Hometown Broadcasting News Thursday 6/17/21
17 June 2021 News
Students Evacuated From Barlow Park Elementary School
Students and staff at Barlow Park Elementary School were evacuated Tuesday morning from the school due to smoke in the building. The smoke was related to a battery in a custodial closet which set off the fire alarm in the building. The students and staff at Barlow Park Elementary walked over to the Ripon High School where summer school continued. Barlow staff assisted parents who chose to pick up their children before the end of the day. The Ripon Area Fire District responded to the fire alarm at 8:48 am and found the source of the smoke. No was injured during the incident.
Missing Ripon Boy Found Quickly
Ripon Police quickly found a missing 8-year-old boy Tuesday evening. The boy had left his house around 8:15 pm and was found in a little over an hour. Police issued a description of what he was wearing when he left in the area of Metomen Street on foot. Police posted an appeal on their Facebook page looking for information if the public had seen him. He was found safe.
Hand Seen In FDL River
Authorities in Fond du Lac resumed their search in the Fond du Lac River for a human hand yesterday. Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt says sonar turned up some interesting images, but they turned out to be debris. No human body or body parts were located and the Fond du Lac Police Department has closed its investigation. Tuesday night a resident was using a large magnet to clean debris from the river when they believe they saw a human hand in the water. Fond du Lac Police, Fire, the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office and DNR were all involved in the investigation Tuesday night.
FDL Man Charged For Incident At Dodge County Jail
A $200,000 cash bond was set Monday for a 32-year-old Fond du Lac man suspected of attacking a health care professional in the Dodge County Jail last month. Travis Bruemmer is facing felony charges of taking hostages, second degree recklessly endangering safety, strangulation and suffocation, battery by prisoner, and substantial battery. Bruemmer allegedly took the victim hostage on May 19th while he was being quarantined in the jail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 22nd.
Broadband Survey Nearly Complete
The residential portion of a survey on Broadband accessibility in Fond du Lac County has wrapped up and a portion involving businesses should be complete soon. Envision Greater Fond du Lac President and CEO Sadie Parafiniuk says they wanted to do the residential portion first because business needs for the internet are different. “Typically a household is going to have very different broadband needs than a business. Even a small business in a rural area is going to need some pretty good internet capabilities.” The next step is a report that will help generate a long-term strategic plan for broadband expansion throughout the county. Parafiniuk says they will create a coverage map that will help them when they apply for grants related to broadband expansion. Fond du Lac County is one of six entities involved statewide in a pilot program for broadband connectors.
Getting Vaccinated Before The Fall Could Really Help Stop Spread Of COVID 19 Variants
Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force member Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says there are a few different reasons we are seeing numbers for new coronavirus cases going down. He says the worst of it was in the late fall and early winter when people were cooped up inside and a vaccine wasn’t available. He notes now with people able to get outside, open their windows and vaccine available the numbers are decreasing. “Well we’re outside more there is more fresh air and our houses are ventilated better with windows open, but also we’re vaccinated. More of us are vaccinated, but that is slowing down and there are variants coming around.” He says there is concern about the so-called “Delta” variant, which spreads more easily. Puhlmann-Becker says the vaccines are doing a good job against the variants, but won’t help you out if you aren’t fully vaccinated.
Ideas Welcome By Community Liaison Officer
With her new position as a school resource officer and community liaison officer Ripon Police Officer Lindsey Michels encourages people to contact her with their ideas. She says they are taking a look at a Neighborhood Watch program, which would differ from those types of programs from the past. “I hope to get a Neighborhood Watch programs started. They look a little different now they are more virtual more online type of thing. But I have had some community members reach out to me and express some interest in that type of program in bringing that back.” She recently took a role in a bike rodeo sponsored by the department and Trinity Evangelical Free Church and is helping organize a program with the Early Bird and Noon Kiwanis at the Village Green from 9 am to Noon on Saturday, June 26th. She explains that the Kiwanis have a project this year working with cops and kids with a focus on getting books into the hands of children to read. The event on June 26th will be a Children’s Fair with a Story Walk.
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