Ghost hunters; deputy's unconventional side job; unlucky lottery

MADISON, Neb. — Ross Bartlett has plenty on his plate, and now he'd like to fill some bellies as a result.

The Madison County sheriff's deputy recently started a food truck business, and his offerings are definitely unusual for this corner of the state.

Frog legs and savory "meal cones" are the stars of Bartlett's Code 3 Catering, which operates out of a repurposed fire equipment truck.

"I don't want to ... have my food be something people have got to have because it's the only thing (at an event) to eat. I want to be unique and different," Bartlett told The Norfolk Daily News.

Though his truck — named for the fire department's code for lights and sirens — draws attention on its own with its working emergency lights, Bartlett has worked hard to make his food the star of the show.

"I went to a food service distributor show, where you do nothing but eat the whole time and see everything that's available," Bartlett said. "I went there to just basically get ideas. ... I wanted something weird and different, and I came across a guy that sells stuff like gator meat and frog legs that are farm-raised."

Not having seen frog legs on the menu of other food trucks in the area, he decided to see how the dish would sell around here.

"I have a seasoned batter that I made up myself, so I batter them and deep-fat fry them," Bartlett said. "More females than males, surprisingly, want to try them."

Frog legs sold well at this summer's Thunder By the River event in Wisner, Nebraska, as did loaded baked potatoes and Idaho tacos — a large baked potato covered in taco toppings.

Bartlett, who also works as a volunteer firefighter and EMT as well as part-time at the Madison and Newman Grove police departments, said his biggest seller this summer were his meal cones.

"The cone is made out of bread, about seven inches tall and a pretty good-sized circumference that you can probably put eight ounces of product in or more. In the hot beef dinner cone, I fill it with roast beef, a little layer of mashed potatoes, more roast beef, a ladle of gravy and a scoop of potatoes on the top. I drizzle gravy over the top of it and put a cherry tomato on it.

"With the bacon mac and cheese cone, I use what's called pizza bacon, which is to die for. I put that in the macaroni and cheese and fill the cone."

The process of figuring out what to sell at different venues has been trial and error, Bartlett said, and some dishes just don't seem to go over. A spaghetti and meatball cone has been nixed from the menu, though simple snow cones have proved to be major hit.

"Every time you go somewhere, something will sell at one event, and it won't sell at another event. I've figured some of it out though. If I go to an auction, I do hot dogs, chili dogs, nachos, drinks. But if I go to a big event like a fair, I'm going to have my hot beef dinner cones, my frog legs — something people can't get at every other food truck," Bartlett said.

His wife, Tina, helps him run the truck, as well as his daughter and son-in-law. Bartlett said he refers to the seasonal business as his retirement plan, though his wife jokingly calls Code 3 Catering his mid-life crisis.

As the colder weather moves in, Bartlett is about done working his food truck this year, but he is always available by request for auctions or special events, he said.

"The food truck craze is a unique niche that people are interested in. And the nice thing is, I can go to places that aren't set up for electricity and stuff — I can go to a farm, pull up and start my generator and half an hour later, I'm serving food."

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Information from: Norfolk Daily News, http://www.norfolkdailynews.com

An AP Member Exchange shared by the Norfolk Daily News

WAUSAU, Wis. — It's nearing 6 p.m. on a Saturday in October. The sun is setting, the air is growing brisk and a large crowd begins to gather at the Elks Lodge on Scott Street. A pinkish glow begins to engulf downtown Wausau as dark envelops the sky and there is the sound of crunchy leaves rustling along the sidewalks,

The crowd continues to grow and more and more people of all sizes and ages begin to congregate near the 400 block of Scott Street. They may all be from different parts of town and varying backgrounds, but they're here for the same thing: to learn about the eerie spirits some say lurk at many a landmark and downtown establishment.

They're here for the 13th annual Historic Downtown Wausau Fall Haunted Walking Tour, put on by the Wausau Paranormal Research Society.

Some of the crowd may be here for a good scare. Others have made a tradition of the annual walking tours and a few want to hear the unadulterated version of what's really skulking around mysteriously at places like The Grand or The Fillmor, the former concert venue and movie theater now home to the Downtown Mission Church.

