Open records vs. redacted police reports

TIMES-TRIBUNE DeForest

Slytherin Bound

Planting The Seed

Annual Harry Potter Birthday Party drew a crowd – Page 8

Deacons garner second seed in HTL playoffs – Page 9

Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013

www.deforestenews.com

Volume 119 Number 32 • $1.00

VILLAGE OF DEFOREST

DeForest, Poynette police departments redact public information from blotters Chiefs of police in each community say they are just trying to follow advice from agencies, attorneys

By Jake Kurtz HNG News Service Police in DeForest and Poynette are among 56 departments statewide currently opting to black out information previously made readily available to the public through reports.

The redactions are the lat-

est result of a nearly 20year-old piece of legislation and subsequent Illinois lawsuit two years ago related to the dissemination of personal information by authorities.

Spurred by the murder of 21-year-old Rebecca Schaeffer at her Los Angeles, Calif., home five years

before, the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994. An actress, Schaeffer was shot to death by a stalker who managed to track her using a private detective and Department of Motor Vehicle records.

Since enacted, the DPPA

has prohibited the disclosure of personal information, such as a home address or driver's license number, obtained by authorities through Department of Motor Vehicles records. The law went relatively unnoticed until 2010 when Jason Senne sued the Village of

Palatine, a northwest Chicago suburb, for a parking ticket he received.

The citation had Senne's name, address, driver's license number, and other information — all reportedly obtained through the state's DMV — listed on it.

The case was dismissed by a district panel of judges in

August 2011, but a year later, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (with its Wisconsin jurisdiction) ruled that sufficient evidence existed to support Senne's claim that the ticket and it's bounty of intelligence, which sat visible to passersby for hours,

See POLICE, page 13

State Qualifier BMX Competition Brought Racers To DeForest Area Aug. 3

Photos by Sam Rodriguez, Times-Tribune Sports Editor

BMX bike competitors from across Wisconsin converged on the BMX Complex in DeForest/Vienna on Aug. 3 for state qualifying competitions. The event drew hundreds of participants and their families to the DeForest Area. Racers included those of all ages and featured a number of competition events on the dirt track. For more photos and a story on the event, please see page 9.

DEFOREST AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT

Paying Reparations Hoffmann pleads guilty to stealing from Elementary Yearbook Committee, enters D. C. First Offenders program Lauren Anderson Times-Tribune Reporter

Kevin Brown Times-Tribune Managing Editor DeForest resident Amy Hoffmann, 39, pleaded guilty on July 31 to stealing $12,285 from the account of the DeForest Elementary

INDEX Classifieds Page 14 Senior News Page 6 Legals Page 12 Calendar Page 2 Opinion Page 4 In Pictures Page 8 Sports Page 9

Yearbook Committee.

Hoffmann admitted to taking funds from the account and placing them in a personal account during her tenure as the committee’s chairperson from 2008 to 2012.

In September 2012, the DeForest Police Department received information that a substantial amount of

money was missing from the yearbook account. An investigation ensued, finding Hoffmann to be a suspect in the crime. Hoffmann later admitted to the crime during the investigation.

Hoffmann pleaded guilty to both felony theft in a business setting and misdemeanor theft.

Hoffmann was ordered to

pay $6,000 in restitution by Friday, Aug. 2, and was referred to Dane County’s First Offenders program.

Toni Pabon, DeForest, the Yearbook Committee Chair, said the group did receive the $6,000 payment on Saturday, Aug. 3. She said the funds were paid with a cashier’s check and the money were deposited into

COMMUNITY VOICES

846-5576

Village of DeForest outlines upcoming projects, community updates on page 6

Managing Editor: Kevin Brown kbrown@hngnews.com Reporter: Lauren Anderson landerson@hngnews.com Sports Editor: Sam Rodriguez srodriguez@hngnews.com Sales: Shannon Ward sward@hngnews.com

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the committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s account at DMB Community Bank, DeForest/Windsor.

Pabon said the committee, a parent-based group of volunteers who contribute their time to organize the creation, sale and distribution of elementary school yearbooks in the DeForest Area School District (DASD), will distribute a portion of

the money to the four elementary schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; parentteacher organizations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A portion also will be kept by the committee to pay current yearbook expenses and to cover the cost of yearbooks for families in need,â&#x20AC;? Pabon said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will continue to collect

See SCHOOL, page 13

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DeForest Times-Tribune 08/08/2013 August 8, 2013

POLICE From page 1 violated his privacy.

Under the DPPA, Palatine, which quit putting personal information on tickets following the lawsuit, faces $2,500 fines for every similarly detailed citation issued over a four-year statue-oflimitations period. That could cost the municipality upwards of $80 million.

The city has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter.

S UN P RAIRIE P OLICE D O N OT R EDACT

The Senne case and its financial implications, along with the DPPA, are today being used by police departments to withhold information in connection with arrests, car accidents and other crimes.

The amount and types of information withheld by law enforcement agencies varies. In DeForest and Poynette, names, addresses, and dates of birth are commonly excluded from issued reports.

In one extreme case,

Lueders said police have yet to release the name of a driver who caused a crash in June that took the life of an elderly woman.

“Whatever the DPPA requires is what we are redacting,” DeForest Police Chief Robert Henze explained.

“The bottom line is you can get sued if you release the person's information,” Poynette Police Chief Don White said.

White said his office began the redactions “a few months ago” after being advised to do so by legal counsel. He plans to continue the practice “until the Palatine case is straightened out and we get some guidance.”

“Obviously under Open Records requests, if you deny one of those it's a $1,000 fine,” White continued. “Under DPPA it's up to $2,500, plus attorney fees.

That can get rather expensive.”

Asked if he has received complaints from locals about the pared down reports coming from his office, White said: “Not so far.”

Henze said he and DeForest's city attorney are “working on a new policy”

NEWS

Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page

and that “something will be coming out pretty quick on that.”

“We're in the research and revising stage right now,” Henze added.

Sun Prairie Police are among the majority of departments statewide that do not currently redact reports. Assistant Chief Scott Faust said it's Sun Prairie's policy to err on the side of the Open Records law, but he understands why others hold a different stance.

“This is one of those situations where our particular branch of government is waiting for another branch of government to give us a definite opinion,” Faust said.

THE P ROS & CONS

Supporters say they are simply being cautious.

Opponents say the black outs violate Wisconsin's Open Records laws.

“This is not what Congress intended when it passed the federal [DPPA] act, and not what the federal court in the Palatine decision intended,” Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, said.

SCHOOL From page 1 donations from local businesses so the committee can continue to support families in need in years to come.”

Debbie Brewster, school/community relations coordinator for the DASD, said the committee is independent from the district.

She said the group was originally chartered that way and works well in its current role.

F IRST O FFENDER P ROGRAM

The Dane County First Offenders program (or Deferred Prosecution Unit) allows defendants, if eligible, to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement, whereby criminal conviction and sentencing are dismissed or reduced. Typically, the program lasts between six to 36 months, depending on the severity of the crime, Deferred Prosecution Unit Director Pat Hrubesky said.

Ninety-eight percent of deferred prosecution cases are resolved with dismissed or reduced charges, Hrubesky said.

If Hoffmann successfully completes the First Offenders program, the felony theft will be dismissed, while the misdemeanor would stay on her record.

If she does not complete the program, both convictions would return to court.

In that case, the “sentencing would be wide open,” the District Attorney’s office

theft was discovered include: • The chair now shares bank transactions for the year with the entire committee, which consists of many parents from Windsor, Yahara, Eagle Point and Morrisonville elementary schools.

• Two signatures are now required for all committee checks. Neither signer can withdraw money from the account individually.

• Since the committee has one main vendor, Jostens, the committee has created ACH (automatic withdrawals) initiated by the vendor when payments are due. Pabon said this is an easier payment method and it’s very clear to see where and what the money is being spent towards.

• When small reimbursements are required – for administrative expenses such as envelopes, postage, etc. – the double signature is first required before a check is issued.

• The chair now notes on the monthly bank statements the reason for a withdrawal transaction and that information is included in committee reports.

• The chair now shares the budget at the beginning of each year and the results at the end of the year is reported to the full committee.

• The committee strives to maintain a balanced budget and typically breaks even every year. No profit is typi-

Lueders said he expects the “overzealous” interpretation of the DPPA and Senne case to continue and potentially spread “until the courts make a determination whether this is necessary.”

An update released Monday by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association (WNA) points at a November 2012 analysis from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities (LWM) as “the impetus for police around the state to begin redacting accident reports prior to releasing them to members of the media or general public.”

Specifically, the LWM notice states “… law enforcement agencies should evaluate all the ways in which they use information obtained from DMV records in order to avoid violating the Drivers Privacy Protection Act.” Lueders said he also believes the redactions are being performed as a ‘lesser of two evils’ option by law enforcement.

“Basically, they would rather get sued for violating Open Records laws because the fines are so nominal compared to the privacy act,” Lueders said. “I think

D

Professional Banks /Financial Services

deforesttimes.com – DeForest Times-Tribune –

13

DeForest Police Department’s New Patrol Units

Times-Tribune File Photo

This newer model Police Interceptor is replacing the former Ford Crown Victoria’s that were common for the past several years in the department’s fleet. that's a key part of this.”

The “New Richmond News” in March filed a lawsuit against the City of New Richmond alleging that the police department there is unfairly restricting access to information.

The case is awaiting a federal court decision on the newspaper's motion to return jurisdiction to St. Croix County Circuit Court.

Officials within the state Attorney General's Office last month said they will not address the matter until the New Richmond case is resolved.

The redactions have not surfaced with law enforcement in Illinois or Indiana, where the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals also has jurisdiction.

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Sturgeon Bay, Door County Advocate 07/24/2013

DOOR COUNTY ADVOCATE

uxemburg man

ment acci-

was drivk, stopped nd said he r so startouthbound in 57. The

vehicles collided, and Hafeman’s truck rolled over onto its roof.

Dorner was injured and taken by ambulance to a hospital. Hafeman was cited for failure to yield the right of way.

eparate incidents

man, 27, traveling ell Point k the rear ed driven s, 26, Mils turning ton Island , accordton Island

police accident report.

Coleman was taken to Ministry Door County Medical Center. Neither of the women were wearing helmets.

Both mopeds are owned by Judith Osbon, Mequon, and sustained minor damage.

n the erfect alaxy hone or you.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2013

EGG HARBOR

Three injured in two-car crash Door County Advocate

Three people were injured in a two-car crash at 2 p.m. Saturday in the village of Egg Harbor.

Tracy E. Schnackenbeck, Madison, was stopped at the stop sign at South Trail Road then pulled into the southbound lane of Wisconsin 42 into the path of Eunice F. Shapiro, Wilmette, Ill., according to a Door County Sheriff’s Department accident report.

Schnackenbeck told the officer she did not see Shapiro. A witness suggested

Shapiro was driving above the speed limit, but the officer had no evidence to corroborate that claim, the report said. Schnackenbeck was cited for failure to yield the right of way. She and a passenger, Sarah E. Shelley, Sun Prairie, were injured in the crash but not transported.

Shapiro was medically transported with non-incapacitating injuries. A passenger, Jerrold E. Shapiro, had no injuries.

The drivers’ and passengers’ ages were redacted by the Sheriff’s Department.

ACCIDENT REPORT

Two-car crash injures Sturgeon Bay woman Door County Advocate

A Sturgeon Bay woman sustained a minor injury in a two-car crash in downtown Sturgeon Bay on Saturday afternoon.

Gerald Gaylord Hollman, 62, Sturgeon Bay, was traveling east on Michigan Street at 6:39 p.m. Saturday, attempting to turn north onto North First Avenue, and told police he never saw Scott William Anderson, 47, Sturgeon Bay, traveling west on Michigan Street, according to a Sturgeon Bay police accident report.

Hollman turned in front of Anderson, causing Anderson to strike the passenger side of his car. A pas-

senger with Hollman, Susan M. Meyer, 54, Sturgeon Bay, said she had some shoulder pain but declined medical treatment at the scene, the report said.

Meyer owned the Ford Explorer driven by Hollman, which was severely damaged and had a flat tire.

Hollman was able to fix the tire and continue home.

Anderson’s Pontiac Grand Am had severe front end damage and was removed. Neither of the drivers, nor two children, 2- and 16-year-old passengers with Anderson, were injured.

The report lists inattentive driving as a factor for Hollman, but he was not cited.

ACCIDENT REPORTS

Wrong-way driver

August 8, 2013 12:23 pm /

OPINION La Crosse Tribune 08/07/2013

YOUR

CONTACT US fit letter page 608.791.8343 Copy Reduced to %d%% from original toTWO letters@lacrossetribune.com CENTS

What grade would you give our nation’s prison system?

Cast your vote at lacrossetribune.com.

OUR VIEW

Van Hollen fails test on openness Wisconsin Attorney General TRIBUNE EDITORIAL BOARD J.B. Van Hollen continues to be a major disappointment on mat- Publisher: Russell Cunningham, rcunningham@lacrossetribune.com ters of public records and free- Editor: Chris Hardie, chardie@lacrossetribune.com Opinion and features editor: Scott Rada, srada@lacrossetribune.com dom of information.

Last week, he issued an opin- Community members: Richard Kyte and Mary Jo Werner ion concluding that “Wisconsin law does not prohibit residential lease provisions that require a should be redacted from initial departing tenant to pay for roupolice reports.

Our police clearly tine carpet cleaning.”

(Irony alert: Illinois police understand that We’re very pleased for a soludon’t black out information tion to the black marks on the based on the case.) spending quality time carpet.

We need to say that La Crosse with a Sharpie and a But our attorney general conpolice have been very open in tinues to sidestep a far more working with journalists, in spite public document does important issue — black marks of the city legal department’s that police draw to blot out what insistence on following the nothing to make our should be public information on advice to redact. city safer, as they were public law-enforcement reports.

Our police clearly understand Nearly five dozen police that spending quality time with trained to do. agencies in Wisconsin, including a Sharpie and a public document La Crosse police, are following does nothing to make our city the advice of a municipal insur- 2008 legal case in Illinois dic- safer, as they were trained to do. ance carrier who believes that a tates that personal information So, if you want to find out

who ran into your vehicle, for instance, you’ll likely have to ask your insurance carrier to obtain what otherwise should be a public document open for all to see.

The Illinois case involved information written on a parking ticket.

After that 2008 Illinois case, which still may go to the U.S. Supreme Court, Van Hollen issued an opinion recommending that Wisconsin agencies should not restrict the release of DOT data.

That was then.

Since then, an insurance carrier has buffaloed a growing number of police agencies in Wisconsin into redacting Department of Transportation data — an obstacle to access for the public and a waste of time for police.

That’s why a chorus of jour-

nalists has asked Van Hollen to provide further guidance to the state’s law-enforcement agencies and let them know that releasing the data, without redaction, is their public duty as laid out in state law.

One newspaper, the New Richmond Times, has sued the city of New Richmond for restricting public information.

As for our attorney general: In addition to clearing up the carpet-cleaning conundrum, his office has issued a statement saying the attorney general won’t comment until there’s a resolution to the case in New Richmond involving the 2008 case in Illinois.

So, given his previous opinion, can Van Hollen say he has done his duty for openness in Wisconsin?

Just barely.

Prison system badly in need of an overhaul argues, some of the proceeds can go to restitution for victims, to paying for their own upkeep and to support for their families.

Prison should align itself with other norms. Inmates RICH LOWRY with drug and alcohol addicSyndicated columnist tions should be forced to get treatment. There should be Prison is one of the most maximum openness to faithimportant institutions in based programs. Prisoners American life. About a quarter should be encouraged to keep of all the world’s prisoners are in contact with their families behind bars in the United rather than cut off from them States, a total of roughly 2 mil- through what Bibas calls lion people. It costs about $60 “cumbersome visiting policies billion a year to imprison them. and extortionate telephone This vast prison-industrial rates.” complex has succeeded in Once offenders get out, reducing crime but is a blunt there’s a good chance that they instrument. Prison stays often are going back. Lehrer notes constitute a graduate seminar that about 40 percent of exin crime, and at the very least, prisoners are rearrested within the system does a poor job three years. The goal should be preparing prisoners to return to to reduce recidivism as much as the real world. Since 95 percent possible. Offenders shouldn’t of prisoners will eventually be be discharged directly from released, this is not a minor solitary confinement, or disproblem. charged without a photo ID. In Prison tends to be harsh in the job market, they shouldn’t small-minded ways (taking be denied occupational licenses away weights and various TV when the job in question has programs) and lax in the nothing to do with their crime.

