Top Stories, July 3rd

BD Receives Increased State Aid; Waupun Sees Decrease

7/3/10 - More than half of Wisconsin’s public school districts will get less state aid this fall – and local taxes will likely go up to cover those losses. But for the second year in a row that won’t be the case for the Beaver Dam School District. Business Director Andrew Sarnow says the state funding formula is based on property values in the district, and because Beaver Dam saw such a small increase in their property values the district won’t lose money. Some other area districts got good news as well, including Mayville which will getting about the same as last year, Fall River will see a 6.4-percent increase, Dodgeland is slated to get 3.9-percent more, and Watertown expects 3.8-percent more. Other area districts did not fair as well. Waupun’s state aid is predicted to drop by 6.6-percent, Horicon could see 3.5-percent less, and Columbus is expecting 2.5-percent less.

NEA Convention Underway

7/3/10 - Three hundred Wisconsin educators join 10 thousand representatives from around the world at the National Education Association annual convention. Wisconsin Education Association Council President Mary Bell says money will, of course, be a focus since the economic downturn has affected not only the private sector but state revenues. That’s something education funding heavily relies on. Bell says budget shortfalls have resulted in Wisconsin school districts laying off staff and teachers, cutting programs and coming back to local taxpayers for funding help. The union leader says federal stimulus dollars helped out quite a bit last year, but this time around schools can’t rely on such help from Washington.

Body Discovered Along RxR Tracks

7/3/10 - Authorities are investigating the discovery of a body found in a secluded area along the railroad tracks in the Village of Iron Ridge Friday morning. Sheriff Todd Nehls says at this point in the investigation it appears as if the 41-year-old male from the Township of Hubbard died as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The body was discovered by someone on a passing train. It is believed the man died sometime Thursday night. No motive has been determined. The deceased was taken to the medical examiners office in Fond du Lac to verify the cause of death. The Village of Iron Ridge is heading the investigating with assistance from the Sheriffs Department.

BD Man Arraigned For Child Porn

7/3/10 - A Beaver Dam man entered a “not guilty” plea this week to charges of possessing child pornography. Jack McBride is charged with four felony counts, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison upon conviction. According to the criminal complaints, the 24-year-old used a roommates computer to download and save 14 images of children, some as young as five-years-old. McBride admitted to investigators that he received the pictures but says he was shocked by them as they were not the images he was trying to get. Authorities say he obtained the photos from a file sharing website and told the person who sent them that they were “nice.” McBride is being held on a $10,000 cash bond and has requested a bail modification hearing.

Huber Inmate To Collect Damages From Injury

7/3/10 - A jail inmate who was on a work assignment will collect damages, after he got hurt while tearing down horse stalls at the State Fair in West Allis. The State Supreme Court ruled 4-to-3 today that a State Fair Park employee was negligent and liable, after causing injuries to inmate Michael Pries. He and other inmates at the Milwaukee County House-of-Correction were assigned to remove horse stalls as part of a work arrangement with the fair. But a fair employee did not follow proper guidelines, and a piece of a horse stall struck Pries in the face. It knocked him over, and he broke his foot on the way down. He filed suit, and he was awarded 15-thousand dollars in damages. But the three justices who opposed the award said it would eventually expand the liability of other public employees, and it could mean higher costs for state-and-local governments.

Oshkosh Revenue Office To Close

7/3/10 - The state Revenue Department will close another field office this month. The facility in Oshkosh will be shut down for good on July 12th. It’s part of a consolidation announced in 2007, in which the revenue agency is reducing its total number of offices from 27-to-seven. The consolidation is almost finished. Only one more office will be closed in December in Rhinelander. The seven surviving revenue offices will be in Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Appleton, Wausau, Eau Claire, and Chicago.

We Energies Customers Can Sign-Up For Fixed Rates

7/3/10 - Natural gas customers of an area power utility will soon have the chance to pay fixed guaranteed costs throughout the year. The state’s utility regulating panel has approved the program to be offered by We Energies. We Energies can enroll up to 15-thousand of its statewide customers in its new program called “Rely-a-Bill.” And those customers will pay up to seven-percent of their utility costs for an administrative fee. In the past, state commissioners wondered if the programs were a good idea – but they allowed them because they’re popular. About 27-thousand customers are signed up in similar fixed pay programs around Wisconsin. We Energies serves the southern and far eastern portion of Dodge County and places east.

M&I Extends Foreclosure Moratorium

7/3/10 - Wisconsin’s largest bank says it will continue its foreclosure moratorium for three more months. M-and-I says the moratorium will now go through September 30th. It started in December of 2008, when foreclosure cases really started to pile up throughout the Badger State. Under M-and-I’s program, the bank promises not to seek foreclosure for those in owner-occupied homes who are willing to reach affordable payment agreements.

High Speed Internet Expanded In Area

7/3/10 - Federal stimulus dollars will be used to bring high-speed Internet to persons living in Adams, Marquette and Sauk counties. Communities in rural areas are quite often the last get that type of access because it is expensive for carriers to provide it when the population isn't concentrated. U.S. Senator Herb Kohl says the 25 million dollars in federal money will help those localities obtain better access to job, business and education opportunities. The money is coming in the form of USDA loans from the Broadband Initiatives Program.

Homebuyer Tax Credit Expanded

7/3/10 - If you are in the process of buying a new home, you may still be able to take advantage of the federal homebuyer tax credit. The U.S. Senate voted last week to extend the closing deadline by three months. Homebuyers with contracts signed by April 30th were supposed to close by last Wednesday to qualify for the tax credit. It gives 65 hundred dollars to homeowners buying a new primary residence and eight thousand dollars to first-time homebuyers. The measure passed this week now gives those people until September 30th to close.

Fireworks Safety Urged

7/3/10 - It’s best to watch somebody else set off the fireworks, but don’t forget safety if you do it yourself. Brianna Kopp with the state Health Department says even seemingly innocent sparklers can injure a child. Kopp says younger children often get excited around fireworks and lack the coordination needed to handle them safely. Sparklers burn at temperatures of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit - hot enough to cause third-degree burns. For other types of flame-throwing noise-makers, Kopp says, read instructions and warnings, don’t allow children to ignite the fireworks, and keep the kids at a safe distance away from any potential danger. Kopp suggests you keep a bucket of water or a hose handy in case of a malfunction or fire, and if fireworks fizzle, douse them with water and do not attempt to relight them.

Flags At Half-Staff After Holiday

7/3/10 - American flags will be temporarily raised to full-staff for Sunday’s July Fourth holiday. They’ve been at half-staff all week following Monday’s death of the nation’s longest-serving senator, Robert Byrd. A presidential proclamation said flags should be flown at half-staff until the day Byrd is buried, which is next Tuesday. But it also granted an exception for the nation’s birthday. The state Military Affairs Department says flags will go up to full-staff on Sunday, then down to half-staff on Monday and Tuesday.