INSIDE THIS ISSUE

n Phelps will host abasketball tourneyfor the smallestschools this week.

Pg. 10A

Phelps to hosthoops tourney

VOL. 127, NO. 41 WEDNESDAY, DEC. 26, 2012

$1.25

Section A

NEWS-REVIEWEAGLE RIVER, WI 54521 • (715) 479-4421 • vcnewsreview.com

VILAS COUNTYJudged asWisconsin’s

Wisconsin NewspaperAssociation 2012

Large Weekly Division

For the eighth time in thepast 12 years, a Decemberthaw or the lack of snow dur-ing the holidays has resultedin marginal snowmobilingconditions in the NorthWoods and a potential slowstart to the winter tourismindustry.

This time, poor snow con-ditions across most of theNorth Woods has resulted inpoor trail conditions, thougha major winter storm that hitother parts of the statedropped just 3 to 5 inches ofsnow in the area last Thurs-day.

Vilas and Oneida countysnowmobile trails are open,but considered to be in poorearly-season riding condi-

tion. Eric Rady, Oneida County

recreation coordinator,announced the Oneida snow-mobile trail system opened at8 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 22. Hesaid snowmobilers shouldcontact individual clubs orchambers of commerce forlocal trail conditions.

“As always, the OneidaCounty Forestry, Land &Recreation Department rec-ommends staying on clearlymarked trails,” he said.“Always exercise cautionwhen riding a snowmobile.The trails can be in rough,early season condition.”

Last year, the NorthWoods had just 2 to 3 inchesof snow on the ground at thistime, ruining the anticipatedbusiness boost from snowmo-bilers between Christmasand New Year’s.

While Vilas County trailshave been open since Dec. 10,lake crossings have not beenmarked due to marginal ice.With only 6 to 8 inches of iceon most lakes, trail officialsare warning snowmobilers tostay off the lakes until clubsand businesses have markedthe trails.

Tom Tomlanovich, trailboss for the Sno-EaglesSnowmobile Club, said trailgroomers were out Friday,panning the fresh 3 inches ofsnow in the Eagle River area.

“We had three groomersout panning on Friday, tryingto get a good base before thecold and more snow arrives,”said Tomlanovich. “There is aice base under the snow,which is good.”

It’s the business owners

Snomo trails open, but caution urgedMore snow needed to help holiday business

With 3 to 5 inches of snow on the ground acrossthe North Woods, snowmobile trail groomers

were out panning the trails near Eagle River andThree Lakes last Friday. —STAFF PHOTO

Three Lakes and North-land Pines school districtsare among the lowest taxingK-12 school districts in Wis-consin, according to the Wis-consin Taxpayers Alliance(WISTAX).

The report showed thatThree Lakes’ rate for the2012-’13 school year is $4.94per $1,000 of assessed value,the fifth lowest in the state.Out of 367 K-12 districts inthe state, WISTAX saysThree Lakes ranks 363rd forlowest taxing districts.

Northland Pines is ranked361st, or seventh lowest inthe state, with a tax rate of$5.10.

In addition to ThreeLakes and Northland Pines,the Phelps School Districtalso was among the 25 lowest(17th) taxing K-12 school dis-trict in the state, ranked351st with a tax rate of$6.88.

While some of the low taxrates at school districts hereare attributed to high proper-ty values in this lake region,Three Lakes District Admin-istrator George Karling saidthe report is still good newsfor taxpayers in all threearea school districts.

“At Three Lakes, we’vehad a tight budget and wehave had to make cuts as aresult of levy limits anddeclining enrollment,” saidKarling. “We’ve lost over $3million in levying authorityas a result of declining en -rollment.”

Due to the dropping rev-enues, Karling said theschool district has had tokeep a close eye on the bud -get, reducing the number oftracks in the elementaryschools, and cutting or com-bining staff and administra-

Three Lakes, Pinesamong lowest rates,tax report shows

Applications to enroll inthe new Northland PinesSchool District charterSchool of Options & AppliedResearch (SOAR) will beaccepted starting Jan. 2,according to District Admin-istrator Mike Richie.

