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January 6, 2010 |
A Grant County man is dead after a freak accident Saturday night while loading firewood between floors of his barn.
John Keith Gifford, 54, of rural Bagley, was found by his wife at around 8:15 p.m. Gifford had been loading wood into a dumb waiter when the unit malfunctioned, trapping a part of his body between the wall and the machine.
Grant County Sheriff’s deputies pronounced Gifford dead on scene due to a massive head trauma.
By Jen Schultz
Last night the Prairie du Chien Common Council approved an agreement regarding the former Stratton property, the city administrator’s employee agreement and the initial resolution for vacating property for phase two of the Senior Village. The council also heard a request to allow ATVs that plow snow use the roadways.
After several months of discussions and negotiations, council arrived at an agreement with Scott and Jill Sheckler to build a 40-room hotel and convention complex along Main Street between Wisconsin and Blackhawk.
The signed agreement will allow the city to submit a claim to the state for purchase of part of the property, the former Stratton property located at the southwest corner of Blackhawk and Main Street. The Shecklers already owned the land to the south of that property. The city will then transfer the remaining of the property to them once the designs for the buildings have been approved by the city’s design committee and the state Main Street architect. July 1 is the tentative date for beginning construction. The new city administrator, Aaron Kramer, will officially begin working for the City of Prairie du Chien on January 25. The term of this agreement is for one year and will automatically renew on a year-to-year basis. The city will pay Kramer a salary of $65,000, and after a six-month performance evaluation, his salary could increase by as much as $3,000. Annual compensation for future years shall be determined on an annual basis. The city will provide health and life insurance plans.
In the interim, it was approved by the council to pay Kramer $30 per hour plus mileage one-way for time he puts in before until January 25.
The council agreed to approve the resolution for vacating property on South Jackson Street. City Planner Garth Frable said the developers want to start work this year building 12 duplexes as part of phase two. A re-zoning meeting is scheduled for Jan. 19 and a public hearing is set for Feb. 16 during the council meeting.
It was brought to the attention of the council by Bill Hampton that the city police will issue tickets to ATVs that operate on a public street. Hampton uses the roadways to travel to various homes to plow snow. Hampton said that this is his third snow season plowing with an ATV in Prairie du Chien and he has never had trouble with the police before. Tom Peterson, the city attorney, stated that operating ATVs on public streets is a state statute and the council cannot override a state statute. It was suggested that Hampton use a trailer to move his ATV to each location he plows. Hampton said that other local cities allow ATVs to use the streets while plowing snow. Mike King, the police chief, said he would look into how other cities handle ATVs plowing snow.
In other business, council approved the purchase of an influent sewage pump to replace an existing pump. This is the second pump needing replacement by the Waste Water Treatment Plant.
Area man adjusting to life with one arm after accident
By Sandy Vold
It has been almost three months since Kurt Mezera was working on the farm of his parents, Dan and Marcia Mezera of Prairie du Chien, helping with the corn harvest. It was Oct. 11, and he was chopping corn and waiting for his grandfather, George, to return with an empty wagon. He started picking ear corn, but the corn picker began to overflow because corn was getting backed up in the husking rollers. He grabbed another piece of corn to push the corn through, and the leather glove he was wearing got caught. Almost instantly, his right hand and most of his arm were inside the machine.
He isn’t quite sure, but he thinks he was using his left hand to pull his arm out, and that hand got caught as well. Fortunately, he was able to pull it out, although he wound up with third degree burns on that hand.
Somehow, he managed to work his cell phone out of his pocket. "I didn’t think of calling 911," he said, "I called down to my parents’ house to have mom come and take me to the emergency room." All the while, the machine kept running, grinding his arm apart. "I looked down a couple of times," he said, "and could see meat just hanging from my arm."
His mother, Marcia, arrived, took one look, and called 911 on the cell phone. She couldn’t tell if the call was going through, however, so she called the house and had her daughter call 911 as well. "I can’t describe how I felt," she said, "I just went numb."
About the same time that his mother arrived, his grandfather George returned to pick up another load of corn. "He was running for the tractor and I was running for Kurt, who was hollering ‘hurry up and shut it off,’" she said. "He kept saying, ‘I don’t care what you do; just get me out of here.’" They were unable to free him, but with Kurt’s help Marcia was able to get a tourniquet around his arm.
Tammy Nelson and Pete Pomerening were among the first to arrive from Wauzeka First Responders. They started IV’s and tried to make him as comfortable as possible. As people arrived, Kurt remembers asking Pomerening "if the whole town of Wauzeka" was coming to see him.
By then, about 40 minutes from the time of the accident, the machine had been turned off, but his arm was still caught. Neighbor Dave Nagel arrived and knew how to free him, but a decision was made to wait until MedFlight arrived in case Kurt went into shock when the arm was freed.
Nagel doesn’t remember how long it took him and says he doesn’t want a big issue made of it, but said he just began loosening things to free the arm. "It didn’t take me very long to know what to do," he said.
Kurt doesn’t remember feeling pain while all this was going on. All he could think about, he said, was his family and his daughter. The most discomfort he remembers was having to stand so long in one place. "Everyone was telling me to relax," he said. In all, it took about two hours to free him.
Once he was free he was taken by ambulance to a flatter area of the field, where a Medflight helicopter picked him up and took him to Gundersen Lutheran in La Crosse. Staff there checked him over and prepped him for another flight to Rochester, where his arm was amputated above his elbow that night. He spent eight days in the hospital and was released just in time for his daughter Brinlyn’s second birthday.
