The Reporter from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin • 6

Ripon News Daily Read by more than 50,000 people daily Sunday, April 15, 2001 Page A6 JlCso serving trie communities of Alto Brandon Fairwater Fox Lake STHE REPORTER Former CBS correspondent to discuss, sign book at Ripon Kiwanis Club bowl to benefit charity Waupun News Daily Ml War. He has reported on major domestic and foreign stories including the assassination of Robert Kennedy, the Patty Hearst kidnapping and trial, U.S. involvement in Vietnam, the Falkland Island crisis, the U.S. invasion Grenada, the Middle East peace process and the TWA Flight 847 hostage crisis. He also covered the campaigns of George H.W.

Bush, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter. Threlkeld earned a bachelor's degree from Ripon College in 1959 and a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 1961. He attended the Columbia University School of International Affairs in 1965 on a CBS scholarship. A member of Ripon's board of trustees since 1990, Threlkeld is the recipient of Ripon's Distinguished Alumni Citation and doctor of humane letters honorary degree. Threlkeld's visit is sponsored by Ripon's development office and Lane Library.

More information is available by contacting Michele Reid, librarian and director of libraries, at (920) 748-8750. RIPON Former CBS news correspondent Richard Threlkeld will read from, discuss and sign copies of his new book, "Dispatches from the Former Evil Empire," from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Friday, April 20, at Ripon College's Lane Library. As a CBS news correspondent in Moscow from. 1996 to 1999, Threlkeld documented his encounters with the Russian people.

Chronicled in his book, these encounters provide a comprehensive portrait of life in contemporary Russia. Each chapter gives a snapshot' of an event or person and touches on virtually every aspect of society, from post-Soviet medicine to the Russian Orthodox Church. The book includes a forward written by former CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite and a preface by Threlkeld's wife and fellow news correspondent Betsy Aaron. "Threlkeld handles the familiar troubles, the economic woes, the political corruption in a breezy, journalistic style that makes what can be a difficult subject accessible to the general reader," according to a review in Publisher's Weekly. Threlkeld started at CBS in 1966 as a producer and editor and has served as reporter, Richard Threlkeld is the author of a new book about life in contemporary Russia.

anchorman, bureau chief and correspondent. During his extensive career, he has covered the Persian Gulf War for CBS News and reported extensively on the Vietnam State i Walter Cronkite I i Cotleen KottkeThe Reporter munity service projects for the Waupun area. Pictured are, from left, Cully Dommisse, secretary; Don VandeZande, past president; Paul Elenius, past president; and Karen Grant, president. Past and president officers of the Waupun Kiwanis Club along with volunteers, gathered in support of the Kiwanis Bowl-A-Thon held recently at Jud-Sons. Lanes in Waupun.

The annual event raises money for youth organizations and com- Waupun Web site by City Council The man with the munitions: Mark Sonday operates Kenosha Military Museum approximately $892. Clark told the board the primary cost could vary depending on how many additional pages each department needs. The links featured on the home page include: mayor, clerktreasurer, economic development, assessor-building inspector, public works, housing grants, parks recreation, fire department, police department and library. In addition, each council member would have a page, complete with a photo, biography, contact number and list of committees in which they are active. City AssessorBuilding Inspector Jon Dobbratz told the board that the city would be responsible for a monthly maintenance fee of around $40, since IQ Tech would serve as the host site from their location.

He speculated that there would be no additional fees unless the departments would choose to change graphics or request assistance. To enable users to access Gasoline saver 1 Proposed approved By Colleen Kottke Of The Reporter Staff WAUPUN Waupun residents will soon be able to access a plethora of information on a new interactive Web site scheduled to be up and running by the end of June. The Waupun City Council this past week unanimously approved a $7,990 contract with IQ Tech of Waupun to complete an Internet site that the company has been developing in cooperation with city department heads. The Web site www.city-ofwaupun.org will feature a main home page, with each department being represented by an individual link. City ClerkTreasurer Kyle Clark noted that after the site was initialized, much of the work would be done in-house, such as the inputting of minutes, updated records and agenda items.

The cost of the project will be spread out over each department, which would amount to Tornado drill set for Thursday WAUPUN Wisconsin's Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week has been designated for the week of April 16-20. According to Waupun Emergency Government Director Jeff Berry, a simulated tornado drill will be held oh Thursday, April 19. The drill will consist of a simulated watch at 1:15 p.m., followed by a simulated tornado warning at 1:45 p.m. Berry stressed that the City of Waupun never sound the sirens for an all-clear signal. If severe weather is present in the state on this date, the drill will be held at the same time on Friday, April 20.

If severe weather is present through Friday, the drill will be canceled. In addition to the afternoon tornado drill. Wisconsin Emergency Management along with the National Weather Service will conduct another Tornado Warning test at 6:55 p.m. This drill is to encourage families to take a few minutes to discuss what they should do and where they would go for safety in the event severe weather hits when they are at home. Berry noted that a transmitter was added in 1999 to the N.O.A.A.

