Tuesday State News Briefs: Two new felony charges have been filed against Readstown police chief

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READSTOWN - Two new felony charges have been filed against a Wisconsin police chief who was already facing eight counts alleging a variety of misconduct.

Readstown Chief Shay Larson is free on a signature bond, and he’s due back in Vernon County Circuit Court on March 26th for a continued initial appearance on all 10 charges. The newest ones are for second degree sexual assault and intimidating a victim. In court testimony, a sheriff’s investigator said Larson inappropriately touched a 14 year old boy several times while doing community service work and Larson reportedly threatened the youngster if he told anyone. The boy came forward after hearing that Larson was arrested. The earlier charges accuse him of improperly touching a female drug informant, joining drinkers at a birthday party at a park in Readstown, and having a woman give him oral sex three times. Larson was arrested March second in Nebraska, a day after his first eight charges were filed. Larson was investigated for six months before he was taken to court.

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Two teenage girls killed in one-car crash east of Green Bay were identified today as Gabrielle Fritsche and Paige Derenne, both 16 from the New Franken area. They were sophomores at Green Bay Preble High School, where counselors were brought in to help classmates and staff members deal with the tragedy. Investigators are still trying to figure out why it happened. They said a car was going north on Highway 57 near New Franken yesterday afternoon when it rolled over into a creek. The driver has still not been determined. Both girls were trapped inside, and were taken to a hospital where they died. School principal Natasha Rowell said Fritsche and Derenne were both active in school, and they were well-liked. Rowell said a youngster brought a guitar to school today, and he asked to play it in the lunchroom as a tribute to the girls.

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A preliminary hearing was delayed today in the case of a Madison girl who starved while her father and step-mother kept her in their basement for a number of years. Prosecutors asked that the girl’s video testimony be sealed – and while the defense didn’t object, reporters did. Dane County Circuit Judge Amy Smith set a hearing for this afternoon on whether the testimony should be made public. And the judge delayed the preliminary hearing until Friday, after District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said his main witness could not testify this morning due to a family emergency. The girl’s 40-year-old father and 42-year-old step-mother are both charged with reckless endangerment, child abuse, and child neglect. And the girl’s 18-year-old step-brother is charged with sexual assault, for repeatedly demanding that she give him oral sex. He’s scheduled to enter pleas next Monday. Authorities said the girl ran out of the house in her pajamas in mid-February, and a passer-by called 911. She only weighed 70 pounds, and the man who saw her thought she was only about eight – or almost half her real age. The preliminary hearing will determine if there’s enough evidence to order trials against the father and step-mother. Ozanne said there was nothing to be gained by playing the video of the girl’s testimony, because Judge Smith had already seen it. And if it was made public, the father’s attorney said the resulting media coverage could cause potential jurors to be prejudiced. But Smith said the video was allowed so the girl would not have to testify in person – and had she appeared, her testimony would have had to be given in public.

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An appeals court today upheld the conviction of a state prisoner who set up a phone scam while behind bars. Milwaukee prosecutors said Matthew Steffes wanted to get around prison rules on the number of collect calls he could make to a single number. So he had people outside of prison create hundreds of phone lines he could use, that were wrongly billed to other people. Steffes was convicted in 2009 on two felony counts of theft by fraud. That was after he was accused of stealing electricity from AT&T in the creation of the false phone lines. In his appeal, Steffes noted that AT&T did not suffer economic losses. But the First District Court of Appeals in Milwaukee said that electricity is property, and AT&T lost over $26,000 in electricity that was applied to three false accounts alone. Steffes’ lawyer says he expects to appeal today’s ruling to the State Supreme Court.

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Merrill police arrested a woman for impaired driving twice in two days last weekend. First, 51 year old Tammi Morren was arrested Friday when she showed up to visit someone in the Lincoln County Jail appearing disoriented and getting lost in the jail lobby. She was cited for operating while intoxicated and released. The very next day a friend brought Morren to the jail parking lot to retrieve her car. She got in, but when she drove off police noticed she was driving erratically down U.S. Highway 51 and pulled her over. As she was pulling over, Morren reportedly nearly hit the car belonging to the friend who had given her a ride to the jail. The Tomahawk woman was booked into the jail and released the next day.

