Win puts Franklin one step away from state tourney

July 24, 2010 11:12 p.m. | Cudahy — Franklin's goal of another WIAA state summer baseball tournament appearance is still alive.

After coming from behind to upend second-seeded Cudahy, 7-4, at Sheridan Park Saturday evening, the third-seeded Sabers advanced to the sectional finals, where they will play South Milwaukee at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Fourth-seeded South Milwaukee upset top-seeded Oak Creek, 5-4, at Franklin High School on Saturday to earn its way into the championship round.

If the Sabers (26-14) are victorious Sunday, it would be their second straight tournament berth, and their third in the last four years. The tournament begins Wednesday in Stevens Point.

Against Cudahy (25-16), Franklin fell behind 3-1 after the second inning, while Packers starting pitcher Joe Jagler was in complete control.

Franklin comes from behind to beat Cudahy in sectional semi

July 24, 2010 6:30 p.m. | The Franklin baseball team is one game win away from the state tournament after defeating Cudahy, 7-4, Saturday evening in a WIAA sectional semifinal in Cudahy.

The Sabers trailed 3-1 heading into the fifth inning and scored three times in that frame and again in the sixth.

The big play of the game was Jay Dirienzo's based-loaded double in the fifth, which cleared the bases and gave Franklin the lead for good.

In the sixth inning, junior left fielder Evan Walton had a double to deep center that drove in two runs. Trevor Theissen also had an RBI single in that frame.

Sectional baseball games postponed

July 23, 2010 10:09 a.m. | Today's sectional baseball games at South Milwaukee between Oak Creek/South Milwaukee and Franklin/Cudahy have been postponed because of poor field conditions due to last night's storms.

South Milwaukee coach John Galewski said a decision has not yet been made on when and where the games will be played.

Panel recommends Supreme Court reprimand former Cudahy municipal judge

July 19, 2010 2:30 p.m. | A three-judge panel on Monday recommended that the Wisconsin Supreme Court reprimand former Cudahy municipal judge John Zodrow for allowing thousands of cases to become backlogged.

The recommendation "likely would be more severe" had Zodrow not been defeated in his bid for re-election, the panel said.

Last month, Zodrow and the state Judicial Commission, which filed a complaint against Zodrow, agreed that a reprimand should be issued.

The commission's complaint, issued in November, estimated that Zodrow had 3,500 cases awaiting decision. He told the commission at the time that he thought 1,000 to 1,500 cases were pending.

Zodrow, who held the part-time position from 1999 until he was defeated by attorney John Dobogai in April, had for years complained that he had less clerical help than other municipal courts. He also vowed to let some cases sit idle "until hell freezes over" after the Cudahy Police Department cut off the court's access to the police computer system.

8 communities plus MMSD report sewer overflows

July 15, 2010 1:26 p.m. | Milwaukee, Mequon, Wauwatosa, Cudahy, Shorewood, Brown Deer, Fox Point and Elm Grove - in addition to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District - reported sanitary sewer overflows to local waterways Thursday morning after overnight thunderstorms poured up to 5 inches of rain on the metropolitan area, a state environmental official said.

Sanitary sewer overflows generally prevent sewage backups into basements and reduce property damage, MMSD officials said.

Even so, overflows of separate sanitary sewers are prohibited by the federal Clean Water Act, said James Fratrick, watershed specialist with the Department of Natural Resources in Milwaukee.

But the DNR is not likely to take enforcement actions against MMSD and the eight municipalities, Fratrick said. The primary reason is that MMSD is under a court-ordered stipulation to complete an estimated $1 billion in sewer and treatment plant improvements by the end of this year, he said. The goal of making those improvements is to reduce the incidents of sanitary sewer overflows.

Communities served by the district are under a separate court order to decrease leaks of storm water into their sanitary sewers.

Car reported in Lake Michigan near Grant Park

July 14, 2010 2:58 p.m. | Rescue workers say they're responding to a report of a car that drove into Lake Michigan in Cudahy.

A vehicle drove into the lake near the north end of Grant Park off S. Lake Dr., according to the South Milwaukee Fire Department. A person was reported to be in the vehicle, but the fire department could not provide immediate information about the person's condition.

South Milwaukee and Cudahy rescue workers responded to the call.

BD wins suspended game with TW after falling to division champ Cudahy, 3-2

July 13, 2010 9:22 p.m. | "That's what I like, a one-inning win."

Those were the comments of Brown Deer senior pitcher Joey Mattefs in the school parking lot after the Falcons got a two-out RBI single from Danny Korpela in the bottom of the eighth to beat Wauwatosa West, 8-7, in the completion of a suspended game Tuesday night.

The victory came just minutes after Brown Deer lost a frustrating 3-2 regularly scheduled decision to Cudahy. The split left the Falcons with a final record of 12-12 in Woodland Conference play and 15-14 overall while Cudahy guarenteed itself no worse than a share of the Woodland Blue Division title at 17-5 (22-13 overall).

Mattefs pitched a scoreless top of the eighth inning in the suspended game, which had been postponed by storms last month. Mattefs started the frame with one out, and gave up a walk to Alex Rehl and an infield single to Tyler Gross.

But then he made a nice snare off a high one-hopper off the bat of Sean Aiken, whirling and starting a crisp inning-ending 1-6-3 doubleplay with shortstop Chris Smith making the neat pivot at second base.

Court deal likely in stolen wreaths

June 30, 2010 3:20 p.m. | A Cudahy woman charged along with a friend of stealing more than 100 wreaths from cemeteries around Christmastime is likely to get a deferred prosecution agreement.

