Wednesday, October 28, 2009

“Clear Lake, WI” showing in Menomonie

Dustin Booth, left, and Brian Ide, attended a question and answer session at Baldwin-Woodville High School for media classes last Friday. Booth was the executive producer and lead actor in Clear Lake, WI. Ide directed the movie and was the “featured dead guy.”

Due to overwhelming response from audiences – gaining it the top weekend moving billing, the Midwest special screening of the feature film titled “Clear Lake, WI” has been extended to additional cities.
The film stars Clear Lake, Wisconsin native Dustin Booth, Michael Madsen, as well as accomplished actors Paul Ben-Victor and Audrey Wasilewski.
The premiere at the Hudson 12 theater on October 9 was sold out and all week long the film was the number one box office draw beating out “Couples Retreat,” “Zombieland,” “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and “Toy Story 3D.”
Continuing on its amazing journey through Wisconsin, it will run at the Stadium 7 Theatre, 2521 Highway 25 North in Menomonie from October 23 with multiple showings a day through October 29. Call 715-232-8844 for show times.
The film is set in 1993 when residents of the small town of Clear Lake fell victim to a strange and horrible disease. As fear spread through the town, an influential local preacher called the outbreak a supernatural punishment for the sins of the people and promised a way to stop the spread of the disease. The story picks up fifteen years later when a Minneapolis documentarian traced down four surviving students to tell their story and dig up the past

Seussical the Musical Creating Connections with Kids: Reading at the library on November 3

Seussical the Musical is welcoming all children to join in on the fun this year! The musical, presented by the B-W High School, is a great activity for children of all ages. The cast and crew have created many special projects for kids of all ages in order to get the children of the community involved and excited for the musical this year.
To kick off the creative spirit of Dr. Seuss, students at Greenfield participated in a creative coloring challenge. The elementary classes received coloring sheets to create their own Seussical creations. Another way that the children are getting excited for the musical is through their art classes. I heard from a certain Whovillian that there are crafts being created! These creations, lead by Greenfield art teacher Erin Johansen, as well as the coloring challenge creatures, will be on display in the lobby during the show.
Children of all ages can join cast members at the Baldwin Public Library for a special Dr. Seuss story time November 3, from 6:30-7:15. As Dr. Seuss once said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” Come with your favorite child and expand your minds.
All these connections culminate when children from the elementary and middle schools attend a matinee on November 4. The cast of Seussical the Musical is ready to create smiles and laughs, so get ready for all the fun that is happening right now with Seussical the Musical!
Performances are November 6, 7, 13, 14 at 7 p.m. and November 8 and 15 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for students, and $2 for children and can be purchased by calling our box office at 715-684-3321, ext. 118.

Tudahl sentenced for traffic death

Steven D. Tudahl, 26, the man found guilty of several counts relating to causing a death and injuring others while driving a vehicle, has been sentenced to six and one-half years in prison as well as seven years of extended supervision following his release.
Tudahl, formerly of Glenwood City but now of Woodville, was found guilty of the felonies of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle and reckless driving that cause great bodily harm as well as a misdemeanor of reckless driving that caused bodily harm as the result of a traffic crash in March. According to the criminal complaint, on March 27 of this year Tudahl was driving a Ford Explorer going about 80 miles per hour that crossed the centerline of USH 63 about eight miles north of Baldwin in the town of Cylon and struck a 1998 Buick LeSabre head on.
Killed in the crash was Tudahl’s passenger, Larissa Christenson, 27, of Glenwood City. The driver of the Buick, Amy Dwyer, 26, of Clear Lake and her two children Noah, three, and Jaydin were injured. Noah suffered a severed spine resulting in permanent paralysis and had an intenstinal injury that had to be repaired by surgery. Jaydin suffered a broken leg and many bruises, especially to her face.
Tudahl had earlier been found guilty of the two felonies and one misdemeanor. After his prison sentence, Tudahl will be under seven years of extended supervision. He was also ordered to pay restitution and participate in eight hours of community service at a non-profit or charitable organization on the anniversary of the crash each year while on extended supervision.
According to the complaint in the case, when a tow truck driver arrived at the scene he heard a man yelling from the Explorer that was in the ditch. When deputies got to the truck there was no one inside. A Sheriff’s patrol dog tracked Tudahl from the crash site and he was captured among the buildings at Precision Agriculture.
Tudahl’s blood alcohol level was at 0.04 percent, under the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

