Sunday State News Briefs: Waukesha schools' annexation petition comes up for discussion

Talk about it

WAUKESHA - Discussion of a petition from Waukesha Public Schools will be on the agenda at a Wednesday night city plan commission meeting.

The school district is asking that a 127-acre property be annexed, giving it access to city water and sewer services. The vacant land has been owned by the district for 14 years as a possible location for construction of a school building, if and when it might be needed. The Town Board confirmed a decision to leave the property out of the city’s future service area with a vote last month. That vote puts the district’s $1.4 million dollar investment in that land at risk. School officials say the location could be a good site for a middle school or a large elementary school at some future date.

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Milwaukee County Sheriff Arthur A. Clarke Junior is expected to recommend outsourcing the county jail’s medical care to a company from Florida. Clarke and advocates for jail inmates have been ordered by a judge to submit plans to staffing the jail’s medical unit by next month. Clarke’s approach would cost an estimated $16 million a year. The Milwaukee County Board has been reluctant to take that approach. A lawsuit has been filed accusing Clarke and the county of being out of compliance with a court order covering medical care due to several vacancies, including a medical director, a psychiatrist and a program administration. Circuit Judge William Brash the Third set the hearing for April 9th.

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Madison police issued tickets to nine people and arrested seven as they protested to raise awareness of the problem of homelessness. The rally started in front of the City-County Building, moving inside after about an hour. The police intervened when the people refused to leave. About 70 people were in the crowd hearing organizers of the rally talk about the lack of shelter options in Madison. Day warming centers are scheduled to close March 31st and that will leave some homeless people without a place to stay. City officials have been accused of failing to do enough to address Madison’s homeless issue.

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The controversial former pastor for President Barack Obama will speak in Milwaukee at an annual event in May. The Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. was the focus of controversy for some of his comments during the 2008 political campaign for the White House. Tickets are 50 dollars per person for the 25th anniversary gala hosted by the inter-faith group Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope. They go on sale next month. Wright became a liability for Obama due to his controversial comments and the President had to sever ties with him before he was elected. The event is coming up May 17th in Milwaukee.

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The Dane County Sheriff’s Office says two young children were left home alone in Cambridge after a domestic incident. Their mother, 25 year old Lauren E. Hughes, was arrested. An anonymous caller contacted 911 Thursday night saying they were hearing yelling and items being thrown and broken inside the house on Water Street. When deputies arrived they found two children, aged 18 months and four years, surrounded by broken glass. No adult was present. The father was contacted and he told deputies an argument with Hughes escalated and she began to throw and break things before he left. Deputies say the woman left shortly after that, with the children alone and the front door unlocked. She had also been arrested last Wednesday due to another domestic fight. Hughes faces several charges.

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Snowmobilers may be thrilled by several big snow storms recently, but temperatures are starting to warm around many of the most popular trails. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is reminding riders to be aware of the conditions in their area. The state has recorded 70 snowmobile crashes and 18 deaths this season. With more snow comes more riders and more accidents. One of the biggest problems is machines breaking through thin ice. The DNR says it is working with area snowmobile clubs and parks departments to put markers along lakes and rivers to warn of the possibility of thin ice beneath the slushy snow. The U.S. Coast Guard is warning ice conditions are rapidly getting worse on Lake

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When you put gas in that car and it says you’ve bought 10 gallons, you can count on the pump reading. The weights and measures team in the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has just finished compiling the data from last year’s testing. State inspectors found 98 percent of the 32,000 gas pumps were accurate in their readings. Price scanners were checked and found to be accurate more than 97 percent of the time. The team conducted almost a quarter-million inspections of devices at about seven thousand Wisconsin businesses last year.

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