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(2008/08/29)
Two annual events this Labor Day weekend pack in a lot of horsepower, and we’re not talking Thunderstox. The Wisconsin High School Rodeo Association two-day rodeo and the Northern Chapter Wisconsin Pony of the Americas show will bring a small army of horses and young equestrians to the area.
(2008/08/29)
“The Heider Center is a very special place for me,” said Lynn Wierzbicki, the first artist featured in the Heider’s Visual Arts Series for 2008-2009. Wierzbicki’s oil painting will be available for viewing during September.
(2008/08/29)
Amid familiar complaints by some students that summer is ending too soon, there’s at least one local group that’s delighted by the prospect of going back to school.
(2008/08/29)
Back in May, when Coulee Region Christian School Principal Dan Odenbach promised his students he’d run 100 miles of competitive races this summer in return for them praying for him (he also solicited donations for the school), he knew that staying in shape was going to be tough.
(2008/08/29)
August brought more sightings of great blue herons, at least for me. Especially when visiting Goose Island, which is not far from my La Crosse home, more of the big birds were visible from the roads. As I’ve mentioned before, it is often worth the wait to park and watch the herons as they wade around and stalk prey.
(2008/08/29)
When Father Robert Schaller was in college, he spent a summer in Germany, in part because he was studying German. More importantly, he said, “there was something in me that wanted to see that land that my ancestors came from.”
(2008/08/29)
As a parent, you and your children are engaged in very important interactions — where your child is learning, doing and growing, and as a parent you are trying to help your child learn, behave and grow in appropriate ways. This is called guidance/discipline, according to Kenneth E. Barber, Washington State University Extension family life specialist.
(2008/08/29)
I’ve had technical difficulties this week getting my computer to save my most recent recipe. Most of the technical difficulties just so happen to be on my end.
(2008/08/29)
Going green -- it’s a term everyone has heard of, it’s everywhere and it’s easier to do today then ever before. There is tons of information out there that can be useful, whether you have been green for years or just starting out.
(2008/08/29)
During a political year, such as the one through which we are now passing, we are bound to hear references to the roots from which we sprung — and how far we have moved away from them. Despite the chatter, we almost never hear what those roots really were.
(2008/08/29)
Hello, friends. Today marked the start of 11 days of living on the edge, in terms of time, money and outdoor experience. My stepson, Joey Dushek and I will spend 20 hours living in my boat on Lake Mendota.
(2008/08/26)
Neil Sanders has spent much of his life helping others, but now he needs a little help in return. This Sunday, a poker run will start at the Hawg Pasture in West Salem and end at a benefit for Sanders at the Log Cabin banquet hall in Bangor.
(2008/08/26)
If there were a distance award for senior exit projects at West Salem High School, Kyle Rogers would have been the undisputed winner this year. Rogers spent more than 30 hours on a plane, touching down in Amsterdam and Nairobi, Kenya, to complete his project.
(2008/08/26)
“It was everything I ever hoped for, and more — I want to go back,” said West Salem bowhunter Matt Berg of his trip to Africa this summer. “People always told me that, once you go to Africa, you’ll want to go back and it’s true.”
(2008/08/26)
A natural bonus for finding wildflowers or watching your own garden is the sight of butterflies visiting the flowers. Some gardeners plant certain flowers and shrubs specifically to attract the colorful insects. But however you find them, butterflies are a treat to watch.
(2008/08/26)
Four years ago, Brian Schroeder was a phenom, a prodigy, a 16-year-old Holmen High School sophomore who recorded and released a CD on his own that sold out its printing of 1,000 copies in a matter of weeks. He also was wowing people with his soulful vocals and prowess on piano and guitar in live performances at a variety of venues.
(2008/08/26)
I went to my part-time job this morning grateful that my friend and confidant was there to greet me with a smiling face. I have to admit that I really just needed to vent. It was as if I opened a main artery and the poison just ran out.
