Who says the Wisconsin Legislature and governor are bound up by partisan bickering to the point that major issues must be decided by voters in a statewide referendum to amend the constitution? I do. Rep. Gregg Underheim has a different opinion. On my WCLO radio talk show recently, Underheim argued that only the most contentious bills get media coverage while hundreds of other bills receive bipartisan support in the Republican-controlled Legislature and are signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle. [continues 549 words]
Sheriff Expects To Nab 158 People WISCONSIN RAPIDS -- The biggest drug bust in the Wood County's history should put a dent in the illegal drugs available in the area, law enforcement officials say. The Wood County Sheriff's Department, with help from other agencies, started making arrests Monday. As of Wednesday, 17 defendants had made their initial appearances in court on a wide range of drug charges. Sheriff Thomas Reichert expects the department will finish with the arrests next week and 158 people will be charged in connection with the case. [continues 657 words]
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. - Parents are reeling at news that investigators expect to charge 158 people in a Wood County drug case that allegedly included parents selling illegal drugs to their children's friends. Sue Ulrich, of Rudolph, has children in the seventh and 10th grades in the Wisconsin Rapids school system and said it was difficult to believe parents would sell drugs to children. Just as surprising to Debbie Wood was the apparent extent of the drug network in Wisconsin Rapids, where she has lived for four years since moving from Kenosha. She said she might have expected something like it in southeastern Wisconsin, but not here. [continues 339 words]
JANESVILLE -- Vicodin. OxyContin, Percocet. Morphine. Heroine. Health officials say abuse of these opiate painkillers is increasing. In the past, people seeking treatment for opiate addiction had few options. Now, a new drug takes away the craving for the opiate. And it reduces or even eliminates withdrawal symptoms. Dr. Adedapo Oduwole, who specializes in addiction psychiatry at Mercy Options, said buprenorphine is performing miracles. People have to want to stop using opiates for buprenorphine to work, Oduwole said. But those who do have rebuilt their lives. [continues 679 words]
JANESVILLE-Lisa is sure she and her husband would be dead today. If it wasn't for a new drug and the doctor who administered it, she may have overdosed. She may have frozen. Or her 88-pound frame may have wasted away. At the height of her addiction, Lisa didn't care enough to keep her three precious daughters, let alone her own health. Lisa calls the doctor who prescribed Suboxone a saint. She calls the medicine, which continues to anchor her to sane life, a miracle. [continues 1601 words]
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's story about Madison in 2031 failed to consider whether we would still have marijuana prohibition (4/7/06). In 2031, 54 years after Madison voted to legalize medical marijuana and private possession for personal use, will there be cannabis coffeeshops like in Holland? Will patients have safe access to their medicine from dispensaries? Will cannabis bloom on State Street? Or will we still be mired in a lost war that currently arrests over 750,000 Americans per year? [continues 66 words]
If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican migration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched government bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda. [continues 169 words]
Who would imagine that Rep. Gene Hahn, the conservative state representative from rural Cambria, is perhaps the biggest supporter in the Assembly of legalizing marijuana? Well, it's quite a stretch to say Hahn is a supporter of legalizing perhaps the biggest drug dogging police agencies in the United States. What he is in favor of, however, is industrial hemp, a potentially fruitful product also grown from the cannabis sativa plant. Despite hemp's potential uses, supporters say the material gets a bad reputation because of the close association the plant has with marijuana, the most notable symbol of the nation's drug culture. [continues 1099 words]
But Local Critics Call Random Screenings Costly, Ineffective A top White House drug policy official pushed educators here Tuesday to adopt random drug tests for students to combat illicit drug use. Advertisement "This is a health issue. This is a safety issue," Mary Ann Solberg, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, told attendees of the agency's final School-based Drug Testing Summit at the Hyatt Regency hotel. "We test for scoliosis. We test for other things," Solberg said. "Why is testing for drugs any different?" [continues 482 words]
Events like a "Day without Latinos" have helped mobilize opposition to proposed changes in federal immigration laws. With all due respect to those activists, may I propose a "Day without Cannabis Consumers" to demonstrate that people using cannabis are just normal people, too? If people only felt free enough to come out as cannabis consumers without fear of losing their jobs, educational access, housing and liberty, a diverse swath of society would be represented. They would be our families, neighbors and coworkers, responsibly using cannabis for personal reasons or as medicine. [continues 145 words]
