Pubdate: Sun, 29 Jan 2012 Source: Wausau Daily Herald (WI) Copyright: 2012 Wausau Daily Herald Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/zFWcSrzy Website: http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1321 Author: Jeff Starck RECORDS: COACHES, TEACHER MET AT GOLF COURSE TO DEAL, USE DRUGS ANTIGO -- The court documents paint a shocking scene at a secluded golf course carved out of the pines and oaks north of Antigo. The records describe a group of men in their 40s and 50s regularly meeting to buy, sell and smoke marijuana -- among them an elementary school principal who also coached the varsity football team, a former head football coach, a former athletic director and at least two other school employees. Sometimes, cocaine was involved. Witness statements in court documents stemming from a Langlade County Sheriff's Department investigation indicate the Bass Lake Country Club in the town of Upham was a hotbed of drug activity. The investigation already has ensnared highly regarded leaders in the Antigo and Merrill school districts. The Sheriff's Department expects more people to face criminal charges by the time the probe is finished. Bass Lake is closed for the winter, and general manager Dick Hilger did not respond to a message left at his home. Hilger has not been accused of a crime or any wrongdoing in the investigation. Langlade County Sheriff Bill Greening also did not return messages to provide further comment on the investigation. For now, the only information about the extent of the scandal is contained in criminal complaints. Recreational activity Antigo has a proud football tradition with three state championships. Head coach John Lund, who was a linebacker on the 1983 championship team, led the Red Robins to a 7-4 record and to the second round of the Division 2 playoffs last season. Lund, 47, also served as principal for two elementary schools in the Antigo School District. But based on his own statements to investigators, Lund led another life off the field and outside the schools that contradicted the anti-drug messages given to students. In a Nov. 30 interview with a Langlade County sheriff's investigator, Lund said his brother-in-law, Bradley Maahs, 46, of Wittenberg, approached him in early November and offered to sell him marijuana, according to a criminal complaint. Lund told the investigator that he bought marijuana from Maahs three or four times in recent years. Lund also admitted to buying and selling marijuana to Scot Peterson, the 55-year-old former Antigo head football coach who was still on Lund's coaching staff for the 2011 season, according to the complaint. Lund, Peterson and Maahs all have been charged with drug crimes in Langlade County Circuit Court. Peterson, based on court records, was the supplier of marijuana for about a dozen people, including his brother, Merrill school teacher Jay Peterson, as well as retired Merrill athletic director Peter Miller. Miller told investigators that he bought marijuana from Scot Peterson for 15 years and often smoked when at Bass Lake, off Highway B about 18 miles north of Antigo. Jay Peterson and Miller have not been charged with a crime. "When golfing at Bass Lake Golf Course, it was normal for all the men in the group of four to share marijuana, and that if (Miller) was golfing at Bass Lake, he was smoking marijuana as a rule of thumb," the complaint reads. Cocaine at the club Michael J. Peterson, 45, of Bryant, claimed he bought cocaine at Bass Lake 15 times in 2010 and five times in 2011 from a drug dealer from the Milwaukee area by the name of John Hunter, according to the complaint. Michael Peterson's relationship to Scot and Jay Peterson was not described in the complaint. Michael Peterson was charged Nov. 23 in Langlade County Circuit Court with two counts of possession with intent to deliver cocaine. Hunter, who was arrested by authorities in Waukesha County, "estimated selling cocaine three or four times a year to the Bass Lake Country Club guys over the past three years, totaling about 18 to 24 deliveries of cocaine to the Bass Lake Country Club," according to the complaint. The statement did not identify the buyers by name. Hunter also was linked to selling marijuana to Scot Peterson, according to police. Hunter's status is not known. A drug investigator with the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department did not respond to a message seeking information. More to come Police say that more people will face charges as the investigation progresses. In the meantime, the Antigo and Merrill school districts are continuing their own investigations. Lund was placed Tuesday on unpaid leave, and four other Antigo School District employees who admitted smoking or buying marijuana from Scot Peterson, according to police, are on paid leave pending an investigation by the district. Jay Peterson is on paid leave from the Merrill school district. The charges and accusations caught much of the Antigo community by surprise, even those who deal professionally with local drug abuse. Langlade County had been experiencing a decline in drug arrests, a 23 percent dip from 2009 to 2010, according to the most recent data from the state. Tanya Zaloudek, a substance abuse counselor for the Northcentral Health Care Center in Antigo, said marijuana and prescription painkiller abuse still is common in the Antigo area, much as it is in other nearby communities. But she said Bass Lake Country Club is well-regarded by the community and is not known for drug problems. Zaloudek said she was shocked to hear the allegations. "(Bass Lake) is out of sight from Antigo, on the outskirts," she said. "The individuals must have thought they were out of the fray and had less of a risk to see the consequences for their behavior." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom