Local News

By Correne Martin

The Wauzeka-Steuben School District approved a tax levy of $1,019,503, and a mill rate of $11.68, for the 2019-20 school year, to be extended to all taxable property within the district. 

This means that, for every $1,000 of taxable value, $11.68 is asked in taxes to the school district—or on the typical example of a $100,000 home, $1,168 is owed.

According to information presented at the district’s Oct. 28 annual meeting, the school tax levy will decrease by 6.88 percent from last year, and the mill rate will also go down from $12.71 to $11.68.

The Crawford County Veterans Service Office has announced local events in observance of Veterans Day. All are invited to attend.

On Saturday, Nov. 9, a flag raising will take place at Cabela’s in Prairie du Chien at 9 a.m. For veterans, free coffee and doughnuts will be offered from 9 to 10 a.m., followed by free hot dogs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

On Sunday, Nov. 10, the Prairie du Chien St. John’s Church mass will be held in honor of local veterans and emergency personnel. At 11 a.m., there will be a luncheon with brats and hot dogs in the church hall, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. This is open to veterans and their spouses. 

On Sunday, Nov. 3, at about 3:40 a.m., the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call of a one vehicle traffic crash on State Highway 171 near Old 61, in the township of Clayton. The caller stated the driver of the vehicle was possibly ejected.

Officials later determined that Steve A. Collins, 48, of Gays Mills, was operating a 2013 Jeep Wrangler eastbound on Highway 171. The vehicle went off the right side of the roadway, striking a fire number. The vehicle then reentered the roadway before going off a short, steep embankment and back into the eastbound lane. The vehicle began sliding in the roadway, slid across the highway causing the passenger tires to dig into the shoulder of the roadway and making the vehicle overturn. Collins was ejected from the vehicle as a result of the rollover. 

On Oct. 31, at about 2 p.m. the Prairie du Chien Police Department K-9 Unit conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for a traffic violation on the 400 block of South Marquette Road. During the course of the stop, K-9 Rico was utilized and indicated to the presence of one or more controlled substances he is trained and certified to locate. A subsequent search of the vehicle resulted in heroin, methamphetamine, and other drug paraphernalia being confiscated, according to officials.

Through the course of the traffic stop, out of the seven occupants in the vehicle, officers determined the person who possessed the contraband was Benny C. Vann, 26, of La Crosse.