A3: Kewaskum tightening up on sex offenders

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: March 8, 2016

Kewaskum tightening up on sex offenders

Based on similar ordinances

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

KEWASKUM — Village Board President Kevin Scheunemann wanted to test the boundaries for a potential sex offender ordinance.

At Monday’s board meeting, the Board said it believes it has found a limit that is safe from legal challenges.

Police Chief Tom Bishop drafted an ordinance proposal where registered sex offenders can’t be within 750 feet of any facility where a child may go. Among the examples are public parks, swimming pools, libraries, recreational trails, schools, athletic fields, daycares, specialized schools such as a gymnastics academy and children’s clubs as Boy Scout and Girl Scout houses.

“It’s a very good ordinance,” said Richard Knoebel, a board member who sat in as president for the meeting because Scheunemann had an excused absence.

“I’m in favor of it,” Knoebel added of the ordinance.

There is no sex offender residency restriction in Kewaskum.

At the Jan. 11 meeting, Scheunemann requested a review of potential ordinances because he believed Kewaskum was getting sex offenders “dumped” into the village.

“What’s the maximum restriction?” Scheunemann asked at that meeting. He later added that he wanted to see if the limit that could be imposed be 1,500 feet.

Bishop said there are five sex offenders registered living in the village. If the ordinance of 750 feet passes, which Knoebel believes it will within the next month, an offender will not be forced to move, essentially being grandfathered-in.

About 10 years ago, the village considered an ordinance concerning sex offenders, but no action was taken because of the belief it would be a disincentive to have offenders register.

Bishop said Newburg and Richfield have a similar ordinance in place. Waukesha and Franklin have adopted similar ordinances that have held up in court. Bishop believes this ordinance — if it were ever to be challenged in court — would hold.

“I was a police chief here for 24 years,” Knoebel said. “We were going to do it and then we found out about all the litigation.

“Now several of these cases have been litigated, so now it’s off the table. You’ve got a better chance of keeping your ordinance up.”

One of the clauses in the ordinance says if the offender was a village resident at the time of the offense, he or she would be allowed to remain in the village as long as he or she isn’t in violation of the ordinance. If an offender isn’t a village resident at the time of the offense, he or she would not be allowed to move into the village.

Renters would also be held responsible if an offender rents a place of residence and is in violation of the ordinance.

“We’re pretty sure it’s a safe ordinance,” Knoebel said.

As to why local governments around the state are adopting sex offender ordinances, Knoebel said it’s because, “You didn’t know as much about sex offenders back then because they weren’t registered like they are now.

“A lot of times, it was just kept quiet.”

That’s not the case anymore and the local governments are catching up.

“It makes everybody feel a lot safer,” Knoebel said. Intersection construction planned Construction will start soon at the intersection of Highway 45 and Highway H/Badger Road as the Wisconsin Department of Transportation installs traffic lights and adds extra street lights.

“We’ve had accidents down there,” Knoebel said.

Construction is expected to take about three months.

Pool committee to meet tonight A Kiwanis Pool Committee meeting is at 7 p.m. today at the Municipal Building, 204 First St.

Among the agenda items are a project plan schedule and the development of a feasibility study for the Kiwanis Park pool.

“What they’re looking at is what we can do to make more usage of the pool,” Knoebel said.

A head start

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: March 10, 2016

A head start

UW to conduct first test regarding headbands in soccer

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

Tim McGuine has seen data that shows the force of a soccer ball going against a person’s head is similar to being hit in the head by a brick.

He’s also seen data that shows no connection between headers and concussions.

It’s time to find out which is the truth.

McGuine of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and Alison Brooks, assistant professor in the UW Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, Division of Sports Medicine, have commissioned a study to explore head injuries in soccer, centering on the use and effectiveness of headbands.

“There’s conflicting results, just like with helmets in football,” said McGuine, who is a senior scientist and researcher in the sports medicine program at UW. “There have been studies where they’ve shown on dummies that there is some force (from soccer balls). On the other hand, they’ve shot soccer balls and the balls deflate to an extent where the force is minimal.”

