Top Stories, December 15th

Crescio Sentenced To 30 Months In OWI Fatal

12/15/10 - Two-and-a-half years in prison for a Randolph man who killed a friend in a drunken driving rollover. 23-year-old Anthony Crescio was sentenced yesterday in Dodge County court after pleading “no contest” in July to a charge of Homicide By Intoxicated Use of a Vehicle. It will be one year ago this Sunday that Crescio was driving on Highway 73 with his best friend Dustin Vredeveld after a night of drinking at a Beaver Dam bar. Their vehicle left the roadway in the Town of Westford and rolled over. EMS personnel had to extract Crescio from the back window. Vredeveld was found soon after, strapped into the passenger seat. He was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the criminal complaint, Crescio told authorities that a third person had been driving the vehicle but there was no evidence to support that claim. Crescio had been convicted of his second OWI just five months before the fatal wreck. His license was revoked at the time of the accident. Crescio recounted his story for a youth minister at a Fox Lake church in a video that was posted on YouTube in October. A link can be found on our website. After serving 30 months in prison, Judge John Storck ordered that Crescio spend seven-and-a-half years under extended supervision during which time he must maintain absolute sobriety and continue his community outreach efforts.

Two Years for Seventh OWI

12/15/10 - A Beaver Dam man has been sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted for driving drunk for a seventh time. 43-year-old Jeffrey Risch was also ordered to pay a fine of nearly $2400, not consume any alcohol and undergo alcohol addiction treatment after he’s released. A Columbus police officer found Risch slumped over the steering wheel of his vehicle in April of 2009 and it was later learned he had a blood alcohol level of .19, more than two times the legal limit. The conviction was the first for Risch since 2001 but his seventh since 1990. The prison time will be followed by four years of extended supervision.

Burnett Man Damages Prison Transport Van

12/15/10 - A Burnett man was cited Tuesday after crossing the centerline and damaging a Dodge County Sheriffs Department prisoner transport van. The Wisconsin State Patrol says 21-year-old Troy Peterson was southbound on State Highway 26 near Clyman when he veered into the opposite lanes and clipped the transport van. The side mirrors on both vehicles were broken off. There were no injuries and both vehicles were driven from the scene.

Chain Reaction Wreck in BD

12/15/10 - A city of Beaver Dam salt truck was struck by an oncoming pick-up in a chain reaction accident Monday morning. According to the Beaver Dam Police Department, the accident occurred on North University Avenue at Bogert Street just before 10:30am. A minivan driven by a 26-year-old Beaver Dam woman rear-ended the pick-up truck. The pick-up then slid into the path of the oncoming salt truck. There was only minor damage reported and all the vehicles were driven from the scene. There were no injuries. The woman who caused the accident was cited for Driving Too Fast For Conditions.

Couple Rescued From Blizzard in Green Lake County

12/15/10 - Green Lake County authorities rescued a young couple just in the nick of time when they tried to walk to safety when their car became stranded in blizzard-like conditions early Sunday morning. They managed to call from a cell phone to say they’d taken refuge along a fence line in open fields. The storm was covering them with snow. A resident with a large tractor plowed a path to them. Eighteen-year-old Courtney Martinez of Markesan and 21-year-old Adam Respalje of Ripon were taken to the Ripon Medical Center where they were treated and released. Nearly 90 minutes lapsed from the time they call Sheriff’s officials and rescuers got to them.

The Columbus School Board has been given the go ahead on borrowing $1.5 million dollars to pay ahead on their annual liability to the Wisconsin State Retirement System. Carol Wirth of Wisconsin Public Finance Professionals said financing parties had agreed to a 1 % interest rate on the short term loan. The short term loan will allow the District to pay ahead on the State Retirement obligations avoiding the 2010 interest of nearly $117 thousand dollars.

Kohler Union Vote Rescheduled

12/15/10 - Union employees at the Kohler Company will try again on Sunday to vote on the firm’s latest contract offer. The vote was scheduled last Sunday, but it was called off because of the blizzard. Dave Bergene, president of Local 833 of the United Auto Workers, says members can attend informational sessions on the offer throughout the week. He says the union’s bargaining committee is recommending that the members reject the deal, which includes major concessions. Company president Herb Kohler Junior says negotiations are over – and if the contract is rejected, it will have an immediate and sustained impact on union employees. Kohler, which makes plumbing and bathroom fixtures, is Sheboygan County’s largest employer.

New Meaning To Going Postal

12/15/10 - A postal carrier in suburban Milwaukee admits doing the wrong thing, when he delivered mail in the nude to a woman who apparently needed some cheering-up. It happened December fourth in Whitefish Bay. Police quoted the 52-year-old man as saying the woman appeared “stressed out,” so he offered to deliver the mail in the nude to her office. She reportedly dared him to do it, and he took her up on it. A few days later, the carrier was arrested at North Shore Post Office, and he faces a charge of lewd-and-lascivious behavior. The man later told authorities it was a stupid thing to do.