Kurt is waiting to be fitted for an artificial arm, one strong enough to use in his job as a mechanic for Hartung Brothers in Arena. In the meantime, he is adjusting to life with one arm. He was right-handed, so has had to learn to use his left hand for everything he does. He has adjusted to dressing with one arm but says, "I just can’t wake up late for work; otherwise I’d walk out of the house half-dressed."
He sold his six speed truck and bought an automatic. He has switched the throttle on his four-wheeler from the right to the left hand side. The missing arm didn’t keep him from a successful deer hunt, either. He was walking through the woods right at the end of deer season, saw a deer, swung his gun up, stabilized it on the stump of his right arm, shot and got the deer. He is a little concerned about the things he hasn’t tried yet, such as construction, but says he will have to wait and see.
Kurt knows all about safe operation of machinery. In fact he is on the safety committee at work, and says, "I never thought it would happen in a million years; I never thought it would be so easy" [for the accident to happen]. At the time he was in Rochester, he said, there were two other people being treated for similar accidents with a corn picker.
He plans to return to work in two weeks. He has enjoyed being able to spend time with his daughter, to hunt and just walk around outside, but says he is getting bored with nothing to do. He is currently living in Boscobel, but would like to relocate close to his family. "I’m always out there on my days off anyway," he says.
A benefit to assist with Kurt’s medical expenses is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 16 at Century Hall in Wauzeka. The day’s events begin at 2 p.m. with haircuts by a local stylist. There will be a pork dinner at 4 p.m., a live auction at 7 p.m. and a DJ at 8 p.m.
January 4, 2010 |
With a filing deadline of Jan. 5, potential candidates for election have very little time to complete the filing process.
To date, three people have announced their candidacy for mayor: current mayor Karl Steiner, council member Dave Hemmer and council member Joe Ruskey.
Seeking reelection to council are:
Jaaren Riebe, first district
Dave Hemmer, second district (Hemmer is also running for mayor)
Karen Solomon, fourth district
Jean Titlbach, fifth district
Judeen Ames, sixth district.
Ripon Mayor Aaron Kramer has accepted the position of City Administrator for Prairie du Chien and is expected to be formally approved at the Jan. 5 common council meeting.
After interviewing candidates for the position, council unanimously decided at the Dec. 15 meeting to offer the position to Kramer.
Kramer resigned his position as Ripon mayor effective Jan. 24. Kramer was selected by the Ripon city council to become mayor in 2003 following the resignation of the previous mayor. He was unopposed in the 2004, 2006 and 2008 elections.
By Sandy Vold
Steuben Lodge, located along County E just east of Steuben, has probably caused passersby to take a second and even a third look, simply because of the size of its sprawling buildings. However, for those who have not visited owners Bob Samuelson and Rosa Hendrickx, or stayed in one of their approximately 65 mini-apartments, it is probably the area’s best kept secret.
Steuben Lodge, or Mother Earth Green Center, is not yet finished, and, because of the intense drive and mission of its owners, it probably never will be. There are too many things to be done. The couple purchased the land in the 70s, but didn’t begin building until the 80s. At first, Bob said, "I just wanted to build something." Over the years, however, their focus has developed and on the website, motherearthgreencenter.com, it is described as "a retreat and learning center focused on sustainable living." They have hosted classes and seminars for University of Wisconsin students, birdwatching groups, workshops by Rob Roy, an expert on the topic of cordwood building, and many other earth friendly groups.
The campus consists of several buildings: the lodge itself with the owners’ quarters and 15 additional units; three other buildings with living units; the building referred to as the Bed and Breakfast, with enormous, beautiful bedrooms and spacious meeting rooms; the Chalet, which contains two units on the upper floor and space for an art farm gallery which the Samuelsons plan to open this summer; a cabin along the Kickapoo River, and a house in Steuben. The next building planned is an earth-integrated house.
The definitions of sustainable living are myriad, but most people would agree that it is a way of living so as to conserve energy and other resources for future generations. In constructing the buildings, the Samuelsons have demonstrated that sustainability. With the exception of the cabin and the house in Steuben, which were constructed by someone else, the buildings are made of recycled lumber. Bob, who is an administrator and counselor at Lighthouse for the Blind in Chicago, has also been active in the demolition industry in that city, salvaging lumber and other materials from buildings that are torn down. Massive beams have been used in the ceiling and other locations; much of the flooring is three-inch planking. Lumber such as this, from big old trees, is no longer available. Bob has counted as many as 650 rings on some timbers. For the most part, he can point to a particular beam or piece of flooring and identify the building from which it came. Many walls are constructed of cordwood (see photo). With the massive beams and all the wood flooring, the buildings have the feel of grand hunting lodges of a bygone time.
He has also salvaged other materials as well: light fixtures, furniture, circular stairs, rugs—actually most of the contents of their living quarters and the guest units. What he didn’t recycle, he purchased as closeouts or surplus. Because he often had to take the entire contents of a building being demolished, he has amassed an astounding collection of items: prints and paintings, old signs, carvings, old tools, dishes, gargoyles and many more items. Rather than purchasing new things, (the exception is art; the Samuelsons have purchased pieces from artists they like) the Samuelson have given these previously owned items a new life by using them to decorate their living quarters and grounds and the units they rent. No two rooms are alike. The result is an eclectic mix that is both comfortable and charming.
As time goes by, the Samuelsons hope to make their land a demonstration site for sustainable organic food production. They own close to 1,000 acres, of which they estimate some 300 acres are workable. He already has a licensed trout pond on the premises, and in the future hopes to see many more programs develop.
Those wishing to have a look at the extensive and interesting collection, should not have to wait long. Bob hopes to have his art farm gallery—depicting food and fiber in attractive, enjoyable, artistic expressions—open this coming summer. For more information, visit the website.
