•Without even looking at the past 52 issues of the Burnett County Sentinel, picking the search and ultimate rescue of Keith Kennedy was the obvious choice for the lead in our Top 10 stories of the year.
1. Clock ticking for lost man
The clock was ticking for 25 year-old Keith Kennedy, a camper at Trade Lake Camp, who had been missing since a Sunday evening in June.
Not only does the young man have autism, he has a limited vocabulary, would just as soon hide rather than go toward the noise if he were to hear searchers nearby and he has been without the anti-rejection medication he takes twice a day for his transplanted kidney since he went missing.
“He’s missed his meds Sunday night, both times on Monday and this morning,” Trade Lake Camp’s Barb Denn said.
Denn said once Kennedy is located, the plan was for the ambulance to pick him up where he’s found and go straight to Burnett Medical Center.
“Once he’s found, we’ll notify the helicopter, he’ll be stabilized at BMC and then air-lifted to the Twin Cities.”
But the trick has been trying to find Keith.
Keith went missing on a Sunday night in June and for a week, sheriff's deputies, rescue workers, and volunteers from two states pitched in for this massive search-and-rescue operation.
The Burnett County Sheriff's Department, which had a command center set up at Trade Lake Camp for a week, was about to close down shop for good Sunday night, after seven fruitless days of searching, but officers like Ron Wilhelm and Chief Deputy Don Taylor simply would not give up.
“I’m not done yet, we’re going back in,” said Taylor after a group of officers came off an extensive search.
“Anyone who wants to come, come,” said Taylor. Officers and firefighters quickly formed a team and went on what everyone felt was a final search along the Canute Creek bank, about a half mile west of the Trade Lake Camp.
Then came the words no one thought they'd hear.
"We found him and he's alive."
Sheriff Dean Roland didn’t try to stop the tear trickling down his face.
He spoke softly, yet with emotion. “This is one of the happiest days of my career,” he said.
For seven days Keith’s father Bruce wore a painful, almost foreboding look on his face.
Then, that one simple statement changed his demeanor. It was music to his ears.
Bruce’s son Keith, 25 years old, autistic and lost in the woods for an entire week without medicine, food or water — was alive.
“We just collapsed. We couldn’t believe it,” said Bruce Kennedy, whose look of despair was replaced with relief and the joy only a father could know.
Seven days of agonizing searching suddenly were replaced by shouts of joy, hugs and handshakes like few have seen before.
“It was unreal. It was probably the happiest moment any of us have ever had,” said Wilhelm.
“To find him alive was just incredible. I told the family I was not going to quit until we came out with him and was not going to give up. Thank God we found him,” said Officer Wilhelm.
2. Camp director charged in death
Burnett County District Attorney Bill Norine filed a criminal complaint in September charging Marjorie Ann “Peggy” Hjelseth with recklessly subjecting an individual at risk to abuse and causing death and second degree reckless homicide in the death of 49 year-old Trade Lake Camp camper Shirley Meade.
Hjelseth, the director at Trade Lake Camp, a summer camp for mentally handicapped adults, allegedly gave Meade the wrong dose of medication, a medication intended for another camper, during the routine morning medication dispensation on the morning of July 17.
In discovering the error, Hjelseth decided to allow Meade to “sleep it off.” The woman’s health deteriorated throughout the day and she died in the early morning hours of July 18.
“In her own words, she screwed up,” Burnett County Sheriff Dean Roland said of the camp director.
“Getting medical attention most likely could have prevented the death,” Roland said.
“She was mentally handicapped and dependent on others for her care,” Roland explained of Meade. “By not seeking medical care for a vulnerable person, Hjelseth demonstrated her utter disregard for human life.”
That’s what the state statutes regard as grounds for a reckless homicide charge.
“We are the voice of Ms. Meade,” the sheriff continued. “We are her advocates.”
Burnett County Medical Examiner Mike Maloney ruled the death as an overdose. Coupled with the sheriff’s department investigation, the death is considered accidental with mitigating circumstances.
