Timberjay Newspaper-

If there had been any doubt in the minds of Boundary Waters visitors that area law enforcement would take the recent Basswood Lake shooting incident seriously, the 79 separate counts filed against the six Ely defendants in district court this week should put such concerns to rest. Lake County authorities have literally thrown the book at them.
And the six men still face a federal investigation of their actions as well as the possibility of serious weapons charges in Canada. In short, the six men are likely to face severe penalties and months, if not years, of legal proceedings for their actions. The details of their acts, contained in criminal complaints released this week, strongly suggest that such penalties are well-deserved.

We can say that, because there is little question but that the individuals charged actually committed such offenses. Some of them have admitted as much and told law enforcement officials of their intent to “stir things up” on an otherwise tranquil night in the Boundary Waters. These men will get their day in court— and jurors can weigh the seriousness of their actions— but there doesn’t appear to be much doubt about what they did.

While a few in Ely have attempted to rationalize the actions of these men, or even cast them as victims, we can only hope such views are in the minority. While there has long been a tendency in our area to paint youthful rebels who run afoul of Boundary Waters regulations as folk heroes, this is a different situation entirely. This wasn’t a case of minor mischief-making, like motoring in a paddle-only lake, or a late night border run on snowmobile.

According to the complaint, these six men went into the wilderness with the intent of terrorizing campers. They brought weapons, including an AK47, and fireworks, damaged and stole property, and threatened to murder and rape terrified campers, including children. This isn’t folk hero material. Such actions should horrify everyone.

The charges should come as a bit of relief to members of the Ely business community, who have collectively shuddered at the potential fallout from this incident. Like it or not, this story is being closely followed by people across the country. It was front page news this week as far away as Minneapolis, and it should provide some comfort to North Country visitors that the stories this week reflected the serious nature of the criminal penalties these men now face. Clearly, law enforcement officials aren’t taking the matter lightly.

But charges leveled by law enforcement officials are one thing. Demonstrating that the community finds such behavior unacceptable is another, and so far, there has been remarkably little public comment from folks in the Ely area. That should change now that the details of these individuals’ actions have been made public.

Organizations, individuals, and elected officials need to speak up and make it clear to everyone that this kind of behavior is not tolerated or condoned in any way in our area. Certainly, people in the community will disagree about the merits of federal management of the Boundary Waters, but we can all agree that terrorizing visitors is no way to express such disagreements. On that point, the Ely area should be speaking as one.

Doing so can help get the community past this unfortunate incident and back to welcoming all of those who have come to love the North Country.


IMHO they should be put away for a very very long time.

I have been in the BWCA many times and what they did it unthinkable

There just happens to be 6 really stupid son's a bitches somewhere these days . Theses 6 dumb ass's must not have much going for them . I really hope that they get taken care of with the legal system in the courts . It is very possible that they could attack the wrong ones and end up . Not sure how this could effect the reputation up there on people not coming up there . So I hope they get what is coming their way . Book'em Dan'o.......fresh meat in the cell block

For anyone who hasn't read the article....

The 6 are facing 79, thats correct 79 criminal charges. The cops definately want something done. They are also facing Canadian firearms charges because of crossing the border with weapons of such.

Cops met them at the landing... Said they were out to have some fun. Youngest was 16, oldest was 37.

^^^ alot of age difference, same muturity levels, obviously.

That's F'd up.

I need to show this to my buddy that can't understand why I carry my .40 S&W with me when we paddle the BWCA.

I doo the same myself, only I carry a Glock 9mm. You can NEVER be too careful these days.

Sad when you gotta be packing when camping with the family. What the hell is wrong with people these days?

I used to think the bears were the biggest problem in the BWCA. These guys almost make "Deliverance" look real.

They evidently think that everyone that goes to the BWCA are anti-gun tree huggers or they would have thought twice. I know if it was my family they were terrorizing there would have been a couple of dead jackpine savages.

I believe one or two may actually be members on here.

^^^^^Stuffnuts????

i laughed when i read that in the paper. i know a few of them.... not funny what they did, just at how dumb they can be.

Just wait till these assholes hit the prison system, they will be sorry then! general population inmates dont put up with assholes like these. I hope they get exactley what they deserve and then some!

