Top Stories March 5th

Fire Damages Clyman Home

3/5/09 - The State Fire Marshall’s office is investigating a blaze that damaged a Town of Clyman home yesterday morning. Chief John Haase says no cause has been determined as of yet. A neighbor reported the fire on Junction Road around 8:15am. The owner of the two-story farm house, Derrick Uecker, tells us his wife and one year-old daughter were inside when the fire started; there were no injuries. There was extensive damage to the front and back of the second floor of the home. Haase says the home was not a complete loss, but it is currently not livable. The Clyman Fire Department received mutual assistance from four surrounding departments.

Body Found Outdoors: ‘Foul Play Not Suspected’

3/5/09 - Foul play is not suspected in connection with the death of a man found near a dumpster in the Village of Clyman Tuesday afternoon. Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls says a garbage truck driver discovered the body of 55-year-old Juan G. Rojas outside his residence on Main Street. Nehls says the man had been there for a while and lived nearby. The sheriff says it is being investigated as a simple death investigation and they will have more information after autopsy results are available. Nehls says the initial investigation showed no visible signs of trauma and it is possible that the man may have died of exposure to the elements.

Group Still Hopeful for Fox Lake Elementary

3/5/09 - A Fox Lake area citizen’s group called the Concerned Area Residents for Education, or CARE, has started researching detaching from the Waupun school district in the event the school board votes to close three elementary schools to help close a 1.2-million-dollar budget deficit. The groups Kim Derleth says they are still hopeful the board won’t close the schools but if it does happen they plan to hold a community meeting shortly after to gauge the interest of moving to another district. If the City and Town of Fox Lake decided they wanted to detach, a petition would be started and would need to be signed by a majority of the areas electors. It would then go to the Waupun School Board, as well as the school board of the district the group would like to join, for a vote. Both school boards would have to vote in favor for it to go through. If one or the other were not to agree the group could file an appeal. No matter what happens in the next few weeks the addition of the Fox Lake area to another district could not officially happen until the 2010-2011 school year. The Waupun school board is expected to vote on the possible closings of Fox Lake, Alto, and Jefferson Elementary at their meeting on March 16th.

Martin Introduced as Interim Police Chief in Fox Lake

3/5/09 - Fox Lake officially introduced its new interim-Police Chief at last night’s council meeting. A former officer with the department in the 1980’s, Randy Martin will take on the part-time position following the resignation from long-time Chief Pat Lynch last month. Martin will also continue to serve as the Rio Police Chief. The council is expected to discuss the possible search for a new chief during their next meeting later this month.

New Charge on Utility Bill for Fox Lake Residents

3/5/09 - Fox Lake residents will start seeing a garbage pickup charge on their water and sewer bill after the common council unanimously passed an ordinance that completely overhauls the old system last night. Instead of making residents buy $1-dollar stickers and place them on every bag they want picked up, a five-dollar charge will be added to their monthly utility bill. Customers will see the new charge beginning with their May bill.

Hundreds Attend Service for Slain Portage Soldier

3/5/09 - Over 500 people attended a funeral service in Portage yesterday for Army National Guard sergeant Daniel Thompson. Governor Jim Doyle was among those attending the service for the 24-year-old soldier, who was killed by a roadside bomb last week in Afghanistan. Three others also died in that blast. After the service, there was a 20-mile drive to a cemetery near Packwaukee in Marquette County. Mourners and signs-of-praise covered most of the route. Officials said the procession was two-and-a-half miles long.

Co-Pilot of Plane that Landed in Hudson River to Get Back in the Air

3/5/09 - The Dane County co-pilot who helped a U-S Airways plane land safely in the Hudson River now says he’ll be back in the air by the end of the month. Jeff Skiles was given a trophy and two long standing ovations yesterday at an air traffic controllers’ meeting in Las Vegas. He said he felt post-traumatic shock for a week-and-a-half after the January incident. But the 49-year-old Skiles said he got over it quickly. Skiles also said he had trouble sleeping for a short time after the crash landing, in which 155 passengers and crew members escaped without a scratch. He says he’ll do some simulated flights to re-acquaint himself with an Airbus jet before he returns to the air for real. Skiles has been a national celebrity since the incident, but he says his fame is about to run out. On Saturday, his hometown chamber-of-commerce will honor him. Skiles says he’ll soon get back to a normal flying schedule of four-to-five days a week. And he expects to keep working until he retires at 65.

Beaver Dam Lake Launch Fees Unchanged

3/5/09 - Boaters on Beaver Dam Lake will pay the same to launch this year as they have in years past. The city’s Operations Committee accepted the recommendation of Parks Supervisor John Neumann and the Lake Improvement Association in holding the fee at last years rate. Neumann cited the economy in suggesting the freeze. The fee this year will once again be $3 for daily permits for both residents and non-residents. Annual permits are $20 for residents and $30 for non-residents. The city renewed their Memorandum Of Understanding with the Lake Improvement Association; it is identical to last years and continues through April 1, 2010. The city, with support from the Association, charges a nominal boat launch user fee to make improvements at the lake. There is currently about $10,000 in the account and Neumann says their big purchase this year will be floating piers for Edgewater Park. FEMA is picking-up 80% of the costs to replace piers damaged last year by the June floods.

Phone Number Reminder For Dispatch Transition

3/5/09 - Beaver Dam Police Chief Dale Boldt says the consolidation of dispatch services with the county has been fairly successful, but there has been some confusion about office hours and phone numbers at the P-D. For those needing to do things like file a police report or pay parking tickets, Boldt says the police department lobby window is open weekdays from 7:30am to 4:30pm. During that same time, non-emergency calls will be fielded through the business office phone number in Beaver Dam by calling 887-4614. At all other times, the public can call 887-4612 to be directed to the non-emergency line at the Dodge County Sheriffs Department dispatch center in Juneau. Those who visit the Beaver Dam Police Department after-hours can also use the telephone outside the city hall lobby doors to contact the dispatch center. Boldt says police officers will not accept payments for parking citations, and will not make copies of police reports or perform other clerical duties after normal office hours. The consolidation of Beaver Dam Police Department dispatch with that of the Dodge County Sheriffs Department was completed in December of 2007.