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Three people have pleaded innocent to possessing marijuana bought in a sales ring involving school teachers in Antigo and Merrill. 54-year-old Joseph Adams, 55-year-old Anthony Crabb, and 48-year-old Chris Nicholson all entered pleas during their initial court appearances in Langlade County yesterday. They’re each charged with one misdemeanor count of possessing marijuana. Crabb, a retired teacher from Merrill, is due back in court April 9th when a trial date is expected to be set. Similar proceedings for Adams and Nicholson are set for April 23rd. Adams is a former special education teacher in the Antigo School District. The three are among 10 people charged – most of whom allegedly bought marijuana from Scot Peterson, who faces 26 criminal charges. He’s due back in court March 23rd, when a judge will decide if there’s enough evidence to order a trial in his case. John Lund – a former Antigo high school football coach and elementary principal – resigned last month after he was charged with eight felony counts. He’s scheduled to enter pleas next Monday to charges that include possession-and-delivery of marijuana, and maintaining a drug trafficking place.

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A 16-year-old Oconto Falls boy has been charged as an adult for starting a fire that caused two-million-dollars in damage to a Catholic grade school. Vincent Enneper was originally charged as a juvenile for the February 21st blaze at Saint Anthony School in Oconto Falls. But he was waived into adult court last week, and was charged with arson, burglary, and attempted arson. That last charge was connected with a 2006 fire that caused minor damage at Saint Anthony Church, which is adjacent to the school. The adult charges carry maximum prison sentences of 72-and-a-half years. A juvenile conviction would have held Enneper for a couple years, but possibly with more treatment options. According to prosecutors, the teen entered the school to look around – but he got bored and started several small fires before one of them got out of control. He’s due back in Oconto County Circuit Court on March 26th.

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The body of a missing Dane County man was found today in Verona. 51 year old Steven Knudson of Verona was reported missing yesterday. His body was discovered in a wooded area. State justice agents joined local authorities, rescuers, and K 9 units in searching for Knutson.

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The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a boat carrying four fishermen off the southern coast of the state of Washington. One of the four onboard was from Wisconsin. The Coast Guard reports a field of floating debris was spotted by searchers who had responded to an emergency beacon early Saturday morning. The missing fishermen include Chris Langel of Kaukauna, a 2004 graduate of Kaukauna High School.

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The leader of the Ho-Chunk Indians says he’s optimistic that lawmakers and tribes can agree on a bill to speed up the approvals of state mining permits. But Jon Greendeer said the environment must be preserved. And he believed there’s a way to protect Wisconsin’s water resources, while generating the jobs that mining would create. Greendeer touched on the subject today during the annual State-of-the-Tribes address to a joint session of the Legislature. The address informs lawmakers on the most pressing issues facing Wisconsin’s 11 tribes. A week ago, senators rejected the latest compromise for a faster permit process – and as a result, Gogebic Taconite ended its plans to build an iron ore mine south of Lake Superior near Hurley. The Senate’s Judiciary Committee plans to meet Monday to discuss possible future options. Governor Scott Walker has said he might call a special legislative session to re-visit the mining issue.

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Wisconsinites who violate restraining orders could be monitored by authorities, under a bill that was sent to Governor Scott Walker today. The state Senate approved the bill in February, but the Assembly made a few language changes – and senators ratified them today. Walker’s office says it will evaluate the bill before deciding whether to approve it. The measure allows judges to approve GPS satellite monitoring of those who violate restraining orders in cases like stalking and domestic abuse. The state Corrections Department would track violators’ movements, and call police if they go into areas where they’re not allowed under their restraining orders. Those monitored would have to be pay $200 surcharges to cover the monitoring costs.

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The State Supreme Court ruled this morning that a homeless sex offender should not have been convicted of failing to report an address. William Dinkins Senior served a 10-year prison term on a Dodge County conviction of first-degree child sex assault. But in 2008, authorities said Dinkins broke the law by not reporting a new address within 10 days before he left prison. Therefore, officials said he did not comply with the terms of entering the state’s registry for sex offenders. A state appeals court threw out the non-reporting charge. But the state Justice Department appealed, saying that Dinkins could have registered a park bench or some other street location. But today, the Supreme Court said Dinkins could not have complied because he did not have a permanent location. But the justices said it does not excuse all homeless people from having to register as sex offenders if they’re required to do.

