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Lauderdale Lakes BREEZE SUMMER 2021 • Second Edition
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Plane crashes into trees near Lauderdale Lakes The occupants were rescued with no reports of injuries
by Heather Ruenz STAFF WRITER
A
unique rescue took place recently after a small plane crashed into treetops near Lauderdale Lakes. The three occupants who were inside the plane, hung from high among the trees for hours until they could safely be lowered to the ground. The Whitewater Fire Department was dispatched to a possible plane crash – in the area of Hi-Lo Road in the Kettle Moraine Forest – shortly after 9 p.m., May 15. “Walworth County was initially alerted to the incident by Milwaukee Air Traffic Control, regarding a plane that had dropped from radar,” Whitewater Fire Department officials stated in a press release. A 911 call placed by the pilot of the aircraft allowed the Walworth County Sheriff’s Department to better determine the location of the crash near the Ice Age Trail off of County Highway P. “It took crews approximately 45 minutes to locate the crash site and make contact with the individuals
A rescuer works his way up to the small plane that crashed in the treetops of the Kettle Moraine Forest near Lauderdale Lakes May 15. The pilot was able to deploy a parachute, which the three occupants hung from while area firefighters and arborists determined the safest way to bring them to the ground. PHOTO COURTESY WHITEWATER FD Lauderdale Lakes Breeze
• REPORT: Contractor spent job money on trip, clubs An initial appearance is scheduled for Jan. 15 for a Lake Geneva contractor charged with taking more than $62,000 for projects in the towns of Walworth, Linn and LaGrange but failing to do the work. Shannon W. Bullis, 43, was charged Dec. 3 in Walworth County Circuit Court with two counts of theft in a business setting of more than $10,000 and theft in a business setting of $5,000 to $10,000. According to the criminal complaint, three residents in the towns of Walworth, Linn and LaGrange paid Bullis $62,421 for work to their properties, but Bullis never completed the work, and according to former employees, spent the money on personal items including a trip to Florida and at strip clubs. The Town of LaGrange resident hired Bullis’ company, Bullseye General Contracting, to repair the
roof on his home on Solid Comfort Drive in 2016 and made a down payment of $13,500 in October of that year, according to the criminal complaint. The work was never completed, and the resident learned in March 2017 that Bullis had closed to company in Wisconsin and moved it to Florida and Nebraska, according to the complaint. The Town of Walworth resident hired Bullis in May 2016 to repair roofs of his house and barn on Brick School Road and wrote checks for $2,000 and $7,926.92 that month, according to the complaint. The resident signed a second contract with Bullseye in September 2016 to repair siding to his home and wrote checks for $5,180.17 and $2,000 for that job, according to the complaint. Bullseye delivered materials to his home for the project, but they were sent cash-on-delivery, which the resident refused to pay,
according to the complaint. The materials sat there for months, and no one showed up to do the work, the complaint states. The resident eventually hired a Bullseye employee, who had since quit his job at Bullseye, to complete the job, according to the complaint. The Town of Linn resident hired Bullseye to repair three buildings on his property – a main barn, a hog house and his residence – that were damaged by a storm in 2016, according to the complaint. The resident forwarded an insurance payment for $31,815.22 to Bullis, and Bullis’ company completed the house roof and hog house but did not do the barn project, which accounted for $22,922.57 of the insurance funds that were issued, according to the complaint. The former employee who completed the Town of Walworth project said Bullis had difficulty getting crews to complete jobs
because paychecks started bouncing and every Friday was “a rush to get to the bank to make sure you got paid before funds ran out,” according to the complaint. He said employees would go weeks without pay, and Bullis used payment from projects for things like $4,000 to put his name on a racecar, a trip to Florida and patronizing strip clubs, according to the complaint. He said Bullis would sell new jobs and use those down payments to complete previous jobs in a “mini-pyramid scheme” arrangement, according to the complaint. He said as many as 23 to 30 customers were calling wanting their job finished, no one would call them back and no money was available to complete the jobs, the complaint states. The company “closed its doors” in late 2016 and Bullis “took the money and ran,” the former employee said, according to the complaint.
involved,” the release states. “The aircraft was located approximately 75 feet off the ground in the forest canopy, with three occupants on board reporting no injuries.” The plane was reportedly traveling from Sheboygan to Burlington when it lost power. Before landing in the trees, the pilot had time to deploy a parachute attached to the plane, which is what the occupants were hanging from until rescued. Mutual aid was requested from Janesville, Beloit, Elkhorn, LaGrange as well as Madison’s Heavy Urban Rescue Team. Dudek Tree Service was also requested for the experience they have in scaling trees, officials said. “Due to the plane’s location and terrain, rescuers were initially delayed in reaching the site. ATVs and rescuers on foot were utilized to ferry equipment and provide access,” the release states. The rescue effort began with an arborist climbing up and rigging a rope system attached to a harness. It took roughly five hours to safely get the three occupants from the treetops to the ground. The rescue was completed around 2 a.m. the following morning. The occupants were not injured and after being evaluated by emergency medical staff on scene “were quickly reunited with their families,” officials report. The names of the plane’s occupants have not officially been release however, the parents of one passenger thanked rescuers in a comment in response to a post on the Whitewater Fire Department’s Facebook page. “We cannot thank the Whitewater Fire Department, the Walworth County Sheriff’s Department, the members of the rescue teams and the other first responders who found the plane. You are all amazing! Our son was one of the passengers in this plane and we are so grateful that we still have him and his friends with us. May God bless you all,” Tim and Nancy Dewane commented. The FAA was investigating the incident and no official report had been released as of press time.
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