Top Stories December 5th

Fire at APC in Columbus

12/5/11 - American Packaging Company in Columbus had to be evacuated this morning after a fire broke out near the compacter/dumpster around 6:30 a-m. Jerrod Fox with the Columbus Fire Department says when crews got on scene there were flames shooting out from the dumpster. They were able to get the fire under control quickly and were on scene until about 7:45 a-m putting out some hotspots. There were people working in the building at the time but no one was hurt. Fox says the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Man Facing Charges for Defacing Recall Petitions

12/5/11 - A 30-year-old man was sent to jail after he was caught defacing petitions seeking the recalls of Governor Scott Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. According to police, the suspect stood in line outside a teacher's house in West Bend yesterday, appearing as if he wanted to sign the petitions. When it was his turn, police said he scribbled out some of the signers' names. Recall organizers wrote down his license plate number as he drove away -- and police found him a short time later. The man is in the Washington County Jail awaiting charges. Officials say he could appear in court today. State officials have warned people that it's a felony to deface or destroy political petitions. Last week, the Government Accountability Board and the Justice Department set up a joint arrangement to handle petition-related complaints.

Man Files Federal Lawsuit Against Village of Lomira and Police Officer

12/5/11 - A Lomira man, whose arrest for resisting a police officer was dismissed on constitutional grounds, has filed a federal lawsuit against the village and the officer for unlawful arrest and excessive force. Last May Officer Jon Schulteis was called to a home on Clover Lane for a report of an argument. According to the complaint, John Bautista called police after he was shoved by the 18-year-old son of his live-in girlfriend Sharie Stuebs. When Schulteis arrived Stuebs would not allow him inside without a warrant but Schulteis went inside anyway saying he was investigating a crime and didn’t need one. Later, after going back outside, Bautista pulled his car from the driveway into his garage. Schulteis ran up to Bautista as he was getting out of the car. Bautista told Schulteis that he didn't have a warrant to enter the garage and Schulteis responded by choking Bautista, slamming him face first into the car and handcuffing him. Bautista was eventually booked into the Dodge County Jail and charged. However, in August a judge threw out the charges saying Schulteis had unlawfully entered the home prior to the arrest. The suit seeks unspecified compensatory damages for violations of Bautista's constitutional rights against unlawful search and seizure stemming from the entry without a warrant, alleged excessive force in the arrest, unlawful detention and prosecution based on a false police report.

Man Arrested for OWI and Drug Possession After Report of Reckless Driving

12/5/11 - An anonymous report of a reckless driver on Highway 41 near Theresa led to a man being arrested on charges of drunk driving and drug possession. Dodge County authorities received a report of a Chevy Avalanche being driven recklessly on Highway 41 around 11:30 last night. The vehicle pulled into the northbound wayside at Highway 28, which is where deputies made contact with the 53-year-old driver. He was arrested for OWI and Resisting Arrest. The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department brought in their K-9 unit and the dogs led deputies to drugs in the vehicle. The man was taken to jail and faces a variety of charges.

Power Restored Following Big Storm in Northern WI

12/5/11 - Power has been restored in northern Wisconsin, where over 32-hundred customers were left in the dark by heavy, wet snow during the weekend. Wisconsin Public Service reported no outages as of 3:45 this morning. Most of the weekend power interruptions were in the Tomahawk, Rhinelander, and Wabeno areas. Winchester in Vilas County had the most snow, with seven inches. Medford almost had seven inches. Mondovi in Buffalo County and Alvin in Forest County had just over five-and-a-half. Lesser amounts fell in western and north central Wisconsin. More light snow is expected today in western and southern Wisconsin, plus the Lake Superior Snow Belt. Highs will be in the 20's-and-30's.

Racine Police Find More Decomposed Body Parts

12/5/11 - Racine police say decomposed body parts have been found near a downtown breakwater for the second time in less than a month. A police spokesperson says it’s possible both sets of remains are from the same person. The latest discovery was reported Friday at about 1 p.m. They were found on a rocky area near Lake Michigan. Previously, remains were found near a boat ramp November 12th. They were too decomposed for investigators to determine gender or approximate age. A forensic anthropologist is examining the latest discovery. Racine police are asking the public to call them with any pertinent information.

