Local News Briefs Wednesday 10/1/14

Fond du Lac Police are trying to locate a couple that tried to force their way into a home while responding to a Craig’s List ad. Assistant Police Chief Steve Klein says a Fond du Lac man had advertised on the website that he was selling albums and had arranged a meeting at a home in the 900 block of Meadow Lane. A man and woman showed up at the residence Monday afternoon and tried to get into the home. The woman wanted to use the bathroom and when they wouldn’t let her in the man tried to force his way in. At that point those living at the home tried to call police. The homeowner’s girlfriend had the phone and the man knocked it out of her hand. When a second woman staying at the residence came out of another room the man and woman decided to flee. No one was injured in the incident. Police are looking for a silver-colored car and any information about the incident. You can call them at (920) 906-4777 or 322-3740. 

FDL County Center For Enterprise Development Gets $50,000 State Grant

Fond du Lac County’s Center for Enterprise Development has been awarded a $50,000 state grant. It will help to fund two projects. Those two programs are the “IGNITE! Business Success” program for entrepreneurs and the Community Creative Space that will be located at the Fond du Lac Public Library. Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation secretary and CEO Reed Hall says, “We expect that Fond du Lac County will share its experience in developing both programs with others throughout the state.” Half of the grant will be used to help create an interactive website for IGNITE! The other half of the grant will be used by the Fond du Lac Public Library to support a Creative Community Service area, otherwise known as a “makerspace.” The space is dedicated to allow people to further develop their ideas. The library is spending $170,000 on the project, which calls for dedicated materials, staff and physical space to the pursuit of science and technology exploration, art and music expression and other areas.

Community Development A Collaborative Effort

Fond du Lac Community Development Director Wayne Rollin says the City is fortunate to have a collaborative atmosphere when it comes to community development. Rollin retires Friday after 34 combined years with the City and County. He says job creation and development starts in the private sector, but he’s proud of the role the City has been able to play over the years. He says there are a number of entities that work together when it comes to economic development including the City, County, Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation, Downtown Partnership, the Fond du Lac Area Association of Commerce. He says the one time he lost sleep over a situation was when Mercury Marine was considering leaving town, but even in that situation the collaboration between the state, county and city led to something positive. Rollin was honored at last week’s City Council meeting for his service.

Nature Of Drug Crimes Changing

A drug recognition effort for the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department says they are starting to see a shift in some crimes due to drug addiction. Sergeant Renee Schuster says prescription drugs seem to be a starting point for some of those addiction issues. She says 15 million Americans abuse prescription drugs and one person dies every 19 minutes from a prescription overdose.

She says people do turn to crime to support their drug habits. She says often those people are looking for prescription drugs at the scene of the crime whether it’s a burglary or a car entry. She says a man involved in prescription drug robberies at Walgreen’s in Fond du Lac and Oshkosh explained his need to her. He said he simply couldn’t help himself. She says drug addiction knows no income or background boundaries.

Ballot Design Not That Confusing

Fond du Lac County Clerk Lisa Freiberg says she wasn’t one of the County Clerks who had issues with a new ballot style the state’s Government Accountability Board is going with. She says it’s closer to the style used for federal ballots. She says she showed the ballot to a few people to get their opinion. She says voters take a close look at the ballot when they get it at the polls. She says voters take the time to educate themselves before they get to the polls. A Waukesha County judge recently dismissed a legal challenge to the new ballot designs brought by several Republican state legislators.

MPTC Celebrating Manufacturing Month

Moraine Park Technical College will be among those celebrating Manufacturing Month this month. MPTC President Sheila Ruhland says it’s something they like to highlight given their relationship with area manufacturers and the training they provide to supply skilled workers for positions with those manufacturers. She says they will have some activities at their Beaver Dam campus this Friday to help highlight the month. She says they will have some tours of some of those manufacturers.

                  

Mercury Marine Reaches Production Milestone With Verado Engine

Mercury Marine has reached a production milestone by producing its 75,000th Verado L6 outboard engine. The Verado six-cylinder was first launched in 2005 and covered 200 to 275hp; the Verado family now includes up to 300hp outboard engines. Mercury Marine has manufactured more than 15 million engines since the company was founded in 1939. Mercury Marine president John Pfeifer made the official announcement during the company’s 75th anniversary celebration last weekend in Orlando. Officially, the milestone engine was completed the evening of September 22nd.

Scrabble Bee Benefts FDL Literacy Program

Fond du Lac Literacy services will benefit from the 2nd Annual Scrabble Bee at the American Legion Hall in Fond du Lac on Thursday, November 6th. Registration and free pizza start at 5 p.m., and play gets underway at 6 p.m. Minimum pledge per team is $40. Online registration and additional information is available at www.fdlpl.org/FDLLiteracy.   Along with pizza, the event will include snacks, mystery raffle baskets and prizes for the top two scoring teams in each level of competition.  The event is a fundraiser for Fond du Lac Literacy Services, which offers free one-on-one tutoring for adults who need help with reading, writing, math and the English language. For more information, contact the Literacy office at (920) 322-3932 or email literacy@fdlpl.org.l