ELY ECHO NEWSPAPER

Friday, September 21, 2007

Six charged in BWCAW shooting incident



Five Ely men and one juvenile face a litany of charges following an incident on Basswood Lake involving guns, fireworks and threats that terrified campers.

Multiple felony charges were filed late Friday in connection with the Tuesday, August 7 incident in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Lake County Attorney Russell Conrow brought charges against Jay Andrew Olson, Barney James Lakner, Casey James Fenske, Zachary Ross Barton, Travis John Erzar and a 16 year old, all from Ely.

Olson, 19, is charged with 23 counts, including 18 felonies.

Lakner, 37, was charged with 22 counts, including 17 felonies.

Fenske, 19, is charged with 11 felonies and two misdemeanors.

Barton, 20, is accused of nine felonies and two misdemeanors.

Erzar, 20, faces nine felony charges and a misdemeanor.

The juvenile, identified in the complaint as MU, is expected to be charged in the juvenile court system.

According to the criminal complaint, Olson, Lakner and a juvenile were in one boat while Fenske, Barton and Erzar were in another on Basswood Lake the evening of Aug. 7. Three phone calls from campers to 911 alerted authorities of that "men were shooting guns, using abusive language and threatening to kill them."

Lake County deputies, city of Ely police and U.S. Forest Service agents waited at the Fall Lake landing for the two boats to arrive sometime around midnight. When the first boat arrived, "Lakner was wearing a knit, skull cap with dread locks attached to it. Deputy (Jim) Hoberg did not realize that this individual was Barney Lakner though he has known him for over 20 years."

Lakner was carrying a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol on his hip and a gun stock was seen sticking out of a pack sack in the middle of the boat. Olson and MU were pat searched, both Lakner and Olson were handcuffed.

When the second boat arrived, Lakner was reportedly talking loudly to alert the second boat but was subdued by officer Chad Houde of the Ely Police Department who "took him to the ground and put his hand over his mouth and silenced him."

One gun was found in the second boat, a .22 caliber pistol. However, the vehicles used by the men to get to the landing were searched and a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol was found in a vehicle belonging to Erzar, along with 13 bullets.

The men were taken to the Ely Police Department and interviewed individually, starting at 1:30 a.m. and continuing through to 7:11 a.m. Lakner was the only one who did not interview, saying he wanted to talk to his attorney.

Fenske told officers that Olson "has been trying to get him to go on their expeditions. However he kept telling Olson, not until he goes to court for another incident, where he and Olson had been caught in the Boundary Waters with a four-wheeler about a month earlier."

Fenske said his boat did not go to Basswood Lake until 7:30 p.m. and that by the time they got to Jackfish after portaging from Fall to Newton and Newton to Pipestone, it was dark. Fenske said his group considered turning back because they couldn't find the other boat but then they saw fireworks.

The two boats met at the "Y" where Jackfish Bay and Pipestone Bay meet.

Fenske said the men in the other boat told them about a confrontation with "enox" (sp) tree huggers. The two boats went to a campsite occupied by Emmerich Koller, 64, a retired teacher from Chicago, and his daughter Marina, 26 and son Andrew, 11, who were on the first night of a five-day camping trip.

In Barton's interview, he said the second confrontation with the Kollers involved the men making sexual comments and swearing at the campers.

Barton was re-interviewed (no date listed, but apparently around August 16) by authorities and said the comments made toward the Kollers included "come out here you communist (expletive)" and "you dumb (expletive) with your dehydrated food" by Olson. Barton said Lakner told the Kollers "I'll bet you (expletive) brought your own water you dumb (expletive)" and "You better come out here or get comfortable because we're not leaving until breakfast."

The juvenile made some of the harshest comments, according to Barton, including sexually threatening a woman at one point.

Barton said it was either the juvenile or Olson who said "maybe if you make us some smores for an hour we won't kill you."

The juvenile said he brought beer with him on the trip, but unlike the others who said they brought four or five, he said he brought a case. The juvenile said they were shooting a pistol and a 7.62 by 39 AK-47 assault rifle. He changed his story and would late admit having confrontations with campers. He said everyone in his boat was drinking beer. The juvenile's blood alcohol content was .087.

Olson said the guns belonged to Lakner and that the juvenile did most of the shooting, which including shooting from the boat at stumps on shore.

