Local News Briefs Tuesday 12/10/13

Dodge County Sheriff’s officials have released the names of the person killed and the three who were injured in a car versus semi accident in the Town of Trenton Sunday afternoon. The driver of the car, 29-year-old Jesse Pickett of Menasha was killed his car crossed the centerline on State Highway 68 and hit a semi that was hauling “haylage.” The semi went into a farm field and was destroyed by fire, but the driver, 56-year-old Dale Walker of Beaver Dam was able to get safely out of the truck. Three people in car were hurt; 30-year-old Misty Pickett was critically injured and two children ages 3 and 4 suffered non-life threatening injuries. Jesse Pickett died at the scene. The winter weather had no yet begun in the area when the crash occurred.

Elderly Brillion Couple Hurt In Calumet County Accident

An elderly Brillion couple suffered non-life threatening injuries when their van lost control on icy roads and was struck by a semi-truck on State Highway 55 in Calumet County late Monday morning. Sheriff’s officials say an 86-year-old Brillion man lost control of his van and it began sliding sideways. It was struck by a semi that was following it driven by a 29-year-old De Pere man. The van went into one ditch and the truck the opposite ditch where the semi hit a tree. The Brillion man and his 88-year-old wife were extricated from the van and taken to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. The truck driver suffered minor injuries and wasn’t taken to a hospital.

Betty Quadracci Dies

Quad/Graphics announced Monday that Company co-founder and long-time board member Betty Ewens Quadracci died peacefully at her home in Wisconsin surrounded by family and close friends. She was 75-years-old. “As you can imagine, today is a very difficult and sad day for us, but also one of celebration as we commemorate my mother’s very accomplished life,” said her son Joel Quadracci, Chairman, President & CEO of Quad/Graphics. “She passed away peacefully and we take comfort in knowing that she is now in Heaven with my father Harry.” Recognized as the matriarch of Quad/Graphics, Betty Quadracci co-founded the Company in 1971 with her late husband, Harry V. Quadracci. The company started operations in a vacant factory in Pewaukee with a single printing press and just 11 employees. Today Quad/Graphics is a leading global printer and multichannel media integrator with 25,000 employees worldwide at 65-plus printing plants and dozens of support facilities.

DOT Meeting In FDL Tonight On Hwy 151 Improvements At Ducharme Parkway

The state’s Department of Transportation will host a meeting at the UW-Fond du Lac to discuss the proposed improvements to the intersection of Highway 151 and Ducharme Parkway in the city of Fond du Lac. The meeting is from 5 to 6 p.m. at the University Commons Room UC 114.  A short presentation will be made at 5:10 p.m. The project modifies the Ducharme Parkway intersection with Highway 151 by adding an extension of Ducharme Parkway to the east and slotted left turn lanes on Highway 151.  Following construction, left turns and through movements from Ducharme Parkway will be prohibited.  Right turns onto Highway 151 will still be allowed. During construction, Highway 151 will remain open with lane closures, but access to Ducharme Parkway will not be available at various times.  The project is planned for 2015 and will take approximately two months to complete. The meeting will follow an open house format. No formal presentation is scheduled.

DOT Meeting In Rosendale Tonight On Hwy 26 Improvements

Officials with the state’s Department of Transportation will host a meeting in Rosendale tonight about improvements to approximately 15 miles of State Highway 26 from Cattaraugus Drive to County FF in Fond du Lac County.   The meeting is scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Rosendale Village Hall, 211 North Grant Street, Rosendale.  A short presentation will be made at 6: 45 p.m.  The public is invited to attend and share information concerning historic buildings and structures, archaeological sites, septic systems, drain tiles, or drainage problems near the project with the WisDOT staff.  Additionally, they are encouraged to review and discuss the proposed improvements.  The project is scheduled to begin in spring 2015 and concludes in November.

FDL School Board Approves Wage Increase For Custodial And Maintenance Workers

The Fond du Lac School Board last night approved a 1 percent increase in total base wage for members of the custodial and maintenance union. The cost of the 1 percent increase is $29,314. District Superintendent Jim Sebert says they included funding for raises in the 2013-14 school budget. He says secretaries and custodians play and important role in the district especially for the new people they hire who don’t know their way around yet. He says they get you what you need and know the resources. He says they are great ambassadors for the Fond du Lac School District. The contract is for one year.

Passport Parking Now Available In FDL

Drivers in Fond du Lac can now use a mobile payment method to pay for their parking downtown and at metered parking. Community Development Director Wayne Rollin says people can use their mobile or smart phone to set up the account with the PassportParking company through a phone app. He says then it’s just a matter of entering the parking space number in your phone and how much time you want on the meter. He says it won’t show up on the meter, but they will know who has paid and hasn’t from their records. He says it’s a nice feature because you won’t have to run down to the parking meter to put more time on it when you need it. Rollins says make sure there’s a sticker on the meters to see if you can use the phone app.

Parade Winners Announced

Winners of the best floats in the Fond du Lac Holiday Parade of Lights were announced Monday morning on News-Talk 1450 KFIZ. Henke’s Belguims and St. Peters Lutheran took home the “Most Creative” and” Best Use of Theme” categories while Edgewood Community Church won “Best Children’s Float” at this year’s KFIZ-K107.1 Downtown Fond du Lac Holiday Parade of Lights! Congratulations to those winners and everyone who participated in the parade.

Salvation Army Helps The Needy

When most people think about the Salvation Army at Christmas time their first thoughts are about the red kettles, but it’s only a small reminder of everything they do. Fond du Lac Salvation Army Lieutenant Telinda Wilson says they do have a lot of people that depend on their food pantry, but having a place to stay and a way to pay for heating their residence is also important during the winter months. She says funding to do that comes from several sources including United Way funding and other grants. She says another program has a higher aim ending generational poverty.

Bucket Brigade A Success

Our thanks to everyone in Fond du Lac who helped make last Friday’s Bucket Brigade collection for the Salvation Army a huge success. Nearly $7,000 was donated in the red kettles and along with an $8,000 match from Michels’ Corporation; we raised nearly $15,000 for the Salvation Army to help your neighbors. There were some big individual donations of $200 and $500 slipped in the kettles and plenty more to raise that total. Local celebrities participated and even former Green Bay Packers linebacker George Koonce stopped by for a while. Remember you can ring bells this holiday season for the Salvation Army by heading to ringbells.org to sign up.