Top Stories April 11th

Runaway Teen Leads Authorities on Chase

4/11/12 - A 15-year-old boy used a stolen car to lead Beaver Dam authorities on a chase through residential streets that reached speeds of 55-miles per hour early this (Tuesday) morning. According to a press release, an officer attempted to pull over a car that was driving without their headlights on near Roedl Court and Judson Drive around 1:20 a.m. The vehicle didn’t stop and a chase ensued, lasting about seven minutes before the teen was apprehended at the County Highway D exit of Highway 151. He apparently stole the vehicle earlier in the night, and the owner wasn’t aware that it had been stolen until contacted by police. The boy had been reported as a runaway from a group home in Beaver Dam around 11pm. He faces charges of fleeing an officer and operating a vehicle without the owners consent. He’s currently being held at the Washington County Secure Detention center.

Rodriguez Jr. Enters “Not Guilty” Plea

4/11/12 - A Beaver Dam man entered a “not guilty” plea at arraignment yesterday (Tue) to charges that he killed his girlfriend in a drunken driving rollover accident. 21-year-old Guadalupe Rodriguez Jr. is charged with two counts of Homicide By Intoxicated Use of a Vehicle. The accident occurred in the early morning hours of November 29, 2010, right in front of the Beaver Dam Middle School. Witnesses say Rodriguez was driving 90 miles-an-hour as he headed southbound on North Spring Street, which has a posted speed limit of 25mph. He reportedly went through the Mackie Street stop light, lost control around the curve and struck some small trees before rolling over; his Honda Civic came to rest on its roof. Neither occupant was wearing a seatbelt. When first responders found his passenger, 22-year-old Diamond Avalos, she was already dead. Rodriguez was ejected and flighted to UW Hospital in Madison. He is now a quadriplegic. Authorities say his blood alcohol level – six hours after the accident – was point-zero-six (.06) and there was allegedly marijuana in his system. If convicted, the charges carry a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison. Court activity is on the calendar next month.

BDUSD Hears from Trenton Elementary Parents

4/11/12 - Members of the Beaver Dam School Board and district administrators fielded questions for about an hour last night about the possible closure of Trenton Elementary. It was all part of a meeting for the school’s Parent Teacher Organization. Superintendent Steve Vessey says about 20-parents wanted to know about the probability of closing the school and moving the students to Prairie View Elementary, where an addition would be put on. Vessey says most of the questions were about a projected timeline, and where and what the addition would look like. There had been talk about the possible closure of South Beaver Dam Elementary as well, but the board appears to have decided to focus solely on Trenton right now. It’s the first time the district had actually gone to the elementary for a meeting, but Vessey says they’ve had contact with parents at their other community events. For that reason, and others, there wasn’t the same uproar seen in Fox Lake when their elementary was on the verge of being closed. The school board is expected to vote on a resolution next week that would authorize, but not commit them to borrowing $6-million for building projects. Those would likely include the addition at Prairie View, along with upgrades at the middle and high school.

Ramirez Gets Jail Time

4/11/12 - A Waupun man was sentenced to seven more months in jail for the violent sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl. Alezander A. Ramirez had a deferred prosecution agreement revoked yesterday. The 18-year-old was originally sentenced on reduced misdemeanor charges to a month in jail for the August 2010 assault. He would have had the felony dropped if he stayed out of trouble but authorities say Ramirez continues to prey on young teenage girls. He was charged one week after sentencing for another alleged incident that occurred last October with a different underage girl who is even younger than his first victim. In addition, 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. Ramirez will appear in court tomorrow to answer to the two most recent rounds of charges.

Dems Claim Election Fraud in “Fake Democrats”

4/11/12 - An attorney will ask state officials today to remove the fake Democrats whom the G-O-P put up to assure that all six recall elections will have their final voting on June fifth. Democratic attorney Jeremy Levinson will tell the Government Accountability Board it’s against the law for a person to run under one party only to help another. He calls it election fraud. The Board would take up the matter next week. If the fake Democrats are not allowed, three Republican state senators would have their general elections moved up to May eighth, because each would only have one Democratic challenger. The G-O-P says that would make the incumbents vulnerable, because a lot of Democrats will vote May eighth in the recall primary for governor. And the fake Democrats would assure primaries in all six contests, thus scheduling all the general elections on the same date in June. The G-O-P’s Ben Sparks says the fake Democrats ensure quote, “election fairness.” But the liberal group One Wisconsin Now has asked prosecutors to file felony charges against the fake Democrats, for violating sworn affidavits they filed promising to quote, “represent the Democratic Party.” Republican Attorney General J-B Van Hollen said on Monday that the fake Democrats do not violate election laws.

Nomination Papers Filed for Recalls

4/11/12 - Seven opponents filed nomination papers to run in the governor’s recall primaries on May eighth. Governor Scott Walker will have at least one G-O-P primary challenger – frequent Capitol protestor Arthur Kohl-Riggs, who joined the other candidates in filing his papers by yesterday’s deadline. Michael Mangan of West Allis also filed as a Republican, but he only had 303 valid signatures – far short of the two-thousand needed to get on the ballot. There were no surprises on the Democratic side. All four announced candidates filed – Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, Secretary-of-State Doug La Follette, and Senator Kathleen Vinehout of Alma. Fake Democrat Gladys Huber also filed. Kohl-Riggs said on his Web site that he’s running to discourage Republicans from crossing over in the primary and causing havoc in the Democratic race. Senate G-O-P Scott Fitzgerald said there’s some sentiment for Republicans to vote for Falk, because polls indicate she wouldn’t do as well as Barrett against Governor Walker in June.

Democrats only need to gain one Senate among the four that are up this spring to regain control of the upper house. And a full field of Democrats filed by yesterday’s deadline. Fort Atkinson photographer Lori Compas and fake Democrat Gary Ellerman filed to try and unseat Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau. Former Senate Democrat John Lehman of Racine and fake Democrat Tamra Varebrook filed to try-and-recall Racine Republican Van Wanggaard. Former Assembly Democrat Kristen Dexter of Eau Claire and fake Democrat James Engel filed to try-and-defeat Chippewa Falls Republican Terry Moulton. And Wausau Assembly Democrat Donna Seidel goes up against fake Democrat Jim Buckley, with the winner to face Assembly Republican Jerry Petrowski. Petrowski is running for the Senate seat given up by Wausau’s Pam Galloway, who was targeted for recall before she stepped down last month.

Petri in the Area Tomorrow

4/11/12 - Congressman Tom Petri will hold a pair of town meetings in the Dodge County area tomorrow. The Republican from Fond du Lac says the meetings are way for him to connect with his constituents in the Sixth Congressional District. Petri will be at the Watertown Senior and Community Center for an hour tomorrow morning (Thur) at 9:30am. Tomorrow afternoon, he will be at Mayville City Hall from 3pm to 4pm.