Sunday State News Briefs: EPA ruling could decide fate of ferry

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MANITOWOC - The SS Badger may ferry cars across Lake Michigan for the final time next month.

That ferry makes 450 trips a year between Manitowoc and Ludington, Michigan, and has been making those trips for almost 60 years. The problem is the coal ask the crew dumps in the lake each day. Environmental groups are challenging the practice. The SS Badger’s current permit runs out December 19th. Without the permit, the Badger might wind up in dry dock, forever. The owner wants to evaluate options like liquefied natural gas, but that transition couldn’t be completed by next season. The company says it would take several years. The EPA is expected to act on the permit application some time this fall.

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Murder suspect James N. Donegan has been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation. The 32 year old son of a Milwaukee County Circuit judge made a court appearance yesterday morning. Judge Thomas Donegan says his son has mental problems and had not been taking his medication. The son is accused in the death of 45 year old Teresa N. Boone in Reservoir Park last Sunday. Boone was stabbed and strangled. Donegan returns to court in two weeks.

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Armind Wand says his wife couldn’t find the phone in the Argyle home they were renting when fire first broke out. She ran outside for help by Wand tried to fight the flames. Broadcast reports quote Wand as saying, when he realized the fire was too big, he found he couldn’t get to the room where his three sons were sleeping. The boys died. They were three, five and seven years old. Sharon Wand and their two year old daughter made it outside safely. That fire started at about 3 a.m. Friday morning in the small town about 34 miles southwest of Madison. Sharon Wand is in UW Hospital in Madison where her condition yesterday was listed as critical.

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Police officials say they will crack down on drunken misbehavior near the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The formal announcement was made by Police Chief Edward Flynn yesterday. People living nearby say loud parties and misbehavior by those drinking have reached an intolerable level. Flynn says the effort is aimed at protecting the area near the university from drunk students and, in turn, protect those students from becoming crime victims. One district commander says the campaign will start with education and warnings, then move on to arrests.

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Law enforcement officials are looking for a former boyfriend in connection with an attack early yesterday morning in Fitchburg. Officers think 25 year old Dominique Roland Hale is responsible for killing a man and injuring a woman in the Fitchburg Square Apartments. Police say a gun was not used in the attacks, though they wouldn’t confirm the dead man was stabbed to death. Neither victim’s name has been released. Hale has a criminal history which includes prison time for a kidnapping and a guilty plea to a resisting arrest charge last June.

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