Lack of OWI disclosure sinks St. Francis bar

July 22, 2010 11:20 a.m. | St. Francis - The Common Council voted 6-0 this week to refuse to renew the license of Shorty's Pub based on the owner's failure to admit he had been convicted of operating while intoxicated in the past year.

Tavern licenses are issued July 1 of each year.

The OWI conviction itself didn't disqualify Shorty's from getting its annual beer and liquor licenses renewed, but falsifying an application is grounds for a non-renewal, City Administrator Ralph Voltner said.

The owner of Shorty's, Todd Schultz, told the council Tuesday he filled out the application quickly and didn't realize he had made an error. He said he is also paying overdue bills owed to suppliers in hopes of reopening the tavern.

Voltner said that unpaid bills also are a basis for not renewing a tavern's license but that Shorty's could reapply if Schultz fills out a new application and pays the bills.

St. Francis bar could lose license if owner lied about OWI

July 19, 2010 4:28 p.m. | St. Francis - The Common Council could decide Tuesday to revoke the license of Shorty's Pub because the owner allegedly lied about being convicted of operating while intoxicated.

An OWI conviction itself wouldn't disqualify Shorty's from getting its annual beer and liquor licenses renewed, but falsifying an application is grounds for a non-renewal, City Administrator Ralph Voltner said Monday.

The owner of Shorty's, Todd Schultz, could not be reached for comment.

Schultz wrote on his annual license renewal application for the tavern that he had not been convicted in the past year "of any offenses, excluding traffic offenses not related to alcohol," City Clerk Anne Uecker said.

But Schultz in fact was convicted of an OWI in Franklin in the past year, according to Voltner.

St. Francis to regulate gold buyers

July 07, 2010 10:40 a.m. | St. Francis - The Common Council has approved an ordinance that regulates gold buyers, might hire a private firm to provide crossing guards and refused to make an exception to a requirement that the fire chief live in the city.

City Administrator Ralph Voltner said Wednesday that the council on Tuesday:

• Adopted an ordinance that sets rules for the operation of pawnbrokers, secondhand article dealers and secondhand jewelry dealers, spelling out what records must be kept and what information must be provided to police. The ordinance is aimed at the growing number of retailers that buy used gold.

The Milwaukee Common Council, aiming to contain home burglaries, is scheduled Wednesday to consider an ordinance imposing rules on gold buyers, including requiring them and other secondhand dealers to report transactions on a police-approved website.

• Directed a committee to study a proposal from a Minneapolis security firm to provide crossing guards. The committee will determine whether using the firm rather than city employees might save money or managerial time.

St. Francis may regulate gold buyers

July 06, 2010 2:12 p.m. | St. Francis - Following other cities, St. Francis might create an ordinance to manage the growing number of stores that buy gold.

More broadly, an ordinance that the Common Council will consider tonight would set rules for the operation of pawnbrokers, secondhand article dealers and secondhand jewelry dealers, City Administrator Ralph Voltner said.

Voltner said one retailer has applied to the city for permission to buy gold in St. Francis.

The Milwaukee Common Council on Wednesday is scheduled to consider an ordinance imposing rules on gold buyers, including requiring them and other secondhand dealers to report transactions on a police-approved web site.

Milwaukee officials see it as a way to contain home burglaries.

St. Francis may contract with firm for crossing guards

July 06, 2010 11:58 a.m. | St. Francis - A Minneapolis firm that provides crossing guards to a half-dozen Milwaukee suburbs is proposing to provide crossing guards for St. Francis, saying the city could save money and time.

The proposal is being made by Twin City Security, which serves Shorewood, Wauwatosa, West Milwaukee and other communities, St. Francis City Administrator Ralph Voltner said.

Voltner said it's not clear that hiring the firm would save money, given that the firm's employees earn a higher hourly pay than city employees who work as crossing guards. But it's possible the city could save money and time in terms of recruiting and managing crossing guards, he said.

The proposal will be presented tonight to the Common Council.

St. Francis Independence Day photo gallery now online

July 05, 2010 1:28 p.m. | St. Francis was awash with red, white and blue as young and old alike turned out for the city's Independence Day festivities, as seen in this photo gallery.

In addition to free ice cream and pony rides, parade-goers got to see Miss Southern Wisconsin Stephanie Obst.

Go to photo gallery.

Want to win Summerfest tickets? Head over to Twitter

June 24, 2010 10:20 a.m. | It's the opening day of Summerfest, and it's also your chance to win some free Summerfest tickets.

All you need to do is follow @MyCommunityNOW on Twitter and tweet the following: "Follow @MyCommunityNOW and RT this for a chance to win a pair of #Summerfest tickets."

We will be giving away a total of five pairs of tickets in two random drawings. The first drawing will be held at noon tomorrow. The second drawing will be held at noon on Wednesday. You have to tweet the message only once to be entered in both drawings.

Winners will be contacted on Twitter and will need to pick the tickets up at our office in Waukesha.

Trial ordered for former Cudahy student in overdose case

June 03, 2010 5:30 p.m. | A former Cudahy High School student was ordered Thursday to stand trial on a charge that he gave a prescription medicine to a fellow student who suffered an overdose reaction in school.

