Top Stories September 14th

Pick-Up Driver Flighted From Highway 33 Wreck

9/14/11 - Motorists are advised to avoid Highway 33 between Horicon and Allenton as both lanes of traffic are closed near County A-Y due to an accident involving a pick-up truck and a semi. The driver of a westbound pick-up was apparently trying to pass another car when it struck the eastbound semi tractor trailer. The driver of the pick-up was flighted from the scene to Froedtert Hospital. The roadway is expected to be closed until at least 5pm.

Smoke Advisory Cancelled For Dodge, Extended Elsewhere

9/14/11 - The smoke that’s blowing into southeast Wisconsin from the Minnesota wildfire is worse than expected today but it’s affect on Dodge County has lessened. A D-N-R advisory that was supposed to expire at 11 a-m will continue until 11 p-m in Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, and Waukesha counties. And it’s been upgraded to the “red” category, which means the fine particles in the air are unhealthy for everyone – and not just those most likely to have breathing problems. D-N-R spokesman Bill Cosh said the “red” index is rare. The federal government says the index must be placed at a certain level for at least 24 hours before it’s changed – but Cosh says the weather conditions were improving today. An advisory for Dodge County was allowed to expire at 11. Forecasters say other parts of Wisconsin would see occasional soot or smell the Minnesota blaze at times today. The impact could be felt in most of the Badger State yesterday. The wildfire at the Boundary Waters Canoe Area has damaged over 160 square miles of wilderness. No buildings have been burned, and no one’s been injured at the site of the blaze. A lightning strike started the fire on August 18th, but it didn’t expand rapidly until the past couple days.

BD Applying for Grant to Upgrade Dam

9/14/11 - The city of Beaver Dam has filed a grant application with the Department of Natural Resources to help pay for cosmetic and structural upgrades to the dam. The DNR conducted a safety inspection of the dam last October and is mandating a several improvements including the replacement of the deck -- or walkway, concrete repair on abutments and replacement of the corrugated metal pipe that runs between the lake and the river. The cost of the upgrades is estimated at $400,000 and Beaver Dam is applying for $225,000 in grant money, or up to $50% of the costs. Beaver Dam’s Director of Facilities David Stoiser says the dam itself is structurally sound. These mandated upgrades are not related to the work underway right now on the dam gate. That project cost the city $137,000 and will allow for electronic control of the gate, eliminating the need to manually remove boards from the dam to control water levels. The city will hear back on the status of the DNR grant in late November or early December. The upgrades are required to be completed by December of 2013.

Lawsuit Against BDUSD Will Proceed to Trial

9/14/11 - A lawsuit against the Beaver Dam School District will proceed to trial after a judge denied the district's motion for summary judgment yesterday. Cheryl Grulke, who is a secretary in the district, filed a lawsuit late last year seeking punitive damages to, in her attorney's words, deter Superintendent Steve Vessey and the district from anymore violations of the states open records law. Last year the district settled another open records lawsuit that was filed by Grulke's husband. The decision yesterday means the case will proceed to a jury trial next month. Had the court granted the motion, the district would have been responsible for $100 in court fees, as well as a reasonable amount of Grulke's attorney fees.

Progress Continues for Columbus School District

9/14/11 - The Columbus School Board and Administration continue to progress toward a “facilities assessment.” The UW Population Lab will be doing a study of student trends. The district has also asked consultant Carol Wirth to complete a review of school financial picture over the past 10 years. As a third part of their plan the Board reviewed six Architectural proposals this past week. The Architects were asked to assess future needs for school buildings and properties. One Architect will be selected to do the “assessment” at the Sept. 26th Board meeting.

