Top Stories October 23rd

Jeep Pulled From Bay Harbor

10/23/09 - A vehicle drove into Beaver Dam Lake Thursday afternoon. Authorities were called out to the Bay Harbor area at 12:24pm. The Jeep Grand Cherokee had been traveling east on Highway G when the driver crossed a lane of traffic and entered the lake on the north side of roadway. EMT’s transported a 56-year-old male from the scene to the Beaver Dam Community Hospital. Deputy Chief Matt Christian says the driver wasn’t injured in the wreck but was admitted because of a pre-existing medical issue. The Dodge County Sheriffs Department is investigating.

Chemical Spill At Sensient

10/23/09 - A small acid spill caused some concern Thursday morning in Juneau. Official with Sensient Flavors say approximately 25 gallons of hydrochloric acid was spilled at their facility on South Mill Street just before 9:30am. The spill was quickly contained and there were no injuries. Juneau Emergency Management Director Dave Beal says a worker was transferring the chemical from one container to another when the spill occurred. It occurred outdoors, over blacktop and officials say there was no risk to people or the environment. Beal says the Wisconsin DNR and Juneau Fire Department initially responded before clearing the scene and turning the matter over to the company. Sensient has a plan in place and a private contracting firm was called in for clean-up. According to their website, Sensient manufactures technology-based flavor systems for some of the world’s best-known food and beverage brands.

Fox Lake Hears Impact of Detachment

10/23/09 - If the Fox Lake area is allowed to detach from the Waupun School District the remaining residents would see a significant increase in their tax rate for the first two years and lower rates by 2012. That was the word last night as the third in a series of meetings discussing the financial impact of a Fox Lake/Randolph merger was held. A standing room only crowd heard that if Fox Lake were to detach the Waupun would have over two million dollars less to educate students by 2013 and most likely would have to cut back on the number of programs offered. What happens in Randolph would be the exact opposite from Waupun as residents there would see lower mill rates for the first few years but by year five the merger would add $1 to $1.50 to the mill rate. There is one more informational meeting set for next Wednesday in Waupun. The referendum will be held on November 3rd.

Fitzgerald To Appoint Three On Wood Expulsion Committee

10/23/09 - State Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan is in the process of forming a special committee to decide whether Representative Jeff Wood should be expelled. The Independent from Chippewa Falls was arrested Wednesday for his third O-W-I within a year – the last two involving the use of prescription drugs. The legislative panel would have three Democrats and three Republicans, and it would hold hearings and give the 40-year-old Wood a chance to defend himself. Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald of Horicon tells us he will decide in the next couple days the three Republicans who will be sitting on that panel. Two-thirds of lawmakers would have to vote to expel him. It has only happened once in state history. Fitzgerald joined several legislators yesterday in calling for Woods resignation. Wood was ordered to remain sober after his drunk driving arrest last December in Columbia County. In September, he was picked up near Wausau for allegedly driving with excessive amounts of anti-anxiety medication. Wood’s attorney, Tracey Wood – no relation, said people should not rush to judgment before blood test results come out in his last two arrests. She said the medications could have been in the range considered to be therapeutic. Attorney Wood, who’s not related to the lawmaker, said her client continues to get treatment.

BDHS Students Organize Walk For Elementary Medical Fund

10/23/09 - Saturday is Make A Difference Day and two Beaver Dam High School students are hoping to do just that for kids in the district’s elementary schools. Jeni Tyjeski and her brother Josh are hoping to help local kids get to a doctor or a dentist even if they can’t afford to. Tomorrow’s Beaver Dam Elementary Kids for Kids Walk caps off Red Ribbon Week, a time set aside each year to recognize healthy choices and promote drug and violence prevention. The money that’s raised will be directed to the Pupil Personnel Services, Children’s Emergency Dental/ Medical Fund, which was established in 2007 after district nurses saw an increase in the number of students with little or no dental insurance. Jeni says the high school has a similar program, the Lean On Me Fund, but they also wanted to help younger students. The walk will basically follow the girls cross country route on the high school campus, weather permitting, otherwise the walk will be held indoors. Elementary school kids are asked to meet at the high school at 9am. Parents are welcomed to stay but Josh says there will be plenty of student athlete volunteers.

