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3/11/2010
Candidates for Eau Claire City Council are voicing support for a downtown jail expansion.
At a candidate forum Thursday night, the 7 candidates participating were asked where a new jail should be built, and if they would vote to approve zoning for downtown expansion if that's where the county decides it should be. incumbent Larry Balow said final result will depend on an advisory referendum and the county board and city council elections April 6th, but he would vote to move the project forward.
"After we go through the referendum and the county board makes a decision, if the decision is downtown, out of town, or on the moon, I will vote to rezone that," Balow said.
Incumbent Jackie Pavelski supported the downtown plan last spring. She said she'd be extremely sensitive to the results of the referendum, but if the proposal is much the same as last year, chances are she'd vote the same way.
Incumbent Thomas Vue helped vote down the downtown jail last year, but now says that seems like the logical choice, though he has no problem with either plan.
"I'm pretty much neutral," Vue said.
Challenger Allen Myren supports keeping the jail downtown for economic ...
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3/11/2010
The Eau Claire Police Department has arrested a Lake Hallie man in connection with the theft of gold from Hutchinson Technologies. The Police press release says they learned from the Department of Natural Resources that they had contacted 21 year old Matthew R. Hagen regarding violations of dumping hazardous waste in the Eau Claire County Forest. The initial investigation by the Department of Natural Resources revealed that Mr. Hagen had been using an acid process to remove trace amounts of gold from components that he illegally took from Hutchinson Technology, where he worked. This process involved Nitric Acid and was being conducted in the Eau Claire County Forest. The acid used in the process was subsequently being illegally dumped in the forest by Hagen. The Department of Natural Resources contacted the Eau Claire Police Department and a search warrant was executed at Hagen's residence regarding the stolen computer components. During the execution of the search warrant, Detectives recovered numerous components that were gold plated and were stolen from Hutchinson Technology Inc. The value of the stolen items was estimated to be $50,000. Hagen was arrested for Felony Theft and appeared in court Thursday. He was released from custody on a ...
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3/11/2010
A man suspected of growing 170 marijuana plants in his Eau Claire home pleaded not guilty in court Thursday. WEAU 13 News reports 24 year old Daniel Vidaillet faces six charges including possession of cocaine and possession of electric weapon. Last March, an investigation led officers to a drug house on County Road II and Lowes Creek Road. Investigators say they collected around 170 marijuana plants and other growing paraphernalia from the home south of Eau Claire. They say Vidaillet rented the home solely to grow pot.
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3/11/2010
Area law enforcement agencies will be using grant money to step up seat belt enforcement starting today. Dunn County has received a 16,000 dollar grant from the State Bureau of Transportation Safety, and Chippewa County has received 25,000 dollars. Dunn County Sheriff Dennis Smith says if drivers aren't wearing seat belts, they will be stopped and ticketed. Authorities say they will be especially visible next Wednesday for St. Patrick's Day. The stepped up patrols will continue through March 21.
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3/11/2010
U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is behind an effort to reclaim millions of dollars in unspent transportation funding. The Democrat is offering an amendment to an aviation bill in the Senate that would reclaim money that was set aside for transportation projects that haven’t moved in years. Feingold says the plan could help return at least 626 million dollars and could be used to help pay off the national debt. The proposal would target transportation earmarks no less than ten years old where at least 90 percent of the funding remains. Feingold says it makes no sense to leave that money sitting around where it isn’t helping anyone get back to work.
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3/11/2010
Over 500 figure skaters from Minnesota and Wisconsin are in town this weekend for the Eau Claire Figure Skating Club Skating Championships. The newly renovated Hobbs Ice Arena will host the event, which kicks off Friday afternoon at 2:00. Interest is high following the recent Olympic games in Vancouver, which featured a number of Wisconsin athletes. Events include Synchronized Team Skating, which is expected to become an Olympic event. In addition to Friday's events, the competition runs Saturday from 8 am to 7 pm and Sunday from 9 am to 12:30. Admission is free Friday and Saturday, and 2 dollars for adults Sunday.
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3/11/2010
The Eau Claire Sheriff's Department is now offering non-fatal accident reports online. The Department says this will save the public time and money since they won't have to go to the Sheriff's Office. Cost of the online service is 7 dollars. They say reports will be available online around the clock.
