News – May 25, 2019

(Fox Lake) The Beaver Dam woman flown from the scene of a two-vehicle crash Thursday afternoon in Fox Lake has succumbed to her injuries. Marjorie Hannan was a passenger in an SUV that collided with a box truck that failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of County Road A and County Road C. The 71-year-old was taken by MedFlight to UW Hospital in Madison where she later passed away from her injuries. Her husband, 71-year-old Stephen Hannan, was initially transported to Beaver Dam Community Hospital before being flown to Madison with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the box truck, 61-year-old Richard Grede of Juneau, also sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The accident remains under investigation.

(Beaver Dam) Fire swept through a Beaver Dam residence yesterday (Friday) morning. Crews responded to 151 Charlton Street just after 11am to find smoke and flames coming from the first floor of the home. Deputy Chief Matt Christian says the blaze was reported by a person driving by the house who saw smoke coming from the front door. The homeowner, David Walker Jr, was in the detached garage and was not aware of the fire until emergency vehicles started arriving on scene. No injuries were reported but the fire caused significant damage to the first and second floors. The cause remains under investigation by the Beaver Dam Fire and Police departments. The scene was cleared after two hours. Beaver Dam received mutual assistance from fire departments in Fox Lake, Horicon, Lowell, Watertown and Waupun.

(Barron) Jake Patterson claimed remorse, at sentencing yesterday for the murders of James and Denise Closs, and the kidnapping of 13-year-old Jayme Closs. Barron County Judge James Babler sentenced Patterson to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole, plus forty years for kidnapping Jayme. The 13-year-old escaped in January after 88 days in captivity. Patterson pleaded guilty all charges.

(Madison) A Wisconsin Air National Guard sergeant who raised concerns last year about sexual assault within his unit says Guard officials are trying to force him out. The Associated Press reports Jay Ellis filed a complaint with the Wisconsin National Guard’s inspector general this week, alleging that Guard officials have transferred him out of his unit, and started researching his medical history, leading him to believe they want to force a medical discharge that will cost him retirement benefits.

(Beaver Dam) The guest speaker for this Monday’s Beaver Dam Memorial Day Ceremony is the first female Wisconsin American Legion State Adjutant. Amber Nikolai is a Naval veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and was the agency liaison for the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs Home at King from 2012 until her current appointment. Ceremony Organizer Lois Levenhagen says a flyover is also planned. The Memorial Service will be held at the Veteran’s Memorial Park in the Oakwood Cemetery in Beaver Dam. The service will include the reading of the names of veterans who have passed away in the past year. The Beaver Dam High School Marching Band and St Katherine Drexel Marching Band will be providing music. Levenhagen says there will be some park benches available for seating but the public us asked to bring lawn chairs and blankets for additional seating.  The Memorial Service will also be broadcast live on WBEV and video streamed at DailyDodge.com beginning at 10:15am. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved into the Beaver Dam Veterans Center on Beichl Avenue and begin at 10:30am.

(Dodge County) The jobless rate in the region for April has dropped below three-percent. According to figures released by the state Department of Workforce Development, Fond du Lac County is in a four-way tie for the second lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.1-percent, compared to 2.8-percent in March. Washington County decreased a half-point from March-to-April at 2.2-percent. Dodge County reported a 2.3-percent last month while Jefferson County was at 2.4-percent, both down eight-tenths of a point from March. Columbia County dropped seven-tenths to 2.5-percent. Green Lake County recorded a 2.9-percent, well below the 4.3-percent from the previous month. Dane County had the lowest rate in the state at 1.9-percent while Menominee County was the highest at 7-percent. Unemployment rates declined in every county in the state from March-to-April. The seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in Wisconsin is at 2.8-percent while the national rate is 3.6-percent.

(Beaver Dam) Garbage and recycling collection in Beaver Dam will be delayed by on day all next week because of the Memorial Day holiday. Department of Public Works officials say Advanced Disposal will pick-up Monday’s route on Tuesday and the pattern will continue through Friday’s pick-up which will be collected on Saturday. In addition, the Department of Public Works Garage will be closed on Memorial Day.