Top Stories, May 31st

Route Change For Beaver Dam Parade

5/31/10 - There is a slightly different route this year for the Beaver Dam Memorial Day 2010 Parade. Organizer Lois Levenhagen says because of the reconstruction of the Tower Parking lot, the parade will be starting at Front and Spring Street and then proceed down Front Street/ Park Avenue to Veterans Memorial Park at Oakwood Cemetery. In the past the parade had started at the intersection of Front and Center. The theme this year will be “Veteran: The True American Idol.” Before the parade starts, at 8:45am, there will be a wreath-laying ceremony in the Tower Parking Lot, where a wreath will be tossed into the water honoring servicemen and women lost to sea. That, too, is a change of locations from years past as it had traditionally been held at the Center Street Bridge. The ceremony from Oakwood Cemetery begins at 10:15am and will be broadcast live on WBEV. The guest speaker this year is World War II veteran Roland Zuelsdorf.

Stabb: ‘Vietnam Vets Finally Get Recognition’

5/31/10 - The Commander of the Beaver Dam AmVets called the recent tribute to Vietnam veterans in Green Bay “moving.” Chuck Stabb was one of 26,000 veterans who filled Lambeau Field last week for the three-day welcome-home event for those who never received a proper homecoming. Stabb says a lot of veterans went away with the feeling that after 40 years they finally got some recognition. There were 1244 empty, white chairs set out on the grid iron for the event, for the Wisconsin residents killed or missing in action in Vietnam.

Rollover Victim Flighted To Froedtert

5/31/10 - A Waupun man was injured in a rollover accident late last night in the Town of Chester. According to the Dodge County Sheriffs Department, Anthony J. Tibbits was injured on Milligan Road around 11pm. The 25-year-old was taken by Flight for Life to Froedtert Memorial Hospital. No word on the results of a legal blood draw performed by the Milwaukee County Sheriffs Department. Also yesterday, no injuries were reported following a rollover on Highway 68 in the Town of Trenton just before 6am. Also, no injuries were reported after rollover on County Trunk S and Highway 26 around 11:30pm last night. Car deer accidents are on the rise. The Dodge County Sheriffs Department responded to four such accidents between 8:30pm and 10:30pm last night.

Bear Spotted Near Wash- Fondy Co Line

5/31/10 - There were several reports of a black bear spotted near the Fond du Lac and Washington County border Sunday. The Fond du Lac County Sheriffs Department notified the Washington County Sheriffs Department around 8am Sunday that a black bear weighing 250 to 300 pounds had last been seen near Highway 45. A short time later, a Village of Kewaskum police officer saw a bear – possibly the same one – on Highway 28 on the east side of the village. There was another sighting around 8:30pm Sunday night on the patio of a home on North Mill Road in the Town of Kewaskum. The bear was not aggressive but those in the area are being urged not to leave food outside and to secure garbage. The DNR has been contacted and is investigating.

Insurance Mandate Takes Effect Tuesday

5/31/10 - Starting tomorrow, all Wisconsin drivers have to carry liability insurances on their vehicles. State officials say they don't know how many of those drivers will obey the new law. Right now, an estimated 14 percent of Wisconsin drivers are uninsured. A spokesman for the insurance industry says the new law likely won't change things much. There will always been a group of drivers who don't carry insurance. If the economy gets worse, he says the number will go up -- no matter what state law requires. The new law isn't expected to create a barrage of applications at Wisconsin insurance offices from uninsured drivers trying to get covered.

Turnover In Legislature

5/31/10 - More fresh faces and energy, but less experience - that's what is in store for the Wisconsin Legislature in its next session. A lot of veteran lawmakers are stepping aside. The latest count has 21 members announcing they won't run for reelection, plus, two members of the Assembly are giving up their current seats to run for the Wisconsin Senate. Senator Alan Lasee, and representatives Polly Williams and Spencer Black, have served a total of 91 years in Madison. That's a lot of knowledge of state government. Lawmakers leaving point to desire to run for higher office, to advancing age, to what is often called the toxic environment at the Capitol.

NTSB Med Flight Report Likely This Summer

5/31/10 - Two years later there is still no official ruling on the cause of the fatal crash of a medical rescue helicopter. The crash killed Doctor Darren Bean, nurse Mark Coyne and pilot Steve Lipperer May 10, 2008, near La Crosse. No date has been set for the release of the final report, but one official with the National Transportation Safety Board says it could come this summer. NTSB records reportedly suggest foggy conditions caused the fatal accident.

Racine Humane Society Gives Expired Vaccines

5/31/10 - Several hundred Wisconsin dogs and cats will have to be vaccinated again. They were apparently given expired rabies vaccines between last December and last week. Countryside Humane Society in Racine just learned of the vaccines being expired at that time. An expert on animal vaccinations at the University of Wisconsin says the expired vaccines are probably still effective, but the state will not recognize them as valid if they were past the expiration date. State officials and the vaccine maker agree that the animals need to be re-vaccinated to be sure.

DNR Seeks Deer Count Volunteers

5/31/10 - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wants you to volunteer to help it complete several projects studying the state's deer population. The DNR wants volunteers to build deer traps, to participate in deer captures and put radio collars on those captured deer. The DNR will use about two million dollars in funds from the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act. The projects will start this year and, in some cases, run for several years. The state is also asking landowners to let it do some research activities on their property. So far, about a dozen Wisconsin landowners have agreed. Most of the work will be done by DNR researchers, the University of Wisconsin, and two environmental groups.

Fallen Solders Face ID Theft

5/31/10 - Identity theft is a growing problem and that's a fact the families of some soldiers are learning. Two men and a woman are accused of stealing the identities of Wisconsin soldiers who were killed in action in Iraq. Bob McLeod and James Larson, both of Green Bay, and Tina Mitchem of Milwaukee, were arrested last week on parole violations that showed up on a computer during a traffic stop. When the investigation went further, police found that the three had tried to pass counterfeit checks in the names of the dead soldiers. Authorities have contacted the families of the soldiers and the case has been passed on to prosecutors.

No Call List Deadline Today

5/31/10 - If you want to avoid annoying calls from telemarketers, you have until the end of the day today to sign up to the latest No Call list. Department of Consumer Protection spokesman Brock Bergey says nearly 38 thousand new phone numbers were added to the list in just a few hours Thursday afternoon, causing online registration to be temporarily unavailable. Bergey says the agency’s Internet service provider assures them that peak usage will diminish, so, if you weren’t able to register, simply try again. Those who register by the end of Memorial Day will be on the list that takes effect July 1st. Otherwise, Bergey says you’ll have to wait until October.