Top Stories March 7th

PFC Hears Wording of Lake Rescue Life Saving Citations

3/7/12 - The Beaver Dam Police and Fire Commission last night signed off on the wording for the Lifesaving Citations that will be given to those involved in the last month’s lake rescue. On February 18, Eric Chouinard was with his fishing buddy Bobby Buschke when they saw the headlights of a half-dozen snowmobiles disappear into open water. They teamed up with two snowmobiler friends – Jaime and Scott Hanser – and grabbed a rope from a neighboring ice shanty. The civilian hero’s pulled two people from the water before emergency officials arrived on scene. The four will be presented with Civilian Service Citations that their “quick thinking and courage…exemplify what it means to be a good citizen, good neighbor and Good Samaritan.”

Lifesaving Citations will also being given to 43 emergency responders from the Beaver Dam Police and Fire departments, the Dodge County Sheriffs Department and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Mannel is also singling out the department’s hovercraft operators who ventured out onto the ice that night.

Beaver Dam Fire Department hovercraft operators Doug Sackett and Tony Thomas donned their ice rescue suits that night and responded to an area near High Island. After locating the third victim on the far side of the 40-acre open water “goose hole” as it’s called, and transporting him safely back to shore, the pair returned the scene to resume the search not knowing yet how many more victims were in the water. Mannel says Sackett and Thomas worked “tirelessly to overcome obstacles” in locating the fourth victim, including temporary mechanical problems, a moonless night and clothing, debris and broken ice that all had to be checked individually. Mannel says their life saving actions resulted in the saving of one life, ensured the safety of four others and gave the last victim the best possible chance for survival.

The Life Saving Citations will be presented by the mayor at an upcoming meeting of the Beaver Dam Common Council.

Carlson Arraigned On Child Sex Offense Charges

3/7/12 - A Horicon man entered a “not guilty” plea at arraignment Tuesday to charges that he sexually assaulted a girl over a period of several years. 36-year-old Brian Carlson is charged with one felony count of Repeated Sexual Assault of a Child, which carries a sentence of up to 40 years in prison, if he’s convicted. According to the criminal complaint, a man reported to Horicon police in late December that the girl, now 17-years-old, told him about the abuse, which started in the summer of 2006 when she was 12-years-old and continued through October of last year. The victim reportedly told investigators with the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department that the abuse occurred between two and three times a week. Police arrested Carlson at work earlier this year. He originally denied the contact but eventually admitted the assault, saying she was 14-or-15-years-old at the time and had a crush on him. Carlson said it was never forced and she had told him that it was all right. Carlson is being held on a $20,000 cash bond and court activity is on the calendar again next month.

Judge Orders Injunction on Voter ID Law

3/7/12 - Wisconsin’s voter I-D law has been shut down until a judge can hold a trial and decide whether it’s constitutional. Dane County Circuit Judge David Flanagan granted a temporary injunction yesterday in a lawsuit from two minority groups. It means that Wisconsin voters will not have to show their photo I-D’s or sign voter books on April third, when the state’s presidential primary and local elections take place. Four groups have filed lawsuits that claim the law discourages the poor, minorities, elderly, and college students from voting. Flanagan agreed in his ruling. He said quote, “The scope of the impairment has been shown to be serious, extremely broad, and largely needless.” The judge also said the plaintiffs have a quote, “very substantial likelihood” that they’ll win their case. The state Justice Department, which defends the voter I-D law, has not commented. However, the Republican Party of Wisconsin plans to ask for an investigation into Flanagan after it was found he had signed a recall petition for Governor Scott Walker. A spokesman for the Governor, Cullen Werwie, said Walker remains confident the photo I-D law will prevail.

