Top Stories May 15th

Man Charged with Attempted Homicide

5/15/12 - A Neosho man is accused of trying to kill a man after a bar fight.  32-year-old Michael Ehrlich is charged with Attempted First Degree Intentional Homicide and misdemeanor Pointing A Firearm which, if he is convicted, carry a maximum penalty of over 60 years in prison. According to the criminal complaint, Ehrlich and the victim had been at odds with each other for months. The victim accused Ehrlich of inappropriate contact with his girlfriend while Ehrlich was reportedly assaulted by the victim outside the bar the night in question. When the victim returned to his Town of Rubicon home Sunday morning to walk his dog, Ehrlich allegedly yelled that he was going to “kill him” and fired three shots at him. Ehrlich’s girlfriend told investigators that her boyfriend was sick the ongoing hostility so he grabbed his gun and went to the victims house to scare him. Ehrlich is being held in the Dodge County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond.

BD Man Accused of Rape

5/15/12 - A Beaver Dam man is accused of raping a young teen. Ridge Hodgkins is charged with Sexual Assault of a Child Under 16 Years of Age, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison upon conviction. The 18-year-old reportedly supplied a young girl with alcohol at a Beaver Dam park last October. The girl got sick and passed out and Hodgkins allegedly carried her to his home and assaulted her in his bedroom. The victim told investigators (quote) “he raped me.” A signature bond was set at $2500 yesterday and a preliminary hearing is scheduled next month.

Prisoner Will Serve Six More Years for Assaulting Officer

5/15/12 - An inmate at Dodge Correctional in Waupun could have up to six years added to his sentence for allegedly assaulting a prison guard. 30-year-old John V. Gross is charged with felony Battery By Prisoner for the incident last November. A corrections officer reportedly enforced a policy that prohibited Gross from watching television in his cell. Gross told the officer he was “ready to snap on someone and you’re here” and then struck him in the side of the face. A short struggle followed and the guard wound up with bruises to his cheek bone and lips. A signature bond was set at a $1000 yesterday and a preliminary hearing is on the calendar later this month.

BD Committee Discusses Street Maintenance

5/15/12 - City officials in Beaver Dam last night reviewed a draft a policy that governs street maintenance. Beaver Dam’s proposed Street Maintenance Policy outlines the guidelines for city officials to follow when assembling a timeline for street reconstruction and related borrowing. Operations Committee Chair Glen Link says city officials looked at policies in other communities and assembled a program that is more flexible. The policy was prompted by the proposed Lake Shore Drive reconstruction that was delayed last year as the result of backlash from neighborhood residents. One of the sticking points with residents was a plan to install sidewalks, which by city ordinance is paid for by the property owner. Supporters of the sidewalks say they are a common sense safety measure on a street with heavy pedestrian traffic. Lake Shore residents pointed to aesthetics, saying sidewalks and related tree loss would ruin the “feel” of the neighborhood; they were successful in delaying the project until at least the year 2020. The policy under consideration does not require sidewalks anywhere in the city though Link says it does recognize the safety of pedestrian walkways. Link notes that sidewalks would have to be installed on a street if the city were to accept any state or federal funding. Lake Shore Drive residents also complained that their only opportunity for public input was at the end of the process, right before a final vote by the council to assess the costs to property owners. The policy under consideration would add a preliminary informational meeting at the beginning of the process, before the designs are even drawn up. The Street Maintenance policy and the revisions approved last night will go before the full city council in resolution form.

