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Landfill Owner Facing Large Fines

5/17/13 - The operator of a Town of Lowell landfill has been ordered to pay $70,000 for violating the state’s environmental laws. The Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday that it has obtained a judgment against Carl Schmitt and Schmitt Challenges Incorporated for violating solid waste, open burning, landfill monitoring and wetland laws. According to the complaint, Schmitt Challenges collected garbage without a license, then burned the trash in an on-site concrete bunker in violation of open burning laws.  In addition, Schmitt dumped fill material into a wetland without approval from the Department of Natural Resources. Schmitt also failed to conduct groundwater sampling as prescribed by law and also failed to properly maintain the groundwater monitoring wells. Schmitt agreed to stop collecting garbage without a permit; restore the wetland area; bring groundwater monitoring wells into compliance; and conduct groundwater sampling. To ensure future compliance, Carl Schmitt agreed to pay future forfeitures of $10,000 for each failure to conduct groundwater sampling.  Schmitt Challenges agreed to pay future forfeitures of $20,000 each time solid waste is burned on the property.

Gas Prices Up

Gas prices in Beaver Dam are 25-cents higher this morning than at this time in 2012. A gallon of unleaded regular was going for $3.58 on this day last year – this morning it’s $3.83 and some locations in the city are charging as much as $3.89. It’s $3.83 in Horicon and Waupun. Statewide the average is $3.89 – 12-cents higher than last week 25-cent higher than last year. The high price in the state is $4.29 in Osceola. The low price is $3.65 in Middleton. Nationally, a gallon of gas is averaging $3.64.

Fire at Phoenix Coaters

5/17/113 - The Beaver Dam Fire Department responded to a dumpster fire last night inside Phoenix Coaters. Firefighters were called to the company at 210 Corporate Drive just after 6:30pm. Flames were visible when crews arrived on scene. The fire was contained to the dumpster but the facility filled with smoke and was ventilated. The dumpster was taken outside. Firefighters were one scene for about an hour but were called back at 9pm to extinguish a flare-up. Phoenix Coaters is an industrial paint factory and the dumpster contained paint filters. It is unknown how the fire was sparked. There were no injuries.

Cause of Large Wildfire Identified

Smoke from logging equipment caused this week’s massive wildfire in far northwest Wisconsin. The D-N-R said yesterday that a contractor was cutting logs on private industrial forest land near Simms Lake in Douglas County when the operator of a large wood-cutter saw smoke and tried putting it out. It was almost extinguished when flames suddenly jumped 40 yards into a group of trees, and it spread quickly from there. Officials called the fire an accident, and prosecutors said they would not file charges. It’s still not known whether the machine burned, or whether it created sparks. The number of burned acres was downgraded yesterday from just over nine-thousand to 81-hundred-31 in Douglas and Bayfield counties. Governor Scott Walker toured the damage, and assured affected landowners that the state would help them recover and rebuild. Seventeen homes and 30 other structures were destroyed. No one was hurt. The blaze is contained, but fire-fighters continue to attack hot spots. All evacuated residents have been allowed to return. All roads that were closed have since re-opened. The D-N-R said the blaze was one of 60 wildfires this week, as field conditions became extremely dry. All burning permits have been suspended statewide, until further notice.

High-Speed Chase Leads to Charges

A 60-year-old Greenfield man who left Dodge County early Tuesday morning driving more than 90 miles per hour is facing an eluding charge for a subsequent high speed chase with Washington County Sheriff’s Deputies. Jeffrey Reichert allegedly reached speeds of more than 100 miles an hour before for road spikes ended the chase. He could also be facing a drunken driving charge for the Highway 41 chase. He’s back in court next Wednesday for a preliminary hearing. (KFIZ)

Community Build Day for Waterworks Park Project

5/17/13 - Today is the big day for organizers building Dodge County’s only playground for children of all abilities. Officials with the Waterworks Park Project are asking for the community’s help in putting the new playground equipment together. The non-profit was launched last year with the mission of raising $300,000 to construct the playground on Beaver Dam’s lakefront. Phase One includes all playground equipment and rubberized flooring while Phase Two is to be addressed at a later date this summer. Tanya Ferron-Kircher says having the community assemble the play structure will keep costs down. A number of people have already volunteered to be part of the community build today, tomorrow and Monday but she says no one will be turned away. It will still be a few weeks before park is ready as concrete still needs to be poured, the rubberized flooring needs to be installed and the swings to be hung. They plan on having a Grand Opening for the park by the last day of school Wednesday, June 5. Designs for the park were drawn with input from the community and include a tall pirate ship tower with swing set and slides accessible by foot, wheelchair or walker. All skill sets are needed today and tomorrow from 7am and 7pm and strong backs are especially needed on Monday when the focus shifts to concrete. More information is on the Waterworks Park Project Facebook page or look for contact information on our website wbevradio.com. www.waterworksparkproject.org

waterworksparkproject@gmail.com

Group Working to Bring Large Murals to Beaver Dam

5/17/13 - Downtown Beaver Dam Incorporated is working with an international group of artists to bring large murals to the city. Downtown Beaver Dam’s Karla Jensen says the board voted to bring in Walldogs, a mural painting collective of as many as a hundred artists who descend upon a community and paint a dozen-or-so murals. Jensen says they are talking about maybe a half dozen murals for Beaver Dam. The plans have been fueled by a trip last fall to the nearby Walldogs community of Plymouth. She says they were amazed and the downtown group immediately realized it was something Beaver Dam could use.  In January, Walldogs representatives came to Beaver Dam to interview the Downtown Beaver Dam Inc. group and  she says they were impressed by the established Arts Association, which Jensen also heads, and determined it would be a great community for them. There is a waiting list though and Beaver Dam is tabbed for a 2017 mural festival. We may not have to wait that long to get our first glimpse of the project as a preview mural will be designed and painted this summer as part of a collaboration between local artists and the Walldogs organization. Jensen says the designs would likely incorporate Beaver Dam’s history like the Monarch Range or the Weyco Shoe Factory logo’s.

State Added More Than 62,000 Jobs

5/17/13 - State officials say that Wisconsin added over 32-thousand private sector jobs in 2012, and over 62-thousand in the first two years of Governor Scott Walker’s term. The data was submitted to the federal government for a national quarterly report on job trends. State Workforce Development Secretary Reggie Newson says Wisconsin had the biggest two-year increase in jobs in over a decade. State Senator Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau says that along with other economic indicators the numbers “are proof that our reforms are working and people are going back to work in Wisconsin.” However, the last national quarterly report showed that most other states were creating jobs at a much faster pace. Wisconsin ranked 44th among the 50 states in the increase of jobs created between September of 2011 and September of last year. At the halfway point of his term, Walker has created about a quarter of the 250-thousand jobs the governor promised to create when he first ran for election in 2010.

House Numbers Could Be Required in Fox Lake

5/17/13 - It could soon become a requirement to have your street number displayed on your home in Fox Lake. Citing safety concerns the city council is discussing an ordinance that would make property owners put numbers up that are no smaller than 3-inches tall. Officials said there are currently 140-homes in the city that don’t have numbers at all and emergency responders say that could be a recipe for disaster. The council will discuss the issue again next month.

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