Deputy Patrick Bolton is believed to be the only full-time deputy who lost his life in the line of duty with the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office. He was electrocuted Aug. 26, 1966 at the age of 31 while investigating a car accident. The sheriff’s office is renaming a road in his honor … more.
(via Flags ordered to half-staff today for fallen soldier with local ties — Walworth County Today) If you see flags flying at half-staff today, it’s in honor of Sgt. Matthew Hermanson, the husband of Elkhorn High grad Rachel Hermanson. Matthew was killed last month in Afghanistan.
As the closing for the sale of Delavan’s Lake Lawn Resort drags on, a new bidder has emerged with an interest in purchasing and re-opening the resort that closed late last year after foreclosure.
In today’s Gazette, Ann Marie Ames reports that Lake Geneva developer Todd Wilkins is expected to make a bid later this week.
Also, the Delavan City Council will meet this evening to vote on a formalized memorandum between Jim Drescher of the group that has an accepted offer for Lake Lawn and the city, including the gradual elimination of the $900,000 special assessment … MORE
The Associated Press reports that the Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld a sexual abuse conviction of a former Jesuit priest who claimed he was falsely accused.
In a 7-0 ruling on Tuesday, justices ruled that Donald McGuire’s prosecution 36 years after he allegedly abused two teenage boys in the 1960s was fair.
McGuire was convicted in 2006 in Walworth County Circuit Court on five counts of indecent behavior with a child stemming from two victims’ accounts that they separately had sexual contact with McGuire during trips to a cottage in Fontana in the 1960s. STORY
GENEVA TOWNSHIP, Wis., — An Illinois man was depressed and had lost his job, which led to the shooting by authorities Tuesday that left him man dead, according to the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office.
Roman O. Petriw, 47, had been residing at N3095 Dandelion Road for the past several weeks on a temporary basis, according to a news release.
He had been out of work for several months.
Petriw was a childhood friend of the owner of the residence, Lucian J. Lange, who lives in East Dundee, Ill.
LAKE GENEVA — Reporter Kayla Bunge reports today that a New York-based developer that has filed a $29 million federal lawsuit against the city has added a claim that city officials “acted maliciously.”
Mirbeau of Geneva Lake, which along with Illinois developer Robert Hummel in 2007 proposed a plan for a hotel, winery and homes on a 718-acre property on the city’s south side, is accusing some city officials and members of opposition groups of interfering with a contract.
The addition comes on top of plenty of recent action in the two lawsuits pending in federal court filed last year by Mirbeau and Hummel as well as another claim filed in January by Hummel.
The two developers are seeking a total of almost $400 million in damages from the city.
DELAVAN, Wis. — Police say they removed two children and several large garbage bags of marijuana plants from a marijuana growing operation Wednesday.
Delavan police executed a search warrant at 58 E. Walworth Ave. about 7 a.m. Wednesday. Police obtained the warrant after several weeks of investigation into a possible marijuana growing operation at the house.
Police found the residence in “deplorable” condition, Chief Tim O’Neill said.
“We found rotting food and mold in places. We had to shut the power off, shut the gas off,” he said. “The building inspector and the fire inspector determined it was unfit for human habitation.”
Officers took two children, both younger than 10, to authorities at the Walworth County Health and Human Services Department, O’Neill said. They also seized several large garbage bags full of marijuana plants and stolen property connected to at least one burglary and several thefts, he said.
“It was a pretty big grow operation,” he said. “There was no question.”
DELAVAN TOWNSHIP — After weeks of passionate public speeches, letters to the editor and phone calls to elected officials, it’s all over. The Canada geese living around Delavan Lake have been captured and hauled away for processing.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Service on Wednesday herded the geese into orange and yellow crates, according to residents who talked to the Gazette.
Police from the town of Delavan and the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office prevented members of the public from approaching the geese and the federal workers, said Delavan Township resident Diane Morrison.
