Holmen fire chief to spend 2 days in jail for 2nd OWI conviction

Paul Menches was arrested Jan. 31 after losing control of vehicle. 

Holmen’s fire chief will now spend just two days in jail for his second OWI conviction. 

Paul Menches apologized for drinking and driving during a plea hearing Wed. and initially sentenced to 10 days in jail.

He will begin serving his two-day sentence Monday.

Menches, who was hired as chief July 13, 2016, was arrested Jan. 31, after he lost control of his vehicle on a snowy Hwy. 53. 

He went into the ditch just south of the Hwy. MH exit and another vehicle struck his driver’s side door during the incident.

Menches blew a .11.

His license will be revoked for a year and will have to have an interlock device installed on his vehicle. He also faces fines.

Menches, Holmen’s 12th fire chief, was convicted of his first OWI in 2013.

His prior drunken driving conviction was in 2013.