Millen County Standoff by Bill Spevacek

About the book

Millen County Standoff takes place in rural southwestern Wisconsin, beginning in 2001 and concluding about now. The protagonist is a Catholic priest, Father Tad Coburg, who grew up in the area. He is a theologian teaching in Rome, when the Bishop of Madison, Wisconsin, brings him back to the area to take over three small parishes, because of a severe shortage of priests and a disturbing situation he senses in the region. Miriam Dett was his high school sweetheart, who broke off their relationship to enter the convent, prompting Tad to enlist and fight in Vietnam. Miriam is married to abusive Myron Dett, with four unruly kids and living in a trailer park.

Tad encounters an extreme Christian fundamentalist sect, the Holy Scripture Universal Church of the Lord. Miriam's ten-year-old son Tony dies from injuries that officials claim were caused by a fall down stairs, but she believes resulted from a beating by sect members. She vows revenge.

The sect and a right wing militia are establishing an enclave on 2,000 wooded, hilly acres to practice their beliefs in isolation and to defy, by force, all units of federal and state government. Tad learns that his mother has deeded her rundown farm to the sect and is living with them in the settlement. He sets off to find her. This leads to violence and a standoff between the militia and federal authorities, with Tad and Miriam caught up in the action. The experience rekindles their love of thirty years earlier, leaving Tad with that ultimate decision of the celibate priesthood.

About the author

Bill Spevacek spent thirty years as a public relations counselor in Milwaukee, where he served a variety of corporate and nonprofit clients. He grew up in Wisconsin and is a journalism graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, a newspaper reporter with the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, public information officer for the Wisconsin State Patrol, and director of corporate relations for the University of Wisconsin Foundation. He has served on the boards of directors and as a volunteer with American Red Cross and other nonprofit agencies in Wisconsin and the Midwest. He resides with his wife, Pat, in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. They have three children and six grandchildren.