DCSO Hopes New Program Could Reduce Traffic Deaths
12/30/15 – The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office plans on implementing a new program in 2016 that it hopes will reduce traffic accidents. Sheriff Dale Schmidt says law enforcement departments throughout the county will be part of the OWI and Aggressive Driver Task Force that aims to raise awareness and crack down on those offenses. He expects it to be up and running early in the year. Dodge County had 11 traffic fatalities in 2015, which is three less than 2014 and one above the five year average. Out of the state’s 72 counties, Dodge had the 14th most traffic deaths. Schmidt says the county also had nearly 300 car-deer crashes, including one fatality and two severe injuries. He says that is on par with previous years. The sheriff encourages drivers to obey speed limits, always use a seatbelt, and avoid driving under the influence as those were three of the top factors in 2015’s road deaths.
Dodge County Looks Ahead To 2016 Highway Projects
12/30/15 – Looking ahead, Dodge County has over $2.9-million dollars’ worth of highway projects budgeted for 2016. Assistant Highway Commissioner Pete Thompson says the most expensive project is a $1.2-million dollar pulverizing and re-pavement of 5-6 miles of County Highways J and DJ by Clyman. To highlight a couple other major efforts, funds are reserved for construction projects on over four miles of County C from County A to Highway 151 in the Fox Lake area and one mile of County S from Highway 67 to County WS near Iron Ridge. With 2015 construction complete, Thompson says the year’s largest project was the reconstruction of County E from Horicon to Beaver Dam. According to Thompson, that was necessary due to the large amount of trucks that passes through each day. Thompson says another important project in 2015 was the concrete pavement project from Highway 33 north into Mayville to County V.
Columbus Library Looking For Additional Space
12/30/15 – The Columbus Library Board recently asked the city council to consider spending $5,000 to commission the company Economic Development Partners to research and develop a project plan to search for increasing facility space. The library has been running out of room to provide services. A recent comparison between Columbus and libraries in similar-sized communities indicated that facility changes were needed. Research plans include consideration of reconstruction or relocation of the current library as well as writing a $25-thousand Community Development Block Grant. One idea submitted to the Library Board is the concept of combining the Library with other city service partners.
Dodge County’s 2015 Vehicle Sales On Par With Last Year
12/30/15 – Vehicle sales in Dodge County were just about the same through the first 11 months of 2015 as the same time period last year. According to the Waterloo-based industry tracking firm Reg Trak Inc., 3,263 vehicles were sold in Dodge County at the end of November, one more than through November 2014. Truck sales are up 6.5-percent while car sales are down over 14-percent. In Columbia County, vehicle sales were up over 4-percent with truck sales up nearly 11-percent but car sales down 9.5-percent. Jefferson County saw a similar trend as its 3-percent increase in vehicle sales included a near 16-percent increase in truck sales with a 17-percent decline in cars sold. Overall, the nine-county south central Wisconsin region saw a 3.4-percent increase in vehicle sales from 2014 to 2015. Truck sales increased by nearly 12% while car sales dropped by 9.5-percent.
Wisconsin Elks Next President From Beaver Dam
12/30/15 – In 2016, a Beaver Dam Elks member will assume a statewide position. The Wisconsin Elks Association voted Rob Radig as president-elect this May. Radig is a former Exalted Ruler in Beaver Dam, which is the local leader’s title, and is currently servicing as the state association’s vice-president. He says his primary duty as president is to visit all lodges statewide to spread his motto for the year. As vice-president, Radig says he has traveled throughout the state spreading the group’s charitable mission. Radig hopes having a Beaver Dam Elks member as the statewide president for the first time in 50 years will help draw attention to and boost membership at his local lodge. Radig says he will represent the Wisconsin Elks at this July’s national convention in Houston.
Drone Breaches Walls Of Waupun Correctional
12/30/15 – No charges are expected against a man who flew a drone over the walls of the Waupun Correctional Institution. Police Chief Dale Heeringa says a 32-year-old Waupun man called authorities around 12:30am Monday morning to report that a drone he got on Christmas may have gone into the prison over the wall. That raised concerns of a security breach. After a one-hour search, the drone was located. Heeringa says an investigation determined that, at this point, there was no criminal activity and it appears the man simply lost control of the drone. The device was properly registered with FAA and returned the owner. No charges are pending with law enforcement but Heeringa says city ordinance may need to be changed to control this activity in the future. The chief notes that drones are more than a toy and there are operating laws and legal consequences.
Waupun Woman Accused Of Stealing From Mother-In-Law
12/30/15 – A Waupun woman is due in court January 11th, after she allegedly stole almost 27-thousand dollars from her mother-in-law. Thirty-six year old Nicole Grauvogl has been charged in Dodge County with five felony counts of identity theft. According to prosecutors, the victim called police in late June after she questioned activity in her checking account. Officers say they found more than 100 transactions at a Waupun convenience store from her account — and the store’s surveillance video identified Grauvogl as the suspect.
State Prosecutors Seeks Again To Retain John Doe Evidence
12/30/15 – State prosecutors have again asked a federal judge to let them hang on to evidence gathered in two former John Doe probes of Governor Scott Walker’s associates and recall campaign. The prosecutors asked Federal Judge Lynn Adelman last month to let them keep evidence from both probes, so they can defend themselves in a lawsuit from ex-Walker aide Cindy Archer. That was after the State Supreme Court decided this month to hang onto the evidence themselves, rather than order that it be scrapped or returned to its original owners. Archer accuses chief John Doe prosecutor John Chisholm of running a “continuous campaign of harassment” against supporters of the governor. The first Doe probe resulted in six convictions against mainly those in Walker’s former Milwaukee County Executive’s office — and the second Doe into G-O-P recall campaigns was cut short before charges could be filed.
UW Concealed Weapons Bill Unlikely To Pass
12/30/15 – A bill to allow concealed weapons in U-W campus buildings probably will not pass in the current session. G-O-P Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he personally favors the idea, but he has not heard an “outcry from the public saying they want that.” The state currently allows concealed weapons in outdoor campus spaces, but not in university buildings. Two Republican lawmakers introduced the measure soon after nine people were killed this fall at a community college in Oregon. Vos says Slinger Representative Bob Gannon brought up an “interesting point” when he criticized “gun-free zones” after the recent shooting in Madison’s East Towne Mall — but Vos does not believe his colleagues will act on that.
Major Overhaul Of WEDC Scrapped
12/30/15 – Wisconsin’s job creation agency will not get a major overhaul. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has changed his mind about a re-branding effort for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation which he first proposed a few weeks ago. Vos says state-and-local business leaders believe the W-E-D-C’s brand is fine as it is — and many changes have been made in making its job creation grants-and-loans to businesses more accountable to taxpayers. Vos says it’s possible that lawmakers could restore at least some of the 46-million dollars it cut from the W-E-D-C’s current two-year budget. The speaker says he favors additional funds so county-and-regional economic groups can give more loans to job creators on a local basis.
