Top Stories July 15th

Evidence In Armed Robbery Delivered To Crime Lab

7/15/11 - Evidence collected at the scene of the Beaver Dam Shell Travel Mart armed robbery on Wednesday is being examined at the State Crime Lab. While authorities are not commenting on every aspect of the investigation, we do know authorities recovered a black and grey-striped hooded sweatshirt and a handgun near the crime scene. Detective Ryan Klavekoske says it’s not known how the long the process will take to lift clues from the items recovered. The suspect remains at large.

Dan Wiard Accused of Burglarizing Danny Boys Tavern

7/15/11 - A man who had only lived in Horicon for one week is accused of burglarizing a tavern in the city over the Fourth of July weekend. Police arrested Daniel Wiard on charges of domestic battery during the early morning hours of July 3 and en route to the jail, arresting officers got word that Danny Boy’s Tavern in Horicon had been burglarized. The next day investigators reviewed video footage from that night and the bartender identified the suspect as a guy named “Dan” who was new to town. Police executed a search warrant at his residence and recovered $2600 in small bills and a Brewers Jersey that had been on a wall in the establishment. According to the criminal complaint, the 30-year-old waited in the women’s bathroom until everyone left for the night, loaded-up a garbage can full of items from the bar, dragged the garbage can home on his bike, and then dumped the garbage can full of stolen items out in his living room. That sparked a fight with his mother that resulted in his arrest on the domestic abuse charges. When questioned in jail about the break-in, Wiard reportedly said (quote) “I’m guilty of [burglarizing] whatever the bar’s name is and I’m willing to do my time.” The former North Dakota man is being held on a $10,000 cash bond. During a preliminary hearing Thursday, a Dodge County judge found probable cause and Wiard was bound over for trial on charges of Felony burglary and Theft and misdemeanor Criminal Damage To Property. If convicted, those alone charges carry a maximum prison sentence of over 15 years.

$100K Bond Set For Woman Accused Of Killing Kid

7/15/11 - A 100-thousand-dollar cash bond was set today for a Madison woman accused of recklessly killing her toddler, because he ate candy-coated gum after she told him not to. 22-year-old Maria Castillo-Dominguez made her first court appearance in Dane County on a charge of first-degree reckless homicide. Three-year-old Luis died two weeks ago from head injuries. Prosecutors said Castillo-Dominguez got upset and threw her boy against a wall in her apartment after he disobeyed her and ate some Chiclets. Police also quoted the defendant as saying she hit her son in the face, after she ordered him to get undressed to take a bath. Police said the boy vomited after the bath, and his father took him to a Madison hospital where he died. Castillo-Dominguez is due back in court July 20th, when a judge will decide if there’s enough evidence to order a trial.

Fond du Lac Officer Involved With Gunman’s Girlfriend

7/15/11 - There has been another development in the shooting spree in March that killed one Fond du Lac police officer and injured another. Fond du Lac Police Officer Jay Salzmann resigned in May – after an investigation showed that he had a past relationship with the girlfriend of the man who shot the officers. Salzmann reportedly used to date Josephine Werner. She was James Cruckson’s girlfriend and on March 20 she called police to report a sexual assault. That’s when the 30-year-old Cruckson opened fire, killing Officer Craig Birkholz before turning the gun on himself. Neither Werner nor Officer Salzmann have commented on the situation. Deputy Police Chief Kevin Lemke says Salzmann was put on administrative leave from March 20th to May first, when he quit. Lemke says there was no indication that Cruckson’s actions had anything to do with the relationship Salzmann previously had with Cruckson’s girlfriend. The Oshkosh Police Department did the investigation because of the internal police ties in Fond du Lac.

Horicon Contracts with DC Sheriff’s Department

7/15/11 - Dodge County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Trace Frost will act as the head of the Horicon Police Department following the resignation of acting Police Chief Adrian Bump. On a 4-1 vote the city council approved contracting with the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department until Chief Joe Adamson returns from military duty this fall. Officials estimate that Frost will spend about 20-hours a week in the city at a cost of $50-per hour. About $10,000 will be transferred from the fund that paid Bump’s salary into an administration fund that will pay for Frost’s wages, benefits and the use of the county’s squad car. Adamson has been on leave from the department for more than two-years while serving as provost marshal for the Wisconsin National Guard in Madison.

Columbus Man Arrested Following Drug Investigation

7/15/11 - A Columbus man was arrested this week following a six-week drug investigation. Columbus Police Lieutenant Dennis Weiner says officers executed a search warrant on Tuesday at the West Mill Street residence of 20-year-old Taylor Francis. Authorities say they seized marijuana, cash and an electronic scale along with other drug paraphernalia. Charges of maintaining a drug dwelling, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia have been forwarded to the Columbia County District Attorney. Francis is currently being held on a probation violation.

