Top Stories April 25th

Urgent Appeal Issued for Troop Care Packages

4/25/12 - A local non-profit has put out an urgent call for the public to send care packages to 60 troops stationed in the Afghanistan who lost all their belongings in a fire earlier this month. Linda Hughes with the group “A Case of Caring and Sharing” in Cambria says everything is needed from shampoo to sandals to playing cards. The packages will be sent out by May 5 and shipping costs are estimated at $900.

Items needed include:

-          Travel size toiletries including: toothpaste, tooth brushes, shampoo, unscented deodorant, body wash, towels, washcloths, unscented wet wipes, lip balm

-          Snacks including: Pringles, Fiddle Faddle, pretzels, nuts, gum, hard candy, licorice, homemade cookies (pref. in a Pringles tube), Crystal Light powder mix, dried fruit

-          Clothing including: brown work gloves, long socks, flip flops or Crocs

-          Items to pass the time including: books, magazines, stationary, cards, writing materials, envelops, card games, travel games, word search books

Option #1

Drop donated items off at:

1)       R & R Insurance, 130 Park Avenue, Beaver Dam

2)       Golden Living Center, Continental Manor of Randolph, 502 South High Street, Randolph WI 53956

3)       Rascals & Rockers Daycare/ Linda Hughes, W1441 Vaughn Road, Cambria 53923

Option #2

Send a tax-deductible donation to help pay the est. $900 shipping cost to:

-          Rascals & Rockers Daycare/ Linda Hughes, W1441 Vaughn Road, Cambria 53923

Option #3:

Obtain a “We Support Our Troops” Flat Rate Box from the US Postal Service for $14.35. Send the items to:

Needy Soldier

A Co. 4BSTB41BCT

FOB Finley-Shields

APOAE 09310

Local Agencies Participating Drug Take Back Day

4/25/12 - Several local police departments will be participating in this months “National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.” The effort on Saturday (April 28) is aimed at removing drugs from the streets, reducing pharmaceuticals in the water supply and limiting the amount of pills available for theft or accidental poisoning. Beaver Dam Police Detective Ryan Klavekoske says officers will be collecting unused and unwanted medications at the new police station on Park Avenue.  The Horicon Police Department will host a “Take Back” at the Public Safety Building on Ellison Street.  The Juneau Police Department will host a drug collection that Saturday as well at the Public Safety Building on East Cross Street. In Waupun, officers will be at Agnesian Pharmacy on West Main Street. Drop offs are also planned in Lomira, Watertown and Waterloo. A link to a collection site locator can be found on our website. Medications should be brought in their original containers with personal identification removed.  http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/

Beaver Dam Water Tower Vandalized

4/25/12 - The water tower in downtown Beaver Dam was tagged with profanity-laced graffiti. The vandals apparently climbed to the top of the structure in the Tower parking lot Monday night or Tuesday morning. Director of Utilities Don Quarford says the paint job on the tower is still under warranty and the company has been contacted. This has been the latest in a long string of vandalism incidents that has plagued Beaver Dam over the past several weeks. Mayor Tom Kennedy is urging the public to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.

Man Convicted of Running From Police, Suspected In Chase

4/25/12 - A 30-year-old Columbus man was taken into custody early Tuesday morning after allegedly stealing two vehicles and leading police on a high speed chase. Authorities were called to a home on South Spring Street in Beaver Dam around 11pm Monday after Michael Lasiewicz was said to be trying to enter his ex-girlfriend’s residence. When authorities approached the home, he reportedly fled in a vehicle he did not own and led police on a chase that reached speeds in excess 100-miles per hour before crashing about a mile south of Highway 151.  He fled on foot and authorities were not able to locate him.  But around 1:45am yesterday, a caller reported that Lasiewicz was on Canary Road.  By the time authorities got on scene, he was gone again, this time in ANOTHER stolen vehicle.  Finally, around 3:15am yesterday, Lasiewicz returned to the home on South Spring Street, and police were able to take him into custody. He faces felony charges of OWI Fifth Offense and Operating a Vehicle Without Consent. Lasiewicz is well known to local authorities.  He was sentenced in Dodge County to jail time late last year for fleeing from authorities in June and escaping from a squad car while in handcuffs. He’s also facing numerous felony charges in Columbia County.

