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Copyright � 2020 Conley Group. All rights reserved 03/11/2020March 11, 2020 2:27 pm (GMT +5:00) Powered by TECNAVIA
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By Jake [email protected]
262-513-2657
TOWN OF WAUKESHA —Two individuals died andtwo were hospitalized after astabbing Tuesday night inthe Town of Waukesha,according to the WaukeshaCounty Sheriff’s Depart-ment. One male suspect is incustody.
Multiple emergency vehi-cles including ambulanceswere seen traveling awayfrom the scene with lightsand sirens activated. Flightfor Life was reportedly calledbut did not land. Policeblocked off Oak Grove Laneand interviewed neighbors.
Waukesha County SheriffEric Severson said a call wasreceived at about 6:45 p.m.
“The call that came in led usto believe there was an ongo-ing domestic disturbance,”Severson said at a press con-ference held at nearby RoseGlen Elementary School atabout 9 p.m.
“We had a lot of dead airon the call and we also hadsome remarks that led us tobelieve there was a stabbingin progress.”
A Trusted Tradition since 1859
The FREEMAN$1
WEDNESDAYMarch 11, 2020
WEATHERTomorrow:
Scattered rainHigh 57 / Low 44
INDEX
See complete forecast on Page 8A
Pewaukee ping pong teamplaces first in state championship 2A
See STABBING, PAGE 8A
Volume 161, No. 244
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Business...................4AClassified..................7BCommentary..............6ACommunity...........6BCrossword..............6B
Lottery........................2AObituaries................ 7AOn this day.............6BSports........................1BWeather.....................8A
Biden wins Michigan, deals blow toSanders 7A
TOWN OF WAUKESHA
2 dead, 2 hospitalizedafter Tuesday stabbing
Suspect in police custodyTim Snopek/Special to The Freeman
The Waukesha County Command Post pulls up to Oak Grove Lane in the Town of Waukesha on Tuesday night.
Jake Ekdahl/Freeman Staff
Waukesha County Sheriff Eric Severson shares details ona stabbing that took place in the Town of Waukesha onTuesday night.
For video■ To watch a video ofWaukesha County SheriffEric Severson’s press conference about the stab-bing Tuesday night in theTown of Waukesha, visit The Freeman’s Facebook page.
Miller Parkstadium tax to endMarch 31 5A
By Jake [email protected]
262-513-2657
PEWAUKEE – Waukesha Coun-ty Technical College gained unani-mous approval from the college’sdistrict board Tuesday to set aside$250,000 in emergency funds toimplement its Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic Plan.
WCTC Vice President of FinanceJane Kittel said even with the
$250,000 allocated from districtreserves, the college will still main-tain its mandatory policy of plac-ing 25% of expenditures in areserve for unplanned events andemergencies.
WCTC will use existing fundsbefore touching the $250,000 allocat-ed by the board, and has opened anaccount to track all expenses asso-ciated with the pandemic plan.
One of the main increased expen-ditures is an expansion of cleaning
staff for daily extensive cleaning ofcommon areas and frequentlytouched objects like door handles.
One international trip forWCTC students was already can-celed earlier in the week, whilefive more are being considered.WCTC will in some cases need toreimburse students for expensesthey have already incurred forthe planned trips.
WAUKESHA — The WaukeshaCounty Public Health departmentnow has a web page dedicated tocoronavirus, or COVID-19, informa-tion.
Waukesha County Executive PaulFarrow posted about the page onFacebook and said: “I’m pleased toshare with you our new COVID-19web page to help you find answersto your coronavirus questionsthrough factual information andcredible hyperlinks. The health andwell-being of the citizens of ourcounty are paramount during these
rapidly changing times.”The web page says that they have
been monitoring and curating alarge quantity of information forthe public, which is rapidly chang-ing.
Provided information includesmany links to the Centers for Dis-ease Control and Prevention web-site on information of COVID-19.
