Top Stories November 1st

Final Push Begins


11/1/10 - Wisconsin’s major candidates are criss-crossing the state searching for votes – while their party operatives work to get as many of their people as they can to the polls tomorrow. Democrats – who trail in the polls for governor and U-S Senate – hope to close that gap by winning the so-called “get-out-the-vote” battle. State Democratic Party chair Mike Tate said seven-thousand volunteers would make at least a million phone calls and knock on 900-thousand doors in the final days. But state G-O-P chair Reince Priebus says his party will have had three-million live contacts with voters by Election Day. Priebus said yesterday he expects Wisconsin to have the nation’s biggest turnaround from Democrat to Republican.

Johnson in Beaver Dam

11/1/10 - U.S. Senate candidate Ron Johnson was in Beaver Dam yesterday morning as part of his last minute campaigning before tomorrow election. The crowd averaged around 30 people during the one-hour meet and greet and, as has been the case since it passed, the health care reform bill was once again a topic for conversation. Johnson told the crowd the bill that passed was an overreach, and that while the previous system had its flaws, they could have been fixed without a complete overhaul. He said if elected he would support repealing the bill. His opponent, Democrat Russ Feingold, disagrees saying he feels it works for people, noting that over one million Wisconsinites will not be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions, or lose coverage because they reached a “life-time limit.” The latest polls have Johnson with a slim lead over Feingold, who is seeking his fourth term in office.

Referenda on Randolph Ballots

11/1/10 - Voters in the Randolph School District will see two referenda on their ballot tomorrow. Question one asks for $12.6 million to add a grade six through eight middle school addition to the high school. Question two asks for $20.8 million to consolidate both schools with the kindergarten through eight grades moved to the high school. That could also reduce costs associated with running two separate campuses, like bussing and duplicate administrators. Superintendent Greg Peyer says if both referenda pass, they would go with the higher amount and basically complete the whole project at once, instead of in two phases. He says if you support the second question, you should also vote in favor of the first referendum, otherwise you’d be voting against the project as a whole. The referendum could be viewed along with conceptual drawings on the district’s website:

http://www.randolph.k12.wi.us/district/index.php

Wirth Found Guilty on Lesser Charges

11/1/10 - A Jefferson man has been found guilty of lesser charges in the murders of an off-duty Oconomowoc police officer and her boyfriend outside a tavern. A Columbia County jury convicted 25-year-old Andrew Wirth yesterday on two counts of negligent handling of a dangerous weapon. The jury deliberated for about 12 hours since late Saturday afternoon. Wirth was originally charged with two counts of intentional homicide in the slayings of 37-year-old Jennifer Luick and 40-year-old Gregg Peters outside Vinnie’s Rock Bottom in Jefferson last December. According to prosecutors, Wirth got upset that Luick pinched his buttocks in the bar. She claimed it was a joke. But a confrontation followed, as Wirth pulled a handgun and shot Luick and Peters. The defense claimed that Wirth acted in self-defense, claiming Peters threatened him. A sentencing date was not immediately set. Wirth faces up to 40 years in prison and 100-thousand dollars in fines for his lesser conviction.

BDUSD to Hold Special Board Meeting Tonight

11/1/10 - The Beaver Dam School Board has called a special meeting for tonight to pass the district’s 2010-2011 budget. 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 more than a dollar over what was presented in August. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. at the Educational Service Center.