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Community rallies behind Madison school guard who lost job for using racial slur

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Teachers and students are rallying behind a high school security guard who was fired for saying the “n-word.”

Marlon Anderson is black, and admits he used the slur, but he was scolding a student for using it himself. He tells WKOW-TV he wants his job back.

“I believe that when God created me, he called me to work with kids. If you ever saw me, you’d probably be like ‘Yeah I agree, that guy’s silly’.”

Anderson says he has a strong bond with students at West High School.

“I love working with the kids, and the outpouring on social media lets me know that they see that and they love me back.”

The teacher’s union has filed a grievance, West High School students rallied in a Friday walk-out, and there’s an online petition to support Anderson. The school district says it has a zero-tolerance policy for employees who use racial slurs.

Wausau cemetery shooting suspect faces numerous charges, $10 million dollar bond set

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A hefty bond has been ordered for the suspect of the Pine Grove Cemetery shooting in Wausau.

Henry West, 64, of Schofield has been charged with 17 counts for the murder shooting death of Patty Grimm. He is facing 11 counts of attempted homicide, arson, 3 counts of attempted arson, and obstructing an officer. During the initial appearance, the judge raised West’s bond from 1 to 10 million dollars.

According to court documents released today West is accused of rigging the apartments at 117 Fullmer St. for an explosion by damaging the natural gas line and placing containers with gasoline around it. The document estimates there would have been enough natural gas in the apartments that if it had combusted it would have caused an explosion capable of killing several to hundreds of people.

Documents also reveal that the manager of the apartment complex said West told them a week before he was set to be evicted that he was “going to make the news big time.” West had also previously made death threats to cemetery management as he was very upset with his firing in 2012.

The shooting happened on October 3rd as Grimm was shot multiple times and killed inside the doorway of the cemetery office. The other two victims, William Buhse and Rosemelia Short were also shot. Buhse is still in the hospital recovering from a shot to the head. While Short was released after being treated for her injuries.

West will next appear in court for a pre-trial hearing on November 21 at 9:20 a.m

WSAU

Neenah police seek murder suspect in fatal armed robery

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Neenah police are looking for a suspect in a fatal armed robbery.

Police say the suspect in their case entered the Short Branch Saloon early Monday morning, and shot and killed a customer during the robbery. The victim has only been named as a Neenah resident. 

Police Chief Aaron Olson says the suspect is a white man who was wearing a dark baseball hat, a face mask, and a dark colored sweatshirt.

Anyone with information should call police at 920-886-6000.

State Senate passes bills on sexual assault testing, industrial hemp, and health insurance for families of slain police officers

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It was a busy floor session on Tuesday in the State Senate, with dozens of appointments and bills on the agenda.

Senators started the session by approving all of Governor Tony Evers’ Cabinet picks. Those appointments had been held up for several sessions before making it to the floor.

One pair of bills will change how the state handles sexual assault testing kits. One bill lays out distinct procedures for what happens once a test is performed, something that State Senator Robert Cowles says was oddly not in place. 

“We have no statutory procedures currently for sexual assault kit processing. We need to have that. We need to have a clear chain of evidence to prevent the kinds of problems that have occurred in the past.”

The other bill requires police and investigators to keep victims appraised on when their kits are being tested. State Senator Patty Schachtner says that’s vital after years of neglect when it came to DNA testing at the crime lab.

“It empowers victims and survivors, and we need to really support our victims, and this helps them track through the justice process. So I hope everyone supports it.”

Senators also approved a bill that would make the state’s industrial hemp program permanent and afford some protections to farmers who grow it.

The bill formalizes policies from the state ag department on how to handle growers of hemp, and would protect farmers who unknowingly grow hemp that contains too much THC.

Senator Lena Taylor of Milwaukee voted for the measure. 

“This is an important industry that we want to be a part of. But without this bill, the federal government would be in control. Those of you who feel strongly about state’s rights? Today is the day that you should be voting for this if you support states rights, because otherwise you’re giving the federal government control over your farmers.”

The bill also modifies Wisconsin’s hemp laws to match language found in the new U S D A Farm Bill. 

The families of officers and EMTs killed while on duty will not lose their health insurance coverage under another bill. State Senator Van Wangaarrd says it’s something that that state should have had in place a while ago. 

“I’m sure that the law enforcement officers throughout the state and the EMTs will really appreciate the thoughtfulness in caring for their living spouses.”

State Senator Dave Hansen says the bill will match a measure that’s already in place for the surviving families of firefighters who died while on duty. 

“We were able to do this for fire personnel several years ago. I’m very proud of being a co author of this. But this today is about doing the right thing together.”

The state will pay for that insurance through the Police and Fire Protection fee that residents pay on their phone and wireless bills. 

Shawano County woman pleads guilty to handing out edibles for St. Patrick’s Day

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A Shawano County woman has been found guilty of manufacturing and possessing THC after she was caught distributing pot-laced St. Patricks Day cookies.

Cathleen Krause pled no contest to one count each of manufacturing and delivering THC and second offense possession of THC as part of a deal reached on Thursday. In exchange, additional counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of amphetamines, LSD, or psilocybin were thrown out.

Krause was sentenced to 80 days in for each count to run concurrently, beginning October 11th. She was given Huber privileges and credit for three days already served.

