News – November 25, 2011

Gassen Bench Dedication and Balloon Release on Sunday

11/25/11 – A ceremony will be held on Sunday to honor the life of a Beaver Dam-native who died last year while fighting in Afghanistan. Jacob Gassen was killed on November 29, 2010 by a lone gunman who opened fire on members of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division. Mary-Vogl-Rauscher was a neighbor of the Gassen’s for years and she is helping organize Sunday’s event with her son – who was a close friend of Jacob’s. Vogl-Rauscher says the event includes a bench dedication and balloon release. The public is invited to attend; assembling of the balloons begins at 10:30am and the balloon release and bench dedication is at 11am Sunday at Beaver Dam’s Starkweather Park.

Hartford Man Arraigned For BD Gun Incident

11/25/11 – A Hartford man entered a “not guilty” plea at arraignment this week to charges related to a pistol-whipping. It happened in the 600 block of Madison Street on August 4 around 2am. Mark Patterson is charged with felony Substantial Battery Intending Bodily Harm and a half dozen misdemeanors including Intentionally Pointing a Firearm, Operating a Firearm While Intoxicated and Disorderly Conduct. According to the criminal complaint, the 46-year-old met up with a group of people at a Madison Street bar and they went to a nearby residence for an “after hours” party. A woman in the group says Patterson attempted to kiss her while the two were alone outside and then he became enraged and made up a story about her owing him $70. Patterson says he loaned her $70 so that she could purchase cocaine for herself then she lied about his advances and had the group kick him out so that she didn’t have to pay him back. Authorities say he pulled a gun and everyone ran into the house except the 23-year-old Beaver Dam man who apparently didn’t want Patterson messing with his car which was parked outside. Patterson says he approached the house looking for his money, was confronted by two men and acted in self-defense. His blood alcohol level was said to be point-one-four. The victim sustained a closed head injury, eye contusion and concussion. Because Patterson is considered a repeat offender, the charges carry a maximum sentence of just under 25 years in prison upon conviction.

Escaped FLCI Prisoner Apprehended

11/25/11 – A man who escaped from the Fox Lake Correctional Institution was captured on Thanksgiving. 28-year-old Christopher Lacourciere was free for six days, after he disappeared from the prison’s work farm east of Waupun last Friday night. He was spotted early Thursday by a Dane County sheriff’s deputy on routine patrol. Lacourciere was then apprehended without incident near a rural intersection in the town of Cross Plains. Lacourciere was serving a prison term for Third-Degree Sexual Assault. He now faces a felony Escape charge, after a warrant for his arrest was filed on Wednesday in Dodge County Circuit Court. Online records showed that Lacourciere was previously convicted of seven burglaries and another Escape from Custody charge back in 2006.

Carol’s Tours Preliminary Hearing Delayed

11/25/11 – Those who lost out on a vacation because of the closure of Carol’s Tours will have to wait to see if the state has enough evidence to order a trial against the owner of the shuttered Beaver Dam travel agency. Deborah Paul had a preliminary hearing scheduled for next Thursday, but that hearing has been postponed because a witness will not be able to testify on that day. Carol’s Tours shut down in January of 2008 leaving around 200 people without vacations. The 56-year-old Paul is charged with two counts of Theft in a Business Setting. Her office manager, 46-year-old Lisa Hopper is accused of embezzling $90,000 from the business. The two will be tried separately. Hopper’s February 3rd preliminary hearing remains on the calendar. Paul has not had a new date set for her prelim. Both women face a total of 20 years in prison, if they are convicted.

Former Gas Station Employee Waives Theft Prelim

11/25/11 – An Oconomowoc woman, accused of stealing over $5000 from the gas station where she worked, has waived her right to a preliminary hearing. Jessica Benning is charged with felony Theft for allegedly taking cash, cigarettes and other items from the Ashippun BP over a nine-month period ending in September. Management was tipped-off to the theft from an anonymous tip. The 21-year-old reportedly admitted the thefts to investigators and said she learned a trick with the cash register to cover her tracks from a former employee. The charge carries a maximum six-year prison sentence upon conviction. Benning has an arraignment hearing on the calendar next month.

