Wednesday 12/5/18
5 December 2018 News
Tool Helps Prevent Prescription Medication Abuse
The Opioid Initiative Coordinator for Drug Free Communities of Fond du Lac County says a tool physicians use helps to curb opioid and prescription medication abuse. Alex Berg says the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program lets physicians know whether a patient has been practicing what is known as “Doctor Shopping.” “In case somebody is drugs or seeking opioids to feed their addiction there is a term called “Doctor Shopping.” So some people used to “Doctor Shop” they would go from one doctor to the next to get their prescription painkillers to help with their addiction.” She says the new tool allows people to be screened to find out if they already had their prescription filled elsewhere.
Lack Of Familiarity With Town Roads Lead To Accidents
The police chief for the Town of Ripon says they have plenty of miles of road to patrol making sure motorists are driving safely. “We’ve got about 40 miles of road that we patrol and our highway department maintains. It is quite a bit of area to cover.” Howard Stibb says recently some of their more serious accidents have been because one of the drivers wasn’t familiar with the area and missed a stop sign. He says they see quite a few truckers coming from the Fond du Lac area that get disoriented on town roads because they relied too heavily on their GPS units.
Lomira Woman Suspected Of Starving Dog To Death
A 26-year-old Lomira woman is facing charges for allegedly starving a dog to death. According to the criminal complaint Abigail Billings landlord found the dog dead inside a crate. Billings told investigators she went out to the garage every few days to check on the pup. Veterinarians are reasonably certain the dog starved to death. Billings is charged with a felony count of mistreatment of animals causing death and a misdemeanor charge of intentionally failing to provide food for an animal. A preliminary hearing is scheduled on January 24th. Billings is free on a $1,000 signature bond.
UW System Employee Pay Increase Sought
UW System President Ray Cross will recommend the Board of Regents approve a 3 percent increase in the employee pay plan for each of the next two fiscal years. The Board meets Thursday. Cross says employees have received no pay plan increases in five of the last eight fiscal years and increases averaged less than one percent over the past decade. Cross says many of their employees are paid considerably below higher education market rates. The recommended pay plan increases would be delivered to all University of Wisconsin System employees.
Funding Enhances Transportation Services For Senior And Those With Disabilities
The state’s Department of Transportation says over $6.2 million in state and federal funds have been awarded to 60 agencies across the state to enhance transportation options for seniors and individuals with disabilities. In the area those receiving funding include ADVOCAP in Winnebago County which will receive nearly $60,000 next year for a volunteer driver program. The ARC of Fond du Lac will get over $31,000 to enhance a minivan. Disability Services Incorporated which serves Green Lake, Fond du Lac, Marquette, Waushara, and Outagamie counties will receive nearly $146,000 for a fixed route service and to replace two minivans. Waushara Industries Incorporated is getting $43,200 to replace a minibus.
Beef Recalled
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service says an Arizona company has expanded its recall of raw beef products to include an additional 5.1 million pounds of meat that may be contaminated with Salmonella. The JBS Tolleson recalled beef was produced and packed between July 26th and September 7th. The products were distributed nationwide under Kroger, Cedar River Farms, Grass Run Farms, JBS generic and other brand names. A recall issued in October affected 12 million pounds of the same beef. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the beef is linked to a Salmonella outbreak that has caused 246 people to become sick in 25 states. Wisconsin was not one of those states.
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