The SOAR charter schoolwill be a “school within aschool” housed at the currentLand O’ Lakes ElementarySchool.

“Think of it as anotherschool building in our dis-trict,” Richie said. “We areaccepting applicants forgrades five through seven,with a goal of 45 studentsand growing that to 75 stu-dents within five years.Grade eight will be included

after the first year.”Between Jan. 2 and Jan.

31, only applications fromstudents within the North-land Pines School Districtwill be accepted, If 45 appli-cations are received, enroll-ment will be closed. Prefer-ence will be given to siblingsof current SOAR studentsand will be exempt from anylottery if more applicationsare received than openings.

Richie said a waiting listwill be maintained in order ofstudent names drawn in thelottery should applicationsexceed 45. This waiting listwill not roll over from year toyear. Students not admitted

Charter school readyto accept applications

___________BY GARY RIDDERBUSCH

NEWS-REVIEW EDITOR___________

The best drivers in professional snowmobile racing will returnto Eagle River Jan. 17-20 for the 50th anniversary of the

AMSOIL World Championship Snowmobile Derby. Track offi-cials are busy preparing for the historic event.

While the snowmobileseason has been a bust tothis point due to a lack ofsnow, track officials sayweather this week has beenexcellent for creating an iceoval and Sno-Cross coursefor the 50th running of theAMSOIL World Champi-onship Snowmobile Derbyin Eagle River Jan. 17-20.

Often called the “Indy500” of snowmobile racing,the Derby is the oldest andgrandest event in snowmo-bile racing history, drawingthe best racers from theUnited States and Canada.

Because of the 50thanniversary, this year’sevent will have additionalpag eantry for the specta-tors and the largest prizepurse ever for the racers.

Track makeup hasevolved from snow and anice-sawdust mix to a slate ofpure ice, at least 1 footthick, to withstand a longweekend of high-speed lapsand grueling corners on thebanked oval.

“It’s not going too bad,"said track manager ToddAchterberg from a cellphone as he plowed thetrack Friday following afresh 4 inches of snow inEagle River. “We’re doingpretty well. Have a greatcrew down there. We willhave two guys going strongon the track for the next 10days making ice and snow.”

Achterberg said the Der-by staff makes snow for theSno-Cross course when the

temperature is about 10degrees up to about 18 or20. Meanwhile, a 4,000-gal-lon tanker truck is used tospray water on the oval,spilling more than 2 milliongallons of water on frigidnights.

“The colder weather fore-cast for this week shouldallow us to make additionalsnow and ice,” said Achert-berg. “It’s going to be awe-

some.”What started with a

cross-country race on DollarLake in 1964 is now a stadi-um-style spectacle, as thou-sands of race fans pack intothe only racing facility inthe world that is dedicatedexclusively to snowmobileracing — complete with cor-porate suites and indoor“hot seats” for those whofavor comfortable viewing.

As if world-class Ovalracing and high-flying Sno-Cross battles weren’tenough of a draw, Derbyofficials came up with thefirst and best under-the-lights show — Friday NightThunder.

Chuck Decker, AMSOILDerby Track owner, said hecan’t believe the Derby has

Famous track taking shapeThey’re making ice, snow for 50th anniversary Derby

___________BY GARY RIDDERBUSCH

NEWS-REVIEW EDITOR___________

AMSOIL Derby Track officials say the mostfamous track in snowmobiling will be ready for

the 50th anniversary event. A worker plowedsnow off the ice Friday. —STAFF PHOTOS

Part of ranking attributedto high property values

___________BY GARY RIDDERBUSCH

NEWS-REVIEW EDITOR___________

___________BY KEN ANDERSON

NEWS CORRESPONDENT___________

To TRAILS, Pg. 2A

To TAX RATE, Pg. 4A

To CHARTER, Pg. 2A

To DERBY, Pg. 8A

8A WEDNESDAY, DEC. 26, 2012 VILAS COUNTY NEWS-REVIEW/THE THREE LAKES NEWS

NEWS

The real estate transac-tions listed below are beingpublished at the request ofmany of our readers. Theinformation is public recordand reflects an index of eachweek’s transactions.

