Judge moves Greenleaf incorporation forward

Posted at 2 p.m. on November 21, 2019 The Brillion News GREEN BAY – At the end of a hearing in Brown County Circuit Court on Thursday, November 21, Judge John Zakowski ruled that the petitioners behind the initiative to incorporate Greenleaf as a village had met all the legal requirements for the matter to go forward to a study and hearing by the state Department of Administration. Also at the hearing, the Village of Wrightstown asked to be officially listed as an “interested party” in the process, and Zakowski granted that request. The Village of Wrightstown’s attorney, Robert Gagan, argued that the Greenleaf group – which the village feels is really the Town of Wrightstown – wants to incorporate Greenleaf, then annex the rest of the Town of Wrightstown, essentially surrounding the Village of Wrightstown on three sides and blocking it from expanding. A COMPLETE REPORT ON THE HEARING BEFORE JUDGE ZAKOWSKI WILL BE FEATURED IN THE NOVEMBER 28 PRINT EDITION OF THE BRILLION NEWS. THE BRILLION NEWS IS THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF BOTH THE TOWN OF WRIGHTSTOWN AND THE VILLAGE OF WRIGHTSTOWN.

Dems blast Air Guard for dismissing whistleblower

Posted at 4:45 p.m. on November 20, 2019 The Brillion News MADISON – Eleven state representatives and three state senators, all Democrats, are blasting the Wisconsin National Guard (WNG) over the discharge of a Wisconsin Air National Guard sergeant who was a whistleblower exposing at least six cases of sexual assault or sexual harassment targeting women in the 115th Fighter Wing’s security squadron. A letter to Major General Donald Dunbar, Adjutant General of the WNG, says the lawmakers have “grave concerns” about the discharge of Master Sgt. Jay Ellis. The letter said Ellis’ concerns led U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, to seek a federal investigation into sexual misconduct within the WNG and a review of how the state Guard investigates allegations of sexual misconduct. “We have seen a disturbing trend of sexual assault and sexual harassment perpetuated throughout the U.S. military for years,” the letter reads. It said the WNG received 52 reports of sexual assaults between 2013 and 2017. The letter calls on the WNG “to proceed with whatever actions necessary to reverse the decision to discharge Sgt. Ellis.” Ellis has a retaliation complaint against the Wisconsin National Guard for the treatment he received after sounding the alarm. “Sgt. Ellis should be recognized as a hero for exposing alleged acts of sexual misconduct happening in our own government rather than heing discharged and denied retirement benefits after many years of military service,” the letter said. “These disturbing actions are unacceptable.” The letter was also addressed to General Joseph Lengyel, chief of the Pentagon’s National Guard Bureau/ Dems blast Air Guard for dismissing whistleblower The Brillion News MADISON – Eleven state representatives and three state senators, all Democrats, are blasting the Wisconsin National Guard (WNG) over the discharge of a Wisconsin Air National Guard sergeant who was a whistleblower exposing at least sic cases of sexual assault or sexual harassment targeting women in the 115th Fighter Wing’s security squadron. A letter to Major General Donald Dunbar, Adjutant General of the WNG, says the lawmakers have “grave concerns” about the discharge of Master Sgt. Jay Ellis. The letter said Ellis’ concerns led U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, to seek a federal investigation into sexual misconduct within the WNG and a review of how the state Guard investigates allegations of sexual misconduct. “We have seen a disturbing trend of sexual assault and sexual harassment perpetuated throughout the U.S. military for years,” the letter reads. It said the WNG received 52 reports of sexual assaults between 2013 and 2017. The letter calls on the WNG “to proceed with whatever actions necessary to reverse the decision to discharge Sgt. Ellis.” Ellis has a retaliation complaint against the Wisconsin National Guard for the treatment he received after sounding the alarm. “Sgt. Ellis should be recognized as a hero for exposing alleged acts of sexual misconduct happening in our own government rather than heing discharged and denied retirement benefits after many years of military service,” the letter said. “These disturbing actions are unacceptable.” The letter was also addressed to General Joseph Lengyel, chief of the Pentagon’s National Guard Bureau.

Sex assault evidence kits all tested now, DOJ says

Posted at 2:30 p.m. on November 20, 2019 Sexual assault kits all tested now DOJ says The Brillion News MADISON – Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced Wednesday, November 20, that testing is complete for all sexual assault kits designated for testing in the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI). That was intended to end the backlog of testing ot evidence taken in sexual assault investigations, but never actually tested in laboratories. Additional data has been updated and added to wisaki.doj.wi.gov including new prosecution progress details. Kaul also announced that Wisconsin was awarded $1,839,118 from the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance to continue the investigation and prosecution of SAKI cases and to fund a statewide kit tracking system. “These additional grant funds will support our ongoing efforts to get justice for survivors whose sexual assault kits weren’t tested prior to the SAKI project,” Kaul said. This is brief version of a comprehensive story to appear in the Nov. 28 print edition of THE BRILLION NEWS.