Top Stories May 8th

State Revenue Shortfall Now 6.5B

5/8/09 - Governor Jim Doyle says he will not raise taxes to cover a new one-and-a-half billion dollar revenue shortfall in the next state budget. Doyle said yesterday the deficit has grown to six-and-a-half billion dollars, because tax revenues are much less than expected. As a result, he said up to 11-hundred more state employees would be laid off. Two-percent pay raises for most workers would be rescinded. Non-emergency state employees would get furloughs of eight days off a year without pay – and Doyle and Senate Democratic leader Russ Decker said they’d work those same numbers of days for free. Also, spending would be cut four-percent across the board. And local governments and schools would get less state aid. Assembly G-O-P leader Jeff Fitzgerald says it’s unfortunate Doyle is only now considering big budget cuts, after raising taxes over a billion dollars in February.

Confirmed Cases of “H1N1” Virus Skyrocket

5/8/09 - Most of Wisconsin’s probable flu cases have now been confirmed. State health officials reported 233 confirmed incidents yesterday of the Influenza-“A” virus. Tests are now being analyzed at state labs, instead of being shipped to the U-S Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta – and that’s bringing faster results. Milwaukee County has the most swine flu cases by far – 120. Waukesha County has 11, and Dane County seven. A dozen other counties have had five cases or fewer. County locations are pending for 74 other cases. There are still no confirmed cases in Dodge County.

Baby Theresa Burial Next Monday

Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls says his department will not use the funeral of an abandoned newborn to try and catch the mother. Nehls says funeral arrangement have been set for next Monday for Baby Theresa whose body was discovered in some woods just south of the Village of Theresa. He says the funeral is a chance for those who care about what happened to the infant to show their respect, including his own officers. However, Nehls says they won’t be looking for the mother or anyone who knows her at the ceremony. He says the reason for the funeral is to give the baby the dignified burial she deserves. Sheriff’s Chaplain Tim Bauer will officiate over the service. (KFIZ)

Beaver Dam Family To Be Featured on Oprah

5/8/09 - A Beaver Dam woman is going to be on Oprah next week. Michelle Ladwig and her family were chosen to be part of “Oprah’s Challenge” and were asked to live without electronics for one week and they had to give up ten other items each day. Gone were the cell phones, I-pods, and TV’s. In its place were nightly family dinners and camera’s following their every move. Ladwig says Oprah’s people filmed the episode at her home Wednesday via satellite. An exact air date has not yet been announced.

Inmate Bound Over in Claw Hammer Attack

5/8/09 - A former Fox Lake Correctional Institution inmate who allegedly attacked two guards with a claw-hammer was bound over for trial yesterday in Dodge County court. 50-year-old Terrance Davis is charged with two counts of attempted murder for allegedly assaulting the guards in the prison’s furniture-making shop last November. A 52-year-old officer sustained head injuries and a broken arm and a 38-year-old guard required surgery for a fractured skull. Davis has been in prison since he killed two Milwaukee police officers 23 years ago when the officers walked into a drug deal. Davis faces up to 40 years in prison on each count. Arraignment is scheduled for March 26.

Contreras Waives Prelim

5/8/09 - A Beaver Dam man accused of raping two young girls waived his right to a preliminary hearing yesterday in Dodge County court. Robert Contreras entered a “not guilty” plea to five felony counts of sexual assault and child enticement and two misdemeanors counts of Sex With A Child. The 36-year-old is accused of raping a preteen girl in March of 2008 and a teenage girl on several occasions beginning in May of 2006. The assaults reportedly stopped when Contreras was sent to prison in March of 2008 for his 5th OWI offense. If convicted, he faces a combined total of over 226 years in prison.

Zirzow Sentenced For Exposing Child to Porn

5/8/09 - A Beaver Dam man who showed a young boy pornography will spend 15 days in jail. Roger Zirzow pleaded “no contest” to a felony count of Exposing a Child to Harmful Materials related to the June 2007 incident. The 36-year-old Zirzow was also placed on probation for two years and ordered to undergo sex offender counseling.

Horicon Bank Gets Federal Dollars

5/8/09 - The parent company of Horicon Bank has been approved for $13.6 million in federal money. Sword Financial Corporation announced yesterday that they will accept money from the governments Capital Purchase Program, which is part of President Obama’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, also known as TARP. Bank President Fred Schwertfeger says the one-time offer of capital will put the bank in a better position to help support local economic growth with home, business and farm loans. The funds are offered only to banks which are deemed strong and approved by the U.S. Treasury and banking regulators, including the FDIC. The investment must be repaid with interest on a quarterly basis. To date, 13 Wisconsin banks, comprising a majority of Wisconsin-based loans and deposits, have received U.S. Treasury money. Horicon Bank has assets totaling $500 million dollars and operates ten branches, mostly in Dodge County, but also in Washington, Outagamie, Winnebago and Fond du Lac counties.

Court Upholds Ruling on GPS Trackers

5/8/09 - A Wisconsin appeals court has upheld the power of police to attach Global Positioning Systems to cars to track people's movements. The ruling came in a case involving Michael Sveum, a Madison man who was being investigated for stalking a woman in 2003. Police obtained a warrant to put a GPS device on his car and secretly attached it in his driveway. Police tracked his car's movement for weeks. Based on that information, investigators obtained a warrant to search his home and car and found incriminating evidence. Sveum was charged, convicted and sentenced to prison. The 41-year-old Sveum argued that attaching the GPS device was an illegal search and seizure. The District 4 Court of Appeals disagreed.