News 05.01.18
1 May 2018 News
A Fond du Lac man is seriously injured in a one vehicle crash in Fond du Lac County. Twenty five year old Randy Mathers was flown by helicopter to Theda Care Medical Center in Neenah following the crash early Sunday morning on Highway 45 at Mill Rd. in the town of Empire. Investigators say the car crashed in the ditch, pinning the driver in the vehicle. Mathers was not wearing a seatbelt and had to be extricated from the vehicle. The Sheriff’s Office says alcohol was a factor in the crash.
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Federal safety inspectors say an air filter blew off a corn grinding device shortly before a deadly explosion demolished a southern Wisconsin corn mill last summer. Officials with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board held a news conference Monday to discuss preliminary findings from their investigation into the deadly blast at the Didion Milling Plant in Cambria on May 31. Five workers were killed and 14 were injured. CSB investigators spoke with 10 of 14 supervisors. A superintendent told them that he saw the filter blow off the grinder. Flames shot out of the intake line. He fled moments before the plant exploded. CSB Investigator Mary Beth Mulcahy says the board’s probe is continuing and it could be six months before it issues any conclusions.
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Steep budget cuts have reduced the number of county agriculture agents in a key area of Wisconsin at a time when their knowledge and advice are in high demand. The UW-Extension is currently operating with 15 fewer ag agents than last year. Republic Rep. Todd Novak, of Dodgeville, says Grant, Green and Lafayette counties don’t have a full-time agent despite paying the required fees for them. He says officials are in the process of hiring an agent for Grant and five other counties. Karl Martin is the dean and director of the Extension’s cooperative division. He says the reduction in agents is a result of $3.6 million in budget cuts two years ago. Agents give farmers advice and connect them to research at the university.
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The Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs Association has launched a task force to help firefighters struggling with mental health issues, following the death of a Superior firefighter who took his own life. Association President Jon Cohn says members of the task force will receive 40 hours of training to become peer support counselors. The training will help members recognize the warning signs of those struggling with mental health issues and refer them to resources that can help. The Superior Fire Department is mourning the death of Erik Sutton, who recently retired as battalion chief. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation says firefighters are three times more likely to take their own lives than die in the line of duty.
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