Local News Monday 5/13/13

Beaver Dam Pleads To Charges Stemming From Standoff

 

The 40-year-old Beaver Dam man who was involved in a standoff with police last December has pled no contest to five charges stemming from the incident. Tracy Fredrick was in Dodge County Court last Friday where he entered the pleas. He will be sentenced on August 2nd.  Authorities say the incident began last December 21st when a woman went to a residence in the 200 block of North Center Street to retrieve some belongings. An argument ensued and when her grandfather tried to intervene he was hit several times. They were able to get away and call police. Frederick was armed with a knife when police arrived. He came out of the home after several hours of negotiation.

 

Sheboygan Man Sentenced To Prison For Possessing Child Porn

 

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-A Sheboygan man is going to prison for possessing child pornography.  Twenty-three-year-old Robert Chapa was arrested just over a year ago as part of an investigation into the downloading and sharing of child porn.  He appeared recently before Judge James Bolgert in Sheboygan County Court and was sentenced to 3 years in prison to be followed by a year on extended supervision.  Chapa had originally been charged with 19 counts, but plead no contest and was sentenced on 8 counts.

 

Special Council Meeting For FDL City Council Vacancy

 

The Fond du Lac City Council will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. this afternoon to go over applications and interview candidates for a Council vacancy. Over the weekend the Council trimmed the number of candidates down to six and they will interview those candidates today. If they do not finish with the interview they will hold a second session at noon on Friday. The meetings will be held in Room H of the City County Government Center. Councilman Jim Sabel had to resign due to health concerns. His term runs through April 15th of next year. The person chosen to fill the remaining term will be seated at the Council’s Wednesday, May 22nd meeting.

 

Fourteen people had applied for the opening by last Friday afternoon’s deadline. Those fourteen are; Mary Acker, Lynn Farr, JoEllyn Heinkel, Steven Lucero, Christopher Madsen, Stephan Mattsen, Karyn Merkel, Rebecca Lunde-Ross, John Piper III, Donna Richards, Ronald Schmitz, Philip Shepherd, Nicholas Stoffel and Loren Voss.

 

TB In Sheboygan All In The Same Family

 

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-Several more cases of tuberculosis have turned up in Sheboygan, but none outside of the original family that was infected.  School and Public Health officials held a news briefing last Friday morning and said testing which was done since the original case showed up in late April found 6 more cases, including 3 students.  Public Health Nurse Jean Beineman. School nurse Lori Hamilton said two are students at Sheboygan South High School and one goes to Horace Mann Middle School. She estimated they would be testing about 35 students at each school over the next one to two weeks.  Officials have emphasized that so far, no one outside of that family and extended family who all live together, has tested positive.

 

FDL School Board Preview

 

The Fond du Lac School Board this afternoon will be asked to approve a resolution that opposes the school choice voucher expansion proposed in the state budget. The board previously discussed endorsing such a resolution during an April 22nd budget workshop. Also during the meeting the Friend of Education Award will be presented to Kenneth Holehouse. He volunteers everyday at the Fond du Lac County Jail in a program for incarcerated youth. He has helped build a strong love of reading among students over the years and worked to build a diverse collection of reading materials through collaboration with the Public Library. The Board will also be asked to approval the renewal of teacher contracts for the 2013-14 school year. The board meets at 4:30 p.m. in the District Administration Center Board Room on West 9th Street.

 

Finding Skilled Workers To Replace Retirees A Challenge

 

Fond du Lac Area Association of Commerce President and CEO Joe Reitemeier says finding skilled workers is a problem for companies that are now willing to expand as the economy continues to shake off the recession. He says replacing retired employees is taking time for a lot of companies because they can’t find workers with the particular skill sets they need. He says most companies he’s spoken with say they have to expand their search well outside the area to find the skilled employees they need. He says in the past people considering retirement would wait until their spouse was also ready to retire and would take part-time work after retirement, but that’s no longer the case.(He says now when they retire they stay retired. Tomorrow Reitemeier talks about filling the skills gap as more people retire in the area.

