The Dogwood Papers

What's up with Alderman Kalata?

2006-02-19T14:53:00.000-08:00

Outagamie County Courthouse insiders are abuzz with a jury trail featuring Appleton Alderman Walter Kalata who is suing –among others – the federal government. The trial is scheduled to kick off on April 10.

The Post Crescent no longer covers the local courts, choosing instead to rely on press releases and handouts from those with an axe to grind. So we may never know the whole story about Kalata and his lawsuit but here is what we know so far.

For the past several decades, Kalata has represented Appleton’s downtown district. Other than the Mayor, Kalata is Appleton’s only, full-time politician. His pay as an Alderman and the few bucks he picks up doing occasional part-time jobs are his sole source of income.

For almost as long as Kalata has been on the Council, he has claimed his residence as 319 N. Appleton St. Everyone down at City Hall knows that this address is little more than a mail drop. The address is a commercial building with a few apartments on the second floor. A previous tenant would occasionally allow Kalata to sleep in the basement when he was between rooming with “friends.” Maybe Kalata actually does live at the address from time-to-time but, at best, it is sporadic. Some years back, City Officials considered eliminating his name from the election ballot since he was actually living in his car.

So who is Kalata suing?

For one, he his suing the Myse Family Partnership. The Myse family owns the property that Kalata claims to be his residence. It’s his make-believe landlord.

Then, too, he is suing the United States Department of Health and Human Services as part of the same court action.

I’ll bet there is a made-for-TV story unfolding here. One of these nights I’ll have to go to happy hour at Trimbee’s across from the CourtHouse and find out what the story really all about.

Your faithful servant,

Silence

Neenah Politicians Run for Cover

2006-02-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

The folks in Neenah are up in arms over what it perceives as a dysfunctional police force. And the local politicians are running for cover.

The headline-grabbing controversy, of course, is the Dringoli case. A few weeks back the judge through the case out of court calling District Attorney Lennon’s argument “convoluted.”

When the Dringoli case surfaced over a year ago the City Council declared that it wanted to say out of the matter and wouldn’t second guess its police chief. Now with the election looming and the natives up in arms, there is a lot of CYA going on around City Hall.

The other day Mayor George Scherck called up the Post Crescent to report that he had chewed out Police Chief Ray Appel over a $10,000 overrun in the department’s $4.4 million budget. Compared to the $8000, 000 overrun in Sherriff Mike’s Brook’s budget, $10,000 seems to be a drop in the bucket. But, of course, County politicians aren’t on the hot-seat over Brooks mismanagement the way Neenah politicians are on the hot-seat over Scherck’s and Appel’s mismanagement of the police department. Scherck has thus decided to toss Appel to the wolves.

Neenah residents have long known that the “inmates are running the asylum” down at the cop shop, not Appel or Scherck. Now Scherck has won Council approval to bring in an outside consultant to study what ails the Neenah Police Department.

The current rush to bring in outside experts strikes at the very heart of what is ailing Neenah’s political establishment. A few years back, Dringoli upset the City Hall establishment when he reported serious improprieties among police while they were on a taxpayer funded junket to Florida. City Hall politicians derided Dringoli for tattling on his fellow cops. Dringoli responded that the problems ran deep in the police establishment and urged that a consultant be hired to untangle the mess. The politicians laughed at him.

Now, with the political heat on, the politicians seem to be finally agreeing with Dringoli that there is something amiss.

Your faithful servant,

Silence

Hot Stock Tip

2006-02-13T08:42:00.000-08:00

Most folks are familiar with the story “Field of Diamonds.” For those that haven’t heard the story it’s about a young man who leaves the farm in search of his fortune. He spends his entire life searching the world for a field of diamonds that will make him rich. He returns home as a failed, old man only to discover that in his absence a field of diamonds was discovered on the land he abandoned.

The moral to the story is simple. The best opportunities are to be found in one’s own backyard. That may also be good advice when investing your nest egg or IRA.

Oshkosh Truck is one of those solid companies that doesn’t generate much excitement on Wall Street. The company manufactures heavy duty military trucks, fire trucks, cement mixers, garbage trucks and the like. It is not a “sexy” stock compared to high-tech, high fliers. It only makes money. A $10,000 investment in the company’s stock five years ago would be worth more than $50,000 today.

