Surreal coincidence.

This Saturday, my Uncle Gene is taking another shot at wedded bliss. The wedding will take place in the small Northeast Wisconsin town where he and his fiancée reside. After graduating college in 1979, Gene had an opportunity to work for a telephone company in the town where he still lives today. Even though his vocation recently forced him to take a job 80 miles from his home, he has such an affinity for this scenic area that he never wants to leave. In fact, he’s become a staple in this community of approximately 2,000 people. Gene is a member of the area’s Chamber of Commerce and President of the school board.

The name of the town where he resides? Crandon, WI.

Naturally, I was shocked to hear of the horrific events which unfolded there over the weekend.


The residents of a remote northern Wisconsin community struggled to understand Monday how a sheriff's deputy who killed six young people and critically wounded another could have become a law enforcement officer.

Tyler Peterson, 20, was shot to death after opening fire early Sunday on a group of students and recent graduates who had gathered for pizza and movies during their high school's homecoming weekend. Peterson was off-duty from his full-time job as a Forest County deputy sheriff; he also was a part-time Crandon police officer.

The lone survivor of the shooting, a male, remained in critical condition Monday at St. Joseph's Hospital, according to nursing supervisor Penny Funk.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims’ family members.

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