Germantown police seek witnesses in overdose deaths

March 11, 2010 12:04 p.m. | Germantown - Police are seeking witnesses in the 2009 drug overdose deaths of Ted Olla and Ian Hegmegee and those investigations are not closed, Chief Peter Hoell said Thursday.

"We want to know who gave our two victims their fatal doses," Hoell said. At a news conference, Hoell asked community residents to come forward with any information related to the deaths.

Both men were found unresponsive in the Germantown residence of Kimberly Sell, 38.

Sell was charged this week in Ozaukee County Circuit Court with first degree reckless homicide in the Dec. 21 prescription drug overdose death of Kati Lynn Hammen of Fredonia. Sell sold Hammen, 21, the methadone that caused her death, authorities said. Hammen's live-in fiancé, Brad Baumann, told investigators that he accompanied her to Germantown to buy methadone from Sell the day before Hammen's death.

Olla, Sell's fiancé, died April 15 of an overdose of multiple drugs, including cocaine and methadone. Sell found Olla, 48, on a couch in the Legend Ave. apartment that they shared.

We're blogging live from Friday night's boys basketball sectional semifinals

March 11, 2010 9:43 a.m. | Join NOW's David Cotey and Lake Country Publications' JR Radcliffe court side Friday night as they blog live from three of the area's top Division 1 boys basketball match ups.

Cotey will be covering the contest between No. 5 Brookfield Central and No. 1 Milwaukee Hamilton, set for 6 p.m. at Greenfield High School.

Radcliffe will be at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee reporting from No. 4 Waukesha West vs. No. 1 Arrowhead at 6 p.m. and No. 3 Germantown against No. 2 Menomonee Falls at 8 p.m.

Sign up now to receive an e-mail reminder when the events go live:

Brookfield Central vs. Hamilton

Help us choose the All-Suburban teams and you could win Bucks tickets

March 11, 2010 7:21 a.m. | Want to weigh in on who you think are the best boys and girls basketball players in the suburban area?

Now's your chance, as we're asking high school hoops fans to help us select the annual NOW Newspapers All-Suburban boys and girls basketball teams, and the Players of the Year.

We've nominated the top players in the area to fill 10 spots on each honors team and we're asking you to pick the players that you think are the best in the NOW Newspapers coverage area.

When the fan voting is over, your votes - along with the votes of our sports staff - will determine the makeup of our All-Suburban Teams. And one lucky person will win a pair of lower-level tickets to a Milwaukee Bucks game just for voting!

Vote for the boys team

Woman linked to 2 more drug overdose deaths

March 10, 2010 4:46 p.m. | Kimberly Sell, the 38-year-old Germantown woman charged in Ozaukee County court this week in the prescription drug overdose death of a Fredonia woman, is linked to at least two other drug overdose deaths in 2009, authorities said Wednesday.

Sell is a person of interest in the April death of her fiancé, Ted Olla, who lived with her, and the Christmas Day death of Ian Hegmegee of Menomonee Falls, Germantown Police Chief Peter Hoell said.

Sell allegedly sold methadone on Dec. 20 to Kati Lynn Hammen, 21, who was found dead the next day at her Fredonia residence, according to a criminal complaint. Sell was charged Tuesday with first-degree reckless homicide in Hammen's death.

On Wednesday, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Sandy Williams set bail for Sell at $75,000. Sell remained in the Ozaukee County Jail on Wednesday afternoon.

A preliminary hearing to review the charges against Sell is scheduled for March 19. If convicted, Sell could be imprisoned for up to 40 years.

Germantown vs. Homestead girls basketball photo gallery now online

March 09, 2010 9:56 p.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery from tonight's first-round girls basketball tournament game between host Germantown and Homestead.

No. 5 Germantown earned a 63-56 victory over the No. 12 Highlanders to move to the second round. The Warhawks will play at No. 4 Waukesha South on Saturday.

See NOW photojournalist Peter Zuzga's photo gallery.

District to cut teachers next year to deal with deficit

March 09, 2010 10:38 a.m. | School district officials are planning to balance a projected $475,000 deficit for next school year by cutting 2.5 full-time equivalent teachers and some capital purchases, reducing aide time, and restructuring some secretarial and supervisory positions.

While other districts across the state, including Menomonee Falls, are looking at cuts in the $1 million to $2 million range for next school year, Superintendent Kenneth Rogers said the cuts Germantown is facing are not as deep.

"This is not a cause for celebration," Rogers said. "These (cuts) do not come easily. There is some considerable belt-tightening."

The district could face an additional $165,000 in cuts because of the number of students leaving through Open Enrollment. The district doesn't accept Open Enrollment students in kindergarten through seventh grade because of space constraints. The district is prepared for additional personnel cuts, primarily aides.

"We are trying to anticipate all that," Rogers said, referring to Open Enrollment changes and special education needs. "It is a greased pig that we are trying to catch."

Germantown basketball photos now online

March 08, 2010 1:42 p.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery from Germantown's 56-45 victory over Hamilton in a boys basketball regional final Saturday.

Zak Showalter let the Warhawks with 11 points as they claimed their fourth straight regional title. With the victory, No. 3 Germantown advances to take on No. 2 Menomonee Falls in Friday's sectional semifinal at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee.

See NOW photojournalist C.T. Kruger's photo gallery.

Falls, GT to put sectional basketball tickets on sale

March 08, 2010 9:55 a.m. | Tickets for the WIAA sectional boys basketball showdown between Menomonee Falls and Germantown will go on sale shortly at the respective high schools.

The game is slated for the Al McGuire Center on the Marquette University campus in downtown Milwaukee at 8 p.m. Friday.