According to today’s Milwaukee journal-Sentinel, the company is on the verge of a major break-through in technology. Oshkosh Truck as developed a diesel-hybrid truck that has wide-spread application in both military and civilian environments. A hybrid engine operates on electricity at low speeds and on petroleum fuel at high speeds. What makes the Oshkosh technology unique is that it uses capacitors rather than batteries to store the electricity. The company quietly tested its new hybrid vehicles in New Orleans in the days following the Katrina disaster.

Companies like FEDEX, UPS and Waste Management are lining up to take a look at the new technology. Every garbage truck in the world is a candidate to be replaced by the new Oshkosh Truck. The new diesel hybrid will make an important contribution to both the energy crisis and cleaning up the air.

Take a look at the article in today’s Journal-Sentinel. Oshkosh Truck is a “diamond” in our own backyard.

Your faithful servant,

Silence

Is Favre back on the sauce?

2006-01-30T17:55:00.000-08:00

When it comes to meaningful news reporting, Green Bay television is a vast wasteland. Each station competes to present the most sensational sex, blood and gore. The stations routinely send reporters to cover out-of-state Packer events but haven’t sent a reporter in Madison in years. Weather forecasters compete against each other to see who can spin a routine snowfall into a prediction of a possible Armageddon.

The allegations of forged Brett Favre autographs leads the news night-after-night. Yet, there is barely a mention of the bevy of Madison politicians copping to pleas of public corruption. The Green Bay TV stations think of their viewing audience as a bunch of bumpkins. And perhaps that is why TV news viewrship is in a steep decline.

But the “Dumb TV News Story of the Month” award goes to NBC TV 26. Tonight, the Green Bay anchor interviewed Brett Favre’s favorite Kiln Mississippi bartender to learn what the saloonkeeper knows about Brett’s possible retirement. It turns out that the bar keep doesn’t know any more about the subject than you and I do.

But the crack TV 26 news team seems to have raised another interesting question – “Is Brett back on the sauce?”

As we all know, Brett is a recovering alcoholic and recovering drug abuser. The NFL demanded he go through rehab as a condition continuing to play in the NFL. Three cheers for Brett. He is a tough guy. Someone the grand kids can admire.

In its unrelenting search for information about Brett, why would TV 26 interview his bartender and how did the crack news team even know that he had a favorite bar tender? Does TV 26 know something that they aren’t telling us? Is Brett spending his days in the bar? Is Brett back on the sauce, as the station implies? I hope not.

The whole, sad story looks to me like a desperate attempt to hype the ratings with irresponsible reporting.

Shame on TV 26.

Your faithful servant,

Silence

Vacant Buildings & High Grocery Prices

2006-01-29T10:14:00.000-08:00

There is lots of grumbling these days by my neighbors about Neenah being a one-grocery-store-town. Neenah has the highest grocery prices in the Valley and arguably the worst service.

Neenah shoppers are correct in their observations about high prices and low service. Neenah’s two supermarkets – Copps and Pick ‘n Save – are both owned by the same outfit (Roundy’s). We also have a Wal-Mart but that is outside the category of a grocery store.

In the absence of any meaningful competition, the two grocery stores have ratcheted up prices and reduced staff. It is always annoying to read the specials advertised in the newspaper with the footnote “not available in Neenah.”

The most outrageous policy change that came a few weeks back involves the use of the “key card.” These are the cards that all supermarkets have adopted to track what you are buying so that can sell your name and information to other companies. The cards seem like an unwarranted invasion of privacy but you need them to take advantage of sale items. Wal-Mart, despite its shortcomings in some areas, doesn’t use key cards. Everyone can buy anything at the same price, no card required.

Most shoppers visit their supermarket multiple times each week. We get to know the cashiers and swap stories about our families and lives. We know each other. In the past, if you forgot your key card the cashier would swipe the store’s copy to give you the discount. You were a frequent shopper and the personal relationship built up over the years between customer and cashier was recognized by the person operating the cash register. The practice made one overlook the fact the supermarket was owned by an infamous Chicago corporate raider.

