Story by Donna Lenz Wright/The Week


"The Sound of Music" is an American favorite, and the kids at Faith Christian have been working for months getting ready to take audiences to the Swiss Alps in the days leading up to World War II.

"It's the story of a high-spirited young lady who is dispatched to serve as governess (Kristina Haan) for the seven children of a widowed naval captain," says Lois Haan, Faith Christian School receptionist.

While Captain Von Trapp (Joe Hirte) loved his children dearly, he lacked in the nurturing department in a big way, creating seven very unfulfilled children-just how the governess, Maria, felt living in the convent.

With music and fun, Maria forms strong bonds with the children, then the captain, who learns how to show his children the affections they needed so much.

"Upon returning from their honeymoon, they discover that Austria has been invaded by the Nazis, who demand the captain's immediate service in their navy," Haan said. "The family's narrow escape over the mountains to Switzerland on the eve of World War II provides one of the most thrilling and inspirational finales ever presented in the theater."

The Sound of Music, 1965, won five Oscars and is the theatrical source of everyone's favorites like "My Favorite Things," "Do-Re-Mi," "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," "Edelweiss" and many others.

"The motion picture version remains the most popular musical of all time," Haan adds.

The Faith Christian Players will perform "The Sound of Music" April 18-19, 7 p.m. at Faith Christian School. Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for students. For information or tickets, call 245-9404.









Captain - Joe Hirte
Maria - Kristina Haan
Liesl - Katie Hirte
Friedrich - Grant Myers
Louisa - Emily Mack
Brigitta - Madison Haltli
Kurt - Matthew Baughman
Marta - Rachel Myers
Gretl - Katie Stearns
Elsa - CaseyMack
Herr Zeller - Zach Ford
Max - Brady Hollenbeck
Frau Zeller - Brittaney Peiffer
Rolf - Andrew Mulder
Admiral von Schreiber - Ryan Murphy
Franz - Brandon Valadez
Baron Elberfeld - Nick Kubiske
Frau Schmidt - Jillian Versweyveld
Baroness Elberfeld - Melissa Siegel
Ursula - Melissa Siegel
German guards - Eli Thompson and Quinn Chody
Mother Abbess - Kristolyn Pettygrove
Sister Margareta - Nicole Ackatz
Sister Berthe - Abigail Knudtson
Sister Sophia - Ariel Kopas

Nuns/guests - Danielle
Thompson, Kasey Montsma,
Ellie Sheetz, Sarah Jongetjes,
Noelle Goodson, Kaitlyn
Asbury, Hannah Brossard,
Brittany Trent, Sarah Mack,
Laken Love, Hannah
Hatlestad, Jessica D'Silvestro,
Julie Gregornik, Emilie Carr
and Malorie Carr

Additional guests - Nick Asta,
David Ferguson, Noah Gray
and Ben Sass

Ever dream of golfing on the LPGA Tour? The first step could take place May 27 at the amateur qualifier at Geneva National

The Geneva National Foundation, organizers of the Aurora Health Care Championship, will host the Aurora Health Care Championship Amateur Qualifier on Tuesday, May 27, 2008, at Geneva National Golf Club - Palmer Course, the site of the LPGA's May 30-June 1 Duramed FUTURES event.

Any woman amateur living within 100 miles of Geneva National and who has a USGA handicap of 5 or less is eligible to compete in the open Qualifier.

The 18-hole Qualifier will begin at 9 a.m. and the golfers with the lowest two scores in that event will earn playing positions in the $100,000 Aurora Health Care Championship.

There is no entry fee for the qualifier, and players can apply by calling the Tournament Office at (262) 245-1398. Entries will be accepted through Tuesday, May 20.

"This is an opportunity for two area amateurs to compete in an LPGA event in front of family and friends. This is our third year of hosting the amateur qualifier, and we expect another highly-competitive event that will kick off a week of women's championship golf," said Howard Storck, Tournament Director.

For additional information on the Aurora Health Care Championship, please visit the website at www.aurorachampionship.com.

The pond in Delavan's Congdon Park has been stocked with 3,000 rainbow trout as part of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Urban Fishing Waters program.

The DNR defines Urban Fishing Waters are small lakes and ponds under 25 acres that are intensively and cooperatively managed with a municipality.

