Fox Lake City Taxes Expected To Increase
11/3/16 – Property taxes are expected to increase slightly in the City of Fox Lake. The $1,660,000 budget would yield a $721,000 tax levy, up $3,000 from the current year. The mill rate of $9.41 per thousand dollars of assessed value would be up nine cents from the number homeowners saw last December, meaning the owner of a $150,000 house would pay an extra $13.50 for the city portion of their tax bill. However, total property values are down roughly $430,000 to $76,600,000. City Administrator Gary Rogers says the tax hike is within the allowable amount to still qualify for the state’s expenditure restraint program, which rewards municipalities that keep spending in check. Rogers says one of the major expenses in this year’s budget is working on a 500-foot stretch of Third Street. He says the city will bring the sewer to a manageable level as it is currently 20 feet deep, making it hard to access for repair work. Rogers says it is roughly a $1,000,000 project, half of which would be covered by a community development block grant that the council officially accepted at its meeting last night. Rogers says the budget also reflects a 1.5% pay increase for all city employees, which nearly offsets the employees’ 2017 health insurance cost increase. The public hearing and final budget vote is set for October 16 at 6:30 pm.
Waterloo Man Among Four Killed In Interstate Wreck
11/3/16 – Waterloo man was among four people killed in a three-vehicle crash caused by an apparently drunk S-U-V driver heading the wrong way on Interstate 94 near Deerfield in Dane County. The State Patrol says the S-U-V was driving erratically about 10:15pm Wednesday night — and as officers tried catching up with the vehicle, it turned around and started driving against the traffic. An officer almost hit the S-U-V head on, and then turned around to stop the motorist — but before that could happen, officials say the S-U-V hit two oncoming cars. Two Milwaukee women, ages 26 and 28, and a 26-year-old Waterloo man died as passengers in the first car that was hit — and a 23-year-old suburban Chicago man who drove the second car also died. Troopers also say the driver of the first car, a 28-year-old man from Whitefish Bay, suffered life threatening injuries and was taken to U-W Hospital in Madison along with the driver who caused the crash, a 32-year-old Waunakee man.
Man Flown To Hospital Following Lomira Tower Mishap
11/3/16 – A 35-year-old man was flown to a Neenah hospital after he fell off a Lomira wind tower on Tuesday. The incident occurred at N12048 West Line Road at 12:15 pm. The man reportedly fell from roughly 50 feet but was wearing a safety harness that slowed the fall. His condition is unknown. No further information was made available.
Born, Zahn Offer Ideas For Job Creation
11/3/16 – The two candidates for Wisconsin’s 39th Assembly District seat both have ideas to spur job creation. Republican incumbent Mark Born of Beaver Dam and Democratic challenger Jim Zahn of rural Juneau recently appeared on WBEV’s Community Comment program. Born, who has served two terms in the state legislature, believes it is important to invest funds, when possible, into statewide programs that have had recent success in creating jobs. Though he cautions creating too many new jobs when there are already many unfilled positions both locally and statewide. Born stresses the importance of getting people into available jobs to grow the economy as they will then become larger consumers. Zahn says it is important for Wisconsin to create its own jobs rather than steal companies from other states. He says just because a business moves over the Wisconsin border, that does not mean the employees will take up residence in the state. Zahn emphasizes the role of entrepreneurship in creating jobs and says the state should consider offering a safety net to banks that provide loans to start-up businesses. The 39th Assembly District represents much of the eastern half of Dodge County along with part of the Hartford area in Washington County.
Ripp, Ferriter On Education Funding
11/3/16 – The candidates for the state Assembly’s 42nd District both count education as a priority but differ on the way tax dollars are being used. Democrat George Ferriter of Doylestown wants to the legislature to reverse course on the state’s parental choice program, which directs taxpayer dollars for students to attend private and parochial school. He is particularly concerned about public education which he says was once a model for other states but has been under threat for the past five years under Republican control of the legislature. Ferriter says public moneys are being drawn away from the public school system and being directed to private, unaccountable voucher schools, a practice he says “needs to be contained.” Republican incumbent Keith Ripp of the Town of Dane supports the voucher program but would like to see improvements. He says the cap that was originally in place for voucher schools should have been maintained to “walk with the program before running with it.” Ripp says though that people want to have a choice and the voucher program needs to be available. The 42nd Assembly District includes most of Columbia County and portions of Marquette, Green Lake, Fond du Lac and Dane counties along with northwestern Dodge County.
