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By ISRAL DEBRUIN
June 19, 2009 10:28 a.m. | About 20 Wauwatosa West High School band students and their parents gathered last night to again speak out against a district staffing decision that will cut the band director's hours by 30 percent this fall.
Student Alex Steiner spoke alongside his father, arguing that the band program will suffer if director Richard Smith's position is cut to part time. "The quality of our band will likely decrease significantly," he said.
Parent Donna Pfaff has been spearheading a grass-roots effort via e-mail to rally supporters against the decision. Pfaff said parents and students will attend Monday's School Board meeting to assert their opposition to the plan and to show that they "aren't going away." They've also scheduled a meeting with Superintendent Phil Ertl Tuesday.
"The only way we're going to be heard by the administration is if we go to Mr. Ertl himself," Pfaff said.
Because of declining band enrollment, district administrators plan have Smith spend just 70 percent of his time at West. The remainder of his hours would be spent teaching music at Whitman Middle School and Madison Elementary School.
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By
MARK SCHAAF
12:44 p.m. | The West Allis-West Milwaukee School District expects to receive $2.1 million from a federal jobs bill and it will use it to help fund the 2011-12 budget.
The money is part of the federal Education Jobs Fund, designed to save teacher jobs. Districts must spend the money by September 2012.
West Allis-West Milwaukee anticipates a $6 million shortfall in the 2011-12 school year, so administrators decided to spend the money then.
"This will go a long way in saving jobs and maintaining programs," Business Director Deb Rouse said.
By
Mark Maley
Aug. 31, 2010 5:14 p.m. | After nearly 14 years on the job, Wauwatosa Fire Chief Dean Redman announced today that he will be stepping down in January.
Redman said he is leaving because he and his wife plan to move to the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., area to be closer to some of their family. The couple also have accepted positions with Call To Be Family, an international faith-based organization designed to strengthen the relationships between husbands and wives.
Redman, 63, has been chief since 1996, after working for the Rockford (Ill.) Fire Department for 25 years.
He said he is retiring now for personal reasons and because at this time there are no major pending issues before the department.
Redman oversaw the opening of the new fire station on Underwood Avenue in June, which he considers one of the five top accomplishments of his career.
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By LORI WEISS
Aug. 31, 2010 3:35 p.m. | A 43-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for being drunk and disorderly inside Denny's, 11155 W. North Ave., at 9:07 p.m. Aug. 29.
According to the Wauwatosa police report:
The man had come into Denny's about 8 p.m. and repeatedly filled up a glass with wine that he had brought into the restaurant. He then began to get loud and obnoxious.
He threw food and vomited on the table in front of him. The man was asked to leave; he refused. When he got up he threatened to hit one of the patrons. He had a blood-alcohol content of 0.31.
By MARY BUCKLEY
Aug. 31, 2010 3:10 p.m. | Brown Deer — The Brown Deer Education Association and the School Board have agreed to a new two-year contract for the teachers.
Under the terms of the contract, teachers will receive a 1.9 percent pay raise for the 2009-10 school year and a 2.04 percent raise for 2010-11.
Union members approved by a 133-2 vote, while the School Board vote was 6-1. Board member Barry Godshaw, who cast the no vote, said he didn't agree with a raise for 2009-10.
"I was looking for a zero percent for that first year," Godshaw said. Godshaw said he would support a small increase for the second year of the contract.
According to a news release from the district and association, the 2008-09 starting salary for a new teacher of $35,426 will increase to $36,046 in 2009-10 and in 2010-11 to $36,677.
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By LORI WEISS
Aug. 31, 2010 3:08 p.m. | A 50-year-old Wauwatosa woman was arrested for child neglect after police found her face down on the ground and in possession of a half-full bottle of vodka outside her home at 2:08 p.m. Saturday.
According to Wauwatosa police:
When officers arrived, they found the woman on the ground with two 10-year-old girls standing on the sidewalk next to her.
The woman became combative and attempted to kick the officer. She repeatedly used profanities in front of the two girls.
She told police she had planned to meet her daughter and her daughter's friend at Pick 'n Save on State Street, so they could take the bus to Mayfair Mall. On the way, she stopped at Sentry to buy a bottle of vodka before meeting her daughter, and then drank some. She did not believe her intoxicated condition endangered he daughter or her daugther's friend.
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By MARY BUCKLEY
Aug. 31, 2010 10:24 a.m. | Whitefish Bay police have arrested a Milwaukee man they believe is responsible for as many as seven burglaries in the village and neighboring Shorewood.
Police received a call of a prowler in the 1500 block of East Cumberland Boulevard about 1:30 a.m. Monday, according to police.
Responding officers located a suspect who matched the description provided by the caller and arrested him. The facts of this incident closely resemble recent entries to residences in both Whitefish Bay and Shorewood in which homes were entered by cutting first floor window screens at night while residents slept.
Police Chief Robert Jacobs said there were four incidents in Whitefish Bay and three in Shorewood in recent weeks.
The suspect remains in custody, and charges are being sought through the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.
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By Aaron Martin
Aug. 31, 2010 9:07 a.m. | A drunken Brookfield man searching for a place to sleep tried to get caught stealing so he could spend the night in a jailhouse bed, police said.
An officer saw the man steal a number plate from a sign at a gas station at 2:41 a.m. Friday, according to Brookfield police.