But that practice has ended. If you don’t have your key card with you, the cashiers are forbidden to use the store’s. Despite your longstanding patronage your are now required to pay the outrageous “no key card member” price as if you were some out-of-towner.

One explanation for the exorbitant and “sock it to ‘em” prices are the leases Roundy’s continues to pay on vacant buildings in Neenah.

Years ago Roundy’s bought out Kohl’s on Green Bay Road and moved its 65,000 SF Fox Point Pick ‘n Save into the Kohl’s building. Roundy’s continues to pay rent on the vacant Fox Point store and has rebuffed the efforts of other grocers to move into the vacant space.

Then there is the vacant Commercial Street Pick ‘n Save. When Roundy’s bought out Copps it quickly closed the Commercial Street store. Roundy’s also continues to pay rent on this vacant building and refuses to allow another grocer to move into it.

All told, the two vacant buildings amount to about 130,000 SF and cost the company over $1.5 million per year in lease payments. Obviously it is more profitable to pay rent on vacant buildings than it is to have a competitor in town.

Your faithful servant,

Silence

Kaufert to lose liquor license?

2006-01-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

Will Neenah State Representative Dean Kaufert lose his liquor license for his Main street tavern?

Kaufert owns Under the Dome (116 Main) in partnership with confessed corrupt politician and former GOP Majority Leader Steve Foti. Foti recently confessed to using State employers to run the political campaigns of his GOP buddies. The cost to the taxpayers for the salaries of the employees exceeds $300,000. Foti is awaiting sentencing which will likely include jail time.

Here is Kaufert’s problem. State law prohibits businesses that are owned in total or in part by convicted criminals from holding liquor licenses. Will the Neenah City Council yank the Dome’s liquor license? Or, will the Council members allow one of its favorite watering holes to thumb its nose at the law?

Your faithful servant,

Silence

A haunting letter from General Franks

2006-01-17T10:16:00.000-08:00

General Tommy Franks sent me a haunting letter the other day. Sure, it was a form letter. Junk mail. A solicitation for a donation to help wounded veterans. Nonetheless, it had a powerful, haunting message. Here is part of that letter.

"Dear Silence,

"It was my privilege to command the brave men and women who fought in the war against Saddam Hussein in 2003. I couldn’t be prouder of their heroism and dedication to duty.

"Having served in combat in both Vietnam and the first Gulf War, I know what it’s like to put your life on the line for your country. Although I was wounded in Vietnam, I thank God I was not permanently disable and that I’m able to lead a normal life.

"Sadly, Silence, that’s not true for so many of our veterans who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of them will be in wheelchairs for the rest of their lives. Others have lost limbs or eyes or were seriously burned or suffered other injuries and will never be the same.

"Every man and woman who serves in uniform deserves our respect, gratitude and deepest thanks. But those who have been disable are urgently in need of our financial and moral support."

General Franks then goes on to ask for a contribution to an organization called "Salute America’s Heroes."

I doubt that there is anything in General Frank’s letter that any American will dispute or find offensive.

The haunting part of the letter is the recognition that history will not be kind to George Bush’s adventure into Iraq. The blinded, burned, paralyzed wheelchair-bound soldiers that General Franks speaks of have paid a high price for George Bush's incompetence.

Your faithful servant,

Silence

Dringoli leads in supermarket poll

2006-01-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

No area controversy has led to as much public discussion as has the suspension of Neenah Police Officer Daniel Dringoli. Whenever I bump into neighbors at Copps, the conversation almost always leads to an exchange of the latest rumors and gossip on the case.
Officer Dringoli can take some comfort in the fact that my own unscientific Copps Supermarket poll shows him to be leading by about 4-1 in public support over his superiors at the Neenah cop shop. He could probably be elected Mayor if the election were held soon. Time will tell whether that kind of public support is deserved.

Other area law enforcement agencies should view the Dringoli fiasco as a "how-NOT-to" case study for police investigating their own. The Neenah Police Department gives the appearance of being a petulant agency bent on sending Dringoli to jail in retaliation for his reporting of Neenah police corruption. Winnebago County District Attorney Bill Lennon appears to be kissing butt with the Neenah cops in an effort to gain their endorsement in his campaign to get elected judge.

