Local News Briefs Friday 8/1/14

Two men were injured in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 151 northbound near 4th Street Road in Fond du Lac Wednesday morning. Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Captain Rick Olig says 59-year-old Carl Kimpel failed to stop at a stop sign. His vehicle was struck by a vehicle driven by 71-year-old John Huss. Fond du Lac paramedics took Kimpel to St. Agnes Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Huss was taken to the hospital by a private vehicle. Kimpel was cited for the crash that occurred about 10 a.m. that morning. 

Neenah Man Arraigned On High Speed Wrong Way Chase

The 27-year-old Neenah man who led Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputies on a high speed chase while he was driving the wrong way on Highway 41 has been bound over for trial. Adam Baurain had a preliminary hearing in Fond du Lac County Court and was also arraigned on 1st degree recklessly endangering safety and eluding charges. He pled not guilty to the two felony charges. The incident happened on Saturday, July 19th.  Baurain allegedly was driving at speeds of up to 103 miles per hour forcing drivers to take evasive action to avoid hitting him head on. He was eventually taken into custody in Washington County after a set of stop sticks disabled his vehicle. No one was hurt during the incident.

Battery Charges Referred In Oshkosh Restaurant Incident

Oshkosh Police say they’ve referred two counts of battery against the 22-year-old Oshkosh man who punched two men before he left a restaurant early the morning of July 4th. . Both victims received treatment for facial injuries at Theda Clark Regional Medical Center. The suspect turned himself in Monday after police released video of the suspect from the restaurant.  Police say their investigation of the incident is continuing.

Congressman Petri On Congress’s Lawsuit Against The President

Congressman Tom Petri of Fond du Lac says a lawsuit Congress approved against the president over his alleged abuse of power concerning the Affordable Care Act is more likely to succeed than impeachment. Petri voted in favor of the lawsuit. He says impeachment talk is something both parties may be using to raise campaign funding and the president’s actions don’t rise to the level for impeachment. He says the lawsuit was another option that is also a gamble. He says if the court agrees to hear the lawsuit it will be precedent setting. Petri also referred to Senator Ron Johnson’s lawsuit over Obamacare, which saw a number of members of Congress sign on as friends of the court.

6^th Congressional Debate At Ripon College Tonight

The new Center for Politics and the People at Ripon College will host a debate of the four Republican candidates for the 6th Congressional District tonight. The debate will be held in the Great Hall of Hardwood Memorial Union at 5:30 p.m. Senators Joe Leibham and Glenn Grothman, State Representative Duey Stroebel and Tom Denow of Oshkosh will be participating. Former State Supreme Court Justice Jon Wilcox will be the moderator for the debate. He says questions will be submitted from the audience. A screener will review the questions to make sure they are not to controversial and would be appropriate to ask all four candidates. The debate is free and will be about 90 minutes long. Afterwards there will be light refreshments. Parking is available on Seward Street and in the Woodside Parking Lot on the Ripon College campus.

Huey And Cobra Helicopter Rides Available At FDL County Airport

Those helicopters you’ve been hearing flying over Fond du Lac this week are warbirds that are giving rides to people at the Fond du Lac County Airport. Joe Emerson is a veteran pilot from Huntsville, Alabama and is with the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation. He says they refer to themselves as sky soldiers. He says two Hueys and a Cobra are giving people rides from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the airport through Sunday. He says both Hueys saw combat duty in Vietnam and for veterans of that war or others since riding in them brings back a flood of memories. He says veteran pilots are giving the rides. He says there’s only room for one person in the Cobra and a half ride, which is 8 to 10 minutes costs $300 because of the fuel it uses. A ride in the Hueys is $75 and the cost for the rides is tax deductible. He says it’s unlike anything you’d experience in an amusement park. He says for many veterans the ride is therapeutic because it gets them talking about their war experiences, something they don’t normally do.

Petri Attends Last AirVenture As Congressman

Congressman Tom Petri will be attending his final EAA AirVenture as a member of Congress Friday today. He says it’s a great event that attracts nearly a half million people to the area every year. The federal lawmaker from Fond du Lac says the Houses Transportation Committee members held sessions at EAA for years. He says he’s known a number of members of Congress over the years who were pilots and regularly attended AirVenture. He says Barry Goldwater was an avid pilot. Petri says he’s not a pilot, but his father tried his hand at it and after flipping a plane over decided it wasn’t something he wanted to pursue.