"I don't want to walk away scared, but more educated about it," 17-year-old Ariana Blair, one of many attendees of a recent tour, told Daily Herald Media (http://wdhne.ws/1M8WwzR ). "Hollywood really stretches the limit of how people see ghosts."

These haunted outings have become sort of a staple in Wausau — a guaranteed ghostly good time and a signal to the community that Halloween is just around the corner. And for most people, the only encounter they have with the Wausau Paranormal Research Society— which has existed in, some form, for the past 15 years — is this yearly walking tour.

However these downtown excursions into the city's haunted past are just a small part of what the seven-person Wausau Paranormal Research Society does. In fact, when they're not giving haunted tours of Wausau, the team is in the depths of investigating the presence of ghosts, spirits and other paranormal activities in the area.

The purpose of these investigations is simple: to find out whether such transcendental activity is occurring. WPRS will receive reports of doors opening on their own, apparition sightings, strange smells or objects moving by themselves.

But just because an incident seems otherworldly, it doesn't mean it is, said WPRS's executive director Shawn Blaschka, who is also co-author of the book, "Haunted Wausau: The Ghostly History of Big Bull Falls."

"We don't go into an investigation thinking it's paranormal all the time," said WPRS investigator Bill Beaudry. "We don't jump to the conclusion that every creak, every knock, every sound is a ghost. We try to find a logical explanation."

And it turns out that, when the society goes to investigate a case, the cause is most likely not paranormal. Finding spirit activity is actually pretty rare, said WPRS co-director Anji Spialek, also the co-author of "Haunted Wausau: The Ghostly History of Big Bull Falls."

"I would say nine times out of 10, we do find logical explanations that have to do with the plumbing or the electricity," Spialek said. "And then every once in a while, it's that one time out of 10 when we catch that picture, or a voice and we're not able to explain away the activity."

The team collects evidence, with any pictures or recordings if they have them, and tries to find out if there's any rational answer that would explain away the strange movements happening at a particular place. They may use a variety of instruments — a digital video recorder system, infrared thermal probes or electromagnetic field meters — to track movements and possible paranormal activity.

After completing an investigation, they'll reveal the results to their clients and if they find evidence that it could be something metaphysical, they'll give them tips on how to cope and deal with the spirits. WPRS does not charge for their services. They also do not cast spells, perform cleansings or have the ability to expel such spirits from the house.

Rather, they're just interested in helping those affected by paranormal spirits to manage and come to terms with the situation. It's about coexistence.

"We're there to try to make them feel better about what's going on," Beaudry said. "We're there to try to make them understand."

They'll dole out advice to the person affected by the paranormal activity to help them cope with the activity. In particular, there's one tip that has yielded positive results for WPRS: Lay down the ground rules with the ghost.

"You would talk to it, and tell it, "I know you're here, but you're frightening me or frightening my children,'" Spialek said.

It seems simple, doesn't it?

"You'd be surprised how often it works," said WPRS investigator Nick von Gnechten.

A lot has changes since the group was founded at the turn of the millennium. The technology has evolved — at the start, Blaschka possessed a ghost kit, tape recorder, and a camera, but now the group has a whole trailer full of equipment— and the general public's attitudes about the paranormal have slowly evolved too, Blaschka said. Thanks to the advent of TV shows such as "Ghost Hunters" in the mid-2000s, there is a much more widespread acceptance, Blaschka said.

"I think people have opened their eyes a little more and maybe are a little more open minded about the possibility that (paranormal) activity is around you," Blaschka said.

For the seven members of the Wausau Paranormal Society, the allure of seeking out paranormal activity has to do with a combination of personal interest in the paranormal — many have had a longstanding fascination ever since their childhoods — and the rush they get when pursuing such spirits or ghosts. They've all had interactions with paranormal activity— and it's exhilarating.

"We've all had our hair pulled, our shirts tugged on, felt like we were touched," Beaudry said.

For example, during an WPRS investigation, Spialek was working away when suddenly she saw a figure. At first, she assumed it was one of her team members, but then realized that wasn't possible: they weren't even on the same floor as her. She trailed the figure and happened to capture a good look.

"This gentleman was just wearing a work jacket, work pants, he just looked normal, like just a person," she said.

She followed him through the kitchen. But when she entered the room —

"Nobody was there," Spialek said.

While some people may have been frightened of such an encounter, Spialek said she was not. It was exciting, maybe a little startling, but invigorating. To put it simply, it was a thrill.