Olson said his boat was involved in a second altercation with campers, the Falk party, who were camped near Rocking Chair Reef. There were nine people at that campsite including five children.

Olson said they stopped there to swim and an altercation occured with swearing and gunfire from the Fenske boat that stayed out on the lake. He said the juvenile told the campers "get the (expletive) off our (expletive) property."

Olson told authorities at least 60 rounds were shot from the pistol and rifle and that fireworks, including a mortar-sized round, were fired off at the gauging station between Jackfish and the falls. Olson had a BAC of .026.

Erzar said in his interview that when the two boats met and discussed returning to where the Kollers were camped "they wanted to go pick on somebody, go cause havoc." The Koller campsite was near the gauging station, where both boats stopped and all six got out. Erzar said 20 to 30 rounds were fired at the gauging station.

Erzar said the juvenile yelled "gibberish stuff" and that Fenske yelled to the Kollers, "Go home, (expletive) enox." Erzar was asked if the shooting and yelling "might scare the camper, Erzar stated he could believe that."

When the two boats were near the Falk campsite, Erzar said gunfire was again used to scare the campers.

In his second interview, Erzar said the juvenile wrecked the antenna at the gauging station. He said comments made at the Falk campsite by the juvenile included "we came to skinny dip and plan too, you can watch if you want to" and "we're going to do what we (expletive) want."

When Fenske was re-interviewed he said when the juvenile tore off the antenna, a picture was taken. A camera was found in the Olson boat. Fenske told authorities that Lakner said at one point, "Come on, let's go the heat's going to be coming."

Fenske also said Barton poured gas on the water and lit it on fire while they waited for the other boat on shore at the Falk campsite. Barton admitted in his second interview to lighting gas on fire twice.

The morning after the incidents occurred, Chip Elkins, Hoberg and Pete Weckman of the USFS were flown into Basswood to conduct interviews. By the end of the day they had interviewed 80 people.

Marina Koller told Hoberg that "the language was unreal, that she works in a bar, and has never heard anything like that." She said when the boaters came back they were hiding in the woods and that some of the men came on their campsite, commenting on their dehydrated food and type of sleeping bags in their tent.

The eleven year-old Koller said he heard the same vulgar comments and that someone said, "I'm going to kill this guy!"

When Emmerich Koller was interviewed, he said "he actually thought for the first time in his life, he could actually be killed." The elder Koller said his group hid in the woods for quite a while, "thinking the boats had laid a trap for them and they might still be waiting for the Kollers at the campsite."

At least one person identified the Olson boat as being driven by motor to Upper Basswood Falls where gunfire was heard. Authorities believed the Olson boat had gone into Canada at the falls. At the falls, authorities found a total of 21 shell casings, beer bottles and remains of fireworks.

The Falk party said when one of the men was skinny dipping another person from the boats took pictures. They said vulgar language was used including when the other boat pulled up and one individual said "here comes the Calvary and (expletive) your wife is our game."

One group said one of the parties in the boat "mooned them."

Another group said the men shot at a beaver in the water between two campsites and saw the rounds hitting in the water toward their campsite.

When the Alumacraft 14-foot boats were inventoried by officials, Olson's boat contained bullets, beer cans, two cell phones, the assault rifle, a digital camera and a homemade PVC tube for fireworks. The boat also contained numerous items matching the same things reported stolen by a group of campers on the Newton Portage campsite on Fall Lake on August 7. The campers' canoe was also missing but later found on another part of the lake.

The other boat, driven by Fenske, contained full and empty beer cans, 36 spent shell casings and three live .22 rounds.

The gauging station, which measures the flow of water and sends a signal to Grand Rapids every hour, sustained $1,384.13 in damage on August 7. A total of $1,140.10 in damage was reported on July 24.

Fenske admitted to damaging the station at that time and said he was accompanied by Olson and two other juveniles, one of whom was on the August 7 trip.

The men were charged by summons and are due in Lake County Court Oct. 1. Federal charges are still possible in the case as well as charges from Canadian authorities. The men allegedly left the motor zone of Basswood and motored up to Upper Basswood Falls on the U.S.-Canada border, a paddle-only zone.

