Dodge County Judicial Candidates Appear on WBEV
2/13/13 – The three candidates vying to replace outgoing Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Bissonnette were our guests on WBEV’s Community Comment yesterday. The two judicial candidates with the most votes next Tuesday will advance to the April election.
Joseph Sciascia of Juneau has 34 years of private practice experience and has spent the past 28 years as the Dodge County Family Court Commissioner. Sciascia has been the Juneau City Attorney since 1980 and the Iron Ridge Village Attorney since 2001.
“There’s no substitute for experience. I’m the only candidate that has ever decided a case from the bench. I do the same work that a judge does and I’ve done that work for 28 years. Even though I don’t know it all and I’m willing to admit there is a lot to learn, I’m 28 years ahead of any other candidate and they will never catch me.”
Joseph Fischer of Watertown has practiced in nearly every area of law – in municipal, state and federal court – for 17 years. Fischer has tried over 50 jury trials and has handled three homicide cases and one attempted homicide case, two of which proceeded to trial.
“I would hold my litigation experience – as much as I’m in court with the serious and complex issues that I’ve litigated over the years – I would hold my courtroom experience up against anybody. I want to have an impact on people. I am personable; I communicate well. I think that of all the candidates, I have the greatest ability to really impact the lives of the people that come before me on a daily basis.”
Dawn Klockow of Beaver Dam currently serves as the Corporation Counsel for Calumet County and had previously worked as the Assistant Corporation Counsel in Dodge County. If elected, Klockow wants to establish a mental health court in the Dodge County.
“It [would be] for non-violent felonies and criminal misdemeanors for people who have a diagnosed mental illness already. It’s meant to help them get effective treatment so that they do not have that revolving door of being mentally ill, committing a crime, going to jail and not getting enough treatment, or not getting any treatment, because it is very expensive to treat mental illness in the jail.”
Applicants Sought for Dodge County Sheriff
2/13/13 – The governor’s office has announced that applicants are being sought for appointment as Dodge County Sheriff. Todd Nehls resignation will become effective March 8. Nehls announced his retirement last Friday after over a decade in office. The new sheriff will begin serving upon appointment for the remainder of the current term ending in January of 2015. Applicants must reside in Dodge County at the time the appointment becomes effective. Interested parties are asked to submit a cover letter, resume and application from the governor’s website. Cover letters should outline professional and academic experience and include civic activities and community involvement. The deadline is noon on Tuesday, March 5. Governor Walker’s website: www.walker.wi.gov. Select the “Apply to Serve tab at the top of the page and then select the Sheriff/Coroner tab. Completed application materials should be submitted to: govappointments@wisconsin.gov or
Office of the Governor
Attention: Eric Esser
Director of Gubernatorial Appointments
115 East, State Capitol
Madison, WI 53707-7863
25 Years In Prison For Child Molestation
2/13/13 – A former Dodge County man was sentenced yesterday to 25 years in prison for child molestation. Jesus Padilla is currently being held in the Kettle Moraine Correctional Facility but had previously lived in the Cambria-Friesland area. That’s where the incidents occurred between June and November of 2010, shortly after his release from prison for Repeated Second Degree Sexual Assault of a Child. The 28-year-old raped his girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter, though contact may have dated back to when she was in Kindergarten. According to the criminal complaint, the girl said if she complained or refused, Padilla would slap her on the head. The girl said she was afraid because she did not know if Padilla would hurt her family. He pleaded “no contest” in December to a felony charge of First Degree Sexual Assault of a Child with the Use of Force and had a felony charge of Repeated Sexual Assault dismissed but read into the record. Padilla’s 25 year prison sentence will served after any current sentences and also calls for 15 years of extended supervision.
