Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com
Published - Thursday, May 08, 2008
Auction includes a boat, crime vehicles, ambulances
Would-be ambulance, getaway car and motorcycle drivers rejoice.
Eleven vehicles confiscated by the Winona County Sheriff’s Department or retired by the county are on the auction block starting Friday. The sheriff’s department will accept sealed bids until 3 p.m. Wednesday, when the envelopes will be opened and the vehicles awarded to the highest bidders.
Acquired through forfeitures and department upgrades, the auction vehicles include two 1987 Ford ambulances, a 2001 19-foot Lund boat with a trailer and a 1999 Harley-Davidson Wide Glide motorcycle. The vehicles are lined up for public viewing at the Winona County maintenance building at the corner of Second and Washington streets, but the Harley is parked inside and requires permission to view. The department doesn’t want someone to just “walk off with it,” Chief Deputy Ron Ganrude said.
The ambulances once belonged to the county’s emergency response and search-and-rescue teams. They might not have the flashing lights and sirens anymore, but they provide excellent storage space and would be good for someone in construction, Sheriff Dave Brand said.
The Lund boat is on the block after the sheriff’s department received a $32,000 state grant to replace it with a new patrol boat, Brand said. The 19-footer comes with a canopy roof and is ready to haul away on a Karavan trailer.
Most of the vehicles to be auctioned are in good shape, but at least one’s drivability is questionable, Ganrude said. A 1998 Pontiac Bonneville has been in rough shape since it smashed into a tractor — twice — in a bean field last July.
According to police reports, Carrie Louise Lee, 47, of Peterson, Minn., was drunk and got stuck in a ditch near County Roads 2 and 29 in Fremont, Minn. When she got loose, she drove straight for a John Deere tractor and crashed into it head-on, with Roger Baer and his 2-year-old grandson in the driver’s seat. She then made a 50-foot loop through the beans and rear-ended the tractor. No one was hurt in the collisions, and Lee was sentenced to two years probation.
Proceeds from the sales of department vehicles, including the boat, will be placed in the sheriff’s general fund, Brand said. The department will use 70 percent of the money collected for new equipment and future enforcement and prevention activities, he said. The remaining 30 percent goes to the Winona County attorney’s office, which typically uses the money for investigation and prosecution costs.
For a complete list of vehicles or to place a bid, visit the sheriff’s department on the first floor of the Law Enforcement Center, 201 W. Third St.
Contact Kevin Behr at (507) 453-3524 or at kbehr@winonadailynews.com.
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