Top Stories February 6th

Cuts & Referendum for Horicon School District

2/6/09 - The Horicon School District will be taking a two-prong approach to balance a projected $636,000 deficit in next year’s budget. The school board voted in special session last night to make $343,000 in cuts and ask voters to approve a $300,000 referendum on the April ballot. The cuts include five layoffs, but that does NOT include full-time teaching positions, so class sizes would not change. That is unless, of course, the referendum fails. Board Chairman Doug Glamann says that’s when the really deep cuts would have to be made.

David Westimayer was the only board member to vote against the plan because he says the referendum doesn’t go far enough. Westimayer also says because of school choice the district will lose money from per pupil state reimbursements over the long run as more students chose other districts with better program offerings. While the vote was not unanimous, all were in agreement that these cuts will only solve next year’s problems and the board will face the same issues at this same time next year. If approved, the referendum would add $32.58 onto the tax bill of a property valued at $100,000. The wording of the referendum will be ironed out at the school board’s next regular meeting.

Cuts in the Horicon School District for the 2009-2010 school year:
- eliminate the late bus
- eliminate K-12 reading specialist / homeless liaison
- reduction in staff development funds
- reduction in supply purchases by 10%
- freeze administration salaries
- elimination of national convention expenses
- work with teachers union for salary and benefits savings or any other concessions
- consolidation of sports including the possible elimination of freshman-level sports
- food service outsourcing
- elimination of special education students going to alternative schools by providing services in-house with hiring additional teacher
- cut one of two library positions
- eliminate part-time art aide
- eliminate tech support position
- consolidate middle school consumer education program with high school by eliminating one part-time position

Five Months For Day

2/6/09 - A former Town of Chester treasurer has been sentenced to five months in jail for withholding payment of her personal property taxes. Rebecca Day pleaded no contest in November to an amended felony charge of misconduct in office and had four other charges dismissed but read into the record. The 38-year-old Waupun woman served as Town of Chester treasurer for approximately eight years and was responsible for accepting property tax payments and documenting those payments. During an audit of the town’s finances, an accounting firm discovered that Day recorded payment of property taxes for her own residence in the Town of Chester without actually making a payment to the township. The offenses took place every year between 2002 and 2006. Day began to pay some of the money back to the town, but a discrepancy remained by the time her accounting was discovered. In addition to five months in jail, with Huber privileges, Day was also placed on probation for three years, ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution and must write a letter of apology.

FFRF Would Protest Pre-Meeting Prayers

2/6/09- The Freedom From Religion Foundation says they will protest any efforts by the Dodge County Board to hold a prayer before their meetings, even if the prayer is held before the meeting is called to order. On Wednesday, Dodge County Corporation Counsel John Corey told us the best way to avoid any legal issues would be for board members to hold a prayer before the meet starts. But the Foundation’s Anne Laurie Gaylor says her group would also find that unacceptable. Gaylor says those who don’t want to pray would have be the ones who stay outside until right before the meeting starts and risk being late for the roll call.

Pastor Urges Tolerance

2/06/09 - A Beaver Dam pastor says more tolerance is needed in holding prayers before municipal meetings. Pastor Mark Swanson of the Trinity United Methodist Church says “for years Christians have been asked to be tolerant of diversity, but now that tolerance has been extended to a diverse group of people, both religious and non-religious, they seem to be willing to turn around and say we’re not going to be tolerant of you.” Swanson also says that America is a country founded on Christian principals and we would not have the laws we have if we did not have a history of being a decidedly Christian nation.

BDMS Teacher Will Be Back

2/6/09 - A Beaver Dam Middle School teacher is on administrative leave after a photo of her appeared on the social networking website Facebook with a rifle trained on the camera. Betsy Ramsdale, an English Language Learner teacher, is not currently in the classroom after a colleague reported the photo to district administrators. Superintendent Don Childs says they are investigating the photo but he fully expects her to return to work next week. In an email to a Madison T-V station Ramsdale said she removed the photo immediately and that she is not "interested in any controversy."

