Friday, December 10, 2010

Top Stories, December 10th

Gassen Laid To Rest

12/10/10 - Jim Bublitz with the Murray Funeral Home tells us the family of Jacob Gassen wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you to the people of Dodge County who lined the streets during yesterday’s funeral procession. Gassen was killed last week in Afghanistan. Funeral services were yesterday afternoon in Horicon and the 21-year-old Beaver Dam-native was laid to rest in Randolph. Bublitz says the turnout was “amazing” and possibly numbered over a thousand as the procession wound its way through four communities in heavy snowfall and frigid temperatures. In Beaver Dam, the procession passed under a huge American flag held over a downtown intersection by two fire trucks with extended ladders. In Fox Lake, former Mayor Gerald Moose Mullin stood at attention until the nearly two-mile long procession left the city.

Click Below To View Video of Procession:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WauFE2pp1V0

High Speed Train Funding Gone

12/10/10 - The U-S Transportation Department on Thursday stripped Wisconsin of the 810-million federal dollars the state was given to build a high-speed train from Milwaukee-to-Madison. The stimulus cash will instead go to Illinois and other states that want high-speed trains, after Wisconsin’s Governor-elect Scott Walker rejected it. The D-O-T also stripped Ohio of 400-million-dollars for a train there, after its G-O-P Governor-elect John Kasich also said no-thank-you. Walker campaigned against the train, saying it’s faster to drive from Milwaukee to Madison and it would cost the state too much to maintain the line. But Walker did not count on seeing the money go elsewhere. He wanted to keep it to fix highways. The government said the state could only keep two-million dollars to upgrade Amtrak’s existing high-speed Hiawatha train from Milwaukee-to-Chicago. Walker supports that line.

U-S House Democrat Gwen Moore of Milwaukee said Walker has quote, “lost good jobs for Wisconsinites” who would have built and run the train – and perhaps other businesses that may have located near the tracks. Moore said Walker’s decision could “build a fence around Wisconsin.” In her words, “We’ll be forced to watch economic development in Illinois and in Minnesota, as both states continue a commitment to a rail line that connects Chicago and the Twin Cities – and it’s a gift we’ll have handed them.” The new project attracted train-maker Talgo to Milwaukee – and it was talking about leaving after 2012 if the Wisconsin line is scrapped. But Walker had said it wouldn’t be that easy – and he planned to try-and-keep Talgo in the state. Meanwhile, the head of a Madison development group is disappointed that the train’s gone. Susan Schmitz of Downtown Madison Incorporated said the move accomplishes nothing.

Portage Hit With Ice Jams

12/10/10 - Residents in Portage are dealing with water issues again after parts of the Blackhawk neighborhood flooded due to ice jams on the nearby Wisconsin River. It’s the same place that was partially evacuated in September, when five-inch rains in mid-Wisconsin caused the river to swell downstream. Parts of three roads are closed at Blackhawk, and there have also been floods in the nearby town of Dekorra – but no roads have been closed there yet. Columbia County Emergency Management Director Pat Beghin said the ice jams are the most intense in several years. There are roads with a combination of ice-and-water – and Beghin says drivers should stay off those roads. He said crews could try to blow up the ice jams, but that could cause more problems than the ice-jams do naturally.

Public Hearing Set For Rock River Basin

12/10/10 - The state D-N-R wants to know what people think about a plan to reduce phosphorus pollution in the Rock River basin. The plan is based on major new rules adopted this summer that regulate agricultural run-off for the first time. They also place limits on phosphorus from wastewater plants and other facilities. The D-N-R will hold a public meeting in Lake Mills next Thursday to explain its plans for the Rock River area. That includes the Horicon Marsh, a haven for migratory birds. People can file written comments through January 21st.

DNR Seeks Comment On Stewardship

12/10/10 - A wildlife group is asking the DNR to study the upkeep and management of lands that the department has helped purchase under the state's Stewardship program. As the Stewardship program enters its third decade, the DNR board has just approved an updated land acquisition strategy. Ralph Fritsch of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation is a big supporter of Stewardship, which has already helped protect hundreds of thousands acres in the state. But as the land buys and easements continue Fritsch has asked the DNR to do an in-depth study of infrastructure and management needs for the various parks, forests, wildlife and natural areas. DNR state forester Paul DeLong says the department is evaluating management of stewardship property, and plans to rely some on partnerships with volunteer groups and others. DeLong says the expectation is the next state budget won't add more DNR land managers, so the focus will be on setting priorities. During the next nine years, the DNR may try to protect another 150,000 acres through the Stewardship program.

Those Living Paycheck-To-Paycheck Up

12/10/10 - Just over half of Wisconsinites live from paycheck-to-paycheck, without emergency funds to cover three months of expenses if they lose their jobs. That’s according to a survey by FINRA, a group set up by the investment industry to regulate itself. About 500 people in each state were asked about their financial situations. In Wisconsin, 55-percent said they spent all their incomes plus a little more. That’s on par with the rest of the country. Fifty-seven percent of Badger State residents don’t have emergency funds, below the national figure of 60-percent. Almost one-of-every-five state residents did high-interest borrowing in the last five years from payday lenders or advances on tax refunds. 57-percent don’t shop for the best deal on credit cards. And Wisconsinites scored an average of three-point-one-four on a five-question test for financial literacy – higher than the national score of two-point-nine-nine. FINRA Foundation chairman Richard Ketchum says the survey shows how important it is for people to be smarter financially – especially in these times.

Wisconsin Leads In Admitting Drunk Driving

12/10/10 - Wisconsin still leads the nation in the percentage of motorists who admit driving drunk. Twenty-three-point-seven percent of Wisconsin drivers told the National Survey on Drug Use and Health that they drove under-the-influence at least once in the last year. But that’s less than the 26-percent who admitted driving drunk in the same survey almost a year-and-a-half ago. The new survey results were released Thursday by the U-S Department of Health and Human Services. North Dakota ranked second, and neighboring Minnesota was in the Top-10. Also, the survey said about five-percent of Wisconsin motorists admitted driving while high on what the federal government calls “illicit drugs” , including marijuana, cocaine and heroin.




























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