Citizen Action Meeting Tonight in Fox Lake
1/26/09 - A group of citizens in the Fox Lake area will be holding a meeting tonight to seek alternative ideas to closing a couple elementary schools if a referendum in the Waupun School District does not pass. A number of ideas have been floated to avoid closing Fox Lake and Alto Elementary including moving the 8th graders into the Waupun High School, filling the Middle School to capacity and closing Jefferson and or Washington Elementary. The meeting will be held at the Fox Lake Community Center beginning at 6:30pm.
Dodgeland School Board to Discuss Next Step
1/26/09 - The Dodgeland School Board will meet tonight to discuss the search for a new Superintendent. That’s after Ronald Vaughn requested an administrative leave of absence that will end with his resignation June 30, the same day his 2-year contract with the district ends. Officials are not saying why Vaughn is leaving, but the agenda for recent closed session meetings state the board was discussing allegations of harassment. Al Rosenthal is currently running the school district. He is a partner with Fox River Consultants and has previously served as an interim Superintendent while his firm was involved in the process of hiring Dodgeland’s last two superintendents.
Horicon Budget Issues Loom
1/26/09 - The Superintendent of the Horicon School District says he’s not sure the community would be ready, willing or able to support a referendum. Horicon is looking at a $600,000 deficit next year. Superintendent Gary Berger says when it comes to curriculum offerings that should be continued or added, a referendum would be the logical approach but realistically the district needs to look at whether the community can afford it. Proposed cuts would primarily target staff, resulting in an increase in class size.
Petri Sponsoring “Adaptive” Testing Bill
1/26/09 - Congressman Tom Petri is sponsoring a bill that would provide more accurate tests for elementary and middle school students. The bill, known as the Assessment Accuracy and Improvement Act, would allow states to use "adaptive" tests to fulfill their No Child Left Behind testing requirements. Currently, under the federal program, each state is required to test students in grades three through eight. Each state has its own tests, which must be approved by the Education Department. The tests are often done on paper and are identical for every student within the same grade in any given state. The Republican from Fond du Lac wants the Education Department to allow states to fulfill their federal testing requirement by using "adaptive" testing. Adaptive tests change the difficulty of questions based on the skill level of the student. Even though adaptive tests do not satisfy NCLB requirements, Petri says school districts nationally, and nearly a third of schools in his congressional district, are spending resources to use the tests because they provide information that the federally mandated assessment do not. We’ll talk with Petri more about this issue and others this Thursday when he is our guest on WBEV’s Community Comment program.
Illinois Man to be Sentenced in Killing of Cambridge Woman
1/26/09 - A suburban Chicago man is scheduled to be sentenced today for killing a real estate agent who was showing him a house in Cambridge. 35-year-old James Hole of Brookfield Illinois will get a mandatory life prison sentence. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Jacqueline Ervin will say if she’ll give Hole a chance at a release under extended supervision – and if so, when. Authorities said Hole strangled 71-year-old Ann Nelson of Cambridge last March. He was said to beat her with a fire-place poker, take valuables from her purse, and set the house on fire. Last November, Hole pleaded no contest to first-degree intentional homicide. Arson and burglary charges were dropped in a plea deal.
Feingold Will Introduce Amendment Regarding Special Elections
1/26/09 - U-S Senator Russ Feingold says he’ll introduce a constitutional amendment this week to require special elections to fill vacant Senate seats. The Wisconsin Democrat said the naming of Barack Obama’s replacement from Illinois was too much of a spectacle – and it was nothing like democracy. Governor Rod Blagojevich was indicted for trying to sell the Senate seat after Obama was elected president. And despite numerous calls for a special election, the governor named Roland Burris anyway. Critics say special elections cost too much as states face massive deficits. But Feingold says it’s wrong for one person to make such an important appointment – and if need be, a seat can be left vacant for awhile. There are a couple of ways to amend the U-S Constitution, as Feingold wants. Under the one used the most, Congress passes an amendment – and three-fourths of state legislatures then ratify it.
DNR: Three Counties Do Not Meet Soot Standards
1/26/09 - A state D-N-R official says three counties should be taken off the list of those not meeting the federal government’s new standards for soot in the air. Al Shea says his agency has just completed its air quality assurance testing for last year – and Brown County did not violate Washington’s soot standards. He says Columbia and Dane should be taken off the list, too – but he’s not sure about the other three counties on the federal list. Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Racine counties were also singled out by the E-P-A for having too much air soot for at least three years in a row.
Investigation into “Tragic Accident” Continues in Madison
1/26/09 - Authorities in Madison say the death of a monster truck show promoter at a performance Saturday night was a “tragic accident.” But federal safety officials will have the final word after they investigate. 41-year-old George Eisenhart of Chardon Ohio was announcing the event when he was crushed by a large blue pick-up truck near the end of the performance. One report said the trucks were returning to their parking areas after a demonstration. Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney said neither Eisenhart nor driver Daniel Patrick saw each other before the crash. Eisenhart had stepped out of a safety well the announcer was supposed to use – but nobody had any idea why. Eisenhart had just become the head of a national group that set out to create strong safety standards for the monster truck industry.
