Council to study traffic light patterns

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Feb. 3, 2015

Council to study traffic light patterns

Committee to review road projects

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

The West Bend Common Council decided at Monday’s meeting at City Hall to use more than $63,000 to research the traffic light pattern on Paradise Drive from an account that was already allocated to fix traffic signals.

The council also unanimously voted to appoint a three-person committee to review city road work projects and accept bids for the pending 18th Avenue expansion project, which Mayor Kraig Sadownikow said he still hopes will start in 2017.

The aldermen voted to use $63,100 budgeted to replace existing radios at traffic signals connected to the master signal at Washington and Seventh and install more radios where needed. Also figured into that cost was the purchase of one camera, labor, and a consultant to perform traffic counts, analysis and timing.

Instead, the money will be used to fund a research project to review the timing of the traffic signals on Paradise Drive, plus purchase a traffic laptop for the Street Division, purchase a spare processor for traffic camera and complement budgeted funds for pre-emption system at Washington Avenue and River Road.

“Some of the dollars will go to research and re-time those to make them more user friendly,” Sadownikow said after the meeting.

The three-person committee charged with reviewing the city’s street-repair wish list consists of aldermen Rick Kasten (District 5), Ed Duquaine (District 3) and Steve Hutchins (District 2).

“We do have some priorities in place with regard to which road gets fixed next, but really confirm that priority list is still accurate,” Sadownikow said while introducing the plan, adding maintaining passable roads is still a high priority.

The most recent list is from about three years ago.

Sadownikow said about $20 million-$30 million worth of work needs to be done in the city, with only about $1 million per year available.

The city’s total budget is $20 million.

“If we’re going to do it one year at a crack, it’s going to take us 20-30 years to get them all done and by that time we’re going to have a whole other list that starts,” Sadownikow said.

Some funds to help with the 18th Avenue project is coming from the state. However, the funds are limited and that’s where the council’s search for a cost-friendly bid comes into play.

The council hopes to have at least five bids by Feb. 11.

COLUMN: Youth sports need work

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Jan. 31, 2015

Kay Rego, a member of the Athletic Engagement Task Force committee, told the group in Wednesday’s meeting “competitiveness leads to confidence.”

West Bend isn’t competitive in a lot of areas because it has fallen behind other communities on how it prepares young athletes.

Rick Riehl, another committee member, said he had conversations with community members from different communities in the two weeks between meetings — Slinger and Hartford.

He relayed to the committee what was said to him, which essentially was the community put an emphasis on its youth sports programs and did so at an earlier age, as young as third grade.

Riehl said Hartford had a similar engagement with its community three years ago, like the one West Bend is doing. That is trying to figure out how to enhance the athletics experience in the community.

Riehl said Hartford is happy with its progress and it’s evident with the level of success the programs are enjoying and that’s not necessarily wins or losses. They’re competitive.

If a team is competitive, it’s more fun to be a part of it.

Tori Burns, a member of the West Bend West girls basketball team, told the committee there is a feeling of quit among her teammates after the Spartans lost to Beaver Dam, 65-8, on Tuesday. Other committee members said too many student-athletes in West Bend have little to no faith he or she can win.

When you don’t have faith in what you’re doing at the varsity level, how can one expect those varsity players to show they’re excited enough for it to trickle to the younger levels?

Kids aren’t dumb. They can see who’s having fun and who’s not.

It’s great to have kids out for the team, but it can’t be fun to lose by 57 points on the home floor in front of family and friends.

Kids see that and so do their parents. So how can one blame them for not getting excited?

Riehl, and a number of the other committee members, suggested the emphasis at the grade-school levels should not be winning or losing. It should be about teaching the game. Teach the fundamentals and make it open for everybody.

It has to be inclusive, Riehl said. Make it fun, too.

That can also go for varsity coaches. The most successful coaches, such as late Germantown football coach Phil Datka, are involved at the youth levels.

Datka attended youth football games. That got kids excited. That made them aspire to be a part of his team. In time, he built a successful program at Germantown.

Competitiveness will lead to confidence, which will lead to victories.

