Hometown Broadcasting News Thursday 10/22/20
22 October 2020 News
FDL Man Charged For Truck Theft In Ripon
A 17-year-old Fond du Lac man is facing a pair of felony charges for allegedly taking a pickup truck in Ripon and damaging it. According to the criminal complaint Quinn Wendt decided to take the truck after he went to the victim’s house with the victim’s former girlfriend to TP it. The ex-girlfriend allegedly gave Wendt information about the victim that Wendt told police “he could not tolerate.” Wendt told officers he saw taking the victim’s truck as an opportunity to teach the victim a lesson. An estimate put the damage to the truck at over $4,300. Charges were filed in Fond du Lac County court. Bond was set at $1,000 cash and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for next Thursday.
Two Suspected In Waupaca County Murder
Waupaca County authorities say an 18-year-old Waupaca man was shot and killed late Monday night over nearly $28,000 in stolen reptiles and equipment. Forty-four-year-old William Zelenski of Waupaca is charged with first degree intentional homicide in the death of the teen. The teen’s mother 34-year-old Tiffany Powell is charged with being party to first degree intentional homicide in her son’s death. According to the criminal complaint Zelenski suspected the victim and another teen of burglarizing his home last week. Zelenski had befriended the boy’s mother and the two confronted the victim about the theft on Van Street Monday night. Zelenski was armed with a shotgun. Zelenski is being held without bond and has an initial hearing next Tuesday. Powell is being held in the Waupaca County Jail on a $500,000 cash bond. A teen involved in the burglary of Zelenski’s home was arrested and released on a signature bond.
Grandparents Scam Hits Waupaca County
Waupaca County Sheriff’s officials say they’ve gotten multiple complaints from people who were scammed out of over $30,000 in the grandparents scam. The victims in two cases got phone calls from someone posing as law enforcement who advised them their grandson or granddaughter was in a crash or were stopped and arrested. They are then told that grandchild needed a large amount of money to post bond. Someone was then put on the line posing as the grandchild confirming they needed the money to be released from custody. Sheriff’s officials say the scammers are very good at what they do, but law enforcement would rarely call someone about posting bond.
FDL County Budget Address
Despite the global pandemic and its effects on the economy Fond du Lac County will be able to provide the services its residents expect in 2021. That was part of the budget message County Executive Al Buechel delivered to the County Board Tuesday night. Federal COVID-19 relief funding and continued growth in the county sales tax are partly responsible. Buechel is proposing a 1 percent wage increase for county employees. The County Sheriff’s office will be hiring three additional patrol deputies with the help of a Federal COPS grant. The big ticket project is a $1.9 million upgrade of software for the County’s emergency communication system which includes the Sheriff’s Department, Jail, and Dispatch services. The proposed tax levy is $47.6 million or an increase of nearly $1.7 million over the current year. But the tax rate will actually decrease from $5.88 this year to $5.81. To meet the budget Buechel is proposing applying $2.1 million from the unassigned general fund reserve that resulted from surpluses in the 2019 budget. The County Board will approve the budget and tax levy next month.
To read the budget message click here.
Ripon COVID Numbers Also Alarming
The Ripon Community COVID 19 Task Force has begun posting COVID-19 case information on its website. That includes graphs on the daily positivity rate, new cases per day, and total cases. Task Force member Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says its disconcerting because the other day the positivity rate topped 40 percent. “We’re are 43 percent and the seven day average is still at 28 percent, almost 28 percent, and we’re aiming for five percent. So we are significantly over in this town and for anybody that thinks it’s still a hoax or it’s not real, the numbers are very real in this town.” He also notes that since September 30th the total number of cases in Ripon has basically doubled, which he says is a pandemic by any definition in a small town. The total number of cases in Ripon has been nearing 300.
Deadline For Winnebago County Circuit Court Judge Applicants Changed
Governor Evers is accepting applicants for a seat on the Winnebago County Circuit Court bench. Judge Karen L. Seifert is resigning effective January 4th, 2021. The new judge will complete her term, which ends August 31st, 2022. Interested applicants can find an application on Governor Ever’s website on the “Apply to Serve” page. Completed application forms and supporting materials need to be emailed back to GOVJudicialAppointments@wisconsin.gov by 8 am on Monday, November 9th.
Golden Ticket Give Away Promotion A Success
Envision Greater Fond du Lac and Society Insurance’s Dine Local Golden Ticket Give Away in Fond du Lac has proven to be a success. Envision CEO and President Sadie Parafiniuk says they were looking for a way to pump some immediate cash into bars and restaurants dealing with a fall off of business during the pandemic. Their goal with people purchasing gift cards to qualify for the giveaway was to raise $2,000, but by Monday night they had raised $12,000. “We’re at about $12,000 and so we are just so proud and thankful to our community bought gift cards. You know our restaurants and taverns been particularly hard hit through this pandemic.” Each gift card purchased through next Monday via the promotion will be given an entry into the contest. Three lucky winners will be randomly chosen and will win a $500 gift card package. Those who wish to participate can find out more information including participating restaurants, ordering options and contest rules at the Envision website. Gift cards can also be ordered by calling 920-921-9500. Pick up of gift cards will take place November 2nd through the 6th from 8 am to 5 pm.
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