News – September 21, 2019

(Juneau) Dodge County is hiring a firm to begin design work on repurposing the old jail. Angus Young has been selected to lead design plans on repurposing the basement of a 1977 addition to serve as additional storage for the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office. The upper floors will be demolished. A resolution approved by the county board this week transfers $26,400 dollars from the 2019 Physical Facilities budget to the Janesville firm. The county plans on borrowing from the general fund to pay for the projects total cost once it is determined. The construction timeline has not yet been established.

(Waupun) Fire damaged a Waupun home Thursday morning. Crews responded at 12:36am to 117 Bly Street after a neighbor noticed the fire and called 9-1-1. Chief BJ DeMaa says upon arrival, flames were visible coming from a basement window of the two-story home.  Firefighters knocked the blaze down within 30 minutes and remained on scene for around two hours working on overhaul. The home, which is owned by Kevin Lang, sustained significant smoke and fire damage to the basement as well as smoke damage to the other floors of the house. Damage estimates at this time are not known. Two dogs inside at the time were transported to a veterinary clinic for observation. No firefighters were hurt during operations. In total, one person was displaced. The cause remains under investigation and is not considered suspicious at this time.

(Mayville) The city of Mayville is getting closer to joining the Beaver Dam Municipal Court. The Beaver Dam Common Council this week approved a joint operations agreement. When the Mayville Common Council approved the agreement in June, officials outlined several benefits including reduced fines, an additional $5 in revenue for each citation and flexible court schedules. Mayville would be a onetime cost of around $1,500 dollars to purchase needed software with a required $765 per-year maintenance fee. Currently, Mayville’s municipal ordinance and traffic infractions are handled at the Dodge County Circuit Court. The agreement still requires approvals from the other communities that are part of the municipal court along with the chief judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court District. The goal would be to join Beaver Dam’s municipal court sometime early next year.

(Columbus) New road signs could be the solution to a traffic problem on Robbins Road in Columbus.  The council this week heard from Richard Schneider of Capital Bee Supply, who says many drivers, including commercial trucks, mistake Robbins Road as a connecting path back to Highway 60 nearly running off the dead-end road or having to dangerously reverse and back up on the narrow roadway.  Schneider suggests the addition of a dead-end sign and an arrow to indicate that commercial drive circles back to Maple Ave.  The council will vote on the addition of the new signs at their next meeting in October.

(Beaver Dam) There is a new group in Beaver Dam dedicated to highlighting recreational watersport opportunities. Jason Loppnow with the Beaver Paddlers says the group promotes kayaking, canoeing or paddling of any sort on the lake or the river. They are responsible for a weekly paddle report posted to their Facebook page that details water temperatures, water levels, the amount of water flowing through the dam, algae concerns and what paddlers can expect on any given weekend. The Beaver Paddlers have a fundraiser this (Saturday) evening: they will be screening the 1975 classic film “Jaws.” Loppnow says the “cool part is that [the screen] is going to be facing the water” which means it can be viewed by boat, kayak, raft, tube, etc. “Bring your boats or anything that floats,” he says. There is also plenty of room on dry land to watch the movie and Loppnow notes that the peninsula may make an ideal viewing location. The screening is free though donations will be accepted. Jaws gets underway at 7pm tonight at Waterworks Park with concessions available after 5:30pm.