December 28, 2018 at 5:21 p.m.
New faces in Rhinelander city government tops list of most notable 2018 news stories
New faces in Rhinelander city government tops list of most notable 2018 news stories
Below is our list of the top news stories from 2018. With the exception of the top story, they are listed in no particular order.
City Hall changes
The changes in City Hall over the past year could easily generate a top 10 list of its own, starting with a new mayor and three new alderpersons being elected in the April. Chris Frederickson assumed the office of mayor from the retiring Dick Johns while Ryan Rossing, Andrew Larson and David Holt won seats on the Common Council. Shortly thereafter, interim city administrator Keith Kost resigned, forcing the new mayor to juggle the duties of both jobs with the aid of the city attorney and department heads. Frederickson further butted heads with the council when he proposed turning the five-member finance, wage and salary commission into a Committee of the Whole comprised of all alderpersons.
Meanwhile, the search for a full-time city administrator stretched into September before the council hired Daniel Guild on Sept. 10. The council also put into motion plans and financing for an $18 million project to completely rebuild Stevens Street. Work on that project is set to begin this spring. Another personnel change took place in December when long-time alderperson Sherrie Belliveau resigned. Her seat will remain vacant until early 2019.
Finally, the council voted Dec. 17 to abolish all committees not required by state statute or city ordinance.
Starting Jan. 1, the Common Council will meet twice a month to conduct the city's business.
Paper Mill Sale
The top business story of the year was the acquisition of Expera Specialty Solutions by Helsinki-based Ahlstrom‐Munksjö in a deal worth $615 million. The deal, which included the specialty paper producer's mills in Rhinelander, Kaukauna, DePere and Mosinee, was announced in July and finalized in October.
"This acquisition is a major step in the execution of our strategy," Hans Sohlström, president and CEO of Ahlstrom‐Munksjö, said in a press release announcing the acquisition. "It will further strengthen our position in fiber based materials and enable us to offer more value to our customers, particularly in North America, but also around the world. We have complementary capabilities and can create further value through joint product development and sharing of best practices. Finally, I would like to welcome Expera's personnel to Ahlstrom‐Munksjö."
Addie Teeters, Expera's marketing communication and media relations manager, said there will be no changes to day-to-day operations at the Rhinelander mill.
"Operations at all four of our Wisconsin plants are continuing as before," Teeters said. "In fact, now that we are part of this global production platform, we believe it is going to make all of our Wisconsin facilities even more competitive. It is business as usual for our North American operations, including Rhinelander and it is really just an exciting move for all of the plants."
The Rhinelander operation has seen significant investment over the last several years. With the help of the Oneida County Economic Development Corporation and Oneida County, a new coater machine was installed in the former Printpack facility on Kemp Street, with room for more expansion at a later date. That operation was being run by a subsidiary firm, Expera Coated Products, until the sale.
Lynne Mining
On Nov. 6 voters faced a non-binding referendum question asking if the Oneida County Board should lease county property in the town of Lynne for the purpose of "metallic mineral exploration, prospecting, bulk sampling and mining." The referendum question faced a concerted grassroots opposition campaign that opposed any mining on the site.
A previous proposal for the site called for an open pit mine to be dug to harvest an estimated 5.6 million tons of recoverable metals. According to the Protect The Willow group's information, the "Lynne mineral deposit" is made up of primarily zinc sulfide ore, with significant amounts of lead and silver and minor amounts of gold and copper.
The proposed site was located within half a mile of the Willow River, which the DNR has designated as an Outstanding Resource Water. The designation means the agency has determined the waterbody warrants additional protection from the effects of pollution.
Protect the Willow held several informational meetings and mounted a campaign of yard signs to help spread the message to vote "no" at the ballot box. When the ballots were counted election evening, the nays carried the day 11,927 votes to 7,129.
School referendum
The other referendum question on the Nov. 6 ballot asked voters to authorize a new four-year $17 million school referendum starting with the 2019-20 school year on a non-recurring basis. The money will replace the current three-year $15 million referendum approved by voters in February 2016. That referendum is set to expire after the 2018-19 school year.
The annual request over the four years is $4,250,000 from the taxpayers. District administrators said the district expects to see an average deficit of $5.4 million over the next four years, but the school board opted to use savings from health insurance and the additional per student funding from the state to lower the referendum amount.
The money will only be used to maintain current programming and staffing levels and will not be used to alleviate the district's ongoing space crunch.
Voters approved the request 5,582 votes to 4,226.
#Spiritstrong
At approximately 11:22 p.m. April 26, a Spirit Air Ambulance helicopter crashed in the town of Hazelhurst, killing pilot Rico Caruso, 34, flight nurse Klint Mitchell, 30, and flight paramedic Greg Rosenthal, 43.
