Top Stories February 14th

Carol’s Tours Owner Bound Over For Trial

2/14/12 - The owner of a shuttered Beaver Dam travel agency will proceed to trial on charges that she closed the doors of the business without providing vacations to nearly 200 paying customers. A Dodge County Judge found probable cause yesterday (Mon) for Deborah Paul to be bound over for trial on two felony charges of Theft in a Business Setting. Her criminal complaint lists 194 people who paid a total of nearly $315,000 for vacations that were never arranged by Carol’s Tour’s between May of 2007 and February of 2008. According to the criminal complaint, the 56-year-old described her business practice as (quote) “robbing Peter to pay Paul” using money for future trips to pay for current trips. Paul blamed her office manager, Lisa Hopper, for the accounting practices. According to Hopper’s criminal complaint, Paul contacted Beaver Dam police shortly after the business closed to allege that Hopper had been embezzling money, which forced Paul to close the business. The 46-year-old Hopper told police that when the business was in danger of having trip tickets cancelled for lack of payment, Paul would reportedly ask her office manager to pay it on her personal credit card and Hopper would be reimbursed the next month. Checks from the business were used to pay Hopper’s personal bills, as much as $90,000 went to pay her mortgage, credit cards and even plastic surgery. Hopper has already pled out and will have to spend 18 months in prison, three years on extended supervision and seven years on probation. She still has around $70,000 in restitution to pay off. Meanwhile, investigators say Paul was paying all of her personal bills through Carol’s Tours, Inc in the years before the agency closed. Paul will be arraigned a week from tomorrow and faces a total of 20 years in prison, if she is convicted.

$20K Cash Bond Set For Shell Robbery Suspect

2/14/12 - The suspect in last July’s armed robbery of the Shell Travel Mart in Beaver Dam is being held on a $20,000 cash bond. 32-year-old Josiah Kaiser made his initial appearance yesterday on charges of Armed Robbery with the Threat of Force. Kaiser is accused of brandishing a handgun during the robbery and a firearm was among the items taken as evidence and sent to the State Crime Lab for investigation. A judge will determine next week if there is enough evidence to order a trial.

Family Center May Seek City Pond Property

2/14/12 - The city of Beaver Dam may have found the ideal site for another one of its storm water management ponds. The basins are part of a state DNR-mandate that requires municipalities to filter pollutants from storm water. Officials are trying to construct one pond a year. While several locations have been identified, Beaver Dam is running out of city-owned property and has already had several sites rejected, for everything from contamination concerns to a wetlands designation. Officials say they have identified an ideal spot near Prospect Avenue and Jacob Gassen’s Way, right near the Family Center. For starters, the grassy field is located at the intersection of two large sewer mains. The project would also tie-into the city’s 2013 reconstruction of Prospect Avenue which is being done in conjunction with a state reconstruction of Highway 151. As a result, Consulting City Engineer Mike Laue says Beaver Dam would be able to save around $100,000 by selling dirt from the property to the state for use in Highway 151 ramp construction.

As part of their due diligence on the project, city officials advised the Family Center board of their plans last month. Family Center Board President Paul Uttech told the city’s Operations Committee last night that the non-profit organization has long considered making an offer on the city-owned parcel to add a second ice rink. Operations Committee Chair Laine Meyer questioned whether there has been a formal proposal for purchase of the city-owned parcel by the Family Center. Uttech says it has not gotten to that point because the restrictions on the property limited its use and it would take a major capital campaign to afford it. Meyer says the city’s options are limited to the point that they may have to consider building the water filtration ponds in city parks. At Uttech’s request, Meyer agreed to revisit the idea next Monday but said unless the Family Center project was certain to happen, he would support city efforts to comply with the DNR.

GOP Asking Judges Not to Release Documents

2/14/12 - Republican state lawmakers have asked three federal judges not to release 84 documents about the way the G-O-P drew up new legislative districts last year. Most of the documents are e-mails, and Republicans say they should be subject to attorney-client privilege. A group of Democrats and the Milwaukee Hispanic group Voces de la Frontera have argued that the e-mails should be released. They're suing the G-O-P to try and strike down the new district maps, and a trial in that case is scheduled to begin a week from today in federal court in Milwaukee. The Hispanic group says previous orders from the three-judge panel make it clear that the Republican documents must be released. Lawmakers tried several times to withhold records and avoid depositions about the maps they drew, claiming the whole process was subject to attorney-client privilege. But the court didn't buy that, and most of the documents wound up being released.

Senate Unveils Its Version of Mining Bill

2/14/12 - A Wisconsin Senate panel has unveiled a more moderate mining bill than what the Assembly passed last month. The package came out late yesterday. And committee chairman Neal Kedzie says lawmakers will need a quote, "Herculean effort" to pass something that both houses can agree on before the current session ends for the year in late March. Gogebic Taconite has not commented. The firm awaits legislative action before building a large iron ore mine south of Lake Superior in Ashland and Iron counties. The Senate bill includes a 360-day time limit to approve new iron ore mines, just like the Assembly approved -- but the new plan would grant extensions by mutual agreements. It also brings back contested-case hearings, where opponents can challenge various D-N-R decisions. Madison would still get some of the tax revenue from mining sales for the first time -- but to appease local officials, the Senate plan takes 30-percent of the cut instead of 40. And there would be a new tax on mining sales to help pay for possible damage. But Amber Meyer Smith of Clean Wisconsin says the proposed environmental rollbacks are about the same in both bills. She urged the Senate to quote, "start over." A public hearing is set for Friday at U-W Platteville. Kedzie says another hearing would be held closer to the proposed mine site in Ashland as early as next week.

Murder Numbers Up in Milwaukee

2/14/12 - Fourteen people have been murdered in Milwaukee this year -- the most before Valentine's Day in the past nine years. Seven homicides took place since last Wednesday. Police said most appeared to be drug-related, and none of them were random acts. The latest reported victim was 19-year-old Raheem Johnson, who was shot-to-death early Sunday outside a tavern on Milwaukee's northwest side. Police did not have information on suspects for any of the past week's killings. The 14 murders this year are nine more than at this time in 2011.

62-Years in the Making, Couple Finally Finds Each Other

2/14/12 - It took 62 years, but a Green Bay area man finally married his grade school crush. On this Valentine's Day, the Green Bay Press-Gazette reports the story of Gerald Lambert, who wrote a love letter to Lorraine Suidzinski back in 1938. They weren't even teenagers yet -- but Lambert wrote how they would get married, have two kids, a nice home, and some extra money. Needless to say, they went on with their own lives. But they saw each other again at a class reunion in 1998, after their spouses had died. Lambert said he had to press the issue, but he finally got to take Suidzinski out -- and two years later, they got married. He's 90, and she's 88, and they've been married for a dozen years. They've shared a passion for golf, playing cards, and enjoying life. And Lambert says they never argue about anything -- well, at least for more than a half-second. They have a total of nine kids, 18 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.

Columbus to Celebrate Valentine’s Day

2/14/12 - Columbus Schools are celebrating Valentine traditions old and new today. The exchange of Valentine cards between students and the “sock hop” for the first graders have been around for ages. Newer activities include Elementary and Middle School students collecting non-perishable food for the Food Pantry and sending Valentine cards and letters to military personnel. It is hard to say who will be enjoying Valentine’s Day the most…the students, parents or teachers?