News – November 30, 2011

WBEV Celebrates 60 Years In Beaver Dam

11/30/11 – WBEV is celebrating its 60th Anniversary today. The Beaver Dam-based radio station officially signed on the air at 6am on April 24, 1951. Wisconsin broadcasting pioneer William Walker – who built the first radio stations in Marinette and Wausau – headed a group of stockholders who started WBEV. The original studios where located south of Beaver Dam on County Trunk DE. Operations moved to 109 and-a-half Front Street for a couple years until the summer of 1967, when the station found its way to 100 Stoddart Street, which is where it remains today. In July of 1968, WBEV began to simulcast on 95.3FM. In February of 1973, ownership of WBEV was transferred to a group of investors who included longtime managing owner John Klinger. Three years later, the two stations split and WXRO was born. For 28 years, WBEV’s broadcast day spanned 6am to 6pm but the station converted to full time operation in 1979. That’s when WBEV began to focus on some of the things it is known for today: high school, college and professional sports, election results, weather warnings and up-to-the minute news bulletins. Klinger sold WBEV and WXRO to Craig Karmazin in December of 1997, and they became the first radio stations to become part of the newly-established Good Karma Broadcasting, which has since grown to eleven radio stations in three states.

WBEV was actually not the first radio station in Beaver Dam. Local historian Roger Noll says that honor belongs to Poynette’s WIBU, which built a satellite studio in 1937 so that local businessman I.K Mayr could broadcast the Mayr’s Seed & Feed Show. The agriculture news and business program was transmitted to Poynette over telephone lines until the 1960’s when the studio was closed and the program made the jump over to WBEV. Mayr’s Seed and Feed Show was – at one time – the longest running radio program in the country. Radio station employees past and present will join our longtime listeners and marketing partners during a special 14-and-a-half hour broadcast today from the Bayside Supper Club and all are welcome to attend.

Number of Students Living in Poverty Rises

11/30/11 – Seventeen-percent of Wisconsin school kids were living in poverty last year, up from almost 13-percent in 2007 before the start of the recession. That’s according to new figures released yesterday by the U-S Census Bureau. In Milwaukee, over four of every 10 children age 5-to-17 came from families below the poverty line — which the Census Bureau defines as 22-thousand-314-dollars a year for a family-of-four. But officials say the problem is showing itself for the first time in some of Milwaukee’s suburbs. In Whitefish Bay, the percentage of school kids in poverty almost doubled during the recession to around seven-percent. And it’s over 10-percent in Waukesha, where Superintendent Todd Gray says he’s seeing more kids coming to school with the stress of families in crisis. In Beaver Dam, an estimated 11-percent of students were living in poverty last year. Milwaukee school officials said over two-thousand students were homeless last year — and they expect that number to rise. Kim Kampschroer said the district started collecting socks for kids this year, after more kids started coming to school with bare ankles in cold weather. Julia Isaacs of U-W Madison says poverty normally rises for about a year after unemployment hits its peak in a recession. So she expects the Wisconsin poverty figures for 2011 to keep going up.

Horicon Approves Budget

11/30/11 – The city of Horicon passed their 2012 budget last night but not before several members of the police department spoke during the public hearing in an effort to try and convince the council not to cut one full-time officer position. The total cost of one position is about $85,000, and with significant cuts to state aid and with the city already running a nearly $20,000 deficit, the council said the cuts had to come from somewhere, and said the police department isn’t alone in losing positions. Still, Sergeant Jennifer Anfinson says the cuts to the police department would have the greatest impact on citizens. However, Alderman Steve Neitzel, who heads the finance committee, says they’ve been in discussions with the police union and there is currently a proposal that includes significant concessions that would keep the position in Horicon. Officials

say if an agreement can be reached in the next month the position could be saved. As for the budget, the council approved it on a 5-1 vote. The tax levy increased by less than 1% but officials say they are still waiting on some numbers from the state to determine a mill rate.

