Top Stories, October 24th

SKDS Open House Today

10/24/10 - Officials with the St. Katherine Drexel Church are seeking comments from their congregation about plans that are being considered to either build a church and school on a new site or move all their operations to the Spring Street location. One plan would be to build a new church and school complex at the intersection of County Highway B and Crystal Lake Road at a cost of $15 million. The other plan involved purchasing the furniture store and surrounding land at the corner of South Spring and Mill streets for office space while renovating the church and school on Spring Street at a cost of roughly $4 million. Parish Council Chair Judy Johnson says an open house today is intended to get input from the community because they do not want to have a small number of church members to make the choice. The Open House will be held today at both the Highway B/ Crystal Lake Road and South Spring Street locations from 11am until 2:30pm. On Thursday at 7pm, the parish will hold a town hall-style meeting in the Spring Street church to discuss the two options and hear opinions from parishioners. Parishioners will be able to vote in November and the decision will be made by majority rule. Judy Johnson will be one of our guests on WBEV’s Community Comment this coming Thursday.

E-Cycle Prompts Changes To Bulk Pick-Up

10/24/10 - Beaver Dam residents have until next week to gather their yard waste and bulk garbage. The final bulk pick-up of the year begins a week from tomorrow on Monday, November 1 and continues through Friday, November 5. Bulk waste can be placed on the curb no sooner than 24 hours prior to each collection and by 7am on the day of pick-up. Bulk waste is defined as, but no limited to, furniture, wooden doors and windows and rolled carpet, not exceeding 4’ to 6’ in length. The collection regulations have changed as a result of the state’s new E-Cycle law. Items that will no longer be collected include desktop and laptop computers, printers, fax machines, cell phones, DVD players and video devices with screens over 7” long such as TV’s and computer monitors. In addition, no metal items like bed springs, doors, windows and pipes will be collected. No bundled or loose piles of building materials will be collected. Building materials like lumber must be broken down and placed in the weekly collection cart. The next bulk garbage pick-up will be the first waste collection day of May. Brush and shrubbery cuttings, meanwhile, will also be accepted for the last time this year during the same period. Loose tree limbs and shrubbery cuttings up to 7 inches in thickness and 8 feet in length should be placed at the street edge by 7am on the day of solid waste collection. Yard waste also cannot be placed out sooner than 24 hours prior to the scheduled pick-up. Both yard waste and bulk garbage can also be dropped off at the public works garage year round.

Fall Colors Fading

10/24/10 - Today wraps up what could be the last weekend to see fall colors in the state of Wisconsin. The Department of Tourism says the northern half has already moved past peak conditions and most of the leaves are on the ground. Peak color has been reported in Columbia and Sauk counties along with counties north. Some areas of Dodge County, Green Lake and Washington counties Rock, Walworth and Waukesha were reporting some good color - especially in the southern Kettle Moraine area.

9-11 Flag In Fond du Lac

10/24/10 - The one remaining American flag from the World Trade Center that survived the 9-11 attacks took a special position during the inauguration of Marian University President Steven DiSalvo yesterday. DiSalvo says he was involved with a group that helped start a foundation where first responders from 9-11 help in rebuilding projects. That group, New York says Thank You, is traveling the nation with the remnants of the WTC flag. During stops in all 50 states, they’re piecing it back together using other American flags from the sites they visit. DiSalvo says it’s the only stop the flag will make in Wisconsin. When it’s complete, it will be donated to the 9-11 Memorial next fall on the 10th anniversary of the attack.

Marine Funeral Draws Hundreds

10/24/10 - Visitation for a Wisconsin Marine killed in Afghanistan draws hundreds of people to Manitowoc's Lincoln High School. Corporal Justin Cain was killed by a roadside bomb October 13. Cain graduated from Lincoln High School three years ago. Four horses pulled a flag-draped casket in the procession from the funeral home. A private funeral service will be held tomorrow. Several of Cain's friends created a memorial page on the social networking site, Facebook.

Barrett to GOP: ‘Don’t Measure Drapes Just Yet’

10/24/10 - Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett tells a Madison rally Republicans believe the election is already over. But the state GOP says it's not taking anything for granted. Barrett told a gathering of supporters at an early voting rally outside the state capitol that Republicans were already measuring the drapes and ordering the stationary for the governor's office. Public polls have shown Barrett trailing Republican Scott Walker, but Barrett challenged those findings, and says the race is tighter than people realize. But State Republican Party Director Mark Jefferson says the GOP isn't taking anything for granted, but added that the current polls are making volunteers enthusiastic, “in the sense that they know that their efforts can pay off." Jefferson says Republicans are trying to drive home the message that there are close races up and down the ballot. Both parties are stressing turnout efforts with less than two weeks before the election. The state's election agency estimates half of all eligible voters will head to the polls. That would be about the same as 2006, when voters were choosing a governor and U.S. Senator and voting on Wisconsin's marriage amendment.

DA Not Filing Charges Against Deputy In Shootring

10/24/10 - The Outagamie County district attorney says no charges will be filed against a deputy who shot a man threatening him with a gun. Staff Sergeant Corey Besaw wounded 55 year old David L. Steinke last week. The official report indicates Steinke pointed a gun at the sergeant and refused orders to drop it. Besaw shot the suicidal man in the shoulder. Steinke is expected to make an initial court appearance next week to face charges of criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct. The first charge in the October 15 incident is a felony.

Whitewater PD Shuts Down Underage Party

10/24/10 - Whitewater police say they made the second-largest underage drinking bust they've ever made Friday night. A total of 132 people were arrested at a house party near the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The people who live at 928 Highland Street face charges of furnishing alcohol to underage persons, selling alcohol without a licnese and failure to prevent those underage people from drinking the booze. Authorities say those charges could bring fines in the thousands of dollars. About eight years ago Whitewater police arrested more than 200 underage drinkers at a house party.

Klement Sausage Recall

10/24/10 - More than a ton of beef stick products are being recalled by a Wisconsin company. Klement Sausage Company says the recall involves eight-ounce package of "Market Pantry Beef Sticks, Original." Each package has a "Use By" date of March 1, 2012, and carries the number "2426B" inside the USDA inspection mark. The sticks were shipped to distribution centers and retail stores all over the country. The problem cropped up when one store reported customers had complained about finding hard plastic or pieces of glass inside the package. So far, no officials complaints or reports of injury have been received by the Safety Inspection Service. Consumers with questions should contact the company at 414-744-2330 or the USDA Meal and Poultry Hotlines at 888-674-6854.

Court Strikes Down Casket Dropping Lawsuit

10/24/10 - A state appeals court said a La Crosse County woman is not entitled to damages for watching her late husband’s casket fall to the ground while it was being carried. Chrystal Ulrich filed a lawsuit after seeing a handle break on her husband’s casket, as it was going from a hearse to a burial site. The Fourth District Appellate Court in Madison agreed that Ulrich suffered “genuine and understandable” emotional distress. But to win such a lawsuit, the court said the plaintiff would have had to see something that caused a severe or fatal injury – and that didn’t happen because the victim was already dead. Ulrich sued the funeral home, the maker of the casket, its distributor, and an insurance company.