Welcome everybody to Midday magazine for this Wednesday, February 5th, 2025.
Have your host James J. May love here and welcoming into the studio for the entire hour.
Wood County Sheriff Sean Becker in with us today.
Sean, good to see you.
Great to see you.
Oh, man, let me go.
There we go.
I got you on the wrong one there.
Sorry about that.
Thanks for being here, Sean.
I used to be immune at some time.
We also want to send a big shout out to our friends over at Wisconsin Rapids Community
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Appreciate so much.
Everything that you guys do over there, man.
So Sean, we got a number of different things that we can start with.
Where do you want to start?
How cold it was at the floor of my shirt.
So darn cold.
Yeah, I wanted to get to that eventually.
How was it?
How did that go?
What a great.
We talk about every year before the event and then after.
It's just that great partnership that we have, you know, law enforcement has with Special
Olympics.
So last week, it was Audit Anchor Bay.
The folks there just do an awesome job, Holstein's been out there for a few years and the
water was cold as it always is and Mike Weiberg, one of my best friends, he overseas rescue
and he was in the water with a couple other people from Rescue Volunteer and their time
just to make sure everybody gets out of the water safely.
He said that, you know, the last couple of years, every time I see you jump in, you just
look miserable.
I'm like, well, what do you think?
Yeah, I want to like wrestle with you in the water like we did a few years ago, but you
know, I don't think that would be a good thing for you to do and I'm like, well, don't
challenge me.
But I think you're probably right.
We have the Sheriff's Department again in a team.
We've been doing it over 10 years, you know, I don't know exactly how much money that
we've raised for Special Olympics, but it's in the thousands and we always appreciate
the people that are supporting not only the event, but our team to get out there and this
year, we had five people jump and Macy, one of our night shift corrections officers, she
raised the most money over $1,000 for Special Olympics.
So a big, you know, big shout out to Macy and then everybody else had jumped to one of
some of you has joined us that day when our transport officer, Carrie, today, I'm coming
to watch, but I think I'll just jump and I brought a shirt and I'm like, okay, and she's
never done it before.
I'm like, right on.
All right, but everybody that that came out and supported the cause, I'm very proud of
them.
And the community to be out there, Southbound came and, you know, they donated their time
to have one of our premier bands from the area out there.
And like I said, the whole set anchor bage do a phenomenal job to put on an event, you
know, this coming weekend, we've got the rater run, the color nights, some of the club
that I'm part of, they're putting on again, the whole set anchor bay, make sure that
that happens.
And so if you're not doing anything this coming weekend, I think the, the, the, the, the,
racing starts or the time trials, however you want to call them around 10 a.m. or registration
is.
And then I'll go throughout the day, but a great fundraiser for the color nights snow
will be a club and an opportunity to locally get to use your machines because it doesn't
happen very often, but it might after this weekend, I am hearing that, that we're going
to be getting some snow, but you'll highly know all the snow will be a club.
So I mean, that's what people sometimes forget what it takes to, you know, run the trail
system.
And it's all by private clubs with, you know, the state helping out with supporting, you
know, the, the grooming, but there's so much more to, you know, having a snow bill trail.
People just seem to forget that all the trail system primarily is, is, is, is privately
owned, and you have to really give a shout out to the land owners that allow people to
be on their property.
And unfortunately, that's where we come into a part of this is law enforcement officers.
When people decide to abuse that, you know, that's where we're going to take enforcement
action because what that, what that does when people especially go off trail, that really
puts that, that, that route, that trail and jeopardy because the property owner is going
to get sick of it and they're going to say, all right, no more.
And we have no recourse, you know, and, you know, that, and that's unfortunate.
But, you know, a big shout out to all of the clubs that, that oversee their trail systems
hopefully with the dumping that we get here in central Wisconsin this weekend will put
us in an opportunity to open up our trail system.
So it's a great sport, but to that point, and I had my notes, I wanted to talk about this
because I think a lot of people might have seen in the news over the week that there's
going to be a number of trails opening up in the state to your point, we're going to
be having a little more snow.
So we're going to have some trails that are going to be opening up and I thought it was
a great opportunity.
Not only with that, but with the recent conversation, one of the more popular things in this town
the last couple of weeks, if not months, has been the ATV, UTV ordinance that's gone around.
So all of these things happening at in unison right now, I thought was a good opportunity
to touch on the things you're, you're talking about right now.
In a reminder to all snowmobiliers out there and ATV users out there, those that have
not voted for this ordinance the past are watching with the keen eye.
