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A rural Eastman woman told authorities that she shot her boyfriend in what appears to be the first homicide in Crawford County in several years. According to a Crawford County Sheriff's Department report, Mona J. West, 42, called the Grant County Sheriff's Department at approximately 6:30 a.m. Tuesday from a friend's house in Bagley and said that she shot her live-in boyfriend Gus D. Brown III, 43. According to the sheriff's department, West said that she sat beside the Mississippi River for hours early Tuesday, deciding whether she should report that she had fatally shot Brown in their house, which is located in the town of Eastman about two miles south of Eastman on Highway 27. West told investigators that she shot Brown when he returned home from a friend's house at about 11:30 p.m. Monday, said Crawford County Sheriff Robert Ostrander. Brown was shot twice, once in the back and once in the head, with a .380 semi-automatic pistol owned by West. Personnel from the Crawford County Sheriff's Department and the Prairie du Chien Police Department arrested West at a gas station south of Prairie du Chien later Tuesday morning. West had told authorities that she would be at the gas station, where she voluntarily surrendered. Ostrander said that there is no known motive for the shooting at this time. West, who is originally from New Mexico, is in custody in the Crawford County Jail and is expected to be charged with first-degree intentional homicide in Crawford County Circuit Court. The charge carries a life prison term if convicted. West is scheduled to have a bond hearing this afternoon in Crawford County Circuit Court. West has no prior criminal record in Wisconsin. Brown had a few taffic charges on his record, according to Wisconsin court documents. An autopsy on Brown is scheduled for today at the VA Hospital in Madison, according to Crawford County Coroner Camille Smith. The Wisconsin Crime Lab responded to the homicide scene and processed evidence. Crawford County Sheriff's deputies remained at the residence throughout the night to guard any possible remaining evidence. Former Dr. Thompson Building completes most of its journey The former Dr. Thompson Building has been moved and it was quite an undertaking. The building was moved Monday from the corner of South Marquette Road and Hadyn Street to a lot located along South Marquette Road kitty-corner from The Cannery. The move began at approximately 9 a.m. with preparation work as telephone lines and cables were taken down or otherwise moved out of the way. A garage was moved and telephone poles were taken down. The actual move of the Dr. Thompson Building began at approximately 1:30 p.m. when the building began to roll slowly across Hadyn Street. The move was conducted by Heritage Movers of Albany, Wis., who have moved several large buildings in Prairie du Chien over the years. The building was pulled along very carefully by a large piece of earth-moving equipment as several spectators looked on. Supporting the building were several beams under which were several independently moving dollies (wheels) equipped with self-leveling hydraulics. It took 32 tons of pressure from each jack in order to lift the building and the hydraulic, stearable dollies kept the building stable and level over somewhat uneven ground. For much of the move, the building was pulled along only a few feet at a time because it needed to be turned and there was a very tight squeeze between a garage and a propane tank through which the building had to fit. Heritage Movers expertly rolled the building between the two obstacles with hardly any room to spare. With beams sticking out from under the building on both sides, it was 74 feet wide. The building reached a prepared site by 4:50 p.m., rolling over and under various telephone lines and cables that were either laid on the ground or held up and out of the way by cranes. The Dr. Thompson Building has still not quite reached its final destination. It will be moved approximately 100 feet to the south where two houses now stand. One of the houses will be moved and the other will be torn down in the near future. The building was constructed in 1914 and was a tobacco warehouse, sorting and grading facility for White Owl cigars. It was sold to the Delhury Family of Prairie du Chien in the mid-1960s and became an animal feed manufacturer known as Dr. Thompson's Minerals and Pre-Mix. In 1998, the Dean Achenbach Family of Prairie du Chien purchased the building and feed business. The Achenbach Family sold the property less than a month ago to The Rifkin Group, developers from Madison who are facilitating the development of the two-block area bordered on two of its sides by West Blackhawk Avenue and South Marquette Road. The Rifkin Group didn't want the building but were willing to allow the building to be moved rather than be demolished. Dean Achenbach said that he and well-known local businessman Blair Dillman then "reached an agreement."In effect, Achenbach sold the building to Dillman. Dillman tentatively plans to use the approximately 10,000-square-foot building for an antique shop. "The nature of the structure is quite substantial,"said Achenbach, who noted that a building of that size would not be constructed in the same manner and with the same materials today. "It'll be a nice part of the redevelopment." Achenbach said that the move "was a cooperative effort between the seller (himself), the buyer (Dillman), the developer, the movers, the utility company and the city of Prairie du Chien, which granted permission for the move."
