Top Stories, December 28th

Local Elected Officials File Non-Candidacy Papers

12/28/11 - Tuesday was the last day for elected officials, planning not to run for office again, to turn in their declaration of non-candidacy forms to local clerk’s office. In Horicon, Mayor Jim Grigg – who is running for a seat in the state assembly – and Third District Alderman Ted Pyrek will not be running again. In Columbus, District One Alderman Tyler Walker filed his non-candidacy papers. All incumbent candidates in Beaver Dam, Fox Lake, Juneau, Mayville and Waupun will be seeking re-election. Meanwhile, of the three members of the Beaver Dam School Board up for reelection, only Dan Feuling filed non-candidacy papers. The Columbus School Board will also see one its members, Pam Larson, not run again. All the incumbents on the Waupun, Horicon and Fall River school boards plan to run for another term. On the Dodge County Board there were five members who filed non-candidacy papers. That includes Dean Fuller, Joe Ready, Dean Becker, Ken Neumann and Ed Qualmann. For those planning to run, all paper work must be filed by January 3.

Burglary, Robbery in the Village of Burnett

12/28/11 - The Dodge County Sheriffs Department is investigating a breaking and entering – and a purse snatching – in the Village of Burnett. According to authorities, detectives are looking into a break-in at a Main Street apartment that was reported yesterday afternoon. While on scene, a woman approached deputies to report that a man stepped out of a vehicle, struck her and stole her purse. The robbery occurred near Jakes Repair at Front and Depot. The suspect was driving a red four-door vehicle with three other men inside. Anyone with information should contact the Dodge County Sheriffs Department.

Marshfield Man Killed in Afghanistan

12/28/11 - The tenth Wisconsinite to die in Afghanistan this year is expected to return to the U-S today. Army medic and Staff Sergeant Joseph Altmann of Marshfield was killed on Christmas Day when insurgents attacked his unit in a mountainous part of northeast Afghanistan. He's the 29th Wisconsin resident to die in that country since the latest military operation began. His father said the 27-year-old Altmann was planning to start a family after a four-year deployment for which he recently re-enlisted. He previously served twice in Iraq, and he married his wife Nikki in February. Altmann graduated from Marshfield Columbus High School in 2003. He went to college for one year before he joined the Army. Altmann was a member of the 27th Infantry Regiment based in Hawaii. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Dodge County Officials Enjoying Lack Of Snow

12/28/11 - While there is some disappointment among Wisconsin residents and businesses about a lack of snow so far this season there is a group that is quite happy: county officials. The lack of snow has saved already strapped county budgets because highway departments haven’t had to pay as much for plowing and salting roads. Some counties, including Dodge County, are still struggling from the expenses associated with big storms last January in February. No snow in December is helping them recover and the new year will bring new money. Dodge County Highway Commissioner Brian Field says the big storms last year came on weekends which led to overtime for drivers and the drain of money forced them to cancel some planned maintenance projects.

Snowmobile Association Encourages Training

12/28/11 - With more snowmobile riders out on the trails, the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs is urging them to take safety classes before heading out. The association reports the number of registered snowmobiles has increased by five percent over the last year, with the number of miles ridden up by 10 percent. Officials say the increases mean there is potential for more accidents. The association teaches a basic class on safety, ethics, laws and mechanics. (NOTE: You can get more information online at dnr.wi.gov)

BDUSD Among Schools Open Next Monday

Some Wisconsin schools will be open next Monday -- even though it's a government holiday, and many businesses will be closed. Schools in the area that will resume classes on the 2nd include Beaver Dam and Waupun. According to Beaver Dam Superintendent Steve Vessey, the calendar is set two years in advance so parents can play ahead and they try not to deviate from their established calendars for that reason. However, Beaver Dam doesn’t have the same problem as another school in the state. January 2 is also when the major New Year's Day bowl events will take place. And the Pulaski High School marching band will be in the Tournament of Roses Parade next Monday morning in Pasadena, while their classmates are in school. Superintendent Mel Lightner said the calendar was set a number of years ago. And while it's a great honor for the Pulaski band to be in the Rose Parade, he said they won't call off school because of it. He says many parents will most likely work -- and they could have problems getting child care if school's called off. Lightner says teachers might show the parade to their classes on T-V, but it will be up to them. Green Bay schools are also open next Monday. But at least they should be done by the time the Wisconsin football team plays in the Rose Bowl, around four o'clock.

