Friday, November 15, 2019 l 3AThe Gazette LOCAL

Judge says he considered man’s apparent remorse while deciding sentence

By Henry RedmanAdams Publishing Group

JEFFERSONThe organizer of the 2018 Warriors &

Wizards Festival was sentenced to proba-tion and jail time Thursday for defraud-ing festival sponsors out of tens of thousands of dollars.

Under a plea agree-ment, Scott W. Cramer pleaded no contest to one count of theft by false representation in Jeffer-son County Court.

Judge William Gruber sentenced him to three years probation, which includes 30 days in the Jefferson County Jail with work-re-lease privileges.

“The court is considering Mr. Cram-er’s character that’s coloring the court’s outcome here significantly,” Gruber said.

“As well as the remorse that’s expressed nonverbally and verbally here, the court does believe that Mr. Cramer has taken virtually all the responsibility that can be taken after the act has been committed.

“The court does believe the proba-bility of re-offense in either a financial crimes context or other criminal context is exceedingly unlikely.”

Under the agreement, Cramer, 59, whose address is listed as 917 Church St., Beloit, also must participate in counsel-ing and treatment, maintain employment or enroll in an educational program, and refrain from organizing a similar festival.

Cramer is accused of writing more than $50,000 in bounced checks and declined credit card authorizations for the 2018 festival in Jefferson, according to the criminal complaint.

Cramer brought a Harry Potter festi-val to Edgerton in 2015 and moved it to Jefferson two years later under the name Warriors & Wizards Festival.

Cramer had asked Edgerton to pay about $100,000 in festival expenses. When the city declined, Cramer forged an agreement with Jefferson.

On Thursday, District Attorney Susan Happ said both sides agreed the sen-tence was enough to meet the commu-nity’s needs.

“As you can tell from the criminal com-plaint, there were multiple victims owed an extremely high restitution,” Happ said. “It emphasizes how significant it was. This consequence is sufficient to address the nature and consequence of the con-duct.”

The plea agreement does not include restitution. Defense attorney Scott Wales said Cramer has paid back $73,359.32 to 14 parties that lost money.

Cramer and his wife, Cheryl, were forced to sell their house and take money out of their 401(k) accounts to repay the debt, Wales said.

In court, Wales read letters written by Cramer and his wife. As her letter was read, Cramer stared at the floor as his wife began to cry.

“Scott fully acknowledges and accepts the responsibility that he violated the law by writing those uncovered checks,” Cheryl Cramer’s letter reads.

Cramer expressed remorse in his own letter.

“I was wrong. Please forgive me,” the letter read. “I realize writing checks in the hopes they would be covered was illegal and disrespectful. I recognize and acknowledge my wrongdoing. This has caused myself and my family much embarrassment.”

By Benjamin Piercebpierce@gazettextra.com

EVANSVILLEDespite Tycian Hanson never working

in education prior to his recent hire as the Evansville School District’s building and grounds director, Superintendent Jerry Roth said Hanson has made a good first impression.

Roth said Hanson’s “extensive” experience in buildings and a vast knowl-edge of HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems will serve the district well. He worked in the private sector before working for a health system in Walworth County.

“He’s a highly intelli-gent man who brings a lot

of experience,” Roth said.Hanson’s only a month into the job, but

Roth said he has been “outstanding.”“We hired a really top-notch person here,

and we’re very excited about that.”Hanson joins the district in the middle

of its referendum project, but Roth said the timing of the hire was almost perfect because all the final planning for the build-ings was finished.

Roth said Hanson has been busy get-ting up to speed with the district’s systems, where the new facilities will be located and how they will operate when completed.

“He’s been working closely with the staff here to understand the blueprints and plans. He’s been a seamless addition,” Roth said. “He gets the big picture and knows a big part of his job is serving our students, and he has done a great job with that.”

Festival organizer gets jail for theft

Cramer

Clinton couple sells art pieces created

from recycled itemsBy Austin MontgomeryAdams Publishing Group

CLINTONForgotten antiques and

rusty industrial equipment might be junk to some peo-ple, but they are the bread and butter of a small Clin-ton business called Sawdust and Iron.

Co-owners Mat and Peggy Teubert say they are floored by the popularity of the art and furniture they make by recycling found items.