Even Wisconsin’s Attorney General is skeptical of the case and has left Lennon to dangle in the wind. The AG refused Lennon’s plea that Wisconsin Department of Justice take over the prosecution of the case. Essentially the AG told Lennon, "You made your own bed, now go lie in it."

The local rumor mill has it that Lennon has also been turned down by other area District Attorneys that he asked to take over the case as an "independent prosecutor."
The fact that Neenah rumor mill is so active in this case is testimony to the inadequacy of the reporting of the Post Crescent and other area news media.

Months before the PC reported the story, it was widely known in the community that Dringoli had been suspended and that Neenah Police were investigating him for some unknown "crimes." The PC either is so out of touch with what is going on in Neenah that they didn’t know what most residents already knew or the paper chose to sit on the story. The only things the PC knows about the case is what Dringoli’s attorney has fed them.

Your faithful servant,

Silence

Gannett and the decline of news

2006-01-15T10:51:00.000-08:00

Today’s Post Crescent, as is often the case, got another story wrong.

The PC lists the public offices in the area that will be contested in the February 21 Spring primary. One contest that the PC failed to mention arguably is the most interesting. Disgraced Winnebago County District Attorney Bill Lennon will make a run for Winnebago County Circuit Court Judge against two others. God spares us.

But today’s omission is only another example of indifferent news gathering by the Gannett news organization in northeast Wisconsin.

For decades the locally owned Post Crescent was a good, albeit not great newspaper. Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s a battle erupted between the PC and Oshkosh Northwestern for readers in Neenah-Menasha. Both papers expanded their news gathering operations and expanded the column inches devoted to news. The local communities were the winners in the news war.

For a short period in the 1990’s the Post Crescent and Northwestern were bought owned by Thomson Newspapers. Overnight, the two papers went from “good” to “outstanding.

But then tragedy struck. Gannett bought out the two papers as well as the Green Bay Press Gazette and Fond du lac Reporter. The decline in the quantity and quality of new reporting was almost instant. Gannett brought in outside “hired guns” to run the local operations. The news staff was decimated. Long-time reporters with ties to the community were terminated. What news they carry comes mostly from wire copy, press releases and an occasional tip from an outraged reader. Selling ad space became far more important than gathering news. Sensationalism increased and hard news became hard-to-find. Readership declined but ad rates increased. Soon the two papers began to look more like the Bargain Bulletin than a newspaper.

These once proud newspapers have almost become irrelevant in their communities. At onetime both could influence the outcome of local elections and bring pressure on local governments to move in one direction or another. But no more. It has been a long time since I have heard anyone comment on one of their editorials.

In our community –and perhaps in other Gannett communities – the Internet is becoming a growing source for the exchange for local news. The exchange of news is one of my goals with this blog.

Yours faithfully,

Silence

Hello Fox Valley

2006-01-15T09:18:00.000-08:00

I grew up here in the Fox Valley and my life-long stomping grounds have been Neenah, Menasha, Appleton, Oshkosh and the surrounding areas. Winnebago and Outagamie counties are home to me.

My first recollections of government came in my teenage years in the midst of the Viet Nam war. I don’t think anyone really believed in that cause. But as young adults we all seemed to have an interest in doing our patriotic duty. Many of my contemporaries went off to war in support of their government. Some didn’t return. Others, like me, engaged in equally dangerous undertakings. We protested.

But whatever side of the coin one was on, we all shared a fundamental goal. It was our desire to devote our efforts to changing government in ways that would change the world for the better. It is apparent that collectively we failed.

There has been a shift in government at all levels. No one believes that our politicians in Washington, Madison or the Fox Valley are guided by noble motives. They seek power for the sake of power. For the sake of money. For the sake of advancing the private agendas of special interests.

Here at the Dogwood Papers we will comment on the actions of area’s politicians and institutions that may otherwise go unnoticed. Just consider it to be a 21st Century version of the college sit-in.

Your faithful servant,

Silence