Top Stories October 30th

Crash Victim Identified

10/30/11 - Authorities have identified the Hartford man killed in a four-vehicle accident Friday night in Washington County as 48-year-old Kevin Conroy. According to the Sheriffs Department, a vehicle driven by 22-year-old Sarah Ehnert of Cedarburg was westbound on Highway 60 a few miles east of Highway 41 when she crossed the centerline and struck Conroy’s eastbound pickup truck. After the collision, Conroy’s vehicle overturned and was struck by a westbound pickup truck before coming to rest on its roof. Conroy was pronounced dead at the scene. Ehnert’s vehicle continued westbound colliding with another vehicle, this time an eastbound mini-van. All of those involved were injured, but none of the other injuries appeared to be life threatening, according to authorities. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash, but the investigation is ongoing.

Meeting on Carol’s Tours Fraud Case Tomorrow

10/30/11 - The State Attorney Generals Office will hold a meeting tomorrow (Mon 10/31) on the investigation into fraud complaints surrounding the closure of a defunct Beaver Dam travel agency. Carol’s Tours closed its doors in January of 2008. In the months that followed, over 100 complaints were reported from customers who deposited money for trips they claim were never fulfilled. The meeting is for those who may have suffered loss due to the closing of Carol’s Tours and allows prosecutors a chance to gather evidence and information that may be relevant to the investigation. It’s also an opportunity to meet with Assistant Attorney General Richard Dufour, who will outline the status of the investigation and answer questions about the case. Even if you have not yet reported a loss suffered as a result of the Carol’s Tours closing, Dufour says you can still report your loss to investigators. Victims will have the opportunity to provide input as it relates to charging decisions and ultimate disposition on the case. Also at the meeting: special agents with the Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, a victim services specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of Crime Victim Services and local investigators. The Department of Justice meeting on Carol’s Tours is scheduled for tomorrow at 7pm in the Beaver Dam Middle School Auditorium.

Policy on Concealed Weapons Unveiled

10/30/11 - Those with permits will be able to carry concealed weapons into most state government facilities starting next Tuesday. That’s when the Badger State becomes the 49th to adopt a concealed carry law. Governor Scott Walker’s administration released its policy on hidden weapons in state buildings this morning. Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch (hibsh) says those with concealed carry permits are law-abiding citizens and quote, “We must respect their right to keep-and-bear arms under the U-S and Wisconsin constitutions.” Both employees and their clients can carry hidden weapons if they have the correct permits. Exceptions include places where firing a gun might cause a chemical explosion – and corrections’ and public defender facilities where convicted and accused criminals gather. At the Capitol, the Supreme Court will continue to be gun-free, as will the Capitol Police office and the Senate chamber. But all public hearing rooms will allow concealed carry, as will the Assembly chamber. Individual lawmakers can decide whether to allow hidden weapons in their own offices.

Decade Long Investigation Comes to a Close

10/30/11 - The final defendant in the Wisconsin Legislature’s caucus scandal from a decade ago has settled her case. 59-year-old Sherry Schultz of Madison pleaded guilty this week to a charge of misconduct in office – and her conviction will be dropped after she completes the terms of a deferred prosecution program. District Attorney Ismael Ozanne says those conditions have not been set. Schultz was supposed to go on trial next month on allegations that she helped her former boss – former Republican Assembly Majority Leader Steve Foti – run a tax-funded campaign operation from their office. The goal was to get enough G-O-P candidates elected so they can stay in control of the Legislature. Five ex-lawmakers from both parties were convicted in the scandal. Schultz and former G-O-P Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen were both originally convicted of felonies in 2006. But a state appeals court threw out the convictions due to an error in a jury instruction – and new trials were ordered for both. Jensen’s case was settled in his home county of Waukesha last December. He paid a five-thousand-dollar penalty, and a misdemeanor conviction remained on his record. Ozanne said he did not take Jensen’s Waukesha case into account. The D-A said Schultz finally accounted for her actions – and that was good enough for him.

Wrongly Convicted Man Gets $25,000

10/30/11 - A Duluth Minnesota man who spent a decade in prison for a Wisconsin child sex assault that never happened got 25-thousand-dollars this week for his trouble. The State Claims Board granted the most it could legally give Rommain Isham. But the panel could have asked the Legislature to approve a larger award, and it didn’t. Isham was convicted of repeatedly molesting the eight-year-old son of his ex-girlfriend in 1990. He served a 10-year prison term before the victim confessed two years ago that the assaults never happened. The purported victim, now 30, said he was afraid to fess up – and he was pressured by his abusive father to keep perpetuating the lie. Isham calls the state’s damage award “chicken feed.” He asked for three-point-six-million-dollars, or a-thousand-dollars for each day he spent behind bars. As a convicted child molester, he said he was the target of heavy abuse by other prisoners who beat and raped him. Isham claimed he saw sex offenders stabbed and set-on-fire behind bars – and he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder wondering if he’d be next. He now works odd jobs – and the state’s 25-thousand-dollar damage award won’t even cover a year’s salary. Isham said he would have been happy with a quarter-million-dollar award. And he’s now thinking about suing the Douglas County prosecutors who charged him.

Another Top Administrator Leaves DWD

For the third time in less than a year a top administrator at the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development has departed.  Allison Rozek abruptly left her position as the head of the Administrative Services Division last Thursday.  It isn’t clear whether she resigned or was fired.  Rozek had been appointed to the position last January.  Previously this week Secretary Scott Baumbach resigned after just four months in the office.  Bambauch’s predecessor left in May after just five months on the job.

Bio-Tech Firm Gets Okay from Feds

10/30/11 - The federal government has given a Madison area bio-tech firm the okay to market a new type of port for intravenous treatments for conditions like cancer. Stealth Therapeutics of Fitchburg was given the okay to sell a product called “Invisiport.” The company says it has a patented wing which lets doctors make smaller incisions for I-V fluids. Stealth officials say it also takes less time to finish the implants. C-E-O Peter Drumm says the F-D-A’s clearance was a major step for his company. He says it will allow Stealth Therapeutics to raise extra capital for its efforts to sell the product commercially – plus develop new products as well. Stealth Therapeutics was founded in 2006 to take advantage of technology developed by interventional radiologist Bradley Glenn.

Workshop on “Social Media” Offered in Columbus

10/30/11 - Columbus area business owners, City staff and residents are being offered a chance to attend a half-day workshop on “social media.” The MATC Facebook / Twitter workshop is being planned for this coming week. The interactive session will be held at the downtown Columbus Community Center at 161 Dickason Blvd. For more information call the Economic Development office, contact information is on our website. (920) 296-7081

Governor’s Mansion Tours Planned

10/30/11 - The holiday season is not far away. And the governor’s residence in Maple Bluff has announced its annual public tours for December. Each tour features the history of the governor’s mansion – and folks will get a variety of decorated trees in rooms on the first floor. The public tours are set for December 7th, 8th, 10th, 14th, 15th, and 17th. The tours are free, and Governor Scott Walker asks visitors to bring non-perishable food items to be donated to the Second Harvest Food-Bank. It provides emergency food for pantries, shelters, and hunger relief efforts in southeast Wisconsin.