Top Stories March 23rd

Barn Destroyed by Fire in Columbus

3/23/12 - Fire destroyed a barn in Columbus overnight. It happened on Bristol Road and was called in by a passerby just after 10:30pm. When firefighters arrived on scene the barn was already fully engulfed. They were able to save the other buildings around it. No one was hurt but four goats died. An antique tractor was also lost. The barn was owned by Michael Choudoir. The Columbus Fire Department was assisted by three other departments along with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department. Crews were on scene for about four hours. An investigation into the cause continues.

Waupun Man Faces More Charges For Preying on Teens

3/23/12 - More felony charges have been filed against a Waupun man who authorities say continues to prey on young teenage girls. Alezander Ramirez was sentenced to a month in jail last December for forcing himself on a middle-school age child in August of 2010; he choked the girl during the assault and she complied out of fear during a second assault. Ramirez had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement, which means he would avoid a felony record if he stayed out of trouble. The 18-year-old was charged one week later for another alleged incident that occurred last October with a different underage girl who is even younger than his first victim. There was no force alleged in that second incident and yesterday (Th) Ramirez waived his right to a preliminary hearing on those charges. In addition, he was also charged yesterday with three felony counts of Bail Jumping. Authorities say he was engaged in sexual activity last December with another young teen victim then later stole a car and was found in the company of three young girls. Alezander is due back in court next month.

FLCI Inmate Accused of Escape

3/23/12 - An inmate from the Fox Lake Correctional Institution is accused of escaping from custody. Christopher Lacourciere was free for six days last November, after he disappeared from the prison’s work farm east of Waupun. The 29-year-old was spotted on Thanksgiving Day by a Dane County sheriff's deputy on routine patrol. Lacourciere is a registered sex offender and is serving a prison term for Third-Degree Sexual Assault. He is scheduled for release next February but could have up to six years added to that sentence if found guilty. Lacourciere was also previously convicted of seven burglaries and another Escape from Custody charge back in 2006. A judge will decide next month if there is enough evidence to order a trial.

Fleeing Suspect Waives Prelim

3/23/12 - A Minnesota man who allegedly led police on a traffic pursuit through two counties earlier this month has waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Steven Persinger of St. James, Minnesota is charged with felony Fleeing an Officer and misdemeanor Obstruction. According to the criminal complaint, the 25-year-old is in the process of moving back to Wisconsin and was at his storage unit when he was observed by Randolph police, who say they found his being at a storage unit at 1am suspicious. Persinger was said to be agitated by the amount of time it took officers to verify that he had two outstanding Columbia County arrest warrants. When asked to get out of the vehicle, Persinger allegedly lit a cigarette and then took off going the speed limit and obeying other traffic laws until Fall River police popped his tires using road spikes. Authorities executed a high-risk traffic stop with guns drawn while Persinger remained on the phone until eventually surrendering without further incident. When informed that he had just possibly committed a felony, Persinger was reportedly surprised, saying when he (quote) “ran from police in Minnesota it was just a misdemeanor.” An arraignment hearing is on the calendar next month.

BD Woman Enters Plea To Child Neglect

3/23/12 - A Beaver Dam woman charged with felony Child Abuse entered into a plea agreement with Dodge County prosecutors Thursday. 41-year-old Michelle Clark pleaded “no contest” to amended charges of Child Neglect, Obstructing an Officer, Disorderly Conduct and Bail Jumping. Authorities arrested Clark after learning that she had been punching and kicking a young child. A teacher notified authorities in December of 2010 after the kid came to school with a bloody lip and with a scratched and red face. The child told investigators that Clark hits her a lot after she drinks, has punched her in the head, stomach and privates and says she once blacked-out after being struck in the head with a dumbbell. Clark denied the allegations and said the child had been acting up. Clark has already completed 73 days of inpatient treatment and was placed on two years probation.

No Charges In Apartment Crash

3/23/12 - No charges will be filed against a 65-year-old Beaver Dam man who crashed his pickup truck into a unit at the Spring Isle Apartment’s Wednesday night. Detective Ryan Klavekoske says is was purely an accident, as the driver hit the gas pedal by mistake, panicked and apparently pushed the accelerator even harder. The pick-up struck a ground-level apartment at 1258 Wayland Street. There was enough structural damage that both the downstairs and upstairs units are unlivable.

