Shawano Leader News
Clerk of court faces petition for removal
Tim Ryan, [email protected]
Shawano County’s clerk of court will face a court hearing of her own Monday to determine what action should be taken on a petition for her removal from office.
A petition filed by a Bonduel couple last month alleges Susan Krueger used her position in an attempt to influence the sentencing of a personal acquaintance in a Brown County felony case.
Krueger told the Leader this week she would reserve any comment on the matter for Monday’s hearing. However, she did file an answer to the petition earlier this month denying the allegation.
Krueger wrote a letter on Shawano County Clerk of Court letterhead in May to Brown County Circuit Court Judge Kendall Kelley regarding Eric Hodkiewicz, 35, of Shawano. Court documents indicate the letter was received and put into the court file June 20, the day Hodkiewicz was sentenced.
Hodkiewicz had been found guilty after a jury trial in March of nine felony counts, including stalking, unlawful use of a phone to threaten, burglary, substantial battery with intent to do bodily harm, strangulation and suffocation, two counts of disorderly conduct, criminal damage to property and bail jumping.
Hodkiewicz was sentenced to eight years in prison and 13 years of extended supervision, with some of the sentences on individual counts running consecutively, according to court records.
Krueger’s May 13 letter to the Brown County court, written “on both a personal and professional level,” defended Hodkiewicz as someone incapable of “the alleged violence” against the victim in the case.
Krueger wrote that Hodkiewicz was a close friend of her son. She said she has known Hodkiewicz since he was in high school.
Krueger went on to say in the letter that the court system failed in this case.
“The state abuses its authority by overcharging, and using it as leverage for potential plea bargaining,” she wrote. “I’ve seen victims file report after report with law enforcement to bolster their stories in restraining order, custody and criminal cases, making unsubstantiated testimony more believable. Often it is the better ‘liar’ not ‘lawyer’ that can win a case before a judge or jury for the state or defense.”
Krueger went on to defend Hodkiewicz’s character and asked the court not to include prison as part of the sentence.
David and Karen Patza, who are relatives of the victim, filed a complaint in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court on Nov. 25 asking for Krueger’s removal from office.
In addition to the letter to the Brown County court, the complaint alleges Krueger used her government email account in January 2012 and February 2013 to contact Department of Corrections employees in an attempt to influence Hodkiewicz’s probation agent and influence the DOC’s treatment of Hodkiewicz.
The same day that complaint was received, Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court Judges James Habeck and William Kussel Jr. signed an administrative order barring Krueger from having any contact with or access to any court file having to do with the victim or her family.
Those files were put into the custody of other staff in the clerk of court’s office.
Habeck and Kussel notified Krueger Dec. 3 that a hearing had been scheduled regarding the complaint.
“This complaint alleges conduct that could result in removal from office for cause,” the notice states.
Habeck also wrote a Dec. 5 memo to the Patzas informing them of the hearing and what would occur.
“An opinion as to what action should be taken now would be similar to comments often received by a court that are considered in sentencing, where the goal is not establishing what happened, but instead focuses on what consequences or strategy should be used,” Habeck wrote.
The hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday.
Rate this article: Select ratingGive it 1/5Give it 2/5Give it 3/5Give it 4/5Give it 5/5 No votes yetSheriff looks back on 40-year career
Tim Ryan, [email protected]
Contributed Photo Shawano County Sheriff Randy Wright, walking beside his wife, Mary, was honored with a surprise retirement celebration Saturday at The Main Event in Cecil. More than 150 people attended.
In a little under two weeks, Shawano County Sheriff Randy Wright will relinquish his badge after 40 years in law enforcement and eight years as sheriff.
It’s not quite the way he wanted to go out, having lost the election in November to Shawano Police Officer Adam Bieber, who will be sworn in as the new sheriff Jan. 5.
“I’d have liked to walk out of here and simply say, ‘I’m retired,’” Wright said.
But the initial disappointment has subsided somewhat, replaced by an eagerness to start a new chapter in his life.
“When God closes one door, he’s going to open another door for you,” Wright said. “I feel he has.”
With 10 grandchildren, Wright is looking forward to becoming “a full-time grandpa,” and spending more time with family members.
“Since April, it’s mostly been about the campaign,” he said. “I hadn’t had much of a chance to really sit back and enjoy the family. I missed a lot.”
Wright said a recent visit to see his father in the nursing home was more relaxed than it had been in a long time.
“It always seemed I had something on my mind, something to do with the sheriff’s office or the County Board, or I had a meeting or doings to go to,” Wright said. “I didn’t have that pressure anymore.”
Wright said he was offered some part-time law enforcement work at one of the villages but turned it down.
“In last couple of years, I had both shoulders redone — bicep, rotator cuff, bone chips taken out of both shoulders — and a little bit of arthritis from each one of them,” Wright said. “I’m feeling good now after about 10 years of being in pain with that. I’m finally kind of fixed up. Do I really want to go back out there and take a chance, at 58 or 59 years old, of wrestling and tussling with some young buck out there and have my shoulders redone again?”
Wright has been in law enforcement since he was in tech school, balancing his education with work as a part-time deputy for both Oconto and Brown counties.
He then worked as a part-time deputy for Shawano County while getting his associate degree and joined the department full-time in 1976, moving from jailer to dispatcher to road deputy.
He went to the Shawano Police Department in 1981, working as a patrolman there for 25 years until he ran for sheriff in 2007.
“I was very eager to get into this profession,” Wright said. “Coming from the small town of Suring, the excitement would be if the fire siren went off; you’d see the fire trucks going out, ambulance going out.”
Wright said he will be taking quite a few memories with him.
“Some funny ones,” he said, like tumbling down a flight of stairs when he surprised by a bat that flew by his head, or the practical jokes that went on when the Sheriff’s Department provided the early morning road report for the local radio station.
“WTCH learned they would tape us first before they aired it live,” he said.
There were some scary memories, too, like being shot at by a man with a rifle outside of what was then the First and Last Chance Saloon in Shawano. A fellow officer was hit in the ankle during that encounter by a bullet fragment after it exploded on the blacktop.
There are also things Wright would like to forget.
“Some bad memories as far as the homicides and a murder-suicide that I handled,” he said.
There have been numerous changes in law enforcement since Wright started his career.
“I started back when the only thing you really had was a wooden baton and you had to really wrestle with people,” he said.
Very little training was required in those days, he said, but as opportunities for additional training came up, Wright jumped at them.
“I loved taking whatever was available that I was able to take for advancing, for learning,” he said. “Evidence technician, homicide investigation, interview and interrogation techniques and tactics, arson investigations.”
