Top Stories January 5th

Petri On Community Comment Today

1/5/12 - Congressman Tom Petri will appear on WBEV’s Community Comment today as he begins a series of Town Hall Meetings throughout his district. The Republican from Fond du Lac says the meetings are way for him to connect with his constituents. Petri will be at the Watertown Senior and Community Center this afternoon for an hour beginning at 2:30pm. On January 7, he’ll travel to the Waupun Public Library at 10:30am. Today’s Community Comment program gets underway at 12:35pm on 1430AM.

Teen Faces Child Abuse Charges

1/5/12 - A Fox Lake teen is facing child abuse charges against his 15-year-old girlfriend after he allegedly caused bruising on her arm. 19-year-old Cody Van Beek made his initial appearance yesterday on charges of physical abuse of a child intentionally causing harm. According to the criminal complaint, the girl’s father noticed bruising on her arm and took her to the Randolph Police Department to speak with an officer. During the interview the girl told police that she got the bruises after Van Beek became upset when she looked at his brother. When police questioned Van Beek, he said he grabbed the girl because she was trying to leave and he didn’t want her to. He said he also grabbed the girl at other points in their relationship when he was mad. Police say the two also admitted to have a sexual relationship. Van Beek was released on a $1,000 signature bond and has a preliminary hearing set for next month.

Petersen Up for Spot on State Investment Board

1/5/12 - A nominee for the State Investment Board admits mistakes in a previous term on the panel -- and he vows not to repeat them. Madison real estate developer John Petersen-the-Third told the Senate Financial Institutions Committee yesterday he's the most experienced person available to serve on the Investment Board. It manages billions in retirement funds for state, local government, and school employees. Petersen was on the board in 2000 when he voted to invest 80-million-dollars in a business connected to a firm in which he owned stock. Auditors said there appeared to be a conflict of interest, but the former state Ethics Board said Petersen did nothing wrong. Yesterday, he said he should have abstained from the matter. But he didn't consider it the time, because it was not a direct investment to the company in which he owned the stock. Jane Elmer of the Wisconsin Retired Educators Association said her group does not believe Petersen is eligible to serve, because of his ties to real estate investments. Petersen later said he believed he's eligible -- and the governor's office agreed. Panel chairman Glenn Grothman said afterward that he would vote to confirm Petersen. He was one of three people appointed to the Investment Board last month by Governor Scott Walker.

New Magazine Highlights Life In Beaver Dam

1/5/12 - A new magazine highlights art, culture and happenings in Beaver Dam. LocaLeben, pronounced “local - lay- bin,” will be printed twice a month and sent to every Beaver Dam resident in the 53916 zip code free of charge. Co-founder and Editor Erik Dittmann says Leben means life and reflects the German heritage of the community while the contest in the full-color magazine will highlight writings, photography and art from the Beaver Dam community. The January-February issue features an article by Lloyd Clark about the early years of Beaver Dam, photography of local landscapes by Josh Dobbs, an interview with hometown favorites The Lucas Cates Band by High School Music Director Rich Zeman and a story about the sacrifices of firefighters by Fire Chief Alan Mannel. Beaver Dam Area Arts Association Executive Director Karla Jensen also writes a piece about local painter Jerry Baskfield. The public is invited to an unveiling party for LocaLeben this Saturday from 5pm to 8pm at the Chapel of the Arch Angels, formerly St. Michael’s Church, on Madison Street. The free event allows the public to meet the writers, artists and editorial staff and get an exclusive first look at the premier issue. Everyone else in Beaver Dam will have to wait until Monday when the magazine should arrive in your mailbox.

ShopKo Merging With Pamida

1/5/12 - Two department store chains say they’ll merge. ShopKo of Green Bay and Pamida of Omaha are both owned by Sun Capital Partners of Florida. ShopKo C-E-O Paul Jones said the merger will be good for both companies and their customers, because their strengths and their networks of stores complement each other. The combined operation will carry the ShopKo name with 350 stores in 22 states. ShopKo’s headquarters will stay in the Green Bay suburb of Ashwaubenon. Governor Scott Walker issued a statement that the merger would create over 120 new jobs at the corporate headquarters’ facility – and the firm will get up to two-million-dollars in state tax credits. The move is expected to be finalized in mid-February. ShopKo says it will spend 80-million dollars over the next year to convert Pamida stores into ShopKo Hometown stores – and the firm plans to open more Hometown stores in the second half of the New Year and in 2013. ShopKo acquired Pamida in 1999, and both have operated as separate brands until now. ShopKo has 149 stores in 13 states, with revenues of two-billion dollars a year. Pamida has 193 stores in 17 states with revenues of a billion-dollars a year.