This is not the first time that politics has trumped science at the Food and Drug Administration and we expect it won't be the last. On Thursday the FDA issued a statement saying marijuana "has no currently accepted or medical use" in the United States and is not an approved medical treatment. The "finding," which was based on a past review by federal drug enforcement, regulatory and research agencies is in direct opposition to the conclusions of a 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine, part of the the National Academy of Sciences. That review found that marijuana is "moderately well suited for particular conditions, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting from AIDS wasting." [continues 300 words]
3,000 In State Denied Funding, Release Shows Nearly 3,000 Wisconsin students have been denied financial aid for college under a federal law that remains controversial even as it undergoes reform. The law prohibits people who have been convicted of selling or possessing drugs from receiving Pell Grants and other forms of federal financial aid. Since 2000, it has been used to refuse assistance to more than 189,000 needy students, including 2,897 in Wisconsin, according to a state-by-state breakdown released for the first time by the U.S. Department of Education. [continues 1085 words]
The Waukesha overdose involving methadone calls for education. I have taken methadone for more than 30 years. It does not get you high; it produces no euphoria; it will only make you sleepy or dead. Most people who try drugs are very ignorant about them. The ignorant sometimes call methadone "synthetic heroin," so experimenters think it must be a good buzz. It isn't. It is very dangerous for the naive. Its full effect can take hours to appear so neophytes often take more, unaware what they've taken already may be fatal. [continues 113 words]
RACINE - Methamphetamines, huffing and other risky behaviors will be discussed at the Wednesday night Public Protection and Justice System Committee meeting at the Racine Public Library. While the highly addictive drug also known as meth has yet to appear on a wide scale in Racine County, officials hope the discussion will bring awareness to a problem other communities are struggling to contain. The topic is part of a series of presentations by the Racine County Board on emerging community issues. "They're issues that affect the teens and the students in our community," said committee Vice Chairman Mark Gleason. "We don't want to see any tragedies befall any of our [continues 360 words]
Back when Tim Schultz was in high school, drug abuse education tried to diminish the "high" that drugs offered a user, painting it as an experience that could easily go from lark to a nightmare. That has changed. When Schultz, a state drug agent, told a crowd of at least 60 people at Onalaska High School about methamphetamine, he played it straight. The high a person feels the first time using meth, he said, is unlike any other. A person high on meth feels boundless energy and feels no need to either sleep or eat. "We have a drug that's the American dream," he said. "There's no better weight-loss drug out there than methamphetamine." [continues 1213 words]
Waukesha and Brookfield Consider Ordinance Change WAUKESHA - In a twist of common practice, de-criminalizing possession of drug paraphernalia offenses would actually help local law enforcement's ability to prosecute the crimes. A state law recently enacted allows local police to themselves penalize offenders - by issuing municipal citations - instead of referring those cases to the Waukesha County District Attorney's office. The law allows Wisconsin towns, villages and cities to take over enforcement of paraphernalia offenses. With the office's staffing priorities on more pressing cases, prosecutors have generally decided to drop the charges while following through on other crimes - such as possession of marijuana - often connected to instances when citizens are caught with pipes and other tools used to do drugs. [continues 244 words]
I write in response to Susan Lampert Smith's column last Sunday on the prosecution of Susan Lampert. I am not writing to defend our decision to prosecute Lampert (no relation to the columnist) for her role in Terrance Larson's marijuana operation. In criminal cases, friends and others who are sympathetic to the defendant often object to decisions made in a case. Your columnist is entitled to her opinion. Instead, I am writing to correct the record and mischaracterizations. One premise of the columnist's opinion -- and the headline -- is that Lampert died as a result of her incarceration. The reported facts in the column, however, simply do not support that conclusion. [continues 342 words]
