Local News Wednesday 4/3/13

FDL City Council Race

 

Sam Meyer has been returned to the Fond du Lac City Council after some time off of it. He got the most votes in the 4-way race for three seats on the Council (2,938 votes). Newcomers Catherine Block (2,838) and Dan Manning (2,526) will join him on the Council. Incumbent Rebecca Lunde Ross got the fewest votes in the race (2,069).

 

Incumbents Returned To FDL School Board

 

Incumbent Fond du Lac School Board member Mark Jurgella says it surprised him to learn he received the most votes in the school board race (3,947 votes). Fellow incumbents Elizabeth Hayes (3,829) and Kathy Nagle (3,498) also won reelection to the board. Hayes they’ve been fiscally responsible. Challenger Barbara Kuhls also finished with over 3,000 votes (3,045), but not enough to make it on the board.

 

Oakfield Referendum Fails

 

Voters in the Oakfield School District voted down a referendum asking for permission to exceed revenue caps by $900,000 a year over a three year period. The vote was 552 no votes to 346 yes. Oakfield Schools Superintendent Pam Yoder says they were prepared to come back again in the fall if the referendum failed. The referendum if it succeeded would have begun in the 2014-15 school year.

 

More FDL County Results

 

In North Fond du Lac incumbents Keith King (381 votes) and Tammy Keller (343) won reelection to the Village Board. Challenger James Scharf had the fewest votes (312). In the school board race Ryan Pelot (with 560 votes) and Peter Chisholm (630) finished ahead to George Gabay (244) and Troy Vander Pas (113) to win election to the board.

 

Incumbents Randy Sinotte (168 votes) and Bob Burg (176) were reelected to the Ashford Town Board. Merle Laatsch (332 votes) won another term at Chairman of the Auburn Town Board. Wendy Giese was elected Treasurer of the Town of Byron (with 202 votes).

 

In the Town of Calumet Michael Endries won the Town Chair seat with 233 votes and Kenneth Lefeber (259) and Wilfred Anhalt (235) were elected town supervisors.

 

With 125 votes Russ Ratkowski got enough to take the Oakfield Town Chair seat away from Edward Smith. The closest race of the day was between Jim Walter and Virgil Budde for a Town of Osceola supervisor’s position. Budde got 206 votes and Walter 205.

 

In the Town of Taycheedah Brenda Schneider was reelected clerk with 639 votes and Tim Simon (718 votes) and Clarence Kraus (579) were elected to the Town Board.

 

Dennis Immel was elected Eden Village President with 62 votes. All three incumbents were elected to the Oakfield Village Board Tim Stoppleworth (210 votes), Al Kamenski (196) and Dennis Steinke (208).  Troy Johnson (82 votes), Thomas Tabbert (72) and David Schry (66) were elected to the St. Cloud Village Board.

 

Deceased Candidate Wins Seat

 

Voters in the Town of Byron elected incumbent Supervisor David Whitty even though he passed away before the election. Whitty got 230 votes and write-in candidates including Tom Schumacher who registered as a write-in the day before the election 113 votes. It will be up to the Town Board to decide what to do about the seat.

 

Roggensack Wins Second Term

 

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-State Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack says she hopes to use her next ten-year term to focus more on reaching out to the public and serving the state in a more timely fashion. Roggensack overcame a challenge from Marquette University law professor Ed Fallone in Tuesday’s election. In his concession speech, Fallone called on the justice to work on addressing the dysfunction on the court. Roggensack got 57 percent of the vote across the state. In Fond du Lac County she got nearly 69 percent of vote (9,986 votes to 4,560).

 

Evers Gets Second Term As DPI Chief

 

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-State Superintendent Tony Evers says his overwhelming victory in Tuesday’s election is a clear sign that voters disagreed with many of the alternative approaches to public education that his opponent offered. That includes Republican state Representative Don Pridemore’s proposal to allow armed volunteers to protect public schools. Evers got 61 percent of the vote across the state and 57 percent of the vote in Fond du Lac County (7,826 votes to 5,843).

