Horicon Hires Company For TIF Development Work
4/27/16 – Work is continuing on the City of Horicon’s newest tax incremental financing district. The council voted last night to pay Wood Sewer and Excavating of New London $768,000 to extend sewer and water services from Clinton Street to the recently annexed property on the west side of town and to loop a water main out to Highway E. The bid was the lowest of eight and came in $300,000 below the last estimate. Work should start next month. TIF 5, as it is called, came about when John Deere Horicon Works approached the city last year about expanding. Eighty full-time jobs could be added.
Stretch Of Highway 33 Damaged By Fire To Be Repaired
4/27/16 – A Horicon street damaged by fire will soon be repaired. The city council last night approved the $21,000 cost for a 30-foot stretch of Highway 33 near the city’s downtown that was damaged when a Walmart semi caught fire last May after a fuel leak destroyed one of its tanks. Work should begin next month and includes concrete replacement, landscape repair, and curb and gutter work. The trucking company has already paid the city in full.
Portion Of Horicon Pool To Be Resurfaced
4/27/16 – Horicon’s city pool will be worked on later this year. The council recently approved an ordinance to resurface part of the aquatic center pool. After work was done on one-third of the pool each of the last two years, Mayor Steve Neitzel says this should address the remaining cracks on its surface. He calls the effort an upkeep project to ensure the granular surface on the 20-year-old pool’s floor and walls holds up for years to come. The city will pay T-and-T Pools of Randolph $13,000 to complete the project. Due to scheduling conflicts, Neitzel says the work likely won’t be done until after the pool closes for the 2016 season.
Clean Opinion Of 2015 Juneau 2015 Finances
4/27/16 – The city of Juneau’s audit of its 2015 finances was positive. That’s according to an independent audit of the city’s $9-million dollar budget conducted by Baker Tilly. Carla Gogin of Baker Tilly says the city received a clean opinion. Gogin says the balance of the city’s general fund ended the year at $637-thousand dollars, which is better than projected. The city had planned to dip into its fund balance by $180-thousand dollars but only needed $20-thousand. As far as debt service, Juneau has about $2.8-million dollars in general obligation debt, which is secured by the taxing authority of the city. State statute allows municipalities to borrow up to five-percent of its equalized value. Gogin says the city has used 54-percent of its general obligation debt capacity which she attributes primarily to a pair of Tax Increment Finance Districts that will be fully-paid off in the next three-to-five years.
Columbus Fundraising For Archery Trip To Nationals
4/27/16 – Fifty Columbus middle and high school archers will be joining 14-thousand other students at the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP) Tournament in Louisville next month. Cardinals Unlimited Coach Jenn Parchem says that the four-year-old Columbus Schools’ archery program has been popular and growing due, in part, to safe and well planned training procedures. Parchem said student archers are looking for fundraising support for the three-day trip to the Kentucky Expo Center. The Cardinals Unlimited trip to the 2016 NASP national tournament is scheduled for May 11th through the 13th.
Fire That Destroyed Fond du Lac Bar Intentionally Set
4/27/16 – A fire that destroyed a Fond du Lac bar and restaurant two months ago was set on purpose. That’s what authorities said Tuesday about a February 24th fire at the Wayside Bar. Owner Bob Moses says he’ll reopen the business either at its present spot or another location. State and local authorities say the fire was intentionally set — but for now, they’re not saying how. Fond du Lac Police are still looking for public tips on what happened and why. There’s a five-thousand dollar reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.
Fox Lake Man Facing Vehicular Homicide Charges
4/27/16 – A Fox Lake man has been charged in connection with a fatal accident in 2014. 70-year-old Lee Henricksen is charged with felony Homicide By Negligent Use of a Vehicle along with two counts of Reckless Driving Causing Great Bodily Harm. The accident happened on the afternoon of August 15 on County Highway A, near the intersection with County E. 45-year-old Judith Haddad from Lindenhurst, Illinois and a passenger were traveling southbound when she slowed to turn onto Indian Hills Trail and their vehicle was rear-ended by Henricksen. The impact pushed Haddad into the northbound lane where it struck 31-year-old Jennifer Polenska from Waupun. Polenska and Haddad sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The 9-year-old passenger in the Haddad vehicle died four days later at UW Hospital in Madison. Henricksen was uninjured in the crash. A voluntary blood draw found no alcohol or drugs in his system. Henricksen will make his initial appearance in a Dodge County courtroom next month.
