What a year!

Members of the Westosha Central softball team celebrate a home run on their way to the WIAA Division 1 state softball title last June. The performance ranks sixth among the area's top stories in 2015. (Photo by Earlene Frederick).
Members of the Westosha Central softball team celebrate a home run on their way to the WIAA Division 1 state softball title last June. The performance ranks sixth among the area’s top stories in 2015. (Photo by Earlene Frederick).

Obregon manhunt ranks as top story in area

By Jason Arndt

Staff Writer

There were plenty of moves, adjustments and accolades to go around in 2015, which was marked by the sensational manhunt of Andrew Obregon and the Silver Lake governmental shakeup.

However, Westosha Central High School and the Twin Lakes Aquanuts stole the show with state and national titles, respectively.

Here is a ranking by the Report staff of the top stories in our area during the past year:

Andrew Obregon (center) enters a not guilty plea before a Kenosha County Court Commissioner in November. After Obregon received counsel from court-appointed public defenders Carl Johnson (left) and Kristyne Watson, he waived his right to a preliminary hearing. (Photo by Jason Arndt).
Andrew Obregon (center) enters a not guilty plea before a Kenosha County Court Commissioner in November. After Obregon received counsel from court-appointed public defenders Carl Johnson (left) and Kristyne Watson, he waived his right to a preliminary hearing. (Photo by Jason Arndt).
  1. Communities on edge

Andrew Obregon, of Bristol, changed the way residents in Kenosha and Racine Counties operated on a daily basis during his 22-day crime spree that allegedly included first-degree intentional homicide, several vehicle thefts and armed robberies.

The 32-year-old received an unprecedented $5 million bond by the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office, and faces 32 criminal charges.

Obregon is accused in the Sept. 19 killing of Tywon Anderson, whose body was discovered on a Town of Paris cornfield two days later.

In the days that followed, Obregon allegedly committed robberies of two convenience stores, and stole up to seven vehicles in three counties, Racine, Kenosha and Lake (Ill.).

Authorities arrested his mother, Susan, for giving her son money during his time on the lam. Susan Obregon was sentenced to one-year probation in November.

According to the criminal complaint filed against Andrew Obregon, he eluded authorities by turning off vehicle headlights driving into cornfields to access little-known farm roads.

Obregon also stands accused of first-degree attempted homicide for beating a Brighton woman in his final attempt to escape custody Oct. 13, leading authorities south into Illinois, where a Zion police officer appended him.

  1. Shakeup in Silver Lake

It was a year of drastic changes for the Village of Silver Lake, beginning with the resignation of part-time Police Chief Andy Trudeau in February, citing an “uphill battle” in an ongoing investigation.

Trudeau, who served the village for 11 years, was the subject of an investigation about misuse of village funds.

Following Trudeau’s departure, there was a shakeup on the Village Board, with incumbent president Susan Gerber losing her re-election bid to Bruce Nopenz on a 405-314 vote in April.

A month later, the village contracted with the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department, leading to the dissolution of the police department.

Despite the dissolution, all police officers were able to sign on with the Sheriff’s Department.

  1. Transmission line proposal

Four of 12 municipalities affected by a proposed transmission line upgrade, drafted formal resolutions in opposition during 2015.

The Spring Valley-North Lake Geneva Electric Reliability project includes construction of a new 138,000-volt transmission line stretching 25 miles, from an existing North Lake Geneva substation in southern Walworth County to the Spring Valley substation in Kenosha County.

In addition to the upgrade, proposed is a new 138-kV and 69-kV substation at an ATC-owned parcel on Highway 50 in the Town of Wheatland or at existing substation Richmond Road in the Town of Randall.

ATC proposes to connect the 69-kV substation to the Twin Lakes substation.

The three municipalities that drafted resolutions are the towns of Salem and Wheatland along with the Village of Paddock Lake in western Kenosha County.

Additionally, the City of Lake Geneva filed a letter opposing the plan with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.

  1. Going Nuts for the Aquanuts

When the Aquanuts entered the Indmar Marine Engines Show Ski Nationals, the organization that performs weekly during the summer at Lance Park had not won a National Title since 1984.

It all changed at the 41st annual national competition when the team captured the title, courtesy of three champion acts and a swivel presentation on the Rock River in Loves Park, Ill.

While all teams displayed comedy acts and skiing tricks, the Aquanuts theme centered on the 1980 classic movie “Animal House,” dubbed “College.”

The Aquanuts won top honors with their 31-skier, all-female ballet line, consisting of a complex performance beginning with nine swivel skiers, followed by a thread-the-needle pickup of the remaining 22 skiers – 11 on each side.

