Top Stories April 13th

Beaver Dam Citizens Police Academy Week #6: Defensive Tactics

4/13/09 - It was an electrifying class this past week for the participants of the Beaver Dam Citizens Police Academy. Five cadets with the academy volunteered to be on the receiving end of a 5-second jolt from a taser gun. It was part of the “defensive tactics” session of the 10-week course offered annually by the police department. After signing a waiver relinquishing the city of any liability, Nate Soto, Jordan Matuseski, Jason Acuff, Lisa Narr and Deb Lins lined up one by one to get a 50,000 volt shock from a police-issue, Taser X26 Electronic Control Device. According to their website, the TASER X26 transmits electrical pulses through insulated conductive wires and into the body affecting the sensory and motor functions of the peripheral nervous system. The participants said it was a wild ride. After the cadets recovered, department personnel removed the two probes that penetrated the skin, and treated the wounds, which were minor but enough for some of the participants to bleed. Everyone we spoke with agreed that the exercise was a rewarding experience that gave them new insight into the world of law enforcement.

Karla Jensen New Head of BDAAA

4/13/09 - The Beaver Dam Area Arts Association has a new Executive Director. Karla Jensen replaces Annette Kamps, who recently retired after seven years with the organization. Jensen has a background in radio and television marketing, both commercial and non-profit, and she owned her own advertising agency for eight years before moving to Beaver Dam eight years ago. In college, she was a speech-theater major and Jensen says has a love for art, specifically sketching. Jensen says she is full of ideas and hopes to bring a new creativity and some good-old fashioned business sense to the art center. Kamps recent retirement also affected the Beaver Dam Area Community Theater, where she was Managing Director. David Saniter was announced last week as Kamps successor at the Community Theater. Both Saniter and Jensen are beginning their first, full-weeks today in their respective positions. Jensen says she looks forward to ongoing collaborations between both organizations.

Kelm in Court this Morning

4/13/09 - The Beaver Dam man charged with selling a UW-Milwaukee freshman a prescription drug that authorities say played a role in his death is due in court this morning for his arraignment. Troy Kelm waived his right to a preliminary hearing last Friday. The 20-year-old was arrested and charged earlier this month in Milwaukee County court on four drug related charges, including two counts of delivery of Suboxone. He’s accused of selling a half pill of Suboxone to 19-year-old Luke Murphy on March 23. Murphy was found dead the next morning in a friend’s dorm room. Authorities are still waiting on toxicology reports to determine an exact cause of death. If convicted of all the charges, he could be sentenced to as much as 32-years in prison.

Authorities Looking for Driver in One-Vehicle Rollover

4/13/09 - Authorities are looking for a driver that left the scene of a one-vehicle rollover last night in the Town of Portland. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department says they came across the accident near the intersection of Highways T and I around 9 p.m. and the driver was not on the scene. Officials say they found a bloody t-shirt and intoxicants in and around the vehicle. The Sheriff’s Department has placed a hold on the vehicle until they’re able to locate the driver.

Dolan Gives Final Service in Milwaukee

4/13/09 - Catholics in southeast Wisconsin spent part of their Easter Sunday saying goodbye to their famous leader. An over-flow crowd of a-thousand people filled Saint John-the-Evangelist Cathedral in downtown Milwaukee for Archbishop Timothy Dolan’s final service there. And thousands more watched on T-V. Dolan will take the nation’s best-known Catholic post on Wednesday, when he becomes the Archbishop of New York. In his final remarks, the 59-year-old Dolan said he became a better person in his seven years in Milwaukee.

Same-Sex Registry Could Face Lawsuit

4/13/09 - State legislative leaders might be setting up a lawsuit by supporting Governor Jim Doyle’s plan to let same-sex partners register for benefits. The two Democratic chairmen of the Joint Finance Committee said last week they’ll include the governor’s plan in their version of the new state budget. And they expect it to pass. For now, the Wisconsin Family Council is lobbying lawmakers to kill the measure. The Council’s Julaine Appling said a domestic partner registry is virtually equal to same-sex marriages – and it would violate the 2006 constitutional gay marriage ban which her group helped to pass. But a group called Freedom-to-Marry says Doyle’s plan is unlike anything proposed in the country. And director Evan Wolfson says Wisconsin should go for it, since history looks kindly on those who take those kinds of first steps.

DNR Testing States Rivers and Lakes

4/13/09 - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is testing more than 70 state lakes and rivers for a deadly fish virus. It's also expanding efforts to look at susceptible species in the Lake Winnebago system. Fisheries expert Mike Staggs says testing didn't find the disease in any new waters a year ago. He attributed it to cooperation among boaters, anglers, bait harvesters and fish farmers. The state discovered VHS in the Lake Winnebago chain in 2007. Since then, the agency has adopted rules that prohibit anglers from moving live fish off the water. VHS is not a human health threat but it can infect 37 different fish species. It's been found in Lake Michigan. The virus has caused big fish kills in other Great Lakes waters.