Headline Making Stories in 2015: Part 2

Year in Review: Part 2

April

April came in blazing. Dozens of families were left without a place to call home after a massive fire ripped through the Applewood Knoll Apartment Complex in Duluth on Easter Sunday. The fire was caused by improper disposal of a cigarette.

Duluthians were stunned after two DTA buses collided killing one man and injuring nine others. The crash, which happened around 5 a.m., killed 53–year–old Michael Mooney. Mooney is remembered as a hero who was rushing forward to help the bus driver who was going through a medical emergency.

At the end of April, an explosion surprised Superior residents. The Calumet Oil Refinery was up in flames for just under two hours. The fire happened in an empty tank that usually holds 3,000 barrels of asphalt. No one was injured.

May

The discovery of a body at Gooseberry Falls State Park led to a homicide investigation. The body was identified as Cassandra Rhines who was 19 years old when she went missing in June of 1985. Investigators believe Rhines may have been involved in prostitution and worked as an exotic dancer. Nobody has been charged in connection with her death.

At the end of May, Duluth Police found 52–year–old Lisa Isham stabbed to death on the 100 block of Fir Avenue. In late July, police arrested 63–year–old William Holisky II on second degree murder charges for her death.

Tragedy hit Edgewater, Wisconsin when three people were found dead in a home. 41–year–old Eric Werachowski shot and killed his father, 62–year–old Richard Werachowski, set the family home on fire, and then shot himself. His mother, 60–year–old Marilyn Werachowski, died from the fire.

June

Police arrested and charged 44-year-old Bruce Cameron after he confessed to the 1987 murder of Leona Maslowski of Virginia. Police say he had been at a party and went down the back stairs to steal alcohol from her, when he encountered her and then attacked her. He’s facing a charge of second degree murder for the case which went unsolved for nearly 30 years. Fingerprints at the scene helped police link him to the crime.

On June 29 three Northlanders were struck by lightning. Twelve-year-old Nathan Burke of Duluth was out on the Enger Park golf course when he got hit. That same day, 51–year–old Jay Mott and his 4–year–old daughter Ava Mott were struck in Cherry Township. The Virginia residents were there for his son’s baseball game. The game was delayed and he was carrying Ava to their truck when they were hit.