Top Stories April 21st & 22nd

Authorities Looking for IED Bombers

4/23/09 - Federal, state and local authorities are looking for three men responsible for blowing up a mailbox and a port-a-potty. Sheriff Todd Nehls says an explosive device was detonated in the mailbox on Prospect Road in the Town of Burnett early Monday morning. The second incident occurred Wednesday night at the Lost Lake Park in the Town of Calamus. Nehls says the suspects used containers of liquefied gas to destroy the portable latrine. Authorities have released surveillance photographs of three young men shopping in a Beaver Dam store making a purchase of pipe similar to that used in these two explosions. They can be viewed here. There is a reward being offered of $5,000.00 ech, that's $15,000.00 total, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of these suspects.

Anyone who may be able to identify these subjects or provide information are asked to call the Sheriff's Department at 920-386-3740 and ask for Lt. Joanne Swyers or Det. Robert Neuman, or to remain anonymous contact the WeTip hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME or 1-888-ATF-BOMB.
City Councils Hold Organizational Meetings

4/22/09 - There were new some faces seated at council meetings throughout Dodge County yesterday as most cities held their organizational meetings.

Two new alderpersons were among seven sworn-in at last night’s organizational meeting of the Beaver Dam Common Council. Donna Fuhrman was named to the Operations Committee and Senior Center Steering Committee. Lisa Davidson will sit on the Administrative Committee and the Community Development Committee. Also named to the CDC as a citizen representative: former mayor Steve Sabatke. John Litscher was elected council president by a 10-4 vote over Don Neuert.

In Mayville, newcomer E. Jay Gering joined incumbents Dottie Hoy and Alan Voss in taking the oath.

In Horicon, write-in candidate Nathan Anfinson was seated in District Three. A vacancy remains in the First District where Doug Psenicka did not seek reelection and no one else ran.

In Waupun, newcomers Dale Schmidt and Matthew Hickman were sworn in to represent district’s one and three, respectively.

In Juneau, John Schuster and JoAnne Link, who were both re-elected to another term, joined new alderman Jason Buske in taking the oath.

Columbus Welcomes New Mayor

4/22/09 - With two new members and five returning Members the Columbus Common Council met in their first post-election session last night. Newly appointed Mayor Bob Link wasted no time in appointing himself and the six Council Members to serve as liaisons to the City’s 21 volunteer Boards, Committees and Commissions. Ed Parpart was re-elected as Council President and the Council went on to approve all three recommendations relating to the selection of an EMS Service for the Columbus Area for the next two years.

BD Looks To Turn Waste Green

4/22/09 - The city of Beaver Dam may be seeing green in more ways than one if plans to expand their outdated wastewater treatment plant are approved. Jim Smith with consulting firm Applied Technologies says the plan would allow the city to pre-treat waste from Kraft Foods and convert it to biogas which will be used to generate electricity, saving the city about a quarter million dollars a year in electricity costs. In addition, Alliant Energy will buy surplus electricity from the city, estimated at another quarter million dollars annually. The total project cost is projected at $16.9 million dollars, but Smith says the city is very high on the priority list to receive federal stimulus funds and low interest loans. At $37 a quarter, Beaver Dam sewer bills are among the lowest in the state; the average is $93. A 2007 facilities plan to upgrade the sewer treatment plant would have increased sewer bills to $50. This new green approach would allow the city to keep bills below $40. The city does need to have designs drawn up to submit to the state by June 30, at a cost of $778,000. The plan will be considered at the council’s next meeting in May.

Supervisors Approve Prayer Before Meetings

4/22/09 - There will be prayer before Dodge County Board meetings. That’s the result of a 33 to 2 vote by the board Tuesday. In the past the board would have a prayer at the beginning of their meeting but after a complaint about the prayers content by a supervisor, the county’s corporation counsel went about putting together a resolution that would abide by the law and allow prayer to continue. As a result, the resolution passed yesterday will allow for a group of rotating clergy to come and lead a prayer before the monthly meeting is brought to order. The clergy will be selected on a first come first serve basis as they respond to a mass letter to be sent out to all religious leaders in the county. Fuller was one of the two people to vote against the resolution; he says the selection process could be tainted because not all religions will be represented. However, that resolution wasn’t the only one on the agenda. Supervisor Eugene Wurtz submitted a resolution for last month’s meeting that would keep the prayer at the beginning of the meeting. That resolution was tabled but Wurtz brought it back again this month and it appeared on the agenda after the first prayer resolution. It failed but had seven votes of support.