Beyond your best behavior, man, I'm not saying that you shouldn't be otherwise, and I'm not
even saying that people should be right to be nitpicking or anything like that, I'm
not on a side on this one, I'm really, I'm Switzerland on this one, I'm going with
the community on it.
It's very rare that I am, that I usually have it, but with this one, I really don't,
I don't act like I know better, I know that I don't know, I know that I don't, this
isn't my thing.
So I'm literally taken back seat and just taking in the information people like you and
other citizens.
I do know that much though, I do know that I've heard from community members that are very
on tune on this and paying attention and something to keep in mind to your point about
being just treating these trails good and treating the property owners well.
Right.
And that's especially with the stormy aspect of it, the UTV stuff, ATV stuff that has been
going on throughout the state, not exclusively to institute the City of Wisconsin rap, it's
they'll figure it out, you know, whether they want to go one way or another, you know,
they'll figure it out.
I think that my always suggestion is take a look at what other communities have done, you
know, and how has it worked for them, how has it worked for them, and then you have an
ordinance that you can, you know, create that, you know, makes it safer for everybody, you
know, but again, it'll take some time, they'll work it out either way.
I just like I said, even people that are supportive or not supportive of it or they're kind
of on the fence, I think take the time to look at what other communities are doing, you
know, I always say, look at what the township of Grand Rapids did, that's where I live,
and I think they did it perfectly by, you know, looking at it, they have an ordinance that
I feel is very reasonable, they started out with only opening up certain routes throughout
the townships, kind of tested it, and then kind of moved it forward, you know, seeing,
hey, we're not having the issues that we kind of anticipated, and now all of the roads
are open, and the same with Wood County, you know, going through our highway commissioner
Rowland Hawk did a phenomenal job by looking at all the county highways, you know, looking
at the, you know, ones that are traveling more, maybe we shouldn't have, you know, TVs
and ATVs on them, but here's a route system that, you know, established thinking of safety,
and, you know, and we haven't had, you know, the major issues we've had some crashes,
but in comparison to other motor vehicle crashes, they're lower, so, you know, like I said,
the city, like I suggest, just take a look at, you know, what other communities are doing,
city of Marsfield's open, you know, hey, what's happening, you know, what kind of issues
are going on, what complaints are you getting, what are the positives, you know, what are
the things that, you know, we don't like, you know, I really think that's the best way
for everybody, no matter how you feel about it to become informed, look at what other
communities have done, and I think that's probably the best way to sway how you are going
to, you know, move forward, you know, especially with the city council, and what's going to happen
is because I know that they're going to take it up again, I think sometime this month
from what I understand, and I think now that you've got an opportunity as somebody that
lives in this city to do some research, if it's a hard no, then let your still council
personnel, if you're on the fence, do some research.
And that's, I think that's a great note for anything going forward when it comes to voting,
when it comes to any of these things, do your homework, you know, look in the multiple
sources and ask people, talk to people, and I think you, you know, you come up with your
answers and agree with you that, well, this is going to get figured out one way or the
other, it's just a matter of time, I think. I know that, you know, for the audience, it
doesn't maybe see the videos or know behind the curtain here a little bit. Sheriff
Brecker always comes in here and brings his A game and brings a ton of material for
us to talk about, and I want to get to every bit of it, and I appreciate that you do
that so much, man. But I did want to ask you, especially because it is happening right
now, and we have a chance to talk about this in real time, that there is an amber alert
around, and remind people about that amber alert, and that there is a pregnant 16-year-old
girl out there that we're trying to find, and that. Now, hopefully most people have heard
that by now, certainly the resources of the amber alert, and the way that we get these
updates and everything, seems like most people, whether through their phone or their TV,
have heard about it. But I don't think we take a lot of time to think about what it is
like for law enforcement in this situation, how you guys react to this, and how we can
do to help you do your job in this scenario.
