Jail inmate pleads not guilty in attack on Waukesha County deputy

1:40 p.m. | Waukesha — A Waukesha County Jail inmate who was shot at a hospital in November after he allegedly attacked a sheriff's deputy entered a not guilty plea Friday to a charge of assault by a prisoner.

Steven P. Lettenberger, 44, is scheduled for a July jury trial in connection with the Nov. 6 incident at Waukesha Memorial Hospital.

Lettenberger was being treated at the hospital when he was shot in the upper torso by a deputy whom he was advancing toward with a knife, according to court records.

Lettenberger was being prepared to be returned to the jail when the attack occurred, according to court records.

His restraints had been taken off so he could use a restroom, and afterward he approached the deputy in a threatening manner with the knife and said he was not going to go back to the jail, records say.

Famous Footwear opening in Waukesha

11:19 a.m. | Famous Footwear will hold a grand opening event Saturday, March 20, for its new store in the Fox River shopping center at 1240 W. Sunset Dr., on the southwest side of Waukesha.

The 8,800-square-foot store is expected to be open for business by Monday, March 15, the company said.

People who show up for the grand opening will be able to enter a drawing for a free 30-second shopping spree. There will be four shopping spree drawings, each hour from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on March 20.

The company recently closed its store at the Shops of Grand Avenue.

Waukesha apartment project on hold

March 11, 2010 11:36 a.m. | Waukesha - A 132-unit apartment project by Bielinski Homes in River's Crossing on Waukesha's southwest side has been placed on hold so planners' concerns can be addressed.

City Planner Michael Hoeft said Thursday the developer decided not to bring it before Wednesday's plan commission meeting as originally scheduled after staff raised questions about the 11-building layout and storm water management. Regulations for storm water management have gotten more strict since Bielinski first had approval of a more densely developed apartment project in 1998.

Planners also encouraged Bielinski representative Dan Szczap to discuss the proposal in a neighborhood meeting, Hoeft said.

We're blogging live from Friday night's boys basketball sectional semifinals

March 11, 2010 9:43 a.m. | Join NOW's David Cotey and Lake Country Publications' JR Radcliffe court side Friday night as they blog live from three of the area's top Division 1 boys basketball match ups.

Cotey will be covering the contest between No. 5 Brookfield Central and No. 1 Milwaukee Hamilton, set for 6 p.m. at Greenfield High School.

Radcliffe will be at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee reporting from No. 4 Waukesha West vs. No. 1 Arrowhead at 6 p.m. and No. 3 Germantown against No. 2 Menomonee Falls at 8 p.m.

Sign up now to receive an e-mail reminder when the events go live:

Brookfield Central vs. Hamilton

Man with dementia missing in Waukesha

March 09, 2010 5:06 p.m. | Police in Waukesha are searching for a man with dementia who has been missing since Monday.

"Dizzy" Dean Wells, 64, was last seen about 2 p.m. Monday on foot in the area of Moreland Blvd. and Kossow Road, according to a news release from the Waukesha Police Department.

Wells is described as a black male, 6 feet, 1 inch tall and weighing 170 pounds with a long goatee. When last seen he was wearing an Army baseball cap, a red, blue and black plaid shirt and a gray, green and blue spring jacket.

Wells recently moved to Waukesha, does not carry identification and does not know his address or telephone number, according to the release.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Waukesha police at 262-524-3831.

Waukesha County's pioneering alcohol court to see 100th graduate

March 09, 2010 1:38 p.m. | Waukesha - Waukesha County's alcohol treatment court - the first in Wisconsin when it began in May 2006 - will see its 100th graduate Thursday in Judge James R. Kieffer's courtroom.

Participants convicted of three drunken driving offenses can apply to participate and get reduced jail time in exchange for ongoing monitoring, treatment, intensive supervision and frequent interactions with the judge.

Since the court started through this February, participants "saved" 13,729 days in jail, according to Sara Carpenter of Wisconsin Community Services Inc., which helps run the program. About 5% of those enrolled re-offended and were dropped from the program, she said.

