Top Stories, February 13th

Ground Broken On Madison Place

2/13/10 - A groundbreaking ceremony was held this morning at the site of a major downtown Beaver Dam housing development. Silverstone Partners of Middleton is constructing a 62-unit, three-story independent senior living center at the site of the former Thomas Chevrolet lot. Mayor Tom Kennedy told the group of city officials and business leaders that the event was a milestone and a positive first step in reaching the right balance between retail businesses, leisure activities and mixed-housing in the central downtown district. Silverstone CEO Tom Sather says the $7.1 million dollar project will create jobs, eliminate blight, and will continue the revitalization of downtown Beaver Dam all while providing much-needed high-quality affordable housing for seniors. Madison Place will offer 36 one-bedroom apartment and 26 two-bedroom apartments to those 55 and older. The completion date is set for this fall.

Charleston House Plans Memory Care Facility

2/13/10 - Officials with Charleston House Assisted Living in Beaver Dam have announced a major expansion. The Charleston House’s Gail Fakes says plans are in the works for a new, 42-unit secure Alzheimer’s facility. The new Charleston House Memory Care Facility will be located on Evergreen Lane adjacent to their Assisted Living building. Fakes say they are still waiting on some regulatory approvals to go through but they hope to have ground broken by April.

Columbus PD Moves To New Location

2/13/10 - The Columbus Police Department will be opening to the public at their new location on Monday morning. Recently sworn-in Police Chief Daniel Meister was the first person to move into his office at the renovated Law Office Building at 159 South Ludington Street. The Police Department and Department of Public Works have been moving City Hall office furniture and files to the new location during this past week. Final switches in communications and computer systems are being made. Phone Numbers and Office Hours have not changed. Officers are on duty 24 hours a day and can be contacted by calling 623-5919. The new “Public Safety Building” will be open from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. The public can also use the phones located in the lobbies at City Hall and the new Police Station to reach the dispatch center during Non Business Hours.

BDPD Sweeps School Buildings

2/13/10 - The Beaver Dam Police department conducted a drug sweep at the Middle School and High School Friday morning. Chief Dale Boldt says marijuana and a pipe were recovered from the lockers of two students at the high school. The boys were removed from school pending further action. Nothing was recovered in the Middle School sweep.

Severe Wreck Near Ixonia

2/13/10 - A Waukesha woman was seriously injured in a one-vehicle accident near Ixonia. According to the Wisconsin State Patrol, the 47-year-old was traveling eastbound on I-94 around 5:15pm yesterday when she veered off the roadway, entered the ditch and rolled several times. First responders had to cut the driver from the vehicle. She was transported by Flight For Life to Froedtert Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Her name is being withheld pending notification of family. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Baraboo Shooting

2/13/10 - A man who stormed into his house in Baraboo, and shot his roommate before killing himself, was identified today as 50-year-old William Ballerio. Police said the roommate, 29-year-old Timothy Vogel, was wounded by a single gunshot to the head. He was in fair condition at last word at U-W Hospital in Madison. The incident happened yesterday afternoon. According to police, Ballerio entered his house, told the owner and another person to leave, and ordered Vogel to stay. The ones who left called 9-1-1. Media reports said Ballerio had called relatives during a police stand-off. He reportedly admitted shooting a man, and said he was going to kill himself. Tactical officers from Sauk and Columbia counties later went in and found that the two were shot.

Man Arrested in Dodge County For 7th OWI

2/13/10 - A man from northern Wisconsin was arrested earlier this week in Dodge County for his seventh OWI. Authorities clocked 44-year-old William Menze of Marquette allegedly going 77-miles-per-hour in a 65-mile-per-hour-zone on Highway 60 early Monday night. Menze’ preliminary blood alcohol content was said to be (point) .13, which is over the legal limit of .08. This is the third time Menze has been arrested in Wisconsin for drunken driving. He also been arrested and convicted of OWI in Michigan four times. If convicted of the most recent charge Menze could spend up to 10-years in prison. He’s currently being held on a $30,000 cash bond.