Pilot Killed In Thanksgiving Crash

11/25/11 – A pilot was killed on Thanksgiving night when a single-engine plane crashed near Athens in north central Wisconsin. Fire Chief Ronald Lavicka said the craft was flying from Mankato Minnesota to Merrill when it went down. The crash occurred in a heavily-wooded area near Highways 97 and “F” in northwest Marathon County, close to the Taylor County border. Lavicka told the Wausau Daily Herald it was a “stroke of luck” that the plane was found. He said over two dozen rescuers from various departments were walking through the woods when they came upon the wreckage. Other reports said the pilot was the only one in the craft, and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.

Sheboygan Man Charged With Sixth OWI For Two Crashes

11/25/11 – A Sheboygan man is due back in court Wednesday, after being accused of causing a drunk driving crash — and then hitting another car after the police asked him to move. 50-year-old Daniel Grosskreutz is charged with his sixth O-W-I offense. It’s a felony which could land him in prison for up to three years if he’s convicted. According to prosecutors, Grosskreutz’s car struck another vehicle on Tuesday afternoon at a Sheboygan intersection. The crash was blocking the corner. So police asked both drivers to move their vehicles into the parking lot of a gas station, where Grosskreutz hit a parked car. Police said he denied drinking at first — but he later admitted having a little alcohol, and taking prescription drugs. Bond was set at 35-hundred-dollars. At his next court appearance, a judge will decide if there’s enough evidence to order a trial.

People Line Up For Black Friday Bargains

11/25/11 – Some Wisconsinites spent Thanksgiving in tents outside stores, awaiting the Black Friday bargains. At Appleton’s Fox River Mall, 50 stores opened between 9pm and midnight, and long lines started forming late in the afternoon around the places with biggest door-busters like Wal-Mart and Target. The Turrubiates family of Waupaca was the first in line outside Appleton’s Best Buy store at 2:15pm Wednesday afternoon. They wanted bargains on two T-V’s, a laptop, a tablet, and a camcorder. But Heather Turrubiates said she was also there for the excitement and quote, “Anyone who says otherwise is lying.” Lots of folks adjusted their holidays to the bargains. The Turrubiates family moved its Thanksgiving dinner to tomorrow. 22-year-old Breshawna Brenner of Waukesha said she had gum for Thanksgiving. She waited outside a Toys-R-Us store in Milwaukee since seven a-m for a $74.99 Android tablet. About 600 people were in line just before 9pm to grab some of the earliest discounts. The National Retail Federation predicts a two-point-eight-percent increase in holiday sales, at just over $465-billion dollars.

Racine County Woman Reunited With Adopted Son

11/25/11 – A Racine County woman calls it “the best Thanksgiving present ever.” Tina Murray of Mount Pleasant spent the holiday with a son she gave up for adoption three decades ago, and had not seen until this week. The 51-year-old Murray told the Racine Journal Times that she got pregnant at 17 with her son Jason, put him into foster care soon after he was born, and he was later adopted. Murray had started a Facebook page with her maiden name in the hope that he would find her. Then on Sunday, she got a friend request from Jason William Mateer — and she

was shocked to hear from her son. Murray had other children over the years, but she said she never forgot about Jason.

Idol Runner-Up Flubs Packers National Anthem

11/25/11 – “American Idol” runner-up Lauren Alaina said she “messed up,” and had no excuses for flubbing the National Anthem just before yesterday’s Green Bay Packers’ game at Detroit. Alaina got stuck early in the song — and she went silent for about five seconds in the middle of the word “twilight’s.” She picked up the Anthem from there and completed it. Afterward, Fox T-V commentator Joe Buck gave a consoling review when he said quote, “It’s all about how you finish.” According to “Access Hollywood,” Alaina also received words of support from other entertainers on Twitter. Fellow “Idol” finalist Kellie Pickler tweeted that Alaina handled herself like a pro. Alaina thanked Pickler and tweeted, “I’m not a robot … what can you do?”