A judge ordered the Holmen fire chief to spend two days in jail and suspended his driver’s license for one year after he was convicted of drunken driving. Paul Menches, 61, pleaded guilty Wednesday in La Crosse County Circuit Court to second-offense operating while intoxicated. Circuit Judge Scott Horne imposed a $1,454 fine and ordered him to report to jail on Monday.
Menches was driving with a 0.11 percent preliminary alcohol level about 10:45 p.m. Jan. 31 when he lost control on a snow-covered Hwy. 53 just south of the Hwy. MH exit and another vehicle struck his driver’s side door, according to the complaint filed in La Crosse County Circuit Court.