Oshkosh Corp Secures Big Contract

2/13/10 - Oshkosh Corporation gets the word from the U.S. Army -- it will start work next year on a three-billion dollar contract to building 23 thousand military trucks and trailers. The company says the huge military contract could mean jobs for about two thousand people. Two companies who submitted bids higher than the one from Oshkosh questioned whether the Wisconsin company could meet the price it quoted. The U.S. Government Accountability Office had told the Army to review the decision last December. Oshkosh Corporation reported the Army affirmed its deal yesterday.

Doyle Supports Online Court Record Tweaks

2/13/10 - Governor Jim Doyle says a judge should have the power to delete an innocent person’s court record. Doyle told the Wisconsin Newspaper Association’s meeting in Middleton that on-line court records make life a nightmare for those charged but never convicted. The governor says a bill to limit the public’s access to the popular on-line court records goes too far – but he agrees that something must be done to protect those who are truly innocent. Meanwhile, the State Supreme Court will hear arguments February 24th on a request by the State Bar for a rule that allows all state judges to expunge court records for those whose charges are dropped. Doyle says if an on-line court record is deleted, then the paper record of that case should be trashed as well. Those paper courthouse records would still be kept under Assembly Democrat Marlin Schneider’s bill to let the general public see only the on-line records of those found guilty.

Fee’s Increase 2X Over Property Taxes

2/13/10 - Wisconsin cities and villages are raising their fees twice as much as their property taxes. That’s according to the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, which said municipal fees rose 81-percent from 2000-to-2007, while property taxes rose 42-percent in that period. The alliance said the 74 largest communities outside of Milwaukee took in 280-million in fees – almost double the 150-million-dollars they collected in 2000. But the fee money still accounted for just nine-percent of local revenues, while the property tax still made up 22-percent of revenues. The tax alliance blames stagnant-or-falling state aids for the explosion of fees, many of which are for services that property taxes used to cover. The average resident in the 74 communities paid almost 107-dollars in municipal fees in 2007. Madison was the highest at 221. Plover was the lowest at almost 19-dollars per resident.

Asian Carp Debate Continues

2/13/10 - Cargo and passenger vessel operators want the Chicago shipping locks to stay open -- and that's what they told federal officials Friday in Chicago. Representatives from the maritime industry packed a public meeting room to discuss strategies for keeping the Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes. A plan by the Obama administration would cost 80 million dollars and involve closing the Chicago locks, but less than environmental interests want. It would strengthen the existing electronic barrier. Wisconsin is among six states asking the locks be totally closed. Illinois is the only state opposing the closure. People at the meeting said closing the locks would damage their business at a time when they can least afford it.

Sheridan Calls Duplicate Reimbursement A MIstake

2/13/10 - A spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan calls inappropriate travel reimbursements from the state an honest mistake. Sheridan has paid back 631 dollars. Records released yesterday showed the lawmaker was paid 320 dollars by both his campaign and the state to attend a meeting in California last November. Sheridan says he hadn't asked for reimbursement from the state, but the check was cut when his flight itinerary was mistakenly submitted to the chief clerk of the Assembly with other travel materials.

Sturgeon Fishing Season Underway

2/13/10 - Lake Winnebago will be filled with spears beginning Saturday, as the annual sturgeon fishing season gets underway. Over 10-thousand licenses have been sold. This year’s harvest limits are a-thousand adult males, 740 adult females, and 350 juveniles. And the length of the season will be determined on how fast those fish are speared. The D-N-R says there are some big sturgeon waiting to be taken. Crews on Lake Butte des Morts near Oshkosh spotted several fish over 190 pounds last fall.

State Offices Closed Monday For Presidents Day

2/13/10 - DMV Customer Service Centers throughout Wisconsin will be closed for business next Monday, as will all state office buildings. Monday is Presidents’ Day, which a federal holiday. It’s also a mandatory unpaid furlough day for state employees. The DMV’s automated phone system and online services will remain available so motorists can still make road test appointments or pay vehicle registration fees.