The crash generated a tsunami of support for the grieving families, as well as the staff at Ascension Howard Young Hospital in Minocqua where the crew was based. The support rallied around the social media hashtag #spiritstrong.
"The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind of emotion and activity as our organizations continue to provide aid and assistance to those impacted by this tragedy," Air Methods and Ascension Howard Young said in a joint statement after the crash. "The outpouring of support from our Ascension and Air Methods families, first responders and the community has been significant and greatly appreciated. We have mobilized a variety of resources for our associates across the region and throughout the country to provide the level of support needed to help those involved navigate this tragedy. As the result of this support, Ascension Wisconsin Spirit Medical Transportation has been able to resume operation of its ground units for interfacility transport. The Ascension Wisconsin Spirit Air Medical services remain grounded and we continue to work with our local EMS partners and transportation colleagues within the region to ensure patient transport needs."
The National Traffic Safety Board released a preliminary report in May that gave no indication of a possible cause for the crash. A final report has not yet been released.
Mathein resigns
Nine days after he unsuccessfully challenged Oneida County sheriff Grady Hartman in the Aug. 14 partisan primary, Oneida County Medical Examiner Larry Mathein was placed on administrative leave. The move came after county supervisor Jack Sorensen filed elections and employee conduct complaints against Mathein, alleging Mathein campaigned in the county courthouse on county time and at taxpayer expense. Mathein resigned his post Aug. 31.
In early September, it was reported that Vilas County Sheriff Joe Fath had forwarded the results of an investigation into Mathein signing a Vilas County death certificate in July to Vilas County district attorney Martha Milanowski for possible charges. Although Milanowski eventually decided not to press criminal charges, she did enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with Manhein to resolve the matter.
Mathein waged an unsuccessful write-in campaign against Hartman in the Nov. 6 election.
Crystal Schaub who had served as deputy medical examiner for Oneida and Forest counties since the spring of 2016, was appointed to the position of medical examiner in November.
Cold case murder
An over 30-year-old murder mystery may have been solved with the February arrest of Robin "Bob" Mendez in connection with the bludgeoned death of his wife Barbara at her place of employment, the former Park City Credit Union in Minocqua, the evening of April 28, 1982.
Oneida County detectives led by Captain Terri Hook took another look at the evidence that had been gathered over the years, reinterviewed witnesses and consulted with a team from the Oxygen series "Cold Justice' before presenting a detailed report to DA Michael Schiek, who filed the charge of first-degree murder.
"The daughters of Barbara Mendez proposed the idea to the Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney's Office several years ago," Hartman said following the arrest. "The Sheriff's Office reached out to 'Cold Justice' based on the daughters' request and coordinated with the Cold Justice Team to be in the area at the end of January 2018 to assist investigators. The Cold Justice Team provided fresh eyes and resources as the Sheriff's Office investigative team worked to put the case together for presentation to the District Attorney."
Hartman said the show's staff has "a lot more resources" at its disposal than his department does and it was worth the risk of working with a television show to be able to bring closure to the survivors.
"Oneida County Sheriff Grady Hartman and Oneida County District Attorney Michael Schiek would like to thank the Cold Justice Team for their assistance with the Robin Mendez case," Hook said in a press release. "Their assistance was significant in the compilation of the case for the district attorney."
The Mendez case is being heard by Marathon County judge Jill Falstad. A 12-day trial is scheduled to start April 9. Under the homicide statutes in place when the murder took place, Mendez faces life in prison if found guilty.
Welcenbach, county lawsuit resolved
A former Oneida County sheriff's detective sergeant settled a federal lawsuit against the county and Hartman in May that stemmed from an alleged sexual assault committed by former deputy Lee Lech at a training event in Madison in 2011.
Welcenbach filed the suit April 27, 2017. In her complaint, she alleged the sheriff's department illegally retaliated against her after she refused to pursue rape charges against Lech. She also claimed Hartman demanded she file a complaint about the alleged assault so he would have a basis to deny Lech a promotion.
Lech resigned after the rape allegation was brought to the sheriff's attention in August 2014 and Welcenbach was fired in September 2017 following a days-long hearing before the Oneida County Law Enforcement Grievance Committee.
Welcenbach also faced criminal charges related to alleged false entries in official records. She was charged in November 2016 with two counts of misconduct in public office in connection with alleged irregularities in the accounting of the cash the county's NORDEG (North Central Drug Enforcement Group) unit, which she led, used for undercover drug buys.
Those charges were resolved in June 2017 with a deferred prosecution agreement that required Welcenbach to reimburse the county $1,200 and take an accounting course.
On Sept. 18, 2017, Lech was charged with one count of second-degree sexual assault and one count of attempted second-degree sexual assault. However, those charges were ultimately dismissed by a Dane County judge in August despite Welcenbach's pleas that the case continue.
