Friday 11/2/18
2 November 2018 News
Mismarked Gas Line Lead To Deadly Sun Prairie Explosion And Fire
According to court documents released this week a contractor didn’t properly mark a natural gas line that caused a fatal explosion and fire in Sun Prairie on July 10th. The search warrant unsealed in Dane County Circuit Court indicates an employee of USIC failed to mark the gas line in the street. Instead a spot about 25 feet away on a sidewalk was marked. The Wisconsin State Journal reports the employee wouldn’t talk to investigators. A subcontractor placing fiber communications lines underground for Verizon ruptured a gas line triggering the explosion and fire. Firefighter Corey Barr was killed and Firefighter Ryan Welch was critically injured. Six businesses and one home were destroyed in the blast.
Scammer Posing As Deputy
Winnebago County Sheriff’s officials are cautioning residents about a scam in which someone calls posing as a deputy. The caller identifies themselves as “Deputy Marshall Adams” and is looking for money to settle a civil matter. That’s something the Sheriff’s Department would not do over the phone. The scammer’s number will come up as 920-744-1428 on your caller ID. The Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department has also gotten reports about the scam.
Ripon Area School District Mill Rate Lower For December Property Taxes
The Ripon Area School District Board of Education approved the District’s 2018-19 Budget and a tax levy this week. District Superintendent Mary Whitrock says the mill rate will be nearly 70 cents lower at $9.57 per thousand dollars of value on a property. There were a combination of factors that lowered that rate including increased state aid. “When that state aid goes up then the actual taxes that we receive from our communities actually decreases because the total dollar amount remains the same.” State aid is based in part on enrollment and Whitrock says the District has about 1,550 students this fall gaining about 29 students through open enrollment.
Deadline Today For Absentee In Person Voting
Today is the last day you can absentee vote in person at your municipal, town or village clerk’s office. Ripon City Clerk Ann Shommer reported they had from 450 to 460 people that had already absentee voted by mid-day Thursday. She notes that’s about average for a mid-term election, but she expected that total to pick up by today’s deadline of 5 pm. Voting at the polls is next Tuesday for the General Election.
Bucky On The Move
A buck has been seen around Ripon the last few days hopefully avoiding Team Ripon the bow hunters tasked with ridding the City of urban deer. Ripon Police posted photos of it on their Facebook page. It’s been spotted mostly on the south side of the City. Police caution that there is a lot of deer movement this time of year and drivers should be on the lookout for them especially around dawn and dusk.
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