Top Stories, October 21st

Ground Broken On New PD

10/21/10 - Ground was officially broken Wednesday on the city of Beaver Dam’s new $5.1 million dollar police station. Around 100 people attended the ceremony, including city officials, current and retired police personnel, business leaders, members of the architectural team and the general public. Mayor Tom Kennedy says the men and women of the police department are looking forward to next fall when they will be moving into a new permanent home that will allow them to continue in delivering around-the clock excellence in emergency and municipal court services. In addition, Kennedy says the state-of-the-art facility will ideally add to the restoration of the downtown community. Deputy Police Chief Dan Schubert said that the public will never again have to call to ask directions since the new police station will be located right in the heart of the downtown. The structure will also include a municipal court. Judge Ken Peters says there will finally be a conference room dedicated solely to assuring that all juvenile matters will be addressed confidentially. In addition, there will be a public courtroom dedicated solely for judicial matters where all citizens can observe the operations of their municipal court. The project is expected to be completed by this time next year. Concrete will be poured on the Park Avenue site as early as this week.

Eight Acres Scorched in Randolph Brush Fire

10/21/10 - Around eight acres of farm fields were scorched by fire Wednesday afternoon in the Town of Randolph. Fire Chief Bruce Miller says Highway 33 was shut down for a period of time as the smoke caused visibility issues and led to a minor traffic accident with no injuries. It started around 1:30pm in a Columbia County field located near W302 Highway 33. Miller says the landowner’s father was working the field, clearing fencing and dumping materials in a nearby wood pile. He was treated for minor smoke inhalation along with three residents of a nearby house. No one was transported. Miller says the fire happened in a picked corn field, which would not have been much of a problem but the flames spread to a brush pile about the size of a football field. Initial attempts to put it out by plowing it over were not successful and the fire quickly spread. The cause has not been determined but it’s believed that a spark from the fencing materials ignited the blaze. The Randolph Fire Department received mutual assistance from Fox Lake and Friesland.

Phone, Mail Scams Targeting BD Residents

10/21/10 - The Beaver Dam Police Department is warning the public of an attempted phone scam with the perpetrators claiming to be with the social security office. Deputy Chief Dan Schubert says a city resident was contacted Wednesday afternoon by a woman who said the office was sending out new medical cards and in lieu of her social security number she needed to provide her bank account information as verification to receive the cards. Schubert says the woman did the right thing and hung up the phone. This type of identity theft is an ongoing threat and Schubert urges the public to remain vigilant and avoid giving personal information like bank account or social security numbers. There were also reports yesterday of a city resident receiving a check by mail claiming they had won a $250,000 sweepstakes. The letter from Millennia Trust Financial Services of Canada includes a $4800 check to pay processing and international taxes. The checks are bogus and the phone number of the claims agent you’re required to call will likely result in high charges to your phone bill.

Sensient Opens Fifth Plant In China

10/21/10 - Sensient Technologies of Milwaukee has opened its fifth plant in China. The company, which also has a plant in Juneau, announced Wednesday that it opened a facility in Guangzhou. The firm says the new location will enhance its ability to make flavors-and-colorings for foods and beverages, along with fragrances and coatings for pharmaceuticals. The new plant includes labs, offices, and production areas. Sensient CEO Kenneth P. Manning says the addition (quote) “positions the company for growth in one of the most dynamic economies in the world (while) greatly increasing production capabilities with state-of-the-art equipment and new processing technologies." Sensient now has 70 factories in 30 nations.

Dodge County Home Purchases Down

10/21/10 - Dodge County Realtors sold almost 40-percent fewer houses last month than at the same time the previous year. The Realtors Association said its members sold 54 houses in Dodge County in September. That’s down from 89 the year before. Other counties also saw decreases, though the severity varied. Columbia County sales were down 9.4-percent, while Fond du Lac was down 10.1-percent. Washington County slid 23.5-percent, and the largest decrease in our area was in Jefferson County where sales were down nearly 47-percent. It wasn’t all bad news as the median sale prices held steady or increased throughout the area. Dodge County went up 1.7-percent to $117,500, and Fond du Lac rose 1.4-percent to $123,500. Columbia County jumped 7.1-percent to $161,750, while Jefferson County was up nearly 14-percent to $169,000. Washington County saw no change to their median price of $172,000. On a statewide level, realtors sold almost one-third fewer houses last month than at the same time the previous year and the median sale price was down one-point-eight percent from a year ago, to over 138-thousand dollars.