Community Meal Coalition Offers Free Feast

1/5/12 - A group made up of several local churches is offering the public a free meal tonight (Th). Tom Dugolenski with the Beaver Dam Community Meal Coalition says the group started two years ago with the goal of providing food and fellowship where it’s needed most. The group started by offering the meal to families at Jefferson Elementary but the program expanded last year to also include a community-wide meal. The Coalition currently serves one meal a month to Jefferson Elementary families and one meal to the entire community. Dugolenski says they hope to one day host a community meal every week. He says there have been just under 100 people at each of their meals, and close to 80% are children. The Beaver Dam Community Meal Coalition’s free community meal will be held from 5:30 to 6:30pm tonight in the Beaver Dam High School cafeteria. On the menu: a Mexican hot dish, burritos, apples and dessert. The next community meal at the high school will be served on February 2.

Former UW Chancellor Young Dead at 94

1/5/12 - Former University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Hugh Edwin Young has died at the age of 94. Young was called “War maker, strike breaker” when he headed the university during the contentious Vietnam War time period. He was known for being tough on anti-war protesters. Young died Monday in Madison. Young became an economics professor at the university in 1947, leaving to become president at the University of Maine in 1965, but returning three years later when he was named chancellor.

BDCH Welcomes First Baby of the New Year

1/5/12 - The Beaver Dam Community Hospital welcomed its first baby of the New Year at 7:59am on January 1. The hospital has announced that Lillian Adelle VandeBerg was born to Todd and Trisha VandeBerg, weighing exactly 8 pounds and measuring 21-and-a-quarter inches long. She joins 2-year-old Bentley at the VandeBerg home. The family received a basket of gifts to honor the occasion. The basket included assorted baby clothing, a baby blanket, infant toys, a $50 Beaver Dam Chamber of Commerce gift certificate and a six-month supply of diapers.

Waupun FD Gets Grant

1/5/12 - The Waupun Fire Department has been awarded a $164,500 Homeland Security grant. According to a press release, Fire Chief Jeff Berry said the grant is the largest ever received by the department. Awarded by the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, Berry says the grant will be used to replace self-contained breathing apparatuses and a refill system. Berry says his department has always strived to emphasize the importance of fire safety and having the proper equipment for the firefighters to perform their tasks as safely as possible. Waupun is one of 6,000 departments nationwide that are splitting $500-million in grant money.

Wisconsin Cheese Makers Have a Busy November

1/5/12 - Wisconsin cheese factories were busier in November than the nation as a whole. That’s according to new figures from the U-S-D-A. The Badger State produced almost 220-million pounds of cheese, three-point-four percent more than in November of 2010. That far surpassed the national increase of three-tenths of one-percent. Second-place California, which trails Wisconsin in cheese production, had a decrease of one-tenth of a percent. The Golden State made 189-million pounds of cheese in November. The biggest increase in Wisconsin was for Cheddar cheeses, at five-point-four percent. The state almost made four-point-seven percent more American cheese, and two-point-nine percent more Italian cheeses.

Kids in Milwaukee Stealing Cars to Get to School

1/5/12 - Your grandfather may have walked for miles to get to school in the cold of winter. But today in Milwaukee, dozens of kids are making that journey by stealing cars. Police officer Shellee Lubus tells the Journal Sentinel that teens are walking through alleys, finding unattended cars that are warming up, and then driving them within a block or two of school where they leave them on the street. Car thefts jumped 43-percent in the last week in one police district on Milwaukee's north side. Citywide, vehicle thefts are up 58-percent. There were 266 car thefts in the last three weeks -- up from 168 in the previous three weeks. The most recent theft have occurred between 7-and-8 in the morning, or after school when drivers stop by a coffee shop or a pizza place with their engines running.