Top Stories October 31st

Ron Johnson in Beaver Dam Today


10/31/10 - Just two days from the election the candidates for the Wisconsin U.S. Senate seat are making last minute trips around the state to rally their bases. That continues today as Ron Johnson makes a stop in Beaver Dam at the headquarters of the Dodge County Republican Party. Johnson is expected to be in town for about an hour beginning at 9 a.m. The headquarters are located at 820 Park Ave across from Shopko. His opponent, incumbent Russ Feingold, was in Stevens Point yesterday, among other places, as he fights for a 4th term. The most recent polls show Johnson with a slim lead in advance of Tuesday’s election.

Gubernatorial Candidates Make Final Push

10/31/10 - It's not surprising that both candidates for Wisconsin governor are having a busy last weekend before election day. Republican Scott Walker leads in the polls. He was in Green Bay yesterday and plans to return today -- after the Packers game. Democrat Tom Barrett also spent a portion of Saturday morning in Green Bay. The Brown County vote is considered a key to this election outcome. The county leans Republican, but current Democratic Governor Jim Doyle kept it close in the last balloting. Green Bay is the third-biggest media market in Wisconsin. If Walker wins there, it would be difficult for Barrett to make up the votes in Milwaukee and Madison.

BD School Board to Consider Budget, Again

10/31/10 - The Beaver Dam School Board will be cutting it close when they once again try to pass the 2010-2011 budget tomorrow night. Officials say school districts must have their budgets approved by November 1st. The board had planned to pass the document, which showed a 2.7-percent spending increase, last Monday but a larger than expected rise in the tax levy led them to push off the decision. As proposed, district taxpayers can expect to see a mill rate of $10.39-per thousand of assessed value, a $1.48 increase over the 2009-2010 budget, and $1.01 more than what was presented in August. At that rate the owner of a property worth $100,000 would pay $1,039 for the school portion of their tax bill. Tomorrow’s meeting is slated for 6:30 p.m. at the Educational Service Center.

All Power Restored from Last Weeks Wind Storm

10/31/10 - The final customers to come back on line after last week's wind storm were in northeast Wisconsin around Eagle River and Minocqua. As of last Wednesday morning, more than 60 thousand customers had lost electrical service. The two-day wind storm had downed power lines in northeast and north-central Wisconsin and a portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Some seasonal customers, who have cabins there, were expected to come up and visit. If they have electrical problems, Wisconsin Public Service says they should call for help.

Alliant Posts High Summer Profits

10/31/10 - The humming of air conditioners this summer helped Alliant Energy of Madison get out of the red. The parent firm of Wisconsin Power-and-Light reported a quarterly profit today of 151-million-dollars, compared to a loss of almost 44-million in the same period a year ago. Earnings for July-through-September totaled a-dollar-37 per share – 31-cents more than what outside analysts from Thomson First Call had projected. Utilities said the consistently hot-and-humid summer generated record electric use for air conditioning. That accounted for 30-cents of Alliant’s profit increase. Another 39-cents came from rate increases which were partially the result of the loss of electric sales during the recession. C-E-O Bill Harvey said electric sales to industrial customers are on the rebound – but they’re still way below the pre-recession levels of 2007-and-’08.

Halloween Horse Parade Today

10/31/10 - The largest, all-horse paraded in the state of Wisconsin will be held this afternoon in Beaver Dam. Maily Kocinski with the Dodge County Boots and Saddle Club says they expect around 300 riders along the four-mile parade route. There will be no parking signs posted along the route beginning tomorrow morning and parade-watchers are asked to stay curbside so as to not spook the horses. The Halloween Horse Parade is expected to wrap-up long before trick-or-treating hours in Beaver Dam, which are from 4pm to 6pm.

Map of Parade Route:

http://dcbootsandsaddleclub.pbworks.com/

Last Chance For Bulk Garbage, Brush Pick-Up

10/31/10 - This is the final week of the year for Beaver Dam residents to take advantage of brush pick-up. The final pick-up of the year for loose tree limbs and shrubbery cuttings begins tomorrow (Monday, 11/1) and continues through Friday (November 5). Loose tree limbs and shrubbery cuttings up to 7 inches in thickness and 8 feet in length should be placed at the street edge by 7am on garbage day. Yard waste also cannot be placed out sooner than 24 hours prior to your scheduled pick-up. The service will resume again in April. Bulk garbage will also be accepted this week for the last time this year. Bulk waste is defined as, but no limited to, furniture, wooden doors and windows and rolled carpet, not exceeding 4’ to 6’ in length. The collection regulations have changed as a result of the state’s new E-Cycle law. Items that will no longer be collected include desktop and laptop computers, printers, fax machines, cell phones, DVD players and video devices with screens over 7” long such as TV’s and computer monitors. In addition, no metal items like bed springs, doors, windows and pipes will be collected. Bulk waste can be placed on the curb no sooner than 24 hours prior to each collection and by 7am on the day of garbage pick-up. While yard waste can be dropped off at the public works garage year-round, there are only two opportunities per month to dispose of bulk garbage items at the garage.

Carp Barrier Ceremony

10/31/10 - A 13-mile long barrier between the Des Plaines River and a Chicago shipping canal is aimed at keeping the Asian carp out of the river in case of flooding. A ceremony marking the completion of the wire mesh fence was held Friday. Asian carp can grow to four feet long and 100 pounds. Environmental experts fear they could decimate the fishing industry in the Great Lakes if they get that far. Wisconsin is one of several states involved in the effort to stop the carp's advance. The invasive fish escaped from southern fish farms decades ago, and have been moving north ever since. The barrier was built to keep the fish from washing over into the river if the canal should happen to flood.

Deer Hits Girl

10/31/10 - Hortonville High School sophomore Sarah Glidden collided with a deer a week ago - but she wasn't driving a car. The 15 year old sophomore was running at a cross country sectional meet along Wausau's 9-Mile County Forest course when an antlerless deer jumped from the woods into her path. There was contact, and Glidden was spun around, but she stayed on her feet and kept running. She suffered a bruise on her leg. The cross country competitor says she's not sure how much it affected her, but he time was 17 seconds slower than a few weeks previous. She failed to qualify for the state meet.

Winds Slow Whooping Cranes Migration

10/31/10 - The strong winds that swept through Wisconsin earlier this week have sidelined the young whooping cranes migrating to Florida's Gulf Coast. The flock of 11 is grounded in northern Illinois. The ultra-light crew and birds were stopped by 60 mile per hour winds. This is the 10th assisted migration since the project started and it is getting closer to its goal of restoring a flock of 125 wild cranes which would fly between Wisconsin and the Florida site. The eastern migratory population now has 96 birds, including two chicks hatched in the wild. Organizers say, if things go well, there may be only two or three more assisted flights.