Top Stories, September 22nd

Tanzanian Education Project on Community Comment

9/22/10 - Cassie Parkhurst will recount the details of her four-month trip to Tanzania on WBEV’s Community Comment this afternoon. The Beaver Dam woman with the Tanzanian Education Project helped build and fill the shelves of three libraries with books and supplies collected in her hometown. Malaria cut the group’s trip short by about a week but before they left they were able to lay the groundwork for a variety of other sustainable projects in the impoverished east African village. We’ll hear the whole story on 1430AM beginning at 12:35pm.

Randolph Woman Injured in Wreck

9/22/10 - One person was flown from the scene of a two-vehicle accident in Columbia County Tuesday morning. Sheriff Dennis Richards tell us it happened in the Township of Randolph just before 8am. A pick-up truck driven by a Friesland woman was stopped at a stop sign on County EF and pulled into the path of an eastbound passenger car on Highway 33. The Randolph woman driving the passenger car was trapped in the vehicle and the jaws-of-life were needed to free her. She was taken by Med-Flight to UW Hospital in Madison with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The Friesland woman driving the pick-up truck was taken to Beaver Dam Community Hospital where she was treated and released. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts. Friesland Fire and First Responders were at the scene along with Randolph and Cambria EMS and the Randolph Police Department.

DWD Rules in BD Schools Favor


9/22/10 - The Department of Workforce Development has ruled in the favor of the Beaver Dam School District in a case involving a complaint from an employee. Cheryl Grulke filed the complaint under Wisconsin’s Family and Medical Leave Act alleging the district violated her right to return to work as a secretary at the high school after an extended medical leave. In their response, the DWD said there was no probable cause to believe the district violated any part of the act. Superintendent Steve Vessey wasn’t surprised by the ruling, saying the district had confidence that its acted in both a legal and ethical manner when dealing with all human resources issues. Grulke’s attorney, Bob Shumaker, says they plan to appeal the initial determination, saying they disagree with the DWD’s finding that Grulke failed to file a timely complaint. Grulke had worked in the high school for 20 years before going on leave claiming the office she worked in was a hostile environment.

Initial Budget Figures Outlined

9/22/10 - Dodge County taxpayers could see a 19-cent increase to their mill rate. A memo handed out at last nights county board meeting outlines the initial 2011 budget. It includes a tax levy increase of $160,000 that would leave taxpayers with a mill rate of $5.40-per thousand dollars of assessed value. That means a home owner with a property worth $150,000 would pay $810 for the county portion of their tax bill. The full budget book will be given to board members next month with the county’s budget hearing set for November 9th.

DC Board Approves Resolution to Hire New Health Care Workers

9/22/10 - A resolution adopted last night by the Dodge County Board is expected to, among other things, decrease the time it takes to get mental evaluations for adults and children. The board approved the hiring of a half-time psychiatric nurse and a full-time Community Support Case Manager. Human Services and Health Department Director David Titus indicated the positions were in great need say9ing that in some cases people have been waiting up to a year to get mental evaluations. Titus believes there are a couple of reasons for the increased caseload, including the loss of a number of private psychiatric practices in the area. The county hopes to pay for the positions, in part, with money from insurance reimbursements.

Drug ‘Take Back’ This Saturday

9/22/10 - The Beaver Dam Police Department will be conducting a Prescription Drug Collection Saturday morning. Officials say you can drop off unused or expired prescription medications in the police department parking lot from 8am to noon. In case of bad weather, the collection will take place in the lobby of city hall. Lt. John Kreuziger says proper disposal of medications prevents their theft, sale and abuse. It’s also important not to flush pharmaceuticals down the drain and to keep them out of landfills to prevent contamination of the water supply.

Randolph Mulling Grant Funding Options

9/22/10 - The Randolph School District has received just less than $97,000 as part of the Federal Jobs Fund Act. The money is supposed to be used to rehire teachers that were laid off or to hire new staff. But Randolph Superintendent Greg Peyer says they haven’t been forced to lay anyone off. And because of that he and his staff must come up with other ways to use the money in the next year. Hiring additional staff would require finding money in future budgets to pay those salaries once the grant funding runs out. Peyer says they’ll put together a plan and present it to the school board next month for consideration.

North University Reconstruction Wrapping Up

9/22/10 - The North University Avenue reconstruction project in Beaver Dam is wrapping up. The reconstruction project that began in June included complete pavement replacement along with new storm sewers and street lighting. City Engineering Coordinator Ritchie Piltz says the approximately $650,000 came in around $40,000 over budget and a couple weeks behind schedule. He says that’s because of rain delays early in the project and also because the city found that it had some extra storm sewer work to perform. Eighty percent (80%) of the project, including the overage, is coming from the state and federal government. The approximately $8000 that the city is responsible for the overage will come from the Storm Water Utility fund. The road has been open since Saturday but will be closed again on Monday and Tuesday of next week for landscaping work.