Olson faces the following charges: four felony counts of aiding and abetting terroristic threats, 12 felony counts of aiding and abetting harassment, two counts of one felony charge of aiding and abetting criminal damage to property, one gross misdemeanor charge of possession of stolen property, two gross misdemeanor of aiding and abetting theft, one misdemeanor count of reckless discharge of a firearm and one misdemeanor consumption of alcohol by a person under the age of 21.

Lakner faces the following charges: four felony counts of aiding and abetting terroristic threats, 11 felony counts of aiding and abetting harassment, two felony counts of aiding and abetting possession of firearms, two gross misdemeanor counts of aiding and abetting theft, one misdemeanor count each of transporting an uncased firearm, one misdemeanor count of reckless discharge of a firearm and one misdemeanor count of possession and use of fireworks.

Barton faces: three felony counts of aiding and abetting terroristic threats, five felony counts of aiding and abetting harassment, one misdemeanor count of reckless discharge of a firearm and one misdemeanor consumption of alcohol by a person under the age of 21.

Erzar faces: three felony counts of aiding and abetting terroristic threats, six felony counts of aiding and abetting harassment and one misdemeanor consumption of alcohol by a person under the age of 21.

Fenske faces: four felony counts of aiding and abetting terroristic threats, six felony counts of aiding and abetting harassment, one felony charge of aiding and abetting criminal damage to property, one misdemeanor count of reckless discharge of a firearm and one misdemeanor consumption of alcohol by a person under the age of 21.

The felony charges carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. Gross misdemeanors carry a maximum sentence of one year in prison and/or a $3,000 fine. Misdemeanors carry a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

The multiple counts of the same charge usually are toward each individual person, for example the three people in the Koller party. Lakner's felony firearm charge is for allowing the juvenile to use the pistol and rifle.

Click to view attachment
Olsen

Click to view attachment
Lakner

look like crack heads to me

Those low life scumbags couldnt afford to pay attiention in school let alone afford to buy crack! Looks like a couple of METH HEADS to me. Cant wait til they are fresh meat on cell block one! Poor upbringing in the home is where their problems all started. Have fun in prison boys!!!!

first off, they dont do drugs, olson is in college with a 3.5 gpa, lakner has his own business, u might wanna stop talking shit about them. they were drinking having a little fun and things got out of control, just because they hear gunshots dont mean their being shot at, it was dark how they hell are the campers gunna know where the shots are going. everybody makes mistakes and learns from them. maybe people should get their facts straight b4 they start saying shit they dont know, Espeacially the ely echo which had a bunch of made up shit in it. everybody screws up sooner or later, im sure u guys screwed up and got out of control when youve been drunk. so make sure u got the right facts before u say shit!

Here is the Criminal complaint , from the MPLS trib- (pdf)

http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1431272.html

http://media.startribune.com/smedia/2007/0...affiliate.2.pdf

I recognize that that somebody who knows these guys, has a more rounded view of the person that anybody here who sees police report of this incident or a has read a newspaper article about it. I assume that pretty much anybody here has had moments in their life about which they are none too proud. And they would probably agree that people would probably form a pretty bad opinion of them if that particular incident was the only information upon which to form an opinion.

That being said, you walk a thin slippery slope in trying to defend these guys.

1) Being drunk is no excuse for the mindset. The mindset or view that these guys took toward the BWCA visitors existed long before they started drinking.

2) The town of Ely would not exist in it's present form without tourists. Having been there a number of times I would guess that at least 75% of the towns revenue is derived from BWCA visitors. This is 75% of every dollar made by the residents of the community comes from the "tree huggers" (and snowmobilers ). To put it into "plain" terms.... Don't shit on your food, and more pointedly don't shit on all your neighbors food, they are liable to get really pissed and throw the book at you to the count of 79 violations of which a number are felonies. It's news stories like this that can change peoples plans about where they are going to spend their recreational dollars. If Joe Treehugger is sitting at home trying to decide were to take his wife and two girls on vacation next year and does a google search on BWCA in the next year.... Chances are this story will pop up about some locals threatening some Campers with death and rape. He's going to end up out going out west. This incident is going to cost Ely and there is really nothing other than time that is going to repair it.

3) Residents of Ely who defend the actions of these guys or try trivialize the offense with "they were drunk" or something else along the lines of "it was just some good ole boys having some fun" will compound the problem that Ely now faces.