Jefferson Cop-Shooter Trial Going Nationwide

10/21/10 - The trial for a Jefferson man accused of killing an off duty police officer begins next Monday, and the proceedings will most likely be seen by a national TV audience. 25-year-old Andrew Wirth is charged with two counts of First Degree Intentional Homicide in connection with the shootings of 37-year-old Jennifer Luick, a town of Oconomowoc police officer, and 40-year-old Greg Peters. The incident happened in December of 2009 outside of a bar in Jefferson, after Luick jokingly touched Wirth on his buttocks. During the confrontation that followed, Wirth allegedly pull out a semi-automatic handgun, shooting the couple. Following jury selection on Monday, opening statements are expected Tuesday and “In Session,” the former “Court TV,” is considering covering the event. Wirth faces two life sentences if convicted.

Gun Show Shooter Back Story

10/21/10 - The 70-year-old man cited for accidentally shooting off a 9 millimeter handgun at a gun show in Fond du Lac last weekend already had a tragic shooting incident in his life. Rodney Mazur of Green Bay told Fond du Lac police that when he was 20-years-old he was in a bar and someone entered the tavern and shot four people right in front of him, so he has bad memories of that he’s still dealing with. Mazur walked past a long line at the entrance of the gun show at the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds last Saturday where guns were being checked to make sure they were unloaded. When he approached a dealer he knew he put a clip in the handgun and pulled back the slide. When he closed it the gun went off. Fortunately the bullet didn’t hit anyone, but the round shattered a glass display case and lodged in a wooden table. Mazur apologized for the incident. He was cited for discharging a weapon without a permit, which will cost him about $208.

FFRF Targets TN High School Football Games

10/21/10 - A public high school in Tennessee will stop saying prayers on the public address system before football games, after being pressured by Madison’s Freedom from Religion Foundation. The group said it got complaints from some of the students at Soddy-Daisy High School in southeast Tennessee. And the group wrote the superintendent, demanding that the public prayers stop immediately. Principal John Maynard said he was ordered by his county’s school superintendent to end the practice. The same organization threatened court action against the Dodge County Board if did not cease prayers during its meetings. The prayers were subsequently moved to before the meeting begins.

M & I Losses Slowing

10/21/10 - Wisconsin’s largest bank has reported its eighth straight quarterly loss – but the red ink is less than a year ago. M-and-I of Milwaukee said it lost 169-million dollars from July-through-September, down from a loss of 248-million in the same quarter a year ago. Also, the bank announced a series of management changes Wednesday, including the retirement of Dennis Kuester as chairman-of-the-board. C-E-O Mark Furlong said the management changes came after an internal evaluation – but he said Kuester’s move is nothing more than a normal retirement. Furlong will become the new chairman, but Kuester will stay on the board as a member. As for the current losses, Furlong said things would have been much better had the bank not written off 201-million-dollars in loans to an undisclosed borrower in the hospitality industry. M-and-I said it was making progress in reducing its bad loans, as it tries to return to being profitable. The company reported an 11-percent drop in non-performing loans from the previous quarter – and it was the fifth straight quarter that bad loans went down.

Walker, Barrett Support I-90 Expansion

10/21/10 - A state transportation panel has taken another step forward on a plan to expand Interstate 39-90 from four lanes to six south of Madison to the Illinois border. The 45-mile project would get started in 2015. The Department of Transportation has said it could cost a billion dollars. The Transportation Projects Commission, which makes recommendations to the legislature, gave its OK Tuesday. Governor Jim Doyle chairs the Commission. He says anybody who has been on I-39 heading south on Sunday around 5 p.m. “understands the real need for six lanes down to the Illinois border." But Steve Hiniker of the environmental group, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, says the trouble with the project is that the state has no idea how it's going to pay for it. He says the state can't maintain the roads it already has. It's ultimately up to the next legislature and governor to decide whether this plan becomes a reality. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett says he's open to the expansion. Republican Scott Walker says he supports it.