Top Stories, January 25th

Lynch Files Motion To Dismiss

1/25/11 - Attorneys for former Fox Lake Police Chief Pat Lynch have filed a motion to dismiss the molestation and stalking charges he is facing. Lynch is charged with the alleged sexual assault of a 7-year-old child more than 20-years ago. His attorneys filed the motion last week and the state has since submitted its opposition. Lynch was arrested last month and charged with one count of First Degree Sexual Assault of a Child Under the Age of 13 and three counts of Stalking. The alleged sexual assault occurred in the summer of 1989 at home in Randolph. The victim’s father was friends with Lynch, who was an officer with the Randolph Police Department at the time. The motion states that the victim is unreliable because her father was convicted of sexually assaulting her in 1993. It says the victim failed to report Lynch’s alleged molestation when she reported her father’s sexual assaults in 1992 and is therefore confused as to who her actual abuser was. The victim also said Lynch later kept showing up where she worked, and would drive his police car past her home. He is also accused of stalking a woman who used to work for the Fox Lake Police Department – as well as a man who was dating his ex-wife. The motion states that the Department of Justice determined in 2007 that there was not enough criminal evidence to justify continuing the stalking allegations and the case was closed. Lynch resigned from his job as police chief in Fox Lake in the spring of 2009. The 54-year-old has a preliminary hearing scheduled for February 1.

Police Station Construction Ahead of Schedule

1/25/11 - Construction of the new Beaver Dam Police Station is a few weeks ahead of schedule. Marty Sell with MSA Professional Services told the city’s Operations Committee last night that by the end of the week, the majority of roof truss work should be completed and then the roof will start to go on next week. Concrete floor slabs will be poured in the next couple weeks. Beaver Dam is not using a general contractor in building the $5.1 million dollar facility and in a rare move is instead is using MSA, the architects who designed the facility, to also serve as “project manager” and handle the bidding process. The Operations Committee last night approved another round of bid packages totaling nearly $350,000. This time around the work is for drywall, flooring, tile ceilings and painting and finishing. With the city and architect in control of the bidding process, Sell estimates they were able to save around $100,000 from this most recent bid package. The new police station is scheduled to be completed in the fall.

BDPD Moving Away From Handwritten Tickets, Reports

1/25/11 - The Beaver Dam Police Department will be installing new computers in their squad cars that will make issuing traffic citations and accident reports more efficient. The department recently received a $35,000 Bureau of Transportation Safety Grant for the TraCS System, which stands for Traffic and Criminal Software. The city filed over 500 crash reports and issued around 2000 citations last year. Lt. John Kreuzinger says the new system will put an end to officer’s having to write-out those citations and reports by hands. Kreuzinger says the computers that are currently in their squad cars will be cycled into the new police department. With the $35,000 grant, the city will receive seven Panasonic Toughbook laptop computers, docking stations and printers. The city share is roughly $8600; money that will be spent on computer and software installation along with training.

Beaver Dam-Native Staying On As State Vet

1/25/11 - Wisconsin will be keeping the state veterinarian it’s had for the last eight years. Doctor Bob Ehlenfeldt has been re-appointed by the state’s new agriculture secretary, Ben Brancel. He said Ehlenfeldt knows veterinary science and law, and he works well with people. Ehlenfeldt is a graduate of the Beaver Dam High School and in 2009 was recognized as an Outstanding Alumni as part the districts annual Wall of Fame ceremony. The late Ag secretary Rod Nilsestuen first appointed Ehlenfeldt as the state vet in 2003. That person oversees the surveillance, prevention, and responses to diseases in Wisconsin’s multi-billion-dollar animal agriculture sector. Ehlenfeldt has held various posts for the state ag department since 1985 – including the director of what’s now called the state’s Veterinary Diagnostic Lab.