News for Sunday, October 2nd

Some Recalled Cantaloupes Sold At Wisconsin Aldi Stores

10/2/11 - State officials say cantaloupes shipped to Wisconsin that have been recalled because of a deadly listeria outbreak have been sold at Aldi supermarkets. According to the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the whole melons from Jensen Farms in Colorado, sold under the brand name Rocky Ford, were shipped to Aldi stores in Wisconsin between August 16 and September 13. According to the release, the stores removed the melons and issued a nationwide recall, however officials with the agency are concerned that people who might have purchased the melons before that date might still have them in their homes. The department is still determining whether other Wisconsin retail stores also received the cantaloupes. Officials say consumers who purchased Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupes at Aldi, or are unsure of where melons originated, should discard any remaining cantaloupes, even if they already ate some of the cantaloupes and did not become ill, because listeria has a long incubation period. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two elderly southeast Wisconsin residents were hospitalized last month after they were sickened by the same listeria strains involved in the deadliest food borne illness outbreak in more than a decade. In total, the tainted fruit has reportedly infected 84 people and been tied to 15 deaths. Listeria generally only sickens the elderly, pregnant women and others with compromised immune systems. Symptoms include fever and muscle aches, often with other gastrointestinal symptoms. Victims often become incapacitated and unable to speak. The cantaloupes might be labeled "Colorado Grown," "Distributed by Frontera Produce," "Jensenfarms.com" or "Sweet Rocky Fords." The federal Food and Drug Administration says not all of the recalled cantaloupes are labeled with a sticker.

Consumers with questions may contact Jensen Farms via email at recall@rfordcantaloupe.com or phone (800) 267-4561 Monday through Friday between 10am and 5pm Central time.

Church Holding Another Collection For Liberia on Saturday

10/2/11 - A local church is collecting a variety of items to send overseas to an impoverished West African country. Liberia is an English-speaking nation that is in the process of recovering from a bloody civil war. Pastor Mark Molldrem of the First Lutheran Church of Beaver Dam says their relationship with Liberia began in 2006 when a parishioner was stationed there as part of a UN peacekeeping force during their first democratic elections. Molldrem says the civil war was devastating and they need a lot of help in rebuilding their country. The church is collecting school supplies, including reading books, encyclopedias, globes, computers in addition things like office and sports equipment even good condition twin beds and box springs. They are also looking for good-condition bicycles and tricycles. The items will be sent over in a cargo container later this year. They are being collected in the parking lot of the former Breuer Metal factory on North Spring Street in Beaver Dam this coming Saturday, October 8 and again on October 22, from 10am until noon.

Beaver Dam Leaf Pick-Up Begins Monday

10/2/11 - Leaf pick-up in Beaver Dam begins tomorrow (10/3). Director of Facilities David Stoiser says leaves -- along with lawn grass rakings resulting from leaf gathering, garden vines and stalks – may be placed in the terrace areas of the street edge in loose piles for collection by the Department of Public Works. Collection will continue through late November. Stoiser says yard waste cannot be placed in the street or gutter, or in any containers. Leaves, rakings and garden debris cannot be mixed with other forms of waste like brush or shrubbery cuttings. Stoiser says fruits, nuts and vegetables are not acceptable and should be disposed of as garbage. Beaver Dam’s Yard Waste Drop-Off site is located at 640 South Center Street. No waste of any kind will be allowed from outside the city.

Columbus Firefighters Hosting Pancake Breakfast Today

10/2/11 - In between all the Wisconsin sports this weekend there is a Sunday morning event Columbus Firefighters look forward to all year around. The event is more than a pancake breakfast…it is a family celebration that kicks off Fire Prevention Week. Columbus area families come down to the Ludington Street Fire Station and visit the fire trucks, safety education displays, fun & games for the kids, raffle items and baked goods on sale. The annual event will be open from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm. The Pancake Breakfast, with all the trimmings, will be held at the Station…right behind the huge Flag suspended from the aerial truck. Proceeds from the sales will go the Columbus Fire Departments Equipment Fund.

Kennedy To Hold Listening Session on Tuesday

10/2/11 - Beaver Dam Mayor Tom Kennedy has listening sessions scheduled for Tuesday. Kennedy says city residents are invited to meet with him, one-on-one, without appointment on the first and third Tuesday of every month. He says it is important that constituents have the opportunity to speak with him the day after each regular meeting of the common council. The meetings are held in Room 109 on the first floor of City Hall from 10am until noon and again from 5pm to 6pm. Kennedy also makes himself available for private meetings by appointment by contacting the mayor office.

