NOW, Lake Country state track photo gallery now online
We've just added the final images to the NOW/Lake Country Publications photo gallery from this weekend's WIAA State Track and Field Meet in La Crosse.
Photojournalists Peter Zuzga and Todd Ponath collected more than 100 images from two days of competition at the sun-splashed Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Brookfield East repeated as the boys champions in Division 1 while Riverside captured the girls title.
Greendale/Franklin SWAT responds to gun threat
At 7:15 p.m. yesterday, the Crisis Crime Center reported to Greendale police that a male was making suicidal statements and that he had a gun with him in his Greendale apartment, according to a Greendale Police Department news release.
The release goes on to state:
The Crisis Center also reported the person stated he had three other people with him.
The Greendale/Franklin combined SWAT Team responded to the apartment on Crocus Court. Mutual aid patrol units responded from Greenfield and Franklin for traffic control.
Just before 10 p.m., the male was taken into custody without incident, with no weapons or other people found in the residence.
» Read Full ArticleMan killed by train identified
A man struck and killed by an Amtrak Hiawatha train in Oak Creek was identified Friday as James A. Batovsky.
Batovsky, 39, of Oak Creek, was struck shortly before 9:30 p.m., Thursday, according to Oak Creek police.
Foul play was not suspected in his death and there were no safety issues involving the train, police said ina news release.
Six vie for appointment to Greendale School Board
Six people have applied for the open position for the Greendale School Board, Secretary to the Superintendent Mary Ann Jacobson said. The applicants are Michael Connor, Melanie Kumanovic, Amy Ali, Roger Dalkin, Russell DeLong and Michael Spitzer.
They will be interviewed during an open session at the School Board meeting at Greendale High School on June 4. These interviews will take place at the end of the meeting, and the winner will be declared that night.
The victorious candidate will fill former board member Jim Schutte's term through spring of 2013, at which time the post will be filled by election.
Schutte resigned in April when he moved from Greendale.
Report: Fire department consolidation would save 5 communities millions
Five southern Milwaukee County communities could save millions of dollars over the next five years if they consolidated their fire departments, a report by the Public Policy Forum says.
Franklin, Greendale, Greenfield, Hales Corners and Oak Creek could save $1 million annually in operating costs and about $4 million over the next five years in vehicle replacement costs if they formed one fire department, the report released Wednesday states.
The communities could save money if they stopped short of consolidation and shared some services, but the saving would not be as great, said Rob Henken, forum president.
For example, if the communities retained all five fire departments but operated under an "automatic aid agreement" in which the closest unit responds to a fire or EMS call regardless of municipal boundary, the municipalities potentially could save $3.35 million on vehicle replacement costs over five years. The report refers to this set up as an "operational consolidation."
"Essentially, all calls would be treated as if it was a consolidated department, but still you would have five independent departments that would maintain their own personnel, their own personnel policies, their own equipment," Henken said.
» Read Full ArticleSpecial Act 10 section now online
Act 10: Pass or Fail? 
We have just published our special section taking a detailed look at the landmark Act 10 legislation and the effect it has had on local school districts.
The section features a main story examining the overall effects of the law and feature stories focusing on local school districts.
You'll also find a photo gallery highlighting some of the controversy surrounding the passage of the law, a Storify of opinions collected from social networks and more.
Oak Creek hotel site faces foreclosure suit
An Oak Creek site where a Chicago-area developer proposed a Sheraton Four Points hotel is the target of a foreclosure suit.
The suit claims Trapani Family Properties LLC and Synerg Oak Creek LLC owe $3.96 million from three defaulted loans. It was filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court by Morton Community Bank, of Morton, Ill.
Developer Greg Trapani said the suit is being dismissed, although neither a response to the foreclosure claim nor a dismissal notice had been filed as of Tuesday morning. Trapani is director of project development at Trapani Construction Co., of Arlington Heights, Ill.
Trapani a year ago proposed the 107-room Sheraton Four Points for a 27-acre site at the southeast corner of S. Howell and E. College avenues.
That proposal was approved by the Common Council, but construction hasn't started.
» Read Full ArticleDrowning victim identified as Franklin man
Fond du Lac - Authorities have identified a man who drowned last week in Lake Winnebago as Anthony Albanese, 56, of Franklin, according to the Fond du Lac Reporter.
A fisherman spotted Albanese’s body Friday afternoon on the east side of the lake.