An ongoing review of the case after it was reassigned to another assistant district attorney led the county's district attorney, Ismael Ozanne, to drop the case. In the prosecutor's motion to dismiss, filed in Dane County on July 27, assistant district attorney Gerise LaSpisa said the state had decided it could not win the case in court.
"At this time, the state does not believe that it will be able to meet its burden at trial, proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and pursuant to its ethical obligations, moves to dismiss this case," the motion said.
In a separate statement provided to the newspaper that had been prepared originally as a victim impact statement, Welcenbach addressed Lech directly but took aim at the court and the district attorney's office.
"If the charges today are being dismissed against you, I feel that I am probably more disgusted with the justice system than I am with you," she wrote.
Ellen Tran convicted
A former Newbold woman was convicted of the first-degree reckless homicide of her toddler stepson in October following a four-day jury trial.
The jury needed just over 90 minutes of deliberations to find Ellen Tran guilty of taking the life of 20-month-old Avery Edwards, her husband's son from a former relationship. In December, she was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison followed by seven years of extended supervision.
Edwards, who lived with his mother Lori in Virginia, was in Rhinelander in April 2017 for a 30-day court-ordered visitation with his father Dr. Trung Tran, who was an internist at Ascension Saint Mary's Hospital.
Oneida County detectives began investigating after the 911 Center received a hang-up call from the Tran residence. When dispatchers made contact with Ellen Tran, she advised the boy became unresponsive after taking a shower.
At trial, electronic communications between the Trans and others showed Ellen deeply resented the boy.
During an earlier visitation, Ellen had given the young boy a Mohawk haircut without his mother's permission and the boy had some bruising that led his mother to file for a restraining order. After no abuse could be proven, the order was lifted, leading to the April visit.
Prior to sending Avery to his father, Lori Edwards took photos of his body showing he had no marks on him the day before he left. Those photos were introduced into evidence at trial and were contrasted with autopsy photos of the boy showing significant bruising.
A pathologist testified that the cause of the boy's death was blunt force trauma to the head.
At sentencing, Lori Edwards delivered a one-hour victim impact statement describing how the loss of her son has affected her and the rest of her family. Edwards said she is tormented by thoughts of what Avery must have suffered in the last weeks of his life. She said she believes Ellen deeply resented having to care for the boy and mistreated him throughout the visit.
"She broke my son before she killed him," Edwards said, citing videos of the boy taken in the days taken prior to his death. "She broke his spirit."
She also said that the killer of her child was motivated by how close in age Avery was to Ellen and Trung's own child and the perfect family she had envisioned having.
"You just wanted to hurt me, you just wanted to hurt my son," she accused. "For what, because I dated a man before you, because I had a child with the man you were now with?"
Trung Tran is charged with failure to act to prevent bodily harm to a child, a class H felony, and child neglect resulting in death, a class D felony. His next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 5. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 31 years in prison.
The Trans divorced in June.
Valliere murder
Two people have been convicted in the shooting death of a Lac du Flambeau man in the Mercer area last December and have been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Richard Allen and Joseph Lussier were convicted of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse, both as party to the crime in the shooting death of Wayne Valliere Jr., 25 of Lac du Flambeau on a rural Iron County road outside of Mercer Dec. 22, 2017.
In addition to Allen and Lussier, Evan Oungst, Curtis Wolfe and James Lussier have also been charged with participating in Valliere's murder.
"He was shot not once, not twice, not three times, not four times, not six times, not seven times, not even eight times," special prosecutor Richard Dufour told the jury in closing arguments. "He was shot nine times. How much more intentional can an act be than to shoot a man nine times? When you take a person and you leave them in the cold and snow far from anywhere ... you know that person is going to die ... there's no way that body wasn't hidden."
The jury deliberated for just two hours before returning guilty verdicts.
James Lussier accepted a plea agreement and testified against the two defendants at trial. He faces sentencing Jan. 30.
Wolfe faces a five-day jury trial May 13-17 in Iron County, while no trial date has been set in Oungst's case.
Iliopoulos charged
A 65-year-old Tomahawk man was charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child, false imprisonment and child enticement in November after a 10-year-old student at Northwoods Community Elementary School in Cassian reported a possible sexual assault.
Stavros Iliopoulos, 65, of Tomahawk, was an independently contracted employee from Victory Janitorial Inc. who worked at the school. He made his initial court appearance November 21.
According to the criminal complaint, the allegation was reported to a teacher who contacted the school resource officer. Iliopoulos is accused of intercepting the young girl as she was entering a bathroom and luring her into a janitor's closet where the crime allegedly occurred.
Iliopoulos was fired from his job with Victory Janitorial, who said he had passed the company's background checks before he was hired.
A pre-trial conference in this case is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2019.
If convicted of the charges, Iliopoulos faces up to life in prison.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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