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New archbishop named for Milwaukee

November 14, 2009 By

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced Saturday that Jerome Listecki has been named archbishop by the Vatican, an appointment which a group of survivors of priest abuse is voicing concern over. Listecki succeeds Timothy Dolan, who was named Archbishop of New York earlier this year. The 60 year-old Listecki has served as bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse since March of 2005, and members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) say they have questions about Listecki’s record in dealing with abuse by clergy in La Crosse.

AUDIO: Jerome Listecki (4:45 MP3)

“Our concern is not him coming here right now, our concern is what he has to do while he’s in LaCrosse, to finish the job that has not been done in that diocese, for that church and for victims in that community,” said SNAP’s Midwest Director Peter Isely. “The Diocese of LaCrosse clears more priests of child sex abuse reports than any diocese in the country. So they are letting priests go who have been accused of abuse up there, more than any other diocese in the U.S.” Isely said Listecki has refused to meet with SNAP in the past, and has encouraged victims in La Crosse to take their allegations directly to him — not the police. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Human Interest Tagged With:

Vets agency cleared, moving forward

November 14, 2009 By

Officials are moving forward after the state Justice Department finds no criminal violations nor misconduct at the state Veterans Agency.

Wisconsin Veterans Affairs Secretary John Scocos says military veterans are relieved to hear the news, and can begin to re-establish their trust in the way veterans’ issues are being handled at the state level. Scocos’ key concern right now is providing treatment for PTSD and other mental health issues for returning veterans.

“I believe that if we do not connect with our personnel upon their arrival back to Wisconsin — followup with the needed mental, physical, educational and informational programs and interventions, we as a society are likely to pay for their service for a very long time.” Scocos says, “It’s the right thing to do and the fiscally responsible thing to do. Freedom has a cost that we all bear.”

Scocos says 25%-to-40% of the returning veterans experience a mental health disorder. He’s actively working on acquiring funds for programs that benefit veterans, including outreach, reintegration and maintaining the solvency of the Veterans Trust Fund.

Governor Jim Doyle, earlier this week at a Veterans Day ceremony, touted Wisconsin’s commitment to veterans, saying the Badger State leads the way among all states in the country. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government

Controversy over FDL homeless shelter

November 14, 2009 By

What started out a caring and compassionate way of helping the homeless in Fond du Lac is generating some controversy. A proposal to use the basement at St. Joseph’s Church as an overnight shelter during the winter months has some parents of children attending the neighboring St. Mary’s Academy concerned about safety. Parent Maggie Rose says there’s the potential for some of the homeless to be dangerous. “There are no background checks being performed,” Rose says. “Our number one concern is the location.” Rose says parents are not against having a homeless shelter, but not at that particular location.

Solutions Center Executive Director Lindee Kimball says those seeking shelter overnight would be leaving before most of the kids arrive at school. She says an adjacent shelter hasn’t cause any problems in the last two decades. “We have that same concern, but Solutions Center has a mens shelter right across the street from St. Joe’s, and we haven’t had a problem in over 20 years.” The warming shelter needs a zoning variance. The request will go before the City’s Planning Commission Monday night, but would eventually need City Council approval.

KFIZ’s Bob Nelson submitted this report

Filed Under: Human Interest Tagged With:

License sales down for deer hunt

November 14, 2009 By

It could be another sign of the sour economic times. License sales for deer hunting in Wisconsin are down.

About 315,000 licenses have been sold so far, compared to more than 360,000 at this time last year. That’s a decline of nearly 13-percent, and Greg Matthews of the DNR wonders why. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation Tagged With: