Local News Briefs Friday 8/9/13

The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Coroner’s Office, has released the names of the two people killed in a traffic accident on County Highway T early Wednesday morning.  The driver is 27-year-old Truitt Beal II of Winneconne and the passenger was 22-year-old Alicia Jirschele of Oshkosh. Beal was heading west on County Highway T and went through a stop sign at a T-intersection. His SUV went airborne and struck a house coming to rest in its kitchen. The homeowner wasn’t injured.

 

Waupun Police Officer’s Alleged Actions Leave City In Disbelief

 

City officials in Waupun were informed first thing Monday morning about crimes a city police officer had allegedly committed earlier that morning. Police Lieutenant Bradley Young, a 22 year veteran of the department, is alleged to have gone on a crime spree that involved burglaries, car thefts and a high speed chase in multiple counties. Waupun City Administrator Kyle Clark says it is a surreal situation and city staff felt disbelief at first, but they and the community have been through a range of emotions over the week. He says right now they feel betrayed. Clark says Waupun has had a lot to be proud about lately until this unfortunate set of circumstances. Yesterday a Burnett County judge set a $50,000 signature bond for Young with a $10,000 cash bond component. He has to post the cash bond by this afternoon to be released from jail. No charges have been brought yet. The Waupun Police Department has placed him on administrative leave.

 

Lomira Man Bound Over For Trial In Heroin Death

 

The 49-year-old Lomira man charged with being party to the crime of 1st degree reckless homicide in the heroin overdose death of 28-year-old Adam Ellman of Fond du Lac has been bound over for trial. Jeffrey Abitz was in Fond du Lac County Court for a preliminary hearing yesterday. Abitz and 56-year-old Reginald Dorsey of Milwaukee are suspected of supplying the heroin that led to Ellman’s death in July of last year. Dorsey was charged earlier this week.

 

Winnebago County Accident Injures One

 

Winnebago County Sheriff’s officials say one person suffered non-life threatening injuries in a roll-over accident on Highway 41 near Snell Road in the Town of Oshkosh yesterday afternoon. The driver lost control and rolled the vehicle over trying to avoid another vehicle that made an unsafe lane change. The victim was flown to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver that made the sudden lane change was cited. Neither alcohol nor speed was factors in the mishap, which was reported at 4:30 p.m.

 

Sheboygan Man Allegedly Used Date Rape Drug

 

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-A Sheboygan man faces a sexual assault charge regarding an April incident in the City of Sheboygan that may have involved a rape drug.  Forty-four-year-old Bradley Kilgore made his initial appearance in Sheboygan County Court Wednesday. According to the criminal complaint, the incident took place during the early morning hours of April 12th.   The victim told authorities she did sleep at the residence after receiving a drink she claims was made by Kilgore and taking what she thought was Tylenol given by another person.  Analysis of DNA found on the victim matched that of Kilgore.  He claims he never made the victim a drink nor touched her during that night.

 

Drunken Driving Homicide Sentence Stirs Controversy

 

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney says the recent sentencing of a 24-year-old Fond du Lac man in a drunken driving homicide case raised a few eyebrows. Christopher Schneider was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 3 years of probation by Winnebago County Judge Scott Woldt for the September 2011 death of Eugene Henry Dennis. Dennis was bicycling on County Highway WH when he was hit by Schneider. Schneider was sentenced on an amended charge of 2nd degree reckless homicide. Because of conflicts of interest the case was also prosecuted by a Winnebago County Assistant District Attorney. Toney says people were shocked by the sentencing. Toney says he supports tougher penalties for drunken drivers and would support making it a criminal offense for 1st time offenders. He applauds State Senator Alberta Darling’s proposal for a 10 year mandatory prison sentence for drunken driving homicide cases, but says it’s up to residents whether they would support.

 

Police Fleet Will Operate Longer Before Replacement

 

In an effort to try and cuts costs the City of Fond du Lac will keep its police cars in service longer. City Manager Joe Moore says they’ve been replacing the cars every three years, but they will now hold onto them for four or five years and spend a little more on maintenance. He says they believe the maintenance they do with the cars will keep them operating safely with no loss in response time or function. Moore says for officers patrolling city streets the cars are like a mobile office and are being used 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

 

FDL ITS Looks At Apps

 

Fond du Lac’s Information Technology Services Manager says the City is looking at costs and what’s available to possibly offer phone applications or apps for some City services. Dave Zittlow says as anyone with a smart phone knows there are infinite possibilities when it comes to available apps. He says for example if a fire hydrant was leaking or a street light was out a resident might be able to take a photo and use an app to inform the City of the problem. He says another possibility would be to track where City buses are so that an app user could tell how far away their bus is. He says he’d love to get suggestions from residents, which can be done by emailing him at the address on the City’s web page for Information Technology Services. dzittlow@fdl.wi.gov  

 

Waupun Truck-n-Show This Weekend

 

The big rigs are in Waupun this weekend for the 24th Anniversary of the Truck-n-Show. City Administrator Kyle Clark says one of the annual highlights is Lights of the Night Convoy that starts at nine tonight. He says Ron Vande Zande started what was then known at the Waupun Trucking Jamboree 24 years ago. Clark says the show brings quite a few people to town. For more about the Waupun Truck-n-Show visit their website or their Facebook page.

 

Elections Omnibus Bill In State Senate’s Hands

 

State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt says a bill he authored that would make it easier for County Clerks to do election recounts isn’t dead yet. He says it is a stand alone bill, but is part of an omnibus bill on election laws. He says the omnibus was passed on a bipartisan vote in the State Assembly, but hasn’t come before the State Senate yet. He says if the bill stalls he will try to push the recount legislation on its own merits. He also says he would like to see some legislation that would do away with recall elections that really aren’t merited. He says people grew weary of recall elections in the past few years.