Tammy Whitaker, 36, was told at a Milwaukee County Circuit Court hearing Wednesday that a deferred prosecution agreement is being drafted and will be considered by Judge Mary Triggiano at the next hearing, July 28.

The agreement could lead to the charge against Whitaker being dismissed, if she follows court orders.

Whitaker and south side Milwaukee resident Mark John Harder, 47, sold the wreaths in bars for $10 apiece, according to misdemeanor theft charges filed against them. They were caught stealing wreaths Dec. 14 from Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Cudahy, a criminal complaint says.

The cemetery manager told Cudahy police that about three dozen wreaths had gone missing from mid-November to mid-December.

Plea deal expected in football bets case

June 30, 2010 11:34 a.m. | A man charged with two felonies in connection with trying to collect on football bets is expected to make a plea bargain with the Milwaukee County district attorney's office.

At a Circuit Court hearing Wednesday, attorney Ann Bowe indicated that Chuong Thanh Truong will enter a guilty plea at the next hearing, set for Aug. 16.

Truong, a 39-year-old Milwaukee man, is charged with threats to injure with intent to extort money and criminal damage to property. The two felonies combined carry a maximum prison term of 9 1/2 years.

Truong was trying to collect $30,000 in football bets that Cudahy nail salon owner Dung T. Nguyen lost during the 2008 football season, according to a criminal complaint.

He made threats and broke windows at Nguyen's Nails First salon, the complaint says.

Missing man found dead in van near Cudahy Park

June 26, 2010 1:28 p.m. | An Oak Creek man was found dead in a minivan Friday night near a Cudahy park, and police are investigating his death as a homicide.

The man, 31, had been reported abducted and missing on Thursday.

The victim, John Weinhold, was found dead in a blue minivan in the 5700 block of S. Robert Ave. in Cudahy, near Cudahy Park, police said.

Weinhold's wife reported her husband missing on Thursday night.

The Oak Creek Police initiated an investigation of Weinhold's alleged abduction Friday. He was described as last seen in a dark blue 2000 Dodge Caravan.

Reprimand recommended for former Cudahy municipal judge

June 24, 2010 4:22 p.m. | A former Cudahy municipal judge has agreed that he should be reprimanded for allowing thousands of cases to become backlogged.

John A. Zodrow and the Wisconsin Judicial Commission on Thursday submitted a joint recommendation for the reprimand, while acknowledging the state Supreme Court has final authority to decide any discipline against Zodrow.

The Judicial Commission filed a complaint against Zodrow in November, estimating that he had 3,500 cases awaiting decision. He told the commission at the time that he thought 1,000 to 1,500 cases were pending.

Zodrow held the part-time position from 1999 until he was defeated by attorney John Dobogai in the April election.

The document issued Thursday said Zodrow for years had persistently sought another clerk for the Cudahy court, and that if one had been hired, he could have processed more cases more quickly.

Want to win Summerfest tickets? Head over to Twitter

June 24, 2010 10:20 a.m. | It's the opening day of Summerfest, and it's also your chance to win some free Summerfest tickets.

All you need to do is follow @MyCommunityNOW on Twitter and tweet the following: "Follow @MyCommunityNOW and RT this for a chance to win a pair of #Summerfest tickets."

We will be giving away a total of five pairs of tickets in two random drawings. The first drawing will be held at noon tomorrow. The second drawing will be held at noon on Wednesday. You have to tweet the message only once to be entered in both drawings.

Winners will be contacted on Twitter and will need to pick the tickets up at our office in Waukesha.

Trial ordered for former Cudahy student in overdose case

June 03, 2010 5:30 p.m. | A former Cudahy High School student was ordered Thursday to stand trial on a charge that he gave a prescription medicine to a fellow student who suffered an overdose reaction in school.

The order was issued after David Opalinski, 18, of St. Francis waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the felony charge of delivery of a drug.

He is scheduled to enter a plea to the charge, which carries a maximum prison term of six years, on June 10.

Opalinski is accused of giving Xanax, which is prescribed for anxiety disorders and panic attacks, to a 17-year-old student who later suffered a reaction and was briefly hospitalized.

The boy said Opalinski gave him the Xanax to cover a $5 debt for a previous drug transaction, according to a Cudahy police report.

Cudahy approves increase in liquor licenses

June 02, 2010 1:36 p.m. | Cudahy - More stores will be allowed to sell alcohol under a vote taken Tuesday by the Common Council.

The old ordinance allowed for one so-called Class A license to be issued for every 4,000 residents.

The revised ordinance allows for one license for every 2,000 residents, which is the same restriction imposed by some other cities, including Oak Creek and South Milwaukee.

Class A licenses are issued to sellers of packaged beer, wine and liquor, such as liquor stores, grocery stores, drug stores and other retailers.

Agreement in works with former Cudahy judge over case backlog

May 26, 2010 5:10 p.m. | An agreement could be near that would resolve a judicial misconduct case accusing Cudahy's former municipal court judge of allowing more than 1,000 cases to backlog.

A notice issued Wednesday by the Wisconsin Supreme Court says the former judge, John Zodrow, and the state Judicial Commission made "substantial progress toward a proposed stipulation."

If such an agreement is reached, it should be filed for consideration by the high court before June 15, the notice says.

The Judicial Commission filed its complaint in November, estimating that 3,500 cases were awaiting a decision by Zodrow. He told the commission at the time that he thought 1,000 to 1,500 cases were awaiting action, some dating back seven years or more.

Zodrow held the part-time position from 1999 until he was defeated by attorney John Dobogai in the April election.