McGuine added he’s fielded seemingly hundreds of calls and emails from medical providers, parents and coaches about the effectiveness of headbands in soccer and whether they truly reduce concussion risk. McGuine hopes to finally answer the question with more confidence once the study is completed.

“That’ll give us a definitive picture,” he said. “Don’t mandate it if it’s not proven. We want to provide evidence.”

The study, which will be the first to explore this topic, will take two years starting in August. McGuine and his research team want about 3,000 high school soccer players (male and female, ages 14 to 18 and in ninth through 12th grades) from 88 Wisconsin high schools to enroll in the study. The subjects will fill out a baseline survey and then schools will be randomly assigned to either wear the head gear, which will be provided at no cost to schools or parents, or not wear head gear.

McGuine said the study needs “several hundred thousand practices and games” in order to get confident data.

There will be five models of headbands for students to choose from and they will be provided by researchers. All of the gear is approved for use by FIFA and NFHS and schools will be provided $100 to $200 per season. Once the study is complete, all unused gear will be donated to participating schools. The study is funded by a $300,000 grant from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment.

Kewaskum is one local school that has expressed a desire to participate. Athletic trainer Emily Anderson said she immediately jumped at the opportunity.

“It’s overdue,” she said of the study. “It needs to be done. I know a lot of researchers have done studies on the helmets in football. I think the whole concussion thing needs to be extended to soccer.”

Anderson added she hopes Kewaskum is picked. “It’s going to be a great study,” she said.

McGuine hopes more schools are willing to participate. But he also said he’s not trying to scare people from participating in soccer or other contact sports.

“If you care about the sport of soccer, you should ask (the school district) why we’re not participating in this study,” McGuine said. “I agree with soccer purists. Head gear is something they may not want to embrace, but we need to research. I don’t want to ruin it or scare people.” According to the synopsis with the study, an estimated 40,000 head injuries happen to soccer players, with girls having the higher frequency.

“The rate of concussion in girls’ high school soccer is fourth highest, behind only football, boys ice hockey and lacrosse, and high-school girls soccer players get concussed at almost twice the rate as their male counterparts,” Brooks said. “The reason for this increased risk in girls is not clearly understood. This study is incredibly important in helping us to learn more about concussion in a nonfootball sport, and to specifically look more closely at gender differences as well as monitor rates of other types of injuries that may be affected by use of the headgear.”

❑

Following Daily News’ story

In August, the Daily News published a story looking at the debate of headers and protective head gear in soccer.

At that time, West Bend West boys and girls soccer coach Kyle Cruse said, “I’d hate to see the game lose its purity.”

He also acknowledged the seriousness of head injuries in all sports.

Also in that story, Deb Hauser from the WIAA suggested headbands could make players more reckless under the belief that, if proven, head bands could reduce concussions. McGuine and Anderson each agreed that is possible and cautioned players about that.

“They may still fall on the ground and hit their head,” Anderson said, adding most of the soccer concussions she’s seen in her 10 years at Kewaskum is because of body-to-body contact or hitting their head on the ground.

“I’m not trying to scare people,” McGuine said. “I want to keep sports accessible. We have to be careful when we mandate things. If I’m a parent, I should have some certainty if I’m asked to go purchase these things.”

“The more we can do to prevent, the better we’re going to be,” he added.

OUTDOORS: A man’s best friend

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: March 9, 2016

A man’s best friend

Local dog honored

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

TOWN OF POLK — Mark Scholz admits he’s biased. But he has proof to back up his claim. After all, his 13-year-old golden retriever is the “Jack” of all trades.

Scholz’s dog, Jack, was recently honored by the Pheasants Forever Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter for a portrait Scholz had drawn of his dog by Scott Zoellick.

Each year, the organization celebrates a standout portrait of wildlife, scenery, etc. This year, Jack was chosen for the honor — Portrait of the Year.

“It truly is a great honor, well deserved by Jack,” Scholz said. “He is that good of a dog. When he was in his prime, he was one of the best around.”

Jack has been slowed by age and injuries to his hind legs, so he doesn’t hunt like he used to. However, Scholz said the memories they have don’t have a price tag.

“He’s just been that one special thing in my life for the last 13 years that means the world to me,” Scholz said.