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Governor Scott Walker has signed the so-called Wisconsin Wins law, a measure which helps people receiving unemployment benefits take part-time training positions. Assembly Bill 450 is the second piece of the Wisconsin Working Plan which was signed last week by the governor. The first part allows veterans to apply their military education and training to meet requirements for professional credentials. The plan also doubles the number of job fairs in Wisconsin and adds 14 staff members to help with hiring and training at re-employment offices around the state.

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Wisconsin’s private school voucher program will not be expanded any further, under a bill passed by the state Assembly this afternoon. The house sent the measure to Governor Scott Walker on a voice vote – and the Republican governor promised to sign it. For 20 years, the program has given tax-funded vouchers to low-income Milwaukee kids so they could attend private schools with the goal of getting a better education. But Democrats and school advocates say the vouchers take much-needed state funding away from public schools, with little-or-no improvement in the test scores of voucher students. The governor and lawmakers expanded the program last year to include students from Milwaukee County and Racine. And a last-minute budget amendment would have allowed districts like Green Bay to offer private school vouchers. But GOP lawmakers said the measure was approved by mistake – and the Senate corrected itself last October before the state Assembly did the same today, the third-to-last day of the current session.

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Wisconsin’s newest drivers would not be able to use cell phones behind-the-wheel under a bill to be taken up in the state Senate today. The Assembly passed the measure in February. It would prohibit drivers with instructional permits or probationary licenses from using wireless devices while driving, except in an emergency. First-time violators would pay 20-to-40-dollars in fines. Repeat offenders would be fined 50-to-100 dollars.

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Governor Scott Walker repeated again today that he is not the target of the two-year-old John Doe investigation into his former Milwaukee County Executive’s office. Walker said his attorneys have been told that the Republican governor has not been investigated. But he would not say who provided the information, saying he cannot talk about it until the probe is complete. Last Friday, Walker said he was creating a legal defense fund to pay for the attorneys he’s been using in speaking with Milwaukee County prosecutors about the John Doe. That brought up immediate speculation by at least some legal experts that Walker’s been targeted. Under state law, government officials cannot seek donations for legal defense funds unless they’re being investigated – or if they’ve been charged with election law violations. Walker said one of his campaign lawyers spoke with officials of the Government Accountability Board – and he was told that the defense fund was the best way for him to proceed. Previous campaign donations can be used – but the donors must approve. And officials must report all donors who give $50 or more.

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State officials are promising a new effort to help veterans find jobs, and get education and health care benefits. Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch led a delegation of state leaders in appearances yesterday in Green Bay, Wausau, and La Crosse. Kleefisch said the effort would focus on connecting eligible veterans to existing benefits – and especially helping vets find jobs. Veterans’ Affairs Secretary John Scocos said Wisconsin has over 12-thousand unemployed service personnel. And state Workforce Development Secretary Reggie Newson said the jobless rate for veterans is around 10-to-15 percent, well above the state’s overall unemployment rate of just under seven-percent. Newson said his agency would hold 15 job fairs which target veterans, and four meetings to connect employers with those who’ve served.

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It should be easier for you to get a new-or-better job this spring. The quarterly survey by Milwaukee’s Manpower Incorporated says 21-percent of Wisconsin firms expect to add employees from April through June. Seven-percent expect layoffs. And if you subtract the two figures, you’ll get what Manpower calls a “net employment outlook” of 14-percent for the second quarter of the year. That’s the same as a year ago, when the economy appeared to improve before declining again. And the index is about six-percent higher than it’s been the previous two quarters. Jonas Prising of Manpower says the figures clearly show an improving trend in Wisconsin. The survey showed that job prospects are improving in most economic sectors, including construction. Seventy-percent of Wisconsin firms expect no change in their staffing levels – and Manpower says it’s a sign of relative stability. Manpower had predicted steady hiring in Wisconsin for most of 2011 – but newly-revised government data showed a net decline of 97-hundred private sector jobs last year, while other states had growth. Manpower says its survey is only a snap-shot of sentiment – and it cannot predict the types of major economic tremors throughout Wisconsin and the world.

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