Top Stories November 17th

WBEV Tribute To Veterans Spotlight: Madeline Wegner

11/17/11 – One of our guests on last Friday’s annual Tribute to Veterans broadcast on WBEV was Madeline Wegner, who is entering her third year as an Army Specialist in the National Guard. She says some branches of the military may be a better fit than others, depending on the person. Wegner says she joined the military to not only serve her country but also to get money for college. Be sure to check back Friday for more video from our Veterans Day broadcast.

Fall River School District Approves Referenda Questions

Fall River School District voters will be seeing two referenda on their ballots when they head to the polls on April 3rd. That’s after the school board approved the recommendations of the district’s growth committee last night. One of the questions will ask for $2.45-million to replace a failing H-VAC system, technology upgrades, overall maintenance, and land acquisition. A second question would ask for $1.4-million to build a new football field and track. The board also approved a letter of intent sent to North American Mechanical Inc. asking them to start planning the $1.65 million dollar H-VAC replacement project. Superintendent Jeff Tortomasi said that NAMI would have to start planning now in order to complete the project by next October.

Fox Lake Approves Budget

The tax levy in Fox Lake is going up more than 44-percent but residents won’t see much of an increase in their mill rate. The city council approved the 2012 budget last night with a tax levy of $800,000 up from about $555,000 this year. Most of the increase came as a result of a mistake by the city assessor, who filed a report with the state that valued the TIF district at about 16-million less than it should have been. At the advisement of their accounting firm, and in an effort to keep tax bills for citizens consistent, the city decided to borrow $244,000 for one year, which will cover much of the increase in the tax levy. The result is a mill rate that City Administrator Bill Petracek says will be similar to that of last years $7.34 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Beaver Dam Man Charged With Homicide

A 20-year-old Beaver Dam man has been charged with homicide in connection with the death of his passenger in a 2010 accident. Guadalupe Rodriguez Jr. is charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and homicide by a vehicle use of a controlled substance. 22-year-old Diamond Avalos, also of Beaver Dam, was killed after Rodriguez Jr lost control going around a curve in the 400 block of North Spring Street and the vehicle rolled over. Avalos died as the result of blunt force trauma to the head. Rodriguez Jr was also seriously injured in the accident. A wrongful death lawsuit was brought against Rodriguez Jr earlier this year by the family of Avalos.

A Wisconsin Senate Republican said the state’s Medical Examining Board was way too easy on nine doctors who handed out medical excuses to those missing work to protest at the State Capitol. The board yesterday reprimanded six U-W Madison family medicine doctors and a physician at Madison’s Dean Clinic. And it gave administrative warnings to two others who fell just short of being disciplined. Senator Glenn Grothman of West Bend said the Examining Board – which is charge of disciplining doctors – is not serious about enforcing medical standards. And Grothman told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the board’s goal is quote, “not to look after the public at large, but to protect their buddies from an undue interruption in their careers.” But board chair Sujatha Kailas said the panel held the doctors accountable, and sent a message to others that such behavior is not acceptable. The attorneys who represented the doctors – Marie Stanton and Patricia Epstein – said the reprimands put a harsh blemish on physicians who’ve served with distinction for years without ever getting in trouble. Epstein said her clients saw it as a “public health and community outreach effort,” and they did not expect all the media attention. State investigator Jeanette Lytle said the doctors gave out the sick notes at a Capitol street corner without examining the protestors’ medical histories. Part of their punishment is to take a course on record-keeping.


Dodge County Harvest One For The Record Books

11/17/11 - With favorable fall weather conditions, Dodge County farmers are finishing up the last of the 2011 harvest, with pleasantly surprising yields. That’s according to Dodge County Extension Interim Crops and Soils Agent David Laatsch who says hot, sunny days in late July and August advanced crops nicely, in most parts of the county, in spite of the later and cooler than normal start back in May and June.

