Top Stories, July 7th

BDPD Chief Vacancy Nets 46 Résumés

7/7/10 - The city of Beaver Dam received 46 résumés for the position of Police Chief prior to the June 25 deadline. That’s what PFC Chair Nancy Conley told the Police and Fire Commission last night. The consulting firm of Voorhee’s and Associates of Deerfield, Illinois will narrow down the field of candidates to 24 by months end. The Police and Fire Commission will then select the top 12 for interviews, which are planned over a two-day period next month. Conley says they hope to have a replacement for retired Police Chief Dale Boldt by this fall.

Four Appear on Burglary Charges

7/7/10 - Four men appeared in Dodge County court yesterday for Initial Appearances related to a series of area burglaries. 23-year-old Adam Orr of Beaver Dam and 20-year-old Samuel Cremers of Columbus face felony Theft and Burglary charges along with two brothers from Sun Prairie: 18-year-old Dakota Wandeloski and 20-year-old Jacob Wandeloski. According to the criminal complaint, Columbus Police received an anonymous tip that Orr was involved with a daytime residential burglary in Beaver Dam last April that netted over $10,000 in jewelry and electronic equipment. On May 5, authorities followed the suspects from Columbus to Beaver Dam to Waupun. They were allegedly arrested with bags of stolen goods in hand after allegedly breaking into two Waupun residences. The Waupun burglaries are being tried in Fond du Lac County, where three of the suspects have already posted cash bonds and have plea hearings scheduled next month. All the men had signature bonds set at $1000 in Dodge County, where preliminary hearings for the Beaver Dam burglaries will be held in the next six weeks.

Knaup Makes Initial Appearance For Armed Burglary

7/7/10 - A judge will decide on July 22 if there is probable cause for a former Beaver Dam man to proceed to trial in connection with an April 2007 armed burglary. Timothy Knaup is accused of breaking into a Beaver Dam home in April of 2007 and pointing a gun at the homeowner. Last year, in a separate incident, the 47-year-old Knaup was sentenced to five years in prison for pointing a loaded gun at police officers during a domestic dispute. As of result of that felony conviction, his DNA was collected and the State Crime Lab recently connected that DNA to evidence left at the scene of the burglary. Knaup, who is currently incarcerated at Kettle Moraine Correctional, made an initial appearance yesterday (Tue) in Dodge County court and had a signature bond set at $500. If convicted, the charges carry a maximum sentence of over 19 years in prison but because Knaup is a repeat offender, he could have another 12 years added to the term.

Beerbohm Charged With Injuring Two in OWI Wreck

7/7/10 - A Watertown man is accused of causing a drunk-driving accident that injured two people. Joseph R. Beerbohm is charged with felony counts of Injury By Intoxicated Use of a Vehicle and a handful of misdemeanors related to an accident December 13 in the Town of Emmett. According to the criminal complaint, the 44-year-old was making a left-hand turn into the parking lot of a bar on Highway 26 when he crossed in front of the path of an oncoming vehicle. A passenger in Beerbohm vehicle sustained a shattered foot while the driver of the other vehicle received minor injuries. Beerbohm’s blood-alcohol level was said to be nearly three times the legal limit. A signature bond was set yesterday at $1000 and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 12. If convicted, Beerbohm faces nearly 28 years in prison.

Vessey Settling In To New Position

7/7/10 - New Superintendent Steve Vessey’s familiarity with the Beaver Dam School District is paying off. The former Director of Pupil Services started his new job last Thursday, and unlike many administrators who must learn the different nuances of a district, Vessey has been able to make the transition seamlessly. July 1st was also the first day on the job for new High School Principal Mark DiStefano and new Director of Pupil Services Dr. Betty Womack. Vessey says he’s spent much of his time working to get them as familiar as possible with Beaver Dam.

Tanzanian Education Project Update

7/7/10 - The 20-foot container of school supplies that left Beaver Dam for Africa in March could arrive at its destination this week. Beaver Dam-native Cassie Parkhurst is almost half-way into a four month trip to Tanzania, where she and two others are building three libraries. Parkhurst is founder of the Tanzanian Education Project, and is in the middle of her second trip to the impoverished east African country in the past two years. With the help of her home community of Beaver Dam, Parkhurst packed a crate the size of a Buick with books, sports equipment and school supplies. According to the groups most recent blog update, the government is continuing to delay the arrival of the container. Everyday the container is stalled in port the group has to pay port storage fees of $40 U.S. dollars. The group has had to pay around $500 in extra port charges to date, not counting the gas to drive to the port and come back empty handed. The group wrote that they have become frustrated by government corruption and while it’s starting to wear them down, they are keeping their chins up and moving onto other issues. The new school semester started Monday and the group wrote that they are prepared for the educational aspect of their trip. They had brought with them new lesson and teaching books for themselves and say “they are ready to go.” They closed out their blog update by saying they are “excited to see some serious changes at the school.”

