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VILAS COUNTY
NEWS-REVIEW
Wisconsin Newspaper Association 2012 Large Weekly Division
EAGLE RIVER, WI 54521 • (715) 479-4421 • vcnewsreview.com
VOL. 127, NO. 43
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WEDNESDAY, JAN. 9, 2013
Three Lakes sets hearing on first ATV route plan ___________ BY ANTHONY DREW NEWS-REVIEW ASST. EDITOR
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The Three Lakes Plan Commission and Town Board of Supervisors will hold a joint public input meeting to discuss a proposed all-terrain vehicle (ATV) route on town roads Thursday, Jan. 17, at 5:30 p.m. at the Three Lakes Community Building. The meeting will give the public an opportunity to share comments and to learn more about the proposal, which was presented at the Plan Commission’s Dec. 13 meeting by the newly formed Three Lakes Nicolet ATV Club. This marks the first time Three Lakes has pursued an ATV route in town, although Oneida County already has approximately 131 miles of established routes for ATV users between its Enterprise
and Lynn-Little Rice trails. Club President Lisa Kwaterski said the idea for Three Lakes is to connect to the Forest County ATV trail system using only town roads. “We want to give ATV users access to other areas and allow Forest County people to come to our town, which will connect them to all our local businesses, including gas stations and restaurants,” she said. “We want something that is wellorganized and we want to do this safely.” The potential route, which likely would link to Forest County in the Hiles region, also would serve as a utility vehicle and equestrian route. According to club officials, the first option for the route would be to take Highway X
A public input meeting will be held to discuss a proposed ATV route in the town of Three Lakes. —STAFF PHOTO
to Reed Road and then to Sam Campbell Road. Then the route would work its way around the west and north side of Four Mile Lake to get to Old Military Road before connecting with Military Road and working its way east into Forest County.
A second option could see ATV users using Highway X to Dam Road and then to Nine Mile Road, said club officials. The route would then link with Military Road and work its way east. The proposal has been in the works for some time, although the club didn’t officially form until October. “We’ve been working on this for many months, and we’ve really thought it through,” said Kwaterski. “We’ve developed flyers with a ton of information which address many of the issues we know people are going to be asking about,” she said. “We’re putting those at all the local businesses; that way people can contact us.” The club will have a large detailed map available at the meeting, along with smaller maps to hand out, according To ATV, Pg. 2
KEEPING WATCH — The branches of a mighty oak hold a watchful eagle on the hunt. —Staff Photo By KURT KRUEGER
Wang sentenced to 3 years’ prison Former teacher possessed child porn in classroom ___________ BY KEN ANDERSON NEWS CORRESPONDENT
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FRIGID FUNDRAISER — A pair of plungers connected with bitterly cold water at Saturday’s Polar Bear Plunge on Big St. Germain
Illinois woman dies in snowmobile crash A 40-year-old Morton, Ill., woman died as a result of a snowmobile accident in St. Germain on Dec. 31, according to authorities. Kathlene M. Seltveit died in the New Year’s Eve crash. It was the first fatality for Vilas County of the 2012-’13 snowmobile season. The Vilas County Sheriff’s Department received a call of a snowmobile crash about 7:19 p.m., reporting that a female sledder rolled down an embankment. Vilas County Sheriff’s deputies and St. Germain rescue personnel responded to the crash scene.
