Local News Briefs Saturday 9/21/13

Washington County Sheriff’s officials say a distracted driver was responsible for a four-vehicle collision in a construction zone on Highway 33 this week that led to death of a 50-year-old West Bend woman. The 22-year-old West Bend woman who was driving an SUV became distracted when she spilled a non-alcoholic drink. She ran into the back of a stopped sedan and started a chain reaction collision. Linda Young was a passenger in the sedan and died at the scene. The woman driving the SUV and the 33-year-old West Bend woman driving the sedan both suffered non-life threatening injuries and were taken to hospitals.

Oshkosh Man Stands Trial For Stabbing Death

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-An Oshkosh man will go on trial in Sheboygan County Court next week for the stabbing death of a Sheboygan man last January.  The final pre-trial hearing for 23 year old Michael Lemerande was held Thursday.  The week-long trial is set to begin on Monday.  Lemerande has admitted to stabbing 41-year-old Nicholas Lehrke during a fight.  He told investigators he “just lost it” when he saw Lehrke and two others fighting with his friend.  He said he grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Lehrke in the back.  The knife punctured Lehrke’s lung and he died at the hospital.  Lemerande is charged with 2nd degree reckless homicide.

Kitchen Worker Accused Of Having Sex With Dodge County Jail Inmates

A kitchen worker at the Dodge County Jail is accused of having inappropriate contact with two inmates. Forty-five-year-old Lori Larue of Beaver Dam is charged with two felony counts. Prosecutors say investigators were notified earlier this month that a kitchen worker had multiple contacts with the inmates in the kitchen area. Larue initially denied the accusations, claiming she had been assaulted and was afraid to report it. Phone records show dozens of calls from Larue to the inmates and the content of the calls were allegedly sexual in nature. A signature bond was set at $2,500 and a preliminary hearing is scheduled next month. 

Sheboygan State Senator Took Lead On Hwy 23 Battle

State Senator Rick Gudex says he and State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt were happy to join state legislators from the 9th State Senate District to make sure an expansion project on Highway 23 isn’t delayed. Gudex says he was happy to jump on board with the effort that kept the 4 lane project between Fond du Lac and Plymouth on schedule. He says Senator Joe Leibham of Sheboygan took the lead on the effort. Gudex, who is from Fond du Lac, says he was afraid he’d exhausted his voice with the Department of Transportation after a battle over the Highway 151 bypass to get an interchange at County Highway V and an overpass at County Highway T.

MPTC Enrollment Up

Enrollment is up this fall in the Moraine Park Technical College District. Jim Eden is the Vice President of Academic Affairs for MPTC. He says overall they have about 5,800 students across the district. He says they have about 4,000 undergraduate students. He says enrollment is up about 2 ½ percent, which is something other technical colleges can’t say. He attributes that to getting the message out about what they have to offer. Eden says the increase in enrollment is a real positive for them. MPTC’s main campuses are in Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac and West Bend.

About Half Of NFDL Sanitary Sewer System Will Be Televised This Year

The North Fond du Lac Village Board this past week approved televising a portion of the Village’s sanitary sewer system. Village Administrator Chuck Hornung says the Department of Natural Resources requires municipalities to televise their sanitary sewer every ten years. He says they should be doing about a tenth of the sanitary sewer every year. The process involves running a small camera through the sanitary sewer main to get video on possible leaks and obstruction. He says they need to get caught up and will televise about 45 percent of the sanitary sewer system this year.

United Way Supports Veterans Mental Health Seminar

The Executive Director of the Fond du Lac Area United Way says they were happy to become involved with a Veterans Mental Health Symposium that will be offered in Fond du Lac next month. Tina Potter says they will be providing scholarship for veterans who can’t afford the cost of the symposium being offered by Salute the Troops. Salute the Troops Executive Director Dan Manning asked for the assistance for the program, which will be held at Marian University’s Stayer Center on Friday, October 11th. Registration information is available at the Salute the Troops website.       

State Rep Schraa Named To Task Force

State Representative Michael Schraa was one of 12 state lawmakers recently named to the bipartisan Task Force o Rural Schools announced by State Assembly Speaker Robin Voss. Voss says, “We want to make sure every child in our state, regardless of where they live, to have a great education.” The first meeting will be in Rhinelander with a subsequent meeting to be held in Merrill. Meeting dates and additional locations will be forthcoming. A task force report on the findings and recommendations is expected early next year.

Academy Day Today

Congressman Tom Petri and other members of Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation invite high school students and their parents to the annual Academy Day at the Experimental Aircraft Association Center in Oshkosh today. Representatives of U.S. service academies will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to answer questions. All necessary qualifications and the procedures for applying to the academies will be explained.