Post was always a family affair KATHLEEN PARKER

relatively small and, if I do say still around knocking on doors so, the best in the business. and writing books. Ben Bradlee Editing is top-notch, owing in — Ben Bradlee! — walked these no small part to one fellow very hallways. Katharine whose name will not be familiar Graham, the matriarch-publish2013 12:24 pm / shepherded this instituto many —August Richard8, Aldacushion, er who editor/fact-checker extraordition through some of the naire. nation’s most significant politi-

OPINION

Chippewa Falls, The Chippewa Herald 08/07/2013 Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page

THE CHIPPEWA HERALD WEDNESDAY,August 7, 2013 Contact: editor@chippewa.com

A4

OUR VIEW

Van Hollen doing no favors on redaction Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen continues to be a major disappointment on matters of public records and freedom of information.

Last week, he issued an opinion concluding that “Wisconsin law does not prohibit residential lease provisions that require a departing tenant to pay for routine carpet cleaning.”

We’re very pleased for a solution to the black marks on the carpet.

But our attorney general continues to sidestep a far more important issue — black marks that police draw to blot out what should be public information on public law-enforcement reports.

Nearly five dozen police agen-

cies in Wisconsin are following the advice of a municipal insurance carrier that believes that a 2008 legal case in Illinois dictates the personal information should be redacted from initial police reports.

(Irony alert: Illinois police don’t black out information based on the case.)

Many police departments across the state have been very open in working with journalists in spite of legal departments’ insistence on following the advice to redact.

Police clearly understand that spending quality time with a Sharpie and a public document does nothing to make cities safer, as they were trained to do.

So, if you want to find out who ran into your vehicle, for instance, you’ll likely have to ask your insurance carrier to obtain what otherwise should be a public document open for all to see.

So, if you want to find out who ran into your vehicle, for instance, you’ll likely have to ask your insurance carrier to obtain what otherwise should be a public document open for all to see.

The Illinois case involved information written on a parking ticket.

After that 2008 Illinois case, which still may go to the U.S. Supreme Court, Van Hollen issued an opinion recommending that Wisconsin agencies should not restrict the release of DOT data.

That was then.

Since then, an insurance carrier has buffaloed a growing number of police agencies in Wisconsin into redacting Department of Transportation data — an obstacle to access for the public and a waste of time for police.

That’s why a chorus of journalists has asked Van Hollen to provide further guidance to the state’s law-enforcement agencies and let them know that

releasing the data, without redaction, is their public duty as laid out in state law.

One newspaper, the New Richmond Times, has sued the city of New Richmond for restricting public information.

As for our attorney general: In addition to clearing up the carpet-cleaning conundrum, his office has issued a statement saying the attorney general won’t comment until there’s a resolution to the case in New Richmond involving the 2008 case in Illinois.

So, given his previous opinion, can Van Hollen say he has done his duty for openness in Wisconsin?

Just barely.

Andersen’s objections don’t hold up

Happy to obey doctor’s orders BEN BROMLEY Baraboo News Republic

Who knew men’s first step toward fitness should involve reaching high for a plasticwrapped magazine on the top shelf?

Put down the weights and

pressure and slower resting pulse rates and also decreased their risk of coronary artery disease.

“Sexual excitement gets the heart pumping and improves blood circulation,” Weatherby explained. “There’s no question — gazing at large breasts makes men healthier.”

Weatherby added that men older than 40 should spend at least 10 minutes daily admiring breasts sized D-cup or larger.

Who are we to ignore a doctor’s orders?

OLD DUDE’S SPOUSE:

to 35 suggests wearing a bra from an early age does nothing to help a wearer’s breasts and going without could improve firmness.

This news report lacked one critical detail, though: Whether the good doctor is hiring any research assistants.

Breast research sounds like a good gig to me. While stimulating, it isn’t exactly challenging.

Take the 2010 study by a Cornell University professor who found that well-endowed waitresses earn more tips. Stop the presses!

You read it here first: Large

nists.

John concludes his list by arguing that the Supreme Court’s decision “creates a moral wrong into a civil right.”

He refers to former laws that prohibited interracial marriage JIM WOLDHUIS as evidence that bigots hide Chippewa Falls behind moral statements. I fully agree with John that such I like John R. Andersen. laws were wrong. Disagreeing Many of his articles make me over this current issue doesn’t think, consider a different make me a bigot. There are a perspective or just plain laugh. myriad of bad laws that we as But John’s recent comments a nation have both passed and on the Defense of Marriage later rejected. But this doesn’t Act don’t hold up to reason. mean that all laws are bad or First, John tried to rebuke bigoted. the traditional marriage arguWhere does our moral stanment stating that “between dard come from? Is morality domestic violence and determined by majority rule? I divorce, perhaps it’s tradition- hope not, or we will be al marriage that needs doomed by the popular “flavor redefining.” Modern practices of the month” of our culture’s do not redefine tradition. We greatest influencers. Is moralcannot rewrite history to suit ity determined by the our wants or desires. strongest and mightiest? I Traditional marriage has hope not, or morality will be always been one man and one determined by who has the woman. Whether we agree most guns and bombs. with the court’s decision or I believe our moral standard not, the fact is that the tradicomes from the moral God August 8, 2013no 12:25 pm / established right and tional view of marriage who longer defines marriage. wrong. I do not choose what is As to Jesus’ view of marright or wrong; I can only dis-

terms of food assistance in adults working multiple the area at the time. jobs. Czerkas said with risMcFarland Thistle 08/08/2013 ÒWeÕre really, really ing insurance costs and pay cramped,Ó she said. ÒWe cuts along with people who use every square inch

donations from individuals or businesses. It has no national sponsor and unlike smaller community food

Jefferson Award, a Purpose Prize fellow, and Madison MagazineÕs People of the Year Award for being

Village of Palatine for a parking ticket he received.

The citation had Senne's name, address, driver's license number, and other information Ñ all reportedly obtained through the state's DMV Ñ listed on it.

The case was dismissed by a district panel of judges in August 2011, but a year later, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (with its Wisconsin jurisdiction) ruled sufficient evidence existed to support Senne's claim that the ticket and it's bounty of intelligence, which sat visible to passersby for hours, violated his privacy.

Under DPPA, Palatine, which quit putting personal information on tickets following the lawsuit, faces $2,500 fines for every similarly detailed citation issued over a four-year statue-of-limitations period. That could cost the municipality upwards of $80 million.

The city has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter.

The Senne case and it's financial implications, along with the DPPA, are being used by police departments to withhold information in connection with arrests, car accidents and other crimes.

The amount and types of information withheld by law

enforcement agencies varies.

In DeForest and Poynette, names, addresses, and dates of birth are commonly excluded from issued reports.

Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council President Bill Lueders said in one extreme case police have yet to release the name of a driver who caused a crash in June that took the life of an elderly woman. ÒWhatever the DPPA requires is what we are redacting,Ó DeForest Police Chief Robert Henze explained. ÒThe bottom line is you can get sued if you release the person's information,Ó Poynette Police Chief Don White said.

WhiteÕs office began the redactions a few months ago after being advised to do so by legal counsel. He plans to continue the practice Òuntil the Palatine case is straightened out and we get some guidance.Ó ÒObviously under open records requests, if you deny one of those it's a $1,000 fine,Ó White said. ÒUnder DPPA it's up to $2,500, plus attorney fees. That can get rather expensive.Ó Asked if he has received complaints from locals about the pared the down reports coming from his office, White

said ÒNot so far.Ó Henze said he and DeForest's city attorney are working on a new policy and Òsomething will be coming out pretty quick on that.Ó ÒWe're in the research and revising stage right now,Ó Henze added.

Supporters say they are simply being cautious. Opponents say the black outs violate Wisconsin's open records laws. ÒThis is not what Congress intended when it passed the federal [DPPA] act, and not what the federal court in the Palatine decision intended,ÓLueders said.

Lueders said he expects the ÒoverzealousÓ interpretation of the DPPA and Senne case to continue and potentially spread Òuntil the courts make a determination whether this is necessary.Ó An update released Monday by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association points at a November 2012 analysis from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities (LWM) as Òthe impetus for police around the state to begin redacting accident reports prior to releasing them to members of the media or general public.Ó Specifically, the LWM

and Capital Springs Like any athlete, James keeps himself equipped. He usually brings 17 discs with him to a course and has a total of approximately 400 discs at his disposal. The reason for having the large quantity of discs is similar to why a traditional golfer has multiple clubs Ð for the different terrain and conditions encountered on the course.

In addition to being an avid disc golfer, James is

at the newly opened course learn is to play with someat Capital Springs county one who already knows the park. As the course pro, he game. He suggests people changes the pin locations at visit the Mad City Disc Golf each hole once a week, takes website to find information care of weed and erosion on courses and contact the control and other mainteleagues in the Madison area.

James, a member of Mad nance duties.

James was involved in City Disc Golf, said it was the creation of the Capital through this group that he Springs course; he attended learned to play. several of the site walkÒYouÕre going, youÕre throughs with the course playing with guys who are designer. usually a lot better than August 1:12 / Òthese guys For those interested in 9, 2013 you,Ó hepm said, pursuing the sport, James are more than willing to

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Area police departments withholding Sai information once offered to public

By Jake Kurtz Hometown News Group

Police in DeForest and Poynette are among 56 departments statewide currently opting to black out information previously made readily available to the public through reports.

The redactions are the latest result of a nearly 20-yearold piece of legislation and subsequent Illinois lawsuit two years ago related to the dissemination of personal information by authorities.

Spurred by the murder of 21-year-old Rebecca Schaeffer at her Los Angeles home five years before, the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994. An actress, Schaeffer was shot to death by a stalker who managed to track her using a private detective and Department of Motor Vehicle records.

Since enacted, the DPPA has prohibited the disclosure of personal information, such as a home address or driver's license number, obtained by authorities through Department of Motor Vehicles records. The law went relatively unnoticed until 2010 when Jason Senne sued northwest Chicago suburb

DISC GOLF from page 2

the inaugural year of disc golf and I looked at it and thought ÔI could do that,ÕÓ he said. ÒWell, it took me 10 years to pick up a disc and actually throw it.Ó The first course James saw in 1992 was also the first course he played. He doesnÕt visit Elver Park as much as he used to but still makes stops there along

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INFORMATION from page 4

notice states that ÒÉ law enforcement agencies should evaluate all the ways in which they use information obtained from DMV records in order to avoid violating the Drivers Privacy Protection Act.Ó Lueders said he also believes the redactions are being performed as a Ôlesser of two evilsÕ option by law enforcement. ÒBasically, they would rather get sued for violating open records laws because the fines are so nominal compared to the privacy act,Ó Lueders said. ÒI think that's a key part of this.Ó

W

MenÕs senior 400-yard medley relay Ð Joe Heiser, Sam Mischio, Justin Harrington and Jasen Funk, 25th place, 3:48.40 The New Richmond News in March filed a lawsuit against the City of New Richmond alleging that the police department there is unfairly restricting access to information.

The case is awaiting a federal court decision on the newspaper's motion to return jurisdiction to St. Croix County Circuit Court. Officials within state Attorney General's Office last month said they will not address the matter until the New Richmond case is resolved.

The redactions have not surfaced with law enforcement in Illinois or Indiana, where the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals also has jurisdiction.

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August 9, 2013 1:14 pm /

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See VILLAGE, section 1, page 4

Local departments among 56 statewide redacting information from public

By Jake Kurtz Hometown News Group

Photo by Kevin Damask

authority to appoint school

Police in DeForest and Poynette are among 56 departments statewide currently opting to black out information previously made readily available to the public through reports.

The redactions are the latest result of a nearly 20-year-old piece of legislation and subsequent Illinois lawsuit two years ago related to the dissemination of personal information by authorities.

Spurred by the murder of 21-year-old Rebecca Schaeffer at her Los Angeles, Calif., home five years before, the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994.

An actress, Schaeffer was shot to death by a stalker who managed to track her using a private detective and Department of Motor Vehicle records.

Since enacted, the DPPA has prohibited the disclosure of personal information, such as a home address or driver’s license number, obtained by authorities through Department of Motor Vehicles records.

The law went relatively unnoticed until 2010 when Jason Senne sued the Village of Palatine, a northwest Chicago suburb, for a parking ticket he received.

The citation had Senne’s name, address, driver’s license number, and other information — all reportedly obtained through the state’s DMV — listed on it.

The case was dismissed by a district panel of judges in August 2011, but a year later, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (with its Wisconsin jurisdiction) ruled that sufficient evidence existed to support Senne’s claim that the ticket and it’s bounty of intelligence, which sat visible to passersby for hours, violated his privacy.

Under the DPPA, Palatine, which quit putting personal information on tickets following the lawsuit, faces $2,500 fines for every similarly detailed citation issued over a four-year statue-of-limitations period.

That could cost the municipality upwards of $80 million.

The city has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter.

See POLICE, section 1, page 8

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for him.

“When I was small, my mother used to tell me that I will become (a) priest,” Tarigopula stated in a release.

In 1994, he became an ordained priest in India for the diocese of Nellore.

In 2003, he came to the U.S. and became an assistant priest at Epiphany Parish, a church outside

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POLICE: Departments opt to redact personal information Continued from section 1, page 1

“Obviously under open records requests, if you deny The Senne case and one of those it’s a $1,000 it’s financial implications, fine,” White continued. along with the DPPA, are “Under DPPA it’s up to today being used by police $2,500, plus attorney fees. departments to withhold That can get rather expeninformation in connection sive.” with arrests, car accidents, Asked if he has received and other crimes. complaints from locals about The amount and types the pared the down reports of information withheld by coming from his office, White law enforcement agencies said “Not so far.” varies. In DeForest and Henze said he and Poynette, names, addresses, DeForest’s city attorney are and dates of birth are com- “working on a new policy” monly excluded from issued and that “something will be reports. coming out pretty quick on In one extreme case, that.”

Lueders said police have “We’re in the research yet to release the name of a and revising stage right now,” driver who caused a crash Henze added. in June that took the life of Supporters say they an elderly woman. are simply being cautious.

“Whatever the DPPA Opponents say the black outs requires is what we are violate Wisconsin’s open redacting,” DeForest records laws.

Police Chief Robert Henze “This is not what Congress explained. intended when it passed the “The bottom line is you federal [DPPA] act, and not can get sued if you release the person’s information,” Poynette Police Chief Don White said.

White said his office began the redactions “a few months ago” after being advised to do so by legal counsel. He plans to continue the practice “until the Palatine case is straightened out and we get some guidance.”

what the federal court in the Palatine decision intended,” said Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.

Lueders said he expects the “overzealous” interpretation of the DPPA and Senne case to continue and potentially spread “until the courts make a determination whether this is necessary.”

An update released Monday by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association points at a November 2012 analysis from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities (LWM) as “the impetus for police around the state to begin redacting accident reports prior to releasing them to members of the media or general public.”

Specifically, the LWM notice states that “… law enforcement agencies should evaluate all the ways in which they use information obtained from DMV records in order to avoid violating the Drivers

Privacy Protection Act.” Lueders said he also believes the redactions are being performed as a ‘lesser of two evils’ option by law enforcement.

“Basically, they would rather get sued for violating open records laws because the fines are so nominal compared to the privacy act,” Lueders said. “I think that’s a key part of this.”

The New Richmond News in March filed a lawsuit against the City of New Richmond alleging that the police department there is unfairly restricting access to information.

The case is awaiting a federal court decision on the newspaper’s motion to return jurisdiction to St. Croix County Circuit Court.

Officials within state Attorney General’s Office last month said they will not address the matter until the New Richmond case is resolved.

August 9, 2013 1:18 pm /

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Sun Prairie, Star 08/08/2013

By Re

Blacked out?

Sun Prairie among departments releasing police report information

By Jake Kurtz Hometown News Group olice in DeForest and Poynette are among 56 departments statewide currently opting to black out information previously made readily available to the public through reports.

The redactions are the latest result of a nearly 20-year-old piece of legislation and subsequent Illinois lawsuit two years ago related to the dissemination of personal information by authorities.

Spurred by the murder of 21-year-old Rebecca Schaeffer at her Los Angeles, Calif., home five years before, the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) was signed into law

by President Bill Clinton in 1994.

An actress, Schaeffer was shot to death by a stalker who managed to track her using a private detective and Department of Motor Vehicle records.

Since enacted, the DPPA has prohibited the disclosure of personal information, such as a home address or driver's license number, obtained by authorities through Department of Motor Vehicles records. The law went rel-

P

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atively unnoits Wisconsin jurisdiction) ruled ticed until 2010 that sufficient evidence existed when Jason to support Senne's claim that Senne sued the the ticket and it's bounty of Village of intelligence, which sat visible Palatine, a to passersby for hours, violated northwest his privacy.

