Thursday News 5/23/19
23 May 2019 News
Milwaukee Man Sentenced In Dodge County Burglaries
A 37-year-old Milwaukee man was sentenced to ten-and-a-half years in prison this week for his role in a series of residential break-ins around the Dodge County-area. Adam Tibbits pleaded no contest to three felony charges stemming from break-ins that occurred in the spring of 2017. He admitted to investigators that he perpetrated several of the burglaries but maintains he did not commit all of them. In addition to the prison term he was placed on extended supervision for ten-and-a-half years.
Oshkosh School District Considering Closing Smith Elementary
The Oshkosh School Board got an earful last night from parents frustrated with the news that the district is considering closing the 124-year-old Smith Elementary School. Parents were frustrated with how quickly the district rolled out a plan that might actually close the school. As one of the district’s oldest schools it will require $3.7 million in major repairs. That includes upgraded plumbing, new flooring, backup generators, replacing the roof. and more. An information is scheduled at the school tonight at 6 pm. Two more meetings will be held next week.
Dodge County Board Updated
The Dodge County Board received an update this week on the progress of a software change for the Finance Department. The current program, JD Edwards, has been in place since 1997 and was established to bring all financial records into one place. That system is now antiquated and is being updated to Tyler Munis. The program was originally set to go-live on May 1st of this year but was push backed to July 1st and again to January 1st of 2020. Several county board members questioned why the launch date was extended. County Administrator Jim Mielke says the biggest factor was training. Mielke says in order to provide the right amount of training to all who need it the decision was made to extend the go-live date.
New Columbia County District Attorney Appointed
Columbia County may have some issues to sort out with county government, but it has a new District Attorney. Governor Tony Evers Wednesday announced the appointment of Brenda Yaskal. She lives in Portage and had been serving as Sauk County’s assistant corporation counsel. Last month Columbia County District Attorney Tristan Eagon resigned citing a “toxic environment” in Columbia County government. Yaskal will serve the remainder of Eagon’s term, which runs to January of 2021.
County Clerks Oppose Voting Selfies
Social media’s influence recently contributed to a controversy concerning a voting proposal. The proposal would have allowed people to take selfies with their ballot at polling locations. The Wisconsin County Clerks Association is adamantly opposed to that. Fond du Lac County Clerk Lisa Freiberg says we recently saw how a term paper a state supreme court candidate wrote years ago played into that election. She says how you vote when your younger could change in time and taking a selfie with that ballot could prove to be a problem in the future. “Consequences come back to haunt us time and time again and that selfie that sits out there that shows you may have voted a certain party and then later on you change your party preference somehow this background stuff comes back to haunt us.” Freiberg says it’s safer to pose for selfie outside your polling location displaying the “I voted” sticker given out at the polls.
JFC Approves Wage Increase For Prison Workers
The state’s Joint Finance Committee this week approved a 14% increase in starting wages for correctional officers to address the long-running issue of worker shortages in Wisconsin prisons. Bonuses were also approved for employees for longevity of service. State Senator Dan Feyen of Fond du Lac supported the motion to raise starting wages from $16.65 an hour to over $19. Under the initiative senior correctional officers would also experience increased wages by 2021. Feyen says his office is devoted to finding a long-term solution to the worker shortage in our corrections system.
State Budget Survey
State Representative Joan Ballweg of Markesan recently mailed out a survey asking residents of the 41st State Assembly District to weigh-in on the proposed state budget. The states Joint Finance Committee is currently working on that budget. Ballweg says there is room to comment on your reaction to the questions whether you are using the mailing or taking the survey online at her website.(“We have just a few starter questions that are in the budget survey that we sent out to mailboxes. If you don’t want to fill it out and send it in you can go online to my website.” Ballweg says they have a surplus from the last two years and are interested in finding out how residents feel that money should be spent.
Kids On Bicycles
Town of Ripon Police Captain Howard Stibb reminds drivers to be on the lookout for kids on bicycles. He says with weather improving and school getting out soon more children will be pedaling to and from their destinations. “Be aware to school is not going to be in session much you’re going to have kids out on bicycles, even though you watch out for motorcycles, bicycles are going to be out also.” Stibb recommends being more vigilant at intersections. He says kids get excited and don’t always pay attention to their surroundings.
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