Addiction, Despair, Drug Dealing And Death Over the past decade, my life has occasionally intersected with another 29-year-old Madison man who shared my name, albeit with an extra "e." I never met Jaeson Shepard, but we did speak once, when I called him over problems that arose when First Federal couldn't tell us apart. He seemed like a nice guy. Over the years, I got phone calls from people who confused us. The most notable mix-up came in 2000, when I was a police reporter at The Capital Times. Thuggish-looking drug cops in street clothes appeared at my door after dark and tried to intimidate their way into my apartment. Through their blunders, they even had my neighbor and sources in the Madison Police Department thinking I was a drug dealer. [continues 1061 words]
I went to court Wednesday, April 5. I went to graduation too. Actually, I went to the Eau Claire County Drug Court's graduation of its third successful participant. It was powerful and emotional; a stellar example of how our justice system can work collaboratively with nonviolent offenders to turn their lives around. Our state spends more than $25,000 a year per inmate in our state prisons (it's a little less at the county level). It costs less than $8,000 per year for a drug court client. Imagine the savings, both financially and in human capital, not to mention the investment may well result in these individuals becoming contributing members to our society! [continues 94 words]
48 Percent Of Area Students Had Alcohol In Past 30 Days; 14.5 Percent Have Smoked Marijuana In Past 30 Days MANITOWOC -- Lincoln High School junior Mike Tyeptanar often hears stories in the halls about classmates drinking and partying on the weekends. He said too few students take drinking seriously, even though he believes they should. "I think students are too lenient with drinking," he said. "People are usually joking about how people were getting drunk at parties. I think they should take it more seriously. It's when they don't that accidents happen." [continues 717 words]
A Federal Study Finds That Wisconsin Bucks the National Trend. Underage drinking nationwide was nearly unchanged from 2002 to 2004, but increased in Wisconsin and California, according to a study released Thursday. The report by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, based on interviews of 135,500 people, is the first to document state-by-state drug and alcohol use from 2002 to 2004. It found that teen alcohol use remained basically unchanged -- from 17.67 percent in 2002 to 17.65 percent in 2004. [continues 470 words]
Waukesha - For the second time in four months, Waukesha County prosecutors have invoked the state's seldom-used Len Bias law to file a homicide charge in an overdose involving methadone. Like a case in December, the first-degree reckless homicide charge was filed Thursday after an inquest by the Waukesha County district attorney's office that found methadone was a key ingredient in a "poison cocktail," the mixing of multiple psychotropic drugs. Methadone's traditional use has been in liquid form to treat addicts in opioid programs, commonly called methadone clinics. But as it has become increasingly popular as a prescription pain killer, toxicologists across the country have seen a spike in methadone-related deaths. [continues 524 words]
Argyle -- A letter printed in your paper on March 30 castigated the official press release about the recent shootings in Lafayette County for "clouding and...mitigating the tragedy." The letter writer stated, "It is irrelevant whether the man suspected of the shooting was growing marijuana. ..." He added that such information "had no place in the facts of the incident." Yet, two paragraphs later, the letter writer informs us that "The true blame lies entirely with the real trigger puller -- the Department of Justice and its convoluted drug laws." [continues 85 words]
The city of La Crosse paid about $910,000 in overtime in 2005, with nine employees receiving more than $10,000 each and the top earner collecting almost $25,000, according to figures provided by the city. For the fourth year in a row, La Crosse police Detective Marion Byerson garnered the most overtime pay at $24,577, increasing his gross pay to $85,961 for 2005, about $5,000 less than Chief Ed Kondracki. Since 2000, Byerson has earned a total of $118,313 in overtime. [continues 244 words]
We were friends of Susan Lampert, whose tragic death in federal prison was ably reported on Sunday by State Journal columnist Susan Lampert Smith, who has a similar name but is not related. Regarding Lampert's minor role in a Columbia County marijuana operation, we were among those who wrote in vain to Judge John Shabaz to plead for leniency, in light of Lampert's minimal culpability and obvious frail health. Many of her friends doubted she would live long enough to serve out her sentence. They were proven right after a few weeks. At what point does this kind of brain-dead, rigid sentencing - especially since the conviction was quickly overturned on appeal - amount to gross misfeasance by a federal judge? It's past time for Shabaz to retire. - - Frances and Jeremy Crane Madison [end]
