Top Stories September 30th

Busy Weekend For Wisconsin Sports Fans

9/30/11 - This weekend could be the most nationally-significant sports weekend Wisconsin has ever seen. It all starts Saturday, when the Milwaukee Brewers begin what’s only their third playoff run since 1982. The Brewers will host Arizona just after 1pm in Game-One of their National League Division Series. Then on Saturday night at 7pm, the Wisconsin football team will play Nebraska in Madison. It’s the first Big Ten Conference game ever for the nationally-known Cornhuskers, after Nebraska joined the league last year. On Sunday, fans must make some difficult choices – or have a good T-V remote in their hands. That’s because the Brewers and Green Bay Packers will play at the same time. The Super Bowl champion Packers will try to go 4-and-0 when they host Denver at 3:15pm at Lambeau Field. And then 22 minutes later and 120 miles to the south, the Brewers will play Game-Two of their series with the Diamondbacks in Milwaukee. If you’re looking for a ticket for any of those four big events, good luck. They’re all sold out – and in Madison, about 250-dollars is the cheapest price from ticket brokers for the historic Badger-Nebraska game.

Sheriffs Department Urges Responsible Revelry

9/30/11 - Local authorities are encouraging sober planning during a weekend that not only sees several huge sporting events but also some Homecoming activities. Dodge County Sheriffs Department Patrol Captain Molly Soblewski says history has shown that these events are often followed by an increase in family disputes, domestic violence and drunken-driving injury accidents. She urges revelers to designate a driver if they plan on traveling and she also says party hosts should also plan on providing non-alcohol beverages. Citizens are encouraged to call the sheriff’s department if they have information concerning suspected intoxicated motorists or underage drinkers. The sheriff’s department will be stepping up enforcement throughout the weekend.

Strong Winds Knock Out Power for Thousands

9/30/11 - It’s still breezy in Wisconsin this morning – but it’s not as bad as yesterday, when thousands of residents lost their power due to high winds. Gusts were as high as 69 miles an hour at Sister Bay in Door County. Winds hit 58-miles-an-hour at Kenosha, and 56 near Marinette. Sheboygan had sustained winds of around 30 miles-an-hour when gusts of 45 hit. Tree branches fell in a number of places, including in West Bend where winds hit 50-miles per hour. Pardeeville and Lodi each had wind gusts in excess of 45-miles per hour. The Wisconsin Public Service utility said over 21-thousand customers were still without power at 5:30 this morning in northeast Wisconsin. That includes almost seven-thousand customers in Door County, and over two-thousand apiece in the Green Bay, Marinette, and Wabeno areas. There were few if any outages in our area this morning. This morning, winds are generally under 20-miles-an-hour throughout the Badger State. The winds are expected to die down tonight – but it will also get colder. Forecasters predict frost away from the Great Lakes, and lows generally in the 30’s. A clear day is expected statewide tomorrow with highs in the 50’s.

BDHS Athletic HOF Welcomes New Members

9/30/11 - The Beaver Dam Athletic Hall of Fame will welcome three new members to its ranks as part of Homecoming activities tonight. The Hall of Fame committee announced the class of 2011 last month. They include Hank Derleth Sr, Don Paitrick, and Cheri Brooks Brower. Derleth, who was inducted into the Wisconsin High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 1981, was a long time athletic director and led the Golden Beavers football team to 92 wins in 15 seasons. Paitrick, a 1969 graduate of Beaver Dam High School, was a three sport athlete who excelled in tennis in both high school and at Carroll College. After lettering three years at BDHS and went on to letter four times at Carroll where he won the conference singles championship in 1973. Brooks Brower, class of 1980, earned seven varsity letters while playing volleyball, basketball and softball. She was named MVP for each of those sports in her senior year and was named Female Athlete of the Year. The inductees will be in the homecoming parade, followed by a reception in the library at the high school, which is open to the public. Presentation of the Hall of Fame plaques will take place prior to kickoff of the Beavers football game.

