Top Stories May 27th

Demolition Begins

5/27/09 - The former Julie R Danceware building in downtown Beaver Dam has been demolished. Crews began demolition work yesterday on the ten buildings that have been targeted for demolition in downtown Beaver Dam. The buildings violated state statute because they were constructed over the Beaver Dam River and last summers flooding spurred efforts to move forward on the project. Contractor Brandenburg Industries continues demolition today with structures on the 100 block of Front Street before moving onto the 200 block. Demolition is expected to take up to two weeks.

Columbus EMS Talks Resume Thursday

5/27/09 - Talks changing EMS District lines in the City of Columbus and eight surrounding Townships resume Thursday night. The Township of Fountain Prairie has decided to leave the Fall River Fire District EMS and join Columbus in their contract negotiations with LifeStar Ambulance of West Bend. The new EMS District includes areas in Columbia, Dane and Dodge counties. Fountain Prairie will join with the City and the towns of Calamus, Columbus, Elba, Hampden, Portland and York in formation of the new EMS District. City Council member Bill Bruns was chosen to chair the Committee of City and township representatives at their series of monthly meetings. The Committee is discussing a set of bylaws and municipal representation plan for the Ambulance Service District. The Village of Fall River and the Towns of Otsego and Courtland will be retaining their current municipal EMS service. The reduction of the area covered by the Fall River EMS will call for the approval of a new contract when the Fire District meets in July. The Columbus contract between LifeStar Ambulance and the district being formed is being negotiated.

No Injuries In City Rollover

5/27/09 - No injuries were reported after an SUV flipped over during a two-car accident in the city of Beaver Dam Tuesday afternoon. Deputy Police Chief Dan Schubert says the in-town, rollover accident occurred at 3:11pm. An 85-year-old Beaver Dam was traveling eastbound on Third Street when his SUV was hit by a vehicle going northbound on Spring Street. The impact caused the SUV to roll. The driver of the SUV was cited for Failure To Yield.

Waller Charged With Church Break-In

5/27/09 - A Beaver Dam man has been charged in connection with a church break-in last fall. Trevor Waller is accused of breaking into the First Lutheran Church of Beaver Dam on October 20 and ransacking the offices. Authorities heard about the burglary while they were down the street at the United Methodist Church investigating a similar break-in. There have been no charges filed yet in connection with that incident. Authorities found blood and fingerprint evidence at the First Lutheran Church and connected it to Waller, who is also charged in connection with a pair of business burglaries. The 28-year-old Waller is charged along with two others in connection with break-ins at Kelm Painting and Beaver Plumbing around the same time. He has jury trials scheduled in August for the business break-ins and a preliminary hearing on the church break-in July 9. Waller faces over 40 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Schuett Charged With Residential Break-In

5/27/09 - A Juneau man faces over 15 years in prison for a residential burglary last October. Christopher Schuett is charged with a felony count of Burglary as a repeater and Criminal Damage to Property. The 20-year-old is accused of breaking into a residence and stealing cash, checkbooks and an iPod. Authorities found blood and fingerprints at the scene and tied it to Schuett, who will be back in court for a preliminary hearing next month.

Suspected Parking Lot Flasher in Court

5/27/09 - A Madison man, who was arrested after witnesses say he performed a lewd act inside his car, had a signature bond set at $500 during an initial hearing Tuesday in Dodge County court. The Beaver Dam Police Department responded the Kohl’s Department Store parking lot on the afternoon of May 13 after a woman reported the incident. The suspect left the scene but the witness followed him onto Highway 151. A short time later, the Columbus Police Department arrested Kevin C. Johnson. The 42-year-old is charged with Lewd and Lascivious Behavior, which carries a maximum nine-month prison sentence upon conviction.

Waupun Consolidation Moving Forward

5/27/09 - Waupun District Administrator Randy Refsland says moving plans for the three elementary schools to be closed at the end of the school year are coming along. With the district cutting its number of buildings from six to three Refsland says there is a lot of work to do but he feels comfortable with the timeline so far and says he expects everything to be ready by the time kids come back in the fall. One big issue for many in the move has been placing 7th grade kids in the same building as 12th graders as part of the high school. Refsland says they’ve gone to great lengths to separate the two including placing most of the middle school classes on the 2nd floor. But he says they are also many positives to have the two groups together, including being able to have the older students tutor the younger ones. The moving comes after the district was forced to make drastic cuts to deal with a $1.2-million-dollar deficit for the coming school year.

Fee for Handguns to Increase

5/27/09 - Owning a handgun will be more expensive in Wisconsin. The state Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee endorsed a budget measure last night to raise the fee for buying a handgun from eight-dollars to 13. The Justice Department said the five-dollar increase would cover the cost of performing the necessary background checks on handgun buyers. But Governor Jim Doyle wanted to jack up the fee to 30-dollars, and use the extra revenue for other law enforcement programs. The finance panel scrapped that idea. The committee also said no to a new fee on the slaughtering of farm animals, to help pay for more state meat inspectors.

Officers to Note Race During Traffic Stops

5/27/09 - If you’re stopped for a traffic violation, the officer will take note of your race and send that data to Madison starting in 2011. The state Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee endorsed that move last night, to determine if officers are hassling minorities. Governor Jim Doyle’s proposed budget would have only collected the racial data in the state’s 11 largest counties – but the finance panel voted 12-to-4 to collect the data statewide. All four Republicans voted no, saying officers have better things to do – especially in smaller towns – and they should use their limited resources to fight crime. But Assembly Democrat Cory Mason of Racine says that if drivers are targeted by their race, it erodes trust in the legal system.

Vehicle Sales Down Sharply

5/27/09 - Sales of new cars and trucks in Wisconsin went down 30-percent last month, compared to the same time a year ago. But the Badger State is apparently not as bad off as the nation as a whole. The market analysis firm of Cross-Sell said U-S vehicle sales dropped 37-percent in April – seven-percent more than in Wisconsin. The firm said almost 15-thousand new cars and trucks were sold in the state last month, down from about 21-thousand in 2008. Cross-Sell said the declines were similar to those in March.

Majority of Credit Unions Lose Money in 1st Quarter

5/27/09 - Eight of Wisconsin’s 10 largest credit unions lost money in the first quarter of the year. But those losses will be only temporary, as the result of recent congressional action. Credit unions were recently hit with large payments to replenish their industry’s insurance system for deposits – and Congress recently agreed to lend up to six-billion dollars to help the industry get back on its feet. As a result, credit unions will be able to spread their payments for deposit insurance over seven-to-eight-years, instead of having to pay the larger premiums all at one time. And that’ll make a huge difference in the credit unions’ bottom lines.