OUR PLACE
Eleven-year-old Carly Van Pelt, a fifth grader from Lake Geneva, is showcasing her baking talents on Food Network’s “Kids Baking Championship.”
Hosts and judges, Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown, welcome this season’s new field of talented kid bakers to the kitchen for challenges inspired by creatures big and small, including a few fluffy, furry, and feathery friends who drop in to the kitchen for live appearances throughout the season.
From sea creatures to jungle dwellers to farm animals and more, the 12 kid bakers must craft creative and delicious animal-themed treats for a chance at winning the grand prize. These young bakers are competing for a chance to win $25,000; a feature in Food Network Magazine; and the coveted title of Kids Baking Champion. The theme for Carly’s season is ‘Amazing Animals’ in which she will be competing with kids from all across the country and Canada. Animals are the perfect theme for Carly because baking animal treats is one of her signature specialties.
Carly is the owner of VP’s Treats, which makes baked goods for dogs, horses, and humans. The young entrepreneur said her dog treats are different from others on the market because they are all fresh, and made with organic ingredients. Carly says she has been baking since she was old enough to hold a spoon and often creates her own recipes. She already has two dogs and loves reptiles but dreams of owning a horse. Her family gifted her a new puppy, Leo, as a welcome home gift when she returned to Wisconsin after filming but maybe a horse will be in her future. The season started on Monday, January 6th, on Food Network. New episodes premier every Monday. You can also catch up on episodes using the Discovery+ streaming app.
The pier issue at the headwaters of Geneva Lake in downtown Lake Geneva remains contentious and controversial.
All the experts want the pier slips on the downflow side of what is called the lagoon that sits just adjacent to the Wrigley Bridge done away with because it makes no sense to have twenty-four boats wedged into twenty-four boat slips inside that stretch of water. Because the overflow of the lake falls over a long concrete wall only a few feet from where those boats would be docked, the silt does not go over that wall, instead swirling around the piers and boats. This leads to very expensive dredging every few years. For some reason, the piers and harbor committee don’t want to listen to the experts and instead want those slips but at a one hundred and seventy-three percent increase in fees.
Even such an outrageous increase, given that the national inflation rate has fallen to three percent, those collected fees will not pay for the dredging that must be done, much less the installation of new expensive piers. The GSR will be at that meeting and reporting back to the public.
Place of the Week
Alpine Valley Resort located at W2501 Cty Rd O in Elkhorn has had a busy skiing season.
