Top Stories, March 31st

Chamber of Commerce Hosts Candidates Forum

3/31/11 - At last night’s Chamber of Commerce Spring Election Forum, the candidates for Beaver Dam school board fielded a number of questions about their views on the governors planned budget and its effect locally.

Incumbent Joanne Tyjeski is an office manager at her family’s business and the mother of four children. Tyjeski, who also sits on the Negotiations Committee, says it has been a trying time but they have open and honest communication and a mutual respect that will allow them to move forward regardless of what the state decides.

Incumbent Lisa Panzer is a mother of two who works at John Deere and has served a board vice president for the past two years. Panzer says that because teacher contracts are the biggest part of the budget, the district should hold off on approval until the situation plays out in Madison while at the same time keeping the lines of communication open so they can work collaboratively once the final numbers are known.

Incumbent Kim Darst is a reading specialist in the Sun Prairie School District and has a child in the Beaver Dam school district. Darst blames the governors Budget Repair Bill for the loss of the states most experienced teachers to retirement and says it will also lead to a loss of local control for school boards around the state.

Challenger Mickale Carter is an attorney who has previous work experience as a middle and high school teacher. Carter was disappointed that the school board took no action against the teachers who took time off last month to protest in Madison and did not acknowledge the negative impact that it had on the community. The four Beaver Dam school board candidates are competing for three open seats.

Documents Say BDUSD Evaluations Neglected

3/31/11 - Newly released documents show that when Steve Vessey was the Beaver Dam School District’s Human Resources Director he told former Superintendent Don Childs that then-high school principal Don Patnode was failing to meet his requirements to evaluate teachers and that Childs (quote) “chose not to do anything about it.” But Childs said today that during Patnode’s first year at the high school he was the only administrator in the building and therefore evaluations were not done. And during the 2008-2009 school year evaluations were also not fully completed, and Childs says action was taken against Patnode but for legal reasons could not say what those actions were. Since the 2009-2010 school year evaluations have been done as required. The documents come in the form of pre-trial testimony taken in January as part of an open records lawsuit filed against the district. Patnode has since moved to the principal job at the Don Smith Learning Academy and will retire at the end of the year, while Childs is now the Superintendent in Waupun. Vessey took over as Superintendent in Beaver Dam last July and said of the evaluations in a text Tuesday night, (quote) “we resolved the issues regarding supervision and evaluation eight months ago, this is a dead issue, it’s time to move on.” The lawsuit filed on behalf of Cheryl Grulke remains open as her lawyers go through the thousands of pages of documents produced by the district.

Walker Announces Revised Budget Plan

3/31/11- Governor Scott Walker announced his revised plan Wednesday to balance the current state budget. His original budget repair bill would have eliminated a 137-million dollar deficit in the spending package that expires June 30th. But only 38-and-a-half million was covered when G-O-P lawmakers approved a virtual end to public employee union bargaining which is now tied up in the courts. As expected, the Republican Walker would refinance 165-million in state debt. That would generate millions now – and another 79-million dollars would be saved with various spending cuts and efficiencies. There are also some added expenses. Federal funds instead of state money would be used to provide 37-million-dollars for the earned income tax credit for the working poor. Medicaid programs would get 176-and-a-half million dollars more to avoid cuts in benefits. And 22-million would be spent for cost over-runs at state prisons. Walker says his bill would let the state finish the current budget in the black, without middle-class tax increases. Lawmakers are expected to consider the package when they return to session next week.

Unemployment Up Across The Board

3/31/11 - The unemployment rate in the area is back above nine percent as all but one county in the state saw increases last month. According to the Department of Workforce Development, the jobless rate in Dodge County in February edged up four-tenths of a percent from January to 9.1%. Last year at the same time it was 11.5%. Columbia County notched up two-tenths to 9% even while Jefferson County went up a half percent to 9.6%. Green Lake County is in double digits again at 10.5%, though that is three full percentage points lower than February of 2010. Unemployment in Washington County grew by a half point over the two month period to 8.2%. Fond du Lac County is also up to 8.3%. Dane County continues to have the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 5.5%. Door County has the highest rate at 13.9%, followed closely by Menominee and Rusk counties. Statewide, the jobless rate is at 8.5%, down almost two full points from a year ago. Nationwide, unemployment is down one-tenth to 8.9%. Officials say it’s not unusual for the rates to go up in February, as more job-seekers resume their searches for work. Those who stop looking for jobs are not counted in the state-and-local rates. Meanwhile, only four of Wisconsin’s 12 metro areas lost jobs from January-to-February. The Madison area created the most jobs last month on a seasonally-adjusted basis – around 14-hundred, or over a quarter of the statewide total of 52-hundred. Wausau created the next-highest number of jobs with 700 during the month starting in mid-January. Green Bay was next with 400 jobs created. The only areas with net job losses were Milwaukee with 300 – Oshkosh and Racine with 200 each – and Janesville with 100 jobs lost.

OSHA Fines Jefferson Plant $45K

3/31/11 - Federal workplace safety officials have recommended 45-thousand-dollars in fines for 10 violations at the Tyson Foods’ plant in Jefferson. The U-S Occupational Safety-and-Health Administration issued citations after an inspection of the plant last October. OSHA said the violations included inadequacies in the plant’s respiratory program, a lack of protections against falls, and a lack of maintenance on its industrial vehicles. The firm has two weeks to respond to OSHA.

Columbus Hosts Business Luncheon

3/31/11 - Nine Columbus businesses received awards at Tuesday’s 2010 Business of the Year Luncheon. A new “energy sustainability” category was added to the awards this year. Columbus Family Dental won that honor. Other winners included Wisconsin Pottery in the craft category, Redbud Day Care Center as a service provider, Napoli Restaurant as the downtown business and Secret Garden Floral as the top front window display retailer. The newest winner was “Sweet Cake Design” custom bakery. The fastest growing business was Discount Office Supplies dot com. G.D Roberts / Fisk Tank Carriers was recognized in the manufacturing category for their expansion into the former Maysteel Building.

Lambeau Roundabouts Scrapped

3/31/11 - Most Packer fans won’t have to deal with roundabouts when they go to-and-from Lambeau Field. The state D-O-T has scrapped plans to put the round traffic regulators at the Lombardi and Oneida Street exits as part of a major re-building of the Highway 41 expressway. Traffic signals will go there instead. Up to 28 roundabouts were considered for the Brown County portion of the 937-million-dollar improvements. Project manager Kris Schuller said there’s been strong support for roundabouts at other locations. But officials concluded that traffic lights would be better for handling the high traffic volumes near the stadium and its major shopping complex – even though the lights would be more expensive. A couple years ago, the Packers expressed opposition to the roundabouts. Critics said they might cause more accidents by fans drinking at the games. The Lombardi Avenue intersection won’t be re-done until late next year. The Oneida Street project begins is set for mid-2014.

DMV Closed Friday For Furloughs

3/31/11 - You won’t be able to take a driver’s test on April Fools’ Day. The state’s Division of Motor Vehicles will be closed Friday. Its employees will be taking one of the eight unpaid furlough days they’re supposed to have in the current fiscal year to help balance the state budget. The D-M-V’s automated phone line will be available for those who want to make appointments for road tests, and get other recorded information. Also, officials remind people that many D-M-V services are available at places like banks, grocery stores, and police stations – where they can register their vehicles, get titles, and more. Also, the state Corrections’ Department says it will have limited public services on Monday – and they’ll resume normal business hours on Tuesday.