Fitzgerald on Drunken Driving Reforms
12/17/09 - Senator Scott Fitzgerald says the drunken driving reforms passed by both houses yesterday sends a clear message to Wisconsin citizens that drunken driving is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. The new bill requires more offenders to drive sober by breathing into ignition interlocks to start their vehicles. Four-time O-W-I becomes a felony if it’s within five years of a third offense. First-time drunk driving becomes a misdemeanor if there’s a child in the vehicle. And judges can reduce jail time for offenders who get treatment. The only Wisconsin legislator to vote against the new reforms says it will just make jail over-crowding worse. Assembly Democrat Marlin Schneider of Wisconsin Rapids says three decades of reforms have done little to reduce the problem. Governor Jim Doyle has promised to sign the package approved 93-to-1 in the Assembly yesterday and 33-to-nothing in the Senate.
Survey Will Help Grant Application
12/17/09 - Fox Lake residents will be seeing a survey in their mailbox soon that city officials say will assist them in their attempt to receive a grant for upgrades to their sanitary sewer system. The city is currently under a court order from the state to upgrade the system to avoid bypassing sewage during times of heavy rain as they did in 2004 and 2008. Last month the common council approved a resolution allowing them to submit an application for a grant from the Wisconsin Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Emergency Assistance Program. City Administrator Bill Petracek says the survey is to show that the city is a low to moderate income community, which he says will increase there chances of getting the grant. Petracek says it’s a simple survey that would not take more than a few minutes to complete. The city recently passed a resolution that approved a loan agreement with the Wisconsin Rural Water Commission that authorizes the issuance of about $3.9-million in revenue bond anticipation notes to help pay for the upgrades. But they are hopeful with the new program they may not have to use as much of that money as originally anticipated.
New Mayor Likely in Fox Lake
12/17/09 - Fox Lake will most likely have a new mayor after next April’s election. Current mayor Gerald Mullin has not officially said he won’t run but City Clerk Sue Hollnagel says it’s doubtful. So far only one person, current council president Tom Bednarek, has submitted papers declaring his candidacy for mayor. In total there are four seats up for election on the council. So far three incumbents, Tom Jahnke in the 1st Ward, Percy Harper in the 2nd Ward, and Dan Bednarek in the 3rd Ward have taken out papers but have not yet returned them. One person, former city council member Dan Ault, has taken out papers for Harpers 2nd Ward seat. The fourth seat open, in the 3rd Ward, was most recently held by Anne McCarthy. The person that wins that seat would finish out her term and would be back up for election in the spring of 2011.
Wastewater Utility Rates to Rise in Fall River
12/17/09 - Village of Fall River wastewater utility rates will be going up in January. Recent decisions to regionalize wastewater collection and treatment systems with Columbus are expected to meet user needs for the next twenty years. However, systems improvements are going to cause the first utility rate hike in many years. Officials project a 2 to 3-percent increase that will go into effect January 1st 2010. The rate hike will help pay for the wastewater utility’s $7 million dollar improvement project. Planners are projecting Fall River’s part of regionalization construction could begin as early as spring of 2011, and be completed sometime in 2012. The Village Board will meet tonight at 6:00 pm to discuss actual utility rate figures and the possibility of changing from a quarterly billing system to a monthly billing.
