Morning State News Briefs: Explosion and fire damages Columbus packaging plant

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COLUMBUS - Authorities in Columbus are trying to determine how a small explosion-and-fire occurred at the American Packaging Corporation.

Fire-fighters were called around 12:30 yesterday afternoon. Officials said the building’s sprinkler system had put out the fire. No one was hurt. There was a report that somebody was missing, but the person was found outside a short time later. Employees were evacuated for a time. The Columbus packaging plant recently added 100-thousand square feet at a cost of 17-and-a-half million dollars. The plant also had an explosion in 2009 which killed a 47-year-old worker.

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A suburban Milwaukee man will spend nine years in prison for killing a female passenger while driving drunk. 29-year-old Jaron Omon of Port Washington was sentenced yesterday in Ozaukee County. A judge told him to spend six years under extended supervision after his prison term. Authorities said Omon’s blood alcohol level was point-22 – almost three times the minimum for intoxication – when his vehicle hit a tree and a roadside fence near Grafton on June 10th. His passenger, 37-year-old Kelly Phillips, also of Port Washington, was killed. Omon, a former Boy Scout leader, pleaded guilty to his most serious charge – a felony count of homicide by drunk driving. Three related traffic counts, including his first OWI ticket, were dropped in a plea bargain.

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Milwaukee Police continue to investigate the death of a 53-year-old disabled man while he was walking to a bus stop on Saturday night. Relatives said Frank Carter had just left his workplace when he was shot around 9:30 Saturday night on Milwaukee’s north side – and he died several hours later. Police reported the shooting incident, but they did not identify Carter or say that he died.

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There’s a report that shots were fired at the home of a Milwaukee police detective, after the officer found a burglar inside. It apparently happened around six last evening. Police had not provided details as of early this morning. WTMJ-TV quoted neighbors who said the gunshots sounded like fireworks, and they saw an ambulance come-and-go a short time later. There was no immediate word of injuries. The station said a south side Milwaukee street was blocked off while officers investigated.

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Wisconsin’s two biggest sports celebrities raised thousands-of-dollars last night to help children who lost their mothers in the recent shooting massacre in Brookfield. Brewers’ outfielder Ryan Braun and Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers held an event at their “8-12” Restaurant in Brookfield. The event was sold out in less than a day. It raised over $20,000 just by the advance sale of more than 200 tickets – and a silent auction raised much more. All proceeds went to the children of the three women killed the Azana Spa-and-Salon on October 21st – Maelyn Lind, Cary Robuck, and the gunman’s estranged wife, Zina Haughton.

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Madison’s police chief said yesterday that a 30-year-old man was killed by an officer because he was reaching for the patrolman’s gun during a struggle. Chief Noble Wray confirmed that musician Paul Heenan was not trying to break into a home, as was reported soon after the shooting early last Friday. Instead, Heenan was drinking and he mistakenly thought a neighbor’s house was his. Chief Wray said Heenan and the neighbor were scuffling when officer Stephen Heimsness arrived. The officer assumed one of them was a burglar, and he pointed a gun while telling the two to fall to the ground. Wray said Heenan made a move toward the officer, grabbed his arm with one hand, and reached toward the gun with the other. And that’s when Heimsness fired three shots at him. Wray said he thought the use of force was justified because an active burglary was assumed at the time. The chief said the incident remains under investigation.

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Racine Police are treating the death of an 84-year-old man as a homicide. A relative called 911 after finding Donald Thompson unconscious at his home last Thursday. Police later learned that Thompson died from traumatic injuries. An investigation continues.

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A fire that killed three youngsters in Racine last week was started by a burning candle in a bathroom, just days after the electricity was shut off at their home. Racine police-and-fire officials said the blaze started on the first floor – and it created intense smoke which helped make it difficult for rescuers to pull four children away. Nine-year-old Dayja Scott, her eight-year-old sister Dalija, and their seven-year-old brother Michael Scott all died from their injuries. A relative said the youngsters’ five-year-old brother, Luther Patterson, was still in critical condition as of last night at Milwaukee Children’s Hospital. 29-year-old Lemont Siller was also in the home at the time, and was treated for injuries. Funeral services for the three youngsters killed in the blaze will be held on Friday.

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A Stevens Point man will spend 10 years in prison for causing a fatal traffic crash near Wisconsin Rapids while he was checking text messages. 23-year-old John French was also told to spend seven years under extended supervision when he leaves prison. French struck a plea deal in which he would have been given nine years in prison for a three-vehicle mishap on December 6th of 2010 that killed 32-year-old Robert Walker of the town of Saratoga, south of Wisconsin Rapids. Wood County Circuit Judge Todd Wolf added a year to the sentence, saying anything less than 10 years would have diminished the seriousness of the crime. According to authorities, French blew past a stop-sign at Highways 73 and “Z” south of Rapids, when another driver tried but failed to avoid French’s SUV. The French vehicle then swung and hit another SUV driven by Walker, who was ejected despite wearing a seat-belt. French told officers he was texting his girlfriend, when he started getting numerous messages – and he was checking them at the time of the crash. That was only six days after a heavily-publicized state law took effect banning texting behind-the-wheel.