Ron Larsen, another committee member, questioned why so many freshmen play on varsity teams. In some cases, they deserve to be on the team. In most other cases, they’re on varsity only because the team is struggling to field a varsity roster.

If things don’t go well, it unravels quickly. If you lose games by 20 or 30 points, show no competitiveness or barely win games, there is no confidence.

With no confidence, the game is no longer fun. When the fun is gone, so are the student-athletes and it’s a snowball effect from there down to the grade-school levels.

To get this turned around, it’s going to require a commitment by everybody, but also patience.

By no means is it an overnight mix or even a one- or two-year fix. It’s going to take at least four or five years.

In time, West Bend will catch up, but only if it brings up its youths better.

You’ve got to believe.

SKIING: Fitting right in

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Jan. 29, 2015

Fitting right in

Camille Kaufmann brings new element to West Bend co-op

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

KEWASKUM — All Camille Kaufmann wanted when she joined the West Bend co-op ski team this season was to fit in, make some friends and have fun.

She’s done all of the above. It’s gone better than expected for her and the ski team.

Kaufmann is a foreign exchange from Switzerland and has emerged as one of the team’s top skiers on a squad that had its share of question marks going into this season.

“She’s one of our foreign exchange students that has lit it on fire for us,” West Bend coach John Kasten said. “We’ve had foreign exchange students in the past; they’ve been pretty average skiers.

“Camy’s definitely brought a high level here with her experience from growing up in the mountains.”

Kaufmann grew up in Saint-Luc, Switzerland, a village of 312 people, according to the 2008 Swiss Federal Statistic Office report.

Switzerland is home to some of the most famous ski slopes in the world — the Swiss Alps.

“She’s not only a solid skier for the team,” Kasten said. “She’s definitely a quality person; blends in with our team really well.”

Kaufmann arrived in the United States in August.

“I wanted to meet people,” she said. “I wanted to make friends because I’m new here and I wanted to have fun.”

“And I like skiing,” she said. “That’s my life.”

As expected, life in the U.S. compared to Switzerland is different, but that’s what makes it fun.

“I like challenge,” she said. “The people are really nice so, that helps.”

The biggest difference is how the schools are set up.

In Switzerland, she can’t choose which classes she wants to take.

Kaufmann likes that there is hunting in the United States because her dad is a hunter. And she is a fan of the cheese.

“And the cows,” she said with a smile.

Kasten didn’t know he was going to get Kaufmann on the team until about November, a month before the season started.

“It was a blessing in disguise,” Kasten said.

“I knew we could probably qualify for state,” he added. “I guess I didn’t know we’d be so high in contention.”

Kaufmann’s arrival couldn’t have come at a better time for the sake of the West Bend team.

Last season, West Bend finished third at the state meet. The team has finished in the top-five at state in three of the last four seasons.

After the season, five seniors graduated, including Laura Davenport, who finished 13th overall and 17th in giant slalom at state.

Kasten believed in the collection of skiers he had going into this season, as far as skill and talent. He just didn’t know how they’d fare in terms of consistency.

Sarah Davenport, Laura’s sister, was the leading returning skier from a season ago. Sarah Davenport finished 20th overall at last year’s state meet, including 10th in giant slalom.

“I knew it was going to be a rebuilding year, to an extent,” Kasten said. “However, the younger athletes have stepped up where we’ve brought depth and consistency throughout our one through six seed.

“They’re performing really well.”

Add a foreign exchange student from Switzerland, a hot spot for skiing, and West Bend picks up where it left.

Right away Kasten could see what difference she could make.

“Definitely some natural talent that I hadn’t seen here in the Midwest,” Kasten said. “I just didn’t know what it would shake out to on the race course.”

Assistant coach Jim Brock saw the same thing.

“I had a feeling we’d have a nice year,” he said.

“She’s fast the way she is,” Brock added. “We just made some tweaks.”

It shouldn’t be a surprise, however, as Kaufmann grew up skiing on mountains, which helps a competitive skier, mainly in endurance.

A mountain ski slope in Switzerland can take almost 30 minutes to complete. In addition, a skier can challenge himself or herself with different terrains.

Those opportunities don’t exist in the Midwest.

