Top Stories, September 17th

Davis Convicted

9/17/10 - A former Fox Lake Correctional Institution inmate who attacked two guards with a claw-hammer was found guilty Thursday. Terrance Davis had previously waived his right to a jury trial and pleaded his case to Judge William McMonigal, who yesterday rejected the defense that Davis was provoked. The 52-year-old was convicted of First Degree Attempted Homicide and a reduced charge of First Degree Reckless Endangerment. Davis assaulted the guards in the prison’s furniture-making shop in November of 2008. One officer sustained head injuries and a broken arm while another guard required surgery for a fractured skull. Davis has been in prison since he killed two Milwaukee police officers a quarter century ago years ago who walked into a drug deal. A pre-sentencing investigation was ordered. Davis could have up to 80 years added to his prison sentence.

Waterloo Soldier Dies At Fort Hood

9/17/10 - Army officials have identified the reservist who died at Fort McCoy near Sparta last weekend. 19-year-old Private Aaron Clawson of Waterloo in Jefferson County was found dead at the fort on Sunday. He was on weekend-training as an ammunition specialist for the 826th Ordnance Company of Madison. The Army Reserve says the matter is still being investigated. For now, the only thing they’re saying is that Clawson was not killed in a training mishap.

Search Commencing For MPTC President

9/17/10 - The Moraine Park Technical College District Board will begin the nationwide search for the College’s next president on Monday. Board Chair Jodine Deppisch (said they are pleased with the initial groundwork that was put in place to ensure the next president continues to meet the needs of the district. Applications will be accepted through November 24. Screening of applicants and the selection of initial interview candidates will take place between November 29 and December 15. The search is being led by the College’s Vice President of Human Resources Kathy Broske. Moraine Park President Gayle Hytrek, who announced her retirement in May, will conclude seven years of service to Moraine Park and the Wisconsin Technical College System at the end of the current school year. More information is available at morainepark.edu/presidentialsearch.

Touch Decisions For Columbus School Board

9/17/10 - The Columbus School Board will be deliberating on tough decisions they will have to make as they approve the 2011 District Budget. A return to taxing to the maximum allowable levy amount and a probable rise in mil rates will be likely. Superintendent Bryan Davis told Board Members and the Administrative Team this week that the district’s fund balance was the lowest it has been in ten years. Restoration of the diminished fund balance and discovery of $380 thousand dollars in unexpected roof and wall repairs at the Middle School are going to demand creative funding solutions. The possibility of short term borrowing has not been ruled out. The Board and Administration will be looking forward to receiving the missing pieces to the annual school budget puzzle over the next six weeks. This Friday is the designated “third Friday” when Districts lock in student enrollment counts. October 15th is the date when the State provides property evaluation figures. However, the final tax levy and mil rate information will not be available until the Annual Budget meeting in October.

Save-A-Lot Store Closing

9/17/10 - This Saturday will be the last day of business for the Save-A-Lot store on Madison Street in Beaver Dam. No reason for the closure has been released to the public. Employees were told on Friday that this would be the last week of operations for the store. The news didn’t come as a complete surprise as employees knew the store would be closing but they were caught off guard by the short notice. The closure leaves Save-a-Lot with two stores in the state, both in Fond du Lac. Any remaining stock from the Beaver Dam store will be sent to Fond du Lac.

Wisconsin Adds Jobs

9/17/10 - Wisconsin added more private-sector jobs in August. State officials said today that private employers added 19-hundred new positions on a seasonally-adjusted basis – while government cut 26-hundred jobs. As a result, Wisconsin’s adjusted unemployment rate for last month was seven-point-nine percent, unchanged from the month before. The Badger State remains well below the national jobless rate of nine-point-six percent. Professional and business services had the most new jobs, with around 23-hundred. Education and health care added two-thousand posts statewide. And leisure-and-hospitality firms added 14-hundred jobs. Most of the government job losses were at the federal level, with about two-thousand cut on an adjusted basis. Local governments lost a-thousand workers, while the state government added 400.

Inmate Petitions For Supreme Court Reversal

9/17/10 - A Wisconsin prison inmate wants the state Supreme Court to reverse the disciplinary action taken against him after he was found guilty of instigating a riot. Darnell Jackson is serving time for attempted murder. In 2004, a prison disciplinary board found him guilty of instigating a riot that led to the injury of several guards at the New Lisbon Prison. But Jackson says prison officials denied him his due process rights by refusing to let him see a security camera video they used to connect him to the riot. Jackson's attorney, Michael Halfenger, says that violated Jackson's right to present evidence in his own defense. A central issue in this case is whether this kind of due process right applies to prisoners being disciplined. Assistant attorney general Abagail Potts told the court if it is allowed to apply it will overburden prison officials trying to maintain order in their institutions. Jackson had six months added to his sentence as a result of the disciplinary boards ruling. The court's ruling in the case could help clarify what legal rights inmates retain once they are convicted and incarcerated.

Evers Delivers “State of Education”

9/17/10 - Wisconsin’s public school superintendent says he will not present a new plan for overhauling state school aid, until he can show what it means for each district. Tony Evers alluded to the plan Thursday in his “State of Education” address. Evers unveiled a framework for the plan in late June. He said it was based on principles – and legislators scrambled to find out what those principles would mean for schools in their districts. Evers says he realized that communities need to know what the changes will bring for them. So he’ll get those figures before presenting his plan to the next governor and Legislature. When he unveiled the plan, Evers said that among other things, it would guarantee a minimum level of state aid for every student – give more money to poorer schools – and give schools about 900-million-dollars that homeowners now get in the form of property tax credits.

Citations Likely In Self-Inflicted Stabbing

9/17/10 - More information is coming to light about a self-inflicted stabbing incident in the Town of Beaver Dam this week. Police Chief John Kreuzinger says the 25-year-old woman was fighting with her husband Tuesday evening when she apparently stabbed herself in anger saying, “you don’t love me, look what I’m doing to myself.” She was treated for a stab wound at the Beaver Dam Community Hospital Tuesday evening. The couple originally told police it happened in downtown Beaver Dam and identified two men named “Aneglo” and “Michael” as the perpetrators. After further questioning, the woman admitted to stabbing herself at her home in the Town of Beaver Dam. Kreuzinger says the two will likely be issued a municipal citation for obstruction.

Kohl Critical of Foreign Paper

9/17/10 - U-S Senator Herb Kohl went to bat Thursday for the state’s paper industry. The Wisconsin Democrat testified before the U-S-International Trade Commission, at a hearing on alleged unfair trade practices. Kohl said Wisconsin paper companies are at an economic disadvantage, because China and Indonesia are allowed to import coated papers subsidized by those two governments. Kohl said those foreign papers have artificially-low prices, and it hurts the ability of Wisconsin firms to compete. In 2008, Kohl blamed those practices for the closings of the New-Page mills in Kimberly and Niagara – in which a-thousand jobs were lost. Last year, the Appleton paper firm laid off 80 people in Combined Locks in the Fox Valley. Kohl said even more jobs would be lost unless Washington does something. Both companies scored a temporary victory in March, when the Commerce Department ordered much higher tariffs to off-set the government subsidies of papers from China and Indonesia. A final ruling on that matter is expected by the end of the year.