Property transactionsexceeding $10,000 recordedat the Vilas County Court-house the past week and thetransfer fee:

Dec. 17, 2012Estate of Ruth Davis to

John Hambrook and wife, lot39 of plat 27 in BirchwoodSubd 30-40-11, $579

Jeanette ZimmermannTrustee and Boettcher Liv-ing Trust 7/18/00 to Red EyeLLC, lot 18 of plat 201 inMorey’s Plat, gov lot 3,5,6,$1,090.50

William J. Trickel andwife to Michael W. Carterand wife, prt SE SW in 24-41-9, $285

John J. Sarama and wifeto Lee A. Popovich and wife,prt SE NW in 34-43-10, govlot 3, prt NE SW in 34-43-10,prt SW NW in 34-43-10, govlot 4, $60

Dec. 18, 2012Nancy C. Kruc to Craig R.

Smith and wife, prt NE SE in34-40-8, gov lot 8, $1,125

Prohaska Revocable Trustto Kidd Ranch LLC, prt NESW in 34-40-6, $450

Lisa M. Salisbury toTamara L. Furman, prt SENW in 26-41-10, $187.50

Estate of Maxine E. Hen-drickson to James Freeman,prt NE SE in 11-40-5, gov lot3, $810

Dec. 19, 2012Robert R. Preisler and

wife to Charles G. Fioravantiand wife, prt SE SW in 21-40-8, gov lot 4, $621.90

Laurel L. Rose to Lance S.

Wirth, lot 7 of plat 785 inGolden Retreat Estates, $57

Jaquelin SilverthorneReed to John Hellyer Silver-thorne Reed, prt SE NE in 6-42-8, gov lot 2, omitted landsplat 890 in 6-42-8, $381.60

Shirley M. KaminskiTrust to Thomas E. Kamins-ki, prt SW SW in 18-40-11,$184.50

Robert D. Ohlsson et al,Betty Ann Uhan et al andKelly Sue Ferg et al to JohnM. Dougherty and wife, prtNE SE in 9-42-7, prt NW SWin 10-42-7, $510

Louis Bruette to PatrickRolain and wife, lot 37 ofblock 9 of plat 351 in TurtleLake Resort Plat C, $126

Plum Creek TimberlandsLP to Red Stone River LLC,prt SE SW, prt NE SW in 21-43-5, $336

Plum Creek TimberlandsLP to Rest LLC, prt SW SEin 21-43-5, $168

Plum Creek TimberlandsLP to Win-Man Trails LLC,prt NW SW, prt SW SW in21-43-5, $314.40

Dec. 20, 2012Aul Revocable Living

Trust to Roy J. Ebert, prt NENW in 34-42-7, $294

Robert J. Nash and wife toDeborah A. Wilson, prt NWNE in 11-40-6, gov lot 2, prtSW NE in 11-40-6, gov lot 3,$1,245

Northside CommunityBank to Scott H. Pickering,prt NE SW, prt SW NW, prtNW SW, prt SE NW in 32-40-5, prt NE NE, prt SE NE in31-40-5, $51

Dec. 21, 2012J. Schuette Revocable Liv-

ing Trust to Jeffrey A.Reynolds and wife, prt SWSE in 2-40-6, gov lot 5, prtNE SE in 2-40-6, gov lot 6,$570

REAL ESTATETRANSACTIONS

DEC. 14 - JAN. 63 horse-drawn sleighs w/20 people each

Enjoy scenic, beautiful wooded trails with a halfwaypoint bonfire, hot chocolate and Christmas Cheer!

Christmas Parades, Christmas Sleigh Rides or Wagon Rides,Special Occasions, Business Gatherings, Special Events, Appearances

Rocking W StablePleasure Island Road • Eagle River, WI 54521

(715) 617-6779northwoodsattractions.com

Call for more information or reservations.

Sleigh Rides

Sleigh Rides

10 am - 11 pm

Anysize

group!

