Top Stories February 2nd

Anniversary of Groundhog Blizzard

2/2/12 - It was called the “Groundhog Blizzard” and up to 26-inches of snow hammered our region one year ago. Four people were killed, including a Racine County woman who suffered a heart problem while walking from her street to her house – and was buried under four-feet of snow. Tod Pritchard of Wisconsin Emergency Management remembers giant snow-drifts, canceled flights, impassable roads, and over 100 abandoned vehicles in Kenosha County. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Department dealt with over 170-runoffs as 12-inches of snow fell in a 24-hour period with wind gusts of 45-miles-per hour. Pritchard credited emergency personnel for getting a jump on the storm. Had they not, he said it could have been a lot worse. The federal government later declared Dodge County and nine other counties as disaster areas – a rarity for a Wisconsin winter storm. And it forced Sun Prairie’s famous groundhog to go haywire with his prediction. Sun Prairie canceled its annual community gathering last year, and Jimmy the Groundhog was let out privately to predict an early spring. But in one of Jimmy’s rare lapses, spring was not so early – as northeast Wisconsin had 10-inches of snow in late April.

500 Claims Filed Against Milwaukee Archdiocese

2/2/12 - Over 500 people have filed claims against the Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese, saying they should be compensated because they were sexually abused by priests. As part of the church bankruptcy proceedings, a deadline of 4pm yesterday was set for victims to file financial claims. The Milwaukee figure was the largest among eight Catholic regions in the U-S that had filed for bankruptcy since 2004 – and it’s about the same number involved in a Jesuit bankruptcy case that included five states. Officials in the Milwaukee Archdiocese said they were not sure how many people would file. A bankruptcy judge will now decide if each claim is valid. If so, the church will have to pay it. If not, the archdiocese says it has a 300-thousand-dollar fund to provide therapy to those whose claims are rejected. Bankruptcy Judge Susan Kelley will start hearing the claims cases a week from Thursday. The Milwaukee Archdiocese is comprised of 10 southeastern Wisconsin counties, including Dodge County.

Oconomowoc Man Pleads To Home Invasion

2/2/12 - An Oconomowoc man has entered into a plea agreement with Dodge County prosecutors for his role in an armed invasion at a Watertown home. 20-year-old Michael Magsamen pleaded “no contest” to five felony charges including Armed Robbery with the Use of Force and False Imprisonment as a Party to a Crime. Eight other felony charges were dismissed but read into the record. According to prosecutors, Magsamen and his accomplice, 36-year-old Lawrence Davis of Oconomowoc, armed themselves with a pellet gun and an ax handle, donned masks and forced their way into a residence. While there, Davis struck several people with the ax handle and restrained the nine victims while he and Magsamen searched for the residence for valuables. They were eventually chased from the home after some of victims recognized one of the robber’s voices. Davis was sentenced earlier this month to 12 years in prison and five years on extended supervision. A pre-sentencing investigation was ordered a hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

High Speed Chase Suspect Arraigned

2/2/12 - A Milwaukee man, accused of running from Watertown police at a high rate of speed, entered a “not guilty” plea at arraignment Wednesday. Bertram is charged with one felony count of Fleeing an Officer, which carries a maximum three-and-a-half year prison sentence, if he is convicted. According to the criminal complaint, police stopped the 22-year-old on the Highway 16 Bypass in October for speeding. When the officer informed Bertram that he had three warrants out for his arrest, Bertram allegedly stood silent for a moment, slowly put his hands on the ignition and “slammed his car into gear.” A one-mile chase followed that reportedly reached speeds of 85mph before the officer terminated the pursuit. A citation was sent to Bertram. A passenger in the vehicle later told police that Bertram said he didn’t know about the warrants and didn’t want to get arrested and lose his job. He has court activity is on the calendar again next month.

BD Woman Arraigned In Restaurant Embezzlement

2/2/12 - A Beaver Dam woman, accused of stealing money from a local restaurant, entered a “not guilty” plea at arraignment Wednesday. Casey Sweetman is charged with Computer Crimes – Modifying Data, a felony that carries a maximum three-and-a-half year prison sentence, upon conviction. The 23-year-old allegedly embezzled $3500 from the Benvenuto’s Restaurant in Beaver Dam in a scheme involving gift cards. According to the criminal complaint, Sweetman would pocket money from bills paid in cash and then search the computer database for random customers with gift cards and zero-out their account to make-up the difference. An audit was performed after several customers complained about having zero balances on what should have been valid gift cards. A plea and sentencing hearing is on the calendar later this month.