 

GOP Lawmakers Looking At Bigger Tax Cuts

 

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-Republican lawmakers are eyeing bigger tax cuts. Bigger than what’s included in the governor’s biennial budget bill, says Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. He says they are looking at an income tax reform package. He says he’s optimistic they will be expand on what Governor Walker proposed as they go through the reform efforts. The income tax cut proposed by Governor Walker amounts to $342 million, and estimates show it would mean about 100-dollars less in taxes for an average family in the state. Vos says Assembly Republicans hope to pass a larger tax cut, but he doesn’t know yet how much that might be.

 

EMS Open House At FDL South Main Street Station Saturday

 

The Fond du Lac Fire Department will be hosting an open house at the South Main Street Fire Station Saturday as part of EMS Week. Division Chief of Fire Prevention Troy Haase says it will be from 1 to 3 p.m. He says there will be a Jaws of Life and other demonstrations. Flight for Life and the Red Cross will be there. Kids can try on some gear, there will be visits by Patches and Pumper, and they can take home some goodies. Everyone can also tour the station and there will be some light refreshments served. Haase says the department’s paramedics are among the best in the state. The theme for EMS Week is “EMS: One Mission, One Team.”

 

Scott Street Bridge Closed Today

 

The Scott Street Bridge over the Fond du Lac River will be closed to all vehicular traffic today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for bridge deck inspection. The sidewalk crossing the bridge will remain open to pedestrians. Bus service on Scott Street will be moved to Arndt Street from Brooke Street to Hickory Street. A detour route for Highway 45 will be marked from Highway 45 southbound to Scott Street; west on Scott Street: south on Hickory Street and east on Johnson Street to Main Street. The northbound detour will be marked from Main Street; west on Johnson Street; north on Peters Avenue and east on Scott Street to Highway 45 north.

 

FDL County Sheriff’s Deputies Handle Traffic Control For Four Road Races This Summer

 

Police and Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Deputies will have four bike or running road races to handle traffic control for this summer. A half-marathon begins and ends at Lakeside Park on May 26th. The High Cliff Marathon is June 15th. The America’s Dairyland Road Race is June 26th and the Race the Lake begins and ends at Lakeside Park on Sunday August 26th. Sheriff’s Sergeant Jeff Bonack says both City Police and County Sheriff’s Deputies will be doing traffic control for the half-marathon. He says traffic will still be able to get through, but they will be controlling the flow of traffic during the races. He traffic control for the Race the Lake event is a little tricky because they have to deal with a traffic light controlled intersection at Highway 151 and County WH. The Commonwealth Classic portion of the America’s Dairlyand Race will be in Fond du Lac on June 28th.

 

NFDL Optimists 43 Years Of Contributions To Youth And Parks

 

For more than 40 years the North Fond du Lac Optimists have improved Village parks and made contributions to the Village’s youth. Bill Binner of the Club says they started with 55 members in 1971 and have a little over 60 today. He says their first park project involved moving some playground equipment from Presentation Parish to what’s now Lemieux Park. He says the Optimists Park was built over a 10 year period into the beautiful park it is today. He says they’ve also done landscaping at the athletic field. Binner says they’ve also been considering a beautification project at the swimming pool as Village officials plan improvements for the pool. This November the Optimists will also hold their 43rd Annual Pancake Day, their big fundraiser for the year.

 

WMH Wins Patient Satisfaction Award

 

Waupun Memorial Hospital, a member of Agnesian HealthCare, has been named as a 2013 4-Star Award winner in inpatient services for overall quality of care. The honor will be presented in June during an awards luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orland, Florida. Healthcare leaders from across the United States will gather to participate in the 2013 PRC Excellence in Healthcare Conference hosted by Professional Research Consultants, Inc. PRC is a nationally-known healthcare marketing research company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. The 4-Star Award designation is given annually to healthcare facilities that score in the top 25 percent of PRC national client database for the prior calendar year. It is based on the percentage of patients who rate the facility “Excellent” for the Overall Quality of Care question.