(2008/08/26)
Since we are now passing through the part of our year that the calendar tells us is midsummer, it seems appropriate to say something about the wildflowers that are predominant at this season.
(2008/08/26)
Hello, friends. This past week I tried something that I have been dreaming about for a while and found out that a persons dreams, do not always work out like they want them to.
(2008/08/26)
Big Creek Methodist Church sits on a lonely corner in Monroe County, the church spire a local landmark for those who travel Big Creek Road and beyond. It still has the horse shed where horse and buggies were parked during services. It still has 14 simple pews and glass-paned windows. What it doesn’t have anymore is a congregation.
(2008/08/26)
As your child heads off to college in the fall, you may be wondering what am I going to do now that the kids are gone.
(2008/08/26)
Has your teen had his or her annual physical yet? Did you know that the Academy of Pediatrics recommends that your child see his or her provider every year for a complete physical?
(2008/08/26)
In his new book, “So Brave, Young and Handsome,” Leif Enger beautifully blends friendship and adventure in a tale rivaling those featuring Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. It is a story of a wonderful time gone by where outlaws look like winking Santas and stories are as big as the West.
(2008/08/19)
One reason West Salem school Superintendent Nancy Burns traveled to China last month was to to get a feel for the kinds of challenges American students are going to meet in the global marketplace in the 21st century. In that sense, the trip was a real eye-opener.
(2008/08/19)
Elvis Presley died 31 years ago this Saturday, but a talk with some of the area’s biggest Elvis fans makes it clear that his music and his life still resonate strongly — even if those fans were just children when he passed on.
(2008/08/19)
Restless Heart is out to prove it’s never too late to mend fences.
(2008/08/19)
While sitting on a wooded knoll overlooking a bend in the Kickapoo River, I couldn’t help but think of the rocks underneath. I knew that the sandstone bedrock had been exposed by the cutting action of the river below and presented a scenic cliff to canoeists and hikers viewing it from the river itself. A few moments earlier, I was exploring a section of that same cliff, located in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve in Vernon County.
(2008/08/19)
Remember a few months ago when I wrote about my excitement of taking my child lake trout fishing on Lake Michigan and we were going to depart in June? Well the captain cancel-led that trip because of all the rain we received during those two weeks.
(2008/08/19)
Here’s a dilemma for you Christians awaiting the rapture: How are you going to leave instructions for your less-religious next of kin?
(2008/08/19)
The numbers of people uninsured continues to rise nationwide, but Wisconsin is bucking the trend with the success of its BadgerCare Plus public health insurance program. But while BadgerCare Plus is widely available, many of those for whom it was designed aren’t yet aware they are eligible for coverage.
(2008/08/19)
In today’s fast-paced world, it seems that as soon as people overcome one obstacle or achieve one goal, they’re onto the next. They lose their first five pounds and immediately shift their attention to the next 15 they want to lose. They clean their cluttered basements and move onto the garage. Or they get a much-coveted work promotion only to fix their eyes on the next one.
(2008/08/19)
Have I got a couple of great reads for you! I just came back from our family vacation and, since it was over eight hours away, I finally had some time to catch up on some of my favorite authors’ newest books.
(2008/08/19)
The rain garden, a new type of garden springing up in yards across the country, can improve quality of lakes and streams and protect drinking water supplies — while adding an attractive, low-maintenance landscape feature to lawns and gardens.
(2008/08/19)
The town of Holland will host a hands-on rain garden workshop from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 23, at Holland Town Hall on Highway MH.
(2008/08/19)
There is no doubt about it. Everyone who lives in the vicinity of the La Crosse River Trail knows all about the heavy snows of last winter. And all about the near record rainfalls this spring and summer.
(2008/08/19)
Hello, friends. This past week I went on a 44-mile canoe trip on the St. Croix River with my 7-year-old daughter Selina and my stepson Joey. We began our journey at Osceola and ended it at Prescott, which is where the St Croix empties into the Mississippi River.
