NEWS ROOM EXTRAS

RIPON POLICE OFFICERS RECOGNIZED BY CITY COUNCIL 

Three City of Ripon Police Officers were recognized for a job well done by the Ripon City Council.  The morning of April 4th fire broke out at the Ripon Manor Apartments on Douglas St in Ripon.  Ripon City Administrator Steve Barg said the officers put their lives on the line to help others.  Those officers were Dispatcher Jeremiah Hanson, Sergeant Gary Durkee, and Officer Jason Gruszynske.  

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING IN WAUPUN NEXT WEEK 

A special Waupun city council meeting has been scheduled for next Wednesday to hear an appeal by a Milwaukee construction firm regarding a 4 million dollar reconstruction project that includes Waupun's public safety building, library, and public works garage.  Matt Burow, President of Catalyst Construction of Milwaukee asked for the appeal at the city's regular monthly meeting Tuesday night.  Burow believes that his company should have been named construction manager of the reconstruction projects. instead of Waupun-based Horizon Construction LLC.  City Attorney Dan Vande Zande informed the council that it was in their best interest to schedule a special council meeting to hear the appeal.  The Waupun city council will hear Catalyst's appeal on Wednesday May 21st in the council chambers.

MISSING NEENAH WOMAN

The family of a missing Neenah woman will meet with authorities today, to see if there’s anything else they can do help find her. 58-year-old Victoria Landers vanished in late April, just before her car was found in a Menasha area park with a purse-and-keys still in it. Police have used divers, helicopters, an under-water robot, and more to look for Landers in the area of the Fox River. Police lieutenant Jeff Malcore says there’s been no activity on the woman’s financial accounts – and nowhere else for them to look. Landers’ family says it has no idea what might have happened, or why. They said she had no major health problems at the moment, and there were no signs of car trouble before that. They’re hoping somebody might have information they can use.

LEMONADE STAND ROBBER JUST DOESN'T LEARN 

An Oshkosh teen, who robbed an 11-year-old boy of 20-dollars at his lemonade stand last summer, is getting his probation revoked. Authorities say 18-year-old Anthony Hans hosted drinking parties after his sentencing – so Winnebago County Circuit Judge Karen Seifert put him in jail for six months. The probation was part of a plea deal when Hans was convicted of theft and disorderly conduct. He stole 20-dollars in change from 11-year-old Austin Cundy’s lemonade stand last July, in a case that made national news. Austin was raising the money to go camping with his grand-father, but Hans used the cash to buy cigarettes. Now, Judge Seifert said Hans showed poor judgment with drinking parties and drug violations. She said the only solution was to put him in jail, where he can have time to think.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE BADGER STATE

Authorities say a Minnesota woman lied to police in Appleton about being kidnapped. 20-year-old Lee Vang of Blaine called 9-1-1 late Monday, saying she was abducted by a masked man who took her from a shopping mall east of Saint Paul. Later, at the police station, officers said they knew something was fishy when they overheard her on the phone. She reportedly called her boyfriend in Appleton, and asked him to back up her story. Police said Vang later admitted lying because she didn’t want to face a cultural wrath from her family. Police say the boyfriend lives in Appleton, and he’s not expected to be charged with anything. Vang was cited for an unlawful use of 9-1-1. And she faces a misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report. Police Sergeant Pat Dewall said he’s seen this before, and it ties up officers when they might be needed for a real emergency. And that’s more important than ever, since police departments are doing more with fewer personnel.

The Wisconsin Assembly was scheduled to vote today on the proposed game plan to wipe out the state’s current budget deficit. The Senate passed it 17-to-16 yesterday, with no help from Republicans. Not all G-O-P members in the Assembly will vote for it either – even though their speaker supports it. Still, Democratic Minority Leader Jim Kreuser (croo’-ser) says there are enough votes in his group to get the 50 needed for passage. What happens after that is anybody’s guess. Governor Jim Doyle has promised to use his line-item veto power. He opposes two of the biggest parts of the Legislature’s plan – to delay school aid payments into the next budget, and refinance tobacco payment bonds to get future money now. Critics say lawmakers are just delaying their budget problems and not addressing them. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau says the next budget already has a one-point-seven billion dollar hole, before any spending and revenues are put into it.

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