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]
The stepson of Mayor John Medinger pleaded guilty to two drug-related charges and was sentenced Wednesday in La Crosse County Circuit Court. In a negotiated plea agreement, Justin Baumgartner pleaded guilty to being a party to the crime of warehousing a controlled substance, a felony, and possession of marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school, a misdemeanor. He also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, also a misdemeanor. Under the agreement, no conviction was entered on the felony charge, and the charge will not go on his record if he successfully completes the two years probation he was given by Circuit Court Judge Michael Mulroy. [continues 295 words]
La Crosse County Circuit Court Judge John Perlich presided over a landmark case Friday. Although the small-time drug dealing case in itself might not be earth-shaking, Perlich's sentence signaled a looming change in how many drug-related cases will be handled. In the case of the State of Wisconsin vs. Michael A. Savage, Perlich sentenced Savage to drug court. Savage was the first defendant to be officially sentenced to drug court, which starts on a trial basis Jan. 10, 2002, with 10 participants. If the circuit court gets the federal grant money it is seeking - up to $170,000 - the drug court program could handle as many as 100 participants, said Todd Bjerke, the assistant district attorney who has been prosecuting drug-related crimes for 10 years. [continues 871 words]
Three La Crosse men, including the mayor's stepson, face drug-related charges after an investigation into marijuana trafficking, police said. The investigation included a search of the mayor's home, where marijuana was found in a teen's bedroom. The three men - Justin Chrudimsky, 22; Joseph Danalis, 21; and Justin Baumgartner, 25, Mayor John Medinger's stepson - are roommates at 1603 Market St. Chrudimsky and Danalis were arrested Wednesday after police, executing a search warrant at the Market Street house, found a small amount of marijuana, several bongs, numerous plastic bags, each containing some amounts of marijuana residue, and two postal hand scales. [continues 573 words]
A second La Crosse Common Council committee has backed keeping a Ten Commandments monument in Cameron Park. The Judiciary and Administration Committee voted unanimously to deny a request by the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation to remove the stone marker erected in 1965. The vote came after a 35-minute public hearing, during which four people spoke for removal of the monument and 10 spoke for keeping it. About 30 people came to City Hall for the issue, most to support having the monument stay in the park. [continues 679 words]