New Ambulance Service in Columbus

4/22/09 - An Ambulance Service change for Columbus was approved last night. The Council approved a move to “Paramedic level of Service,” asked the City Attorney to begin work on a contract with LifeStar Ambulance and approved a Town of Fountain Prairie request to be included in the Columbus EMS area. During proposal discussions some providers warned the City that LIfestar cost estimates were to low. Meanwhile, Fall River and two townships have decided to retain their current Fire District EMS service. The next steps are drafting a contract between Lifestar and the City, and beginning talks between the seven townships and the city on how to form a new EMS “District.”

Thompson Offered Contract at Dodgeland

4/22/09 - The Dodgeland School District may soon have a new Superintendent. Interim District Administrator Al Rosenthal says the board offered a contract to Annette VanHook Thompson following a closed session meeting Monday night. Thompson has been with the district for 22 years, most recently serving as the school psychologist and the gifted and the talented Coordinator. Action on the contract offer will be taken at the board’s regular meeting on Monday.

Hady Sentenced for Horicon Business Burglaries

4/22/09 - A teenager who burglarized two Horicon businesses will spend a year in jail. John Hady of Horicon pleaded “guilty” to two counts of felony Burglary. The 19-year-old broke into Marshland Pharmacy late last year and stole 7300 narcotic pills. He also broke into the Tan Down Under Salon and took their cash register. Hady overdosed later that same day; investigators found a medication bottle from the pharmacy at the scene. He initially told authorities he purchased the pills from the burglar and told them they were hidden in a wooded area. Officers staked out the wooded area and caught Hady retrieving the pills. He then identified a person he said stole the pills but upon investigation authorities learned the person in question was recovering from surgery at the time of the burglary. It was only then that Hady confessed to the burglaries. He was placed on probation for ten years and ordered to pay restitution to each of the businesses.

Benson Asks to have Charge Dismissed

4/22/09 - Former surgeon Mark Benson is trying for a second time to drop a charge that he was driving on a revoked license in a crash that killed three people. The 56-year-old Benson was convicted of drunk driving two days before the crash that killed Oconomowoc educator Jennifer Bukosky and two children last April. Benson’s license was revoked because of his O-W-I conviction. Waukesha County Circuit Judge Mac Davis has said the revocation took effect immediately upon that conviction – but defense lawyer Richard Coad said that’s not true. Benson is scheduled to go on trial July 13th for the fatal crash. And Coad says the jury would be unfairly influenced if it was told about Benson’s license revocation – because it would also let prosecutors discuss Benson’s third O-W-I conviction. Coad does not want the jury to hear about any of Benson’s convictions – or about the fact that Benson was recently charged with bail jumping, for allegedly violating the terms of his bond. He’s now back in jail under a million dollar bond.

Gehl Given Chance to Re-Negotiate Financing

4/22/09 - The Gehl Company won’t be filing for bankruptcy just yet. The West Bend farm equipment maker has been given 75 days to re-negotiate its financing. Manitou of France bought Gehl last fall for 450-million-dollars. But the company got into a financial jam last month, when the lenders who financed the sale called in part of the debt. At the time, Manitou said Gehl might be forced into Chapter-11 bankruptcy protection if the financing could not be re-arranged. But Gehl has now reached an agreement to extend a 117-million-dollar re-payment. It wants to convert its debt from revolving credit to a long-term secured arrangement.

Open Carry could be Challenged

4/22/09 - At least one Democrat is drafting a bill to take away Wisconsin’s newly-affirmed right to openly carry weapons. Milwaukee Representative Leon Young says he’s against adding more guns in a place where too many people get shot-and-killed. But Jim Fendry of the Wisconsin Pro-Gun Movement says Young’s measure would be challenged – saying it goes against the state’s 1998 constitutional change on the right to keep-and-bear arms. Governor Jim Doyle says communities should have the power to ban open carry. But that would go against a 1995 law which prohibited local gun measures that are tougher than the state’s – and Doyle says he won’t ask lawmakers to touch that. Wisconsin and Illinois are the only states that ban concealed weapons.

