Oconto County 2021 in review: See what were the biggest local stories of the past year
OCONTO - Though the subject of several of the Oconto County Reporter’s most-read stories related to a death (or two), none were about the COVID-19 pandemic that’s so far has claimed the lives of 71 county residents, 87 if you include those who probably died from the illness.
While everyone’s heard much about continuing chronicle of coronavirus from national or major state news outlets, it’s not what online readers in northeast Wisconsin are reading.
Here then are the stories that most caught the attention of the OCR’s online readers in 2021.
1. The trial, conviction and sentencing of Raymand Vannieuwenhoven
The 84-year-old man, who had lived in Lakewood for 23 years, was sentenced in August to two consecutive life terms in prison, ending a 45-year-old double homicide case.
Using what’s been termed “genetic genealogy," a Virginia company determined a DNA sample taken from evidence at the crime scene was linked to Vannieuwenhoven’s parents. Investigators matched his DNA to the sample in March 2019, leading to his arrest.
After a five-day trial in July, a jury convicted Vannieuwenhoven of killing 25-year-old David Schuldes and 24-year-old Ellen Matheys. The Green Bay couple had been found shot to death at the campground of McClintock Park in July 1976, just a few months before they intended to wed.
At his sentencing, Vannieuwenhoven said the case had been “rigged” from the start, but Marinette County Judge James Morrison called his conduct depraved. “I do not have words to describe how horrible this is,” he said.
2. The shooting of Oconto Falls Police Officer Nicole Blaskowski
Alisha M. Kocken, 29, is charged with six felonies and three misdemeanor counts for disarming Blaskowski and firing three shots, one of which lacerated her scalp.
Blaskowski had gone to Kocken’s residence on Aug. 6 after the woman reported a kidnapping. The agitated woman said her boyfriend had taken her child to a nearby park and wanted him removed from the apartment.
When the officer tried to calm Kocken, the woman lunged and managed to get behind the officer, remove her gun and scream, “I’ll kill you,” according to the criminal complaint.
The other shots hit a wall and Blaskowski in her ballistic vest.
Blaskowski, 34, had been with Oconto Falls Police for a year and been in law enforcement for about 10 years.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Jan. 7.
3. Man gets 11-year prison sentence for 2018 crash that killed one teen, injured a second
After deliberating just 40 minutes, an Oconto County jury in April convicted Cade Wied, 20, of five charges related to the Dec. 14, 2018, crash that killed September Deneys, 14, of Abrams, and seriously injured Josh Christensen, then 17, of Oconto Falls.
The car being driven by Wied, then 18 and from Sobieski, was traveling at 95 mph five seconds before the crash, and at 88 mph one second before, the criminal complaint said.
At his sentencing in June, Wied received an additional two years in prison from Judge Michael T. Judge for felony bail jumping for driving in violation of his bond.
4. Suring Village Board member arrested for child sexual assault
John Fredenburgh, 37, of Suring, was charged in March with two dozen counts related to the sexual assault of a girl over a period of more than four years, beginning when she was 12 years old.
After those charges were reported, another person came forward, leading to a charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child over an incident with a 14-year-old girl in 2008.
Fredenburgh pleaded not guilty to those charges in April, but he was indicted in U.S. District Court in June with three additional charges related to the sexual assault of a minor. He pleaded guilty to two of the charges in December and faces between 10 and 30 years in prison when he’s sentenced in March.
At that time of his arrest on Feb. 28 by the Oconto County Sheriff's Office, Fredenburgh had served nearly a year on the Suring Village Board. He’d also worked as a substitute teacher for the Suring School District over the previous two months.
5. A fatal plane crash in Oconto County
A 67-year-old Texas man was found dead after his single-engine plane crashed about 8 miles east of Suring on Oct. 27.
Two military jets were sent to intercept the Beechcraft B36TC after it climbed to 24,000 feet without permission and the pilot did not respond to calls from air traffic control.
The flight crews tracked the plane across the state and reported the pilot was unresponsive.
The plane left Fort Worth about 2 p.m. and crashed into a cornfield about 6:20 p.m.
The FAA is continuing to investigate the cause of the crash.
6. Two Oconto teens charged, sentenced in shooting of U.P. man
The boys, ages 17 and 15, were charged in adult court with assault with intent to murder and using a firearm during a felony after arranging to buy marijuana from a man in Menominee, Michigan, on Dec. 28, 2020. The older boy tried to take the drug away from the man without paying, and shot him in the back when he didn’t hand it over. The man has recovered.
The older boy pleaded guilty to assault with intent to rob while armed and was sentenced by Menominee County Judge Mary Barglind to at least five years in prison, less nine months jail credit. He will then go before the Michigan Parole Board, which will determine if he’s ready for release. Barglind set the maximum term at 20 years.
The 15-year-old pleaded guilty to assault with intent to rob while unarmed. Because that is a less serious offense, Barglind said she had the option to sentence him as a juvenile. She did so on Nov. 1, ordering him to serve 35 months in a juvenile facility, with 259 days credit.
7. Marinette teen dies crash; driver of other vehicle was cited, but found not guilty
On Feb. 19, 18-year-old Grace Meyers of Marinette was killed when her Ford Fiesta struck the rear of tanker truck on U.S. 41 just south of Oconto.
The driver of the truck, Timothy C. Wirtz, 55, of Oconto Falls, was cited for unsafe backing of vehicle resulting in death, a non-criminal offense. The accident report said Wirtz was in reverse at the time.
However, a six-person Oconto County jury decided otherwise. After hearing testimony from several witnesses at a trial on Nov. 16, they deliberated just 25 minutes and found Wirtz not guilty, according to court records.
Meyers, a 2020 graduate of Peshtigo High School, was working at St. Vincent Hospital and Rennes Health Center East and planning to pursue a nursing degree, according to her obituary.
8. Sauk County man sentenced to five years in prison for drunken fatal shooting of sister
Christopher Halase, 30, of Baraboo, pleaded no contest to homicide by negligent use of a dangerous weapon after his sister Ashley Halase, 31, died from a shooting at their mother’s home in the town of Doty on Aug. 21, 2020.
At his sentencing in November, Halase’s attorney said his client doesn’t know what happened and doesn’t recall much of what happened that night.
Judge Michael T. Judge also ordered Halase to serve five years on extended supervision.
9. Town of Morgan residents voice opposition to proposed solar farm
At an informational meeting Sept. 15 in Oconto Falls, many of the 100 people who attended were clearly against NextEra Energy’s operating a 150-megawatt facility on CCC Road, just west of County C. They scoffed at answers to questions posed to an official of the company, which already has contracts with numerous property owners should it move ahead with the project.
The NextEra official said the earliest a plan would be submitted to the state Public Service Commission is March 2023.
10. One killed, two injured when van, truck collide with train near Pound
On Dec. 15, a northbound delivery van was stopped at the railroad crossing on U.S. 141 just south of State 64 when it was struck from behind by a dump truck. The van was pushed under the train, killing the driver, Steven Buss, 58, of Kaukauna.
A second dump truck then rear-ended the first dump truck, pushing it in the train as well, causing several train cars to derail. The other drivers were both taken to a hospital for treatment.
Marinette County Sheriff Jerry Sauve said dense fog was a factor in the crash. U.S. 141 was closed to traffic for 25 hours while the site was cleared.
FOR MORE OCONTO COUNTY NEWS: Check out our website!
Contact Kent Tempus at (920) 354-6075 or ktempus@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Oconto County 2021: These were the biggest local stories of the year
