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A 21-YEAR OLD ONALASKA MAN WAS CHARGED WITH HOMICIDE THURSDAY. KYLE SMITH ALLEDGEDLY SOLD HEROIN TO 22-YEAR OLD BRADLEY BENZING LAST NOVEMBER. BENZING REPORTEDLY TOOK THE HEROIN AT SMITH’S ONALASKA APARTMENT AND WAS LATER FOUND UNRESPONSIVE. BRADLEY BENZING LATER DIED AT A LA CROSSE HOSPITAL OF A HEROIN OVERDOSE. ENOUGH EVIDENCE WAS FOUND TO BIND KYLE SMITH OVER FOR TRIAL. A SCHEDULING CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD IN APRIL.
DRAKE IS DOWN FOR THE SEMESTER. IT WILL TAKE TWO-TO-THREE-MONTHS TO REPAIR DAMAGE DONE FROM SUNDAY’S FIRE AT THE UW-LA CROSSE RESIDENCE HALL. SOME OF THE 271-DISPLACED STUDENTS HAVE BEEN TAKEN IN BY FACULTY AND STAFF—SOME WILL STAY WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS—BUT CHANCELLOR JOE GOW TOLD ANYONE WHO WANTS TO STAY ON CAMPUS CAN. DRAKE RESIDENCE HALL DAMAGE ESTIMATES AND THE CAUSE OF THE EARLY SUNDAY MORNING FIRE HAVE NOT BEEN DETERMINED YET.
REPUBLICANS MAY NEED A PRIMARY BEFORE CAMPAIGNING AGAINST INCUMBENT CONGRESSMAN RON KIND. SUNDAY, RETIRED COL. RAY BOLAND OF SPARTA GOT THE ENDORSEMENT OF THE MONROE COUNTY REUPBLICAN CAUCUS. MONROE COUNTY CHAIR JOHN CHRISTY SAID THEY’RE EXCITED THEIR CHOICE IS FROM MONROE COUNTY. THEN THURSDAY--HOLMEN RETIRED BANKER BRUCE EVERS ANNOUNCED HE’S CONSIDERING A RUN. EVERS WAS DEFEATED IN THE 2010 REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARY BY DAN KAPANKE—KAPANKE THEN NARROWLY LOST TO KIND. EVERS SAID KIND’S VOTING RECORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. EVERS WILL DECIDE WHETHER TO RUN BEFORE THE THIRD DISTRICT CAUCUS IN APRIL.
UNSEASONABLY HIGH TEMPS MAY BE WELCOME WEATHER TO MANY—BUT NOT FOR THE AREA’S WINTER EVENTS THIS WEEKEND. THE 89TH ANNUAL SNOWFLAKE SKI TOURNEY IN WESTBY HAS TURNED INTO A NO-FLAKE WEEKEND—SHORT-SLEEVES MAY BE IN ORDER SATURDAY AT TOMAH’S FREEZE-FEST—AND SNOWMOBILE RACES ON THE LAKE MAY HAVE TO GIVE WAY TO JET SKIS AT CASTLE ROCK’S WINTERFEST. IT’S SO WARM MOUNT LA CROSSE SNOW-MACHINES CAN’T MAKE ANY MORE—ALTHOUGH THERE’S STILL ENOUGH FAKE FLAKES TO GET BY FOR NOW.
DANCING IS IN AT THE LA CROSSE CENTER SATURDAY—LOTS OF DANCING DURING THE WISCONSIN STATE HIGH SCHOOL DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS. OVER 17-HUNDRED COMPETITORS WILL NOT OUTNUMBER THE ESTIMATED 6,000 SPECTATORS BEGINNING AT 9AM SATURDAY. SESSION I BEGINS AT 9AM WITH AWARDS AT 3PM—SESSION II BEGINS AT 4PM WITH AWARDS AT 8:30PMAREA HIGH SCHOOL DANCE TEAMS COMPETING AT THE LA CROSSE CENTER INCLUDE G-E-T, HOLMEN, ONALASKA, AQUINAS, CENTRAL, LOGAN, SPARTA AND TOMAH GIRLS.
MORE THAN 350 WISCONSIN LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCIES HAVE BEEN AWARDED $4. 2-MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO REPLACE NEARLY 36-HUNDRED OUTDATED RADIOS. ROUND FIGURES INCLUDE—ADAMS COUNTY AGENCIES GET ABOUT $21,000--CRAWFORD, $14,000—GRANT, $86,000—JACKSON, $57,000—JUNEAU, $52,000—LA CROSSE, $71,000—MONROE, $123,000—AND TREMPEALEAU COUNTY AGENCIES WILL RECEIVE $64,000. NO AMOUNT WAS GIVE FOR VERNON COUNTY. RADIOS PURCHASED MUST HAVE AT LEAST FOURTY-EIGHT CHANNELS AND BE CAPABLE OF ACCESSING AT LEAST TWENTY STATEWIDE MUTUAL AID CHANNELS.
ANOTHER COUNTY ACROSS THE RIVER MAY PLACE A MORATORIUM ON FRAC SAND MINING. MINNESOTA’S HOUSTON COUNTY SCHEDULED A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE THIRTEENTH OF THIS MONTH ON A ONE-YEAR MORATORIUM. HOUSTON COUNTY OFFICIALS REPORT MOST FEEDBACK HAS BEEN NEGATIVE. WINONA COUNTY ALREADY HAS A 3-MONTH MORATORIUM AND WABASHA COUNTY APPROVED A ONE-YEAR STUDY. FRAC SAND MINING IS ALREADY UNDERWAY IN MANY AREA COUNTIES INCLUDING JACKSON, LA CROSSE, MONROE AND TREMPEALEAU.
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