Local News Briefs Saturday 8/23/14

Sheboygan County Sheriff’s officials have arrested a 22-year-old New Holstein man, Jacob Ausloos, suspected of setting two fires in the Town of Russell. The fires happened at St. Paul’s Christian Church on County Road J on August 5th and St. Anna Church on County Road H on August 6th.  In both cases the fires were limited to one side or the outside of the building. A joint investigation led to the arrest of Ausloos who is a volunteer fireman. He’s also suspected of setting a barn fire in Calumet County. Arson charges are being sought against him in both Calumet and Sheboygan Counties.

Murder Trial Set For Beaver Dam Woman

Columbia County authorities have scheduled a weeklong jury trial for a 38-year-old Beaver Dam woman accused of murdering her boyfriend 13 years ago. Leah Waldhart is suspected of supplying 42-year-old Curtis Wyleski with a fatal dose of cocaine near Fall River in 2001. When the cold case was re-opened in 2012 a witness came forward and told investigators that Waldhart had confessed to the murder. She allegedly admitted giving Wyleski enough cocaine to kill him and then pushing him into a ditch when he collapsed. She is charged with 1st degree intentional homicide. The trial is set to begin next February 2nd.

Improved AV Equipment Worth A Look

The president of the Fond du Lac City Council is inviting residents to take a look at their new audio-video improvements in legislative chambers of the City-County Government Center. Sam Meyer says there are now four flat screen TVs that allow people to follow along on their agenda and watch voting for different resolutions and ordinances. Meanwhile new HD cameras allow for a better picture for those watching on Charter Cable at home. He says the sound is also improved. Meyer says it’s worth a look if you can attend one of their meetings or a County Board meeting in the future.

ReStore Plays An Important Role In Funding Habitat Builds

Habitat For Humanity’s ReStore in Fond du Lac continues to play an important role in helping fund Habitat’s building projects in Fond du Lac County. It’s a big weekend for the ReStore as officials move from their location on South Brooke Street to their new location at 65 West Scott Street. Habitat Executive Director Paul Osterholm says they’ve continued to grow through the ReStore, which helps offset the costs of the homes they build. He says it costs them about $100,000 to $110,000 to build a Habitat home. Habitat’s move to their location is being celebrated in the parking lot of their location on West Scott Street from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today.

No Bell Ringing For The Salvation Army This Summer

It was a busy summer for the Fond du Lac Salvation Army, but it didn’t include any “Christmas in July” bell ringing. Captain Telinda Wilson says they tried doing some bell ringing in July of last year and didn’t get the kind of donations they were hoping for. The Red Kettle campaign will start in earnest on Friday, November 14th. Wilson says this summer they were busy with their Brown Bag Lunch program, their food pantry, thrift store and today will be participating in the Back to School Distribution program at the Boys & Girls Club.

MPTC App Available For Smart Phones

Recognizing how savvy their students are with their smart phones Moraine Park Technical College has made an app available for those phones. MPTC Vice President of Student Affairs Stan Cram says it should appeal to students offering them a variety of information through the app. Cram says in the future you will be able to use the app to sign up for classes and do other functions as well.

Meat Raffle For Adult Literacy Services

A meat raffle fundraiser will be held to benefit the Fond du Lac Literacy Services today. It will be at TJ’s Harbor Restaurant on Highway 45 in Oshkosh from 1 to 4 p.m. One dollar tickets will be sold for each item with a drawing held every 5 to 10 minutes. More than 20 items including New York Strip steaks, T-Bones, Porterhouses, pork chops and other meats will be given away during the raffle. Fond du Lac Literacy Services provides basic literacy education to adults in the community. For more information about Fond du Lac Literacy Services call (920) 322-3932.