Final Marquette Law School Presidential Poll
11/3/16 – Donald Trump’s support has grown a little among his fellow Republican voters in Wisconsin. But a new Marquette Law School poll still shows that one of every five G-O-P voters do not plan to choose their party’s nominee for president on Tuesday. That’s opposed to one of every ten Democrats who won’t vote for Hillary Clinton, and the extra support in her own party is one reason she’s leading in the Badger State by 46-to-40 percent among 12-hundred-55 likely voters. The final Marquette poll before the election shows that Trump still has a 12-percent lead among rural voters, while Clinton has a 27-percent edge in cities and suburbs — but Trump is still not getting the normally strong conservative support in Milwaukee’s suburban areas like Waukesha County.
Not Guilty Plea Entered For Juneau Man On Battery Charge
11/3/16 – A Juneau man accused of trying to stab his brother was arraigned yesterday. Arlington Badder stood mute and the court entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to a felony count of Attempted Aggravated Battery as a repeat offender with a domestic abuse enhancer. The 21-year-old had been living with his brother since being released from the Winnebago Mental Health Facility in March. In April, the brother called police, stating he came home to find Badder drunkenly making suicidal comments. Badder reportedly cut himself and attempted to stab both his brother and the family dog. If he is found guilty, Badder faces up to three years in prison.
FDL Man Pleads Not Guilty To Dodge County Fleeing Charge
11/3/16 – A Fond du Lac man accused of running from police pled not guilty at arraignment yesterday. David Haefner is facing felony counts of Attempting to Flee a Traffic Officer, Possession of THC, Possession of Cocaine, and Possession of Narcotic Drugs along with two misdemeanors. Each of the drug charges are subsequent offenses. The 31-year-old was clocked speeding in the Town of Oak Grove in September. Haefner allegedly sped away, ignoring the lights and sirens of the squad car and blowing a stop sign. Once he stopped the vehicle, Haefner reportedly took off running through yards. Another officer caught Haefner and allegedly found drugs on him as well as paraphernalia in his vehicle. Police detected a smell of marijuana coming from Haefner and say his speech was slurred. Upon arrival at the county jail, officers required a strip search, which reportedly showed Haefner had a pill bottle with five grams of various drugs inside stashed in his underwear. If he is convicted on all charges, Haefner faces over 15 years in prison.
Waupun FD Collecting Food, Money For Pantry
11/3/16 – One local fire station is looking to support its city’s food pantry. The Waupun Fire Department is holding its eighth annual ‘Fill Our Tanks’ food drive tomorrow. Firefighters will collect food and cash donations at both the fire station and the Waupun Piggly Wiggly from 9 am to 1 pm. From 5-8 pm, the firefighters are partnering with Waupun Pizza Ranch for the ‘Change Your Clocks, Change Your Batteries’ event. Anyone who orders a pizza during those hours can have it delivered in a fire truck. While at the house, the firefighters will inspect the smoke detectors and provide up to two free batteries. Since 2009, the event has raised $7,000 and collected over 28,000 pounds of food for the pantry.
UW Working On New Costume Policy
11/3/16 – Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez and Madison community leaders are working on a new policy for allowing costumes and masks at Badger sporting events. That’s after a controversy erupted when a Badger fan wore a mask of President Barack Obama with a noose at last Saturday night’s game against Nebraska — and the university did not remove the fan after he agreed to take the noose off. Michael Johnson, who heads the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County, is among those working on the new policy after he was among the biggest critics of letting the fan stay at the game. Johnson tells W-K-O-W T-V it’s “unacceptable for someone to bring such a thing into a public stadium.” He said it’s possible that a new policy could take effect before the Badgers’ next home again on November 12th against Illinois at Camp Randall Stadium.