The website says the immediatehealth risks from COVID-19 toWaukesha County residents is low.
The site can be found athttps://bit.ly/2Q3UugS.
Waukesha County Health Departmentprovides coronavirus web page
WCTC allocates $250K for coronavirus planDecision made in a unanimous vote by district board
See PLAN, PAGE 8A
By Cara [email protected]
262-513-2653
WAUKESHA — NewBerlin has agreed to payWaukesha $2 million inexchange for the WaukeshaWater Utility abandoningplans to construct a boosterpumping station (BPS) andtwo 9-million-gallon reser-voirs on a farm field atRacine Avenue and SwartzRoad in Minooka Park.
Under an intergovern-mental agreement unani-mously approved Tuesdayby aldermen in both cities,the utility would constructthe reservoirs at a formerNike Missile site off EastBroadway and RempeDrive.
Waukesha acquired the24.6-acres site from the fed-eral government in 2013with plans to turn the most-ly wooded site into a park.According to the intergov-ernmental agreement, theutility began looking at theland as a potential home forthe BPS and reservoirs latelast year in attempt toresolve its dispute withNew Berlin.
The site had reportedlybeen unavailable in 2017when the initial site screen-ing was done.
End to dispute The tentative deal marks
the end of a bitter disputebetween the cities over theproject, which came afterhomeowners living near theMinooka Park site beganraising objections to theplan.
Although both cities haveagreed to the deal, it can’tbe put into action until thestate Public Service Com-mission approves the newsite plan.
As long as that occurs byDec. 1 of this year, that PSCapproval would also triggerthe end of the lawsuitWaukesha brought against
New Berlin.Dan Duchniak, general
manager for the WaukeshaWater Utility, applauded thepassage of the agreementon Tuesday night.
“Our goal with this agree-ment is to make sure thatthe residents of Waukeshaultimately have a safedrinking water supply bythe court-ordered dead-line,” Duchniak said.
Waukesha Mayor ShawnReilly said he was happy tosee the dispute resolved.
“I think we reached anagreement that puts the(city of Waukesha) in thesame position costwise asthe prior site, and also givesus more certainty from atiming standpoint,” Reillysaid. “Waukesha is under acourt order to be radiumcompliant by September2023. With this agreement,which is contingent on PSCapproval, Waukesha shouldnow meet that timeline.”
New Berlin CommonCouncil President KenHarenda, II, also praised thedeal.
“The agreement benefitsboth parties, allowing thecity of Waukesha to moveforward with securingclean and safe drinkingwater from the city of Mil-waukee while also protect-ing the city of New Berlin’scomprehensive plan and therural characteristic of itswest side,” Harenda said.
Other expenses,agreements
Although the $2 million,which is slated to be paidout in three installmentsbetween 2021 and 2023, mayseem like a windfall for
WATER PROJECT DISPUTE
Pumping station,reservoirs to be
built in WaukeshaNew Berlin to pay $2M underagreement approved Tuesday
What do you think?
Phone: 262-513-2641Email: [email protected]
SOUND OFF
See WATER, PAGE 5A
The Freeman - 03/11/2020 Page : A05
Copyright � 2020 Conley Group. All rights reserved 03/11/2020March 11, 2020 2:50 pm (GMT +5:00) Powered by TECNAVIA
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020 • THE FREEMAN • 5AGMTODAY.COM LOCAL/STATE
WISCONSIN
Evers proposes floodbills even thoughAssembly is done
MADISON (AP) — Demo-cratic Gov. Tony Evers pro-posed a multimillion dollarpackage of legislation Tues-day designed to controlspring flooding, hoping toconvince Republicans toreconvene the state Assemblyto pass them.
Assembly Republicansadjourned their two-year ses-sion in February and aren’texpected to return to Madi-son until the 2021-22 sessionbegins in January. The Sen-ate is scheduled to meet onelast time this month beforeadjourning its two-year ses-sion but Republicans whocontrol that chamber almostcertainly won’t spend thefloor session voting on any-thing coming from Evers’office.