From the exchanges
   News from surrounding communities

NEW RICHMOND NEWS: School officials in New Richmond are all smiles after being awarded a $111,650 grant to help plan a charter school in town. New Richmond was one of 11 districts to receive a planning grant. The state distributed about $2 million total for planning. “We’re pretty happy to have the funding to help us explore the option of a charter school,” said Morrie Veilleux, district administrator. New Richmond’s proposed charter school would offer different instructional strategies and a focus on the hands-on learner. Charter schools are still required to meet academic standards and must employ licensed teachers, involve parents, administer statewide tests and comply with federal regulations that govern all public schools. Now that the grant has been awarded, the next step is to visit some of the communities with successful charter schools Veilleux said. For the 2009-10 school year there are 206 charter schools opening in Wisconsin serving close to 35,000 students.

AMERY FREE PRESS: Three more defendants were sentenced Thursday, October 13 in the St. Croix Tribal drug investigation. U.S. District Judge James t. Moody, a visiting judge from the northern district of Indiana, sentenced the following for their role in distributing crack-cocaine on St. Croix Tribal lands from about January 2001 through September 2008. Judge Moody imposed the following sentences: Diana Martin, 44, Webster, nine years without parole; Margrette Cobb, 28, Cumberland, 13 years and four months without parole; Andrew Sonnenberg, 26, Red Lake, Minn., 17.5 years without parole. In his sentencing statement Moody stated this very serious crime was exacerbated because the defendants sold “poison” to members of their own, close knit community in northwest Wisconsin. Eleven defendants have now been sentenced as a result of this investigation into drug dealing on St. Croix Tribal lands. The three defendants sentenced on October 13 along with other members of the conspiracy, worked together to obtain and distribute crack cocaine on St. Croix Tribal lands. Each of the members at various times, traveled with Jean Sonnenberg to obtain crack cocaine from her sources in the Twin Cities area. The drugs were then sold to customers in Northwest Wisconsin.

THE SUN (OSCEOLA): An archery deer hunt with-in the Osceola village limits could be offered for the first time late this fall if a proposed ordinance is approved next month. Last week, the Osceola Village Board approved, in concept, an ordinance that would allow bow hunting on Village parklands and on private property with landowner permission. The Village’s ordinance committee will develop an ordinance for the program at its next meeting. During the board’s October 13 meeting. Osceola Police Department Chief Tim Lauridsen said that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has noted a “severe over-population” of deer within the Village limits. The quantity of deer is directly correlated to the number of vehicle-versus-deer accidents in the Village, Lauridsen said. The ordinance would allow licensed deer hunters to obtain a special kill tag from the police department. Existing Village ordinances don’t allow the discharge of a firearm or bow-and-arrow within Village limits.

CENTRAL ST. CROIX NEWS (HAMMOND AND ROBERTS): The former Haunted House of Hammond begun seven years ago as a fundraising project for a local Girl Scout Troop has found a new home as the Town of Tormented Souls in the Town of Warren on Hwy. 65 south of I-94. Last year, founder Tim Kraus was told just before their opening night in 2008 the project that took up nearly two-thirds of his home every fall had grown too big for him to run on his lot, which is zoned ag-residential in the Pheasant Hills development of the Town of Hammond. After a couple locations fell through, Kraus met up with Jim Zeller, who hopes to develop the former Country Store property into an events farm. Work to turn one of the barns on the property into the Town of Tormented Souls began in June with Kraus and two others doing the majority of it and many family members and friends pitching in. Doors opened on October 2. “It’s been pretty slow, but the closer to Halloween it gets the more people we have,” said Kraus’ second-in-command, Tony Klingler. The communities have been pretty supportive so far. There’s not much around here for families to do together. We’ve had a lot of people compare us to other haunted houses and say we’re by far the best around Minnesota and Wisconsin.