The medication, Clozapine, is a psychotropic drug used to battle symptoms of schizophrenia.
“From what we have learned, you have to build up a tolerance to the drug,” Roland explained. “The body can’t take a big dose all at once.”
In addition to the wrong medication, bronchopneumonia, blunt force injuries of the extremities and blunt force head injury with a right eye contusion are also listed as additional factors in the death.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services revoked the license of Trade Lake Camp in the wake of the allegations.
“We expected them to protect the health and safety of the people and they failed to do this. We have no intention of allowing them to open," was the statement released by Stephanie Marquis, spokesperson for the Department of Health Services.
The Hjelseth matter is still pending in Burnett County Circuit Court.
The maximum sentence of the first count is 40 years in prison, a $100,000 fine or both. The homicide charge carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, a $100,000 fine or both.
3. ‘Deadly force’ not reasonable
A Minneapolis firefighter was charged with second degree intentional homicide in May stemming from a fatal shooting in Danbury in January.
Kyle L. Huggett, 32, allegedly shot and killed John Peach on the evening of Jan. 20 after Peach attempted to confront Huggett over the content of some text messages the two had exchanged over the previous week and the day of the shooting.
A distraught Amy Kerbel, girlfriend of the accused, placed an emergency call at 9:52 p.m., Jan. 20, when Peach actually showed up at the Huggett residence at 8006 County Road F near Danbury, was pounding on the door and threatening to beat-up her boyfriend.
Kerbel told 911 she heard shots fired, thought Huggett was the one who fired them, and saw Peach laying in the driveway.
Kerbel stated she had had a previous relationship with Peach and that she and Peach had a five-year old son as a result of this relationship.? Although she was currently residing with Huggett, she maintained a good relationship with Peach and further stated that she would reside off and on with Peach when she and Huggett would have arguments.?
Kerbel stated that Peach and Huggett had only met on a couple of occasions during exchanges of the minor child and there had previously been no prior conflicts between the two of them.?
However, as a result of a recent argument which she had with Huggett, there had been a number of text messages going back and forth between the two men during the week prior to the shooting.
The Burnett County Sheriff’s Department, according to the criminal complaint filed against Huggett, executed document subpoenas to the phone companies for Peach, Kerbel and Huggett, and had obtained copies of the text messages that had taken place between the parties during that particular week.?
In some of those messages, the defendant belittled Peach over the fact that Peach was receiving Social Security Disability and further made statements implying that he was going to replace Peach as the father of Peach’s son.?
When Peach made a threat to the defendant in a response to one of these remarks, the defendant sent back a reply advising Peach that the defendant was a 230-pound armed forces veteran and that he didn’t take the threat seriously.
“Given the provocation of the situation by the defendant, the significant disparities in the physical condition of the parties, and the fact that Peach was unarmed, it did not appear that the use of deadly force was appropriate or reasonable under these circumstances,” Burnett County District Attorney Kenneth Kutz concluded in the complaint he filed against Huggett.
Huggett's trial is scheduled for March 2009.
4. Bank robbery that went awry
You walk out of the bank with a bag full of loot and a gun — and guess what, your getaway car is gone.
That was just the start of what turned out to be an ill-fated bank robbery in Danbury Saturday.
Before the day was over two Minnesota men were in custody.
According to Detective Tracy Finch, the lead detective on the case, a 16 year-old Hopkins, MN youth (whose name is protected) and 18 year-old Anthony Diloreto, Minnetonka, MN came to Danbury to rob the Danbury branch of the Bremer Bank [the morning of August 20].
“The two got to Danbury about sunrise,” Finch reported. “They came from the Twin Cities where they had planned the robbery.”
She said the two parked in Danbury and while Diloreto stayed with the car, the youth left the car.
Diloreto, according to Finch, was getting worried about the scheme and walked into the bank and talked to a teller about opening a student account.
He saw things looked okay, left the bank and drove to the Log Cabin Store where he put some fuel in the car. He drove off without paying.
