Top Stories October 25th

Nehls Targeting OWI Violators

10/25/11 - The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department is considering a new website to alert people to repeat drunk drivers who violate their terms of their bonds. That’s after a 57-year-old Fox Lake man allegedly kept driving to-and-from his favorite bars in violation of a bond for his fourth O-W-I charge. Sheriff Todd Nehls says he wants to make the Fox Lake man an example. He says he wants to hear from anyone who may have served or witnessed Jeffrey Mahnke consume alcohol since his last OWI conviction last November. In fact, the sheriff says there are hundreds of people who are ordered to live within certain boundaries while their cases are being heard in the courts. And even though those limits are of public record, he says they quote, “continue to willfully disobey the courts” by defying orders not to drink-and-drive, use drugs, or engage in violent behavior. Nehls also says those who serve such people are exposing themselves to criminal charges.

Columbus Schools Tax Rate Going Up

10/25/11 - The Columbus School Board approved the 2011-2012 budget at last night’s annual meeting. State funding changes made earlier this year resulted in a $612,000 reduction in state aid to the district and a $420,000 savings due to increased employee contributions to health and retirement plans. The $12.2 million dollar budget will be $830,000 lower than last year. The levy will increase by $88,000 bringing the tax rate to $10.57, up by 30 cents per thousand from last year.

Tax Rate Down for WASD

10/25/11 - Waupun School District taxpayers will see a 2.3-percent decrease their mill rate from a year ago. The 2011-2012 budget approved last night leaves property owners with a tax rate of $10.48 per thousand dollars of value. That’s 24-cents lower than last year and 13-cents lower than last month, when voters approved a levy of $10.1-million. School officials say the decrease from last month can be traced to the district’s equalized value coming in more than expected and the district receiving more state aid than projected. The tax rate of $10.48 means the owner of a property worth $100,000 would pay $1,048 for the school portion of their tax bill. The total budget is about $20.59-million, which includes a cut in expenditures of nearly $1.4-million. That leaves the district with a deficit of about $650,000, which will be covered by fund balance.

Dodgeland Approves Budget

10/25/11 - The tax rate in the Dodgeland School District is down from last year. In approving the $9.13-million budget last night, the school board set a levy that will see the mill rate drop about 42-cents to $12.99 per thousand dollars of value. That means the owner of a property worth $100,000 would pay $1,299 for the school portion of their tax bill. The total budget is about $600,000 less than last year.

Furnace Installer Paying $5M for Fatal Sun Prairie Explosion

10/25/11 - A furnace installer has agreed to pay five-million-dollars to settle a lawsuit filed by the survivors of a fatal house explosion in Sun Prairie last November. 26-year-old Andrew Manley was killed in the blast. 27-year-old Steven Slack was paralyzed. And 27-year-old Lindsey Stephany was also hurt. All three lived in the house that was destroyed by the blast. Several neighboring homes also had damage. Investigators said it was caused by a gas leak from a furnace that was installed six days earlier in the Manley house. Madison lawyer Daniel Rottier tells the Wisconsin State Journal the settlement represented the maximum liability insurance carried by the furnace provider, Service Specialists of Dane County. He said his clients did not believe the settlement was enough to cover their losses – but they didn’t want to put the company out of business, either. Rottier said he asked the state Fire Marshal’s office to rule the explosion as an accident. Investigators had said they were not able to eliminate the possibility of either accidental or intentional human activity in the incident. The Justice Department, which oversees the fire marshal’s office, is not commenting on the request.

Harley Davidson Recall

10/25/11 - Milwaukee’s Harley-Davidson announced a recall Monday of over 308-thousand motorcycles to fix a switching problem that can cause brake lights to fail – and in some cases, the brakes themselves. The company said the recall involves Harley Touring, Trike, and C-V-O Touring bikes made from June of 2008 through September 16th. Harley said it would notify the affected owners about the problem. The recall affects a quarter-million bikes sold in the U-S, and over 50-thousand overseas. It involves a switch on a rear brake-light that could be exposed to excessive heat from the motorcycle’s exhaust system. Harley notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the problem, after a Trike motorcycle lost its rear brakes last year. It’s the only mishap the company’s aware of. Harley said excessive heat might cause the switch not to turn on the brake light – or to turn on the brake light even when a brake is not applied. Harley also said the problem could cause fluid to leak around brake light switch – and that could reduce the brakes’ performance. In any event, Harley says those conditions could cause a higher risk of an accident. Harley says dealers can install new brake light switches free of charge.

