Top Stories May 3rd

Weather Observers Confirm Friday Night Tornadoes


5/3/10 - Surveyors from the National Weather Service spent part of their weekend confirming three tornadoes from Friday night in south central Wisconsin. The strongest was on the ground for a two-point-two mile stretch southeast of Berlin in Green Lake County. Winds were up to 110-miles-an-hour where several utility poles were snapped. Among other things, a shed was destroyed and an uprooted tree fell on a car. The second tornado was near Glen Oak in Marquette and Green Lake counties. It had winds up to 70-miles-an-hour, and it damaged trees for a seven-and-a-half-mile stretch. The third twister touched down southwest of Princeton in Marquette County. It had winds up to 65-miles-an-hour, and it destroyed several trees along an eight-and-a-half-mile path.

BDUSD Announced Employees of the Year

5/3/10 - The Beaver Dam School District has announced its 2009-2010 Employees of the Year. Winning the Elementary School Teacher of the Year was Vickie Frome, a first grade teacher at Lincoln, while the honor at the middle school was given to math teacher Jim Braemer. Agriculture teacher David Laatsch was selected at the high school. Retiring District Events Coordinator Bob Schwoch was named the Administrator of the Year, while Sarah Connaughty was awarded as the Special Services Teacher of the Year. Prairie View Elementary Educational Interpreter Katlyn Feldmann was named the Teacher Assistant/Tutor of the year, while at the middle school Becky Csiacsek will be honored as the Food Service Worker of the Year. And finally, middle school custodian Scharleen Searvogel will receive the Custodial/Maintenance/Computer Technician of the Year award. All the winners will be honored at the District’s Recognition Banquet to be held on May 16th.

Senior Expo this Wednesday

5/3/10 - The 14th Annual Beaver Dam Senior Expo will have a new offering this year. Elder Resource Council Committee Chair Jim Bublitz says as part of the “Car Fit” program trained volunteers will conduct a free, 12-point check of safety features, mirrors steering wheel, seat and seat belt. They will check head restraints to help prevent neck injuries and find the best fit to reach the gas and brake pedals. The 20-minute “Car Fit” safety checks will be conducted by appointment from 10am until 2pm in the parking lot of the Heritage Village Mall. For more information, contact Jean Hill at the Beaver Dam Community Hospital (887-4152). The Senior Expo will be held this Wednesday from 9am to 5pm. The event will feature 50 vendors representing a variety of resources for those 55 and up. There will also be food, entertainment, bingo and door prizes.

WP&L Asks for Rate Increase

5/3/10 - Alliant Energy subsidiary Wisconsin Power and Light has filed an electric rate increase request with the state’s Public Service Commission. WP & L is asking to recover $8.8 million or less than a one percent increase from electric retail customers due to increased fuel costs. For residential customers using 600 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, the requested increase would add approximately 53 cents per month on their remaining 2010 electric bills. WP & L serves much of the northern half of Dodge County. (KFIZ)

WBA Warns of Phone Scam

5/3/10 - The Wisconsin Bankers Association is warning residents of a possible phone scam targeting cell phone users. They say reports are filtering in that some consumers, including a number of people in the Columbus-area, are receiving calls from criminals claiming to be a bank and that the customer’s accounts have been compromised. The recorded message eventually asks the customer to input their debit card number. Officials say these types of scams can be very convincing but consumers need to stop and think. WBA President Kurt Bauer says no bank or legitimate business will request a customer to verify personal information such as PIN numbers, bank account numbers or Social Security numbers over the phone. He added unless you initiate the contact, you should never give that type of information out. If you do receive a call like this the WBA advises that you report it to the police and your own financial institution.

Debate Over School’s with Indian Nicknames Continues

5/3/10 - At least some of the 36 Wisconsin schools that still use Indian team names and logos say they won’t give them up without a fight. Governor Jim Doyle has promised to sign a bill that lets people complain about names they consider offensive. And if the state superintendent agrees after a public hearing, he could order the affected school boards to make a change. A number of schools in surrounding counties could be affected including Berlin, Fort Atkinson and Kewaskum. Some schools say they’ll fight any challenge to change their nicknames while advocates believe the legislation should be enough for schools to drop their monikers without a challenge. Schools that don’t comply could eventually be fined a-thousand-dollars a day.

