Top Stories, February 26th

Donations Still Needed for Tanzanian Education Project

2/26/10 - There is still time left to donate to the Tanzanian Education Project. Beaver Dam-native Cassie Parkhurst is rallying community support to help collect a library full of books and educational supplies for the east African country. She started the task after returning from a 4-month volunteer opportunity there. Her mother, Nancy Parkhurst, told us on WBEV’s Community Comment that they are very close to filling a 20-foot container. Items being collected include elementary and middle school-level textbooks and reading books along with pencils and paper and lab supplies like rulers, protractors and globes. The container will only be at the YMCA of Dodge County until Sunday. After that arrangements will have to be made through the Kiwanis’s Club before March 15. Parkhurst says she is very proud of her daughter for undertaking such a project, but she admits she was a little nervous when she first heard she was going from her college dorm room in Winona, MN to Tanzania. Parkhurst says they are still about $2000 short of the $7000 needed to ship the container. While a couple fundraisers are scheduled, Parkhurst says they are also welcoming donations from the community before the container leaves port on April 1. Contact: Cassie Parkhurst at cassie.parkhurst@yahoo.com, Nancy Parkhurst at 920-887-0930 or the Kiwanis’s Sharon Lubkeman at 920-887-3788. The YMCA of Dodge County website is http://www.ymcaofdodgecounty.org/support-community.cfm. Tax deductible donations can also be made to www.africanchildrenshaven.org.

Average “Joe” Runs For Mayor

2/26/10 - The write-in candidate for Beaver Dam mayor was our guest on WBEV’s Community Comment this week. Joe Liverseed, a member of the class of 2010 at Wayland Academy, fell on valid signature short of appearing on the April ballot alongside incumbent Mayor Tom Kennedy. The 18-year-old says it all started out as a theoretical campaign for a class project but he wanted to do something real and it flowered into an actual campaign. Liverseed says his American Government teacher has been very helpful and the best advice she gave him is just to be himself. While his campaign may have started out as a class project, Liverseed says it’s no joke. He says there are changes that can be made in Beaver Dam and he’s the right guy to do it. Liverseed is a Columbus-native who moved to Beaver Dam four years ago to attend Wayland. He plans to attend UW Madison in the fall but if he is elected, Liverseed says he will postpone his education until the end of his term in office. He says Beaver Dam deserves the best from its government and the best for its people. Liverseed says there are challenges in Beaver Dam that will affect all residents in years to come. But with all those challenges, Liverseed says there is also a lot of opportunity.

Kennedy On Community Comment Friday Afternoon

2/26/10 - Beaver Dam Mayor Tom Kennedy will be our guest on WBEV’s Community Comment this afternoon. We’ll talk to Kennedy this afternoon about Monday night’s council vote for a new police station and related funding options. We’ll talk about the changes that will be taking place as part of the Phase II projects of the downtown redevelopment plan. Community Comment airs weekdays on WBEV 1430AM beginning at 12:35pm.

High Speed Rail Concerns In Waterloo

2/26/10 - New concerns are being raised about the high-speed passenger rail line that will go from Milwaukee-to-Madison. It’s supposed to go right through Waterloo. But residents there say it will cut their community in two. And Fire Chief Vern Butzine wonders how the trains will affect fire and emergency medical services. The concerns were expressed to local leaders at a public hearing Wednesday night. The new rail line would close two-of-the-nine existing rail crossings in Waterloo. There would be fencing, and perhaps sound barriers. The train is not scheduled stop at Waterloo. It will go at 79-miles-an-hour until the tracks can be upgraded – and then the speed would rise to 110. The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee has voted to accept 810-million dollars in federal stimulus funds to start up the high-speed line. The state has not said how it would pay for maintenance costs – and for that reason, many Republicans still oppose the line. The trains plan to stop in Oconomowoc and Watertown.

Drug Bust In Lodi Results In 239 Plants

2/26/10 - The Columbia County Sheriffs Department says they recovered 239 marijuana plants at a Town of Lodi residence this week. Sheriff Dennis Richards says Drug Unit officers executed a search warrant on Summerville Park Road on Tuesday. 33-year-old Joshua Driscoll has been formally charged with two felony counts of drug trafficking and misdemeanor possession. A 32-year-old Lodi woman is charged with Maintaining A Drug Trafficking Place and a 41-year-old Black Earth man was arrested for obstructing.

BDPD Investigates Vehicle Break-Ins

2/26/10 - A couple vehicles in Beaver Dam had their windows smashed Wednesday night or Thursday morning. A car on the 100 block of Stone Street and a van on the 1000 block of South Spring Street were targeted. In both incidents purses were stolen. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Beaver Dam Police Department or the anonymous We-Tip hotline 800-78-CRIME.

DNR Promises Better Deer Population Estimates

2/26/10 - Wisconsin wildlife officials hope to regain the trust of deer hunters with its biggest study ever on the state’s deer population. The D-N-R announced a two-million-dollar project yesterday called “Investing in Wisconsin’s White-tails.” It follows several years of complaints that the D-N-R over-estimated the size of the deer population, and almost devastated the herd with special hunting seasons and other rules. Secretary Matt Frank says they’ve gotten the message – and they’ve taken major action to ensure the best system possible. Among other things, they’ll work with U-W experts to research buck-and-fawn mortality rates and come up with hunter retention strategies. They’ll expand their data-base of hunter’s observations, monitor deer with radio collars, and study the usefulness of deer accident data in estimating the animal population. And the D-N-R promises to improve communication with those affected, and issue quarterly progress reports. The D-N-R’s Keith Warnke says some parts of the project will take five years to finish – and hunter participation will be crucial. It will be funded by an increase in the state’s share of federal firearm-and-ammunition taxes.

Wisconsin Bar Wants Records Expunged From CCAP

2/26/10 - The Wisconsin Bar Association wants the state Supreme Court to grant judges broader powers to expunge court records. Under current state law, judges can expunge records for young offenders who commit low-level crimes. The state bar wants the high court to expand this to any case where charges have been dismissed or a defendant has been acquitted. Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack says the court can't grant that authority unless the current state statute is changed. A proposal to do just that was granted a hearing this week (Wed), and more than 30 people turned out to testify for -- and against -- the plan. State Representative Marlin Schneider is the strongest legislative advocate for a new rule. But he says passing laws that allow innocent people to protect their privacy is a “tough sell” because lawmakers fear they'll be seen as soft on crime.