Top Stories February 23rd

Where’s the Storm?

2/23/12 - Southern Wisconsin will not get the 6-to-8 inches of snow that forecasters warned us about yesterday. An intense low pressure system is moving further south than what the National Weather Service had projected. The Racine and Kenosha areas might get 3-to-4 inches tonight and early tomorrow. Madison could get an inch-or-two. That’s about what we’re expecting. A winter storm watch for the southern half of Wisconsin has been scrapped -- and lesser advisories have been posted starting tonight for far southern Wisconsin between Beloit and Kenosha. Milwaukee and Madison have not had a winter storm warning yet this winter. Those warnings are issued when at least six inches of snow are in the immediate forecast. If Milwaukee escapes such a warning this winter, it will be the first time that happens since 1984.

Carol’s Tours Owner Arraigned

2/23/12 - Former Carol’s Tour’s owner Deb Paul entered a “not guilty” plea during an arraignment hearing Wednesday. The 56-year-old closed the doors of the Beaver Dam travel agency four years ago, leaving as many as 200 paying customers without vacations. According to the criminal complaint, Paul described her business practice as (quote) “robbing Peter to pay Paul” using money from future trips to keep up with costs of funding the most recent vacations. In talking to investigators, Paul tried to pin her accounting practices on office manager Lisa Hopper and 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, she was asked to cover it on her personal credit card then 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 and credit cards. Hopper has already pled out and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, three years of extended supervision and seven years 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. She has a scheduling conference on the calendar next month. Paul faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, if she is convicted.

Marshland Pharmacy Burglar Pleads Guilty

2/23/12 - A Rubicon man who broke into the Marshland Pharmacy in Horicon and stole thousands of dollars worth of drugs has entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors. Alexander Metzger pleaded “guilty” Wednesday to felony charges of Burglary and Drug Possession and had eight other felony and misdemeanor charges dismissed. The 23-year-old smashed in the front glass doors to the pharmacy in September of 2009 and took over $3600 of Oxycontin. Police were tipped to the crime by an anonymous call. According to the criminal complaint, a hair found at the crime scene matched one obtained from Metzger. When he was questioned, authorities say he had a white, powdery substance crusted around his nostrils that turned out to be Oxycontin. A sentencing hearing is scheduled in April.

Accused Child Molester Arraigned

2/23/12 - A Hustisford man told a Dodge County judge yesterday during an arraignment hearing that he is “not guilty” of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl. Eric Bricco is charged with Second Degree Sexual Assault of a Child, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 80 years, if he is convicted. Authorities say the 19-year-old told the victims parents he was 16-years-old and home-schooled. The offenses are said to have occurred on two separate occasions last October. During the most recent incident, the two fell asleep in a car in rural Hustisford and were awoken by Dodge County Sheriffs Deputies who alerted the girl’s parents to her boyfriend’s actual age.

Municipal Judge Term Four Years Now, Not Two

2/23/12 - The City Attorney says Beaver Dam Municipal Court Judge Ken Peters, who was elected to a two-year in 2011, was actually elected to a four-year term. Mary Ann Schacht told officials in committee this week that the term extension was the result of a little-known law change that was approved in 2009 but did not go into effect until January 2011, three months before Peters was elected to a third term. Schacht says even though the term extension was not publicized during the election, there is no cause for concern. The ballot did not list the length of the term. The law change was among dozens of provisions designed to boost professionalism, increase independence and create uniformity among Wisconsin’s 250 municipal courts, which all together handle hundreds of thousands of cases each year. In Wisconsin, municipal judges are not required to be attorneys and, except in Madison and Milwaukee, work part time. Peters says it might take a new judge two years to learn the ropes and by the time they do, they could be voted out. The outcome of municipal court cases can have a major impact on defendants, who can be ordered to pay thousands of dollars in fines or spend up to three months in jail. Another key aspect of the law gives low-income defendants more chances to avoid jail or lose their driver’s licenses for failure to pay fines. Municipal judges must offer such defendants options – including community service, payment plans or extensions –before taking more drastic steps.

Lawmakers Looking for Compromise on Mining Bill

2/23/12 - Wisconsin lawmakers are looking for a compromise mining bill that majorities in both houses can accept. But Senate finance chair Alberta Darling says all sides are far apart -- and it would take "almost a miracle" to strike a deal by the time the Joint Finance Committee meets later today. Supporters of Gogebic Taconite's proposed iron ore mine near Hurley are racing to get an agreement before lawmakers adjourn for the year on March 15th. The finance panel was scheduled to make a recommendation today on the Assembly's version of the mining package passed last month. But Senate leaders say their house will not pass that version. And Assembly leaders rejected a more moderate package proposed on Tuesday by senators Dale Schultz and Bob Jauch. Senate G-O-P leader Scott Fitzgerald says two main issues are holding things up -- the question of whether a time limit for the approval of mining permits can be stretched out -- and whether mining opponents could challenge D-N-R decisions in a case hearing before a final permit is issued. Fitzgerald says a proposed fee by mining companies to cover emergencies is a lesser sticking point. But once tax credits are figured in, state fiscal analysts say Gogebic Taconite would pay about the same under either package.

Taxpayers Will Foot the Bill for Legal Battle Over Legislative Districts

2/23/12 - Wisconsin taxpayers will spend another 425-thousand dollars to help majority Republicans try to keep the new legislative districts they drew last year -- and possibly give them an edge in this fall's elections. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Governor Scott Walker increased the limit on what outside attorneys can be paid to help the Justice Department defend a lawsuit against the new maps. The firm of Reinhart-Boerner-Van Deuren had a 500-thousand-dollar cap -- but that's now 925-thousand-dollars. The firm has already charged taxpayers 288-thousand for its work. That's on top of the 400-thousand tax dollars that G-O-P lawmakers gave Michael Best and Friedrich for helping to draw up the new districts -- which will be the subjects of a trial in federal court over the next two days.

BDPD Says Winter Parking Rules Still In Effect

2/23/12 - 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.

WI Representative Still Alive on Idol

2/23/12 - Western Wisconsin's representative on "American Idol" has made the Top-24. Reid Grimm of Ellsworth performed a final solo number before he was called to meet with the judges during last night's show on Fox. Grimm did a shuffle dance when he heard the good news, and Jennifer Lopez said it was the "fun part" of her day. Randy Jackson had even higher praise, saying quote, "That kid is so mad talented." Grimm is a former U-W La Crosse student who was the lead singer in a band called Three Beers 'Til Dubuque. From this point on, the viewers will decide Grimm's fate. He and the other candidates will perform before the judges and a small audience starting next week as the show's 11th season rolls on.