Storage Unit Burglar Sentenced
4/29/10 - A former Waupun man was sentenced to one year in jail yesterday (Wed) for burglarizing several storage units. Bryan D.J. Robel of Waukesha pleaded “no contest” to three felony charges and had 11 felony counts and three misdemeanors dismissed but read into the record. Robel and his girlfriend Amanda Bryant were connected to break-ins last May at Verhage Storage after authorities found a sack of broken padlocks in her car. The 23-year-old’s were being questioned about a series of purse snatchings in the Horicon Marsh area when the padlocks were discovered. The two used the credit cards stolen from the purses for a shopping spree and were tracked down with the help of video surveillance footage from two Beaver Dam businesses. Robel was also placed on probation for six years and ordered to pay restitution. Bryant received a similar sentence in February.
Trial Dates Set For Pregnant Assault Suspects
4/29/10 - Two men accused of assaulting a pregnant woman and stealing her student loan money had jury trials scheduled this week. 22-year-old Brad Kiefer and 20-year-old Andrew Hoffman are facing charges that include Robbery, Battery, and Theft of Movable Property. According to the criminal complaint, the victim was attempting to get into her car at the Watertown High School when Kiefer, Hoffman and a third man allegedly walked up behind her, knocked her to the ground and started kicking her. She was around four months pregnant at the time and sustained cuts and scrapes. Around $1000 in student loan money was stolen from her purse. The suspects claim the victim had stolen $400 that they had collected to purchase illegal drugs and say they were just trying to get their money back. Formal charges were recently filed against the third man implicated in the attack; 23-year-old Desmond Durow of Mukwonago had a warrant issued for his arrest and has yet to make an initial appearance. Hoffman has a three day jury trial set for July while Kiefer has a three day trial scheduled in October.
Blood Trail Burglary Suspect Stands Mute
4/29/10 - An Edgerton man charged in connection with a Watertown business break-in was in court for an arraignment hearing yesterday. Brandon S. Topel stood mute and had a “not guilty” plea entered on his behalf. The 29-year-old is charged felony counts of Theft and Criminal Damage to Property for allegedly breaking into Temp Air in Watertown in August of 2008. The business was reportedly out $4300 from both the damage and stolen goods. Topel is also charged with smashing the windows of two vehicles in the parking lot of the business. Investigators found a trail of blood at the crime scene and followed it through 25 feet of grass to a nearby motel, where Topel was staying. The State Crime Lab allegedly matched DNA from the blood trail with that of DNA obtained from Topel while he was being held in the Jefferson County Jail on an unrelated charge. Topel has a plea hearing set for June 2.
County Supervisor on ‘Food For Thought’
4/29/10 - Dodge County Board Supervisor Larry Bischoff says he came away with a whole different impression of food pantries after he and his wife spent three days eating from a box of food they got from a food pantry in Beaver Dam. Bischoff had cereal and canned fruits in the morning. For dinner the first night they were able to enjoy a whole chicken. By night three they were down to soup. Participants paid $25 for the box, and Bischoff says for the price, they were able to get a lot more food than he expected. He says he’d like to see more community support for food pantries, not just in terms of a variety of donations, but also volunteers to help unload monthly food deliveries. He also says food pantries should post a list of items needed to help point donors in the right direction. On tomorrow’s installment, we’ll hear what the family of WBEV-WXRO News Director Craig Warmbold thought about the “Food For Thought” program.
Judge: “DNA Inconclusive”
4/29/10 - The judge in the Marilyn McIntyre murder case has decided to limit what prosecutors can say about a stain mixture found in her bathroom sink. 52-year-old Curtis Forbes of Randolph is charged in the 1980 murder of the 18-year-old McIntyre. In court yesterday a judge determined that DNA information taken from the sink was inconclusive and could not be tied directly to Forbes. The mixture can also not be retested because the original no longer exists. Prosecutors are debating whether to appeal the ruling. Forbes is accused of killing McIntyre inside her Columbus apartment in March of 1980. The trial is slated to begin next Monday. If convicted Forbes could be sentenced to life in prison.
We’re #1
4/29/10 - Wisconsin was the number-one state for completing its Census forms. Eighty-one percent of state residents who received the forms filled them out and sent them back. That’s nine-percent above the national average. And at a news conference yesterday, Census Bureau director Robert Groves said the 72-percent national response was higher than what his agency had expected. Twenty-eight states were at-or-above their return rates from the previous Census in 2000. Wisconsin was actually one-percent lower than a decade ago. Still, Groves called the Badger State’s performance “incredible.” And he said Wisconsin cities had return rates which are quote, “unbelievably high.” Eighty-five percent of households in Eau Claire and Appleton completed their forms. Oshkosh was at 84-percent, and Green Bay 83-percent. Now comes the tough part. Census takers will start visiting homes on Saturday, asking questions to folks who didn’t answer them on the forms – or who didn’t get forms. The Census is the nation’s population count. It determines the number of U-S House seats in each state, as well as how much each community gets in federal funds.
