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I kind of messed up in talking about "Alice in Dairyland" in my column last week. When I said that Dodgeville Ag teacher and cross country/track coach Denny McGraw told me he had quite a talk with her (Alice) as she knows a great deal about dairy and she is a former Edgar cross country runner - I was right. But, I had her name wrong. It is Katie Wirkus! I should've remembered it from when she ran cross country as I covered meets that she ran in several times. I didn't get a chance to talk with her at FAD as she was pretty busy talking with other people and then I was taking photos of the event and she was gone! I know she has a busy schedule and doesn't get to stay in one place for very long. So here is another photo of her. In this one she is helping Dodgeville Mayor Jim McCaulley with conservation awards.
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This Saturday, the Dodgeville Bluesfest returns to the downtown - and there will be Maxwell Street Day going on too! That means a lot of bargains plus a good line-up of bands for your listening and dancing enjoyment. There will be plenty of food, refreshments and fun along with a lot of socializing with people you haven't seen for quite some time.
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Highland will hold its "Our Town" celebration with events going on Thursday through Saturday. The big day is Saturday with events going on all day and fireworks highlighting the end of the activities. This is another chance to greet old friends a lot of alumni and former residents turn out for this celebration!
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This past week some 20+ baseball teams invaded Dodgeville and Harris and Centennial Parks. Anytime you bring that many youngsters (approximately 400) to an area there are bound to be a few adults coming along - especially the 9 year old tournament. Something tells me that having those teams come to Dodgeville and the area does some good to the economy! The motels, convenience stores, retail shops, restaurants and bars and (unfortunately) even the hospital reaps benefits. It takes a of of volunteers to put on these tournaments and a lot of man hours. Hopefully, next summer an Ohio Valley Regional tournament will be played here. That will involve whatever age division is given us. It would help if people would step up and say they would help out early. There are a lot of parts available for helpers to lend a hand!
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Longtime Pittsburgh Pirates baseball fan Earl Williams (Mr. Umpire, football official, basketball referee) pointed out that "his" Pirates were in first place on Saturday afternoon in the National League Central. That marked the latest in a season they had been in first place since 1997! Oh, but on Sunday they lost as did the St. Louis Cardinals  - so the Milwaukee Brewers were back in first place on Monday!