Top Stories, February 11th

Parkhurst Launches ‘Hydrate To Educate’

2/11/11 - Cassie Parkhurst is at it again. The Beaver Dam-native who founded the Tanzanian Education Project has now set her sights on bringing potable water to the impoverished East African country. Her group was responsible for building four libraries in a Tanzanian village last year; the shelves were stocked with over 10,000 books and school supplies collected in her hometown. Parkhurst says while they were building the libraries, the wells in the village went dry. Her new campaign is called “Hydrate to Educate.” Parkhurst says they are working with a contractor to build a water-catch system that would use a series of gutters to collect rainwater and filter it through the ground. That water would then be clean enough to drink right out of the tap. One month of the rainy season in Tanzania could supply enough water for a year. Water would also be collected for use in their planned Garden Lunch Program, which is a self-sustaining vegetable garden designed to provide school lunches in the village. She says if a child doesn’t have the basic needs covered, they are not going to learn. The fundraising goal for “Hydrate To Educate” is $12,000. Parkhurst says they’re over halfway there and have a number of local fundraisers planned in coming months. She says they hope to get as much money collected as possible though before two members of their group leave for Tanzania next Wednesday. The Tanzanian Education Project has an account at the National Exchange Bank of Beaver Dam. More info at: http://tzeducationproject.blogspot.com/

Nelson Accused of Having Child Porn At School

2/11/11 - Calumet County prosecutors have been asked to file child pornography charges against the New Holstein school superintendent. The Sheboygan Press reviewed search warrant documents showing that Christopher Nelson had pornographic child images on some of his flash drives. And he reportedly had one of those flash drives in his possession when he was arrested January 19th in Milwaukee in an Internet sting operation. The 58-year-old Nelson has been charged with using a computer to try and arrange sex with a 15-year-old boy. The Sheboygan paper said police executed search warrants in the days after Nelson’s Milwaukee arrest, after the New Holstein High School principal found a flash drive in Nelson’s office that contained child porn. He’s suspended without pay for now. The case has drawn the attention of state legislators, after he quit an administrative job in Madison in 2005 after he was reportedly caught looking at adult porn on his office computer. State officials reviewed the case at the time, and decided not to revoke Nelson’s teaching license. He’s still in jail in Milwaukee under a 20-thousand-dollar bond. Earlier this week, a judge allowed Nelson to have a tax-funded public defender – but he’ll have to pay the legal fees later with his retirement benefits. He made 140-thousand-dollars in salary-and-benefits last year. Nelson spent 20 years in the Randolph school district before moving to Beaver Dam in 1994 where he served as Assistant Principal until 2000.

Ice Shanty Burglary Suspects Rounded Up

2/11/11 - Authorities say they have one person in custody and several other suspects identified in a recent rash of burglaries on Beaver Dam Lake and Lake Emily. Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls says they recovered several of the items stolen from ice shanties in recent months. They have contact the victims to identify and recover their missing property. There are also asking those who may not have reported an ice shanty break-in to contact the sheriffs department. Nehls credits the detectives division and the Snowmobile Patrol for solving the case. Charges are being forwarded to the District Attorney’s office.

Fenner Sentenced For Assault, Bail Jumping

2/11/11 - A Helenville man who sexually assaulted a Dodge County teenager will spend one year in jail. 26-year-old Jason Fenner recently pleaded “no contest” to a count of felony bail jumping and a reduced misdemeanor charge of Fourth Degree Sexual Assault. The offense occurred in the fall of 2009. The parents of the high-school age victim got authorities involved after the child became depressed and they read about the assault in a notebook in. The bail jumping charge was added last October after Fenner violated the conditions of his bond – and a child abuse injunction – by attending a high school football game and sitting near the cheerleaders.