Deer Harvest Up Slightly From Last Year

11/30/11 – Wisconsin hunters took slightly more deer in the recent nine-day gun season than they did a year ago. The D-N-R says that just over 226-thousand deer were harvested statewide. That’s a preliminary figure, and it’s almost five-thousand more than last year’s final number. Hunters took home almost 103-thousand bucks, about two-thousand more than a year ago. The antlerless totals were up slightly, from 119-thousand last year to 123-thousand this season. In Dodge County, hunters nabbed 1294 bucks this year, 200 more than last year. The number of antlerless deer in the county was down by 20% over the two-year period, for a total 1561 antlerless, that’s 365 less than last year. The overall harvest in Dodge County was down six-percent to 2855 deer, that’s 185 less than last year. There was a total 4108 deer taken in Columbia County this year, 36 less than last year. Jefferson County hunters bagged 10% less deer for a total of 1886. The Fond du Lac County harvest was up by one-percent over last year to a total of 2290. The take in Washington County was up 8% to just over 1500. Green Lake County was 14% higher at 2854. For the first time in several years, hunters in certain zones no longer had to shoot antlerless deer to earn a trophy buck. The controversial “Earn-a-Buck” program was eliminated by the governor and Legislature. The D-N-R says it will keep gathering more data over the next few months – and this year’s final deer numbers are due out in February.

No Additional Jail Time In Deer Slaughter

11/30/11 – A Waupaca County man who killed another man in a drunken driving crash will not spend additional time behind bars for slaughtering a half-dozen deer with a snowmobile. 27-year-old Rori Kuenzi of Weyauwega was sentenced to 11 years yesterday (Tue), after he pleaded no contest to three felony counts of animal mistreatment. But he’ll serve that term at the same time he’s serving 23 years for striking Kevin McCoy of Waupaca with his pick-up truck in 2004, and dumping McCoy’s body in a ditch before driving off. Circuit Judge Philip Kirk said the deer slaughtering case was more of a sign that Kuenzi has a quote, “socio-pathic personality.” And the judge said he would not punish him a second time for having that personality. Kuenzi was also fined a-thousand-dollars for each of two hunting violations for possessing deer carcasses in a closed season. He and two other defendants tried to claim that the courts could only convict them of either the hunting violations or criminal mistreatment – but the courts rejected that claim. The cases against the other two defendants are still pending. Kuenzi’s brother Robby and Nicholas Hermes are due back in court next month for hearings on the status of their cases. Animal welfare advocates posted a sign at the courthouse door demanding a harsh sentence for Rori Kuenzi – and metal detectors were used on spectators entering the courtroom. The case drew national attention when it happened in January of 2009. The landowner had closed the snowmobile trail where the deer slayings occurred – causing riders in the Fox Valley to go miles out of their way. And state snowmobile groups blasted the slaughtering and defended the integrity of their sport.

Holmen Man Gets 31 Years For OWI Fatality

11/30/11 – A La Crosse County man will spend 31 years in prison for killing a woman and injuring her four friends in a drunken driving crash. Jesse Herrmann of Holmen, who turned 28-years-old on Tuesday, must also spend 40 years under extended supervision and 15 years of probation. Circuit Judge Ramona Gonzalez called Herrmann a “life-long project.” Authorities said Herrmann’s blood alcohol level was point-27 when his pick-up truck rear-ended a car at 70-miles-an-hour on Highway 35 in Onalaska in late June. 23-year-old Theresa Kroes of Onalaska was killed as a passenger, and her four friends in the car were seriously injured. Officers said Hermann tried to run away from the crash scene, but police and patrons from a nearby bar chased him down in a wooded area. He was not supposed to be drinking at the time, because he

was on a federal supervised release for selling meth-amphetamines. Herrmann said he was ashamed he couldn’t remember the crash — and he apologized to Kroes’ family and the other victims. Her father said Kroes had worked for just four days as a school choral teacher in Fond du Lac.

