Top Stories, May 30th

Markesan Man Arrested On Fleeing Charges

5/30/10 - A Markesan man faces felony fleeing charges after reportedly running from authorities Saturday. Benjamin Wills is accused of striking a front end loader in Markesan and leaving the scene. According to the Dodge County Sheriffs Department, Markesan Police sent out a bulletin last night alerting local officials that the 27-year-old Wills might be in the Beaver Dam area. The suspect called Markesan Police a short time later to report the vehicle stolen but they instead took him into custody early this morning and had the vehicle towed to an impound lot. Authorities are investigating and felony charges are pending.

Fond du Lac Rep Authors Doc Shopping Bill

5/30/10 - New legislation signed by the governor will monitor prescriptions for addictive drugs or painkillers. Fond du Lac state Representative John Townsend authored the bill to cut down on what is called “doc shopping.” Townsend says several physicians approached him about the abusive practice where patients go from clinic to clinic in search of a doctor to write a prescription for those drugs. In the past there has been no way to know how many different clinics that person may have visited recently trying to score addictive prescription drugs. Townsend says some people also use “doc shopping” to get pills they can sell on the black market for a tidy profit. He says some can carry price tags of up to 50 dollars per pill. The legislation will create a system to monitor the prescriptions that are issued through those types of clinics. It will be overseen by the state Pharmacy Board.

Portage Fresh Start Gets Funding

5/30/10 - Nine Wisconsin programs that help at risk youth learn construction skills are getting more money. Governor Jim Doyle has announced that more than a million dollars will be given to Wisconsin's Fresh Start program, a statewide effort that provides at risk youth with an opportunity to get a high school diploma while developing construction skills. The program also provides homes for low and moderate income families. State Commerce Secretary, Aaron Olver, says the program benefits both the teen workers and the economy of the state. Fresh Start typically receives funding from both the state and federal government. The new money is partly federal stimulus dollars. Projects receiving the largest amount of this year's funding include Portage, Waupaca, Wautoma, Hatfield, Alma Center, Baraboo and Wausau.

Statewide Radio System Expected Next Year

5/30/10 - Wisconsin is expected to have a statewide emergency radio system up-and-running by next year. But state auditors say there are unresolved issues – and local governments are worried that the costs of hooking up to the new radio system would be extremely high. The Legislative Audit Bureau issued its findings this past week about a project that’s been going since 2007. The auditors said officials need to give legislators an update on their progress – but they also found that the funding approved for the project in the last fiscal year was spent appropriately. About 15-million dollars in federal funds have been allocated for a statewide radio system to help authorities respond to disasters like severe weather, terrorism, and cyber attacks. Besides the concerns about local funding, the auditors said the proposed system would use V-H-F waves that don’t penetrate through buildings as well as other bands. And it would be hard to use in larger areas with a lot of emergency radio transmissions. David Steingraber of the state Office of Justice Assistance told the audit bureau the radio system is scheduled to start up in December – and he’ll give lawmakers an update by the end of August.

Marquette U Looks To End Stalemate

5/30/10 - Marquette University confirms it is in discussions to end the stalemate over the Milwaukee school's decision to rescind a job offer to Seattle University professor Jodi O'Brien. Marquette had offered the position of dean of the College of Arts and Sciences to O'Brien. Then, on May 6th, it took the offer back, citing concerns about some of her writings. The school has said its decision has nothing to do with O'Brien's sexual orientation. She is openly gay. The Marquette decision stirred controversy over the mission of Catholic higher education, academic freedom and the role of gender and sexual orientation in institutions of higher education.

Colon Looks For New Job

5/30/10 - State Representative Pedro Colon is looking for a new job. Just last week the Democrat from Milwaukee announced he would not run for reelection, then he resigned from the governing commission of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. Colon says he is applying for the position of deputy director of legal services at the MMSD. Colon had to resign from the commission to avoid a conflict of interest as he applies for the new job. Colon graduated from the law school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1994.

Biskupic Cleared of Wrongdoing

5/30/10 - The review took two years. Now the Department of Justice has cleared former U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic of any wrongdoing in the prosecution of Georgia Thompson. Biskupic was an appointee of President George W. Bush. He was accused of prosecuting Thompson for partisan reasons at the time. She had been convicted of improperly steering state contracts to a firm with Democratic party connections. A federal appeals court later tossed out the conviction. The feds say there was no evidence Biskupic was ever told his job was in jeopardy. The report says he took special steps to keep politics out of the case by enlisting the support of state officials who were Democrats. The internal review was requested in 2008 by an assistant U.S. Attorney General to clear the air.

Car-Deer Crash Season

5/30/10 - Wisconsin State Patrol Major Dan Lonsdorf says we see a spike in car-deer crashes every June. Lonsdorf has some advice on how to avoid the season’s hazard. He says if you see a deer cross the road, don’t look where he’s going – look where he came from. There’s often a second deer right behind him. Dane County had the most motor car-deer crashes reported in 2009 with 873. Waukesha County was second with 680, followed by 648 in Shawano County, where more than half of all reported crashes involved deer.

Dietician Urges Safe Food Prep

5/30/10 - It’s a holiday – not a time to get sick. Registered dietitian Barbara Troy has some advice to ensure you don’t get sick from food not prepared or stored properly. Troy is a clinical assistant professor at Marquette University. She says be careful with proteins, especially raw meat. Although cured meats like sausages and hot dogs are generally considered to be a little more sustainable she says exercise caution there as well. For foods coming from the grill, it’s recommended they be left out no longer than an hour in temperatures of 90 degrees or more. As far as leftovers, she says in a fridge of at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit, ground meat products should be eaten within a couple of days. Other meats such as roast have a longer shelf life.

Computer Printer Counterfeiter Apprehended

5/30/10 - It wasn't the most sophisticated effort to counterfeit money. Authorities in Franklin say a 16 year old boy make photocopies of a 20-dollar bill, then used those copies to pay for a pizza. Police say he used a computer and a printer to complete his scheme. At least four of the phony 20-dollar bills were given to Toppers Pizza delivery drivers. Police were called when workers at the pizza restaurant noticed all the bills had the same serial number.