Chicago suburb, Under the DPPA, Palatine, for a parking which quit putting personal ticket he information on tickets followreceived. ing the lawsuit, faces $2,500 The citation fines for every similarly had Senne's detailed citation issued over a name, address, four-year statue-of-limitations driver's license period. That could cost the number, and Map courtesy WNA municipality upwards of $80 other informamillion. tion — all The city has asked the U.S. Each black dot on the map reprereportedly sents a police department that does Supreme Court to weigh in on obtained the matter. not completely release report inforthrough the The Senne case and it's mation. state’s DMV — financial implications, along listed on it. with the DPPA, are today being used by The case was dismissed by a district panel police departments to withhold information of judges in August 2011, but a year later, (Continued on page 6) the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (with

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near Fish Lake Schoepp Road Roxbury. He w Sauk Prairie H In addition OWI, he was c driving and fai belt, according Four additi The New Richmond News in be working be March filed a lawsuit against 7 p.m. and 3 a. the City of New Richmond Schaffer sa alleging that the police departCounty Sheriff ment there is unfairly restrictages drivers to ing access to information. safe ride home The case is awaiting a fedsober driver or eral court decision on the form of transpo newspaper's motion to return • SPPD la jurisdiction to St. Croix The Sun Prairi County Circuit Court. Officials Department re within state Attorney General's tip411, an inter Office last month said they enabling the pu will not address the matter sage an anonym until the New Richmond case The system is addressed. police to respo “Should the New Richmond a two-way, ano litigation be dismissed or Teasdale said t resolved without a court rulexclusively for ing, this office may reevaluate poses and pow whether to offer new guidance CitizenObserv in light of Senne,” Assistant Anyone wi Attorney General Kevin Potter can now send a said. to the SPPD by The redactions have not SunPrairie and surfaced with law enforcement tion to 847411 in Illinois or Indiana, where the Seventh Circuit Court of —Compile Appeals also has jurisdiction.

continue west on Highway 19 or Dane County Sheriff’s use Bird Street to return to Main Public Information Officer Elise westbound.

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Department in Wetmore Park last Tuesday, July 31.

Blacked out: Do redactions violate state law?

(Continued from front page)

in connection with arrests, car accidents, and other crimes.

The amount and types of information withheld by law enforcement agencies varies.

In DeForest and Poynette, names, addresses, and dates of birth are commonly excluded from issued reports.

In one extreme case, according to Bill Lueders from the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, police have yet to release the name of a driver who caused a crash in June that took the life of an elderly woman.

“Whatever the DPPA requires is what we are redacting,” DeForest Police Chief Robert Henze explained.

“The bottom line is you can get sued if you release the person's information,” Poynette Police Chief Don White said.

White said his office began the redactions “a few months ago” after being advised to do so by legal counsel. He plans to continue the practice “until the Palatine case is straightened out and we get some guidance.”

“Obviously under open records requests, if you deny one of those it's a $1,000 fine,” White continued. “Under DPPA it's up to $2,500, plus attorney fees. That can get rather expensive.”

Asked if he has received complaints from locals about the pared the down reports coming from his office, White said “Not so far.”

Henze said he and DeForest's city attorney are “working on a new policy” and that “something will be coming out pretty quick on that.”

“We're in the research and revising stage right now,” Henze added.

Sun Prairie Police are among the majority of departments statewide that do not currently redact reports.

Assistant Chief Scott Faust said it's Sun Prairie's policy to err on the side of the open records law, but he understands why others hold a dif-

Fire Watch

ferent stance.

“This is one of those situations where our particular branch of government is waiting for another branch of government to give us a definite opinion,” Faust said.

Supporters say they are simply being cautious.

Opponents say the black outs violate Wisconsin's open records laws.

“This is not what Congress intended when it passed the federal [DPPA] act, and not what the federal court in the Palatine decision intended,” said Lueders, who is president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.

Lueders said he expects the “overzealous” interpretation of the DPPA and Senne case to continue and potentially spread “until the courts make a determination whether this is necessary.”

An update released Monday by the Wisconsin Newspaper

Association points at a November 2012 analysis from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities (LWM) as “the impetus for police around the state to begin redacting accident reports prior to releasing them to members of the media or general public.”

Specifically, the LWM notice states that “… law enforcement agencies should evaluate all the ways in which they use information obtained from DMV records in order to avoid violating the Drivers Privacy Protection Act.” Lueders said he also believes the redactions are being performed as a ‘lesser of two evils’ option by law enforcement.

“Basically, they would rather get sued for violating open records laws because the fines are so nominal compared to the privacy act,” Lueders said. “I think that's a key part of this.”

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ANALYSIS

Oconto decision on records applauded

By Kent Tempus Gannett Wisconsin Media

O

conto Police Chief Dan Ault has made a decision that’s rare among his law enforcement colleagues in the state of Wisconsin.

After deciding to withhold personal information from accident and property crime reports, Ault reversed course.

The department is now providing that information to those involved in accidents and their representatives, and to a lesser extent, the media and the public.

The policy was put in place at the end of May by the Oconto County Sheriff’s Department in response to a federal court ruling last year, which found that that release of personal driver information from state motor vehicle or drivers licensing records violated a federal law.

The Door County Sheriff’s Department and Sturgeon Bay Police Department enacted similar policies last winter.

Sheriff Mike Jansen, who conferred with nowformer Corporation Counsel Robert Mraz, said at the time that he couldn’t put department members at risk of the possible penalties.

Ault decided the police department should follow the same policy, but after doing some research and watching the effect of the policy on the public for a few weeks, he concluded that nothing was gained.

“All we were really doing is making it harder on the people in the accidents,” Ault said.

That’s because the departments were referring people who wanted accident reports to get them from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The agency charges $6 for a report,

YOUR LETTERS

and requests can take up to two weeks to fill, according to the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Ault said that’s not acceptable.

“If I’m in an accident, every day I’m without a car or getting it fixed, it’s an inconvenience, and this prolongs the inconvenience,” Ault said. “I don’t want to contribute to the problem. I hate bureaucracy, I hate red tape, and I want to cut through that.”

The sheriff and police departments had only provided the media and the public with the location, date, time and gender of drivers and passengers, along with the narrative, what charges may have been filed, and noting injuries.

The sheriff’s department is continuing to follow that policy, although in some cases the city of residence or ZIP codes are not redacted.

Personal information is also blanked out on theft and burglary reports by deputies, because officials can’t be certain that information in their system did not originally come from motor vehicle or driver records.

Ault said he could limit the release of personal information better than the state can. The department is making available the names, ages and cities of residence for people listed in accident reports to the media and public. For those involved in accidents — including drivers, passengers, insurers and attorneys — unredacted reports are provided.

“It’s about doing what’s right,” he said.

“It’s just common sense.”

Open records advocates in the state applauded the decision.

Ault “quite properly recognizes that the complete denial of information just does not make sense,” said Bill Lueders, the president of the Wis-

consin Freedom of Information Council.

“He’s showing a great deal more common sense than a lot of police departments in this case,” Lueders added.

At issue is the Drivers Privacy Protection Act, which was signed into law in 1994 in response to the death of actress Rebecca Schaeffer. A stalker hired a private investigator to find her home address, which was obtained through state records. The stalker shot her when she opened her door.

The federal law prohibits disclosure of personal information obtained from DMV records.

Information on accident reports didn’t become a controversy until a man who received a parking ticket in Palatine, Ill., sued the village for violating DPPA. The man, Jason Senne, said the ticket on his windshield contained his personal information, including his full name, address, driver’s license number, date of birth, sex, height and weight.

The district court dismissed the case, but Senne appealed. A panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal in July 2011, but the full court heard the case, and in August 2012 reversed the dismissal.

The legal counsel for the League of Wisconsin Municipalities in November wrote an article for its members suggesting that in light of that court ruling, law enforcement agencies should evaluate how they use DMV information. The appeal’s court ruling, the author wrote, cites “very real safety and security concerns” raised by the disclosure of personal information like someone’s home address, and suggests that some or all of the personal informa-

tion needs to be redacted.

Since then, about 55 law enforcement agencies in the state have begun withholding personal information or even the entire reports, said Beth Bennett, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

“They’re just saying they don’t have time to redact (the personal information), so we won’t make them available,” Bennett said.

Bennett said the redacting of all personal information doesn’t follow the spirit of either federal law or the state’s open records laws.

The Senne case hasn’t prompted law enforcement in Illinois or Indiana, the other two states in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, to change how they release accident and other information, Lueders said.

“First, Wisconsin is overreacting, and second, overreacting all alone,” Lueders said.

The Senne case has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A group of Wisconsin municipal attorneys in August 2012 requested an opinion from the Wisconsin Attorney General on the matter. However, the AG’s office won’t do so while the case is on appeal. A spokesman for Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen previously said that “it would be imprudent to issue public guidance until the (Supreme Court) determines whether to take the case (or decides the case).”

Lueders is confident that the narrow interpretation of DPPA in Wisconsin will be resolved.

“It’s only a matter of time before courts rule this couldn’t have been intention of the federal law, or the Palatine court case,” Lueders said.

Kent Tempus is editor of the Oconto County Reporter.

August 9, 2013 1:21 pm /

Elkhorn Independent - 2013/07/25 - 006 - copy resized to: 80% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Sharon Reporter - 2013/07/26 - 006 - copy resized to: 69% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Sharon Reporter - 2013/07/26 - 008 - copy resized to: 68% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Wausau Daily Herald - 2013/07/27 - A01 - copy resized to: 74% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Wausau Daily Herald - 2013/07/27 - A08 continued from page A01 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Sturgeon Bay, Door County Advocate - 2013/07/31 - A005 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Oconto County Reporter - 2013/07/31 - B004 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Wausau Daily Herald - 2013/07/31 - A06 - copy resized to: 84% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Marshfield News-Herald - 2013/08/01 - A07 - copy resized to: 68% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Sturgeon Bay, Door County Advocate - 2013/08/03 - A004 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Stevens Point Journal - 2013/08/03 - A08 - copy resized to: 55% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Wisconsin Rapids, Daily Tribune - 2013/08/03 - A06 - copy resized to: 58% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Fort Atkinson, Daily Jefferson County Union - 2013/08/05 - 003 - copy resized to: 94% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Mount Horeb Mail 07/18/2013 VOL. 113, NO. 29

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

Blackout Village of Mount Horeb faces tough decision as court battles pit open records law against right to privacy

BY MATT GEIGER Mount Horeb Mail New confusion about an old federal law is forcing local governments to choose between the right to privacy and the public’s right to information.

To make matters worse, cities, villages and towns know they run the risk of getting sued either way.

Like many government agencies in Wisconsin, the Village of Mount Horeb has begun blacking out names and addresses from what had previously been public police and court reports. The change, which was announced last week, is in response to a new interpretation of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA).

Government decision-makers essentially have two choices. They can continue releasing names to the public and

risk lawsuits from individuals who claim their right to privacy has been violated, or they can redact the information and face lawsuits from newspapers and other government watchdog groups that believe the information must be turned over under state open records law.

Mount Horeb Village Administrator Dave Ross said the situation remains “fluid” as attorneys await clarity on the issue. In a letter to Jeff Veloff, the village’s chief of police, this month the League of Wisconsin Municipalities Mutual Insurance advised Mount Horeb to begin redacting names and addresses obtained through Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records.

“I’m a proponent of open records and open government,” said Ross. “At continued on page 20

Anderson will leave board of education

BY GARY SCHUETZ Mount Horeb Mail Citing an accepted job offer in Portland, OR, Mount Horeb Area School district board of education treasurer Mary Anderson has announced her decision to step down from her position at the end of July 2013.

“I am getting laid off at my job at the end of July,” Anderson said, speaking at the Monday, July 15, school board meeting. “I have been actively looking and I have found a great opportunity to manage a regional audit office in Portland, Oregon, so, we’re moving. I start next month, so this will be my last board meeting.”

Anderson said she received official

confirmation of the new position on Monday.

“It’s a big change,” Anderson said. “The kids are excited and it is a great Anderson adventure. I really have enjoyed my time on the board and our time in the community.” “[Her] contributions will certainly be missed,” said school board president Dan Ketterer, adding that the matter of dealing with the empty seat on the school board will be on the Aug. meeting’s agenda. Anderson’s term expires in the spring of 2014. continued on page 7

Ad hoc

July 23, 2013 1:53 pm /

MHMA

Mount Horeb Mail 07/18/2013

PAGE 20

BLACKOUT continued from page 1 the same time, when our attorney says to follow this interpretation of a federal law thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what we are going to do.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to comply with,â&#x20AC;? Ross continued, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but as I currently understand the law itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not something I personally agree with.â&#x20AC;?

The current uncertainty is the result of several recent court battles, one of which has not yet been decided.

A lawsuit filed in May in a St. Croix County circuit court by the New Richmond News against the City of New Richmond alleges municipalities, at the behest of their insurers, are overreacting to â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and misinterpreting â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the DPPA, a law originally intended to protect citizens from stalkers and other people who mean them harm.

In New Richmond, the communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weekly newspaper is at odds with the police department over the proper interpretation of the law, which has been on the books for nearly two decades and wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t previously understood to prohibit government units from turning over public records. The newspaper contended DPPA doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t require the removal of personal information from law enforcement records, and that the city violated state statute when it decided to redact personal information from routine incident and accident reports.

Such information has long been released to the public under Wisconsinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Open Records Law. An opinion by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, issued in April of 2008, appears to agree with the newspaperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position.

Wisconsin statute 19.31 declares that every citizen is entitled to the greatest possible information regarding

Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page

MOUNT HOREB MAIL

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

the affairs of government. The law assumes the presumption of complete public access to government records, stating that â&#x20AC;&#x153;[t]he denial of public access generally is contrary to the public interest, and only in an exceptional case may access be denied.â&#x20AC;?

The City of New Richmond disagreed, refusing to provide names and other personal information to the

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

My hope is weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get some new case law to clarify the issue.â&#x20AC;?

Dave Ross Village Administrator

media and the public if the information is gleaned from DMV records.

New Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new interpretation of the law is based on a ruling made by the U.S. Court of Appeals last year. In Senne v. Village of Palatine, a Seventh Circuit federal appeals court ruled that police violated a manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s privacy by writing information obtained through DMV records on a parking ticket, then placing the ticket on his windshield on a public street.

Watchdog groups call the ruling a blow to transparent government because it allows law enforcement agencies and courts to function behind a veil. Municipalities say itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creating a massive load of administrative work, as well as incurring costs to local taxpayers since the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supreme court has ruled that redacting information must be paid for entirely by units of local government.

But many insurance companies say

The Wisconsin Newspaper Association created this map showing which police departments in Wisconsin have begun redacting information. Photo courtesy of Google Maps. redacting personal information is the most prudent course of action, at least for now. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My hope is that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get some new case law to clarify this issue,â&#x20AC;? Ross commented. But that clarification, which would likely come in the form of a ruling on the New Richmond case, might not come for another year or two.

So far the person many parties want to hear from â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Van Hollen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; remains silent on the issue.

In 2008, Van Hollen issued an opinion making it clear the DPPA did not prohibit law enforcement agencies from releasing most information to the public. Van Hollen wrote that DPPA provisions â&#x20AC;&#x153;specifically support public access to personal information in law enforcement records related to vehicular accidents, driving violations, and driver status.â&#x20AC;?

However, a spokesperson for Van Hollenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office said last week not to expect further comment on the matter

from the attorney general anytime soon. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As you may know, the New Richmond News has a suit in federal court against the City of New Richmond regarding this issue,â&#x20AC;? said Dana Brueck communications officer for the Wisconsin Department of Justice. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Therefore, it would be inappropriate for us to offer an opinion on this issue at this time.â&#x20AC;?

She cited longstanding state guidelines as the reason for remaining silent: â&#x20AC;&#x153;An opinion should not be requested on an issue that is the subject of current or reasonably imminent litigationâ&#x20AC;Ś .â&#x20AC;?

Brueck called Van Hollenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2008 opinion the departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;most recent guidance on this issue.â&#x20AC;?

Further complicating the matter is Maracich et al. v. Spears, a recent United States Supreme Court ruling. In that case, a group of attorneys â&#x20AC;&#x201C; commonly called â&#x20AC;&#x153;ambulance chasersâ&#x20AC;? used state Freedom of Information Act requests to obtain the names of thousands of people who they hoped would join a class action lawsuit against several South Carolina car dealerships.

The Supreme Court reinstated the lawsuit against the attorneys, ruling that the DPPAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exception for judicial proceedings did not authorize mass mailings to solicit clients. The case was sent back for further consideration, including of the attorneysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; alternate defense, which was based on the DPPAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;government functionâ&#x20AC;? clause.

But the court failed to fully address how the decision would impact other forms of public records requests, specifically public access to police records.

Ross said information obtained by police through means other than driving records will remain available to the public.

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elkhorn independent

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Opinion

Elkhorn Independent 07/25/2013

Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page

Between the lines of age

Open records debacle is extreme Fear. It seem in the past 10 years, or so, a growing sense of fear has prompted numerous local, state and federal entities to make bold thrusts at civil liberties and open records alike.

Now fear over the potential of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit has prompted many state police departments to strictly follow provisions in the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act. The City of Elkhorn’s police department stands among them.

In doing so, violating Wisconsin’s open records law.

Avid readers of our weekly police reports have probably noticed something missing in recent weeks.

