Top Stories December 27th

Waupun Girl Killed in Accident

12/27/10 - A 14-year-old girl was killed in a two-vehicle accident Monday morning in Waupun.  Authorities say it happened at the intersection of Highway 26 and Clagget Avenue around 9:30 a-m.  The initial investigation shows a Toyota Camry driven by 16-year-old boy was westbound on Clagget Avenue, with the girl in the passenger seat, when they collided with a Chevy Blazer going southbound on Highway 26.  The girl, who was from Waupun, was pronounced dead at the scene.  The boy and the 89-year-old driver of the Blazer were removed from their vehicles by the Jaws of Life and taken to Waupun Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.  The crash remains under investigation by the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department Crash Investigation Team in cooperation with the Waupun Police Department. 

Possible Homicide Charges in Child’s Death

12/27/10 - Chloe Gessner, an 18-month-old who was severely injured in an alleged child abuse incident died last Thursday. The incident occurred on Tuesday shortly after 9:30am when a 911 call was placed from a home in the Fond du Lac area claiming a child had fallen down the stairs. Bail was set at $200,000 for Tyler Jackson, the man who was arrested in connection with that case. The District Attorney’s office says they were waiting to file a criminal complaint against Jackson until the condition of the child was known. Jackson was originally facing charges of child abuse recklessly causing great bodily harm, but could now be facing homicide charges since the child has passed away.

Fire Still Under Investigation

12/27/10 - Officials are still trying to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed one-side of a duplex Thursday night in Columbus. It happened on Ridgeview Lane around 7:30 p-m. Fire Chief Randy Koehn says a passerby reported the fire, and when they arrived on scene the rear of the home was fully engulfed. No one was home at the time, and the damage was limited to only one side of the structure. Amy Jo Vesperman and her two teenage children occupied the damaged side, and the Red Cross was called into help with temporary housing. Vesperman’s parents own the duplex.

Car Strikes Propane Tank

12/27/10 - Authorities say a car nearly hit a house after leaving the roadway late yesterday morning north of Waupun. Instead the car, traveling on Highway 26, hit a propane tank next to the home. Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s officials say firefighters on scene were able to cap the tank and no one was injured. The call came in just before noon.

Non-Candidacy Papers Due Today

12/27/10 - Today is the final day for incumbents to file non-candidacy papers for the spring election. That means people that are currently holding an office have to inform election officials if they don’t intend on running again. A second deadline comes next week on January 4th when those planning to run must file their nomination papers with their local office. Among the races to be held in April include, city council, school board and county board. There is also a strong possibility of a statewide primary in February for Supreme Court as four candidates have already filed papers to take on incumbent David Prosser. A number of school referendums are possible but we won’t know about those for sure until sometime after the new year.

Fitzgeralds Ready to Lead

12/27/10 - When the 100th Edition of the Wisconsin Legislature is sworn in next week, Wisconsin will have a unique situation where two brothers are in key leadership rolls. Representative Jeff Fitzgerald of the 39th Assembly District will become Speaker of the Assembly and his older brother Scott, who is the 13th Districts State Senator, will become Majority Leader. Scott Fitzgerald says that when it started to look like both he and his brothers could end up in their new positions, they weren't even sure it would be allowed to happen. Scott adds that he and his brother do have some similarities in their leadership abilities such as being consensus builders. The Fitzgerald's have been doing the rounds on the national media circuit talking about their unique situation. (KFIZ, FDL)

Business Not As Brisk on Day After Christmas

12/27/10 - Wisconsin shoppers returned to the stores yesterday to return Christmas gifts that didn’t fit, and to pick up things for themselves. Some stores had door-buster items up to 70-percent off. But some malls reported less than traffic than on the day after Christmas a year ago. That’s because of Sunday church services in the morning, and the Green Bay Packers’ game in the afternoon. The National Retail Federation says almost a-third of Americans return at least one gift. But even so, the group expects a three-point-three-percent increase in holiday sales from a year ago.

Expensive Leisure Products Being Bought Again

12/27/10 - People are buying expensive leisure products again, after they held back during the recession. A new report from Milwaukee’s Robert W. Baird-and-Company said motorcycle sales fell by half during the downturn, and A-T-V sales were just 30-percent of what they used to be. But Baird analyst Craig Kennison says many consumers now have a brighter outlook, in spite of high unemployment and a housing market that continues to be depressed. He said inventories for new leisure items are low, and there’s a strong demand for used goods. Kennison said Milwaukee’s Harley-Davidson slashed its production during the recession – and that drove up the prices for used bikes. But now, he says more folks are buying new Harleys with the help of trade-ins. And while it’s hard to prove, Kennison expects the same trend for cars, R-V’s, and other big-ticket items.

Some State Offices Closed Today and this Week

12/27/10 - If you need to do business with the state government this week, you might want to call ahead to see if they’re open. All state offices are closed on Friday for the New Year’s holiday. But a couple agencies will close today, so workers can take one of their eight unpaid furlough days during the current fiscal year. The Department of Financial Institutions is closed today. The D-N-R’s walk-in service centers are closed, but its call-center remains open. The public defender’s offices in Appleton and Waukesha are closed. All other state offices are open today. There’s one closure on Thursday. The public defender’s Peshtigo office will be shut down that day.

Retiree Helping People Get Money Back from the State

12/27/10 - A southern Wisconsin man has found something unique to do in his retirement – help people get their unclaimed property from the State Treasurer’s office. 72-year-old Jay Wells of Lodi (low-die) figured he had to do something besides watching T-V. So he went on the treasurer’s Web site one day, to see if the state was holding onto investments he might have forgotten about. Wells didn’t see his name, but he did see some of his friends – and he helped them get back what they lost. After that, Wells reached out to people he didn’t know. He found one woman who had three-thousand-dollars coming. And she was so excited to hear from Wells, she could hug him. Wells says he’d rather see the people have their money instead of the government.