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3/11/2010
Even with a net gain of 5,600 jobs in January, the state unemployment rate went up slightly from 8.5 to 8.7 percent. State Department of Workforce Development Director Roberta Gassman said many of those jobs gained were in manufacturing and health care. This marked the first month of job gains since October 2009. A year ago the unemployment rate in the Badger State was 7.1 percent. The national unemployment rate for january dipped slightly from 10 percent to 9.7 percent, a year ago it was at 7.7 percent.
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3/11/2010
The Clark County Forest and Parks Department says the Bruce Mound Winter Sports Area is now closed for the season. It's because of recent persistent rains and the lack of overnight freezing temperatures.
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3/11/2010
Wisconsin’s beer makers want to buy their hops closer to home. And the UW Extension will hold a workshop this month to show local farmers how it’s done. It’s set for March 27th in Black River Falls. Wisconsin has over 60 breweries – and they generally must look to the Pacific Northwest to buy the hops that determine the smoothness or bitterness of a beer’s flavor. James Altweis, whose company grows hops in Menomonie, said there’s been a distribution nightmare the past couple of years. He said brewers had to pay 22 dollars a pound for poor quality hops that netted growers just three dollars. Altweis says brewers are willing to pay a steady 12 to 15 dollars for a high quality product. He says it takes a lot of work, but farmers could get up to 10 thousand dollars an acre. Altweis says it would take about 36 hundred acres to provide enough hops for 400 small brewers in the Upper Midwest.
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3/11/2010
From News Release: On Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Danny E. Davis, 28 years old, was arrested and confessed to approximately 13 residential burglaries that occurred in the City of Eau Claire and Eau Claire County.
On Wednesday, March 10 at 12:54 P.M. Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to an address on Oak Knoll Road regarding a complaint of a suspicious person. While en-route, deputies were advised that a white male driving a red Pontiac Grand Am was at a residence walking around and looking in windows. This male subject fled the area when the complainant called police.
This subject was observed driving westbound on US HWY 12 just west of Elco Road by an Eau Claire County Deputy. The Deputy activated his emergency lights and pursued the vehicle which sped up and fled into the J&D Manufacturing parking lot. The operator, Danny Davis, fled on foot but was apprehended by the ECSO Deputy.
Davis was transported to the Eau Claire County Jail, and a subsequent search of his vehicle produced numerous coins, currency, and containers filled with change. Numerous residential burglaries have recently occurred in the City of Eau Claire and in Eau Claire County where change was ...
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3/11/2010
An Eau Claire home improvement chain founder is again on Forbes magazine's list of the world's richest people. John Menard made number 136 on the list this year, with an estimated net worth of 5 and a half billion dollars, which ties him with Apple Computers founder Steve Jobs. There's been a change at the top of the list this year. Microsoft founder Bill Gates fell to second place, behind Mexican mobile phone tycoon Carlos Slim Helu.
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3/11/2010
The Eau Claire County Parks & Forest Department announces that all single-track mountain bike/snowshoe (named) trails at Lowes Creek County Park are closed to all uses due to soft ground. Soft ground makes the soil more prone to erosion with continued use at this time. The single-track bike trails are the narrower (named) trails that include snowshoe trails, mountain bike, and hiking trails (other than the ski trails). The wider (numbered) trails that were groomed for cross-country skiing will remain open for hiking, mountain biking, and pet walking at this time.
The single-track (named) trails will remain closed to all uses until further notice. The department will announce when the trails will reopen after conditions dry out.
Pets must be kept on a leash no longer than 8 feet and under the owners control at all times.
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3/11/2010
From News Release:
Eau Claire, Wis. – Late last week, faculty at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire filed a petition with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) requesting an election for union representation through AFT-Wisconsin.
As required by state law, members of the faculty union organizing committee collected cards signed by their colleagues requesting the WERC to administer the election. These “showing of interest cards” were signed by more than 70% of the UWEC faculty.
The petition filing is the first of its kind since the 2009 state budget was passed, which included a provision extending collective bargaining rights to UW faculty and academic staff. While organizing efforts have been underway for years on each of the UW campuses, academic staff and faculty have only been able to form collective bargaining unions since June 2009.
