Top Stories June 30th

Gunpowder Leads To Severe Facial Injury

6/30/11 - A Horicon man suffered severe burns to his face in an accident involving gun powder Wednesday afternoon. According to the Dodge County Sheriffs Department, the mishap occurred at 1pm just outside Horicon on Swan Road near County Trunk E. The 31-year-old had apparently been attempting to ignite a small amount of gun powder that he had placed on the ground. While he was trying to light the gun powder with one hand, he was holding the can of gun powder in his other hand. A spark ignited the can of gun powder which exploded in his face. He sustained third degree burns but was conscious and alert when EMS personnel arrived on scene. He was transported to Beaver Dam Community Hospital and then flown to Madison by Flight For Life.

Nelson to be Sentenced Today

6/30/11 - Former New Holstein school superintendent Christopher Nelson, who also spent time as a school administrator in Beaver Dam and Randolph, will be sentenced this afternoon for trying to arrange sex with a teenager. The 59-year-old Nelson pleaded guilty a month ago to a Milwaukee County charge of using a computer to facilitate a sex crime. He admitted that he arranged sex while chatting with whom he thought was a 15-year-old boy on the Internet. The boy turned out to be a Milwaukee police detective. Nelson was arrested in January while in the city for a convention of school boards. He faces up to 25 years in prison. Meanwhile, Nelson still has five child pornography charges pending in his home county of Calumet. Nelson pleaded innocent in that case last month, and he’s due back in court July 18th. Authorities said he had pornographic images of children on some of his computer flash drives – and he reportedly had one of them in his possession when he was arrested in Milwaukee. His attorney recently said Nelson is seeking psychological treatment, and he’s trying to patch things up with his family. Nelson spent 20 years in the Randolph school district before moving to Beaver Dam in 1994 where he served as Assistant Principal until 2000.

Police Out In Full Force This Weekend

6/30/11 - If you’re hitting the road this Fourth-of-July weekend, you might want to buckle up and watch your speed. Wisconsin is taking part in a national enforcement project called “Summer Heat.” Starting Friday, officers from 150 law enforcement agencies in the Badger State will crack down on speeders and motorists who do not wear their seat belts. The Dodge County Sheriffs Department is among the agencies participating and Patrol Captain Molly Soblewski says the purpose is to reduce injuries and save lives. The D-O-T reminds people that law enforcement no longer needs to find another violation to stop you for not wearing a seat belt. The so-called “primary enforcement” has been in effect for two years. Last year’s Independence Day period was safer than normal. One motorist died in a Wisconsin crash during that time. Dodge County has had eight traffic fatalities this year, which is one less than all of last year.

Nutt Pleads ‘Not Guilty’ To Sexual Assault

6/30/11 - A Waupun man entered a “not guilty” plea at arraignment Wednesday to charges that he molested a pre-teen. Michael M. Nutt is charged with two felony counts of Sexual Assault of a Child Under the Age of 16 and, if convicted, could spend up to 80 years in prison. According to the criminal complaint, the 20-year-old Nutt would pick the victim up in his truck after sneaking out of her house. He first denied the claim to investigators but reportedly admitted to the incidents after further questioning and said he thought she was 15-years-old. Nutt has court activity on the calendar again in August.

Break-In Being Investigated

6/30/11 - Authorities are investigating a break-in at a town of Lomira business. It was reported just before 7pm last night at The Boat Doc on Columbia Drive. An employee told the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department that an unknown number of fish finders had been stolen sometime between Tuesday night and yesterday morning. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Department.

Public Employees Plan to Take Their Case to the Public

6/30/11 - Many of Wisconsin’s public employee groups promise to take their cases to the public instead of the negotiating table, now that they can no longer bargain for anything but wages. The state’s limits on collective bargaining took effect yesterday for all state employees, plus local-and-school workers without contract extensions. Rick Badger of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees says his 600 chapters around the state won’t be silent. He says they’ll express their concerns about working conditions at public meetings of the various government bodies they work for – even if they no longer decide to unionize. The new law requires unions to hold certification votes once-a-year, and a larger majority – 51-percent – will have to agree to keep the unions going. Badger says some of his local groups won’t even try to certify, but he says they’ll still be a strong voice for labor. Badger heads Council 40 of the government employees’ union. He says about four-thousand members are now without contracts – and nine-thousand more will lose their bargaining powers at the end of the year. Other local government and school extensions will expire in the next one-to-two years – and bargaining privileges continue until those contracts expire.

One Wisconsin Now Circulating Prosser Petition

6/30/11 - One Wisconsin Now is circulating a petition asking Supreme Court Justice David Prosser to resign. Another state Supreme Court Justice, Ann Walsh Bradley, has claimed Prosser put what she called a “choke hold” on her earlier this month. One Wisconsin Now says it was able to collect six thousand signatures in less than 24 hours. Prosser has denied the claims as the Wisconsin Judicial Commission investigates the incident.

Dem’s Have No Regrets Over Exodus

6/30/11 - Fourteen Wisconsin Senate Democrats maintain they were right to leave the state earlier this year in an attempt to block Governor Walker’s collective bargaining changes. They stayed in Illinois for nearly three weeks to block a vote on the bill – until Republicans in the Senate found a way to pass it without them being present. Even though Wisconsin Act 10 took effect Wednesday, state Senator Spencer Coggs of Milwaukee says there are no regrets about the decision to leave. He says it gave the public more time to understand what the bill meant and allowed citizens to make their voices heard. Senator Fred Risser says he expects the issue is far from settled.

UW Names Interim Chancellor

6/30/11 - U-W Madison announced Wednesday that its former chancellor will return to the post on an interim basis. David Ward will replace Biddy Martin on July 18th, as she leaves to become the new president of Amherst College in Massachusetts. His term will be for one year. Ward ran the Madison campus from 1993 until 2001, when he became the president of the American Council on Education. He served in that post until 2008. U-W System President Kevin Reilly said Ward will be involved in major budget decisions, as the campus faces a loss in state aid of well over 100-thousand dollars in the next two years. And Reilly said Ward would help implement the school’s new-found flexibility, as granted by lawmakers in the next state budget which takes effect on Friday. Reilly called Ward a “strategic thinker” who can help make the upcoming changes in ways that fit with Madison’s academic traditions. Board of Regents’ president Michael Spector said Ward has demonstrated he can do the job of chancellor well – and he understands the role of the flagship campus within the entire U-W System.

“Boat Landing Blitz” this Weekend

6/30/11 - Wisconsin game wardens will try to make sure that boaters don’t spread invasive species during the July Fourth weekend. This is the fourth straight year of the D-N-R’s “Boat Landing Blitz.” Wardens will join lake association members and aquatic experts to enforce regulations on almost 90 lakes during the holiday weekend. State rules require that boaters-and-anglers remove all aquatic animals-and-plants from their equipment. They must also drain the water from their boats before they leave. They cannot move live fish from one lake to another. And their bait must come from dealers in Wisconsin. Most of the rules were adopted after the fish-killing V-H-S virus was spotted a few years ago in Lakes Michigan and Winnebago. The D-N-R’s Web site has more information.

Columbus 4th of July Celebration Begins Today

6/30/11 - The Columbus Fourth of July Celebration gets underway today with music, rides and games at Fireman’s Park. They will continue through the weekend and then on Monday the 4th of July Parade kicks off at noon and you can listen to it live on WBEV. Alice Schmidt will serve as Parade Marshall as she celebrates her 80th birthday. The famous fireworks display will take place at dusk on Monday. The theme of this year’s event is “Celebrate History in Our Community”. For more information you can visit Columbus4thofjuly.net.