Kit Beyer, a spokesman forAssembly Speaker Robin Vos,said in an email to The Asso-ciated Press that the cham-ber’s floor session is over butthat Vos might consider thebills next session if legisla-tors from both parties canwork together on them. Sen-ate Majority Leader ScottFitzgerald’s aide, Alec Zim-merman, had no immediatecomment.
NATION/WORLD
Xi Jinping visits Wuhanas China declares success in fight againstcoronavirus
BEIJING (TNS) — China’sCommunist Party signaledconfidence in its fight againstthe coronavirus on Tuesdaywhen the party’s general sec-retary and Chinese leader Xi
Jinping made a surprise visitto Wuhan, where the out-break began.
It was Xi’s first visit sincethe city of roughly 11 millionwas put on lockdown in lateJanuary, despite the leadersaying that he was personallydirecting China’s effortsagainst COVID-19, the newdisease’s official name. Sincethen, more than 115,000 peo-ple have been infected world-wide, including more than80,000 Chinese citizens, ofwhom 3,140 have died.
China reported just 19 newcases Tuesday, the lowestnumber since nationwidereporting began. Most newinfections have also been“imported” cases that reen-ter China from abroad,rather than cases spreadfrom within China.
Patient No. 1 is out ofICU as virus pushesItaly to brink
ROME (AP) — Italian doc-tors celebrated one small vic-tory in their battle againstthe coronavirus after a 38-year-old man was moved outof intensive care for the firsttime since he tested positiveFeb. 21 and opened Italy’shealth care crisis as PatientNo. 1.
But in the rest of hard-hitnorthern Italy, the virus’spread was growing so expo-nentially that doctors weremaking comparisons to war-time triage medics decidingwho lives, who dies and whogets access to the limitednumber of ICU beds.
On Monday, the govern-ment took broad new mea-sures to restrict Italians’movements nationwide andprevent social gatherings,realizing that limited restric-tions weren’t containing thespread. For example, theregion surrounding the capi-
tal Rome — Lazio — saw itscases jump from 87 to 102 in aday, a sign that the virus waspropagating far from thenorthern concentrations.
Also alarming was Italy’shigh fatality rate: With 463dead and 9,172 infected,Italy’s fatality rate is runningat 5% nationwide and 6% inLombardy, far higher thanthe 3%-4% estimates else-where.
Putin sets path to stayon as Russia’s president to 2036
MOSCOW (TNS) —Vladimir Putin set the stageto stay on as Russia’s presi-dent for potentially another16 years, saying the Constitu-tional Court should decidewhether lawmakers canscrap the constitutional termlimit that prevents him fromruling beyond 2024.
“In principle, this optionmay be possible but on onecondition — that Russia’sConstitutional Court give anofficial ruling that such anamendment wouldn’t runcounter to the fundamentalprovisions of the constitu-tion” Putin said Tuesday inan unscheduled speechbefore the State Duma lowerhouse of parliament. Hespoke in response to an earli-er surprise plea by rulingUnited Russia lawmakers forhim to stay on as president.
The court ruling — alongwith national vote in supportof the plan that Putin also setas a condition — is all butcertain to go the Kremlin’sway in Russia’s tightly-con-trolled political system. Itopens the way for Putin, 67, toserve up to two more six-yearterms that would take hisrule potentially to 2036, evenas he said he was formallyagainst lifting term limitscompletely.
Taliban peace dealdraws fire from Dems,Republicans
WASHINGTON (TNS) —Lawmakers on both sides ofthe aisle expressed skepti-cism Tuesday about whetherthe Taliban will live up to itsside of the Afghanistanpeace deal brokered by theTrump administration.
