1410 WIZM

There are plenty of ways to celebrate a birthday. Getting robbed at gunpoint is probably not one of the best ones. But that's exactly what La Crosse police say happened to a Holmen middle schooler on New Year's Eve. They say he was cased, stalked, and then accosted in the parking lot of the High Rollers Skating Rink on La Crosse southside. A couple punks with blaze orange hats, cops say, held up the middle schooler with a BB gun. They got 45 bucks. But he got a picture of one of the thugs with his cell phone. Police have charged 17 Leon Hesser-Thompson with armed robbery as an adult. A 16 year-old boy is charged as a child.

A La Crosse guy has apparently found a way to supplement his social security. Illegal though it may be. La Crosse cops say they've busted 29 year-old Keith Atwell junior for dealing pot. Apparently they've been on to the unemployed social security recipient for a couple of months. They used some marked bills to nab Atwell, busting him in his car with the buy money on him during a traffic stop on the northside last night.

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Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers.

Every day, 57 Americans die from lung cancer caused by Radon gas.  Exposure to Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in people who have never smoked.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated January as Radon Action Month to raise awareness about Radon.

La Crosse County Health Department recommends every home be tested.  Winter months are a good time for testing, because Radon is likely to be at its highest concentration. Testing for radon is easy and inexpensive.  Radon kits are available for $6.00 at the following locations:

 

            La Crosse County Health Department, 300 4th St N, La Crosse

            Hazel Brown Leicht Memorial Library, West Salem

            Onalaska Public Library, Onalaska

            Gundersen Clinic Pharmacies, La Crosse and Onalaska

A COUPLE OF TIMES THIS WEEKEND, PEOPLE RAN INTO ME IN PUBLIC, AND THOUGHT I WAS A MEMBER OF A ROCK-AND-ROLL BAND. NOT JUST ANY BAND, BUT THE 50'S NOSTALGIA GROUP SHA NA NA. IT'S AN HONEST MISTAKE, BECAUSE I WAS HANGING OUT WITH THE BAND IN MILWAUKEE THIS WEEKEND.

THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE ONE OF MY BROTHER ERIC'S FRIENDS IS A GUITARIST NAMED GENE WHO HAS BEEN A MEMBER OF SHA NA NA FOR SEVEN YEARS. THE BAND WAS IN WISCONSIN FOR NEW YEAR'S WEEKEND TO PERFORM POP CONCERTS WITH THE MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY. SO ERIC AND I SCORED FREE TICKETS TO THE SYMPHONY'S NEW YEAR'S EVE CONCERT.

IT'S PROBABLY THE BEST SYMPHONY CONCERT I'VE EVER ATTENDED. EVEN BEFORE BACKING UP SHA NA NA FOR A SHOW OF 50'S FAVORITES, THEY DID IRVING BERLIN AND SHOW TUNES...OLD T-V THEME SONGS, AND 'ON WISCONSIN' IN HONOR OF THE ROSE BOWL. LEADING THE WAY WAS THE M-S-O'S POPS CONDUCTOR, MARVIN HAMLISCH. NOW, THAT GUY KNOWS HOW TO ENTERTAIN AN AUDIENCE. AND SO DOES SHA NA NA.

THREE OF THE SEVEN GUYS IN SHA NA NA HAVE BEEN WITH THE GROUP SINCE THE LATE 60'S, WHEN IT STARTED AS A SPIN-OFF OF THE GLEE CLUB AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. NO KIDDING.

ERIC AND I BROUGHT IN THE NEW YEAR AT A BREW PUB IN DOWNTOWN MILWAUKEE WITH GENE AND A COUPLE OF OTHER BAND MEMBERS. BUT THERE WAS MORE ADVENTURE TO COME. THE BAND WAS PERSUADED TO MAKE AN APPEARANCE AT THE BIG NEW YEAR'S DAY POLAR BEAR PLUNGE ON LAKE MICHIGAN. SO ERIC AND I SPENT ABOUT THREE HOURS SATURDAY, MOSTLY IN A BIG HUMMER LIMO, WITH FIVE MEMBERS OF SHA NA NA. THE BAND PERFORMED ON THE BEACH FOR ABOUT FIVE MINUTES, DOING A POLAR PLUNGE VERSION OF 'SPLISH SPLASH.' HARDLY ANYBODY NOTICED. SINCE I WAS WITH THE BAND MEMBERS, A COUPLE OF PEOPLE MISTOOK ME FOR SHA NA NA VOCALIST SCREAMING SCOTT SIMON. GEE, I COULD HAVE PERFORMED WITH THE BAND ON THE BEACH, AND NOBODY WOULD HAVE KNOWN. NAAAAH...BUT MAYBE I SHOULD PRACTICE SINGING DOO-WOP, IN CASE THEY EVER NEED A QUICK REPLACEMENT.