Hometown Broadcasting News Thursday 7/23/20
23 July 2020 News
Rio Man Charged With Vehicular Homicide
(Columbia County Sheriff’s photo)
Columbia County prosecutors have charged a 29-year-old Rio man with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and knowingly operating while revoked causing death for a fatal accident last Friday morning that killed a passenger. Bond was set at $50,000 cash for Mitchell Merkes and a pre-trial conference is scheduled for August 25th. Sheriff’s officials say Merkes was driving a pickup truck that went off of Genrich Road at a high rate of speed and hit a mailbox. His passenger 31-year-old Zachary Austin of Rio died at the scene. Merkes was found in the woods about a mile from the crash scene. He has 3 prior OWI convictions.
Charges Referred Against Rio Man For Chase And Alleged Domestic Violence
A 27-year-old Rio man is facing multiple charges for a high speed chase and two domestic violence incidents that precipitated it. Joshua Marks allegedly tried to strangle another member of a household on West Harmony Drive in the Town of Lodi Sunday evening. While trying to flee from a deputy Marks failed to negotiate a curve on County Highway V in the Town of Dekorra and crashed into a ditch. He was flown from the scene to a hospital. An investigation revealed he had been involved in another domestic violence incident prior to the one on West Harmony Drive. Charges being referred against him include; felony fleeing, disorderly conduct, attempted strangulation, carrying a concealed weapon, and multiple traffic citations.
Life Saving Effort Recognized
(Waupaca County Sheriff’s photo)
Waupaca County Sheriff Timothy Wilz this week recognized a man who saved his friend from drowning in Casey Lake on May 27th. Masin Beaudoin and Parker Brunette were swimming when Parker began struggling and went underwater. Masin pulled him to shore, but Parker was still having problems breathing and Masin began performing CPR. Masin couldn’t get a signal for his cell phone. He started driving on County Highway E to get a better signal when he encountered a Sheriff’s deputy responding to call from two boaters who heard Masin yelling for help. An ambulance took Parker to ThedaCare in Waupaca where he was treated and released. Sheriff Wilz says because of Masin’s actions, Parker’s parents still have a son and Masin still has his friend.
Task Force May Need To Reconvene
Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force member Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says he agrees with Envision Greater Fond du Lac President and CEO Sadie Parafiniuk that the Reopen Fond du Lac County Task Force may have to be called back together. The Task Force finished its task of putting a plan together to help businesses reopen and disbanded in late May. But Puhlmann-Becker says with increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases and schools planning to reopen it wouldn’t be a bad idea to call the task force together again. “We still keep getting more cases so I agree with her I think there is value in reconvening that group of people and talking about how as it has from the very beginning to March things change every week and now this has evolved in a way that we need to support a different kind of resources for businesses.” Puhlmann-Becker says the Ripon Area School District was very thorough in putting their re-entry plan together, but it too may require some adapting.
Harvest Fest Will Follow Safety Guidelines For COVID 19
Green Lake’s Harvest Fest this fall will look a little different given the safety measures and precautions needed to protect festival goers from the pandemic. Green Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lisa Beck says their board of directors recently voted in favor of holding the event September 26th and 27th. “It was a big decision on my part I want to keep everyone safe. We evaluated how we can do this safely and we are going to cut back on our vendors. The booths will be spread out 15 feet apart that’s something that is recommended by the CDC guidelines and our county.” Beck says food vendors will have to prepackage food and wear gloves and masks when serving food. Harvest Fest features food, music, craft and food vendors, a parade, car show, and much more.
Heavy Metal Festival Benefits Local Veteran Organizations
The US Military Vets MC WI-2 will host Fire for Effect Friday and Saturday at The NutHouse on County Road D in Fond du Lac. The two-day heavy metal music festival is dedicated to helping local veterans during their hardest times. The show is dedicated to six local Wisconsin heroes who gave their lives in the defense of our country and the families and legacies they left behind. A portion of the money raised will be donated to the Hogs for Heroes and Salute the Troops veteran organizations. Onsite camping and event packages are available. To buy tickets for the event visit the hometowntickets.com website.
AirVenture Advance Admissions Available
Advance purchase admissions, camping, flight experiences, and merchandise are now available for what promises to be a great aviation reunion at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2021. The 68th Experimental Aircraft Association fly-in convention is scheduled for July 26th through August 1st at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh. The opening of advance presale for AirVenture 2021 coincides with EAA’s Spirit of Aviation Week, the virtual and online aviation community gathering organized following the cancellation of this year’s AirVenture event. Advance daily and weekly admissions are available at EAA’s secure website.
Oshkosh Recreation Department Programming Resuming
The Oshkosh Recreation Department will resume in-person small group recreation programming in August. The department will have a variety of classes available for children and adults, and has taken steps to ensure participants’ safety before, during, and after classes. For more information and to register visit the Oshkosh Recreation Department website. Among the offerings next month are; Child and Babysitting Safety, Youth Archery, Strength Dance Workout, Junior Anglers, Bike Hikes, and Geocaching.
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