Local News
Local News Saturday 5/11/13
Stellmacher Sentenced To 16 Years In Prison
The 62-year-old Ripon man tried to hire hit men to kill one man and injure another has been sentenced to 16 ½ years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision. Lee Stellmacher was sentenced in Fond du Lac County Court Friday morning. At the end of February a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to commit 1st degree murder and conspiracy to commit substantial battery. Stellmacher attempted to hire a motorcycle gang to kill a man in Indiana. He also tried to hire a hit man to injure a Ripon man. That hit man was an undercover officer. He was taken into custody following an investigation involving the state’s Justice Department’s Division of Criminal Investigation, Lake Winnebago Area MEG Unit and Ripon Police.
TB In Sheboygan
(WHBL-Sheboygan)-Sheboygan Public Health and School officials continue to monitor an outbreak of tuberculosis after more cases turned up in a Sheboygan family. School District Nurse Lori Hamilton told a news briefing Friday morning that testing that was done on the family after the original case was reported found 6 additional family members that tested positive, including 1 student at Horace Mann and 3 at Sheboygan South. Jean Beinemann of the Public Health Department said they will now begin identifying and testing students that have been in close contact with the students. She estimated they would test 35 kids at Horace Mann Middle School and another 35 at Sheboygan South High School. Officials emphasized that, so far, no one outside of the original family and extended family, who all live in the same home, has been infected.
Burglary Suspect Pleads
One of two men suspected of breaking into an AmeriGas location in Beaver Dam has entered a plea agreement with Dodge County prosecutors. Twenty-seven-year-old Joshua Travers recently pled “no contest” to a pair of felony charges and other charges were read into the record and dismissed. Travers and 20-year-old Anthony Kavcich of Madison allegedly broke into the same AmeriGas location in Beaver Dam twice, but were caught the second time. A pre-sentence investigation was ordered for Travers.
More Than A Dozen Apply For FDL City Council Vacancy
The Fond du Lac City Council this weekend will have to cut the list of candidates for the vacant seat on the Council by at least half. More than a dozen names had been submitted to the City Clerk’s office by early Friday afternoon. In setting up the procedure for interviews for the seat, the Council decided it would interview six candidates. That will be done Monday evening and possibly next Friday afternoon depending on what the Council decides after interviews Monday. The person chosen to fill the remaining term of former Council member Jim Sabel will occupy that seat through April 15th of next year. The seat is up for election again next spring. Council applicants include; Mark Acker, Lynn Farr, JoEllyn Heinkel, Steven Lucero, Christopher Madsen, Stephan Mattsen, Karyn Merkel, Rebecca Lunde-Ross, John Piper III, Ronald Schmitz, Philip Shepherd, Nicholas Stoffel, and Loren Voss.
NFDL 1-To-1 Computing
The North Fond du Lac School District’s one-to-one computing initiative will continue to progress next year. District Administrator Aaron Sadoff says they will be equipping more students with some form of computing next year. He says 4th and 5th graders will have Chromebooks, 6th through 8th graders will be equipped with iPads, and Chromebooks for high school students. He says kindergartners will also learn from some of the one-to-one computing. A blended technology will be used for 1st through 3rd graders. Sadoff says it’s important that students learn how to become digital students and teachers will have an important role in that.
Work On NFDL Veterans Memorial Continues
Efforts continue to raise funds for North Fond du Lac’s Veterans Memorial. Much of it is in place at the park next to the Community Center, but names continue to be added. Village Administrator Chuck Hornung says the first stone tablet for the Memorial will be put into place by the end of summer. He says they are still validating the first 250 names that will go on that tablet. Those who would like to know more about the Memorial or contributing to it should contact the Village offices. A dedication ceremony for the Memorial was held last November during Veterans Day.
Teaching Kinds About Agriculture
The President and CEO of the Fond du Lac Area Association of Commerce says it’s important that students learn about the significance agriculture plays in their lives. Joe Reitemeier (RIGHT-uh-MYUR) says that’s why they hold a Day at the Farm for Elementary students each year. He says a lot of kids don’t think of farms as being a business, but it’s a huge component of our economy.
He says agriculture contributes over $1 billion a year to the state’s economy. The association’s annual Day on the Farm was this past week. The association also has an Ag in the classroom program and hosts events like Breakfast on the Farm and the Ag Showcase.
Scott Street Bridge Closed Monday
The Scott Street Bridge over the Fond du Lac River will be closed to all vehicular traffic Monday 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.