 

Turnout Lower Than Expected

 

Fond du Lac County Clerk Lisa Freiberg says it was a relatively error free and fast election Tuesday. She says less than 25 percent of registered voters showed up at the polls. She says 14,933 voters cast their ballots. Freiberg had predicted about a 28 percent turnout, Fond du Lac City Clerk Sue Strands a 25 percent turnout and the state’s Government Accountability Board a 20 percent turnout.

 

NFDL Board Approves Contract With Donohue & Associates

 

The North Fond du Lac Village Board Monday approved a two-year contract with a firm that’s trying to help the village find funding for an overpass that would be built over the rail yard. Village Administrator Chuck Hornung says Donohue & Associates is already contracted to design and engineer the project. A grant is paying for that work. Meanwhile they are also looking for funding opportunities for construction of the overpass. He says construction has yet to be approved, but they are still on the lookout for possible funding. Hornung says the 10 percent of the project the Village would pay for wouldn’t cost taxpayers anything because the project is in one of Village’s Tax Incremental Districts.

 

Government Problems

 

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson is inviting residents to share their stories of excessive federal regulation. He is a ranking member on the Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting and Oversight and recently released his first video installment of the Victims of Government project. The first video features the story of Steven Lathrop, a resident of Granite City, Illinois who spent more than 20 years trying to comply with federal wetlands regulations. He bought a dump at the end of his street to try and do something about constant flooding and the Army Corp of Engineers recommended he turn it into a lake. They then told him he couldn’t do that and threatened him with fines and jail time. He says the issue has gone unresolved for years. Johnson and Senator Clair McCaskill sent a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers asking them to clarify the regulations Lathrop has been trying to comply with.  To see the video   

 

Sheboygan Man Gets Prison Time For Burglaries

 

A 35-year-old Sheboygan man was recently sentenced in Sheboygan County Court to 2 years in prison and 3 years of extended supervision for several burglaries. Bret Smith broke into a floral shop several times last summer and fall. He took a laptop, $800 in ash and credit card. Police were able to track the laptop to a Milwaukee address after the person who bought it from Smith logged on. Smith was selling stolen items in Milwaukee to pay for his cocaine habit. 

 

IRS Cracking Down On Identity Theft Of Tax Refunds

 

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-The IRS is expanding a program that could help crack down on cases of identity theft. Recent years have seen the IRS putting a greater focus on tax return fraud, where someone has tried to claim the refund of another taxpayer. Christopher Miller with the IRS in Milwaukee says a new program being rolled out nationwide should improve those efforts. With the consent of taxpayers, the IRS will be able to hand over information to police that could help track down criminals. During the last year, Miller says the IRS was able to prevent over $20 billion in fraudulent refunds from being issued.

 

Spring Fish And Wildlife Hearings Next Monday

 

The state’s Department of Natural Resources has released a video inviting residents to participate in the annual spring fish and wildlife rules hearings next Monday. The DNR and Wisconsin Conservation Congress hold the hearings at locations in all 72 counties. In the video DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp and Conservation Congress Chairman Rob Bohmann says residents input has made a difference at the hearings. All 72 meetings will get underway at 7 p.m. that night. The meeting in Fond du Lac County will be held at the Theisen Middle School in Fond du Lac. For more information click here. For the video click here.

 

Heating Moratorium Ending

 

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) encourages utility customers to stay connected as the heating season comes to an end. The PSC advises consumers to contact their local utility company if they have fallen behind in their utility payments for the 2012-2013 winter season. Utility service may be disconnected on or after April 16th, if energy bills have not been paid or a payment plan has not been arranged with the utility.  PSC rules prohibit utilities from disconnecting consumers between November 1 and April 15 for nonpayment of utility bills due to Wisconsin’s cold climate.