Top Stories November 3rd

Fox Lake Vote Today

11/3/09 - Polls are open this morning for residents of the Randolph and Waupun School Districts. They are being asked to decide whether the city and town of Fox Lake can detach from Waupun and join Randolph. The referendum is the only item on the ballot in Dodge County. Polls are open until 8pm.

MSA: ‘Raze Old YMCA Build New BDPD’

11/03/09 - The engineering company hired to conduct a space needs study of the former YMCA site as a possible police department is recommending a completely new structure. Marty Sell of MSA Integrated Services presented the study to the Beaver Dam Common Council last night and said that major electrical, plumbing and structural changes would be needed to get the police department to fit into the 50-year-old structure. Sell says in the long term, when operation and maintenance costs are factored in, a new building would be more cost effective. The cost to renovate the building is estimated at $4.4 million, while the cost of building new would be just shy of $5.4 million. He says that does not include operating and maintenance costs, which would be higher for a renovated police station. Sell says there would be several challenges in converting the old structure into a modern, energy efficient building that could serve the growing needs of the police department for decades to come. The city’s Operations Committee is reviewing the report and is expected to make a recommendation to the full council in the near future.

Committee Cuts Non-Union Pay Raises

11/03/09 - Budget deliberations continued in closed session last night after which Beaver Dam’s Administrative Committee voted to eliminate a 3% pay increase for non-union employees. Chair Don Neuert (left) says it was just too difficult to pass along a pay raise in this economy. The elimination of the pay raise would trim another $67,000 from the 2010 budget. The motion approved yesterday also removes about $43,000 that had been earmarked for union pay raises but was removed because the 2009 contract has not yet been finalized. Also, around $5800 in overtime costs was removed from the Fire Departments budget that had been earmarked for management. The Administrative Committee will look over the final budget on November 16th prior to advancing it to the Common Council for consideration that same evening.

Holiday Inn In Beaver Dam

11/03/09 - A Holiday Inn Express could soon be coming to Beaver Dam. That’s according to Mayor Tom Kennedy told us on WBEV’s Community Comment that the city is finalizing a developer’s agreement with the hotel chain. The company is looking to build an 89-room building, but it would not include a conference center which had been part of a now-defunct plan by Comfort Suites. The hotel will be located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Gateway Drive and Corporate Drive. The project is estimated to create 18 to 26 jobs. Kennedy says the developers are planning to get started this year.

BD Schools Need Infrastructure Upgrades

11/3/09 - Beaver Dam school officials say infrastructure improvements at the districts buildings are badly needed. At last night's school board meeting Superintendent Don Childs said that while the buildings themselves are in good shape the infrastructure inside needs work. He says they will concentrate their upgrade efforts to lighting, heating, ventilating and air conditioning. Childs say the district will continue to narrow down the priorities at which point conceptual drawings and preliminary dollar figures would be put together. Those items will then be brought to the school board for possible action. Childs hopes that can happen by early 2010.

New Law Would Allow Districts to Teach Students How to Use Birth Control

11/3/09 - The Wisconsin Assembly is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would teach school students how to use birth control. The law would apply to the 60-percent of schools that offer sex education. They would have to provide information on both contraceptives and abstinence in an age-appropriate manner. Parents could see the materials, and let their teens opt-out if they choose. Planned Parenthood says students need a more comprehensive sex-ed program, because sexually-transmitted diseases are growing and more teens are having babies. The state's largest teachers' union also supports the measure, along with groups that represent health departments and nurses. They say it's not enough just to teach abstinence. But pro-life groups say contraception should not be taught in schools, and the bill takes local control away from school districts. The Wisconsin Catholic Conference also opposes the measure.

Impact of Changes on Green Valley Enterprises Not Yet Known

11/3/09 - Officials with Green Valley Enterprises in Beaver Dam say it's too early to tell how proposed changes by the Department of Health Services will affect jobs for disabled adults. The Department has submitted a waiver renewal application with the federal government seeking to change the definition of prevocational services as it relates to job placement in the work centers like Green Valley and about 70 others statewide. Green Valley's Interim Executive Director Jack Hankes says that will limit the hours and days that an adult could be employed in a work center. They would instead be placed in community work settings, which would change the reimbursement scheme for agencies like Green Valley. Hankes says the change will also affect manufacturers that rely on a large number of workers on short notice. Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald has drafted a letter with the signatures of 45 other legislators asking Governor Doyle and DHS to reverse their decision. Calls to the Department of Health Services were no immediately returned.

