News

Local residents help expand Ice Age Trail in Taylor County

Jeanine and Rick Fassl write, “Those of you who are familiar with the section of the Ice Age Trail (IAT) we are lucky enough to have in our part of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, just outside of town, may be interested to learn that three local residents teamed up with an amazing array of staff and volunteers to blaze a brand new trail through the Rusch preserve near Rib Lake in Taylor County this past week.

Jeff and Lin Tortomasi, along with Rick and Jeanine Fassl, made the trek up to the Rib Lake area to reconnect with some of Jeff’s former teachers and School Board members from his time as the School District Administrator and to help with the new trail.

In spite of the rain, cold, mud and mosquitos, Jeff, Rick and Jeanine put in some hard, manual labor in establishing a new trail through a section of the Rusch preserve, which was generously donated to the IAT by Bob and Ann Rusch of Rib Lake, WI.

As documented in the photos below, the work was hard and dirty but the rewards of making new friends and renewing acquaintances with old friends was well worth the effort.

The local Walworth/Jefferson Chapter of the IAT is always looking for help in maintaining trails and enjoying the opportunities of having this historic section of the Ice Age Trail in our own backyard. For more information, check out www.iceagetrail.org/volunteer/chapter or walworthjeffersoncochapter@iceagetrail.org or www.timmshilltrail.com/ruschpreserve/ruschpreserve.htm

Our thanks to Jeanine and Rick Fassl for sharing the story of this ambitious, appreciated project together with the photos.

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Editor’s note: Toppers Pizza’s World Headquarters is located at 333 W. Center Street in Whitewater. So far all of their locations are in the U.S., but with Scott’s business acumen and ambition, who knows?

According to an article on pizzamarketplace.com, “Scott Gittrich and his wife, Robin, are on the trip of a lifetime. No, they’re not traveling to an exotic beach or daring countryside. Instead, they’re traveling to all 71 stores in the Toppers Pizza franchise.

Gittrich, founder and president for the Whitewater, Wisconsin-based pizza chain, and Robin, vice president of HR, are traveling the country to learn what makes each restaurant tick and gather intel from their employees ­­— dubbed “rockstars.” It’s an ambitious undertaking, but one the Gittriches will gladly undertake if it means strengthening the company.

Gittrich founded Toppers Pizza in 1991. Today, the brand has 26 company stores and 45 franchise units. The AUV [average unit volume] sits at almost $1.2 million. The brand is 95% QSR [quick serve restaurant], with the majority being carryout and delivery.

“We’ve had 15 quarters of same-store sales growth, so it’s been a nice run,” Gittrich said in a phone interview, attributing the increase in sales to being the right kind of business in the midst of a pandemic. Toppers was already set up for carryout and delivery when the shutdowns occurred, so it didn’t really have to pivot.

Toppers has invested millions into building its own technology infrastructure. Seventy-seven percent of business is digital, another pandemic-era boon that showed the company was situated perfectly to handle business during COVID-19. As a QSR, it was able to stay open when other brands had to close.”

“When Pizza Marketplace caught up with the Gittriches, they were traveling the longest distance between two stores — Ft. Worth, Texas, to Charlotte, North Carolina. That’s a lot of road time to talk about their $84 million brand and the big franchise growth they’ve got planned.

All in all, their trek should last about two months. Although the brand usually has people traveling to restaurants, the road trip is a first for Gittrich, who’s looking for “high accountability and high support.”

Click here to read the rest of the story.

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

On Tuesday, May 24 the Whitewater Unified School District School Board voted to authorize the appointment of Brent Mansky as principal of Whitewater High School. Mansky will succeed Michael Lovenberg, whose resignation, effective June 30, was announced on April 18. Mansky has served as principal at Williams Bay Middle/High School for the past two years. Enrollment of that school is approximately 375, compared with about 570 students at WHS. Previously for fifteen years he taught social studies at Westosha Central High School in Paddock Lake. He began his career as a teacher at Black Hawk High School in South Wayne, WI. During much of his career he has also served as a varsity-level basketball and football coach.

Mansky is from Waunakee, WI and graduated from UW-Eau Claire with a B.A. in Broadfield Social Studies (Economics), and holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Cardinal Stritch University. According to the Williams Bay Middle/High School website he lives with his wife Ali and their two children in Williams Bay. He enjoys playing golf and says that his family is “proud supporters of all Wisconsin sports teams.”

Are you interested in helping to clean up, restore, and enhance Whitewater Creek? Would you like to improve fishing, paddling, and hiking opportunities? Please come to the Cravath Lakefront Community Center at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1st, for a discussion of a Friends of Whitewater Creek group. We’ll talk about our interests, identify priority projects, and develop a timeline of events. We hope to see you there!