News 09.23.16
23 September 2016 News
Fond du Lac County Highway crews are continuing work on a handful of road construction projects as the summer season winds down. Highway commissioner Tom Janke says Highway KK near Ripon will be reopened to traffic starting this week. He says it was one of the longer projects, running seven miles, which is why it’s taken so long to finish. Janke says work is continuing this week on the west Frontage Road in Fond du Lac. Janke says that road should be open in a couple of weeks.
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A lightening strike causes a fire at a residence in the Town of Rosendale. Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ryan Zitlow says a report of a structure fire came in just before midnight Wednesday night at W11099 Olden Road. Multiple fire departments responded including Rosendale, Lamartine, Eldorado, Brandon-Fairwater, Ripon, Waupun, Oakfield and Nekimi. Rosendale First Responders, Ripon Ambulance and RIT Team 2 also responded. Zitlow says when deputies arrived on scene, the house was already evacuated. No one was injured in the fire.
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Gov. Scott Walker says that although the state has taken steps in the past to combat opioid abuse in Wisconsin, there’s more to be done. Walker on Thursday signed an executive order creating a task force to make additional recommendations on fighting abuse of pain relievers, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone and methadone. Walker says the task force will be led by Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Rep. John Nygren, whose daughter has struggled with drug abuse. Walker signed the order at a Walgreens drug store in Milwaukee to highlight the chain’s drug take-back disposal program at 18 pharmacies in Wisconsin. Citizens can drop off unused medication, including controlled substances by placing them in a disposal kiosk.
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Gov. Scott Walker is taking the unusual step of sending a public letter to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos encouraging the fellow Republican to work on road-funding solutions. Walker released the letter Wednesday. In it, Walker defends his promise not to raise taxes or fees to pay for roads. Vos and other Republicans have criticized Walker’s approach, saying delaying projects and borrowing more money is a political solution that doesn’t address long-term needs. Walker said he would consider alternatives, but “we can agree that we did not get elected as conservatives to raise taxes or fees.” Vos sent a letter back Wednesday saying Walker’s plan would mean Milwaukee freeway projects won’t be finished in their lifetimes. He said the Assembly will hold informational hearings to investigate other ramifications of Walker’s plan.
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A transgender student heads back to high school in Kenosha with the court’s permission to use bathrooms consistent with his gender identity. A federal judge’s ruling this week is the second legal victory in as many days for Ashton Whitaker. The Tremper High senior has gone to court with accusations the school district discriminated against him. Judge Pamela Pepper ruled the district must allow Whitaker to use the boys’ bathroom while his lawsuit progresses through the courts. On Monday, Pepper rejected a motion by the school district to dismiss the case. The school district’s attorney, Ronald Stadler, says it will appeal both of Pepper’s rulings. Joseph Wardenski is one of the attorneys representing Whitaker and his mother, Melissa. Wardenski argued that Whitaker would be irreparably harmed without the injunction.
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Wisconsin may be a battleground state, if the polls are to be believed, but Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump aren’t treating it like one. Both Clinton and Trump are focusing their time and money elsewhere with the election less than seven weeks away. Trump has not campaigned in Wisconsin in over a month and Clinton has not been to the state since the April primary. Neither side is spending money on campaign ads in Wisconsin yet. A Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday shows the race continues to be about even. Clinton had 44 percent support among likely voters compared with 42 percent for Trump. The latest poll was conducted by phone Sept. 15 through Sunday, sampling 802 registered Wisconsin voters with a margin of error of 4.8 percent.
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