Beaver Dam Water, Sewer Fees Remain Stable

10/25/11 - There will be no increase in Beaver Dam’s water and sewer usage fees next year. Director of Utilities Don Quarford told the city’s Operations Committee last night that it could be a couple years before increases are needed. He says the city’s new $20 million dollar wastewater treatment plant is generating enough revenue to pay for debt service on the facility along with regular operations and maintenance. Quarford gave the update to the city’s Operations Committee last night in advance of the Administrative Committee’s budget meeting tonight.

Lake Days Doles Out $6K To Non-Profit Helpers

10/25/11 - The Beaver Dam Lake Days Steering Committee donated over $6000 to 26 different non-profit organizations this year. Manpower Committee Chair Diane Bell says it’s all part of the program that pays the groups that provide staff to work at the event. Each year, Lake Days has workers from various non-profits fill over 300, three-hour shifts over the course of five days, helping with everything from set-up and tear down to concessions and ticket sales. In the past five years, the Lake Days Committee has given $34,000 back to the community through the participating non-profits.

Fitzgerald Says Job Creation Should Be Top Priority

10/25/11 - Wisconsin’s Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau says a dismal employment forecast should get both parties to stop playing politics and start focusing on jobs. The state Revenue Department said Wisconsin would only add 136-thousand private sector jobs by 2014. That’s 43-thousand less than the Revenue Department’s last forecast in June. And it falls far short of Governor Scott Walker’s promise to create a quarter-million private-sector jobs by 2015. So far, the state had only added 29-thousand jobs since Walker took office – and at that pace, Wisconsin will fall 100-thousand jobs short of the governor’s goal by 2015. Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie said the Badger State needs to quote, “break through the wet blanket of the national economy.” He said the governor’s current session on jobs would adopt policies that improve the state’s economic climate. But Democrats have blasted the G-O-P for advancing measures which have little to do with creating jobs – things like cutting off health insurance coverage for most abortions, and firing teachers if their students don’t achieve. Fitzgerald says Wisconsin cannot divorce itself from the national economy – but he says the G-O-P remains focused on job-creation efforts like approving the new iron ore mine in Ashland-and-Iron counties, helping start-up businesses get venture capital, and cutting down on business red tape and frivolous lawsuits.

Assembly To Vote On Passing In No Passing Zones

10/25/11 - The Wisconsin Assembly will vote Tuesday on a bill to let car-and-truck drivers pass bicycles and other slow-moving vehicles in no-passing zones. The Assembly’s Transportation Committee approved the measure 15-to-nothing earlier this month. Lawmakers from both parties support the bill. It would let a motor vehicle pass any vehicle in a no-passing zone, including a bicycle, that’s moving at a significantly-slower speed than the normal flow of traffic.

Walker Unveils Financial Impact Website

10/25/11 - Governor Scott Walker unveiled a new Web site Monday to highlight the effects of the financial changes he approved for state-and-local governments. The site is called “Reforms and Results.” It said almost 461-million tax dollars were saved this year by things like the massive limits on collective bargaining by public unions – and the increases made by government employees toward their pensions and their health insurance. The site also has a county-by-county breakdown of the tax savings. But Democrats immediately questioned the timing of the new Web site. It premiered just 22 days before Democrats and their supporters begin a statewide petition drive to recall the Republican governor. State Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate called the Web site “insulting propaganda” – and he said the Walker campaign should pay for it instead of taxpayers. It’s on the Governor’s Web site, and its address is www.reforms.wi.gov.

Redistricting Lawsuit Survives Another Challenge

10/25/11 - A three-judge panel in Milwaukee has refused to drop a lawsuit that challenges Wisconsin’s newly-drawn congressional and state legislative districts. Former Democratic Senate leader Judy Robson, former Congressman Al Baldus, and over a dozen others filed suit earlier this year – even before Republicans approved the boundaries they drew with no Democratic support. The state Justice Department asked that the lawsuit be dropped, and that the Republican-drawn districts prevail. But the judges said the plaintiffs have the legal right to challenge the redistricting – and their allegations warrant that the case continue to be heard in the courts. Republicans said the new maps accurately reflect population changes revealed in the 2010 Census. But Democrats and other critics said the G-O-P drew the boundaries in a way that gives them the possible chance of winning elections all the way through the next decade. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs said almost 300-thousand people won’t be able to vote in next year’s Senate elections, because they’ve been thrown into different districts which don’t have contests until 2014.