The city’s police department has stopped providing the names of people their officers are arresting, ticketing, contacting and, in some cases, will not even release details on where a crime occurred due to pending litigation in Illinois.

A legal battle in the Land of Lincoln regarding a $20 parking ticket could potentially cost the city of Palatine, Ill. millions of dollars.

A man by the name of Jason Senne received a ticket for illegal parking. He was upset due to due the Palatine ticket was printed with his Social Security number, driver’s license number, age, height, weight and address.

Senne claimed the ticket violated his right to privacy under the Drivers Privacy Protection Act. A federal court later said Palatine owed $80 million in damages to Senne. In turn, the village appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court saying the court ruling would bankrupt the village.

The Supreme Court declined to hear the case last month.

Fear of that case is having direct implication in the Badger State. Ultimately, we could see a closing off of Wisconsin’s open records law – laws considered among the strongest in the country.

Changes to area police departments have come swiftly. Roughly 50 police agencies have begun redacting personal information from reports before they were made public, according to

By

TYLER LAMB Editor

reports from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

Those are only the locations WNA is aware of.

Now, in order to receive information, people need to either bring in a signed release allowing the department to release the other party’s information, or let the insurance company handle it.

These policy changes make it more difficult for media organizations to provide the public with details on criminal activity taking place in their neighborhoods.

It also makes it more difficult on someone involved in a traffic accident to go the local police department and receive a definitive copy of the accident report.

The majority of area municipal officials are well versed on the state’s open records law, and that

enforcement officers are up to.

It’s a disservice to the city to wait around for the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case. Police are public servants that are run by elected officials.

We at the Independent urge the Elkhorn Police Department to set policies

that maintain transparency, even as the case works its way through the court system.

After all, the practice has not been taken up in Illinois.

It is not too late. Put down the black markers. They are simply not necessary. The public deserves better.

“A nation that is afraid to

let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people” – John F. Kennedy Tyler Lamb is the editor of the Elkhorn Independent.

Contact him at (262) 7232250, or by email at tlamb@ southerlakesnewspapers.com.

Money & politics

Feingold cause plays big in state The same week in February 2011 that Russ Feingold announced the formation of the advocacy group Progressives United to “stand up to the exploding corporate influence in our political system,” events in Wisconsin gave him something to advocate about.

Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, announced changes to collective bargaining for public workers, spurring historic protests and recall elections that drew in vast amounts of outside cash on both sides.

Feingold, a Democrat who represented Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate for 18 years, saw these events as “Exhibit A” of the impact of Citizens United. This 2010 U.S. Supreme Court rulingopened the door to unlimited outside spending on political campaigns, letting big-money donors sidestep curbs that

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it requires departments to release their reports – including the names and other redacted information – to the public.

However, the state’s open records law carries no financial penalty. Departments founds in violation of the law are required to release the record and pay the attorney’s fee.

The fear of a possible lawsuit that could cost cashstrapped communities across the state is why a growing number of police departments have stopped releasing public information.

Fear over penalties intensified in November 2012 after an attorney from the Wisconsin League of Municipalities published a memo sounding the alarm over the Palatine lawsuit.

I hope in time a new interpretation of the Drivers Privacy Protection law. I hope even more our local police department refocuses on this subject, and doesn’t allow insurance company lawyers to override the Constitution by limiting the public’s right to know what our law

raised and spent just over $1 million in 2012, according to a federal tax filing it provided By on request. All revenue was Bill from member contributions; Lueders the group eschews money Contributor from corporations, unions and lobbyists. Most expenditures were for staff Feingold helped pass. salaries and fundraising; “And so,” he said in a Feingold was paid $30,000 recent interview, “by chance, last year for his part-time role the Wisconsin piece became with the group. much more significant than Feingold was recently it might have been, because tapped by the U.S. State everybody in the country was Department to serve as a focused on Wisconsin, and so special envoy to Africa, an were we, in the beginning.” appointment of indefinite Feingold’s cause has two duration. He’ll step aside components. Progressives from active involvement in United Inc., a 501(c)(4) Progressives United, which nonprofit, whose goal is will continue without him. to counter big-monied The second component corporate interests in the of Progressives United is a U.S. political system. Its political action committee listed achievements include that has raised $1.3 million pressuring Democratic for candidates since 2011, leaders in Congress to not according to a list provided “cave to right-wing demands” by Orton. About half was for on debt-reduction strategies. races in Wisconsin, including Feingold says Progressives $441,567 on state recall United Inc. has “several elections. hundred thousand” members In all, the PAC has helped — people who have signed raise money for more than up for mailings and emails.

50 candidates. All were It solicits contributions but, Democrats, except Vermont’s Feingold adds, “You can be a U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, part of it whether or not you who is an independent. The give money.” single largest beneficiary, The group, with offices in at more than $200,000, was Middleton and Washington, Elizabeth Warren, who won a D.C., has more members hard-fought U.S. Senate race from Wisconsin than any last year in Massachusetts. other state, says spokesman Feingold says both Josh Orton. But it operates in Progressives United arms all 50 states. are officially nonpartisan Progressives United Inc. and notes that the nonprofit

Happy Independence Day And Week, Month,

hascriticized Democrats including President Barack Obama. But he acknowledges that the PAC has “overwhelmingly supported Democrats because they were the ones who said they wanted to do something about campaign finance.”

Wisconsin, says Feingold, remains “one of the places where the political right and big-money interests unleashed by Citizens United are particularly aggressive.” He sees evidence of a national conservative agenda in state efforts to “challenge and threaten voting rights” and manipulate legislative redistricting to partisan advantage.

While Progressives United urges grassroots action, Feingold is skeptical about efforts to pass a constitutional amendment to undo the impact of Citizens United. He thinks change is far more likely to occur from the top down — through changes to the makeup of the U.S.

Supreme Court.

“That is a doable thing which I believe will happen,” Feingold says. “The question is whether it’s two years or four years or 10 years or 20 years, and that’s going to make an enormous difference for our country, how long it takes to overturn it.”

Bill Lueders is the Money and Politics Project director at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (www.WisconsinWatch.org).

The project, a partnership of the Center and MapLight, is supported by The Joyce Foundation.

The Center collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.

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We invite readers to comment on issues of local or topical interest by submitting letters to the editor.

Letters should be concise –500 words or less. The editor reserves the right to edit for length and content prior to publication, however, every effort is made to maintain the original intent of the letter. Priority is given to letters of local interest.

All letters must be signed to be considered for publication. Names will not be withheld. The writer’s community and telephone number must be included. Phone numbers will be used only for verification and will not be published.

Letters deemed libelous, in poor taste or of a commercial nature26, will 2013 not be published.

July 1:42 pmLetters / of thanks will be published if deemed newsworthy, however, long lists thanking individuals and business will not be accepted due

Autograph seekers at AIM tournament Pro fisherman Parsons07/24/2013 autographs a hat for a child just before the final weigh-in of the AIM Pro Walley Series tournament on Oconto CountyGary Reporter Saturday in Oconto. At left is fellow pro Dale Stroschein of Sturgeon Bay. Parsons, along with partner Chris Hansen, claimed first place in the three-day tourney. See story on Page B1. PHOTO BY KENT TEMPUS/OCONTO COUNTY REPORTER

OPD decision on records applauded

By Kent Tempus OCR editor

Oconto Police Chief Dan Ault has made a decision that’s rare among his law enforcement colleagues in the state of Wisconsin.

After deciding to withhold personal information from accident and property crime reports, Ault reversed course. The department is now providing that information to those involved in accidents and their representatives, and to a lesser extent, the media and the public.

The policy was put in place at the end of May by the Oconto County Sheriff’s Department in response to a federal court ruling last year, which found that that release of personal driver information from state motor vehicle or drivers licensing records violated a federal law.

Sheriff Mike Jansen, who conferred with now-former Corporation Counsel Robert Mraz, said at the time that he couldn’t put department members at risk of the possible penalties.

Ault decided the police department should follow the same policy, but after doing some research and watching the effect of the policy on the public for a few weeks, he concluded

that nothing was gained.

“All we were really doing is making it harder on the people in the accidents,” Ault said.

That’s because the departments were referring people who wanted accident reports to get them from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The agency charges $6 for a report, and requests can take up to two weeks to fill, according to the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Ault Ault said that’s not acceptable.

“If I’m in an accident, every day I’m without a car or getting it fixed, it’s an inconvenience, and this prolongs the inconvenience,” Ault said. “I don’t want to contribute to the problem. I hate bureaucracy, I hate red tape, and I want to cut through that.”

The sheriff and police departments had only provided the media and the public with the location, date, time, and gender of drivers and passengers, along with the narrative, what charges may have filed, and noting injuries.

The sheriff’s department is continuing to follow that policy, though in

some cases the city of residence or ZIPcodes are not redacted. Personal information is also blanked out on theft and burglary reports by deputies, because officials can’t be certain that information in their system did not originally come from motor vehicle or driver records.

Ault said he could limit the release of personal information better than the state can. The department is making available the names, ages and cities of residence for people listed in accident reports to the media and public. For those involved in accidents — including drivers, passengers, insurers and attorneys — unredacted reports are provided.

“It’s about doing what’s right,” he said. “It’s just common sense.”

Open records advocates in the state applauded the decision.

Ault “quite properly recognizes that the complete denial of information just does not make sense,” said Bill Lueders, the president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.

“He’s showing a great deal more common sense than a lot of police departments in this case,” Lueders added.

At issue is the Drivers

Privacy Protection Act, which was signed into law in 1994 in response to the death of actress Rebecca Schaeffer. A stalker hired a private investigator to find her home address, which was obtained through state records. The stalker shot her when she opened her door.

The federal law prohibits disclosure of personal information obtained from DMV records.

Information on accident reports though didn’t become a controversy until a man who received a parking ticket in Palatine, Ill., sued the village for violating DPPA. The man, Jason Senne, said because the ticket contained his personal information, including his full name, address, driver's license number, date of birth, sex, height and weight.

The district court dismissed the case, but Senne appealed. A panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal in July 2011, but the full court heard the case, and in August 2012 reversed the dismissal.

The legal counsel for the League of Wisconsin Municipalities in November wrote an article for its members suggesting that

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Trudie Chico and Diane Duffy were manning the typically quiet of the firstaid booth at Copperfest when a man rushed up during lunchtime.

“Someone came running and said a man was choking, so we just took off running,” Duffy recalled.

Duffy and Chico, members of Pensaukee First

treatment,” Chico said.

It took several thrusts before his airway appeared to be cleared, Chico said.

The ambulance arrived and he was taken by EMTs to the hospital for observation.

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Records Continued from Page 1A

in light of that court ruling, law enforcement agencies should evaluate how they use DMV information. The appeal’s court ruling, the author wrote, cites "very real safety and security concerns" raised by the disclosure of personal information like someone's home address, and suggests that some or all of the personal information needs to be redacted.

Since then, about 55 law enforcement agencies in the state — many of them in the Milwaukee area — have begun withholding personal information or even the entire reports, said Beth Bennett, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

“They’re just saying they don’t have time to redact (the personal information), so we won’t make them available,” Bennett said.

For example, the city of Milwaukee previously posted all of its accident reports online, she said.

One police department is only making nine redacted reports available to the media each week, because they say that’s all they have time to complete.

Bennett said the redacting of all personal information doesn’t follow the spirit of either federal law or state’s open records laws.

“And it’s a public safe-

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ty issue, if they can get the information they need,” she said. “We’re hearing about incidents across the state where people would like to have had the reports.”

Lueders said he’s not aware of any law enforcement agency that embraced the secrecy policy and then “stepped back from the abyss.” Bennett, though, believes there might have been one other department that reached an agreement with a newspaper to provide at least some personal information.

The Senne case hasn’t prompted law enforcement in Illinois or Indiana, the other two states in the Seventh Circuit Court of the Appeals, to change how they release accident and other information, Lueders said.

“First, Wisconsin is overreacting, and second, overreacting all alone,” Lueders said.

The Senne case has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A group of Wisconsin municipal attorneys in August 2012 requested an opinion from the Wisconsin Attorney General on the matter. However, the AG’s office won’t do so while the case is on appeal. A spokesman for Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen previously said that “it would be imprudent to issue public guidance until the (Supreme Court) determines whether to take the case (or decides the case).”

The AG’s office issued an opinion about DPPA

and state records in 2008.

The informal opinion concluded that a law enforcement agency responding to a public record request may release records containing personal information it obtains from motor vehicle records.

That’s why the public can get complete reports from the state, which receives copies of all accident reports from law enforcement agencies. In response to a question, a state DMV official wrote in an email that “the Driver Privacy Protection Act allows disclosures that are specifically authorized under state law” which includes accident reports.

“At this point in time, Wisconsin DOJ has not directed Wisconsin DOT to redact or withhold these records,” wrote Alison S. Lebwohl, DMV Qualifications and Issuance Chief.

Lueders is confident that the narrow interpretation of DPPA in Wisconsin will be resolved.

“It’s only a matter of time before courts rule this couldn’t have been intention of the federal law, or the Palatine court case,” Lueders said.

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Wausau Daily Herald 07/27/2013

Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page SATURDAY, JULY 27, 2013

Still no answers in fatal crash

Police frustrated by rules that prohibit release of information

By Shereen Skola Daily Herald Media sskola@wdhmedia.com

rows overs with pets

By Katie Hoffman Daily Herald Media khoffman@wdhmedia.com

M

OSINEE — John and Vicki

Kuester plan to bury this summer their dozens of cremated pets. And when the Kuesters die, they plan to join their beloved animals.

The Kuesters, both self-proclaimed animal lovers, chose to be buried at a family burial plot they purchased at Peaceful Pines Pet Memorials and Family Sanctuary, a pet cemetery and memorial park, with their 50 pets, among them a variety of rabbits, dogs, cats and llamas.

And they aren’t alone. Peaceful Pines has a list of 12 other prepurchased animal/owner dual burial plots. The International Association of Pet Cemeteries and Crematories estimates about 400 pet cemeteries exist in America, some of which allow owners to See PETS, Page 8A

More than a month after a crash that killed an 85year-old woman, police still are unable to release the name of the driver who caused the wreck, leaving the public largely in the dark.

FrancesM.Wilk,85,was killed in the June 24 crash on 17th Avenue. Wilk was stopped at a traffic signal behind a dual-axle Wisconsin Public Service Corp. truck when an SUV driven by a 51-year-old man slammed into her car, police said. The SUV driver wasnotinjured,policesaid.

Under a new policy enacted by the Wausau Police DepartmentinApril,police refuse to release the names ofpeopleinvolvedincrashes. The only way the public — and, in some cases, even family members of the victim—willlearnthenameof theSUVdriverisifcharges are filed against him.

The change in policy stems from a lawsuit in which a federal court ruled that police violated a man’s privacy when they wrote information obtained through the state’s DepartmentofMotorVehiclesona parking ticket left on the man’s vehicle. In Wisconsin, some municipal and insurance company attorneys have used that ruling to make personal information available only through the court system if charges are filed against one or moredriversinvolvedinan incident, Wausau Police Capt. Bryan Hilts said.

“The new rules are frustrating for the public, for the media and for us, as well,” Hilts said. “It makes people wonder if there’s some kind of cover-up, and that’s just not the case.”

Law enforcement agencies have in the past freely shared information about crashes and crimes under Wisconsin’s Open Records Law. That information is now largely unavailable to the public, Hilts said.

“We have always had open discussions with the media and readily shared See CRASH, Page 8A

training camp with tradition Field after practice.

July 29, 2013 1:45 pm /

Wausau Daily Herald 07/27/2013

CAL & WISCONSIN

WWW.WAUSAUDAILYHERALD.COM

Three vehicles were involved in a fatal collision June 25 at the intersection of 17th and Stewart avenues in Wausau that left one woman dead and another person injured.

DAILY HERALD MEDIA FILE PHOTO

Crash

Continued from Page 1A

go for a walk with their dogs Friday. The ried in the same plot as their cremated pets in ary in Mosinee. T'XER ZHON KHA/DAILY HERALD MEDIA

y that was ned and owner’s girl-

rea features a e that reads, “In used animals

I would treat mber.” ter said most s he talks to d-of-life plan decision and eat idea. perfect soluhe said. “We t’s important pect the anidone nothing ake us happy. be with them

large and small; till we meet again; you are not forgotten.”

“We just wanted a place to sit that would be peaceful and help people reflect on the tragedy that happens to pets all over,” Graveen said.

always.”

Katie Hoffman can be reached at 715-845-0772. Find her on Twitter as @katielhoffman.

information with the public,” Hilts said. “This new policy is seriously limiting our ability to share information.”

So far, there is no indication the driver in the June 24 crash will be charged, despite the driver’s “extremehighrateofspeed”at the time of impact, as several witnesses and an officer at the scene noted. The posted speed limit on 17th Avenue is 25 mph.

The driver’s actual rate of speed still is in question, as crash reconstruction efforts are not yet complete, Wausau Police Capt. Ben Bliven said Friday.