1/26/09 - A group of citizens in the Fox Lake area will be holding a meeting tonight to seek alternative ideas to closing a couple elementary schools if a referendum in the Waupun School District does not pass. A number of ideas have been floated to avoid closing Fox Lake and Alto Elementary including moving the 8th graders into the Waupun High School, filling the Middle School to capacity and closing Jefferson and or Washington Elementary. The meeting will be held at the Fox Lake Community Center beginning at 6:30pm.
Dodgeland School Board to Discuss Next Step
1/26/09 - The Dodgeland School Board will meet tonight to discuss the search for a new Superintendent. That’s after Ronald Vaughn requested an administrative leave of absence that will end with his resignation June 30, the same day his 2-year contract with the district ends. Officials are not saying why Vaughn is leaving, but the agenda for recent closed session meetings state the board was discussing allegations of harassment. Al Rosenthal is currently running the school district. He is a partner with Fox River Consultants and has previously served as an interim Superintendent while his firm was involved in the process of hiring Dodgeland’s last two superintendents.
Horicon Budget Issues Loom
1/26/09 - The Superintendent of the Horicon School District says he’s not sure the community would be ready, willing or able to support a referendum. Horicon is looking at a $600,000 deficit next year. Superintendent Gary Berger says when it comes to curriculum offerings that should be continued or added, a referendum would be the logical approach but realistically the district needs to look at whether the community can afford it. Proposed cuts would primarily target staff, resulting in an increase in class size.
Petri Sponsoring “Adaptive” Testing Bill
1/26/09 - Congressman Tom Petri is sponsoring a bill that would provide more accurate tests for elementary and middle school students. The bill, known as the Assessment Accuracy and Improvement Act, would allow states to use "adaptive" tests to fulfill their No Child Left Behind testing requirements. Currently, under the federal program, each state is required to test students in grades three through eight. Each state has its own tests, which must be approved by the Education Department. The tests are often done on paper and are identical for every student within the same grade in any given state. The Republican from Fond du Lac wants the Education Department to allow states to fulfill their federal testing requirement by using "adaptive" testing. Adaptive tests change the difficulty of questions based on the skill level of the student. Even though adaptive tests do not satisfy NCLB requirements, Petri says school districts nationally, and nearly a third of schools in his congressional district, are spending resources to use the tests because they provide information that the federally mandated assessment do not. We’ll talk with Petri more about this issue and others this Thursday when he is our guest on WBEV’s Community Comment program.
Illinois Man to be Sentenced in Killing of Cambridge Woman
1/26/09 - A suburban Chicago man is scheduled to be sentenced today for killing a real estate agent who was showing him a house in Cambridge. 35-year-old James Hole of Brookfield Illinois will get a mandatory life prison sentence. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Jacqueline Ervin will say if she’ll give Hole a chance at a release under extended supervision – and if so, when. Authorities said Hole strangled 71-year-old Ann Nelson of Cambridge last March. He was said to beat her with a fire-place poker, take valuables from her purse, and set the house on fire. Last November, Hole pleaded no contest to first-degree intentional homicide. Arson and burglary charges were dropped in a plea deal.
Feingold Will Introduce Amendment Regarding Special Elections
1/26/09 - U-S Senator Russ Feingold says he’ll introduce a constitutional amendment this week to require special elections to fill vacant Senate seats. The Wisconsin Democrat said the naming of Barack Obama’s replacement from Illinois was too much of a spectacle – and it was nothing like democracy. Governor Rod Blagojevich was indicted for trying to sell the Senate seat after Obama was elected president. And despite numerous calls for a special election, the governor named Roland Burris anyway. Critics say special elections cost too much as states face massive deficits. But Feingold says it’s wrong for one person to make such an important appointment – and if need be, a seat can be left vacant for awhile. There are a couple of ways to amend the U-S Constitution, as Feingold wants. Under the one used the most, Congress passes an amendment – and three-fourths of state legislatures then ratify it.
DNR: Three Counties Do Not Meet Soot Standards
1/26/09 - A state D-N-R official says three counties should be taken off the list of those not meeting the federal government’s new standards for soot in the air. Al Shea says his agency has just completed its air quality assurance testing for last year – and Brown County did not violate Washington’s soot standards. He says Columbia and Dane should be taken off the list, too – but he’s not sure about the other three counties on the federal list. Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Racine counties were also singled out by the E-P-A for having too much air soot for at least three years in a row.
Investigation into “Tragic Accident” Continues in Madison
1/26/09 - Authorities in Madison say the death of a monster truck show promoter at a performance Saturday night was a “tragic accident.” But federal safety officials will have the final word after they investigate. 41-year-old George Eisenhart of Chardon Ohio was announcing the event when he was crushed by a large blue pick-up truck near the end of the performance. One report said the trucks were returning to their parking areas after a demonstration. Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney said neither Eisenhart nor driver Daniel Patrick saw each other before the crash. Eisenhart had stepped out of a safety well the announcer was supposed to use – but nobody had any idea why. Eisenhart had just become the head of a national group that set out to create strong safety standards for the monster truck industry.
No comments:
Post a Comment