the summit at 22,840, about 1 p.m. The expedition had earned its
name ‹ Top of South America. They remained at the summit to take in
the view and celebrate their accomplishment for about an hour. Then they
retraced their steps back to High Camp.
From High Camp, the group hiked all the way back down to Base Camp in
one day. The following day they remained at Base Camp to pack up their
stuff for the muleteers to take the following day. Paul arrived home
safe with a tremendous adventure and accomplishment to his credit on
February 23. He immediately went to the dentist.
River
Ridge School District continues to seek energy savings
Not just spinning their wheels in the wind
After gathering data on wind speed and direction for one year, the River
Ridge School District may decide to undergo two more years of study into
the feasibility of installing a wind turbine at its Patch Grove site. A
wind turbine would help alleviate electrical energy costs at River Ridge
High School and Elementary School. Superintendent Michael Murphy
explained that the year's worth of data gathered from the 150-foot-high
tower at River Ridge showed that the average wind speed was about two
miles per hour (mph) slower than had been expected. The average speed
was approximately 12 mph. Murphy said that the average wind speed across
the Midwest was down about two mph this past year and that three years
worth of data would give the district a much more accurate measure of
wind speed and direction in order to determine the optimal height, pitch
and position for a wind turbine. Should the school board approve two
more years of wind study at its May meeting, more data would also be
gathered concerning the effect of landscaping on wind direction and
speed. Murphy said that continuing the study for two more years would be
of minimal cost to the district. In addition, the River Ridge School
Board recently gave its approval for the district to apply for a
Wisconsin Focus on Energy matching grant for $65,000. Murphy said that
the grant would fund approximately 40 percent of the cost of building a
90 kilowatt wind turbine. "A 90 kilowatt turbine would generate just
over 37 percent of the electrical needs of the high school and
elementary school in Patch Grove," said Murphy. Murphy also said that
the district is looking into the possibility of installing an electrical
heater in one of the furnaces at the Patch Grove site. He explained that
the electrical heater would run off of the wind turbine. The data
collected by the 150-foot-high tower at River Ridge is being compiled by
Seventh Generation Energy, a company that has helped many school
districts, businesses and residential areas throughout the state to
implement energy saving systems. Data from the Montfort wind farm site
is also included in the project. The tower has three different levels at
which wind speed and direction are being measured from eight different
sectors. The wind is being measured through the use of cup-like devices
called anemometers that spin in the wind. The anemometers send the data
directly to a computer that is inside the tower. The data is compiled
each month and sent to the state. In addition, Murphy said that the data
generated at River Ridge will be used as part of a Wisconsin study and a
national study concerning wind speed.
"It's very interesting and exciting to be a part of these much larger
studies," Murphy said. |
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