That agreement,announced Feb. 29, calls forthe complete withdrawal ofU.S. forces within 14 months.U.S. leaders have stressedthat the deal is conditions-based and requires the Tal-iban to negotiate in goodfaith with the Afghan gov-ernment. But critics of thedeal say it doesn’t sufficient-ly spell out the conditionsthe Taliban must meet.
Court: House entitledto Mueller probe grandjury testimony
WASHINGTON (AP) —The Justice Departmentmust give Congress secretgrand jury testimony fromspecial counsel RobertMueller’s Russia investiga-tion, a federal appeals courtruled Tuesday, giving theHouse a significant win in aseparation-of-powers clashwith the Trump administra-tion.
The three-judge panel saidin a 2-1 opinion that theHouse Judiciary Commit-tee’s need for the material inits investigations of Presi-dent Donald Trump out-weighed the Justice Depart-ment’s interests in keepingthe testimony secret. Theopinion authorizes access toinformation that Democratshave sought since the con-clusion of Mueller’s investi-gation, giving lawmakerspreviously -undiscloseddetails from the two-year
Russia probe. Writing for the majority,
Judge Judith Rogers saidthat because Mueller him-self ‘‘stopped short” ofreaching conclusions aboutTrump’s conduct to avoidstepping on the House’simpeachment power, thecommittee had establishedthat it could not make a final
determination aboutTrump’s conduct withoutaccess to the underlyinggrand jury material.
Judge Neomi Rao, aTrump appointee, dissented,suggesting that the need forthe testimony could havewaned after Trump’s acquit-tal at a Senate impeachmenttrial last month.
TODAY’S BRIEFING
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
A woman wears a mask under her costume as she worksin Times Square, New York, on Tuesday. New York state isshuttering schools and houses of worship for two weeksin part of a suburb and sending the National Guard thereto help respond to what appears to be the nation's biggestcluster of cases of the coronavirus.
New York sends National Guard in to help fight virus
NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s governor is sendingthe National Guard into a New York suburb to helpfight what appears to be the nation’s biggest knowncluster of coronavirus cases.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday thatschools, houses of worship and large gathering placeswill be shuttered for two weeks in a ‘‘containmentarea’’ centered in suburban New Rochelle.
He told reporters that National Guard troops willhelp clean surfaces and deliver food in the area, a 1-mile-radius around a point near a synagogue.
New Rochelle is at the center of an outbreak of 108cases in Westchester County, out of 173 statewide.
Meanwhile, authorities in Washington state havereported two new coronavirus deaths, bringing thetotal there to at least 24.
WaterFrom Page 1A
Waukesha, it is expected topay for a number of itemsrelated to moving the site toMissile Park.
In order to gain the right touse the Nike Missile site for anon-park use, the city had toshow the federal governmentthat there was land nearbythat it could use instead forpark purposes. Last month,the Parks, Recreation andForestry Board learned thatthe city had been offered a 30-acre parcel of land immedi-ately adjacent to Missile Parkfor $500,000.
Although the move meansthe city won’t be payingWaukesha County the$223,000 for the Minooka
Park site, it will still face thecost of plans for both theMissile Park site and the newpark parcel.
Other expenses baked intothe deal include allowingNew Berlin to connect with afiber optic line Waukeshawill be constructing as partof this project, as well as anagreement allowing NewBerlin to connect to Wauke-sha’s new water supply line.The connection, which stillmust be approved by the cityof Milwaukee, would be ableto provide New Berlin withan extra connection to Mil-waukee’s water supply in theevent there is a problem withtheir existing supply line.
Asked about the cost ofthat connection on Tuesday,Duchniak said it likelywouldn’t be more than a few
thousand dollars.
Private well protections The agreement also pro-
vides protection to NewBerlin well owners within 200feet of the trench excavationfor the BPS and reservoir site.
Under the deal, such resi-dents who believe their wellshave been adversely impact-ed by the project can beincluded in a free well-pro-tection plan.
