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Monday 08 February 2010
Local News 2-8-10
From January 1st to February 5th 2010, 16 operating while intoxicated (OWI) and 3 absolute sobriety arrests have been made by the Barron County Sheriff's Department. Almost double the 9 OWI and 2 absolute sobriety arrests that were made the same time period in 2009. “Impaired drivers not only pose a threat to themselves but to everyone on the roads,” comments Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald. In 2008 alcohol-related crashes killed 234 people in Wisconsin and injured more than 4,000. According to a nationwide study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released in April 2008, Wisconsin has the highest rate of drunken driving in the nation. More than 26 percent of Wisconsin adults who were surveyed admitted that they had driven under the influence of alcohol in the previous year. The Barron County Tavern League provides a “Safe Ride” program for those who find themselves impaired. “Bartender's will call a sober driver to take you home safely,” reports Rita Librande, owner of Sportsman's Supper Club and coordinator of the Barron County Safe Ride program. “There is no charge for the ride home; the cost is reimbursed by a grant.” The Wisconsin Department of Transportation defines legal intoxication for purposes of driving as having a blood or breath alcohol content of .08 or greater. Alcohol may affect driving skills at a blood alcohol content of .05 or even lower. Driving skills especially judgment, are impaired in most people long before they show signs of drunkenness. You do not have to be “drunk” to be impaired in your ability to safely drive a car.
A Tony man pulled over for speeding receives an OWI. Brandon J. Kidd, 21 of Tony, was traveling at a high rate of speed on Highway 8 in Ladysmith when a Ladysmith police officer activated his radar. Kidd was eventually pulled over and found to be under the influence of alcohol. Kidd failed a field sobriety test. He was then arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
An argument leads to an OWI. A woman at Kwik Trip called in to report a red Bronco was parked in the parking lot and the people inside the vehicle were arguing. A field sobriety test was administered and the driver, Adam Arquette, 21 of Sheldon, was arrested for operating while intoxicated. The passenger, Aaron Hakes, 21 of Cornell, was issued a citation for open intoxicants.
The third and final OWI of the weekend happened early Monday morning. Heidi Williams, 37 of Sheldon, was arrested when she was operating left of the center line, to which she received a citation. Williams was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated first offense.
There were six theft reports from the Ladysmith High School Saturday. Items from Ipods to money were missing. There is a suspect but the case is still under investigation.
Five snowmobilers ended up in the emergency room of the Rusk County Memorial Hospital. There were two separate accidents. The first was at 12:20 Saturday morning. Two separate groups were riding on the Chippewa River when Stuart Westlund, 29 of Marshfield, and David Curtis, 38 of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, collided. The two men were in separate groups. Both were taken to the Rusk County Memorial Hospital by ambulance. One adult passenger was on each snowmobile and they were also taken to the hospital. In a separate incident, Gea Henderson, 25 of Bruce, was on a snowmobile that collided with a tree Saturday afternoon. It is not certain if Henderson was the driver or passenger.
A slow moving winter storm will bring snowfall accumulations to western Wisconsin starting tonight. The light snow will fall for two days straight but will not be heavy. 3 to 7 inches is expected for most of Western Wisconsin.
Posted by Aaron on Monday 08 February 2010 - 11:43:11
Wisconsin News 2-8-10
Transportation officials in Wisconsin and Minnesota are considering over a dozen possible routes for high-speed rail service from Madison to the Twin Cities. Daniel Krom of Minnesota’s D-O-T said he met with Badger State officials to look at quote, “13 or 14 potential alignments.” They plan to narrow the list to three-or-four, and then choose a final route to submit to federal officials by this summer. Wisconsin has received federal stimulus cash to extend the Amtrak line from Milwaukee-to-
Madison, and a million dollars was approved to study the best route west of Madison. Officials in La Crosse and Winona Minnesota want the line to follow Amtrak’s Empire Builder train that’s currently in their communities. But an aide to Wausau House Democrat David Obey of Wausau says more Wisconsinites would be served if the train went up to Eau Claire, and go west from there. Those who support the La Crosse-and-Winona route are trying to get as many officials on their side as possible – and they want to get them to a summit meeting in La Crosse on March 18th. D-O-T officials in both Wisconsin and Minnesota plan to attend – and Wisconsin secretary Frank Busalacchi (boo-suh-lock’-ee) will be the keynote speaker.
