A sentencing hearing for a Portage woman charged with reckless homicide overflowed with emotional testimony, culminating in a decision in which the judge lamented the court being ill-equipped to deal with such cases in the absence of a drug treatment court. [name1 redacted], 27, of Portage, was accused of first-degree reckless homicide as a party to a crime in connection with the August death of [name2 redacted], 27, of Lodi. The Columbia County Sheriff's Office responded Aug. 18 to a Lodi-area home for a death investigation. [continues 885 words]
I am discouraged with our legislators in office. When a representative or senator takes office, he or she is elected to serve us and speak in our stead. As a doctor is required to take continuing educational classes to stay up to date on new discoveries in medicine, our legislators need to do the same. With polls showing a majority of Americans supporting legalization of cannabis, and with 83 percent support for allowing medical marijuana, state legislators are increasingly realizing the public supports marijuana policy reforms. [continues 189 words]
Internet crimes, the advent of methamphetamine, the use of DNA analysis and surveillance systems and other changes in law and society have led to more work for Wisconsin's prosecutors, the district attorneys in Columbia and Marquette counties say, but the number of assistant district attorneys in the state has not increased accordingly. Columbia County District Attorney Jane Kohlwey said her office doesn't have the staff it needs to prosecute offenders under new laws and sentencing guidelines enacted by the state Legislature, adding that while caseloads haven't changed much since 1993, the severity of crimes and potential sentences have risen dramatically. [continues 1131 words]
Emotions ran high Friday as Nicholas Pulver was sentenced to serve two years in prison and two years on extended supervision followed by two more years of probation for crossing the center line on Highway 22 and causing an accident that killed Markesan resident Lee Grams in 2004. More than 50 family members from the Grams and Pulver families were present for the sentencing and tears were shed on both sides. Pulver addressed Grams' family for the first time shortly before the sentence was handed down by Judge Daniel George. [continues 894 words]
A Wisconsin Dells man was sentenced Friday to serve 60 days in jail and four years of probation Friday for delivering marijuana to an undercover Wisconsin Dells police officer last year. Nathan Beal, 31, was arrested July 12 and charged with delivery of marijuana, maintaining a drug trafficking place and delivery of drug paraphernalia. He pleaded no contest to the delivery charge Friday. As part of the plea agreement, the other charges were dismissed. He also was ordered to pay $539 in fines. [continues 220 words]
Convicted drug dealers should not be eligible to receive student financial aid from the state, according to state Rep. Eugene Hahn, R-Cambria, who sponsored a bill being considered by the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities this week. The bill, which mirrors a federal law on federal aid, would prevent a college student convicted of possessing drugs with the intent to sell ineligible for state, loan or work assistance. The restriction would be lifted after a two-year suspension or if the student completes a drug rehabilitation program. [continues 370 words]
The undercover police officer whose work was instrumental in the Aug. 10 arrests of 14 adults and 8 juveniles charged with dealing drugs is stepping out of his disguise. Officer Wayne Thomas, a 2005 graduate of Pardeeville High School, was studying criminal justice at Madison Area Technical College in Madison when the Wisconsin Dells Police Department recruited him for the undercover work. 'We just interviewed him and talked to him and thought that he was young enough," said Wisconsin Dells Police Chief Bret Anderson. [continues 707 words]
As a heated campaign for Columbia County sheriff approaches its final month, the campaign of Dennis Richards is questioning some campaign tactics targeting his candidacy. But the campaign doesn't know who it is carrying them out. And beyond the fliers of an anonymous group calling itself Concerned Citizens of Columbia County, Richards campaign manager Steve Sarbacker said the campaign is also skeptical about the structure in place for them to seek any remedy. If there is illegal campaigning afoot, "we don't think we'd get any enforcement of it - timely enforcement," Sarbacker said Monday. [continues 881 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]
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]
