Top Stories, August 20th

Friday Night At The Fair

8/20/10 - It is day three of the Dodge County Fair and Friday night as always is rock night with “Tesla” headlining on the Grandstand Stage. “My Idiot Brother” is playing on the Radio Park Stage afterwards. Today is also “Healthy Kids Day” at the fair and there will be plenty of kid’s games at Radio Park, along with music provided by local 4-H-ers. The Kiddie Pedal Pull is in front of the Grandstand at noon. The WXRO Barn Show Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Contest at Radio Park gets underway at 5pm. Among the participants this year: the Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader, mayors from Beaver Dam and Mayville, and your favorite local community theater actors. Three Fairests’ of the Fair will be competing against the Dodge County Fire Queen and the Wisconsin Honey Queen. In addition, nationally-acclaimed wildlife artist Frank Mittelstadt will compete as will Casey Carney from one the Barn Show’s favorite bands: Casey & The Moonshine Band. And finally, Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls will face his opponent in this September’s Republican primary: former Dodge County Sheriff Steve Fitzgerald. Our guest judges are Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Brian Pfitzinger and retired Judge Dan Klossner. The cost to enter the fair before 2pm is $6 and after 2pm its $10. Kids under age 9 are free. There is no additional charge for the grandstand acts, the cream puff contest or parking.

Opening Night Fair Attendance Higher Than ‘09

8/20/10 - Opening night attendance at the Dodge County Fair was up this year compared to 2009. Fair Association Treasurer Sharon Keil says there were 5794 single admission tickets sold on Wednesday, which is over 1400 more than last years 4367. The numbers do not include season ticket sales, which won’t be tabulated until tomorrow. Keil says the number of exhibitors was also higher this year.

Fair Implements Wristband System For Alcohol

8/20/10 - Fairgoers planning on drinking alcohol this year will have to get a wristband first. The Dodge County Fair Association Board approved a plan to charge one dollar to adults interested in drinking. The Fair Associations Sharon Keil says the hope is to reduce underage drinking while also raising money for charity. Proceeds will be donated to the Shop with a Cop program, The Dodge County Emergency Response Team, the Moraine Park Technical College Corrections Club and the Wisconsin State Troopers Association. Keil says the wristband idea will be revisited prior to next years fair.

Alcohol Court Added in Dodge County

8/20/10 - Undeterred by a rejection from the county board last year Judge Brian Pfitzinger has accomplished one of the goals he set forth when campaigning for circuit court judge in 2008. Last week the county’s judges approved the implementation of an Alcohol Court. And according to Pfitzinger it will cost the county next to nothing. He says a subject would plead guilty to 2nd or 3rd OWI and be placed on probation for 18-months. During that time the individual’s probation agent, the courts, and the department of corrections would work together to provide a unified front to help the person remain sober, including counseling. Pfitzinger says the enticement for the individual to participate would be less jail time up front while the benefits for the county include a more sober community and a county that isn’t forced to use limited resources to deal with the issues that come with alcoholism. The first participants in the program are scheduled to start September 1.

Burnett Home Destroyed By Fire

8/20/10 - Fire destroyed an unoccupied home in Burnett yesterday (Th) afternoon. Crews were called to N9393 South Tower Road just before 1:30pm after a neighbor reported the fire. The structure was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived on scene. There were no injuries and the cause of the fire has not been determined. A nearby shed sustained heat damage. The Burnett Fire Department had mutual assistance from Beaver Dam, Horicon and Waupun.

Tiegs Convicted in Stabbing

8/20/10 - It took a Dodge County jury yesterday two hours and 20 minutes to convict a Mayville woman of Aggravated Battery for stabbing a man in the chest. Beverly Jean Tiegs did have a penalty enhancer of being a repeat offender dropped, which could have added six years to her pending sentence. Authorities responded to a 9-1-1 hang-up call in April of last year and when they conducted a safety sweep of the residence they found the victim hiding in the closet. He said he went to the home to fix Tiegs window and she accused him of stealing cash so she stabbed him. According to the criminal complaint, the victim said the 44-year-old Tiegs was acting “crazy goofy” and had been drinking and taking prescription medications. A pre-sentencing investigation was ordered. Tiegs bond was revoked and she is being held without bail pending sentencing.

6500 Jobs Added In Wisconsin Last Month

8/20/10 - Wisconsin’s job picture is brighter than it was a month ago. State officials announced Thursday that 65-hundred private sector jobs were added last month on a seasonally-adjusted basis. That after a-thousand jobs had been cut the month before. The new statewide adjusted unemployment rate is seven-point-eight percent for July – down from seven-point-nine in June. And Wisconsin remains much lower than the national jobless rate of nine-and-a-half percent.

Shortfall In Tech College Aid

8/20/10 - Wisconsin’s technical colleges say up to 30-thousand students who apply for financial aid this year won’t get it, because there’s not enough money. Morna Foy of the tech system told a legislative panel there’s now a large gap between those who qualify for financial aid, and those who receive it. A couple years ago, six-to-seven thousand students who qualified for Higher Education Grants did not receive them. But last year, Foy said the number grew to 25-thousand – and it will be around 30-thousand this year. Students who don’t get state grants often apply for federal Pell grants. But Foy says they also use credit cards and higher-interest loans to get through tech school – and they’re saddled with higher levels of debt when they graduate and start contributing to their communities. The Higher Educational Aids Board says everyone from the U-W to tribal schools has the same problem. The technical college system plans to ask for an additional 23-million dollars in financial in the next state budget. But it might be hard to come by – because the state is projected to face a two-and-a-half billion dollar budget shortfall.

Corrections Official Commuting From Illinois

8/20/10 - If Wisconsin has a prison disturbance in the next five months, the man in charge of responding might have to drive in from Illinois. Bill Grosshans is about to retire in January as the Corrections Department’s administrator of adult institutions. And according to the Associated Press, he recently moved from Fort Atkinson to Galena Illinois. Instead of keeping his state-owned vehicle at home at night, as required by department policy, Grosshans is being allowed to park it at an elementary school lot in Hazel Green – still in Wisconsin but five miles from his house. Because of his impending retirement, Corrections Secretary Rick Raemisch approved an exemption of the policy regarding the home parking of state vehicles. Corrections’ spokeswoman Melissa Roberts told the A-P that Grosshans spends at least one night a week in Wisconsin anyway, as he travels to various lock-ups around the state. But even with the Hazel Green set-up, she said it would not affect the state’s overall response time to a disturbance. Grosshans does not get mileage reimbursement, since he drives a state vehicle. Recently, auditors said an attorney that oversees casino gambling got 26-thousand dollars in mileage the past three years for commuting to Madison from his home in Chicago.

Kuenzi Trial Moved Out of Waupaca County

8/20/10 - A jury from outside Waupaca County would hear the possible trial of a man charged in a drunken driving death. Judge Philip Kirk said it would be impossible for 26-year-old Rori Kuenzi to get a fair jury in his home county. That’s because of the hostility that still surrounds Kuenzi’s alleged involvement in the killings of six deer with a stolen snowmobile in January of last year. Kuenzi is one of three riders still facing charges for that incident. Judge Kirk said the hostility from that case was unlike anything he’s seen in his career. The drunken driving death occurred in 2004. Kuenzi is accused of hitting Kevin McCoy with his pick-up truck, then dumping his body in a ditch and leaving the scene. Kuenzi was not charged with that death until last year, after the state Justice Department took over the investigation. 24-year-old Walter Engel is charged with perjury in connection with the traffic death – and Judge Kirk allowed Engel and Kuenzi to be tried separately. Kuenzi is scheduled to go on trial November 15.