Technology has also changed since Wright started.
“I remember first starting out when the radios that we had (at the Sheriff’s Department) were four channels,” he said.
That caused a little envy of the Shawano Police Department, which was a little more advanced.
“The city was getting newer equipment, coming with radios that had maybe 50 frequencies,” he said.
As for communication, technology was still a long way off from today’s texts and e-mails.
“We still had the old ticker-tape teletype,” Wright said. “You’d have a spool of tape and when you’d do your teletype, it would punch little holes in that tape.”
During his tenure as sheriff, Wright fulfilled his campaign pledge to further embrace technology and get mobile data centers into the squad cars.
That’s one of the things he said he is most proud of, but there are others, including adding part-time deputies to free up the full-time staff and handle duties such as court details and transports.
“I’m most proud of the team atmosphere I wanted to put in place,” he said.
“The main thing I’m proud of is the people that I work with,” he said. “These people are dedicated, devoted people. They give selflessly of themselves.”
Wright said he is looking forward to putting aside the politics that came with the sheriff’s job.
“I’m now no longer a politician. The sheriff’s position shouldn’t be partisan,” he said. “I no longer have to worry if I’m tea party affiliated or conservative affiliated. I’m an individual. I’m myself, a free citizen, free to do what I want.”
Wright said he was encouraged that after losing the primary, support across party lines came forward for a write-in campaign in November.
He said Republicans, Democrats and Independents came together on his behalf to form a support group.
“That was humbling,” Wright said. “It was a proud moment. That meant a lot to me.”
Wright said he has no regrets about what was a great 40-year run in law enforcement.
“I’ve had ups and downs and all-arounds,” he said. “I’ve got nothing to hang my head about.”
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Shawano Police Department
Dec. 24
Police logged 24 incidents, including the following:
Juvenile — Police responded to a juvenile problem in the 1300 block of East Lieg Avenue.
Accident — Police responded to a property damage accident at Green Bay and Washington streets.
Threatening — Police responded to a threatening complaint at Charlie’s County Market, 521 S. Main St.
Shoplifting — A 28-year-old woman was cited for shoplifting at Walmart, 1244 E. Green Bay St.
Disturbance — Police responded to a disturbance in the 900 block of East Randall Street.
Trespass — Police responded to a trespassing complaint in the 400 block of Lakeland Road.
Shawano County Sheriff’s Department
Dec. 24
Deputies logged 33 incidents, including the following:
Suspicious — Authorities responded to a suspicious person complaint on Webb Street in Wittenberg.
Harassment — Authorities responded to a harassment complaint on Fair-Morr Road in Fairbanks.
Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on Marsh Road in Aniwa.
Harassment — Authorities responded to a harassment complaint on Cloverleaf Lake Road in Belle Plaine.
Harassment — Authorities responded to a harassment complaint on Country Lane in the town of Washington.
Accidents — Authorities logged four accidents, including two deer-related crashes.
Clintonville Police Department
Dec. 24
Police logged nine incidents, including the following:
Warrant — A 28-year-old man was arrested on a New London Police Department warrant.
Disturbance — Police responded to a domestic situation on 15th Street.
Rate this article: Select ratingGive it 1/5Give it 2/5Give it 3/5Give it 4/5Give it 5/5 No votes yet‘Twas the day before Christmas
Jason Arndt, [email protected]
Leader Photo by Jason Arndt Bill and Mary Hoppe, top, of Shawano visit with their daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Dan, and their children, Joshua, Jonah, Gabriel and Noah, of Carrollton, Missouri, Wednesday at Bult’s Bakery in Shawano. The Franks traditionally spend Christmas in Shawano every other year.
Leader Photo by Jason Arndt Kristy Kehr, of Shawano, looks for last-minute Christmas cards at Dreier’s Pharmacy in downtown Shawano. She is expecting her daughter, Jocelyn, of Minneapolis, to visit on Christmas Day.
Editor’s note: Leader reporter Jason Arndt hit the stores in Shawano on Christmas Eve and filed this report on what he found.
Families reunite for holidays
For many people, the holidays mean traveling long distances to reunite with families.
AAA projects that more than 1.9 million Wisconsinites will be among the 98.6 million Americans journeying 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holiday season, an increase of 4 percent over last year. This upward trend marks the highest forecast growth rate for the year-end holiday season since 2009 and the highest travel volume for the holiday period on record. (AAA data dates back to 2001.)
The year-end holiday period is defined as Dec. 23 to Jan. 4.
Dan and Susan Frank make the 11-hour drive every other year from Carrollton, Missouri, with their four children to spend Christmas with Susan’s parents, Mary and Bill Hoppe, of Shawano, and other relatives.
On Wednesday morning, the family was gathered around a table at Bult’s Bakery in downtown Shawano.
“The kids (Joshua, Gabriel, Noah and Jonah) like the bakery, and when we get together, we sit down for doughnuts,” Mary Hoppe said.
The Franks, who moved from Shawano 17 years ago, make the most of their opportunity to reconnect with their old hometown.
“My husband and I were both born and raised here,” Susan Frank said. “Of course we love coming back. We get to see all of the family and be home for Christmas and do all of the fun stuff that we do up here.
“While we are here, we are going to go ice skating at the Crawford Center and go sledding and tubing at the Navarino ski hill.”
“I always go to Qualheim’s and Old Glory when I come back,” Dan Frank said.
Jesse Frank, not related to Dan and Susan Frank, was waiting in line at Bult’s as the Franks and Hoppes chatted.
Frank and his fiancee, Beth Phillips, live in Schaumburg, Illinois, where Frank is a freight driver for Schneider National Trucking Company.
“It’s Christmas, and I like to come back and visit everybody,” Frank said. “Pretty much everybody lives here, everybody but us. … It is worth the 200-mile drive back to see them.”
Kristy Kehr, of Shawano, meanwhile, was running last-minute errands at Dreier’s Pharmacy and awaiting her daughter’s return.
“Our daughter and her boyfriend are in Minneapolis and will be coming tomorrow,” Kehr said. “I love to see them, and they are a lot of fun.”
Church prepares for special day
Pastor Susan Phillips of First Presbyterian Church of Shawano was putting the finishing touches on her holiday sermons while finalizing details for the Christmas community dinner that the church will host Thursday evening.
Christmas, she said, “for many of us, is about the incarnation of God … and we are all born to love the world we live in.”
Phillips anticipates about 15 volunteers will be assist at the free dinner, which will include ham, potatoes, green beans, rolls and desserts.