Scholz, 66, likes to hunt ducks and pheasants. He’s had two other golden retrievers before Jack and he loved each of them. But with Jack — this dog was special, something Scholz never experienced.

In addition to hunting, Scholz also guides trips with his longhaired golden retriever at his side.

That’s when he’s in awe of Jack.

Thirteen years ago, Scholz picked out Jack from a litter at Wind River Kennel in Campbellsport. There, the trainers work with dogs to be hunting dogs.

With his first dog, Scholz read books on how to train dogs. With his second dog, he had training help.

“They never had the training Jack had,” Scholz said.

And the training makes a difference.

A dog not properly trained has a tougher time finding a bird, especially in a blind retrieve. In addition, some dogs wander aimlessly, not knowing where he or she is going, which can take away from the experience of a trip.

Scholz said he no longer has to carry a pocket full of rocks on duck hunts in the marsh. The rocks are used to help a dog retrieve a downed bird, especially if the dog didn’t see the bird come down — a blind retrieve.

If the dog is not trained to handle a blind retrieve, throwing a rock can help finds the bird.

That’s not the case with Jack.

Scholz can line up Jack in the direction of where the bird went down. He gives a simple command and Jack takes off, even if he didn’t see where it landed.

Moments later, he arrives with the bird in his mouth.

The people on his guide trips were often amazed at Jack’s talent.

“A good relationship with a dog depends on mutual understanding and intelligence,” Scholz said. “To me, the real secret in training is to not let him make mistakes at all. Of course, the dog will make mistakes in the learning process, but you always want to finish the training drill based on success and confidence.”

Scholz, a trainer and Jack worked together for two years before it was time to get in the wilderness.

“After two years of training Jack and myself — and believe me, it was harder training me — we set out for 11 years of hunting and guiding many hunts in the Dakotas, Canada and southeastern Wisconsin hunt clubs,” Scholz said, adding he could write a book about their experiences side-byside.

“You’re going to see more birds with a guide and a well-trained dog,” he said. “There’s nothing more pleasing for me than going out and having him do a great hunt for a group of guys that are very appreciative of the work that’s been put into him and they can appreciate good dog work,” Scholz said.

Because of his good work, Jack built a reputation.

As a joke, Scholz said, people will call The Highlands, a club near Cascade for recreational shooting enthusiasts and upland bird hunters, and ask for Jack, not Scholz.

“Can we get that Jack dog?” Scholz joked about requests people have made to the club.

They may also be serious. Jack changed Scholz’s hunting experiences and Scholz consistently fielded requests for Jack’s ability.

“I really enjoy the outdoors and showing off a good hunting dog,” Scholz said. “I get a lot of satisfaction watching him do the job he was trained to do.”

There is also great satisfaction for Scholz when Jack lays his head on Scholz’s lap and looks up at him with his black eyes.

“After a hunt, when we’re relaxing at home, he jumps on the couch, lays next to me, puts his paws across my legs and lays his head on my thighs, he looks up with eyes and looking at my saying, ‘How’d I do today, Dad? Did I make you proud?’” Scholz said. “It’s really cool.”

Scholz also loves the way Jack thumps his tail or lays on his hunting clothes or carries his socks around his home.

“The bond between man and dog is an ancient and honored one,” Scholz said. “You may not have known Jack, but you will have known dogs like him and you will recall those unforgettable experiences that are so special between man and his best friend.”

Points left behind

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: March 4, 2016

Points left behind

Chargers fall short in return bid to state tournament

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

WEST ALLIS — Kettle Moraine Lutheran did a lot of good things throughout the season.

But shooting free throws was not one of them. That was costly in Thursday’s WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinal against Milwaukee School of Languages.

The Chargers shot 6 of 13 at the proverbial charity stripe in their 55-48 overtime loss to the Hawks at Central High School.

“I thought we controlled the things we could control,” KML coach Jason Walz said. “We played hard. That’s the first thing, good effort. I thought we rebounded the ball really well. I thought we defended well.”

But Walz knew where the game was lost.

“We left some points at the freethrow line,” he said. “That’s the obvious one.”