BD Man Bound Over For High Speed Chase

7/15/11 - Probable cause was found Thursday for a Beaver Dam man to proceed to trial on charges that he sparked a high speed chase the ended with him crashing his vehicle. 23-year-old Anthony Sanders was arrested last month in the town of Herman after authorities say they clocked him driving 30 miles over the speed limit on Highway 67. The subsequent pursuit allegedly reached speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour down Highway 67 before Sanders lost control on Madison Road and put the car in a ditch. If convicted, the charge carries a maximum prison sentence of three-and-a-half years. Sanders has court activity on the calendar again next month.

Teens Arrested In Fourth of July Vandalism

7/15/11 - Authorities in Waupun say five teens have admitted their involvement in a series of vandalism incidents that occurred during the city’s Fourth of July fireworks celebration. Deputy Police Chief Mindy Hendricks says three 14-year-olds and two 15-year-olds used black and orange spray paint to write on seven vehicles, a white picket fence, and a wooden bridge at Harris Mill Park. Hendricks says with the help of the community, and an anonymous tip, officers were able to obtain information that led to the arrests. All five teens will be referred to juvenile authorities on several counts of vandalism and being a party to the crime of vandalism.

New Budget Forces Agencies to Show How They Spend Tax Dollars

7/15/11 - Wisconsinites will soon get to learn more about how the state government spends their tax money. The new state budget requires agencies to post all expenses of over 100-dollars to a Web site. The information must include the agency that made the purchase, who the seller was, and the amount of the payment. Assembly G-O-P Finance co-chair Robin Vos proposed it. He said colleagues of both parties supported the idea, to help people decide for themselves whether state spending is worthwhile. The Walker administration has put some limited information from agencies on-line. Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch says there’s not a deadline to get all the information up – but he says it’s a priority.

Heat Wave to Hit Beginning this Weekend

7/15/11 - Another heat wave is scheduled to hit Wisconsin this weekend – and race organizers are trying to avoid what happened in Milwaukee last Sunday. About two dozen runners were hospitalized after water supplies ran out early in the course at the Summerfest Rock-N-Sole race. And with temperatures climbing to the 90’s Sunday in most of Wisconsin, race organizers in Racine and Door County say they’re not taking any chances. The Racine Ironman event has ordered five-pounds of ice for each of the two-thousand participants. The Door County Triathlon has doubled its normal water supplies for the running course. Sprinklers and extra ice are also being added to the route. Experts say runners need to make sure they’re ready by drinking up to 24 ounces of water and sports drinks before race – and they’ll probably need at least a quart while they’re on the course to make up for the fluids they lose when they sweat. Athletes are also reminded to take more sodium to be ready for hot-weather events.

Columbus School Board Reviews Early Budget Numbers

7/15/11 - During their inaugural meeting in the City Hall Council Chambers, Columbus School Board members heard an updated report on the 2011 - 2012 projected budget this week. Now that State Budget and DPI aid estimates are available, Columbus Schools’ budget office has offered preliminary figures on what the School Tax picture will look like in December. District Finance Director Nancy Liverseed told the Board the school tax levy is likely to increase $109 thousand dollars over last year’s total…that’s a much lower increase than the $685 thousand in 2010 -2011. Estimated figures indicate that the school tax mil rate will increase from $10.27 per thousand in 2010 to $10.65 in 2011. Those projections won’t be confirmed until the State issues the October property value information.

Evers Confident of Union Support In School Assessment Plan

7/15/11 - State School Superintendent Tony Evers says he believes the state’s largest teachers’ union will eventually support the major changes he and the governor are now talking about. Evers says there’s a certain urgency to get something done – because his agency plans to ask for a waiver this fall from the federal No Child Left Behind Act. He says the state will ask to be excused from certain regulations in the national school performance law – in exchange for coming up with own system to assess public schools and deal with low-performing facilities. Evers and Republican Governor Scott Walker have said there’s a general need for a number of basic changes. They include a new state achievement test, an early reading test for kindergarteners, a new data system to track each student’s school performance and personal health, and a new system for evaluating educators. Evers said he would also like to add notations to high school diplomas which reflect things like industrial certifications. He said it would more accurately represent what a student knows.

High Court Split Again On Educational Issue

7/15/11 - In another divided 4-to-3 vote, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled today that public schools do not have to provide an education to youngsters while they’re expelled. The Madison School District pressed the issue, after a circuit judge told school officials to provide an alternative education to a high school freshman who was expelled. The teen was expelled for up to three semesters, after he was caught trying to sell up to nine bags of marijuana at Madison East High in 2009. Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Flanagan said the district followed the proper procedures in expelling the teen – but he said it was still the school district’s responsibility to keep teaching him. They did so, but they still the challenged the order, saying the judge acted outside his authority. An appellate court agreed with the school district, and so did the Supreme Court today on a familiar, ideological 4-3 split. The conservative wing of David Prosser, Annette Ziegler, Michael Gableman, and Pat Roggensack sided with the school district. Justices Ann Walsh Bradley, Patrick Crooks, and Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson sided with the youngster. Prosser said the majority believe that schools are not responsible for kids they expel. But Crooks said schools still have an obligation to teach delinquent children.