Friday 8/17/18
17 August 2018 News
Bond Set For Camp Staffer Accused Of Sexual Assaults
Bond has been set at $5,000 cash for the Illinois man accused of sexually assaulting young boys at a Boy Scout camp in Mount Morris. Coleman Leonard will make his initial appearance in Waushara County Court on September 19th on charges stemming from the sexual assaults of three young boys at Camp Napowan. Leonard was a camp counselor at the camp when the assaults occurred this summer and last summer. He was arrested last week in Illinois.
Foreclosure A Good Thing For Last Of Boca Grande Properties
Fond du Lac County’s foreclosure of the last of the Boca Grande properties in downtown Ripon is being viewed as a good thing for both the County and City. County Board Chairman Marty Farrell, a Ripon resident, views it that way. He says the County Board’s Finance Committee set a minimum bid of $400,000 for 303 and 305 Watson Street. Farrell notes they have received interest from a number of prospective buyers. The County Treasurer’s and Register of Deeds Offices are overseeing the sealed bid process. At a date yet to be announced the Finance Committee will open the bids and announce the winner. Farrell says the downtown is experiencing a comeback and this will compliment that progress.
Ripon School District Doing Something to Aid Students With Mental Health Issues
The Ripon Area School District hopes to use a $75,000 School-based Mental Health Grant to set up the framework for a system that will help students with mental health issues both on and off campus. The grant was awarded by the state’s Department of Public Instruction. Director of Student Services Julie Krackow says their goal is to bring together community partners and build a system so that families know where to go when younger family members have mental health issues. A team comprised of Student Services Department members wrote the grant to fund activities promoting wellness for students and to connect families to mental health services and resources. The grant will also fund a part-time position for a Mental Health Navigator for the 2018-2019 school year who will conduct the activities of the grant, build connections with community providers, collect data, and report progress on grant activities.
Town Of Auburn Referendums Approved
More and more Town Boards are asking voters permission to be able to appoint rather than elect town clerks. In Fond du Lac County Town of Auburn voters approved two referendum questions in Tuesday’s election, one to allow appointment of the town clerk by the Town Board and the other to allow the appointment of the Town of Treasurer. County Clerk Lisa Freiberg says the Town of Springvale passed a similar referendum in April and the Town of Metomen will put one before voters in November. She says being a town clerk is a difficult job and appointing a town clerk allows town boards to go outside of a town if there isn’t a qualified candidate. Both of the referendum questions were approved by Town of Auburn voters, the first by 29 votes and the second by 23 votes.
Equalized Property Values Increase
The state’s Department of Revenue says Wisconsin’s total statewide equalized property value increased by 4 percent last year to $549 billion. Locally those increases varied. For example in Fond du Lac County there was a 4 percent increase to $7.6 billion or an increase of nearly $286,000. In Green Lake County the increase was a more modest 1 percent to $2.3 billion or an increase of just under $28,000. Waushara County had a three percent increase of $66,000 to $2.5 billion. Winnebago County also had a 4 percent increase to a total of $13.4 billion in property value or an increase of more than $565,000. The values are used when county and municipal governments make decisions on increasing tax levies to support their budgets.
New Building At The Dodge County Fair
Officials at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam are using a new building for this week’s fair. A ribbon cutting was held Wednesday for the 60-foot by 124-foot commercial building. Ground was broken for the facility in late April. It can accommodate 46 vendors. The building will be available for both public and private event rentals during the spring, summer and fall months and will provide storage space in the winter. Tonight at the Fair Country Music Star Chris Janson will perform his hits like “Buy Me a Boat” and “Fix a Drink.” He will be on the Grand Stand at 8 pm.
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