Top Stories, March 30th

Beaver Dam Aldermanic Candidates on WBEV

3/30/11 - Beaver Dam Ward Five Aldermanic candidate Mick Fischer told us on WBEV’s Community Comment yesterday that there should have been a referendum to gauge public support before the council approved the new police station. Incumbent Alderman Aaron Onsrud says the public was heavily involved in the process and elected officials are ultimately accountable to the taxpayer in making such decisions. Both candidates agree the project was needed. Both candidates also support the proposed location for a possible new senior center. Onsrud says the city should heavily support fundraising efforts for any new facility. Fischer says the council should wait a couple years before even considering financial support.

Local Republicans Support Prosser

3/30/111 - Two prominent Dodge County Republicans have thrown their support behind State Supreme Court Justice David Prosser. Sheriff Todd Nehls and District Attorney Kurt Klomberg are among the over 70 sheriff’s and DA’s endorsing Prosser. His challenger, Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg has picked up the endorsement of the Madison Professional Police Officers Association, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. We’ll air recent interviews we had with both candidates on WBEV’s Community Comment this afternoon beginning at 12:35pm.

Jeff Fitzgerald On Community Comment This Friday

3/30/11 - Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald will be on Community Comment this Friday at 12:35pm. The Republican from Horicon will join us for the hour to discuss the state’s fiscal situation and the planned restrictions on public unions. At 2pm we’ll be hearing from local union representatives about the pending legislative action that would take away many of their collective bargaining rights. Following that discussion, we’ll air our pre-recorded conversation with the four Beaver Dam school board candidates that are competing for three open seats in the April election. Community Comment airs weekdays on 1430AM.

Chamber Hosts Candidates Forum Tonight

3/30/11 - The Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce is hosting their annual Spring Election Candidates Forum tonight. Among those planning on being in attendance: the four candidates seeking three open seats on the Beaver Dam School Board. That includes incumbents Kimberly Darst, Lisa Panzer, Joanne Tyjeski and challenger Michale Carter. Beaver Dam Ward 5 incumbent Alderman Aaron Onsrud is confirmed for tonight along with his challenger, former alderman Mick Fischer. Also on hand: the candidates running for Beaver Dam Town Board Supervisor, Dean Hughes and Jeff Schmidt. Each candidate will be given an opportunity to make opening and closing statements, as well as answer questions from the media and the public. Candidates in uncontested races have also been invited to attend. The Candidates Forum is free and open to the public. It will be held at the Beaver Dam Veterans Center on Beichl Avenue from 7pm to 8:30pm. The moderator is our own John Moser. The forum will be broadcast live tonight on WBEV 1430AM and rebroadcast this Saturday at 10:40am.

Burnt Vehicle Connected To Madison Disappearance

3/30/11 - Columbia County authorities say a body found in a burnt-out car Monday morning near Columbus belonged to a person who has been missing from the Madison area since December. Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said that the car is registered to Joseph Sjoberg. However, the identity of the person in the car has not been confirmed and the cause of death remains unknown. Police are also trying to determine the cause of the fire. DeSpain says there are no apparent signs of foul play. The vehicle was found at a rural property off Highway 60 near Highway 16. Sheriff Dennis Richards says the car had been there for quite some time.

Employee Enters Into Deferred Prosecution For Thefts

3/30/11 - A Beaver Dam woman entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement Tuesday to charges that she stole thousands of dollars from a former employer. Mary A. Frechette pled to felony Theft for stealing $4600 from a Beaver Dam Kwik Trip. According to the criminal complaint, the 44-year-old falsified cigarette refunds and pocketing the money. Management discovered the shortfall with inventory software and then reviewed video surveillance before connecting it to Frechette. As part of the agreement, she will have the charges dismissed if she stays out of trouble for a year.

Guard Pleads To Misdemeanor Battery

3/30/11 - A Waupun man who assaulted an inmate while working at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun will be sentenced tomorrow. Driftten Kitzman entered an Alford Plea and was found guilty of misdemeanor Battery and had two felony charges dismissed. As part of an Alford Plea, a defendant admits there is sufficient evidence to be found guilty but does not admit to the act. According to the criminal complaint, another guard punched the inmate in the mouth and Kitzman intervened as the two struggled. Kitzman threw the inmate on the ground face first, kneeled on his head and punched him in the ribs while saying, “Stop resisting.” The 42-year-old correctional officer told investigators he was using tactics intended to gain compliance.