The dinner drew 153 people last year. Everyone in the community is invited, Phillips said.
Volunteers are still being accepted, she said, to help with serving drinks, busing tables and simply lending a helping hand where needed.
“A lot of people step up when needed, including washing dishes, playing the piano for Christmas carols,” Phillips said.
Businesses report steady sales
Dreier’s Pharmacy remained busy on Christmas Eve due to last-minute shoppers.
“Today has been a nice and busy day. With Christmas Eve, we have seen a lot of customers come in,” said pharmacist Tim Dreier, part-owner of Dreier’s Pharmacy.
Dreier said holiday season sales seem similar to last year.
“Right now it appears to be dead even in sales,” he said. “A lot of people are stocking up on prescription refills and getting last-minute gifts.”
Sales also have remained steady this season at Qualhiem’s True Value in Shawano, according to Rachel Kirchner, the store’s accounts receivable representative.
The store, however, sold all of its Christmas tree stands two weeks ago, which is unusual.
“We were out of tree stands a couple of weeks ago, tree stands for live trees,” said Amy Damveld, the store’s lawn and garden manager. “People kept coming in looking for them. … That area went out right away, so that means people are buying live trees.”
Inventories of artificial trees also were sparse.
“We are down to only few now,” Damveld said Wednesday. “We don’t have very many left.”
Martin Jeweler’s co-owner Jim Martin said his business has been booming. He credited the Dazzling Diamonds collection, which features a diamond that moves inside assorted pendant designs.
“This year this thing has taken off, and it’s really unique,” said Martin, who said he sold up to 40 of the pendants within the last week. “This morning I ordered more.”
Not all retailers, locally or across the U.S., were having such good holiday seasons.
Despite an early start to the shopping season, sales data provided to The Associated Press last week showed that stores once again were relying on procrastinators to save the holiday shopping season.
Sales rose 1.8 percent from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15 compared with the same period a year ago, according to payment technology company First Data Corp.
The numbers are modest considering that the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, expects sales for the entire season — November and December — to rise 4.1 percent to $616.9 billion.
story created on Wednesday 12/24/2014 at 10:55:46 am by Jason Arndt
story modified on Wednesday 12/24/2014 at 4:05:45 pm by Lee Pulaski
SACF helps group helping the homeless
Jason Arndt, [email protected]
Shawano Area Matthew 25 was created with a mission to help local homeless people in Shawano and Menominee counties.
The organization, founded in 2012, faces an uphill battle, with an estimated 198 homeless families in Shawano, Menominee and northern Waupaca counties, according to the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
The effort recently received an important boost, however, when the Shawano Area Community Foundation awarded SAM25 $5,000 to assemble 200 emergency kits for the homeless.
“We are blessed that we are able to start our mission and we are thankful that the foundation has given us a great start,” said Muffy Culhane, president of SAM25.
The organization received nearly a quarter of the foundation’s grant money for 2015.
“They are a well-deserving organization in the community and are a start-up organization that wants to help,” SACF chairman Todd Raether said.
The emergency kits will include space blankets, rain ponchos, flashlights, hand warmers, lip balm, first aid kits and toiletry items.
SAM25 wants to provide 64 kits to area law enforcement officials, 37 for Shawano County and 27 for Menominee County; at least two kits to each school in both counties; and three kits each to three shelters in the area: Safe Haven, in Shawano, and Maehnowesekiyah and the Eagles Nest homeless shelter, in Menominee County.
“The whole goal is if somebody bumps into someone in the community that needs help, they can give them one,” said Ludene Balke, who wrote the SAM25 grant request.
The group plans to assemble the kits in January and begin distribution in February.
Homeless numbers can be deceiving, Balke said.
“We truly do not know how many are out there, but we do receive calls from people asking if they could do something for people in need,” she said.
SAM25 received nonprofit status in 2014. Culhane said the group’s mission is to ensure everyone in the community has a meal and a safe place to live, access to medical and dental care, and direction to community resources if in need.
SACF awarded more than $20,000 this year, helping eight organizations—about $15,000 less than a year ago when it supported 12 nonprofit organizations.
“It seems like the number of organizations that applied were down this year,” Raether said.
The following organizations also received SACF grants this year:
• Safe Haven, a domestic abuse and sexual assault support center, $3,646, for new furniture.
• Navarino Nature Center, $3,500, to build an accessible boardwalk to Glen’s Pond.
• Friends of the Shawano Library Inc., $2,400, for four laptops to provide educational enrichment opportunities for adults.
• Shawano County Barn Quilt Project, $2,000, to provide better lighting at the sign proclaiming the county as the Barn Quilt Capital of Wisconsin.
• nIc Foundation, $1,800, to provide support for character camps and anti-bullying programs for elementary school students.
• Wolf River School-to-Work Foundation, $1,400, to expose eighth-grade students to multiple careers at a job fair.
• Rural Health Initiative, $685, for a tablet to communicate information to Hispanic farmers.
Nonprofit organizations have until October to apply for grants for 2015.
story created on Tuesday 12/23/2014 at 12:51:28 pm by Jason Arndt
story modified on Wednesday 12/
Public Record
Shawano Police Department
Dec. 23
Police logged 27 incidents, including the following:
Theft - A snowblower was stolen from a property in the 500 block of South Union Street.
Disturbance - Police investigated a bullying complaint at Shawano Community High School, 220 County Road B.
Harassment - Police investigated a harassment complaint in the 300 block of Madison Way.
Failure to Register - Police issued ordinance violations to 29- and 23-year-old men for failing to register as sex offenders in the 100 block of South Main St.
Warrant - Police attempted to locate a man on an outstanding warrant in the 100 block of Alpine Terrace.
Warrant - Police took a 24-year-old woman into custody on warrant for identify theft in the 200 block of South Sawyer Street.
Juvenile - Police investigated a report of a juvenile throwing snowballs at South Lincoln Street and East Lieg Avenue.
Juvenile - Police responded to a juvenile problem at a residence in the 1300 block of East Lieg Avenue.
Truancy - Two truancies were reported at Shawano Community Middle School, 1050 S. Union St.
Accidents - Police responded to a two-car property damage accident in the parking lot of Hardees, 1120 E. Green Bay St., and three weather-related accidents.
Shawano County Sheriff’s Department
Dec. 23
Deputies logged 52 incidents, including the following:
Domestic - Authorities responded to a domestic disturbance in the 100 block of South Cecil Street in Bonduel.
OWI - Authorities issued a citation to a 24-year-old man for operating while intoxicated at County Roads MMM and MM in Richmond.
