Top Stories February 17th

Winter Weather Returns

2/17/09 - The National Weather Service now says all of Wisconsin will have at least some snow to shovel this week. Up to six-inches are expected tonight and tomorrow in our area. There is a winter weather advisory for most of the state except the far northwest tonight through tomorrow night. Snow may be mixed with rain in some places this evening. The new storm is the result of a low pressure system that will skirt through northern Illinois tomorrow. Once the snow leaves, cold Canadian air is due in. Wind-chills are expected to hit 25-below by late tomorrow night in the northern half of Wisconsin. Thursday’s highs will rebound into the teens and low-20’s – but it will still be colder than it’s been the past couple days.

Primary Day Arrives

2/17/09 - Wisconsin voters will narrow the field of candidates today for the person who sets the state’s education policies. But unlike last November, folks won’t see party monitors or exit pollsters. And they won’t see a lot of people, either, since nine-of-every-10 registered voters are expected to stay away. Still, it’s an important day for candidates who hope to stay alive in the races for state superintendent and numerous local contests around Wisconsin. In our area, those include three town board primaries, a mayoral primary in Columbus and three referenda questions for Waupun School District voters. Polls are open until 8pm tonight.

Municipal Building Plans on Hold

2/17/09 - The expansion of the Beaver Dam Police Department has been pushed back until at least next year. By a 5 to 7 vote, the Common Council last night voted down a resolution to borrow $330,000 for architectural and engineering services for the city hall renovation project. The expansion was listed as the top priority in a space needs study commissioned last year. It called for city administrative services and the police department to switch places. Council president John Litscher voted against the plan citing the debt service burden that would be shifted to taxpayers in a tough economy. Deputy Chief Dan Schubert says the vote was disappointing but the department will soldier on. Mayor Tom Kennedy was surprised by the vote but he dismissed the implication that a third space needs study in as many years has been shelved by the council. Kennedy says he expects the issue to be addressed again within the next year.

Teen Center Burglar Sentenced

2/17/09 - A teenager who broke into the Beaver Dam Teen Center last April was sentenced to nine years in prison Monday in Dodge County court. Dustin Bruns was arrested following a four-day crime spree that included the Teen Center burglary in addition to escaping from Huber work-release, stealing two cars and burning one of them and threatening students at the Beaver Dam High School, which prompted school officials to place the campus on lockdown. The 18-year-old from Beaver Dam pleaded “no contest” last September to five of eight charges. Dodge County District Attorney Bill Bedker says Bruns said at sentencing that Bruns is at a high risk to re-offend. Bruns frequently interjected commentary and interrupted the proceedings as Judge Brian Pfitzinger attempted to explain to him that his criminal behavior, poor attitude and tendency to blame others made him a threat to society. Bruns has a restitution hearing set for March 9.

Campbell Convicted

2/17/09 - It took a jury five hours to convict a Beaver Dam man who sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl he met on the internet. Matthew D. Campbell was found guilty on Friday of Second Degree Sexual Assault of a Child, Use of a Computer to Facilitate a Child Sex Crime and Exposing a Child to Sexual Activity. Authorities say the victim invited Campbell to her Waupun home to watch television. That’s when 33-year-old Campbell stripped naked and began to touch her inappropriately. The assault was interrupted by the mother’s boyfriend, who came to check on the girl when he saw a suspicious truck in the driveway. The boyfriend told authorities that Campbell said he was a 21-year-old named Jim who was at the house to fix the girls computer. Campbell fled the scene, but not before backing into the boyfriend’s vehicle and getting stuck in a snow bank. Authorities tracked Campbell down through his license plate. Campbell will return to court on May 19th for a sentencing hearing. The charges carry a total maximum of 53 years of prison and 33 years of extended supervision.

Cops Respond To Prank

2/17/09 - The Beaver Dam Police Department had to be called to the scene of a Friday the 13th prank. According to Deputy Chief Dan Schubert, officers responded to the Wal-Mart parking lot to rescue a man who had locked himself in the trunk of a car. Schubert says a woman told the 19-year-old that she didn’t believe he could fit into his trunk. He proved her wrong… but it wasn’t until after the trunk was closed that he realized the car keys were in his pocket. Officers used a tool to enter the car and remove the backseat so the teenager could get out. He was in the trunk for less than a half hour and was not injured…physically.

Waupun School District Goes to Referendum Today

2/17/09 - Voters in the Waupun School District are being asked today to consider three referenda questions. District Administrator Randy Refsland says the money is needed to address mounting operational and maintenance needs in the district. The questions ask taxpayers to allow the district to exceed the revenue cap for three years by a total of nearly $5-million. Refsland says if the questions do not pass it’s possible that both Fox Lake and Alto Elementary would have to close. As an alternative, a citizens group is asking the school board consider closing Jefferson Elementary in Waupun instead, opening the brand new high school to 8th grade students and putting students age Kindergarten through 7th grade into middle school.
No New Closing Policy for Cold Weather in BD

2/17/09 - There will be no new Emergency School Closing policy in the Beaver Dam School District. A motion to take the decision of closing school during extreme cold out of Superintendent Don Child’s hand and give it to the National Weather Service failed at last nights school board meeting. The policy submitted would have forced Childs to close school when the weather service issued a Wind Chill Warning for Dodge County. With it being voted down 6-3 the policy will remain the same with Childs saying he will close school when the wind chill hits negative 35-degrees.

BD School Board Approves Boy's Swimming Program

2/17/09 - A round of applause from the audience greeted the Beaver Dam School Board after they unanimously approved creating a boy’s swimming program at the high school last night. Proposed as a way to generate confidence in participants, as well as a way to bring more students into the district, the program will be self-sustaining for the first two years. If it’s successful the athletic department would then ask the district to provide the same monetary support as it does for the girls swimming program. The program is slated to begin during the winter portion of the high school sport calendar during the 2009-2010 school year.