Top Stories, January 21st

Hustisford Woman Back From Haiti

1/21/10 - A Hustisford woman is back at home today after being stranded in Haiti following this month’s devastating earthquakes. Carol Strysick, a Moraine Park Technical College nursing instructor, had been in Haiti as part of a crew of volunteers. Her family greeted her at the airport in Milwaukee late Tuesday afternoon. Strysick says it was not easy to get back home but they were protected while they were there because they were in the mountains, isolated from the damage. She says that she didn’t quite know the scope of the damage until she saw on television. Strysick says that the earthquake will not stop her from continuing to help the people of Haiti. She says she hopes that Americans continue to support relief efforts by making financial donations, especially after the news story fades from the headlines.

Waupun Woman Death Connected To Traffic Accident

1/21/10 - The Dodge County Medical Examiner has ruled that the November death of a Waupun woman was the result of a traffic accident. 85-year-old Tamako Scholten was killed in a one vehicle accident on Highway 151 at County Highway A in the Town of Trenton. Authorities say her vehicle swerved into the median and overturned, trapping her inside. Scholten died a week later. The ruling brings the total number of deaths on Dodge County roads last year to 18.

Authorities Investigating to Armed Robberies

1/21/10 - Two Dodge County businesses have been the victim of armed robberies within the past 24-hours. That’s according to a press release from the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department. The first took place at around 7:30pm at Game Stop on Frances Lane in Beaver Dam. The other robbery occurred about two hours later at the Shell Station on East Avenue in Lomira. The investigation into both incidents is ongoing.

Fox Lake Staring at Deadline

1/21/10 - A deadline of February 8th is looming for city council members in Fox Lake as they decide whether or not to approve a $1.19-million bid to help fix their wastewater water treatments system. The city has received three extensions so far but the bidder, Town and Country, says the February deadline is set in stone. If the city does not approve the offer it will be forced to rebid at a hefty price. Meanwhile, City Administrator Bill Petracek says they are still optimistic about getting grant money for the project following a recent survey that determined they were a low to moderate income municipality. The city is currently under a court order to upgrade their wastewater treatment system to avoid bypassing during times of heavy rain like they did in 2004 and 2008. The council is slate to meet again February 3rd.

Bond Set for 13-Year-Old Charges with Shooting his Father

1/21/10 - A half-million-dollar bond was set yesterday for a 13-year-old boy who’s charged as an adult with killing his father at their home near Lake Delton. Prosecutors said Michael Crisafulli shot his 55-year-old father Angelo in the back of the head, as the victim was sitting in a recliner on Tuesday night. Authorities said the boy got in trouble in school that day – he was punished by helping his dad fix a vehicle – and a quote, “balloon of anger” swelled up in Michael’s head before he grabbed one of his father’s weapons. Media reports said the boy was autistic, his parents filed for divorce seven years ago, and his father obtained custody after the child ran away from his mother’s home several times. A judge granted a defense request to have Michael undergo a mental competency exam. If he’s ordered to stand trial, the defense can ask that the case be heard in juvenile court. According to the criminal complaint, the boy told police he was expelled from Webb Middle School in Reedsburg, where he was a seventh-grader. The school did not confirm that.

White House Agrees to Summit on Asian Carp

1/21/10 - The White House has said yes to Governor Jim Doyle’s request for a summit on fighting the Asian carp in the Great Lakes. The meeting is planned for the first week in February. Obama Administration official Nancy Sutley says Great Lakes governors and the Obama cabinet will identify a rapid response to the threat the invasive carp poses. Sutley says the president wants to assure coordination among all the governments involved, so the most effective response can take place. Doyle and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm asked for the summit after the U-S Supreme Court said no on Tuesday to closing two navigational locks near Chicago where D-N-A evidence of the Asian carp was found. The bloated carp poses a threat to the Great Lakes’ natural species. And Wisconsin says it threatens the lakes’ multi-million-dollar fishing industry.

Funeral Held for Fort Atkinson Soldier

1/21/10 - Governor Jim Doyle and state Adjutant General Don Dunbar were among those at yesterday’s funeral for Marine Lance Corporal Jacob Meinert of Fort Atkinson. Family, friends, fellow Marines, and former school-mates said goodbye to the 20-year-old Meinert, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on January 10th. His high school counselor, Curt Brokmeier, said Meinert wanted to join the Marines so badly that he re-arranged his course schedule so he could graduate early. And he said quote, “That’s the guy I want defending this country.” Meinert’s cousin, Kristin Breheim, took note of the hundreds of ribbons hung in downtown Fort Atkinson in Meinert’s honor. She asked people to remember him after the ribbons come down and the cards stop being sent.