Participants spend an average of 14 to 16 months in the program, Carpenter said.

The court was initially established with a three-year federal grant, but after the grant ended last May, the county earmarked taxes - $70,592 this year - and fees charged participants to pay the cost. Starting in June, enrollees have had to pay from $25 to $100 a month while in the alcohol court program. Most pay $50 a month. The county, which has applied for another federal grant for future years, expects about $42,000 in fees from participants this year.

Waukesha West boys move on in state tourney

March 07, 2010 7:53 a.m. | Ryan Solberg scored a game-high 16 points Saturday as the Waukesha West boys basketball team defeated Milwaukee Vincent, 45-40, in a WIAA Division 1 regional final.

The win means the Wolverines will take on top-seeded Arrowhead in the sectional semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday at the Al McGuire Center.

Waukesha mayor recommends appointments for 2 incumbent officials

March 01, 2010 3:42 p.m. | Waukesha - Incumbent City Clerk/Treasurer Tom Neill and Assessor Paul Klauck - each of whom has served 24 years in his respective elective office - have been recommended for appointment to indefinite terms by Mayor Larry Nelson.

The Common Council is expected to confirm the appointments at its meeting Tuesday night.

The council approved changing the positions from elected to appointed last fall because of the professional nature of their duties and the education and experience level appropriate for them.

Both Neil and Klauck earn $81,944 a year, and as with other city staff, their salaries would be frozen this year, City Administrator Lori Curtis Luther said. The appointments would take effect at the end of their current terms. For Neill, that's May 1. For Klauck, that's June 1.

Swing into the 2010 Golf Show with free tickets

March 01, 2010 1:50 p.m. | The 2010 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Golf Show starts Friday, and you could win a pair of free tickets by entering our Twitter and Facebook contests.

On Twitter, simply follow MyCommunityNOW and tweet "I want to win free tickets to the #MKE Golf Show from @MyCommunityNOW. RT to win. Details: http://bit.ly/cPficZ"

A random drawing will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday for the three sets of free tickets, with each winner receiving four tickets. Winners must pick tickets up at NOW's Waukesha offices. Winners will be contacted through Twitter before noon on Thursday.

On Facebook, become a fan of the MyCommunityNOW fan page and respond or write on the wall about a story, photo or some other staff work you saw in one of our papers or on one of our Web sites and tell us what you liked or didn't like about that work. Two winners will be picked during a random drawing at 10 a.m. Thursday with each receiving four free tickets. Winners will be contacted through Facebook and must pick tickets up at NOW's Waukesha offices. Winners will be contacted through Twitter before noon on Thursday.

For more information on the golf show, visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Golf Show Web site.

White Rock teacher also "absent"

March 01, 2010 12:55 p.m. | In addition to the removal of White Rock Elementary School  Principal Dorothy Smith, it appears another teacher was removed from the Waukesha bilingual school at the same time.

Olga Pallan, a Title I teacher who has been at the school for 15 years, also left the building in late January, according to parents at the school. Pallan said she had no comment on the situation that she said she's been told not to discuss.

Waukesha School District Superintendent Todd Gray has not returned calls asking for comment on the situation.

He said earlier  that Smith's removal was a "personnel matter " and also refused to discuss that.

Pallan and Smith both participated in an information  program for parents at the largely Latino school that's a longtime bilingual school.  Gray has recommended closing the school.

Waukesha water options to hit pocketbooks

Feb. 25, 2010 9:54 p.m. | Waukesha - Water bills paid by residents four times a year would more than double in the next decade as the city invests in new water sources, officials disclosed Thursday.

Costs of buying Lake Michigan water from Milwaukee and pumping it to Waukesha would push quarterly bills to $142, up $75 from the current charge of $67, according to information released by the Waukesha Water Utility. The utility estimates costs of $164 million to implement a lake water option.

Digging more wells in shallow aquifers not tainted with radium and salt would cost an estimated $174 million to set up. Quarterly bills with that option would climb higher, to $151, said Dan Duchniak, the water utility general manager.

