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The beat report

When a rural Monroe driver awakened from his drunken slumber, he accelerated his vehicle.

The vehicle was in reverse and backed into a police officer’s patrol car.

Those are among the details the Green County Sheriff’s Office put out in a news release regarding the passed out driver in Monroe.

No one was injured, but the squad car had front-end damage. The driver was arrested for drunken driving and unsafe backing.

I don’t normally cover Green County, but I thought that was a funny story and a good way to start this week’s beat report.

LEFT IN THE NOTEBOOK

• Gazette reporter Marcia Nelesen and I were nearly done with our story about Janesville’s Lava Lounge hosting a Girls Gone Wild event when we heard the bar owner had canceled. We had interviewed police, city officials and the bar owner. We had an 18-inch story detailing the controversy and possible legal ramifications. After learning of the cancellation, we had to rewrite the whole thing. News changes quickly. That’s just part of the job.

• I covered a couple school board races on election night to help out other reporters. When I called winning candidates, I was surprised to learn that they often had no idea that they were elected. Many candidates don’t follow the results online or anywhere else on election night.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

• I spoke to Rock County Sheriff’s Capt. Russ Steeber in the hallway of the sheriff’s office last week. He is retiring Friday after 33 years with the sheriff’s office. He said he plans to spend much of his free time with his grandkids. Congrats!

• I recently overheard Janesville police officer Chad Sullivan talking in Spanish to two Latino residents in the lobby of the police department. Sullivan teaches “Street Cop Spanish” to law enforcement agencies throughout the state. He helps police learn basic commands to help them communicate with Latino residents. Sullivan, who minored in Spanish in college, created the class after realizing the language was useful while on patrol. It was pretty cool to hear him putting his Spanish skills to use.

• The ladies at the Rock County District Attorney’s Office have decorated the office for Easter. Colored eggs and bunnies are hanging from the ceiling. Easter baskets also are displayed. I’ve said before that they’re quite festive over there. They also decorated the office for Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day.

QUOTABLE

• “I see the concerns in others, and it enlightened me a little bit. I had some moral concerns, as well … I think it’s a fun event, but the more I thought it through, it’s not a good decision right now,” Ryan Skinner, owner of the Lava Lounge, on canceling the Girls Gone Wild Event.

TWEETS WORTH RETWEETING

• “Eeeeewwwwwwww,” @kaylabee18, on news that a Janesville bar was hosting a Girls Gone Wild event, which was later canceled.

• “Dear God the "Sound Off" is gonna blow up over this one,” @Jrontheair, on the Girls Gone Wild event.

• “That’s prob a smart move,” @mattwendel8, on the Girls Gone Wild event getting canceled.

FACEBOOK BANTER

• “Dirtbag,” D. H., on a report of a grandson stealing a 40-inch, flat-screen TV from his grandma.

• “Oh no!!! Dog Napping....Why, with so many stray dogs at the shealter, I guess it’s easier to covet someone else’s pet,” W. J., on a report of a dognapping.

• “I have felt like doing that several times while in Mercy care, cant blame the guy,” K.H., on a report of a man throwing a fit in the Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center emergency room and tossing a chair at a police officer.

• “Now that he got caught I'm sure he thinks that it was a baaaaad idea haha,” C. L., on a Janesville man charged with burglary after being suspected of breaking into a barn, possibly to steal sheep. The suspect was caught in the barn with his pants and shoes covered in manure.

• “That was during the thunderstorm too. I can't imagine what that poor child must have went through,” J. L., on a report of a 4-year-old boy taken to the hospital after being found wandering outside a Janesville grocery store in a diaper. The boy’s aunt was arrested on a charge of neglect.

• “I would like to know why is that 4 year old in a diaper? Seems parenting isn't a priority,” C.S., on the wandering 4-year-old boy.

OFF THE BEAT

• I took my family to the Brewers-Cubs game Saturday night. My boys loved it. We grilled hot dogs in the parking lot, ate peanuts in our seats and spent some time at Bernie’s Clubhouse, which is a playground. While the kids played, all the dads at the playground crowded around the flat-screen TV showing the game. The Brewers won, and they’re heating up.

• I sat in our sunroom with the lights off Sunday night, watching the thunderstorm roll in. I love listening to thunder, watching lightning flashes and feeling the breeze in the spring.

LOOKING AHEAD

• I’m going to be a guest speaker at a UW-Whitewater digital journalism class this week. I’m also going to join students at the weekly Royal Purple staff meeting. Kyle Geissler, a Gazette colleague, teaches the class and advises the student newspaper. I’m looking forward to being on a college campus again. I’ll post a blog about the experience later.

• This week, I plan to cover a sexual assault/child abuse awareness event, a Rock County Sheriff’s Office awards ceremony and a sentencing in a robbery case. The man in the robbery case had a son murdered, lost his job at General Motors and was facing foreclosure. He had no criminal record before the robbery. It’s an interesting story.

Ted Sullivan can be reached at (608) 755-8253, tsullivan@gazettextra.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook at Rock County Crime.