Tickets will go on sale at Germantown High School at 11 a.m. Monday in the school bookstore, while at Falls, they will go on sale at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday outside the athletic office.

The tickets for the two-game Friday semifinal session are $7 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets for the Saturday, 7:30 p.m. sectional final, also back at the Al, are $6 and $4, respectively.

Both schools will sell the tickets on a first-come, first-serve basis and people are advised to buy early as demand for this border rivalry game is expected to be great. 

Germantown tops Hamilton to set up a showdown with Falls

March 07, 2010 7:24 a.m. | The Germantown boys basketball team topped Sussex Hamilton, 56-45, Saturday in a WIAA regional championship.

The Warhawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never trailed. Zak Showalter led the team with 11 points.

The Warhawks will play Greater Metro Conference champion Menomonee Falls in an 8 p.m. sectional semifinal on Friday. The Indians overpowered the Warhawks, 88-67, in December and survived a 76-75 scare from Mukwonago in a regional final of their own on Saturday.

Falls and Germantown met in the sectional final last season, with the Warhawks outlasting the game Indians to advance to their second straight state tournament. Falls is riding a 14-game winning streak while Germantown has won 14 of its last 16.

Go to full story

Vote for the All-Suburban Basketball Team and you could win Bucks tickets

March 04, 2010 7:43 a.m. | Want to weigh in on who you think are the best boys basketball players in the suburban area?

Now's your chance, as we're asking high school hoops fans to help us select the annual NOW Newspapers All-Suburban Boys Basketball Team, and the Player of the Year.

We've nominated 14 players to fill 10 spots on the honors team and we're asking you to pick the player that you think is the top basketball player in the NOW Newspapers coverage area.

When the fan voting is over, your votes - along with the votes of our sport staff - will determine the makeup of our All-Suburban Team. And one lucky person will win a pair of lower-level tickets to a Milwaukee Bucks game just for voting!

Vote here.

Board borrows $1.8 million for capital projects

March 02, 2010 12:04 p.m. | Although a replacement ambulance and other purchases are points of contention for two trustees, the Village Board on Monday borrowed $1.8 million for this year's capital projects, which includes $1 million for roads.

Trustees David Baum and Art Zabel, who voted against the loan, last week tried to have the ambulance, estimated at $225,000, removed from the budget.

However, concerns on mileage and the aging vehicles in the village's fleet prevailed, and the ambulance remains in the budget.

Baum also attempted to get firefighter turnout gear, with a $117,000 price tag, funded within the operating budget, a third of the gear needed each year. But other trustees noted contract obligations, safety and implementation of a future replacement plan.

Swing into the 2010 Golf Show with free tickets

March 01, 2010 1:50 p.m. | The 2010 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Golf Show starts Friday, and you could win a pair of free tickets by entering our Twitter and Facebook contests.

On Twitter, simply follow MyCommunityNOW and tweet "I want to win free tickets to the #MKE Golf Show from @MyCommunityNOW. RT to win. Details: http://bit.ly/cPficZ"

A random drawing will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday for the three sets of free tickets, with each winner receiving four tickets. Winners must pick tickets up at NOW's Waukesha offices. Winners will be contacted through Twitter before noon on Thursday.

On Facebook, become a fan of the MyCommunityNOW fan page and respond or write on the wall about a story, photo or some other staff work you saw in one of our papers or on one of our Web sites and tell us what you liked or didn't like about that work. Two winners will be picked during a random drawing at 10 a.m. Thursday with each receiving four free tickets. Winners will be contacted through Facebook and must pick tickets up at NOW's Waukesha offices. Winners will be contacted through Twitter before noon on Thursday.

For more information on the golf show, visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Golf Show Web site.

Worker hurt in Germantown industrial accident

March 01, 2010 10:56 a.m. | Germantown - A worker at CMN Inc., a die-cutting business on Clinton Drive, severely injured his right hand Monday morning when it became caught in an industrial press, Police Chief Peter Hoell said.

The employee was able to free his hand from the press before emergency personnel arrived. The worker was taken by ambulance to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, Hoell said.

The accident remains under investigation. CMN Inc. is at N114-W19320 Clinton Drive.

Arrowhead gymnastics sectional photo gallery now online

March 01, 2010 8:53 a.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery featuring more than 20 images from Saturday's WIAA Division 1 Arrowhead gymnastics sectional.

The gallery features athletes from Brookfield Central/East, Germantown/Menomonee Falls, Homestead, Nicolet and West Allis Central/Hale.

The hosts won the event with 143.725 points and Homestead was second with 140.7. West Allis' Emily Fuchs won the all-around competition and Brookfield's Katelyn Malcore was second.

See NOW photojournalist Peter Zuzga's photo gallery.

Complete domination: GT's Thielke cruises to third straight state wrestling title

Feb. 27, 2010 11:52 p.m. | Wrestling against three-time state champion Jesse Thielke of Germantown must be like shielding yourself from a category five tornado with only a flimsy piece of plywood as protection.

Try as you might, you're only going to get blown away.

Just listen to Brookfield East's Justin Wolfenden (43-8), the latest person to get into Thielke's way Saturday night in the WIAA State Individual Division I 125-pound finals at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Wolfenden, unfortunately, turned out to be little more than speed-bump in Thielke's way of his third straight title, as he was the third wrestler in four to suffer a technical fall (19-4 in the third period) at the hands of the talented Warhawk junior in the tournament.

The signature moment in the match came late in the first period, with the score already 10-2, after Thielke had used a variety of leg and upperbody attacks to completely flummox the otherwise solid Spartan wrestler, moving so quickly that Wolfenden barely had time to turn his head before he was flat on the mat, the victim of yet another takedown.