Top Stories February 28th

Jansen on Superintendent Search


2/28/10 - Columbus Superintendent Mark Jansen has responded to last week’s withdrawal of an internal candidate for his job that left the search for a new Superintendent in limbo. Jansen said there is still plenty of time before his July 1st departure for a smooth transition to a new Superintendent. The two most likely ways the Board will use to find a new top administrator would be to appoint a search committee or hire a search firm. Unless a special meeting is called before then, the School Board will be having a lively discussion on how to proceed with the search at their March 8th meeting.


Authorities Investigating Car Break-in


2/28/10 - The Sheriff’s Department is once again investigating a car break-in, this time in the town of Hubbard. Authorities say a 78-year-old man had checks taken from his vehicle and one of the stolen checks was later cashed in Milwaukee. This latest theft is added to more than a dozen car break-ins in and around Dodge County over the past three weeks. If you have any information about the theft you can call the Sheriff’s Department or the anonymous WE-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME.


Wisconsin Women OK After Earthquake


2/28/10 - A Wisconsin woman caught in Chile during one the biggest earthquakes on record contacted her parent’s yesterday morning, just a few hours after the 8-point-8 magnitude quake struck the country. Catherine Curley told her family the building in Santiago where she was staying was still standing, but didn't have power or water. Michael Curley of Delafield says his daughter left for Chile three weeks ago. She was to start working with grade school children this Wednesday. She was just starting a two-year tour of duty as a social worker in Chile.


State Trying to Reassure Those with Expiring Unemployment Benefits


2/28/10 - Wisconsin state officials offer reassuring words for people drawing unemployment benefits -- you're not going to be knocked off overnight. A filibuster in the U.S. Senate last week blocked passage of renewed federal funding for unemployment insurance. A Washington-based advocacy group estimated 27 thousand Wisconsin recipients would exhaust their benefits next month. The state Department of Workforce Development disputes that. It says Wisconsin is set up differently from other states, pointing to an additional safety net to keep the program solvent. Senators have vowed the federal funding will be brought up again this week.


School to Offer Abstinence-Only Class


2/28/10 - Some lawmakers think offering an abstinence-only class will present legal difficulties for the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District. A new state law says all sex education courses have to offer information about contraceptives. School officials says the state Department of Public Instruction issued a legal opinion letting the district move ahead. The DPI says it hasn't formally approved the approach. West Allis-West Milwaukee is offering the health class as an elective. Students would opt out of the comprehensive health class to take it.


Woman Gets Jail Time for Leaving Baby on Neighbors Roof


2/28/10 - A Wisconsin woman who abandoned her newborn baby girl will spend 90 days in jail. Rose Freeman pleaded guilty last month. She was convicted of dressing the one day old girl in warm clothes, placing her in a diaper bag and putting her on top of her neighbor's car -- in hopes they would find her. The infant was found a few hours later, unharmed. Freeman is 19 years old and the baby is her fifth child. A Milwaukee television station is reporting Freeman will have school and work privileges and she has to take classes on family planning and how to be a good parent.


Man Charges with Hiding a Corpse


2/28/10 - Chippewa Falls police have arrested 30 year old Shane Hawkins in the death of a teenager. Hawkins is charged with hiding a corpse. Seventeen year old Jason Grau's body was found on the banks of the Chippewa River earlier this week. The two apparently knew each other. Grau's body was found last Wednesday near a bridge over the river in Chippewa County.


Tax Revenues Down for Milwaukee County


2/28/10 - We won't have access to the exact figures until April, but it appears Milwaukee County will be getting some more bad tax revenue news. Sales tax figures may have to be adjusted down by more than eight million dollars. County Executive Scott Walker is being quoted as saying the county budget will still stay in the black. Milwaukee County had to scramble to deal with what's being called a roller-coaster of increases and decreases in the monthly sales tax figures last year. The half-cent sales tax collections were off more than 17 percent last December.


Clarke Looking to Fire a Deputy, Again


2/28/10 - For the second time in two years, Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Junior is trying to fire one of his deputies. Sheriff Clarke recommended termination for Deputy Christopher Paul Conell last Friday. Conell is being charged with second-offense drunken driving. Two years ago, when Conell faced the same charge the first time, he was given a 30-day unpaid suspension from the county's personnel review board. Clarke wanted him fired then, too. The current criminal complaint says the 36 year old Conell was found passed out in his van early in the morning of February 5th.