August 2022

TOWN OF MERTON — Twelve months ago, Middleton’s football team seemed poised to open the season with a huge win at traditional powerhouse Bay Port.

The Cardinals controlled play for three quarters and led, 14-6, heading to the fourth.

Then, the wheels fell off.

The host Pirates scored 20 points in a 4 ½ minute stretch and rallied for a 26-14 win. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it wasn’t the last time they’d struggle in the fourth quarter in 2021.

“That was a trend last year,” Middleton coach Jason Pertzborn said of rough fourth quarters.

And it’s one the Cardinals focused on much of the offseason.

Bay Port comes to Middleton Thursday night in the season-opener for both teams. And the Cardinals believe they’ll be a much better fourth quarter team this season.

PRAIRE DU SAC - Patrick Passini was a competitor.

The first born to Satimo and Mabel Passini, he set the example for his siblings, James, Michael, Timothy, and Kathleen to be loyal, hardworking, and a good teammate. Pat relished competition in all forms. He was a four-year letter winner with the Middleton High School Baseball team and shared his passion for the sport by coaching many young men on the Middleton Home Talent team whom he treated like sons, teaching them the fine points of the game, conducting Saturday night bed checks, and leading them to three Home Talent Championships. Pat was also a scratch bowler. He had multiple 700 series and a perfect 300 game.

From time to time, people tell me they are under the impression I am a single parent, because I never mention my wife in these columns. Actually, my wife, who exists and is named Greta, doesn’t appear here for one particular reason. 

The reason, of course, is that making humorous (read: true) observations about one’s spouse in a newspaper column is the type of thing that often ends up mentioned in court, during contentious divorce proceedings, and it’s my sincere desire that my columns never end up as “exhibit A” in any trial, particularly my own. 

The truth is my wife is simply too busy to be a character in these stories. She is a successful graphic artist, and when she’s not at work, she is usually busy cleaning up messes in our home. This sounds helpful, but she and I have very different definitions of the word “mess,” so it’s actually a bit complicated. 

MIDDLETON–Despite having dozens of teacher and support staff vacancies, Middleton Cross Plains Area School District Director of Employee Services Barbara Buffington isn’t concerned about hiring enough teachers but has concerns about the support staff.

Buffington’s August report listed 24.8 teacher or certified staff openings and 72 support staff but on Monday she told Board of Education members that five teachers had been hired since compiling the report.

“They’re coming in hot,” she said of the hirings, and remains confident that most teacher openings should be filled by the start of the school year.

Typically, the district has up to 60 vacancies to fill in the weeks before school begins, according to Buffington.

Music and special education teachers are difficult to find with openings for seven special education teachers and a music teacher, but there are up to 10 special education applicants, Buffington said.