“We should have the speed determinations com-

pleteinthenextfewdaysor in a week,” Bliven said.

The SUV driver told police a medical condition contributed to the crash, a story investigators are trying to confirm through medical records, police said. Toxicology results from the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene confirmed thedriverdidnothavealcohol in his system at the time of the crash, Bliven said; meanwhile, drug tests are pending, and could take up to nine months.

“If the guy had a medical condition, he’s entitled to his privacy,” Hilts said.

“That information is protected. If charges are filed against him, that’s another matter.”

Shereen Skola can be reached at 715-845-0773. Follow her on Twitter as @ShereenSkola.

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More information: 715.468.2414 or www. shelllakeartscenter.org. Q

Spooner Advocate 07/18/2013

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Grady doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like the direct sunlight and looks for shadows cast by Huebschman.

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Two injured in accident

BY FRANK ZUFALL A driver and a passenger were injured in a onevehicle accident at 3 p.m., Thursday, July 11, on Cty. Hwy. B, one mile east of Hwy. 53 in the town of Beaver Brook, according to the Washburn County SherLIIÂśV 2IÂż FH UHSRUW The vehicle was westbound on Hwy. B and went off the roadway on the north side, where the vehicle swiped a tree.

The driver incurred nonincapacitating injuries, and the passenger suffered incapacitating injury, said the report.

The Washburn County 6KHULIIÂśV 2IÂż FH UHGDFWV names and other personal information from accident reports.

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July 22, 2013 12:55 pm /

Platteville Journal 07/03/2013

4A

The First Amendment

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Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

T

he birthday of our country this week (as defined by the enactment of the DeclaraSteve Prestegard tion of Independence) compels us Editor to ask ourselves how we’re living up to the ideals presented by those who committed “our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor” 237 years ago.

One week ago, this page (note its name) of your favorite weekly newspaper printed a column by the president of the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists chronicling the ways government bodies and politicians were interfering in journalists’ First Amendment rights.

The list included the attempt to evict the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism from the UW–Madison campus (an attempt that failed when Gov. Scott Walker vetoed it from the state budget), the Obama administration’s targeting the Associated Press and a Fox News reporter, a Republican state representative refusing to speak to reporters while campaigning for superintendent of public instruction, both U.S. Senate campaigns of last year physically separating reporters from their candidates, and the state Democratic Party’s refusing to allow two reporters to cover their convention because the party didn’t like the reporters’ work.

Since then, those of us who are affiliated with the Wisconsin Newspaper Association have been asked to sign an online petition asking Wisconsin’s attorney general to reaffirm a 2008 opinion about which personal records should be redacted from police reports and which should not be. The WNA reports that 41 police and sheriff’s departments (none, fortunately, in this area) have been removing such details as names and addresses from police reports. (The petition, for those who want to sign it, is at http://www.change.org/petitions/wisconsin-attorneygeneral-j-b-van-hollen-reaffirm-2008-opinion-related-to-thedriver-s-privacy-protection-act?goback=.gde_2063439_member_252561989.)

It is remarkable to me that some law enforcement agencies haven’t figured out that the media can help the police. (Your favorite weekly newspaper’s Facebook page has run a few items when police are looking for an unidentified person in connection with incidents; the number of resulting Facebook hits and shares is enlightening to see.) Perhaps I’m being naïve, but I have to think there is some deterrent value in having public misbehavior publicly reported.

It’s also remarkable that in these 41 cases, the people we pay to enforce the law (which includes the Open Records Law) are violating the law instead. Court records are public records. Taxpayers have the right to know how their tax dollars are being spent in one of the most fundamental areas of government, public safety.

Perhaps politicians engaged in a war against the media figure that there is little downside to separating journalists from what they want to know, because journalists aren’t very popular with the public. Here’s the thing, though: The First Amendment doesn’t apply only to journalists. The First Amendment applies to every American, in the same way that the state Open Meetings and Open Records laws are for every Wisconsinite, not just journalists.

Perhaps politicians have figured out that there’s not a whole of respect for freedom of expression in general today. The more accurate way to term what the First Amendment seems to apply to today is freedom of expression (as long as you agree with my point of view). Those who do not agree with your point of view get cut off and shut off — canceling subscriptions, or hitting the off switch, or sticking their fingers in the ears and making enough noise to not hear a contrary point of view. Liberals watch MSNBC; conservatives watch Fox News. (I watch neither, by the way.)

Part of this may be the nature of our current winner-take-all politics, where the goal of politicians is not to convince those who don’t necessarily agree with them, but to drum up the support (including votes and campaign contributions) of their political base.

Readers of this column appear to have figured out my general political world view. But as someone who has written opinions for a quarter century, I would never argue that opinions that haven’t been tested against counterarguments are worth very much.

Here’s a current local example: Our SWNews4u.com website ran a poll over the past couple weeks asking whether governmental meetings should begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. The vote totals as of Monday morning: Yes: 116.

No: 17, I don’t know: 2.

The SWNews4U poll is not scientific. But a poll in which 87 percent of those with an opinion answer one way seems rather definitive to me. And yet no Platteville alderman or city official has stated publicly why Common Council meetings do not or should not start with the Pledge of Allegiance. One wonders why.

Disagreement is not a bad thing. The disagreements that took place during the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the creation of our Constitution were nasty even by today’s standards. But the Founding Fathers figured out how to merge contrary viewpoints into what has become the last, best hope for democracy on Earth. If we respect what they did, we should respect the rights of others to have different viewpoints from our own, and argue them respectfully.

The Platteville

journal

WA S H I N G T O N J O U R

G

Why we need the Farm

by Tom Vilsack

Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture

etting a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill passed this year is essential — and it can’t fall victim to politics as usual.

Too much is at stake, and too many people lose out if Congress can’t act.

Here are 10 good reasons why Congress must take action as soon as possible to achieve passage of a Farm Bill this year: 1. America’s farmers, ranchers and producers need certainty about the next five years of U.S. farm policy, to continue the recent momentum of the U.S. agricultural economy and rising farm income.

2. Livestock producers need disaster assistance applied retroactively, in light of a long-term drought that has forced the liquidation of herds to the lowest level in decades.

3. Dairy producers need an effective support system that helps them to stem the decline in the number of U.S. dairy operations.

4. Farmers, landowners and forest owners need streamlined conservation programs that will make a more efficient and effective use of limited conservation funds, while building on record conservation efforts underway today.

5. Organic and specialty crop producers need renewed and expanded access to Farm Bill programs that have fueled the growth of a multibillion dollar industry in direct-to-consumer sales.

6. Researchers and students at Land Grant Universities need support to meet modern challenges in agriculture and carry out the innovation we need to sustainably increase agricultural production. A new, nonprofit research foundation provided by a Food, Farm and Jobs Bill could leverage millions of dollars of private sector funding to provide this assistance.

7. Job seekers in rural America need new and expanded investments in renewable energy, biofuel, and biobased product manufacturing, all of which can create jobs in rural areas.

8. Beginning producers — including a growing number of veterans returning

to cr ge pe th po

SNAP is a program that is out of control and should be separated from the farm bill and debated on its own merits.

This bill is simply not targeted to help farm and dairy families dealing with overregulation, misguided federal policies, and weak demand brought on by terrible economic growth.

Instead of beginning to address the problem, this bill only makes it worse.

I voted against the farm bill. Its posi-

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From a news release by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R–Wisconsin):

bout 80 percent of the spending in the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act will be spent on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — commonly called food stamps.

July 8, 2013 3:37 pm /

Stevens Point Journal 07/09/2013 NSPOINTJOURNAL.COM

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New redaction policy looms

Sheriff’s Office to withhold info from driver’s licenses

By B.C. Kowalski Stevens Point Journal Media bkowalski@gannett.com

will be Gladys and Don Cass’s 20th car show this summer. They t their home in Stevens Point. The car will be at this year’s Iola Old

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Milo Harpstead has been a part of the Iola Old Car Show and Swap Meet for 40 years. He bought his 1929 Chevrolet one-ton truck at last year’s swap meet and has spent the last year restoring it.

green.”

Now, her Mustang has black leather seats and racing stripes with lace bows. She said her father also restored mustangs for her two other sisters, but none of them picked their models.

“I think that’s what he had around,” she said.

Don Cass said the Iola Old Car Show has some-

thing for everyone — Ford fans, Chevy fans, even those who aren’t car buffs.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of car you have, it’s good to get together with people,” he said.

Luke Ranker can be reached at 715-345-2253. Find him on Twitter as @lrankerNEWS.

A federal law from 1994 designed to protect personal information on driver’s licenses will create more work for local law enforcement agencies while restricting public information.

Beginning Aug. 1, the Portage County Sheriff’s Office will start redacting or blacking out personal information its deputies get off a driver’s license to comply with the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act. The Sheriff’s Office will join the more than 40 law enforcement agencies, including Marathon County Sheriff’s Department and the Wausau Police Department, statewide that already are restricting this personal information.

Under the federal law, information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, photographs, Social Security numbers, medical or disability information, and driver’s license or state-issued ID numbers obtained from a license or ID must be redacted or blacked out from any public report.

In the event of a car crash, for example, the police report would list the ages and ZIP code of residence of those involved in the crash, but wouldn’t list the names, addresses or city of those involved.

Names of those booked into the Portage County Jail will still be made See REDACT, Page 4A

hiting addition halted

July 10, 2013 3:43 pm /

reasonably aimed at pre- Planned Parenthood clinic serving the mother’s in Appleton and the AffiliatedMedicalServicesclinhealth.

Stevens Point Journal 07/09/2013 “Moreover, the record ic in Milwaukee, where to date strongly supports a doctors performing aborfinding that no medical tions do not have admitting

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public, Kontos said, because that information comes from the county’s own database.

The court case that spawned the policy change was filed in August 2010 after a police officer in Palatine, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, wrote a simple parking ticket and left it in Jason Senne’s windshield.

Senne sued the village for about $80 million. The lawsuit alleged that by leaving the ticket, which included Senne’s name and other personal information, the village violated Senne’s rights under the DPPA. Originally, Senne’s case was dismissed in fed-

Assistant Attorney General Dan Lennington defendedtheadmissionrequirement, saying doctors who perform abortions at a clinic are the best ones to

meet that burden, the judge said, the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in proving the law erects impermissible obstacles to women seeking abortions.

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eral court; that decision was reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th District in a 7-4 decision. Jurisdiction for the appeals court extends to Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

In Portage County, Mike McKenna, the county’s corporation counsel, said the federal law supersedes the state’s Open Records law. McKenna said he wanted the county to follow the federal law to avoid penalties that could cost the county thousands in fines as is the case in Palatine.

Sheriff’s Office officials say they don’t agree with the provision and don’t believe the law will protect a person’s personal information, but say they’ve been directed to comply with the federal law by McKenna.

“It’s new for all of us, and it’s unappreciated work for us,” said Chief Deputy Dan Kontos. “You can get all the information from the (state Department of Motor Vehicles) for $6, but we have to jump through all these hoops.”

Robert Dreps, an attorney with Madison-based law firm Godfrey and Kahn, said neither of the circuit court decisions applied to public records.

He said there is no basis for law enforcement to change their record policies based on the nearly 20-year-old federal law now.

Dreps said the federal law was intended to prevent the wholesale of driver’s information. The state of Wisconsin, he said, had been making about $6 million per year

selling driver lists before the law was enacted.

He is representing the New Richmond News in St. Croix County in a lawsuit alleging the city of New Richmond violated the open records laws when its police department starting redacting personal information earlier this year.

The city of Stevens Point also will comply with the federal law, officials say, but hasn’t yet established a policy.

Stevens Point attorney Andrew Beveridge said he will meet with Stevens Point Police Chief Kevin Ruder to discuss the city’s changes to its records policy in response to recent circuit court decisions.

B.C. Kowalski can be reached at 715-345-2251. Follow him on Twitter @BCreporter.

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POLICE Stolen vehicle: Police arrested four minors after a vehicle was reported stolen in the village of Plover at around 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. The individuals, who were found with the vehicle an hour later, have been handed over to juvenile services.

Theft: An 18-year-old Stevens Point man was ar-

rested for retail theft at 3:31 p.m. on Saturday at 5590 Highway 10 East.

Disorderly Conduct: A 32-year-old Stevens Point man was arrested for disorderly conduct at Pfiffner Pioneer Park at 8:38 p.m. on Saturday.

Open Intoxicants: A 22-year-old Oshkosh man was arrested at 12:55 a.m. on Sunday in the 900 block

of Main Street for possessing open intoxicants.

A 23-year-old Marshfield man was arrested at 2:03 a.m. on Sunday in the 900 block of Main Street for possessing open intoxicants.

Battery: A 21-year-old Stevens Point man was arrested after police were called to the 700 block of Johns Drive at 2:03 a.m.

on Sunday for a report of a disturbance. The man was charged with aggravated battery-strangulation.

A 25-year-old Stevens Point man was arrested after police were called to the 2011 block of Elk Street at 2:04 a.m. on Sunday for a report of a domestic dispute. The man was charged with substantial battery.

GOVERNMENT MEETINGS Today Portage County Highway Committee, 7 a.m., Portage County Highway Facility, 800 Plover Road, Plover.

Stevens Point Police and Fire Commission, 4:30 p.m., City Conference Room, City Hall, 1515 Strongs Ave. Portage County Health and Human Services Board, 5 p.m., Conference Rooms 103 and 104, Ruth Gilfry Building, 817 Whiting Ave. Tomorrow River School Board special

mendation from Ordinance Committee to retain present ordinance and not allow Bowfishing within the Village Limits.

Town of Almond Board, 7:30 p.m. at the home of the clerk, 7184 Laura Lane, Almond.

Agenda includes committee reports, road reports, zoning: Kevin and Victoria Miller request for special accommodations to build a non-farm residents on A1 Land, Erick Beggs request to combine all land parcel into one for tax purposes.

nomic Development Committee, 7 a.m., Conference Room 1, Portage County Annex, 1462 Strongs Ave. Portage County Local Emergency Planning Committee, 8 a.m., Emergency Operations Center, 1500 Strongs Ave. Portage County Corrections Program Oversight Ad Hoc Committee, 4 p.m., Conference Room 5, County Annex.

Portage County Park Commission, 5 p.m., Wolf Lake Park, Wolf July Lake10, 2013 3:44 pm / Road.

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the emerge they all tend to be tiny that the thunderstorms that shops. closures today and adults. My guess is that it is some- rolled through early Monday Wednesday, according “If you happen to actually how associated with the rise in morning could have caused the to the Department of a pond where the eggs were Wausau Daily Herald 07/09/2013 McDill Pond.” toad march, Bergeson said rain you can see tons and tons of Transportation.

The toads were hopping their could have been a contributing little Road crews are plantadpoles swimm way east toward the Plover River factor. ning 30-minute closures around,” she said. “They’re of Business Highway 51 under the Interstate 39 overpass in Rothschild from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. today and Wednesday.

The closures are necessary for crews to set new bridge beams.

The schedule is subBy Luke Ranker ject to change based on IF YOU GO For Daily Herald Media weather conditions and What: The Ald personal information.

For Daily Herald Media lranker@gannett.com construction status.

Audubon Socie Under the federal law, Motorists are reminded STEVENS POINT — A fed- informationsuchasnames, STEVENS POINT — The a new exhibit to drive with caution as eral law from 1994 de- addresses,phonenumbers, newest display at the nests and eggs they approach the work signed to protect personal photographs, Social SecuCentral Wisconsin Chil- bird species. zone and should be preinformation on driver’s li- rity numbers, medical or dren’s Museum is for the Where: Centra pared to stop.

Children’s Mus censes will create more disability information, and birds.

To avoid delays assoMain St., Steve work for local law enforce- driver’s license or state-isAn addition to the Life ciated with the closures, ment agencies while re- sued ID numbers obtained in a Pine Log exhibit will When: Health motorists might want to stricting public informa- from a license or ID must feature nests and eggs of Night, from 5 p use alternate routes. be redacted or blacked out tion in Portage County. four bird species com- Thursday. Pizz Beginning Aug. 1, the from any public report. mon in central Wiscon- 5:30 p.m. Prese The case that spawned Portage County Sheriff’s sin. Lindsay Manter- gins at 6 p.m.

Correction Office will start redacting the change was filed in Aunach, education director Cost: Free or blacking out personal in- gust 2010 after a police offiA reprinted editorial at the museum, said the formation its deputies get cer in Palatine, Ill., wrote a on Page 6A of Monday’s display will feature the off a driver’s license to parking ticket and left it in paper misstated the eastern bluebird, tree she said. comply with the Driver’s Jason Senne’s windshield.