The Kids for Kids Walk and Rally, c/o Jeni and Josh Tyjeski, Beaver Dam High School, 500 Gould St., Beaver Dam, WI 53916. Questions can be directed to Associate Principal Bill Greymont at 885-7313, ext. 2110 or e-mail Jeni and Josh Tyjeski at jtyjeski@charter.net.

Cotten Gets Six Months For Burglary

10/23/09 - A Beaver Dam man was sentenced to six months in jail for burglarizing a home in March. Travis Cotten threw a large rock through a patio window at a residence on the 1000 block of Lakeshore Drive. According to the criminal complaint, the 22-year-old admitted to the break-in and said he wanted to steal their TV but he was scared off by their security alarm. When authorities executed a search warrant at his residence, they found a variety of stolen electronics equipment. Cotton denied stealing any of the items and told investigators that he paid cash from people who may have stolen them. He also denied any connection to a series of home break-ins that same night. Cotten was also ordered to pay $1278 in restitution or he will face an additional four months in jail.

Unemployment Drops For Second Straight Month

10/23/09 - Unemployment in Dodge County dropped more than a full percentage point in September but is still higher than surrounding counties. The unadjusted rate was eight-point-four-percent (8.4%) down from nine-point-six-percent (9.6%) in August but it’s still more than four-percent (4%) higher than last year at this time. Columbia County was down three-tenths (.3%) of a percent to seven-point-one-percent (7.1%). Jefferson County dropped nearly a full point to eight-percent (8%) even while Fond du Lac was down a full point to seven-point-eight-percent (7.8%). Washington County is down to eight-point-one-percent (8.1%). Overall, unemployment decreased in all but one of 72 counties. Statewide the unadjusted rate was down seven-tenths (.7%) of a percent to seven-point-seven-percent (7.7%).

H1N1 Vaccine in High Demand

10/23/09 - There's a huge demand for the H-1-N-1 flu vaccine, despite the public's concerns about its safety. In Cedarburg, about 17-hundred people were vaccinated last night at a clinic that ran an hour later than scheduled - and some were still turned away. Milwaukee holds its first public clinic today and tomorrow - but seven-thousand available doses are expected to be snapped up in just hours. Manufacturers had early production problems, and the government decided to distribute what it gets instead of waiting for its entire order. A recent poll found that just 49-percent of Americans thought the vaccine was safe. But Geoffrey Swain of the Milwaukee Health Department says it matches the flu strain very well, and the type of mercury it contains normally leaves the body very rapidly. Waukesha County plans to have clinics next week, and they hope to limit it to the main targeted group - healthy, non-pregnant people ages 2-to-49. The clinics are generally for those without full health insurance. Others are being told to get the vaccine from their providers, and they're not expected to get their supplies until November. In the meantime, state officials say the H-1-N-1 virus is not more prevalent now than it was in the spring. Over 50 Wisconsinites have been hospitalized this fall, and two have died from it.

Racine Gang Members Make Appearance in Court

10/23/09 - Forty-one gang members in Racine were charged in federal court yesterday for drug dealing and related violence. An indictment was opened which targeted the North Side Vice Lords and the North Side Gangsters. Authorities said they committed over 200 acts of violence which included homicides and other shootings in order to protect their drug-dealing turf. Prosecutors said at least two shootings and one death resulted from gang retaliation. Todd Schulz of the Racine Gang Task Force said the gangs got their power by scaring people, and the community was afraid to come forward and stop it. U-S Attorney Michele Jacobs said the community deserved better. G-B Jones of the F-B-I said the mass arrests would make the streets of Racine safer for some time to come. The indictment was the climax of a year-long investigation that's part of a national gang crackdown. Thirty-four people were in custody at last word, and seven others were being sought. Most defendants face anywhere from 10 years in prison to life if they're convicted.

