n r u b h s Wa unty Co
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I N SI DE
Burglary charges reduced
Wednesday, January 6, 2010 Vol. 120, No. 20• Shell Lake, Wisconsin
75¢
Santa’s day off
Spooner man gets jail time
Next Director of Fandemonium? See page 14
by Regan Kohler SHELL LAKE – A Spooner man originally charged with 20 counts of burglary, theft and property damage was sentenced to jail for three counts Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009, at the Washburn County Courthouse. Joshua E. Wallace, 20, Spooner, had been charged with two other men for crimes occurring from early June until late July, 2009, in Crystal, Bass Lake and Stone Lake. According to the report, the sheriff’s department received multiple complaints of burglary from six home and cabin owners near Potato Lake. Items stolen included firearms, electronic and stereo equipment, power and hand tools, sporting goods, alcohol and other miscellaneous property, while vandalism occurred to the buildings. The damage and value of the stolen items were both estimated at around several thousands of dollars. One of the homeowners personally investigated the incidents and uncovered
See Burglaries, page 3
Santa parked his sled and gave his reindeer a rest as he arrived on a snowmobile for his last appearance of the year at the AAA Sport Youth Fishing event on Spooner Lake. More photos on back page. — Photo by Larry Samson
Adult entertainment still possible
Year in Review Part II See page 2
Nordic ski races See page 14
by Regan Kohler SPOONER – The Spooner Plan Commission is continuing work on finding an outlet for adult entertainment facilities, after a meeting Tuesday, Dec. 29, in city hall. The city began working on potential zoning changes after Kip Olson, owner of Moe’s Place on Walnut Street, told the city council he planned to start having topless dancers at the tavern, to bring in more business. However, the city ordinance prevents liquor-licensed establishments from nudity or acts simulating sex, and cites the potential for secondary effects such as prostitution or crime. There is a Supreme Court ruling that nudity, and therefore exotic dancing, is a form of free speech and cannot be banned outright, as per the First Amendment. Performance arts centers are exempt from this part of the ordinance, allowing nudity, and Olson had tried to denote his business as such, but was told by the council he hadn’t gone the proper route. In response to the ordinance’s prohibition of nude dancing, Olson began looking into having bikini dancing, where the dancers would be wearing beach-approved bikinis. The plan commission began working on ways to find a proper area within the city that could allow and regulate exotic dancing, without banning it and violating the First Amendment. The commission also began studying secondary effects of strip clubs in other towns, and received opinions from two attorneys, who suggested amending the zoning ordinance on adult entertainment.
At previous commission meetings, it was suggested that the city prohibit exotic dancing in all zones except for those classified as industrial, and that it could be a conditional use, in which a permit is needed. However, the commission was told that they would have to come up with specific standards for conditional uses in nude dancing. A new zoning classification was also suggested, though this could take a considerable amount of time, according to the city administrator. A public hearing was held in early December, in which many citizens and downtown business owners expressed opinions on nude dancing; the majority was against strip clubs in Spooner, though some people suggested areas other than downtown. Since then, the city has been looking at areas in which adult entertainment facilities could exist, without close proximity to residences, schools, churches or government centers. One place suggested Tuesday night was west of the fairgrounds, near a sewage treatment plant. City attorney Jeff Kohler provided the commission with examples of other cities’ and states’ conditional uses for adult entertainment. Kohler said it seemed the commission was leaning toward creating a special district for adult entertainment, which “should just permit it,” without going through conditional uses. Kohler said that the other attorney commented that the city needs to be really careful, as it doesn’t want a “zone of impossibility” for anything else looking to locate in such an area.
The commission discussed distances and setbacks from residences, schools or government facilities, with 300 feet minimum, or the length of a city block, being suggested. Kohler told the commission that if they created a special zone, they needed to make sure spacing requirements would not be impossible to meet. City Council Alderperson Esa Everroad said, “Three hundred feet doesn’t seem like enough.” The liquor ordinance would not change, so any adult entertainment establishment would not allow alcohol. Commission member Fred Schluter said that he wanted to see a designated area for adult entertainment, without conditional uses. “Fortunately in the city, we do have one such area … down on Beaverbrook Avenue,” he said, referring to the aforementioned area. Going into industrial areas and saying there would only be a 300-foot setback would make complicated boundary lines, Schluter added. He also said that if the city designates a piece of land for such a use, it would behoove them to use this property for that use only. The commission will be exploring setbacks at its next meeting, which was set for Tuesday, Jan. 26, and it was suggested that the commissioners visit the proposed area beforehand. “We want to make sure we’re researching this as thorough as possible,” Mayor Gary Cuskey said.
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