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GARBAGE REINFORCEMENT TO START AGAIN IN RIPON

Starting Monday, pay close attention to what you throw in your garbage, as the solid waste audit and enforcement program will pick up again in Ripon.  Ripon City Administrator Steve Barg says the program was suspended shortly after it first started in June due to numerous complaints from Ripon residents.  Barg says after the common council discussed the issues at the July 13^th meeting, they decided it would be good to re-start the program, but provide more information for residents.  Barg says the important thing is cutting down on garage going to the landfill, as both the city and taxpayers will save money.

BALLWEG TO LEAD COMMITTEE FOCUSED ON FINANCIAL AID PROGRAMS

The Wisconsin Legislature will take a look at the state’s financial aid programs for colleges and universities, and recommend possible changes. A special committee has been formed, chaired by Assembly Republican Joan Ballweg of Markesan. She says the panel wants to make sure that financial aid money is being used effectively, with goals of improving student access to colleges and keeping more graduates in the Badger State. Ballweg says they’ll take a close look at Governor Jim Doyle’s Wisconsin Covenant – which guarantees eighth-graders a place at a Wisconsin college if they get good grades and behave during their high school years. The panel will also look at the tuition agreement between Wisconsin and Minnesota – grants and loans which are based on need – and programs that forgive student loans.

GARY SINISE PERFORMS TODAY AT EAA

Actor Gary Sinise performs today at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Air-Venture show in Oshkosh. He plays bass in the Lieutenant Dan Band, which will perform at the “Theater in the Woods” event. Sinise is making his second appearance at the E-A-A. He played Lieutenant Dan Taylor in the movie “Forrest Gump,” and he current stars in the T-V drama “C-S-I-New York.” The E-A-A Warbirds and the Disabled American Veterans sponsor his concert. Sinise has been a long-time advocate for the veterans’ group. The Air-Venture show began on Monday, and it runs through the weekend.

SULLENBERGER AND SKILES AT EAA

The two pilots who safely landed a U-S Airways plane in New York’s Hudson River are making several appearances at the E-A-A Air-Venture show in Oshkosh. Charles Sullenberger and Jeff Skiles spoke about their experiences since the famous landing of Flight 1549 more than 18 months ago in which 155 passengers escaped injury. The two pilots held a similar forum at last year’s E-A-A show. Skiles – who’s from Oregon in Dane County – will appear today with one of the accident investigators to talk about the plane’s recovery and the investigation into the landing. Skiles and Sullenberger are also the co-chairs of the E-A-A’s Young Eagles program, which allows youngsters 8-to-17 to ride in private aircraft. Skiles flew group members in his plane on Monday at Oshkosh – and Sullenberger will have his flights today.

OSHKOSH POLICE LOOK FOR STOLEN BIKE

Oshkosh police are looking for information in regards to a bicycle theft from the Boys and Girls club.  Crime Prevention Officer Joseph Nichols says the bike was taken around 2:30 last Friday afternoon from the club on E. Parkway Avenue.  The male suspect is described as white, 15-18 years of age, last seen wearing a brown tank top and blue jeans.  The missing bike is a BMX model and white in color.  Anyone with information is asked to contact Oshkosh police at 236-5700.

Below is a link to a surveillance video showing the suspect removing the bike.

http://www.oshkoshpd.com/videos/boys-girls-club-07-23-10.wmv

WAUPUN MAN CONVICTED OF BURNING SON

A Waupun man accused of burning his eight-year-old son with a cigarette is convicted of felony child abuse. A Dodge County jury found 34 year old, Daniel Bryan guilty following a two day jury trial and six hours of deliberation.  A criminal complaint says the boy told his mother that his father burned him with a lit cigarette as punishment for kicking the defendant during horseplay.  At trial, the boy switched his story back to a fall from a wagon.  However, a child abuse expert from Children’s Hospital testified that the child’s elbow injury was consistent with a cigarette burn.

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NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE OF WISCONSIN

Governor Jim Doyle says it’s “bogus” to assume that Wisconsinites will be stuck with big operating costs once the Milwaukee-to-Madison high speed train is running. He said the current Milwaukee-to-Chicago Amtrak train only covers one-percent of the state’s total transportation budget – and rail would still be only a small part of the budget once the new line is up-and-running. That’s supposed to be in 2013, but Republican gubernatorial candidates Scott Walker and Mark Neumann both vow to shut down the project if they’re elected. The state was awarded 810-million-dollars in federal stimulus funds for the new high-speed rail line. And yesterday, U-S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was in Watertown to give the state a 47-million-dollar payment toward that. LaHood said there’s no way to stop the rail project. He called it a national program that will survive changes in political leadership. LaHood also said the federal government would consider helping with operating costs once the service is in place. Walker still called it “reckless” for Democrats to push ahead with the rail project while Wisconsin cannot afford to fix roads-and-bridges. But Doyle said that if the train is scrapped, the federal money for it would go to other states – and Wisconsin would not get an extra dime to fix its roads as a result.

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Wisconsin children are more likely than others to be exposed to second-hand smoke. A study in Pediatrics Magazine ranks Wisconsin the fifth-worst state in childhood exposure to the smoke that cigarettes emit. The report said one-of-every-10 youngsters in the Badger State breathe second-hand smoke on a regular basis, compared to one-of-every-100 kids in Utah. And in homes with smokers, 39-percent of kids regularly breathe second-hand smoke. Only West Virginia has a higher percentage. The data is rather dated, though. It’s based on a survey of two-thousand households across the state in 2007 – three years before the state banned smoking in public indoor places. Nathan Jones of U-W Madison analyzed the data, and he blamed cultural factors for the high rate of people who smoke in homes. Other states have tried campaigns to get residents to smoke outside, but Jones says that rarely works. He says the most effective solution is to get people to quit.

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A southeast Wisconsin man has been charged with killing his girlfriend’s son-in-law in an argument over who would mow her lawn. 63-year-old George Trinka of Newburg is charged in Washington County with reckless homicide, reckless endangerment, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He’s accused of killing 39-year-old Steven Szerbowski of West Bend last Saturday at the girlfriend’s home where Trinka had lived in the basement. According to prosecutors, Szerbowski’s 12-year-old son asked to mow the lawn – but Trinka said it was too wet, and he’d do it the next day. Szerbowski had to force the garage door open to return the lawnmower, and an argument ensued between Trinka and the child’s grandmother. At one point, Szerbowski reportedly threatened to beat Trinka – and officials said Trinka then armed himself with a .22-caliber handgun. There were conflicting reports of whether the gun went off accidentally or not – but authorities said a bullet struck Szerbowski in the chest and killed him. The woman told officers Trinka didn’t like her family because he thought they didn’t like him. Trinka is in jail under a 50-thousand-dollar cash bond. His initial court appearance has not been scheduled yet.

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A Racine County man has caught Wisconsin’s biggest brown trout. The D-N-R confirmed yesterday that the 41-and-a-half pound fish broke a state record – and it could very well be a world record. Roger Hellen of Franksville caught the brownie July 16th on Lake Michigan just north of Racine. The 39-year-old Hellen said it took a half-hour to bring it in. He was exhausted when it was all over – but he felt even more exhilarated. Hellen has asked the International Game Fish Association to confirm his brown trout as a world record. According to the group’s Web site, the current record is 41 pounds, seven ounces – one ounce lighter than the fish Hellen caught.