Milk Prices Up Over Last Month

11/3/09 - Things are looking up a little bit for Wisconsin dairy farmers. That's because their milk checks will be a tad bigger this month. The October price for the state's milk producers is expected to average 14-dollars-and-40-cents for every hundred pounds. That's 90-cents more than a month ago - but it's still 4.40 less than the same time in 2008. Wisconsin's average price is 60-cents higher than the nation's overall average of 13.80 for October. And when feed costs are considered, the Daily Dairy Report says the income-over-feed-cost is just over seven-dollars per hundred pounds produced. That's the highest it's been this year, but the report says the average milk price is still well below the total cost of production.

Keep an Eye Out for Deer while Driving

11/3/09 - Law enforcement agencies are reminding motorists to keep an eye out for deer this time of year. Authorities say they see an increase in car versus deer accidents in the early fall. Dodge County Patrol Captain Molly Soblewski says the best way to avoid accidents is to be aware of your surroundings, especially in wooded areas or places where corn has yet to be harvested. Over the past two weeks there have been close to 15-accident involving deer, including three on Sunday alone.

State Says Avery Does Not Deserve New Trial

11/3/09 - The state Justice Department said Steven Avery sealed his own fate - and he should not be given a new trial in the brutal death of Teresa Halbach near Mishicot. Avery's lawyers said it was illegal for a juror to be replaced after deliberations began in his original trial in Manitowoc County in 2007. But assistant attorney general Tom Fallon said Avery could have done several things after juror Richard Mahler said he needed to leave for a family matter. Fallon said Avery chose a substitute juror - and while it's not a part of state law, Avery still had the right to make the choice. Avery's lawyers also contended that the jury should have heard about the possibility that other relatives might have killed Halbach at the family's auto salvage yard on Halloween of 2005. But Fallon said Avery got a fair trial with full consideration and an aggressive defense. Manitowoc County Circuit Judge Patrick Willis has until December first to decide whether to grant Avery's request for a new trial.

Baby Born on the Sidewalk in Eau Claire

11/3/09 - A baby was born yesterday just before his mom could enter a hospital in Eau Claire. Kellen Kohl emerged on the sidewalk outside Sacred Heart Hospital. The baby's grandmother drove Tiffanie Kohls in from Stanley - but she couldn't hold back as the car pulled up. The grandmother ran into the hospital, grabbed a wheelchair, and asked two security guards for help. But it was too late. The baby arrived on the sidewalk before the maternity room nurses could race to the front door. Kohls and her new son Kellen were both doing fine at last word.

Rodgers Sign Stealer is City Worker

11/3/09 - The man arrested for stealing a temporary Aaron Rodgers street sign in Green Bay is a city employee. 47-year-old Thomas Hodkiewicz was jailed until he paid a 366-dollar bond, the amount of his theft citation. He's on paid leave from his technician's job with the Green Bay Water Department, while his bosses investigate. Mayor Jim Schmitt said he was quote, "beyond disappointed" that a city employee was arrested. Schmidt dedicated the sign on Friday, re-naming Minnesota Avenue as Aaron Rodgers Drive for the weekend as part of a series of gags for welcoming Brett Favre back to town. Police said they saw the sign in the Hodkiewicz's car early Saturday. He told officers he took the sign on a dare - and he was going to take it home, take pictures of it, and put it back. He said he got caught up in all the hype over the Packer-Viking game, and he told officers he was quote, "an idiot." The street went back to being Minnesota Avenue yesterday.

Woman Faces Drunk Driving Charges After Calling Herself In

11/3/09 - A central Wisconsin woman is due in court December 10th after she had herself arrested for drunk driving. 49-year-old Mary Strey of Granton is charged in Clark County with first-offense O-W-I - a non-criminal matter. Authorities said her blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit when she called 9-1-1 while driving three miles northeast of Neillsville the night of October 24th. The dispatcher asked if she was driving behind the suspect's vehicle and she replied quote, "I am them." According to the 9-1-1 call, Strey admitted being drunk and said she didn't want to hurt anybody. She said she was drinking quote, "all night long." The dispatcher told Strey told pull over and turn on her flashers.