Top Stories February 27th

Garage Destroyed by Fire

2/27/12 - Fire destroyed a garage in Beaver Dam yesterday afternoon. The Beaver Dam Fire Department was called out to Roedl Court around 1:45 pm to a report of an unattached garage being on fire. A cause of the fire hasn’t been released, but the garage and its contents were a total loss.

Possible Opponent for Fitzgerald in Recall

2/27/12 - If there are enough signatures to force a recall against him, Scott Fitzgerald will reportedly have an opponent. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said this weekend that Lori Compas is planning to announce tomorrow that she will run against the state senator from Juneau. Compas is from Fort Atkinson and led the recall effort against Fitzgerald. The Government Accountability Board is currently in the process of verifying the signatures to determine if there will be an election. The group turned in more than 20,000 signatures and needed at least 16,742 to force the recall. Fitzgerald reportedly challenged more than 4,000 of the signatures.

Fall River, Friesland Among Those Who Don’t Remove Containments from Water

2/27/12 - It’s been nine months since the governor and state lawmakers dropped a requirement that communities disinfect their drinking water. And the Wisconsin State Journal says at least 60 water supplies in the Badger State, including those in Fall River and Friesland, do not remove contaminants that cause viruses, despite risks that continue to be documented. Mark Borchardt, a former Marshfield Clinic scientist who went to the U-S Agriculture Department, has discovered numerous viruses in drinking water. And a new study of 14 Wisconsin communities is about to be published. The State Journal said it linked their groundwater to respiratory and gastro-intestinal illnesses in kids-and-adults that Borchardt tracked during a two-year period. The D-N-R cited his findings a couple years ago, when it required that communities treat their water to remove viruses. But after Republicans took control of the Legislature in 2011, freshman Representative Erik Severson of Star Prairie cited the high cost of complying – and he convinced his colleagues to abolish the treatment mandate. Spring Green public works director Greg Wipperfurth says he can count the number of bad water samples on one hand over the last 16 years. He says people don’t want their water treated because of the taste-and-odor of chlorine. But Mineral Point said it saw the light when E-coli showed up in its water last fall. After that, the village spent 15-thousand dollars on a chlorination system.

Bauer Enters Into Plea Agreement

2/27/12 - A Beaver Dam teen who sparked a high speed chase with authorities last October has entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors. Brady Bauer pleaded “no contest” on Friday to a felony charge of Fleeing an Officer and misdemeanor Obstruction and had a pair of felony Bail Jumping charges and two other misdemeanors dismissed but read into the record.
Bauer was arrested in October after officers attempted a traffic stop for excessive window tinting but the suspect reportedly fled into the county. An eight-mile chase ensued down County Highway E that at times reached speeds in excess of 90mph. Brady was tracked down at an apartment complex in Burnett. The 18-year-old is charged with one felony count of Fleeing and Eluding an Officer and misdemeanor charges of Obstructing an Officer, Possession of an Illegally Obtained Prescription and Theft of Movable Property. Also found in the vehicle, a stolen county road sign for County Trunk BB which Bauer admitted to taking because it matched his initials. The teen was also ordered to perform community service and can petition to have the felony expunged from his record if he successfully completes probation.

Centralized System of Information Close to Reality

2/27/12 - Dodge County Sheriff Todd Nehls says local law enforcement agencies in the county are closer than ever to having a centralized system of information sharing. Nehls says the Records Management System, or RMS, would allow police to access and share names, photos, contact information, and any related case status on suspects, perpetrators and victims. One plan under review would allow the county to keep its current system and extend an invitation to municipal agencies to sign-on while the other would require purchase a whole new RMS system. The sheriff says they plan to make a decision soon and have a Records Management System in place by 2014.

Waupun Names Finalist for Superintendent

2/27/12 - Officials in the Waupun School District expect to name their new Superintendent by March 5th. The school board says they’ve whittled down the number of candidates to two after interviewing six of the 18-people the districts search firm brought forward. The finalists are Tonya Gubin, who is the principal at Beaver Dam’s Lincoln Elementary, and Robert Lloyd, who is the principal for Lomira’s 4K through 8th grades. The school board will conduct site visits and a final interview with the finalists before naming the successor for current Interim Superintendent Don Childs.

Bill Enforcing Tougher Penalties Stalls in Committee

2/27/12 - Tougher penalties have stalled in a state Assembly committee for driving drunk on snowmobiles, boats, and A-T-V’s. The chief sponsor of the bill, Stevens Point Democrat Lou Molepske, fears that it won’t get a vote before the Legislature adjourns for the year on March 15th. The bill had a public hearing a few weeks ago in the Assembly Transportation Committee, but it has not been scheduled for a vote. Under the bill, offenders would not be able to drive cars-and-trucks for 6-to-12 months if they’re convicted for a second time of driving drunk on snowmobiles, A-T-V’s, and boats. Previous efforts to tie car license penalties with drunk driving on recreational vehicles have failed – even though it’s been the law for years in neighboring Minnesota and Michigan. But Assembly Transportation Committee clerk Tim Fiocchi says some panel members fear that A-T-V riders will get arrested for driving drunk on their own property. And Fiocchi says concerns like that need to be addressed before the bill could move forward. Molepske says it’s hypocritical to support tougher O-W-I penalties only for car-and-truck drivers. He said those who’ve lost family members on snowmobile trails have waited too long for tougher alcohol laws.

Hearing on Proposed Wolf Hunt Tomorrow

2/27/12 - Wisconsinites will get their say tomorrow on a proposed wolf hunt. The Senate's Natural Resources Committee will hold a public hearing in Madison. The measure was drafted soon after the federal government removed Upper Midwest grey wolves from the national endangered species' list. It gave Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan the chance to manage their own wolf packs. The Wisconsin bill would create a hunting-and-trapping season from mid-October through late February. Licenses could be limited, and applicants who build up preference points could get first dibs. Bait-and-dogs could be used, and the bill would allow wolf hunting at night.

Powerball Winner in New York

2/27/12 - A ticket sold in New York State won Saturday night's Powerball jackpot of 70-million-dollars. Nobody from Wisconsin won the million-dollar second prize. But one ticket in the Badger State did win 10-thousand-dollars by matching four regular numbers plus the Powerball. Almost 14-thousand state players won something. Saturday's numbers were 6, 11, 42, 53, and 54. The Powerball was seven. The jackpot goes back to 40-million dollars for the next drawing on Wednesday. The Mega Millions jackpot is at 94-million for that game's next drawing tomorrow night.