Greatfamilyfun!

Happy Holidaysfrom the staff at

NORTHERN LAKES LLCThree LakesSee all the listings on the MLS

www.3LakesRealEstate.com(715) 546-8295 • (877) 507-6337

SSaannddyy

VV ii cckk ii

LL ii nnddaa EE ll ll ii

SSccoo tt tt

SS tteepphh

RING IN

THE SEASONwith a New Home

Ring in peaceand joy and love,

Ring in blessingsfrom theLord above,

Ring in hopeand ring in cheer,

Ring inour best wishesfor a joyous year!

Visit us on the Web atwww.avhomes.com

Hwy. 70 East, Arbor Vitae

Merry Christmas & Many Thanks

WPPI GRANTS — Wisconsin Public Power Inc. (WPPI) grants of$275 each, through Eagle River Light & Water Department, werepresented to the Eagle River Revitalization Program and VilasFood Pantry. Taking part in the check presentation were, from left,

John Seward of the revitalization program, Gary Fawcett of theLight & Water Commission, Betsy Spencer of the food pantry, andPat Weber of Eagle River Light & Water.

—Staff Photo By GARY RIDDERBUSCH

Derby: past champs, queens to attendFROM PAGE 1Ahit 50 years.

“There have been so manypeople involved in makingthis race,” said Decker. “Itreally isn’t our race, it a com-munity deal.”

Anniversary plansAchterberg said the 50th

anniversary will feature spec-tacle attractions for the fans,many of whom have come tothe Derby for decades.

“The 2013 Derby will havea large number of past worldchampions returning to meetand greet their fans," saidAchterberg. “Their actual win-ning sled or detailed replicaswill be here to be seen both ondisplay and on the track thatmade them famous.”

All the past Derby Queenshave been invited and will beappearing with the formerchamps to visit with race fans.

“Opportunities to meetpast and current race driverswill be a big part of the week-end with a large heated VIPtent and an expanded ExpoHall loft,” said Achterberg.“The loft will be the site of theSaturday night Top Ten ringpresentation, open to all fans.”

There also will be visitingcelebrities from the auto rac-ing world, including three-time Indy 500 champion Bob-by Unser and Paul Page,known as the “Voice of Indy500.”

Vintage firstAchterberg said the 2013

event will actually be a 10-day show that opens Jan. 11-13 with the Woody’s VintageWorld Championships.

“For the last 10 years, thevenerable machines ofyesteryear have started theseason with their own week-end of classic racing," saidAchterberg.

He said race officialsexpect to register more than900 entries for the Vintageweekend.

“Vintage racing isstronger than ever and justcontinues to grow,” saidAchterberg.

He said vintage race fansget to relive a bygone era bywatching races that pit sledsfrom six, seven and eveneight different manufactur-ers.

“The iron you’ll see on theice oval is superbly restoredand, in many cases, hand-built,” said Achterberg. “Vin-tage racing just continues togrow in popularity.”

Big prize purseThe 50th anniversary

Derby will feature the event’srichest prize, according toAchterberg.

Jimmy John’s Gourmet

Sandwiches, a past Derbysponsor, has put up $50,000for the winner of the titlerace. But there's more for thewinner.

“The winner will takehome another $10,000 fromthe AMSOIL Derby Track fora total of $60,000 to the win-ner,” he said.

For the title event racers,Jimmy John’s also is puttingup another $10,000 for the“Jimmy John's Freaky FastChallenge,” which will be splitup among the top four driversin the championship race atthe mandatory pit stop cau-tion. The leader at lap 10 ofthe 30-lap feature will pocket$5,000, with second getting$3,000, while third and fourthwill each get $1,000.

The big payday at theAMSOIL World Champi-onship will continue to bespread out across the top 12finishers when the finalcheckered flag falls and theice dust settles. Achterbergsaid there is an additional$11,600 being paid out by theAMSOIL Derby Track.

Achterberg said the totalpayout of $81,600 for thechampionship race will makeit the richest payout in thehistory of modern day snow-mobile racing.

