Editor's note: The following was received as a Letter to the Editor after the Oct. 30 was headed to press:

Letter: Congratulations, Tomahawk football team on your win against our Spooner Rails.

I want to thank Tomahawk for their hospitality - especially, the individuals responsible for breaking into our school bus and stealing valuable items belonging to our students, such as Ipods, money, etc. What great hospitality from such a great town!

I can't understand how the parents of these individuals wouldn't know if their kids walked in with something not belonging to them! Or if it was adults who took from our children, SHAME ON YOU! Those kids saved their hard earned money for those things and we trusted that it would be safe on OUR bus in YOUR SCHOOL PARKING LOT! Therefore, the shame is on YOU, the entire TOMAHAWK community.

Either way, it was the POOREST show of sportsmanship we've experienced. What a negative taste you have ALL put into our mouths. Yes, even those who were not at that game; it's your community, therefore, a reflection on you each individually! Maybe that will also reflect as a consequence in the outcome of Tomahawk's upcoming game. We can only hope!

Lynda Marquardt
Spooner

To Ms. Marquardt, do you know for certain that items stolen from the Spooner bus were taken by Tomahawk residents? If not you should not be judging an entire community and wishing ill upon the outcome of the next Hatchet Game. Breaking into a bus and stealing is terrible and those responsible should be punished. However, judging an entire community by a few bad apples is just as terrible. I certainly don't think negatively of the people of Spooner because of one Spooner fan that wishes ill upon students(Hatchet football players) that could have had nothing to do with these thefts. What you are saying is no different than if I were to say the entire Muslim community is bad because of Bin Laden.

For the record Ms. Marquardt the good people of Tomahawk do not look kindly on, nor do they condone illegal behavior. The tone of your letter implies that such behavior is acceptable. Can you tell me in all honesty that nothing has ever been stolen from a visiting team's bus or locker room in the entire history of Spooner sports? To me this sounds like it's more than about theft, it's also about sour grapes over a football lose.

<small>[ October 29, 2007, 07:11 PM: Message edited by: Deb Richardson ]</small>

_________________
Life is too short for drama & petty things!
So, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly!

im in complete agreement with deb here, exercising an adult oriented mentality would be appreciated considering the circumstances and well.. lack of real evidence...

_________________
“Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have made a difference to the world, but the Marines don’t have that problem.” - Ronald Reagan

I wonder if she ever considered that it may have been someone from Spooner who knew those items were on the bus and took advantage of the opportunity.
It is easy to point fingers when you have no evidence, but when you point at someone else remember there are three fingers pointing back !

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

thats pretty true to life. i just dont understand what part of her mind thought it rational to condemn an entire community.

Right you are Scout. A similar incident happened earlier this Fall in the Fox Valley. Rather than the opposing team's bus, spectator's vehicles were broken into. People from the visiting team harrassed community officials stating that vehicles from the visiting team were singled out, not the case, vehicles belonging to spectators from both teams were robbed. The same blah, blah, blah bad community, poor sportsmanship, blah, blah, blah! Another case of the visiting team losing to the underdog. As it turned out similar vehicle break-ins were reported throught that county over the next few weekends, at sporting events as well as wedding receptions and the like. From reports police believe all break-ins were committed by the same individuals.

Well, Ms. Marquardt got her wish Tomahawk lost in the last round of the play-offs. Congrats to the guys for a great season and making history!!

Also to Scout, Vetern's Day wishes to you, thank you to you and all that have served.

_________________
Life is too short for drama & petty things!
So, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly!

A Letter to the Editor in the Nov. 13 Tomahawk Leader:

To The Editor:

In response to the letter written by Lynda Marquardt of Spooner:
I hope Ms. Marquardt does not represent the people of Spooner, Wisconsin. I can understand her anger, but not her spiteful hope that our football team would lose to Somerset. Shame on you Ms. Marquardt – for ranting like a toddler and wishing ill to players who were on the football field at the time of the incident. Talk about poor sportsmanship!

In 2006, there were 80 reported thefts in Spooner, 83 reported thefts in Tomahawk. Not much difference, is there? You can sit on your high horse and render judgment, but as for me, I will look past your pettiness and wish the Spooner Rails “good luck” in their 2008 football season.

Angie Larson
Tomahawk

A Letter to the Editor in the Nov. 13 Tomahawk Leader:

To The Editor:

Shame, shame on Lynda Marquardt from Spooner.
The actions of whoever did break into the bus, even if it was someone from Tomahawk, should not reflect on our whole community.