Another Successful Honor Flight Trip

5/3/10 - Wisconsin’s largest Honor Flight took 300 World War Two veterans to Washington D-C yesterday to see the national memorial for their conflict. A quarter-million-dollar fund-raising effort allowed a 747-jet to fly the veterans for the first time. The one-day trip started and ended in Milwaukee – and large crowds cheered the vets at both their departure and arrival points. The veterans were from 82-to-97 years old. They had waited over a year to take one of the Honor Flights which have also been popular in recent years in Madison, Wausau, La Crosse, and Appleton. The number of World War Two veterans is dwindling rapidly, and the trips give them a chance to see their war’s memorial before they die. The trips are free for veterans, while chaperones and others pay a fee to join them. Yesterday’s group also saw other sights in Washington including the Iwo Jima Memorial and Air Force memorials. They also went to the Pentagon. And they saw a changing-of-the-guard ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

31st Annual Farm-City Day Tomorrow

5/3/10 - Dodge County 4-H is holding their 31st Annual Farm-City Day tomorrow. More than 900 4th Grade students from public and parochial schools across Dodge County will be converge on a 250 acre farm near Hustisford. Sally Schoenike, 4-H Youth Development Agent, says it’s an excellent opportunity for kids to learn about agriculture as the students will see displays and demonstrations on dairy farming, crops, farm economics and nutrition. Cows, sheep, chickens and goats will be among the farm animals rounded up for the students to view. K & S Farms is operated by Kevin and Kelly Miller along with their four children. The farm has 160 cows in addition to corn, wheat and alfalfa crops.

Bulk Garbage Pick-Up Begins Today

5/3/10 - Bulk garbage pick-up for Beaver Dam residents begins today (Monday). Director of Facilities David Stoiser says pick-up will continue through Friday. Stoiser says bulk waste can be placed on the curb no sooner than 24 hours prior to each collection and by 7am on the day of pick-up. Bulk waste is defined as, but not limited to, furniture, wooden doors and windows and rolled carpet, not exceeding 4’ to 6’ in length. No metal items like bed springs, doors, windows, appliances and pipes will be collected. Also, they do not accept bundled or loose piles of lumber or building materials; those items must be broken down and placed in the weekly collection cart. The only other bulk pick-up this year will be the first waste collection day of November.

BD DPW to Pick-up Brush and Shrubbery Cuttings this Week

5/3/10 - The Beaver Dam Department of Public Works is picking up brush and shrubbery cuttings this week. Facilities Director Dave Stoiser says city residents that receive solid waste collection services can place neatly-piled, loose tree limbs and shrubbery cuttings at the street edge by 7am on their first waste collection day of the month. Shrubbery cuttings cannot exceed seven inches in thickness and eight feet in length. Stoiser says if there is enough room in the tree border, limbs should be stacked so that all cut ends are facing the street. Limbs and cuttings less than 12 inches in length can be placed in clear plastic bags or 32 gallon cans. Stoiser says they cannot be placed in Veolia waste carts. Yard waste can also be dropped off at the DPW garage on South Center Street, which after this weekend will be open on Saturdays. Brush pick-up continues once a month through the first collection day in November.

Kennedy to Hold Bi-Weekly Listening Session Tomorrow

5/3/10 - Beaver Dam Mayor Tom Kennedy will hold another one of his listening session tomorrow (Tuesday). Kennedy says city residents are invited to meet with him, one-on-one, without appointment on the first and third Tuesday of every month. He says it is important that constituents have the opportunity to speak with him the day after each regular meeting of the common council. The meetings are held in Room 109 on the first floor of City Hall from 10am until noon. Kennedy says he also make himself available for private meetings by appointment by contacting the mayor office.

Mega-Millions Jackpot at $266M

5/3/10 - Wisconsin's biggest lottery jackpot of the year could be won tomorrow night. The top prize for Mega Millions is 266-million dollars, after nobody won the jackpot on Friday night. Nobody from Wisconsin won the quarter-million dollar second prize, either. The number of winners for smaller prizes was not immediately disclosed. There have been 26 drawings from Mega Millions since Wisconsin joined the multi-state game in early February. The current jackpot has been building since March 16th. Tomorrow's cash option is just over 165-million. Previously, the state's largest jackpot was 258-and-a-half million dollars for Powerball -- and Christopher Shaw of Missouri won that prize on April 21st. The Powerball jackpot stands at 60-million for Wednesday night.