Iraqi War Veteran Suing Former Employeer

10/23/09 - A contractor in south central Wisconsin is being sued for not giving an Iraq War veteran his old job back. Rocco Sylvester Junior of Portage is the second veteran in Wisconsin, and the 20th nationally to file such a lawsuit this year. Sylvester was a full-time foreman for Mort's Concrete of Rio (rye-oh) before he served with the National Guard in Iraq from mid-2004 until late 2005. The company hired two foremen while he was gone. And when Sylvester got back, he said he was given a non-supervisory post with fewer hours. The law requires companies to give veterans their old jobs back, or comparable positions. Sylvester's lawsuit was filed this week in Federal Court in Madison. It seeks lost wages and benefits. His father said Sylvester left the concrete firm in 2006 and got behind on his mortgage because it took him so long to find another job. The Guard eventually hired him in Camp Douglas before they sent him back to Iraq this year. The Labor Department tried to resolve Sylvester's complaint before referring it to the Justice Department. Mort's Concrete has not commented.

Health Care Providers Could See More Money for Medicare Patients

10/23/09 - Wisconsin's health care providers could get more money for treating Medicare patients under the final House version of the health reform bill. Democratic leaders have approved a deal to solve regional differences in how Washington reimburses doctors and hospitals to treat older patients. Wisconsin's lawmakers have argued for years that the state gets penalized under the current reimbursement formula - because many hospitals provide higher-quality care at lower costs than those in other states. Under the new agreement, the Institute of Medicine would perform two studies on changing the current system. One would look at regional differences, and the other would suggest a system that pays doctors on quality and not their volumes of cases. La Crosse Democrat Ron Kind says the current system wastes 700-billion-dollars a year by paying for procedures that aren't needed. And Kind says the savings would help people with insurance who pay what the government doesn't for Medicare patients. Appleton Democrat Steve Kagen says the new measure would improve quality and drive down costs. Wausau Democrat David Obey says the agreement avoids a regional fight in Congress over the reimbursement issue.

Man Who Killed Figure Skater in FDL Accident Sentenced

10/23/09 - The father of a Wausau area girl said the drunk driver who killed his daughter got away with a "slap on the wrist." 24-year-old Daniel Schaefer of Fond du Lac was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision. He was also fined seven-thousand dollars for driving the wrong way on a four-lane northwest of Oshkosh last January. His vehicle slammed head-on into another, killing 14-year-old figure skater Lacey Meinel of Weston. Her mother Jodene, who was driving, still has pain in her arms and wrists. The family was heading home from a skating competition. Schaefer's blood alcohol level at the time was point-two, more than twice the legal limit. He copped a plea deal in August in which pled no contest to homicide by drunk driving, and causing great bodily harm. Yesterday, the girl's family and friends wore green stickers saying "Lacey touched my heart," to try and convince Judge William Carver to order the maximum sentence. Jodene Meinel urged the judge to quote, "help Lacey change things for the better in Wisconsin and hold Daniel Schaefer responsible for his actions." Schaefer apologized, but the girl's father Steve said he can't forgive him.

Longer Deer Season Not Good for Everyone

10/23/09 - Not everyone's happy about the idea of a longer deer hunting season in Wisconsin. About 650 people have attended five public hearings on a proposal to extend the November gun season from nine days to 16. According to the D-N-R's Keith Warnke, people and groups have cited a number of reasons to oppose the change. They include conflicts with others in the outdoors, family hunting traditions, and fears that the deer population might get too low. The longer season was suggested as an alternative for lowering what's now a high deer population. That was after the controversial Earn-a-Buck program was scrapped, in which hunters had to shoot does before they could take bucks. The Natural Resources Board agreed earlier this month to get public opinions about a longer gun season. It would start two Saturdays before Thanksgiving instead of one. If it's approved, the change would take effect next fall. The final public hearings on the idea will be held Monday in Eau Claire and Appleton, Tuesday in Racine, Wednesday in Spooner and Pewaukee, and November third in Stevens Point.