“On his way back to the bank, he saw a squad car with its lights going headed toward the bank, got scared and drove back to the Twin Cities,” Finch explained.
Meanwhile, about 10 a.m., the 16 year-old walked into Bremer Bank with a sawed off pump shotgun, hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses.
“He ‘racked’ (worked the action) the shotgun to get everyone’s attention, told the people there he was sorry he was doing this, got the money and walked out,” Finch related.
When the 16 year-old left the bank, he didn’t see the getaway car and started walking west along Highway 77.
“About 10:45 a.m. he was apprehended as he was walking along the road,” Finch continued. “He still had the money with him but had already discarded the gun and a backpack he had brought into the bank.” [The gun and backpack was later found.]
Melvin D. Fletcher, the alleged gunman in the robbery, was waived into adult court in October. Cases against both Fletcher and DiLoreto is still pending in the Burnett County Circuit Court.
5. Mutual aid ruling jeopardizes officers
An opinion released in October by Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen saying “the mutual aid statute does not apply to tribal law enforcement agencies operated by any of Wisconsin’s 11 Native American tribes and bands,” created more questions than answers.
What the opinion means locally is that the St. Croix Tribal Police Department can’t offer mutual aid assistance off-reservation.
“It’s a safety issue for our officers,” Burnett County Supervisor Emmett Byrne pointed out. “If one of our deputies needs assistance and a tribal officer is closest but can’t respond because of this ruling, our officer could be in jeopardy.”
“This decision handicaps the tribal police too,” Burnett County Supervisor Gary Lundberg agreed.
“If they have an officer in Hertel, that officer can’t go lights and sirens to an emergency in Danbury or Barron County until he is on tribal land.”
Mutual aid is what sparsely populated areas like Burnett County depend on in emergency situations.
When there’s a house fire too big for a single department to handle alone, for instance, fire departments from nearby towns are paged to respond as well.
Mutual aid, however, is not just about fires. It can be any emergency — a multiple car accident, a fight, even a shooting — any situation where the responding emergency personnel believes they need assistance.
Whether tribal officers could be deputized or contracted with for services to get around this ruling has yet to be determined.
“One of our biggest concerns is we don’t have a K-9 unit like the tribal P.D. does,” Stacy Hopke pointed out.
“We’d have to go to Polk County for the nearest unit.”
Hopke was presenting the sheriff’s report on behalf of Sheriff Dean Roland.
“This puts us at a big disadvantage,” Lundberg added. “We just lost 12 or 13 officers, not to mention all the equipment they have.”
Sheriff Dean Roland was in Madison in December testifying before a legislative committee which is considering a challenge to the opinion.
6. Judge Michael Gableman wins spot
on state court
Gratitude.
It’s the one word Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice-elect Michael Gableman used to express how he was feeling in the days following the election.
“To get that vote was profoundly gratifying,” he said of Tuesday’s win over incumbent Justice Louis Butler. “It’s just an overwhelming feeling.”
“I’m grateful to God because I believe it was only through Him and His divine providence that brought me safely and successfully through this process,” he continued.
It was a long and arduous journey.
Even for someone who enjoys meeting new people, six months of new faces and new towns can take its toll.
“I’ve spoken with thousands of people and have traveled thousands of miles,” Gableman said prior to the election.
“I remember one fish fry in Milwaukee in particular,” he recalled. “I was standing in line greeting and talking with people. Four thousand people went through that line before the night was over.”
“I’ve been impressed with how kind, welcoming and gracious people have been, even if they are not supporting me,” he added.
While he got to hear a variety of themes on the campaign trail, it seemed to all boil down to some key issues.
“I have found that people have two basic expectations of judges,” Judge Gableman explained.
“They expect their judges not to legislate from the bench — that they should apply the law, not make it,” he said. “They also want judges to scrupulously honor the rights of the defendant but also remember the rights of the victim.”
The judge launched his campaign last October.
