Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UW-Eau Claire Police Department said the amount of cases has dropped considerably since almost all students have left university grounds. However, there are still recordable events occurring within the ghost town campus. 

An almost Davies disaster

Back in the end of March, an officer was contacted by a custodian in the Davies Center regarding an odor of natural gas on the first floor. The custodian said they could smell the odor within the entire first floor food court area. 

A second custodian attested to the noticeable odor on the first floor of Davies. 

When the officer arrived on scene and made contact with the custodian, they immediately detected the odor of natural gas within the vicinity of the fireplace. 

The officer asked the custodian if all switches had been turned off for the fireplace. The custodian and the officer then went to the control panel to find all switches in the off position.

The officer contacted the communication center and requested the Eau Claire Fire Department respond regarding the odor. The officer then escorted the two custodians, who said they were the only ones in the building, out for their safety. 

The officer verified that the two custodians were not feeling ill due to the natural gas. 

Within five minutes of the Eau Claire Fire Department arriving on the scene, they exited the building and said there was a small natural gas leak near the fireplace on the first floor. With the use of their tools, the fire department determined that the leak was very small. 

The officer contacted maintenance about the leak, in which they responded by having the natural gas turned off to the fireplaces. 

No further information is available. 

Tell us how you really feel

Toward the end of March, another event occurred involving graffiti at Bollinger Field. 

An officer was contacted by a grounds crew member when they observed graffiti in one of the dugouts in the baseball field. They said it was on dugout six. 

The grounds crew member said they were at Bollinger Field all day yesterday and did not observe any graffiti within that time. They said they left around 1:30 p.m.

When the grounds crew member arrived the next morning at 7 a.m., they observed vulgar language regarding COVID-19 and a large male body part graffitied onto the dugout walls. 

The officer traveled to Bollinger Fields with another officer and photographed the graffiti on the dug out. The officer did not see any paint canisters or anything relating to the incident around the dugout. 

No further information is available at this time. 

Dumpster diving

On April 6, an officer was contacted by another officer regarding subjects digging through the dumpster near Karlgaard Towers South. The officer said it was a male and female in a black sedan.

While driving to the dumpster near Towers South, the officer drove past a male and a female in a black sedan, to which the officer made a records check on the vehicle. 

When the officer arrived at Towers South, the vehicle was no longer there, so they conducted a vehicle patrol searching for the black sedan. The vehicle then passed the officer on 600 University Drive.

The officer activated their emergency lights and conducted a traffic stop. 

The officer identified the male and female and explained why they were being stopped. The female said she had just gotten off work at Mayo Hospital and was on campus searching for her daughter’s bicycle, who was a student. 

While talking to the female, the officer observed a black garbage bag in the back seat and questioned it. The female said the bag had home goods in it that she was going to donate. 

The officer then told the male and female that because the dumpsters are on university property, they are not allowed to dig through them. The officer also said if they were to be caught doing this, they could be cited for it. 

The male and female said they understood and were both cooperative. 

No further information is available at this time. 

Dirks can be reached at [email protected]