Residents Could See Increase in Phone Bills

4/22/09 - It appears that Wisconsinites will pay an extra 75-cents-a-month on their phone bills to pay for 9-1-1 emergency call centers. And they won’t get back what they overpaid on a similar fee in the past. The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee approved both those measures yesterday as part of the new state budget. And it looks like they’ll become law, since Governor Jim Doyle proposed both changes – and his Democratic party now controls both houses. The new surcharge would apply both land lines and cell phones. It replaces a previous fee that expired last July with a 20-million-dollar surplus. A previous law would have given that money back – about five-dollars per customer. But Doyle’s proposal gives that money to cash-strapped local governments instead – something one Republican recently called legalized theft. The new fee was approved 9-to-6. Democrats Cory Mason and John Lehman, both of Racine, joined the panel’s four Republicans in voting no.

Finance Committee Approves Extension of Expunge Age

4/22/09 - The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee voted 9-6 to expand the number of young offenders who can have their criminal records expunged once they do their time. Right now, those under 21 who commit misdemeanors can get a second chance. The budget extends that to those under 25 who commit non-violent felonies.

Earth Day

4/22/009 – It Earth Day – and its late Wisconsin founder saw a connection between the environment and the economy long before companies created so-called “green jobs.” Former Governor and U-S Senator Gaylord Nelson is regarded as one of the pioneers of the environmental movement. And his daughter Tia Nelson said her father always knew that our economic well-being depends on the quality of our natural resources. She also said Gaylord Nelson would be pleased at how the environmental movement continues to grow, especially during today’s efforts to move the economy out of its recession. Bracken Hendricks of the Center for American Progress says Wisconsin has good policies dealing with energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy. He says the Badger State is in a good position to capitalize on an economic recovery plan that includes environmental improvements. Sarah White, who explored the topic for the U-W Madison Center on Wisconsin Strategy, says the state is in an excellent position to take advantage of money for “green jobs” from the federal economic stimulus package. She says the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership and the state’s technical colleges could become national models in training workers for jobs that bolster the environment.

A Change Is Coming To Beaver Dam

Last night’s Beaver Dam Common Council meeting was the last one for Aldermen Clancy Knaup their years of service to the community. Donna Fuhrman replaces Knaup in Ward One. Lisa Davidson, who ran unopposed, will be seated in Ward Nine. The new alderpersons will be sworn in Tuesday evening at a 7pm Organizational Meeting at City Hall.

4/21/09 - Demolition of nine buildings in downtown Beaver Dam could begin on June 1. That’s according to Mayor Tom Kennedy who updated the council last night on the downtown renovation project. Kennedy says general contractor WDS Construction of Beaver Dam will have their subcontractors in place by next week. A preconstruction meeting will be held with the contractors, city officials and the DNR on May 1 and a timeline will be finalized. Kennedy says the city is tentatively looking at remediation work to begin May 4. The first structure to be demolished will be the Julie R Danceware building on South Center and then crews will move easterly along the 100 block of Front Street before staring work on the 200 block of Front Street. The culverts will likely be removed starting sometime between July 8 and July 15. Kennedy also announced that the city received court approval in a property default hearing to tear down the structure believed abandoned at 151 Front Street. The county is also proceeding with foreclosure efforts on that property following years of unpaid taxes. City and county officials say the property owner failed to respond to repeated attempts to establish contact. The city recently acquired nine of eleven buildings located over the Beaver Dam River, which is a violation of state statute. While no order has been made, the DNR could have mandated their removal at any time. The city is hoping to secure grant funding to cover all or some of the costs of the $2.6 million dollar project. Kennedy is confident that Beaver Dam will see at least some of that money.

YMCA of Dodge County Talks Partnership with City of BD

4/21/09 - The city of Beaver Dam may have another option in their search for a new Community or Senior Center. The YMCA of Dodge County received the go ahead in committee last night to move forward with the preparation of a one-page feasibility study that would identify shared resources between the Y and the city and the potential benefits of collaboration. YMCA Executive Director Jen Kruel (right) says her organization will pick up the costs of hiring a professional fundraising and consulting firm to conduct the study and also work with the city in writing the document, which should be complete this summer.

Horicon to Lay-Off Teachers to Cut Budget

4/21/09 - Horicon Superintendent Gary Berger told a packed room of district residents last night that the community would have to come together to solve their long-term budget issues. That comes in the wake of a $300,000 referendum failing earlier this month that would have covered a deficit for the 2009-2010 school year. The buildup to that referendum caused a lot of angst in the community and Berger says they need to fix that before moving forward. As a result of the failed referendum, the school board authorized Berger to issue three-teacher lay off notices in an effort to close the deficit. Being cut are one 2nd grade position, a 5th grade position, and a 6th grade position. The cuts add up to $220,000 but Berger says they have some ideas on how to cut the other $80,000.

