Top Stories March 31st

Randolph Man Charged in Cold Case

3/31/09 - Cash bond was set at $750,000 Monday for a Randolph man accused of killing a friend’s wife 29 years ago. Curtis Forbes was in Columbia County Circuit Court on a charge of first-degree murder. The 51-year-old Forbes is accused of killing 18-year-old Marilyn McIntyre at her Columbus residence on March 11, 1980. She was discovered by her husband after he returned home from work; their three-month old son was asleep at the time. McIntyre was beaten, stabbed and strangled. Forbes, who was a close personal friend of the victim’s husband, was initially a person of interest but he fled the state shortly after the murder. The case had gone cold for several years but was reopened in late 2007 at the request of the family. According to the criminal complaint, Forbes was overheard in 2002 saying he took a friend’s wife home from a bar, and she didn’t breathe any more that night. Authorities are linking Forbes to the crime through D-N-A evidence.

Couple Sentenced For Stealing Bike Involved in Fatality

3/31/09 - A Beaver Dam couple will spend three months in jail for stealing and hiding a friend’s motorcycle. The owner of the motorcycle, 46-year-old Michael Zuhlke, died accidentally after getting into an altercation with management at the Kinda Country bar, after blaming management for the missing bike. Jeffrey and Ingrid Koch were found guilty last month of one misdemeanor count of Taking A Vehicle Without Consent related to the April 2008 incident at the Town of Trenton tavern. Zuhlke was fatally injured in a melee with management after falling backward and striking his head on the bumper of a pick-up truck. Authorities say the Koch’s were inebriated when they pushed Zuhlke’s Harley Davidson into an unlocked shed on the tavern premises. The Koch’s received the maximum sentence of 90 days in jail but do have Huber privileges and must maintain absolute sobriety. There were no other charges filed in connection with the death. Dodge County DA Bill Bedker had previously said that he does not see anything in the criminal report that leads him to believe the injuries were intentional.

Watertown Man Charged With Punching Pregnant Woman

3/31/09 - A Watertown man is charged with Attempted First Degree Intentional Homicide of an Unborn Child for allegedly punching his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach in an attempt to kill her fetus. Andrew Masko Lee had a cash bond set at $15,000 Monday in Jefferson County court. The 20-year-old is also charged with felony Reckless Endangerment and Bail Jumping along with two misdemeanors related to the incident last Thursday at a Watertown apartment. Police arrested Masko Lee after investigating reports of a loud argument. According to the criminal complaint, Masko Lee allegedly told the victim, while he was punching her, that he was going to kill the baby. The victim is around four months pregnant. Masko Lee is also accused of throwing her eleven-month-old child to the ground; the infant was apparently not injured. A preliminary hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

Allenton Arsonist Enters Into Agreement

3/31/09 - An Allenton man was convicted Monday of burning down Aidan O’Reilly’s Pub last fall. Scott Friedman pleaded no contest in Washington County court to a charge of felony arson. Counts of Burglary and Reckless Endangerment were dropped in a plea deal. The 35-year-old was a cook at the Allenton pub, and lived above the building, when he broke in to the tavern portion last October and started the fire. Prosecutors say he also stole cash to fund a trip to Florida to see his kids. Friedman was arrested later that same day at the Milwaukee Greyhound Bus station. The blaze caused around $200,000 in damage. One of the other upstairs’ residents was taken to a hospital with a medical problem. Friedman is scheduled to be sentenced on May 14.

CARE Meets Tonight

3/31/09 - A citizens group will be meeting tonight to discuss the next step in their efforts to reopen the Fox Lake Elementary School. Kim Derleeth, with Concerned Area Residents for Education or CARE, says her group is in the process of reeducating residents in the City and Town of Fox Lake about the need for detachment from the Waupun School District, in hopes that they can collect enough signatures to petition to join up with the Randolph School District. Tonight’s meeting will be held at the Fox Lake Community Center at 6:30pm.

Kuenzi Brothers Asking for Mistreatment Charges to be Dropped

3/31/09 - Two brothers accused of running down deer with their snowmobiles say the animal mistreatment laws don’t apply to wild animals. Rory and Robby Kuenzi of Weyauwega have asked a judge to drop those felony counts against them. Their attorneys said the law requires a person to own a victimized animal – and that doesn’t apply to deer in the wild. They quote the law as saying “no person may treat any animal, whether belonging to the person or another, in a cruel manner.” The Kuenzis and Nicholas Hermes face numerous animal mistreatment charges, after the snowmobiles they were riding ran over a half-dozen deer on a Waupaca County trail in January. The dismissal request only applies to the mistreatment counts. All three are also charged with numerous misdemeanors and ordinance violations. Robby Kuenzi is due in court April seventh. Rory Kuenzi – who’s accused of stealing the snowmobile he allegedly used – is scheduled to see a judge on April eighth.

Columbus Discusses Consolidation of Ambulance Services

3/31/09 - Nearly fifty officials from nine Townships, the City of Columbus, and Village of Fall River met last night to discuss consolidating local Ambulance Services into a new District. The meeting was called an “exploratory” discussion asking local officials and EMS providers how “district governance” of 11 municipalities could be fairly represented and how the costs of service should be shared. Municipal leaders voiced cautious optimism toward formation of a new district. Participants’ answers indicated an EMS Paramedic “level of service” was favored; costs for sharing the service would be based on a per capita formula; and that development of a combined EMS District was favored. John Kirchberg, representing the Town of Calamus said he’s anxious to continue talks on EMS consolidation. Village of Fall River representatives were not as enthusiastic to endorse early adoption of any District consolidation. Village officials noted they are in the unique position of already having an EMS. Representatives expressed pride in their current EMS level of service.

Student Collects 2,600 Signatures in Favor of New Drunk Driving Laws

3/31/09 - Over 26-hundred people have signed a youngster’s petitions, urging state leaders to make the much-talked-about crackdowns on drunk drivers. Wausau area student Lexi Zuleger started the petition drive after her junior high school-mate Lacey Meinel was killed in a drunk driving crash. Zuleger said Lacey’s death hurt many people deeply at D-C Everest Junior High. And she was inspired to start the petition drive by a government class that discussed ways to influence political leaders. A plan to require ignition interlocks for second-time drunk drivers – and first-time offenders with double the intoxication limit – is making its way through the Assembly. Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker says the Senate is working on a more coordinated package of reforms. It has not been finalized.

Drug Apparently Cuts Risk of Stroke and Heart Attack

3/31/09 - Wisconsin heart doctors are cautiously optimistic about the creation of a multi-drug pill that cuts the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Canadian scientists tested a pill made up of several current genetic drugs – and it reduced blood pressure and cholesterol levels by around half in middle-aged persons. The bill was called the “Poly-cap,” and Waukesha cardiologist Rob Panther calls it a great idea – especially for those who don’t need to see a doctor too often. He says more tests are needed – but he could see the day when a variety of poly-pills are available. U-W Madison cardiologist James Stein says cost and simplicity are the main advantages. Experts say people are more likely to take a single pill each day, rather than several. But Stein says it would not be good for those at high risk – like diabetics or those with previous heart disease. He says the pre-packaged product would be less likely to meet those patients’ exact needs. A drug company from India paid for the study. The subjects were from that country.