News 05.23.16
23 May 2016 News
Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Deputies will join hundreds of other law enforcement agencies throughout Wisconsin for the annual Click It or Ticket safety belt enforcement campaign. Starting today thought June 5th, more officers will be looking to educate drivers about the importance of wearing seat belts. Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Captain Rick Olig says the goal is not to write more tickets, but to get people to buckle up every time they drive or ride in a vehicle. Overall, the state’s safety belt use rate of 86 percent is the highest ever, but about half of the drivers and passengers killed in Wisconsin traffic crashes were not wearing seat belts. Olig says in Fond du Lac County, in the past two years, 22 people died with seven not wearing seat belts. Olig says the enforcement effort of Click it or Ticket is more than just a slogan, it’s a life-saving effort.
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A 12-year-old boy is killed while riding a dirt bike and being struck by a pickup truck in Dodge County. The crash happened at around 4pm Friday on Highway NN near North Tyler Road in Rubicon. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office says the youth crossed the road on his dirt bike when he was struck by a pickup driven by a 34 year old Neosho man. The boy was not wearing a helmet and was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash remains under investigation.
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The Waupun Police Department is fundraising for a new K-9 officer. Police Chief Dale Heeringa says the current K-9, Yako, is just shy of 9 years old and will continue to work for about another year before retiring. One officer came up with the idea to sell stuffed police dogs to help with their fundraising efforts. The stuffed animal is dressed up as a police dog – with a badge, vest and collar. Each stuffed animal is $15 and can be purchased by contacting Officer Schneider or going to the Waupun Police Department. The stuffed dogs will arrived at the Department within the next two weeks. Heering says K-9’s are an important tool utilized by Police Departments. They can help in identifying drugs, tracking criminal suspects and finding missing people.
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Wisconsin scientists have launched an ambitious new project that uses trail cameras to inventory wildlife and tamp down simmering questions about how many deer really roam the state. University of Wisconsin-Madison and Department of Natural Resources researchers hope to place as many as 6,000 trail cameras across the state within the next two years. Photos will be uploaded to the Zooniverse website, where people from around the world can view them and classify creatures captured in them. Scientists already have deployed about 500 cameras in Sawyer and Iowa counties and hope to have as many as 1,500 in place by the end of 2016. DNR officials say the project, dubbed Snapshot Wisconsin, should provide a better sense of how many animals populate certain regions and when they’re most abundant.
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There are new details about a deadly encounter at a gas station near Madison. A criminal complaint filed in Dane County says surveillance video shows the victim, Elijah Washington, walking into the Capitol Petro Mart station on May 11 and apparently recognizing Kortney Moore and another man, then leaving. Prosecutors say Moore pursued Washington and shot him. The complaint says Washington fell to the ground in the parking lot. Cash bail for Moore was set at $500,000 Friday in Dane County Circuit Court. Moore is charged with first-degree intentional homicide. The complaint says Washington’s sister saw a man chasing her brother out of the station and heard gun shots. She says she found her brother bleeding in the parking lot, but conscious, telling her that he was “probably going to die today.”
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Several Republicans in the state Assembly are urging the Legislature’s budget panel to approve funding for a statewide Voter I-D education effort. The Government Accountability Board wants 250-thousand-dollars for a public awareness campaign. Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke is one of 34 Republican lawmakers listed on a letter urging the Joint Finance Committee to approve the request. He says voters need to be aware of what will be needed when going to vote so they are able to. Critics of the law claim numerous people were confused about what I-Ds qualified when they headed out to vote in the April 5th presidential primary – sometimes leading to long lines. The Kaukauna Republican says having more education about the requirement should help to ensure a smoother voting process in November.
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