Vandalism
Spree Includes Hate Crimes
4/27/12 - There have been 59 separate incidents of vandalism in
Beaver Dam since March 1. Police Chief
Ron Smith says it appears to be tied to the same group of people. The most
regular crime over the past several weeks has been rocks thrown through car
windows though two-dozen incidents of graffiti occurred in one night earlier
this week. Smith says there were more officers working that night than any
other Tuesday in years and officers has their hands full with a variety of
calls, including a high speed chase that ended in a traffic crash. That leads
him to believe the perpetrators may have access to a police scanner. Smith says
some of the incidents have moved beyond simple vandalism. A Latino slur was
spray-painted on a business owned by a Latino family which Smith says is a
biased hate crime which carries a much stiffer penalty that vandalism. Multiple
agencies have been involved in this investigation and Smith says he is using
overtime hours as efficiently as possible to bring extra officers in during the
evening hours to supplement the police regular shift with foot and bicycle
patrols. Officers are also exchanging
information on the incidents during briefings at every shift change. All but
one incident was reported the following morning, and that lack of eyewitnesses
has hindered the investigation. Smith is urging the public to be on the lookout
for suspicious activity. He says if your dog is barking in the middle of the
night, assume it is suspicious activity and call the police.
Soldier
Killed in Afghanistan
4/27/12 - A decorated soldier from Rock County
has been killed in Afghanistan. The Pentagon said 21-year-old Army Corporal
Benjamin Neal of Orfordville died Wednesday after his unit was hit by a
roadside bomb. Neal was on his second mission to Afghanistan in a parachute
infantry regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg North
Carolina. His commanding officers called Neal a “true paratrooper” who took
great pride in being a team leader. Among his many awards were the Purple
Heart, the Bronze Star, and the Army Commendation Medal. Neal graduated in 2009
from Orfordville Parkview High School, where he led the wrestling team.
District Administrator Steve Lutzke called the death a huge loss for both the
school and the community of 12-hundred. Some of Neal’s family members attend
Parkview, and grief counselors were on hand yesterday.
Steffen in
Court
4/27/12 - A Hustisford woman has waived her
right to a preliminary hearing on charges that she supplied her son with drugs
so that he can sell them. 55-year-old Debra S. Steffen is charged with Using a
Child to Distribute Drugs, Conspiracy to Distribute Drugs, Maintaining A Drug
Trafficking Place and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. Authorities
say an undercover member of the Dodge County Drug Task Force purchased 20
narcotic pills late last year from her teenage son. Steffen allegedly told
investigators that she knew he was selling her prescription medications to make
“a few extra bucks” and said he was not a “high-level drug dealer.” Starting
last summer, she reportedly started to give him about half of the 60 pills she
is prescribed each month and he would sell them for between $2 and $3 each. If
she is convicted, the four felony charges carry a maximum total of over 30
year’s in prison. Steffen will be arraigned next month.
Home and
Business Expo Begins Today
4/27/12 - The Home and Business Expo kicks off this afternoon
at the Heritage Village Mall in Beaver Dam. The annual event is hosted by the
Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce. Executive Director Phil Fritsche says the “Home
and Business Expo” will include around 65 booth spaces featuring a wide variety
of commercial and non-profit organizations for both the home and office.
Fritsche says it’s also a good opportunity to meet local business
representatives one-on-one. The Cream
Cheese contest – now in its 8th year - will be among the activities
held on Saturday. Participants are competing for a top prize of $250 in each of
three categories; visitors will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to
sample the winning recipes. The Home and Business Expo will be held from 4pm to
8pm today (Fr) and 9am to 5pm Saturday at the Heritage Village Mall. The event is free to the public.
ID Won’t Be
Required to Vote in Recalls
4/27/12 - Wisconsin voters were assured Thursday that they will
not need to show a valid photo I-D to vote in the six recall elections in May
and June. The Fourth District Court of Appeals in Madison said no to
re-instating the voter I-D law, until it can decide whether to throw out a
permanent injunction against the mandate. That injunction was sought by the
League of Women Voters, and the appellate court said its final decision won’t
come until sometime after the general recall elections on June fifth. The ruling
comes one day after a second appellate court in Waukesha refused to throw out
the temporary injunction which halted the I-D law, until a judge makes a final
decision in a trial held earlier this month. The trial was connected with a
separate lawsuit against the voter I-D law from black and Hispanic groups in
Milwaukee. The judge said his decision probably wouldn’t come until late June.
As a result, the State Justice Department failed to bring back the photo I-D
mandate in time for the upcoming recall elections against the governor,
lieutenant governor, and four state senators.
Oshkosh Corp Profits Down
4/27/12 - The Oshkosh Corporation reports a
45-percent drop in its quarterly profits, caused mainly by a big change in the
company’s military vehicle business. Oshkosh said this morning that it netted
37-million-dollars from January-through-March, down from 68-million in the same
quarter of 2011. Earnings dropped from 74-cents a share to 39-cents. Total
sales rose by 19-percent to around two-billion dollars. Military vehicle sales
were also up by one-and-a-half percent – but the operating income from its
Defense Division plunged by 70-percent because the military switched from more
profitable heavy vehicles to lighter-and-cheaper models. However, Oshkosh did
have a 61-percent jump in its sales of access equipment – like aerial work
platforms.
Plenty of Power for the Summer
4/27/12 - No matter how hot it gets this summer,
Wisconsinites will have enough power to keep their air conditioners humming.
The operators of the Midwest power grid said Thursday that Wisconsin and 11
other states in its territory will have 114-thousand megawatts of electricity
to handle spikes in the demand. And the regular demand is expected to be only
about 90-thousand megawatts, as high-usage industries continue to recover from
the Great Recession. The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator is
required to have a reserve of just under 17-percent to provide juice during
heat waves. But the actual reserve is much bigger than that, at around
27-percent.
More TV’s Being Thrown Away
4/27/12 - They can’t throw them in the garbage –
so more Wisconsinites are dumping their old computers and T-V’s in roadside
ditches, farm fields, and nature areas. The state D-N-R says it’s a disturbing
trend, and it’s illegal for folks to dump their electronics in the wilderness.
Lawmakers voted in the 2009 session to require people to recycle their old
electronic items instead of throwing them in the garbage – where they would
eventually go to landfills with the potential of polluting the groundwater. The
D-N-R says dumping those items also threatens Wisconsin’s waterways. The state
has an E-Cycle program in which 150 collectors operate more than 400 sites
where folks can drop off their old electronics, either for free or a small
charge. A list of those places can be seen on the D-N-R’s Web site.
Newest Wisconsin Millionaire
4/27/12 - Mike Block of New Berlin is
Wisconsin’s latest lottery millionaire. He cashed in his winning Powerball ticket
yesterday, after matching all five regular numbers on Wednesday night to win
the game’s second-prize of a million dollars. Block let the computer pick 10
sets of numbers – and besides his big win, he won four-dollars on a another
set. After taxes, he took home just over 672-thousand dollars. A Speedway
convenience store in New Berlin sold the ticket, and they’ll get a 20-thousand
dollar commission. Block is the third million-dollar Powerball winner in
Wisconsin this year, and the second this month. Julie Trainor of Whitehall won
a pair of million-dollar prizes in the April 14th game.
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