Woman Arraigned on Prison Smuggling Charge

2/11/11 - A Waukesha woman has entered a “not guilty” plea to charges that she tried to smuggle drugs into the Waupun Correctional Institution. Harriet Hoffer is charged with a felony count of Delivering Illegal Articles to an Inmate. The 47-year-old was reportedly acting nervous and corrections officers say she was constantly looking at the cameras when she visited the prison last November. Hoffer was then allegedly observed in the vending area putting something inside a potato chip bag. According to the criminal complaint, there were seven balloons, each with ten pills of methadone inside. The inmate is Hoffer’s nephew, who is serving a life prison sentence for murder. He is said to have ingested all seven balloons. When questioned, Hoffer told investigators that her nephew was suicidal, suffering from emotional pain and would have hurt someone without the pills. If convicted, she faces up to three-and-a-half years in prison. Hoffer has court activity on the calendar again in March.

Trial Date Set In Child Abuse Case Set

2/11/11 - A Clyman woman accused of not feeding her adopted daughter has been scheduled for a two-week jury trial later this year. 45-year-old Kathryn Kreier is charged with Physical Abuse of a Child. The criminal complaint states refrigerators and cupboards in the home were locked for over a year. School officials were even prohibited from providing a hot lunch to the child, who was removed from the home in December of 2008 after a 20-percent loss is body weight. If convicted, Kreier faces over 15-years in prison. Her husband, 44-year-old Kenneth Kreier, is also facing prison time on a charge of Failure to Prevent Child Abuse.

Regionalization Project Delayed

2/11/11 - The Columbus - Fall River wastewater regionalization project has been delayed. Officials in Fall River won’t know until at least March 4 if they’ll be getting grant funding this year to help with their portion of the project. That’s what officials with MSA heard from the USDA at a meeting Wednesday. The village needs the funds to get the bidding process starter for the lift station and force main projects. USDA officials say the funding is being held up at the federal level.

Alliant Net Income Doubles

2/11/11 - The parent company of Wisconsin Power-and-Light had a smaller profit in its last quarter – but its net income more than doubled for 2010 as a whole. Madison-based Alliant Energy – which serves northeast Dodge County – reports a profit of just over 47-million-dollars from October through December. That’s about six-million-dollars less than the same time a year ago. Officials say it’s the result of refunds-and-credits given to customers of its utility in Iowa, Interstate Power-and-Light. For the year as a whole, Alliant made almost 288-million-dollars – much more than the 111-million in profits from 2009. There was a hot summer last year, and customers bought more electricity to keep their air conditioners humming. Also, the company took in more money from rate increases. C-E-O Bill Harvey said Alliant Energy had a “challenging but successful year.”

BDACT Presents: ‘Voices Through The Fence’

2/11/11 - A unique show that brings together the local community theater and the state prison system will be hitting the stage tonight The Beaver Dam Area Community Theater presents “Voices through the Fence” tonight. The program features the work of inmates from the Fox Lake Correctional Institution and the John Burke Correctional Center in Waupun. “Voices” includes 40 writings presented by five performers. Director Annett Kamps says the pieces are intended to bring a greater understanding and awareness to the prison system. While they are all individual works, Kamps says together they tell a profoundly interesting story about the prison experience. Fox Lake Correctional Program Director Bruce Siedschlag says education plays a big role in an inmate’s successful re-entry into a community and he says these writings are a part of that rehabilitation. “Voices Through the Fence” will be on the stage of the Beaver Dam Community Theater tonight and tomorrow at 7pm.The performers in “Voices” include: Jena Berg, Trista Pruett, Jim McMillan, Rick Ramirez and our own Craig Warmbold with music by Elwood Lee and the Blue Northern Express. In addition, Fox Lake Correctional Instructor Joel Cartier is on harmonica. Tickets are $6 and are available at Rechek’s Food Pride or at the door.

McCarthy Might Not Be Getting His Way

2/11/11 - Mike McCarthy might not get his street after all. Some city council members have mixed feelings about re-naming a major road around Lambeau Field as “McCarthy’s Way” in honor of the coach who led the Packers to the Super Bowl title. Mayor Jim Schmitt held up a street sign to that effect at Tuesday’s “Return to Titletown” event. Some aldermen thought Schmitt was playing politics – and Council member Jerry Wiezbiskie said the street decision should be delayed until after this spring’s mayoral election. Alderman Chris Wery, one of six mayoral candidates, said he’s proud of the Packers, but re-naming a street for McCarthy would be an “unnecessary expense and hassle” for residents. And he’ll the fight the move if it happens in his district.