News – May 15, 2016

Several Displaced By Beaver Dam Fire

 

5/15/16 – Fire completely destroyed a two-story, two family home in Beaver Dam Saturday. Crews were called to 709 Beaver Street at 2:29am. Chief Alan Mannel says when units arrived on scene, there was a large volume of fire on the back of the structure. All occupants from both levels were able to make it out safely. No firefighters were injured. The cause of the blaze is under routine investigation by the Beaver Dam Police Department and the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department. The structure and its contents were a total loss. Two vehicles parked nearby sustained minor heat damage.  However, firefighters were able to prevent the flames from extending to adjacent homes.  The structure is owned by Jay Vockroth. The apartment occupants upstairs are Joseph and Sasha Tucker. The first floor occupants are Veronica Rodriguez, Brittany Alford, Kaidyn Alford, Malykie Kircher, and Jaelah Mae Riel. Beaver Dam was assisted on the scene by the Fox Lake and Juneau fire departments. Watertown Fire EMS and Hustisford Fire Department covered the city for Beaver Dam.

 

National Police Week Has Added Significance In Fond du Lac

 

5/15/16 – It’s National Police Week. That has taken on added meaning in Fond du Lac where there have been two officer shootings over the past five years. Police Officer Craig Birkholz was shot and killed five years ago and State Trooper Trevor Casper a year ago protecting residents from shooters. The City Council designated this week as Police Week in a proclamation. Police Chief Bill Lamb says it may only be a piece of paper, but the support represented by proclamation for the men and women of the police department means a lot. A memorial ceremony will be held at Hamilton Park Wednesday at 1pm.

 

Wisconsin Based Store Sees Major Profit Drop

 

5/15/16 – The Wisconsin based Kohl’s Department Store chain saw a big drop in its quarterly profits, as retailers tried bouncing back from a tough holiday season. The Menomonee Falls retailer reports a sales drop of almost four percent and a net income of 17-million dollars from February through April — down from 127-million in the same quarter of 2015. Kohl’s had 64-million dollars of one-time costs that included store closing expenses. When those were taken out, Kohl’s had a net profit of 58-million dollars with earnings of 31 cents per share — down from 63 cents the previous year, and below Wall Street expectations of 34 to 52 cents per share. Kohl’s C-E-O Kevin Mansell says the company had to take some markdowns to get rid of excess product inventories.

 

Nearby Firm Cutting 130 Local Jobs

 

5/15/16 – Joy Global, a Milwaukee firm that makes mining equipment, is cutting 130 jobs in its local welding and heavy fabrication departments. Most of the affected workers have been laid off since October from a plant on Milwaukee’s southwest side. The rest of the facility will stay open. The company says it’s trying to scale back certain departments instead of closing factories altogether, as it responds to product demands amid a large downturn in the mining industry.

 

Waupun Hospital Receives National Distinction

 

5/15/16 – The American Nurses Credentialing Center has given Waupun Memorial Hospital the Pathway to Excellence designation.  That is based on a review process that determines if the hospital’s work environment allows its nurses to flourish.  This is the second year WMH received the honor.  The other was in 2013.  At the time, the Waupun hospital was one of only two in the state to receive the distinction.

 

Walker Calling For Changes To Combat CWD

 

5/15/16 – Governor Scott Walker is calling for several changes in Wisconsin’s plan to combat chronic wasting disease. Walker is calling for a comprehensive study of deer population mechanics, a study on C-W-D’s effects on deer and quicker test results. He also wants more input from hunters and landowners and more frequent deer farm fence inspections. The plan does not include the widespread killing of deer.  Democrats have been pushing Walker to step up efforts to contain the disease after infection rates hit a new high last year. They have called for the D-N-R to launch another attempt to aggressively kill deer to slow the disease’s spread.

 

Lawmakers To Hold Summit On Grey Wolf Management

 

5/15/16 – Two Republican state lawmakers say they’ll host a summit this fall to encourage the federal government to return the management of grey wolves to the states. Hazlehurst Senator Tom Tiffany and Balsam Lake Representative Adam Jarchow say livestock and pets are being killed because of a federal court ruling from 2014 that put wolves back under the federal Endangered Species Act — thus banning the killing of any wolves, even those who kill other animals. The court ruling also ended Wisconsin’s three-year-old wolf hunt. The D-N-R says wolves have killed 14 farm animals and pets so far this year, including a female cow in Shawano County that was about to have her first calf. D-N-R specialist David MacFarland says his agency is doing what it can to prevent wolf attacks — including the use of fences, lights, sounds, and animal guards.

 

Wisconsin Has Large Amount Of Middle Class Residents

 

5/15/16 – Wisconsin now has four of the nation’s ten highest concentrations of middle class residents — and a new study shows those people are not doing as well as they used to. The Pew Research Center says the Wausau metro now has the nation’s largest percentage of middle class residents, with two thirds of adults making middle range incomes — and the study says the lower end of that scale dropped from 45-thousand dollars per year in 1999 for a family of three to almost 42-thousand dollars 15 years later. Janesville-Beloit has the nation’s second highest concentration of middle class residents at 65 percent, with Sheboygan third and Eau Claire ninth. The Pew study says big middle class metros have lots of manufacturing jobs, and U-W analysts say changes in the factory sector may be tied to growing financial insecurity among middle-class households.

 

Dodge County To Sealcoat Ten Highways This Month

 

5/14/16 – The Dodge County Highway Department plans to sealcoat ten highways later this month.  Highway Commissioner Brian Field says the work is done to protect the road’s surface from deteriorating.  Since there will be loose gravel chips on the road during the sealcoating process, drivers are asked to use alternate routes if possible.  The department will sweep the road for paint chips one week after the sealcoating.  Weather permitting, work should begin May 23 through 26 and wrap up by June 13.  The affected highways are: CTH AY from Iron Ridge to STH 33 (Town of Herman), CTH BB bridge over Crawfish River (Town of Portland), CTH BI from CTH I to STH 26 (Town of Burnett), CTH D from railroad tracks east of CTH DE to CTH G (Town of Beaver Dam), CTH G from STH 19 to Reeseville (Towns of Portland and Lowell), CTH JM from STH 26 to CTH M (Town of Emmet), CTH K from CTH KK to the north ½ mile (Town of Lomira), CTH’s E and ME from railroad tracks east of CTH DJ to CTH R (Towns of Emmet, Hustisford, and Lebanon), CTH O from CTH P to the East County Line (Town of Ashippun), and CTH TW from STH 33 to Mayville (Towns of Hubbard and Williamstown).

 

BDACT Holding Auditions This Week For Youth Productions

 

5/15/16 – The Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre is holding auditions this week for their summer musical for elementary school kids. The Children’s Tell-A-Tale Theatre is looking for current third through fifth grades for their production called “Musicville.” Those auditioning should be accompanied by a parent and be prepared to sing a short song and read from the script. Rehearsals will be held weekday afternoons starting June 6 with opening night on July 20. The auditions are tomorrow (Mon) and Wednesday from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the theater building at 219 North Spring Street. Meanwhile, auditions will be held those same days for middle school-age children interested in being part in the summer musical High School Musical Jr. The play – intended for current sixth, seventh and eighth grade students – will be on the stage beginning July 14. The middle school auditions will be held tomorrow and Wednesday afternoon from 3pm to 5pm. A $30 activity fee for both productions covers the rehearsal CD, cast party and a t-shirt. Auditions will be held next week for BDACT’s main stage summer musical “Guys and Dolls.”