Waupun Schools Get New Names

4/21/09 - The lone elementary school and middle school in Waupun have new names. The school board voted last night to change Washington Elementary to Meadowview Primary School which will house Kindergarten through 2nd grade. The school that will house grades three through six will be called Rock River Intermediate School. Grades seven through 12 will be at the high school which will now be called Waupun Area Junior/Senior High School. The name changes comes as a result of the district closing three elementary schools after a referendum failed in February and the subsequent re-configuring of the districts students.

DC Board to Vote on Prayer Resolutions

4/21/09 - The Dodge County Board of Supervisors is expected to take action on two resolutions that would keep prayer as part of their monthly meetings this morning. The main difference between the two is one would direct the prayer to be completed before the meeting is brought to order while the other would keep the prayer as part of the agenda and be said at the beginning of the meeting. The issue of prayer at the County Board meetings came to light earlier this year when a supervisor filed a complaint with the Freedom from Religion Foundation regarding the prayers concentration on one religion.

BD School Board Approves Hiring of Counselors

4/21/09 - The Beaver Dam School Board last night addressed a need for more counselors in the elementary schools. The Board approved staffing changes for next school year that will result in two additional elementary school counselors. The addition will give the school district a total of three counselors for around 1,500 elementary school students. One of the new positions is being funded by a net reduction of close to one and a half positions in other areas, while the second position will be funded by Federal stimulus money for up to two years. Vessey said the district will have to come up with a plan for paying for the position after the stimulus money is no longer available. Board member Kimberly Darst said the counselor positions fill an area that was lacking and are vital for the health, safety and education of the students.

No Action Taken on Food Prices

4/21/09 - The Board did not take action last night on proposed increases in breakfast, lunch and milk prices for next school year. School officials are proposing a five cent increase for milk and the full-priced breakfast, and a ten cent increase for the full-priced lunch at all schools. The Board is expected to consider the increases next month.

Columbus PFC to begin Fire Chief Interviews

4/21/09 - Nine fire chief applications were presented to the Columbus Police and Fire Commission at last night’s meeting. In an effort to help the commission in the interviews of those applicants the PFC will have La Crosse Fire Chief Gregg Cleveland and Town of Madison Fire Chief David Bloom sit in on those interviews.. The Commission is setting dates when the application reviews and applicant interviews can be scheduled. The City’s Fire Department has been operating under an “Acting Chief” ever since 2007.

AG Van Hollen: It’s Legal to Carry a Gun in Most Public Places

4/21/09 - Wisconsin’s attorney general says it’s legal to carry a gun in most public places – and he told prosecutors yesterday to stop charging people just for that. J-B Van Hollen says it’s still okay for police to question those who carry weapons, and see if they could be linked to crimes. Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn says it would be irresponsible for his officers not to do that. Van Hollen’s legal opinion comes two months after a judge threw out a disorderly conduct charge against Brad Krause, who had a gun in a holster while doing yard work in West Allis. It’s against state law to carry concealed weapons, but the law is silent on “open carry.” Van Hollen made it clear that open carry has limits. Guns cannot be taken into bars, schools, and government buildings. They must be encased when in vehicles. And it’s still against the law to brandish or wave a gun in public.

Madison Man Recovering after Highway 151 Accident

4/21/09 - The 26-year-old Madison man hurt when the car he was a passenger in flipped over on Highway 151 in the Town of Waupun is improving at a Milwaukee hospital. A Froedtert Hospital spokeswoman says Juan Gonzalez has been upgraded from critical to satisfactory condition. The driver and another passenger hurt in that Saturday morning accident were both treated at Waupun Memorial Hospital and released. Alcohol and the use of a cell phone both contributed to the mishap. (KFIZ)

Wisconsin Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week

4/21/09 - It’s Tornado & Severe Weather Awareness Week in Wisconsin. Dodge County Emergency Management Director Joe Meagher is urging the public to invest in a NOAA Weather Radio. He says you should make sure it has a SAME feature, which stands for Specific Area Message Encoder, and allows you to program the radio to a specific county or counties. Tornado sirens will be blaring statewide this Thursday as part of a statewide drill. Local media will also be interrupted. Meagher urges members of the public to take advantage of Thursday’s drill to review or implement an evacuation plan and prepare or update an emergency survival kit. The test in Dodge County will be at 1:20pm.