Former Campbellsport Man Sentenced in Girlfriends Death
4/29/10 - Fond du Lac County Judge Robert Wirtz yesterday sentenced a 33-year-old former Campbellsport man to 8 years in prison for a drunken driving motorcycle accident that killed the man’s girlfriend. Crystal Daly was killed last May when Jay Taylor lost control and went off of Highway 67. In February a jury found the Milwaukee man guilty of drunken driving homicides. After his prison term he will be placed on extended supervision for 5 years. Taylor’s blood alcohol concentration at the time of the accident was nearly twice the legal limit. (KFIZ)
West Bend Teacher Accused of Sexual Assault of a Child
4/29/10 - A teacher at West Bend East High School is on administrative leave, after he was arrested on two sex-related allegations. Police said the 27-year-old man sent explicit text messages to a 16-year-old female student – and he apparently had sexual contact with another 16-year-old girl earlier this year. Police have asked Washington County prosecutors to charge the man with child sexual assault by a school staffer, and exposing a child to harmful materials. The man was a probationary teacher who earlier said he would resign at the end of the current school year.
EPA Removes Two Counties from List of those Exceeding Pollution Standards
4/29/10 - The federal E-P-A has dropped Door and Manitowoc counties from the list of those exceeding air pollution standards for ozone. Governor Jim Doyle had asked the E-P-A to drop all nine Wisconsin counties that were on the list, including Washington County. He said the state did not violate ozone standards – and four years of test data proves it. Yesterday, Doyle praised the decision to put Door and Manitowoc counties in the clear. And he expects the E-P-A to make a similar decision favoring the seven other counties – all of which are on or close to Lake Michigan, including Milwaukee. The counties have been out of compliance for ozone emissions since 1997. And the Obama White House is considering tougher standards.
Nursing Homes Not Cheap
4/29/10 - It’s not cheap for an elderly person to stay in a nursing home – and that’s especially true in Wisconsin. Genworth Financial, which provides long-term care insurance, says the Badger State has some of the highest costs in the nation. A survey by the company shows that the median cost for a Wisconsinite in a nursing home is 82-thousand-dollars a year. And assisted living centers are also above the national average, at 40-thousand a year. Jim Murphy of the Wisconsin Assisted Living Association says many of the higher rates are due to state laws ensuring good care of seniors. The Genworth survey included facilities in Metro Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay.
NRB Hopes to Add Deer in Certain WI Zones
4/29/10 - State wildlife officials will try to have more deer in places where hunters complained about a lack of animals last fall. Yesterday in Green Bay, the state Natural Resources Board voted 6-to-1 to increase the number of zones where hunters can only shoot bucks – so more antlerless deer can re-produce. Eighteen zones will have buck-only hunting this fall, up from 13 last year. Also, the number of zones with antlerless-only hunts to control the herd will be cut from 50-to-46. But in places with chronic wasting disease, the effort continues to limit the herd – so hunters there will still have to shoot a doe in order to get a buck. D-N-R Secretary Matt Frank calls it a good statewide compromise. The changes come after hunters complained that previous D-N-R policies devastated a deer herd which officials admitted they over-estimated.
State Could Get a New National Wildlife Refuge
4/29/10 - Wisconsin might get a new national wildlife refuge. The U-S Fish-and-Wildlife Service is studying the possible creation of the Hackmatack refuge along the Wisconsin-Illinois border. Fifty-four square miles are being considered in Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties – plus Lake and McHenry counties in Illinois. Officials will study the idea for the next two years. And if they recommend the refuge, Congress would be asked to approve up to 45-million dollars to establish it. Chuck Traxler of the wildlife service says the final site may include 10-to-30-thousand acres of both public and private land. The area has some of the last remaining tamarack trees in southern Wisconsin. And a group called Open-Lands says it wants to protect oak savannas and remnant grasses that house several threatened species. Traxler says local residents have tried for years to create a national refuge. Supporters also say it would boost recreational opportunities like hunting and fishing. Landowners would not be forced to sell their property, since a refuge would have strings of both private and public land. It would be the first federal wildlife refuge in the Midwest since 2004, when the Glacier Ridge area was formed in Minnesota.
Judge: “DNA Inconclusive”
4/29/10 - The judge in the Marilyn McIntyre murder case has decided to limit what prosecutors can say about a stain mixture found in her bathroom sink. 52-year-old Curtis Forbes of Randolph is charged in the 1980 murder of the 18-year-old McIntyre. In court yesterday a judge determined that DNA information taken from the sink was inconclusive and could not be tied directly to Forbes. The mixture can also not be retested because the original no longer exists. Prosecutors are debating whether to appeal the ruling. Forbes is accused of killing McIntyre inside her Columbus apartment in March of 1980. The trial is slated to begin next Monday. If convicted Forbes could be sentenced to life in prison.