Disturbance - Authorities responded to a domestic disturbance between father and son on Shore Lane in the town of Wescott.
Welfare - Authorities conducted a welfare check on a mother and daughter in the 100 block of South Cecil Street in Bonduel.
Theft - An ice auger and fishing pole were reported stolen from a storage unit, W7968 County Road MMM, in the town of Richmond.
Harassment - Authorities investigated 22-year-old man for harassing behavior in the 400 block of North Main Street.
OAR - Authorities cited a 34-year-old man for operating after revocation at state Highways 47 and 156 in the town of Lessor.
Suspicious - Authorities responded to a suspicious vehicle in the 900 block of Main Street in Gresham.
Accidents - Authorities logged 21 weather-related accidents and two deer-related accidents.
Rate this article: Select ratingGive it 1/5Give it 2/5Give it 3/5Give it 4/5Give it 5/5 No votes yetForeclosure suit targets SIST properties
Tim Ryan, [email protected]
A sweeping, half-million dollar foreclosure suit was filed this week targeting numerous commercial properties in Shawano and Wescott owned by the Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology and one of its subsidiaries.
The wide-ranging civil action encompasses 15 properties, from vacant buildings to ongoing enterprises such as the Midwest Gift and Fudge House in Wescott.
According to the civil suit filed in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court on Monday, a number of mortgages and land contracts on the properties were bundled into a single consolidated loan agreement with M&I Bank in 2008 and were backed by a promissory note signed by SIST founder R.C. Samanta Roy, who has since changed his name to Avraham Cohen.
The debts were eventually acquired by Wells Fargo Bank of Dallas, which claims in the suit that SIST and Cohen defaulted on the agreement.
The suit maintains that $526,388, including interest and fees, was still remaining on the debt as of Nov. 28.
Wells Fargo is seeking foreclosure on the fudge shop at 104 Old Lake Road in Wescott; vacant properties at 201 N. Main St. and 202 N. Washington St.; the former Ponderosa Steak House at 1247 E. Green Bay St.; the former Subway at 951 E. Green Bay St.; the former Taco John’s restaurant at 1214 E. Green Bay St.; a property at 143 S. Main St. being rented to Hunan’s Chinese Restaurant, and 145 S. Main St., a vacant property next door; vacant properties at 128 E. Green Bay St. and at 311 E. Green Bay St.; an apartment complex at 117 Mills St.; and three other Wescott properties, N5654, N5660 and N5670 State Highway 47-55.
The suit names nine other creditors as defendants. Wells Fargo maintains it has a priority claim on the debts.
The suit also alleges that SIST and its subsidiary Midwest Properties of Shawano have failed to keep up real estate taxes on some of the properties.
According to records from the Shawano County treasurer’s office, six of the properties named in the suit have delinquent taxes from 2013 totaling more than $5,250.
This is not the first mass foreclosure suit filed against SIST and its subsidiaries. Seven of the properties included in the Wells Fargo suit were part of a suit filed by M&I Bank in February 2011. The suit was dismissed in December of that year after SIST and M&I entered into a forbearance agreement.
The agreement was extended twice, with M&I agreeing not to take action against the properties until after Sept. 14, 2014, after which there was a three-month redemption period for SIST to make good on its debts.
Wells Fargo obtained those debts while that agreement was still in place. The redemption period expired Dec. 14.
SIST and its subsidiaries have lost a number of foreclosure suits over the last three years, including the following:
• An apartment building at 463 Humphrey Circle and 1024 E. Fifth St. in Shawano.
• The USA International Raceway in Wescott.
• The Kiryat Hotel, now the Four Seasons Resort, 201 N. Airport Drive.
• The El Mariachi Cantina and Grill, 635 S. Main St.
• The former Family Dollar property at 229 E. Green Bay St.
• The former Qualheim’s building at 153 S. Main St.
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Jason Arndt, [email protected]
Emergency management officials are continuing to pump water out of a creek near the Wolf River in downtown Keshena.
State Highway 47-55 and County Road VV in downtown Keshena were reopened to traffic early Friday afternoon, a day after pumping began.
“The water levels are maintaining, and we are still continuing to pump,” said Ben Warrington, emergency management coordinator for the Menominee Indian tribe.
Warrington said the snowfall Tuesday hindered workers’ efforts.
“It has slightly affected the water levels,” he said.
Warrington reported water levels in the Wolf River had receded a foot on Friday, but there has not been any substantial progress since then.
Water removal services are being provided by by Brownsville-based Mi-Con, a firm that usually helps construction and industrial clients with solutions to issues involving lowering and treating groundwater.
Mi-Con pumps are capable of handling 18,000 gallons of water per minute, Warrington said.
The National Weather Service indicated there could be runoff from the snow Tuesday that could form additional ice on lakes and rivers through next Tuesday.
Reports of flooding in the area began Thanksgiving week and continued despite efforts by several agencies to address the problem, which was blamed on ice jams created by frazil ice, until the pumps were in place last week.
Frazil ice has the consistency of a snow cone and has prevented the Wolf River from flowing properly.
County Road VV was closed on Dec. 14 and Highway 47-55 on Dec. 16, a day after the Menominee Indian tribe and Menominee County issued an emergency disaster declaration due to flooding from the Wolf River.
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Sex offender registry violation
An arrest warrant was issued last week for a West Bend man who allegedly failed to comply with the state’s Sex Offender Registry.
Anthony J. Oberhofer, 32, could face a maximum six years in prison and $10,000 fine if convicted.
According to the criminal complaint, Oberhofer’s last reported address was in Shawano, but he was arrested in West Bend in October on a charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting an officer. He was released on bond Oct. 30 and hasn’t been seen since.
Oberhofer was convicted in Milwaukee County in August 2000 of third-degree sexual assault and is required to keep the state apprised of his address and employment.
Substantial battery
A Bowler teen is facing a felony charge of substantial battery with a dangerous weapon after a domestic disturbance in the village earlier this month.
Cierra N. Bernarde, 19, could face a maximum 3½ years in prison and $10,000 fine if found guilty.
She is accused of stabbing a man with a kitchen knife during an altercation on Dec. 9. She is also charged with a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.
Bernarde was bound over for trial after a Dec. 18 preliminary hearing and released on a $5,000 signature bond. She is due back in court for a pre-trial conference on March 20.
Substantial battery
A Gresham man has been charged with substantial battery for allegedly striking another man with a pool cue during a bar fight in the village.
Freeman R. Peters, 26, could face a maximum 3½ years in prison and $10,000 fine if found guilty.
