Local News Briefs Monday 9/9/13

Green Lake and Waushara County Sheriff’s officials are looking for three men involved in burglaries of a gas station and restaurant Thursday and Friday. The three hit a Shell gas station in Wautoma early Thursday afternoon opening doors in the building including an unlocked office door.  Friday morning they were at the Wayside Restaurant in southern Green Lake County. The restaurant was open and busy. They were able to get into an office in the restaurant, but nothing was reported missing. The men are white and ranged in age from their 20’s to possibly 60. They were driving a gold Chrysler minivan with a possible Minnesota license plate number of 525-DMT. Anyone with information about the men or van is asked to contact either Sheriff’s Department.

 

Bond Request Denied For Drug Overdose Death Case

 

Fond du Lac County Judge Dale English recently denied a request to reduce bond for a 56-year-old Milwaukee man accused of supplying the heroin that led to a 28-year-old Fond du Lac man’s death. During a recent hearing English denied the request to lower Reginald Dorsey’s bond from $20,000 cash. Dorsey and 49-year-old Jeffrey Abitz of Lomira are suspected of supplying Adam Ellman with the heroin that led to his overdose death in July of last year. A plea hearing is scheduled for November 12th.

 

Bid Opening For Lakeside Park Dredging This Week

 

Fond du Lac City officials this week will get a better idea of how much it will cost to dredge the channels at Lakeside Park. Public Works Director Jordan Skiff says their will be a bid opening on Thursday. He says they have a couple options on how they will do the dredging this winter including draining the channels and using heavy equipment to remove silt and sediment to a depth of eight feet. They could also leave the water in the channels and use a barge and big vacuum to remove the sediment. He says they are open to either option. He says it will be a challenging project.  Skiff says there are some good reasons to do the project. He says that includes removing unsightly duck weed and Lilli pads, improving fish habitat, boating access and environmental health. He says they could drain the channels in November and dredging would start in early December. 

 

Sheboygan Drug Dealer Sentenced

 

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-A Sheboygan man will spend ten years in prison for distributing heroin in the area.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin made public Friday the sentence U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman gave 32-year-old Osvaldo Reyes. The sentence comes after the prosecution and defense reached a plea deal in March.  The deal resulted in guilty pleas from Reyes for his role in running an ‘extensive heroin operation’ in Sheboygan and elsewhere in the area between April of 2012 and last March. The attorney’s office credits local law enforcement cooperation in bringing Reyes to justice.

 

Sheboygan Street Closed For Montgomery Gentry Concert

 

Fond du Lac City officials advise us that Sheboygan Street will be closed between Portland Street and Marr Street beginning this Friday. On Saturday the intersection of Portland will also be closed. The closure will accommodate the stage for the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts Montgomery Gentry concert on Saturday. The block will be entirely closed to traffic during that time. The street is expected to reopen at approximately midnight following the concert. Access will be maintained to local businesses.

 

Drunken Driving Bills Will Be Taken Up This Week

 

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-A state legislative panel is expected to act this week on bills that would toughen drunken driving penalties in Wisconsin. State Representative Gary Hebl of Sun Prairie is a member of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. He says he supports any action that reduces drunken driving in Wisconsin. But, Hebl is not sold on arguments by sponsors of the OWI bill that they will really make a difference. The proposals include measures to make first offense OWI a crime, rather than a civil forfeiture, for those with high levels of alcohol in their blood. Another would make third offense drunk driving a felony, instead of a misdemeanor.

 

NFDL Students Do Well In ACT Testing

 

North Fond du Lac Schools Superintendent Aaron Sadoff says district students did pretty well in ACT testing. The state Department of Public Instruction recently released testing results. Sadoff says ACT will become the standard test in 2014-15 for all high school students planning to attend college. He says district students did well in the latest test testing above the state average in three of the four categories. He says he would like to see improvements in reading scores and to see the district close the gaps when it comes to special education and students who come from financially disadvantaged families.

Team Ripon Activated For Another Bowhunting Season

A team of bow hunters known as Team Ripon will once again be harvesting deer this year in the City in an attempt to reduce the deer herd in the City limits. City Administrator Lori Rich says the Common Council recently approved a resolution authorizing a seventh year for the program. She says over the years Team Ripon has removed 85 deer from the City. She says that included 6 adult doe last year, another successful year. She says they still have some hotspots where they get complaints about deer from homeowners. 

School Start Times

 

(Wisconsin Radio Network)- The tourism industry is fighting a proposal in the Legislature that would let Wisconsin public schools start the fall semester before September first. Tom Diehl of the Wisconsin Dells Visitors and Convention Bureau is a former President of the state Tourism Council. He says the later starting time is crucial to the tourism industry because it extends the summer travel season for families. Also, he says, it’s good for attractions that employ students.  Diehl adds that their group will try and educate Legislators about why school start times shouldn’t be moved up