Local News Briefs Monday 8/5/13

Waushara County Sheriff’s officials say a plane crashed southwest of the Wild Rose Airport in the Town of Springwater late Saturday morning. It happened just before 11:15 a.m. near 19th Road. The engine on the amateur-built plane failed. The 57-year-old pilot was the only one in the plane and was flown to a hospital for treatment. The pilot was released from the hospital the next morning. The FAA is investigating the crash.

 

Beaver Dam Man Gets Prison Sentence For Standoff Incident

 

The 41-year-old Beaver Dam man who was involved in a standoff with police last December had to be escorted from a Dodge County courtroom for yelling obscenities at the judge when he was sentenced for the incident last Friday. Tracy Fredrick was sentenced to 9 years in prison and 5 years of extended supervision. However that sentence won’t start until next May when Frederick completes a two-year prison term for escaping from custody. Authorities say last December 21st a woman went to Fredrick’s residence in the 200 block of North Center Street to retrieve some belongings. An argument ensued and when her grandfather tried to intervene he was hit several times. They were able to get away and call police. Frederick was armed with a knife when police arrived. He came out of the home after several hours of negotiation.

 

Appleton Woman Cited For Operating After Suspension 21 Times

 

Ripon Police cited an Appleton woman last Thursday night for her 20th and 21st time for driving a car after her license had been suspended. When she was first stopped an officer checked her driving record and found she had been cited 19 times for operating after suspension of her driver’s license dating back to 2009. An officer issued her a 20th OAS and let her go. A short time later another Ripon police officer saw her driving and cited her again.

 

Brownsville Gas Leak

 

A three block area in the Village of Brownsville was evacuated Friday after a gas leak. Construction crews working at the intersection of Main and Clark streets breached the gas line just before 11a.m. Residents within the affected area were taken to the Community Center and Library and Highway 49 was closed down in both directions. Alliant Energy had the gas shut off by 12:15 p.m. Fire personnel escorted the affected residents back to their homes and checked the gas levels at each residence.

 

Alcohol License Renewal Ordinance Being Clarified

 

Fond du Lac City Manager Joe Moore says some fine tuning of the City’s alcohol licensing renewal ordinance should help avoid issues when a license holder owes the City taxes or fees. The Alcohol Licensing Committee last week took a look at a couple of recommendations on improving the ordinance. He says it’s a matter of improving wording and clarifying the ordinance by getting stricter about what’s happens during a year with an alcohol license. He says the committee needed more guidance about suspending or revoking a license. Both the Retlaw Hotel and Scott Street Shell liquor license holders were able to pay monies owed the City prior to license renewals this June, but were in danger of not having the licenses renewed at some point.

 

FDL County Will Have Cost Share For Highway 151 Bypass Improvements

 

Fond du Lac County will have a financial stake in the interchange that will be going in at County Highway V and the Highway 151 bypass and the overpass at County Highway T and the bypass. County Highway Commissioner Tom Janke says that will come to about $1.2 million. He says the state’s Department of Transportation will be doing the project beginning in 2015, but the County won’t be providing any construction help on it. He says they also hope to put in a park and ride that will alleviate parking problems on Camelot Drive in Fond du Lac. The Fond du Lac City Council last month approved a resolution asking the state to include the park and ride in the project. The County Board will take up a similar resolution this month.

 

Traffic Fatalities Down In The State Through July

 

Traffic fatalities in Wisconsin continue to trend lower than last year. Preliminary data shows 55 people lost their lives along state roadways last month compared to 75 fatalities in July of last year. Wisconsin State Patrol Major Sandra Huxtable says through the first seven months of this year, statewide traffic deaths total 284 — down about 14 percent compared to last year. She says there’s no one single factor that contributes to the lower total. The annual Governor’s Conference on Highway Safety is set for August 7 and 8 in Stevens Point. It will gather law enforcement, other public and private highway safety advocates from across the state and region. This year there have been 3 traffic fatalities in Fond du Lac County. The County finished with 22 traffic deaths last year.

 

Technology Changing Definition Of Learning Spaces

 

UW-Fond du Lac Dean John Short says they are doing their best on campus to accommodate ever-improving technology. Short says with all the different computing devices they have to consider providing space for students who bring those devices on campus. He says they could use the smart phones, tablets and other computing devices students bring with them as learning tools for things like surveys. He says technology is changing the way they use their library and learning spaces. Short says they’ve already equipped their study rooms with larger screen TVs to accommodate students and changes in technology.

 

Macy Street Repair Work Postponed

 

Fond du Lac Public Works officials have postponed pavement repairs on Macy Street that were supposed to begin today. The repair work was supposed to be done on the south side of the street between Johnson and Rees Streets, however staff discovered work is scheduled at the same intersection for 2014. Putting off the work will avoid having to dig up the same section of street twice.