A?42-year-old Rhinelander man recently was arrested for four felony-related insurance fraud and identity theft charges.

The Oneida County Sheriff’s Office arrested John E. Henricks III after executing a state search warrant at Custom Collision Crash Center, Inc. and Rick’s Hodag Towing, Inc. in the morning hours of Monday, June 3.

The businesses are located at 41 East Pearl St. and 806 North Stevens

A?47-year-old male with severe injuries was found laying on the side of the road on Highway 155 near Birchwood Drive in the town of St. Germain early Saturday morning.

Vilas County 911 received a report of a male subject laying on the roadside at approximately 2:54 a.m. Authorities responded and identified the man as Ronnie Schilling of Sayner.

Schilling initially was transported to Howard Young Medical Center,

Frustrated residents chastised the town of Cloverland Plan Commission last week for what they considered a “watered-down” version of a proposed sexual offender placement ordinance.

Residents also questioned the town’s inability to have a sexual offender housed by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) removed from their River Road neighborhood.

Tye and Deana Lindbom asked  Cloverland Town Board Chairman Scott Maciosek why the ordinance drafted

The cooperative relationship between Vilas County’s 12 communities and its Tourism and Publicity Department continues to be a win-win for both sides, according to the department’s executive director, Cindy Burzinski.

Travelers spent $195.4 million in Vilas County in 2012, a 10.25% increase over 2011 and the most of any county in northern Wisconsin, she said.

Visitor spending also supported 1,640 full-time jobs and generated $20.2 million in state and local taxes in 2012.

Vilas County Tourism and Publicity promotes

The American Legion Post 114 and VFW Post 8637 will hold a flag retirement ceremony on Flag Day, June 14, at 10:30 a.m. at the American Legion, located at 530 Highway 45 South.

Those with flags to retire may take them to the Legion before 10:30 a.m. or drop them off at the VFW any day between 2 and 6 p.m.

The public is welcome to attend the ceremony.

Three Lakes warden nabs suspect after chase

Three Lakes conservation warden Pat Novesky held the phone to one ear with one hand, his coffee cup in the other as he let go of a slight smile fueled by this initial thought: “The dispatchers are messing with me.”

Understandable when considering the Oneida County Sheriff’s Department dispatchers were calling at 6:40 a.m. to ask if Novesky could help their officers with a high-speed chase involving a guy escaping a crime scene — on a snowmobile.

“I actually asked them to repeat the information,” Novesky said, adding he was certain the response would be a punch line to kick off the weekend.

But this was legit. And what evolved was a near textbook example

Sifting through nearly a dozen bids last week for the construction of a new town garage, the town of Washington board accepted the bid of Custom Components of Eagle River.

The town garage will be an 80- by 62-foot wood frame building with steel siding and roof, along with two 20-foot garage doors.

Eleven firms submitted bids, ranging from a high of $129,810 from National Construction of Madison to a low of $94,872 from Custom Components. The second lowest bid was just $128 higher at $95,000 from Select Builders LLC of Eagle River.

A representative of Select Builders urged

NOKOMIS — A 42-year-old Harshaw man was killed Thursday afternoon on Highway 51 after his vehicle crossed the centerline and collided with a semitrailer, police said.
The Oneida County Sheriff’s Department said the accident took the life of Jason P. Smoker, who was travelinig northbound on Highway 51 about three miles north of Highway 8 in the town of Nokomis.
Police said the accident occurred about 2:02 p.m., just 17 minutes aftere the sheriff’s department received a 911 call reporting reckless driving of a northbound vehicle. In their press statement, police did not confirm a positive identity on the first vechicle that

A proposed county all-terrain vehicle (ATV) ordinance that would permit ATV travel on seven-tenths of a mile of Highway D in Lac du Flambeau to complete a route using town roads was rejected 13-8 by the Vilas County Board at its first evening meeting in St. Germain last week.
Concern that approval would be the “foot in the door” for ATVs in Vilas County was a significant factor in the vote, according to supervisors voting against the proposal.