Appeals Court Rules In Fondy Rail Case

2/2/12 - A state appeals court said a jury was correct in awarding a million dollars to a conductor who was injured while working in a rail yard in North Fond du Lac. The Second District Appellate Court today upheld the jury’s award for Bruce Dalka of Malone. He was working with a switching crew in June of 2005 when a drunk driver sped into the rail yard and aimed directly toward Dalka. The rail worker managed to get out of the way – but he tripped and severely injured his lower back. His attorneys said Dalka needed five surgeries because of the incident. In his lawsuit against the railroad, Dalka said the railroad made no effort to limit access to outside vehicles at its parking lot – even though people had previously trespassed there. The Wisconsin Central had appealed the jury’s award, saying it could never have anticipated the drunken driving mishap.

Bednarek Grateful For SAGES

2/2/12 - Fox Lake Mayor Tom Bednarek says this falls expected opening of the SAGES Charter School will be a great benefit to the community. “SAGES” stands for “School for AGriculture and Environmental Science” and the charter school is being housed in the former Fox Lake Elementary School, which the Waupun School District closed in 2009 as part of a cost-saving move. Bednarek says having an elementary school in Fox Lake again will help attract and retain families in the community. So far, around 60 students have registered, more than the minimum of 50 needed to be able to open the doors. If more than 125 students register, all the students would be put into a lottery to determine who gets accepted. SAGES will teach all subject areas, with a focus on agriculture and environmental studies, and with emphasis on hands-on field work and learning through project-based learning. Families have until March 15th to register.

Cullen Drops Out Of Gubernatorial

2/2/12 - Wisconsin Senate Democrat Tim Cullen has changed his mind about running for governor in the expected recall election against Scott Walker. Cullen, a veteran moderate from Janesville, said there’s no way he could raise enough money to keep up with his better-known opponents. This leaves former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk as the only announced Democrat to challenge Walker – but Cullen said he expects others to throw their hats in the ring. The 67-year-old Cullen was elected to his second stint in the Senate in 2010. He previously served in that chamber from 1974-through-’86 – and he was also a secretary of Health and Human Services under former Republican Governor Tommy Thompson.

Coggs Accused of Misusing Taxpayer Dollars

2/2/12 - A legislative aide who was fired by state Senator Spencer Coggs now says her former boss made his staff illegally do campaign work on state time, and help with his wife’s business. Jana Williams filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Board. According to Wis-Politics-Dot-Com, Williams said Coggs – a Milwaukee Democrat – had one tax-funded staffer work largely on Coggs’ unsuccessful campaign for lieutenant governor in 2010. But Coggs denied the allegations to Wis-Politics. And his campaign manager at the time, Zak Williams, said none of
his Senate aides could possibly have worked on the lieutenant governor race. That’s because they didn’t have the password for the campaign’s Web site. Coggs is running for Milwaukee city treasurer this spring – and he questions whether the complaint is being filed now to try and hurt his election bid. Jana Williams was let go after Democrats lost the majority in the Senate in 2010, and they had to reduce their staffs.

Thompson Supports Insurance, Pension Increases

2/2/12 - Republican U-S Senate candidate Tommy Thompson says federal employees should pay more for their health insurance and pensions – just like Wisconsin state employees started doing last year. The former governor and Bush health secretary said that if he’s elected, higher employee benefit costs would be one of the first things he’ll propose. Thompson would not say how much the contributions should be – but he said they should be in line with what similar employees in the private sector are paying. Thompson is one of three Republicans running for the Senate seat being given up by the retiring Herb Kohl. In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker and his fellow Republicans in the Legislature made state workers pay 12-percent of their health premiums, and put five-point-eight percent of their salaries toward their pensions.

Walker Signs Open Enrollment Bill

2/2/12 - Governor Scott Walker signed a bill Wednesday that gives Wisconsin parents more time to decide whether their kids should go to public schools outside their home districts. The Republican Walker lengthened the sign-up period for the state’s long-running Open Enrollment program from three weeks to three months. Signs-ups normally begin in early February – and they’ll start on Monday for the fall term. The new deadline will be on April 30th. Parents can choose up to three non-resident school districts, and those districts will act on the applications according to how much room they have. In a statement, Walker noted that the extended sign-up period will give parents more opportunities for their youngsters. The bill also requires a student’s home district to inform the new district about any discipline problems the child might have. Also, the bill gives home districts more of a say in the transfer requests – and it gives applicants who are rejected a chance to appeal those decisions to the state. The new law was first introduced a year ago in the Legislature – but the final version did not pass until last month.