Hometown Broadcasting News Friday 9/18/20
18 September 2020 News
Update On Fatal Dodge County Accident Involving Squad Car
The State Patrol has released the names of those involved in a fatal three-vehicle accident involving a Dodge County Sheriff’s deputy. The accident happened at the intersection of County Highway A and County W in the Town of Oak Grove Monday afternoon. Sixty-eight-year-old Mark Schmidt of Lowell was killed when he drove through a stop sign with his sedan. His vehicle was struck by a northbound semi driven by 22-year-old Nicholas Retzlaff of Ripon. Schmidt’s vehicle was then pushed into a squad car driven by Deputy Jeremy McCarty, who was waiting to make a turn. Retzlaff and Deputy McCarty suffered minor injuries.
Contact Tracing Keeps Health Department Busy
The public health officer for Fond du Lac County says the majority of the employees in the county health department are involved in contact tracing for COVID-19. Kim Mueller says some are doing their regular duties, but not to a great extent due to the pandemic and the need to trace those who may have been exposed to a person that has tested positive for the coronavirus. “I have 34 staff and I also hired 9 people new for contact tracing that ranges from full-time all the way to maybe just 2 days a week and sometimes people just on the weekends working.” Mueller says they received a grant from the state for just under $900,000 to pay for the contact tracing, but probably won’t need all of that money. She is checking whether they can roll some of that money over to next year for contact tracing or whether there will be a new pot of money for that.
Sanitation Theater
Health experts have coined a term for the disinfecting of surfaces and taking of temperatures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, “Sanitation Theater.” Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force member Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says the virus is primarily spread through respiratory mist. He says President Trump admitted as much during an interview with Bob Woodward back in February. “He said Bob this is all about breathing. You don’t have to worry about touching things because you can avoid touching things, but you can’t stop breathing Bob you can’t stop breathing or he said something like that it is respiratory mist and the CDC was telling him that back in February. We got to focus on masks and really enforcing masks and social distance.” Puhlmann-Becker says the disinfecting of surfaces might prevent the spread of other viruses and bacteria, but is primarily done to make us feel like we are doing something to fight the virus.
COVID Drive Through Testing In Columbia County Today
The Wisconsin National Guard will be providing free drive-through COVID-19 testing at the Columbia County Highway Shop on old Highway 16 in Wyocena today. Nasal swab testing will be from 9 am to 4 pm. The testing is open to the community and an appointment is not necessary. It is requested that you remain in whatever mode of transportation you arrive in whether it is a vehicle or horse-drawn buggy. Test results will be provided in 3 to 7 business days.
New Executive Director For The UW Oshkosh Foundation
The University of Oshkosh Foundation has a new executive director and he is a UW-Oshkosh graduate. Greg Giles returns to the Fox Valley after leaving in February of 2019 to become chief advancement officer at the YMCA of Greater Houston in Texas. Prior to that, he spent 16 years as executive director and CEO of the Fond du Lac Family YMCA. During that time the YMCA in Fond du Lac had a major capital campaign and went through a period of growth. He also served on the Fond du Lac City Council. With the UW-Oshkosh Foundation he becomes the first person to manage daily operations since it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy a year ago.
Ballweg On Bartlett Show Closing
State Representative Joan Ballweg says she’s sorry to see the Tommy Bartlett Show close permanently in Wisconsin Dells. She says it was such an integral part of the community and provided such joy to the people of Wisconsin. Tom Diehl President and Co-owner of the Tommy Bartlett Show made the announcement. The show had to cancel this summer because of the pandemic and is now closing permanently. During its 69 years of family entertainment 20 million people enjoyed the performances over the course of nearly 19,000 shows.
Gallantry Medals
Waupaca County Sheriff Timothy Wilz presented two residents with the Civil Medal of Gallantry during the Waupaca County Board of Supervisors meeting this week. Zachary Schendel and Tony Tomaro were awarded the medal for their quick actions in saving a woman and a child from a vehicle that was nearly fully submerged in the Wolf River near Northport. Sheriff Wilz says without their bravery and selfless actions the incident could have had a horrendous outcome.
United Way Proclamation
The Fond du Lac c County Board this week unanimously approved a proclamation designating this month and next month as United Way months in Fond du Lac County. Both the Fond du Lac Area United Way and Ripon Area United Way are launching their annual campaigns this month. Accepting the proclamation Fond du Lac Area United Way Executive Director Amber Kilawee said, “As you can imagine it is not going to be an easy year to be in the fund raising business.” She did thank the Board and County Executive Al Buechel for their support. The Board also approved a proclamation commending the Wisconsin National Guard for recently staging a free COVID-19 testing site in Fond du Lac.
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