So intellectually I understand you are just trying to point out that these guys are all bad (I have never met somebody who didn't have ANY good qualities), just choose your words carefully.

Regards,
Mike


3)

Umm. oops, I meant to say "guys are NOT all bad"...

I don't care if he was 4.0 student. Anyone who does that shit is fucked in the head. Just becasue he owns a business, that must make it ok to threaten people. These guys are low life ELY trash and if you stick up for them you are too. I have screwed up a lot and never even came close to threataning someone, never even would cross my mind. They have witnesses saying all this shit, so they do have their facts straight. You must be ralated to one of them, if you are stickin up for them.

Yep, the last time I got drunk I became a terrorist and took my ak47.............

Chub/Chub. YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT FOR DEFENDING THESE PUKES! MAY YOU ROT IN HELL NEXT TO THEM!

chub chub is just going to miss his fuck buddies thats all.

Going back Lakner, he had an interesting time back in Spring of 2004... look at this:

Illegal Snowmobilers Apprehended in BWCAW

During a snowmobile patrol on Saturday, March 6, Forest Service law enforcement officers apprehended five men who were illegally snowmobiling on Crooked Lake, north of Ely, inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).

All five individuals charged in this case are residents, or former residents, of Ely, including: Barney J. Lakner, 34;

Lakner has more tangles with law enforcement; he has been charged with obstructing the legal process, reckless operation of a snowmobile and failure to comply with snowmobile training.

Yep, he is the Boss and does whatever he wants to!

Chub Chub, I think you have enough of your own problems to worry about.

As I agree with some that said, noone has ALL bad qualities, as everyone has some good ones!

With that said, regardless of alcohol, because thats just an "easy" way to try to get out of something... What these kids did was wrong.

Now, before ppl go judging me, I to have done things that I'm not proud of... < that being said, NONE of them involved taking my AK47, some liquor, and a few motor boats into the BWCA and terrorized campers!!!! If any of these kids realized what its like to be menaced, with your wife and children hiding in the woods fearing for their lives, they would never have done this..

BUT, since these kids are obviously a few bricks short of a full load, their peanut sized brain can't begin to fathome what that fear is really like.

BTW-none of any publication is made up considering every newspaper got their details from the lake county offices the day after it happend and before the complaint was out. many people were in touch with person writing compaint (who stayed up for days straight) no papers wrote false statements considering the information they got was fed to them from lake county office. And if one would read the 24 page long complaint, everyone can see that all information is taken right from there. the only thing made up was the rumors that werent in the paper from the night it happened to the day the complaint came out. the only differnt views on the incident anyone would have are probaly the people who did it. and i'm sure everyone can figure out why.

if anyone would like the complaint the website is http://media.startribune.com/smedia/2007/09/18/14/lakner.source.prod_affiliate.2.pdf.

Well Old Chubby one.

What is your response to these posts RE:your buddies?

Sounds like a bunch dirt bags with IQ'S hovering around 40....

The most interesting read on the incident that I have seen thus far (that interviews a number of Ely residents) is at the following URL:

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/...mp;section=news

Mike

The five adults are scheduled to make their first court appearances today in Lake County District Court on felony charges of terroristic threats, harassment with a dangerous weapon and several other charges.



The MPLS Trib reports - "According to federal court records, Lakner, a bread-truck driver"

I hope they seriously nails these guys azzez to the wall. Some of the new terrorist legislation that has been passed since 9-11 ought to help. Hopefully they die from lethal injection or serve the rest of their lives bending over for bubba in a Federal prison, anything less will be unacceptable for this crew IMO.

I hope they have crossed all the t's and doted the i's on this one . There is no way you can let this go without a conviction that fits the crime. With all the charges that are there this will be one to watch. I have seen what happens to someone who interrupted a 911 phone call .......with him hav'n a previous record , he spent 18 months in stillwater. So with that long list of charges from the state and federal it will be years before they see freedom.

from the MPLS Monday Afternoon-

Five men charged with terrorizing campers in August during a drunken shooting spree in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness made their first appearances in court this morning.
Each of the men, all but one of whom was represented by an attorney, waived a reading of the changes against them. Lake County District Judge Kenneth Sandvik ordered each to reappear at 10 a.m. Nov. 5 for a pretrial hearing, and he allowed each to continue to be free on their his own recognizance. Three of the defendants who had not earlier been arrested were then booked and fingerprinted at the county jail before being released.