Peters is accused of hitting a man in the head with a pool cue, causing injury that required 10 staples and three stitches to close, according to the criminal complaint.
Peters is free on a $2,500 signature bond and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Monday.
Possession of a firearm by a felon
A Cecil man is facing a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm after he was allegedly caught deer hunting in the town of Wescott on Nov. 22.
Zaddack has a previous felony conviction for operating while intoxicated and isn’t permitted to possess a firearm. He could face 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine if found guilty.
He is also charged with a misdemeanor count of failing to obtain a deer hunting license.
Zaddack is due in court for an initial appearance Jan. 5.
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Shawano Police Department
Dec. 22
Police logged 29 incidents, including the following:
Suspicious — Police responded to a suspicious person complaint in the 1100 block of South Franklin Street.
Disorderly — Police responded to a disorderly conduct complaint at Shawano Medical Center, 309 N. Bartlett St.
Juvenile — Police logged one truancy complaint from Olga Brener Intermediate School, 1300 S. Union St., and one from Shawano Community Middle School, 1050 S. Union St.
Theft — A .22 caliber Derringer was reported stolen from a vehicle in the 1100 block of South Weed Street.
Suspicious — Police responded to a suspicious person complaint at Walmart, 1244 E. Green Bay St.
Threatening — Police investigated a threatening complaint in the 1300 block of South Union Street.
Shawano County Sheriff’s Department
Dec. 22
Deputies logged 47 incidents, including the following:
Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance at the North Star Casino, W12180 County Road A, Gresham.
Theft — Money was reported stolen on One Mile Road in the town of Herman.
Fraud — Authorities investigated an identity theft complaint on County Road M in the town of Grant.
Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on North Shore Lane in Wescott.
Threatening — Authorities investigated a threatening complaint on Old Keshena Road in Wescott.
Threatening — Authorities investigated a threatening complaint on Swanke Street in Tigerton.
Accidents — Authorities logged 15 accidents, including injury accidents on Cherry Road in Herman and Lake Drive in Wescott, and three deer-related crashes.
Clintonville Police Department
Dec. 22
Police logged 10 incidents, including the following:
Burglary — A burglary was reported on North Main Street.
Warrant — A 54-year-old man was taken into custody on a probation and parole warrant.
Theft — A theft was reported on North 12th Street.
Dec. 21
Police logged eight incidents, including the following:
OWI — A 22-year-old Shawano man was arrested for operating while intoxicated after a one-vehicle injury accident on Eighth Street.
Harassment — A warning was issued for harassment on Ninth Street.
Dec. 20
Police logged nine incidents, including the following:
Disturbance — Police responded to a domestic situation on Auto Street.
Burglary — A burglary was reported on Lincoln Avenue.
Dec. 19
Police logged four incidents, including the following:
Harassment — Harassment was reported on North Main Street.
Fraud — A worthless check was reported on South Main Street.
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Shawano Police Department
Dec. 21
Police logged 17 incidents, including the following:
Suspicious — Police responded to a suspicious person complaint in the 1100 block of South Park Street.
Vandalism — Windows were reported broken in the 800 block of East Richmond Street.
Disturbance — Police responded to a disturbance in the 100 block of Richmond Court.
Child Abuse — A child abuse incident reported by Shawano Community High School, 220 County Road B, was under investigation.
Dec. 20
Police logged 21 incidents, including the following:
Suspicious — Police responded to a suspicious vehicle complaint in the 400 block of South Union Street.
Fraud — Police investigated a computer fraud complaint in the 100 block of Maple Court.
Disturbance — Police responded to a domestic disturbance involving juveniles in the 600 block of East Center Street.
Disturbance — Police responded to a domestic disturbance that was reported at a business in the 100 block of South Main Street.
Threatening — Police investigated a threatening complaint in the 100 block of Prairie Street.
Reckless Driving — Police responded to a reckless driving complaint at Main Street and River Heights.
Disorderly — Police responded to a disorderly conduct complaint after three intoxicated people were kicked out of the Wisconsin House, 216 E. Green Bay St.
Disorderly — Police responded to an intoxicated person complaint at Division and Sawyer streets.
Dec. 19
Police logged 14 incidents, including the following:
Assist — Police assisted the Seymour Police Department with locating two Shawano women in connection with a shoplifting incident in Seymour.
Disturbance — Police responded to a disturbance at Washington and Prairie streets.
Assist — Police assisted the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department with an injury accident at County Road MM and Rosebrooke Road.
Threatening — Police investigated a threatening complaint in the 100 block of Prairie Street.
Shawano County Sheriff’s Department
Dec. 21
Deputies logged 29 incidents, including the following:
Assist — Deputies assisted Shawano police with a K-9 sniff at a traffic stop at Main and Center streets in the city.
OAR — A 31-year-old man was cited for operating after revocation on Westgor Avenue in Wittenberg.
Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on County Road Y in Belle Plaine.
Harassment — Authorities responded to a harassment complaint on Vinal Street in Wittenberg.
Disorderly — Authorities responded to a disorderly conduct complaint on Country Lane in the town of Washington.
Accident — Authorities responded to an injury accident on state Highway 29 in Hartland.
Dec. 20
Deputies logged 41 incidents, including the following:
Shoplifting — Authorities responded to a shoplifting complaint at Kwik Trip in Bonduel, 102 Express Way.
Assault — Authorities investigated an assault on Oak Street in Bowler.
Disturbance — Authorities responded to a disturbance on White Birch Road in Aniwa.
Disorderly — Authorities responded to a disorderly conduct complaint on Resort Road in the town of Washington.
Accidents — Authorities logged nine accidents, including an injury accident on County Road K in Waukechon and five deer-related crashes.
Dec. 19
Deputies logged 42 incidents, including the following:
Fire — Authorities responded to a kitchen fire on Mathew Lane in Cecil.
OWI — A 49-year-old Hatley man was arrested for operating while intoxicated, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, operating after revocation and tampering with an interlock ignition device at Taylor and Pioneer streets in Wittenberg.
OWI — A 66-year-old Bowler man was arrested for operating while intoxicated on Genesee Street in Wittenberg.
Disorderly — Authorities responded to a disorderly conduct complaint at the North Star Casino, W12180 County Road A, Gresham.
Fleeing — A number of charges were under investigation against an 18-year-old Hatley male after a fleeing and pursuit incident on Hemlock Road in the town of Wittenberg.
Accidents — Authorities logged nine accidents, including four deer-related crashes.
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Shawano Police Department
Dec. 18
Police logged 20 incidents, including the following:
Accident — Police responded to a two-vehicle property damage accident at Green Bay and Andrews streets.
