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• Judge candidates Gherty and Cameron express strengths
• Corrected: Hudson -- Sheriff issues lottery scam alert

By Jon Echternacht, RiverTown Staff

With spring just begun and elections on the horizon, the two candidates for the new St. Croix County Branch 4 circuit judge position expressed some final thoughts before the polls open.

Mark Gherty, private attorney, and Howard Cameron, public defender, both of Hudson, will face off in the April 1 election. They collected the most votes in the Feb. 19 primary among five contenders.

Gherty stressed his trial and courtroom experience in St. Croix County over the 27 years of his practice as the most important factor for his election to the bench.

"I believe I am the most qualified candidate based upon my active trial and courtroom experience in St. Croix County," he said in an e-mail response to the Star-Observer.

"I have tried simple traffic matters to homicide and cases ranging from small claims to wrongful death. I have the experience of trying civil and criminal matters in Wisconsin and Minnesota as well as federal courts in both states," Gherty said.

"I intend to allow people appearing in court to tell their story within the confines of the rules of the court, I will be respectful and courteous and will expect the same from attorneys and clients," he said.

Cameron said his varied background, not only in the law but also in the workplace, is his strong suit.

"I am an experienced attorney with a diverse work background who is committed to St. Croix County," he said during a campaign stop at the county commissioners meeting last week.

"I'm still campaigning hard, trying to get the message out," he said.

"There are some programs in other counties that I think we should have a look at," Cameron said. Some counties have programs that deal with intensive supervision of OWI offenders. "They are aimed at reducing recurrence of drunken driving," he said.

"Eau Claire County has a community service coordinator who handles assignments for those who have been sentenced to perform community service. I think we should investigate that," Cameron said.

Contact Jon Echternacht at echter@rivertowns.net or 715.386.9333.

By Jon Echternacht, RiverTown Staff

Sheriff Dennis Hillstead urges citizens in St. Croix County to be aware of a scam involving bogus lottery winnings.

"The scam artists use several variations to deceive victims but the basic premise involves sending a legitimate looking letter from a company or organization that announces a person has won a lottery," the Sheriff said.

The notification includes a check for between $4,000 and $5,000 and instructs the person to deposit the check then send back $3,000 to cover taxes and costs. The company promises to send the remaining lottery winnings when it receives the money.

The check appears legitimate and phone calls to a number given are answered and appropriate information is supplied. If the victim checks the company on the internet, it appears on the up and up.

"In a week or two, after the check is deposited, the bank is notified the check is no good and the victim is out $3,000 plus bank charges," Hillstead said. "We have received a number of complaints about this type of scam."

"Many of these types of scams originate outside the United States and are almost impossible to track," the sheriff said. "We are working on finding the IPO address but there are a number of fake addresses you have to go through."

He said that there is really not enough money involved to for an FBI investigation.

Three or four people contacted the sheriff's office who had actually sent money back and better than a dozen persons had sought advice on scam letters they had received.

"A couple of weeks ago we started to get complaints from Hudson, Baldwin and the New Richmond area," He said.

Hillstead said the best policy is to follow the old adage, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

"In most legitimate lotteries, the taxes are deducted before the winnings are paid out," he said.

Persons who have been victimized by this scam are asked to contact their local police department of the St. Croix County Sheriff's Department at 715-386-4320.