Hometown Broadcasting News Tuesday 3/9/21
9 March 2021 News
More Will Be Eligible For COVID Vaccine
More Wisconsin residents, including those with certain pre-existing conditions, will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in the next round to be announced later this week. About 2 million more are expected to be included in that group. State Deputy Health Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said Monday the new eligibility group will be announced on Thursday. During the last expansion teachers and grocery store workers were included in a group of about 700,000 people. There has been pressure on health officials to broaden those eligible to include people with underlying health conditions, which puts them more at risk of serious illness should they get the coronavirus.
Baseball Diamond Usage Fee To Be Considered
The Ripon Common Council tonight will consider the Park and Recreation Committee’s recommendation to discontinue baseball diamond usage fees. The Committee at its February 24th meeting voted 4 to 1 to discontinue the $1,250 annual fee, which was originally meant to go into a field improvement fund for maintenance of the fields since the City budgets no money for that. The clubs that use the field would prefer to fundraise rather than pay the fee and have reinvested in the fields by raising $70,000 to pay for scoreboards and bathrooms among other things. The Council meets at 7 pm in the Council Chambers of the Ripon City Hall.
FDL County Could Get Johnson and Johnson Vaccine Next Week
Fond du Lac County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says there is a possibility that the county may start receiving supplies of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine as early as next week. She says unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines the Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose. She feels another benefit is it doesn’t need to be stored in cold temperatures. Beyond that it also could be used to vaccinate those who it might be more difficult to get to come in for a second dose.
Vaccine May Also Provide Some Relief
A member of the Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force says the vaccine being distributed now is showing signs of providing relief to those who have already had the coronavirus. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says medical experts were worried about giving shots to those who have already had the virus thinking it might spark another round of symptoms. But he says instead they were encouraged because in a third of those patients it seemed to relieve or cure them of remaining symptoms they have had all this time. He says the medical community is excited because it may be a hint about how the virus actually works.
Agriculture In The Classroom
The Director of Envision Greater Fond du Lac’s Agricultural programs says the pandemic limited what they could do with their Ag Ambassador program in classrooms during the last school year. Amy Ries says they typically visit each classroom K4 through 8th Grade twice a year throughout the county to teach students about the importance of agriculture. Last year they had seen about 7,000 students from the fall of 2019 until March of 2020 when the Stay at Home orders took effect. She says they were able to develop a virtual program that they used through the end of that school year and are using to teach students this year. Ries says they hope to return to actual classroom visits during the next school year.
Teaming Up To Help Develop Kids Reading Skills
The Oshkosh Noon Kiwanis Club is sponsoring a new program called Kiwanis N’ Cops N’ Kids in partnership with Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh and the Oshkosh Police Department. The program kicked off Monday at the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh. The program works to help youth to develop their literacy skills and get to know law enforcement in their city. Each week of the program, police department staff will come to the Boys & Girls Club Oshkosh to meet with Club members. While there, the police officers will either read with a child or listen to a kid read to them. Children in the program will also be receiving books that they are able to take home to enjoy. The program will take place at the Club’s Radford Center location and Jacob Shapiro Elementary after-school care site.
Spring Fish And Wildlife Hearings Online
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Wisconsin Conservation Congress and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources annual spring hearings will once again be held online. The public will have the opportunity to provide input on the proposed natural resources rule changes from the DNR, and advisory questions from the Natural Resources Board and Conservation Congress. The hearing online input webpage will go live at 7 pm on April 12th and will remain open for three days. This year there are 23 proposed rule changes related to fisheries and five proposed rule changes related to wildlife management. There are also advisory questions.
Share |