Top Stories, September 29th

Watertown Priest Accused of Felony Theft

9/29/10 - A former priest from St. Bernard Catholic Church in Watertown faces felony theft charges for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the church and its parishioners. Fr. Thomas Marr is said to have solicited money from parishioners, fellow priests, friends and family members saying he wanted to help members of the congregation. In borrowing the money he allegedly said it was a short-term loan for a house or to help a fellow priest or a needy member of the congregation. In July of last year, the church president ordered an audit after learning that as much as $125,000 in bills had gone unpaid. According to the criminal complaint, church officials then discovered a $50,000 IOU from Marr, dating back to November of 2008. The criminal complaint also lists 21 families bilked out of more than $168,000. A previous estimate from the church was closer to $400,000. Marr is said to have wired those funds, along with around $160,000 from his own retirement account, to Arthur Eith of Juneau. Eith allegedly used the money to secure the release of funds for work he had done as a consultant in Nigeria. Eith was supposedly investing $3 million dollars with the intention of receiving back $35 million. Marr contends that he never intended to keep the money and planned to give it back when the Nigerian scheme panned out for Eith, plus one million dollars. Marr faces up to 20 years in prison, if convicted. The Wisconsin Department of Justice is acting as special prosecutor in the case. An initial hearing is set for October 18 in Jefferson County court.

Zipter Sentenced In Multi-County Burglary Spree

9/29/10 - A Milwaukee woman was placed on probation for her role in burglarizing a Dodge County residence as part of a multi-county crime spree. 30-year-old Danielle Zipter and two others of broke into a Town of Ashippun home in June of last year. According to the criminal complaint, a witness saw three people taking items from a neighbor’s residence and putting those items into their vehicle. The man called 9-1-1 and provided a description of the suspects and the vehicle. Within 25-minutes, a Dodge County deputy confronted the burglars in the driveway of another residence in Washington County. That owner, an off-duty police officer, was awakened by the burglars kicking in his door and he was in the process of calling 9-1-1 himself. The three have been also been connected to burglaries in Washington and Waukesha counties. Zipter was also placed on probation for the Washington County break-in and will be sentenced for the Waukesha County burglary in November.

21-year-old Corey Shreeves of the Milwaukee-area was sentenced previously in Dodge County court to one year in prison. Shreeves still has charges pending in Washington and Waukesha counties.

25-year-old Sabrina Mauhar, the purported ringleader, was sentenced to two years in prison for the Ashippun burglary and that will run consecutive to a four year prison sentence handed down in the Washington County break-in. She awaits sentencing in the Waukesha County burglary.

Waupun SD Mill Rate Up Sharply

9/29/10 - Waupun School District taxpayers could see a significant increase in their tax bill. The school board voted unanimously at their annual meeting to approve a tax levy of nearly $10.4-million. That would result in a mill rate of $10.31, which is an increase of $1.11 over last year. That means the owner of a property worth $150,000 would pay about $1,540 for the school portion of their taxes. Administrators say the increase is in large part due to a cut in a state aid. The numbers outlined by district officials are a worst case scenario and they won’t know the exact tax increase until the state aid is finalized next month.

John Deere Employees Ratify 6-Year Contract

9/29/10 - The union that represents employees at John Deere Horicon Works has reached an agreement with the company. The International Association of Machinists Local 873 has notified Deere & Company that IAM-represented employees have ratified a six-year contract. The new labor contract takes effect October 1 and extends through September 30, 2016. John Deere’s Vice President of Turf and Utility Products John May says the new agreement will help Deere sustain its success in the global economy. The new contract covers approximately 900 employees and 775 retirees at John Deere Horicon Works.

Watertown, Brookfield Balk At Train Station

9/29/10 - The mayor of Brookfield wants to know who the next governor will be before his city approves a station for the planned high-speed train to Madison. Steve Ponto says the state D-O-T has not given him cost estimates to build-and-operate the depot. And because the two candidates for governor have opposing views on high-speed rail, Ponto says his City Council should know the outcome of the election before proceeding. In Watertown, the city council will vote at their first meeting in October on whether to put an advisory referendum question to voters next spring that will gauge their interest in building a $5-million station as part of being a stop on the line. A group of citizens gathered 1300 signatures and presented a petition to the council last week asking for the referendum question. Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Tom Barrett favors the high-speed train from Milwaukee-to-Madison. Republican Scott Walker says he’d scrap the project if he’s elected.

BD Leaf Pick-Up Begins Next Week

9/29/10 - Leaf pick-up in Beaver Dam begins on Monday. Director of Facilities David Stoiser says leaves -- along with lawn grass rakings resulting from leaf gathering, garden vines and stalks – may be placed in the terrace areas of the street edge in loose piles for collection by the Department of Public Works. Collection will continue through late November. Stoiser says yard waste cannot be placed in the street or gutter, or in any containers. Leaves, rakings and garden debris cannot be mixed with other forms of waste like brush or shrubbery cuttings. Stoiser says fruits, nuts and vegetables are not acceptable and should be disposed of as garbage. Beaver Dam’s Yard Waste Drop-Off site is located at 640 South Center Street. No waste of any kind will be allowed from outside the city.

Incomes Down, Poverty Up in Wisconsin

9/29/10 - Household incomes went down, while poverty went up in Wisconsin last year. The U-S Census Bureau says the average Wisconsin household took in 49-thousand-993 dollars in the recession year of 2009. That’s three-point-eight percent less than the 51-thousand-942-dollars the average household took in the previous year. Wisconsin joined 33 other states with falling incomes. And the Badger State’s incomes were about 220-dollars less than the national average of 50-thousand-211-dollars – which was down just under three-percent. Meanwhile, the Census Bureau said 12-point-four percent of Wisconsin households lived in poverty last year – up by two-percentage points from the year before. There were 683-thousand Wisconsinites in poverty in ’09, up from 570-thousand the previous year. The figures come from a Census Bureau survey that was taken separately from the 2010 Census this past spring. Those results won’t start coming out until later this year.

Johnson & Son on Employment Scam

9/29/10 - S.C. Johnson and Son, Incorporated, says an online employment ad using their company name is a fake. That ad claims to offer $25-dollar an hour data entry jobs, but it requires the applicant to pay $279-dollars for training software. The Racine-based company says it isn’t associated with the ad and people should ignore it, or report it to the website where it is being posted. S.C. Johnson and Son makes products like Glade air freshener and Windex cleaning fluid.