News – February 21, 2019

(Watertown) One person was killed in Jefferson County Wednesday after a car struck a semi and was hit again by a passing vehicle a short time later. The initial accident occurred at 11:30am when a northbound vehicle drove into rear of a semi near State Highway 26 and High Road in the Town of Watertown. A short time later, a third vehicle that was passing by struck the car causing it to spin, burst into flames and strike the driver who by that time was standing outside the vehicle. A passenger, who remained inside the car after it struck the semi, was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident remains under investigation.

(Dodge County) In Dodge County, Highway 151 was down to one lane in both directions Wednesday afternoon following a car versus semi collision. The injury accident occurred just before 1pm near County Highway C in the Town of Trenton. The scene was cleared around 5pm. No word yet on the extent of injuries. The Wisconsin State Patrol is investigating.

(Juneau) Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt says despite some perceived animosity, he has plenty of allies on the county board. The friction stems from a $496-thousand dollars shortfall in the 2018 sheriff’s office budget. Schmidt blames lost revenue from housing federal inmates in the old jail, which was closed by the county board last year. Some county board supervisors disagree and point to over-estimates in federal inmate revenue, workers comp miscalculations and overtime expenses. One supervisor said at Tuesday’s county board meeting that the issue has brought to light which department heads are of good quality and which ones are not. Schmidt told us yesterday on WBEV’s Community Comment that he recognizes that there are people who simply do not like him but says that he will move past that, adding that 60-percent of Dodge County voters in the last election supported the direction the sheriff’s office is moving.

(Madison) Governor Tony Evers has vetoed a Republican bill which would have cut income taxes for middle class families. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau says middle-class Wisconsinites deserve a tax break and that it is unfortunate that the governor is telling them to wait their turn instead of lowering their taxes. The governor intends to offer his own version of a middle class tax cut in the state budget proposal he’ll introduce next week.

(Mayville) A Mayville man was convicted on child molestation charges yesterday (Wednesday). Benjamin Marx changed his previous plea of “not guilty by reason of mental defect” to no contest. Explicit photos of a preteen dating back to 2016 were discovered by a spouse on a shared computer. A pre-sentencing investigation was ordered and Marx is due back in court in May when he faces a combined maximum of up to 165 years in prison.

(Kekoskee) A Kekoskee woman facing felony Animal Mistreatment charges for allegedly starving a dog until it died entered a not guilty plea at arraignment yesterday. Abigail Billings landlord found the dog dead and covered in flies in a crate inside the garage. The 26-year-old initially told authorities that a friend was supposed to be watching the dog but later reportedly admitted that she lied. Billings allegedly told investigators that she was trying to go out to the garage every couple days to check on the dog. Doctors reported with 95-percent certainty that the dog had starved to death.

(Beaver Dam) Beaver Dam High School students are raising money this weekend for a scholarship established for a fallen alumna. Emily’s Closet collects and resells prom dresses at discounted prices. All proceeds go to the Emily Lyons Scholarship Foundation. Lyons died in snowmobile accident in 2015. Today (Thursday) is the final day to donate a prom dress at the high school; they can be dropped off from 3pm until 5pm. The sale will run Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Beaver Dam High School library.