Top Stories February 3rd

Johnson’s Body Returning To Mayville

2/3/12 - The public is encouraged to line the streets of Dodge County this morning as a Mayville soldier killed last week in Afghanistan returns home to his final resting place. The body of 24-year-old First Lieutenant David Johnson will arrive at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee around 9:27am tomorrow (Friday) morning. From there, the motorcade procession will travel down Highway 41. It’s expected to enter Horicon between 10am and 11am on Main Street Road, travel through downtown Horicon, head east on Highway 33 and Lake Street, before turning onto Highway 28 on its way to Mayville. Once in Mayville the motorcade will continue on Horicon Street and turn onto Main Street. The motorcade will stop for a few minutes in front American Legion Post 69, 134 S. Main St., where the firing squad will give Johnson military honors. The motorcade will then continue traveling down Main Street before going to Koepsell Funeral Home on Walnut Street. There will be a visitation on Saturday at Mayville High School, 500 N. Clark St., from 1 to 7pm. On Sunday, visitation will continue from noon to 2pm, when a memorial service will begin. At 4pm, Johnson will be taken to the Veterans Memorial of Mayville in City Park by the park pavilion, where military rights and honors and the flag folding presentation will take place. Stay tuned to WBEV-WXRO for updates on the motorcade.

BDUSD Employee Charged with Child Sexual Assault

2/3/12 - A now former Beaver Dam School District employee is facing several charges after he allegedly had a sexual relationship with a high school student. The 27-year-old man, who worked as a custodian in the district, was taken into custody Thursday morning and jailed on possible charges of Repeated 2nd Degree Sexual Assault of a Child and Sexual Assault by a Faculty member. Superintendent Steve Vessey says they were alerted to the possible relationship on Wednesday night and informed the school’s liaison officer yesterday morning of the allegations. They also terminated the employee for violation of school policies. Detective Ryan Klavekoske says their investigation shows the relationship started a year and half ago and involved numerous sexual encounters at the man’s home. Officials say they don’t believe there are any other victims but they are still investigating. District parents were informed of the situation by phone on Thursday night, and Vessey says anyone with concerns can contact him at his office.

Corrections Officer Waives Prelim

2/3/12 - A corrections officer at Waupun Correctional, accused of having a sexual relationship with an inmate, waived her right to a preliminary hearing yesterday. 33-year-old Jolene J. Mason of Beaver Dam is charged with three counts of Second Degree Sexual Assault by Corrections Staff and one count of Delivering Illegal Articles to an Inmate, all felonies which carry a combined maximum of over 123-years in prison upon conviction. According to the criminal complaint, the Department of Corrections received information regarding inappropriate contact between Mason and a prisoner and immediately began to monitor activity between the two. Officials then intercepted letters sent to a Beaver Dam Post Office address that detailed sexual activities between the two. Mason reportedly used her driver’s license in filling out the application for the PO Box. The inmate reportedly denied the relationship at first but later confessed saying they became physical last December and continued through April. Mason allegedly smuggled a cell phone into the inmate so the two could talk and text and also brought in food, jewelry, tattoo ink and needles. The inmate has since been moved to another institution.

Luck Arraigned In Teen Assault

2/3/12 - A Beaver Dam man, accused of carrying on a sexual relationship with a young teen girl, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday. Nathaniel Luck then stood silent at arraignment and had a “not guilty” plea entered on his behalf. The 20-year-old is charged with Repeated Sexual Assault of the Same Child, a felony which if he’s convicted carries maximum sentence of life in prison and a minimum of 25 years. Luck was allegedly with the girl dozens of times between April and August and may have even violated a court injunction by seeing her last month. The family of the girl, who was 15-years-old when most of the assaults occurred, learned about the relationship from her postings on a social networking website. Luck had a signature bond set at $10,000 yesterday and a preliminary hearing on the calendar next month.

Jury Convicts Villwock After 16 Minute Deliberation

2/3/12 - A Dodge County jury has found a 62-year-old Beaver Dam man guilty of taking nearly $68,000 in gold coins from his brother last January. Authorities say they found a number of the coins at Robert Villwock’s home and that he’d sold about dozen more to a coin shop in Beaver Dam. The money was in a safe he took from his brother’s home. The safe was later found on Villwock’s property. After three days of testimony, it took the jury 16 minutes Wednesday night to find him guilty of three felony charges including Burglary, Theft and Receiving Stolen Property. A misdemeanor count of Criminal Damage to Property was dismissed. Villwock will be sentenced in March.

Traffic Crashes Up in January

2/3/12 - Forty-two people were killed in Wisconsin traffic crashes last month. That's three more than last January, and three more than the average for the past five years. The state D-O-T said 33 drivers were killed last month, along with seven passengers and two pedestrians. Wisconsin has just finished its safest four-year period for traffic deaths since the 1920's, and State Patrol Major Sandra Huxtable says officials are trying to get that to continue. Last year, Wisconsin had fewer than 600 traffic deaths for the fourth year in a row. The last time that happened was 1923-to-'27.

Hate Crimes Being Investigated at UW-Parkside

2/3/12 - Officials at U-W Parkside near Kenosha promise to punish anyone caught committing three hate crimes on campus since the start of Black History Month. It all started when a noose made of rubber bands was found Wednesday night. Yesterday, a threatening note was left near the door of a female black student who reported the noose. Then last night, fliers were found listing several black students by name, and that they would die in two days. Parkside's interim dean-of-students, Cindy Graham, called the behavior unacceptable. She said an all-campus meeting was scheduled for late last night to discuss the incidents. Graham said only residents were allowed access at the Pike River dorm last evening, and more security officers would monitor all the dorms. She said that if those responsible for the incidents are Parkside students, they would most likely be expelled.

Whooping Cranes Staying Put In Alabama

2/3/12 - For the first time in 11 years, a group of Wisconsin baby whooping cranes will not make it to Florida for an annual migration effort. Nine baby cranes were grounded in Alabama in mid-December. And Liz Condie of Operation Migration says the birds have rejected several efforts by an ultra-light pilot to get them to Florida. The most recent effort was last Sunday. The cranes were grounded after somebody complained that a pilot who was guiding the birds violated federal rules against ultra-light pilots being paid to make trips. The pilot works for the group in charge of an effort to re-introduce endangered whooping cranes in the eastern U-S. A couple weeks ago, the F-A-A granted a temporary waiver from its rules so the birds could make the trip to Florida this winter. But because they won’t go, Condie says they’ll be put in crates, and taken to the nearby Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama for the rest of the winter.