A woman who shared my name, Susan Lampert, died a month ago today and her death troubles me. While we met only a few times - all at the Dane County Farmers' Market - our common name bonded us and we had at least one mutual friend. I wondered if she cringed when she would see me in the newspaper, shooting off my mouth. I certainly cringed when I finally saw her in the newspaper. It was last June, when a farm near Lodi was busted as a marijuana- growing operation. Actually, I heard about it because some of my competitors at a rival news organization mistakenly (and gleefully) thought I had been busted. [continues 875 words]
As noted in recent articles published in the Wisconsin Law Journal and the La Crosse Tribune, the La Crosse County Drug Court indicates an annual financial savings of more than $1.4 million. An evaluation recently concluded by UW-La Crosse sociology professor Bill Zollweg shows the program is doing a good job of turning drug addicts into productive citizens. While dollar savings are impressive, Jane Klekamp, justice sanctions coordinator, said she is impressed with the intangible benefits of the program, stating, "There is no way to put a price on what it means to reunite families fractured by drug abuse and crime, or the impact of seeing the dramatic change in people who were once seriously addicted." [continues 150 words]
MILWAUKEE -- For years, students have used coffee, NoDoz caffeine pills and other stimulants to help them through exams, papers and other demands of college. Today, some students are taking a study aid that can be deadly. Adderall, a medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, has become popular among college students who don't have the disorder, according to students, college health officials and an emerging body of research. Adderall is an amphetamine and works like cocaine. Those who use it can stay focused and awake for hours on end. Students with prescriptions sell it or give it away. [continues 220 words]
The article "Adjusting to civilian life can be a struggle for returning GIs" on March 18 was an eye-opening look at the struggles faced by returning combat veterans. It was good to see the article acknowledge many returning vets use marijuana to help them adapt. Cannabis has long been known as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as many Vietnam vets will testify. Researchers believe cannabis helps the brain forget unpleasant memories, and one of its first medical uses was reducing stress. [continues 109 words]
Most of us have heard of the recent shooting deaths involving individuals in an attempted home invasion in rural Blanchardville. And, we also have heard the official press releases clouding, and even to some extent mitigating, this tragedy, by the deliberate mention of a marijuana growing operation in the home. It is irrelevant whether the man suspected of the shooting was growing marijuana, tomatoes or peanuts. The fact is, this informational release had no place in the facts of the incident. And certainly not in the manner in which it was released. [continues 232 words]
MONROE -- Marijuana is still the drug of choice in Green and Lafayette counties, according to local authorities. Green County Sheriff Randy Roderick describes marijuana as a "gateway" drug: People who move on to harder drugs, such as cocaine, often start with marijuana. Roderick points to a government report issued March 14, that says "research shows that regular or heavy marijuana use was associated with using a wider variety of other illicit drugs and with abuse or dependence on other illicit drugs. [continues 861 words]
Students for Sensible Drug Policy filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education last week, calling the denial of financial aid to students convicted of drug misdemeanors unconstitutional. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit on behalf of SSDP against Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, alleging a federal law cutting off financial aid to students convicted of a drug offense violates their rights under the due process clause. The complaint specifically points to the Higher Education Act Aid Elimination Provision, which denies federal student aid for one year to students convicted of possessing a controlled substance, two years for those twice convicted, and permanently for those with three or more convictions. [continues 602 words]
Regarding Joel McNally's article (March 9), and Randy Vizyak's letter (March 23) about attorney general candidate Paul Bucher's claims that fellow candidate Kathleen Falk has supported legalizing marijuana: So what? Taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol and tobacco instead of the current counterproductive prohibition would not only benefit society by offering a safer alternative to alcohol, but also bring in revenues to a cash-starved state. On the other hand, Bucher's overzealous prosecution of even medical users of marijuana as Waukesha County D.A. may have led to the 2002 suicides of Dennis and Denise Schilling. The Big Bend couple took their lives after Bucher's office decided to begin forfeiture proceedings to take the family home while prosecuting them for medical marijuana used to treat Denise's medical problems. After their suicide, Bucher's office followed through with the forfeiture, leaving little remaining for the couple's five children. So much for family values. Focusing on real problems rather than attempting to fear-monger about cannabis would be a better approach. But, since Bucher clearly has little positive to offer, his longtime fixation with marijuana prohibition comes as no surprise. Voters should take note. Gary Storck Madison [end]