But to wish we would lose our next game is very deceitful.
An open invitation to you to come and visit us and see how great Tomahawk really is!

Mary L. Smith
Tomahawk

A Letter to the Editor in the Nov. 27 Tomahawk Leader

To The Editor:

My community pride compels me to respond to the letter written by Lynda Marquardt in the Tomahawk Leader on Nov. 6, regarding the over generalization of the people from Tomahawk.
I moved here, with my husband a little over two years ago. The first thing I noticed about Tomahawk was how giving this small community is. The people are friendly and the food here is fantastic. It, by far, outshines the larger cities we’ve lived in.
First of all I would like to say to the Spooner Rails how sorry I am that this happened to you. I can only hope, whoever stole your belongings are caught and prosecuted!

Ms. Marquardt, how lucky you are to live in Spooner, where you can leave your car keys in the car. Sleep with the windows open and the doors unlocked, and never have any crime where someone’s belongings are stolen. Your taxes must be lower, too, since you do not have any need for a police station and its staff.
Obviously, this isn’t the case, since 80 thefts and 12 burglaries have been committed in Spooner, in 2006 (according to the Spooner Police Department). Sadly, the total for this year was not available at this time. This year, in Tomahawk we experienced a horrific crime apparently committed by a Rhinelander man. Do we hate or put down their whole town? No! In fact, the theft on your school bus, in our school parking lot, might have been committed by someone other than a resident of Tomahawk. Regardless, it is a shame, that it happened.

It saddens me to think that you would attack, and have ill will toward our football team, and their upcoming game. I could never imagine doing the same, if the game was played in Spooner, and it was our school bus that was burglarized in your school parking lot. Remember, sportsmanship is a two-way street.

Hopefully, your letter will not spread a negative message to our wonderful communities, and to our talented football teams. We need to work together, rather than be torn apart.

Ila Mooney
Tomahawk

A follow-up letter in the Dec. 25 Tomahawk Leader:

Please accept apology

Recently and before I had a chance to censor my thoughts and feelings of the moment, I wrote a very harsh and judgmental letter to the Tomahawk newspaper following an incident involving the vandalism and theft of personal items from the Spooner fan bus that occurred at the Tomahawk High School during the football playoff game. It was very negative loyalty at best. Since that outburst, I have had great regrets. I am also very sure, that in retrospect, while the incident made me very upset, my letter probably had more to do with other things going on in my life at the time.

Without writing here verbatim what I expressed in that letter, I wrongly expressed that the Tomahawk community should feel shame for the theft. Just because I believe that bad behavior/action reflects on the individual, or, in this case, the anonymous bad behavior/action someone displays at a community event (ie., this football game) is a reflection of the town, doesn’t mean others feel the same way or necessarily make it true. We don’t live in a perfect world, nor are any one of us perfect. It has been a good and humbling lesson for me.

I also implied that I hoped that as a result of this theft, the outcome of Tomahawk's upcoming game would be reflected. That in itself was very petty and childish and I know how I would feel if someone would say that about the Spooner team. That statement was in poor taste and took away from true sportsmanship and the beauty and hard work of the phenomenal Rails football team.
Everyone has negative thoughts and feelings. Everyone makes a choice whether to vent those feelings and I did not do what a reasonable person who thought things through would have done. I made a bad choice and I deeply regret it because it caused, in my opinion, a negative reflection on Spooner, on the people I call my friends, and, most importantly, my family. When I wrote that letter in that tone, I did exactly what I accused the Tomahawk community of doing – I made a negative reflection on my community. The irony is not lost on me.

On a positive note, a writer from Tomahawk did made one positive and true statement about Spooner in that she thought how lucky I am to live where I can keep my keys in my car, sleep with my windows open and doors unlocked. Let me assure you, while sometimes I have been careless in not locking my car door, I feel very safe in the Spooner community. That and so much more makes me feel glad to be part of a community, while not perfect, still is safer than others.

I am not asking for forgiveness, just an acceptance of my apology.

Lynda Marquardt
Spooner

Hi Lynda,

I have no problem forgiving you or accepting your apology because what you just wrote struck me as sincere and truthful and from your heart.

There have been MANY MANY times in my life that I did or said something that later on I knew was just plain wrong. How I wished with all my might that I could just close my eyes and magically take it back and make it never to have happened.

Well, as far as I'm concerned you just took it back and it never happened.

Merry Christmas to you and your family and to everyone in Tomahawk and Spooner !!!

_________________
Ken Martell
kenmartell@gmail.com
Thankful to be alive and healthy. Proud to call Tomahawk my hometown.