We’re #1
4/29/10 - Wisconsin was the number-one state for completing its Census forms. Eighty-one percent of state residents who received the forms filled them out and sent them back. That’s nine-percent above the national average. And at a news conference yesterday, Census Bureau director Robert Groves said the 72-percent national response was higher than what his agency had expected. Twenty-eight states were at-or-above their return rates from the previous Census in 2000. Wisconsin was actually one-percent lower than a decade ago. Still, Groves called the Badger State’s performance “incredible.” And he said Wisconsin cities had return rates which are quote, “unbelievably high.” Eighty-five percent of households in Eau Claire and Appleton completed their forms. Oshkosh was at 84-percent, and Green Bay 83-percent. Now comes the tough part. Census takers will start visiting homes on Saturday, asking questions to folks who didn’t answer them on the forms – or who didn’t get forms. The Census is the nation’s population count. It determines the number of U-S House seats in each state, as well as how much each community gets in federal funds.
Former Campbellsport Man Sentenced in Girlfriends Death
4/29/10 - Fond du Lac County Judge Robert Wirtz yesterday sentenced a 33-year-old former Campbellsport man to 8 years in prison for a drunken driving motorcycle accident that killed the man’s girlfriend. Crystal Daly was killed last May when Jay Taylor lost control and went off of Highway 67. In February a jury found the Milwaukee man guilty of drunken driving homicides. After his prison term he will be placed on extended supervision for 5 years. Taylor’s blood alcohol concentration at the time of the accident was nearly twice the legal limit. (KFIZ)
West Bend Teacher Accused of Sexual Assault of a Child
4/29/10 - A teacher at West Bend East High School is on administrative leave, after he was arrested on two sex-related allegations. Police said the 27-year-old man sent explicit text messages to a 16-year-old female student – and he apparently had sexual contact with another 16-year-old girl earlier this year. Police have asked Washington County prosecutors to charge the man with child sexual assault by a school staffer, and exposing a child to harmful materials. The man was a probationary teacher who earlier said he would resign at the end of the current school year.
EPA Removes Two Counties from List of those Exceeding Pollution Standards
4/29/10 - The federal E-P-A has dropped Door and Manitowoc counties from the list of those exceeding air pollution standards for ozone. Governor Jim Doyle had asked the E-P-A to drop all nine Wisconsin counties that were on the list, including Washington County. He said the state did not violate ozone standards – and four years of test data proves it. Yesterday, Doyle praised the decision to put Door and Manitowoc counties in the clear. And he expects the E-P-A to make a similar decision favoring the seven other counties – all of which are on or close to Lake Michigan, including Milwaukee. The counties have been out of compliance for ozone emissions since 1997. And the Obama White House is considering tougher standards.
Nursing Homes Not Cheap
4/29/10 - It’s not cheap for an elderly person to stay in a nursing home – and that’s especially true in Wisconsin. Genworth Financial, which provides long-term care insurance, says the Badger State has some of the highest costs in the nation. A survey by the company shows that the median cost for a Wisconsinite in a nursing home is 82-thousand-dollars a year. And assisted living centers are also above the national average, at 40-thousand a year. Jim Murphy of the Wisconsin Assisted Living Association says many of the higher rates are due to state laws ensuring good care of seniors. The Genworth survey included facilities in Metro Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay.
NRB Hopes to Add Deer in Certain WI Zones
4/29/10 - State wildlife officials will try to have more deer in places where hunters complained about a lack of animals last fall. Yesterday in Green Bay, the state Natural Resources Board voted 6-to-1 to increase the number of zones where hunters can only shoot bucks – so more antlerless deer can re-produce. Eighteen zones will have buck-only hunting this fall, up from 13 last year. Also, the number of zones with antlerless-only hunts to control the herd will be cut from 50-to-46. But in places with chronic wasting disease, the effort continues to limit the herd – so hunters there will still have to shoot a doe in order to get a buck. D-N-R Secretary Matt Frank calls it a good statewide compromise. The changes come after hunters complained that previous D-N-R policies devastated a deer herd which officials admitted they over-estimated.
State Could Get a New National Wildlife Refuge
4/29/10 - Wisconsin might get a new national wildlife refuge. The U-S Fish-and-Wildlife Service is studying the possible creation of the Hackmatack refuge along the Wisconsin-Illinois border. Fifty-four square miles are being considered in Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties – plus Lake and McHenry counties in Illinois. Officials will study the idea for the next two years. And if they recommend the refuge, Congress would be asked to approve up to 45-million dollars to establish it. Chuck Traxler of the wildlife service says the final site may include 10-to-30-thousand acres of both public and private land. The area has some of the last remaining tamarack trees in southern Wisconsin. And a group called Open-Lands says it wants to protect oak savannas and remnant grasses that house several threatened species. Traxler says local residents have tried for years to create a national refuge. Supporters also say it would boost recreational opportunities like hunting and fishing. Landowners would not be forced to sell their property, since a refuge would have strings of both private and public land. It would be the first federal wildlife refuge in the Midwest since 2004, when the Glacier Ridge area was formed in Minnesota.
No comments:
Post a Comment