Jim Alfronso caps 50-year coaching career
By VERN CAHAK
The sport of track may not be as prominent as football or basketball at Antigo High School but when it comes to coaching longevity, no one can compare with Jim Alfonso.
Alfonso is in the midst of his 45th and last season of coaching AHS track, capping an unprecedented number of years an athletic mentor has been at Antigo. He plans to retire at the end of this season and his final regular season meet was Thursday at Antigo's Listle Field where the Red Robins hosted the Great Northern Conference outdoor meet.
Alfonso has actually been coaching track for 50 years, making his credentials even more impressive. Before coming to Antigo in 1968, he coached at Pembine for three years and at Princeton for two years.
Coaching track isn't the only long term profession for Alfonso. He has been a well respected football and basketball official in the area during most of the time he has been in Antigo. He was a physical education teacher at Antigo High School before retiring several years ago.
Leading track teams at AHS has always been a challenge. A lack of depth has plagued Antigo High School track throughout the history of the sport, bu
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In his last home meet this week, coach Jim Alfonso with Caleb Hohensee and Tyler Lewis.
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Road project
A photograph taken this morning of Highway 45 south of the Highway 7 intersections shows some traffic moving through the area. It may not move so quickly in the near future as the Wisconsin Department of Transportation plans to start the project next week and it will take until July to complete the grinding and paving of the roadway. Highway 45 will remain open during the work. The paving runs from Highway 47 south to the county line. Cost of the project is set at $542,000.
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Lukas, Hornung crew is ready for Preakness
Paul Hornung and D. Wayne Lukas are not accustomed to being underdogs.
But Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, they will be saddling longshot Titletown Five in the biggest race of the colt’s career—the $1 million Preakness Stakes.
It’s more than just the money, Lukas, an Antigo native, and Hornung, a Green Bay Packer great, will be trying to de-throne prohibitive favorite Orb from a chance to win racing’s Triple Crown. Orb’s already won the Kentucky Derby, and a win Saturday would leave only the arduous Belmont takes on June 1 to complete the very rare trifecta.
They will be doing it with Titletown Five, a well-bred, but lightly raced colt named for Green Bay and Hornung’s classic No. 5 jersey. The colt will be wearing green and gold silks decorated with “GB.”
The story has charmed everyone, even if the colt has only a single maiden win, and, on paper, is grossly overmatched, at morning line odds of 30-1. Expect those numbers to sink near post time as football fans hammer the windows.
“We’re going to be first or second,” Hornung said. “Wayne says the horse is doing great. If he says the horse is doing great, that’s good e
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Paul Hornung is Preakness-bound with Titletown Five.
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Potato planting moving quickly
The spring planting season in Langlade County official got underway when the big Schroeder Bros. tractors and equipment rolled into the potato fields just south of the city limits.
Hampered by a wet, cold spring that brought freezing temperatures, sleet and snow to the area just a week ago, the equipment got rolling a bit late, but there are still hopes for a good season.
Duane Maatz, executive director of the Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association, said this spring’s conditions delayed planting in central Wisconsin as well, leaving growers with a challenge.
“You see this kind of thing happen, although it’s a little more extreme this year,” Maatz said. “Farmers will still get the crop in the ground.”
Maatz said Wisconsin had a strong potato crop in 2012 despite a dry and hot season that led to drought conditions in some portions of the state.
State growers produced 63,500 harvested acres and a total crop of 29 million hundredweight.
Farmers across the nation have a vested interest in a successful season here. Langlade County is first in the state in the production of seed potatoes with the majority of the 11,000 acres grown
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Crew from Schroeder Bros. were planting potatoes southeast of Antigo this week.
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Trail corridors sought for Langlade County
Langlade County’s moniker as the “County of Trails” could get another boost.
The public has an opportunity to review and comment on a proposed corridor for the Ice Age National Scenic Trail through southern Langlade County that would connect the existing trail that comes from Lincoln County to the west and winds its way east and south to connect with Marathon County.
A draft corridor plan and environmental assessment for the Ice Age Trail delineates a 2- to 6-mile wide “preferred alternative” corridor in Langlade County within which the trail may be built. The plans also identify possible route options.
Depending on where the trail is built, the Langlade County portion of the completed trail, including the new section, could total approximately 74 miles. Currently, about 54 miles of the Ice Age Trail has been built within Langlade County.
The draft plan and EA were prepared by a group of partners who are working together to complete the proposed 1,200-mile Ice Age Trail across the state, including the Wisconsin Department of Resources, National Park Service, and Ice Age Trail Alliance.
The proposed Langlade County Ice Age Trail corridor is in
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The map shows the general area targeted for a proposed expansion of the Ice Age Trail, along with the existing route through Langlade County.
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