News 02.14.18
14 February 2018 News
The Waupun mayor says starting next week towers at the Waupun prison will no longer be staffed overnight. Mayor Julie Nickel says she has voiced her displeasure of this idea from the beginning and is concerned about the safety of the community. Nickel says its also her understanding the electronic fence installed around the perimeter of the institution is still malfunctioning at times. City staff was notified by Waupun prison warden Brian Foster that beginning Monday the towers will no longer have an officer in them from 10pm to 6am.
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An elderly Waupun woman is arrested following a hit and run crash. Waupun Deputy Police Chief, Jeremy Rasch says the 88 year old woman struck a parked vehicle in the 100 block of East Jefferson Street Friday afternoon and left the scene. Rasch says the incident raises the question about whether the woman should have a drivers license in the first place. The woman was cited for failure to keep her vehicle under control. Rasch says on Saturday a 28 year old Waupun man was arrested for his second OWI and Operating After Revocation. Rasch says it turns out the man had 15 prior citations for Operating After Revocation and also had an active warrant for Issuing Worthless Checks.
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The state Assembly crafts a bill that calls for closing Wisconsin’s troubled youth prison and moving its inmates into new state and county facilities. Republican Speaker Robin Vos introduced the bill Tuesday at a news conference flanked by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. The measure calls for closing the existing prison in Irma by mid-2020. Federal investigators have spent the last three years probing allegations of guards abusing inmates at the facility. Serious offenders would move to new or existing state facilities. Counties would house the rest in new or retrofitted facilities. Counties could apply for state grants to help with construction. The bill’s fate is unclear. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says passing the measure would be a “heavy lift” before the legislative session ends in March.
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The Legislature’s budget committee unanimously passes Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to invest $50 million a year in rural economic development projects. The Joint Finance Committee voted 16-0 on Tuesday to pass the bill. The full Legislature could approve it as soon as next week. The money would only be available to the 56 most rural counties in the state. Counties or groups of counties could come together to apply for grants for revolving loans under the programs. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation would be in charge of distributing the money. The bill calls for it to give priority to underserved communities in rural Wisconsin.
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