News – March 30, 2016

WCI Inmate Accused Of Trying To Kill Corrections Officer

 

3/30/16 – An inmate at the Waupun Correctional Institution is accused of trying to kill a corrections officer with a weapon.  Bobby Kimble is facing felony charges of Attempted First Degree Intentional Homicide, False Imprisonment, and Battery by Prisoners, all as a repeat offender.  The 46-year-old allegedly waited outside one of the facility’s restrooms for a female corrections officer last October and punched her multiple times.  Kimble then reportedly locked himself in the bathroom with the woman and continued to attack her with a homemade weapon, threatening to kill her.  The officer’s injuries included swelling to the point where she could not see out of her right eye and bruising on the jaw and cheek. Other corrections officers were able to get into the bathroom and subdue Kimble.  He allegedly admitted to the crimes, saying he felt threatened by the way she looked at him over the course of several months.  If Kimball is convicted, the charges carry a combined 72 years in prison.  An additional 14 years could be added on since Kimball was previously convicted on First Degree Sexual Assault charges in Dane County.  An initial appearance is set for May 4.

 

Jail Time For Former Horicon Man Kicked Out Of TAD Program

 

3/30/16 – A former Horicon man will spend six months in Dodge County Jail after his deferred prosecution agreement for a burglary conviction was revoked earlier this year.  Austin Bruhn of Slinger’s participation in the county’s Treatment Alternatives and Diversions program was ended in January after he failed to meet its guidelines.  The 24-year-old pled no contest last year to stealing a laptop computer from a neighbor’s house.  Bruhn would have avoided a felony record if he completed the TAD program, which helps non-violent offenders treat their drug and alcohol addictions.

 

Randolph School District Breaks Ground On $18M Project

 

3/30/16 – Ground was broken yesterday on a project that will make Randolph a single-campus school district.  The $18,200,000 project is almost entirely covered by a $17,600,000 referendum approved last spring.  To allow the high school to accommodate all 540 district students, the project will include the construction of new Pre-K through 5 classrooms, locker room and cafeteria additions, and an expansion of the gymnasium.  Once the additions are complete, the elementary school will be shut down due to concerns over wet rot and mold.  School Board President Keith Medema believes having all students in one building will provide new educational opportunities by allowing the kids to work together.  State Schools Superintendent Tony Evers was at the groundbreaking and is impressed with the district’s ability to bounce back from a failed referendum in 2010.  Evers praises the district’s residents for investing in education.  JP Cullen and Excel Engineering are working on the project, which should be complete by the start of the 2017-18 school year.

 

Green Valley Enterprises Hosting Presentation Tonight

 

3/30/16 – Green Valley Enterprises is inviting the public to a presentation tonight in Beaver Dam that seeks to better integrate persons with disabilities into the community.  The Beaver Dam-based non-profit is a multi-faceted agency that works with hundreds of families throughout Dodge County offering, among other things, prevocational training and other work-related services to those with special needs. Green Valley is hosting tonight’s presentation entitled “Opportunities and Possibilities.” Instructor Joann Lehman says they are looking to integrate people with disabilities into the community more so that people are more comfortable in knowing that everybody has something to contribute. That includes expanding places of employment while also increasing socialization opportunities. Lehman says Green Valley is hoping to attract prospective employers who may be interested in a partnership in addition to the general public; a connection she says is vital to fostering a healthy relationship with the community. The presentation will feature speaker Jayme Memmel, who will share his life journey of turning disability into opportunity, along with a keynote address delivered by Alex Haunty of inspiring-art-by-alex-dot-com (www.inspiringartbyalex.com). Haunty will discuss his fundraising efforts which results in taking persons with disabilities to Broadway plays in Madison. Green Valley Enterprises “Opportunities and Possibilities” free presentation begins at 6:30pm at the Beaver Dam High School Auditorium.