MPTC Clarifies Campus Concealed Carry

12/28/11 - Students and staff at Moraine Park Technical College expressed some concerns when the state’s new concealed carry law went into effect at the beginning of November. Bonnie Baerwald is the Vice President of Finance and Facilities at MPTC. She says the carrying of concealed weapons isn’t allowed inside their buildings and facilities. She says she got quite a few emails from concerned students and staff when the law first went into effect asking that concealed carry not be allowed in their facilities. The carrying of concealed weapons is still allowed on the college’s grounds and inside cars.

No More Instant IDs in Wisconsin

12/28/11 - Starting early next year, Wisconsinites who go to the D-M-V offices to renew their driver's licenses will no longer get their new cards before they leave. Instead, they'll get their old licenses back -- plus a sheet of paper they'll have to carry until their new cards arrive in the mail in about two weeks. Federal law requires future licenses to have hidden elements which prevent fraud and counterfeiting. And state officials say they cannot make the cards themselves, so they're contracting with a California firm called L-One Identity Solutions. The new licenses were supposed to be rolled out in August, but officials say they've been working out bugs. Kristina Boardman of the state D-O-T says it will cost an extra one-point-three million dollars a year. But it won't cost drivers extra, because fees were raised in 2009 in anticipation of the fortified licenses. They're required under the Real I-D law passed by Congress in 2005. It was proposed by Wisconsin House Republican Jim Sensenbrenner in the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, to make it harder for illegal immigrants to get licenses. Some Democratic state lawmakers urged Wisconsin to just ignore the Real I-D law. But former Governor Jim Doyle said the state had to go along -- or else Wisconsinites would not have the type of license they'll need to board an airplane or enter a federal building.

Regional Charities Doing Slightly Better

12/28/11 - Charities in southeast Wisconsin are starting to see hope for their futures. But many are still worse off than before the recession hit in 2008. That's according to an annual survey of almost 100 non-profit groups by Milwaukee's Public Policy Forum. Rob Henken, the forum's president, says the main message is that "the bleeding has stopped." Most charities still believe the economy is causing people to hold back on donations -- but the number of groups which feel that way dropped in each of the last two years. Henken says human service groups feel the brunt of the pressure, and they're not out of the woods by any means. Two-thirds of the non-profits report higher demands for their services, but 85-percent are confident they could meet them. 11-percent of charities reported financial difficulty. Forty-five percent said they're okay for now, but could be vulnerable in the future. About a-third of the charities said they have operating deficits in their current fiscal years. Many groups have stepped up their fund-raising, because they expect drops in government and foundation grants.

Wisconsin Objects To Federal Employment Data

12/28/11 - Wisconsin is not the only state complaining that its monthly employment data from the federal government is wrong. Nelse Grundvig of Wisconsin’s Bureau of Workforce Training says about two dozen other states have also voiced concerns. And the Madison Capital Times says they’re at least somewhat justified. That’s because the U-S Bureau of Labor Statistics started gathering its own job data for each state this year, instead of contracting with the states to provide the information themselves. It saved Washington around five-million-dollars. But Grundvig said it also resulted in a loss of knowledge of what’s going on in the Badger State. Grundvig said the federal officials tend to “smooth out” large monthly increases or decreases in the partial surveys of employers each month – while a state official would know whether a factory opened or closed that month, in which case the variation would be incorrectly omitted by Washington. Grundvig said a lot of institutional knowledge was lost in determining the preliminary monthly job figures, which get the most publicity – and have made Wisconsin look bad this year. For two straight months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the Badger State has lost the most private sector jobs in the country. But in October, state officials said the actual job loss was 73-hundred less than the preliminary data. Ken Robertson of the federal agency says they’ve gathered the data the same as always – and they stand by their numbers.