Local News Briefs Wednesday 8/7/13

Strong thunderstorms moved through Fond du Lac County and the area early this morning. We recorded 2.2 inches of rain in our rain gauge at the KFIZ studios in Fond du Lac and winds gusting to 40 miles per hour or more were reported at the Fond du Lac County Airport. In Calumet County utility emergencies were reported on Highway 57 near the Brown County Line and on Highway 10 blocking all lanes. Also thousands are without power this morning in northern Wisconsin. 

 

Accusations Against Waupun Police Officer Surprises Co-workers

 

A veteran Waupun Police officer is accused of breaking into a Green Lake County restaurant, stealing a pickup truck and leading Barron County Sheriff’s deputies on a high speed chase. Green Lake County Chief Deputy Sheriff Mark Putzke says his officers did a good job investigating the break-in at a Green Lake restaurant and developing information implicating Brad Young in the burglary and the theft of a pickup truck to get out of the area. Young fled to Barron County where he crashed the truck after a high-speed chase with Sheriff’s deputies and fled into a wooded area. Putzke says they’ve handed off the investigation to the state’s Division of Criminal Investigation. The accusations against Young came as a complete surprise to his co-workers. Waupun Police Deputy Chief Scott Louden says Young is a 22 year veteran of the department, the last 8 ½ years as a lieutenant.

 

FDL County Investigators Notified Of Beck Suspect’s Arrest

 

Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Cameron McGee says West Bend Police notified him Sunday when a one-time suspect in the disappearance and murder of Berit Beck was arrested for trying to kill another woman. Fifty-year-old Craig Hron of West Bend was arrested for attacking his 45-year-old former girlfriend with a knife in a Walmart parking lot. Hron was a suspect in Beck’s murder in 1990 when her body was found in a ditch near Waupun. McGee says he got a call Sunday afternoon about Hron’s arrest. Two detectives were sent to West Bend to monitor the case.

McGee says Hron was questioned in Beck’s death, but not charged. He says Beck’s case is still open like any murder case would be. He says you never know when you might get a tip that will solve a cold case. West Bend police are pursuing attempted 1st degree homicide, stalking and aggravated domestic battery charges against Hron.

 

Stolen Vehicles Recovered

 

Two vehicles stolen from Fond du Lac and another stolen from Waukesha were recovered by Dodge County Sheriff’s deputies in the Village of Lomira early Tuesday morning. Sheriff Pat Ninmann says a deputy spotted three vehicles being driven into the village and a deputy checking one of the license plates found out it was stolen. Deputies determined the other vehicles had been stolen too. The drivers of the three vehicles were questioned and confessed. All three were from Milwaukee; a 22-year-old man, 36-year-old woman, and 37-year-old man.  They were taken to the Dodge County Jail and stolen vehicle charges are pending. Sheriff Ninmann commended Deputies Oblinksi, Borchardt and Wolfe for their investigation and being able to return the stolen vehicles to their owners.

 

West Bend Standoff

 

A 22-year-old West Bend man was taken into custody without incident following a standoff situation with police Tuesday afternoon. The man’s roommates told police the man believed there were intruders in the house and armed himself with several firearms including a high powered rifle, but his roommates were the only ones in the home with him. Two of the man’s roommates were able to escape the home, but two others remained in the home with the man. Police officers were able to help those two leave the residence when they arrived. A perimeter was set up around the home. A SWAT team arrived and negotiated with the man who eventually left the house and was taken into custody. No one was injured in the incident. Four rifles were recovered from the home.  An endangering safety charge is being brought against the man.

 

Two Hurt In Columbia-Green Lake County Accident

 

Columbia County Sheriff’s officials say two people were hurt in a two-vehicle collision at the Columbia-Green Lake County line Monday night. The Jaws of Life had to be used to remove both drivers. They were flown from the scene of the accident. Sheriff’s officials say a 35-year-old Randolph woman was driving her pickup truck south on Highway 73 when a westbound Cadillac driven by a 32-year-old Mayville man collided with her. Failure to yield the right of way and failure to stop at a stop sign were factors in the crash.

 

ACT Ten Won’t Be Revisited Soon

 

State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt doesn’t believe Governor Walker will revisit ACT 10 to include police and firefighters any time soon. The changes to collective bargaining for public employees didn’t include police and firefighters. The state lawmaker from Fond du Lac would have liked to see ACT 10 be more inclusive in the first place. Thiesfeldt says he doesn’t believe the public would support including police and firefighters. He doesn’t believe Walker will push for a change prior to the 2014 elections, but perhaps in time. Police and firefighters were willing to do their part while Thiesfeldt sat on the Fond du Lac City Council, but he says they were aware of the economic hardships the City faced.

 

Test Drive 4UR United Way Today

 

The Fond du Lac Area United Way is hoping plenty of people will test drive a new Ford vehicle today. MAG Industries and Holiday Ford will host a fund raising event at the MAG parking lot at Johnson and Macy Streets in Fond du Lac from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ford will donate $20 for each test drive to the Fond du Lac Area United Way. United Way Executive Director Tina Potter says they are hoping to raise up to $6,000 through the event. MAG and Holiday Ford are the pacesetters for this fall’s United Way drive. There will be a suggested route for those who participate in the Drive 4UR Community event.

 

A & W Ventures Into AirVenture

 

A & W restaurants were among the record total 821 commercial exhibitors who were at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh this past week. Jim Brajdic is the owner of A & W restaurants in Fond du Lac, Appleton, Oshkosh, Manitowoc, and Neenah.  He says it was the first time they participated in EAA and they had a blast. He says they spent about half a year preparing for planning how they would serve people at AirVenture. Brajdic says they had a couple hundred employees and it was almost like opening a new restaurant. He says they served some of the traditional A & W food and some items you don’t usually see on their menus like funnel cakes. More than 500,000 people attended EAA AirVenture last week.