Columbus HS Principal Search Narrowed

3/30/11 - Columbus Schools have narrowed the search for a new High School Principal down to three candidates. Remaining candidates Brian Seguin from Portage and Jeff Mastin from Oakfield Schools were interviewed last Wednesday. The third candidate, Stephanie Phernetton from Racine, was unable to travel to Columbus because of medical precautions due to a pregnancy. The third candidate is likely to be interviewed using computer conferencing technology next week. The naming of the next Principal for Columbus High could come by mid-April.

Columbus School Receive National Recognition

3/30/11 - Columbus Schools has received National recognition by being placed on the Advanced Placement Achievement List. Columbus was one of 388 Districts in the U.S. and one of 20 in Wisconsin to be recognized. Columbus ranks towards the top of Districts who get students to take A.P. Tests and get good grades. College-level Advanced Placement courses often give students greater confidence to succeed and lead to higher performance in college course work.

Budget Eliminates Outside Contractor Study Requirements

3/30/11 - Governor Scott Walker’s proposed state budget would end the requirement to study the costs-and-benefits of getting outside contractors for state work. Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch discussed the measure Tuesday, as the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee started five days of briefings on Walker’s spending package for the next two years. The cost-and-benefit studies were adopted after reports that the former Doyle administration was outsourcing work that state employees could do for less. The current law says agencies must determine the costs-and-benefits of out-sourcing projects that cost at least 25-thousand dollars. Huebsch said the law was too cumbersome – and it required an analysis for projects that state employees couldn’t do anyway. Former Governor Jim Doyle also tried to do away with the cost-comparisons in his 2009 budget – but lawmakers left it in.

Huebsch Appears Before Joint Finance

3/30/11 - The head of Governor Scott Walker’s administration is defending some of his boss’s most controversial budget items today. Mike Huebsch spoke up to lawmakers in favor of the plan to dump community recycling grants, and to separate U-W Madison from the rest of the university system. His comments came during a hearing by the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, which is starting the long process of rewriting Walker’s budget package for the next two years. Huebsch said most communities would either pay on their own to continue recycling – or else private companies would provide the service. Huebsch also said the governor considered letting other U-W campuses have the autonomy he’s seeking for Madison – but Walker concluded that other schools were not as prepared for the change as Madison. Chancellor Biddy Martin has been working for a year on the plan, which would free the school from the state’s bureaucratic personnel-and-spending rules, and let the campus set its own tuition. Last week, all the other U-W chancellors expressed support for a plan to give them such autonomy as well.

Illinois Businesses Migrating North

3/30/11 - Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch tells the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee a better tax climate is drawing businesses from Illinois to Wisconsin. Huebsch was giving testimony on the Governor Walker’s proposed budget. Among the businesses mentioned, Rockton, Illinois-based Fat Wallet, which will bring at least 50 jobs to Beloit, and Crystal Lake, Illinois-based Catalyst Exhibits, moving to Pleasant Prairie with 105 positions. The Secretary of Administration noted Wisconsin added over 10,000 jobs in January and the Job Centers of Wisconsin website currently lists 26,000 open positions. He attributed Walker’s “innovative” polices passed during a special legislative session.

Petition Drives Reach Halfway Point

3/30/11 - Petition drives are around the halfway point to force recall elections against 16 Wisconsin senators. And some petitioners say it’s getting tough to find people to sign as the 60-day time limit drags on. U-W Green Bay professor Michael Kraft says the longer a petition drive goes on, the harder it is to keep volunteers and potential signers motivated. Therefore, Kraft says it’s important to have most signatures in the can by the time the 30-day mark comes around. Wisconsin recall elections require petition signatures from 25-percent of those who voted in the last election for governor. That’s a high standard. And as a result, some observers say only about half of the 16 targeted senators will actually face recall votes this summer or fall. Petition deadlines are in the last week of April for most of the eight Democrats who are targeted. The deadline is May 2nd to file signatures for all eight Republicans whom people are trying to recall. The G-O-P lawmakers are being criticized for their votes in favor of the union bargaining restrictions. The Democrats are targeted for being away from the Capitol for three weeks and holding up a vote on the union package. As of earlier today, two of the recall groups have filed campaign reports. The group hoping to recall Senate Democrat Bob Wirch of Kenosha County has raised almost 11-thousand dollars. And the group to recall Senate Democrat Dave Hansen of Green Bay raised 11-hundred. But political parties and special interest groups seem to be doing most of the heavy fund-raising. State Democrats say they’ve raised one-point-one million dollars. Their goal is to gain at least three seats this year, and win back the majority in the Senate.