Man Injured After Hitting Semi

9/14/11 - One injury was reported after a pick-up truck driving the wrong way on Highway 151 early Tuesday struck a semi. The accident happened in Columbia County near Columbus just after 2am. Authorities say a 33-year-old Cottage Grove man was driving northbound in the southbound lanes and hit the back wheels of the semi’s trailer. The pick-up then left the highway and struck a fence. The driver of the pick-up was transported to Columbus Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Concern Over High Poverty Rates

9/14/11 - “Welcome to the frustrated Middle America.” That’s what Timothy Smeeding of the U-W Madison Poverty Research Institute said after the Census Bureau found that 15-percent of Americans lived in poverty last year. That’s the most since 1993. Wisconsin’s doing a bit better, with a poverty rate of 10-point-three percent – about the same as in 2009. But Ken Taylor of the Wisconsin Council on Children-and-Families said far too many families are struggling economically – and our response will be a test of our values. Smeeding called the new poverty report the worst he’s seen in 30 years – and things are still slipping a year after our last recession. Both he and Taylor blame a drop in middle-class incomes. In an analysis of census data, the Families’ Council said Wisconsin’s median household income of 51-thousand-dollars a year is 71-hundred-dollars less than in 2000. Nationally, the median family income is about 49-thousand-dollars – down two-point-three percent from the last report. The new report also said 16-percent of Americans are without health insurance, same as in 2009. The Council on Children-and-Families said Wisconsin’s uninsured rose above 10-percent last year – and just over a half-million state residents under 65 are not covered.

Governor’s Office Cautiously Optimistic About Presidents Plan

9/14/11 - Republican Governor Scott Walker’s office expresses cautious support for President Obama’s latest plan to boost the economy. The White House said yesterday that the Badger State would get over one-and-a-half billion dollars for school, transportation, and neighborhood improvements if Congress goes along. And the administration said the plan would create or save at least 20-thousand jobs in Wisconsin. Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie told the State Journal of Madison that the governor is quote, “encouraged that President Obama is focusing on growing the economy and helping the private sector create jobs.” Republicans in Congress are wary about the package, saying it goes against their efforts to cut spending and avoid tax hikes. The White House says Obama’s plan would cut Social Security payroll taxes for 110-thousand Wisconsin firms – and the average family in the state would pay almost 16-hundred-dollars less in Social Security taxes. Wisconsin schools would get almost 370-million dollars to renovate buildings, with Milwaukee getting half the total. Local governments would get an extra 536-million to hire or keep up to 74-hundred teachers, fire-fighters, and police officers. Kurt Bauer of the Wisconsin Manufacturers-and-Commerce group says the best way to boost the economy is to reduce unemployment. He wonders if the Obama package addresses what he calls the “root cause” of economic uncertainty.

Explosion at Sheboygan County Co-Op

9/14/11 - Residents of Adell in Sheboygan County were being evacuated this morning after a fire and a series of explosions at a farm co-op. Sheriff’s captain Dave Adams said the Adell Co-Op started on fire around three o’clock this morning. Evacuated residents were being sent to Random Lake High School. No one was working at the plant when the explosions occurred. Early reports said one fire-fighter was taken to a hospital after hurting an ankle. Fire-fighters from 11 departments responded.

Another Measles Case Confirmed in Milwaukee

9/14/11 - Milwaukee health officials have confirmed a second case of measles – and there are up to four more suspected cases. Paul Biedrzycki of the Health Department said all the cases are connected with a child who got the disease at a refugee camp, and whose family moved to Milwaukee in late August. The exposures are thought to have taken place September second in a south side Milwaukee building with offices for Social Security and Planned Parenthood. Because the measles are highly contagious, officials are trying to reach anyone who was in the building on the second. Biedrzycki said the youngster also visited seven other places where people might have been exposed.

More Change in Veterans’ Affair Department

9/14/11 - A member of a second state veterans’ committee has resigned because the governor gave Veterans’ Affairs Secretary John Scocos his old job back. Anthony Hardie used to be the Number-two official behind Scocos in the vets’ agency. He said Tuesday he’s leaving the Council on Veterans Programs because of Governor Scott Walker’s recent appointment of Scocos – who was criticized the first time around for communication problems and over-spending in his agency. The Board of Veterans’ Affairs fired Scocos in 2009, soon after he returned from a second tour of duty in Iraq. But the board no longer has the power to hire-and-fire its department secretaries, after the Legislature handed that power to the governor. Hardie said he hoped his resignation from the Veterans’ Programs board would draw attention to what he called “a flawed nomination.” Last month, Veterans’ Affairs Board vice-chairman Peter Moran left. He did not officially say why, but media reports said it was because of the Scocos nomination.