Antigo Prom Shooter Pointed Weapon At Officer
4/27/16 – The Langlade County coroner says the teen who shot two students outside the Antigo High School prom pointed his rifle at the police officer who killed him. Larry Shadick says an autopsy says the injuries to 18-year-old Jakob Wagner show that he was aiming at Antigo officer Andrew Hopfensperger when the patrolman shot back — and it was consistent with the officer’s statement to investigators. Shadick refused to tell the Appleton Post Crescent how many shots the officer fired. He says that and other details are for the State Justice Department to disclose after it completes its investigation into Saturday night’s incident — in which Wagner shot and wounded two students who were leaving the prom, and an officer on patrol reportedly came by and shot him. Hopefensperger and Antigo officer Ryan Bula are both on administrative leave.
Toddler Shoots Mother To Death On Milwaukee Highway
4/27/16 – Reports say a two-year-old boy grabbed a gun in the back seat of a car, and killed his mother who was driving. Media reports indicate that 26-year-old Patrice Price was driving her boyfriend’s car late Tuesday morning on the Highway 175 freeway in Milwaukee, when the boy fired the gun from the back seat. Sheriff’s patrol officers say the woman was shot once in the back, and rescuers tried reviving her with C-P-R but could not do so. Authorities say they were still interviewing witnesses late Tuesday and did not tell how the boy may have found the gun — and deputies did not release names or the child’s relationship to the driver he killed. Price’s father Andre says his daughter’s boyfriend was a security guard who left his work weapon in his vehicle.
Beaver Dam Woman Sentenced For Beating Child
4/27/16 – A Beaver Dam woman pled no contest yesterday to beating a pre-teen child. Sunny Sparks was found guilty on two reduced misdemeanor counts of Battery and Disorderly Conduct. The 39-year-old was drunk when she hit the child multiple times in December, causing bruising. A breath test showed Sparks was over twice the legal limit. Sparks will spend one month in jail. She will avoid prison time if she stays out of trouble during two years on probation.
Woman Sentenced For Smuggling WCI Inmate
4/27/16 – A Coloma woman pled no contest in a Dodge County courtroom yesterday to mailing illegal contraband to an inmate at the Waupun Correctional Institution. Geri Dee Scolman was found guilty on one felony count of Delivering Illegal Articles to an Inmate. The 51-year-old mailed an envelope to the prison in August 2014 that contained electronic devices, chewing tobacco, marijuana, prescription drugs and pornographic magazines. The Department of Corrections had received an email tip that an inmate was getting balloons filled with drugs once a month from his mom. The items were discovered during a routine x-ray inspection. Scolman told investigators that she received the envelope in the mail with instruction to send it to her son and that it was filled with paperwork and books. A prison sentence was withheld. Scolman will spend one week in jail and two years on probation.
State Now Prohibiting Counties From Imposing Moratoriums
4/27/16 – Wisconsin counties can no longer slap local moratoriums on development, under a bill Governor Scott Walker signed into law Tuesday. The measure is designed to prevent blanket bans like the one in Trempealeau County on new frac sand mines in 2013 — and a development ban in Bayfield County designed to stop a large hog farm from being built. Walker also signed a bill that expands the rights of property owners, by prohibiting such things as county regulations on repairs at shoreland properties and municipal bans on transfers of land titles. Walker signed the Republican measures during a ceremony at “J and S” General Contracting at Osceola in northwest Wisconsin.
Walker, Thompson Among Wisconsin’s At-Large Delegates
4/27/16 – Governor Scott Walker, his wife Tonette, and former Governor Tommy Thompson are among 18 at-large delegates who will represent Wisconsin at the Republican National Convention. Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, Attorney General Brad Schimel, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos are also among the at large delegates. State G-O-P chairman Brad Courtney will also join the group, and he says Republicans are “unified, engaged, and excited” to put what they call a “real” leader in the White House. The delegates must vote for Cruz in the first round. They can choose somebody else in later rounds if Cruz releases them, or if he fails to get one third of the vote at the July convention in Cleveland.
Beaver Dam Residents Reminded To Keep Clippings From Street
4/27/16 – The Beaver Dam Department of Public Works is reminding residents and contractors that it is a violation of city ordinance to discharge grass clippings onto public streets. Director Jeremy Klug says the DNR mandates clean gutters because leaves and grass clippings contribute to the degradation of waterways and ultimately the lake. As the lawn debris decomposes, it affects water quality and also clogs storm pipes, which leads to flooding. When mowing near the roadway, Klug says you should direct the chute of the mower away from the road, containing clippings on the lawn. If clippings accidentally end up in the gutter, he says they should be swept up and disposed of. If the city has to clean-up the clippings, it will cost the property owner a minimum of $50. Yard waste can be brought to the Department of Public Works during business hours, Monday through Friday 7am to 3:30pm and now on Saturdays 10am to 2pm.
