|
|
|
|
Click here for NOAA Mississippi River Stage information
CONTACT US for picture reproduction of photos in our paper...reasonable prices!
June 23, 2010 |
By Ted Pennekamp
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) will be undertaking several road construction projects in the Prairie du Chien area this summer and early fall. The Bridgeport Bridge over the Wisconsin River on Highway 35-18 will have work done to its expansion joints and will also receive an epoxy overlay on its bridge deck, said DOT Project Manager Dan Kleinertz. The Bridgeport Bridge project will be completed with the use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. It is expected to cost $750,000. The project is expected to begin in mid August and last until Nov. 1. Kleinertz said that there will be stoplights at either end of the bridge and that traffic will be reduced to one lane during the construction. Another bridge that will receive upgrading through ARRA funds is the Boscobel Bridge over the Wisconsin River. The project is expected to cost $500,000 and should begin in mid-August and run through mid-September. The bridge will receive an epoxy overlay on its deck. The project will be a flagging operation during daylight hours, said Kleinertz. The DOT will be replacing two bridges in Soldiers Grove on Highway 131 over the Kickapoo River. One bridge project is underway and is expected to be completed by July 20. When the first bridge is done, work on the other bridge will begin. The second bridge replacement is expected to be completed by Oct. 15. The total cost of the two bridge projects will be $1.9 million to be paid for by the state. Lunda Construction of Black River Falls is the primary contractor. "Both of these bridges are functionally obsolete," said Kleinertz, who noted that there will be detours within Soldiers Grove. Another major project will be Highway 27 from the northern limits of Eastman to the southern limits of Seneca. Kleinertz said that this 7.5-mile section of roadway needed to be addressed because of bad rutting and cracking. This mill and overlay project will cost $3.2 million and is expected to run from Aug. 1 through Oct. 15. Kleinertz said that the primary contractor is not yet known. He said that traffic will be reduced to one lane. The DOT will also be conducting a mill and overlay project on 14.3 miles of Highway 35 from County E in Crawford County to 1.5 miles north of Highway 82. The $3.5 million project will be paid for through federal and state funding, said Kleinertz. The project will begin in early August and run through mid-October. Traffic will be reduced to one lane.
By Jen Schultz
In a special meeting of the Prairie du Chien Common Council on Tuesday, June 22, the council unanimously agreed to adopt the State of Wisconsin's statute establishing a smoking ban as a City Ordinance. The City Ordinance will take effect on Monday, July 5, at the same time as the state statute. A discussion about how strict the City should make the ordinance brought Keith Coburn, President of the Crawford County Tavern League to speak about concerns for the tavern owners stating that this ban could create an economic hardship on them. City Administrator Aaron Kramer stated that the City has the ability to be stricter, but not more lenient on state statutes. The council also came out of closed session to grant the waiver of residency requirement for Joni Clausen, the deputy city clerk treasurer, and accept the agreement with clause, contingent on the execution of a waiver of claim by both the attorney for the City and the employee. Clausen was recently hired to fill the position after Judy Lee retired. Currently, the ordinance does not require complete residency within the city limits, but it will be up for review with the personnel committee on July 6.
By Jen Schultz
Prairie du Chien Police Chief Michael King announced his retirement on Tuesday, June 22. His last official day will be June 30, 2010. King will receive a severance package and full benefits as well as have the ability to file for social security. King has been on temporary suspension with pay since June 1, pending an internal investigation and audit into the Prairie du Chien Scholarship Fund and Prairie du Chien Canine Fund. Both of these funds are operated by the Prairie du Chien Police Department. The scholarship fund is shared with the Sheriff's Department, but that agency is not part of the investigation, according to City Administrator Aaron Kramer. "We had talked off and on about him retiring since I started working for the City in January," comments City Administrator Aaron Kramer, "so his retirement was not unexpected." Kramer then stressed that King was not forced into retirement, resignation, nor was King fired by the Police and Fire Commission of Prairie du Chien. Kramer states "King has been extremely cooperative in explaining the money transfers in question." Kramer acknowledges that he was prepared to bring items forward pertaining to the investigation at the Police and Fire Commission meeting set for Thursday, June 24 ,where the commission consisting of Kersten Rocksvold, Mike Leard, Mike McCoy, Bob Meyer and Roy George would have determined whether King was guilty or innocent. In a press release dated June 22, City Administrator Aaron Kramer said "On behalf of all of us in city government, I want to wish Mike the best of luck in his future endeavors. The past few weeks have been difficult for all of us, but in all of my dealings with Mike, he has shown me the two qualities I look for in a Chief of Police - dignity and respect, even in this turbulent time. He will be missed. At this point, our internal investigation has come to a conclusion." "Furthermore, I want to thank those who assisted in the internal investigation, including Chief King, and I want to stress that this investigation was not department-wide, did not involve anyone outside the Police Department, and it did not involve anyone in the Sheriff's Department," Kramer added in the press release. King has served as police chief of Prairie du Chien for 14 years. Sergeant Chad Abram is the interim acting police chief during the investigation.
