Top Stories February 4th

Libecki Sentenced


2/4/11 - A Lomira man will spend the rest of his life in prison, for stabbing a female co-worker to death 40 times in 1999. 50-year-old Mark Libecki was sentenced yesterday to life in prison with no chance for parole. Washington County Circuit Judge Andrew Gonring said Libecki lied on the witness stand and still denies responsibility for the crime. A jury convicted him last November. Libecki stabbed 22-year-old Theresa Weselowski in his S-U-V about a half-mile from the Germantown factory they had both worked at. Libecki kept working there until he was arrested a decade later. He claimed he was pulling the victim from his vehicle, while a third co-worker kept stabbing her after Libecki bought cocaine from him. Libecki testified that three men had threatened to go after him if he told anyone about the crime. So he lied about it at a John Doe hearing in 2001, and he never said a word until prosecutors finally got it out of him in 2006. Tests found Libecki’s D-N-A on the woman’s hands. And her blood was later found in the back-seat of his vehicle.

Storm Death Toll Up to Four

2/4/11 - The number of people killed in this week’s blizzard in southern Wisconsin rose to four yesterday. The body of 52-year-old Sharon Everett of Yorkville was found buried under 3-to-4-feet of snow on her property. Racine County authorities said her car got stuck in a ditch late Tuesday night, and a tow-truck driver gave her a ride a home. But his vehicle couldn’t get into Everett’s long driveway, so he dropped her off on the street. She was later reported missing, and sheriff’s deputies found her body yesterday morning about 300-feet from her house. An autopsy is scheduled for today, but foul play is not suspected. The other three deaths from the blizzard all occurred in Milwaukee County. All were men, and they collapsed while removing snow.

Traffic Fatalities Increased in January

2/4/11 - Thirty-six people died in Wisconsin traffic crashes in January. That’s 16 more than the same month a year ago, but it’s six fewer than the average for the past five years. Six pedestrians were among those killed by vehicles last month. The D-O-T said last month was tied for the eighth-safest January since World War Two.

Beaver Dam Company Painted Super Bowl Stages

2/4/11 - If you pay close attention during this weekend’s Super Bowl, you’ll see the work of a Beaver Dam company. Brian Wendorff of Phoenix Coaters says they recently partnered with Northern Lights Productions of Fond du Lac, a company that contracts with the NFL. He says they are providing four different stages for the event, all of which were coated in bright silver by Phoenix Coaters. They are the stages that commentators like Terry Bradshaw will be telecasting from during the pre-game and performers like The Black Eyed Peas will be signing on during the half-time show.

Van Beek Arraigned In Sexual Assault

2/3/11 - A Dodge County judge this afternoon found probable for a Fox Lake man to proceed to trial on charges that he raped several young teenage girls. Derick B. Van Beek then entered a “not guilty” plea. The 21-year-old is charged with six separate counts of Sexual Assault of a Child Under the Age of 16, each of which carries a maximum 40 year prison sentence. The offenses are said to have occurred in the spring and summer of 2010 and involved four different girls who were between the ages of 13 and 15-years-old. In one case, the victim says she tried to push Van Beek off of her. In another incident, the criminal complaint states that the victim resisted but Van Beek pushed her down, held her with his hands so that she could not get up and forced himself on her. He was also said to be controlling, forcing the girls to delete all male contacts from their cell phones and delete their social networking profiles. Van Beek is being held in the Dodge County Jail on a $5000 cash bond. He has court activity on the calendar in early April.

New BD Police Chief on Community Comment Today

2/4/11 - Beaver Dam Police Chief Ronald Smith will be our guest on WBEV’s Community Comment this afternoon. Smith was sworn-in last month and comes to Beaver Dam from the Norwalk, Connecticut Police Department. He’ll be joined by Detective Ryan Klavekoske and Lt. John Kreuzinger along with Mayor Tom Kennedy. Community Comment airs weekdays at 12:35pm on 1430AM.

Workplace Air Quality Improved in County, State

2/3/11 - A recent study says the air in Dodge County workplaces is now considerably better than it was prior to the state’s smoke-free law going into effect last July. That’s according to the University of Wisconsin’s Paul Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, which conducted the study prior to and after the ban was put in place. It said that the average air quality in bars and restaurants in Dodge County was 393 micrograms of particulates per cubic meter. That level was average but was almost twice the level deemed hazardous. Following the enactment of the smoking ban on July 5th the number, as expected, dropped significantly to just 3 micrograms of particulates per cubic meter. Public Health officials say they aren’t surprised by the results and expect the long term impact of the smoking ban to be a benefit throughout the service industry. The study also said the ban hasn’t had a significant impact to the bottom line for bars and taverns.