WCI Inmate Charged in Attack

3/23/12 - An inmate at Waupun Correctional is accused of biting prison personnel during a scuffle last December. Leighton Lindsey is charged with a felony count of Battery By Prisoner, which could add up to six years to his current sentence, if he is convicted. According to the criminal complaint, the 29-year-old was being escorted back to his cell when he spit on two corrections officers and bit one of them in the forearm, breaking the skin. Lindsey has a preliminary hearing on the calendar next month.

Fitzgerald Spokesman Running For Assembly

3/23/12 - A spokesman for Assembly Leader Jeff Fitzgerald is running for office this fall. John Jagler of Watertown announced his candidacy Thursday on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee, where he used to work. Jagler will run as a Republican in the 37th district. He left the radio station just over a year ago to become Fitzgerald’s spokesman at the State Capitol. Jagler said he was at the speaker’s side when the Assembly passed its budget reforms and the law to virtually eliminate public union bargaining. And Jagler said he would run on that, saying it was quote, “putting fiscal sanity back in Wisconsin.” Jagler said he complained on the air for years that nothing gets done in politics – but this year, he said state lawmakers made a real difference, and he wants to quote, “continue that momentum but the protect the changes we’ve made.” Under the new legislative district maps approved last year, the current representative in the 37th District, Democrat Andy Jorgensen of Fort Atkinson, is now a part of the 33rd District.

Santorum Announces More Wisconsin Stops

3/23/12 - Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has announced four more campaign stops in Wisconsin this weekend. It was announced last week that the former U-S senator from Pennsylvania would speak at a summit in Milwaukee on Saturday, put on by the Americans for Prosperity. Santorum’s campaign now says he will appear at a 3pm rally on Saturday at Lakeshore Lanes in Sheboygan. And he’ll make a 6pm appearance at the Ravine in Bellevue, near Green Bay. On Sunday, Santorum will visit the Ledgeview Bowling Lanes in Fond du Lac at 2:30pm, and Racine’s Roma Club at 6pm. Meanwhile, G-O-P Mitt Romney’s wife campaigned in Middleton and Milwaukee Thursday, saying her husband has the right skills to tackle the nation’s economy. State Senate Republican Alberta Darling, who co-chairs the Wisconsin Romney campaign, said the candidate would make several appearances in the Badger State next week. The state’s presidential primary is a week from next Tuesday.

Clintonville Rumbles Said To Be Minor Earthquakes

3/23/12 - The U-S Geological Survey said Thursday that a “swarm of minor earthquakes” most likely hit Clintonville since Sunday – and that apparently has been causing the thunderous booms and the shaking of homes. The government said a traveling portable array of equipment recorded an earthquake at 12:15 Tuesday morning, and it registered one-point-five on the Richter scale. Geophysicist Paul Caruso said booming noises have been known to occur around the times of earthquakes. And Rafael Abreu of the Geological Survey said a quake of that size would only be felt within about a five-mile radius of its epicenter. Abreu said it’s not 100-percent certain that the micro-earthquakes are actually what happened – but it’s not unheard of, and it has happened elsewhere around the country. Meanwhile, residents in Montello are reporting similar sounds. A rumble occurred around 5:30pm Wednesday night in Montello triggering calls, some described as a really bad train wreck. Montello is 80 miles away from Clintonville.

Wisconsin Adds 4K Private Sector Jobs In February

3/23/12 - Wisconsin added about four-thousand private sector jobs last month, while the state’s unemployment rate stayed the same as in January – six-point-nine percent. Workforce Development Secretary Reggie Newson announced the new figures. He said the seasonally-adjusted jobless rate continues to be the lowest since December of 2008. Almost 18-thousand private sector jobs have been added in the first two months of the year. The state announced a revised increase for January of 13-thousand-800 jobs – almost two-thousand fewer than the original number announced a month ago. About 43-hundred government jobs were added last month, mostly in state government agencies. Construction, professional services, and health care led the increase in private sector jobs. Manufacturing gained an estimated 600 jobs – while retail and hospitality jobs dropped last month. Once again, state officials pointed out that the initial monthly job numbers are not precise, because they represent quick surveys of just four-percent of employers.

Briggs & Stratton Announces Missouri Layoffs

3/23/12 - Milwaukee’s Briggs-and-Stratton says it will lay off 210 employees at a factory in Poplar Bluff Missouri that makes engines for outdoor power equipment. The plant itself will stay open. But Briggs said its small engine sales in Europe have gone down. And the firm had to assess its overall needs. The layoffs will take place on April 12th. Briggs first said in January that the Missouri plant might be affected by a reduction. Two years ago, the company closed its Jefferson and Watertown factories, leading to the loss of over 400 jobs.