No ‘Dropkick Murphy’s’ for Fitzgerald

5/15/12 - Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald is going to have to find a new song to play when he’s introduced at campaign stops.  The Horicon Republican, who’s running for the U.S., used the Dropkick Murphy’s song, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” at this weekend’s Republican Convention in Green Bay and the band wasn’t happy when they heard about it.  In a statement the band said in part… “The stupidity and irony of this is laughable…a crony of anti-union Governor Scott Walker using a Dropkick Murphy’s song as an intro is like a white supremacist coming out to gangsta rap”  On Monday, Fitzgerald said he couldn’t believe it caused the stir it did and that he wouldn’t be using the song again.  Outside of the song it was a good weekend for Fitzgerald, who’s lagged in the polls behind former Governor Tommy Thompson and former Congressman Mark Neumann.  He took the most endorsement votes at the convention, but fell short of the 60% needed to secure the endorsement.  Fitzgerald said he hopes the showing will bring in new money and help open the campaign. 

Walker Promises Brighter Jobs Summary for 2011

5/15/12 - When Wisconsin’s monthly job data comes out this week, Governor Scott Walker says it will include a quote, “brighter” jobs summary for 2011. The Republican Walker told a news conference in Oconomowoc Monday that the state’s year-end job creation numbers are being revised. And he says they’ll show more growth than what was previously reported – although he didn’t get specific. Job creation has become a major issue in the recall election against Walker, who faces a rematch with Democrat Tom Barrett in 22 days. Previous figures from the federal government said Wisconsin lost 97-hundred private sector jobs in 2011. The trend has more than turned itself around so far this year. But only 59-hundred private sector jobs have been created since Walker took office – after the governor had promised 250-thousand new private sector jobs during his current scheduled four-year term. For the last few weeks, Walker’s been saying that employers are holding off on creating jobs until after the June fifth recall so they’ll know the political climate. After that, he says we’ll see a quote, “tremendous take-off” in new jobs if he wins. But Walker says employment will slide if Barrett wins. The governor also hammered away again at Barrett’s taxing record as Milwaukee’s mayor. He said property taxes jumped 25-percent in Barrett’s eight-plus years at City Hall – and unemployment has risen 28-percent in that time.

NC Man Sentenced to 90-Days for Coin Box Break-in

5/15/12 - A second North Carolina man was sentenced to 90 days in jail Monday for breaking into a coin box at a Beaver Dam car wash. 30-year-old Tommy Holden pleaded “no contest” to a count of felony Possession of Burglary Tools and had misdemeanor charges of Attempted Theft and Criminal Damage to Property dismissed but read into the record. Co-conspirator Steven Ellis was also sentenced to 90 days in the Dodge County Jail last Thursday. Authorities were dispatched to the Shell Travel Mart at 821 Park Avenue at 1:15am on April 8 after the clerk saw two men trying to pry open the coin box in the car wash. The pair was found in possession of crowbars, screwdrivers and a pillowcase filled with $369.73 in loose change. They also found an atlas with dozens of locations listed in several states with notations by cities that said “difficult” and “easy.” In addition to three months in jail with Huber privileges, the pair was placed on probation for two years.

Beaver Lodge Owner Shot by BB Gun

5/15/12 - The owner of a Beaver Dam bar was shot by a BB gun inside his establishment on Friday. It happened just before 4pm at the Beaver Lodge on Madison Street. Deputy Police Chief Dan Schubert says the bb from an unknown shooter apparently came through an open door. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Beaver Dam Police Department.

Upgraded Outlook for State Utilities

5/15/12 - An investment firm has upgraded its outlook on three of Wisconsin’s major investor-owned utilities. Robert W. Baird-and-Company of Milwaukee announced upgrades for Wisconsin Energy of Milwaukee, Alliant Energy of Madison, and X-cel Energy of the Twin Cities – which serves much of northwest Wisconsin. Utilities have mostly been considered safe investments in the past. And in the wake of the Great Recession, Baird research analyst David Parker said “boring should be good again.” According to Baird, the owner of We Energies predicts a 5-to-6 percent growth in earnings this year, and an expected boost in the company’s dividends of at least 10-percent a year through 2014. Baird praised Alliant Energy’s growth, which is connected to environmental controls at its coal-fired power plants. And Parker’s report said X-cel has attractive opportunities to increase its rate base.