The female victim received cardio-pulmonary resuscitation at the scene and was subsequently transported to Howard Young Medical Center in Woodruff, where she was pronounced dead. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Vilas County Sheriff’s Department investigated the crash scene and determined the female was the operator of the snowmobile, with no passengers. She apparently failed to negotiate To FATALITY, Pg. 2
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Pines girls get big GNC win n The Eagles defeated Medford 65-51 to remain undefeated in conference play. Pg. 9
Lake. Raising $25,023 for Angel On My Shoulder, 104 people pledged and plunged. —Staff Photo By ANTHONY DREW
Former Northland Pines School District teacher Michael Wang was sentenced to three years in state prison followed by five years of extended supervision on possession of child pornography charges during a long sentencing in Vilas County Circuit Court last week. Wang, 47, had entered guilty pleas to two counts of possession of child pornography last November, while eight similar counts were dismissed but were read in at sentencing. He was suspended from his teaching position in the spring of 2011 and later resigned. Northland Pines District Administrator Mike Richie was in the courtroom for the sentencing hearing and issued the following statement after the sentence was handed down. “The sentence of Mike Wang will bring some closure to this terrible situation,” said Richie. “What makes this crime so offensive is that the offender was a teacher
and he should have been trusted by students, parents and the community. There are no excuses for his actions. “The sentence he reWANG ceived sends a message loud and clear that child pornography in any form will not and should not be tolerated by society,” said Richie. “It is our job as educators to keep our students and children safe.” Two flash drives located in Wang’s classroom in the Northland Pines Middle School displayed child pornography images, according to special prosecutor Assistant Attorney General David Maas. “On one flash drive there were 111 images of child pornography and nine videos To WANG, Pg. 2
Countdown to the 50th Derby Popular Vintage racing set this weekend ___________ BY GARY RIDDERBUSCH NEWS-REVIEW EDITOR
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The famed Derby racetrack will get a three-day vintage racing warm-up starting this Friday, Jan. 11, a prelude to the 50th anniversary AMSOIL World Championship Snowmobile Derby Jan. 17-20. Buzzing the ice oval in more than 40 racing classes will be the sleds of yesteryear, going by names such as Rupp, Blizzard, El Tigre, Starfire, SnowTwister, SnoJet, Thunderjet, Viking and Chaparral. It is the 12th year that vintage racing will officially kick off Derby-related racing in what track owner Chuck Decker calls, “the first weekend of the Derby.” “We expect another record number of entries this year,” said Decker Monday morning, noting the track is ready for several hundred races. “The track is awesome,”
said Decker. “We have had enough cold to build plenty of ice for Vintage weekend and the Derby. We have more than we need already.” The official name of the event this year is the 2013 Classic Vintage Snowmobile Championship, presented by Woody’s, a fifthyear sponsor and a wellknown name in racing. Racing will begin Friday with head-to-head competition in dozens of classes. Practice runs will be an option Thursday, Jan. 10, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Gates open at 8 a.m. and racing will start at 9:30 a.m. all three days. There were a record 1,040 entries in 2012 and due to the number of entries this year, Decker said it’s likely the action on the ice oval will go into the evening hours Friday. He
A record number of Vintage entries are expected this weekend at the AMSOIL Derby Track. —STAFF PHOTO
predicted racing will last until 8 or 9 p.m. Friday. There will be another full day of racing Saturday,
starting at 9:30 a.m. and lasting until about 4:30 p.m., with plenty of time To VINTAGE, Pg. 2
2
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 9, 2013
VILAS COUNTY NEWS-REVIEW/THE THREE LAKES NEWS
WEATHER CORNER
NEWS
Note: Precipitation amounts are recorded at 8 a.m. for the previous 24 hours.
LAST SEVEN DAYS Hi Lo Prec. Wed., Jan. 2.............22 3 Tr.S Thurs., Jan. 3..........23 15 Tr.S Fri., Jan. 4...............32 8 None Sat., Jan. 5...............32 6 None Sun., Jan. 6..............26 6 Tr.S Mon., Jan. 7 .............32 9 None Tues., Jan. 8.............35 8 None
ONE YEAR AGO Hi Mon., Jan. 2...............15 Tues., Jan. 3 ..............17 Wed., Jan. 4 ..............29 Thurs, Jan. 5 .............38 Fri., Jan. 6..................34 Sat., Jan. 7 ................29 Sun., Jan. 8 ...............38
Lo 0 –8 –4 11 17 27 22
Prec. 1”S Tr.S None None None None None
LAST YEAR
The average daily high at this time last year for the next seven days was 28, while the average overnight low was 11. There was snow on three days with a total accuulation of 7 inches.
COMPARISON
Days precipitation recorded since Jan. 1, 2013, 3 days; 2012, 3 days. Average high of past 30 days, 2012, 27; 2011, 30. Average low of past 30 days, 2012, 11; 2011, 14.
SNOW CONDITIONS
Due to a lack of snow, ’’11-’12 ’12-’13 snowmobile trails remain 23 35 in poor to fair conditions Snowy days Inches to date 23.24 11.80 across most of Vilas and Ground cover 6" 5" Oneida counties. Crosscountry ski trails in the Phelps area are in good shape.