When asked why he took the plate, the man said he was drunk and desperate for a warm bed - at any cost.
The man was not cited, and was released to his mother.
Aug. 31, 2010 8:33 a.m. | Today's TMJ4 is reporting that a 42-year-old man arrested for breaking into several homes in the North Shore while the homeowners were sleeping.
Police said the suspect was arrested around 1:30 a.m. on Monday after they received a call about a prowler in the 1500 block of East Cumberland Boulevard in Whitefish Bay.
For more on this story, visit Today's TMJ4's website.
By Beth Earnest
Aug. 31, 2010 8:25 a.m. | New Berlin — The city's largest employer hopes to expand its headquarters by more than 30 percent next year.
The city's Plan Commission opened discussion on BuySeasons Inc.'s expansion during a public hearing Monday, but tabled any action on the project until its Oct. 4 meeting.
BuySeasons, an online retailer of costumes and party supplies, has made New Berlin its home since it was founded in 1999. The corporate headquarters now occupies a 360,000-square-foot building along South Moorland Road, and the company wants to add 130,000 square feet on the north side of the property along Small Road.
The company employs more than 500 people year-round and more than 2,200 during its peak season, from August to October.
CEO and founder Jalem Getz said the expansion would add more jobs in all divisions of the company-management, distribution, the call center and manufacturing.
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By Aaron Martin
Aug. 30, 2010 6:28 p.m. | A Brookfield man who offered a neighbor companionship and sex for hire received instead a stern warning from police to leave the woman alone.
A 25-year-old woman in the 1100 block of Links Court reported Aug. 26 that her neighbor, a 19-year-old man, left a letter under her door stating that he was interested in starting a relationship with her, and that he would accept money in exchange for sex, according to Brookfield police.
Officers warned the man to not contact the woman again, and no citations were issued, police said.
By
Jim Riccioli
Aug. 30, 2010 2:29 p.m. | New Berlin — If the budget process allows it, Beloit Road would get a makeover by 2017 to deal with its high accident rate and traffic volume between Moorland Road and National Avenue.
Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas included such a project in his 2011-15 Five-Year Capital Plan, a significant portion of his proposed 2011 budget.
The unspecified work, for which design work would begin in 2015 for construction in 2017, would involve either a rehabilitation or reconstruction of Beloit Road in the south central part of New Berlin. The stretch of road reaches a volume of about 5,000 vehicles per day, according to a 2007 study, and a new Children's Hospital facility is adding to development along the roadway, Vrakas said in a press release.
The County Board was expected to see Vrakas' capital plan Wednesday and review the full 2011 budget later in September. The budget will be approved sometime in November.
By ALAN HAMARI
Aug. 30, 2010 10:54 a.m. | The state has ordered Brookfield's Church and Chapel Funeral Services to suspend its operations for 25 days because the business cremated hundreds of human remains while its license was expired earlier this year.
According to a news release from the Department of Regulation and Licensing:
Church and Chapel cremated 272 human remains between Jan. 1 and April 25, even though its license to do so was expired.
Church and Chapel also cremated human remains in May 2007 without the correct documentation.
After the suspension is complete, Church and Chapel will have limited privileges and will have to provide quarterly reports that include a notarized affidavit logging their daily cremations to show they are in compliance with the state's order.
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By
MARK SCHAAF
Aug. 27, 2010 8:35 p.m. | A small outbreak of impetigo on the Nathan Hale football team has been mostly contained, West Allis Health Commissioner Terry Brandenburg said.
About a dozen athletes on the football team and a few more on the soccer team were affected by the skin infection, which usually produces blisters, boils or sores on the face and hands but can appear anywhere on the body.
The school district sent a letter to parents last week explaining the condition and how to prevent and treat it, Brandenburg said.
Maintenance and athletic staff began sanitizing the locker room, weight room and equipment twice a day, according to the letter. Those control measures seem to work because the Health Department has not heard of cases in the last several days, he said.
Impetigo is transmitted through direct person-to-person contact and can take between one to 10 days before symptoms develop.
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By
MARK SCHAAF
Aug. 27, 2010 1:04 p.m. | Greenfield police are investigating a Friday morning robbery of a 27th Street bank.
According to a Greenfield Police Department news release, a man walked into Anchor Bank about 10 a.m., approached a teller and handed over a note saying it was a robbery and demanded money.
He left the bank, 5101 S. 27th St., on foot with an unknown amount of cash. No weapon was displayed.
The suspect was described as white, about 40 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall, and was wearing a long-sleeve blue or black dress shirt, black jeans, white shoes and a blue baseball cap. The cap had a dog- or wolf-type logo.
Anyone with information can anonymously call WeTip at (800) 722-7463 or Greenfield police at (414) 761-5301.
By
MARK SCHAAF
Aug. 26, 2010 12:30 p.m. | The pregame festivities at this afternoon's Brewers game have a distinct Franklin feel.
Members of the state champion Franklin Sabers baseball team are being introduced before the start of the game, and Coach Jim Hughes will throw out the first pitch.
The Sabers defeated West Bend West on July 29 to win the WIAA summer state baseball tournament.
The Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Clinics-New Berlin blog offers health and safety guidelines, as well as tips on injury prevention, seasonal health, parenting and resources for families. 
