Fatal plane crash

info@wrn.com - Tue, 13 May 2008 15:37:00 -0000

Stevens Point Police Lt Brian Kudronowicz says around 5 pm Monday night a witness reported seeing a plane go down on the edge of the airport. The single engine plane had apparently just taken off. Emergency crews responded to the fiery scene. Police do not know how high the plane was when it began to descend.

There are few witnesses to the incident. Kudronowicz says they received only two phone calls about it one from the airport and another from an outlying area. It appears there were no distress calls from the single engine plane either.

The two people in the plane did not survive. Identities are still to be determined but police say they making progress on that. Inspectors from the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA will be arriving to investigate. 

UW Frat fire

WIBA staff - Tue, 13 May 2008 14:08:00 -0000

Intense flames lit up the overnight sky in downtown Madison as the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house on the UW campus was destroyed in a masive fire. A Madison Fire Department spokeswoman said a police officer driving past the house on a normal patrol around 11:30 p.m. Monday spotted a glow in the rear of the house and reported the fire. She then helped evacuated the building, which houses 25 people. The three-story house was also equipped with a fire protection system, which alert residents to the blaze. The residents got out safely. A firefighter was injured. Flames could be seen for blocks at one point, and the fire burned for more than four hours.

The Red Cross and UW-Madison Dean of Students Office is helping the fraternity members with clothing, food, and temporary housing, as needed. This is finals time at the university. The students lost everything in the fire -- books, notes, and computers. The same house was seriously damaged by a fire in June 1999. Fraternity members are vowing to rebuild their home, which is nothing more than a roofless wooden shell at this point.

Push continues for Wisconsin Covenant

John Burton, WHDG - Tue, 13 May 2008 05:07:00 -0000

Wisconsin's Lieutenant Governor is traveling the state, urging eighth graders to sign up for the Wisconsin Covenant. The program seeks to get kids into higher education.

In Rhinelander, Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton told students education is necessary to have good job prospects. She says every student should have some form of post-high school education if they want to have a family supporting job.

Under the Wisconsin Covenant, eighth grade students agree to maintain good grades, stay out of trouble, take courses to prepare for college, and apply for financial aid. In return, the state will help ensure college access to Wisconsin institutions of higher learning. The Covenant also guarantees access to financial aid packages.

More than 75,000 students have a chance to sign the agreement between now and mid-September.

Giving state workers some time off

John Colbert, WIBA - Tue, 13 May 2008 05:01:00 -0000

Even though a state budget deal appears close, one lawmaker is offering another possible solution to save Wisconsin some money.

State Representative Don Pridemore (R-Hartford) thinks non-emergency should be offered time off without pay to help ease the deficit. He says a three day furlough could result in savings of up to $50 million for the state.

Pridemore also believes contract employees and lawmakers should be offered an option as well to pay back one percent of their salaries to the state.

Chopper remains grounded, staff gets stress counselling

info@wrn.com - Tue, 13 May 2008 00:41:00 -0000

UW Hospital staff struggles to deal with the loss of their colleagues.

Mark Hanson, Program Manager for the UW Hospital Med Flight program, says it was their decision to ground their second medical helicopter until they feel they are emotionally ready to take flight again. That chopper was voluntarily grounded after Saturday night's fatal crash in LaCrosse. Hanson says the staff is undergoing stress debriefing sessions and they'll return to flight when they're good and ready.

Hanson says, considering both choppers are out of service right now, they're using their backup system of networking with other hospitals to serve the community; The UW had averaged about three to four flights per day.

The UW medical helicopter went down after dropping off a patient in LaCrosse. There was no flight data recorder, or so-called black box. A surgeon, a nurse and the pilot were all killed.

The owner of that medical chopper said the craft did not have two safety features designed to prevent night-time crashes. Aaron Todd, Chief Executive Officer with Air Methods Corporation, says night vision goggles and terrain avoidance warning systems were in the process of being installed in their entire fleet of over 330 aircraft. About 39% have been retrofitted already. Todd says they believe the equipment can enhance the safety of each flight, however not having it did not compromise this helicopter's safety.

Toni Morrissey, UW Health spokesperson, says they've been getting well wishes from people in Iraq and all around the world. She says the UW is flooded with requests from people to donate money, so the hospital is temporarily setting up a fund through the UW Foundation and is working on putting together an appropriate recognition and memorial for the crew.

Fitzgerald wants highway fund left alone

info@wrn.com - Mon, 12 May 2008 22:51:00 -0000

One state lawmaker wants assurances that Governor Jim Doyle won't raid the transportation fund. As conferees met Monday to discuss the budget repair deal, state Senator Scott Fitzgerald raised a concern. The Juneau Republican wants assurances from the governor that he won't use his partial veto to fix the budget fix -- by raiding the transportation fund. "For us to move forward on this without having those assurances, without having that nailed down . . . that's ridiculous," said Fitzgerald.

Assembly Majority Leader Mike Huebsch, describing the situation as a "Catch 22," said he's discussed that with Doyle, but received no such assurances: "one of the reasons we wnat veto assurances is to make sure that there's no money taken from the transportation fund, yet the only way I was going to get veto assurances was if I agreed to take money from the transportation fund."

The budget deal, to be voted on this week (a Senate floor session is set for today, and the Assembly is in Wednesday), would take $50 million from the transportation fund to be replaced with borrowed money, which will allow projects to go forward this summer. But Doyle could, if he chooses to, use his veto power to dip deeper into the highway money. Fitzgerald says lawmakers should vote to override any such attempt.