The Altoona boys’ basketball team rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to pull within three in the final minute, but could not get any closer as they fell 55-49 to conference rival Eau Claire Regis in Altoona on Friday, January 9.

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   The Osseo-Fairchild/Altoona/Augusta co-op wrestling team had a busy start to 2009 with seven dual matches in a five-day span, defeating Abbotsford/Colby 40-34 in Osseo on Thursday, January 8, going 2-3 at their home tournament on Saturday, January 10, and then losing by tiebreaker to Whitehall on Tuesday, January 13.

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   The Altoona boys’ hockey team improved their record to 3-6-1 with a convincing 7-1 victory over the Barron/Chetek Bears on Thursday, January 8. The Railroaders were in control of the game from start to finish as they dominated the Bears offensively and defensively, out-shooting the Bears 40-13 and getting goals from seven different players.

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   And I thought saying goodbye was hard the first time.
   When I made the decision to return to the sports editor position in September, I had no idea I would have to say goodbye again so soon. Unfortunately, it appears that the Altoona Star has gone the way of the Altoona Headlight and the Altoona Tribune before it. As an employee, I am saddened to lose my job of the last four-plus years and to no longer be able to work with as good a group of co-workers as anyone could ask for. As a fan of Altoona sports, I am saddened that I will no longer be able to help provide the coverage that our community’s athletes have earned. But most of all, as a lifelong resident of Altoona, I am saddened that we have lost what I consider to be a valuable piece of our community. Despite that sadness, I am proud to have been involved with the newspaper almost from the very beginning, and I can only hope that we have in some way contributed to the betterment of the community. Those who knew my grandfather, Jerry Hagen, know that an interest in city history is very much ingrained in my family, and if nothing else, I hope that the Star will serve as a historical resource in the years to come.
   My involvement with the Star was more or less a happy accident. I noticed that the original publisher, Robby Robinson, was attempting to juggle all types of coverage mostly by himself, and sent him an email mentioning my involvement and familiarity with Altoona High School sports. I had almost forgotten all about it until several weeks later, in November 2004, I received a reply offering me an interview. I had never taken a journalism class in my life, but had read more than my share of newspaper sports sections, so I tried to emulate those as best I could while watching the Wisconsin Badger basketball team scrimmage UW-Parkside on TV. I took the article I wrote that night to the interview, and before I knew it, I was writing the season previews for the Altoona varsity basketball and hockey teams, and I was off and running as sports editor.
   Although I had the job title of sports editor, I never really thought of it as a job… and frequently during the early years, the lack of paychecks would support that idea. Later, as the newspaper evolved, I took on more responsibilities and started to get a regular paycheck that at least paid the bills, but I still looked at it as more of a hobby than a job. I always took my work seriously, and pulling all-nighters in the office in order to get a full slate of Tuesday-night games into the layout by press time on Wednesday was not my idea of fun, but when my “job” involved in large part cheering on the Altoona sports teams and writing about their success, it’s hard to complain. Not only did it give me any number of opportunities that I would never have had otherwise – like sitting courtside on media row at the boys’ and girls’ state basketball tournaments – it also offered me a forum to try to give something back to the community and the athletic programs that have done so much for me.
   Maybe the most rewarding part of the job, however, was seeing the community embrace the newspaper. I was constantly amazed by how often people approached me at games or other events to express their support for the Star. Numerous times at the graduation parties of high school athletes, I saw entire binders full of Altoona Star newspaper clippings of their careers in sports and other activities. Hopefully, the Star contributed something to their experiences and memories of Altoona. That is probably what I’ll miss the most: while I knew a good number of people in Altoona before I took this job, writing for the Star has given me the opportunity to get to know a lot more. I’ve always said that the best part of the job was developing relationships with the players, coaches, parents, and fans.
   In all, it was a good run, even if it ended too soon. I think all of us working here at the Star knew that this day was a possibility, albeit one we hoped would never actually come. Such an abrupt ending is bound to leave some unfinished business, and I regret not being able to cover the remainder of this season’s events, such as the historic 200th basketball meeting between Altoona and Fall Creek. I wish all the teams and athletes well, and while I will no longer be covering them as a sportswriter, I will be supporting them as a fan.
   Finally, I would like to thank all the people who made my role with the Star possible. While it is impossible to thank them all here, I will say that without the contributions of Robby Robinson, Ed Bohn, or Steve Dye, the newspaper as we know it never could have existed. Steve’s letter mentioned in detail the contributions of the current staff, but I also would like to thank Sara Hefty, Emily Thierfelder, Juliann Sylla, and Lindsey Morrow for being an outstanding group of people to work with. As the only member of the staff that predates the ownership change, I saw firsthand how much of a difference each of them made in the evolution of the newspaper. Most of all, thank you for reading and supporting the paper through the best and worst of the last few years. See you down the tracks

   When you’re working, you have a financial strategy that is largely based on one goal: saving money for a comfortable retirement. You’ll likely have to make many adjustments over several decades to ensure that you stay on track saving and investing. But once you retire, a new goal arises — investing so you can remain retired.  To help yourself achieve this goal, you will need to make a number of investment decisions.

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мебели   Thanks to increased costs for public services, lower operating budgets, and a dismal economy, the city of Altoona began the new year with two financial challenges: Address the almost $400,000 shortfall in the 2009 budget, then deal with the $1.8 million shortfall still owed on tax increment district (TID) #3, which encompasses River Prairie, between 2010 and 2012. On Monday, January 5, officials held a meeting to update residents on the situation and provide an opportunity for suggestions and feedback.

   Altoona has joined the Citizen Alliance for Strong Communities (CASC) for the Eau Claire area. CASC is a non-partisan organization, meaning it is not affiliated with any political party. Its purpose is to keep local public services in place, decrease the use of property taxes to pay for public services, encourage state funding in local public services and structures, and involve community members in the reformation of the state revenue system.

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   Maggie Meinen is not much on regret. Not wanting to lament on what might have been, the 2004 Altoona High School graduate decided to take a risk. Without a job, and staring an uncertain future right in the face, Meinen packed up everything she owned and headed to the West Coast to pursue her love of the stage, the screen, and the studio.

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   The city’s big real estate development project of River Prairie isn’t going to work quite as hoped. The ideal – develop the land, flip the land, tax the land – isn’t as fun when it becomes develop the land, sit on the land, figure out how to pay for the land.

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   At the Altoona Parks & Recreation Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 6, members discussed the pros and cons of raising fees for the Altoona Youth Softball and Baseball Association’s use of city fields.
   During the 2008 season, AYSB field usage cost $6,645.83. Subtract the association’s annual $3,500 contract payment and $1,400 in tournament fees, and the final cost for taxpayers was about $1,800.

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