Navigation

2022 Year in Review: Spot News

January

ATVs Crash through Ice

Gardner – Three men were rescued when their ATVs crashed through the ice on the waters of Green Bay near County N about a half mile south of Sugar Creek County Park in the Town of Gardner. 

Two of the men were returning to shore Jan. 15 after fishing – one towing the other’s ATV, which had broken down earlier in the day. The man doing the towing broke through the ice; another man tried to assist, and his ATV also broke through. Both men were rescued from the water and transported for treatment.

A family home burned to the ground in Brussels this February. Archive image.

February

Family Dog Lost to House Fire 

Brussels – The Chuck and Kandi Bretl family home in Brussels was burned to the ground, and the family also lost the family dog, six kittens and a shed on the property that housed vehicles. 

Members of the Brussels Union Gardner (BUG) fire department were dispatched to the 1681 Pitt Road residence at 2:40 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 8. Jim Wautier, BUG assistant fire chief, said the cause of the fire was not determined, but also not suspicious.

The debris of Butch’s Bar. Archive image.

Two Killed, One Charged in Butch’s Bar Fire

Butch’s Bar, a building that had anchored the southeast corner of 3rd Avenue and Nebraska Street since 1919, was destroyed by fire on Feb. 22, claiming the lives of two people who lived in one of the rental units above the bar. 

Anthony Gonzales, 57, also one of the tenants, remains in jail as of 2022’s end while awaiting trial on two felony counts of Second Degree Reckless Homicide and five felony counts of Second Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety. He allegedly caused the fire while trying to fill a Zippo-syle lighter in his room and then striking it to smoke a cigarette. 

Removal of the debris was completed by May, and by late summer, former Butch’s Bar owner Clarence Cumber Jr. had purchased the former Nautical Inn building at 234 Kentucky Street and reopened Butch’s Bar there.

An Egg Harbor home burned down this June. Archive image.

June

Home Fire Caused by Burning Barrel

Egg Harbor – A home in the Town of Egg Harbor was a total loss after a Sunday-morning fire at 6072 Windsong Bluff Dr. near Carlsville. By the time the first truck arrived 12 minutes after the department was notified, the fire was already shooting through the roof, said Justin MacDonald, who serves as chief of the Egg Harbor and Ephraim fire departments. 

The owners of the vacation home were there when the fire started, but they were not injured. MacDonald said the fire started when the occupants were burning trash in a burning barrel that spread to dry grass and then the house.

July

One Dies in One-Car Crash

Egg Harbor – One person died, and another was flown to Green Bay with injuries, after the driver of a pickup truck crashed the vehicle into a tree and utility pole on Heritage Lake Road, just north of the intersection of County E in the Town of Egg Harbor. Timothy V. Corn, 37, of Neopit died in the crash. The surviving victim was Emelio R. Rodriquez, 25, of Shawano.

Bomb Threat Cleared

Sturgeon Bay – No suspicious packages or explosives were discovered after a bomb threat came in for the Sturgeon Bay campus of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. The Sturgeon Bay Police Department gave the all-clear after the campus at 229 N. 14th Ave. was shut down for about five hours.

August

Man Charged with Homicide by Intoxicated Use of Vehicle

Sevastopol – Joshua D. Gann, 43, of Sturgeon Bay was charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle following what was described as a hit-and-run accident that took place Aug. 29 on Gordon Road/County BB in Sevastopol.

The crash claimed the life of 71-year-old Marilyn J. (Faust) Van Den Bogart, who was struck in her yard by a 2013 Ford Escape SUV allegedly driven by Gann.

September

Vehicle Crosses Centerline in Accident That Claims a Life

Sevastopol – A 78-year-old Florida man lost his life in a multi-vehicle accident on Highway 42 north of where Highway 42 and 57 part ways in the Town of Sevastopol. Two others were transported for medical treatment. The vehicle driven by the Florida man crossed the centerline and struck the rear tires of a semi-trailer, which set off a chain reaction that caused the accident.

Firefighters hose down Mr. G’s Logan Creek Grille. Archive image.

October

Arson the Cause of Mr. G’s Fire

Jacksonport – Firefighters prevented a Sunday-afternoon blaze from claiming much of the building at Mr. G’s Logan Creek Grille south of Jacksonport on Oct. 23. Jonathan J. Polich was charged with two counts of arson to a dwelling.

Electrical Fire Causes English Inn Evacuation

Fish Creek – An electrical fire was found to have caused the smoke that forced the evacuation of The English Inn at the height of the dinner hour Oct. 9. The problem was fixed, and the restaurant was open for business again by the following evening.

Firefighters hose down a burning Fish Creek home. Archive image.

November

Unoccupied Fish Creek Home Burns to the Ground

Fish Creek – An unoccupied Fish Creek home on Sugarbush Court burnt nearly to the ground Nov. 26, though firefighters were able to save the nearby garage. It was a vacation home that the Illinois owners had left earlier that day, said Andy Bertges, fire chief of the Gibraltar Fire Department. By the time firefighters had arrived on the scene, the flames had already engulfed the home. The cause of the fire was unknown but not deemed suspicious.