Justice-elect Gableman also credited the many, many people who worked very hard on his behalf plus those who were supportive and encouraging throughout the campaign.
“These things have made all the difference and without them I don’t believe my success would have been possible,” he said.
“No one’s support has meant more to me than those of Burnett County,” the judge remarked.
While Justice Gableman took the oath of office in Madison in August and will serve a 10-year term, he will not forget his time in Burnett County.
“It has been an enormous privilege to serve the people of this county,” he concluded.
7. Governor calls Kutz to bench
When the phone rang in the Burnett County District Attorney’s office on a Friday afternoon in June, it was Governor Jim Doyle’s office calling.
“’How’s your week going Ken?’ was the Governor’s first question,” district attorney Kenneth Kutz said.
“I said ‘It’s going pretty good, Governor,” was Kutz’s reply.
“Well, it’s about to get a whole lot better,” was the Governor’s comeback with a laugh. He was calling Friday to announce his decision to appoint Kutz to the Burnett County Circuit Court.?
Kutz will fill the vacancy created by the election of Michael Gableman to the Supreme Court.? He will begin serving in early August and will serve a term ending July 31, 2009.
“Kenneth Kutz’s broad experience as a prosecutor will be a great asset to Burnett County,” Governor Doyle said of his appointment.? “His dedication to justice and long history of community involvement will serve the county well.”
“I am extremely honored and grateful to Governor Doyle for giving me the opportunity to serve the people of Burnett County as their next judge,” Kutz said.? “It’s been a pleasure serving them as their district attorney, and I plan to bring the same level of dedication and fairness to my new position as circuit judge.”
He already anticipates what his biggest hurdle is going to be.
“I can’t hear a case that I’ve charged out as district attorney,” Kutz explained. “I mentioned that to our judicial district administrator, Scott Johnson, who had also been thinking about it.”
There’s an assistant D.A. in Barron County, Jim Babbitt, who was recently appointed to a judgeship who’s basically in the same boat.
“We’ll probably flip-flop on our criminal cases,” he said.
While the appointment runs through July 2009, the election for the six-year term is in April, with the term to commence in August.
“I’ll be running for re-election in April and plan to continue to run until I decide to retire,” Kutz remarked.
Kutz has served as the Burnett County District Attorney for the past 21 years and previously as Assistant District Attorney since 1983.?
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and his J.D. from Marquette University Law School in 1979. ?
8. Ambulance fees up; Danbury remains open
While it may be tough to argue against the inherent need for an ambulance at a critical time, seeing a 60 percent cost increase to have that service available is another matter.
That's exactly the situation Burnett County found itself in when it went to renew its ambulance contract for the coming year.
Each Burnett County resident will pay $32 in 2009 for the availability of an ambulance service, a jump from the $19 per capita fee being paid in 2008 — a nearly 60 percent increase.
Citing a dramatic decline in the number of transports its ambulances are carrying, North Ambulance has proclaimed it has to raise prices to remain viable in Burnett County.
Of the seven or eight different scenarios ambulance staff considered when faced with increasing rates, they decided on the two cheapest options which included keeping the service the way it is now, with staffed ambulance bases in Webster and Grantsburg plus volunteer bases in Danbury and A&H or keep the services in Webster, Grantsburg and A&H and close Danbury.
Closing the Danbury station would still have increased rates, only at $7 instead of $13.
The first option called for an additional $13 per capita increase while the second option was a $7 increase.
“An official letter was sent to each municipality asking them how they feel on this issue,” Burnett County board chairman Phil Lindeman explained.
“Nineteen municipalities responded to that letter and the majority went with keeping Danbury open,” County Administrator Candace Fitzgerald noted last week. “So that’s how we will proceed.”
When the entire county board heard about the increase at its August meeting, changing service providers was one of the first reactions.
“We should look at other services for the next contract, about sending this out for bid,” Lindeman said. “But it was too late for us to make a change for 2009.”
Fitzgerald said North Ambulance has the sense the county will be looking at other services for the 2010 contract, but cautioned against any optimism.