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After two-and-a-half years of court action, a Milwaukee reptile specialist struck a plea deal today in which he can escape a sexual assault conviction in a strange case. 63-year-old Terry Cullen entered into a deferred prosecution agreement, in which pleaded no contest to fourth-degree misdemeanor assault. If he stays clean over the next five years, the criminal charge will be dropped – and he’ll only be convicted on non-criminal citations for battery. During that period, Cullen must donate $2,500 to Milwaukee animal rights’ groups, perform 25 hours of community service, and get an evaluation as a sex offender. Cullen was originally charged in 2010 with false imprisonment, felony sexual assault, and animal mistreatment. Prosecutors said Cullen drove a woman from Chicago to his conservancy in Milwaukee, where he molested her. And while police were investigating that, they noticed over 200 unique reptiles living in squalor. The woman objected to another plea bargain a few months ago, in which Cullen’s charges involving her would have been dropped in exchange for an animal mistreatment conviction.

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Based on past experience, the Department of Natural Resources licensing bureau is expecting a busy week as deer hunters buy their licenses. Last year, about half of the almost 604 thousand licenses sold were purchased the week before opening day. This year’s season opens Saturday. Driving the activity could be a new program where licenses for a first-time buyer are available at a reduced fee. Hunters who haven’t bought a license in at least 10 years are also eligible for the lower price. So far, the DNR reports it has sold more than 10,000 of those licenses.

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High winds and limited access to the area helped a wildfire burn more than 250 acres at the Lake Mills State Wildlife Area overnight. The flames were reported just before 10 p.m. last night. Personnel and equipment from more than 40 departments responded. The cause is undetermined, but authorities think it might have been started by a discarded cigarette. The didn’t damage any of the four homes in the area and no injuries were reported. The 33 hundred acre Lake Mills Wildlife Area consists of open-water marsh, areas of wet prairie and a heavily-wooded area.

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Two students at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse say they were sitting on a dock overlooking a marsh early Sunday morning when they were robbed. The incident reportedly happened about 2:30 a.m. The 19 year old students say they were approached by two men on an ATV, asking to use their cell phone. The suspects drove away on the ATV, but returned and demanded money for gas, eventually talking 10 dollars. Police responded, but the suspects were able to get away on their ATV. Police are looking for two white men in their mid-40s. One called himself “Tim” and the other called himself “Tom.” Though the injuries were very minor, one of the victims says he was grabbed by the throat during the robbery.

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A bicyclist has died from injuries suffered last Tuesday, when she was hit by a vehicle in West Bend. 57-year-old Marjean Boots died at Milwaukee’s Froedtert Hospital. Police said Boots was not wearing a helmet, when she was hit by a motor vehicle at an intersection in West Bend. The driver was a 38-year-old West Bend man. West Bend Police and the State Patrol are continuing to investigate.

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Wisconsin’s most populated region had a 33-percent jump in existing home sales last month. Realtors from the Metro MLS reported 1,386 home sales in October in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington counties. That’s almost 350 more than in the same month a year ago. All four counties saw their home sales go up in October. Washington County had the biggest percentage increase, at 53-and-a-half. For the first 10 months of this year, sales of existing houses are up 26-percent from the year before.

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A middle school in Watertown was broken into – but authorities are not yet sure if anything was stolen. Police said somebody entered the Riverside Middle School in Watertown during the night. No one was inside. Security video showed that the only significant damage was to the office area.

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Virtually all Wisconsinites are urged to get flu shots – but only 41-percent did so last year. It’s one reason that more health care and nursing institutions are requiring most of their employees to get vaccinated. The UW Health institutions are making flu shots mandatory for the first time. Employees are exempt for medical or religious reasons – and the UW Hospital union for nurses and therapists has asked that personal beliefs be added as an exemption. The Wisconsin State Journal said about 26-percent of state hospitals and 12-percent of nursing homes in the Badger State had requirements for flu shots last winter. Another 69-percent of hospitals and three-fourths of nursing homes made employees sign waivers if they did not get vaccinated. Most UW Hospital employees already get flu shots voluntarily. UW Health workers who don’t get either vaccinations or doctor-approved exemptions by December first can be put on unpaid leave. Those not complying 45 days after that could be fired. John Sauer, who heads a group representing non-profit nursing homes, believes that most homes will eventually require flu shots. He said a flu outbreak could easily put residents at risk. The Centers for Disease Control said 77-percent of health care workers got flu shots last year – and many health officials are trying to get those numbers above 95-percent.

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A 20-year-old woman was killed overnight after her car struck a utility pole in the Waukesha County village of Big Bend. Sheriff’s deputies said the car was going east when it crested a hill – and the driver then lost control and hit the power pole. Officials said nobody in the area lost their electricity due to the incident. It remains under investigation.

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Folks in Manitowoc will not lose their “Bud.” Mayor Justin Nickels announced an agreement yesterday that will keep a nearly 20-year-old Budweiser mural on three downtown silos that used to be owned by the beer giant. Anheuser-Busch operated a malting plant until last year – and the new owner, the Riverland Ag Corporation, had planned to wash the mural away before residents complained. The mayor said he got over 1,100 e-mails and phone calls asking that the mural be preserved. It features a bottle of Budweiser surrounded by two beer cans. Until recently, it was covered up by a vinyl covering with three large Bud beer bottles. Riverland Ag had been given until the end of the year to remove the mural. But as part of the agreement, Mayor Nickels said the residents will expected to restore and maintain the mural themselves – and no taxes or company funds will be put toward it.

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