BDHS Puts Plan in Place to Address Schedule Concerns
7/20/10 - School district administrators in Beaver Dam unveiled a plan last night that they hope will correct the deficiencies of the high school’s block scheduling format. The plan calls for a six month process broken into three segments. Beginning in September administrators will establish goals for the 2011-2012 schedule based on input from students, parents and staff, including holding a number of listening sessions. Principal Mark DiStefano says they’ll continue to illicit feedback throughout the process. The second step will be to design the 2011-2012 schedule, also with help from the affected parties. Superintendent Steve Vessey says they are going into the process with an open mind and have no preconceived notions on how the schedule will look. DiStefano and Vessey both say the most important item in any schedule is its flexibility. They believe the schedule should be molded around the student instead of forcing the student to change and conform to the schedule. If everything goes to plan administrators hope to have a proposal in front of the school board in January and approval on the plan in February. As for this year, administrators say while it’s too late to make any major changes, they hope to work with individual students and attempt to accommodate some of their scheduling requests that were not previously possible. Fewer advisory periods during the week is also being looked.
Columbia Co. Accident Claims One
7/20/10 - A 52-year-old woman was killed last night in Columbia County after her car went through a guardrail and ended up submerged in the Fox River. It happened around 7:40 p-m on Highway CM in the town of Fort Winnebago. Authorities say Kathryn Thompson was pronounced dead on the scene by a MedFlight physician. The accident is still under investigation.
Names Released in Fatal Accident in Washington Co.
7/20/10 - Washington County Sheriff’s officials have released the names of two women killed when their car went off Willow Creek Road early Sunday morning and hit a tree. Fifty-three-year-old Denise Foshey of Hubertus was driving and 49-year-old Susan Wilson of Colgate was her passenger. Both died at the scene. Investigators say the two had been out drinking in Milwaukee prior to the accident, but it’s still not known if alcohol was a factor in the crash. (KFIZ, Fond du Lac)
Beaver Dam Rejects AFSCME Contract
7/20/10 - The Beaver Dam Common Council last night overwhelmingly rejected a three-year contract with AFSCME, the union that covers a majority of city workers. The tentative contract called for a two-two split for the current year, meaning union employees would have received a two percent increase for the first six-months followed by a two percent increase effective July 1. There was no salary increase in 2011 and a 1 and three-quarter percent increase in 2012. Laine Meyer was one of two alderpersons who voted in favor of the contract. He says he wanted to vote against it but also feels it is foolish to go to arbitration. Council President Jon Litscher says while the proposed contract may have a zero percent increase for salaries next year, there are no concessions for health insurance in any contract year. For just the current fiscal year, Litscher says salary and benefits would increase 5.3%, which would have an impact of over $50,000 on the general fund since no money was budgeted for the current fiscal year. Finance Director John Somers says the city and union will go back to the bargaining table again. However, Somers says union reps have indicated that – based on the last offer the city made – they felt they were at an impasse and would proceed to mediation. AFSCME covers nearly every city employee except police and fire personnel and record keepers.
7/20/10 - School district administrators in Beaver Dam unveiled a plan last night that they hope will correct the deficiencies of the high school’s block scheduling format. The plan calls for a six month process broken into three segments. Beginning in September administrators will establish goals for the 2011-2012 schedule based on input from students, parents and staff, including holding a number of listening sessions. Principal Mark DiStefano says they’ll continue to illicit feedback throughout the process. The second step will be to design the 2011-2012 schedule, also with help from the affected parties. Superintendent Steve Vessey says they are going into the process with an open mind and have no preconceived notions on how the schedule will look. DiStefano and Vessey both say the most important item in any schedule is its flexibility. They believe the schedule should be molded around the student instead of forcing the student to change and conform to the schedule. If everything goes to plan administrators hope to have a proposal in front of the school board in January and approval on the plan in February. As for this year, administrators say while it’s too late to make any major changes, they hope to work with individual students and attempt to accommodate some of their scheduling requests that were not previously possible. Fewer advisory periods during the week is also being looked.
Columbia Co. Accident Claims One
7/20/10 - A 52-year-old woman was killed last night in Columbia County after her car went through a guardrail and ended up submerged in the Fox River. It happened around 7:40 p-m on Highway CM in the town of Fort Winnebago. Authorities say Kathryn Thompson was pronounced dead on the scene by a MedFlight physician. The accident is still under investigation.
Names Released in Fatal Accident in Washington Co.