Those who appeared in court Monday were 37-year-old Barney Lakner, 19-year-olds Jay A. Olson, Zachary Barton, and Casey Fenske, and Travis Erzar, 20. Fenske, the only defendant to appear without an attorney, asked for a public defender, saying he earns only $800 per month, and less in the winter. Sandvik said he was qualified and ordered that a public defender be assigned to represent him.

The defendants, some of whom were accompanied by family members, declined to comment afterwards, and most of their attorneys said they can't comment until they receive documentation of all the evidence from the prosecutor. Erzar's attorney, Richard Holmstrom of Duluth, downplayed his client's involvement.

"If anybody did anything wrong, Travis was the least involved," Holmstrom said. "He was along for the ride."

From Duluth News-


According to the complaint, in videotaped statements made to law enforcement officers the morning after the shooting, four of the Ely men — Barton, Fenske, Erzar and Olson — admitted to taking part in the spree.

Lakner apparently has not made a statement to police. He has been charged with 13 felonies and 12 other crimes.

It’s likely the five suspects will be tried separately, lawyers close to the case said.

Federal charges are pending in the case.

According to Lake County Attorney Russ Conrow, the defendants will have three pre-trial hearings

Pics of "the Gang"

Ya I usually try not to shoot guns around yuppie campers and threaten to kill and rape them when I get drunk.

First thing I thought...WTF was the 37 year old doing with these kids? Fucking loser has nothing better to do than go fuck off with some kids.

SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS GOING INTO TWO HARBORS COURTHOUSE FOR A PRE-TRIAL HEARING. 10AM NOV. 5TH. I THINK I'LL GO SEE IF I CAN SIT IN ON THE NOV. 5 HEARING AND I'LL UPDATE EVERYONE ON WHAT HAPPENS IF I CAN GET INTO THE COURTROOM.

I HOPE THESE GUYS GET SOME REAL TIME IN PRISON.

Three of 'Ely Six' plead guilty to terrorizing BWCA campers

TWO HARBORS, MINN. - As part of guilty pleas entered Monday, two of the six defendants charged with terrorizing campers in a drunken shooting spree last summer must testify against the others and can't enter the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for three years.

Travis Erzar, 20, and Casey Fenske, 19, each pleaded guilty to one count of felony aiding and abetting terroristic threats in connection with the Aug. 7 nighttime incident on Basswood Lake, in which dozens of BWCA campers reported being harassed or threatened by men in motorboats. Cases against the other four have yet to be resolved.

The incident attracted widespread attention because of evidence the rampage was fueled by lingering resentment in the Ely area over the environmental activism that led to the creation of the BWCA and its prohibitions against private property and motorized recreation.

As they drank beer and shot off guns and fireworks, the five men and a 16-year-old boy, all from Ely, allegedly yelled such things as "get the [expletive] off our [expletive] property," and "go home [expletive] 'enox' tree-huggers." Erzar said "enox" is local slang for "environmentally obnoxious," said his attorney, Richard Holmstrom of Duluth.

In court Monday, Fenske admitted firing his .22-caliber pistol 40 to 50 times that night into the water. He also admitted to shooting the door of a "gauging station," a government structure. In addition to the felony count, he pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property and a misdemeanor count of reckless discharge of a firearm.

He agreed to be sentenced to at least nine months in jail, to pay restitution to victims, serve three years' probation during which he can't enter the BWCA, and testify if necessary against other defendants. In exchange, Lake County Attorney Russell Conrow agreed to dismiss nine other felony charges and one misdemeanor.

Erzar said in court Monday that while he was along for the ride, he didn't yell or shoot any guns. He pleaded guilty not only to the felony count but also to a misdemeanor count of consumption of alcohol by a minor. He agreed to be sentenced to three years' probation, to testify if necessary at the trials of the remaining defendants, and to stay out of the BWCA for three years.

In exchange for Erzar's pleas, Conrow agreed to drop eight remaining felony charges against him and go along with the specified sentence.