Mat, a Janesville-area native and trucking company owner/driver, grew up on a farm and has always been a do-it-yourself type. His car-pentry talents come natu-rally, he said.

“If it was broken, you fix it,” Mat said. “It’s simple for me. It just makes sense.”

It all started after Mat made a custom headboard for their Clinton home, which is filled with unusual furniture and art.

“He kept the design of the headboard secret from me,” Peggy said. “When he was done with it, Mat posted it on social media, and peo-ple were asking where (they) could get one. It kind of exploded from there.”

Mat likes to reuse things. He turns old whiskey and wine barrels into tables and industrial pallet carts into coffee tables.

Peggy makes smaller deco-rative items such as planters.

“I like the industrial look

of things,” Mat said. “I like going out and finding the stuff. It’s about looking at this piece instead of letting it rust and thinking, ‘What can I do with this?’ There’s a story behind every piece.”

He said the hardest part about working on an art piece is sticking to an idea.

“It’s so challenging pick-ing just one idea,” Mat said. “My mind can go so many different ways on stuff that it’s hard to settle on one way to move forward. You get through the process, and new ideas pop up. I’m always thinking about what I could add.”

Even when he finishes something, the challenges don’t end.

“It’s hard to get rid of some of this stuff,” Mat said. “I love what I make. I want to keep lots of it, but how much can you put in a house before you start tripping over it? It’s got to go.”

The pair recently trav-eled to Kansas to visit their son before stopping in Nebraska, where they picked up as much old barn lum-ber, antique car parts and whiskey barrels as they could carry back to Clinton.

“That’s the farthest we’ve gone, but there are lots of places around the country you can get old stuff,” Mat said. “We are pretty new at it, but right now a lot of our time, because of the demand, has been spent on making things to get caught up on our inventory.”

Mat and Peggy have booths at Best of Beloit and Vintage Bliss in South Beloit, Illinois.

“There’s just something good happening here,” Mat said. “I just knew it was going to be good. We signed on one day for two spots.”

There’s really no division of labor between the pair when it comes to Sawdust

and Iron.“The way it works for us

is we just do it,” Peggy said. “There’s really no divide there. If something needs to be done, one of us will do it. It’s a big team effort.”

Peggy said she has watched Mat’s passion grow with amazement. She cur-rently works as a physical therapist assistant in the Beloit School District, but she said that career transi-tion wouldn’t have been pos-sible without Mat’s support while she was in school.

“I want this for him, and I love seeing him happy,” Peggy said. “There’s really a future with it.”

Before expanding their business, the couple said they want to develop a flow to their production schedule while learning which items sell best.

Down the road, Mat wants to have a shop away from their Clinton home. For now, he’s taking it one day at a time.

“It gives me something to do. I like having a hobby that’s art and about keeping old stuff out of the junkyard.”

‘What can I do

with this?’

Austin Montgomery/Adams Publishing GroupMat Teubert shows off his love for antiques, such as the front end of this old vehicle, at his home in Clinton. Teubert says he has always liked fixing things and repurposing them.

SAWDUST AND IRONFor custom orders, contact Mat and Peggy Teubert at 608-774-

6776 or visit their Facebook page at fb.me/sawdustiron.

Evansville School District hires facilities

director

Roth

BRIEFSFontana man charged with fourth OWI incident

ELKHORN—A Fontana man charged with fourth-offense intox-icated driving admitted to police that he drank two vodka sodas before driv-ing, according to a criminal complaint filed in Walworth County Court.

Lake Geneva police say Ryan H. Hogan, 38, of 771 Brickley Court, drove while intoxicated at about 3:35 p.m. Nov. 5 at Broad and Dodge streets, the complaint states.

An officer reported that Hogan’s vehicle was involved in an accident, but further details were not included in the complaint. Results from a blood test are pending.

Hogan was convicted of intoxicated driv-ing in 2001, 2002 and 2005, according to the complaint.

Senator’s staff to meet with constituents in Beloit

BELOIT—Staff members for U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., will meet with con-

stituents Tuesday, Nov. 19, in Beloit.

Staff will hold office hours from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Grinnell Hall Senior Center, 631 Bluff St.

The office hours are closed to media, and record-ing devices are prohibited, according to a news release

from Johnson’s office.

Hogan

Johnson