To be included in the plan,however, residents wouldhave to let the city of Wauke-sha test the water in theirrespective wells at least 30days before trench excava-tion. The plan allows for test-ing of concerned landowners’well water following trenchexcavation, as well as otherallowances.
By Brian [email protected]
262-513-2674
WAUKESHA — The 0.1%sales tax residents in fivesoutheastern Wisconsincommunities have been pay-ing since 1996 will cease atthe end of this month, it wasannounced Tuesday.
Mike Duckett, executivedirector of the SoutheastWisconsin ProfessionalBaseball Park District, theentity that acts as the land-lord of Miller Park, said thegroup’s board voted unani-mously 13-0 Tuesday to endthe tax on March 31.
“All good news. I thinkpeople recognize the pur-pose of the tax was really tofulfill the public-sectorshare of the public-privateventure. It’s been extremelysuccessful for the public, theteam and the ballpark itself.The public has fulfilled itsshare of the obligation andnow it’s time to turn the taxoff and we’re all set for theBrewers to enjoy theremainder of the lease here,which could or should takeus to 2040,” Duckett said.
He explained the Brewershave a lease until 2030 on thestadium, but have an optionto extend it for 10 years to2040, “and we have adequatefunding to support the pub-lic’s role through 2040."
The tax of 0.1% began tobe collected in 1996 in Mil-waukee, Waukesha, Wash-ington, Ozaukee and Racinecounties after a sometimesacrimonious debate amongresidents, lawmakers, andother parties. Racine Coun-ty residents recalled formerSen. George Petak after hereversed his earlier opposi-tion to the project and castthe tie-breaking vote movingMiller Park forward.
Since then, Duckett said,the ballpark cost $392 mil-lion to build, with $254 mil-lion coming from publicassistance in the form of taxrevenue bonds. Paying thoseback, plus interest, ran to$524 million, plus another$76 million held in escrowfor major capital repairs.The Brewers take care ofroutine maintenance oftheir home, and have spentmore than $100 million forthat purpose, Duckett said.
A valuable communityasset
The 0.1% sales tax — adime per $100 spent — wasoften controversial, withpeople bemoaning its pres-ence for years after the sta-dium opened, but both Duck-ett and Waukesha CountyBoard Chairman Paul Deck-er said those complaintshave died down in recentyears.
“For the life of the tax itcost about $9 per person peryear to support MillerPark,” Duckett said.
By contrast, MilwaukeeCounty Stadium was thefirst publicly financed ball-park in the major leagues,with Duckett saying the tax-payers paying 100 percent ofits costs in the hopes ofattracting a team, a call theMilwaukee Bravesanswered.
Since Miller Park wasbuilt, the Brewers have rou-tinely exceeded 2 million inattendance, outdrawinglarger markets in the league.Duckett said almost half ofthem come from outside thefive-county area, and about15 percent come from out of
state.The tax was originally set
to expire in 2014, based onstate projections of 5.5%annual growth in sales taxproceeds. But tax collectionslagged, first with the adventof the internet where salesweren’t taxed, and then inthe Great Recession wherespending dropped as peopletightened their belts, creat-ing what Duckett said was a“huge shortfall in revenues.I tell people it’s not like thedistrict collected moremoney, it just took longer tocollect the same amount ofmoney."
Duckett said, withoutbeing "one to carry water forthe Brewers” that the stadi-um draws people fromaround the state and beyond,pointing to a recent Cham-ber of Commerce study thatshowed Miller Park has hadan economic impact of $2.5billion in its first twodecades. In addition toBrewers games, Miller Parkhas played host to severalconcerts including Live Aid,soccer games, two pro bowl-ing events and a veteransevent.
“We’ve got a building thatstill feels pretty darn newwith no deferred mainte-nance. It’s been a very well-managed project and theBrewers deserve a lot ofcredit. they’ve put over $100million of their own moneyin freshening the ballparkand adding projects andthey’ve just been tremen-dous partners.”