In both Erzar's and Fenske's cases, he agreed to recommend a stay of imposition, meaning if the defendants cooperate and successfully complete probation, the felony on their records will be reduced to a misdemeanor. Afterward, Conrow said his agreements with both defendants reflect their differing degrees of participation in what happened.

District Judge Kenneth Sandvik set Feb. 4 as the sentencing date for both men. Fenske and his mother declined to comment. His attorney, John Lind, could not be reached. Holmstrom said "Travis was the least involved of the individuals. ... He feels badly for the individuals who were terrorized."

Holmstrom said Erzar also "feels badly for the codefendants, but he did what he had to do."

-- A 20-year-old Ely man pleaded guilty Tuesday to helping terrorize campers during a drunken shooting spree last summer in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Zachary Barton was the third of six defendants to plead guilty in a deal that requires him to testify against the others, if necessary.

defendant Jay Olson, 19, pleaded not guilty and requested a trial.

Olson's attorney, David Keegan, produced letters from more than 30 character witnesses on his client's behalf. Several wrote that Olson's alleged crimes were out of character and that they hope his punishment won't prevent him from finishing college.

The writers included retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Evelyn Foote, who is an Ely summer resident; former Ely Mayor Ed Steklasa and Janet Grahek, an 80-year-old widow who wrote that Olson's show-shoveling and lawn-mowing allowed her to stay in her home.

"I firmly believe Jay was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people," wrote John Lahtonen, a long-time Ely police officer. "... Although Jay made a terrible mistake that day, I feel he deserves a second chance to prove the kind of man he has the potential to become."



Barney James Lakner, 37, of Ely, postponed his omnibus hearing until Feb. 19.

Theres some crazy f-in bastards up in Ely...damn. I think these guys were JUST a little over the top Chub...

No big island to keep them calm gots to go to BWCA to find girls by the lake!lol they is crazy just beer guns and ideas!

i hope you're NOT referring to the entire city of Ely but only a just a select few

"Ely would not exsist without tourist" what a dumb statement that is..!

Try quoting the whole statement, and I'll stand by it.

Mike

OK, 75%of the towns renenue?I hope thats a guess,75% of every dollar made by the residents come from tree huggers and snowmobilers>?????????????stand by those two statements.

Yep. Either directly or indirectly. And the statement included would not exist in it's present form.

For a population of ~3600 people (3595 in July 2006)

From Ely's website:

Ely is surrounded by over five million acres of natural forest and wilderness area, that makes our area unique for business and play. A wide variety of accommodations are available for tourists including 34 resorts within 30 miles, 17 canoe outfitters, six motels, and ten campgrounds. The area is served by many specialty shops, restaurants, and a unique downtown retail shopping area with complete services

8 of the top 20 employers in Ely are directly related to tourism.

Might I be off in the numbers... Perhaps but the numbers aren't the point of my post of several months ago. If its 50% or 85% it is a VERY significant part of the livelyhood of Ely. And it's the indirect relationship that really gets the percentages up. Joe the Ely town plumber thinks he's isn't effected by BWCA visitors, but golly, his best customer is Grand Ely Lodge and where does the lodge get the money to pay Joe (and the 61 other employees)?

You want more specific numbers... Go ask the Mayor Novak how many dollars tourist bring to Ely on a annual basis and ask him what the town would look like without tourist dollars.

Mike

like Novak knows what he is doing let alone numbers for Ely. They cant even hire a janitor up at city hall. What that paragraph states that you have taked out of context from somewhere are the tourism stats. That shows no stats of ANY other business but touristic related businesses. What about area mines, or revenue building, or travel building, school, fast food, college, Pamida, etc.. i'm not doubting tourism is a big part to this community because it is pretty important to SOME businesses but not ALL. Every city has restuarants to gas stations and so forth. Ely strives on tourism, but is not totally dependent on it. If Ely were to rely on tourism there would be some rough times at certain poiints of the year for that town. There are many jobs that people have that are not tourist related.

and i would not say that even 50% of ely's TOTALL money comes from tourism. I would say anything tourist related from resorts, camping outfitters hotels have their income from tourism but not everything. Many businesses would not even prosper if their income was 75% tourists. Like in the winter, and i know that winter is slow no matter waht for more touristic businesses but there's no way they would survive if no body from ely would shop their. But businesses that are closed during the winter yes are tourist related.