Manterna date of original publicaswallow, black capped Senne sued the village for Privacy Protection Act. tion. The editorial “Not chickadee and house Aldo Leopo The Sheriff’s Office will about $80 million. a Job” was first pubwren as well as a display Society, w The U.S. Court of Apjoin the more than 40 law the lished July 8, 1939. about their wingspans. sored enforcement agencies, in- peals for the 7th District Daily Herald Media She said the display will worked for cluding Marathon County ruled in a 7-4 decision in regrets the error. be a great way to educate months to Sheriff’s Department and Senne’s favor. Jurisdiction nests and the children about birds. the Wausau Police Depart- for the appeals court ex“I don’t really know if cense to coll ment, statewide that al- tends to Illinois, Indiana The exhib anybody has a seen a ready are restricting this and Wisconsin. nest like this close up,” Thursday a

Portage Co. Sheriff’s Office to redact driver’s license info

Point children to debut new

July 10, 2013 3:46 pm /

Hayward, Sawyer County Record 07/10/2013

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NEWS

SAWYER COUNTY RECORD | WWW.HAYWARDWI.COM WEDNESDAY, JulY 10, 2013 | 11A

two injured in rollover near Beaver Lake By terreLL BoettCher NeWS eDItoR

Two Hayward men were injured, one severely, when their van rolled over on Washburn County Highway E near Beaver Lake, seven miles southwest of Hayward, at 1:57 p.m. Wednesday, July 3.

As of Monday, July 8, both men — 21-year-old Connor Sabin and 26-year-old Keith Heinz — have been released from area hospitals and are recovering at home, according to family members.

Connor Sabin sustained a fractured pelvis and broken nose, according to his brother

Ben. He said Tuesday that Connor was at Eau Claire’s Luther Hospital for three days, and is now home and “doing OK.” Connor will be recuperating for at least six weeks, he said.

Heinz is stiff and sore, according to his grandfather.

Heinz was driving the 1999 Ford van northbound when, according to a report from the Washburn County Sheriff’s Department, he crossed the railroad tracks just south of Beaver Lake Road and went airborne. He lost control of the vehicle when it made contact with the road. It went sideways into the ditch, striking a tree,

spinning around and throwing the occupants. The vehicle came down on the passenger, Sabin, covering most of him.

Washburn County and Sawyer County sheriff’s deputies, a state trooper, two Sawyer County ambulances and a paramedic, the Town of Hayward Fire Department, City of Hayward Fire Department extrication unit and a wrecker responded to the scene. Sabin was loaded into an ambulance and transferred to a Mayo One helicopter that had landed on a secured section of the roadway. The helicopter airlifted him to Luther Hospital. Heinz was transported by ambulance

to the Hayward hospital and transferred to Duluth.

A Washburn County deputy issued Heinz a citation for failure to keep control of his vehicle. According to court records, an initial court appearance will be held on Aug. 5.

According to the sheriff’s deputy report, a state trooper issued a citation to the driver on intoxicated-driving related charges. (The name of the charged individual was redacted from the sheriff’s department report as per department policy).

According to the investigating deputy, Don Esser, driver factors that contributed to the

crash were failure to have control and the driver’s condition.

The Ford van was totaled.

According to the vehicle owner, the van’s rear axle was rusted out and split when the van was crossing the railroad tracks, causing it to go airborne.

Editor’s note: The Washburn County Sheriff’s Department redacts names, injuries and other personal information from accident reports. The Record obtained some of the above information from family members and other sources familiar with the incident.

Local pastor recovering after bike-truck accident By terreLL BoettCher NeWS eDItoR

Hayward United Methodist Church Pastor Dan Fahs is recovering at home after he was hit by a pickup truck while riding his bicycle between Hayward and Minong Thursday, July 4. Fahs, who was wearing a helmet, sustained a severe concussion and a broken elbow.

Fahs was riding his normal route from Hayward to Minong and back to Hayward via Highway 77. He was eastbound on his new 20-speed Salsa

Vaya just east of Highway G around 10:30 a.m. when a pickup driver came up behind him. The driver saw Fahs, then spotted a deer and turned his gaze to the deer. At that time, the truck’s side mirror hit Fahs in the shoulder and flipped him off the bike.

Fahs was transported on a backboard and wearing a neck brace in an ambulance to the Hayward Area Memorial Hospital emergency room. Fahs’ wife, Jill, said he didn’t remember much from the time of impact until he was in the emergency room. He was transferred to

St. Mary’s in Duluth, where he received a CT scan. He had no brain bleeding, but can’t watch TV, listen to music or take bright lights, his wife said. He is currently receiving further treatment locally.

“The doctors and nurses said if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet, he would have been dead,” his wife said.

Fahs is currently on administrative leave from his church, which has been “wonderfully supportive and loving,” his wife said.

The Fahs’ just celebrated their 18th

City of hayward sued by former public Works employee

By Kathy hanson Staff RepoRteR

The City of Hayward is again facing a lawsuit, this time from a former city employee, Sari Marks, who was terminated from her job in October 2012.

Attorney Glenn Stoddard, who represents Marks, said he filed the case May 22 in federal court under the procedural due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.

The case names as defendants the City of Hayward; City of Hayward Public Works Director John J. McCue; City of Hayward Mayor William Swintkowski; and City of Hayward Public Works Committee Chairman Jason Speros.

“The case was filed to challenge allegedly unlawful employment practices taken against Ms. Marks by the defendants,” Stoddard said.

Marks was terminated Oct. 12, 2012 from her position as the Public Works Department’s confidential secretary/assistant, certified wastewater and waterworks operator. She began working for the city in 2005.

The complaint states, “Marks alleges that she was terminated from her position and laid off without a ‘legitimate reorganization,’ and without cause, notice or a hearing prior to her termination, in violation of her constitutional due process rights.

“Marks alleges her termination was based on a pretextual layoff and reorganization of the city’s Public Works Department, in an effort by defendants to single Marks out for termination and to reassign her job duties to less-senior and less-qualified male employees who were favored by McCue, Swintkowski and Speros.”

Stoddard said his client is seeking appropriate relief, including compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and costs in pursuing the case.

Hayward City Attorney Michael Kelsey is not representing the defendants. Attorney Lori M. Lubinsky of Axley Brynelson, LLP in Madison is representing the city in the federal litigation.

When contacted by the Record for a statement, Lubinsky responded, “As this matter is in litigation, I have no comment at this time other than to report that the city will be filing its answer to the complaint on or before July 19, 2013.”

Woman injured in atV accident in Cable A Sun Prairie woman was injured about 3:50 p.m. Friday, July 5 in an ATV accident on Big Brook Road in the Township of Cable,

off the road to the right, striking a tree. She sustained injuries to her left arm, left torso and head, and was transported to the Cable Air-

not wearing a helmet and it appeared she was driving too fast to make the turn.

Great Divide Ambulance, Cable

wedding anniversary on July 8. “We’re so thrilled to be able to celebrate it,” she said.

Mr. Fahs’ helmet was damaged in the accident, so he needs a new helmet, she added. “I’m voting for one with strobe lights.”

Fahs, 58, has enjoyed riding a bicycle since he was eight years old. He formerly owned a bicycle shop in River Falls. He had just bought his new bike on June 26.

Sheriff’s Dept. seeks public’s help in locating fugitive The Sawyer County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday, along with the U.S. Marshall’s Office, issued a public notice that they are attempting to locate 31-year-old Quill Running Buffalo Hawk (aka Quill Wade).

Hawk has both state and federal warrants for his ar- Quill Hawk Wade rest, and is known to frequent the Hayward area, including the LCO reservation. He has been seen in the area in the past week.

Hawk has a distinct Hawk claw tattoo and tear drops on his right cheek, the word “prez” on his right wrist, “Xavier” on his left wrist and a bear claw tattoo on his left hand. He is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 215 pounds.

Authorities advise individuals not to try to detain Hawk, but to notify local law enforcement immediately by calling 911 and provide a location as well as clothing description, vehicle information and possible associates.

July 11, 2013 5:53 pm /

Wisconsin Dells Events

Wisconsin Dells Events 07/10/2013

OpiniOn

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Wednesda

Do not restrict access to police reports No reports from the Lake Delton Police Department are in today’s paper. I don’t know when they will be in.

I usually go to Lake Delton Police on Wednesdays to read through and collect the police reports. Last Wednesday, when I went to Lake Delton, I was denied access to any records. Chief Tom Dorner and Lt. Janet Klipp were nice about it but said their hands were tied because of a federal law, the Drivers Privacy Protection Act. They promised to work something out after consultations with attorneys but in the meantime, they could not let me collect reports.

The Drivers Privacy Protection Act was passed

by Congress in 1994 and amended later. The act prohibits state motor vehicle departments from giving out information collected on driver’s license information in some cases.

It specifically exempts government law enforcement agencies, insurance companies and even private investigators from the restrictions.

In 2008, the attorney general of Wisconsin wrote an opinion that to interpret the law restricting police on driver’s license information would “subvert public oversight of law enforcement, impair public confidence in law enforcement activities, and do exactly what Congress intended to avoid...”

Then, Jason Senne sued the city of Palatine, Ill. over a parking ticket. Senne received a $20 ticket for illegal parking. He was upset because the Palatine ticket was printed with his Social Security number, driver’s license number, age, height, weight and address. Senne claimed the ticket violated his right to privacy under the Drivers Privacy Protection Act since anyone could walk by and see that information.

A federal court found for Senne and said Palatine owed $80 million in damages. The village appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court saying the court ruling would bankrupt the village.

The Supreme Court last month declined to hear the case.

I think the village was wrong to put that information on the ticket. Every parking ticket, I’ve ever gotten contained my vehicle’s license plate number and I think VIN number. If you did not pay the ticket, the issuing agency can track you down.

Meanwhile after the court ruling some Wisconsin police departments decided they could not release any information to the media that was obtained from driver’s licenses. Some departments printed reports on paper and blacked out or redacted as it is called any information culled from a license. Basically, all you might see in a report about a drunk driving arrest was that a person had been arrested: No name, no age, no place of residence.

Kay JaMes Kay’s comments One of those police departments refusing to release information was in New Richmond and the Steven Dzubay, newspaper publisher there, sued. His suit is in the federal court system and other publishers and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association are backing the suit. The case has not been heard.

Monday I spoke with Beth Bennett, the executive director of the WNA about the issue. She said the WNA is also trying to get Attorney General JB Van Hollen to issue another opinion upholding Wisconsin’s public records law and the previous opinion.

She also told me that she found it rather odd that Wisconsin police departments were doing this based on the Palatine case. She checked with the director of the Illinois press association and that director had no reports of the same thing happening in Illinois where the case originated. She also checked with the Indiana Newspaper Association, and it did not have any reports of police departments keeping information from newspapers.

She is contacting the state broadcasters association to have them join in the effort stop this interpretation of the law.

What I find really weird about this whole situation is that driver’s license are required for identification in so many places.

The state legislators want to require me to show my driver’s license to vote. If I want get on an airplane, I have to show a driver’s license. If I write a check at a store, the clerk asks to see my driver’s license.

As this case is being interpreted, if some drunk runs into my shiny red truck, the officer cannot give me his name and address, because the officer got the information from the drunk’s driver’s license and the newspaper cannot publish the information to report it to the public.

The Events has had good relations with the local police, and I hope that continues. Let’s hope a new interpretation of the Drivers Privacy Protection law is coming soon.

Kay Lapp James is editor of the Wisconsin Dells Events. Contact her at wde-editorial@capitalnewspapers.com or phone (608) 254-8327, ext. 3567.

Wisconsin Dells Events MattMeyers,generalmanager n Kay LaPPJaMes,editor n Bevstrand,publicmember

letterS to the eDitor Find other solutions than new school Have the school board members already made up their minds that they are going to build a $51 million dollar high school?

They have bought the land.

They have the architects designing the building.

When the district was trying to get 4-year-old kindergarten established, we were assured that there was ample space for and the state was reimbursing the district so it would not cost us any more money.

Then we had to build on to Spring Hill school because there was not enough room, but this would solve the problem for years.

Now they say that we need more building because there is not enough room. With reimbursement for private schools and home schooled children, the enrollment figures may go down even further. If there truly is a problem, these solutions haven’t even been mentioned: Discontinue 4-year-old kindergarten. Many studies indicate that these are high paid baby sitters and there is virtually no difference after 5th grade whether there is 4-yearold kindergarten or not.

John Stossel did a special on this very subject several years ago. There would be no problem with space if this were done.

Allow class sizes to increase to up to 25 students. The average class size used to be 25 students when I went to school in the ‘60s. The graduation rate was higher, and I think the students had a better

grasp of math, science and English. There was not near the support staff that there is today.

Enlarge the Lake Delton Grade School as that seems to be where the overcrowding is occurring. I understand the fire department is vacating the park next to the grade school and that might be available for expansion if necessary.

If the district builds this $51 million dollar high school, your taxes will go up considerably. The next thing that will happen is both Neenah Creek School in Briggsville and Lake Delton School will be closed as there will be excess space and that will save money. Any one of the three suggestions I have made will solve the space problem if there is one and would cost way less and might even lower your taxes.

The school readily admits that this is a poor district with over half of the students qualifying for subsidized lunches. Is this a district that can build an extravagant $51 million dollar school without exploring the options first.

Ralph Jacobsen, Town of Dell Prairie

Supper thanks supporters, volunteers On behalf of the DellsDelton Community Sharing Supper, we thank all of the sponsors, volunteers and friends for a fun and enjoyable 5th monthly supper on June 25. Our sponsors, Dells Rotary and Tofson Insurance enjoyed the evening by serving the

delicious meal catered by Famous Dave’s.

We appreciate Spring Hill School and the School District of the Wisconsin Dells for the use of the cafeteria and our tireless team of volunteers who made it an enjoyable “Our Natural Community” evening. Lively bingo began with Dennis Schmitz at 4:30, followed by Kate Sweet and Caleb Kenney from Wisconsin Dells Easter Seals Camp Wawbeek and Respite Camp, Craig Gaetzke shared his knowledge about Hobby Beekeeping, Ranger Travis Verdegan represented the Wisconsin Dells Ranger Station , State Ranger Patrick Carlson shared information about the Wisconsin State Parks System, Matt Gaboury gave us some facts about Upham Woods, Trish Vandre spoke about the services of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of Sauk Country, Charlotte WalchDavies lead a Rainbow Fish activity in Kids Korner, Mike Lew talked about the work of the ADRC, Theresa Wimann from Adams County UWEX helped understand more about healthy nutrition, Nurse Nancy Klicko did blood pressure screening and Randy Sus provided the entertainment.

As our honored elder, we especially thank Virginia Weidling for her service to St. Vincent de Paul, her church, family and friends.

Thanks to Thompson’s Full Bloom for the beautiful summer flowers presented to Virginia.

Our goal is that Sharing Supper will provide a dining experience free of

social or econo to build comm tionships whil the soul. The s July, will be th day, July 29 at Hill cafeteria, with bingo at 4 event is free an everyone, so p your family an an evening wit munity. Also, p about how you continue to de this fun comm by becoming a And last, bu heartfelt appre our volunteers ers, and the Sh per Steering C for their comm dedication.

Thanks agai sponsors, teac munity volunt and caterers fo Dells-Delton C Sharing Suppe appreciate all y

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We say than express our gra who donated t sored the tract Sheldon Pfiste The money for tion costs for d and treatment appreciated as warm wishes t with it.

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Sheldon Pfiste W

Obama needs to push for more open governm

the Open Government This year’s graduating seniors entered college just Partnership, encouraging governments to take steps before the Obama admintoward making themselves istration began. But while transparent and accountthese successful graduates able. And, with input from are ready to move on to the civil society organizations, next stage in their lives, it has developed a National the administration hasn’t Action Plan that includes achieved the same prog26 commitments and is ress on one of its signature aimed toward achieving 18 initiatives: creating open goals. government.

My organization recentOn his first day in office, President Obama commit- ly evaluated the implementation of that plan ted his administration to and found that although creating “unprecedented the government largely levels of openness in met its promises, there’s government.” And even a wide gulf between the though his record on open administration’s actions government issues has and its own open-governbeen far from spotless, his ment goals. administration has pushed As part of the plan, the for substantive change.

For example, the admin- U.S. set out to improve Julylaunch 11, 2013 5:55ofpm / Freedom Information istration helped

Act efficacy. The public should be able to use the FOIA to obtain timely access to government information. Yet despite the plan and the administration’s policy statements, the government hasn’t made much improvement over the secretive Bush administration.

Increasing transparency in government spending was another goal.

In the wake of the 2008 economic collapse , the administration developed a new model for helping the public know where their tax dollars flowed, and for what purpose. We should have a system that allows the public to fully track funding.

We face an enormous

backlog of info that should be The administr commitment i create the Nat sification Cen the center has work, the back million pages o won’t be decla the deadline se This fall, the tration will rel version of its N Action Plan. W the president t and include co that will create transparency t the grade.

Amy Bennett is director of Ope ernment.org.

