Mayville Child Found with Aid of New Technology
4/1/09 - An 8-year-old Mayville boy, who was reported missing early this morning, was found, in part, by a new technology in Dodge County. Late last year the Board of Supervisors approved implementation of a reverse 9-1-1 system called Code Red that allows for authorities to call residents automatically if there is an emergency. This morning it got its first test after parents reported their son missing in Mayville. Soon after Dodge County Communications Director Pat Ninnman put out an alert within a seven-mile radius of the boy’s home. Emergency Management Director Joe Meagher says one of the people who got a call talked to her kids about the missing child, and through that, they were able to learn the missing boy had talked about moving in with a fellow classmate. Within 13-minutes the county was able to put out a cancellation of the alert when the boy was found at the friends home by police. Meagher says not everyone was happy with the call but of the 6,000 people that received the message only three complaints came in. For more information about the Code Red program and to add your cell phone number to the county’s list you can visit: Code Red or the Dodge County Sheriff's Department
4/1/09 - An 8-year-old Mayville boy, who was reported missing early this morning, was found, in part, by a new technology in Dodge County. Late last year the Board of Supervisors approved implementation of a reverse 9-1-1 system called Code Red that allows for authorities to call residents automatically if there is an emergency. This morning it got its first test after parents reported their son missing in Mayville. Soon after Dodge County Communications Director Pat Ninnman put out an alert within a seven-mile radius of the boy’s home. Emergency Management Director Joe Meagher says one of the people who got a call talked to her kids about the missing child, and through that, they were able to learn the missing boy had talked about moving in with a fellow classmate. Within 13-minutes the county was able to put out a cancellation of the alert when the boy was found at the friends home by police. Meagher says not everyone was happy with the call but of the 6,000 people that received the message only three complaints came in. For more information about the Code Red program and to add your cell phone number to the county’s list you can visit: Code Red or the Dodge County Sheriff's Department
BD Closes on Downtown Buildings
4/1/09 - The City of Beaver Dam now owns nine buildings in the downtown. The long process of acquiring buildings for the downtown redevelopment came to a head yesterday when the owners and city officials met and the properties were signed over. Mayor Tom Kennedy says it’s been and up and down ride as the city attempted to acquire the buildings which sit in the Beaver Dam Rivers floodway. Kennedy says the total cost of the buildings purchased was right around $780,000. He says over the next week or so the city has some clean-up to do on a number of the properties and then in a few weeks they will start taking care of any asbestos or lead paint issues. The mayor hopes that by June 1st they will be able to start the actual razing process and he hopes to have that completed by the end of September.
4/1/09 - The City of Beaver Dam now owns nine buildings in the downtown. The long process of acquiring buildings for the downtown redevelopment came to a head yesterday when the owners and city officials met and the properties were signed over. Mayor Tom Kennedy says it’s been and up and down ride as the city attempted to acquire the buildings which sit in the Beaver Dam Rivers floodway. Kennedy says the total cost of the buildings purchased was right around $780,000. He says over the next week or so the city has some clean-up to do on a number of the properties and then in a few weeks they will start taking care of any asbestos or lead paint issues. The mayor hopes that by June 1st they will be able to start the actual razing process and he hopes to have that completed by the end of September.
Maysteel Closing Columbus Plant
4/1/09 - Another area plant is closing down. Maysteel announced Tuesday that after 23 years in operation, they will be closing their Columbus location within the next 16 weeks. CEO John Russell says he met with employees Tuesday afternoon to inform them of the “difficult” decision. Ninety employees will be affected. For the past several years, Russell says they have had excess capacity in Allenton and Menomonee Falls that can absorb the Columbus volume. He says they have made considerable progress increasing the efficiency within both Allenton and Menomonee Falls, further increasing the true capacity of those plants. Russell says the move was not merely a reaction to the current market downturn. Rather, he says the decision is consistent with their strategy to ensure that Maysteel is successful in today’s more competitive environment.
