Local News Briefs Monday 2/3/14

Two Fond du Lac residents suspected of running a methamphetamine lab out of their home were recently bound over for trial during preliminary hearings. Thirty-five-year-old Kristi Durr and 37-year-old Chad Tucker were in Fond du Lac County Court for preliminary hearings last Friday. Police say they found out about the lab at 91 East 3rd Street while investigating another lab on North Lincoln Avenue early last month. Durr is free after posting $1,500 cash bond, while Tucker is being held in the County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond.

Sheboygan Family Displaced By Fire

Fire displaced a family in the 1600 block of Washington Avenue in Sheboygan early Sunday morning. Firefighters were called to the single family home just before 2 a.m. No one was injured during the blaze. The Red Cross was called to assist the family. Flames were visible when fire crews arrived.

Washington County Apartment Building Fire Displaces Resident

No one was injured in an apartment building fire in Washington County’s Town of Barton last night. Sheriff’s officials say the fire was in the attic area of the building at 4630 State Highway 33. All tenants of the building were out of it when deputies and first responders arrived. The fire was contained to the attic and a second floor ceiling. Six fire departments battled the blaze. The Red Cross and County Humane Society helped tenants with lodging form them and their pets. The cause of the fire is still being determined. The fire was reported just after 8:30 p.m.

Five Injured In Washington County Accident

Five people were injured in a Washington County accident that involved three vehicles including a Kewaskum ambulance carrying a patient, car and a bus taking middle school students to a ski hill. Sheriff”s officials say it happened just before 11 a.m. Friday morning at the intersection of Highway 45 and Badger Road in the Town of Kewaskum. The accident happened when the ambulance was going through the signal-controlled intersection and was hit by a westbound vehicle. The southbound ambulance then hit a light standard crossed over both lanes of southbound traffic and entered the median. It continued until it struck the Rite Way bus that was stopped on Highway 45 northbound. One student on the bus suffered minor injuries, but did not need to be transported. The drivers of the car and Kewaskum ambulance, two ambulance attendants and patient were injured in the mishap.

Variances Asked For Hampton Inn And Grande Cheese Headquarters

Fond du Lac’s Board of Appeals this afternoon will be asked to grant a variance that’s needed to build a three-story Hampton Inn on the site for the former Dartmoor Motel at 77 North Pioneer Road. The variance is needed because zoning for the area allows a maximum building height of 2.5 stories. The 73-room hotel would be 45 feet 2 inches in height. City Principal Planner Joellyn Dahlin is recommending granting the variance with some conditions for signing and lighting. The next step for the project is getting a special use permit recommendation from the Plan Commission on February 17th. Also during the Board of Appeals meeting Grande Cheese will be for a similar variance to build a three story corporate headquarters on Camelot Drive. The Board meets at 3 p.m. at the City-County Government Center in Rooms D & E on the first floor.

Being Better Prepared For UW-FDL Student Housing Request

UW-Fond du Lac Dean John Short says they will be better prepared to answer County supervisors’ questions the next time they go before the Fond du Lac County Board for a student housing request. He says the campus foundation put together a request for proposals and three developers responded. One was chosen and that developer will go before a County Board committee this month and go before the full board next month. He says they would like to get approval from the Board in March otherwise they would be dealing with some new supervisors in April that are unfamiliar with the project. He says they hope to build housing for 80 beds. He says there would be resident assistants, a live-in manager, programming and strong ties to the campus. Short says if all goes well the student housing would be open in time for the fall semester of 2015.

NFDL Presentation Will Cover Bullying, Cyberbullying, And Youth Depression

The superintendent of the North Fond du Lac School District says he’s looking forward to a presentation on preventing bullying and cyberbullying that will be hosted by the Horace Mann High School. Aaron Sadoff says kids don’t realize the consequences of what they say on the Internet.He says parents need to talk with their children and watch for signs that their kids may be victims of cyberbullying. John Halligan’s presentation this Sunday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. will cover “Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Youth Depression.” Halligan’s son, Ryan died by suicide in October of 2003 after he was bullied by classmates at school and online. He was 13-years-old. Sadoff says it will be powerful message. The event is sponsored by the North Fond du Lac School District and the Police Benevolent Association.

Tough Choice To Consider For Ripon Dam Repair

There could be some tough choices ahead for the Ripon Common Council as the cost for repairing a dam escalates. Ripon City Administrator Lori Rich says soil borings found fracturing in the bedrock, which would require support driving up the reconstruction costs to near $1 million. She says originally the estimates put the cost at $580,000 to $600,000. She says the Department of Natural Resources is requiring repairs to dam to bring it up to standard or removal of the dam. She says the consequences of removing the dam might mean the mill pond would become marshy. The dam is located on Scott Street in Ripon. 

Assistant Chief VerHage Retiring

The Waupun Fire Department is losing its most experienced firefighter. After 48 years with the department, Assistant Chief Wayne VerHage has decided to retire. Department officials say he began with them on January 11th, 1966. He became the assistant chief in 1998.

People Can Now Sign Up To Freeze Their Child’s Credit

State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt says parents and guardians can now sign up to freeze their child’s credit. The state lawmaker from Fond du Lac authored a bill designed to protect children from identity theft. It was signed into law by the Governor in December. He says there is a small fee to sign up for the protection, but it’s a small investment that will protect your child. He says Wisconsin isn’t the only state offering this type of protection. One study found that 10 percent of children had someone else using their Social Security number. For more information click here.

Dodge County Fair Acts Announced

The entertainment has been announced for this year’s Dodge County Fair. On Thursday, Easton Corbin will perform on the grandstand stage. Friday’s classic rock entertainment is Cheap Trick. Saturday’s headliner is Cassadee Pope. The Wednesday act will be announced shortly. The Dodge County Fair runs August 13 through August 17 at the fairgrounds outside Beaver Dam.