Top Stories, September 23rd

Parkhurst Documents Tanzanian Trip

9/23/10 - The founding member of a non-profit organization that focuses on building self-sustainable education in east Africa recounted her most recent trip on Community Comment yesterday. Cassie Parkhurst with the Tanzanian Education Project says she and her colleagues are assembling a 35-minute documentary so the people in her hometown – like the service organizations, churches and school kids who contributed -- can see the positive results of their efforts halfway around the world. The 2006 Beaver Dam High School graduate collected a 20-foot crate full of books and school supplies this spring and sent it to Tanzania, where it was used to build four libraries, which is one more than they had planned. Along the way the group dealt with malaria, bacterial infections and worms not to mention political corruption and even the death of a close Tanzanian friend who had founded two of the schools. But in the end Parkhurst says their successes show that you truly can make a difference in the lives of children halfway around the world, if you just try. Parkhurst says this is only the beginning, her fundraising efforts will continue and she will work stateside on a variety of self-sustaining education projects before returning to Tanzania in the next couple years. The documentary should be complete in the next month and Parkhurst plans on holding a public viewing in her hometown. Donations for the Tanzanian Education Project can be made at the National Exchange Bank.

Tanzanian Education Project Documentary Preview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_RN-ugCGb4

West Nile Confirmed in Washington County

9/23/10 - Wisconsin has recorded the year’s first human case of West Nile. State health officials say that a person in neighboring Washington County was confirmed to have the mosquito-borne virus. The person had given blood, and the West Nile was spotted during a routine screening. The patient reported mild symptoms, and the person’s blood was destroyed to keep the virus from getting into the general blood supply. Only a handful of West Nile cases have been reported in recent years, after some Wisconsinites died when the disease was first discovered almost a decade ago. The state only had one confirmed human case in 2009. Most cases are considered to be mild, with symptoms that include rashes, headaches, and fever. Officials say they’ll keep watching for West Nile until the mosquito season ends sometime in October.

Local Hunters Nabbed For Poaching in Montana

9/23/10 - Nine Wisconsin hunters were among 12 people convicted recently as part of a multi-year investigation of illegal hunting activities in Montana. The total amount of fines, bond and restitution collected in the case was $17,416. The 12 defendants also lost a total of 63 years of hunting, fishing and trapping privileges in Wisconsin, Montana and 32 other states that are part of the Interstate Violators Wildlife compact. DNR Warden Paul Nell of Horicon assisted in the investigation along with Montana officials. He says the Wisconsin hunters from West Bend, Campbellsport, Kewaskum and Fond du Lac joined friends and family from Montana in the poaching of large game without a license. A DNR conservation warden from Fond du Lac also assisted in the investigation. Nell says the probe took two years and the convictions were the product of great cooperation between Montana and Wisconsin.

Davis Sentenced In Pharmacy Burglary

9/23/10 - A Beaver Dam man who broke into a Horicon pharmacy last September has was sentenced yesterday to eight years in prison. Nathan G. Davis had previously pleaded “no contest” to seven felony charges of burglary, drug possession and bail jumping and had six counts dismissed. It’ll be one year ago tomorrow that officers responded to an alarm at the Marshland Pharmacy at 3 o’clock in the morning. The 34-year-old Davis was seen running from the scene with a hammer and was taken into custody after a brief foot chase. Co-conspirator Andrew Stockwell of Watertown got a nine-month jail sentence after being found in possession of a large duffel bag filled with stolen prescription narcotics at the scene. The eight year prison sentence will begin after Davis finishes a three year prison term for a previous crime. He will also spend 16 years on extended supervision and must pay joint restitution totaling $2700.