Decker said Miller Parkhas been a “terrific asset”for the region, keeping thearea in the major leagues
and helping to attract andretain people to jobs.
“I shared it with the Coun-ty Board today after the offi-cial announcement came in.We’re pleased what will hap-pen is there will be enoughmoney to maintain the asset,Miller Park as we know it,for many years to come andthat was important so ourinvestment will stay intact,”Decker said. “It’s helped theoverall economy. I thinkwe’ve had a good return onour investment.”
Miller Park stadium tax to end March 31
MADISON (AP) — Nine outof 10 students in the class of2019 completed high schoolwithin four years, continuingan upward trend, the Wiscon-sin Department of PublicInstruction reported Tuesday.
The state’s graduation ratehas increased 1.6% over thepast five years. It is 90% in2019, up from 89.6 percent in2018 and 88.6% in 2017.
There were also improve-ments among smaller sub-
groups of students, includingblacks, Hispanics and thoselearning how to speakEnglish.
Black students in the classof 2019 graduated in fouryears at 71.3%. That is a 2-point increase from the previ-ous year, and a 7.3 pointimprovement over the pastfive years. The 82.8% gradua-tion rate for Hispanic stu-dents increased a half-pointbetween 2018 and 2019.
English-language learnerssaw a 4.5 percentage pointincrease from the prior year,with a 74.6% graduation ratein 2019. That was up 12.4points over the past fiveyears, the education depart-ment said.
State Superintendent Car-olyn Stanford Taylor called ita positive trend and attribut-ed it to the ‘‘tireless work anddedication of our teachersand students.”
All students now in isolation
MILWAUKEE — According to a healthadvisory that was sent out Tuesday fromCardinal Stritch University officials, threestudents in a residence hall who haverecently returned from spring break“have all been identified as having haddirect contact with a COVID-19 (coron-avirus) positive person.”
“During the past week, many membersof the Community utilized Spring Breakfor travel internationally or to other partsof the country to spend time with friendsand family,” explains the advisory.
The advisory said that upon theirreturn from spring break, the students didnot attend any classes or move throughany common areas on campus.
School officials emphasized that none ofthe students have symptoms at this timeand none have been diagnosed withCOVID-19, but they will all be isolated forthe next 14 days “in an abundance of cau-tion.”
The North Shore Health Departmenthas been contacted and is working closelywith the school to manage and direct theircare.
School officials will be monitoring thespread of the virus to determine when/ifstudents will need to take classes via theironline platform, Canvas.
Future athletic events may also be can-celed to help prevent the spread of the ill-ness.
COVID-19 is a newly identified coron-avirus that was first identified in Decem-ber 2019 in the city of Wuhan, China.Because it is a new virus, there is noimmunity or vaccine at this time.
Freeman file photo
Cars pull in to the parking lots at Miller Park as the baseballseason gets underway on Opening Day in 2013.
Duckett: Sales tax of 0.1% generated over $600 million
CARDINAL STRITCH UNIVERSITY
Three students had contact withperson who had coronavirus
Wisconsin high school graduation rates increase in 2019
WEST BEND — Four hundred winelovers will descend on downtown WestBend to sip wine and shop local.
The Downtown West Bend Associa-tion is holding the inaugural WineWalk on Main on Saturday, March 21.The event begins at 2 p.m. for VIP tick-et holders and the entire event lastsuntil 6 p.m.
Three weeks before the event, 100 VIPand 300 general admission tickets soldout with little advertising from DWBA.Event organizers anticipated the event
would sell out based on the popularityof wine walks in other communities.
Following the lead of the popularMuseum of Wisconsin Art wine walk inthe fall, the Wine Walk on Main mirrorsthe event in the springtime. The 2020MOWA Fall Wine Walk will be held Sat-urday, Oct. 27, beginning at MOWA toview galleries and the MOWA shop.Walkers then head downtown to visit 20stores.
The wine walk is the only DWBAevent in March.
Wine walk to bring new business to West Bend