Apartment Caretaker Sentenced For Embezzlement
2/13/13 – The former caretaker of the Lakeshore Apartment Complex in Beaver Dam was sentenced Wednesday to 100 days in jail for stealing thousands of dollars in rent. John Ranz pled “no contest” to reduced misdemeanor charges of count of Theft of Movable Property. Prosecutors say the 49-year-old collected the rent from tenants in the 88-unit complex last July but only submitted receipts to management, withholding over $6600 in cash. The property managers told investigators that it was not the first time as Ranz previously had $3000 in missing rent payments that he said “fell out of his pants.” Ranz initially told investigators that he used the money to help a friend from losing his home but changed his story and admitted to spending the rent money on alcohol and illegal prescription drugs. He said his drug use had “gotten out of control” in July. Ranz was also placed on probation for two years and will only have to serve 20 days of the 80 jail sentence if he pays restitution in full by October of next year.
Juneau Council Approves Borrowing
2/13/13 – The Juneau Common Council last night approved $1.5 million in new borrowing to pay for street reconstruction. The loan will be paid with revenue from Tax Increment District #2. The reconstruction includes city street projects that fall within the borders of the TIF. The biggest project is the $1.5 million reconstruction of South Mill Street near Sensient Flavors. A grant will cover a half-million dollars of the project while the city-owned utility will pay for another quarter-million dollars; the remainder will be borrowed from the State Trust Fund and the loan repaid with TIF funds. Juneau has a debt capacity of just over $5.2 million dollars and the new borrowing brings the city’s total debt to $3.3 million. Also last night, the council approved refinancing of old debt. Just over $200,000 in borrowed money was refinanced at a lower interest rate saving the city around $20,000. When the plan was unveiled last month, savings were projected at $14,000 but officials moved up the borrowing date and shortened the term of the loan from eleven years to ten.
Website Upgrade Not Happening this Year
2/13/13 – It will be at least one more year before the city of Juneau gets a new and updated website. City officials last night approved roof repairs to the Public Safety Building at a cost of $14,850. The decade-old structure has had leaking issues since it was built and new gutters are being installed to address the issue. The money will come from a website development fund that was included in this year’s budget.
Reaction to President Obama’s Speech Falls Along Party Lines
2/13/13 – The early Wisconsin reaction to President Obama’s State-of-the-Union address fell along party lines, with Democrats praising the speech and Republicans slamming it. The Democrat Obama spelled out an agenda that includes various economic initiatives without expanding the federal deficit. He said cutting the federal deficit is not an economic plan – but Janesville House Republican Paul Ryan disagreed. The House budget chair said Obama quote, “doesn’t fully appreciate the challenge of our national debt and its threat to our economy.” Wisconsin’s newest senator, Democrat Tammy Baldwin, applauded Obama’s plan for investments in job training and advances in manufacturing. The president wants to create 15 manufacturing institutes to stir up new innovations. He also made pitches for new energy research, reducing our dependence on foreign oil – 50-billion dollars for infra-structure repairs – and raising the minimum wage to nine-dollars-an-hour by 2015, with automatic adjustments each year for inflation. Milwaukee House Democrat Gwen Moore supports those measures, plus Obama’s call to return the 34-thousand U-S troops from Afghanistan within a year. Republican Governor Scott Walker said Obama quote, “glossed over the serious fiscal problems … and failed to deliver an honest plan for real reform.”
Crane Back in the Wild
2/13/13 – A Horicon whooping crane is back in the wild, after having one of its toes amputated due to an injury. The baby crane was among a dozen that flew last fall from the Badger State to a pair of refuges in Florida, as part of a 12-year-old effort to boost the population of the endangered bird in the eastern U-S. According to the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, somebody saw a crane limping on the outskirts of North Miami early last month. The bird was captured in late January and taken to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, where veterinarians amputated its right middle toe. The crane was then taken to a national refuge in Meigs County Tennessee to be re-connected with a number of birds, including sandhill cranes. The baby was released last Saturday. The Eastern Partnership said it was the first time in the 12 years of the migration program that an injured bird could re-join other nesting animals after treatment. The whooper was part of a group of six that left Horicon, and flew to a reserve in Florida’s Everglades – the farthest south that Wisconsin cranes had flown in the program. Over 110 cranes still take part in the migration effort. The veterans reach Florida on their own, after being guided in their first years.
