Hometown Broadcasting News Friday 10/30/20
30 October 2020 News
Two Rescued From FDL River
(Fond du Lac Fire/Rescue photo)
Fond du Lac firefighters rescued two adults from the Fond du Lac River Wednesday afternoon after their car went into the river. It happened at Division and Macy Streets and the car was upright in the river when rescuers arrived. Firefighters wore special water rescue suits to protect them from the cold water. The two occupants of the vehicle were cold. They were taken to nearby ambulances for treatment and subsequently transported to St. Agnes Hospital. The time of the rescue call was 3:31 pm. Police are determining the cause of the crash.
Winnebago Man Arrested For 7th OWI
A 41-year-old Winnebago man was cited for his 7th drunken driving offense after being pulled over for not wearing his seat belt on Highway 151 southbound at Interstate 41 in Fond du Lac Wednesday afternoon. The state trooper that pulled him over determined Jeremy Kuehl had been drinking and was operating the vehicle above the blood-alcohol limit imposed on repeat drunk drivers. Kuehl was arrested for his 7th OWI and on an active warrant. He was taken to the Fond du Lac County Jail.
New Hospital To Be Located In FDL
Advocate Aurora Health announced this week it will be expanding its facilities on the east side of Fond du Lac. The expansion will include a 91,000 square foot hospital, with an emergency department, 10 inpatient beds, and the capacity for future growth. The $67 million project will begin construction next spring and will be completed in 2022. Aurora officials say the expansion will create more than 100 jobs and expand access to care for area residents. The new medical center in Fond du Lac will be part of Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh.
In Person Absentee Voting Ends Today
In-person absentee or early voting for the November 3rd election ends this afternoon at area municipal clerks’ offices. In Ripon that voting is at the City Hall and runs from 7:30 am to 5 pm. Berlin residents can vote at the Berlin City Hall from 8 am to 4:30 pm today. In Oshkosh you can vote at the City Hall from 8 am to 5 pm. If you’d like to participate in the in-person absentee voting today check with your municipal clerk for the hours that service is available. After today voters will have to wait until next Tuesday to vote in-person at the polls. More than 1.5 million absentee ballots have been returned in Wisconsin so far.
Contact Tracers Can’t Keep Up
It’s been a week now since Fond du Lac County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller issued a health alert notifying residents they were changing their protocols for contact tracing. Ripon Community COVID 19 Task Force member Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says at first county health officials took care of the contact tracing, but because of the surge in cases they now notify a person who tested positive and ask them to call family, friends and those they have had close contact with. “Contact tracing is out of control. They are basically saying at this point we can only get to the first level person who is infected and we have to depend on them to contact their friends who may have been in close contact.” Puhlmann-Becker says county health officials can’t keep up with it, the state has gone to a similar method of notification, and so are many other states. The state this week surpassed 2 million people who have been tested for the coronavirus.
Ripon Food Drive Will Be A Drive Through Event
The Boy Scouts and Cub Scout troops in Ripon will continue a fall tradition albeit it slightly different with the pandemic. The Scouting for Food Drive is being held with the local troops supporting the Food Pantry in Ripon. Dave Schoof is the chairman of the organizing committee for the Drive-Through Food Drive that will be conducted in the parking lot at Webster’s Marketplace in Ripon on Saturday, November 7th from 9 am to 1 pm. “With COVID we just have not been able to put together a safe program in the normal information and food bag pickup.” He says drive through lanes will be sent up and tents in case of inclement weather. He says people wearing masks and gloves will be picking up the food from vehicles. They are asking for donations of non-perishable food items.
Dickens Will Look Different
There will be a Dickens of a Christmas celebration in Ripon this December, but it will look much different. Ripon Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jason Mansmith says they have to be mindful of the pandemic so not all events usually associated with the Christmas time tradition will be held and some could be virtual. “The best way I can put it for you right now is this, some events will be cancelled, some events will happen differently, and some events may go to a virtual experience. We will have some events for Dickens.” He says it is a big year for the event, it’s 30th but even if some events are scheduled they may not happen depending on the way the health crisis evolves by that time. Mansmith feels they will have a schedule put together by the second week in November.
Drug Disposal Efforts Paying Off In Ripon
(Ripon Police Department photo)
There are two drug drop boxes in Ripon for unwanted and unused prescription drugs at the Ripon Police Department and Ripon Medical Center. The city also participated in a drug take back effort last week. Such efforts seem to be paying off. Ripon Police this week loaded up a squad car with the drugs dropped off in the drop box at the police station since July of last year and turned them in for proper disposal. That amounted to 371 pounds of unwanted, expired, and unused medications. Proper disposal of those drugs assures they don’t end up in landfills or waterways, and more importantly in the wrong hands.
Daylight Saving Time Ends
Daylight Saving Time ends early Sunday morning. It’s time to “Fall Back” or set our clocks back an hour and get that hour back you lost in the spring. Fire departments also remind residents that it is a good time to replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and replace those detectors if they don’t work.
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