(2008/08/13)
Matt Kline scored a home run off a low and inside pitch to kick off a new season on a new team. Sounds like a sports story, but it’s not — it’s a love story.
(2008/08/13)
Ladies, lace up your skates. Roller derby competitions are making a comeback. After an almost 35-year hiatus, women are taking to the rink to play a new version of roller derby.
(2008/08/13)
For ice hockey fanatics who can’t wait for the season to begin, there’s a new league in town. The new roller hockey league is rolling to a successful inaugural season at the Onalaska OmniCenter.
(2008/08/13)
Every week during the summer there is a fishing derby of some sort along the Upper Mississippi River. Most of them target bass or walleyes but once in a while something different comes along. Last week, Tuna’s Bar in Genoa, Wis., held its second fishing derby for 2008, but the target fish was the sheepshead rather than its more famous river relatives.
(2008/08/13)
When Ken Cvikota wants to ride in style — old style — he’s got plenty of options. He could drive a 1960 Thunderbird, a 1962 Thunderbird Sport Roadster convertible, a 1972 Buick convertible, a 1930 Model A coupe or a 1930 Model A Phaeton.
(2008/08/13)
Last spring, Jacob Rybold pulled into the parking lot of Westby High School with his immaculately restored 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang. And like you might expect when a 17-year-old shows up at high school in a show-quality car, it attracted a big of attention.
(2008/08/13)
I’m in a pickle, literally. I canned almost 40 jars last night until the early morning hours, and what you’re about to read will be the shortest article I ever write.
(2008/08/13)
We have not had many people preserving home-grown produce and meats over the past decade, but with recent increases, many people think that they can beat rising food prices by growing and preserving food at home. Food preservation may save money for some, but not necessarily everyone.
(2008/08/13)
Oh, how I loved my ’82 Volvo. It was a beautiful cream color and had only 500 miles on it when I bought it in 1982. Friends teased me about driving the aerodynamic equivalent of a shoebox, but it served me well and I thought it was gorgeous.
(2008/08/13)
Since the autumn of 1991, I estimate that I have submitted at least 860 of these articles. The great majority of them have been printed in the paper you are now reading. And, I think that I have submitted very few on subjects well known to each and every one of you.
(2008/08/13)
Hello, friends. About every other year I climb into a tree and sit there from late afternoon until well after daylight the next day and write about what I see.
(2008/08/06)
Balanced energy is the key to success at Gayle Nielsen’s new healing arts practice in West Salem.
(2008/08/06)
A business takeover can be a scary thing, especially when the company is based in another country, but the Bangor railway tie operation where that happened three years ago has kept right on track, with large-scale investments modernizing the operation.
(2008/08/06)
Mention the Bangor-Burns Fire Department, and its over-60 senior citizens — Dick Chapiewsky, Pete Elsen, Gene Freit, Ron Paulus and Richard “Curly” Tenner — can get pretty fired up.
(2008/08/06)
I often get things mixed up, but they are usually in my KitchenAid whirling about preparing to be dumped into some form of a cake.
(2008/08/06)
For the second time this summer I saw a brilliant yellow shelf mushroom growing at the base of a tree near the west boat landing on Goose Island. This time it was a different tree, but it was the same kind of fungus — the chicken or sulfur mushroom (Polyporus sulphureus).
(2008/08/06)
In traveling to and from the La Crosse Interstate Fair, I was thinking about what to write about in upcoming news columns. I know it is normally shortly after the fair that the first “back to school” specials are advertised.
(2008/08/06)
While looking up a few statistics in “The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals,” I learned that there are 368 species of mammals currently living wild in North America north of Mexico. These range in size from the least shrew that equals a dime in weight right up to the Alaskan brown bear that reaches 1,700 pounds.
(2008/08/06)
Hello, friends. This past week I had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with Brandon Wikman, the 20-year-old co-host of Bass Pro Shops’ “The Next Generation” outdoor television show.