Going into the game, KML (21-4) was shooting 55.2 percent at the freethrow line.

How bad has it been at the freethrow line this season? In the Chargers’ three losses this season, they were 46 of 88 (52.3 percent), including 10 of 23 in a double-overtime loss to DSHA and 14 of 30 in a buzzer-beating loss to Germantown.

KML couldn’t escape the poor freethrow shooting, especially against a team averaging close to 70 points per game.

“There’s a lot of pressure,” Walz said. “As much as you try to simulate the pressure, you have to give credit to School of Languages for making theirs and we struggled a little bit. That’s why they’re moving on and we’re done for the year.”

Languages (19-4) was 11 of 13 at the free-throw line.

Walz also pointed out other areas where the Chargers may have lost the game to the Hawks.

“We had some empty possessions where we had decent post touches, decent looks inside and couldn’t finish at the basket,” he said. “In a game that’s this close, every possession matters.”

But it’s the free-throws that’ll be the glaring statistic from this heartbreaking defeat. Because of it, the Chargers’ 21-game winning streak is history and so is their promising season of a hopeful third straight trip to state and a second state title in three years.

KML led 45-41 with 2:13 left in the second and missed its only free throw the rest of regulation.

“It’s easy to dwell on that,” Walz said. “But you also have to remember how many big shots did we hit? How many key stops did we get? I guess I’ll try to remember those things instead of the what-could-have-beens and stick with the what-was.”

There were 20 lead changes, 13 in the first half. The biggest lead was 29-23 by KML late in the first half. The Chargers led 29-26 at halftime.

KML went on an 8-0 run late in the first half to take a 29-23 lead. One of the key plays in that stretch was a 3-point play by Payton Schneider. Interestingly enough, the Chargers were 3 of 3 from the free-throw line in the first half.

Sydney Rossow played her best half of the season, scoring 12 points and doubling her season average.

“She was aggressive and she took the ball to the basket from the free-throw line,” Walz said. “I thought she did a good job of attacking the rim.”

Rossow finished with a team-high 14 points, matching her season high. Lyndsey Soderbeck had 11 points and Schneider had 10.

The Chargers maintained the lead for most of the second half, even as they went through a cold spell without any points for more than three minutes.

Languages took the lead for the first time in the second half on a basket with 6:00 left in the half, prompting a timeout by Walz.

Quickly out of the timeout, Soderbeck made a basket to give KML the lead back at 37-36.

Languages’ Zheniah Jackson, the team’s leading scorer at 18.4 points per game, made a 3-pointer to give the Hawks a 41-39 lead with 4:14 left. Then, with 3:59 left in regulation, KML’s Sharla Boehlke made a 3-pointer to give KML a 43-41 lead. Then a basket by Schneider stretched the lead to 45-41.

With less than five seconds remaining, things got confusing.

Languages’ Breahna Butler made a shot that tied the game at 45, but the scoreboard showed it was a 3-pointer. There was screaming from both sets of fans about what the right call was. Some Languages fans had to be pulled away from near their team’s bench as they tried to argue with officials.

On the ensuing inbound, Soderbeck went coast-to-coast, drew contact, but didn’t get a call and didn’t get off a shot, sending the game to overtime.

After Languages scored in the overtime, Boehlke made another 3-pointer to give KML a 48-47 lead with three minutes remaining. That held until a basket by Jackson with 1:05 left gave the Hawks the lead for good.

Jackson finished with a game-high 17 points for the Hawks, while Timeah Stotts and Butler each added 13 points.

It is also a proverbial monkey off Languages’ back as it had lost to KML in each of the last two postseasons.

“It puts us over the top,” Languages coach Gary Huven said. “We knew we could play with them. It just came down to getting the last couple of points to get the win.”

For KML, it’s goodbye to seniors Boehlke, Annika Eller, Schneider, Rossow, Emily Frey, Kim Zimmel and Alyssa Shipley.

“We had a special group of seniors that have been through a lot together,” Walz said. “They led us to a lot of wins. To see them leave is a natural progression, but we’ll look back at what they contributed.”

