10/7/24 Hometown Broadcasting News Monday
7 October 2024 News
JURY TRIAL FOR HALLOWEEN KILLER POSTPONED
A December jury trial for Wisconsin’s so-called Halloween Killer who is seeking to be released from a secure mental health facility has been postponed. The lawyer for 75-year-old Gerald Turner has filed a motion for summary judgement and the attorneys will argue that motion during a hearing on December 9th. Turner is being kept at the Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center in Mauston. A petition to be released from there in 2022 was denied. A jury trial in Fond du Lac County court was originally scheduled to start on April 17th, but the five-day trial was rescheduled to begin on December 9th. He was convicted of the Halloween 1973 rape and murder of 9-year-old Lisa Ann French in Fond du Lac. She was trick-or-treating that night in Turner’s neighborhood. Turner completed his prison sentence in 1994. His parole was revoked in 2013 for possessing sexually-explicit material. He completed that sentence in 2018 but was found to be a sexually violent person and has since then been at a supervised living facility.
LODI MAN ARRESTED ON CHILD PORN CHARGES
Columbia County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 28-year-old Lodi man Friday on 20 counts of possession of child pornography. The deputies are part of the Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The search warrant was for the residence Dakota Mellen was living at. Mellen is being held at the Columbia County Jail pending an initial court appearance. Deputies were assisted by Lodi Police and the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation. Mellen is a teacher at the Lodi School District. Investigators are working with the Lodi School District in the investigation.
DODGE COUNTY MURDER SUSPECT BOUND OVER FOR TRIAL
The 43-year-old Juneau man charged with his estranged wife’s murder has been bound over for trial. Bond for Zachariah Rasch was also amended during the recent hearing in Dodge County court from $250,000 to $1 million cash. He will be arraigned on November 5th. Thirty-seven-year-old Crystal Rasch of Clyman had last been seen on June 11th but wasn’t reported missing until June 23rd. On June 28th Zachariah Rasch was charged with seven counts of identity theft. He is believed to be responsible for numerous transactions that occurred with her financial accounts. The identity theft charges were upgraded last month to first-degree intentional homicide with a domestic abuse enhancer and hiding a corpse. Zachariah Rasch is being held in the Dodge County jail.
GREEN LAKE SCAM WARNING
Green Lake Police are cautioning residents about a scam. A person living outside the city got a letter from the National Police Association. It talked about Quality of Life Policing and gave several examples of crime reduction, and contacting your council members. Police looked into the organization and they believe it is a scam. The organization is listed in the State of Indiana, but the mailing address for donations is listed in Texas. Letters have been sent to different cities and the letters differ on the demographic and tone of the area. Green Lake Police Chief Jayson Reysen says he’s never given to an out of state organization because donations usually don’t come back to the area. He says organizations that cold call you or mail you are hoping to strike a nerve or fear monger you into donating. He suggests if you want to make a charitable donation to law enforcement or first responder organizations contact them directly.
OCI ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS
The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance took administrative action against 31 insurance agents and one insurance firm in September. Among those on the receiving end of that administrative action was Robert Maki of Oshkosh. His insurance license was revoked. The action was taken based on allegations of failing to pay Wisconsin delinquent taxes. Any forfeitures paid are deposited in Wisconsin’s Common School Fund administered by the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. Earnings from the Fund are distributed back to all public K-12 schools in the state and are used by school libraries to purchase materials such as books, newspapers, and computers.
GRAND OPENING FOR WAUPUN FOOD TRUCK ALLEY
In addition to a ribbon-cutting for five new outdoors sculptures, City of Waupun officials Saturday also celebrated the grand opening of their food truck alley. Waupun City Administrator Kathy Schlieve says the food truck alley was funded in part by a Vibrant Spaces Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Schlieve says they were simply trying to fill some vacant spaces downtown, and this was an avenue to take care of that specific vacant space. She notes they were trying to achieve something similar to a community square and had just finished construction. As for the five new sculptures they will be in the city for one year, but Schlieve says they are hoping someone will purchase one of them which has a unique connection to the City and its other sculptures. (City of Waupun photo of Ribbon-Cutting for the new sculptures).
MINI GOLF BENEFITS OASD EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Aquire Restoration raised nearly $5,000 to benefit teachers and students in the Oshkosh Area School District. The $4,875 was raised through the inaugural Greater Valley Mini Golf Open held August 22nd at Settlers Mill Mini Golf Course went to the District’s Education Foundation. Jeff Edmunds, President of Aquire Restoration says, “Our goal was to alleviate some of the financial burdens that teachers often face when purchasing classroom supplies out of their own pockets.” Over 75 golfers participated in the tournament, featuring exciting hole competitions, including prizes for the most holes in one, best poker hand, best outfit, and biggest individual donation to the Oshkosh Area School District Education Foundation. Afterwards there were food, drinks, raffle prizes, and music. Aquire Restoration is a leading restoration company in the insurance restoration and construction industries across Wisconsin.
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