Author: jnweaver

More than two weeks after revelations that Dane County’s 911 Center may have mishandled a call from the cell phone of UW-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann around the time she was murdered, the community is still asking questions about the efficacy of the 911 center and demanding quick action from public officials.

Nearly 100 people — including at least a dozen reporters — packed the basement of the Fitchburg Community Center on Monday night for an unofficial public hearing on the 911 system. More than 30 people spoke, and another 30 registered their concerns.

A 21-year-old UW-Madison student was injured Thursday when her bicycle was struck by a car at the intersection of Lathrop Street and Van Hise Avenue on Madison’s west side.

Madison police said the driver of the car was southbound on Lathrop and the bicyclist was eastbound on Van Hise shortly after noon Thursday.

“Pomp and Circumstance” will be the hit song of the weekend as seven commencement ceremonies take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday for three Madison institutes of higher learning.

Graduation ceremonies for UW-Madison will be at the Kohl Center Friday through Sunday, Madison Area Technical College has commencement Saturday at the Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center, and Edgewood College graduates will get their diplomas Sunday at the Coliseum.

Traffic on Dayton Street and in the Kohl Center area will most likely be congested, as UW-Madison students continue their massive move-out from Witte, Sellery and Ogg Hall dormitories on Dayton Street and Johnson Street, coupled with five commencement exercises for UW grads.

A man who allegedly tried to steal from the burned-out Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house on Langdon Street was arrested by Madison police Wednesday night.

Wilkie L. Johnson, 43, was tentatively charged with burglary, criminal damage to property, resisting an officer, obstructing an officer, unlawful trespass and a probation violation.

She knew her Brewers, Bucks and Packers. She even surprised herself by knowing Flavor Flav.

But a bit of history that involved President John Tyler and Texas stumped Suchita Shah, and the UW-Madison senior saw her run on “Jeopardy!” end in a semifinal that aired on Wednesday. By making it that far, she won $10,000 at the college tournament that was filmed at the Kohl Center last month.

MADISON, Wis. — Several members of the Dane County Board of Supervisors announced plans to hold a community meeting next Monday in connection to the county’s 911 system and the ongoing controversy about whether a call from the cell phone of a slain University of Wisconsin-Madison student was mishandled.

Barack Obama may have lost West Virginia’s primary on Tuesday, but he won an online “contest” that has yielded him a pair of additional delegates to this summer’s Democratic National Convention.

And that’s got the senator from Illinois personally welcoming a University of Wisconsin student as his latest delegate catch.

Two weeks ago, the president and vice president of College Democrats of America — both convention superdelegates — posted a YouTube video that asked young people to tell them to commit either to Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

“Let me tell you, the responses were overwhelming,” said CDA Vice President Awais Khaleel, a UW senior.

Dane County Supervisor John Hendrick is absolutely right when he says that an independent investigation of the troubled Dane County 911 Center is needed. And the investigation should not stop there.

Each day brings new evidence to suggest that:

1. The 911 Center mishandled a call from UW student Brittany Zimmermann, who was murdered April 2.

2. Investigations of that murder and others have been plagued by miscommunications.

3. Top elected and appointed officials have been more concerned about avoiding controversy than they are about making necessary changes to guarantee public safety.

Madison Police Officer Angie Dyhr realizes that had she happened upon the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity fire even five minutes later, the result could have been devastating.

Dyhr, 33, a mother of three, was patrolling Langdon Street in her squad car when she noticed what appeared to be a campfire or a grill fire in the back of 237 Langdon St. So she pulled in the driveway and notified dispatch right away.

Two weeks earlier she had gone through an in-service training with the fire department, where she learned how quickly a house can become engulfed in fire. She was taught that any time she witnesses a fire — no matter how small — to get on the radio and alert the Fire Department.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and three other media outlets sued Dane County and Madison Tuesday for withholding public records, including a tape of a 911 call made from a murdered college student’s cell phone.

The media groups are seeking the tape and other public records related to a 911 call made from Brittany Sue Zimmermann’s cell phone around the time she was killed April 2. Officials have acknowledged that the 911 dispatcher did not call Zimmermann’s phone back as is required under county protocol, but they have refused to release a copy of the tape, an uncensored copy of an investigation into how the call was handled and other documents.

More than two dozen Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity members who were forced to flee their burning house in Madison now face finals week without their computers or books.

None of the 28 fraternity members living at the house on Langdon St. near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus were injured in the fire, which was discovered late Monday by a police officer who saw a glow coming from the back of the building.

The 25 students evacuated from the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity are being assisted Tuesday in finding temporary living quarters, and the police officer who pounded on the door of the house to awaken and then evacuate all inside is being nominated for a Madison Police Department life-saving award.

The fire destroyed the fraternity at 237 Langdon St., displacing the 25 students living there during finals week.

UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam said all of the young men fleeing the fire Monday night had housing for last night.

“We are checking on where they can go this week,” Berquam said, “possibly into the short-term dorms, but we’ve also had citizens offer their homes to the students for the duration of finals week.”

In the wake of the Brittany Zimmermann phone call to the Dane County 911 center, staffing of the center has improved, and more equipment is coming, according to the chair of the committee overseeing the center.

“The good news is we are making progress in the strategic plan for the 911 center,” said County Board Supervisor Brett Hulsey. “But questions remain on how we deal with hang-ups and how to educate people to take 911 off their speed dial.”

Joe Norwick, 911 center director, gave an update to the Dane County Board’s Personnel and Finance Committee on Monday.