That’s a reason she thrives on the team.

“She’s been around it for so long,” Kasten said when asked what makes her a good ski racer.

“It’s not about just running through gates anymore,” he added. “The different coaching clinics I’ve gone to emphasize a huge value on free skiing and skiing on different terrain. We’re obviously limited on terrain in the Midwest.

“Longer runs will create a stronger skier because you need that stamina to keep those legs going.”

However, it was a slow start for Kaufmann.

She didn’t own a pair of skis. She rented them back at home. So when she got to the U.S. and joined the team, the first task was to get her equipment.

The early part of the season was spent getting her used to the equipment.

Once that happened, she became a key figure in getting West Bend back into top-three state contention.

“She has a very natural, clean talent,” Kasten said. “She’s brought a different level to the table that we didn’t know we were going to have.”

“I hope we have a good place and have fun,” Kaufmann said.

GYMNASTICS: Shot of reality

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Jan. 28, 2015

Shot of reality

Spartans take control of WLT

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

Despite West Bend West’s improvement throughout an injuryriddled season, the Spartans still lacked confidence.

They got it in unexpected fashion from an unexpected source: Bailey Wagner.

On Tuesday, that confidence led the Spartans to a 129.3-127.725 victory over rival West Bend East, the Spartans’ top contender for the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference championship this season.

Now the Spartans are starting to believe they are indeed a good team.

“I said, ‘Somebody’s got to step up,’” West coach Jackie Vorpahl said. “We had leaders last year in Bailey (Wagner) and Amanda (Wanie). They’re not here. You had it easy because they were doing all the work.

“Somebody’s got to step up and do this and they did that today. Everybody played a part today.”

Wanie, a state qualifying gymnast, is out for the season with a knee injury.

Wagner, who graduated from West last year and was a three-state qualifying gymnast, showed up at practice Thursday for a pep demonstration, not a pep talk.

“She came in, got on the (balance) beam and did her routine just like she did when she was here,” Vorpahl said. “She didn’t even think twice.”

Wagner, who finished fifth at state last year on vault to be the Spartans’ first state medalist in gymnastics since 2011, shrugged off the rust and dazzled.

The 2014-15 Spartans watched in awe and said to themselves if she can do that, we can too.

“She was helping us with skills and making us more mentally strong,” West’s Jessica Butters said.

“People were amazed because she hadn’t done anything,” she added. “I think it was good she came in. I think it helped a lot of people.”

In the Spartans’ next meet, which was an invitational at Arrowhead, West had a renewed outlook on the rest of the season.

“We’ve all been working hard every day and some of us are scared to do things, but she’s not,” Butters said of Wagner.

That’s not the case anymore.

“There’s less falls on beam; the way they present themselves; they didn’t look scared today,” Vorpahl said. “They looked like I’m going to go out there and do the skills I know I can do.”

“No one really hit like Bailey did and we just needed to step up and take that spot,” Butters said.

By beating East, West takes control of the WLT dual season at 3-0 with two meets to go before the conference tournament Feb. 20.

That’s nice for West, but the Spartans have big goals: conference tournament championship and a trip to state.

West’s Jenna Heimark won the all-around competition with a 33.575 and was first on uneven bars (7.925).

East was led by Zoey Roberts.

The sophomore took first on three events and scored at least an 8.7 on each. She scored an 8.7 on vault, an 8.75 on balance beam and an 8.85 on floor exercise.

Her score on floor was a season high.

Roberts scored a 33.0 in the all-around to take second and Brandi Kreger was third with a 32.975.

“I felt really good about the meet; it went really well,” Roberts said.

The only blemish for Roberts was a 6.7 on bars.

Regardless, East coach Haley Ransom was pleased with the performance in what was a sort of conference tournament preview.

“We both know we’re not quite at our full capacity,” Ransom said. “When we get people back, we’re probably still going to be close.

“I was definitely going into this knowing it was a good preview with how the season is going to end.”

After a solid beam routine, Roberts didn’t have to wait long to get on floor, which helped her stay on an emotional high and confident.

“She shows up to a meet and I know she’s always going to fight for everything and she’s going to perform her hardest,” Ransom said.

