Top Stories October 10th

Three Accidents with Injuries Reported


10/10/10- There were a number of accidents on area roads yesterday, including two involving motorcycles.

The first occurred near the intersection of Hawk Road and County Road G in the town of Westford. Authorities say it involved two 58-year-old men, with one of them riding a motorcycle. There were injuries, and the man’s motorcycle was towed from the scene.

A second accident happened around 6:45 p-m near the intersection of County Trunk P and Washington Road in the town of Ashippun. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department says a man riding a motorcycle swerved to miss a deer and crashed. The 36-year-old was taken to the hospital.

Police in Beaver Dam also report that a two vehicle accident near Culvers on Spring Street sent a 21-year-old man to the hospital yesterday afternoon.

Change Will Add Mayor to Water and Light Commission

10/10/10- An ordinance has changed the make-up of the Columbus Water and Light Commission. The number of citizen members on the Commission has been reduced to four, and the Mayor has been added to the seven member body. Mayor Bob Link introduced the change after looking at the composition of the Water and Light Utilities in other Wisconsin communities. The next Water and Light meeting on Tuesday will seat a Commission made up of four citizen members, the City Administrator, the Mayor and one Council member.

Second Tax Deadline Today

10/10/10- If you received a filing extension on your taxes last April, the new deadline is coming up this Friday. The Department of Revenue says the extension gives you more time without paying late fees. However, if you owed taxes April 15, you will have to pay interest. State revenue officials are pushing taxpayers to file electronically. They say it speeds up your refund or it can also allow you to pay the taxes who owe by electronic funds transfer.

Feingold: “Not Everyone Against Health Care Reform”

10/10/10- U-S Senator Russ Feingold says it’s not true that most Wisconsinites were clearly against health care reform when he voted for it last Christmas Eve. The incumbent Democrat described benefits of the package to the Wisconsin Nurses Association on Friday in Madison. Afterward, Feingold told reporters that most people who went to his annual listening sessions throughout the state over the last six years favored health reform. And Feingold said he promised voters in 2004 that if he got re-elected, he’d work for that change. His election opponent this fall, Oshkosh businessman Ron Johnson, said in a recent T-V ad that Feingold “toed the party line, instead of listening to us.” Johnson has said the health care law – and his desire to repeal it – were major reasons he decided to run for the Senate in the first place.

Open Carry Rights Group Files Another Lawsuit

10/10/10- Wisconsin Carry, Incorporated, which recently filed a Federal lawsuit against the City of Madison and Madison Police Chief Noble Wray in connection with an incident involving five of its members exercising their open-carry rights, has also filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a woman who brought her gun into a Brookfield church in July. In that incident, a churchgoer’s call to the police department’s non-emergency number to inquire about the legality of open carry ended with officers drawing their weapons on the woman in the church parking lot, searching her and her car, and issuing a citation for illegally transporting a firearm. The lawsuit claims that’s not an arrestable offense in Wisconsin. The lawsuit against the Brookfield Police Department was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee.

More Health Care Professionals Needed

10/10/10- A statewide survey of nurses shows more health care professionals are going to be needed in the future. Department of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman says the results show most of the state’s nurses are over the age of 45, which puts them above the average age of the rest of Wisconsin’s workforce. State officials estimated Wisconsin will need as many as 8,000 nurses by 2018 to replace the aging workforce. Responses also show that only about half of Wisconsin’s nurses are working in actual hospitals, with the rest in places such as clinics or community health centers. Gassman says that shows the demand for nurses will be in diverse settings. Gassman says the information will be vital in planning for ways to make sure new nurses are being trained to replace those nearing retirement.

Communication System Breaks Down in Milwaukee

10/10/10- When officers are out on the streets or patrol, doing their jobs, it is critical they be able to communicate. For 30 minutes last Thursday morning, police in Milwaukee couldn't talk to each other. The department's new digital radio system crashed at about 11:20 a.m., with some of the communications coming back online by noon. During the system failure officers used cell phones to talk back and forth. A spokesman for the police union said the outage was, quoting here, "a huge officer safety issue." No incidents were reportedly caused by the problem.

La Crosse Council Reverses Marijuana Decision

10/10/10- The La Crosse Common Council has reversed its decision on possession of small amounts of marijuana. Last Thursday, the council voted to decriminalize possession of less than 25 grams of the drug by any first time offender. It would become a minor municipal violation accompanied by a fine. Supporters of the idea say it gives police and prosecutors the discretion to charge violators with either a criminal or municipal offense. The police chief has advised against decriminalization. The ruling reverses a common council decision from just two days earlier. La Crosse Police Chief Ed Kondracki says it sends a bad message -- that marijuana is of no more consequence than being ticketed for skateboarding in a parking garage.

Whey to be Used for Power

10/10/10- A Wisconsin company gets a half-million dollar, low interest loan from the State Energy Program. The money will go toward a three and a half million dollar project installing an anaerobic digester to process wastewater at Betin, Incorporated's plant at Belmont. The digester is part of an expansion project which is adding 22 thousand square feet to the plant and creating 13 new jobs. Betin produces goat cheese under the Montchevre brand name. Methane from the digester will be used to generate power, meeting up to 80 percent of the company's electricity consumption.

Concerns Over Safety at Mental Health Facility

10/10/10- Questions about safety measures at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex arise after a patient walked away from an unlocked ward there and attacked a woman living nearby. Homeowner Health Snyder-Stueber wasn't seriously injured and the patient was returned to the complex by police. Several investigations are being conducted. Snyder-Stueber suffered bruises and had her glasses broken as she fought to get the patient out of her house. Police say the patient rang the doorbell at about 5 p.m. September 30th. She asked to use a telephone. Then, she asked to use a bathroom. When she tried to go upstairs where three children were, The Wauwatosa homeowner intervened. The patient reportedly has the intellect of a 12 year old child.

Bank Takes Control of Historic Resort

10/10/10- A Madison bank has taken over ownership of the historic Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan. The move will cost nearly 300 workers their jobs. The bank says the resort defaulted on a 52 million dollar loan. Lake Lawn Resort is scheduled to close in two months. At a sheriff's sale in Walworth County, the bank bought the property for a little under 20 million dollars. Anchor plans to resell the 250 acre resort which was opened in 1878 in the Lake Geneva area.

Largest Pumpkin on Record in New Richmond

10/10/10- Where's Charlie Brown? The great pumpkin resides in New Richmond. Chris Stevens grew the pumpkin that weights in at one-thousand, 810 and a half pounds. It was submitted at the Stillwater Harvest Fest yesterday. That weight is 85 pounds heavier than the official world record for pumpkins, set last year in Ohio. Stevens gives credit to sunshine, rain, cow manure, fish emulsion and seaweed for his giant pumpkin's size.