Top Story January 11th

Winter Set to Return

1/11/12 - Wisconsinites are about to get jolted back into winter. A cold front will move through the Badger State today, bringing our sunny and 40-to-50-degree days to an end. The National Weather Service has issued winter storm watches and advisories statewide, mostly for tomorrow and into Friday. Northwest Wisconsin will start getting the white stuff tonight. Up to 10 inches of snow are predicted in the north and northwest by Friday morning. In our area we can expect 7-to-9 inches, with gusts up to 35 miles an hour close to Lake Michigan. Once the snow leaves, colder weather is in the forecast into early next week with highs mostly in the 20’s each day. It will be a sudden change from what we experienced yesterday. It hit 44-degrees in Juneau just one degree away from a record high for the day. Much of southwest Wisconsin was in the 50’s.

DOT Gearing Up for Big Storm

1/11/12 - With the heavy snow expected in Wisconsin over next two days the state D-O-T is gearing up for road issues. The agency has beefed up its 5-1-1 travel information system, which provides road conditions and news about potential hazards. It can be reached by phone or the Internet. When the system first went on-line three years ago, users were frustrated because there was not enough band-width to handle high usage during storms. But the D-O-T’s Chris Quesnell says that’s been fixed – and it now uses eight servers instead of two. Also, new features have been added to the system to make it easier to get specialized information. Quesnell says folks can create custom profiles. And when they call, they can get conditions only about the routes they choose. Users can also get text message alerts. And the D-O-T has added five regional Twitter feeds to put out snow-and-travel information. You can reach the system by calling 5-1-1, or going on-line at 511WI-Dot-Gov.

Juneau Passes Bosak-led Ordinance, Commission Members Resign

1/11/12 - The Juneau Common Council approved an ordinance last night that restructures the city’s publicly-owned Utility Commission. The change comes after every other elected and appointed city official received an 18% reduction in annual salary and per-meeting stipends. The council voted last year for the pay decreases but chose to exempt the Utility Commission, which is city-owned but self-sustaining using virtually no tax dollars. The exemption drew heavy criticism from Mayor Ron Bosak who said commissioners were not being “team players” in these tough economic times. The ordinance approved last night on a 4 to 2 vote will reduce the number of citizen commissioners from five to three and they will serve staggered three-year terms. Two alderpersons with voting powers will also sit on the commission in one-year terms along with the mayor who will only vote to break a tie. Shortly after the meeting adjourned, the mayor was given three resignation letters from the remaining Utility Commissioners. He says he was very disappointed with the resignations and said he was sick and tired of personnel vendettas. Bosak says the restructuring was not a personal matter and he was just doing his job.

Bosak says he is 100% excited to get the new commission going and plans to call a special meeting in the next week to appoint five new commissioners. Alderwoman Roxanne Buss has been tabbed for one seat and Bosak says he will announce the other alderman shortly. While he has asked recently-resigned Commissioner Paul Marose to consider rejoining, Bosak says he has no plans to reappoint longtime Commission President Dan Wegner.

Finance Committee Chair Robert Affled, who is challenging Bosak in the April election, says he was not pleased with the outcome and there was no reason to change just for the sheer point of making change. When asked if he’d push to overturn the restructuring if elected mayor, Affled said “he doesn’t know at this time.”

In related action last night, the council approved an ordinance that eliminates the Utilities Personnel Committee and a Joint Utility-City Personnel Committee and merges it with a single Personnel Committee. The council also rescinded a residency ordinance that requires all city workers to live within three miles of Juneau and replaced it with a resolution that expands the residency requirement to ten miles.

Firm Presents Feasibility Study to BD School Board

1/11/12 - Members of the Beaver Dam School Board recently heard a presentation about a feasibility study they requested last year to look at the districts future building needs. Superintendent Steve Vessey says study offered suggestions across all of their buildings with a focus on the cafeteria at the high school, electrical issues at the middle school and the question of whether having seven elementary schools was the best way to educate students. Vessey says the architectural firm will come back with some further suggestions along with costs of those projects.

Packers To Dedicate Sunday’s Game To Philbin

1/11/12 - Clay Matthews says the Green Bay Packers will dedicate Sunday's N-F-C divisional playoff game to offensive coordinator Joe Philbin and his family. The Packers will host the New York Giants, six days after the body of Philbin's son Michael was found in the Fox River. Oshkosh Police said the 21-year-old Ripon College student fell through the ice early Sunday, after he visited friends from U-W Oshkosh. Matthews told E-S-P-N today that the way the Packers approach and play the game will be dedicated to Joe Philbin and quote, "Hopefully we do it the right way." Joe Philbin is normally the main architect of the Packers' game plan for Aaron Rodgers and the offense. But coach Mike McCarthy said he has a contingency plan to make sure the Packers don't miss a beat while Philbin is gone.

Overdose Death in FDL Leads to Charges

1/11/12 - A 28-year-old woman is facing possible charges in a drug overdose death in Fond du Lac. Police said the woman supplied the heroin that killed 23-year-old Tyler Hass. He was found dead in his mother’s home last November 24th. Investigators said they linked Hass’s death to drugs supplied by the suspect. She was arrested this week, and police have recommended charges of first-degree reckless homicide and illegal heroin delivery.

Wisconsin #1 for Binge Drinking

1/11/12 - Wisconsin continues to lead the nation in binge drinking. According to a survey by the Centers for Disease Control, 26-percent of Wisconsin adults admitted that they binged on alcohol at least once in the previous month. That’s five drinks for men over a period of several hours, and four drinks for women. Nationally, the C-D-C says one-of-every-six adults admit to recent binge drinking – and one-of-every-four of those were ages 18-to-34. And according to Doctor Robert Brewer of the C-D-C’s alcohol program, folks might be under-estimating their consumption – or holding back on survey-takers. Officials estimate that about half the beer, wine, and hard liquor consumed in the U-S goes down during binge drinking. The C-D-C’s survey was based on 450-thousand telephone interviews with U-S adults over the past year. The Upper Midwest has the nation’s highest prevalence of binge drinking, and that includes Wisconsin. West Virginia has the lowest rate, at 11-percent.

Oshkosh Corp Profits From Military Contract

1/11/12 - The Oshkosh Corporation says it will make a profit sooner-than-expected on a major military vehicle contract. In a filing with the Securities-and-Exchange Commission, Oshkosh said its Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles would turn a profit for the last quarter which ended in December. That's about three months earlier than the firm originally had planned. A few days ago, investor Carl Icahn criticized Oshkosh for losing money on the deal. And two competitors had earlier accused Oshkosh of making an offer to the Pentagon that was so low, it would never turn a profit. Financial analyst Charles Brady says the new government filing should put that possibility to rest. Oshkosh has not said how much of a profit it would make. The contract dates back to 2009, when Oshkosh beat out two other bidders to build about 23-thousand trucks-and-trailers for the military.

BDACT Holding Auditions For Spring Play

1/11/12 - The Beaver Dam Area Community Theater is holding auditions Wednesday and Thursday night for their spring production. The play “Arsenic and Old Lace” will be in the stage for seven performances beginning March 9. The cast includes roles for three women and twelve men. Copies of the script are available at the Beaver Dam Public Library. Rehearsals are tentatively planned Sunday through Thursday evenings. The auditions will be held from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at the theater on North Spring Street.