(2008/07/29)
When the collection of buildings looming over the west end of downtown Bangor started to come down last week, it marked the end of an era. For well over a century the Hussa Brewery/Sprehn Feed Mill (or their remnants) dominated the local skyline.
(2008/07/29)
It would have taken a lot more than a little rain to keep the La Crosse Interstate Fair from being a success.
(2008/07/29)
Camp Decorah, a nationally certified Boy Scout Camp on the Black River north of Holmen, has been drawing praise this summer from Scouts and Scout leaders alike.
(2008/07/29)
Despite the average sale prices dipping from last year, the Junior Livestock Auction was still deemed a success and gave area youth an educational opportunity at the La Crosse Interstate Fair.
(2008/07/29)
The elderly in La Crosse County need a lot of help, and Joan Beebe has been volunteering to provide some of that help for more than 10 years. For that, she — and the people she helps — has her mother to thank.
(2008/07/29)
One adventure I always look forward to every summer is a visit to the sundew patches in Jackson County. Most people would probably look at the same place and see grass-like sedges, huckleberry bushes, sphagnum moss and any number of other plants and wonder where all the sundews were.
(2008/07/29)
Music fans won’t have to wait in line for a chance at a backstage pass to The Vans Warped Tour this summer if they’re willing to help save lives and give blood to the American Red Cross.
(2008/07/29)
I have a little confession to make: I had to turn over the grilling to my fiance Tim.
(2008/07/29)
I sometimes wonder just how much attention we would pay the Dalai Lama if he showed up in Madison wearing slacks and a sport coat, rather than saffron robes and sandals.
(2008/07/29)
When I was young, “The Old Oaken Bucket” was the title of an already old song about a moss-covered pail that had been made of oak lumber and suspended on the end of a length of rope for the purpose of lifting water out of an ancient open well.
(2008/07/29)
The West Salem Parks and Recreation Department is still accepting summer registration for the following activities.
(2008/07/29)
Hello, friends, This week I have a good news story about the kids group Kids and Mentors Outdoors — or KAMO — that I helped start back in February of 2007.
(2008/07/22)
Even if you missed the opening day yesterday, there is still an abundance of fair to enjoy as the La Crosse Interstate Fair continues through Sunday.
(2008/07/22)
Combined shifts, bigger projects, lots of lawn mowing and deep cleaning are some of the aspects of the job of custodial staffs in the Bangor and West Salem school districts during the summer months.
(2008/07/22)
When Brian Wierzbicki decided to start Precision Stump Removal LLC in West Salem, it was customer service that was the driving force.
(2008/07/22)
Anyone who’s ever had houseguests overstay their welcome can sympathize with the plight of architect Willum Cubbert in Lary Shue’s “The Nerd.”
(2008/07/22)
Now that the children are out of school, it won’t be long — if it hasn’t happened already — before they are complaining they are bored. Just in time, SimplyFun party planners are hosting game parties for kids and their parents to try out new games together.
(2008/07/22)
Heidi Lyga, a Bangor High School Spanish teacher who ran in the Boston Marathon in April, won her age group in the July 5 10-kilometer division at the annual Chileda Classic.
(2008/07/22)
Three West Salem residents finished in the top four in their age divisions at the July 5 annual Chileda Classic in La Crosse.
(2008/07/22)
Are teens and credit cards a risky mix leading to debt and financial woes? Or do teens with credit cards have an opportunity to gain money management experience and a good credit history?
(2008/07/22)
The United States Golf Association and Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews permitted the use of electronic measuring devices to aid golfers last year. That decision has come to revolutionize the way most tournaments are being played in Wisconsin, including with the Three Rivers Golf Association.
(2008/07/22)
A picture of a black bear in today’s La Crosse Tribune has prompted me to look backward in my files at copies of this series of articles to see when I last noted the presence of one of these animals in our area. Would you believe it was just short of one year ago?
