Top Stories February 22nd

Lake Rescue Had Citizen Heroes

2/22/12 - Eric Chouinard was fishing on Beaver Dam Lake near Round Island last Saturday, when his fishing buddy Bobby Buschke saw a half-dozen snowmobiles heading toward a 40-acre patch of open water. When they saw the headlights disappear, they teamed up with two snowmobiler friends – Jaime and Scott Hanser. Chouinard says they grabbed a rope from a neighboring ice shanty and headed toward the so-called goose hole. 43-year-old Paula Aufdermauer was on the edge of the ice but was unable to get out. The four pulled her to safety but her 13-year-old son Ryan was farther out, apparently tired and struggling to swim. Chouinard says Ryan gave it all he could and swum close enough to the rope for them to pull him in. While may have gotten out of the water, they weren’t out of the woods just yet as the ice began to crack and they had to retreat even further away from the rapidly expanding goose hole. The hovercraft then arrived on scene. 46-year-old Randy Pearce was rescued while clinging to a piece of ice. 45-year-old Allen Aufdermauer did not survive. Chouinard is downplaying his role and says he’s got children of his own and he hopes that someone would do the same for them.

Ryan is Recalled

2/22/12 - Voters in Sheboygan removed Mayor Bob Ryan yesterday with 14 months left in his only term. Former state Representative Terry Van Akkeren defeated Ryan 53-to-47 percent in the city's first-ever mayoral recall. Ryan failed to carry his own ward, as he had five-thousand-247 votes to Van Akkeren's six-thousand-four. Ryan was targeted for three alcohol-related episodes in his nearly three years in office -- primarily for a three-day drinking binge in Elkhart Lake last July. Van Akkeren, who lost to Ryan in 2009, will be sworn in at the next Sheboygan City Council meeting on March fifth. He said he was glad city residents have faith in him and quote, "It's time to reunite the community again." Ryan said he hoped his accomplishments would have spoken louder than the media and his private life did -- and he said he has nothing to be ashamed of. Ryan says he's getting counseling for his alcoholism. And he told supporters quote, "If you want a person who never gives up and is an exemplary employee, I'm available."

GOP Says It Can’t Redraw Voting Districts

2/22/12 - Republican lawmakers say they legally cannot redraw the new state legislative and congressional districts they approved last summer. A trial on those maps was supposed to begin yesterday in federal court in Milwaukee. But a three-judge panel asked the G-O-P to redraw the boundaries to consider objections from the plaintiffs -- two groups of Democrats and Hispanics. State attorney Dan Kelly told the judges late yesterday the G-O-P was willing to consider a re-draft -- but a State Supreme Court opinion from 1954 prevents it. The plaintiffs disagreed. One of them, former state Senate Democratic leader Judy Robson, said the Republicans would have to admit they were wrong -- and quote, "given their arrogance," they would never admit that. Meanwhile, it's not clear when testimony in the trial will begin. The panel says it will rule today on a request from legislative attorney Jim Troupis to limit his testimony on the grounds of attorney-client privilege. The plaintiffs have subpoenaed Troupis to explain how the new district lines were drawn in Milwaukee's Hispanic areas. A Hispanic group accused the G-O-P of trying to dilute the Latinos' influence in the Legislature.

Pilot Suffered From Vertigo

2/22/12 - The Air Force says that a fighter pilot suffered from vertigo as his cockpit fogged up during an air show at the E-A-A gathering in Oshkosh last July. An investigative report said the pilot thought about ejecting after he lost visibility – but he decided to land the aircraft because he was worried that hundreds of spectators might get hurt. The F-16-C Falcon plane did land safely with no injuries – but it left the runway and veered 300-feet into the grass infield. That caused over five-million-dollars in damage to the aircraft, but there was minimal damage to Wittman Airport at Oshkosh. The pilot was from the Alabama Air National Guard, but he was not named in the report. It said the fog in the cockpit was caused by a problem with the plane’s environmental control system – and the pilot could not see the end of the runway approaching. He apparently tried to de-fog the plane, but couldn’t. Had he seen the instrument references, the Air Force said the pilot would have stopped the plane well ahead of the end of the runway. Instead, the nose wheel broke when it hit the soft infield. The jet was from the 187th Fighter Wing at Dannelly Field in Alabama. It was part of the Tuskegee Airman show at last year’s E-A-A – and investigators said the craft was properly maintained.

Link Responds to Attacks

2/22/12 - Columbus Mayor Bob Link responded to social media attacks against City staff for recent changes to City Recreation policies. Link denied rumors labeling him as “anti-recreation.” The Mayor said he was sorry for all the bad feelings. Volunteer groups working with youth baseball, football and softball do not currently receive City financial oversight. When he requested a financial report from one group the Mayor was told it was “none of your business.” Link responded that City tax dollars are used for the playing fields and the City should be handling registration fees.

CAE Hears About Grant Money

2/22/12 - The Columbus Area Endowment packed Julies Java Hut this past week with over 50 representatives from nonprofit organizations. They were on hand to learn more about a local source of grant money. The CAE has a $100 thousand dollar plus nest egg and the first year of grant-giving behind them. They’re hoping to provide grants well into the future. The CAE also congratulated the 2011 CAE Grant winners: Columbus Club House, the Senior Center, Community Hospital and Fire Department.

DC Board Approves Chairman’s Pay

2/22/12 - The Dodge County Board Chairman will continue to make $12,000 a year for the next two years. On a 32-1 vote the Board of Supervisors approved keeping the salary as it’s been for the past few years. The lone no vote came from Supervisor Eugene Wurtz. He said he doesn’t approve of what he called “double-dipping”. The idea that the chairman would get his base salary and also get a stipend for the meetings he attends. Wurtz introduced an amendment changing the pay structure but it failed due to a lack of a second. Supervisor Robert Ballweg said he was ok with the salary but wondered if there should be a list of expectations to justify it. The chairman’s seat is up for reelection among the board every two years with the next vote coming in April.

St. Patrick’s Church Sold

2/22/12 - The former St. Patrick’s church in Beaver Dam has been sold. Praise Assembly of God has purchased the downtown building that had a closing ceremony on November 20th and hasn’t been used for Mass for more than six years. Praise Assembly, which was established in 1985, has been holding services for its 85-members at the Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre since the middle of 2008. Officials say services could be held at the church as early as this weekend.
If you have a cell phone, you might not have to pay for as many text messages for unwanted sales pitches. The state Assembly voted 94-to-nothing last night to add text messages to Wisconsin's popular do-not-call list for telemarketers. The bill now goes to Governor Scott Walker for his signature. More than two-point-three million phone numbers are on the state's no-call list -- and over half those are cell phones. Charities and political candidates are exempt from the no-call law, along with companies you've done business with.

BDPD Says Winter Parking Rules Still in Effect

2/22/12 - The Beaver Dam Police Department is reminding local residents that winter parking rules are still in effect. The parking prohibition begins with the first significant snowfall and while it could go into effect as early as December 1, it didn’t kick in until mid-January this year. Even with the mild winter, Deputy Police Chief Dan Schubert says there is still no parking allowed on city streets between 2am and 6am so that the Department of Public Works can clear the snow. Citations will be issued for violations and begin at $20 if the ticket is paid within 24 hours. The parking ban will remain in effect until April 1, unless it is announced that the ban has been temporarily or permanently lifted.