  1. Changing of guard in Twin Lakes

When Dan Racer retired as chief of the Twin Lakes Police Department, the village opted to hire from within, tabbing full-time patrol captain Adam Grosz as his successor at a July Committee of the Whole meeting.

Racer, who served as police chief for nine years, stepped down in April to focus on personal endeavors after being involved with law enforcement for more than 30 combined years.

“It was a hard decision to leave, but I figure after 36 years of doing this, it was time to leave,” Racer said at the COW meeting.

Previously, Grosz served as police chief in the Town of Rome and has been with the Twin Lakes Police Department since 2013, starting as a part-time administrative lieutenant and climbing the ladder to full-time patrol captain in January 2015.

  1. Central softball salute

Cheers filled the streets of Salem and Paddock Lake when Westosha Central snagged a WIAA Division 1 state softball title in June.

Westosha Central, the top-ranked team entering the postseason, shutout Watertown 3-0 in the finals behind a strong core of juniors.

Last year’s Gatorade Player of the Year, Kayla Konwent, belted 20 home runs in 77 at bats, plated 36, drove in 44 runs and hit at a .610 clip for Westosha Central.

Chy Onstad, another junior, hit .421 with three home runs and 34 RBIs

Sophomore Alyssa Hrncar batted .389 with 39 runs scored.

Hrncar not only produced at the plate, she shouldered the load on the mound, hurling 162 of the Falcons’ 193 2/3 innings, compiling a 22-3 record with a 0.91 ERA.

Most notable was her strikeout-to-walk ratio of 200-to-37.

Hrncar’s sophomore classmate, Kira Michelson, hit .373 with four triples, five home runs and 31 RBIs.

  1. St. Alphonsus shuttered

Citing low enrollment numbers and growing budget deficit, St. Alphonsus Catholic Parish in New Munster closed its grade school in May.

While the grade school closed, the preschool stayed open, with 14 children enrolled in the 3- and 4-year-old programs, according to a May report.

Despite the closure, the school had plans to reopen the facility in a year, and reinforce its partnership with All Saints Catholic School in Kenosha.

All Saints, a regional school established in 2011, and has two campuses in Kenosha with the third opening in the Town of Paris in Fall 2015.

  1. A landslide referendum

In an October special election, residents in the Randall Grade School District overwhelmingly approved a referendum to exceed the proposed revenue limit by $460,000 the next three years.

Citing a shrinking fund balance, the Oct. 13 referendum had 79 percent of voters in favor of it.

“If this hadn’t passed,” Randall District Administrator John Gendron explained, “We would have to dip into our shrinking fund balance to balance this year’s budget.”

  1. School renovations

Two Twin Lakes area schools underwent remodeling that included the construction of a new gymnasium and energy-efficient upgrades.

Lakewood School began its $10.8 million remodeling effort consisting of the new gymnasium, upgrades to the HVAC system and new windows and doors, along with a new band and art room in April; no doubt you saw the dumpsters similar to these cheap skip bins sydney around the school if you were ever near the area.

The upgrades to the HVAC system and the installation of new windows and doors were carried out with energy efficiency in mind. Modern HVAC systems waste less energy, saving money in the process. The school may need to use DUCTZ of Raleigh annually to clean all of its ducts and make sure everything is running smoothly but other than that. the new HVAC system will stop wasting resources and save the school money. Plus, the new windows and doors will stop heat from escaping and cold from entering the building so easily, making it quicker and cheaper to heat the school.

If your house or work building is costing a lot to heat, you may also want to look at replacing your doors and, in particular, your windows. Search for ‘window installation phoenix‘ (if you are based in phoenix, for example) to find a local window installation company.

Additionally, the upgrades include access ramps to make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Lakewood expects to unveil the new gymnasium in January.

Riverview School underwent energy-efficient upgrades that also addressed parking improvements, roofing needs and a safer drop-off zone for students.

  1. Business development in Salem

Town of Salem officials had economic growth in mind when they paid $350,000 for a 40-acre parcel in 2014, and in January, the process began through a partnership with the Kenosha Area Business Alliance.

With the KABA partnership, it yielded another 42 acres of land near the highway and fire department building along Highway C.

Aside from infrastructure, the plan provides up to 66 acres for development.

Four months later, the Joint Review Board began developing plans to create a tax incremental financing district, with the goal of benefits in increased employment along with improvements in business and personal income.

For the full-length story, pick up the Jan. 1 print edition of the Westosha Report


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