Additionally, she will have to pay over $1,000 in fines and court costs plus submit a DNA sample.

The charges stem from an incident in the Town of Wescott where a resident says Krause gave them cookies baked with THC. When police caught up with Krause, they detected the odor of alcohol and pot on her breath.

A search of her home also turned up gummy candies laced with THC and a container of pills.

WSAU

One dead, two injured in shooting at Wausau cemetery

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One person is dead and two more were injured in a Thursday morning shooting at Pine Grove Cemetery in Wausau.

Wausau Police Chief Ben Bliven did confirm that one of the three victims was dead at the scene when officers arrived.

“Officers responded to the scene and found three shooting victims. One victim was dead on the scene and two others were transported to a local hospital for treatment. We’re not going to comment on the condition of those two individuals at this time. But they did get transported to the hospital.”

The suspect who shot the three victims did try to flee the scene shortly after officers arrived. But he was taken into custody this morning by the Wausau Police Department.

“Reports from callers indicated a possible suspect fleeing to the east of the cemetery. Officers and deputies arrived quickly and set up a perimeter. They were able to quickly locate the individual and took the suspect into custody without any further incident. The male suspect is a Schofield resident,” says Bliven.

The suspect was identified as a former employee of the Pine Grove Cemetery by Chief Bliven. “The victims were either employees of the Pine Grove Cemetary or were related to an employee.”

Everest Metro Police Chief Clay Schultz says the shooting may also be tied on a fire at an apartment in Schofield near where the suspect lived.

“We do believe that the fire in Schofield is suspicious. However, it is very early in the investigative stage and as you know the scene is still very fluid. We did get a report while on the scene that there was a gas leak at a nearby vacant building. Precautionary measures were taken and we did an evacuation for the safety of the public.”

The suspect is expected to make his initial appearance on Friday in Marathon County.

Bliven also adds that if anyone in the community has any information on the joint investigation they can contact either the Wausau Police Department, the Everest Metro Police Department, or Crimestoppers.

WSAU

Flu season off to an early start, says state health department

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The flu season is starting early in Wisconsin and the Department of Health Services says it’s already time to get your shot.

State influenza coordinator Tom Haupt says the disease is already putting people in the hospital. 

“We’ve had nine hospitalizations in the past few weeks in Wisconsin alone, which is not what we’d normally see in the middle of September.”

Haupt says this year’s shots seem to be working well so far. 

“Two out of the three main components have been upgraded this year, so we hopefully will have much better efficacy than we did last year.”

Haupt encourages people to get the shot not only to keep themselves safe, but to keep those around them safe who can’t get vaccinated on their own. 

Madison police chief Mike Koval unexpectedly retires

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Madison will be looking for a new police chief after a surprise announcement by Mike Koval.

Chief Koval announced in his Sunday morning blog that he’d be stepping down from being the chief effective Monday morning and that it was an honor to serve Madison.

Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway thanked Koval for his years of service to the city and that her office will be working with the Police and Fire Commission to find a new chief. Until then, Assistant Chief Vic Wahl will lead the department.

State Justice Department urges businesses to train employees in basic cyber security

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The state justice department is recommending that businesses take some time to train their employees on basic cyber security.

Special Agent Marshall Ogren says phishing emails that try to get users to log into a phony page are one of the most common forms of attack on businesses. 

“People shouldn’t be entering their username and password into a form they don’t trust, or they should double check where they’re entering their username and password.”

Sometimes those phishing attacks get very sophisticated and are specifically targeted at an employee, in a technique called spear-phishing.  Ogren says the crooks are after classified or sensitive information that only certain employees might have.

“And what they can do is go into that email account and get email content of transactions that have happened or contract negotiations that’s happening or something like that.”

Criminals can then use that information to try and scam your banking information, or try and get paid by your accounts department using phony invoices.

It’s also important to secure the physical computers at your office. Ogren says that if a criminal or bad actor can get to an unlocked computer or server inside your building, they could get lots of classified info.

“They could have access to the entire network, and if that person is an administrator on their computer, that allows them to run highly sophisticated programs. Programs that could do quite a bit of damage.”

Ogren says it’s best to keep your network’s servers in a secure room, and to restrict the amount of access basic users have at their work stations.

Bipartisan medical marijuana bill faces stiff opposition in state legislature

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to enact medical marijuana legislation, despite opposition from legislative leaders.

Democrat Senator John Erpenbach and Representative Chris Taylor, and Republican Senator Pat Testin are seeking to create a pathway for doctors to be able to prescribe marijuana to patients. 

Testin says it’s a personal issue for him, after his grandfather used cannabis to treat his cancer symptoms. “I saw him make the decision to go outside the law to seek treatment with medical marijuana. It restored his appetite, and I believe it added months to his life. I am grateful for all the time that I had with him.” 

“Each time we introduce this bill, more and more people around Wisconsin find that someone they know has turned to cannabis as a life-altering medical treatment,” said Senator Erpenbach. “The public support is there, we have a Governor who supports it, the time for medical cannabis is now.”

The bill will face stiff competition in the Senate, however. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has been a staunch opponent to any form of marijuana legalization. “Everyone knows that medical marijuana leads to legalized marijuana,” he said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

“I don’t support this plan and I think that it’s going to be a tough sell to a majority of my caucus.”