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October 15, 2008 |
In a plea agreement entered Oct. 6 in Clayton Country District Court, Curtis Bradley Pierce, 46, Guttenberg, pled guilty to homicide by vehicle in the Dec. 25, 2006 death of his girlfriend, Terri Petit. Pierce also pled guilty to stalking and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. He was originally charged with first degree murder, homicide by vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in the death of a person.
Homicide by vehicle, a Class C felony, carries a 10-year sentence, $1,000 fine and a sum of $150,000 in restitution for the family of the victim. Stalking, a Class D felony, carries a five-year sentence and a $750 fine, while OWI, a serious misdemeanor, carries a one-year sentence and a $1,250 fine.
Sentencing is set for March 5, 2009.
Governor Jim Doyle was in Prairie du Chien Tuesday afternoon in support of Democratic candidate for the 96th Assembly District Dale Klemme. The governor and Klemme spoke before a crowd of supporters at the downtown restaurant Simply as part of a campaign fundraising event.
"Dale's election will have a profound effect upon the state government," said Doyle, who noted that the Republicans have a 52-47 edge in the Assembly. Doyle also touted Klemme's many years of experience in economic development and in working with local and county government.
"We need to have a Democratic Assembly," said Doyle. "You can elect an outstanding person."
Klemme of Prairie du Chien is running against incumbent Lee Nerison of Westby.
Doyle and Klemme touched upon several issues, including health care, education and energy independence.
"We need accessible, affordable health care for all," said Klemme, who noted that families need to be able to afford preventative medicine. Klemme also touted more funding for education at all levels, energy independence via renewable "green" sources such as solar and others and better economic development.
"We need people who know the difference between expenditure and investment," he said. "We need to be progressive. We need change and I want to be part of that change."
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle listens as 96 Assembly District candidate Dale Klemme speaks at a fundraiser Tuesday afternoon at Simply in Prairie du Chien.
Convenience store clerk hits alarm after domestic assault
On Oct. 8, a woman employed at the Go America convenience store in Marquette hit the burglar alarm in the store to bring police to her aid.
LeDonna K. Jones, 43, of Marquette, had been working at Go America early in the evening when her former boyfriend, Arthur E. Linsenbigler, 37, came into the store causing trouble. According to police reports, Linsenbigler came into the store and spit on Jones over the counter and threw a water bottle at her, striking her in the arm.
After the incident, Jones got someone else to cover her shift for her at work and went home to monitor Linsenbigler, who was moving his things out of the house. Jones and Linsenbigler had been living together since September, but had broken up two days before.
When Jones went home, she and Linsenbigler began to argue. Linsenbigler threw Jones against the brick wall of the apartment, strangling her with his left hand and punching her in the face with his right, according to police reports. When Jones escaped, she ran into Go America.
After seeing Jones, the clerk there tried to dial 911, but the phone wasn't working. So she pulled the burglar alarm to alert police.
MarMac Police arrived at the store at about 7:30 p.m. After it was determined that there was no burglary, the officer met with Jones, who was bleeding heavily from her face and nose, in the office of the store.
Jones was transported by MarMac Rescue to Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital.
Linsenbigler fled the scene before police arrived.
Linsenbigler is a registered sex offender in the state of Wisconsin. According to the Wisconsin Department of Correction Sex Offender Registry web site, Linsenbigler was convicted of rape in Pennsylvania in June, 1991.
Charges filed against Linsenbigler in Clayton County include serious assault, domestic abuse assault, disorderly conduct and failure to register as a sex offender at his address in Marquette.
The suspect remains at-large. MarMac Police do not believe Linsenbigler is in the area.
Rich Hildebrandt paddles down the Wisconsin River on his way to the Mississippi River a few days ago. Hildebrandt's pumpkin was barely afloat when it reached the Mississippi River on Monday afternoon. (Photo submitted)
Every summer, river towns along the Mississippi get to see their fair share of folks pursuing their dreams by making their way down the Mississippi River in a assortment of canoes, homemade rafts and other colorful craft.
Rich, "J.R." Hildebrandt may have topped them all.
Hildebrandt arrived in the Mississippi near McGregor on Monday in a 605-pound hollowed out pumpkin.
He paddled the pumpkin down the Wisconsin River from Nekoosa, Wis., to the mouth of the Mississippi near Prairie du Chien. He meant to get out at the Campion Boat Landing, but technical difficulties and rough water sent him across the river; his journey ended at the boat landing at McGregor at about 6 p.m. Monday.
Hildebrandt began his journey on October 6 after the Nekoosa Giant Pumpkin Fest from a dock on the Wisconsin River in Nekoosa. The journey took him seven days and two pumpkins; his first pumpkin rotted out and had to be replaced when he got to Spring Green. The second pumpkin came from specialty grower near Madison and had to be trucked to Spring Green. The pumpkin was prepared for launching by cutting the bottom off and removing the seeds.