Executive Committee Will Look at Prayer Resolution
4/1/09 - The Dodge County Board’s Executive Committee will review a resolution next Monday that would allow for an invocation or prayer BEFORE full-board meetings begin. In the past, the prayer or invocation had been held at the beginning of each meeting. However, this resolution would require it to happen before the actual business part of the meeting begins. Put together by the county’s corporation counsel, the resolution states the prayer or invocation will not be listed, or recognized, as part of the meeting agenda; no person in attendance will be required to participate; and it will be performed voluntarily on a rotating basis by local clergy. The issue of prayer at meetings came up in late January after a supervisor filed a complaint with the Freedom from Religion Foundation claiming the board was acting unconstitutionally by allowing a prayer during their meetings that mentioned Christianity. The Executive Committee will review the resolution during their meeting next Monday and it could be brought to the board floor for a vote as early as this months meeting.
Authorities: Acker Molested at Least 28 Boys
4/1/09 - Greenfield Police now say swimming instructor Daniel Acker molested at least 28 boys since the 1970’s. Deputy Inspector Brad Wendlandt says that two of the apparent victims committed suicide, and a third died from illegal drug use. The 61-year-old Acker was arrested last week. That was after a man left a voice-mail with the West Allis-West Milwaukee recreation department, where Acker taught swimming for 37 years. The man said Acker molested him in Greenfield in the 1970’s. The department waited four days to call police. Wendlandt says he’s not sure why, but he does not believe the delay hampered the investigation. Over a hundred people have spoken to investigators since the case was made public. And from that, officers have determined that 28 young boys were molested between 1972-and-2005. But officials are not sure if they can prosecute Acker for more than the three offenses which have been referred to the district attorney. The statute-of-limitations has expired in 15 cases. And 10 other victims either refused to cooperate, or could not provide enough evidence. Acker is charged in one case. Two others are pending. Wendlandt also said Acker molested kids in Waterford and Eagle River.
Quick Action Saves Building
4/1/09 - Quick action by a pair of Washington County Sheriff's deputies prevented a fire at a Village of Richfield tavern from becoming a serious blaze early yesterday morning. A resident living above Uncle Johnny's tavern on County Highway Q noticed smoke on the upper level of the building and called the Sheriff's department. Within minutes two deputies arrived and were able to knock down the fire on the first floor of the building with a fire extinguisher. Richfield firefighters then arrived and put out the fire. The fire started in a wastepaper basket. (KFIZ)
Group Looking to Recall Governor Doyle
4/1/09 - At least one political science professor doubts that an effort to recall Governor Jim Doyle will work. The group “Wisconsinites’ Interests Now” has been showing up at budget hearings to promote the recall – blaming the Democrat Doyle for high deficits, major tax hikes, and driving jobs away. They would need to get at least 540-thousand petition signatures in 60 days. U-W Milwaukee professor Mordecai Lee – a former Democratic legislator – says recalls have worked on the local level, but never on a statewide basis. Lee says he doesn’t see a big “groundswell of dissatisfaction” which would make a recall successful. Vince Schmuki, a spokesman for the recall group, says Doyle has driven the state into a hole from which it may never recover. The group has ties to the Citizens for Responsible Government, the Milwaukee group that helped remove seven county supervisors over their high pensions a few years ago. Even if Doyle is recalled, some conservatives say it would hurt Republicans – because they’d have to use limited campaign funds on a special election this year, while Doyle can rely on his large campaign fund and an extensive network of donors to help him slide back into office in next year’s regular election. Doyle spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner had no comment on the recall drive.
Wisconsin Students Lagging Behind
4/1/09 - Wisconsin public school students are not improving as fast as kids in other states. That’s according to the Education Trust of Washington. It also says the performance gap between white-and-black students is still one of the biggest in the nation. The group says white students improved their national reading test scores by seven points in nine years – while Wisconsin kids gained just one point. Black fourth-graders improved their reading scores by 11 points nationally and only four in Wisconsin. And the national gain for all low-income students was 10 points – while the poorest kids in the Badger State gained just two percent. Wisconsin did exceed the national average in graduation rates for whites and Hispanics. John Johnson of the Department of Public Instruction says the report shows why the state is toughening its teaching standards, especially in poorer districts.
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