In Business

The Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) is urging Wisconsin business owners to exercise caution if they receive a request for information from a company called Corporate Records Service, according to a press release issued this morning by Jill Tutaj, Middleton Police Department community awareness officer.  Business owners are asked to fill out an Annual Minutes Form and submit a fee of $125 to a Madison address.  Businesses are not required by DFI or any other state agency to complete the form.

TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS^®) customers have reported receiving voice phishing calls. These calls are fraudulent attempts to scam TDS customers into revealing sensitive account information. People should be extra cautious of any phone call requests to verify account information.

Voice phishing or “vishing” scams have become increasingly sophisticated. While people have become smarter about other phishing scams, so have criminals. They are switching tactics and using a form of communication that people trust—the phone.

Vishing typically begins with an automated phone call. The recording warns of fraudulent account activity on the persons account and directs them to call a toll-free or local number immediately. At this time, they are asked a series of questions about personal and account information.

What began as a routine review of a Middleton foster care agency revealed that the owners were using taxpayers’ money to dine on lobster tails, pay themselves at more than three times the customary rate and purchase luxury cars.

In all, the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families alleges Community Care Resources, Inc. wasted more than $6.1 million of public funding.

A statement issued by the Department of Children and Families confirmed that on January 23, the department revoked the license of Community Care Resources, effective February 7, after determining the organization had “substantial violations of state licensing regulations.”

The wages director Dan Simon paid to himself during the three-year period of review totaled more than $1 million. A review of the top eight average provider salaries showed an average salary of $102,770 and a review of salary.com showed the top behavioral executive in Middleton earning $139,111.

The Bruce Company, the nation’s 32nd largest landscape contract business and the largest in Wisconsin, has announced a strategic alliance with a well-known St. Paul-area company in a plan a press release said will help both partners thrive as the economy begins to grow again.

Reliable Property Services LLC, the seventh largest snow and ice management company in the country headquartered in Eagan, Minn., with offices and customers throughout Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, will combine its strengths with The Bruce Company’s national reputation in landscape design and construction, along with its 600-acre nursery operation in Verona, which will provide nursery stock to both companies.

Sumanjit Singh is trained in the field of mechanical engineering. But Singh, 29, who grew up in Punjab, India, also had an informal education in the restaurant business – an education that stretches back to some of his earliest memories.

“I used to stand next to my mom in the kitchen and watch her cook,” he recalled. “She’s really good, and sometimes she even comes here and makes dishes like her eggplant and spinach.”

“Here” is Dhaba Indian Bistro, located at 8333 Greenway Blvd. Singh’s family has worked in the restaurant business for years, and he worked with them. Now he owns Dhaba, which opened last year and serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 5-10 p.m.

A locally-owned eatery surrounded by chains, Dhaba is already something of a culinary beacon for many who live and work in the Good Neighbor City.

The Middleton Chamber of Commerce will host its 61st Annual Celebration Thursday, Jan. 31 at the Marriott Madison-West in Middleton.

This year’s theme is “Get In The Game,” and the festivities will begin at 5 p.m. and continue until 10. There will be countless things to do, watch and eat, and some of the Milwaukee Brewers’ racing sausages will attend as well.

The Annual Celebration brings together both chamber members and the community at large. It features food and beverages from 14 chamber members and the Marriott, a silent auction with more than 100 packages donated by chamber members, a paddle raffle (1-15 chance) to win packages worth over $1000, entertainment and games, and more.

The chamber has released a promotional video about the event, which can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk-BxUiNiU4.

Register to attend at middletonchamber.com.

After nearly 40 years of service in the telecom industry, Al Ripp, market manager for TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS®) has retired. His last day with TDS was Dec. 31.

When Ripp looks back on his career in telecommunications, he says it’s the customers and fellow employees who stand out.

“Nothing is more rewarding than working with customers who say your guys did a really good job,” Ripp said. “Just as rewarding is seeing a person join the company and grow into a great employee and leader.”

As a young man, Ripp got his start washing vehicles for Mid-Plains Telephone Company in 1974. During his tenure at TDS, he held a number of different positions before being named general manager in the late 1990’s. Then, in 2007, Ripp was named market manager for TDS covering Dane County and eventually working throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Hallman/Lindsay Paints donated more than $5,500 to local food pantries across Wisconsin in honor of its customers during this past holiday season. In each community where Hallman/Lindsay has a store location, including the City of Middleton, a local food pantry received a donation.

“As a local Wisconsin business, we are a part of the community,” says Tim Mielcarek, owner of Hallman/Lindsay. “We consider it part of Hallman/Lindsay’s mission to contribute to the places where we live and work.”

In December, John DeVries, manager of the Hallman/Lindsay store in Middleton, met with Debbie Kutchin from Middleton Outreach Ministry to deliver the company donation.

“Food prices continue to rise, and we know that food pantries are also continuing to see increases in demand,” said DeVries. “Middleton Outreach Ministry provides much-needed assistance in this community, and we are happy to support their work.”

Annemarie Spitznagle keeps a notebook. She has since she was a kid.

“My mom found lists and notes to myself everywhere,” Spitznagle said of her childhood.

More than a journal or diary, the notebooks have been like close friends, the kind who listen patiently and reserve judgment. The contents of Spitznagle’s notebooks have changed as she’s grown up and her interests have evolved. But through it all, two themes have remained constant: home and cooking.

Spitznagle, the daughter of an Air Force pilot, was born in Japan but raised in Louisiana. It was in Louisiana Spitznagle’s identity took hold in her family’s Cajun culture. Central to her family’s way of life was food. In a Cajun home, the kitchen is court and food is king.

“I’d come home from school, drop off my backpack and join my mom in the kitchen,” Spitznagle said.

Meals took hours to prepare and almost as long to enjoy with one another. Spitznagle was in charge of desserts.

Most wine collectors die with stockpiles of vintages held safely in storage. But not Finn Berge, wine enthusiast and owner of Barriques Market cafés. When Berge is gone he wants people to remember him and think, “At least he drank well.”

He buys bottles of wine to be used. In Berge’s opinion, wine is meant for drinking, ideally with great food and friendly company. And 22 years of tasting and buying wine has only cemented this belief.

Today Berge is a successful businessman - he owns six Barriques throughout the Madison area including one in Middleton’s Cayuga Court - but this wasn’t always the case. His success is more than two decades in the making, with ups and downs and turns unforeseen.