Columbus Schools Survey Arriving in Mailboxes

4/25/12 - Columbus School District households will be getting a survey in the mail later this week. The School Board is asking for additional public input after receiving a Facilities Committee  recommendation to go forward with plans for a two-building District. Surveys will be going out in the mail and on the internet. The survey will also be going to all school staff.  Participants will be asked to respond by May 13^th so the results can be tabulated prior to a public meeting on May 21^st. District residents will be asked to vote and offer comments to give the Board direction in their decision on a November referendum. 

Columbus Considering Annexation For Development

4/25/12 - The Columbus Council, CDA and Water and Light Commission heard a proposal last week to develop part of the Curt Hanson farm land along highway 73 between the Community Hospital and highway 151 interchange. The officials were told that the Hanson land is expected to be approved for annexation in early May. The City would act as the initial “developer” for the proposed TIF District land. City staff still has a lot of work to do in costing out street construction and utility installation for the proposed mixed-use development.

Unemployment Down, Job Losses Up

4/25/12 - Wisconsin was the only state to lose a significant number of jobs over the past year – and it was also among 18 states to have a major drop in its unemployment rate. The U-S Bureau of Labor Statistics announced both those conclusions today. It said Wisconsin lost 23-thousand-900 jobs in the year ending March 31st – and about three of every four of those lost jobs were in the government sector. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell from seven-point-six percent to six-point-eight during that same 12-month period. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate has consistently been lower than the nation as a whole. And labor officials say local governments have been the biggest public job-cutters in recent months.

WIAA Moving Girls Basketball Tourney

4/25/12 - A nearly century-old tradition in Wisconsin’s capital city will continue. The W-I-A-A’s Board of Control voted this afternoon to keep the boys’ high school basketball tournament in Madison – where it’s been for every year but one since 1920. But the much newer girls’ tournament will move to Green Bay for at least the next two years – apparently to avoid scheduling conflicts with U-W hockey which had threatened the futures of both tournaments in Madison. The girls’ tournament had been in Madison since it began in 1976. W-I-A-A director Dave Anderson recommended the split decision – and the board unanimously okayed it. W-I-A-A officials could not say how long the girls’ tournament would be in Green Bay. They did not rule out having the event at Green Bay’s Resch Center after 2014 – but they did say there are no foreseen conflicts at Madison’s Kohl Center from then through 2020. Questions about the Kohl Center’s availability in 2013-and-’14 spurred the W-I-A-A to look elsewhere. And Green Bay had offered a package that included 50-thousand-dollars to cover the W-I-A-A’s first-year expenses. There was no immediate word on how Green Bay’s offer might be changed with only tournament on the way instead of two.

Thief Leaves Cell Phone At Crime Scene

4/25/25 - Madison Police say a 33-year-old man left his cell phone at the scene of the crime last Friday, when he ran off with a donation canister held by a 79-year-old Knights-of-Columbus volunteer. It happened at the entrance to a Madison grocery store, where the volunteer was handing out Tootsie Rolls to those putting money in his canister. Police quoted the thief as saying he had nothing to give. The volunteer handed him a Tootsie Roll anyway, while the thief grabbed the money can and ran off. The suspect’s cell phone fell to the ground, and the volunteer gave it to police. It had the man’s name and photo – and police used the store’s surveillance video for additional evidence. The suspect reportedly told police he spent the K-C’s donations on drugs.

Resources Board Hearing About CWD Case Today

4/25/12 - The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board will learn more Wednesday about the first wild deer in the far north that was found to have chronic wasting disease. A female deer near Shell Lake last fall was infected. And D-N-R staffers want the Board to respond by ordering at least 300 deer tissue samples within 10 miles of where the animal was found. The D-N-R has also said it’s required to ban feeding-and-baiting of deer in all counties within 10 miles. That includes Washburn, Polk, Burnett, and Barron counties. Until the recent discovery, the only C-W-D cases in northern Wisconsin involved deer in captive game farms. Hundreds of cases have occurred in the southern third of the state.

Accidents Halts Traffic On 151

4/25/12 - The northbound lanes of Highway 151 in Dodge County were closed down for about an hour yesterday afternoon after a two vehicle accident near Iron Road. Authorities say a Beaver Dam man driving a passenger car apparently fell asleep at the wheel and rear-ended a pick-up truck.  The Beaver Dam man was transported to the hospital with minor injuries. Both vehicles were towed from the scene.  Northbound traffic started moving again around 4pm.