Stephanie Turner, a professor in the UWEC English department, believes the time is ripe for a faculty union on her campus. “As UWEC changes to meet the needs of our students and the community, it is essential that we are able to recruit and retain the world-class faculty that our campus deserves.
“A voice in the workplace means that we will be more ...
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3/11/2010
Press release from pro-downtown jail group:
Downtown MAJEC (Movement for Affordable Jail in Eau Claire) has been formed to promote a downtown courthouse and jail. The state has mandated we replace our current county jail. The group is comprised of regular concerned citizens who believe the best and most affordable place for our Jail and Courts is downtown where they have been since the 1870’s. Supporters of a Downtown Jail include: Sheriff Ron Cramer..Colleen Bates..Howard Ludwigson..Marty/Mary Green..Sue Miller..Jay Heit..Dave and Kathryn Duax..Richard Spindler..Rolle Hicks..Webb Hart..John Richie. John Derosier..Mike Peterson..{Chairman Town of Washington]…Sheryl Cramer..Kerry Kincaid..Dana Wachs..Bruce Willett and Jeff Halloin.. Hal Davis and many other citizens who believe in the Downtown Location. .
The purpose of MAJEC is to inform the public that the majority of citizens back the Downtown Location as the most logical choice for now and the future.
The County Board has spent many years studying and debating the drastic need to replace our current jail facility. The downtown Alternative 1 plan addresses the needs and is the most economical plan. MAJEC urges citizens to vote for Downtown Alternative 1.
Cost
Construction costs: $59.1 million for Alternative 1 versus $110 million for Alternative 2.
Financing is in place ...
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3/10/2010
A pair of Eau Claire County Jail informational meetings are scheduled for next week, but a county board supervisor wants you to know they are not being put on by the county. Board supervisor Howard Ludwigson says the meeting is being put on by people who don't want the jail built downtown, and that may not have been clear in the group's press releases. Ludwigson says that doesn't mean the information will be incorrect. Another board supervisor, Ken Fulgione, says the meetings are presented by an unofficial "Citizens Advisory Referendum Committee," composed mostly of members who oppose a downtown site, but he says they're not trying to mislead anyone. He says the committee wanted to dig into the cost figures released in the project. He says the committee feels the figures showing the downtown option to be much cheaper are confusing and don't present the whole picture. The meetings will be held at First Congregational Church on 3rd and Broadway in Eau Claire Sunday at 3pm and Wednesday at 7pm.
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3/9/2010
The Department of Natural Resources will be holding a series of meetings in the region on deer management starting Wednesday. Hunters will have a chance to speak their mind following one of the worst hunts on record. Ed Culhane with the DNR says these are the annual deer unit management meetings. Culhane says the meetings will include a video presentation on emerging harvest patterns, unit-specific management, and hunter surveys. Hunters will have the chance to discuss preliminary deer population estimates, among other things. Wednesday's meetings will be in Clark County from 4 to 8:00 at Greenwood High School, and in Marathon County from 5 to 7:00 at John Muir Middle School in Wausau. Thursday's meeting will be at the Necedah Village Hall from 3 to 7 pm. The meeting for Barron and Polk Counties will be Monday, March 15th at 7:00 pm at the Turtle Lake High School Library, and for Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, and Pepin Counties will be Monday from 3 to 7:00 with hourly presentations at the Dunn County Fish and Game Clubhouse in Menomonie.
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3/8/2010
You'll lose an hour of sleep coming up this weekend, as we "spring ahead" an hour for daylight savings time on Sunday morning. Dr. Allan Foster with the Red Cedar Medical Center Sleep Lab in Menomonie says that lost hour can leave you feeling tired for quite a while beyond the weekend, but you can ease the transition by starting to adjust now. He says you can try getting up and going to bed about 20 minutes earlier for two days at a time, until you're in sync with the new schedule. The week leading up to daylight savings time is national sleep awareness week. Foster says lack of sleep leads to many problems, including car accidents caused by overtired drivers, which kill around 25,000 people a year, plus workplace accidents. Foster says sleep problems like apnea, when a person stops breathing, can lead to serious health problems, and you should talk to your doctor if you have trouble sleeping or wake up without feeling rested.
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