Juvenile — Police logged three truancy complaints from the Shawano School District.
Theft — A GPS unit was reported stolen from a vehicle in the 700 block of South Hamlin Street.
Accident — Police responded to a two-vehicle property damage accident at Lincoln and Richmond streets.
Assault — Police investigated an assault complaint at Wescott and Weed streets.
Disorderly — Police responded to a disorderly conduct complaint in the 200 block of East Green Bay Street.
Warrant — A 51-year-old man was taken into custody on a Shawano County warrant in the 1000 block of East Green Bay Street.
Shawano County Sheriff’s Department
Dec. 18
Deputies logged 43 incidents, including the following:
Warrant — A 17-year-old male was taken into custody on a Probation and Parole warrant on Hemlock Road in Wittenberg.
Harassment — Authorities investigated a telephone harassment complaint on Willow Road in the town of Herman.
Juvenile — Authorities responded to a juvenile problem on Oak Avenue in Richmond.
Assault — Authorities assisted Shawano police with an assault investigation at Wescott and Weed streets in the city.
Reckless Driving — Authorities responded to reckless driving complaints on state Highway 29 in Wittenberg, County Road BE in Bonduel and Highway 29 in Belle Plaine.
Accidents — Authorities logged seven deer-related crashes.
Clintonville Police Department
Dec. 18
Police logged nine incidents, including the following:
Accident — A minor accident report was completed after a delivery truck struck a building on North Main Street.
Disorderly — A disorderly conduct incident was reported at Clintonville High School, 64 W. Green Tree Road.
Accident — A minor accident report was completed after a vehicle backed into another vehicle in a parking lot on South Main Street.
Disorderly — A warning was issued for disorderly conduct on Hughes Street.
Disorderly — A warning was issued for disorderly conduct on South Main Street.
story created on Friday 12/19/2014 at 12:00:18 pm by Tim Ryan
story modified on Friday 12/19/2014 at 6:36:39 pm by Lee Pulaski
City police shaking up organizational structure
Tim Ryan, [email protected]
Less administration, more cops on the street.
That’s the goal of a restructuring planned for 2015 within the Shawano Police Department, which will eliminate a vacant captain’s position and add a detective next year under a plan approved this week by the Police and Fire Commission.
The department is opting not to refill the captain’s post vacated by the retirement of Jeff Heffernon last month, according to Police Chief Mark Kohl, who said the vacancy provided an opportunity to add another patrol officer instead.
That will bring the department’s patrol officers up to 15, one of whom will be a newly created detective lieutenant.
The department previously did not have a detective’s position. The new post will be taken by an existing patrol officer who will be promoted.
With Heffernon’s retirement and the election of Officer Adam Bieber as Shawano County Sheriff, the department is looking to fill three vacancies next next year.
Kohl said the restructuring will allow for more efficiency and get officers “out on the street faster.”
The plan is to have the additional officer available during the “core hours” of 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., Kohl said, when the calls are more likely to be emergency situations.
The detective’s post won’t be filled until there’s a new patrol officer hired to fill that vacancy, which the department is hoping will happen by July.
Kohl said patrol officers will be given additional supervisory training that will allow them to make some of the decisions they currently rely on higher-ups to make.
He said lowering the chain of command and pushing some decision-making abilities down to patrol officers would allow for more efficiency and a faster response on the street.
“They will be empowered to do more,” Kohl said. “There will be less micro-managing and more accountability.”
Though the new detective’s post will require some additional specialized training, the new designation is mostly intended to free up that officer to focus on investigations that are currently interrupted by other duties.
Kohl said an officer investigating a burglary, for example, could be called out to respond to a traffic crash under the current structure, delaying the investigation.
The department created an eligibility list of candidates for patrol officers to fill a vacancy earlier this year, but will start from scratch in its search for new officers.
Kohl said the department is hoping to find qualified minority officers, particularly Native American, who can provide a better representation of the cultural makeup of the community.
The department also plans to boost the duties of clerical supervisor Laura Woldt, who will be supervising community service officers and overseeing day-to-day office and clerical operations starting in January. She will also serve as a confidential secretary.
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Jason Arndt, [email protected]
State Highway 47-55 and County Road VV in downtown Keshena was reopened to traffic early Friday afternoon.
The state Department of Transportation closed the highway Tuesday, a day after the Menominee Indian tribe and Menominee County issued an emergency disaster declaration due to flooding from the Wolf River.
County Road VV was closed Sunday.
Work crews began clean-up efforts to reopen both roads Thursday morning, utilizing high-powered pumps to help remove water from the roads and replacing sandbags with concrete barriers.
Menominee County and the Menominee Indian tribe on Friday removed the detour signs and barricades that had been erected.
“The traffic is back to normal and people can now follow their routine,” said Brent Matthews, a supervisor with the DOT North Central Region office.
The National Weather Service also lifted the flood warning issued for the area Friday afternoon.
Ben Warrington, emergency coordinator for the tribe, said workers began pumping water about 8 p.m. Thursday and indicated there is still more work to be done.
The pumps have the capability of removing up to 18,000 gallons of water per minute.
“The Wolf River is down about a foot and we are still pumping the creek, which will take at least another two to three days,” Warrington said. “From the start of it, it all depended on the river going down, and things worked out quite well.”
Reports of flooding in the area began Thanksgiving week and continued despite efforts by several agencies to address the problem, which was blamed on ice jams created by frazil ice.
Frazil ice has the consistency of a snow cone and has prevented the Wolf River from flowing properly.
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The Associated Press
A federal judge on Friday threw out an Obama administration decision to remove gray wolves in the western Great Lakes region from the endangered species list — a decision that will ban further wolf hunting and trapping in three states.
The order affects wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, where the combined population is estimated at around 3,700. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dropped federal protections from those wolves in 2012 and handed over management to the states.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., ruled Friday the removal was “arbitrary and capricious” and violated the federal Endangered Species Act.
Unless overturned, her decision will block the states from scheduling additional hunting and trapping seasons for the predators. All three have had at least one hunting season since protections were lifted, while Minnesota and Wisconsin also have allowed trapping.
More than 1,500 Great Lakes wolves have been killed, said Jonathan Lovvorn, senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, which filed a lawsuit that prompted Howell’s ruling.
“We are pleased that the court has recognized that the basis for the delisting decision was flawed, and would stop wolf recovery in its tracks,” Lovvorn said.
Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Gavin Shire said the agency was disappointed and would confer with the U.S. Department of Justice and the states about whether to appeal.