Call us, you know, about a mine. Once the information goes out on the amber alert or silver alert,
you know, that kind of information, those programs have been out for a while, and what's
been happening for us that helps us, is two things. One, the continued community support,
you see something you call us right away, and then technology. You know, we can talk
a little bit about the flat camera system that's been out throughout the country, and once,
you know, you get a situation like an amber alert, it works on two levels. One, the public
notification, what's happening right now, where, you know, the news media sources are covering
it. You know, it's getting out to, you know, your cell phones, you know, so everybody, there's
a awareness thing out there, and then what we encourage people to do, if you see it, call us,
you know, and get us a call right away, because there's some certain guidelines that we have to
file for either an amber alert or a silver alert in order to make sure it qualifies to go through
this. And once it meets that threshold, all right, that information is something that we need,
the public's help, you know, and so if we're having an amber alert out there, it's a serious
situation. So now with the technology aspect of it, you know, with the camera systems that are
out there that aid law enforcement, say whatever this vehicle, you know, the suspect is a 40-year-old
with the 16-year-old who's pregnant is out there, you know, the vehicle along with the license
plates are alerted when they go by these cameras that, like I said, they're all throughout the
state in the country. So that's going to help us because, you know, that information goes right
to law enforcement right away if they go by. Well, we did hear that the suspect has changed
license plates, but as we get that information, we can update the information that goes into this
camera system. So you look at the technology aspect of it, which is, you know, you got to love it.
Some people might not like it as far as criminals, but on the other aspect of it, it does make
the public safer. But the thing to highlight, though, once the information is out there as an
amber, silver alert, you can trust it. It met that threshold of, of, of, there's somebody that is at
risk. We want your help. You see something, please call it in. Appreciate that. And thank you for
the rundown of it, too. And as a side note, I watched one episode of CSI and straightened me out,
man. I don't know why anybody does anything anymore. You cannot get away with anything. I don't
know why you should be putting you out of business. It's a complete side note. And, and trying to
find a light moment here to keep the conversation going certainly. Thank you for that breakdown,
though. I appreciate that. Hopefully we can come up with the six-year-old sooner than later,
and get her in a safe place. Where did you want to go next, sir? Well, again, just highlighting the
polar plunge. Cole Cleworth, hey, he started off again. He's plunged over 10 years. A great
friend of mine. Again, he got out in the community and raised a lot of money. So appreciate
all that he does for, you know, special Olympics and his leadership. So a big shout out to Cole
and his parents. Next thing, you know, 10 and 26. You know, we've had quite a few accidents and
fatalities there. And it's so awareness piece. If you're paying attention to our Facebook page,
we've been putting a lot of polls out there in reference to that particular intersection. And
the awareness of Highway 10 from Marshfield all the way to the county line at Portage County.
There's a lot of cross traffic there. Not just exclusively at 10 and 26, but there's other
intersections. And the unfortunate thing that's been happening that stretches the crashes
and wrong way drivers. The primary thing with the crashes that you're seeing are people are
either failing to stop in the median or failing to yield. And then you have a T-bone kind of crash.
We had a tragedy last last January where Casey Rampon was killed. And you know, the family to
their credit. You know, they're still grieving, but they want change. You know, and you know,
we sat down and talked with the family and they're willing to push something forward in Casey's name,
which I give them a lot of credit, especially, you know, under the circumstances where this happened
recently. But, you know, they want to bring awareness to make sure that, you know, something changes
at especially the intersection at 10 and 26, where there's some modifications. There are some
safety modifications that will prevent any other tragedies in the future. And, you know, obviously,
probably would make it the safest. And we've discussed this as an overpass. But that's going to be
a challenge because of the funding aspect of it. Now, you have to work with department transportation,
you know, our highway commissioner, highway department, can't just go and say we're putting
an overpass there or even change the signage. You know, do a lighted stop sign or something else
for humble strips or or something. All that has to be approved by DOT. And that's a process. And I'm
by all means, you know, bashing department transportation is the unfortunate thing. It just takes
time to to work through their guidelines and their requirements to make any type of changes. But,
you know, what we're doing is reaching out to all of our local representatives. You know,
everybody that has any connection to, you know, that stretch of the highway and woodconey and we're
talking, you know, Pat Teston, Tom Tiffany, just a list of everybody, John Spirals. And they've
been very receptive to, all right, well, let's look at this. All right, you know, what can we do
to help move something along to make some changes, you know, at that intersection. But maybe,
you know, throughout, you know, that stretch of highway 10, you know, and I want to thank all the
people that are in the community that have stepped up and what letters, especially the family.
You know, I mean, from, you know, the mother that they put together, I know it was very, very
hard for her to write. But, you know, she did it and we posted that and I think those are the
types of letters from family that, you know, people can, you know, I could say something all day long.
But, you know, I'm not the person that, you know, it does affect us as law enforcement officers
and first responders and EMS. But who's dealing with it at a long term for the rest of their
lives? And that's the family and I give them, you know, a lot of credit. They're willing to share it
and willing to push for for some change to make, you know, at least that particular intersection
safer in, you know, in Casey's name, you know, and like I said, this is still something that is
as very fresh in their minds. But, you know, again, just thank you to all of our local
representatives and our county board. They passed a resolution just requested for them in
transportation to, you know, consider safety changes, including not exclusively to an overpass,
but including, you know, that discussion because I know there is some, you know, opposition to an
overpass as we, you know, talk to some community members because it affects property in the area.