Government by gimmick fails again. This time, it's drug-free school zones. Research released last week by the Justice Policy Institute showed that drug-free school zones have virtually no impact on youth drug abuse. Drug-free school zones were created by Congress in 1988, and Wisconsin passed a companion law in 1989. The laws enhanced penalties for drug offenses committed within 1,000 feet of a school, public park, youth center, swimming pool, etc. The laws are silly. The very fact that drugs are illegal makes every square inch of American soil a "drug-free" zone. Drug crimes that occur within these zones rarely involve people under 18. In Massachusetts, for example, less than 1 percent of offenses in drug-free zones involve juveniles, but the law, in effect, considers a drug deal done in Milwaukee more heinous than one conducted in a Monroe County farm field. [continues 198 words]
EDUCATION: Those who favor randomly testing students say it would help change the culture at Superior High School. The Superior school district is poised to fight the war on drugs with a new policy that would include random drug testing at Superior High School. Student reaction has been mixed. "I'm totally against it," said SHS sophomore Kamron Pittman. "I do believe it's an invasion of privacy." Caitlin Keute, a freshman, said she was not aware of any drugs at the school, "but I think it will help improve the atmosphere." [continues 450 words]
March roared in like a lion on crack. Or, it might have seemed that way to anyone paying attention to a series of high-profile drug busts early this month from Wausau to Wisconsin Rapids. In the first week of March, Marathon County authorities seized enough cocaine in the Wausau area to earn a crafty dealer a cool $28,000 in cash on the streets. They also confiscated several thousand dollars in cash they believe was related to the local drug trade. [continues 538 words]
Early last year, the nation's top court changed how federal judges set the sentences they issued. Before the Supreme Court decided United States vs. Booker, judges had to fit sentences within specific limits. Afterward, they could treat those limits as suggestions, not mandates. The switch served the cause of justice. The federal mandatory minimums led to too many unfair sentences, far out of proportion to the crime. But that imbalance didn't happen to be the reason the Supreme Court struck down the mandatory nature of the sentencing guidelines. [continues 380 words]
A drug bust in Auburndale on Feb. 22 nets $30,000 worth of marijuana and $4,000 in cash and leads to four arrests for the Wood County Sheriff's Department and Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force. On Feb. 25, the Portage County Sheriff's Department Special Response Team seizes $15,000 worth of marijuana and $1,800 in cash in the town of Grant. Two men and a woman are arrested. The following Friday, March 3, three more drug busts in the Wisconsin Rapids area lead to eight arrests and the confiscation of a small amount of drugs and paraphernalia. [continues 442 words]
At Colleges, Students Take A Deadly Risk By Abusing ADHD Drug A tough math class prompted Rich to take the drug. The effect: "I could study for, like, eight hours straight," said the University of Wisconsin-Madison junior. Samantha, a Marquette University sophomore, popped it on the eve of a big history test. "I stayed up all night," she said, "and totally zoned in." For years, students have used coffee, NoDoz caffeine pills and other stimulants to help them through exams, papers and other demands of college. [continues 1018 words]
After reading "Willie Horton Multiplied" ("Taking Liberties" by Joel McNally, March 9) I looked at some Web sites for the Wisconsin attorney general race. Paul Bucher criticizes Kathleen Falk for wanting to legalize marijuana. Unfortunately, that's not true. In a 2002 interview Falk said she was "reviewing literature on that subject." Now carry this to its logical conclusion. Let's say Falk was reviewing an essay by congressman Ron Paul, a Republican from Texas, who said the federal drug laws should be repealed so that states can make their own laws. Maybe Nevada legalizes it and Alabama doesn't. This is what happened with liquor laws after the 18th Amendment was repealed in 1933. [continues 100 words]
Over the past year, UW-Madison students acquired a reputation of engaging in heavy alcohol and drug use after being crowned the No. 1 party school by the Princeton Review and number two of the Top 10 Cannabis colleges by High Times magazine. Following the confiscation of an estimated $500,000 worth of marijuana in Blanchardville, Wis., last Thursday, Lafayette County Sheriff Scott Pedley said the area has been experiencing a general trend of increased illicit drug use. Two gun-wielding intruders, who were in their twenties, were shot and killed by the owner of the marijuana growing operation. [continues 310 words]