“The science clearly shows that wolves are recovered in the Great Lakes region, and we believe the Great Lakes states have clearly demonstrated their ability to effectively manage their wolf populations,” Shire said. “This is a significant step backward.”
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources spokesman Bill Cosh issued a statement Friday evening saying the decision means the state can’t authorize anyone to kill a wolf, even wolves discovered in the act of attacking a domestic animal. The statement also said the decision invalidates provisions in Wisconsin law allowing hunters to train dogs to track wolves.
The agency says its disappointed with the ruling and continues to support federal officials’ original decision to remove the wolf from the endangered list.
Jodi Habush Sinykin, an attorney for Midwest Environmental Advocates, which supports science-based wildlife management, said the decision should serve as a clear signal of caution to people who would destroy the nation’s wolves.
Minnesota Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr said agency attorneys will study the ruling before determining its effect on state wolf policy.
“On face value we’re very surprised. We didn’t even know it was coming to a conclusion here,” Landwehr said. “It’s an unusual turn of events.”
story created on Friday 12/19/2014 at 5:21:25 p
Shawano police looking to strengthen Native American ties
Tim Ryan, [email protected]
Nationwide racial tensions that have simmered in recent weeks over the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police have not been lost on local law enforcement, even though the Shawano area does not have a large African-American population.
The concern locally, according to Shawano Police Chief Mark Kohl, are the misperceptions and miscommunication that can sometime exist between law enforcement and this area’s Native American residents.
Kohl briefly headed the Shawano Police Department back in 2001 and returned in April to take command again.
He said there were misperceptions on both sides that persisted when he was here in 2001 — stoked by comments, Kohl said, attributed to a previous chief of police, and some of those perceptions still exist.
“There was a perception that the Shawano Police Department goes after people of Native American heritage,” Kohl said.
Though there have been no formal complaints against Shawano officers, Kohl said he has seen postings in social media that have perpetuated that view.
“During the pow-wow, there were opinions out there on social media that Shawano police and the sheriff’s department were stopping cars during the pow-wow weekend, and they were focusing on tribal plates,” he said.
Kohl said a check of actual stops that weekend showed that less than a half dozen of the 27 cars pulled over had tribal plates.
Even so, Kohl said, he takes such allegations seriously.
“We can’t have those things happen,” he said. “Racism and a stereotypical response to different cultures will not be tolerated here.”
Kohl said the department will investigate any allegations, even if a formal complaint isn’t lodged.
“We shall investigate and we’ll let people know what the result of that investigation is,” he said.
Kohl said he has reached out to Menominee tribal leaders, and held a meeting with several tribal leaders last month, to discuss ways of furthering cooperation and communication.
“We want to collaborate, communicate and put our efforts together to fight crime and create good crime prevention programs, but also take down those stereotypical perceptions that at least that some may have not only on their side, but also on our side,” Kohl said.
With vacancies opening up on the force next year, Kohl said the department is also hoping to recruit Native American officers.
“I’m a firm believer that we should be representative of the community we serve,” Kohl said.
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Tim Ryan, [email protected]
The chokehold being blamed for the death of Eric Garner during a confrontation with New York police in July is technically legal as a deadly force alternative, but you won’t find it in the trained tactical arsenal of the Shawano police or county sheriff’s departments.
Shawano Police Chief Mark Kohl said most law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin forbid their officers from using it.
“It’s an advanced level training technique called the lateral vascular neck restraint,” Kohl said. “It’s common practice in West Coast law enforcement, maybe New York. In Wisconsin, I only know a few agencies that allow that.”
The move is intended to restrict blood and oxygen to the brain, making the subject pass out.
A video of the Eric Garner incident has received widespread media attention in recent weeks.
“From what I’ve seen from the New York incident, the application of the neck restraint was put on incorrectly,” Kohl said.
Kohl said pressure is supposed to be placed on the side of the neck. In Garner’s case, pressure was apparently applied to the larynx, “which is improper,” Kohl said.
A grand jury recently decided no charges should be filed against the officer. That incident and the shooting death of Michael Brown by an officer in Ferguson, Missouri, are causing law enforcement agencies nationwide to review their policies for the use of lethal force.
Kohl said his department’s rules follow the state Department of Justice policies and procedures for the use of force, set by the DOJ’s Law Enforcement Training Bureau out of Madison. Kohl has been certified in the use of all those tactics.
Kohl said the Garner incident would likely have had a different outcome if it happened here.
“We would not advocate — nor through training — jumping on someone’s back and attempting a chokehold,” he said.
Kohl said verbal direction and dialogue would always be the first option, with the possible use of pepper spray or an electronic control device, commonly known as a Taser, if the subject continued to resist.
“Through our training I’m very confident our officers would have handled it differently,” Kohl said. “We would take them down, control that person with handcuffs quickly and efficiently, assess his medical condition and if the need be, render aid and summon paramedics.”
Rules for use of a weapon, such as in the Ferguson case, are stricter.
While an officer can draw a weapon to be prepared in a situation where there is potential danger, firing that weapon requires a belief that there is the possibility of death or great bodily harm.
“They can fire that weapon when they believe there is intentional, immediate death or great bodily harm, if no other resources are available,” Kohl said.
John Gutho, Shawano County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy, said law enforcement’s first option is always to defuse a situation so that it doesn’t become a situation where force is necessary.
“Deploying deadly force is always a last resort,” he said. “If we can effectively neutralize a situation short of deadly force, that’s the goal.”
Gutho said he has not seen the Garner video. He said the tactic used isn’t part of the department’s rule book.
“We do not do chokeholds,” he said. “That, in my opinion, would be the use of deadly force.”
However, Gutho wouldn’t rule out the use of a chokehold if all else fails.
“If that’s the only tool you had; if batons don’t work, Tasers don’t work, pepper spray don’t work. If you’re in some kind of all-out brawl and it’s a hands-on confrontation, it may come to that,” he said.
Gutho said it’s the subject being arrested who makes that decision.
“If they comply with your commands and you can secure them with handcuffs, that’s a good day,” he said. “If they continue to threaten you, that’s when things can go bad. If they don’t listen to law enforcement and they don’t drop the weapon and they don’t stop and continue the threat, they made that decision.”
What has exacerbated the outrage over the Ferguson and New York incidents, however, isn’t just the tactics used, but the lack of any indictments of the officers involved after local prosecutors presented evidence to grand juries.
That aspect would also have been different here, according to Kohl and Gutho.
“If there is a death involved, we would contact the Department of Justice for an impartial investigation,” Kohl said.
Even without a death, an outside investigation could be warranted, he said.
