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News 05.20.16

20 May 2016 News


The Town of Lamartine is receiving a loan from the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. On Wednesday, the board approved a State Trust Fund Loan in the amount of $260,000 to purchase a fire truck. Five other loans were approved for various services around the state, all together totalling $4.3 million. The BCPL operates entirely on program revenue, without taxpayer money. They also distribute the sole source of state funding for K-12 public school library materials.

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A man seriously injured in an accident in Fond du Lac County remains in critical condition. Police say 22-year-old Lucas Lindner of Campbellsport lost control of his truck and was thrown from the vehicle Sunday morning while traveling on Midland Road in the Town of Ashford. Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Sgt. Paul Rottscholl says Lindner was flown to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee where he remains. Rottscholl says speed and not wearing a seat belt were factors in the crash.

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A motorcyclist is seriously injured in a crash off I-41 in Grand Chute. The Grand Chute Police Department says the biker was intoxicated. At about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, officers were called to a report of a crash between a motorcycle and a car. Witnesses told police the motorcycle was traveling on I-41 at a high rate of speed when it exited at the off ramp to Richmond Street and hit a car. Police says the motorcyclist was thrown from the bike and suffered serious, but non-life threatening injuries. The biker was wearing a helmet and protective clothing. No one in the car was hurt. The motorcyclist received tickets for Reckless Driving and Operating a Motorcycle While Intoxicated. The ramp to Richmond Street was closed for about 30 minutes for crash scene investigation.

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Department of Health Services (DHS) health officials announce a Wisconsin resident has a confirmed case of Zika virus infection. The individual who tested positive is a woman who recently traveled to Honduras, where Zika-infected mosquitoes are present. There have been no locally-acquired cases of Zika virus infection in Wisconsin or in the continental United States. State Health Officer Karen McKeown says while they have been preparing for an infection, Wisconsin is one of the last states to have a confirmed case of Zika virus. McKeown says they have tested more than 300 people who have traveled to countries with known Zika virus transmission, and have been monitoring for the presence of mosquitoes that may carry Zika virus, as a precaution. She says virus has been linked to causing birth defects in unborn children.

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Since the beginning of a large scale Racine County law enforcement operation to combat prescription painkiller mis-use and addiction, over four dozen people have been charged with related offenses. Last fall, the Racine County Metro Drug Unit and the Milwaukee Drug Enforcement Administration began an investigation of street level opiate dealers. Most of the illegal sales involved Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Adderall and Xanax. Along with identifying those selling prescription pills, investigators also identified those prescribing the opiates, and contacted many of the doctors about their patient’s illegal activities. The Racine County Sheriff’s office says many of the dealers have been selling a dozen or less pills at a time, while others sell their entire prescription for large profits. A news release points out that many of the participants said their use of painkillers led to the use of heroin, which is cheaper, and often easier to obtain.

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Vilas County sheriff’s officials are investigating the suspicious death of a woman whose body was found on a hiking trail in Phelps. The sheriff’s department has identified the woman as 47-year-old Luann Beckman. She was last seen riding her bike Sunday afternoon. Her body was found Tuesday. Police say the person who found Beckman’s body told dispatchers she was shirtless and that alcohol bottles and papers were around the body. Gary Brewer lives in an apartment not far from where the woman’s body was found. He says Phelps is usually a quiet community with little crime.

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