Local News Briefs Friday 6/6/14

The State Patrol says an 18-year-old man killed in a two-vehicle crash near West Bend Wednesday afternoon was from Grafton. Colin Wagner was not wearing his seatbelt. Fifty-nine-year-old Bonnie Schulz of Rubicon suffered non-life threatening injuries in the same accident on Highway 33 west of Highway 175. The mishap in Washington County happened just before 3:30 that afternoon.

BD Woman Arraigned On Cold Case Murder

The 38-year-old Beaver Dam woman suspected of murdering her boyfriend 13 years ago was arraigned in Columbia County Court this week. Leah Waldhart pled “not guilty” to a 1st degree intentional homicide charge. She was arrested in February for the death of 42-year-old Curtis Wylesky. He was found in a ditch near his truck on a Columbia County highway outside of Fall River in April of 2001. Waldhart was his girlfriend at the time. When the case was reopened two years ago a witness told investigators that Waldhart had confessed she’d given Wylesky enough cocaine to kill him and then pushed him into a ditch when he collapsed. She’s being held in the Columbia County Jail on a $500,000 cash bond.

Washington County Drug Arrests

Washington County Sheriff’s officials have arrested two more people in connection with an ongoing investigation into heroin distribution in the area. The two were arrested by a Sheriff’s K-9 unit during a traffic stop on Highway 41 Wednesday as they were returning from Milwaukee with heroin. The 32-year-old man and 23-year-old woman are from the Town of Search warrants led to the seizure of 32 grams of uncut heroin with a a street value of about $6,400. It’s considered to be a significant seizure given the typical dose of heroin.

Neosho Woman Arraigned On Embezzlement Charges

The 48-year-old Neosho woman who allegedly embezzled more than $300,000 from the Country Veterinary Clinic in Rubicon was arraigned this week in Dodge County Court. Trace Grebe pled “not guilty” to the 11 felony counts she’s charged with. While working as a bookkeeper for the clinic she allegedly failed to make cash deposits, used company resources to pay off personal credit card bills and pocketed more money. Investigators say all told more than $335,000 was taken. She will be back in court next month.

Chromebooks Collected Over Summer

One of the tasks for officials at the Fond du Lac High School before school let’s out for the summer is collecting about 2,000 Chromebooks used for the school’s 1-to-1 computer initiative. Principal Jon Wiltzius says the 1-to-1 computer program has turned out to be very beneficial for students. He says many school districts are now using similar programs. He says they collect the Chromebooks at the end of the school year because they’ve seen the need for more repairs when students are out of school for a longer period of time such as Christmas vacation. Wiltzius says about 200 Chromebooks will be used by students for summer school classes, but otherwise their computer labs are open too.

Cross On UW Tuition Freeze And Compensation

UW Systems President Ray Cross says he favors extending a tuition freeze for in-state students when the current tuition freeze expires at the end of the 2014-15 school year. He says they also have to improve transferring capabilities, expand dual enrollment opportunities, and increase financial aid to Wisconsin students to make college more affordable for state students. Cross would also like to see pay for staff increased to compete with what other schools pay, but he says it’s not something that can be accomplished overnight. The UW System faces a possible structural deficit of $62 million during the 2015-17 two year budget. For next year Cross is proposing a $6.1 billion budget. 

Bilingual Counselor Provides Help For Hispanics In FDL Community

She only spends a day in Fond du Lac each week, but a bilingual counselor for Catholic Charities finds her days full. Lucy Angulo is originally from Peru. She got her Master’s degree in Counseling from Lakeland College and will become a Wisconsin licensed counselor next month. She splits her time for Catholic Charities between Sheboygan and Fond du Lac. She speaks Spanish and English and works with the Hispanic population. She says there’s a real need for her services in the Fond du Lac area. She says those she works with range anywhere in age from 9 to 99 and they work on a number of issues together. The Fond du Lac United Way provided funding for the bilingual program. Catholic Charities is located at 191 S. Main Street in Fond du Lac. To find out more call them at 923-2550 or visit their website.

Walleye Weekend Boost To Community Groups

The president of the Fond du Lac Area Convention and Visitors Bureau says Walleye Weekend is a great event for the community. Craig Molitor says it’s important to a number of non-profit organizations who raise money through their various booths and displays. He says for instance the Fond du Lac Lakeside Evening Kiwanis are able to do a number of charitable efforts themselves thank to the sandwiches they sell at their booth during Walleye Weekend. He says there is some revenue from hotel bookings, but not that much. Molitor says it serves as a reunion weekend for many families and is a good way to kick off the summer. 

Walleye Weekend Notes

Walleye Weekend brings activities, music, food and more to nearly 100,000 festival goers in Fond du Lac this weekend. Fond du Lac Festivals Executive Director Leanne Doyle says once again they will be providing shuttle bus service from the High School. Something new this year the UW Marching Bands will be marching into the Lakeside Park Sunday at Noon and when they get to the pavilion will do a 5th quarter performance. She says they even have a lumberjack show with six shows Saturday and Sunday. There is of course the Mercury Marine National Walleye Tournament that began the festival years ago. Friday night’s head liner will be Night Ranger. On the C.D. Smith & K107 Music Stage East Friday night (tonight) The Lighthouse Big Band performs from 4:30 to 6 p.m. with Eric Diamond performing from 7 to 9 p.m. For more see the Fond du Lac Festivals website. 

Tweeting Walleye

You can follow the Fond du Lac Police and Fire Departments on Twitter as you attend Walleye Weekend in Lakeside Park this weekend. Both departments will be tweeting. They will tweet any weather alerts and safety messages that are necessary. You can follow the police department @fdlpolice and fire department @fdlfire at #walleyeweekend.