We Energies Posts Record Earnings

2/4/11 - Wisconsin’s largest electric utility says its new power plants in Oak Creek were responsible for record earnings last year – and the same should be true this year. The parent firm of We Energies reported a 20-percent increase in its operating profits in 2010. We Energies serves customers in the southern and eastern parts of Dodge County along with Jefferson and Washington Counties. C-E-O Gale Klappa said about 80-percent of the earnings’ increase was due to the first of two coal-fired plants that went online in Oak Creek. The second unit will be fully up-and-running soon, and Klappa expects an operating profit of 7-to-9-percent for 2011. About one-point-one million We Energies’ customers are paying about 40-percent more for their electricity than six years ago, when construction of the first unit was just getting started. And another rate hike is expected in the next couple months due to higher fuel costs. But Klappa says customers will get money back as well. That includes an estimated six-million-dollars in damages due to construction delays in the first unit. The Oak Creek facility is the largest building project in Wisconsin history. It’s estimated to cost around two-and-third-billion-dollars – and a final figure will be known later this year.

Legislature Overrides DNR In Wetlands Development

2/4/11 - Both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature voted this week to let developer John Bergstrom build on a wetland near Green Bay, so Bass Pro Shops can go there. The outdoor sporting chain said last week it would not locate on a wetland. But Governor Scott Walker still thinks he can talk them into it. And the Assembly voted 56-to-35 and the Senate voted 20-to-11 to allow the project without the required D-N-R permit. The agency had approved the permit last year, after Bergstrom agreed to restore the remaining wetlands on the site. But the Wisconsin Wetlands Association challenged the permit – and the case was supposed to go to an administrative law judge before the governor and Legislature stepped in. Assembly Republican Joel Kleefisch of Oconomowoc says it’s all about creating jobs. Senate Republican Rob Cowles of Green Bay toured the site and said nothing needed to be preserved. But Assembly Democrat Chris Danou of Trempealeau said lawmakers overstepped their bounds by giving Bergstrom special treatment, and stomping on the rights of citizens to challenge projects like this. The governor’s office says Walker will sign the measure soon. Democrat Dave Hansen of Green Bay joined all Senate Republicans in voting yes. Mark Radcliffe of Black River Falls was the only Assembly Democrat to support it.

Walker to Sign Job Tax Break Legislation

2/4/11 - Governor Scott Walker will sign a bill today to give Wisconsin businesses a tax break for every new job they create. The Republican majority in the Legislature approved the deductions, which are part of the governor’s agenda for boosting the economy. Companies would get a tax reduction of 92-to-316 dollars for every job they create, depending on their size and tax brackets. Democrats say the tax breaks are not big enough to encourage employers to add jobs – and it will add 67-million dollars to the state’s budget deficit over the next two years.

Cause of CWD Could Effect Humans in the Future

2/4/11 - New research indicates that the prions which cause chronic wasting disease in deer could someday create a new type of human brain disease. Doctors from four universities published the report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. But they cautioned that a human link could take decades to establish, and it may never happen. Chronic wasting disease has been found in Wisconsin’s deer population for almost a decade. It’s spread through infectious brain proteins in the soil called prions. Judd Aiken of the University of Alberta says prions will keep building up in the soil the longer C-W-D stays around in the Badger State. And if that happens, Claudio Soto of the University of Texas at Houston says the prions could eventually convert to a form that affects cattle or people. Soto emphasizes that the jury’s still out on whether chronic wasting disease can affect humans. He says a new study is underway in which prions are injected into genetically-engineered mice – and those mice are likely to produce possible human reactions. If mice get the disease, Soto says it’s more likely that humans could get it someday as well. Those test results could be known in a year or two.

Home Canners Sought By UW Extension

2/4/11 - The U-W Extension Service is trying to find out how many home canners there are in Wisconsin, so it can offer food safety training. A law that’s been on the books for nearly a year allows people to sell home-canned pickles, jams, and other foods without a license if they make less than five-thousand-dollars a year from it. Canners were asked to register with the state, but not even a dozen have done so. And Extension food scientist Barbara Ingham says there’s got to be many more canners operating under the so-called “Pickle Bill” who didn’t register. Ingham says more Wisconsinites want locally-made foods, and home canners are helping to meet the demand. The Extension Service plans to offer food safety workshops in various cities around the state beginning in March. They’ll deal with recipe development, testing, and other basic food safety information. (608-263-7383)

Wisconsin, Pennsylvania Governors Super Bowl Bet

2/4/11 - Governor Scott Walker has made a bet with Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett for Sunday’s Super Bowl. The usual food products are on the line, but there’s more. Coca-Cola will give 25-thousand-dollars each to the Boys-and-Girls clubs in both Green Bay and Pittsburgh, if 10-thousand fans from each team make a “cheer” on-line at CokeCheers-Dot-Com. If the Packers win, Governor Corbett would have to wear a Green Bay jersey to his state’s check presentation. And if the Steelers win, Walker would have to wear a Pittsburgh outfit to the Green Bay check presentation. That’s assuming, of course, that enough people make their cheers on-line. As of this morning, three-thousand Green Bay fans left cheers – and so 22-hundred Steeler fans. As part of the food bet, Walker is putting up Milwaukee vodka, cheese, mustard, Koss stereo headphones, and other items. Corbett is putting up Heinz ketchup along with vodka, wine, coffee, honey, and maple syrup. Walker says the Packers will win 28-to-24. His family will be at the game – and the taxpayers’ only cost will be for the governor’s security.