Spialek said that the reason most people are scared of the paranormal is because they don't understand it or expect it — and when it's happening in their home, it can feel intrusive. All spirit energy isn't evil or menacing, she said.

"When you're sitting at home and you're not expecting something to happen, that can be scary," she said.

What the Wausau Paranormal Research Society does is not a science — but one day, Spialek said she hopes it will be. For now, it's just postulations and conjecture.

"This is all theory," Spialek said. "And everyone has their own personal theories."

Ultimately, how a person understands the paranormal is up to that individual and his or her own beliefs and experiences, Blaschka said. WPRS will investigate "anything that dwells along the paranormal or something that is unexplained. We got a call once for some little gnomes running around in someone's backyard in Rib Mountain," he said.

(And, in case you're wondering, they did check out the claim, but never did find any evidence of gnomes.)

So how do you define paranormal activity? What are ghosts? Why are supernatural spirits dwelling among the living? Is the metaphysical malevolent? The answers to these questions will depend on who you ask, Blaschka said.

"I think it's just spirit energy," Beaudry said about ghosts. "Whatever is there is what was there from its previous life,"

"To me, a lot of times, a ghost is somebody who is trapped in between," von Gnechten said. "They want to send a message. They died too early — too sudden. They want to stay in their home,"

And, sure, there are those people who don't believe in what WPRS is doing, but that doesn't really bother them, Spialek said.

"You'll always have people who will dismiss it or say that they don't believe it, but we're OK with it, we're not out to change anyone's mind," she said.

After all, it's hard to come terms with the unknown, especially if you've never had a personal experience with it.

"It's one of those things that needs to happen to you in order for you to be a believer," von Gnechten said. "It's something that you got to see for yourself."

Information from: Wausau Daily Herald Media, http://www.wausaudailyherald.com

FLUSHING, Mich. (AP) — Ben Grindle is your typical 5-year-old in many ways. He likes watching videos on his iPad, playing with his older sister, reading and coloring.

His eyes light up when he's happy and his voice will tell you when he's upset or frustrated.

But one thing makes him very different from the other kids in his kindergarten class.

Ben was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy just eight weeks after he was born. He attends class in a wheelchair and is unable to move most of his body. He needs assistance to breathe with the help of a machine and eats with the help of a feeding tube.

But the debilitating illness that Ben's parents initially thought would be a death sentence for their son, has since become only an obstacle for them to overcome.

And life for the Grindle family is moving forward.

"He's always had a personality. He was always very vocal, communicates with eyes, very expressive," said Ben's mother, TJ Grindle, adding that his cognitive abilities are the same as a normal 5-year-old. "We want him to experience as much as he can."

When Ben was first diagnosed, his family was told he would only live to be 2 years old. This year, at almost 6 years old, Ben is enrolled in kindergarten and is continuing to learn and grow.

SMA is an inherited disease that causes muscle loss and loss of motor functioning. Ben has Type 1 SMA, the most severe form.

Both of Ben's parents carry the SMA gene, which gives them a 25 percent chance of having a child with the condition.

The Flint Journal (http://bit.ly/1LkHE4a ) first featured Ben and his family in August 2011 when his parents — TJ and Jason Grindle — were celebrating every half birthday because doctors gave Ben such a grim prognosis.

But Ben and his family knew his potential was more than that.

TJ — a teacher in the Clio School District — and Jason — a financial adviser — did their research. They began raising money for research and contacting other SMA families on social media pages.

They saw hope, and they saw strength in their son.

The family remodeled their Flushing house to accommodate Ben's needs. They made the decision for Ben to undergo a tracheostomy — a surgical procedure that creates an opening in the neck to the windpipe — to help him breathe easier. His parents fought to have insurance approve an electronic chair that Ben could control with his thumbs, even though some doctors thought Ben would never function well enough to use it.

Ben is only at the Flushing Early Childhood Center for kindergarten two days a week, but he is still part of the class and does the same activities — even if it takes a few extra hands and a little more attention.

He has a nurse with him 20 hours out of the day. He has an aid with him at school to help with assignments and activities. But he still joins the other kids on the carpet for games and reading time.

Jason and TJ Grindle have chosen to not let Ben's diagnosis stop him from being a kid and living life to the fullest.

