Top Stories August 18th

Beaver Dam Teen Named Fairest

8/18/11 - Brianna Rhodes was named the Dodge County Fairest of the Fair last night. The 19-year-old from Beaver Dam was chosen from a panel of four contestants. Rhodes says she is very excited about her new role and was shocked that she was selected considering the other talented women she was competing against. She is currently studying to be a medical assistant at Moraine Park Technical College. Rhodes will celebrate her twentieth birthday on the final day of the Dodge County Fair.

Thompson Looking Like a Senate Candidate

8/18/11 - Former Governor Tommy Thompson took another big step toward a return to politics yesterday, when he announced two co-chairs for a possible U-S Senate campaign. The appointments of State Attorney General J-B Van Hollen and former Thompson aide Jim Klauser are the biggest sign yet that Thompson is serious about replacing the retiring Herb Kohl after next year. Klauser said a campaign committee would be formed after Labor Day. Thompson remains one of the state’s most popular Republican figures. But he’s getting criticism in some conservative circles for state spending increases during his 14 years as governor ending in 2000 – and his support for a version of a federal health care reform package that he later opposed. Thompson left public life in 2004 after serving four years as the nation’s health secretary. He’s held a number of business and lobbying posts ever since. A survey released yesterday by the Public Policy Polling firm gives Thompson a 47-to-39 percent lead over another possible G-O-P candidate – former Congressman Mark Neumann. Thompson ran briefly for president in 2008, and he has flirted with running for office several times in recent years. Other possible G-O-P Senate candidates are stat Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, state Senate Republican Frank Lasee of De Pere, and former state Senator Ted Kanavas of Brookfield. Possible Democratic hopefuls include U-S House members Tammy Baldwin of Madison and Ron Kind of La Crosse, and former House Democrat Steve Kagen of Appleton.

Dodge County Sticking With Shoreland Ordinance

8/18/11 - The Dodge County Board is not expected to delay implementation of the Shoreland Protection Ordinance. In June, the board approved the rule change which caps the amount of clearing allowed near shore and governs the size of buildings built on properties located near a waterway. The state had originally required municipalities to adopt the ordinance by early next year. That was until the Natural Resources Board voted to postpone the changes by two years. The county’s Planning, Development and Parks Committee discussed a date change this week but decided not to forward the matter to the full county board for consideration.

Garbage and Recycling Fees Likely Going Up in Fox Lake

8/18/11 - The Fox Lake Common Council says it can longer subsidize the cost for garbage and recycling pickup. During the Committee of the Whole meeting last night the council discussed increasing the charge that appears on a resident’s utility bill from $5-per month to $10-per month. Veolia Environmental charges the city just less than $10.50 each month per resident for pickup and Mayor Tom Bednarek says the city can no longer afford to pay more than 50-percent. The council is expected to vote on the change at their meeting next month.

Recall Election Turnout Higher Than Supreme Court

8/18/11 - More Wisconsinites voted in the state Senate recall elections than in the hard-fought Supreme Court contest in April. 41-percent of all voting-age adults took part in the recall votes. That was six-percent more than in the April Supreme Court race. The results of all nine Senate elections gave Democrats a slight edge in the total number of votes – 245-thousand to 239-thousand. And according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel elections’ analyst Craig Gilbert, Republicans in all nine Senate districts had less support than G-O-P candidates did last November in those same locations. That was when Republicans won the governor’s office and both houses of the state Legislature. Fond du Lac Republican Randy Hopper – one of two senators to be recalled – had nine-percent less support than his party did last November in his district. Other drop-offs in the G-O-P districts ranged six-tenths-of-one-percent in Rob Cowles’ Senate territory in the Green Bay to six-point-two-percent in Luther Olsen’s district in south central Wisconsin.

Mayville Teen Jailed For High Speed Chase

8/18/11 - A Mayville teen will spend 90 days in jail for leading authorities on a four-mile, high-speed car chase last month. Matthew Rogahn pleaded “no contest” to reduced misdemeanor charges of Fleeing, Obstructing and Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle. According to the criminal complaint, an officer attempted to stop the 17-year-old for an illegal muffler but he took off. Officers say Rogahn sped down Main Street at speeds in excess of 110-miles per hour. At one point, he passed a vehicle on the left that was about to make a left-hand turn. The officer was eventually able to stop Rogahn on Highway A-Y near McArthur Road. Rogahn told officers that he stopped because he realized that the officer had identified him and even if he had gotten away they’d eventually catch him. He said he fled because he didn’t have a valid license and didn’t want his passenger, who was also the owner of the car, to get in trouble for underage drinking. In addition to three months in jail with Huber privileges, Rogahn was also placed on probation for one year, ordered to perform 20 hours of community service and must write a letter of apology to the arresting officer.

Appeals Court Rejects EAA OWI Argument

8/18/11 - It was okay for a police officer to stop a suspected drunk driver on a roadway at the E-A-A’s Air-Venture Show in Oshkosh last year. A state appeals court Wednesday grounded Matthew Miller’s argument that the police had no business stopping him, because he was on private property. The 40-year-old Miller is from Fredonia. He claimed that he was stopped at a place that was not legally “held out to the public,” because you needed a pass to be there at three in the morning. But the appellate court said the road was sufficiently held out to the public. The judges said the E-A-A opened the facility to thousands who bought passes for the Air-Venture Show – and it did so without discrimination as far as who could buy those passes. Authorities said Miller was driving toward the E-A-A’s Warbirds area at a high rate of speed. He would not take a breath test, and he was later convicted on a traffic charge of refusing to be tested for possible intoxication. Miller was also charged with first-time O-W-I, but a prosecutor later had that charge dismissed.

Wheeler Police Chief Pleads Insanity

8/18/11 - The police chief of Wheeler in far western Wisconsin has pleaded insanity to 14 sex-related felony charges. 55-year-old Gary Wayerski of Menomonie is due back in Dunn County Circuit Court September ninth, when further proceedings will be scheduled. Authorities said Wayerski fondled two teenage boys, ages 16-and-17, after he arrested them in March for breaking into a church in Wheeler. Officials said he was mentoring the boys when he touched them, and showed them pornographic movies and computer images. Wayerski reportedly told investigators that a U-W Stout student entered his computer and viewed pornography – and he claimed the teenagers drank alcohol without his permission. He remained in custody at last word on a 35-thousand-dollar bond. His charges include child enticement, exposure, and sexual assault by a person who works with children, and letting minors view sexual activity.

Kids From Wisconsin Coming To Beaver Dam

8/18/11 - A group of the states finest young musicians will be putting on a show in Beaver Dam next week and the ensemble group of 33 performers features three kids from Dodge County. The Kids from Wisconsin are considered the official musical ambassadors of goodwill for the state. Their performances feature 20 singer and dancers and a 13-piece show band, all chosen from among the State’s most talented young adults. The local members include Mitchell Berg from Beaver Dam, Calvin Franke from Mayville and Daniel Hoeft from Juneau. The show will be held next Friday (8/26) at the Beaver Dam High School Auditorium. Tickets can be purchased at Rechek’s Food Pride or at the door and cost $15 for adults and $8 for students.