Top Stories February 8th

Demerit Points Assessed Against Beaver Dam Bar


2/8/11 - A Beaver Dam bar has been assessed 100 points as part of the city’s demerit point system. The police department assigned the points to Game On after an underage woman was found on the premises on January 16. Deputy Police Chief Dan Schubert told the Administrative Committee last night that four fights have occurred there over a two month period; three of which resulted in arrests or citations for battery. Manager Bessart Bajrami says they have already taken several proactive steps to address the problems. Game On originally had four cameras and the business recently installed a half dozen more and ordered an additional eight cameras. Bajrami says they are also in the process of obtaining scanning hardware to identify fake IDs. Game On could have been given up to 150 points for serving a minor but the total is up to the discretion of the police department and Schubert noted that the owners have been very cooperative with police. A business that accumulates between 150 and 199 points would trigger a review process by the Administrative Committee that could result in a warning or suspension of their liquor license for 10 to 90 days. If over 200 points are collected in a rolling 18 month period, the business could face a liquor license revocation. Under the ordinance, the suspension or revocation process is triggered by a formal complaint which could be filed by anyone from the police chief to a resident.

The Cellar Is Now The Up N Down Tavern

2/8/11 - There will be no demerit points assessed against The Cellar, the Beaver Dam bar where the former manager is accused of pulling a gun on a patron. That’s because license holder Amanda Dionysius relinquished the license following council action last night. The Common Council voted 9 to 2 to grant a liquor license to the buildings new tenant, Beverly Schultz, who will operate as the Up N Down tavern. Schultz told the Administrative Committee last night that she has replaced all the old bartenders which she says will eliminate the crowd they brought in. She is also adding more security and focusing on becoming a neighborhood bar with renewed focus on weddings, birthdays and community benefits.

Administrative Committee Chair Don Neuert says it’s important for bars to call police if there is a problem. In fact, members of the committee last night asked the media to stress that there is discretion built into the demerit point ordinance and owners, managers and bartenders who call police to report violent or illegal incidents will not be penalized.

No Injuries In FLCI Warehouse Explosion, Fire

2/8/11 - There were no injuries reported after an explosion and fire at the Fox Lake Correction Institution this morning. Firefighters from Fox Lake and Randolph responded to the facility around 8:30am after officials reported a natural gas odor. Department of Corrections Spokesman Tim Le Monds says there was an explosion 10 to 15 minutes later. It was extinguished in less than one hour. All staff and inmates have been accounted for. LeMonds says they are working with the responding fire departments and utility company to try and determine exactly what happened. There were some inmates who were temporarily relocated because of their proximity to the warehouse. There was no break in the perimeter fence. A modified lockdown was implemented for security purposes. LeMonds says there are no inmates permitted in that section of the prison and adds that there very few staff members typically inside that warehouse.

Fans Welcome Home the Packers

2/8/11 - Tens of thousands-of-fans welcomed the Green Bay Packers home yesterday from their Super Bowl victory over Pittsburgh. Crowds lined a route from Austin Straubel Airport to Lambeau Field to watch a motorcade in which the players were in tour buses with police escorts and fire trucks. Donald Driver and some of the other players waved back and took photos of the hordes of people decked in green-and-gold. The airport was closed to spectators, but 100 people showed up anyway. They stood behind a chain-linked fence and got a glimpse of the team as they walked off their chartered jet. Some claimed to see Aaron Rodgers – but he was on a plane to New York, where he appeared last night on the C-B-S “Late Show with David Letterman.” Earlier yesterday, about 375 people shoveled out the stands at the stadium – where Governor Scott Walker and thousands more Packer fans will attend the “Return to Lambeau” ceremony this afternoon at four. We’ll carry that live here on WBEV and on our sister station 95.3 WXRO.

Walker to Appoint State Patrol Superintendent

2/8/11 - The new Walker administration will name its State Patrol superintendent today. The D-O-T will announce the appointment, but the governor’s office released the names of six finalists yesterday. They include Steve Fitzgerald, a former U-S marshal and Dodge County sheriff who’s the father of Republican legislative leaders Scott and Jeff Fitzgerald. Also, current State Patrol superintendent David Collins has a chance of keeping that job. The other finalists are patrol colonel Ben Mendez, and patrol majors Dan Lonsdorf, Darren Price, and Sandra Huxtable.

Annual Temp Expected to Rise

2/8/11 - Wisconsin’s average annual temperature is expected to rise by 6-to-7 degrees in the next 40 years. And that might affect the quality of nature – plus the way we fish and farm. Those predictions come from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at U-W Madison. It updated the forecasts made in 2007 by the Inter-governmental panel on Climate Change, and applied them specifically to the Badger State. The study says northwest Wisconsin will see the biggest rise in temperatures by the middle of the century – and the warming will be much less near Lake Michigan. Also, the biggest changes will be in the winter as opposed to the summer. The report did not suggest changes in government energy policies. Lewis Gilbert of the Nelson Institute said they just wanted to show various decision-makers what the weather will be like, so they can plan for it. Water levels are expected to drop by a foot on the Great Lakes by the end of the century, with more shoreline erosion. Experts said there could also be more beach closings, which could affect Wisconsin tourism. The study also says farmers will have longer growing seasons – plus more soil erosion that could reduce the quality of their crops if they don’t plan ahead. Deer, squirrels, and geese would benefit from the warmth – but some rare native species could become extinct like the spruce grouse and the American marten. Forecasters say there could be more huge downpours and floods like the ones that hit Milwaukee and Grant County last July. Winter temperatures could rise as much as 11 degrees, hurting such major events like the American Birkebeiner cross country ski race at Hayward.