Authorities are waiting out the snow before they resume their search for a missing snowmobiler on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. Timothy Pease of Saint Croix Beach has not been seen since Friday. His snowmobile was found late Saturday near Afton on the Minnesota side of the Saint Croix River. A search began Friday night after somebody heard screams for help and called 9-1-1. Washington County authorities in Minnesota conducted a search on Saturday. But they called it off yesterday because of new snowfall and a fast-moving current. The water in the search area is up to 70-feet deep – and open areas have been creating strong currents.
The son of an Appleton judge is expected to enter pleas tomorrow to charges that he fired a gun into the air outside his house in December. It’s the latest incident involving 35-year-old Michael Froehlich (fray-lick) of Appleton. He’s scheduled to go on trial in late June in Outagamie County for three counts of illegal telephone use by threats and obscenities, and three other charges of disorderly conduct. They’re connected with incidents in late 2006 and last February. Froehlich is also charged in Menominee County with two counts of disorderly conduct in an incident at his father’s cabin in late 2008. Most of the charges were filed last June, after newspapers in Appleton and Madison reported a mix-up by a special prosecutor that allowed Froehlich to escape those charges until now. Michael Froehlich is the son of Outagamie County Circuit Judge Harold Froehlich. Winnebago County Circuit Judge Scott Woldt is hearing the Appleton case that’s about to go to trial. Three judges have gone in-and-out of the December gun case, one by a conflict and another because the defendant asked for a substitute. Fond du Lac Judge Richard Ness is hearing that case now.
A Minnesota couple plans to walk 18-hundred miles around Lake Superior to celebrate their wedding anniversary and retirement – all while helping the environment. Mike Link and Katie Crowley, both in their 60's, will leave Duluth on their April 29th anniversary and hike into Wisconsin. They'll go as close to the water as possible along sandy beaches and rocky cliffs. They plan to write a blog, take photos, and keep a record of plants along the way. Link and Crowley hope the information can be used in 50 years to study the effects of climate change on Lake Superior. They figure the trip will take about five months. Crowley is an instructor at the Audubon Center of the Northwoods in Sandstone Minnesota, and Link has taught in their programs. They plan to write a book about their hike, and share their research with several universities near Lake Superior.
Posted by Aaron on Monday 08 February 2010 - 11:41:55
National-World News 2-8-10
The celebration continues today in New Orleans, after 42 years of frustration. The New Orleans Saints won their first Super Bowl, beating the Indianapolis Colts in Miami Sunday, 31-17. Thousands of people celebrated in the streets last night, and into the morning. The Saints' victory is even sweeter for the city because the team had been an NFL laughingstock for years. Their championship comes five years after the city was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
The space shuttle Endeavour has blasted into space. It's on a two-week mission to the International Space Station. The six-member crew is delivering a new module to the station. It will be used to as a robotics control room.
At least five people are dead after an explosion at a Connecticut manufacturing plant over the weekend. But not everyone is accounted for at the Kleen Energy Systems facility. Part of the building is still too unstable for rescuers to get inside and look for other survivors or victims. More than one contractor had employees at the building, so it's difficult to determine whether anyone is still missing.
Toyota reportedly is planning a big recall of its Prius hybrid vehicles. The Kyodo (Kee-OH-doh) News Agency says Toyota will inform the U-S and Japanese governments of the recall on Tuesday. The recall reportedly would affect about 300-thousand vehicles, and is linked to a problem with the car's brakes.
Posted by Aaron on Monday 08 February 2010 - 11:36:32