For the first few weeks of Ben's life, his parents didn't know anything was wrong. The only thing they noticed was he was sleeping a lot.

At his 6-week check-up, the doctors noticed he had no reflexes, and they made an appointment to see a neurologist. Originally told they would have to wait two months, he was soon bumped to the top of the list.

That's when Jason and TJ knew something was wrong.

Next came a whirlwind of doctor appointments, machines to help him breathe and eat, and a different way of thinking. How they thought their life would be was about to change drastically.

"It was very overwhelming," TJ said, adding that she took 1 1/2 years off from teaching to take care of Ben. "It was just too much."

Boxes of medical equipment filled one room of their home. The basement looks like an actual hospital because of all the medical supplies, Jason said.

Ben's room, which is the remodeled dining room, has an electronic track that allows him to be easily moved to a tub inside his room. There's counter space, a sink and cupboards to hold his supplies.

He has medical equipment next to his bed for whatever he needs — along with piles of toys and a TV to watch movies.

SMA affects all major muscle groups in the body, including the lungs. In Ben's case, he can't swallow, breathe or move most of his muscles on his own.

He was wearing a mask 24 hours a day to help him breathe until July 2012, when his parents made the decision for Ben to have the tracheostomy procedure to give him more comfort throughout the day.

Jason and TJ still have scary moments, though, especially when his airway gets clogged. It can happen anywhere, and has — including in the middle of Toys R Us and the back of their van while driving. And his parents need to be quick to switch the tube out.

Ben has grown up a lot since that first diagnosis. He can move his thumbs, communicate with his eyes and get short words and sounds out when he needs to.

Although it was all chaotic at first, after a while, life seemed to calm down for the Grindles.

TJ went back to teaching. The family continued to go on vacations. Lily, Ben's older sister, goes to school and after-school activities. Life became life again.

"Our mindset is totally different now. At the beginning we were like we have to do so much and make so many memories," Jason said. "After a while, you have to get past that and realize you have to live a normal life. We live a more normal life with two kids and two careers."

When asked to describe their everyday experiences, TJ and Jason both laughed, but a few terms came to mind quickly — controlled chaos, fast and furious and very structured.

When asked about their life, TJ admits it's nothing like they thought it would be.

But life for their family is still amazing, she said. They've been able to do some amazing things that probably would have never happened otherwise.

Jason said some people show pity or sympathy for the family because of Ben's SMA. But that's not what they want.

"Don't feel sorry for us. We live a pretty awesome life," Jason said.

The family has connected with families and kids across the country that have SMA or have a loved one with SMA.

The experience and knowledge has been extremely helpful for the Grindles. But it's more than that. They have gained friends and hope along the way.

Every summer about 20 families meet in Lancaster, Wisconsin, to take part in a huge event with fundraisers, support and more information.

They also have met a teenager, Cashel Gardner, whose SMA is similar to Ben's. Using only his thumbs, he can type his thoughts to a computer that reads them aloud. He has become somewhat of a public figure in the SMA community with his Facebook blog, "SMA it Forward with Cashel."

Jason recently flew out to Las Vegas to help celebrate Cashel's 18th birthday.

"It was cool just to meet him. ... It's awesome (to see Cashel succeed). You're visualizing the potential (for Ben). The potential is not just one year, two years out," Jason said.

Ben's daily life is different than other kids his age, but that doesn't mean he should be treated any differently, his dad said.

"Cognitively, he's 100 percent a 5-and-a-half-year-old. He gets frustrated. He can't talk. You're playing 100 guesses of what he wants," Jason Grindle said. "You can see frustration on him. He would love to be able to say, 'This is what I want.'"

He loves movies, books and going to school. He really enjoys being around people, but that's hard sometimes, Jason said, because people don't really know what they should or shouldn't do.

But really it's simple.

"They see him still like a baby because he's in a wheelchair stroller type thing," Jason said. "Don't baby talk him. Treat him like a normal kid."

Information from: The Flint Journal, http://www.mlive.com/flint

CHARLOTTE, Mich. (AP) — It's just a house, built around the turn of the century, three stories tall with stone steps leading up to a big porch.

It sits at the corner of Lovett and Pleasant streets — and 11 months out of the year it's pretty ordinary.

But in October the house on the corner begins its transformation.