“Her beam was spotless,” she added. “I thought her beam was beautiful.”

Legend will live on

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Jan. 3, 2015

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

On the outside, Phil Datka had the look of a coach who would crack the whip to get his players to do what needed to be done on the football field.

Instead, he was a coach who cracked jokes to bring a light mood to practice, making sure a player’s experience was one they would remember.

And because of that he left an imprint on more than a generation of people that’ll never be forgotten.

Datka died Tuesday, only weeks after having heart surgery. He was 69.

“It was amazing how he connected with people,” said Jake Davis, Germantown’s football coach.

A visitation for Datka is set for 2-6 p.m. Sunday at Germantown High School, W180 N11501 River Lane. A private funeral service will be Monday.

“Coach Datka was all business,” said Joe Kretlow, one of thousands of former players for Datka at Germantown. “But in the end he was a really funny guy.

“He started practice every day with a joke.”

For those who grew up in Germantown wanting to play football, they dreamed of playing for Datka.

Datka moved to Germantown in 1969 when he was 23 years old. He attended St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Indiana — an all-boys school. Then out of college, he taught at an all-boys Catholic high school in Milwaukee — Francis Jordan.

His first class at Germantown was sociology, which had marriage and childhood development as a topic. That also meant he had to teach girls.

“It was a different world to me,” Datka joked in 2010. “It was interesting.”

Also in 1969, he became the football coach for a newly built school in a sparsely populated village outside of Milwaukee.

From there, he built a winning program coaches wanted to emulate and kids wanted to be a part of.

“He was the kind of guy that he wasn’t going to take shortcuts,” said Jason Piittmann, Kewaskum’s football coach and athletic director. “He believed in doing things the right way. He got the best out of his kids.”

“When you say his name, I just see him as a great competitor,” said Aaron Paulin, former West football coach and a former assistant coach at rival Homestead. “As a coach, you like to see that. It keeps you fresh, keeps you young. He wanted to win.” Datka won 280 games in 42 seasons as a head coach, sixth-most in state history when he retired. He led the Warhawks to four appearances in the WIAA state final, including winning it all in 1998 and 2003.

He was inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1998. He will be inducted into St. Joseph’s College’s (Indiana) Hall of Fame later this year.

“He is Germantown; he’ll forever be the cornerstone of our football program,” Davis said. “He’ll be sorely missed.”

Datka retired as Germantown’s head coach after the 2010 season.

That season, Jason Townsend spent most of it on the junior varsity team. But for the playoffs, Townsend, a sophomore at that time, was moved up to varsity.

“It was great to play for him,” he said. “I was glad to see how he coached and watched it firsthand. I was honored to play for him.”

Townsend was nervous to be on the varsity team. Then playing for a legend elevated the nerves.

“Everyone knew who he was,” he said. “Even in sixth grade, if he came to one of the games, we all knew who he was. We got a little nervous.”

Kretlow was also a sophomore on the varsity team in 2010.

“He was a great coach,” Kretlow said. “He made sure all the kids had fun, but make us better men and football players.”

Like it was for Townsend, it was a dream come true for Kretlow to play for Datka.

“He was a celebrity in our eyes,” Kretlow said about how young and aspiring football players in Germantown viewed Datka.

Every kid who played in the youth football program in Germantown attended varsity games growing up and remembered how full the stands were and how often the Warhawks finished a game on top.

It was a tradition at Germantown. “Those games were big with a lot of people at them,” Townsend said. “I was beyond nervous.”

Kretlow and Townsend, among many others, were surprised to learn about his desire to teach and coach kids under the rugged persona he appeared to have, and just how down to earth he was.

“I was figuring he’d be a real stickler, drill after drill,” Kretlow said. “He’s a stern coach, but he’s got room for a good time.”

Datka had a soft spot for kids, once saying he loved coaching the kids. Davis said that’s what he will be best remembered for, outside of the success on the gridiron.

“Once I got to know him better, he pulled me in his office once and he told me that I was a great player and I got to keep it up,” Townsend said. “It really encouraged me to keep playing. I wanted to play for him.”

“Nobody didn’t like playing for him,” he added.