For the Online Poll Question, go www.wisconsindellsevents.c

e 20 or

e 35

s

ge 13.

tte

sented to them and voted them both down. time issue and the growing concern of over- were a number of different elements involved in Previously, the School Board voted 6-2 May crowding in Plover-Whiting, decided it was best the criteria that they used to narrow down the Point, The Portage County Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to choice, fit letterand page 28Stevens to open the bidding process for the additionGazette to build07/12/2013 an addition. in their opinion Ellis Stone came out because of a fire code problem found in the curBoard members were given a preliminary esti- on top, even though it was a close call between rent building. mate for the project of $720,000 by the admin- the two.

(See Board, page 19) Village of Plover officials, who inspected the istration.

New federal laws restrict open record policies

By NATHANAEL ENWALD of The Gazette Law enforcement agencies will significantly restrict the information they release to the public, slowing down the open records request process, after the decisions of two federal courts.

Due to the 7th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals case Senne v. Village of Palantine, Ill., and 4th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals case Maracich v. Spears decisions, the information police obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles about the subject can no longer be released to members of the public.

When the public makes an open records request for police files on any traffic violation or accident, the police must redact or “black out” all information containing driver’s names, dates of birth, mailing addresses, phone numbers, photographs, social security numbers, medical or dis-

ability information and driver’s license numbers.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of incident it is, if the record comes from the Department of Motor Vehicles it’s all treated the same,” said Chief Deputy Daniel Kontos, Portage County Sheriff’s Department.

Information that can still be included are vehicle types, nature of the incident, number of vehicle occupants, ages – but not date of birth – and the ZIP code the occupant lives in.

The problem this poses for law enforcement agencies is previously they haven’t needed to separate where the information came from.

“It’s going to be hard for us at first, until we get a really good understanding of information flow, to determine what information is DMV information and what information is not,” said Kontos.

He said any time an officer enters a name into their computer to receive information about a

driver, the officer is using DMV records, which would be restricted.

“If we get information that doesn’t come from DMV records, then the usual state open record laws apply in those cases,” said Kontos.

Karen Moran, Portage County Law Enforcement Center office manager, said that reading through every narrative and police report for each open records request greatly burdens the record staff and is a severe encumbrance.

Moran said they will try to have the narratives and reports uniformly written to speed up the process, but until they have a new system worked out they will have to read through each one and cross-check them.

“It’s hard to serve everybody who wants records, that’s the problem for us,” said Moran.

But through a loophole in the Driver Protection (See Policies, page 25)

July 12, 2013 1:27 pm /

Stevens Point, The Portage County Gazette 07/12/2013 July 12, 2013

Portage County Gazette

Policies Act, it is still possible for the public to obtain all of the information police are restricted from sharing.

“The real kick is you can get all the information from the DMV for a mere $6 fee,” said Kontos, “But we have to jump through all these hoops.”

He said if it were up to him he would keep the system the way it is because the new one will burden the department and put a strain on public relations.

“We are going to have a lot of upset custom-

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(Continued from page 1)

ers who walk up to the front window that are accustomed to having us just print up a report and hand it to them,” Moran said.

“On the other hand, you’re going to get some people who say this is a good thing and that their information shouldn’t be out there,” said Kontos.

“Like anything else it will become close to second nature for our folks, but it will take a while until we can build up that speed and be able to get out things as quickly as we would like,” he said.

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Sally McGinty, the Stevens Point director of emergency management, said the Stevens Point Police Department will most likely mirror the county’s office model of operations but won’t have any exact structures fleshed out until sometime after her meeting with City Attorney Logan Beveridge on Thursday, July 11.

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Oconto County Reporter 07/10/2013 Oconto County Reporter

Wednesday, July 10,

2013 • B3

Woman seriously injured in Lakewood crash Both drivers charged with OWI Both drivers in a twovehicle crash in the town of Lakewood early Sun­ day morning were cited for operating while intoxi­ cated, according to an Oconto County Sheriff’s Department report.

One of the drivers, who were both women from Wabeno, was seriously in­ jured and transported for treatment.

The accident occurred about 1:35 a.m. on High­ way 32 and North Gage Street. According to the

report: The driver who was se­ riously injured was north­ bound performing a brake stand — squealing tires — with a 1994 Chev­ rolet Blazer. The second vehicle was westbound at the intersection in a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado pick­ up.

The Silverado drive thought the other vehicle was stopped, and turned right onto Highway 32. At the same time, the Blazer released the brakes and accelerated, and attempt­ ed to negotiate a curve and pass the Silverado on the right.

But the Blazer drive lost control when it at­ tempt to pass, overcor­ rected, and the front pas­ senger side of the Blazer high the right front driver side of the Silverado. The Blazer pushed the Silve­ rado up over the east curb of Highway 32, where they hit a no parking sign.

The Silverado began to spin, while the Blazer turned back toward the highway and pushed the Silverado up over the west curb of Highway 32, then drove over grass northbound until it hit a tree and bounced back.

The car came to rest fac­

ing northwest hanging over the curb.

The Blazer driver was also cited for reckless driving, excessive speed and disorderly conduct.

The other driver and a passenger in the Blazer, a Lac du Flambeau man, had possible injuries, but were not transported.

The names and ages of the drivers and the pas­ senger were redacted from the report. The sher­ iff’s department began withholding personal in­ formation on accident re­ ports in late May in re­ sponse to a federal court ruling.

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POLICE REPORT July 2 » A report of child abuse is under investigation. » A reported sex offense is under investigation. » A reported sex offense is under investigation.

June 29 » Cash, CDs and phone charger taken from a car parked in the 200 block of Frank Street.

June 28 » A 27-year-old man was re­ ferred to the DA after a com­ plaint of stalking.

» William J. Neering, 38, of Oconto, was arrested for dis­ orderly conduct and battery following an incident in the 400 block of Smith Avenue.

June 27 » A report of child abuse is under investigation. » Scott R. Pecha Jr., 29, of Ocon­ to was cited for theft after money from tip jar at Brothers Three was taken. » Two magazines for guns were taken from from unlocked vehicles in the 6000 block of N.

Bayshore Road.

June 26 » Gerald H. Lewis, 56, of Ocon­ to, was picked up on warrant on Chicago Street about 8:54 p.m.

June 25 » A report of forger is under investigation. » Amber L. Bayer, 21, of Oconto, was cited three times for retail theft at from Thompson's County Market, 722 Brazeau Ave., about 11:47 a.m.

June 22 » Mark R. Vonhaden, 29, of

Green Bay, was picked up on a warrant in the 500 block of Smith Avenue shortly after midnight.

June 21 »Joshua J. Barke, 36, of Oconto, was picked up on a warrant about 10:30 a.m. on Doran St. June 20 » A road sign at the corner of Smith Avenue and McDonald Street was damaged. » A television and box fan were stolen from home in the 400 block of Madison Street.

driver was not hurt. Both were wearing seat belts. » A Michigan man was cited for improper overtaking after a two-vehicle accident about 2:05 p.m. in the town of Morgan. The man was northbound on High­ way 32 when he came up on a car driven by a Green Bay wom­ an and attempted to avoid a collision, but struck her car's rear passenger side at the intersection of CCC Road. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts and were not injured. Four passengers in the woman's car, two using seatbelts

and two in child safety seats, were also not injured.

June 22 » A six-gallon gas tank was taken from a boat in the town of Brazeau.

June 21 » Contents of a residence in the town of Maple Valley were taken in a break-in. A chained to the gatedthe property was cut, and the door pried open. A list of items was not available.

June 20 » A man ws cited for operating while suspended or revoked and

failure to report an accident after a one-vehicle accident about 12:50 a.m. in the town of Underhill. The man lost control on County Highway V, just west of Cardinal Road, overturning numerous times before coming to rest in the ditch. He suffered a possible injury but was not transported. It was uncertain whether he was using a seatbelt. » A rod and reel was taken from a dock in the town of Mountain. » A five-gallon gas tank was taken from a pontoon boat in the town of Riverview.

to Falls, was charged June 27 with burglary-party to a crime, in connection with the theft of beer from a detached garage at Trackside Bar in the town of Abrams.

Misdemeanors » William J. Neering, 38, of

Oconto, was charged June 28 with battery, contact after do­ mestic abuse arrest and dis­ orderly conduct after an incident earlier that day in the city of Oconto. «* Joshua J. Tank, 33, of Oconto Falls, was charged June 28 with

criminal damage to propertyrepeater, and disorderly conductrepeater, over an incident the day before in the city of Oconto Falls. » Char M. Smits, 36, of Green Bay, was charged June 11 with bail jumping, over an incident June 5 in the city of Oconto.

SHERIFF’S REPORT Note: The sheriffs department is redacting personal information about people involved in auto accidents and reporting property thefts in response to a federal court ruling.

June 27 » A woman was cited for in­ attentive driving after a two-car accident about 9:13 a.m. in the town of Mountain. The woman was southbound on Highway 32 when she rear-ended a semi­ trailer just south of Church Road.

She received a possible injury but was not transported. The semi

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CHARGES The following defendants recent­ ly made initial appearances in Oconto County Circuit Court Felony counts punishable by a prison term are denoted by an "(F)."

Felonies » Dakota Dickinson, 18, of Ocon­

SENTENCINGS The following defendants were recently sentenced in Oconto County Circuit Court. Felony counts punishable with a prison term are denoted by an "(F)." Not every aspect of a sentence may be included.

Felonies amended or dis­ missed » Brandon M. Lewis, 23, of Oconto, was sentenced July 1

by Judge Conley to six months jail for theft, with work release and good time. The sentence with his sentence in a 2012 case. He was ordered to pay $1,033 restitution, a $52 restitu­ tion surcharge and $253 court costs. A repeater modifier on the charge was deleted. A charge of operating a motor vehicle without owner's con­ sent (F) was read into the record and dismissed. He was charged March 12 after a pickup in the city of Oconto was stolen, which was later

recovered, although tools inside were missing.

Misdemeanors » Michael A. Konkel, 56, of Oconto, was sentenced July 3

by Judge Conley to one year Oconto County VIP on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer, to be served concurrently. He was assessed $586 court costs, and ordered to pay VIP fees and attorney fees. Charges of battery, dis­ orderly conduct and bail jump­ ing were dismissed. He was originally charged over in­ cidents in the town of Pensaukee: on Jan. 23 with battery and disorderly conduct over an incident the day before, and disorderly conduct, resisting an officer and bail jumping on April 29 over an incident the day before. n Hannah L. Klingensmith, 20, of Laona, was sentenced June 28 by Judge Conley to 60 days

OCONTO MUNICIPAL COURT

jail for issuing a worthless check. Conley stayed the sen­ tence and granted her one year Oconto County VIP, on the conditions of payment of $791 restitution, a $40 restitution surcharge, $253 court costs and VIP fees, and not possessing a checking account or materials.

She is eligible to have the conviction expunged. Four other counts were dismissed.

She was charged March 22 over checks written Dec. 8 in the towns of Lakewood and Moun­ tain and the village of Suring for a total of $437. » Zachariah M. Diedrich, 30, of Oconto, was sentenced June 27

by Judge Judge to 90 days jail, with good time and work release (credit 31 days) for obstructing an officer. He was assessed $243 court costs, and another $243 court costs for operating a motor vehicle while revoked. He was charged

May 13 after an incident May 11 in the city of Oconto. » Char M. Smits, 36, of Green Bay, on June 27 received a withheld sentence from Judge Conley on two counts of issuing worthless checks. She was granted 18 months probation, on the conditions of paying a total of $1,467 restitution, plus a $73 surcharge, $253 court costs, DOC fees and attorney fees, not possess a checking account of materials, serve 30 days jail, undergo AODA and followup and maintain abso­ lute sobriety. Two other counts were dismissed. One count was filed Aug. 29 after a $150 check was written Aug. 7 in the city of Oconto Falls. Three other counts were filed Sept. 28 over checks that were written for $527 on April 22 in the town of Lakewood and two checks totaling $690 that were written July 28 in the city of Oconto.

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http://fox6now.com/2013/07/11/wisconsin-drivers-frustrated-by-lack-of-access-toaccident-reports/ Drivers frustrated by lack of access to accident reports Posted on: 9:00 pm, July 11, 2013, by Meghan Dwyer, updated on: 09:06pm, July 11, 2013 SHEBOYGAN FALLS (WITI) — Wisconsin drivers who get into car accidents are pulling their hair out. That’s because all over the state, city and county, police departments are redacting all personal information from accident reports, making it nearly impossible to find out who hit you if you forget to write down the other driver’s name at the scene.

Cardell Solberg of Sheboygan Falls found out the hard way. He was looking for a parking spot at the Piggly Wiggly when another driver backed into him.

“We got in the car and my wife said, ‘Who hit us?’ I just said, ‘I don`t know.’ She said, ‘Did you get a license plate number?’ ‘No, but it will be in the police report.’”

That’s what Brenda O’Malley thought, too, when her teenage daughter got in an accident on Pine Street in Sheboygan Falls.

“It was five days of at least nine hours a day of phone calls. My entire vacation was spent trying to get this settled,” she recalls.

They just wanted a copy of the accident report and the name of the other driver.

But it’s not that easy anymore.

“Why can`t I have an accident report? Something’s fishy here,” O’ Malley says.

When Solberg tried to get his accident report, police told him it was against the law to release it to him. But he was skeptical, so he made an official request for the accident report and he paid $2.00.

Almost the entire document was blacked out.

“They could have put it on black paper and saved themselves a lot of time,” Solberg says.

Steven Riffel, the Chief of Police in Sheboygan Falls and the President of the Wisconsin Police Chiefs Association, says he understands their frustration, but his hands are tied.

“We [police] didn`t wake up one day and decide we’re going to keep all this

information from you,” Riffel says.

He says departments all over the state are redacting all personal information from police reports if that information came from driving records.

“We’d like to give them the reports. It`s easier for us and things like that but we`re not the ones that made the decision,” he says.

It started in 1994 with the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act. It was passed after a California man used DMV records to stalk and murder a young actress. Her name was Rebecca Schaeffer and she starred in the sitcom “My Sister Sam.” For years, police largely ignored the law.

That is, until a city in Illinois got slapped with an $80 million lawsuit for giving a man a parking ticket that revealed too much personal information: his full name, driver’s license number, address, and his birth date.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which extends to Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, ruled the way the parking ticket was issued was illegal. The city gave out too much personal information, and all of that information came from driving records.

Cities who release that kind of personal data could face a $2,500 fine per violation.

That’s why in April, the vast majority of cities and counties in southeast Wisconsin began taking a black marker to accident reports. Some are redacting police reports, too.

Only Waukesha County and the Wisconsin State Patrol are still giving out full reports, and lawyers say they are putting themselves at major risk for lawsuits.

“It’s difficult,” says Wauwatosa City Attorney Alan Kesner. “It’s a difficult situation we’re placed in right now.”

He says Wauwatosa finally started redacting accident reports this spring, when it became clear many Wisconsin cities were worried about being sued.

“My job is to make sure the city is complying with the law and protect our interest,” Kesner says. “Right now we have two laws that compete, so I really want to be able to make sure that we’re doing the best we can. Which one takes precedence over the other?”

That other law is the Wisconsin Open Records Law.

Bill Leuders of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council says lawyers are overreacting to the court’s decision.

“I don’t doubt that law enforcement doesn’t like having to do this,” Leuders says. “But we don’t think that they should be doing this. We don’t think that they have to do it. We think they have gotten bad advice from some of the attorneys and they should stop withholding this information.”

Solberg agrees.

“We are the unprotected ones in this protection law, in my opinion. I am the victim and can’t get any information, so who in the world is it protecting?” Solberg said.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently refused to hear an appeal of the 7th Circuit decision. Until the Wisconsin Attorney General issues guidance for police departments, it’s likely accident reports and police reports will continue being redacted.

To get a complete accident report, without going through your local police department, you can call the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles at (608) 266-8753 or by e-mail at traffic-accidents.dmv@dot.wi.gov.

Green Bay Press-Gazette 07/17/2013

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Algoma Fire and Rescue crews transported Busch to Aurora BayCare Medical Center on Sunday after he failed to return to a platform a group of friends were jumping off of at Krohns Lake County Park in the town of Pierce, the Kewaunee County Sheriff’s Department said.

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ered Busch around 12:44 p.m. He remained in critical condition Sunday night and was transferred to St. Vincent Hospital.

— Press Gazette Media

BROWN COUNTY Sheriff’s office to limit drivers’ info Brown County Sheriff’s Department officials say they’ll remove names and other personal information from accident and incident reports and news releases before releasing the records to the public, in order to comply with a new interpretation of a federal law governing driv-

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ers’ privacy.

Police agencies in other locations are making similar decisions in response to federal court decisions that limit the information obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles that can be released without the permission of the drivers involved.

Sheriff’s Capt. Jeff Sanborn said corporation counsel has advised the department to withhold addresses, birthdates and other types of information that was previously available.