Maintaining the city's deep sandstone wells with radium treatment and using several additional shallow wells to meet demand would cost about the same as the shallow well option. Quarterly bills: $151.

Obtaining federal grants could reduce quarterly bills from $9 to $19 a quarter.

Carroll seeks approval for new dorm

Feb. 22, 2010 11:20 a.m. | Waukesha — Carroll University is seeking to build a new four-story student residence hall adjacent to its campus, a university official said Monday.

The Plan Commission is set to take up a request for rezoning and approving preliminary plans for the building, which would have retail space on the first level. The site is on the west side of Grand Ave. north of College Ave.

Carroll will lease the building and have "sole management rights," said Ron Lostetter, the university's chief financial officer.

The university had its largest-ever freshman class this past fall, Lostetter said, but the development of another residence hall was already part of a longer-term plan.

Once completed, about 230 students would be housed in the building.

Waukesha mayoral totals revised because of missed votes

Feb. 18, 2010 11:00 a.m. | Waukesha - City Clerk Tom Neill has released revised vote totals for the Waukesha mayor's primary election Tuesday after discovering that results from two voting machines were not counted.

The results of the election were unchanged, although the gap between first place finisher Jeff Scrima and Mayor Larry Nelson, who finished second, widened slightly.

The two will square off April 6.

The final, official results:

Scrima, 1,830 (35%); Nelson, 1,271 (24%); Darryl Enriquez, 1,039 (20%); Bill Beglinger, 633 (12%); Randy Radish, 427 (8%).

Madison official complains about Waukesha virtual school cost

Feb. 18, 2010 10:48 a.m. | A Capital Times blog post from earlier this week highlights complaints from one Madison School Board member about the discrepancy between the amount of state aid his district receives and how much Waukesha's virtual school gets.

Board member Ed Hughes says his district receives about $3,400 per student from the state, while virtual schools (like all schools in the state) get more than $6,000 for each Madison student they enroll through the state's open enrollment program. In addition, he pointed to a recent report by the Legislative Audit Bureau that found that Waukesha spent only $5,558 per child at its iQ Academy in 2007-'08, resulting in about a $500 per-pupil profit for the district.

"The legislature has created a system that sets up very strong incentives for a school district to contract with some corporate on-line operation, open up a virtual charter school, and set about trying to poach other districts' students," the blog post says Hughes wrote in a letter to state Sen. Fred Risser.

An interesting side note: the Madison Metropolitan School District's current business manager, Erik Kass, was instrumental to helping to keep Waukesha's virtual high school open and collecting a surplus when he was the business manager for that district.

Scrima, incumbent Nelson advance in Waukesha mayoral primary

Feb. 16, 2010 10:04 p.m. | Waukesha - Incumbent first-term Mayor Larry Nelson and challenger Jeff Scrima will face off in the April 6 general election after the two came out on top of a five-person field Tuesday.

Scrima, who owns a real estate development firm and aggressively campaigned against Nelson's emphasis on regional cooperation and the push for tapping Lake Michigan for a clean water supply, pulled in 35% of the vote to Nelson's 26%.

Nelson had far-outraised his competitors in campaign donations - nearly $11,000 and most from small contributors, according to finance reports due Feb. 1. His campaign featured several mailings touting progress during his term on issues like replacing the city's radium-tainted water, building a west-Waukesha bypass, benefiting Waukesha through regional cooperation and adding dozens of businesses despite the recession.

Jeff Scrima had used extensive newspaper ads, his Web site and e-mail get-out-the-vote messages to press his contention that Waukesha would lose its independence if it pursued water through the City of Milwaukee. Scrima relied heavily on his own funds to match Nelson's fund raising.

Darryl Enriquez, a retired reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, had hoped to translate his experience in reporting on city government into a job of leading it. He relied heavily on the influence of high-profile names on voters - with endorsements from elected Republicans like Rep. Bill Kramer, County Treasurer Pam Reeves and former county clerk and current School Board member Pat Madden, as well as former mayor Carol Lombardi. He won 19% of the vote.