According to the Guide to Wisconsin Hook and Line Fishing Regulations 2007-2008, special regulations on designated urban waters like Condgon Park's pond include a year-round season, no length limits, and a special season, March 10-April 27 for juveniles 15 years of age and younger and certain disabled anglers under age 65 only.

They also have a daily bag limit of three (3) trout.

The Delavan Parks and Recreation Department is co-sponsoring two fishing events at the pond this year to promote the fishing opportunity:

• "Optimists Fishing Derby" on Saturday, April 26, 2008. The event is co-sponsored with the Delavan-Darien Optimists. The event will run from noon to 4 p.m. The rain date is Sunday, April 27.

• "Take Mom Fishing" and "4-H Fishing Derby," will take place on Saturday, June 7 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (Rain Date: Sunday, June 8).

This event is co-sponsored with the Walworth County 4-H. Mom's don't need a license because the date is part of Wisconsin's Free Fishing Weekend.

Both events will include a fishing derby, bait, refreshments, lunch, contests and prizes. Fishing poles and tackle will be available for those that need them. A limited number of poles are available, and will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. The fee for both programs is $5per person.

Pre-registration is necessary, and the registration deadline has been set for one week before each event.

The Delavan Parks and Recreation Department also sponsors a Rent-A-Pole program. Fishing poles are available for rent at the main office. The poles were awarded to the department as part of a grant from the national Take Me Fishing program. Pole rental is on a first-come; first-served basis, and reservations are encouraged. The cost for rental is a $10 security deposit.

For more information, to register for one of the programs or to rent a pole, please call the Delavan Parks and Recreation Department at (262) 728-5585, extension 132 or 138 or visit our office in the lower level of the Municipal Building at 123 South Second Street, Delavan.

If I knew the answer, I'd really have a leg up on political consultants.

The question: What is it that puts a winner over the top in a local election?

What I do know is that conventional wisdom didn't appear to be of much help in Tuesday's election.

I suspect that when the winners and losers go back to figure out what went right or wrong, they probably won't be any more enlightened than when they began their campaigns.

For example, can money buy a win?

Not necessarily. Most local campaigns are financed by the candidate and close friends and supporters. However two groups were able to raise and spend substantially more money than their opponents.

In Lake Geneva, the Vote No On Mirbeau-Hummel Political Group spent heavily to defeat a referendum that would allow a large-scale residential development on the city's south side. The group placed full-page ads in the Lake Geneva Regional News and had advertised for a full month in The Week prior to the election.

They also waged a well-organized grass-roots effort in Lake Geneva. On Tuesday, the referendum was defeated 1,277-414.

On the other hand, the group People for Good Government, which registered as a political action committee in March, campaigned for candidates in the Walworth County Board races. (The group had to return a $5,000 contribution from an Illinois corporation. The donation violated state campaign finance laws.)

They endorsed candidates in each of the 11 county board races, but only five of their candidates were victorious.

How important is name recognition?

Both the contested mayors' races were relatively close, and both candidates were well known in their communities. In Lake Geneva, Bill Chesen defeated former mayor Spyro Condos. In Delavan, incumbent Mel Nieuwenhuis defeated alderwoman Ellen Reddy.

The race for Walworth County Board highlighted how important name recognition is. Of the six newcomers who have never been a member of the Walworth County Board, only one--Fredrick Mark Bromley--defeated an incumbent, long-time supervisor Ann Lohrmann.

Can negative campaigning sink an opponent?

Granted this is unscientific, but based on the tone of letters to the editor in The Week and comments on theweekextra.com, the three most negative campaigns were the races for Delavan Town Board, Lake Geneva mayor and the District 3 Walworth County Board race between Bromley and Lohrmann.

In most cases, the venom tended to spew from supporters, rather than the candidates themselves. In all cases, once the first negative letters appeared in print, both sides piled on, so neither side gained any advantage.

Here's a suggestion for the next campaign: If no one starts the mudslinging, voters can be spared the sideshow.

How important is news coverage?

I'd like to think very important, and hopefully it is for many voters. Nearly every local paper, including The Week, covered developments in the races as well as publishing Q&As on the top issues.

Ultimately, it's still up to the voters to do the research and decide which candidate is best for them.

Politics is made up of two often-incompatible job descriptions. First comes the job of running for office. Next comes the job of being an elected official.

Tuesday's vote cleared up who is effective in the first part of their responsibility. The weeks ahead will tell us how effective they are at the second.

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