In the end Yes tourism helps our economy out a lot but that's not what ALL of Ely prospers on, just certain areas. This is just my $.02.

[quote name='mrc' date='Feb 2 2008, 02:10 AM' post='3591500']
Yep. Either directly or indirectly. And the statement included would not exist in it's present form.

For a population of ~3600 people (3595 in July 2006)

From Ely's website:

Ely is surrounded by over five million acres of natural forest and wilderness area, that makes our area unique for business and play. A wide variety of accommodations are available for tourists including 34 resorts within 30 miles, 17 canoe outfitters, six motels, and ten campgrounds. The area is served by many specialty shops, restaurants, and a unique downtown retail shopping area with complete services

8 of the top 20 employers in Ely are directly related to tourism.

Might I be off in the numbers... Perhaps but the numbers aren't the point of my post of several months ago. If its 50% or 85% it is a VERY significant part of the livelyhood of Ely. And it's the indirect relationship that really gets the percentages up. Joe the Ely town plumber thinks he's isn't effected by BWCA visitors, but golly, his best customer is Grand Ely Lodge and where does the lodge get the money to pay Joe (and the 61 other employees)?

You want more specific numbers... Go ask the Mayor Novak how many dollars tourist bring to Ely on a annual basis and ask him what the town would look like without tourist dollars.

Mike
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The website is a promotional tool,catering to tourists trying to attract more,like the last poster noted mayor Novak cant even keep his own business clean.Your post about the inciden are well taken ,but the facts of Ely economy are distorted and way off,I see you live in the TwinCities It would never survive without the mall of America.

The whole problem is it burns my ass when people from the twin cities or else where,tell the people that live here that to cater to the tourist popualtion.I pay taxes in this city and my kids go to school here and i support the area.The tourist industry helps a few people but the majority of employers that actually pay aliving wage have nothing to do with tourism absolutely nothing.

Well as long as thats the "whole problem", I'll defer to your greater knowledge

We are way off topic here, and I don't think I am in any way bashing on Ely or it's residents. Every time I've vacationed in that area I've been treated well by the good and friendly people of Ely. I am not going to let one isolated incident color my opinion of the area or it's people. But not everybody is like me in that regard. Given a choice of where anywhere to live, Ely would be way up there for me. However for career reasons and circle of friends, the Twin Cities is the place for myself and my family.

If I needed to prove a point either way (to prove myself right or wrong), it would require going into balance of trade numbers which are a pain to obtain and certainly not worth either of our time to research just to make a point. Balance of trade applies not just to countries, any town (or any given boundry) must bring in enough outside dollars to pay for the things that it imports (food, gasoline, raw materials, magazines, etc). This is completely independent of the volume of local to local business that takes place. Now Ely certainly has other industries which bring in outside money (lumber & mining to name two).

My point in quoting from one of Ely's web sites above was to point out that 34 resorts, 17 outfitters, 6 motels and 10 campgrounds represents a very significant commitment to tourism for a town of 3600 people.

Well signing off, thanks for the discussion.

Mike

I am a UH-60 Blackhawk Medevac Helo Crewchief in Iraq currently, I get to see a bunch of retards running around with ak-47's and make shift weapons of any sort at any given point. I pick up injured personel that are the result of these low life people. I serve the U.S and more importantly I joined to keep the wonderful freedoms of our country safe,IE. Right to bare Arms, people like these make my every effort of protecting our freedoms useless. We(everyone who serves in the mil) want to make this country safe and see our every rites protected. Kinda makin it hard here guys.With Chubs sayin they were out havin and what not, I guess it makes it ok. Hell, that means that everyone who has gotten a dui should be let off of it cause they were out to have fun. Drinking doesn't make anything you do ok. I hope these guys learn for there mistakes and spend there time wisely thinking about it.

Barney James Lakner, one of six Ely residents charged with making terroristic threats against campers on Basswood Lake in August, will contest the case against him at a pretrial omnibus hearing in March.

Lakner was scheduled for an omnibus hearing Tuesday (Feb 19th) in State District Court in Lake County but his attorney requested a contested omnibus hearing now set for March 24. Lakner could challenge constitutional issues and other evidence against him. It’s likely law enforcement officers involved in the case will be called to testify at the hearing.