Hometown Broadcasting New Wednesday 3/24/21
24 March 2021 News
Columbus Man Arrested On Fifth OWI Charge
Authorities in Columbia County arrested a 31-year-old Columbus man Sunday afternoon for his 5th Operating While Intoxicated charge and other offenses after he was observed driving through a ditch on Highway 16 at a high rate of speed. A sheriff’s deputy lost sight of the man, but another deputy spotted Nathan Rozinski’s pickup truck in the City of Columbus and a city police officer located him in a drive way on Charles Street. Although Rozinski allegedly smelled of alcohol he refused a field sobriety test and was uncooperative with officers. He was taken to the Columbia County Jail and booked on a number of charges including his 5th OWI and operating after revocation.
Ripon PD Scam Warning
Ripon Police are urging residents to know who they are dealing with when someone contacts them and asks them to purchase gift cards to get someone out of a jam or to claim a huge prize amount. Ripon police officers have taken several complaints in the past few weeks of victims falling prey to these types of scams. They recommend never giving out any personal banking or other information over the phone and do not give access to bank accounts, computers, or phones before you know who you are dealing with. They point out that very few legitimate businesses will ever ask you to pay for something in gift cards.
Waterfest Permit Approved
The Oshkosh City Council Tuesday night unanimously approved a special event permit for Waterfest. Last summer the concert series at the Leach Amphitheater went dark. Organizers for Waterfest say they’re starting to book talent. But there will be restrictions with some social distancing. City Manager Mark Rohloff says attendance prior to July 1st will be limited to 4,000 or 50 percent of capacity. He says that makes it financially feasible. After July 1st attendance will be allowed to increase to 6,000 people or about 75 percent capacity. The schedule of concerts will also be limited to six to eight. Acts will be announced by late April.
Warning Siren Testing
Winnebago County Emergency Management says they will begin weekly tests of the outdoor warning sirens on Saturday, April 3rd. The sirens will sound for about three minutes at noon every Saturday from April 3rd through September. Tests will be cancelled if severe weather or other serious conditions are imminent. The sirens are intended to warn people who are outdoors. Winnebago County Emergency Management encourages residents to purchase a NOAA Weather Radio and/or use a smart phone app that monitors severe weather to receive alerts while indoors.
Senator Ballweg Invites Comments On State Budget
State Senator Joan Ballweg invites state residents to comment on the proposed State Budget. Ballweg is a member of the powerful Joint Finance Committee, which will be working on the 2-year budget. She notes there will be four listening sessions next month at the UW-Whitewater, UW-Stout, in Rhinelander, and there will be statewide virtual session. Details are available at her website. She says people can also contact her office. The state lawmaker from Markesan says a lot of people are members of groups or organizations that will be affected by the budget and they too are welcome to have a say on the budget. “The legislature is open for business and we can set up a Zoom call with an organization or we do take meeting in person too in the capitol.”
make-your-voice-heard-in-the-state-budget-process.pdf (wisconsin.gov)
Vaccine Hesistancy
A member of the Ripon Community COVID 19 Task Force says as more people get the vaccine for the coronavirus there should be less hesitancy about getting it for those who haven’t received it yet. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says as the number of people who’ve gotten one or both shots builds there are more people to talk to about the experience, which helps those who are hesitant and need to hear about the experience. “They must know people that have been vaccinated and they probably know that are fully vaccinated and talking to people about the experience or any side effects or any problems I think you’ll find out this vaccine is amazing.” Puhlmann-Becker says he’s not a fan of shots, but he barely felt it when he received the first dose and he didn’t experience any side effects.
Ripon Dispatch Transfer
Fond du Lac County Executive Al Buechel says he and County Communications and Emergency Management Director Bobbi Hicken were happy to make multiple trips to Ripon while the city decided whether to join county dispatch. Ultimately the city decided to go that route. Buechel says software and hardware upgrades to keep a dispatch center aren’t cheap and it would have been expensive for the city to keep its own going. “If they would look at actually upgrading all that equipment and getting up to a level of equivalent to the county investments it would be very high and I think ultimately that’s what caused them to starting looking at whether coming into the Fond du Lac County center made sense for them.” On the other hand he says the center in Ripon was doing a great job of serving people in the area. He says the transition could occur by the end of June.
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