The order was issued after David Opalinski, 18, of St. Francis waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the felony charge of delivery of a drug.

He is scheduled to enter a plea to the charge, which carries a maximum prison term of six years, on June 10.

Opalinski is accused of giving Xanax, which is prescribed for anxiety disorders and panic attacks, to a 17-year-old student who later suffered a reaction and was briefly hospitalized.

The boy said Opalinski gave him the Xanax to cover a $5 debt for a previous drug transaction, according to a Cudahy police report.

Homestead names new athletic director

May 18, 2010 12:43 p.m. | Mequon – The Mequon-Thiensville School Board Monday approved the appointment of Ryan Mangan as director of the school's Athletic and Recreation Department.

Mangan currently serves as athletic director at St. Thomas More High School in St. Francis. He will replace longtime director Charlie Gross, who left the school in February to take a position with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in February.

Homestead girls track and golf coach John Krueger, who also was one of three finalists for the AD's job, has been filling the position on an interim basis.

Superintendent Demond Means said a thorough background check was made before Mangan was recommended for the position.

"There was one consistent message," Means said of the feedback he and fellow administrators received. "(Mangan) is a great communicator and put his students first."

St. Francis to consider mayor's 'ugly fences' measure

May 05, 2010 2:02 p.m. | St. Francis - Mayor Al Richards' request to stop any more residents from erecting "ugly fences" will be considered.

Richards wants to tighten city codes to prohibit what he views as unsightly fences that are visible from the street. He's not a fan, for example, of six-foot-tall wooden fences.

Richards said he has raised the issue before and the council hasn't taken action. But he said Wednesday that the Common Council decided Tuesday to refer his request to one of its committees.

St. Francis agenda gets to the point: "ugly fences"

May 04, 2010 2:20 p.m. | St. Francis - In one of the shortest items ever put on a city council agenda, the Common Council tonight will consider: "ugly fences."

Mayor Al Richards said he requested the discussion because he has been bugged for years by residential fences that are visible from the street and, in his view, quite unsightly.

"I've never been a fan of these six-foot-tall solid-wood fences. They just look like a stockade wall and I don't' like 'em," he said.

Richards said he'd like the council to ban residents from putting up such fences in the future. He said he's hopeful because three of the council's six aldermen were just elected last month. But he's not optimistic.

"I have absolutely zero confidence of it getting anywhere," Richards said of his proposal, "but I'm going to try it anyway."

Miss St. Francis 2010 photo gallery now online

April 16, 2010 11:47 a.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery from the 46th annual Miss St. Francis Pageant, which was won by Oak Creek's Angela Ahcin.

Ahcin took home a $2,500 scholarship to the school of her choice and earned the opportunity to compete at the 2010 Miss Wisconsin Pageant this June.

Ahcin was joined in the event by four others from Oak Creek and competitors from South Milwaukee and Cudahy.

Go to photo gallery.

St. Francis company settles air pollution lawsuit

April 13, 2010 3:12 p.m. | One week after a lawsuit was filed, a St. Francis company has agreed to pay $220,000 to settle allegations that it failed to properly control and monitor air emissions, state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced Tuesday.

The settlement was approved Tuesday in a lawsuit filed April 7 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, court records show.

According to a statement from Van Hollen, Kitzinger Cooperage Corp. operates a drum reclamation facility and violated state pollution laws from 2004 through 2008.

The company in 2008 obtained environmental consulting services and has worked with the Department of Natural Resources to resolve the violations, the statement says.

In 1996, Kitzinger was one of 10 firms in southeastern Wisconsin honored by the DNR for reducing emissions of chemicals that contributed to ozone pollution.

St. Francis 'starter home' initiative shows mixed success

March 31, 2010 12:04 p.m. | St. Francis - Three years in, a program designed to keep more residents in their "starter home" has had mixed success.

Starting in 2007, the city agreed to waive all building inspection fees - about $2,000 - for anyone who made significant additions to their home. The additions had to increase the assessed value of the home by more than 50% to qualify for the fee waivers.

The idea, City Administrator Ralph Voltner said Wednesday, was to keep more residents from leaving St. Francis for larger homes elsewhere.

"We have been viewed as a starter-home community," he said.

Three residents took advantage of the program in 2007, one did in 2008 and three more did in 2009, city Building Inspector Craig Vretenar said.

St. Francis judge open to write-in votes

March 31, 2010 10:38 a.m. | St. Francis - Municipal Judge Peter Hemmer may remain on the bench after all.

Hemmer, who has been the city's judge for more than a decade, filed paperwork declaring that he would not seek re-election April 6.

But no other candidates filed for the office, leaving the ballot blank.

After reconsidering, however, Hemmer is now spreading the word that he is willing to remain in the part-time post if elected as a write-in candidate, City Administrator Ralph Voltner said Wednesday.

Hemmer is not officially registered as a write-in candidate, but he would be re-elected to a two-year term if he receives more write-in votes than anyone else, Voltner said.