October 2019

“This statement is a lie.”

If the above sentence is true, then it’s a lie. And if it is a lie, it is true. 

It’s called the liar’s paradox, and it’s a response to the people who contacted me after my column about Xeno’s paradox (“Achilles and the Tortoise”) a few weeks ago. They worriedly told me they didn’t “get” the paradox I was writing about. It didn’t make sense to them, and they were confused by it. 

My answer, of course, is that’s the point. If you don’t understand a paradox, then you understandthe paradox. If you don’t get it, you get it. That’s the whole idea. Paradoxes being impossible to comprehend is like cakes being sweet or toddlers being young; it comes with the territory. 

TOWN OF MIDDLETON–After exhausting a three-year accumulation of room tax revenue on the 2019 Sunflower Days, the town of Middleton’s Tourism Commission wanted to see financial projections before committing to hosting the event in 2020.

The town spent $167,643 on the 10-day celebration of sunflower blossoms after taking over the event from the Friends of Pope Farm Conservancy. Expenses came in about $6,000 under budget, Town Administrator Greg DiMiceli said on Sept. 24.

The town used approximately $121,000 in revenue collected during the past three years from a tax on rooms rented at the Quality Inn on Seybold Rd. Ticket sales and sponsorships contributed more revenue but there’s still about $45,000 to “back fill” to break even, DiMiceli said.

CROSS PLAINS–Now in its seventh season, fun outdoor activities at Enchanted Valley Acres have expanded seemingly exponentially. The family-friendly farm may also be one of the area’s best kept secrets.

“A lot of people in Cross Plains don’t even know we’re here,” said one of the owners, Chris Kirsch.

Located at the corner of Highway P and Enchanted Valley Rd., about a mile north of Cross Plains, the farm caters to kids and adults alike. Especially people seeking autumn entertainment, including, but way beyond, the typical pumpkin patch. Although there is no fee to access the patch, playing on the rest of the property requires an agricultural-tourism entry fee.

The massive farm features a petting zoo, farm themed playground, gigantic corn-kernel “sandbox,” Big Red Barn to explore, and the popular eight-acre corn maze. 

Luke Francois began his love affair with wrestling in kindergarten as a member of the Baraboo youth program in 1976.

Spring forward four decades later and the Middleton graduate and two-time state qualifier said he had to reach out to his first coach to share some good news.

Francois was among nine individuals to receive a ‘Lifetime Service To Wrestling’ award and induction into the Wisconsin chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame during activities and ceremonies Sept. 28 and 29 at Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells.

“My high school coach, Parker Vivoda, was a huge influence on me,” Francois recalled in a phone conversation. “He not only raised wrestlers, but he raised boys into men.”

But Francois said he made sure to thank the man who started it all, Howie Hanson, his first youth coach, who is retired and now living in Florida.