And I understand that, you know, I'm always going to fall in the public safety side of things and
yes, an overpass would most likely or would take care of that cross traffic and we wouldn't have
those type of collisions anymore. But I'm not ignoring the fact that the impact it has and other
people around there. And I appreciate the, you know, their safety suggestions and saying, hey,
we don't want an overpass per se. But, you know, we still agree that there needs to be some changes
in safety measures. So, I appreciate the people that are willing to step up because, you know,
for me, that would be hard for me to do because knowing that people died at that intersection and you
want to somehow oppose it, but if you come to the table and say, this is why, but I totally agree
that, you know, we need to make some changes there to make it safer. And I think that that's a good
compromise to at least discuss, you know, for me, you know, I'll, like I said, as a public safety
measure, yeah, put an overpass there. But I know that that's not that easy to do and there needs to
be some continued discussion and there has been and there and I can promise that we will continue
to do that because I'm strongly in favor of changing something there to make that intersection
safer, you know, in comparison to that stretch of highway 10. And I don't know why, you know, I
wish I had a good answer. But that's my question. If this is a, is this a newer issue? Is this a new
problem? Is this something that has been an issue for years, for decades? It's not as if this
intersection is new. No, it's not. I believe around 2011 is when the new highway 10
area or that highway US highway 10 highway was redone from many years ago because it was
dangerous and it became a four lane highway. And it stretches all the way to Appleton as a four lane
highway. And, you know, there, if you look in and I'm not picking on anything and you look at
Porge County, you know, I don't think that there's any cross traffic, you know, where Wood County has
cross traffic. And it's like, why? And, and, and, and Kevnyesky, the superintendant from
the Auburnville school district that just up, people should look at his letter because of the facts
that he found and the questions he brought up really make you ask, well, why, you know, why in this
stretch, but, you know, other stretches and other counties, you know, there isn't the cross
traffic, especially at a state highway that's intersecting a US highway. And, and like I said,
the challenge for the county is we can't just go out and change signage that all has to be approved
through DOT because they control the state highway and the US highway. So, you know, it's something
that, you know, like I said, we're not going to walk away from. We're going to work with DOT
and hopefully get something, you know, change, not only that intersection, but other, you know,
parts of highway tend to at least change, you know, signage or something to make, you know,
that, that whole stretch safer for, for people to travel. It's just, we're getting a lot of
wrong way drivers. Some are local, we had a, we had a terrible fatality where somebody went
the wrong way and had a head-on collision at that long go on 10, you know, and what, what can we
change to, to prevent these? And, you know, I was an accident reconstructionist for several years,
it was a sign of the patrol division. And a lot of things that were brought up to me are, well,
most of these collisions or tragedies are driver error. I'm like, well, most crashes are driver error.
Okay, something the driver did caused a crash. But I think what, you know, as public officials and
leaders, what we have to do is look at environments that can cut down on a driver error.
All right, I mean, you could point the finger all day at that driver that caused the crash,
but what in the environment could have prevented that driver error? You know, and I learned that
rather really out of my reconstruction career that, you know, my instructors would say,
drivers caused 99% or whatever the percentage is of crashes, you know, but you still have to look
at the environment that could take that factor away from that individual driver from, you know,
making a mistake that could cost somebody's life. And that's what we're seeing. So,
again, we're going to, we're going to stay at this. We're going to keep moving forward.
As always, I appreciate our county board to take a look at, you know, the issues that we have going
on that affect all of us. And they passed the resolution, which, you know, really just,
I don't think it really puts DOTI notice, but at least makes them aware that, you know,
our elected officials here in the county are concerned about this. So, let's work together to
make some changes to make, no, the area safer for all of us to travel. You hit it on the head.
What the answers might be, I don't know, but I know that we'll get them coming together. We'll
get them working together like adults, like we did with the jail, and like we did with other
projects in this area that may have seen years ago, like, I don't know if this is ever going to
happen, and then boom, this happens. It's something very similar with this, or like we were talking about
with the ETV, UTV ordinance, or any of these things, the way we get answers is together and working
together on it. Appreciate that time on this one, sir. We're going to take a quick time out. We'll
be back with more with Sheriff Sean Becker and our friends, Wisconsin's Rapids Community Media here
at Midday Magazine at WFHR.