Yes, it happened

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: March 3, 2016

Yes, it happened

West Bend skier in disbelief over state title

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

KEWASKUM — Sarah Devenport knows what she accomplished Feb. 15 was special.

It’s one reason she’s still in disbelief she did it.

“It doesn’t feel real,” said the West Bend West junior and member of the West Bend co-op ski team.

Possibly another reason she’s in disbelief is because it has never happened before.

Devenport won the giant slalom race at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Alpine Racing Association Ski and Snowboard Championship on Mount La Crosse in La Crosse, finishing the course in 32.72 seconds, 0.18 seconds ahead of Arrowhead’s Teagan Hipp, who went on to win the overall state title.

Devenport is West Bend’s first high school state skiing champion, according to her coach and father, Brad Devenport.

“It really hasn’t (sunk in) yet,” Sarah said. “I know how awesome of an accomplishment it is.”

It’s something Brad never accomplished when he skied for West Bend in the mid-1980s.

“I couldn’t be happier for her,” Brad said. “I knew she could do it. She was sixth last year and she’s gotten better. It was really neat to see.”

There is another theory as to why Sarah can’t believe what she did. Her confidence was sketchy. Plus, the weekend played mind games with her.

She arrived at state Feb. 12 for training runs and was happy with how they went, which was a relief. In the week leading up to the competition, her training runs, she thought, were inconsistent. Some were good, others not so much.

“I’m not a consistent ski racer,” Sarah said. “Some days are better than others. I’ll have nights of practice where I’m skiing well or I’m not. It’s not like cross-country when you have 15 minutes to show what you have. You have 45 seconds. One mistake and it’s over.

“It’s hard to have confidence in a sport like that.”

But that’s also the thrill she gets from the sport.

“It’s such a mind game,” Sarah said. “It’s addicting.”

She may be hard on herself, but that’s a sign of a competitor.

Sarah has been beaten only once in giant slalom in the last two years. That was at state last year when she took sixth.

Also, skiers only get one run, unlike during the regular season where they get two runs.

Talk about pressure. She admitted she barely slept the night before the competition. And it didn’t get better after her runs in slalom and Super G. She was 12th in the slalom and 11th on Super G.

She thought she was confident heading into giant slalom.

“Given the way the first two went, I still had doubts,” Sarah said. “The top five medal, so my goal was to medal in the GS. I started thinking too much about the competition.”

For giant slalom, Sarah was the 12th of 132 racers to compete.

“Everything about the run was different,” she said. “My focus was on a different level. During the run, I kept telling myself, ‘That this was it.’ It felt good.”

Then the agonizing wait.

“Then I had to wait an hour for the racers to go,” Sarah said. “That was the most nerve-wracking part of the day.”

“I’ve never felt that on the edge,” she added. “There were a few racers that I had beaten before. I couldn’t even watch them go down.”

The only thing she was comfortable with was Hipp had already competed.

When the 132nd skier crossed the finish line, Sarah learned she was a state champion.

“It was pretty surreal,” she said of the moment she realized she was a state champion. “I couldn’t believe everything I had worked for had paid off.”

With all the mind games and wavering confidence, her father never doubted her.

“She’s worked very hard for this,” Brad said. “She’s been ski racing since she was 8 years old. The amount of work she’s put into it ... not only does she practice three nights a week, but she’s on the snow six days a week. There’s a lot that goes into it.”

His only nerves were typical, especially in ski racing, “You just never know.”

Brad grew up skiing and couldn’t wait to pass it onto his kids.

“I’ve always had a great passion for the sport and I love the mountains,” Brad said.

But it wasn’t a natural thing for Sarah.

“That’s what made me kind of like it,” she said, adding she was intrigued by the sport’s challenges.

Winning a state championship on giant slalom and finishing fifth overall wasn’t a fluke — Brad said Sarah spent several hours a week on the slopes wherever the snow was. She normally trains at Sunburst, but will venture throughout the state to find snow to ski. Beginning Friday is the Eastern High School National Championship competition in New Hampshire and Sarah was selected to compete for Team Wisconsin.

“I thought about (winning state) so much growing up,” Sarah said. “Now that it happened, I don’t know if it happened.”