Top Stories March 2nd

Frederiksen Enters ‘No Contest’ Plea

3/2/12 - A Horicon who stabbed a woman in her home last May has entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors. 18-year-old Cory Frederiksen entered a “no contest” plea to a count of First Degree Attempted Murder and had five other felony charges dismissed but read into the record. Frederiksen stabbed his neighbor as many as 18-times. Authorities say Candia Rehse went to get something to eat just before 5am and, when she returned home, she walked in on Frederickson. Rehse was left with a fractured skull and deep skin lacerations, among other injuries. She fought back and bloodied Frederickson before he fled the scene. Frederickson and his father were on their way to the hospital when police stopped them and took the teen into custody. A pre-sentencing investigation was ordered for Frederiksen and a hearing is planned for mid-June. A fund was established for Rehse – a longtime community volunteer – at all Horicon Bank locations.

Cost Estimates for BD School District Projects

3/2/12 - The Beaver Dam School Board got a look at the cost of five possible projects to deal with maintenance and space issues at district buildings. Representatives from Plunkett Raysich Architects laid out most of the options last month and came back last night with estimated costs. Those ranged from $7.9-million for critical maintenance needs at the middle and high school to a $16.8-million option that would see South Beaver Dam and Trenton Elementary closed with the district constructing a brand new building. Another workshop has been scheduled for March 28th where Board President Marge Jorgensen and the rest of the board will begin weighing their financial options and put together a survey for community input. The options presented last night were based on information gathered by a feasibility study. You can view the study on the district’s website.

Recalls Could Happen in Early June

3/2/12 - It appears that the expected recall elections against Governor Scott Walker and other Republican officials will take place in early June. In a memo, the state Government Accountability Board said it could schedule the primaries as early as May first, and general elections as early as May 29th. But they’ll need to give local clerks enough time to finish all the paperwork from Wisconsin’s presidential primary and the local elections, both of which will be held on April third. And the Board would prefer not to hold a recall vote on May 29th, which is the day after Memorial Day. The Board has until March 19th to review the petitions, and determine if there are enough valid signatures to hold recall votes against Walker, Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, and four Republican state senators. But the agency says it will ask a judge to extend the deadline. Walker’s campaign said this week it would not challenge any petition signatures, because the courts didn’t give them enough time to review them all. And yesterday, Kleefisch said the same thing. Both have asked the Accountability Board to keep looking for false-and-duplicate signatures, which the agency will do. The Board said it considered using statistical sampling to determine the numbers of improper signatures on the Kleefisch petitions – but it decided to use actual tallies, just as with the other recall targets. Kleefisch and Walker have also asked that the Board accept challenges from Tea Party groups which are reviewing the signatures. But the Board says it cannot do that by law.

Child Abuse Suspect Claims Insanity

3/2/12 - A former Beaver Dam woman accused of turning a blind eye to the abuse of her children entered a plea of “not guilty by reason of insanity” during an arraignment hearing Thursday. 33-year-old Mandy Molina is charged with two felony counts of Failing to Prevent Child Abuse and three misdemeanor counts of Child Neglect. She was arrested on January 20 along with her boyfriend, 44-year-old Larry Hillyer, who is being held on a $25,000 cash bond in connection with the severe physical and psychological abuse of three children. A judge this week ordered a competency exam for Hillyer, who is not the children’s biological father. He reportedly made everyone in the house refer to him as “god.” Three children – ages 12, seven and one – were found by police who were responding to a tip from the children’s grandmother. Authorities entered the home and found the children starving, huddled together on a couch wrapped in blankets to keep them from freezing. The baby had bruising, and blistering consistent with burns. The oldest was found with dried eggs on his head in a room littered with food. The middle child had scrapes from reportedly being thrown down the stairs. Police say they found Hillyer and Molina upstairs under a blanket, unable to comprehend questioning. The children were treated at a local hospital and are with relatives. Hillyer remains in custody on a $25,000 cash bond. A status conference is planned for Molina but a date has not yet been set.

Madison Child Abuse Family Seeks Bond Reduction

3/2/12 - A judge in Madison will be asked Friday to reduce the bail for a Madison couple accused of starving their 15-year-old daughter. And the father has asked that he be allowed to stay away from future court proceedings. The couple has been in jail since being charged last month, because their bonds are 22-to-30-thousand dollars. Their attorneys say those bonds don’t need to be that high, because neither defendant is at risk of fleeing Madison while their cases are being heard. The father did not explain why he wanted to be excused from all future court proceedings. His lawyer says the man is an eight-year Army veteran who was honorably discharged – he’s had a steady job for five years – and he’s had no prior arrests. Prosecutors said they allowed their 15-year-old daughter to starve for several years in their basement of their Madison home. The girl’s step-brother is also charged with molesting and abusing her. He’s scheduled to enter pleas in the case on March 19th.

Inmate Has Prison Time Added For CO Battery

3/2/12 - An inmate at Fox Lake Correctional had 80 days added to his sentence yesterday for assaulting a corrections officer last May. John R. King pleaded “no contest” to a misdemeanor count of Disorderly Conduct and had a felony count of Battery by Prisoner dismissed. The 28-year-old was fighting with another prisoner, refused orders to stop and then charged staff. Pepper spray was deployed and King began swinging his elbows and fists, resulting in a bloody nose and concussion to a corrections officer. The additional 80 days in prison will be served after a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for robbery, and six months was added to his five years of extended supervision.

WCI Inmate Bound Over For Assault

3/2/12 - A Dodge County judge found probable cause Thursday for a Waupun Correctional inmate to proceed to trial for assaulting three corrections officials last October. 23-year-old Adam Myers of Van Dyne is charged with three felony counts of Battery by a Prisoner. According to the criminal complaint, Myers was in a prison cafeteria yelling at other inmates. He was asked to stop and allegedly stood up and poked the guard who told him to be quiet in the chest. Other officers came to the guard’s aid but Myers refused to be handcuffed. Three guards were injured in the ensuing melee. Myers will be back in court for an arraignment hearing next week.

Kleefisch Will Not Challenge Signatures

3/2/12 - Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefish says she won’t be challenging any of the recall petition signatures filed against her. She told the Government Accountability Board her deadline of next Monday doesn’t give her enough time for her campaign to finish its review. Governor Scott Walker’s campaign said the same thing before his deadline, last Monday. An estimated 845 thousand signatures were on the petitions filed in the effort to recall Kleefisch. The GAB’s deadline for verifying if there were enough signatures is March 19. Recall supporters collected about three times as many signatures as they needed, leading to the verification process.

Wolf Hunting Season Approved In Senate Committee

3/2/12 - Wisconsin is one step closer to having a wolf hunting season. The state Senate’s Natural Resources Committee voted 5-to-2 Thursday in favor of a bill that creates a four-and-a-half month trapping-and-shooting season for grey wolves between mid-October and late February. The bill was introduced in both houses after the federal government decided a few weeks ago to remove Upper Midwest wolves from the endangered species list. Supporters said the hunt would help farmers protect crops and livestock which are damaged and killed by problem wolves. The D-N-R would be able to limit wolf hunting licenses, and give them to applicants who accumulate preference points. An Assembly committee has approved similar legislation. That means the measure will go to both full houses before the current session is due to end for the year on March 15th.