Chippewa Herald-Telegram from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin • 1

II II I UII Sept. 3,2002 Volume 13, Issue 205 Chippewa Falls, Wis. Chippewa County's only rr HER: sunny. 'er 80s. jc anceof ear 80.

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i 1 A group of bicyclers who ride on Tuesday nights is looking for some younger faces to join in the tradition next spring. B1, Residents face aftermaths of destructive tornado. i BY TODD. RICHMOND ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER: LADYSMITH Authorities went door to door at daybreak Tuesday to again search for possible victims of a tornado' that injured dozens of people and cut a path of destruction in Ladysmith's downtown business district. "The Fire Department's going through and doing, a building-to-building search, then we're going have teams doing damage assessments," said James Turner, Rusk County emergency government director.

The tornado that tore through jthis tiny northwestern Wisconsin town Monday injured dozens of people and destroyed or damaged as many as 60 homes and businesses, Police Chief Norm Rozak said. 13 Ul hi Hi i tl 13 ft J- w-. if" 1 I fVrr rt f. 1 J. 11 The Milwaukee Brewers earned a split with the Cubs in a rare scheduled doubleheader at Wrigley Field.

B1. PEOPLE MEW YORK Sean Diddy" says despite being extremely Wealthy, he still lives his life exposed to too much violence. "Nearly every black jnan faces an unacceptable level of violence in this society" JDombs, 32, said in this week's New -Yorker magazine. "I'm different." Mn 1999, Combs and his then-girlfriend 1 4 s. 3 Combs photos by jay sammon the chippewa herald The Greenwood Manor, a building housing senior citizens, had much of its roof ripped off by Monday's tornado, while the Davis Motel, right, suffered a similar fate and is surrounded by debris.

Storm strikes suddenly L4A- -A us 1 A Cadott native has the task of being in charge of economic development for Rush County. A8. An aerial shot shows just how widespread the damage to downtown Ladysmith is. A8. "A lot of people are just walk- ing and crying," resident Dawn Hills said.

"No one In their worst dreams thought this could happen." The tornado was part of a larger storm that swept across northern Wisconsin and generated at least one other tornado, which hit a rural ar.ea near. Wausau. The twister struck Ladysmith, about 120 miles northeast of Minneapolis-St. Paul, about 4:30 p.m., destroying homes and tearing the roofs off the Davis Motel and Lounge and the town fire department. The tornado moved west to east churning a path of destruction approximately 14 blocks long by four blocks wide, Rozak said.

Hardest hit was the downtown area, which would have bustling had it not been Labor Day. Tlie tornado arrived with warning, the chief said. "It was already on the ground and it was traveling through town" before the warning siren was sounded, he said. Some residents said they never heard the siren. About 40 people were taken to area hospitals with injuries.

All but about 10 remained hospitalized Tuesday and most were in stable condition, hospital officials said. Peter Ollinger said he sat outside and watched a half-mile wide cloud of spinning lumber, SEE TORNADO, PAGE A2 Tug it out Jennifer Lopez were at a New York nightclub when three people were, wounded in a shooting. He was acquitted last year of weapons and bribery charges that stemmed from the incident. Combs also told the magazine he is dedicating more time to his fashion line, Sean John, which reported sales of $250 million in 2001. "I am fashion because I live fashion," Combs said.

"From my manicure to my pedicure, from my head to my toe, it's the swagger that I show the world, it's my face baby. It's my walk, my attitude." TOMORROW Wednesday The district attorney's race features a former Chippewa County DA challenging an incumbent. in the Chippewa Herald INSIDE Classifieds B3 Opinion A6 "Comics B6 Sports B1 Community A5 StateNation A3 life A4 Weather A7 PICTURE THIS A POWER PARACHUTE glides above Billings, at day-break "Sunday. The piloted air-crafts have engines with horsepower similar to snowmobiles. A family of five from Illinois was in this van and had just pulled into a parking lot when the tornado hit without warning.

The tornado lifted the van and swung it around, landing it back on its tires, narrowly missing being hit by the Quick Lube sign. Another sign from farther away struck the van and shattered the windshield. The family escaped with cuts and scratches. Workers at business head for basement as debris swirls outside. BY ROSS EVAV010 THE CHIPPEWA HERALD LADYSMITH There were no indications that a tornado was about to hit downtown Monday afternoon.

But little more than a minute later, evidence of its destruction was everywhere. "We had no notice. It just hit," said Jim Diamond, a Chippewa Falls graduate who was shift manager Monday at Ace Home Center on Lake Avenue in downtown Ladysmith. "The weather was fairly decent, the wind wasn't even blowing, and just bam!" The only sign something was wrong came when the store's power went out. Diamond went to lock the doors and saw the metal apparatus that holds shopping carts flying towards the highway.

"We don't know where a lot of stuff is. Our cart trail is pretty SEE DAMAGE, PAGE A8 ROD STETZER Driver killed when SUV launches off Highway 53 overpass way 53 when it entered; the median, then struck a guard rail at 4 the 110th Street over-. pass. The vehicle launchirt over the guard rail and landed on the road below, coming to rest on its roof, according to the Wisconsin State Patrol. Janice Stalsberg wa'sT listed in fair condition-today.

The death was the fourth traffic fatality-: in Chippewa County -this year. 7 THE CHIPPEWA HERALD THE CHIPPEWA HERALD TILDEN A La Crescent, man. was killed Sunday when the vehicle he was driving went off and overpass onto the road below. Jeffrey Stalsberg. 49, was killed and his passenger, Janice Stalsberg, 45, was taken to Luther Hospital in Eau Claire for treatment of injuries following the 12:38 p.m.

crash off Highway 53 near Tilden. The 1991 Ford sport utility vehicle was southbound on High Workers pull out what's bolioved to have boon a stolon Honda car from Lake Hallio Sunday morning. Stove Schnoidor of Spicklor's tugs on a stool cablo, while diver Jim Campbell secures the car and Chuck Smith, right, of the Chippowa Fire Protection District Iook9 on. The car was discovered about 7 a.m. whon a fisherman tued to put a boat in the lake.

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