Local News Briefs Monday 8/12/13

Waupun Police Lt. Bradley Young made an Initial Appearance Friday in a Barron County courtroom.  Young waived his right to a preliminary hearing and will proceed to trial on felony charges of Fleeing an Officer and Driving a Vehicle Without Consent, the first of many charges anticipated in the multi-county crime spree.  Cash bond was set at $10,000.  An arraignment hearing is scheduled for September 18. The 43-year-old is suspected of committing two burglaries and stealing two vehicles last week. Authorities said Young broke into a restaurant and stole a pick-up truck in Green Lake early Monday, and then headed to northwest Wisconsin. Officials said Young crashed the truck Monday night during a police chase in Barron County and ran off into a wooded area. He allegedly stole a vehicle near Rice Lake on Tuesday morning, and broke into a cabin west of Spooner where he was arrested late Tuesday afternoon. He remains in the Burnett County Jail where he has also made a court appearance but has not yet been formally charged. The Waupun Police Department has placed Young on administrative leave.

 

Puppy Ownership Issue Still Being Resolved

 

A hearing in Fond du Lac County Court failed to work out where 10 puppies rescued from a Fond du Lac home will go. Stacy Checolinski who raised the puppies for sale is facing animal neglect charges. She had contracts for sales of five of the puppies before they were rescued from a metal dog case covered with a black tarp in her backyard on July 8th. She sold the remaining five after that, but the ten puppies are at the Fond du Lac Human Society animal shelter where they will remain while ownership issues are resolved. Meanwhile a civil suit Checolinski brought against the City and Humane Society was withdrawn on August 2nd. It claimed the puppies were taken without a search warrant and notification.

 

Washington County Officials Looking For Info On Accident

 

A 29-year-old West Bend man was injured when his motorcycle was cut off by a car in the City of West Bend last Thursday afternoon. He was taken To Froedtert Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The motorcyclist told Sheriff’s officials he was Highway 45 northbound and Park Avenue when a mid-sized blue car cut into his lane from the right. To avoid hitting the car he took evasive action and crashed. He was thrown from the bike and was wearing a helmet. Authorities are looking for witnesses to the crash. Anyone with information about it or the blue car should give Washington County Sheriff’s officials a call at 262-335-4420.  The accident was reported at 3:22 p.m. last Thursday afternoon.        

 

Sheboygan Man Breaks Into Vending Machine To Support Heroin Habit

 

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-A Sheboygan man who was breaking into vending machines to support his heroin addiction is facing misdemeanor charges.  Thirty-six-year-old Nicholaus Hoem  was arrested on Wednesday for breaking into a machine at Lakeshore Display on Washington Avenue.  Authorities said when he allegedly pried open the vending machine door, a video camera was activated.  Workers at Lakeshore identified Hoem, who was a temporary worker at the plant.  When he was arrested, he told officers he had taken $52 from the machine and used it to buy heroin. 

 

FDL School Board Preview

 

The Fond du Lac School Board will consider approving a 1 percent increase in total base wages for teachers at its meeting this afternoon. The increase for members of the Fond du Lac Education Association is for the 2012-13 school year. Also during the meeting the board will address the resignation of High School Assistant Principal Michael Gonzalez who took a principal’s job wit the Mauston School District at the beginning of the month. The board will be asked to hire Anthony Pizzo to fill that position. He was one of 75 applicants for the position. He had been working for CESA 1 where he was the assistant director of alternative education. The board’s meeting is at 4:30 p.m. at the District Administration Center Board Room at 72 West 9th Street. Following their meeting the board will have a ribbon cutting at Fruth Field for the improvements made to the field. That ceremony is scheduled at 5:45 p.m.

 

Social Networking Challenges

 

Sometimes social networking efforts deviate for law enforcement agencies that use things like Facebook to inform the public. Lieutenant Jeremy Rasch oversees the Waupun Police Department’s Facebook page with the help of another officer. He says they got involved in Facebook as a way of sharing information for community events, criminal activity and things the department is doing in the community like the bike rodeo or shop with a cop. He says they even get tips on crimes that they are looking into. Unfortunately there are times like the past week when a City police officer was involved in a crime spree when their page also became a forum for some derogatory and mean-spirited comments. Rasch says they wanted to share information in case people had information on the crimes the officer is allegedly involved in. He says if a comment goes too far they would ban the person making it from their webpage. Rasch says that would be a last resort.

 

Waiting To Hear On Drug Court Grant

 

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney says they are still hopeful about getting a $350,000 grant to launch a drug court in the County, but haven’t gotten any word yet. He says they would like to get the court going in October and would have a scaled down version if they don’t get the grant. He says they are still fine tuning handbooks, policies and procedures. Carrie Nitz, a probation agent, has been chairing the drug court effort. Toney says they would have a coordinator for the program if the grant comes through, otherwise she would donate some of her time but they wouldn’t be able to help as many people. Nitz was involved with Winnebago County’s drug court efforts. He says they did have some success with recidivism rates. Those involved have to get jobs or do community service, attend support meetings and more.      

 

Groundbreaking For Waupun Pool Next Month

 

Waupun officials will hold a biding meeting today for their pool project at Fond du Lac County Park in Waupun. City Administrator Kyle Clark says bids are due soon and they hope to submit them to the Common Council for approval by the end of the month. The estimated cost for the pool will be from $4 million to $4.5 million. Clark says they hope to break ground next month and have the pool open for the summer of next year. He says it will have some nice features including 4 swimming lanes, a diving area, large slide, zero-entry for children and will be just under 10,000 square feet in size. Fond du Lac County committed $1 million towards the project after closing the County pool in Waupun six years ago.

 

Dealing With Heavy Farm Equipment On Roads

 

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-Farm equipment has gotten bigger and heavier, and many local roads in Wisconsin can’t handle the increased load.  Agricultural equipment – the official term is “implements of husbandry” – is getting larger and heavier, which helps in more efficient farm production, but it can also impact pavement and road structures. Dave Vieth is Director of the Bureau of Highway Maintenance of the state DOT. He says many township and local roads just aren’t capable of handling the loads imposed by modern farm machinery. That’s why the DOT, the state Ag Department and more than 20 ‘stakeholders’ convened a study group to look at the issue. The study group has come up with several options that could lessen the impact of the equipment, while balancing the needs of agriculture. The first of five Town Hall meetings to share those will be next Monday, August 19th, in Madison.

 

United Way Campaign Kickoff A Month Away

 

The kickoff event for the Fond du Lac Area United Way’s fall fundraising campaign is a month away. It will take place during the week of sharing, which United Way Executive Director Tina Potter says started out years ago as a Day of Sharing. She says peoples’ schedules just aren’t as flexible as they used to be. She says a week-long event allows more people to participate. She says United Way agencies need the volunteer for jobs they just don’t have the people to do for them. She says that can include painting, landscaping, washing, reading and more. The Kickoff Breakfast will be held at Marian University’s Stayer Center Dining Room on Thursday, September 12th.

 

Brenner Parent Companied Among “50 Best”

 

The parent company of Brenner Tank in Fond du Lac has been named to Industry Week magazine’s 50 Best U.S. Manufacturers. Wabash National Corporation was 49th on the list. Companies’ ranks were based on their financial performance in six key areas over a three-year period. That includes inventory turns, profit margin, asset turns, return on assets, return on equity, and revenue growth. It’s the second time Wabash National has been honored as a “50 Best” having appeared on the list in 2006.  To read more click here.