“But we also fell behind normal precipitation, starting in July and continued throughout the summer and into the fall. This put additional stress on the corn and soybean plants, raising serious doubts on the yield potential of the crop,” Laatsch said.

Many county producers are reporting crop yields at or above the record levels of 2010. The Dodge County 10-year average production for corn is 145 bushels per acre while soybean production is 45 bushels per acre.

“Corn test plot yields have come in at 230 or more bushels per acre. Soybean plots have been measured at better than 60 bushels per acre. Up and down the road, farmers are reporting corn yields 50 bushels over the average and soybeans 10-15 bushels better than usual,” Laatsch said, adding, “This year has shown the advantages that are built into the genetics of modern hybrids and conservation tillage practices. The plants are able to squeeze yield out of water depleted soils while tillage practices that leave the soil surface covered with crop residue prevent moisture loss during the growing season.”

Dodge County produces about 70,000 acres of soybeans, 150,000 acres of corn for grain and an additional 30,000 acres of corn for silage. The USDA reports that 39% of the nation’s corn crop is used for livestock feed, 35% is used for ethanol production, 10% for food and seed and 15% is exported. Over 55% of the soybean crop is used domestically for food or feed while 45% is exported to other countries. Coupled with record high market prices for corn and soybeans, Laatsch says 2011 has certainly been a year for the record books.

Wisconsin Farmland Value Increases

11/17/11 - The value of Wisconsin's farmland has grown by 17-percent in the third quarter of the year, compared to the same period a year ago. But the increase is still not as big as a 25-percent jump in the Midwest as a whole. That's according to a survey of agricultural bankers by the Federal Reserve's Seventh District in Chicago. The regional increase, which covers five states, is the largest in just over three decades. Iowa led the way with a 31-percent rise in its farmland values. Indiana was next at 29-percent, followed by Illinois with 23, Wisconsin with 17, and Michigan at 16-percent.

Governor Signs Special Session

11/17/11 - Governor Scott Walker gave his approval Wednesday to two of the most controversial bills of the recent special session on the economy. One measure gives smaller interest payments that are spread over time to Wisconsinites who win personal injury lawsuits. The other bill will no longer require residents and businesses to prove their innocence when they’re accused of being negligent in not paying their state taxes. That measure puts the burden-of-proof on the Revenue Department to show that a taxpayer was intentionally negligent in not paying what they owe. Revenue Secretary Rick Chandler says the new law advances the goal of good customer service. But Democrats say it will be an easy way for tax cheaters to go scot-free. The interest limits in personal injury judgment payments were designed to help businesses cut their legal costs. Until now, those who lose injury cases had to pay 12-percent on the installments for their damage payments. But under the bill Walker signed yesterday, the interest would be the prime rate plus one-percent. Republicans also wanted to keep giving landlords, banks, and credit card companies 12-percent on the judgments owed to them. But Democrats cried fowl, and G-O-P sponsors backed off from those exemptions. Walker also signed bill to make it easier for small producers to get state movie tax credits – and he approved a voluntary check-off on income tax returns to benefit Special Olympics.

Miller Park Halfway Paid-Off

11/17/11 - The home of the Brewers, Miller Park, is more than halfway to being paid off completed. The Miller Park Stadium District has officially covered more than half of the debt incurred when the team’s new home was built. Payments are scheduled to be made through the year 2029, but they are outpacing that schedule so far. About 231 million dollars is left to be paid on the bill for the baseball stadium.

Last Saturday For Beaver Dam DPW

11/17/11 - After this weekend, the Beaver Dam Public Works Garage will be closed on Saturdays. Yard waste can be dropped off at the garage at 640 South Center Street this Saturday from 10am to 2pm. No waste of any kind will be accepted from contractors or from people that are not Beaver Dam residents. Saturday hours will pick back up in the spring. If you are unable to drop off your waste this weekend, the public works garage will still be open weekdays 7am to 3:30pm.