The Police and Fire Commission will decide at their meeting on Thursday, June 24, whether to hire or appoint a new police chief for Prairie du Chien.
June 21, 2010 |
An early morning blaze destroyed the former Lochner Building on Monday, June 7. The remains of the building, located next to the former Hamann's Variety Store in the 200 block of East Blackhawk Avenue in Prairie du Chien, were removed on Wednesday, June 16. According to Prairie du Chien Fire Chief Harry Remz, the cause of the fire is undetermined. They know where the fire started, but not how. The fire started above the dropped ceiling in the back service area. Fire investigators believe the fire probably burned for hours above the ceiling before it broke through and took off. They believe the initial explosion was caused by a backdraft. Remz pointed out that other explosions could have been caused by a propane cylinder, tires that were mounted on rims that burst, an acetylene torch and cylinders, freon cylinders and the fuel tanks of the vehicles stored in the building.
By Ted Pennekamp
County Highway K north of Prairie du Chien is in the process of being widened in order to accommodate bicycle/walking trails on both sides of the roadway. County K will be widened by a total of 12 feet, six feet on either side for bicyclists and pedestrians, said Crawford County Highway Commissioner Dennis Pelock.
"County K is the busiest road owned by the county," said Pelock, who noted that 1,600 vehicles drive on the road every day. "The project is for safety because County K is also a high-activity area for bicyclists, joggers and walkers," Pelock said. "It's also a big truck route." Pelock said that the project should be completed by the end of next week. Along with the bicycle/walking lanes, some drainage issues will be taken care of as well as seal-coating of the road. The bicycle/walking trail project along with the drainage repair is expected to cost $100,000. Pelock said that the seal-coating is expected to cost $30,000.
By Jen Schultz
One week has passed since the City of Prairie du Chien has started using Interstate EMS as the City's primary emergency medical service. "It's been fantastic," comments Julie Cipra, Crawford County 911 Director, about the response times by Interstate EMS to 911 calls. Cipra stated the longest time has been about four minutes before an ambulance was leaving the garage with a crew and that was because the power was out and they had to manually open the garage door. "Most of the time, they are responding within one to two minutes," says Cipra.
Two weeks ago, Prairie du Chien Emergency Medical Service (PdC EMS) lost their medical director and could not legally respond to any medical calls. On Saturday, June 12 Interstate EMS was made the primary EMS service for all of Crawford County after PdC EMS did not respond to three calls. Interstate EMS responded to those three calls as the secondary responder. At the City Council meeting on June 15, the City of Prairie du Chien signed a six month contract with Interstate EMS to be the primary EMS service. Interstate EMS has been in Prairie du Chien for 14 years. The company is owned by Dan and Dee Kussmaul. Currently they have 15 employees, but due to the recent contract as Prairie du Chien's primary responder, they are hoping to have 15 additional employees within the next month. Originally Interstate EMS started as a transport business, taking patients from one hospital to another. Interstate EMS is licensed in Wisconsin and Iowa. PdC EMS has recently named a new medical director, Dr. Daniel Icenogle of the Vernon County Memorial Hospital. Dr. Icenogle works in the Vernon County Memorial Hospital's emergency department. He is the medical director to an EMS service in the town of Madison, another service in Crawford County and several services in Vernon County. "We need to make sure we're on track before we start up again," admits Sue Koresh, Vice President of PdC EMS. "We're hoping to approach surrounding towns and villages as soon as we get our license reinstated," she added. The PdC EMS is a volunteer emergency medical service that has been in Prairie du Chien since 1964. The non-profit volunteer organization has a roster of 37 members with approximately 20 active members. In the past year, PdC EMS has responded to approximately 675 incidents. PdC EMS is still able to respond to calls needing the use of the jaws or technical rescues, since they do not require medical direction.
Nicky Symons, Basic Life Support program coordinator for the Wisconsin State EMS office, has stated that there is an on-going investigation involving PdC EMS. She hopes to have the investigation completed by the end of the week. According to Symons, her office has issued orders that certain parameters need to be met in order for the organization to legally function. "We want emergency medical services to run right," Symons said. The state EMS office has the ability to sanction, suspend, discipline and revoke licenses for EMS organizations in the state of Wisconsin.
