News 09.19.16
19 September 2016 News
A plan to save the endangered whooping crane species takes a turn this week when the birds will no longer rely on humans to guide them during fall migration, ending an effort that began 15 years ago with ultralight aircraft. The slow-moving aircraft will be absent for the first time since 2001, when a public-private partnership launched a new reintroduction plan involving ultralights and humans dressed to look like cranes. Instead, nine young cranes flown to Wisconsin by private plane Wednesday will be paired with adult cranes in the White River Marsh State Wildlife Area in Green Lake County and other areas. In the coming weeks, three other cranes hatched at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo will be released with the hope they follow adults south for the winter.
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An 18 year old Randolph man is treated for non life-threatening injuries and a suspect is in custody following a stabbing incident in Waupun. Police say the victim was stabbed during an altercation in the 500 block of West Brown Street early Sunday morning. The Dodge County SWAT team entered a residence and arrested an 18 year old Waupun man who faces multiple charges including recklessly endangering safety, battery and disorderly conduct. Two other people were arrested for probation violations.
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Two women involved in separate high speed chases in Fond du Lac County have been bound over for trial. Preliminary hearings were held Friday for Laquonish Harris and Alecia Swick. Harris is accused of shoplifting from Kohls Department store at the Forest Mall in Fond du Lac and then leading police on a high speed chase on Interstate 41 with speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour. She was arrested in Germantown. Alecia Swick is accused of stealing a pick-up and leading police on a high speed chase through Winnebago, Fond du lac and Dodge Counties.
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Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel says his agents have finished their investigation into the fatal police shooting that sparked riots in Milwaukee. Schimel said Friday that the Department of Justice has forwarded its findings on Syville Smith’s Aug. 13 death to Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm for a charging decision. Schimel says the DOJ won’t release anything to the public until Chisholm decides on charges or determines the material can be released. Two nights of violence erupted on the north side of Milwaukee after a black officer fatally shot Smith, who was black, during a foot chase. Police have said Smith turned around to face the officer with a gun in his hand and ignored orders to drop the weapon.
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A Green Bay man is charged in the killing of a woman whose body was found in a field in northeastern Wisconsin last spring. Thirty-eight-year-old George “Steve” Burch was charged Friday with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of 31-year-old Nicole VanderHeyden. Her beaten and strangled body was found in a Bellevue field on May 21, the day after she went to a concert and then left a bar alone. Court documents say DNA evidence was matched to Burch. Authorities discovered Burch was questioned in a hit-and-run in June. Using information from his cellphone, investigators say they were able to place Burch near the bar VanderHeyden was last seen as well as her home and the field. The complaint does not offer a motive for her death.
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Officials at the Tomah VA Medical Center have briefed the staff of U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson on the care of a Wisconsin veteran who later killed himself. Johnson says he wants answers in the death of 29-year-old Brian Rossell of Wausau. Rossell’s body was found Sept. 8 in Lake Wausau. His mother says her son sought help from the Tomah VA this summer and was turned away. The Tomah VA briefed Johnson’s staff on Friday. In a statement, Johnson says he appreciated the briefing but adds he remains concerned about the circumstances of Rossell’s death. A Tomah VA spokesman has said the facility does not turn away eligible veterans for care. The Tomah facility was dubbed “Candy Land” by some veterans for its prescribing practices.
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