State Aid Cuts Hurting Groups That Help Sexual Assault Victims

12/5/11 - Wisconsin groups that help sexual assault victims will get 42-percent less in state aid next year. The Justice Department said the cuts were mainly due to a drop in revenues from criminal fines -- along with much lower funding ordered by the governor and Legislature in the new state budget. Pennie Meyers of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault calls the cuts "disastrous." She said it would "imperil" the efforts of local groups in meeting the needs of sexual assault survivors. But Assistant Attorney General Steve Means said it was nothing his agency wanted to do -- and it did not have much of a choice. Criminals help pay for the sex assault victim programs with surcharges on their fines. And that revenue has been reduced from one-and-three-quarter million dollars in 2008 to about one-point-four million this year. Also, the Justice Department said the new state budget required a 10-percent spending cut for all state agencies. And officials said they'd have to find an additional 174-million dollars. Attorney General J-B Van Hollen asked lawmakers to exempt from the Justice Department from the budget cuts -- but they said no.

Man Will Receive Purple Heart 66 After Being Injured

12/5/11 - Sixty-six years after he was injured during World War II, a Wisconsin soldier has finally received the recognition he is due. Jack Olson was awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross medals last Friday in Wausau. The timing was important because Olson’s health is deteriorating and he is living in a hospice. His family says Olson didn’t accept the medals when he came home from the war because he didn’t want his mother to be upset that he had been hurt. The family had received word last week that the Air Force found enough documentation to award the two medals. Some of the records had been lost in a fire almost 40 years ago.

Report: Walker Announced Job Figures that were “Suspect”

12/5/11 - Governor Scott Walker apparently took a big gamble when he announced in July that Wisconsin had over half the nation's increase in total jobs in June. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said the Republican governor was warned by the Workforce Development department three days in advance that the June job figures were quote, "very questionable" and "suspect." But Walker announced them anyway, and he gave credit to a "rebirth in tourism." The figures showed that 95-hundred of the 18-thousand jobs gained nationally in June were from Wisconsin. Walker called it "incredibly good news," at a time when his policies were questioned and six of his party's senators were about to face recall elections in the following month. The announced monthly job numbers are based on a partial survey of Wisconsin's employers, and are adjusted later when the full surveys are complete. Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie said his office never tried to hide the fact the governor used preliminary numbers in his announcement. And he said they quote, "qualified it appropriately." As it turned out, the June job numbers were actually understated. Workforce Development officials said the final job increase for June was actually revised upward by about two-thousand jobs. The next month, jobs fell by almost 11-thousand. And another agency memo quoted by the Journal Sentinel said the June spike was quote, "always suspect." Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca said he thought Walker's numbers were too rosy at the time.

Bill Would Give Parents More Time to Give Up Unwanted Babies

12/5/11 - A Republican lawmaker wants to give parents more time to give up their unwanted babies under Wisconsin's 10-year-old Safe Haven Law. Right now, they have 72 hours to leave an infant at a hospital, law enforcement agency, or rescue service with no questions asked. And Representative Dale Kooyenga of Brookfield wants to expand that time limit to 30 days. He also wants health care clinics to be able to take those unwanted babies. Kooyenga says some mothers are still in a hospital when the current 72-hour limit is up. But many such infants are born outside a medical setting. And there are a couple of major cases each year in Wisconsin in which mothers leave infants in the garbage or another hidden location -- and they tell police either they had no idea that a Safe Haven law existed, or they were afraid they'd get in legal trouble for it anyway.

BDCH 22nd Tree of Lights Program is Tonight

12/5/11 - Beaver Dam Community Hospital will host the 22nd Annual Tree of Lights program tonight. The program provides the opportunity for local residents to purchase a tree light in honor or in memory of a friend or loved one. According to organizers, the trees located in front of the hospital, Hillside Manor and Stone Terrace are symbols of loving, remembering and giving during the holiday season. The free program begins at 7pm in the conference room at the Hospital with a choir that will honor two families from the Hospice Program. The program will continue with the tree lighting followed by a reception in the cafeteria. Tree lights can be purchased for $5 and proceeds will be used to help fund the Hospice and Lifeline programs.