STREAMS AND LAKES
With 8 to 10 inches of ice on most lakes, anglers are driving snowmobiles and ATVs on most lakes. Snowmobilers are reminded to stay away from channels on the Chain.
OUTLOOK
Wednesday will be mostly sunny and breezy, with a high of 31 and a low of 23. Thursday should be a mostly sunny day with freezing rain likely at night, with a high of 35 and a low of 12. Friday is expected to be cloudy with a slight chance of light rain and snow, with a high of 35 and a low of 29. Saturday mostly cloudy skies are in the forecast with a chance for light snow and cooling off, with a high of 30 and a low of 27. Sunday look for partly to mostly cloudy skies with a chance for light snow, with a high of 21 and a low of 10.
(PORTIONS OF THE WEATHER CORNER ARE THROUGH THE COURTESY OF KEVIN BREWSTER, EAGLE RIVER and NEWSWATCH 12 METEOROLOGIST.)
Due to lack of ice, castle won’t be built ___________ BY GARY RIDDERBUSCH NEWS-REVIEW EDITOR
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Due to a lack of ice on Silver Lake, the construction of the annual Eagle River ice castle has been scrapped for the second straight year, according to Fire Chief Pat Weber of the Eagle River Area Fire Department. “We are just running out of time,” said Weber on Monday. “With the snowmobile Derby coming up the next two weekends and volunteers working those events, we just won’t have the manpower.” Weber said the ice thickness hasn’t changed much the past week on Silver Lake, where department personnel and other volunteers traditionally cut about 3,000 blocks of ice from the lake. He said volunteers shoveled snow off the ice in that portion of Silver Lake where firefighters would score and cut the ice, but ice development has been slow due to mild temperatures for January. “There are a little over 8 inches out there and ideally we would like 12 to 13 inches so we can shave the blocks to a uniform size,” he said. The department usually builds the castle the week
Fatality: a curve and subsequently traveled off the trail and down an embankment. As the snowmobile traveled down the embankment, the snowmobile rolled over the victim several times, according to Capt. Russ Kennedy. “It is believed the weight of the snowmobile on top of the victim may have caused internal injuries to the victim,” said Kennedy. “Alcohol is suspected as being a contributing factor in the crash which is still under investigation.” In another snowmobilerelated incident, a snowmobiler broke through the ice on
ATV:
between Christmas and New Year’s, but a lack of ice and warm temperatures delayed the project — leaving it in the hands of Mother Nature. The last time there was an ice castle was in 2011. “We just have no control over it,” said Weber. “The weather is beyond our control. There wasn’t much snow out there, but we never got the real cold weather to make a lot of ice.” Weber said the fire department will be shifting its attention to the annual Labatt Blue USA Hockey National Pond Hockey Championship scheduled for Feb. 8-10 on Dollar Lake. “There are about 9 inches of ice on Dollar Lake and there’s not much snow out there either, so hopefully more ice will develop between now and then,” said Weber. The fire department and other volunteers will be constructing 28 rinks on Dollar Lake, as well as placing tents on the ice for warming and changing rooms, registration and concessions. If there is enough ice, the lake also will be used for vehicle parking.
FROM PAGE 1 the channel between Duck and Lynx lakes on the Eagle River Chain of Lakes Monday, Dec. 31, about noon. According to witnesses, several people with rental sleds who were staying at Wild Eagle Lodge were snowmobiling near the channel and one sledder broke through the thin ice. The man was able to get out of the water. The Vilas County Sheriff’s Department, Eagle River Area Fire Department and Ministry Eagle River Memorial Hospital Ambulance responded to the scene.
FROM PAGE 1
to Kwaterski. Those unable to attend the meeting will be able to view information on the route at townofthreelakes.com. The Plan Commission will accept written comments
that include name and address to Town of Three Lakes Office-ATV Comment, P.O. Box 565, Three Lakes, WI 54562 or atvcomments@ townofthreelakes.com. The deadline for written comments is Sunday, Feb. 10.