BD Man Gets 3 Years For Child Porn

11/30/11 – A Beaver Dam man will spend three years in prison for possessing child pornography. Brandon Alexander was sentenced Tuesday after previously pleading “no contest” to a pair of felony charges and having five others dismissed but read into the record. The 29-year-old downloaded videos featuring pre-pubescent girls from a file sharing website. Special Agents with the state Justice Department say they were able to use specialized software to identify the digital fingerprint of the illegal video and trace it back to all the users who downloaded the video. Alexander originally told investigators that he accidentally downloaded the videos because he could not tell based on the title alone that the files contained child porn. According to criminal complaint, he later conceded that he knew that terms like “12 y-o” means “12-year-old.” In addition to three years in prison, Alexander was ordered to serve four years of extended supervision followed by four years of probation. He must also register as a sex offender and pay $3500 in fines.

Waupun Teen Sentenced In Assault

11/30/11 – A Waupun teen will spend 30 days in jail for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. 18-year-old Alezander A. Ramirez told investigators he was 16-years-old when the one and only assault occurred but the victim said otherwise. She says Ramirez was 17 at the time, there were two assaults and she did not fight it because he tried to choke her once before. Ramirez pleaded “no contest” Tuesday to Second Degree Sexual Assault of a Child and reduced misdemeanor charges of Fourth Degree Sexual Assault. Because of a deferred prosecution agreement, he could avoid a felony record if he stays out of trouble during his two-year probationary period.

Parents Suing Over 6-Years-Old Sexual Assault Charges

11/30/11 – Grant County’s social services department is being sued over a six year old boy’s game of doctor. The suit accuses the district attorney of going overboard in prosecuting the boy for first-degree sexual assault after his game with two five year olds. The DA is also accused of retaliating against the boy’s parents when he asked for a gag order to keep them from being interviewed about the case. The plaintiffs say the incident should have been handled by the parents.

9-1-1 Recordings Released From Vivid Image Fatality

11/30/11 – Only minutes elapsed between the 911 call a Horicon woman made and the time it took for a Dodge County Sheriff’s deputy to respond to the scene of an industrial accident at Vivid Image in Theresa Monday afternoon. The sheriffs department released the phone call yesterday. Cindy Persha’s 65-year-old husband Thomas and 55-year-old Ramon Torres of Horicon were lying on the floor of a coating room overcome by chemical fumes. After her phone calls were not returned, Cindy told the 911 operator she went down to the plant herself. The chemicals that were found to be involved in the industrial accident include Toluene, Screen Coating Paint and Paraloid. The chemicals were in five-gallon containers that were found tipped over and empty.

Wisconsin & Southern Merging With Kansas Co

11/30/11 – The Wisconsin-and-Southern Railroad is being acquired by a Kansas firm which operates over two dozen short-line railroads. Watco Transportation Services of Pittsburg Kansas is about to acquire a controlling ownership of the Milwaukee-based rail company. The Wisconsin-and-Southern said the acquisition will let it expand its operations throughout the Midwest, develop

new markets, and seek more cost-effective transportation for businesses in the Badger State. The Wisconsin-and-Southern will continue to be based in Milwaukee, and will keep its name and all its operations. William Gardner will stay on as its president. The Wisconsin-and-Southern has about 250 employees, and it runs on over 600 miles of tracks in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. It has terminals at Madison, Janesville, and Horicon, plus a Mississippi River harbor at Prairie du Chien. Watco runs 23 short-line railroads which operate on 37-hundred miles of track in 26 states. It now has over 22-hundred employees.

Legislators Introduce Christmas Tree Bill

11/30/11 – Governor Scott Walker calls it the State Capitol Christmas Tree — and now, a legislator wants to make the name legal. Assembly Republican Jim Steineke of Kaukauna has introduced a resolution to re-name what lawmakers dubbed as the Capitol Holiday Tree in 1985. This year’s version was put up Monday in the Rotunda, and Steineke says it’s a perfect time to call it what it is. Madison’s Freedom from Religion Foundation says calling it a Christmas tree is a rude insult to those who are not Christian. But Steineke says the Capitol displays items from various religions and beliefs — and they don’t require a name change. In early November, the Republican Walker put out a news release which shunned the official title, and called it the Christmas tree. Former Assembly Democrat Marlin Schneider of Wisconsin Rapids got his house to drop the Holiday Tree name in 2007 — but the Senate refused to take it up.