(2008/07/22)
Over the last few weeks, I have seen a lot of the purple to pink flowers of the crown vetch (Coronilla varia) along our roads, highways and in many fields around the Coulee Region. The plant blossoms every year from May to August and they present vast fields of pretty color.
(2008/07/22)
Hello, friends, This past week I spent six days with friends and family camping at Wilderness County Park, which is located on the Petenwell Flowage in northern Juneau County.
(2008/07/22)
There’s a new way to play and the Onalaska YMCA has it. On June 23, the facility opened its new Pepsi Prime Time Youth Lounge with cool, state-of-the-art interactive games.
(2008/07/16)
After school lets out around Memorial Day, it might seem like a safe assumption that most kids take a three-month break from learning.
(2008/07/16)
When the Boys & Girls Club of West Salem Area opened on July 16 of last summer, the earliest predictions were it would take three years for the club’s membership to reach 280 members. However, it took two short months to surpass that benchmark and, in the months since, club growth has continued at an incredible pace.
(2008/07/16)
With 116 teenagers signed up, Bethany Evangelical Free Church might have the largest teen Bible study group around. How did the church get that many teenagers motivated to study the Bible over their summer break? Take them water skiing.
(2008/07/16)
The high waters on the Mississippi and Black rivers aren’t keeping water skiers from enjoying the sport, including the River City Water Ski Club.
(2008/07/16)
The West Salem Sharks swim team traveled to Sparta on June 28 for the first of two away meets this season. It was a chilly, overcast day, but most of the events were able to finish before the meet was called because of rain. The Shark swimmers did very well.
(2008/07/16)
Christen Geyer leaves no doubt she is pumped up about taking part in her fourth Onalaska High School summer musical and seventh OHS show overall. For one thing, she landed a plum starring role as the witch in this year’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods.”
(2008/07/16)
I’ve been at the computer for over an hour and I’ve deleted the last four articles. I have a lot on my mind and can’t seem to get my thought processes together.
(2008/07/16)
People attending the 2008 La Crosse Area Builders Association’s Parade of Homes chose a West Salem home built by Gorman Construction as their favorite of the 17 new homes and two remodeling projects featured houses in this year’s tour.
(2008/07/16)
It was at least three years ago (possibly four) that I made a quick trip out to the east end of our Prairie Natural Area along the La Crosse River Trail on an errand. I was hoping to meet a steam locomotive that was scheduled to pass our way that day as I wanted a picture.
(2008/07/16)
Often, I feel rather like a kid while chasing a frog or butterfly to get a good picture. I did much the same thing when I was 9 years old and I’ve been doing it ever since.
(2008/07/16)
Hello, friends, Last week and again this week I am writing to you about one of the most enjoyable and practical-joke filled trips (next to deer camp) of the year.
(2008/07/09)
If Sunday’s turnout at Rockland Park Progress Days is any indication of what people think of the village’s recreational facilities, the community loves its parks.
(2008/07/09)
For Doug Wozney, winning the People’s Choice award last weekend in the S&S Cycle 50th anniversary bike build-off competition was sweet. But in a way, the second place award he won was sweeter.
(2008/07/09)
The West Salem Sharks swim team hosted their first meet of the season on Thursday, June 26. It was attended by Sparta, Onalaska, Holmen, Trempealeau and Coulee Region Rapids.
(2008/07/09)
The West Salem Parks and Recreation Department has a variety of fun summer activities for participants of all ages.
(2008/07/09)
In addition to honoring wives, mothers and grandmothers at their annual Femme Party, Voiture 830 of the La Crosse County 40 & 8 recently presented awards to J.C. Penney and members of the staff at the Valley View Mall store.
(2008/07/09)
If you have walked outdoors much lately you might have seen some frothy masses of bubbles that resemble spit attached to the stems and leaves of a number of plants. In fact, the creatures that make them are called spittlebugs. Out of curiosity, I inspected a juicy wad of the foam to see what was inside.
(2008/07/09)
Popular media creates the notion of instant and romantic relationships. Even though we all know they don’t happen that quickly, most people hope for satisfying relationships in their lives.