 

County Board Candidates Bennett, Neis Discuss Half-Percent Sales Tax

 

3/30/16 – Two candidates in separate races for Dodge County Board discussed the counties half-percent sales tax when they were our guests yesterday on WBEV’s Community Comment. Richard Bennett is challenging incumbent Randy Grebel for the District Seven seat which represents portions of the cities of Horicon and Mayville and the towns of Burnett, Hubbard, Oak Grove and Williamstown. Grebel declined our invitation to be interviewed. Bennett says he believes the county’s half-percent sales tax should be directed solely to maintaining county roadways unless a city road that have been impacted by a detour from a county reconstruction project. Meanwhile in District Four, Jerry Neis (nice) is challenging incumbent Ed Nelson for a supervisory seat representing the Town of Westford and a portion of the Village of Randolph. Nelson declined our invitation to be interviewed. Neis says he would like to see the half-percent sales tax come to an end. He says in the interest of fairness the tax should be eliminated. Neis says that only eight counties in the state have a half-percent sales tax and he would like to see the matter go to the voters in referendum form. Dodge County has had a half-percent sales tax in place for over two decades. It was originally put in place for building improvements. When the tax was due to sunset, the county board voted to keep it in place indefinitely and broaden it its use. The sales tax is projected to bring in an estimated $5.9-million in revenue this year.

 

Columbus Aldermanic Candidates Forum Tonight

 

3/30/16 – Columbus city council candidates will appear at public forum tonight. J. D. Milburn and Andy Traxler are competing for the District Three seat being vacated by Michael Clark. Also at the event are Rick Royem and Regan Rule who are running unopposed in District One. The Columbus / Fall River Rotary is hosting the forum which begins tonight at 7pm at City Hall.

 

Two Beaver Dam Incumbents To Run As Write-Ins

 

3/30/16 – There are two incumbents running as write-ins for Beaver Dam Common Council next Tuesday. In Ward Six, incumbent Teresa Hiles-Olson has registered to run as a write-in. The only candidate on the ballot will be Ken Anderson. Incumbent alderman Mick McConaghy has filed the necessary paperwork to run as a registered write-in candidate. Becky Glewen had been running unopposed for the Ward Eight seat.

 

Beaver Dam-Area County Board Candidates To Appear On WBEV

 

3/30/16 – The two candidates vying for a Beaver Dam-area seat on the Dodge County Board will join us this afternoon on WBEV’s Community Comment. Becky Glewen is challenging incumbent Rodger Mattson for the District 33 seat, which is comprised of wards four, eight and ten in the city of Beaver Dam. The two will be on to discuss the issues this afternoon on AM1430 beginning at 12:35pm.

 

Trump Says Race Is Over If He Wins Wisconsin

 

3/30/16 – Front-runner Donald Trump says the G-O-P race for the White House will be “pretty much over” if he wins the Wisconsin primary next Tuesday. Trump told one-thousand supporters in Janesville yesterday (Tuesday) he expects to win in the Badger State — and he also cut down Governor Scott Walker, saying the state’s economy is not performing well, and that Walker left the Republican presidential race “in disgrace” last year. Police say about one-thousand Trump supporters and opponents were generally peaceful — but a 15-year-old girl was groped and pepper-sprayed, a 19-year-old woman was also hit by the spray, and two suspects were being sought for that. Meanwhile, Trump’s two G-O-P opponents also campaigned in the state yesterday (Tuesday). Ted Cruz called the arrest of Trump’s campaign manager for grabbing a reporter’s arm in Florida a “sad development,” while candidate John Kasich said he would have fired the aide.

 

Clinton, Sanders Rally State Democratic Supporters

 

3/30/16 – Democrat Hillary Clinton vows to fight for economic “justice” and opportunity for the middle class, and says she’s the most experienced White House candidate to take on terrorists. That’s just some of what she told a crowd in Green Bay yesterday (Tuesday), as both Clinton and her primary opponent Bernie Sanders rallied supporters in both the Fox Valley and Milwaukee in advance of next Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary. Sanders took an Appleton crowd he would challenge Wisconsin’s voter I-D law, calling it “un-American.” At Milwaukee, Sanders fired up a State Fair Park crowd by saying he’s most electable and slamming Clinton for supporting trade deals that sent jobs overseas, among other things. Clinton led a forum at a Milwaukee church on preventing gun violence.