Waupun Man Taken Into Custody For Pulling Gun At Hospital
6/2/16 – A 36-year-old Waupun man was taken into custody on Friday after he pulled out a handgun in a hospital. According to a press release from the Waupun Police Department, the man was having suicidal thoughts and revealed the weapon in the Waupun Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Room reception area. Before police arrived, the man’s friend who accompanied him to the hospital was able to get the firearm away from him and gave it to hospital personnel. Police took the suicidal man to a mental health facility.
Two Arrested Following Columbia County Search Warrant
6/2/16 – Two Columbia County residents were arrested after a search warrant was executed at their apartment last Friday. According to a sheriff’s office press release, roughly $25,000 in drugs was found at 818 Cedar Street, Apartment Four, in the Wisconsin Dells. 35-year-old Robert Miller and 28-year-old Jessica Surratt allegedly had 8.5 ounces of crack and powder cocaine in the apartment along with 1.5 ounces of marijuana, various controlled and prescription medications, scales, paraphernalia, and $5,700 cash. Surratt’s two-year-old child was taken from the home by child protective services. Miller and Surratt are both facing a variety of drug related charges as well as child neglect. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office was aided by the Wisconsin Dells Police Department and the county’s Health and Human Services social workers.
Dodge County Courts Piloting
6/2/16 – The Dodge County Clerk of Courts office is the first in the state to require electronic case filings. In March, the Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted a new rule requiring every county in the state to mandate the so-called “eFiling” of documents in civil, family, paternity and small claims cases. Dodge County Clerk of Courts Lynn Hron says officials with the Wisconsin Court System will be in Juneau for the next several weeks monitoring progress. The system went live for the first time yesterday and Hron says there were a few issues identified but overall it is going well. Before yesterday, attorneys in civil, family, paternity and small claims cases did not have to pay anything to file paperwork in-person in Juneau. There was a $5 charge for those who filed under the previous electronic filing system. Both have been replaced with this new system which will cost $20 for attorneys filing in the four case areas; that charge will be waived for governmental units. Hron says the move benefits users of the court system and her judicial staff while saving taxpayer dollars. The new eFiling system allows the filing of documents anytime 24-hours a day, allowing for instant access to case file documents without having to go to the courthouse to view the file. All counties will eventually be phased-in beginning July 1. No word yet from the state on when criminal and traffic cases will required electronic filing. More information is at www.wicourts.gov.
BD Fire Chief Looking To Address Staffing Shortage
6/2/16 – Beaver Dam Fire Chief Alan Mannel says staffing shortages need to eventually be addressed in his department. Mannel told the city’s Police and Fire Commission at their most recent meeting that he is proud of his staff for their hard work but they are getting stretched thin. He says they are “doing a lot more with a lot less…beating up off-duty staff with overtime.” The paychecks are nice at the end of the week but the chief says when you’re using people every day to cover predictable, routine calls staffing issues need to be addressed. Mannel says he understands that city resources are tight but hopes for some relief will be possible in future budget years. He says his staff is bringing up overtime at each shift meeting and the rubber band can only be stretched so far before it snaps. Mannel says if it “wasn’t for the dedication of our people we’d be in some pretty dire straits.” A study presented to city officials last May indicated that overtime costs totaled 143-thousand-dollars in 2014, an increase of $11-thousand dollars from the previous year. One-third of that was the result of fire and EMS calls while about a quarter was the result of staffing shortages due to workman’s comp, medical leave or military leave.
Groundbreaking Nears For Dodge County Dog Park
6/2/16 – Ground should be broken within the next month for a new dog park coming to the area. The Dodge County Humane Society plans to build a 2.5 acre park behind their building on Highway 26 in Juneau. It will have special areas for large and small dogs, agility equipment, walking paths, and picnic shelters. Board President Ryan Vossekuil says they need to demolish their current garage, which is on the dog park grounds, and construct a new one. They also want to place a sign in a visible location that explains the park and shelter are connected. The park could be open by late summer. No word yet on the final cost, but Vossekuil says funds left by longtime Beaver Dam resident Randy Fiegel should cover the construction.
Road Rage Driver Gets Comeuppance
6/2/16 – A road rage suspect has gotten his comeuppance. Dodge County dispatchers received a call from a motorist reporting that he was slowing to avoid hitting geese near the Horicon Marsh when the incident occurred. It happened on Highway 28 at Bay View Road Tuesday evening around 7:30pm. The motorist reported being tailgated and then given an obscene gesture when the road rage suspect passed. Deputies made contact with the registered owner of the car who advised that she would be taking the car away from her 18-year-old grandson for a while.
Sussex Firefighter Gets OWI In Fire Truck
6/2/16 – A firefighter northwest of Milwaukee is suspected of driving a fire truck while drunk, and striking a parked car. Sussex Fire Chief Colin Curtis says it happened during a Memorial Day event, and the State Patrol is investigating. A trooper reportedly smelled alcohol on the firefighter’s breath and he failed field sobriety tests. Curtis tells W-I-S-N T-V that he put the officer on administrative leave as soon as he learned of the incident, and he says the Sussex Fire Department does not “tolerate inappropriate behavior” by any of its members. The State Patrol says the firefighter had an expired driver’s license, and he was booked before being released.
Johnson-Feingold Senate Battle Made Official
6/2/16 – The stage is set for one of the nation’s most watched U-S Senate contests. G-O-P incumbent Ron Johnson and Democrat Russ Feingold filed their nomination papers by yesterday’s deadline. Feingold is trying to win back the Senate seat he held for 18 years before he lost to Johnson as part of a national Republican wave in 2010. Feingold will have a primary challenger in August, Kenosha Democrat Scott Harbach — and Libertarian Phillip Anderson of Fitchburg will also be on the November ballot. More than 360 candidates have filed with the state Government Accountability Board for congressional, state legislative, and county district attorney posts — and hundreds of others have also filed at courthouses for numerous county offices which are up this fall.
Fall Election Papers Submitted Prior To Deadline
6/2/16 – Four Republicans and one Democrat have filed nomination papers for Wisconsin’s only open U-S House seat in this fall’s elections. State Senator Frank Lasee and fellow Republicans Mike Gallagher, Terry McNulty, and Gary Schomburg filed by yesterday’s deadline for the northeast Wisconsin House seat to be given up by G-O-P incumbent Reid Ribble. Three others declared their candidacies but did not file — and the Republican hopefuls will square off in an August 9 primary, with the winner to face Democrat Tom Nelson, the Outagamie County executive, in November. All seven other Wisconsin House incumbents have challengers in August, November, or both. G-O-P House Speaker Paul Ryan of Janesville has six people running against him, including August primary challenger Paul Nehlen — and former state Senate Democrat Gary George of Milwaukee is making his second straight bid for the House seat held by Milwaukee Democrat Gwen Moore.
Two Wisconsin Women Among Nation’s Most Self-Made
6/2/16 – Wisconsin has two of the nation’s three richest self-made women. That’s according to a new survey by Forbes Magazine, which names Diane Hendricks of Beloit’s A-B-C Supply Company as Number One and Judy Faulkner of Epic Systems in Verona at Number three. Forbes says Hendricks, who took over the A-B-C roofing supply giant after her husband died, is worth four-point-nine billion dollars. Oprah Winfrey is second at three-point-one billion, and Faulkner, the founder and C-E-O of a computer equipment firm for electronic health records, is said to be worth two-point-four billion dollars. Both Wisconsin women are also on other Forbes’ lists, as Hendricks is 159th and Faulkner 256th on last year’s ranking of the 400 richest people.
