News – November 15, 2011

Final 2011 Badger Honor Flight Very Successful

11/15/11 – It was a final journey of the year for World War II veterans, some from the Beaver Dam-area, who boarded Honor Flight over the weekend for a trip to their memorial in Washington DC. Honor Flight is a nationwide program with local chapters across the country that takes members of our greatest generation to their memorial in the National Mall at no cost to them. Jim Bublitz of Reeseville – who is a volunteer with the Dodge County-wing of the Madison-based chapter, Badger Honor Flight – was a chaperone for Saturday’s mission. Bublitz was a chaperone for a Beaver Dam veteran and he says the group was in awe of the structure. He says there was a lot of tears and a lot of joy as the veterans shared their stories. There were also more people cheering for the veterans after they arrived back at the Dane County Airport than he has ever seen for a welcome home ceremony. Donations are being accepted right now for the spring 2012 flight because Bublitz says they need to plan at least six months ahead. Contact information for Badger Honor Flight can be found at http://www.badgerhonorflight.org/

Recall Effort Begins

11/15/11 – Petition drives began overnight to try and recall Republican Governor Scott Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. United Wisconsin’s Web site — where petitions could be downloaded — was back up early this morning, after the group said it was victimized by a cyber attack yesterday afternoon. The source was unknown, but the group said it reported the attack to the F-B-I and the state attorney general. The State G-O-P said it would not condone efforts by what it called “rogue individuals” to interfere with the recall process. United Wisconsin is the main group that’s organizing the Walker recall on behalf of Democrats, unions, and other supporters. It planned to file paperwork with the state online just after midnight, and on paper this morning. Today, the group plans dozens of recall events around the state. Keith Gilkes said the Walker campaign is fighting back with a T-V ad that will run this week in most of the state outside Milwaukee. Walker told the A-P it’s important for people to hear his quote, “positive vision. The first ad made the case for the law which virtually ended collective bargaining for most public employee unions — the main reason behind the recalls. Only two governors in U-S history were recalled.

The Democratic Party of Dodge County will officially open their headquarters today as the recall attempt begins. The headquarters are located at 116 Monroe Street in Beaver Dam and will be open from 9am to 9pm today. After today, the office will be open Monday through Friday from noon to 8 p-m and from 10 a-m to 6 p-m on the weekend.

Lawmakers Working to Fix Voting District Problems

11/15/11 – Wisconsin lawmakers are fixing a problem with the new Senate and Assembly districts. Starting next fall, a handful of residents in some larger cities will be forced to tell everyone who they’re voting for. That’s because cities must report results by wards — and some wards have only one house after the Republicans re-drew the boundaries. It was reported earlier that three homes in Eau Claire are in that pickle. And so are houses in Sheboygan, Madison, and La Crosse. The Sheboygan County Clerk got Senator Joe Leibham to propose a bill allowing cities with over 35-thousand people to combine wards when they report election results, so everyone’s voting privacy is protected. The Senate has passed the measure, and the Assembly is expected to act on it early next year. Cheryl Brunner of Eau Claire said voter privacy was not an

issue in past years, because lawmakers drew more of their lines to ward boundaries instead of municipal boundaries like they did this year. That left some annexed properties with their own wards.

Operations Committee Approves Business Park Road Plan

11/15/11 – The Beaver Dam Operations Committee laid the groundwork Monday night for getting truck and vehicle traffic into their newest planned business park. The city is in the process of expanding TIF #4 on the north side to include a third business park. The land is bordered by the North Hills Mobile Home Park, Highway W, Hemlock Road and Highway 151 but vehicle access is limited. Kellom Road would be the main entrance but is currently located in the Town of Beaver Dam. Because heavy truck traffic to the proposed business park is expected to cause extensive damage to the road, the city and township are entering into an intergovernmental agreement that would see the city be responsible for road maintenance and snow plowing on Kellom Road between County Highway B and Countryside GM. Mayor Tom Kennedy says the city would not be able to annex the road at this time because it would create islands of township within city limits, namely the Elsser’s Woods subdivision and Beaver Dam Ford. Maintenance costs for Kellom Road would be paid for through TIF District revenues until TIF 4’s expiration in 2020. The Town Board has already approved the intergovernmental agreement and the Common Council will vote on the matter at their meeting next week. In addition to Kellom Road, secondary traffic is anticipated into the business park off County W.

Beaver Dam Soldier Among the Last in Iraq

11/15/11 – The final group of Wisconsin National Guard soldiers who were deployed to Iraq is heading home. About 30 members of the 135th General Aviation Support Battalion in West Bend arrived at the McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst joint base in New Jersey during the weekend. They’re being de-briefed for a few days before they come home to Wisconsin. The soldiers flew medical evacuation missions during their nine months in Iraq. Staff Sergeant Craig Hoffman of Beaver Dam said he and his fellow soldiers were the last ones out of Northern Iraq. Meanwhile, about 130 members of the 11-hundred-57th Transportation Company will head to Kuwait early next year. That unit is based in Oshkosh. They’ll help move equipment out of Iraq in the wake of the December 31st U-S troop withdrawal.

Beaver Dam Man Looking At Life For Underage Assaults

11/15/11 – A Beaver Dam man is accused of carrying on a sexual relationship with girl who is over four years younger than him. 20-year-old Nathaniel Luck is charged with Repeated Sexual Assault of the Same Child, a felony which – if he’s convicted — carries maximum sentence of life in prison and a minimum of 25 years. Luck was allegedly with the girl dozens of times between April and August and may have even violated a court injunction by seeing her earlier this month. The family of the girl, who was 15-years-old when most of the assaults occurred, learned about the relationship from her postings on a social networking website. Luck had a signature bond set at $10,000 yesterday and a preliminary hearing on the calendar next month.

Event Hoping to Help Veterans in Danger of Foreclosure

11/15/11 – Veterans who are risk of losing their homes to foreclosures can get help at an event in Milwaukee today. Staff members from several agencies will be at the Veterans’ Manor to show veterans how to prevent foreclosures, and take advantage of various programs — including those which help the homeless. Similar events have been held elsewhere. Barbara Gilbert of Milwaukee’s V-A Medical Center says the program has kept almost 250 vets from becoming homeless in Milwaukee, Racine, Appleton, and Green Bay.