Who will win?The big question this year

is whether 2012 winnerNicholas Van Strydonk ofTomahawk can win a secondstraight title on Polaris.

For the third straightyear, the 2013 championshiprace Sunday afternoon willbe a 30-lap event with amandatory pit stop after 10laps. Last year, the midracechamp was Matt SchulzWausau on a Ski-Doo. He col-lected a $2,500 payout fromJimmy John’s.

All eyes also will be on P.J.Wanderscheid of Sauk Centre,

Minn., as he attempts to win afifth championship after hisrecord-setting fourth title in2011 on an Arctic Cat.

The 2012 Derby promisesto be another battle of thegreats, as the field willinclude Van Strydonk, Wan-derscheid and two-timechampion Gary Moyle ofHoughton, Mich.

“The top 10 field is soincredibly competitive andeven then, it is impossible topredict who might emerge asthe new world champion,"said Achterberg. “It could beany of the racers who made itto the final last year and wesaw several new, young faces.”

The big weekendBut the event that put

Eagle River and even Wis-consin on the internationalmap will start Thursday, Jan.17, with all-day practice ses-sions for both Oval and Sno-Cross racers. Time trials forthe Oval world championshipclass will be run under thelights Thursday night.

After a full day of qualifi-cation racing Friday in bothOval and Sno-Cross, fans willpack the Derby grounds Fri-day night for the most pro-gressive and most popularevent — the Parts UnlimitedFriday Night Thunder show.

In what Achterberg calls“undisputedly” the best showin snowmobile racing, theunder-the-lights show fea-tures races in Sno-Cross andOval classes. Past eventshave rocked the city withblasting music and an enor-mous fireworks display.

Returning, by populardemand is the Sweet Sixteenevent where the top worldchampionship qualifiers gohead-to-head under thelights to determine who willsit the pole in Sunday'schampionship race.

“The winner is automati-

cally qualified in the top 10and will sit the pole position,”said Achterberg. “The winnerwon’t have to gruel it out inqualifications Saturdayafternoon."

Saturday will bring bothclass finals and qualifying inthe morning, with the entireafternoon dedicated to quali-fying the top 10 finalists forSunday’s 3 p.m. world cham-pionship event.

Sunday, championshipday, means finals in the mostcompetitive classes. Thebiggest races will be a ProOpen Sno-Cross champi-onship at 2:30 p.m. and theOval championship at 3 p.m.

“The title race withChamp 440 sleds is, by allmeasures, the single mostimportant snowmobile raceof the year,” said Achterberg.

For the seventh year in arow, AMSOIL has emerged asthe sponsor of both the famedDerby Track and the WorldChampionship itself.

Hot seats, exhibitsConstruction at the Derby

grounds the past two decadeshas produced thousands ofindoor hot seats for race fans,an enormous exhibit buildingand an imposing viewingstand on the front straight-away.

The viewing stand accom-modates VIPs, manufactur-ers and race fans. It is inaddition to the 17 indoorsuites that have been builtsince 1993.

Trackside motor homeparking is one of the mostcomfortable ways to watchraces at the track. There aredozens of parking spots posi-tioned between corners threeand four. Electricity andclosed-circuit television areincluded.

Ticket prices are $15 dailyfor the Vintage weekend or$35 for all three days. ForDerby weekend, tickets are$15 for Thursday, $30 for Fri-day (day and evening), $25for Saturday and $30 forSunday. A four-day Derbypass costs $65, a savings of$35. Admission for children10 and younger is free.

Hot seats are priced at$225 for all four days Jan. 17-20 or can be obtained sepa-rately on a daily basis. The hotseats include a superticketthat is good for all four days.

Achterberg said the Derbyis designating Saturday asfamily day, when two adultsand up to three children getin for $65. Tickets can be pur-chased at the Derby office.

Race fans also can getinformation on advance tick-et sales and motor homeparking by going to derby-track.com or by calling (715)479-4424.

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One of the highlights of the Derby, Friday Night Thunder, willreturn for the 50th anniversary event and will include big boremotorcycles racing on ice. —STAFF PHOTO