April 2013

Middleton Police were called to an armed robbery home invasion at 1:30 this morning in the 6400 block of Century Avenue.

According to Sgt. Jeremy Geiszler, the investigation revealed that four unknown subjects forced entry into the residence and battered one of the two occupants. 

The suspects were described as males wearing masks. They were allegedly armed with handguns, and one had a baseball bat.  The suspects left the residence in an unknown direction with several items. 

Additional investigation led to the arrest of one of the occupants, Latif Williams, 31, for a parole violation.  The other occupant, Martha Salazar, 21, was arrested for Obstructing an Officer. 

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Middleton Police Department at 608-824-7300. 

1963 was a busy year in the United States. Within the span of 12 months, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have A Dream” speech, John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Iron Man made his debut in Marvel Comics, and Beatlemania took off.

It’s also the year Middleton, which had already been a community for more than a century, officially became a city. It happened on Tuesday, April 9 at 3 p.m., according to that week’s Middleton Times-Tribune. City clerk August Dahlk and new Mayor A.M. McDermid, D.V.M, looked on as Wisconsin Secretary of State Robert C. Zimmerman signed the document changing Middleton from a village to a city.

McDermid had won election as Middleton’s first mayor one week earlier, receiving a minority vote of 680 out of 1,636 total votes cast for the office. His nearest opponent, Bruce Bennett, earned 565 votes. Leonard Bruce and Ben Denson came in third and fourth, respectively.

Tom Cabalka was flying across the Midwest Sunday afternoon.

And as Middleton’s boys golf coach saw snow from his airplane window, he had one thought.

“What is that stuff?” said Cabalka, who had spent the previous three months in Arizona. “I knew what I was coming back to, but I was also hoping I didn’t see that down there.”

Fat chance.

Golfers everywhere are getting a painfully late start this spring. And for Middleton, that’s doubly bothersome.

Not only are the Cardinals extremely anxious to get rolling. Middleton also has 60% of its lineup to replace and was hoping for a proper amount of time to figure things out.

The Cardinals’ first match of the year is scheduled for Monday. But the odds of that happening are similar to cashing in that Powerball ticket you’re holding.

“It’s not great timing,” Cabalka said of the rotten spring. “We’ve got more questions than we ever had.”

There are still some question marks.

A few balls in the air (pardon the pun).

But when things settle, this much is certain: Middleton should have one of the state’s top boys tennis teams again.

The Cardinals are scheduled to open the season Tuesday at Beloit Memorial. And Middleton will have its third coach in as many years, as Deke Bradley takes over the program.

But despite the repeated turnover, the Cardinals should again be a force.

“I've yet to discuss our teams goals with the kids,” said Bradley, who also coaches Middleton’s girls team. “But if it were only up to me, I would say win our conference and qualify for team state would definitely be goals on the list.”

Those certainly seem realistic.

Middleton has won its sectional and reached the state tournament four straight years and five of the last six. The Cardinals have also won the Big Eight Conference four consecutive seasons and seven of the last eight.