Top Stories March 6th

Emergency Officials Charged In Alleged Cover-Up

3/6/12 - A Johnson Creek man is accused of severely injuring a passenger in a car accident and two emergency officials from the Lowell-Reeseville-area are accused of helping to cover it up. Brodie McIntosh is charged with Reckless Driving and Hit and Run, Causing Great Bodily Harm for a February 2011 accident in the Town of Lowell. According to the criminal complaint, the 26-year-old dropped a cigarette while driving 93mph on County G, leaned down to pick it up and put the car in the ditch. His passenger sustained a head injury. Off-duty Reeseville firefighter Nicholas Gay allegedly responded after received a private call from McIntosh and drove the victim away from the scene. The 31-year-old Gay is charged with two misdemeanors of Failure to Report a Crime and Obstructing an Officer. Gay is said to have enlisted 38-year-old Rhonda Gibson of Reeseville, who is the coordinator of the Lowell-Reeseville First Responders. Gibson allegedly took the McIntosh, the driver of the vehicle, to his mother’s tavern in Waterloo. Gibson is charged with felony Hit and Run, as a Party to a Crime and misdemeanor Failure to Report a Crime. When questioned, both Gay and Gibson allegedly said they should have contacted authorities. All three were released on signature bonds after making Initial Appearances yesterday and are scheduled to be back in court over the next several weeks.

Gubin Named Superintendent in Waupun

3/6/12 - The principal at Beaver Dam’s Lincoln Elementary is the new superintendent in the Waupun School District. By a unanimous vote, the school board selected Tonya Gubin as the replacement for Interim Superintendent Don Childs. Board President Rodger Schregardus said board members have spent the past few weeks interviewing applicants before coming to a consensus on Gubin last Thursday. The Beaver Dam School Board is expected to accept Gubin’s resignation at their meeting next week. She’ll finish off the school year in her current position and start in Waupun on July 1st.

Compas in Beaver Dam

3/6/12 - A large crowd packed into the Beaver Dam Public Library to hear from the opponent for Scott Fitzgerald in a possible recall election. Fort Atkinson’s Lori Compas is the woman who led the recall petition drive against the Republican senator. Fitzgerald is one of a number of Republicans being targeted for recall due to their support for Governor Scott Walker’s bill that virtually ended collective bargaining for most public workers. Compas says she would want to hear what constituents in the district have to say before she commits to supporting a repeal of the bill. Compas has another listening session planned for tonight at the Columbus Senior Center beginning at 7pm.

Bill to Limit Recalls Up for Debate

3/6/12 - Wisconsin public officials would no longer be recalled for the stands they take, under a constitutional amendment to be debate in the state Assembly today. G-O-P finance chair Robin Vos of Racine County is the chief sponsor of the amendment. It would allow officials to be recalled only if they’re charged with serious crimes, or if there’s a reason to show that they violated the state ethics code. Two Republican state senators were recalled a year ago because they voted for the state law which virtually ended collective bargaining for most public employee unions. Governor Scott Walker and five other Republicans are being targeted this year for the same reason. Vos’s amendment would have to be approved in two consecutive legislative sessions, and then by the voters in a statewide referendum. It would apply to the state’s elected officials from Congress down to the state-and-local levels.

Arrests Made in WE Energies Break-In

3/6/12 - An arrest has been made after just two nights of putting a WE Energies substation under surveillance. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department says the Station Road site in the town of Rubicon has been the scene of five break-ins in the past two weeks in which copper wire was stolen. Around 8:45 Sunday night, employees reported seeing two men on surveillance cameras walking on the Station Road property. Deputies found footprints and brought in a K-9 unit to track them but were unable to find anyone. More than four hours later an alarm at the site was set off, and two men could be seen walking on the property. Deputies found 22-year-old Christopher Wolf hiding in a dumpster and he was taken to jail. A search for the second suspect was unsuccessful. Authorities say the man is a younger white male, about 5’8” and 150-170-pounds. Officials believe he is driving a smaller white vehicle. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department.

BD Council Reverses Hiring Decision

3/6/12 - The Beaver Dam Common Council last night unanimously reversed a decision from their previous meeting. On a split vote last month, the council tabled plans to hire MSA Professional Services for engineering work on the city’s newest business park. The vote to table was led by Alderman Robert Ballweg who said it would irresponsible to taxpayers to award a $300,000 contract without going out for bid. But supporters said it would be foolish to have another engineering firm jump into the middle of a project, especially given the fact that MSA is the city’s contracted consulting engineer and has worked on this project since the beginning. After much discussion last night, Ballweg reversed his position. His original opposition was not so much against MSA doing the work, as it was the mayor’s speedy time frame in moving projects forward. Administrative Committee Chair Don Neuert says his committee decided last night to discuss as a future agenda item the drafting of a policy regarding the bidding process. Kennedy did not speak to his specific role in the bidding process during yesterday’s council meeting but did say that he is looking at the big picture and did not want to slow the process by switching company’s mid-project. Beaver Dam is currently expanding TIF #4 on the north side to include a third business park. The resolution approved last night allows MSA to conduct engineering work on infrastructure, like electric and water utilities, and the construction of a north side water tower.

Body Pulled from Wisconsin River Believed to be Missing Student

3/6/12 - Authorities have confirmed that a body removed from the Wisconsin River in Stevens Point was that of a missing U-W-S-P student. Rescuers pulled the body of 21-year-old Eric Duffey of Fitchburg from the river yesterday. Police said Duffey was found in open water, not far from where he was last seen alive. Police said Duffey disappeared while walking home from a downtown bar early last Saturday, where he had celebrated his birthday. Officials said they later learned that he walked into the river – and alcohol may have been the reason. Police do not suspect foul play.

Villwock Sentenced In Coin Theft

3/6/12 - A 62-year-old rural Mayville man will spend four years in prison for taking nearly $68,000 in gold coins from his brother last year. Authorities say they found a number of the coins at Robert Villwock’s rural Mayville home and that he’d sold about dozen more to a coin shop in Beaver Dam. The money was in a safe he took from his brother’s home. The safe was later found on Villwock’s property. After three days of testimony, it took the jury four-and-a-half hours last month to find him guilty of three felony charges including Burglary, Theft and Receiving Stolen Property. A misdemeanor count of Criminal Damage to Property was dismissed. Villwock was also sentenced to six years of extended supervision and ordered to pay restitution.

Watertown Man Accused Of Violent Graffiti

3/6/12 - Authorities now say two people have been arrested for spray-painting violent graffiti on the outside of Kettle Moraine High School last Friday. The suspects are a Watertown man and a Summit woman, both 19 – and officials said they could also be involved in other spray-painting incidents nearby. Waukesha County prosecutors are considering charges that include criminal damage to property. A sheriff’s statement indicated that the suspects did not intend to threaten violence with the graffiti – which included the phrases “Kill people” and “Die yuppie scum.” About half of Kettle Moraine’s student body either stayed home or left early from school last Friday.