Ohlemiller Convicted Of Molestation
12/17/09 - A Dodge County jury last night found a former Beaver Dam man guilty on charges that he molested three young girls who provided house cleaning services for him. It took the jury just over one hour to find Howard Ohlemiller guilty on two of three felony charges of Repeated Sexual Assault of the Same Child. The 80-year-old assaulted a young teenager and two pre-teens on a weekly basis before he would pay them for their custodial services. The offenses occurred over a two-year period ending in April. According to the criminal complaint, Ohlemiller admitted to the incidents to authorities, saying that the girls were at fault for initiating the activity. On the witness stand, however, he contradicted those statements and denied that there was any contact between him and the girls. Ohlemiller appeared in court in a wheelchair, looking frail, and needing a listening device to hear to the proceedings. Dodge County District Attorney Bill Bedker says the conviction sends a message that justice is blind and he says the jury made a decision based on the evidence and not on their emotions or sympathies. Ohlemiller rejected a plea offer last month and his victims were required to testify in court during the trial. He faces a maximum 75 years in prison at sentencing. Bedker says he will ask for a substantial sentence. Ohlemiller had been free on a signature bond since his arrest, but Judge Steven Bauer upheld Bedker’s request to revoke his bond and he will remain in custody until sentencing.
Doyle To Sign OWI Bill
12/17/09 - Governor Jim Doyle says he will sign a bill passed today by state lawmakers designed to cut down on drunken driving. The new law makes a first offense a crime if someone under the age of 16 is in the car. Driving drunk will be a felony on the fourth offense, instead of the fifth. State Representative Jeff Wood – who faces three O-W-I charges in separate incidents -- voted in favor of the increased penalties. The Chippewa Falls Independent recently underwent treatment in Minnesota, after being arrested last December in Columbia County for driving while drunk and twice since then for driving under too many anti-anxiety medications. Yesterday, an Assembly committee ordered him to respond to his charges by January fifth. The committee is considering a resolution to expel him. The only dissenting vote in both chambers came from Wisconsin Rapids Assembly Democrat Marlin Schneider who said the bill will do little to address the problem except put more young people in overcrowded jails.
Kottke on Clearview
12/17/09 - Dodge County officials outlined plans to build a new Clearview Long Term Care and Rehabilitation facility on Community Comment recently. For the past two years, the county has been studying the possibility of building a $44.5 million building. A construction manager has been hired and the county is currently in the architectural design phase. Clearview serves some of the county’s aging population but they also serve people with behavioral and mental health issues and they have one of three brain injury rehabilitation centers in the state. Board Chairman Russ Kottke says they services they offer are considerably lower than other state facilities. While some units make money, others currently do not and he says the county budget currently supplements Clearview to the tune of $2 million a year. County officials are working on establishing a multi-county commission that would allow Dodge County to collect the revenue shortfall – money not covered by Medicare -- from counties with residents at Clearview. He says there are already about two dozen counties interested and the hope would be to break even. Kottke says the money for the new construction would come from the half-percent sales tax increase that is already in place, and was approved decades ago specifically for building projects. Approx 206 residents are on the entire campus, which is designed for around 500. The new structure would house 236 beds. The final plan will come before the county board for consideration in March. If approved, the project would go out to bid in late May or early June.
Cook County Prison Transport Van Rollover
12/17/09 - A prison transport vehicle was involved in a rollover accident on Tuesday. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that a Cook County, Illinois transport van rolled over on Highway 49 in the town of Lomira. The driver and an inmate were taken to the Waupun Hospital for treatment.
Holiday Travel Expected To Increase
12/17/09 - More of us will be home for Christmas, and not just in our dreams. The Wisconsin Triple-“A” says over one-point-seven million state residents – or almost a third of us – will venture 50-miles-or-more one way during the Christmas and-or New Year’s holidays. That’s 10-point-six percent more travelers than last year. Triple-“A” Wisconsin president Tom Frymark says it’s another sign that people are getting more confident in their personal financial situations. Just over a-million-and-a-half Wisconsinites will drive. Another 80-thousand will fly. And for the drivers, it will be a little more expensive than last year, because gasoline costs around 80-cents more per gallon. Nationally, the Triple-“A” says Americans will spend an average of a-thousand dollars in travel expenses over the holidays. And their round trips will average just under 800 miles.
