Drunken stupidity ran rampant this first weekend of Oktoberfest.

Take, for example, the two college-age guys who decided to steal a manhole cover from the 800 block of Pine Street.
A resident of the area who saw the pair struggling to lift the metal disk called police after seeing which direction they’d gone.

While police stood guard to make sure no one fell into the open manhole, other officers paid the guys a visit.

They confessed and apologized. “It was just drunken stupidity,” one told the officers.

It also boggles the mind to see the number of people free on bond or probation who manage to do really stupid stuff in public that lands them back in jail.

There’s the guy who caught an officer’s attention by relieving himself behind a vehicle ... during the Maple Leaf Parade.

The cop later learned the guy was out on bond — with a no-drinking condition.

In a similar incident, another fella was downtown with thousands of other festers when he, too, decided he had to empty his bladder but didn’t want to go inside, so he walked into the alley. Same outcome.

I’ll grant you that if ever there was a time a person might get away with

violating a no-drinking condition, it would be Oktoberfest weekend, where it’s easy to blend into the crowd.

That is, until you wander off alone and catch the eye of the hundreds of police officers and security personnel patrolling the area.

The guy I did feel sorry for was a 22-year-old out on probation who was having a few beers at Saturday’s parade.

Unfortunately, he looked young for his age, so an officer asked to see an ID.

Now, he’s back in jail.

Worth Mentioning

I want to give a tip of the hat to the La Crosse Fire Department’s Combat Challenge Team — James Hillcoat, Jesse Walters, Blane Neher and Adam Markert — for finishing as the top Wisconsin team in the Midwest Regional Combat Challenge in Milwaukee earlier this month.

The Challenge showcases firefighter fitness. Wearing full gear and a breathing apparatus, competitors go through a series of tasks that include climbing a five-story tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging hoses and rescuing a life-sized, 175-pound “victim” as they race against themselves, their opponent and the clock.

The La Crosse team was seventh among 16 teams from throughout the Midwest. Individually, Hillcoat placed fifth among 121 competitors and broke the 1:40 mark for the first time, placing him in the Combat Challenge Lion’s Den.

Congratulations to the team — the hard work paid off.

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