MPTC Designated ‘Military-Friendly’

9/22/10 - AMoraine Park Technical College has been designated a “Military Friendly School” according to G.I. Jobs, thereby placing Moraine Park among the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and two year colleges that are doing the most to embrace America’s veterans as students. Moraine Park President Gayle Hytrek says, “Moraine Park is honored to be recognized as a military friendly school,” Criteria for making the Military Friendly Schools list included efforts and results in recruiting and retaining military and veteran students, and academic accreditations. Schools on the list offer benefits to student veterans such as on-campus veterans programs, credit for service and military spouse programs. To compile the list, G.I. Jobs, published by Victory Media, polled more than 7,000 schools nationwide. A full story and detailed list of Military Friendly Schools will be highlighted in the annual Guide to Military Friendly Schools. The website at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com features interactive tools and search functionality to assist military veterans in choosing schools that best meet their personal educational needs. The 2011 list can be viewed at www.militaryfriendlyschools.com/list-2011.aspx. With campuses in Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac and West Bend, Moraine Park is one of 16 colleges that make up Wisconsin’s technical colleges. Moraine Park offers more than 100 associate of applied science degrees, technical diplomas, apprenticeships and certificates delivered in a variety of formats — classroom, online and blended. Training and technical assistance for businesses are also offered. For more information about the College, visit www.morainepark.edu.

Dog Breeder Hearings Underway

9/22/10 - The state Department of Ag, Trade and Consumer Protection is holding hearings statewide this week on proposed licensing rules for dog sellers. The rules are part of a state law enacted earlier this year designed to reduce the presence of so-called “puppy mills” in Wisconsin. They will apply to anyone who breeds or sells at least 25 dogs a year from at least three different litters. Donna Gilson with DATCP says the proposed rules include requirements for the living space of animals, access to veterinary care, and proper socialization of the dogs. Breeders or sellers will have to be licensed and submit to annual inspections. The law applies to private sellers, along with humane societies and rescue groups. The hearings will be held in five cities over the next two weeks. Gilson says they’re only looking for feedback on the proposed rules. She says there has already been some early feedback from people wanting the law repealed. However, Gilson says those concerns need to be taken to the Legislature, not DATCP. Lawmakers will have to approve a final version of the rules before they go into effect.

Third Accuser Comes Forward Against Kratz

9/22/10 - A law student has made another accusation against embattled Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz. The Associated Press quoted Maria Ruskiewicz (russ-kah’-witz) as saying she met Kratz in 2008 to talk about a 10-year-old drug conviction. She said the D-A agreed to help her seek a pardon – and then he began sending her racy and harassing text messages. One of them reportedly asked how the woman would please Kratz in bed. The A-P said Ruskiewicz later met with an Oklahoma City University law professor about a response – and she told another Wisconsin prosecutor about Kratz’s behavior. His attorney, Robert Craanen, says he knows nothing about the case. Earlier today, the attorney said another woman’s accusation released by Governor Jim Doyle was “completely ridiculous.” It said Kratz met a woman on Match-Dot-Com earlier this year, gave confidential details of a murder case at dinner, and invited her to the victim’s autopsy. Craanen said the woman’s credibility should be questioned, since she didn’t report the behavior long ago. Kratz has admitted the original allegation made against him last week – that he sent racy texts to a domestic abuse victim last fall while he was prosecuting her boyfriend. Meanwhile, Attorney General J-B Van Hollen said his Justice Department would act as a prosecutor in an upcoming public hearing where Kratz can give his side of the story. Doyle said yesterday he would start the process of removing Kratz, and the hearing is a required step. A Calumet County resident must first file a formal complaint.

State Gets $3.6M For LIHEAP

9/22/10 - Wisconsin is getting three-point-six million dollars in federal emergency funds, to help low-income residents stay warm this winter. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program gave states a total of 100-million-dollars that remained in a contingency fund as Washington’s fiscal year is about to end September 30th. State officials say over 220-thousand Wisconsin homes received heating assistance in the state’s current fiscal year that began last July first.

Distracted Driving Worries Increase

9/22/10 - Most of us are worried about distracted drivers while we’re on the nation’s highways. Eighty-eight percent of American drivers surveyed by Triple A believe texting or e-mailing while driving is a very serious threat to their safety on the roadways, that’s higher than the threat of drunken driving. Fifty-two percent of drivers feel less safe on the roads now than they did five years ago. Beth Mosher with Triple A says among the many driver distractions are texting, sending emails, talking on and dialing cell phones, eating, and even dogs sitting on a driver’s lap. She says people, teens in particular, really need to pay attention. For the first time ever, drunken driving is no longer perceived to be the biggest threat.