Top Stories, January 26th

Teens Safe after Vehicle Goes through the Ice in Fox Lake

1/26/10 - Three young men escaped serious injury last night after the vehicle they were in drove onto the thin ice of the Fox Lake channel and fell to the bottom of the lake near Indian Point. Authorities say a passerby called in the incident around 4:40pm, and when rescuers arrived the three 19-year-old occupants were standing on top of the vehicle. Fox Lake's Ice Rescue Team was able to safely bring the teens to shore a few minutes after 5pm. Officials say none of the three were injured but were taken to the Waupun hospital as a precaution. Fox Lake Fire Chief Bill Frank says this type of incident is a common occurrence in that particular area of the lake due to the water flowing through the channel and over the dam.

Emergency Management officials say this event stresses the importance of understanding the ice conditions and knowing that no ice should ever be considered safe. They say springs, dams and aeration equipment on lakes make them very unsafe especially if you are unfamiliar with where they are. Officials say when an incident like this occurs not only are the victims life in danger but also the people who must rescue them.

Operations Committee Tabs MSA For Phase II

1/26/10 - The Beaver Dam Operations Committee is recommending that the city sticks with MSA Professional Services to complete the Phase II projects of the downtown revitalization plan. If approved by the Common Council, MSA would provide engineering services and design work for a new pedestrian bridge in the Tower Parking lot, railings for the South Center Street Bridge and landscaping buffers. The company performed similar work for Phase One, and even helped the city secure the federal stimulus dollars that helped pay for the project. Some aldermen questioned why the work was not put out for bid. Mayor Tom Kennedy says MSA started the project and there is no reason to switch horses in mid-stream. Kennedy also said that MSA is only performing engineering on the project and the actual work on the project will be bid out. Aldermen Aaron Onsrud and Rob Radig both voted against the hiring. Kennedy says the plan is to have the designs for the projects ready by May and completed by August.

Launch Fees Could Increase To $5

1/26/10 - It could soon cost two dollars more to take a boat onto Beaver Dam Lake. The Operations Committee last night voted to recommend an increase in the boat launch fee from $3 to $5. Mark Born with the Lake Improvement Association says the additional money would be used to pay for, among other things, the costs associated with aeration, a pricey method that prevents large-scale fish kills during the winter months. It would also be used to pay for fish stocking, erosion control and educational projects.  Chair Laine Meyer cast the only dissenting vote, saying that the economy has driven down boat registrations and an increase in launch fees is not helping. Meyer said he would have been more comfortable with a one dollar increase. Born says the thinking of the Association is that $5 is quickly becoming the average, and the two dollar increase would keep the Association from having to request another increase for maybe a decade or longer. The last time launch fees were increased was 10 years ago. The fee for the county-owned Durgee Park launch would also increase to $5. The annual fee would remain unchanged. City residents seeking to pay one fee for the whole season would still pay $20; non-residents would pay $30. The Common Council will consider the increase at their February 1 meeting.

BD Man Charged With Solicitation

1/26/10 - A Beaver Dam man has been sentenced to three years in prison after paying for sex from a mentally disabled person in his care. Steven Rueckert pleaded “no contest” to a felony charge of Solicitation of Prostitutes for offenses that occurred on at least four occasions last spring. The 49-year-old had previously spent eight years in prison for molesting another child in the mid-90’s. Reuckert was also sentenced to three years of extended supervision.