“I did talk to another service and they told me they could understand the rate because our county is so rural,” she pointed out.
9. Finally! Sewer and water in Danbury
What started as a concern over phosphates in the water eight years ago has resulted in six separate projects slated to begin in July, all designed to bring a $9 million water and sewer system to Danbury.
“There were six Danbarians and four St. Croix tribal residents who complained about phosphates in the water,” Joint Water Quality Commission (JWQC) chairman Marshall Hill explained.
“”There were people concerned about raising their children here, our businesses have never had a good water or sewer system and all those businesses were putting all their sewage in the ground,” Hill continued. “The sewage was polluting our aquifer.”
The result of that outcry was the formation of the commission, a joint venture between the Danbury community and the St. Croix Tribe to discuss the options available to them.
They decided a new water/sewer system was the way to go.
“This will give Danbury a good opportunity to bring people into the community,” Hill said. “I realize people enjoy the small community, but this is a good thing.”
“The tribe ended up giving us $1.3 million, some of which has been used the last eight years to buy land, drill test wells and other necessary steps to allow the project to go forward," Hill explained.
“It was a big step for the project for Danbury to have the casino here and for them to give us that money,” he continued.
“This is really a good deal,” he reiterated. “It’s really essential to us, to the future of Danbury.”
The Rural Development branch of the USDA is funding 75 percent of the projects with grants, but that still leaves 25 percent unaccounted for.
“The balance will be paid through user fees,” Hill pointed out.
The JWQC will own the system and as such will take out a 30-year low-interest loan to cover the 25 percent cost of the project and then charge it back as a user fee.
That’s an innovative twist from typical municipal improvements.
“Rather than everyone being assessed for the improvement and getting the project paid for that way, we will collect from people who actually use the systems,” Hill explained.
“We see rates averaging between $80 and $90 a month,” he said. In addition to water and sewage service, a part of that monthly fee also covers operation and maintenance of the systems.
Hills admits it sounds a little steep at first.
“When you think about installing a well, that’s $6,000 to $8,000 and a mound system is $12,000 to $15,000, so $50 to $80 a month for residential users is a good deal,” he reasoned.
10. New care center coming to Siren
It may not be called Capeside Cove any longer, but Siren residents will once again have a care center occupying the site on Fourth Avenue.
”We are excited about the area, we are excited about the opportunity, and we are excited to be here,” Neal Blanchett told the Siren Village Board in December.
Blanchett is the vice president of Traditions Management, the company which is proposing an assisted living center/memory care center to occupy the former Capeside Cove building.
“Is your being here a sign it’s a done deal,” trustee Dave Alden asked.
Blanchett only smiled and said Traditions Management is still working with Good Samaritan Society, which owns the building, on the details of the sale.
“We don’t have a schedule yet,” he admitted.
“We have been operating these centers for three years, but we have experts on staff who have been doing this for more than 20 years,” he stated.
“Because our model is an assisted living center, we have to redesign the building because we need bigger rooms,” Blanchett said. “We may end up with fewer spots.”
He said an assisted living center is a facility in which residents need some help, but are still mobile. “It’s generally a lower level of care,” he said.
He said other facilities run by Traditions Management provide a shuttle bus to ferry their tenants around. He indicated that may hold true for Siren.
He also said some units may be multiple-room units and some will have kitchen facilities.
“We try to make it as much like a home as we can,” he said of the facility.
As far as the memory care side of the facility goes, it’s a different story.
“We focus on people with dementia or the on-set of Alzheimer’s,” he told the board. “It’s a higher level of care and calls for more training.”
It also calls for physical separation from the assisted living portion of the building, but the former Capeside building will be able to accommodate that without major renovations.
As far as fees are concerned, Blanchett said there is typically a basic room rate plus a couple of options that can be added on.
“So when would it not be an empty building?” trustee Rudy Mothes queried.
Again, Blanchett only shrugged.
“I don’t want to over-promise anything,” he said simply.