Supercenter Village construction to begin next month
Starting next month, construction will begin on Supercenter Village, the 30,000 square foot shopping center that will be located next to the Wal-mart Supercenter. The cost of the project will be $4.5 million. Co-owner Doug Bercu, of Timber Development Corp. based out of Atlanta, Ga., said that a construction company has yet to be named, but construction is scheduled to begin sometime in September. Supercenter Village should be set for opening this spring. Bercu, who is originally from Columbus, Ohio, said that he went to college at UW-La Crosse and knew that Prairie du Chien was a great place to open a shopping center. "My partner [Mike Timmons] and I saw the property about two years ago and knew we had wanted to build around the Super Wal-Mart traffic," Bercu said. "We closed on the land two months ago and are ready to get this project started." Bercu said that the center will have 10 stores, four or five which are still vacant. So far stores include Cottonwood Financial, Dollar Tree, a Chinese restaurant, and Maurices, which will relocate from its current location at Riverside Square. Shoe Show, a shoe store selling name brand shoes, will be occupying 4,500 square feet of the store. "The design of the center will be modern, with full glass fronts and a well lit parking lot. The colors of the center will match those of Wal-Mart," Bercu said. "This shopping center will create many jobs for the city," Bercu added. "We will employ over 60 people. This is a great thing for the community." Anyone with questions about Supercenter Village is asked to contact Bercu at (678) 352-8600. Prairie Beer to celebrate 50 years Prairie Beer will be celebrating 50 years with an open house on Saturday, Aug. 19 from 2 to 6 p.m. There will be free pizza and brats, beer sampling, prizes, and music. Past employees and the general public are encouraged to attend. Back in 1951 Gordie Bowar and Chip Meyer (married to Myrna Shulka) ran Prairie Beer. Before them, the beer was sold by Willard Bess of Prairie Dairy, "The Milk Man.C In 1956, when Chip Meyer drowned, Ween Bowar joined the Beer Business. In 1959, Gordie Bowar left to run the Pladium Bowl, and Eugene "Dudes" Bowar became the new partner. In the early years, most of the beer sold was Hamms, Holiday, Potosi, Miller High Life and Graf's Soda. The truckloads of beer that came from the breweries had to be unloaded by hand and were put on tracks with rollers to be restacked in various parts of the warehouse. The original warehouse is now the Jaycee shelter on the south end of St. Feriole Island. Flooding was sometimes a problem in the spring. Beer was even delivered to McClures Tavern by flat bottom boat. As business grew, a new building was built at 314 E. Cedar Street. Dudes and Ween were great promoters and worked well together until Dudes passed away in 1972. Shortly after that, Phillip Morris purchased Miller Brewing Company and sales started to take off. The introduction of Miller Lite and later Miller Genuine Draft were an enormous boost to sales. Over the years, there have been a number of major changes to the beer industry. Steel cans were replaced with aluminum. The pop top was invented, as well as the twist-off cap. New keg tapping systems became simpler and safer. Through the years, Prairie Beer has been blessed with a multitude of great employees who are the backbone to the success of Prairie Beer. Prairie Beer employees have to be skilled in so many different areas that it is like working on a farm, or working in the military. Despite having to deliver in the rain, heat, or in blizzard conditions, they always had a smile on their face when it came time to sell. More than 100 employees over the years (too many to list here) have made Prairie Beer what it is today. A list of current employees are: Paul Bowar, Tim Bowar, Tom Bowar, Joe Gillitzer, Shannon Haines, Rob Irish, Steve Kozelka, Jamie Reuter, Gabe Ritchie, Renee Russell, Chase Sutherland, Todd Valley, Sam Weber, Kristin Wilkinson, and Mike Zabel. Prairie Beer is currently located at 38054 Industrial Boulevard. Current brands come from Miller Brewing Company, Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Huber/Berghoff Brewing Company, Gray's Brewing Company, Spark's Brewing Company, and Monster Brewing Company. |