Vintage: 50th Derby to have $150,000 purse FROM PAGE 1 before the Green Bay Packers play-off game at 7 p.m., noted Decker. He said racers for the Vintage weekend will come from as far away as New York, Maine, Vermont, Oregon and Washington, drawing more out-of-state racers than for the regular Derby. “Many of the racers will bring several sleds and compete in more than one class,” said Decker. “They come from coast to coast.” Decker said racers will compete for cash prizes, “Eagle” trophies, Coldwave jackets and contingency prizes in some classes provided by sponsors. The Vintage world championship qualifying will start at 1 p.m. Saturday and the final is scheduled at 3 p.m. Sunday. Last year’s Vintage world champion was Todd Krikke of Gobles, Mich., on a 1973 Arctic Cat EXT. After racing Sunday, an awards presentation is planned in The Loft at the Derby Expo Hall. “We will have televisions on in the Expo hall, so people can watch the NFL play-off games Sunday,” said Decker. Admission will be $20 each day or $40 for a three-day pass, saving $20. Decker said the hot seats will be open. A three-day pass for the hot seats is available for $120, which includes admission. “That’s a good deal for the race fan. They can watch the races all three days and be inside where it is warm. All for $120,” said Decker. “In addition, all of our suites on the south end of the track have been sold out to race teams and sponsors. Just two suites on the north end are still open.” The 50th Derby By next Wednesday, all of
cockpit style frames and steering wheels,” said Decker. There will be another full day of racing and other Derby activities Friday, Jan. 18. leading up to Friday Night Thunder. Saturday will bring both class finals and qualifying in the morning, with the entire afternoon dedicated to qualifying the top finalists for Sunday’s World Championship event.
Hard-charging Sno-Cross racers will compete at the 50th anniversary Derby Jan. 17-20. —STAFF PHOTO
the major Oval and Sno-Cross race teams will have their trailers lined up around the Derby grounds, ready for the 50th running of the “Indy 500” of snowmobile racing. Derby officials said they will repeat last year’s split championship in which a midrace champion is named in the title race. Other race highlights include the TLR Cup Sweet Sixteen Pole Position event during Friday Night Thunder, where the winner from the 16 fastest qualifiers will become the first qualifier in the Top 10 and the pole sitter for Sunday’s world title race. After a fireworks display, Friday Night Thunder’s race schedule also will include racing in four Sno-Cross races, plus the following Oval events: Outlaw 600, Semi-Pro Champ, 340 Super Mod, Formula 500 and Junior Sprint I. “We also plan on having the motorcycles come out to entertain the spectators during Friday Night Thunder,” said Decker.
The rest of the top 10 who will make the front row for Sunday’s 30-lap World Championship will be determined through the traditional heats, quarterfinals and semifinals Saturday afternoon in some of the best racing of the weekend. Decker said racers will shoot for the honor of winning at the first and biggest event in snowmobile racing history, as well as more than $150,000 in cash and prizes. “The championship race features a record $60,000 purse, with $50,000 coming from Jimmy John’s gourmet sandwiches and $10,000 from the AMSOIL Derby Track,” said Decker. The Derby will kick off Thursday, Jan. 17, with allday practice sessions for both Oval and Sno-Cross racers. Time trials for the Oval world championship class and Outlaw 600 class will be run under the lights. “The Outlaw 600 class features the sleds introduced at last year’s Derby with open
Championship day All the past champions and queens have been invited to the 50th anniversary Derby and will be part of the festivities during the four days, including Championship Day Sunday, Jan. 20. World champions will be crowned in two dozen of the most competitive professional classes in snowmobile Oval and Sno-Cross racing. Featured events starting at noon Sunday include the Pro Lite main and Pro Open last chance qualifier in SnoCross, the Outlaw 600 final, the last-chance qualifier race for the back row in the title class and the Pro Open SnoCross championship at 2 p.m. The 50th Derby will climax at 3 p.m. when the best Oval racers in the world will stage on the starting line across the ice oval. For the third straight year, the title race will have a split format and will have a mandatory five-minute pit stop on the front straight after 10 laps. Jimmy John’s is putting up another $10,000 for the midrace leaders, with $5,000 going to first, $3,000 to second and $1,000 each for third and fourth. The best racers in snowmobiling will attempt to match the feat of Nick Van Strydonk of Tomahawk, who won the 2012 World Championship, his first, on a Polaris.
