Top Stories, January 9th

Fire Destroys Town of Herman Home

1/9/11 - One person was injured in a fire that destroyed a house in the Town of Herman late Friday night. Allenton Fire Chief John Breuer says fire and smoke were visible from the two-story, 3500-square foot residence when crews arrived just after 11:30pm. The occupants were able to evacuate. Homeowner Kenneth Mueller did sustain burns and smoke inhalation in trying to extinguish the flames prior to the department’s arrival. Mueller was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in West Bend by private vehicle and was kept over night for observation. The family dogs perished in the blaze. The home was located at the end of North Road, and firefighters had to run 1500 feet of hose to County Road D-W to connect Allenton’s aerial ladder truck to their supply engine. Water was transported initially from the Allenton hydrant system and was later taken from a pond located on Freedom Road. Approximately, 142,500 gallons of water was trucked to the scene, which was used to extinguish the fire along with being sprayed on other out buildings. Allenton Fire officials estimate the value of the house and contents at between $300,000.00 and $325,000.00. The fire was declared under control at 1:17am Saturday morning and all units were cleared from the incident and back at their stations at 5:35am. Assisting the Allenton Volunteer Fire Department and St. Lawrence Fire Company were Woodland, Theresa, Iron Ridge, Hartford, Slinger and Kohlsville Fire Departments. The Dodge County Emergency Response Team and the Dodge County Sheriff Department also assisted and the Dodge County Highway Department was on scene to salt and sand the roads in the water shuttle route. The American Red Cross is assisting the family. Anyone that would like to help with clothing, furniture, or donations of money should contact the West Bend Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Sensenbrenner AZ Calls Shooting “Tragic”

1/9/11 - Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner calls the attack that left a U.S. Representative from Arizona in critical condition both “senseless” and “tragic.” Sensenbrenner says his thoughts and prayers are with Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and several other people who were shot at a public gathering Saturday. He says he hopes the gunman is brought quickly to justice, Giffords was shot in the head but her prognosis is “optimistic.” The shooting also left a federal judge and a nine year old child dead. Several were wounded.

Outagamie County Supervisor Sentenced For OWI

1/9/11 - A supervisor from Outagamie County will serve 120 days behind bars after pleading no contest to his fourth-offense drunken driving charge. Peter Beckly was also fined more than 17 hundred dollars and had his drivers license revoked for three years. He will have to have an ignition interlock device installed on his car when he can drive again. He was stopped last winter for driving without his headlights turned on at 2 a.m. one morning. A charge of refusing to submit to a blood or breath test was dismissed.

Sheboygan Woman Accused of Cop Assault

1/9/11 - A woman faces charges of assaulting police officer after an incident at a private home in Sheboygan last week. Witnesses say Holly Razo had been drinking and playing cards before she became combative and was kicked out. People at the home say she returns with some knives and that’s when they called 9-1-1. Eight squad cars responded and a witness says it took four officers to pin Razo down. She faces charges of child neglect, disorderly conduct and felony battery of a police officer.

Bus Driver Pleads To Sexual Assault

1/9/11 - A former bus driver in New London pleads no contest to four counts of sexually assaulting children. When sentenced, 71 year old Delton Gorges could get more than 81 years behind bars. Police say Gorges admitted the sexual assaults occurred over a 20 year period. He drove a school bus for the New London district for 33 years. He was arrested last May after the mother of one student told police her son had been assaulted. School officials fired him after hearing of the first sexual assault complaint. He is to be sentenced on his guilty plea next March.

Local Library Officials On Huck Fin Reboot

1/9/11 - An Alabama book publisher will be publishing a combined volume of the Mark Twain books “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “Tom Sawyer,” replacing the N-word with the word slave. That’s created a stir in the literary community. Fond du Lac Public Library Director Ken Hall says Twain used the N-word to comment on racism. “To sanitize history is to pretend that it didn’t exist,” says Hall. Hall sits on the Fond du Lac School District’s Reconsideration Committee, which had to review some controversial books last year. He says both of the classic Twain books are usually assigned reading. Hall says the N-word is offensive, but that wasn’t Twain’s intention in using it. “In Huckleberry Finn, especially, in the relationship between Jim and Huck, he’s making a statement about the races and equality,” says Hall. “To try and change his words is to do him a disservice, and our history a disservice.” The N-word appears in “Huckleberry Finn” 219 times and four times in “Tom Sawyer.” NewSouth Books plans to publish the combined volume of Twain books replacing the N-word next month.

Hog Prices Up, Demand Down

1/9/11 - Hog and pork market prices are expected to reach record levels for farmers this year, but most Wisconsin producers won’t see a big increase in earnings. High demand and low supply are behind the projected spike in market prices. But some agriculture experts say the costs of production are on their way to record levels too, especially the price of feed corn. Jim Magolski runs a hog farm near New London in eastern Wisconsin. He says prices are up on things including equipment and fertilizer. Magolski says during summers his operation attempts to break even. Madison area farmer Bob Uphoff says he’s skeptical that hog and pork market prices will reach record levels this year. But, he says the cost to feed and take care of his hogs continue to grow more expensive. He says market prices need to be better or producers will thin their herds to keep down costs. The Wisconsin Pork Association says there are around 250 farms in Wisconsin that raise only pigs, though that number's gone down from past years.

Lake St. Croix Water Quality Targeted

1/9/11 - Officials in Wisconsin and Minnesota are getting close finishing a plan to improve water quality in Lake St. Croix. The states hope to cut phosphorus levels by 20-percent -- or about 100 tons each year -- to stop unsightly and sometimes toxic blooms of blue-green algae. In 2008, Lake St. Croix was added to the federal list of impaired waters. A study of several rivers in the 4.9-million acre river basin that pour into the lake showed too many nutrients -- particularly phosphorus -- were seeping in from farms, urban storm water and sewage treatment plants. Buzz Sorge of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says the key will be cutting down phosphorus levels in waste water from growing urban areas and large feed lot farms. Once the feds approve the cleanup plan, waste water plants and some farms may have to abide by tougher phosphorus restrictions. A public hearing on the cleanup plan will be held next week in Hudson.

Resort Owners Hurting From Economy, Weather

1/9/11 - A late December rainfall has left some northern Wisconsin resort owners praying for more snow, while others are still seeing steady business from skiers and snowmobilers. Donner’s Bay resort owner Jordan Rhey says business is “really slow” right now. Rhey says there are two reasons for the lack of business: weather and the economy. Rhey has owned Donner’s Bay resort in Butternut for three and a half years. He says the last two years haven’t been as fruitful as the first but he’s hopeful that will change. The Wisconsin Department of Tourism reports that travel is up from 2009 by 8-percent. They credit the recovering economy and “staycations” where people travel within the state.