Smoking ban defeat one of the top stories of past year

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By The Chippewa Herald
Friday, January 2, 2009 7:29 PM CST

Chippewa Falls snuffed out a possible smoking ban, and Chippewa County started its third branch of circuit court.

These were some of the top stories of 2008:

-- Chippewa Falls City Council considered a smoking ban for taverns after Council President Dennis Doughty requested that five of the city’s 30 liquor-beer licenses should become non-smoking licenses in May.

The issue was mulled over by the Transportation Committee after attempts to create an ad hoc committee solely for the smoking issues were quashed.

The committee recommended in June that the city wait for the state to act on a possible ban, but the council rejected that recommendation. The council, which had been restructured with the July resignation of Mayor Dan Hedrington, voted again in October, this time deciding to wait for the state to act on a ban.

-- The resignation of Mayor Hedrington also topped the year’s stories. He stepped down in July after he decided that a new job he took with engineering firm Short-Elliot-Hendrickson would create a perceived conflict of interest. He had served the city as mayor for three and a half years.

In early August, the council unanimously approved Seventh Ward council member Greg Hoffman to serve out the remainder of the mayoral term. Susan Zukowski was later appointed to replace Hoffman’s Seventh Ward seat.

-- Chippewa County Patrol Sergeant Jeff Soppeland was fired in March after violating various work rules.

Soppeland, a 20-year veteran of the department, allegedly spent up to two-hours in the jail in January discussing department matters and a possible vote of “no confidence” in Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk.

Soppeland brought the termination to arbitration, and in September the county and Soppeland agreed that he would be paid a $57,049.60 settlement, along with other stipulations.

-- Chippewa County opened its third circuit court branch in August. Julie Anderl, Steve Cray and Bob Ferg all vied for the judge’s seat.

Ferg was taken out of the race after a February primary election, and Cray was the victor in April.

The courthouse was remodeled to make room for an extra circuit courtroom, and Cray was sworn in on Aug. 1.

The following is a recap of other news stories in 2008:

January

Bloomer Police Department hired Richard Carr as its new chief of police . . . Chippewa Falls City Council member Ralph Anderl, 87, died.

February

Ron Singel was hired as Chippewa Falls city administrator. . . Bloomer Middle School was named one of the four winners of the state’s first Middle School of Excellence awards. . . Sen. Barack Obama visited Zorn Arena at the University of Eau Claire. . . Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton did not visit Eau Claire after scheduling and then cancelling two events.

MarchA disorderly conduct charge against former Bloomer Chief of Police Mike Bungartz was dismissed. . . Mary Randall was hired as the Superintendent of the Bloomer School District.

April

In the spring election, Mark Nodolf headed off incumbent Judith Talbot to become the mayor of Cornell; Jason Anderson defeated incumbent Chuck Hull in Chippewa Falls’ Fourth Ward; Wayne Walkoviak was elected to the Village of Lake Hallie Board, while Sally Butcher was ousted, and Mike Henke beat out incumbent Stanley-Boyd school board president Steve Hinke. . . Main Street Executive Director Jim Schuh resigned. . . A house fire in Menomonie killed three University of Wisconsin-Stout students. . . The Chippewa Falls School District approved 17 late-start days for the 2008-2009 school year for staff meetings.

May

A lawsuit filed by the family of Branden Atherton, who was killed in a 2005 Chippewa Falls High School bus crash, was postponed due to the death of prime witness Dr. Arthur Ginsburg. . . Sixteen-year-old Carrie Gjelhaug, a Chi-Hi student, was killed in a car crash. . . The Bloomer School Board set a policy requiring students to wear caps and gowns at the high school’s graduation ceremony after one father wanted his son to wear a military uniform to graduation. . . St. Joseph’s Hospital reached its $4 million fundraising goal for renovations to its emergency room. . . Thirteen staff members of Chippewa Area Catholic Schools were laid off, retired or resigned. . . Andrew J. Ziesmer was charged with kidnapping after making his stepfather drive to the Twin Cities area at gunpoint.

JuneA Colfax tornado was recalled 50 years later. . . The Chippewa Falls Main Street Association board decided to keep the organization running the same way it had been since its inception. . . Chi-Hi girls soccer coach Stan Williams resigned despite support from many parents. . . Country superstar Kenny Chesney headlines Country Fest in Cadott. . . Kevin W. Wootan was sentenced to 11 years in prison for first degree reckless endangerment for his involvement in the 2006 death of his wife Erin.

July

Gas reached $4 a gallon in the county. . . State Rep. Jeff Wood left the Republican party to become an independent candidate in his fourth bid for office. . . A fire destroyed a sid-by-side duplex in the Village of Lake Hallie. . . Doctor Tom Sazama, a longtime area health care provider, died at the age of 98. . . David Rynders resigned from his job as county human services director.

AugustFour were charged with armed robbery after a July incident in which two men were robbed and beaten at the Indianhead Motel. . . Fifteen-year-old Ashlee Holtman, a Cadott High School student, died after an ATV crash in the town of Goetz. . . Rusty Volk was hired as the director of the Northern Wisconsin State Fair. . . A clerk at the Wissota Express in LaFayette foiled an armed robbery attempt on the convenience store. Mitchell T. Larson was charged with armed robbery in connection with the incident. . . “The Illegal Use of Joe Zopp,” a movie filmed in part in Chippewa Falls by former city residents, premiered at the Micon Cinema in Chippewa Falls. . . Sen. Barack Obama made an invitation-only stop at the Rod and Gun Park in Eau Claire. . .

September

Richard J. Leinenkugel, vice president of sales and marketing of Leinenkugel’s, was named the state’s new commerce secretary. . . The National Transportation Safety Board concluded Whole Foods truck driver Michael Kozlowski was to blame for the crash that killed five people on a Chi-Hi band chartered motorcoach in 2005. . . Bill Leinenkugel, former president of Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, died at the age of 87. . . Julie A. Birtzer pleaded no contest to second-degree intentional homicide in the 2007 shooting death of Ralph Hakes.

October

Chippewa County Branch II Judge Thomas Sazama announced his retirement effective Nov. 29. . . Cadott Superintendent Guy Habeck announced he would retire at the end of the school year. . . The two cougars at Irvine Park were moved into their new exhibit. . . Chippewa County Board member Karl Larson of the 21st district resigned after missing five monthly county board meetings and numerous committee meetings.

November

In the fall election, Kristen Dexter defeated incumbent Terry Moulton in the state Assembly’s 68th District, and Jeff Wood, a former Republican, was elected as the first independent in the Wisconsin Legislature. . . The Wisconsin Public Service Commission approved a new 534 area code to be used by new area phone lines as early as mid-2010. . . A Chippewa Yellow Bus carrying six Hillcrest Elementary students rolled in the town of Wheaton. . . Foreclosure action was filed on the Wissota View on Lake Wissota, and Paradise Shores on Lake Holcombe was closed. . . Chippewa Falls Superintendent Mike Schoch announced he will retire at the end of the school year. . . Chi-Hi Band Director Andrei Strizek resigned after being placed on a paid leave of absence by the district. . . Lake Hallie Chief of Police Gale Haas announced he would retire at the beginning of January.

December

The Village of Lake Hallie and town of Hallie began discussions of leaving the Chippewa Fire District. . . Benjamin M. Erickson was indicted in U.S. District Court-Western District for the October robbery of Dairyland State Bank in Holcombe. . . Silicon Graphics Inc. announced it plans to layoff 40 employees in Chippewa Falls. . . State Rep. Jeff Wood (I-Bloomer) was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and possession of marijuana in Columbia County.