(2008/07/09)
As a child, I remember fondly sitting on the countertop by my mother’s mixer and cracking eggs into a bowl and helping her to make everything from cookies to meatballs.
(2008/07/09)
It’s time to face some facts along the La Crosse River Trail. Although I think of myself as a genuine rural resident, I have now lived a bit more than half of my life — 40 years, in fact — as a villager, which is somewhat more restrictive than the life to which I was born.
(2008/07/09)
Air travel is not what it used to be. In years past, airline travel was considered a luxury with thoughtful flight attendants looking after sophisticated passengers. Today, airline travel conjures images of cramped cabins, delayed flights, lost luggage and correspondingly grumpy travelers.
(2008/07/09)
Wisconsin consumers need to be prepared for a new twist on a phone scam, warned the Wisconsin Bankers Association. The current scheme involves an offer to lower interest rates rather than previous scams that warned of compromised accounts.
(2008/07/09)
Hello, friends, I recently returned from what is probably my best annual outdoor adventure.
(2008/07/01)
The Mindoro Cut — a roadway passage 74 feet deep and 26 feet wide carved out of mostly solid rock — turns 100 this year. In celebration, the community of Mindoro is going all out this Sunday to ensure a happy and memorable birthday for the deepest hand-hewn road cut in the nation. Food, fun and history — especially history — will dominate the proceedings.
(2008/07/01)
Rockland will again gather to promote its parks as its annual Park Progress Days will be held on Sunday.
(2008/07/01)
For those that thrive on revving engines, smoke, noise and stunts, Saturday’s motorcycle stunt show at the Harley-Davidson store in Onalaska will be a treat — and a free one at that. Labeled “The American Daredevil,” famed stunt motorcyclist Bubba Blackwell will thrill crowds with his riding stunts on his tricked-up Harley.
(2008/07/01)
Malory Hendrickson, a graduate of Bangor High School (2004) and Luther College, is going on a mission to Mexico beginning this August as part of the Young Adults in Global Mission program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She will be raising funds for her trip in the Bangor/West Salem area before her departure.
(2008/07/01)
The death of George Caffrey last month prompted West Salem resident Bob Selbrede to send The Coulee News an old picture of Caffrey taken in the Pischke Motors showroom, back when that business was still downtown on Leonard Street
(2008/07/01)
Employees of the county’s sheltered workshop for people with disabilities at the Lakeview Health Center in West Salem are hoping they will get the chance to help out area businesses in the Coulee Region this summer — and maybe earn some spending money in the process.
(2008/07/01)
Every summer, Red Cross officials say blood and platelet donations lag as many donors vacation or are otherwise occupied with summer activities and neglect to donate.
(2008/07/01)
I usually have a healthy diet rich in leafing greens and vegetables, but today is not going to be one of those days.
(2008/07/01)
Daniel Gollnick, an Eagle Scout and recent graduate of Bangor High School, recently built a precious gift for the residents of Mulder Health Care Facility in West Salem — a raised plant bed so residents in wheelchairs could do a little gardening or perhaps once again enjoy the smell of fresh dirt or a blooming flower.
(2008/07/01)
The second-annual West Salem High School Alumni & Friends Golf Outing will be held on Saturday, Aug. 2 at Fox Hollow Golf Course in Barre Mills.
(2008/07/01)
When I was a kid, growing up in the back of a rather tight coulee, the sky was a lot smaller than it is today. At least my sky was.
(2008/07/01)
I have expressed disappointment at times that Pettibone Park on the Mississippi River near La Crosse hasn’t been utilized more as a wildlife observation area as it was originally intended. I should note, however, that I have noticed lately that a few areas on the western side have indeed been left uncut and more natural plant growth has been allowed to grow.
(2008/07/01)
Hello, friends, As you are reading this week’s column, I am more than likely just returning from a nine-day, fly-in fishing trip to Ontario, Canada.
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