Top Stories January 6th

Record High Temps Possible

1/6/12 - Parts of Wisconsin could see record high temperatures today as an extremely mild winter continues. That includes in Juneau, where the record high for the date is 46-degrees and forecasters say we could hit 50 today. Yesterday, Madison saw a five year old record high of 49-degrees broken when it 51 in the capitol city. Some places in Minnesota and Iowa topped 60-degrees while the high in Wisconsin was 57-degrees in Boscobel and Prairie du Chien. Temperatures in our area will return to the mid-30’s for the weekend before getting back into the 40’s at the beginning of next week.

Pinkert in Court

1/6/12 - A Sussex man will spend six months in jail for injuring a passenger in a drunken driving crash in Dodge County. Ryan Pinkert pleaded “no contest” Thursday to felony OWI Causing Injury and had three other felonies dismissed. The 29-year-old was driving drunk after a Christmas Party in Iron Ridge in December of 2010. According to the criminal complaint, he thought he was heading toward Milwaukee when he got into a physical confrontation with his passenger over the directions and wound up hitting a tree in the Town of Clyman. His passenger sustained head injuries. A preliminary breath test put Pinkert over the legal limit for driving at point-one-one-seven. A blood test revealed other drugs in his system, including cocaine and Oxycodone. Pinkert was also ordered to spend three years on probation and two years without a driver’s license.

CA Woman Released from Jail

1/6/12 - A California woman allegedly found with 40 pounds of marijuana has waived her right to a preliminary hearing. Elizabeth Lapple then stood mute during arraignment and the court entered a “not guilty” plea on her behalf. The 30-year-old was stopped last month on Highway 33 in the Town of Herman by a deputy on routine patrol because her RV reportedly had a broken traffic light. According to the criminal complaint, the deputy asked her a few questions and became suspicious when her answers did not make sense. A search by the department’s new K9 unit allegedly uncovered the high grade marijuana inside the RV under a bed. Authorities called it the largest marijuana seizure as a result of a traffic stop in Dodge County, with a reported street value of between $120,000 and $160,000. Judge Andrew Bissonnette approved a bond reduction and Lapple is free after posting a $50,000 cash bond yesterday. Court activity is on the calendar again next month.

Gorr Waives Prelim

1/6/12 - A Beaver Dam man, arrested for sixth-offense drunk driving after Columbia County authorities say he sparked a high speed chase, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday. The incident started on the afternoon of December 21 when deputies responded to reports of an intoxicated driver in the city of Portage. Jonathan L. Gorr was reportedly observed traveling east on Highway 33 near Cambria. His vehicle then turned down some town roads at a high rate of speed, sparking a seven mile pursuit that reached close to 80mph. Road spikes were deployed just off State Highway 44, north of Pardeeville. The 33-year-old was taken into custody without further incident. Gorr is charged with Sixth Offense Operating While Intoxicated, Possession of THC and drug paraphernalia and a variety of traffic violations. He is being held on a $2500 cash bond.

Two Former Walker Aides Facing Embezzlement Charges

1/6/12 - Two officials who served under Governor Scott Walker when he was the Milwaukee County Executive appeared in court yesterday. Criminal complaints said Tim Russell and Kevin Kavanaugh embezzled over 63-thousand dollars that were donated to help Wisconsin veterans and their families. The charges are the first connected with a continuing John Doe probe into alleged illegal activities by present-and-former Walker aides. The 48-year-old Russell pleaded innocent to a misdemeanor embezzlement charge, and a preliminary hearing was set for January 23rd on two felony embezzlement counts. The 61-year-old Kavanaugh has a preliminary hearing next Friday on five felonies of theft and fraudulent writings by a corporate officer. Investigators said most of the embezzled money had been donated to Operation Freedom, a veteran’s event. Walker said his county office had raised the initial concerns about the event’s bookkeeping under Kavanaugh – and he had his chief-of-staff contact prosecutors. Officials said Walker later put Russell in charge of Operation Freedom’s finances. And Walker said he was “very disappointed” to learn about his long-time aide’s alleged involvement.

Petri Optimistic About Economy

1/6/12 - Congressman Tom Petri says he is optimistic the economy will grow in 2012. The Republican from Fond du Lac told us on WBEV’s Community Comment yesterday that the country has been through the ringer but he things we’ve come out the other end ready to work. Petri says real estate remains stagnant but agriculture has been strong and manufacturing appears to be rebounding. Petri recently visited the Moraine Park Technical College Beaver Dam campus and says the programs they are offering lay a strong foundation for employment training in an ever-changing workplace. Petri also told us that he does not support an extension of unemployment benefits. He says he has heard from the business community in his district about unemployment insurance tax increases. Petri also says business leaders have complained they are having a hard time filling some positions because unemployment is a better deal than the wages being offered.

Walker Expects Recall in June

1/6/12 - Governor Scott Walker told a conservative audience in Washington Thursday that he expects a recall election around early June -- and his opponent would be quote, "hand-picked by the unions." The Republican Walker made his comments at a meeting held by the American Enterprise Institute. He said the biggest reason he's being targeted is that union dues cannot be deducted anymore from the paychecks of most public employee groups. Walker said quote, "I took away the gravy train, the free money" the unions had before. And the governor said he gave the decision about being in a union back to the workers. Walker also said the way he eliminated Wisconsin's budget deficit was quote, "a more optimistic, better approach" to expand upon in the future.

Waupun Memorial Welcomes First Baby of 2012

1/6/12 - The Waupun Memorial Hospital has announced that their first baby of the New Year. Evangeline Noelle Doerr was born Monday, January 2 at 8:12am to Christopher and Carrie Doerr, of Waupun. Evangeline Noelle weighed six pounds, nine ounces and measured 19-inches long. Evangeline Noelle has joined five siblings at home, including 11-year-old Elisha, nine-year-old Jonas, seven-year-old Benjamin, four-year-old Thomas and two-year-old Simon. It may wind-up being a little cheaper by the half-dozen for the Doerr family as the first baby of the New Year was given a basket full of baby items from the Waupun Memorial Hospital Women & Infants Unit.

Recall of Shredded Cheese

1/6/12 - Bekkum Family Farms of Westby is recalling shredded cheese which could be contaminated with listeria. The cheese is labeled “Grumpy Goat Shreds” under the Nordic Creamery brand name. It comes in eight-ounce packages and has a sell-by date of “10-MAR-12.” Distributors say the products were sold in Wisconsin, Minnesota and California. Eating food contaminated with listeria can be fatal.

Tele-Conference Held on Grounded Whooping Cranes

1/6/12 - Federal officials held a tele-conference yesterday to decide what to do with nine Wisconsin whooping cranes grounded in Alabama. The U-S Fish-and-Wildlife Service plans another meeting Tuesday with the partnership that’s overseeing a re-introduction of the endangered cranes in the eastern U-S. The nine birds, which took off from the Horicon Marsh, were supposed to fly from Wisconsin to two wildlife refuges in Florida with the help of an ultra-light pilot. But the group that coordinates the trip, Operation Migration, voluntarily halted the mission last month. That’s after the group learned that it broke federal rules against paying ultra-light pilots for services. Operation Migration had been using the pilots for over a decade, and its attorney has asked for a waiver from the rules.