Top Stories, April 13th

Motorcycle Vs. Pick-Up Fatality

4/13/11 - One person is dead and two people were injured after a motorcycle collided with a pick-up truck yesterday afternoon in the Town of Beaver Dam. Authorities say a 57-year-old West Bend man t-boned the pick-up at the intersection of county highways A & B. He died after being flown to UW Hospital Madison. His passenger, 38-year-old Doreen Tesch of Beaver Dam, sustained serious injuries and was also taken by Flight For Life to Madison. The driver of the pick-up truck sustained minor injuries. The accident is under investigation.

Juneau Approves Residency Requirement Exemption

4/13/11 - The Juneau Common Council last night unanimously approved and exemption to the city ordinance that requires full-time city workers to live within three miles of the city. The ordinance now allows only the City Clerk-Treasurer position to be held by someone from outside Juneau. Mayor Ron Bosak says it was difficult to find someone with the proper qualifications inside the three-mile radius the ordinance allows. The council last night also approved a $94,000 hardware and software upgrade for the Juneau Utility. WPPI Energy is paying for $16,700 in billing software, the utility will pick up 60% of the remaining cost and the city will pay 40%. It will be financed through a no-interest loan from WPPI and will be paid back over ten years. The upgrade replaces antiquated equipment currently in use. For $77,000 the city will be getting financial software with general ledger, payroll and accounts payable functions along with a new server, network and computer upgrades. The plans eventually call for a site that will allow city residents to manage their utility accounts and other city fees online. Installation is expected by August.

Conservation Meeting Draws Large Crowd

4/13/11 - More than 100 people attended this week’s Wisconsin Conservation Congress annual meeting in Horicon. Topics during the meeting, which was held jointly with the DNR’s Spring Hearings, included concerns about the cost of hunting licenses for people from out of state, issues with the number of wolves, and the possibility of letting hunters use a rifle statewide during the 9-day gun deer season. Dodge County Delegation Chair Dale Maas says currently rifles can only be used in certain zones but he thinks allowing people to use a shotgun or a rifle would be a good thing. Discussion was also held about how many grey wolves there are in the state, which aren’t supposed to number more than 350 at anyone time. The advisory question asked if the Congress supported further steps to be taken in managing the population, something Maas would like to see happen. The Congress also voted on a referendum submitted by a member that would have out of state hunters pay the same amount for a hunting license in Wisconsin as they do in there home state, another idea which Maas supported. The results from this week’s voting will be passed on to the Natural Resources Board next month and if there is enough support for a proposal the questions could become a DNR rule change proposal in following years.

Local Farmers Lobby Joint Finance Committee

4/13/11 - Most of the speakers at this week’s Joint Finance Committee hearing in West Allis spoke about urban issues but some rural residents came in to campaign for saving a farmland preservation program. The PACE program that began during the Doyle Administration helps local governments and conservation groups buy easements from farmers. The aim is to slow the loss of good farmland to development. The Walker Administration says it wants the state to cut back on programs that use borrowed money, as PACE does. Jefferson County farmer Winona Bradseth says Walker's budget would halt a tentative easement deal she's made with the Drumlin Area Land Trust.

Valenza Touts Community Service Day

4/13/11 - Before Principal Connie Valenza leaves Columbus High at the end of the school year, she is looking forward to her final “All School Community Service Day.” On Friday afternoon, April 29 students from all four grades at CHS will be out and about learning different aspects of Community Service. Activities with local residents such as a Cancer Walk, a Police Department Car wash, or a card game at the Senior Center often give High School students a chance to discover what is going on in other parts of their City.

Auto Sales Outpace 2010 Numbers

4/13/11 - Auto sales in Wisconsin are far ahead of what they were last year. The state registered more than 41-thousand new cars and light trucks from January-through-March. That’s 33-percent more than the same period in 2010. The truck category had the biggest gains, including S-U-V’s and cross-over vehicles. Over 23-thousand trucks and S-U-V’s have been sold statewide in the first quarter of the year, along with more than 17-thousand new cars. Scott Quimby of the tracking firm Reg-Trak said people are looking for vehicles with plenty of room for their families, while getting 20-miles-a-gallon or more. Quimby says dealers are seeing lots of people who’ve held off buying new cars the last few years due to the economy. He also says customers are being attracted by pricing incentives.

Juneau Man Pleads To Stealing Stolen TV

4/13/11 - A Juneau man will spend 16 months in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of felony Burglary. Adam Raney sold someone a stolen television and then broke back into the buyer’s home and stole it again. According to the criminal complaint, the 32-year-old stole the flat screen from an apartment that police had raided. He then sold the TV to his friends’ parents for $400. Raney is said to have borrowed that friend’s car a short time later, noticed that the house key was on the same key ring, and stole back the TV and traded it for cocaine. Raney was also sentenced to five years of extended supervision. Restitution has yet to be determined.

Tax Deadline Looms

4/13/11 - If you haven’t filed your taxes already, Revenue Secretary Rick Chandler suggests filing electronically. He says it’s easy, fast, accurate, and filers can get immediate confirmation that the returns have been received. Also, Chandler notes, there’s help available. There are volunteer sites around the state providing assistance and Chandler says trained volunteers can help those who are less Internet savvy. You can find out locations by calling 211.