Van Hollen Serious About Carp
12/17/09 - Wisconsin’s attorney general says he’ll do what he can to stop the dangerous Asian carp from getting into Lake Michigan. J-B Van Hollen says he has asked state officials and experts to gather all the relevant information about the potential threat caused by the carp – and to let him know whether state and federal officials in Illinois have an adequate plan to stop the carp’s migration. Michigan’s attorney general said a few weeks ago he would pursue legal action -- after D-N-A tests showed that the carp had gone beyond an electronic barrier in Chicago designed to keep the fish out of Lake Michigan. A netting operation took place where the carp’s D-N-A had been found, and there were no actual Asian carp spotted. At issue is the diversion of Lake Michigan water from Chicago into the Mississippi River region. A judge ruled in the 1960’s the diversion could continue, but the case could be re-opened if future damages to the Great Lakes could be identified. The Asian carp was imported a couple decades ago, and has caused havoc on the Mississippi. The large fish gobble up food-and-plants eaten by native species.
Columbus Awards City Employee
12/17/09 - This is a week of awards and recognitions in Columbus. City Administrator Boyd Kraemer announced he was giving the City’s first “Administrator’s Performance Award” to Senior Center Director Marie Steffen. The Center had gained accreditation during 2009 as well as establishing a new monthly newsletter. City Department Heads were also thanked for their work at a Tuesday luncheon. Volunteers on City commissions, boards, and committees were recognized at a special Community Center reception.
DNR To Answer To Herd Control Measures
12/17/09 - Today will be a day of reckoning for Department of Natural Resources deer managers. DNR officials will be grilled about a November gun-deer season which left many hunters unsatisfied -- and it’s likely the event will draw a packed crowd of irate sportsmen and women. Assembly and Senate committees have scheduled a public hearing at the state Capitol. This year’s deer harvest was down almost 30 percent from last year. Many hunters blame the DNR’s herd management strategies for a decimated deer population, although other observers believe the state’s deer numbers have been artificially high for too long, and that reduced herd numbers going forward will mean less damage to crops and forest lands and fewer car-deer collisions on state roads. Hunters, they say, will simply have to work harder to get a trophy buck.
12/17/09 - Senator Scott Fitzgerald says the drunken driving reforms passed by both houses yesterday sends a clear message to Wisconsin citizens that drunken driving is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. The new bill requires more offenders to drive sober by breathing into ignition interlocks to start their vehicles. Four-time O-W-I becomes a felony if it’s within five years of a third offense. First-time drunk driving becomes a misdemeanor if there’s a child in the vehicle. And judges can reduce jail time for offenders who get treatment. The only Wisconsin legislator to vote against the new reforms says it will just make jail over-crowding worse. Assembly Democrat Marlin Schneider of Wisconsin Rapids says three decades of reforms have done little to reduce the problem. Governor Jim Doyle has promised to sign the package approved 93-to-1 in the Assembly yesterday and 33-to-nothing in the Senate.
Survey Will Help Grant Application
12/17/09 - Fox Lake residents will be seeing a survey in their mailbox soon that city officials say will assist them in their attempt to receive a grant for upgrades to their sanitary sewer system. The city is currently under a court order from the state to upgrade the system to avoid bypassing sewage during times of heavy rain as they did in 2004 and 2008. Last month the common council approved a resolution allowing them to submit an application for a grant from the Wisconsin Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Emergency Assistance Program. City Administrator Bill Petracek says the survey is to show that the city is a low to moderate income community, which he says will increase there chances of getting the grant. Petracek says it’s a simple survey that would not take more than a few minutes to complete. The city recently passed a resolution that approved a loan agreement with the Wisconsin Rural Water Commission that authorizes the issuance of about $3.9-million in revenue bond anticipation notes to help pay for the upgrades. But they are hopeful with the new program they may not have to use as much of that money as originally anticipated.
