Stop Heroin Now Rally On Saturday
9/8/15 – A group that is focused on putting an end to the growing problem of opiate abuse is holding an event this weekend meant to bring awareness to the issue. Jessica Geschke is the vice president “Stop Heroin Now,” and the group is holding a rally Saturday at Tower Lanes in Beaver Dam. Geschke says the purpose of the rally is to educate the public and hopefully remove the stigma of the drug, which she notes affects human beings who are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, family and friends. The event is also meant bring people together to build a strong network that could help bridge the gap between pre-and-post treatment. The Dodge County Stop Heroin Rally on Saturday will also feature a number of informational booths with representatives from local support groups for those struggling with addiction and their families. Speakers include former addicts, family members of loved ones lost to heroin, recovery coaches, state legislators and the Dodge County District Attorney. The rally runs from 10am until 3pm.
Parents Who Host Alcoholic Parties For Kids Face Huge Fines
9/8/15 – “Parents who Host, Lose the Most” is a campaign that is known throughout the country. It encourages parents to not allow their underage children to have drinking parties in their home. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt, who addressed the topic in his monthly ‘Sheriff’s Column’ article for September, says alcohol can have a number of negative effects on a child including: getting into a car accident if they drive drunk, drug use and a lower academic performance. On top of having negative effects on the children, the sheriff says parents can face some stiff penalties. According to Schmidt, insurance companies usually don’t cover civil liability costs that can legally be brought against the parent since the charges are the result of illegal activity. He says a fine of $389 for a first offense and up to $1,082 for a fourth offense can be issued for both hosting a party and providing the alcohol. Schmidt says those fines are not flat costs but rather can be multiplied by the number of minors present.
Talks Ongoing About Bringing Hospice Home To Beaver Dam
9/8/15 – After 27 years of hospice care programs in Beaver Dam, there are talks about a hospice house coming to the area. During a recent appearance on WBEV’s Community Comment, Beaver Dam Community Hospital’s Hospice Director Lisa White says her department would like to see an onsite care facility for end-of-life patients in Dodge County since the closest ones are currently in Madison, West Bend, Fond du Lac, and Oconomowoc. White says family members often spend countless hours caring for their loved one when that person is still at home. She wants to see the burden of caring for the person taken away from families so they can enjoy the remaining time with their loved one. According to White, patients without family members would benefit from having people who could tend for them and those with few family members around would get more comprehensive care. White says no location has been selected for a hospice house. Even if it does become a reality, White says her department would still keep the at home care option for patients.
Randolph Residents Have Until Tomorrow To Comment On Waste Upgrades
9/8/15 – Wednesday is the deadline for Randolph residents to comment on a plan to improve the village’s wastewater treatment plant. Those improvements could make the average residential cost jump from $21.55 per month to $33 to $40. Randolph is asking the Department of Natural Resources to approve roughly $3,250,000 in projects including upgrades to the aeration system, upgrades to the collection system, and replacing the influent pumping. Randolph hopes to finance the project through the Clean Water Fund loan program and wants additional funding from a Community Development Block Grant. While the plant should be able to treat all of the village’s waste for the next 20 years, officials say a lot of the equipment needs to be replaced.
Manpower: Job Outlook Healthy
9/8/15 – Wisconsin’s job outlook remains healthy for the rest of the year, and about average for the nation as a whole. The Milwaukee-based Manpower Incorporated says 22-percent of Wisconsin employers plan to add staffers from October-through-December, while seven-percent expect layoffs. Manpower subtracts the two figures to create a “net employment outlook” of 15-percent. That’s lower than the national seasonally-adjusted outlook of 18-percent. Manpower C-E-O Jonas Prising says the U-S labor market continues to show stable growth, with hiring prospects at a seven-year high. However, he says more employers still have trouble finding skilled workers — and a relatively-low participation rate in the labor force is not helping. Wisconsin’s projected employment outlook is one-percent lower than a year ago, and six-percent less than the current quarter.
Hillary Clinton In Milwaukee On Thursday
9/8/15 – Democrat Hillary Clinton will highlight women’s issues when she speaks at U-W Milwaukee on Thursday. Her presidential campaign says she’ll discuss her record of supporting women and families. Clinton has said she favors affordable birth control, and protecting federal funds for Planned Parenthood. She also favors equal pay for women, and ensuring that all workers can get paid family-and-medical leave. Clinton will appear at a grass-roots organizing event put on by the group “Women for Hillary.” It starts at 5:30 Thursday afternoon at Spaights Plaza on the U-W-M campus.
Flash Flood Warnings Issued In West Central Wisconsin
9/8/15 – The National Weather Service has issued new flash flood warnings for parts of west central Wisconsin, where 6-to-8 inches of rain caused heavy flooding since Sunday. One-to-two more inches of rain are predicted for this morning in the region. That spurred new flood warnings until ten a-m for parts of Buffalo, Trempealeau, and Jackson counties. Ten western Wisconsin counties have flood watches at least until late morning. The Black River at Black River Falls has a flood warning until at least tonight. Some people were trapped yesterday by flooded-out roads in Jackson and Clark counties. Water levels are dropping on the Buffalo River, where the Strum Dam breached on Labor Day. Officials say the dam appears stable, but the damage won’t be known until the flood waters recede. Despite the weather, the region’s major electric utility reports only a couple of customers without power this morning. Media reports say a couple-thousand customers were in the dark yesterday in downtown Eau Claire.
