Top Stories, January 27th

Beaver Dam Native Working To Help Tanzania

1/27/10 - Beaver Dam-native Cassie Parkhurst is rallying community support to help collect a library full of books and educational supplies for Tanzania. Parkhurst told us on WBEV’s Community Comment yesterday that she began the Tanzanian Education project after returning from a volunteer opportunity in the poor east African country. She is collecting elementary and middle school-level textbooks and reading books along with pencils and paper, lab supplies like rulers, protractors and globes, also soccer balls and soccer jerseys. If all upcoming fundraisers go as planned, Parkhurst says they will still fall about $1500 short of the $7000 needed to ship the 20 foot by 9 foot container. Books and supplies can be dropped off at the YMCA of Dodge County in Beaver Dam through the end of March. Contact: Cassie Parkhurst at cassie.parkhurst@yahoo.com or the Kiwanis’s Sharon Lubkeman at 920-887-3788. Information on the drop-off site is at www.ymcaofdodgecounty.org/support-community.cfm. Tax deductible donations can be made to www.africanchildrenshaven.org/.

Quad Graphics To Acquire Canadian Printer

1/27/10 - Wisconsin’s largest printing firm will soon get a lot bigger. It was announced today that Quad-Graphics of Sussex will buy World Color Press of Montreal this summer, pending regulatory and stockholder approval in both countries. World Press is publicly owned, and Quad – the nation’s largest privately-held commercial printer – will go public once the deal is finalized. The combined operation will have 30-thousand employees, and World Color C-E-O Mark Angelson said there would not be layoffs in areas that don’t overlap – unless they were planning to be made anyway. He says the printing industry is consolidating, and the new deal is meant to combine and highlight the best of both firms. For Quad, it’s a chance to do more business in Canada and Latin America. Quad C-E-O Joel Quadracci says he sees the printing industry as a key component of a much bigger world that also includes digital displays. He says marketers want to use every possible medium to reach their audience. Angelson would not confirm Quad’s purchase price, saying the new stock has not been listed yet. The Reuters News Service says it’s around one-point-three billion dollars – and Quad has the financing set up for it.

Chase Results in 45 Days in Jail

1/27/10 - A Town of Beaver Dam man, who was drunk when he fled from authorities, will spend 45 days in jail. Dodge County authorities say Joshua Trout initiated a chase started around 2am on November 30 near Crystal Lake Road in the town of Beaver Dam and it came to an end 2.2-miles later. Trout’s blood alcohol was said to be .1-5-6. The 20-year-old pleaded to misdemeanor charges of Failure to Stop and Resisting an Officer. Trout was also placed on probation for two years and his license was suspended for three months.

Garage Damaged

1/27/10 - A garage in the Town of Beaver Dam was damaged by fire Monday night. Beaver Dam firefighters were called to W8014 Crescent Circle around 7:30pm. The homeowner extinguished the flames before crews arrived on scene. Chief Alan Mannel says the homeowner had recently returned from a fishing trip and plugged in a rechargeable depth finder, which caught fire. Damage is estimated at less than $1000. Personnel were on scene for about a half hour.

Kohl on Healthcare, Bernake

1/27/10 - U.S. Senator Herb Kohl of Wisconsin says healthcare reform shouldn't die, but he thinks it needs to take a back seat to creating jobs and solving the nation's stagnant economy. Kohl's talk with Forbes magazine managing editor Carl Lavin has appeared in Lavin's blog. The two met at Mitchell International Airport recently. Kohl told Lavin he would support Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's nomination for a second term, saying the economy needs stability if it is to recover. Wisconsin's other U.S. Senator, Russ Feingold, has apposed Bernanke's retention.

Legislators Seek Deficit Reduction Commission

1/27/10 - Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind would like to see a commission formed to help the federal government do a better job of pinching pennies. A bill co-sponsored by Kind and 108 others would call for a bipartisan deficit reduction commission. The La Crosse Democrat says the federal government needs to get its fiscal house back in order. He says one possibility is modeling a commission after the military base closing commission. While he says it’s a tough idea politically, it could make reducing spending more politically feasible if it creates a shared sacrifice. Kind says he’d like the commission idea approved statutorily or through a presidential executive order. He’s opposed to automatic cost of living increases for members of Congress, and he supports earmark reform.