“If any conduct has shocked the consciousness of the community and Police Department, we will ask for an outside agency,” Kohl said.
Kohl said that applied even to an officer’s off-duty conduct.
“You can’t have that conflict, that perceived conflict of interest,” he said.
Gutho said the same rules apply for the sheriff’s department.
“If we were involved in some type of controversy, usually we’ll get an outside agency,” he said. “If there’s an officer-involved shooting or alleged misconduct that’s on a high level, we’ll contact normally the Department of Justice. A criminal investigation will come in and we’ll turn everything over to them. They conduct an investigation and turn the results over to a district attorney to determine if there was wrong-doing.”
The lack of indictments in the Ferguson and New York cases has perpetuated the notion that police aren’t held responsible.
Kohl said the rules should apply to everyone, including law enforcement.
“I’d like to think that if someone did do wrong and it was of a criminal nature, just like anyone else in the community, they should be indicted,” he said.
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Jason Arndt, [email protected]
Leader Photo by Jason Arndt Crews place concrete barriers along the Wolf River to block floodwaters in an effort to reopen state Highway 47-55 Thursday in downtown Keshena.
Leader Photo by Jason Arndt Workers with the state Department of Transportation, Menominee County and Menominee Indian tribe conduct clean-up efforts on state Highway 47-55 Thursday in downtown Keshena.
State Highway 47-55 in Keshena remained closed Thursday as crews from the Menominee Indian tribe and Menominee County worked to remove floodwater from the roadway.
Brent Matthews, state highway maintenance supervisor, reported Thursday afternoon that water levels had receded but still remained on the shoulders of the road.
He was unsure when the highway would reopen.
“It is really a waiting game, and only time will tell how the pumps will work,” Matthews said. “We need to see how it proceeds overnight.”
Crews began scraping ice and pumping water out of the affected area about 11 a.m. Thursday. They replaced sandbags with concrete barriers to protect the road from the water.
“The Menominee tribe and county are working in conjunction with other state, federal and tribal agencies to begin a project operation to reduce the floodwaters,” according to a statement issued by the agencies Thursday.
Reports of flooding in the area began Thanksgiving week and have continued despite efforts by several agencies to address the problem, which has been blamed on ice jams created by frazil ice.
Frazil ice has the consistency of a snow cone and has prevented the Wolf River from flowing properly,
The state Department of Transportation closed the main road through Keshena on Tuesday, a day after the Menominee Indian tribe and Menominee County issued an emergency disaster declaration due to flooding from the Wolf River.
Traffic is being detoured via Go-Around Road, BIA Route 321, County Road VV, BIA Route 19 and Rabbit Ridge Road.
A flood warning issued by the National Weather Service remains in effect through 10 p.m. Friday.
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Tim Ryan, [email protected]
Leader Photo by Tim Ryan Dale Radder, left, seated beside his attorney, Leonard Kachinsky, listens to the judge’s ruling on Radder’s motion for a reduced sentence on child porn possession charges Thursday in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court.
A Belle Plaine man serving 30 years in prison for child porn possession and several drug-related felonies lost a bid Thursday to have his sentence reduced.
Dale R. Radder, 42, was sentenced in August 2013 after pleading no contest to 213 counts of possessing child pornography, as well as manufacture and delivery of marijuana, maintaining a drug trafficking place and felony marijuana possession.
He will also have to serve another 25 years’ extended supervision when his prison sentence is over.
At a hearing in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court on Thursday, Radder’s attorney, Leonard Kachinsky, argued the 30-year prison sentence was excessive in comparison to other sentences handed down for child porn possession in Shawano and surrounding counties.
The court heard testimony from a private detective hired by the defense to review sentencings in similar cases and a forensic psychologist who testified that the likelihood of re-offending in child porn cases is “very low.”
District Attorney Greg Parker grilled both witnesses at length, criticizing the private detective’s findings for not taking into account extenuating circumstances in the other cases, and the psychologist for not considering the volume and types of child porn found on Radder’s computer, some of which he had been collecting since 2003.
Shawano County Sheriff’s Detective Chris Gamm testified there were more than 5,000 photos and 200 videos, including those depicting children as young as 18 months old being sexually assaulted and, in one instance, having sexual contact with a dog.
Gamm said Radder used some of the material to cut together his own video, set to the music of The Grateful Dead.
Also testifying by phone for the state was the Department of Corrections agent who completed a pre-sentence investigation in the case.
The DOC had recommended that Radder be sentenced to three times what was ultimately agreed to in the plea deal.
Judge William Kussel Jr. rejected Kachinsky’s request to cut Radder’s sentence in half, to no more than 15 years.
Kussel cited the volume of porn found, the ages of the victims and the content that included bestiality, sado-masochism and pain being inflicted on children.
“In my opinion, justice has been served in this case,” Parker said after the hearing. “This man is still a danger to the community. I think to keep this community safe, he should serve every bit of his 30-year sentence.”
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Grace Kirchner, Leader Correspondent
The city attorney says Clintonville Mayor Judith Magee illegally authorized a $203,000 check.
Magee, who took a medical leave of absence from Oct. 1 to Nov. 26 citing stresses of the job and working with the Common Council, admitted authorizing the check for improvements for TIF 3 in August.
The issue arose at the Dec. 9 council meeting.
Council President Jeannie Schley, who served as acting mayor during Magee’s leave, told the council that Magee had authorized the check.
“The council approved doing the new road and sewer and water,” council President Jeannie Schley said, “and then we get this bill dated 8/13 for $203,000 that the council did not approve. You approved it, Judy.”
“Yes, that I did,” Magee said, “but no one had thought when building the road to put the street lights there. You tell me what business would come into town and decide to buy one of those areas with no lights there.”
Magee said the check had been written but noted it had been voided. Schley pointed out the council voided the check, not Magee.
Schley also said Magee approved stop signs, not OK’d by the council, costing nearly $10,000. She added that the signs could have been paid for by the state Department of Transportation in the upcoming Main Street reconstruction project.
Alderperson Lois Bressette asked what the ramifications of Magee’s actions were. Schley then asked city attorney April Dunlavy for a legal opinion.
“Once the check was cut, the money was spent,” said Dunlavy, Schley’s niece and daughter of Alderperson Gloria Dunlavy. “By statues the mayor has no authority to expend money without council approval. It is clear in Statute 62 and 19. It is clear that the minute that happened, it was illegal.
“Some of that money was spent and things were purchased, and that was illegal. If anyone would challenge the expenditures of those funds, that would be an issue.”
No further action was taken on the matter at the meeting.
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