There were many dangers along the way. J.R. flipped the pumpkin five times during his journey. He had to deal with very low water in which he had to get out and push the pumpkin, and dangerous snags and sticks that threatened to poke holes in his pumpkin's hull.
Why would a man use a giant vegetable as a boat and take it on a river journey of about 200 river miles?
Hildebrandt undertook the journey as a fundraiser for the Tri-City Children's Dream Foundation, an organization that fulfills the wishes of special needs children. The Foundation is seeking to build a $1 million Children's Dream Retreat Center for special needs children and their families to get away for free.
The Ho Chunk Nation has reportedly donated $10,000 to the fund for retreat center.
A hotline was set up for donations during the "great pumpkin cruise." The hotline will remain open until Oct. 23.
For more information, visit the Web site, www.childrensdream.org/pumpkincruise.
October 13, 2008 |
About a year ago, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) began what was planned as a fairly simple project on the Highway 18 Bridge.
The plan included an inspection and a surface coat on the 34-year-old arched span steel bridge on the Main Channel and the East Channel bridge closer to Prairie du Chien. Basic maintenance for bridges.
A year later, as the project nears completion, a lot more than maintenance has been done on both bridges.
With the heightened awareness of bridge safety issues since the collapse of the if the Interstate 35-W bridge in Minneapolis, WisDOT engineers took a very close look at the structure last fall. They decided the bridges need more than maintenance.
Bridge engineers from WisDOT and federal Highway Transportation Safety Administration decided it would be a good idea to put some extra safety measures in place on both bridges.
Work on the project began on March 10.
According to WisDOT Project Manager Bill Schirm, the additional work is a result of improved inspection technology that detects very small cracks and faults in bridge structures.
Cracks in welds on bridge components are one example.
Underneath the Main Channel span of the Highway 18 bridge, there are dozens of lateral braces that crisscross between the two beams on either side of the roadway. Both the beams and the braces are made of heavy steel. The braces are attached to the beams with a heavy weld about four to six inches long.
Standing under the bridge with semi trucks rolling above, it was obvious the stress the welds had to hold up against„bridges shake and move, constantly.
"People don't realize that a bridge is like a living thing, it moves a lot," explained Schirm.
After more than 30 years of vibrations some of the welds had developed tiny cracks. Bridge engineers did not like the cracks. In fact, steel bridges constructed today rely very little on welded joints.
So the engineers ordered that L-shaped brackets of heavy steel be bolted into place at each weld to insure the integrity of the connection between the truss and the beam.
So, through the spring and summer more than 800 brackets were installed on both bridge spans.
The second safety measure protects the bridge from the collapse of the entire deck section between the piers.
It consists of a series of custom prefabricated heavy steel beams that are bolted into place underneath the bridge deck .These redundancy structures are engineered to actually catch the bridge deck in case of a failure. If the bridge deck should collapse, the deck would only fall one-eighth of an inch, and motorists could safely exit the bridge. Some of these beams have already been installed on the north side of the Main Channel bridge, the remaining beams will be installed on the south side of the bridge this week. They have also been installed on the East Channel bridge.
The main section of the redundancy beams are slightly over nine feet long, and about two and one-half feet wide. They are constructed of one-inch thick steel plate and are bolted into place with more than 32 one-inch diameter bolts. It weighs 2,500 pounds. One end of the beam projects out about 16-inches, forming a shelf that would catch the bridge deck.
These additional safety measures have came at a significant cost, estimated at $2.5 million; $1.2 million for the East Channel bridge and $1.3 million for the Main Channel bridge. And since this project was planned for this year, WisDOT has had to scramble to budget for the project. Federal highway dollars will cover 80 percent of the cost, and for the Main Channel bridge, the state of Iowa pays 50 percent of the cost. To keep the project moving forward quickly, no bid was let. Contractors are paid on a certain percentage over time plus materials.
For Schirm, this project has been something of an education. His job has been to coordinate the whole project, from overseeing the work of contractors to working on highway and river traffic problems with the Coast Guard and local authorities. And yes, lots of government paperwork.
Although he has many years of experience in construction, and has worked on 40-50 concrete bridges, this is the first steel bridge he has ever worked with. He noted that he has collaborated closely with bridge engineers from WisDOT to ensure the quality and accuracy of the job. He says he enjoyed learning something new every day.
The entire project will be completed later this month.
Bill Schirm, right, discusses the placement of temporary highway signs for a traffic lane change with a contractor last Wednesday on the Highway 18 Marquette-Joliet Bridge. (Photos by Trudy Balcom)
The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant has been applied for, and if everything goes well, the Fort Crawford Hotel project will be able to get going again. How soon the hotel restoration can resume depends upon if the grant is approved by HUD and when.
"The government seems to work on their own time line," said Fort Crawford Hotel owner Mark Ihm, a developer from Platteville. Ihm said that the current economic crisis may also be a factor regarding when the grant is approved.
Ihm is optimistic, however, and said that the hotel would be completed approximately 18 months from the time that the $1 million grant is received.