Wisconsin Ag Officials Sign-On With Taiwan

10/2/11 - Wisconsin has added its name to a mega-deal in which Taiwan will buy billions-of-dollars worth of corn-and-soybeans over the next two years. Governor Scott Walker and a delegation of Taiwanese officials signed letters-of-intent for the massive commodity purchase in Madison this week. Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, and Virginia are also taking part. Taiwan’s Vegetable Oil Manufacturers Association plans to buy anywhere from 103 million to 110 million bushels of soybeans in 2012-and-’13 – at a total cost of up to one-and-three-quarter billion dollars. Also, Taiwan’s Feed Industry Association will get 303 million to 413 million bushels of corn in the same period – plus up to three-quarter-million bushels of corn by-products. The total price for that is up to three-point-four billion dollars. State agriculture officials say each state’s share of the deal is yet to be determined.

Homeowners Could Escape Scrutiny For Intruder Killing

10/2/11 - It would be easier for Wisconsin homeowners to protect themselves from intruders under a bill endorsed by the Assembly’s Judiciary Committee. The measure now goes to the full Assembly. Homeowners would no longer have to prove their lives were threatened if they kill intruders in self-defense – and the protection would also apply to a victim’s vehicle or business. The National Rifle Association and state law enforcement agencies have strongly supported the bill, after G-O-P Senator Van Wangaard of Racine introduced it earlier this year. But before the measure was endorsed this week, lawmakers debated the legal definition of a dwelling that would be covered. West Allis Democrat Tony Staskunas wanted to know if the boundaries would include the municipal sidewalk in front of a house. Others said it’s a question the courts would have to decide. Sun Prairie Democrat Gary Hebl said there would be few such cases, and he called the bill a solution in search of a problem. But an example of a case that might apply happened on August 27th in Waukesha County, when Mike Fitzsimmons shot-and-killed a 39-year-old intruder at his house in Okauchee. At last word, prosecutors were still considering possible charges. The State Bar opposes the bill, saying it would create a legal presumption in favor of a murderer. When Wangaard introduced the measure, he said homeowners are often reluctant to act against intruders for fear of legal punishment.

Immigration Sweep Nets 34 Arrests

10/2/11 - Thirty-four people have been arrested this week in southeast Wisconsin as part of a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigrants. The Immigration-and-Customs Enforcement agency said 29-hundred people were apprehended in a seven-day effort to deport illegal immigrants with criminal records. Officials said all 34 Wisconsin arrests were men from Mexico. One of those picked up was a 23-year-old Mexican citizen from Burlington who was convicted twice for burglary, and once for resisting police. Arrests also took place in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Hartland, Mukwonago, Racine, Union Grove, Sturtevant, Benet Lake, Genoa City, Delavan, Darien, Lake Geneva, Elkhorn, and Richfield.

Convenience Stores Question Credit Card Fee

10/2/11 - A new federal law that’s supposed to help consumers might not achieve that goal. That’s what experts say about a decrease in the fees that banks get from stores whenever you shop with a debit-or-credit card. David Ring of Kwik Trip says his Wisconsin convenience store chain is not happy – because the Federal Reserve had originally talked about lower fees than what has been impose. But Val Glytas of Associated Bank in Green Bay says they’ll only break even with the new fees – and they would have lost money under the original proposal. Either way, banking industry experts predict higher charges for other services like checking accounts to make up for the income lost from the new fees. Chase has already said it would reduce its reward programs for debit cards. Before Saturday, gas stations and other retailers pay banks an average of 44-cents for each of their credit card transactions. The Federal Reserve is now imposing a limit of 21-cents – although banks can charge 24-cents in some cases. Congress gave the Fed the authority to set the amount. They proposed 12-cents per transaction, but the banks said it wasn’t enough. Ring said Kwik Trip could have lived with 12-cents. He said an earlier Federal Reserve study showed that it only cost four-cents for a bank to complete a debit card transaction.

Verona Woman Promoted To Major General

10/2/11 - An Army Veteran from Wisconsin has been promoted to major general at a ceremony at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Marcia Anderson becomes the first African-American woman given a second star as a general in the U.S. Army. Anderson lives in Verona when she isn’t on active duty. Her military career started almost by accident. She says she signed up for ROTC while she was a student at Creighton University because she was told the military science course would fill her science requirement for graduation. She says she thinks training soldiers is the best job in the Army. General Anderson says her promotion validates the work of everyone who came before her – including her father, Rudy Mahan, of Beloit.