News 05.02.17
2 May 2017 News
Due to the recent rains, there is a slow-no-wake restriction on the Fox River in the City of Berlin. Emergency Management Director Gary Podoll says as of Monday, the River was at 13.15 feet and is expected to crest at 13.3. Podoll figures the flood stage will continue until around May 7th. Slow-no-wake is described as operating at a speed as slow as possible while maintaining the ability to navigate.
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The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a hit and run crash that injured an Oakfield woman. The Sheriff’s Office says the victim was struck by an SUV in front of Schmitty’s Oar House, at about 9:30pm Saturday. According to witnesses at the scene; a light colored, possibly gold or silver colored SUV, turned east off of Giese Dr. onto Winnebago Drive and struck a 36-year-old Oakfield woman who was crossing the road. The vehicle then continued east on Winnebago Drive and did not stop. The vehicle has a broken passenger side headlamp as a result of the crash. The victim was transported to St. Agnes Hospital where she was treated and released. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office or the Fond du lac County Law Enforcement Tip Line at 920-906-4777.
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The Fond du Lac County executive is asking interested residents to contact his office if they are interested in serving on the county’s Natural Beauty Council. The council was formed more than 30 years ago to promote the natural beauty of the county. But county executive Al Buechel says there are currently not enough citizen volunteers to allow the committee to function. Buechel says the committee is comprised of five members and meets only a handful of times each year. The county finance committee discussed the future of the council at their meeting last week. People interested in serving on the Natural Beauty Council should contact the county executive’s office.
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Wisconsin lawmakers are set to vote on nearly a dozen bills designed to combat opioid addiction. Republican Rep. John Nygren has written 11 bills based on recommendations from Gov. Scott Walker’s opioid task force. Walker called a special legislative session in January to pass the measures. The Senate is expected to vote today on nine bills, including measures calling for expanded treatment programs, a high school for addicted students, training more doctors in addiction treatment, funding new state drug agents and training school staff to screen students for addiction. Senate approval would send the bills to Walker’s desk. The Assembly is set to vote on two more bills today that would grant immunity from parole or probation revocation to people who suffer overdoses and allow addicts to be involuntarily committed.
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The Wisconsin Legislature’s budget-writing committee is together to begin voting on the two-year, $76 billion spending plan. A K-12 school aid increase appears to be on solid ground, a University of Wisconsin tuition cut is in serious jeopardy while a solution to road funding remains elusive. Gov. Scott Walker and Republican legislative leaders have yet to work on agreements on those and other major areas of the budget. Republican and Democratic members of the committee agree that the budget will turn on what happens with road funding. Walker opposes gas tax or fee increases and is open to taking money from the state’s main account. Democrats and some Republicans oppose that approach. The committee likely won’t finish its work on the budget until June.
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A new monument at Arlington National Cemetery, near the U.S. capital, will honor American helicopter crews who flew during the Vietnam War. Congress has approved the monument, which will be near the Tomb of the Unknowns. Spearheading the memorial campaign is retired Air Force Lt. Col. Bob Hesselbein, who flew AH-1 Cobra gunships in Vietnam. Hesselbein says Arlington has the greatest concentration of helicopter-crew casualties from the war. Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin says the monument will create a “teachable moment” for people to understand the story of pilots and crew members. The U.S. relied heavily on helicopters to transport troops and provide support to ground forces near enemy soldiers in Vietnam. The nonprofit Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association is paying for the monument.
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