Although it's a potentially much more dangerous drug, with the potential to cause heart and kidney failure, the penalties for possessing the "club drug" ecstasy are lower than those for first-offense possession of marijuana. Rep. Gene Hahn, R-Cambria, introduced a bill Tuesday that would change that. Under his proposal, possessing the stimulant synthetic drug could land an offender in jail for up to a year and net a fine of up to $5,000. A second drug-related conviction, including those for ecstasy, could land a 3 1/2-year prison term and a $10,000 fine. [continues 360 words]
MADISON -- A federal judge handed down prison sentences Thursday against two Lodi-area residents found in June 2005 with around 200 live marijuana plants, and a third co-defendant is now also facing charges after a federal grand jury handed down an indictment against him Jan. 4. But a defense attorney in the case says the federal system, particularly in the Western District of Wisconsin, is unfair and landed his client an unduly large prison sentence. U.S. District Judge John C. Shabaz sentenced Terrance Larson, 54, and Susan Lampert, 57, to 80 months and 26 months in federal prison without parole, respectively, for guilty pleas the two entered Nov. 7. According to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Larson's sentence was larger than Lampert's because Larson was allegedly organizing the sales of up to 400 kilograms of marijuana out of his Koltes Road residence in the town of Lodi. Lampert also had no criminal history, according to the statement. [continues 483 words]
Thanks to a federal grant drying up, Columbia County's 2006 drug enforcement and education budget will be cut by one-third, Sheriff Steven Rowe announced this week. Now comes the process of trying to figure out how to avoid a slackening in actual enforcement efforts. Rowe approached the county Finance Committee with the news Thursday. Members recommended the Sheriff's Department carry out enforcement and education somewhat conservatively if possible and keep the committee apprised of the drug enforcement budget as the year progresses. [continues 586 words]
On Oct. 11, Rep. Gregg Underheim introduced a medical marijuana bill to establish a medical necessity defense to medical marijuana related prosecutions. Considering that a recent poll conducted by Chamberlain Research Consultants showed more than 4-1 support for medical marijuana in Wisconsin, statewide 75.7 percent of Wisconsin residents support Rep. Underheim's bill, it's about time for something like this to go through in Wisconsin. The poll even showed broad support among all age groups and across the political spectrum. [continues 195 words]
Testimony continued Friday in Columbia County court in a hearing for Nicholas M. Pulver, 21, who is charged with vehicular homicide while having a controlled substance in his blood. Pulver's attorney, Rose Yanke, had filed a motion in March to suppress statements and other evidence "seized in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights." Testimony in the case centered around Pulver's condition immediately after a 2004 accident in which Lee Grams was killed. Pulver had broken his arm in the accident caused by his vehicle crossing over the centerline and running into Grams' vehicle. [continues 347 words]
A bill awaiting Gov. Jim Doyle's signature could make buying your favorite cold medicine a little more difficult the next time you suffer from the sniffles. The state Senate and Assembly this month approved the bill, which would prohibit retailers from selling cold- and allergy-fighting tablets containing pseudoephedrine over the counter. Lawmakers' aim is to restrict methamphetamine production by limiting meth makers' access to pseudoephedrine, one of the drug's active ingredients. This Wisconsin Grocers Association lobbied against the legislation, arguing that putting all tablet sales in pharmacists' hands would hurt grocers' sales and restrict consumers' access to medication. [continues 442 words]
The use and sale of drugs in Portage is on the rise and the dog leading the pack is crack cocaine. "We've seen a large increase in the usage and sales," Detective Dan Pionke of the Portage Police Department said. The Portage Police Department reported making 110 drug arrests between May 1, 2003, and May 1, 2004, in Portage. Between 2004 and the present, the number has increased 36 percent, to 150 In the past year, seizures of crack - an unprocessed form of cocaine that gets its name from the crackling sound it makes when heated - has grown exponentially. In previous years, the amount of crack retrieved during arrests in Portage totaled only a few grams. In 2004, city police confiscated several ounces of the drug. [continues 946 words]
