(Juneau) A Fox Lake man was sentenced to life in prison yesterday for murdering his girlfriend and first cousin. In March, Laverne Ware Jr. was convicted on five felony charges including First Degree Intentional Homicide, Hiding a Corpse, Incest and Felon In Possession of a Firearm in connection with the December 2016 death of Sesalie Dixon. The earliest date Ware could petition for extended supervision would be December 4, 2076. On the four other felony counts, Ware was sentenced to 18 years consecutive to the life in prison term, meaning he would still be required to serve that time even if he petitions for release on the December 4, 2076 date. District Attorney Kurt Klomberg said that he is satisfied with the court’s sentence and that he is confident Ware will not be getting out of prison. Ware fired three, nine-millimeter rounds into Dixon’s head on December 3, 2016. Her body was discovered inside Ware’s pickup truck at a home that was purchased by the defendant for his mother.
(Beaver Dam) A Beaver Dam woman accused of assaulting a minor was arraigned yesterday. Jennifer Schmidt pled not guilty to charges of Second Degree Sexual Assault of a Child. The 49-year-old allegedly had inappropriate contact with a 15-year-old on multiple occasions in the past couple months. Schmidt at first denied the accusations but later reportedly admitted to her actions. The criminal complaint suggests that she may be pregnant with the victim’s child. If convicted on all charges, Schmidt is facing up to 120 years behind bars. Bond was reduced yesterday (Friday) from $5,000 cash to a $5,000 signature bond.
(Beaver Dam) The Beaver Dam Common Council will consider giving the city attorney a raise at their meeting Monday night. Maryann Schacht currently receives $7700-per month to provide legal services for the city. With the recent retirement of a long-time department head, Schact is taking on additional human resource responsibilities. She is asking the city for $11-thousand dollars-per month until the end of the year, retroactive to June 1, a budget impact of $23-thousand dollars. Mayor Becky Glewen told us yesterday (Friday) on WBEV’s Community Comment that the plan would then be to reduce the City Attorney’s potion to part-time next year. Glewen says with those savings and other personnel changes – including the reduction of the mayor’s position from full-time to part-time – a full-time City Administrator could be hired and paid-for.
(Columbus) The northbound lanes of Highway 151 in Columbia County were closed down for around two hours this (Friday) afternoon. A truck hauling cattle lost control in a construction zone at mile marker 114, hit wet concrete, spun around and tipped sideways facing oncoming traffic. Columbus Fire Public Information Officer Jerrod Fox says there were no injuries to the driver or the cattle.
(Waupun) Each year, Celebrate Waupun has a big-ticket item that draws people to the free family festival. This year the event has the 9/11 Never Forget Mobile Exhibit. Waupun Festivals President Nick Rusch says the community rallied to pay for the cost of bringing the tribute to the city. It has artifacts and audio recordings from the day the Twin Towers were brought down by terrorists. More information about Celebrate Waupun and a complete schedule for the festival can be found at the Waupun Festivals website, a link can be found with this news story at DailyDodge.com
