Forecast: Cold, cold, warmer; Hacker steals $150,000 in school payroll checks; Hunting-after-dark plan stalled; Amish boy dies in farm accident; more briefs

Talk about it

It’s the coldest morning of the season in much of Wisconsin.

Temperatures are in the teens throughout the state for the most part. But Burlington in Racine County had seven above at 7 a.m. Sparta in west-central Wisconsin was the state’s cold spot at plus-three.

Winds were either light or non-existent so it’s not like there are any bone-rattling wind chills.

The cold air moved in after yesterday’s clouds headed east. But the National Weather Service said another cold front will bring a chance of more snow to northern Wisconsin through tonight.

Highs statewide are expected to be in the 20’s and 30’s between now and Thursday. But a warm-up is predicted for Friday, and the mercury could hit 50 by Saturday in some areas.

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Hacker steals $150,000 from school payroll checks

The FBI is reportedly trying to find out how a computer hacker stole $150,000 in payroll checks for employees in the Stanley-Boyd School District.

School official Jim Jones told the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram that he spoke with an FBI agent for an hour Monday, and it’s not known how the money was stolen.

The FBI’s Leonard Peace would not confirm or deny an investigation.

The paper said the district sent its payroll funds to Madison’s Anchor Bank last week as usual so checks for 150 employees could be processed. But late Wednesday, Jones said the bank reported that the payroll was modified. Jones blamed the bank, saying the data was correct when it left his office.

Anchor Bank has not commented.

The employees were paid last Friday from other funds.

Stanley-Boyd officials said either the school district’s insurance or the bank’s insurance would eventually cover the loss of the stolen funds.

In the meantime, Jones said, it should be assumed that the hacker has the employees’ bank account data, and those workers are urged to get their account numbers changed to avoid identity theft.

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Hunting-after-dark plan stalled

Nighttime deer hunting was to begin last night for Chippewa Indians in much of northern Wisconsin.

But the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission said it did not issue any permits while the state challenges the commission’s decision from last week to allow the shooting after dark.

Sue Erickson of the Fish and Wildlife agency said 74 members of five Chippewa tribes have completed proficiency tests. She also said her agency was expected to file a response either last night or this morning to a legal request by the state Department of Natural Resources to reject the nighttime hunt.

Chippewa tribes first sought the after-dark hunting in 1989 under their centuries-old treaty rights. But Federal Judge Barbara Crabb shot it down back then. She agreed with the DNR that it poses a safety risk and that the state’s ban on nighttime deer hunting also applied to the tribes.

But new tensions have emerged between the state and its Indian tribes over wolf hunting and looser regulations so new mines could be created – both of which tribal leaders opposed.

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Amish boy dies in farm accident

A 12-year-old Amish boy who died after being trampled by horses on his western Wisconsin farm was identified yesterday as Leroy Lambright of Blair.

Trempealeau County sheriff’s deputies said the youngster was unhitching a manure spreader from a team of two horses, but the animals somehow got spooked and trampled young Leroy as he tried to run away.

He died at the scene.

Deputies are still investigating the incident, which happened Saturday on Lambright family farm near Blair.

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Recycling company, sand maker apply for ‘Green Tier’ status

The Department of Natural Resources is taking public comments on three businesses that want to join the state’s Green Tier program.

The metal recycling firm of Waukesha Iron and Metal has applied for the program along with silica sand maker Unimin and the Badger Mining Corporation.

The Green Tier program offers more flexible state regulations for companies that are committed to protecting the environment.

The DNR will take written comments on the three applications through Dec. 19. More information is available at the DNR’s Website, accessible at Wisconsin.gov.

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Don’t-call list now a decade old

Wisconsin is about to observe the 10th anniversary of one of the state government’s most popular programs – the do-not-call list for telemarketers.

Hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites have enjoyed relative peace and quiet over the last decade. And Friday is the deadline to either sign up to get on the next quarterly no-call list or renew your spot.

People must re-register at least every two years so telemarketers can be assured that the no-call list is accurate. Those who don’t sign up by Friday will have to wait until to make the next quarterly list which comes out in April.

Wisconsin’s first no-call list was sent to telemarketers in January 2003. Only landlines could be registered at first, but lawmakers agreed to add cell phones a few years later.

While the law keeps most pitchmen at bay, it does not stop all solicitations. Political candidates can still call, and so can charities and companies that you’ve done business with before. Foreign scammers have become more of a problem in recent years.

