Top Stories January 17th

No Demerit Points Given To Game On

1/17/12 - The Beaver Dam Police Department is recommending that no points be assessed against the Game On dance club, where three fights occurred in a one-month period. As part of the city’s Demerit Point Ordinance, local bars can be assessed points for violations of everything from underage drinking to bar fights. Any business that racks-up 150 points in a rolling 12-month period trigger’s a hearing that could result in suspension of revocation of its liquor license. Game On already had 100 points when officers responded to the Madison Street bar in November following a fight. Police were NOT notified by the establishment and Game On was assessed another 40 points. Another fight occurred in December, but 9-1-1 was called following that incident. The on the morning of New Years Day, multiple fights were reported while police were on already scene, leaving no reason to contact police. That, combined with other factors, led Police Chief Ron Smith to determine that no points were necessary from the two most recent fights. Smith says the owner of the bar has done everything authorities have asked and he does not view the establishment as a risk to public or police safety. In addition to contacting police, management has installed more cameras and hired a firm out of Fond du Lac to handle security. Game On had 100 points assessed on January 16, 2011 for serving underage patrons. Under the terms of the ordinance, those points disappear after one year so as of today, January 17, 2012, Game On only has the 40 points it earned in November hanging over its head.

New Community Center Named “Watermark”

1/17/12 - The Beaver Dam Common Council last night approved a new name for the planned Community and Senior Center. There are no city tax dollars planned for renovation of the former Fullerton Lumber building at 209 South Center, so the non-profit group “Friends of the Beaver Dam Community Center” is organizing a $2.9 million dollar fundraising campaign. As part of the campaign, the group unveiled a new logo and building name last night, asking the blessing of city leaders as they move forward. Karla Jensen chairs a Communications Task Force associated with the Friends group. Jensen says the name “Watermark” reflects the high water mark in the river that runs behind the building and also represents high quality paper. She says the group expects the building and its programs to reach that same high quality standard for the community. The Friends group is in pre-campaign mode, with plans to launch their official fundraising campaign shortly. Representatives with the non-profit will be our guests on WBEV’s Community Comment next Tuesday.

Recall Signatures to Be Delivered Today

1/17/12 - Democrats and union supporters will submit an estimated one-and-a-half million recall signatures today. The state Government Accountability Board will then start reviewing the signatures, to see if there are enough to order recall elections against Governor Scott Walker, Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, and four G-O-P state senators, including Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau. Meanwhile, Democrats say they're against the Board's effort to hold all recall votes on the same day. State law requires those elections to be held six weeks after petitions are verified -- and petitions for the smaller Senate recalls are expected to be reviewed a lot quicker than the statewide petitions for governor. Graeme Zielinski of the State Democratic Party says the recall votes should be held as quickly as possible, and delaying one or more of them would break the law. He's concerned that the G-O-P incumbents are not given more time to raise money for their campaigns. Holding the votes on the same day would save money for local government clerks. The state says a single election, with no primary, would cost the state-and-local communities around nine-million dollars.

MLK Jr Celebration at Capitol Turns Political

1/17/12 - Wisconsin is not the only state where a new voter I-D law was criticized at a Martin Luther King Day event. Rallies in Georgia and South Carolina focused on similar laws in those states, as speakers accused officials of trying to suppress black votes. In Madison, the issue came up during the state's official King Day observance at the State Capitol. The keynote speaker, Maryland law professor Sherrillyn Ifill, did not specifically mention Wisconsin's I-D law. But the former NAACP staff lawyer said King would have opposed it the same way he fought poll taxes and literacy tests. That drew loud applause from hundreds of people who attended. Governor Scott Walker, who approved the voter I-D law, sat quietly and listened. When he left, a couple protestors tried following him yelling "Shame, Shame" -- and they were stopped by security. Walker's only involvement in the ceremony was reading a proclamation for King Day. As he did that, two dozen protestors turned their backs and hissed.

BD Approves Resolution On Civil Public Discourse

1/17/12 - The Beaver Dam Common Council last night approved a resolution urging civil public discourse in government. The resolution was brought forward by City Attorney Mary Ann Schacht at the suggestion of the Wisconsin League of Municipalities and cites (quote) “divisive attacks…which lead to ineffective public decision making, citizen frustration and damage to our democracy.” In its January issue, the League encouraged local governments to adopt the measure. Schacht says the hope at the beginning of a new year is to steer the conversation toward good government and good communications. The resolution reads (quote), “that the city of Beaver Dam urges all government officials and employees, political parties, media representatives, advocacy organizations and candidates for political office and their supporters to strive toward a more civil public discourse in the conduct of political activities and in the administration of the affairs of government.” The resolution was adopted without dissent.

PAVE Services See Record Year

1/17/12 - Twenty-eleven (2011) was a record year for the domestic violence shelter in Beaver Dam. That’s according to Executive Director Jamie Kratz-Gullickson who says they provided over 4000 nights of shelter to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault last year, compared to 2800 the previous year. A night of shelter is measured as one person spending one night in the shelter. Kratz-Gullickson says when she started in 2007, PAVE provided 1200 nights of shelter. The closest they’ve gotten to the 4000 nights provided last year was in 2009, when there were 3800 nights of shelter recorded. PAVE helped 665 individual clients last year, compared to 600 the previous year. She says the increase has them re-assessing the size and versatility of the PAVE shelter.

High Speed Internet Could Impact Farmers

1/17/12 - Wisconsin farmers, pilots, and land surveyors say their G-P-S systems would be wrecked by a plan to provide high-speed Internet service around the country. Light-Squared Incorporated is offering Four-"G" service that would meet the federal government's goal of providing broadband Internet coverage nationwide by 2015. But a new government report says the Light-Squared system would create interference in three-fourths of the nation's G-P-S devices, which operate on weaker signals. Some of those systems are used by the military -- and the Federal Communications Commission is barred from approving signals that interfere with the military's G-P-S locators. Sean Elliott of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh says instrument-guided landing systems are threatened by G-P-S interference. Dodge County land information officer Joyce Fiacco says Light-Squared's signal would affect surveying equipment, and set their work back 20 years. Casey Langan of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation says farmers use G-P-S to plant crops and apply proper amounts of pesticides. Light-Squared spokesman Chris Stern tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the company has offered to reduce the strength of its signal. And the firm accused the G-P-S industry of infringing on a spectrum that Light-Squared built. The F-C-C's final approval is due by the end of January. Fond du Lac House Republican Tom Petri has asked the agency to reject the plan, saying G-P-S interference could cause hundreds of fatal airplane crashes over the next decade.