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• Amery takes on Waupun tonight in boys' state baseball tournament
• DNR to meet with owner of crashed boat
• Driver flees scene of head-on crash

By Wheeler News Service

Amery will take on Waupun Wednesday night in the Division 2 semi-final game of the boys state WIAA Spring Baseball Tournament being held in Little Chute.

The Middle Border Conference champion is making it's first appearance in the state tournament and if they win will face either Fox Valley Lutheran or Platteville in the title game on Thursday.

In Division 1 Kimberly will play Madison Memorial Thursday for the Division 1 championship.

Kimberly scored seven runs in the fourth inning Tuesday night to eliminate Eau Claire North 9-5 in one semi-final.

Madison Memorial edged Bay Port 4-3 in the other semi. Spencer Lorrig hit the game-winning RBI single in the fourth.

All four teams won quarter-final contests earlier in the day. Bay Port eliminated two-time defending champion Sun Prairie 8-6.

Madison Memorial edged La Crosse Logan 4-3. Eau Claire North topped last year's runner-up Wisconsin Lutheran 4-1 and Kimberly eliminated Racine Park 2-1.

The tournament resumes Wednesday morning at Fox Cities' Stadium near Appleton with the Division-Four semi-finals up first.

Defending champion Abbotsford puts an eight-game winning streak on the line against De Soto and Johnson Creek will make its first tournament appearance since 1953 as it takes on Hurley.

The Division 3 semi-finals will be played Wednesday afternoon.

Stevens Point Pacelli goes against La Crosse Aquinas and Eau Claire Regis plays defending champion Kenosha St. Joseph.

Title games in all four divisions will be played Thursday.

By Mark Brouwer, RiverTown Staff

Authorities will be seeking answers when they meet with the Stillwater man whose 41-foot boat ran aground on the St. Croix riverbank last Friday.

Shortly before midnight, Bradley Smith's Sea Ray cabin cruiser "Woody's - Work Hard, Play Harder," hit the Wisconsin shore with enough force to send its bow more than 60 feet from the waterline about a mile south of the Stillwater Lift Bridge. Smith owns the boat's namesake, Woody's Bar & Grill in Bayport.

Authorities from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources had tried for days since the accident to contact Smith before he returned a phone call late Monday afternoon, said Paul Sickman, one of two conservation wardens to respond to an emergency call. A meeting is scheduled sometime this week.

A boater at Sunnyside Marina reported the accident at 11:50 p.m. after hearing a crash, but it took nearly 40 minutes for personnel from more than a half-dozen law enforcement, fire and rescue agencies to find the boat. By then, Smith and four passengers had left in another boat, leaving four other passengers to wait for assistance. None aboard the boat was believed seriously injured and it is unclear who was operating the boat at the time of the accident.

Smith did not return phone calls and an e-mail requesting comment placed on Monday and Tuesday.

Empty beer cans and containers of other alcoholic beverages were found on the boat, which was heavily damaged and estimated to be worth about $250,000. Although media reports noted blood smears in the cabin, Sickman said only a few drops, likely from a cut on a passenger's finger, were found.

"There's no way of knowing how fast the boat was going, but it was obviously operating at a planing speed to get that much mass out of the water," Sickman said, referring to a nautical term for when a boat that is traveling sufficiently fast to glide above a body of water. "He was really moving."

Alcohol and speed seem to be "obvious factors" in the accident, Sickman said, but he emphasized that any charges would wait until a DNR investigation is complete. Nevertheless, he said Smith violated the law by failing to report the accident.

"We just won't know what happened until we talk to him," Sickman said further. "Anything else is speculating."

Tom Huninghake, owner of Max Todo Marine Services in Stillwater, said Smith called him on Saturday asking to have the boat removed from the shoreline and towed for repairs, which Huninghake did on Saturday and Sunday.

"There's no holes in the hull, but it needed new props and rudders," Huninghake said. "With some repairs, it should be good again."

A Sunnyside Marina spokesman said the marina staff remained unaware of the accident until Sunday, when the boat was hauled away from its resting place on the Wisconsin shoreline.

"It's not one of our boaters, that's about as much as we know," said general manager Rick Chapma

By Gail Winship, RiverTown Staff

A white Ford Escort driven by Adam L. Lunn, 24 of Roberts, collided with a 1995 Yamaha motorcycle driven by Adam J. Gadach, 33 of New Richmond, Saturday night near the intersection of St. Croix County Road G and 160th Avenue.

Lunn was driving east on St. Croix County Road G at approximately 9:46 p.m. when his 1994 Ford crossed the center line and veered completely into the westbound lane where Gadach was traveling.

Lunn's vehicle hit the motorcycle driven by Gadach head-on, causing Gadach's helmet, which he was wearing, to land in Lunn's vehicle.

The St. Croix County Sheriff's Department, New Richmond EMS and Fire Department responded to the crash site.

Gadach was flown by LifeLink to Regions Hospital following the accident where he is listed in serious condition.

When Lunn's vehicle came to rest in the south ditch on St. Croix County Road G, he fled on foot.

Officers located Lunn at his Roberts residence around 10 a.m. the following day and took him into custody, according to Sheriff Dennis Hillstead.

Hillstead said Lunn was taken directly to Hudson Medical Center for a voluntary blood draw.

"Alcohol may have played a role in the accident," Hillstead said. "The incident remains under investigation at this time."

Lunn has been charged with hit and run involving great bodily harm, failure to notify police of an accident and reckless driving, endangering safety, according to Hillstead.

Gadach's mother said her son is recovering but is seriously hurt.

"He's going to make it, but it's going to be a long road," Jeannie McKee said. She noted that the only thing that saved Gadach's life was the fact that he was wearing a helmet.

A CaringBridge site has been posted on the Internet to update people of Gadach's condition. Go to CaringBridge and type in "adamgadach" to view the page and send messages.

Gadach is a 1992 New Richmond High School graduate. He was returning home following a softball tournament when he was struck.