December 3, 2015

Fox Lake Council Approves Creation Of New TIF District

 

12/3/15 – Fox Lake’s City Council approved the creation of a new tax incremental financing district at its meeting last night.  TIF 3 will be a mixed use TIF.  The included area runs from the north side of Cordelia Street to the north side of Hamilton Street and from Kwik Trip to the city boundaries on the north side of Highway 33.  City Administrator Gary Rogers says it focuses on both commercial and residential growth.  In addition to increasing the city’s taxable valuation, Rogers says the goal of TIF 3 is to provide more development opportunities near Highway 33 by creating “shovel ready” parcels for commercial businesses.  He says construction work will allow for access to state highways and frontage roads in Fox Lake and will ensure water distribution and sewer collection systems are connected to these commercial parcels.  A joint review board comprised of all the city’s taxing bodies will vote on the TIF creation next week.  If approval is given, Rogers hopes the necessary paperwork can be submitted within the next two months and is optimistic that construction could begin in spring.

 

Fox Lake Mayor Casts Deciding Vote To Raise Employee Health Premium

 

12/3/15 – Employee health insurance premiums will soon go up in Fox Lake.  After a three-three council split, Mayor Tom Bednarek cast the deciding vote to raise the employee contribution from 12% to 13%, effective January 1.  Council President John Mund says the goal is to gradually bring that number up to 15%.

 

PAVE Twelve Days Of Giving Underway

 

12/3/15 – With the holidays just a few weeks away, People Against a Violent Environment is kicking off its 12 Days of Giving campaign this week.  The program began on Tuesday and runs through December 12th.  Each day, PAVE seeks donations of a particular food or life necessity item.  For example, toilet paper is the item sought for today, which is Day Three.  Tomorrow, PAVE is asking for trash bags, followed by baby wipes, soup, mac and cheese, instant potatoes, canned pasta, canned meat and a gift card for milk. On the final day of the campaign, the organization seeks individuals to sponsor one night of a person’s cost for staying at the shelter.  PAVE Executive Director Teresa Nienow says that the price of housing a person for even just one night is upwards of the $75 that is requested.  She notes that just the expense of operating a shelter alone is quite lofty.  So far this year, PAVE has served 451 people providing 3405 nights of shelter; that is five less than in all of 2014. Nienow says that although PAVE is primarily in place to serve residents of Dodge County, it is available to aid others from surrounding communities as well. Bundled items can be picked up at Rechek’s Food Pride; donations can also be dropped off at Blackwater Coffee on South Center Street in Beaver Dam.  Anyone seeking to learn more about the program or donate to the 12 Days of Giving is encouraged to visit their website at:

http://www.peopleagainstaviolentenvironment.com/

 

Beaver Dam Man Convicted Of Molesting Teen Runaway

 

12/3/15 – A Beaver Dam man was found guilty yesterday of molesting a teen runaway. Brock Schwarzenbacher pled no contest to amended charges of felony Second Degree and misdemeanor Fourth Degree Sexual Assault.   The 26-year-old was arrested with a 14-year-old in his vehicle. The two had mutual friends and had met two weeks prior on Facebook.  Schwarzenbacher told police that he thought she was 18-years-old and was visibly nervous and upset when he was told her actual age. The court placed Schwarzenbacher on a deferred prosecution agreement for the felony count and withheld his misdemeanor sentence; instead putting him on probation for one year and ordering him not to have any contact with the victim or private contact with any other underage girls.

 

Horicon Man Arraigned For Police Chase

 

12/3/15 – A Horicon man accused of running from authorities pled not guilty at arraignment yesterday.  Jonathan Wehner is facing charges of felony Attempting to Flee or Elude a Traffic Officer and misdemeanor Operating a Motor Vehicle While Revoked, both as a repeat offender.  According to the criminal complaint, an officer tried to pull the 23-year-old over on Highway 26 in the Town of Oak Grove for going 75 miles per hour.  Wehner allegedly sped away before crashing his motorcycle at the curve near Highway 60.  He reportedly told the officer that he fled since he did not want to go to jail for driving while revoked.  If he is found guilty on both charges, Wehner faces four-and-a-half years in prison for the two counts and an additional eight years for being a repeat offender.  He will be back in court in January.

 

Waupun Man Who Shot Brother Will Likely Not Be Charged

 

12/3/15 – It’s likely the 33-year-old man responsible for shooting his younger brother in Waupun earlier this week will not be charged due to the state’s Castle Doctrine. Waupun Police Chief Dale Heeringa says while reviewing the case with Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney they got out a copy of the doctrine and the case fit the requirements.  Late Monday morning a 26-year-old Waupun man used a pickaxe to try and break through the door of his brother’s home. The older brother shot through the door with a semi-automatic pistol striking his younger sibling in the upper chest. Heeringa says it was a grazing wound and the victim was released from the hospital and is facing charges. He says there was an ongoing dispute between the two brothers.  Officers arriving at the scene thought they had a standoff situation because they could not get people inside come out of the residence.  Eventually the shooter’s wife came out and the shooter who was taken into custody, but later released.

 

Fox Lake Supervisor Not Seeking Re-Election

 

12/3/15 – There will be at least one new face on the 33-member Dodge County Board after the spring election. District One Supervisor Darrell Pollesch has filed his declaration of non-candidacy papers. The seat represents all of the city of Fox Lake and wards one and two in the township. Candidates have begun circulating papers for local municipal, school board and county board supervisor races. The final day to submit paperwork for the election is January 5. If an incumbent is not running, that paperwork is due by December 28.

 

State Trust Fund Loan Covers Beaver Dam Flood Abatement Project

 

12/3/15 – The state Board of Commissioners of Public Lands has announced that Beaver Dam has been approved for a one-million dollar State Trust Fund Loan. City Finance Director John Somers says the loan is being used by the wastewater and storm water utilities to retroactively pay for water flow improvements at the intersection of Front and Spring streets. That project is intended to reduce downtown flooding and was done in conjunction with the state’s reconstruction of Highway 33/ Front Street this summer. The ten-year, low-interest loan can be paid back by the city at any time and Somers indicated that is a possibility that city officials will consider in future budget years.

 

Beaver Dam Woman Featured In Advertisement For Tonight’s Packer Game

 

12/3/15 – For the past few weeks a Beaver Dam dairy farmer has been featured in a national television ad for the NFL Network urging people to tune in to see her Green Bay Packers take on the Detroit Lions. Dori Lichty is seen in a split screen. On the other side was a young kid jumping on a bed promoting his Detroit Lions. Lichty says she found out about the opportunity on Facebook and auditioned via Skype. She made the final cut, but was still surprised when she got the call saying she was chosen for the ad.  She grew up on her family’s farm east of Fond du Lac and found herself in the ad working on her side of the screen with a cow, which can be unpredictable. It took 90 minutes to tape her segment.  The production crew told her she was picked because of her “big person