New Mayor Likely in Fox Lake
12/17/09 - Fox Lake will most likely have a new mayor after next April’s election. Current mayor Gerald Mullin has not officially said he won’t run but City Clerk Sue Hollnagel says it’s doubtful. So far only one person, current council president Tom Bednarek, has submitted papers declaring his candidacy for mayor. In total there are four seats up for election on the council. So far three incumbents, Tom Jahnke in the 1st Ward, Percy Harper in the 2nd Ward, and Dan Bednarek in the 3rd Ward have taken out papers but have not yet returned them. One person, former city council member Dan Ault, has taken out papers for Harpers 2nd Ward seat. The fourth seat open, in the 3rd Ward, was most recently held by Anne McCarthy. The person that wins that seat would finish out her term and would be back up for election in the spring of 2011.
Wastewater Utility Rates to Rise in Fall River
12/17/09 - Village of Fall River wastewater utility rates will be going up in January. Recent decisions to regionalize wastewater collection and treatment systems with Columbus are expected to meet user needs for the next twenty years. However, systems improvements are going to cause the first utility rate hike in many years. Officials project a 2 to 3-percent increase that will go into effect January 1st 2010. The rate hike will help pay for the wastewater utility’s $7 million dollar improvement project. Planners are projecting Fall River’s part of regionalization construction could begin as early as spring of 2011, and be completed sometime in 2012. The Village Board will meet tonight at 6:00 pm to discuss actual utility rate figures and the possibility of changing from a quarterly billing system to a monthly billing.
Ohlemiller Convicted Of Molestation
12/17/09 - A Dodge County jury last night found a former Beaver Dam man guilty on charges that he molested three young girls who provided house cleaning services for him. It took the jury just over one hour to find Howard Ohlemiller guilty on two of three felony charges of Repeated Sexual Assault of the Same Child. The 80-year-old assaulted a young teenager and two pre-teens on a weekly basis before he would pay them for their custodial services. The offenses occurred over a two-year period ending in April. According to the criminal complaint, Ohlemiller admitted to the incidents to authorities, saying that the girls were at fault for initiating the activity. On the witness stand, however, he contradicted those statements and denied that there was any contact between him and the girls. Ohlemiller appeared in court in a wheelchair, looking frail, and needing a listening device to hear to the proceedings. Dodge County District Attorney Bill Bedker says the conviction sends a message that justice is blind and he says the jury made a decision based on the evidence and not on their emotions or sympathies. Ohlemiller rejected a plea offer last month and his victims were required to testify in court during the trial. He faces a maximum 75 years in prison at sentencing. Bedker says he will ask for a substantial sentence. Ohlemiller had been free on a signature bond since his arrest, but Judge Steven Bauer upheld Bedker’s request to revoke his bond and he will remain in custody until sentencing.
Doyle To Sign OWI Bill
12/17/09 - Governor Jim Doyle says he will sign a bill passed today by state lawmakers designed to cut down on drunken driving. The new law makes a first offense a crime if someone under the age of 16 is in the car. Driving drunk will be a felony on the fourth offense, instead of the fifth. State Representative Jeff Wood – who faces three O-W-I charges in separate incidents -- voted in favor of the increased penalties. The Chippewa Falls Independent recently underwent treatment in Minnesota, after being arrested last December in Columbia County for driving while drunk and twice since then for driving under too many anti-anxiety medications. Yesterday, an Assembly committee ordered him to respond to his charges by January fifth. The committee is considering a resolution to expel him. The only dissenting vote in both chambers came from Wisconsin Rapids Assembly Democrat Marlin Schneider who said the bill will do little to address the problem except put more young people in overcrowded jails.