In the last legislative session, there was talk of doing away with Wisconsin’s no-call list and making everybody join a similar national list. But the idea never went anywhere.

To get on the list, log onto nocall.wisconsin.gov or call 1-866-9NO-CALL.

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Jail escapee shot, killed after alleged robbery attempt

A robbery suspect shot and killed by Milwaukee police was a jail escapee from Washington County who fled after being released for a dentist appointment.

Authorities said Daniel Kleinmann, 28, of Germantown was supposed to be serving time for identity theft when he robbed a man Saturday afternoon on Milwaukee’s south side. Witnesses told Officer Shawn Pecoraro where to find Kleinmann.

Police Chief Ed Flynn said the suspect’s actions led the officer to believe that his life was in danger and that’s when he shot and killed the alleged robber. Flynn would not say why the officer felt threatened. The matter is under investigation.

Pecoraro, 39, a 15-year Milwaukee Police veteran, is on administrative duty for now.

Officials said Kleinmann knew the robbery victim, and he was expected to sell auto parts to the victim when he held him up. The victim told police that Kleinmann had a gun, but officers said they did not find a weapon on or near him.

Washington County authorities said Kleinmann started serving an eight-month jail sentence Nov. 16 with work release privileges. He was allowed to go to the dentist Nov. 19 but never returned. A felony warrant had been issued for his arrest.

Kleinmann is the 15th person killed by Milwaukee police since 2007 and the 34th in the last decade.

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Alaskan searchers give up hunt for survivalist

After almost two weeks of searching, rescuers in Alaska say they’ve given up looking for a northern Wisconsin survivalist who set out alone in the wilderness.

Thomas Seibold, 31, of Three Lakes separated from his traveling companions in late September to spend time alone with nature. He planned to stay at a remote cabin through October and then take a flight home to Wisconsin Nov. 15, but he didn’t make the flight.

An air-and-ground search began after Seibold was supposed to contact somebody by Nov. 11 and didn’t.

The Alaska State Patrol said it spent 13 days looking for Seibold, who’s an experienced outdoorsman and a teacher at the Talking Drum outdoor School. The search covered 3,500 square miles. It ended during the weekend when a final sortie was made in a steep mountain area of northwest Alaska.

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Trial begins for man accused of stabbing friend 55 times

Testimony begins today in the trial of a Milwaukee man accused of killing another man by stabbing him 55 times.

Alexander Goodenough, 28, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Kenneth Johnson, 57.

Johnson was found dead July 7 at a rooming house the victim owned. According to police, Goodenough claimed at first that he had no idea what happened, but he admitted to the killing the next day.

Prosecutors said Goodenough accidentally stabbed Johnson, and the victim responded by swinging his fists. Goodenough then said he stabbed Johnson repeatedly until he collapsed.

Defense lawyer Kelli Thompson said the two men were good friends, and most of the victim’s 55 stab wounds were minor cuts that Johnson got while Goodenough was trying to defend himself. She said her client was shocked that his friend had died, and he panicked and took $150 from Johnson’s room.

Goodenough’s trial is scheduled to last through the end of the week.

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Walker for expanding freeway, against raising gas tax, charging tolls

Gov. Scott Walker says he’s against proposed delays in expanding Milwaukee’s Zoo freeway interchange and Interstate 39-90 south of Madison.

But he also downplayed the idea of raising the state’s gasoline tax or charging tolls on existing freeways.

The state Department of Transportation’s budget request called for a two-year delay to 2020 in completing an expansion of the Zoo Interchange, which is the state’s busiest.

The agency said delays were possible in adding a third lane on the Interstate from Madison to the Illinois border unless new sources of revenue are found. A state commission is looking at the options.

But the governor says there’s not a big public appetite for a gas tax increase, and it would take too much time for the required federal approvals for toll roads.

But Walker did express support for an idea he first floated a couple years ago – charging drivers to use faster express lanes on the Milwaukee freeways. The federal government could allow it when new lanes are built.

Recently, incoming Assembly Speaker Robin Vos called for tolls on the most popular expressways used by visitors – including I-94 in his home county of Racine.

The commission is also looking at making Wisconsin the first state to charge a fee according to how much people drive. But Vos says folks are not ready for that concept, and Walker did not mention it when he discussed the highway situation yesterday.

Tags: state news, news, wisconsin, crime