Weather Alert System in Fond du Lac County. The transmitter will cover the Waupun area, which was out of range in the past from Green Bay, Milwaukee and Madison area towers. The frequency for this new transmitter is 162.500. i ni bur information and organizations interrelated with Waupun, the Web site would have links to other sites, such as the Waupun Area Chamber of Commerce, county and state economic and development pages. Clark told the board that having the Waupun municipal code on-line is a project the city would look at for next year.

Deb Winterhack, IQ Tech representative, told the board that the Waupun Web site would be a signature piece for the company, noting that the site is comparable only to those in larger cities. "It's about time," Dobbratz said. "(The Web site) will allow Realtors or any resident to access records and information on any property in the city. It will be something to look forward to. I'm impressed." The home page on the Web site will feature the Waupun landmark "End of the Trail" statue and a banner illustrating other notable sculptures in the city bordering an image of the Rock River.

when she attempted to grab a plastic bag flying around inside her car. According to the Dodge County Sheriffs report, Obright overcorrected the vehicle when it traveled onto the shoulder, causing the car to cross the roadway. The vehicle then proceeded to overturn as it entered the ditch. Obright was told to seek medical attention. 888 774 7744 t' L.

1 By Rob Golub The Racine Journal Times PLEASANT PRAIRIE (AP) When Denzel Washington needs an Abrams Tank for a Gulf War movie, Mark Sonday is there. When a helicopter gunship is needed for a commercial, Sonday comes up with it. When Steven Spielberg needed a jeep, a landing craft, and a weapons carrier for "Saving Private Ryan," Sonday's got it. Mark Sonday owns and operates the Kenosha Military Museum, the gaggle of military equipment visible from Interstate 94. He's the man with the munitions.

He says he knows some local officials wish he would move to another location, to give neighboring land more potential as high-class business property. But he has no plans to move. "I have not found another spot and I've searched," he says. It's ironic. Sonday feels a little unwanted in the Kenosha area, yet he's wanted by everyone else.

People from points as far as Australia and Germany have signed the museum guest book in recent weeks. American veterans stop by with their grandsons. Husbands sometimes come to visit while wives shop at the strip mall across the street. Sonday is part of a ring of mega-military collectors, made up of like-minded buddies. The ring bids to rent or sell military equipment to Hollywood studios.

Sonday and his buddies in Nebraska, California, South Carolina and elsewhere -made a deal several years ago to supply 20th Century Fox Film Co. with 12 Abrams tanks. Fox needed the tanks for "Courage Under Fire," the 1996 movie starring Washington and Meg Ryan. So Mark Sonday and his buddies bought British Centurions from other collectors and put sheet metal on them to make them look like M1A1 Abrams tanks. Then, Sonday and his buddies rented the tanks to Fox.

"I try to get paid what it costs me to do a job," he explains. "So I ended up with a tank for free." It's how he gets most of his military equipment, by renting things out for cash. He's still got Washington's Mark Sonday's extensive collection of military equipment at his Kenosha Military Museum includes the Sikorsky HH3 Jolly Green Air Force rescue helicopter he is sitting on. The collection is seen at Kenosha by thousands of passing motorists traveling on Interstate 94 between Chicago and Milwaukee. Coiieen KottkeTh Reporter Construction detours aren't a problem for Waupun resident and bicyclist Gerrit Navis.

Navis who purchased his EZ Roll bike last fall, recently traveled to the Senior Center and other locations in Waupun. AP photo memorize key military dates. His drive is tied to his childhood, or more to the point, his boyhood (he's noticed men relate to the museum much more than women). The seed of the Kenosha Military Museum was planted in Sonday as he grew up in Chicago. He used to find old military pieces at a government junkyard at a pier.

Once, when he found equipment that could help him see around corners, he chased his friends through alleys. Though he served in the armed forces, he never saw combat. He has plenty of veterans in the family. "It's just kind of in my blood," he explains. It's why it makes him happy to see grandfathers arrive at the museum with grandchildren.

Grandpa points at a landing craft, a jeep, or a plane and says the magic words. He says words that make the unbelievable real: "I rode in that." "I drove that." "I flew that." A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT -w i nil ilia rnnnun iri mlf tank from "Courage Under Fire." It's easily picked out on the movie screen, and at the museum, thanks to a single stenciled word: "Demon." It's on the giant gun muzzle. Sonday earns a living through his ownership of rental properties, but he spends almost all of his time working on the museum. It's his baby. He has flown all over the world for his military equipment.

Just a few years ago, he flew alone to Germany, to 'see the battles of World War II from the vantage points of the military commanders. He has more than 100 planes, tanks, helicopter gunships and cannons. Much of it is on display at the museum. He keeps his favorite tank in his house garage. He also owns models he found at a garage sale, dioramas of his own construction, and replica weapons he created in his own metal shop.

He is driven to collect military pieces, to build dioramas of key military scenes, and to Woman injured when driving distracted THERESA A 20-year-old woman was injured in an accident on County Highway in the Town of Theresa on April 10. Myah L. Obright, of Wisconsin Dells, was traveling southbound on County one mile south of Highway 175, Classifieds, 1 Crab Grass Killer l.W-8 COIb.bi...i.7.7W Gm 16 m(kw 1 m. Snrr. Wm -s Hr Nat (Minn 524-5761.