It must have been really good dope. As two Janesville police officers drove in the 100 block of Madison Street on Monday afternoon, they noticed a man with whom they were well acquainted teasing some dogs in a fenced yard. One of the officers, Sgt. Steve DeWitt, called the 66-year-old man by name, and he responded to the hail and walked to the squad car's passenger side. DeWitt warned him not to stick his fingers through the fence because he was teasing the dogs and could be bitten. At the same time, a woman stepped out of the house and asked the officers to stop the man from teasing the dogs. [continues 164 words]
When did law enforcement decide it's OK to withhold important safety information from the public? Thursday's shooting scene in Blanchardville is one example in recent years where police issue a routine statement that everything is "isolated" and "no suspects are at large" only to later reveal the opposite. In the Blanchardville case, police were told in the 911 call that shots were fired at a dark-colored minivan as it sped away from the shooting scene. County officers then found a scene of guns, ammo, drugs and shooting victims and then tell the public there is no danger. OK, so the person or persons in the getaway car were not yet suspects. Are we supposed to believe there was no danger to the public? Law enforcement's need to protect the investigation should not trump their obligation to warn the public. Routine statements that the public is not in any danger sound like they are coming from a public relations firm instead of the police. Stan Scharch Madison [end]
When it comes to state support for higher education, things just aren't like they used to be. We were reminded of that fact again yesterday, when the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association reported that Wisconsin experienced a 16 percent drop in higher education funding per student between 2001 and 2005. Nationally, meanwhile, state support is at a 25-year low. Although it would certainly be nice to see a greater priority be placed on education in the state and country, the data does reinforce the need for public universities to make wise decisions with their increasingly meager bankrolls -- something many institutions have struggled to achieve. [continues 723 words]
MILWAUKEE - Desperate parents dissatisfied with old-school ways of trying to tell whether their kids are doing drugs - rifling through their drawers, smelling their breath, searching their eyes - are now instead demanding proof. They're dragging their teens to drug-testing labs and buying home-testing kits by the case over the Internet. "I tell my daughter if you want to go out tonight you're going to pee in a cup first," said Suzanne Fugarino, whose 17-year-old daughter was expelled from high school last fall after bringing a crack pipe to school. [continues 891 words]
The investigation into three shooting deaths in rural Blanchardville expanded over the weekend to include two drug arrests in Green County and the discovery of a large, "extremely concealed" indoor marijuana cultivation effort. The marijuana operation - "several hundred live plants" - was discovered on the property off Highway N, west of Blanchardville, where Bradley Fandrich shot and killed two armed intruders and himself Thursday morning, said Lafayette County Sheriff Scott Pedley. State investigators joined a special State Line Area Narcotics Team to execute search warrants at the property Saturday night. They found the plants, estimated to have a value of $450,00 to $500,000, in an undisclosed area equipped with cultivation equipment, video cameras and weapons. [continues 673 words]
Three Died at Rural Lafayette County Home Lafayette County authorities have uncovered an elaborate marijuana-growing operation at the home of a man who shot two intruders to death last week, then killed himself in front of officers. Lafayette County Sheriff Scott Pedley said today that a search of the home of Bradley Fandrich Saturday revealed an "extremely concealed" area that was equipped with indoor growing equipment, perimeter surveillance equipment and firearms. Live marijuana plants found growing at the scene were estimated to have a street value of between $450,000 and $500,000. [continues 494 words]
But Brown County Database Isn't Complete Picture of Issue, Experts Say Race can be a significant factor in the type and degree of drug-related arrests in Brown County, according to a Green Bay Press-Gazette review of about 5 1/2 years of arrest data. But experts at the law enforcement and community level caution that the matter is far more complicated - also involving factors like income and gangs - than the divisive political issue it has become in the community. [continues 2269 words]
I am really troubled after reading the story of the recent Marathon County drug bust following a high-speed chase. Thank God that no private citizens were injured during the because if they were, the Marathon County Sheriff's Department would have to take on a good share of the blame. I appreciate the hard work they do to keep drugs out of our community, but why in the world would you set up a bust in a busy community center like the parking lot of a grocery store? What if something had gone wrong -- like shots fired or in this case a high speed chase during heavy traffic? [continues 81 words]
Inside Wisconsin