It becomes that house.

The one everyone's talking about as evening falls and trick-or-treating starts on Oct. 31, the one every kid in the neighborhood will visit that night.

The well-kept lawn becomes a graveyard with weathered-looking tombstones sticking out of the ground. Skulls decorate the fence posts bordering the property and full-size clown figures, some wearing creepy sneers, will be mounted on poles in the grass this year.

More clowns will hang from the windows on the side of the house and off the porch roof. An old-fashioned Amish hearse will be parked on the lawn.

Halloween music will be playing from outdoor speakers. Colored strobe and spot lights will provide eerie illumination.

But wait — there's more.

Walking among the spooky display pieces, more than a dozen costumed clowns and other characters will be mingling with the neighborhood.

Halloween at the Kimmer household is a production and it's been a tradition, of sorts, for the last 28 years.

Julie and Dan Kimmer bought the property on Lovett Street 29 years ago. They raised two kids there.

But Julie gives most of the credit for what would become the big Halloween to-do at their house to her late mother-in-law Tanya Kimmer.

Before passing away in 2001, after a two-decade battle with cancer, Tanya lived vibrantly. She believed in bringing family together.

She also adored Halloween.

"She decided she was going to make the most out of everything and Halloween was her favorite," Julie told the Lansing State Journal. "She started this, throwing a Halloween party at our house. On Halloween day all Dan's relatives and all my relatives come over. We have 30 or 40 people here. Instead of a big Christmas party we have this."

The first year of the get-together was simple.

"We had two black labs and we bought them each an orange scarf," Julie said. "That was the first year's decorations."

There was plenty of fun though. Family came over, food was cooked and enjoyed. It was a huge party and every year it got a bit more festive.

Julie started with indoor decorations, a Halloween village on the living room mantle, a stand filled with aging Halloween postcards and other knick-knacks complete with spooky sound effects.

For a few years they added outdoor elements, just here and there. But somewhere around year 10, Julie said the effort became something bigger.

The couple began shopping after-Halloween sales for discount items, like scary costumes and masks and 10-foot tall trees. Their extended family began offering to help plan and set up what they had and they began decorating with "themes" each year.

Pirates, dinosaurs and, last year, zombies invaded the Kimmer lawn.

"It just becomes a crazy, free-for-all," Julie said. "I like that. I like all the grandkids running around here, all the kids running around, all the nieces and nephews."

And don't forget the trick-or-treaters. Last year close to 3,000 people stopped at the Kimmer house to check out the festivities and nab some candy.

Norma Howser, Julie's mother, lives two blocks away and every year it's her job to hand out the sweets. She stands by the porch steps wearing a long, black curly wig and her favorite Halloween sweatshirt.

"It's very full and curly and warm," Norma said, of the wig. "Don't ask me where I got the Halloween sweatshirt or the wig. I can't tell you because I don't remember."

She can't recall how or when the tradition became what it is either but it's always been fun.

"It's a special celebration for Charlotte I think," Norma said. "People look forward to it and the kids that come to trick-or-treat are sweet as can be."

Lee Howser, Julie's father, always stops by early on Oct. 31 to help the family put finishing touches on the outdoor display. He's usually in costume.

This year his role as a "magic magician" fits in perfectly with the chosen "circus" theme. He'll wear a black tuxedo and a cloak with blood-red lining and stand in a tent on the lawn.

"I have a great, big hammer and we have an automated rabbit that jumps out of a pumpkin," Lee said. "When he sticks his head out I'll play whack-a-mole with him."

It's all in fun and Julie said although the decorations are spooky, none of the costumed players try to scare little kids when they arrive.

In truth, Lee said more people are interested in taking photos with the spooks or getting a how-to explanation of the display.

"Where in the world do you store this stuff?" Lee said. "That's the most common question."

There's always a buzz in her neighborhood as the holiday gets closer. The Kimmer's have a reputation to live up to.

"All kinds of people come by and say, 'I used to come here when I was little,'" Julie said. "So we definitely are on our second generation of trick-or-treaters."

The end result is usually ready for crowds by 5:30 p.m. on Halloween night and Lee never worries if it will disappoint.

"You try to do the best you can on the displays and the rest of it will take care of itself."

Information from: Lansing State Journal, http://www.lansingstatejournal.com