Area Foreclosures Down

7/7/10 - New home foreclosure cases were down throughout the region from May to June. The Madison firm Foreclosure Alarm says Dodge County saw an 11-percent drop over the two-month period to 32-forclosures. Columbia County had the biggest decrease in the area dropping to 28-foreclosures in June, a 26-percent drop from May. Fond du Lac was down 21-percent to 33-forclosures and Washington County saw a 17-percent drop to 38. Jefferson County held steady over the two month period with 35-foreclsoures in both May and June.

BDPD Investigates Copper Theft

7/7/10 - The Beaver Dam Police Department is investigating the theft of copper wire and copper piping from the old Lakeview Hospital. According to the police briefing, the theft was reported Saturday morning. Plans are in the works to develop the shuttered Lakeview Hospital on Lacrosse Street into a assisted living facility. Anyone with information on the theft is asked to contact the Beaver Dam Police Department or the anonymous We-Tip hotline at 800-78-CRIME.

Kohl Appeals To DEA On Prescription Drug Disposal

7/7/10 - The safe disposal of unwanted prescription drugs is being hampered by tough laws designed to prevent misuse and also by concerns about the environment. U.S. Senator Herb Kohl wants to make it easier by having one federal guideline for getting rid of medication safely. Flushing prescriptions down the drain has led to water contamination in 30 states according to the U.S. Geological Survey. And having unwanted medication in the home can lead to theft. There are organized municipal and private drug collection efforts, but federal laws on controlled substances make them costly and complicated. Kohl says long term solutions are needed so that disposal is convenient and consistently available. He is calling on the DEA to find a "middle ground" in its regulations, so that drugs don't get into the wrong hands, but also allows people to safely dispose of old medication. In the meantime, the local Kiwanis Club is doing what it can by hosting the first of three July drug drop-offs this coming Saturday at the Horicon Fire Department from 9am to noon.

CUB Opposes WP&L Business Break

7/7/10 - A watch-dog group wants a judge to throw out discounts on electric rates for large business customers of Wisconsin Power-and-Light. The Citizens Utility Board said the discounts – which started in January – would make residents and small businesses pay what the big firms don’t. And “CUB” said state regulators went against their standard practice by not making a formal review of the measure. Power-and-Light and its parent company Alliant, serves Dodge County and much of south central Wisconsin, including parts of the state hit hardest by last year’s recession like Janesville. The electric discounts were meant to help companies expand in those areas, in the wake of a large decrease in electricity sales last year. Utility Board director Charles Higley said regulations were created a century ago to prevent the types of discounts granted by Power-and-Light. He said the laws also benefit the government, by not having to decide who and who shouldn’t get a break on their electric bills.

West Nile Virus Season Imminent

7/7/10 - With all the rain in the forecast this week, it will be interesting to see if mosquitoes start to make their presence known in Wisconsin. Once they do, it could put animals and humans at risk again for the mosquito-borne West Nile virus. The U-S Centers for Disease Control say there’s only been one serious human illness from the virus nationally – and both Wisconsin and neighboring Minnesota have not reported any cases yet. Dave Nietzel of Minnesota’s health department says the risk increases with the warmer weather, and the peak season for West Nile cases is July through September. In the past, Wisconsin health officials have said that three-fourths of all West Nile cases happen in August and September. Seven Wisconsinites died from West Nile from 2002-through-06 – but last year, there was only one human case and that person survived. West Nile also kills horses and birds. State health officials have set up a hot-line to report dead birds infected by West Nile. They say it’s important to keep track, since birds are often an early predictor of how West Nile might affect humans. Here’s the number for the dead bird hotline – 1-800-433-1610.

Flag Kerfuffle Continues

7/7/10 - A neighbor is under arrest for stealing an American flag that a Marinette County man has been flying upside down as a protest against his local government. Police in Crivitz arrested the 57-year-old neighbor for disorderly conduct and obstructing police. Officials said the man stole Vito Congine’s flag on the Fourth-of-July – exactly one year after police had seized the flag as the village’s holiday parade was about to go by there. Congine, an Iraq War veteran, displayed his flag upside down because the Crivitz Village Board wouldn’t give him a liquor license for a new restaurant he wanted to open. Police first said the flag’s sign of distress created a disturbance. But officers returned the flag the next day, after the American Civil Liberties Union said it would defend Congine if he wanted to sue the police. That never happened. But later, somebody chopped down the metal flag standard. Congine had the pole fixed, and a judge ordered the Village Board last December to review its rejection of the liquor license. Nothing apparently changed, though, since the flag remained upside down since then. Congine said he spent 200-thousand dollars to buy and renovate an old grocery for his new restaurant.