Mayville Teacher Arrested for Alleged Relationship with Student
 
4/26/12 - Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s investigators are looking into a sexual relationship between a 43-year-old Mayville High School teacher and a 17-year-old former student. The female teacher was taken into custody yesterday accused of having sexual contact with the boy mostly at a residence in Fond du Lac County. Sheriff’s Lieutenant Cameron McGee says some of the alleged contact also occurred during an incident in Marion, Iowa. There is no information or evidence that any of the alleged contact took place at or near Mayville High School. The woman has been placed on administrative leave. The Sheriff’s office will be forwarding charges to the District Attorney’s Office of sexual assault by a school staff members and child enticement. (KFIZ, Fond du Lac)
 
BDPD Investigating Two Dozen Vandalism Reports
 
4/26/12 - It turns out Beaver Dam police responded to around two dozen reports of vandalism on Tuesday, the same day the city’s downtown water tower was tagged with profanity-laden graffiti. According to Tuesday’s police briefing, there were reports of car windows being smashed, windshield wipers broken-off and license plates painted on South Lincoln Avenue and North Center Street. There was profanity spray painted on cars in the Budget Country car lot and along city streets. Homes and businesses were tagged on Front, Spring and Henry streets. There were racial slurs spray-painted on the overhead door at Chavas Auto, which is right next door to the police station on Park Avenue. The vandals reportedly even tried to start a garage on fire on East South Street. Mayor Tom Kennedy is asking the community to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity to 9-1-1. 
 
BDPD Citizens Police Academy Accepting Applications
 
4/26/12 - Applications for the Beaver Dam Police Department’s Ninth Annual Citizens Police Academy will be accepted through next Wednesday. Officer Bill Linzenmeyer says the 10-week course covers a number of topics including firearms training, defensive tactics, OWI procedures and cadets even participate in a ride-along. The academy is not designed to certify citizens to perform law enforcement services. The department has graduated 97 citizen cadets in the past eight years and is limiting. The course is free of charge, but is limited to 12 applicants who must be 18 years old, have a clean record and either reside or own property in Beaver Dam. The programs begin May 15 and continue on ten consecutive Tuesday’s through July 10, typically between 6pm and 9pm. Applications can be picked up at the police department. Contact Bill Linzenmeyer at 382-6529 or 887-4614 or email wlinzenmeyer@bdpd.org. 
 
Hopper Officially Cleared Of OWI Charges
 
4/26/12 - The last of three charges brought against former State Senator Randy Hopper for an alleged drunken driving incident last October has been dismissed by a Fond du Lac County judge. Judge Robert Wirtz dismissed the refusing to take a test for intoxication after arrest charge Wednesday. A jury last month found Hopper not guilty of operating while intoxicated and driving left of center charges. Hopper’s lawyer, Dennis Melowski of Sheboygan, says it was important for the former state lawmaker to clear his name. Melowski says Hopper took and passed field sobriety tests, which was the testimony of the Sheriff’s deputy who arrested him. The judge ruled there was not sufficient probable cause for Hopper’s arrest.
 
Milwaukee Woman Cited in DC For Another OAR
 
4/26/12 - A Milwaukee woman, who was the subject of a press release issued by Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls last week, has had another run-in with police.  Angelina Konaha has racked up 30 moving violations to date, a dozen of which are for Operating After Revocation. The sheriff issued the press release last week after Konaha ran a stop sign in the Town of Rubicon at 2:30am. The 29-year-old was cited again early Wednesday morning in Hustisford for Operating After Revocation. Konaha has had her license suspended or revoked a total of 26 times and has been classified by the Department of Transportation as a Habitual Traffic Offender. In fact, two weeks after the DOT revoked her driver’s license for five years, she was caught driving. In his original press release, Nehls pointed out that the state legislature decriminalized Operating After Revocation violations several years ago so that people would not face incarceration. The sheriff says it is frustrating for law enforcement who are just now starting to see the downside as offenders continue to drive and rack up citations, refusing to pay the fines and ignoring suspension notices. 
 
Jobless Claims Drop in March
 
4/26/12 - The jobless rate in the region, and around most of the state, was lower last month compared to February. The unemployment rate in Dodge County was at 7.7% in March, down a half point from the previous month. In March of last year, Dodge County was at 8.9%.  Columbia County was at 7.4% while Jefferson County stood at 8%...both down a half percentage point. Washington and Fond du Lac County are at 7.1%. Dane County continues to have the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 5% while Menominee County is again the highest at 16.2%. Of the state’s 72 counties, 67 had less jobless filings over the two-month period and one was unchanged. Department of Workforce Development Secretary Reggie Newson says “more people are working” and he “expects more to return to work as the hiring season progresses.” Newson also encouraged job seekers to check out www.JobCenterofWisconsin.com which is currently listing over 36,000 job openings across the state.
 
DNR’s Stepp Scolds Subordinate Over CWD
 
4/26/12 - The head of Wisconsin’s D-N-R scolded her subordinates in public Wednesday for waiting so long to test a deer infected with chronic wasting disease. Cathy Stepp called out D-N-R Wildlife Management Director Tom Hauge during a meeting of the state Natural Resources Board in Madison. The deer was shot near Shell Lake during last fall’s hunting seasons – and it was the first wild deer outside of southern Wisconsin to be tested for C-W-D. Hauge told the Board his department took possession of the animal last November 19th. The head of the deer arrived at the D-N-R’s headquarters in Madison on December eighth. But testing work didn’t begin until March sixth. Hauge blamed a communication gap. Stepp then told Hauge and the board that the delay created a hole big enough to drive a truck through. And she said it sent a message that the D-N-R no longer cared about chronic wasting disease – and that doesn’t help the department build trust with the public.
 
Kohl’s Added As Drop Off Location For Troop Care Packages
 
4/26/12 - Add the Kohl’s Department Store to the list of drop-off locations for troop care package items. 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. Donated items are being accepted at R and R Insurance in Beaver Dam, Continental Manor in Randolph and now also at Kohl’s Department Store on North Spring Street in Beaver Dam. The packages will be sent out by May 5 and shipping costs are estimated at $900. A more complete list of the items needed is on our website along with contact information.
 
Watertown Guardsman Named Soldier of the Year
 
4/26/12 - Two sergeants from southeast Wisconsin have been named the state National Guard’s Soldier-of-the-Year and Non-Commissioned Officer-of-the-Year. Sergeant Jeremy Smith of Watertown won the soldiers’ award over five other candidates. Muskego Sergeant Darren Habermehl won the N-C-O honor ahead of seven challengers. The awards were part of a grueling three-day competition that included physical fitness and firing tests, a combat tournament, water survival exercises, a nine-mile road march, interviews by senior officers, and more. Smith is from the guard’s 54th Civil Support team of Madison. Habermehl is a part of the 105th Cavalry Regiment based in Reedsburg. Both will advance to the national officer-of-the-year competitions in Michigan next month.