The grant application was submitted by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce Main Street Program on behalf of the Prairie du Chien Redevelopment Authority. The Redevelopment Authority would administer the grant based upon the progress of the project, said Ihm.
Ihm noted that Prairie du Chien is a "Main Street Community" and that the grant is one of only three in the nation for Main Street Communities. A municipality designated as a Main Street Community operates on a four-point economic development approach for their downtown:
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Ihm said that when the project proceeds it will continue with its four-phase plan. First the retail section on the first floor will be completed. Then the lobby and restaurant-bar area will be constructed. Next, the second and third floors of the hotel will be completed and, finally the elevator tower will be built.
So far, the facade and some interior work have been done on the first floor. Ihm said that the hotel will be done so as to preserve the historical integrity of the building. "The outside will look great," he said, noting that the building will look much like it did in the 1950s.
Ihm said that the HUD grant would stipulate that the building would have housing for one year. He said that the same floor plan will be used, but rather than charging for hotel rooms, tenants will live in the building. "We would need 12-month leases," he said. "After that, we would have the option to continue renting or to have it become a hotel. It's nice because we don't have to change anything from our state-approved plan."
Ihm estimates that it will take $2 million to complete the project. He said that when the grant comes through, he will borrow the remaining funds needed and begin construction immediately.
He said that he will begin construction even sooner if a tenant is found for the retail section of the first floor. "We need a good retail tenant for a three-year period," he said. "We need some people interested in having a business in there so that we can move forward."
Ihm explained that it has been tough attracting a business to lease the retail portion of the first floor. "Build it and they will come has been the saying," he said. "But, so far, they haven't come."
Ihm said that he is looking to lease the 2,000 square feet of retail space for $12 per square foot per year. "In a perfect world we would need that to make it profitable," he said, in noting that he needs to pay off a loan and other bills associated with the project. He said that other places such as Wal-Mart lease out areas based on $12 to $18 per square foot. "I'd need to be really lucky and get down on one knee to $6 downtown," he said.
Ihm said that he has received some inquiries about the retail space, including from some "high-end" retail stores, but none have panned out. "We would be willing to look at any reasonable offer," he said.
Ihm noted that the retail section could house one business or be divided as to accommodate two businesses, one in a 1,200-square-foot area and the other in an 800-square-foot area.
Ihm said that he would finish the first floor to the specifications of the tenant. For instance, a clothing store would have different needs than a restaurant. He said that he hasn't finished the retail area in part because he doesn't yet know who the tenant will be and what will be their needs.
When he gets the grant funding, Ihm will "build out" the first floor and go ahead with the rest of the project as well. He said that he is looking forward to attracting a new business to downtown Prairie du Chien.
Ihm said that he understands why, so far, nobody has been really interested in locating a business in the building. Because of competition from the "big box" stores such as Wal-Mart and also because of the current "bad" economy, people are leery of making a commitment, he said.
The cost of the Fort Crawford Hotel project was originally estimated at $1.6 million, but because the city delayed transferring the deeds to Ihm, the cost went much higher before Ihm could even begin the project. In fact, interest rates were at 7 percent in July of 2005 and then jumped to approximately 8.5-9 percent before Ihm officially took over ownership. It was then decided that the project should be done in phases.
The plan for the project is to combine the former City Hall building and the former Fort Crawford Hotel building into one building that would feature 18 hotel rooms and a manager's apartment. The hotel would be restored so that patrons will experience 19th century character amid 21st century amenities.
The Crawford will blend early and contemporary comforts in rooms featuring plush period furnishings, large pedestal beds, wet bars with microwave and refrigerator, and an executive work space. Many suites will offer additional luxury with whirlpool hot tubs and king size beds.
When the hotel is completed, it will have a large and good impact upon the city. It has been pointed out in the past that the property will have an estimated tax base of $1 million, which means that the city stands to gain approximately $28,000 per year in annual property taxes.
In fact, the city has already gained quite a bit from the project. The Crawford Preservation Group, of which Ihm is the main partner, saved the city more than $220,000 by writing and securing the asbestos and lead abatement grant. It was the city's responsibility to remove the asbestos and lead from the two buildings. Normally, the entity that writes the grant would receive approximately 15 percent back from the city but The Crawford Preservation Group wrote the grant gratis. In addition, The Crawford Preservation Group agreed to pay the city over a number of years for the city's cost of disposing of the lead and asbestos.
Ihm owns and has renovated several downtown buildings in Southwestern Wisconsin communities. He is the president of the State Historic Preservation Commission, is a member of the Board of the Point of Beginnings, and is president of Building Platteville.
Ihm is currently working on another project in Platteville, the "Old Bailey Building," which was built in 1898. "It'll be gorgeous. It'll be the pride of downtown," he said.
Hopefully, the HUD grant will come through relatively soon and the Fort Crawford Hotel project can resume so that it too can become "the pride of downtown." .
