Thursday 1/24/19
24 January 2019 News
(Fond du Lac Fire/Rescue photo)
Duplex Fire Displaces Six In FDL
Six people were displaced by a fire in a Fond du Lac duplex Tuesday night. Unattended cooking is being blamed for the blaze at 81 Fourth Street. It happened in an upstairs apartment. Firefighters were able to restrict it to a kitchen, but officials say the home is uninhabitable. No one was injured. There was one working smoking detector in the two residences. The Red Cross is assisting the displaced residents. The time of the fire call was shortly before 8 pm.
Fox Lake Man Sentenced For High Speed Chase
A 32-year-old Fox Lake man has been sentenced to more than four months in jail for leading Dodge and Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputies on a high speed chase last March. Ryan Brown was near Waupun when the chase began and reached speeds of up to 112 miles an hour during the pursuit. He will be allowed work release privileges while he’s serving his 135 days in jail. In addition he will be on probation for three years. Brown was sentenced Tuesday in Dodge County court.
FDL County Sheriff’s Video Goes Viral
Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s officials waited for an appropriate time to release dash cam video of a Sheriff’s deputy nearly struck by an out of control driver. Sheriff’s Captain Bill Tadych says it happened Christmas Day at Highway 151 and Winnebago Drive. Deputy Jason Fabry was walking back onto the highway after helping another driver that had gone off the snowy road when an oncoming driver lost control and almost hit him. The video went viral when it was shared on Facebook with over 300,000 views and more than 3,600 shares. It was also featured on national newscasts. Tadych says they were waiting for a snowy day when they could show the importance of moving over at the scene of an accident. “Everybody likes those actions shots, but especially when no one is hurt no damage was caused. But we knew with the weather coming it might be good to throw that out just to get people to slow down a bit and I think it kind of did.” The woman who nearly struck the deputy was shaken up by the incident and apologized to him, but the deputy had her move along because more traffic was coming through the area.
Facebook video click here.
More Than Half A Foot Of Snow Fell In Some Areas
Snowplow drivers will still be catching up today on removing snow from city streets after this week’s snow storm. Plows were out early this morning in Ripon where 6.7 inches of snow fell. Other snowfall totals across the area include 9.5 inches in Brandon, 9.2 in Fond du Lac, 7 inches in Oshkosh and 6 inches in Appleton.
Snowplow Drivers Were Busy
Fond du Lac County snowplow drivers basically worked around the clock to keep up with the snow from this week’s snow storm. County Highway Commissioner Tom Janke says a crew of seven worked overnight Tuesday and then were joined early the next morning by the rest of their crew. He says no matter how much snow they plow, it takes a little getting used to for drivers. “One of the first real major or larger events we’ve had this year so there’s always a learning curve. Roads are going to be slippery even with us out there plowing and salting.” Janke estimates that by mid-morning Wednesday most of the County had received at least 4 to 6 inches of snow.
Few Accidents Reported During Snow Storm
An official with the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department believes the advanced warnings about a snow storm helped keep down the numbers of calls they received for motorist assists Tuesday and early Wednesday. Captain Bill Tadych talked with us Wednesday morning at which point they had very few runoffs and property damage accidents to report. “I think since 6 o’clock we’ve had seven crashes and 12 runoffs where they were simply just pulled out of the ditch. No serious injuries and no serious damage, so.” Tadych says a lot of people got off the roads Tuesday afternoon and night, but the real snow came on Wednesday.
Congressman Grothman On Committee Assignment
Congressman Glenn Grothman will continue to serve on the Education and Labor Committee in the new session of Congress. Congressman Grothman says he’s excited to retain his seat on the committee. Grothman says he has a good relationship with incoming chairman Bobby Scott. He’s particularly proud of the committee’s work during the last session when they modernized the career and technical education system. During the last Congress Grothman also served on the Government Oversight and Budget committees.
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