Gas Line Cut in Waupun

2/6/09 - About 20 homes on the south side of Waupun had to be evacuated after city utility workers accidentally severed a gas line yesterday. No one was hurt in the incident that happened in the Wilcox Court area. Authorities say a utility crew was digging for an underground water pipe that was leaking. Markers for the gas line were improperly placed and workers severed a two-inch gas main. (Bob Nelson, KFIZ)

Dalle Nogare Sentenced for Killing Goose

2/6/09 - An 18-year-old Brownsville man was sentenced in Dodge County court this week for using his car to run over and kill a goose in the Horicon National Wildlife area. Patrick Dalle Nogare was placed on two years probation and will have to perform 30 hours of community service with a humane society or other facility that provides care for animals. A mistreatment charge was brought stemming from an incident last July. (Bob Nelson, KFIZ)

Investigation into Andy’s Roofing Wrapping Up

2/6/09 - Residents have 10 more days to file formal complaints against a local company that is accused of defrauding more than 100 customers. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department says they are nearing the completion of their investigation into the business practices of Andy’s Roofing in Juneau. So far, the Sheriff’s Department has received about 88-calls from people who have gone on to file complaints. Sheriff Todd Nehls says quote “There are hundreds of thousands of dollars involved here and we want to make sure we have everybody’s report.” Nehls says if you have contacted your local police department or the Sheriff’s Department you’ll be contacted by the Dodge County District Attorney’s Office in the next several weeks. The Sheriff’s Dept. is also working with adjacent counties that are home to several victims as well. If you still need to file Nehls says you should call your local law enforcement agency.

Traffic Deaths Down in January

2/6/09 - Wisconsin is off to a relatively safe start. According to preliminary data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, traffic crashes in January claimed 36 lives. That’s among the safest Januaries on record and is down 13 from January of last year and down 20 from the five-year average. Last month was the 16th month out of the last 17 that had fewer traffic crashes than the comparable month from a year earlier. In Dodge County, two people were killed in traffic crashes in the month of January.

Farewell Ceremonies for National Guard Troops

2/6/09 - Farewell ceremonies are being held throughout Wisconsin, as over three-thousand National Guard troops get ready to go to Iraq. In Green Bay yesterday, Packers’ president Mark Murphy and three players joined friends-and-relatives in sending off 132 members of the Red Arrow Brigade. Mason Crosby, James Jones, and Jordy Nelson were among those attending a ceremony in the Lambeau Field atrium. Crosby, the Packers’ kicker, said it was an honor to meet some of the men-and-women who fight for our freedom. The unit gave Murphy an award for the Packers’ support. The 32nd Infantry Brigade has 36 locations throughout Wisconsin. The troops will start training at Fort Bliss in Texas this month, before spending 10 months in Iraq. It’s the largest Wisconsin National Guard deployment since World War Two. About half the Green Bay unit had served in Iraq in 2005.

Alfalfa Sprouts Being Recalled

2/6/09 - Alfalfa sprouts made in western Wisconsin are being recalled. Salmonella bacteria turned up in routine safety tests for a mix made by Jack and the Green Sprouts of River Falls. State agriculture officials said five-ounce clam-shell packages of alfalfa sprouts and alfalfa onion sprout mix have been recalled from grocery stores in Wisconsin and Minnesota. No illnesses have been reported – and officials say this has nothing to do with the recent salmonella outbreak from peanut butter products. If you have the affected sprouts, officials say you should throw them out – and if you have a store receipt, you can get a refund.

Senate Still Working to Pass Stimulus Package

2/6/09 - Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold failed to put a future ban on pork-barrel spending in the Senate’s version of the economic stimulus package. It was voted down 65-to-32 yesterday. Wisconsin’s other senator, Democrat Herb Kohl, voted no. Feingold called it disappointing, but he said he would keep rallying against so-called earmarks – the pet projects added to spending bills which a president cannot veto individually. Feingold said many of his colleagues flip-flopped on their campaign promises to end the earmarking practice. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Feingold’s effort “foolish.” Meanwhile, last-minute negotiations continued overnight to reduce the size of the economic stimulus package – which is now getting close to a trillion dollars. The talks were designed to win votes from those who said the package was too large, and would not do enough to stimulate the economy. 90-billion-dollars in cuts were being considered. Reid said he would give the negotiators one more day. A final vote on the plan is still set for today. But Reid says he might call a rare Sunday session if the negotiations look promising. On the Senate floor yesterday, Kohl said he supported the stimulus package despite what he called its “enormous” price tag. Kohl is trying to add 30-million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, which gives technology advice to small-to-medium-sized factories.

Campaign Finance Reform a Possibility in State Assembly

2/6/09 - A state watchdog group says a move to ban in the Assembly on campaign fund raising could hopefully lead to more reforms. Assembly leadership on Wednesday approved a rule banning lawmakers from trying to raise campaign cash while working on the state budget. Mike McCabe of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign says it's a good first step that sets a higher standard for the upcoming budget negotiations. Now, McCabe says lawmakers need to take it to the next level and pass legislation that would make a similar prohibition apply to both houses of the Legislature and the Governor. Assembly Republican leaders voted for the rule, but argued it's just a feel good move because it doesn't provide any real penalties for violations.