Wang: state sought six-year prison sentence FROM PAGE 1 of child pornography,” Maas divulged. “With the images on the second flash drive, there were a total of 140 pictures and nine videos.” Although Maas said even one image is one too many, in his experience the 140 images is “probably at the lower end of child pornography cases.” Maas went on to tell the court the videos depicted sexual acts of children as young as 4 or 5 years old. “These are not children posing, but children being raped by adults and recorded by other adults,” Maas said. “These children’s lives are permanently altered by this activity and each time a person looks at these images, the child is victimized.” Additionally, Maas said chat room activity was being done while Wang was in his classroom and it was determined one particular girl was age 14 and lived in Maryland. “Authorities were able to track this girl down from background images and were able to identify her and her age at 14,” Maas said, telling the court the sentence needed to be more than the threeyear minimum initial confinement. “We are asking for six to seven years initial confinement, followed by seven to eight years of extended supervision,” said Maas. “There is a need for therapy, rehabilitation and treatment, and this can be obtained while incarcerated.” Defense Attorney Jean Kies suggested the court could find for a lesser sentence than the three-year minimum and that Wang presented a low risk to reoffend. “There was no distribution to other users and it was not intended to be,” Kies told the court. “He came forward and pled guilty and he told the court he accepted responsibility.” Two persons appeared as character witnesses for Wang. His current employer, the owner of a Subway in Florence where Wang currently works, said he and Wang have talked a lot about his situation, and “putting him away is not a good thing.”
The Rev. Bill Trosien, pastor at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Eagle River, said he has supervised visits with Wang and his daughter and he “has shown incredible remorse.” Kies said Wang was working a second job in a Michigan call center and has been accepted to enroll in Bay College, arguing the best place for him would be in the community with sex offender treatment and work release. For his part, Wang told Vilas County Circuit Judge Neal A. Nielsen III he took full responsibility, apologizing to Northland Pines staff, students and administration, the victims of child pornography, his family and friends. “I have shamed each of them and myself and am truly sorry,” Wang said. “My hope is I accept the court’s punishment and hope I can continue to rebuild my life and speak out to other offenders. I’m ashamed with what I’ve done and the trauma I’ve caused the community.” Nielsen’s sentence Judge Nielsen said that once the charges were brought against Wang, every family in the community would have been asking questions and would have told law enforcement if there would have been any related activities during Wang’s 20 years in the area. “This court is operating on the assumption that information of that nature does not exist,” Nielsen started out saying, adding “that no previous record does not provide a pass.” The judge told Wang the court needed to craft a sentence that protected the community, provided punishment as a deterrent, and provided for rehabilitation, and “I have a very difficult time doing that in this case,” said Nielsen. “There needs to be an appropriate punishment to acknowledge the seriousness of the offense and rehabilitation to allow him to phase in a potential life that will be positive to him and his family,” said Nielsen. “I agree with and share the passion in which he (Maas) said it. It’s a terrible offense and there must be a special level of hell for those
who produce and distribute (child pornography),” said Nielsen. “For people who abuse children in that manner, it is unspeakable crimes, horrific sexual assault and having another person recording it is disgusting. But that’s not what Mr. Wang is charged with.” Nielsen did agree with evaluations made of Wang. “He does suffer from disordered sexual thinking and a person can receive treatment and be restored to make reoffending in that regard remote; we certainly hope so. We have deception, mostly self-deception,” said Nielsen. But Nielsen reminded Wang the crime was committed in a school. “This occurred in a school setting and raises all kinds of red flags, but does not appear to be evidence he has acted out grooming young females in our community,” said
Nielsen. “Probation is available to me and it is an attractive option for the court, but it would underappreciate the seriousness of the offense.” With that, Nielsen sentenced Wang to three years’ initial confinement in state prison followed by five years of extended supervision on each of the two counts to run concurrently. In addition, Wang must pay $500 for each of the original 10 counts, or $5,000, register as a sex offender, provide a DNA sample and the DNA processing fee of $250, cannot possess any firearm, and has his civil voting rights suspended until released by the Department of Corrections after the extended supervision period is over. Wang’s bail was immediately revoked and he was taken into custody by the Vilas County Sheriff ’s Department.
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