7/20/10 - Washington County Sheriff’s officials have released the names of two women killed when their car went off Willow Creek Road early Sunday morning and hit a tree. Fifty-three-year-old Denise Foshey of Hubertus was driving and 49-year-old Susan Wilson of Colgate was her passenger. Both died at the scene. Investigators say the two had been out drinking in Milwaukee prior to the accident, but it’s still not known if alcohol was a factor in the crash. (KFIZ, Fond du Lac)
Beaver Dam Rejects AFSCME Contract
7/20/10 - The Beaver Dam Common Council last night overwhelmingly rejected a three-year contract with AFSCME, the union that covers a majority of city workers. The tentative contract called for a two-two split for the current year, meaning union employees would have received a two percent increase for the first six-months followed by a two percent increase effective July 1. There was no salary increase in 2011 and a 1 and three-quarter percent increase in 2012. Laine Meyer was one of two alderpersons who voted in favor of the contract. He says he wanted to vote against it but also feels it is foolish to go to arbitration. Council President Jon Litscher says while the proposed contract may have a zero percent increase for salaries next year, there are no concessions for health insurance in any contract year. For just the current fiscal year, Litscher says salary and benefits would increase 5.3%, which would have an impact of over $50,000 on the general fund since no money was budgeted for the current fiscal year. Finance Director John Somers says the city and union will go back to the bargaining table again. However, Somers says union reps have indicated that – based on the last offer the city made – they felt they were at an impasse and would proceed to mediation. AFSCME covers nearly every city employee except police and fire personnel and record keepers.
Council Contributes To Private Demolition Project
7/20/10 - The Beaver Dam Common Council last night approved a $5500 contribution for the removal of two more downtown buildings. The properties at 108 and 110 Park Avenue are adjacent to the current Water Technologies building. RC Neumann Properties LLC is in talks with the owner and they plan on closing by years end. According the resolution, the $5500 would help “offset a portion of the costs of the blight elimination project.” The city will pay Neumann Properties on the closing date. Neumann agrees to repay the city if the deal falls through or if they fail to raze the structure by December 31. The city’s Fire Department and Inspection Services Department have determined that the property is a threat to public safety.
Udey Dam Costs Considered Tonight
7/20/10 - The Columbus Council will be reviewing the cost of repairing the Udey Dam tonight. The City received bids last week to restore the Dam that has been out of commission since 2004. All three bids came in above the $340 thousand dollars in the Capital budget. The low bid … $566 thousand dollars … was received from Terra Engineering of Madison. A DNR Municipal Dam Grant for up to $233 thousand is also expected to help fund construction. Project engineer Kent Fish will be at tonight’s Council session to present the bids and explain options for completing the project.
Columbia County Deputy Cleared In Fatal Shooting
7/20/10 - No charges will be filed against a Columbia County sheriff’s deputy who shot-and-killed a man in North Leeds last month. District Attorney Jane Kohlwey says officer Michael Haverley Junior was justified in shooting 29-year-old Shaun Bollig. The State Justice Department investigated the incident, which occurred around 3am on June 27th outside the house where Bollig lived. Deputies responded to a report that he was threatening to hurt himself. The D-A said Bollig fired several shots before he moved toward Haverley with a loaded gun – and another shot was then fired. Prosecutors said Haverley had repeatedly given Bollig instructions which he refused to obey. They said Haverley then responded “reasonably” by shooting Bollig to protect his own safety and those of other officers. Also, the D-A said the public could have been at risk had Bollig run away from the scene. Bollig reportedly thought his fiancée was cheating on him. But she said the couple was working out their problems, even though their wedding plans had been suspended a week before the shooting.
Teen Appears On Drunken Homicide Charges
7/20/10 - Bond was set at $10,000 cash Monday for a Jefferson County teen involved in a fatal drunk driving accident this weekend near Watertown. 18-year-old Michelle Mess of Lake Mills was formally charged with one count of Homicide By Intoxicated Use of a Vehicle. Her best friend, Ashley Johnson of Lake Mills, was killed early Saturday morning in the one-vehicle rollover accident. Mess has a preliminary hearing scheduled for next week.
Woman Charged With Smuggling Cell Phones Into FLCI
7/20/10 - A Black River Falls woman is accused of smuggling cell phones into Fox Lake Correctional. 47-year-old Sydney Van Splunder is charges with a felony count of Delivery of Illegal Articles to an Inmate, which carries a maximum three-and-a-half year prison sentence upon conviction. Corrections officials recovered four cell phones from inmates in April then subpoenaed phone records from two cellular carriers to trace the purchases.
Two Charged With Mayville Burglaries
7/20/10 - Two bothers are charged with a pair of burglaries in Mayville. 18-year-olds Andrew Dutzle of Beaver Dam and Devin Dutzle of Medford are accused of stealing cash, credit cards, knives and electronics in the two break-ins in late May. A neighbor witnessed the suspect’s vehicle in the area and jotted down the license plate. Authorities connected that to a third juvenile accomplice allegedly used a credit card online. Signature bonds were set at $1000 yesterday. The men face a maximum of over 27 years in prison if convicted and they will be back in court next month for preliminary hearings.
Court Ruling Could Impact Budget
7/20/10 - A ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, set for today (Tue), could put a significant hole in the state’s current two year budget. In October of 2007, when Governor Jim Doyle signed a two year budget bill that included a 200 million dollar transfer from the Patients Compensation Fund, an attorney for Wisconsin Medical Society likened the action to a bank robbery. The Medical Society challenged the constitutionality of the transfer. A Dane County judge ruled in December 2008 that the transfer was allowable, but now the state Supreme Court is ready to rule, and if the justices decide the transfer doesn’t meet the constitutional smell test, it force lawmakers to return to Madison to figure out how to deal with it – at a time when many of them would rather be focusing on their reelection campaigns.
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