“News – April 18, 2011”

Operations Committee To Address Train Derailment

 

4/18/11 – The Beaver Dam Operations Committee will lay the groundwork tonight on needed repairs to a rail line in the city’s industrial park. A train derailment on the city-owned spur behind Animart, off Green Valley Road, last Monday is being blamed on deteriorating track conditions. There were no injuries reported. The Wisconsin & Southern Railroad freight car was carrying frozen vegetables. The city made emergency rail repairs last year and was on the bidding process to make additional repairs this year. The cost to repair is estimated at $50,000. The Operations Committee meets at 6:30pm in the municipal building. The council tonight will be considering a resolution to adopt the city’s borrowing plan for the next two years.  The CIP, or Capital Improvement Plan, includes no borrowing for this year and around $1.6 million next year. That would allow for a new Fire Department pumper truck, reconstruction of Prospect Avenue and the remodeling of city hall after the police department vacates the premises. The Common Council meets at 8pm.

 

Fall River Earth Day Groundbreaking

 

4/18/11 – This year’s Earth Day ceremonies in Fall River will have a “ground breaking” at the site of the proposed central lift station as well as the annual “tree planting.” The Village will be receiving a National award from the USDA for their part in the Fall River / Columbus wastewater treatment “Regionalization” project. State Representative Keith Ripp, State Senator Mark Miller and USDA Deputy Director Jessica Zufolo are all on the 2011 Earth Day program. The program is scheduled for Thursday, April 28.

 

BDAAA Exhibit Features Work of Polly Knoll

 

4/18/11 – The spring exhibit at the Beaver Dam Area Arts Association features the photography of Waupun’s Polly Knoll.  “The Horse in Art” showcases the artwork of regionally and nationally recognized equine artists. Knoll has traveled the world shooting her favorite film subject: Arabian Horses. She recently published a career retrospective. Among the pictures in “Treasurers of a Lifetime” is a photo shoot with the late Patrick Swayze that produced some iconic images. The Beaver Dam Area Arts Association is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 1pm to 4pm. “The Horse In Art” runs through June 5.

 

Local Drug Drops Planned With Nationwide Effort

 

4/18/11 – Some local police departments will be participating in this months “National Take Back Day.” The effort on April 30 is aimed at removing drugs from the streets and promoting the proper disposal of prescription medications. The Horicon Police Department will host the “Take Back” from 9am until noon at the Public Safety Building on Ellison Street.  The Juneau Police Department will host a drug collection that Saturday as well at the police department on East Cross Street from 10am until 2pm. Medications should be brought in their original containers with personal identification removed. Drug take-back programs are intended to reduce the quantity of unused pharmaceuticals entering the water supply, and reducing the amount of drugs available for theft, or accidental poisoning.

 

Kennedy Holds Listening Sessions At Senior Center

 

4/18/11 – Beaver Dam Mayor Tom Kennedy hosts listening sessions at the Beaver Dam Senior Center every third Thursday of the month. Kennedy says the sessions allow him to listen to comments and concerns and address issues of importance to older adults. He will be at the Senior Center from 10am to 11am this Thursday. Kennedy also has listening sessions scheduled for Tuesday at the municipal building. Kennedy says it is important that constituents have the opportunity to speak with him the day after each regular meeting of the common council. Those sessions are held in Room 109 on the first floor of City Hall from 10am until noon and again from 5pm to 6pm.  Kennedy also makes himself available for private meetings by appointment by contacting the mayor office.

 

Gas Prices Close in on $4

 

4/18/11 – Wisconsin gas prices continue to march toward the four-dollar-mark. The Triple-“A” said the average statewide price of unleaded regular was just under 3.90-a-gallon this morning. And Milwaukee Gas Prices-Dot-Com reports an average of 3.98 in the state’s largest metro. Both are just over a penny higher than yesterday.  Gas is $3.85 in Beaver Dam and Waupun this morning and $3.89 in Watertown.  The Triple-“A” said six states were averaging above four-dollars for the cheapest grade of fuel as of this morning – Illinois, Connecticut, New York, California, Alaska, and Hawaii. Washington D-C is also in that group. The national average had gone up for 26 straight days, and was 3.83 as of yesterday – up 29-cents from a month ago. Despite recent drops in fuel consumption, the government expects prices to keep rising as vacationers get ready to hit the road starting in May. The Triple-“A” says Wisconsin’s average price is 21-and-a-half cents below the state’s all-time high of 4.11, set in mid-July of 2008. Gas prices have gone up along with crude oil. Since last September, oil has jumped 48-percent while gas prices rose 42-percent. The price hikes escalated in February when a rebellion in Libya shut down the country’s fuel exports. Crude oil has jumped 30-percent since then – although it did go down for a couple days last week.

 

Young Boy Shot While Hunting

 

4/18/11 – A five-year-old boy was hit by over a dozen shotgun pellets while turkey hunting with his father in Washington County yesterday. The boy is from Slinger. Authorities said he suffered non-life-threatening injuries, despite being shot in the head, chest, arm, and thigh. He was taken to a West Bend hospital and was later transferred to Children’s Hospital near Milwaukee. Washington County sheriff’s officials said the boy was dressed in camouflage – and he was shot by another hunter wearing camouflage. They said neither the boy nor his father knew that other hunters were in the area. And the one who fired the shot thought he was shooting at a turkey. The state D-N-R is helping with the investigation, and officials say all parties are cooperating. The hunter who fired the shot was the one to call 9-1-1. The boy’s father said he felt pellets hit his clothes – but he was not hurt.

 

Wolf Population Over 800

 

4/18/11 – Wisconsin’s wolf population has hit a modern-day record of more than 800. The D-N-R says the number is now between 801-and-858, with a single estimate of around 825. That’s about 100 more than the previous count last year. There are at least 207 wolf packs, including 175 in northern Wisconsin and 32 in central areas. On Friday, the U-S Fish-and-Wildlife Service again asked that the grey wolf be dropped from the endangered species’ list in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. The agency said those populations have grown to the point in which they no longer need federal protections.  But environmental groups disagree – and they’ve convinced judges to restore the endangered status every time it’s been dropped. Meanwhile, the D-N-R says wolves continue to cause more damage in the Badger State. Forty-seven farms had some kind of wolf damage last year, up from 28 in 2009. The state’s damage fund paid out a record 204-thousand dollars in claims – over twice as more than the previous year. Sixteen wolves were killed in 2010 due to concerns for human safety – but once again, there were no actual attacks on people by wolves.