The change was driven by two recent U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decisions involving the Federal Drivers’ Privacy Protection Act. The act was created after drivers’ records were used by a person who stalked and killed a California actress.

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here, although his plans for the future are indefinite.

After graduation from East High School in 1926, and three years at Lawrence college, he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, from which he was graduated in 1933 with a commission in the Infantry.

He served at various points in the United States, Panama and Hawaii, was an officer of Military Intelligence in England, and became an instructor at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth.

After the war, he went to Fort Lewis, Wash., where he was commanding officer of the 38th Infantry regiment.

He later went to Fort Lawton, Seattle. Since March, 1952, he has been stationed at Stuttgart, Germany.

July 18, 2013 1:22 pm / — Compiled by the Brown County Library.

Middleton Times-Tribune 07/18/2013

VOL. 121, NO. 29

Open records under attack With some municipalities opting to begin blanket redactions, the City of Middleton attempts to preserve public access

by MATT GEIGER Times-Tribune

THURSDAY, JU

Board unloa

Town wants better comm

by KEVIN MURPHY Times-Tribune

Members of the Middleton Town Board called City of Middleton EMS Director Steven Wunsch on the carpet Monday for an alleged lack of communication.

“The meeting tonight is about you.

The staff is among the finest in the country but there’s a level of arrogance from you is how I see it,” said board supervisor Tim Roehl.

Town chairman Milo Breunig recalled being “shocked” when he said without notice the city doubled the town’s EMS bill by $90,000 in 2009 when a new ambulance and crew were added.

Roehl called it “unacceptable.”

New confusion about an old federal law is forcing local governments to choose between the right to privacy and the public’s right to information. Further muddying the waters is the fact that cities, villages and towns know they run the risk of getting sued either way.

Many government agencies in Wisconsin have begun blacking out names and addresses from what had previously been public police reports in response to a new interpretation of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA).

Government decision-makers essentially have two choices. They can continue releasing names to the public and risk lawsuits from individuals who claim their right to privacy has been violated, or they can redact the information and face lawsuits from newspapers and other government watchdog groups that believe the information must be turned over under state open See RECORDS, page 17

July 19, 2013 2:59 pm /

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Middleton Times-Tribune 07/18/2013

Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page

THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2013

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 17

RECORDS records law.

The City of Middleton has chosen not to redact most personal information in its police and court documents. The city’s legal counsel and police department crafted the rationale behind the policy in an attempt to safeguard the city from litigation while preserving the public’s access to government records.

Middleton Chief of Police Brad Keil said the city is not performing blanket redactions, but it is blacking out information that is gleaned exclusively through Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records and not through “routine questioning and investigation” by officers.

“If an officer is unable to obtain the information from a subject by normal means and has to rely on a (DMV) record, that information is redacted in the report until such time as the officer can obtain the information directly from an individual,” Keil explained.

In 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that police re-disclosure of certain personal information derived from motor vehicle records is prohibited unless turned over under an exception to the DPPA. But Wisconsin Open Records Law presumes complete public access to public records consistent with the conduct of governmental business, unless denial of such access is in the public interest. Until now, police could disclose personal information derived from driving records, which were incorporated in department reports when responding to public records requests, because carrying out such requests is a required governmental function of the department.

The Middleton Police Department’s new policy attempts to find a middle road while all sides await resolution on the issue.

“Until this conflict is resolved, in ad-

CARPC

continued from page 1 dition to [DMV] returns, officers should seek other sources for personal information that is to be incorporated in department records,” states the department’s new policy. The guidelines go on to list an array of methodologies officers can use to obtain information during the course of their investigations.

If driving records are the sole source of personal information that is to be incorporated in department records, the officer will notify the Records Bureau so the personal information can be redacted before disclosure to non-excepted third parties. The Records Bureau will when place a “watch” on the record, which will notify employees who access or view the record that it is DPPA restricted.

While personal information derived solely from driving records will no longer be disclosed in most cases, there are 14 specific exceptions.

City attorney Matt Fleming said Middleton attempted to establish “a policy based on the most logical interpretation” of seemingly contradictory court rulings on the matter.

“It’s our own record that we obtained from independent sources,” he said of the names Middleton will continue turning over in response to open records requests.

One court battle on the subject has not yet been decided. When it is, the case could bring clarity to the issue. A lawsuit filed in May in a St. Croix County circuit court by the New Richmond News against the City of New Richmond alleges some municipalities, at the behest of their insurers, are overreacting to – and misinterpreting – the DPPA, a law originally intended to protect citizens from stalkers and other people who mean them harm.

In New Richmond, the community’s weekly newspaper is at odds with the police department over the proper interpretation of the law, which has been

on the books for nearly two decades and wasn’t previously understood to prohibit government units from turning over public records. The newspaper contended DPPA doesn’t require the removal of personal information from law enforcement records, and that the city violated state statute when it decided to redact personal information from routine incident and accident reports.

An opinion by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, issued in April of 2008, appears to agree with the newspaper’s position.

Wisconsin statute 19.31 declares that every citizen is entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government. The law assumes the presumption of complete public access to government records, stating that “[t]he denial of public access generally is contrary to the public interest, and only in an exceptional case may access be denied.”

The City of New Richmond disagreed, refusing to provide names and other personal information to the media and the public if the information is gleaned from DMV records.

New Richmond’s new interpretation of the law is based on a ruling made by the U.S. Court of Appeals last year. In Senne v. Village of Palatine, a Seventh Circuit federal appeals court ruled that police violated a man’s privacy by writing information obtained through DMV records on a parking ticket, then placing the ticket on his windshield on a public street.

Watchdog groups call the ruling a blow to transparent government because it allows law enforcement agencies and courts to function behind a veil. Municipalities say it’s creating a massive load of administrative work, as well as incurring costs to local taxpayers since the state’s supreme court has ruled that redacting information must be paid for entirely by units of local

continued from page 8 all water issues, projects the outcomes of various planning scenarios, provides data and information to local municipalities and the WDNR, and makes recommendations.

The commission lacks the authority to impose decisions. However, what it can do is provide a forum for intergovernmental negotiations when planning issues and disputes arise between member governments. We submit that no other government or governmental body could accomplish this brokerage function due to a variety of trust issues and perceptions about agendas. Rather than pursue the agenda of a single unit of government, CARPC is uniquely situated to pursue the creation of a common agenda that will benefit the whole of the region.

CARPC is, in our opinion, a valuable and much-needed resource to keep this region strong and the only entity charged with truly planning on a regional basis. We are distressed that its future is threatened. Its budget has been starved for many years and it is understaffed, and it is then accused of not performing. We urge local governments to work cooperatively to maintain the valuable services CARPC provides to the region.

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government.

But many insurance companies say redacting personal information is the most prudent course of action, at least for now.

In 2008, Van Hollen issued the opinion making it clear the DPPA did not prohibit law enforcement agencies from releasing most information to the public. Van Hollen wrote that DPPA provisions “specifically support public access to personal information in law enforcement records related to vehicular accidents, driving violations, and driver status.”

However, a spokesperson for Van Hollen’s office said last week not to expect further comment on the matter from the attorney general anytime soon.

“As you may know, the New Richmond News has a suit in federal court against the City of New Richmond regarding this issue,” said Dana Brueck communications officer for the Wisconsin Department of Justice. “Therefore, it would be inappropriate for us to offer an opinion on this issue at this time.”

She cited longstanding state guidelines as the reason for remaining silent: “An opinion should not be requested on an issue that is the subject of current or reasonably imminent litigation… .”

Brueck called Van Hollen’s 2008 opinion the department’s “most recent guidance on this issue.”

Further complicating the matter is Maracich et al. v. Spears, a recent United States Supreme Court ruling. In that case, a group of attorneys – commonly called “ambulance chasers” used state Freedom of Information Act requests to obtain the names of thousands of people they hoped would join a class action lawsuit against several South Carolina car dealerships.

The Supreme Court reinstated the lawsuit against the attorneys, ruling

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The Wisconsin Newspaper Association is documenting which police departments have begun redacting information from routine reports. that the DPPA’s exception for judicial proceedings did not authorize mass mailings to solicit clients. The case was sent back for further consideration, including of the attorneys’ alternate defense, which was based on the DPPA’s “government function” clause.

But the court failed to fully address how the decision would impact other forms of public records requests, specifically access to police records.

For now, municipalities continue awaiting clarity on the matter.

“As far as I know that New Richmond case will be the first authoritative legal word on the matter,” said Fleming. “Most certainly either side would appeal, so I would expect it to end up in the seventh circuit. In other words, we could be talking on the order of years before there’s a final decision.”

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Shell Lake, Washburn County Register - 2013/06/12 - A08 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

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because of the Lorax’s moustache. He said dressing up Tuesday was fun, because his costume shocked his friends. Johnson said what he likes most about reading is when he can’t put down the book

Area private schools participated in the reading activities as well.

“Reading is such an important part of our daily lives, both as children and adults,” said St. Bruno Parish School Principal Lisa

Oconomowoc Enterprise 03/07/2013

bation with conditions to be determined by the county’s Schimel: Hooper not a danger to society juvenile court.

Arenas Hedrick. “When ities during Read Across Schimel recommended there are opportunities to America Week –from and other Copy Reduced to %d%% originalInitially to fit letter page charged Hooper get two years procelebrate literacy, it only times – helps to foster a lifeunder Caylee’s Law bation, adding he d o e sn ’ t reinforces the importance of long love for literacy.”

Hooper was initially it. Getting kids excited See HOOPER, PAGE 5A Email: cflood@conleynet.com charged Sept. 18 with a about reading through activ-

Ellis dressed up Tuesday.

Police at a crossroads on handling public information Court case puts local departments in limbo

By Amber Gramza and Mary Reardon Enterprise Staff

PEWAUKEE – The Pewaukee Police Department is one of several police departments that are beginning to black out certain personal information from accident reports or parking tickets pending a court case that may head to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The police departments’ action comes on the heels of a 2010 court case in Illinois, Senne v. Village of Palatine,

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WEATHER Friday forecast: Partly cloudy High 35 / Low 22 See weather statistics on Page 5A.

in which Jason Senne initiated a class-action lawsuit after he found a parking ticket on his vehicle’s windshield that contained personal information including “his driver’s license number, address and weight,” according to the 2012 case document from when the case went to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Senne is charging that Palatine violated the 1994 Driver’s Privacy Protection Act. The DPPA specifies that state departments of motor vehicles may not disclose

personal information such as name, address and driver identification number, except in certain “permissible uses.”

For police, who regularly get or verify information using state Division of Motor Vehicles records, the question of what information to make public presents a quandary, said Pewaukee Village Attorney Mark Blum.

Police departments are handling the situation in different ways, Oconomowoc City Attorney Bill Chapman

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said.

The Oconomowoc Police Department removes personal information when the information is attained through the Department of Transportation, which includes the DMV. “It is the opinion of the City of Oconomowoc City Attorney to start redacting all personal information that was obtained from the Department of Transportation,” stated a note in the city’s media binder with traffic accident and police reports.

“If there is information there that should not necessarily be there, then we are going to redact it,” Chapman

Drivers who want to sue What if a driver needs a copy of an accident report on another driver for insurance or civil lawsuit purposes?

In Pewaukee, according to Blum, citizens can fill out an accident report request form, which states the reason the person needs the information. That, the village believes, is in line with the DPPA and its list of permissible uses for release of

Traffic accident reports Elm Grove Assistant Police Chief Gus Moulas said the Senne case is “a big buzz” among police departments around the state.

In Elm Grove, police ask drivers involved in accidents or other traffic incidents to fill out their name, address and other identifying information on the incident report themselves, so

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that the police don’t have to get that information from the DOT, only verify it.

said.

Parking tickets in Oconomowoc only include the plate number and location where the ticket was issued, and do not include a name or address.

See INFO, PAGE 5A

nesses at www.oconomowoc.org.

Volume 125 No. 33

To subscribe to the Enterprise, call 567-5511

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Superior Telegram - 2013/05/03 - A004 - copy resized to: 64% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Wisconsin Rapids, The Voice - 2013/05/03 - 007 - copy resized to: 97% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

West Bend, Daily News - 2013/05/03 - A005 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Mauston, Juneau County Star-Times - 2013/05/04 - A05 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Chippewa Falls, The Chippewa Herald - 2013/05/04 - A004 - copy resized to: 78% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Janesville, The Gazette - 2013/05/04 - A006 - copy resized to: 61% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Watertown Daily Times - 2013/05/04 - A006 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Menomonie, The Dunn County News - 2013/05/05 - A005 - copy resized to: 80% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Amery Free Press - 2013/05/07 - A005 - copy resized to: 50% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Grantsburg, Burnett County Sentinel - 2013/05/08 - A004 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Cedarburg, News Graphic - 2013/05/09 - A007 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Gays Mills, Crawford County Independent & Kickapoo Scout - 2013/05/09 - 005 - copy resized to: 88% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Hillsboro Sentry-Enterprise - 2013/05/09 - 002 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Milton Courier - 2013/05/09 - B06 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Muscoda Progressive - 2013/05/09 - 006 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Muscoda Progressive - 2013/05/09 - 014 continued from page 006 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Ladysmith News - 2013/05/09 - A005 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Waterloo, The Courier - 2013/05/09 - B09 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Sturgeon Bay, Door County Advocate - 2013/05/15 - A010 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Rice Lake, The Chronotype - 2013/05/15 - A004 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Hayward, Sawyer County Record - 2013/05/15 - A004 - copy resized to: 67% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Edgerton Reporter - 2013/05/15 - A001 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Courier Sentinel - 2013/05/16 - A002 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Janesville, The Gazette - 2013/05/16 - A001 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Janesville, The Gazette - 2013/05/16 - A012 continued from page A001 - copy resized to: 82% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Waukesha NOW - 2013/05/16 - W004 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

West Salem, Onalaska-Holmen Courier Life - 2013/05/17 - A004 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

West Salem, Coulee News - 2013/05/17 - A004 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Appleton, Post-Crescent - 2013/05/19 - A01 - copy resized to: 89% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Appleton, Post-Crescent - 2013/05/19 - A04 continued from page A01 - copy resized to: 56% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Central Wisconsin Sunday News - 2013/05/19 - A001 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Central Wisconsin Sunday News - 2013/05/19 - A005 continued from page A001 - copy resized to: 82% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Manitowoc, Herald Times Reporter - 2013/05/19 - A01 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Manitowoc, Herald Times Reporter - 2013/05/19 - A02 continued from page A01 - copy resized to: 93% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Manitowoc, Herald Times Reporter - 2013/05/19 - A03 continued from page A01 - copy resized to: 99% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Kettle Moraine Living - 2013/05/19 - K004 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Stevens Point Journal - 2013/05/19 - A01 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Stevens Point Journal - 2013/05/19 - A05 continued from page A01 - copy resized to: 58% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Oshkosh Northwestern - 2013/05/20 - A01 - copy resized to: 84% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Oshkosh Northwestern - 2013/05/20 - A07 continued from page A01 - copy resized to: 50% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Antigo Daily Journal - 2013/05/21 - A001 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Antigo Daily Journal - 2013/05/21 - A016 continued from page A001 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Fort Atkinson, Daily Jefferson County Union - 2013/05/21 - 014 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Fond du Lac, The Reporter - 2013/05/21 - A01 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Fond du Lac, The Reporter - 2013/05/21 - A02 continued from page A01 - copy resized to: 99% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Kenosha News - 2013/05/21 - A006 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Marinette, EagleHerald - 2013/05/21 - A005 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Marshfield News-Herald - 2013/05/21 - A02 - copy resized to: 71% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Racine, The Journal Times - 2013/05/21 - A012 - copy resized to: 81% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Stevens Point Journal - 2013/05/21 - A04 - copy resized to: 95% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Janesville, The Gazette - 2013/05/21 - A002 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Waukesha, The Freeman - 2013/05/21 - A005 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Watertown Daily Times - 2013/05/21 - A006 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Beaver Dam, Daily Citizen - 2013/05/22 - A23 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Beloit Daily News - 2013/05/22 - A002 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Frederic, Inter-County Leader - 2013/05/22 - A09 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

La Crosse Tribune - 2013/05/22 - A001 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

La Crosse Tribune - 2013/05/22 - A007 continued from page A001 - copy resized to: 67% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Madison, Wisconsin State Journal - 2013/05/22 - A15 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Poynette Press - 2013/05/23 - 04 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Poynette Press - 2013/05/23 - 05 continued from page 04 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Plymouth, The Review - 2013/05/28 - 002 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Sheboygan Falls News - 2013/05/29 - 002 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Sheboygan Falls News - 2013/05/29 - 015 continued from page 002 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

New Richmond News - 2013/05/30 - A006 - copy resized to: 93% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Green Bay Press-Gazette - 2013/06/02 - A011 - copy resized to: 98% Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Rice Lake, The Chronotype - 2013/06/05 - A004 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Shell Lake, Washburn County Register - 2013/06/05 - A04 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association