Law Would Make it Harder to Recall Politicians

3/7/12 - It would be a lot harder to recall Wisconsin’s elected officials under a constitutional amendment that got its first approval last night. The Assembly voted to allow recalls only against those charged with serious crimes or those suspected of violating the state’s ethics code. All Republicans voted yes, and all Democrats but one voted no. The amendment’s chief sponsor, Racine County Republican Robin Vos, said the flurry of recall efforts over the past year needs to stop. He said Governor Scott Walker and others are being targeted unfairly just for doing their jobs. Vos said the recall process is “broken,” and the people should get to fix it. But Madison Democrat Brett Hulsey says it doesn’t need to be fixed. He said the right to recall public officials was a key part of Wisconsin’s Progressive movement at the start of the 20th Century, but it’s been rarely used until now. And Hulsey called Vos’s amendment the “Politician Protection Act.” It now goes to the Senate. It would also have to be approved in next year’s session, and by the voters in a statewide referendum. Recall expert Josh Spivak of Wagner College in New York doesn’t give the amendment much of a chance. He said similar measures came up after recalls in California and Michigan, but they never went anywhere because quote, “Voters kind of like the recall.” Only 18 states allow recalls of public officials. Seven limit the reasons to malfeasance.

No New Iron Mine

3/7/12 - Gogebic Taconite says it will not build its proposed iron ore mine, after the state Senate rejected a compromise late yesterday that could have paved the way for the project. The vote was 17-to-16 against a package that would have speeded up the state’s process for approving iron ore mines like the one planned for the Hurley area. Gogebic Taconite president Bill Williams said the vote sends, quote, “a clear message that Wisconsin will not welcome iron mining. We get the message.” Company lobbyist Bob Seitz said the statement was not a negotiating ploy, saying quote, “That’s done.” Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald said quote, “We let something slip away.” He was referring to the 700-plus permanent jobs the mine would have created. Governor Scott Walker left the door open last night, saying he’d call a special session if a deal could not be found by the time the regular session ends next Thursday. But Senate G-O-P leader Scott Fitzgerald said it would be hard to round up votes now, especially because the upcoming recall elections could further politicize what’s already a contentious issue.

Madison Man Abruptly Pleads Guilty To Double Murder

3/7/12 - A Madison man pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing his girlfriend’s two young sons, just before attorneys were about to make opening arguments in his trial. 28-year-old David Hoem asked Circuit Judge William Hanrahan to sentence him right away. And Hoem said he would give up his right to be eligible for extended supervision in the future. Hanrahan ordered two life prison terms for Hoem on a pair of homicide convictions in the strangling deaths of three-year-old Kemaury McArthur and his four-year-old brother Kevin last July. But the judge said the victims’ family had a right to be heard before he decides on a possible release. Hanrahan ordered a pre-sentence investigation and said the possible release date would be considered at a hearing soon. The judge must also determine sentences for false imprisonment and strangulation – to which Hoem also pleaded guilty today. He tried to plead no contest last week, but the judge rejected the pleas after the defendant kept claiming he was really innocent. This morning, Hanrahan said he would only accept guilty pleas to settle the case. A jury had been selected for Hoem’s trial before his pleas – and that trial was scheduled to run into next week.

Charity Refuses Dahmer Tour Donations

3/7/12 - A charity says it would not accept proceeds from weekly walking tours of where Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer found his victims. Bam Marketing-and-Media offered to give 20-percent of the tours’ annual profits to the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children. But that group’s director, Nancy Ruhe, told the Associated Press it would never take money from an effort to profit off somebody’s murderous acts. In Ruhe’s words, “I cannot believe we can’t let these people rest in peace.” About a half-dozen people toured Dahmer’s old haunts last Saturday. And about 20 people showed up to protest, including the family of Richard Guerrero. He vanished in 1988 and was among the first of 17 young men and boys Dahmer cannibalized and murdered. Dahmer was later murdered at the Columbia Correctional Institution. Guerrero’s sister said any proceeds from the walking tours should go to the victims’ families. But Amanda Morden of Bam Media said it could not find a charity which directly represents those families. The tours are scheduled to continue each Saturday.

BDHS K9 Sweep Turns Up Nothing

3/7/12 - The Beaver Dam High School went on lockdown yesterday. Principal Mark DiStefano says a K9 police unit swept the building as part of a routine drill and no drugs were found. DiStefano says it is part of the district’s continuous efforts to maintain a safe and secure learning environment.