Craig Culver in Beaver Dam on Monday

9/30/11 - Culvers Founder and CEO Craig Culver will be speaking in Beaver Dam on Monday to raise funds for Generating a Green Future, a building project at the high school. Organizer Mary Vogl-Rauscher is an advisor for the parent-and-student led fundraising group seeking to raise $75,000 for an Environmental Sciences Classroom which she says will provide hands-on experience for Beaver Dam students. Senior Stacy Rauscher says the agri-science classroom would replace an aging greenhouse but also provide lab space that 100% of students will be able to utilize. She says the building would allow for an emphasis on having a greener environment tomorrow but also allow students to focus on important skills that are needed to get a job today. Craig Culver will be speaking about how important farming has been to the success of his business and will also be talking about the advantages of going green and his newest, totally-green Culvers store. Culver will be at the Beaver Dam Veterans Center at Noon on Monday. Tickets are $10 if purchased from Culvers or the high school by Sunday and lunch is included.

Sentence Upheld In Portage House of Horrors Case

9/30/11 - A woman has failed to get out of a 55-year prison sentence for helping a traveling group of identity thieves kill one of its members and torture the victim’s young son in a tragic case out of Columbia County. The Fourth District Court of Appeals in Madison ruled yesterday (Th) that Candice Clark was properly convicted in what the media called the Portage “House of Horrors” case. Clark was one of three people found guilty in the death of Tammie Garlin – who was found buried in the group’s back yard in 2007 – and burning-and-torturing Garlin’s son who was 11-years-old at the time. Clark struck a plea deal. Later, Clark said she was never told she could have gotten a lesser penalty by arguing that she was a bystander in Garlin’s death. Clark also said a Portage police detective threatened her during an interview, and her sentence was too harsh. But the appellate judges bought none of that. They said the court did not have to inform her about potential defense strategies – the detective did not threaten her – and the sentence was appropriate.

Dells Case Calls Into Question Victim Responsibility

9/30/11 - Should a murder victim be held financially responsible for the medical care of his killer? A judge in Sauk County will hear both sides argue that question on November seventh. The case involves the care of a 13-year-old boy with autism, who’s accused of killing his father. 55-year-old Angelo Crisafulli was shot-in the-head in January of last year at the family’s home near Wisconsin Dells. His 13-year-old son Michael was charged as an adult in the slaying – but that case was suspended after a judge ruled that the youngster was not mentally competent to stand trial. He’s been in an institution ever since, and Sauk County is now paying for his care. The county has asked the courts to require Angelo Crisafulli’s estate to pay for Michael’s care. But the estate said the county filed its request after a legally-set time limit. In April, Circuit Judge Guy Reynolds ruled that Angelo’s estate should pay for the boy’s care. But the judge did not consider the allegation that the county was late in pressing the matter.

Mercury Marine Getting Utility Discount

9/30/11 - Wisconsin’s utility regulators approved a discount Thursday on Mercury Marine’s electric rates. Wisconsin Power-and-Light offered the discounts to the Fond du Lac industry as part of a pilot program. And it was part of 120-million-dollars in state-and-local incentives to stop Mercury Marine from moving its outboard motor factory to Oklahoma a couple years ago. The state’s Public Service Commission okayed the electric discounts, but it left open the question of who should pay for them. For now, the utility’s stockholders will cover the discounts. But the commission said it would consider making other customers pay for Mercury Marine’s price break when the utility’s request for a 2013 rate increase is considered next year. Commission members said the discounts were important – and they noted that utility customers would pay even more to fill the void had Mercury Marine left Wisconsin. Just yesterday, Governor Scott Walker unveiled a bill to allow discounts on electricity for new-and-expanding industries. Critics called it a hidden fee on residents and small businesses which would pay higher bills to cover those discounts. But according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the bill’s supporters say the measure is being re-written to address that concern.

Obama Labor Secretary In Milwaukee Today

9/30/11 - President Obama’s labor secretary will visit Milwaukee today (Fr) to push for the White House jobs initiative. Mayor Tom Barrett plans to join Hilda Solis at a construction site at Milwaukee’s Jones Island wastewater plant, to explain how Obama’s array of job funding and tax breaks could put many of Wisconsin’s unemployed back to work. In announcing the visit, Solis said the president’s plan would upgrade sewer systems, roads, and bridges. She also said the package includes a “national infra-structure bank” which would hand out funds for projects that could reduce pollution and cut utility bills. The Jones Island project would burn landfill gas, while replacing turbines that burn the more expensive natural gas. Solis said Wisconsin needs construction jobs, after the state’s builders cut their employment from 120-thousand in 2007 to 87-thousand this year.