Kottke on Clearview
12/17/09 - Dodge County officials outlined plans to build a new Clearview Long Term Care and Rehabilitation facility on Community Comment recently. For the past two years, the county has been studying the possibility of building a $44.5 million building. A construction manager has been hired and the county is currently in the architectural design phase. Clearview serves some of the county’s aging population but they also serve people with behavioral and mental health issues and they have one of three brain injury rehabilitation centers in the state. Board Chairman Russ Kottke says they services they offer are considerably lower than other state facilities. While some units make money, others currently do not and he says the county budget currently supplements Clearview to the tune of $2 million a year. County officials are working on establishing a multi-county commission that would allow Dodge County to collect the revenue shortfall – money not covered by Medicare -- from counties with residents at Clearview. He says there are already about two dozen counties interested and the hope would be to break even. Kottke says the money for the new construction would come from the half-percent sales tax increase that is already in place, and was approved decades ago specifically for building projects. Approx 206 residents are on the entire campus, which is designed for around 500. The new structure would house 236 beds. The final plan will come before the county board for consideration in March. If approved, the project would go out to bid in late May or early June.
Cook County Prison Transport Van Rollover
12/17/09 - A prison transport vehicle was involved in a rollover accident on Tuesday. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department is reporting that a Cook County, Illinois transport van rolled over on Highway 49 in the town of Lomira. The driver and an inmate were taken to the Waupun Hospital for treatment.
Holiday Travel Expected To Increase
12/17/09 - More of us will be home for Christmas, and not just in our dreams. The Wisconsin Triple-“A” says over one-point-seven million state residents – or almost a third of us – will venture 50-miles-or-more one way during the Christmas and-or New Year’s holidays. That’s 10-point-six percent more travelers than last year. Triple-“A” Wisconsin president Tom Frymark says it’s another sign that people are getting more confident in their personal financial situations. Just over a-million-and-a-half Wisconsinites will drive. Another 80-thousand will fly. And for the drivers, it will be a little more expensive than last year, because gasoline costs around 80-cents more per gallon. Nationally, the Triple-“A” says Americans will spend an average of a-thousand dollars in travel expenses over the holidays. And their round trips will average just under 800 miles.
Van Hollen Serious About Carp
12/17/09 - Wisconsin’s attorney general says he’ll do what he can to stop the dangerous Asian carp from getting into Lake Michigan. J-B Van Hollen says he has asked state officials and experts to gather all the relevant information about the potential threat caused by the carp – and to let him know whether state and federal officials in Illinois have an adequate plan to stop the carp’s migration. Michigan’s attorney general said a few weeks ago he would pursue legal action -- after D-N-A tests showed that the carp had gone beyond an electronic barrier in Chicago designed to keep the fish out of Lake Michigan. A netting operation took place where the carp’s D-N-A had been found, and there were no actual Asian carp spotted. At issue is the diversion of Lake Michigan water from Chicago into the Mississippi River region. A judge ruled in the 1960’s the diversion could continue, but the case could be re-opened if future damages to the Great Lakes could be identified. The Asian carp was imported a couple decades ago, and has caused havoc on the Mississippi. The large fish gobble up food-and-plants eaten by native species.
Columbus Awards City Employee
12/17/09 - This is a week of awards and recognitions in Columbus. City Administrator Boyd Kraemer announced he was giving the City’s first “Administrator’s Performance Award” to Senior Center Director Marie Steffen. The Center had gained accreditation during 2009 as well as establishing a new monthly newsletter. City Department Heads were also thanked for their work at a Tuesday luncheon. Volunteers on City commissions, boards, and committees were recognized at a special Community Center reception.
DNR To Answer To Herd Control Measures
12/17/09 - Today will be a day of reckoning for Department of Natural Resources deer managers. DNR officials will be grilled about a November gun-deer season which left many hunters unsatisfied -- and it’s likely the event will draw a packed crowd of irate sportsmen and women. Assembly and Senate committees have scheduled a public hearing at the state Capitol. This year’s deer harvest was down almost 30 percent from last year. Many hunters blame the DNR’s herd management strategies for a decimated deer population, although other observers believe the state’s deer numbers have been artificially high for too long, and that reduced herd numbers going forward will mean less damage to crops and forest lands and fewer car-deer collisions on state roads. Hunters, they say, will simply have to work harder to get a trophy buck.
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