Hometown Broadcasting News Friday 7/23/21
23 July 2021 News
Five Charged With Reckless Homicide In Waupaca County Drug Overdose Death
Waupaca County authorities have charged five people with first degree reckless homicide for the June 1st heroin overdose death of 33-year-old Jordan May of Town of Lind. Twenty-year-old Demargieon Hillard-Carter of Milwaukee, 36-year-old Patrick Rhoden of New London and 39-year-old Jessica Bell of Waupaca are being held on $50,000 cash bonds. Thirty-one-year-old Aaron Van Dyke of New London and 30-year-old April Hardegen of New London who face a number of other charges including drug trafficking are being held on $100,000 cash bonds. The Waupaca County Narcotics unit began investigating Hardegen and Van Dyke in April regarding the distribution and use of heroin and methamphetamine in the County and surrounding areas.
Trailer Park Arrest
A 41-year-old man is suspected of performing lewd and lascivious acts at the Maple Grove Trailer Park in the Town of Calamus on July 8th and again on July 10th. Dodge County Sheriff’s officials were eventually able to identify Jose Adan Villafranca of the Town of Calamus as a suspect. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, lewd and lascivious behavior, and resisting or obstructing an officer Tuesday. He was booked at the County Jail and posted bond the same night. Sheriff’s officials wanted to let the public know they do take these types of complaints seriously.
Help Needed On Drunken Driving Complaint
The Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office needs some help with a drunken driving complaint that occurred Thursday afternoon at 2:10 pm on School Street in the city of Waupaca. A vehicle was driving at a high rate of speed when it passed what appeared to be a Maroon pickup truck on the right between the truck and the curb and cut back in. The driver of the vehicle was pulled over on Royalton Street and was arrested for operating under the influence. Sergeant Krueger would like to talk to the driver of the vehicle that was passed on School Street. He can be contacted at (715) 256-4531.
Improvements For Highway 21 Announced
The state’s Department of Transportation has announced intersection alternatives for the proposed improvements on State Highway 21 in Winnebago County. The DOT is proposing a resurface-level improvement project beginning south of the State Highway 21 Bridge over the Fox River in the City of Omro to just west of North Washburn Street roundabout in the City of Oshkosh. Single lane roundabouts are proposed at Highway 21 and County Highway FF/Reighmoor Road and Highway 21 and Sand Pit Road. Slotted left turn lanes are proposed at Highway 21 and Oakwood Road and Highway 21 and Westhaven Drive. Other improvements are planned. Construction will be in 2026 or 2027 depending on funding.
Unemployment Rates On The Rise
For most area counties unemployment rates increased by at least a half a percent from May to the end of June. Dodge and Fond du Lac County both finished last month with a 3.7 percent jobless rate while Winnebago County’s rate was 3.9 percent. Waupaca County’s unemployment rate was 4 percent, Waushara County had a 4.8 percent rate and Green Lake County’s rate stood at 5.1 percent. The Cities of Fond du Lac and Oshkosh had 4.3 and 4.5 percent jobless rates respectively.
Fear For Deer Fans
A member of the Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force says as exciting as it was to see the Milwaukee Bucks win Game 6 of the NBA Champion Series and claim their first championship in 50 years, he’s hoping it wasn’t a super spreader event. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says there were a lot of people caught up in the moment and screaming in joy among the 65,000 in the Deer District. “There was a lot of talk about 65,000 people outside the Fiserv Forum and at the same time we are excited for the good things that happen and what normalcy still looks like in our communities. There were a lot of people that were very excited and screaming.” He says we now know that COVID-19 is spread through the fine mist we emit by breathing and when it is amplified by screaming it spreads even further out. He says the noise generated by that crowd reached concert-level like decibels.
Alternative High Schools Sports Seasons Challenging For Athletic Trainers
The Athletic Training Lead for the Ripon Medical Center says it was an interesting year for high school football with an alternative season in the spring. Chris Schattschneider says they contract with a number of schools in the greater Fond du Lac area for athletic training. “We cover 13 schools in the greater Fond du Lac area and have 3 athletic trainers and a strength coach at Ripon College. I think we cover 830 events a year through all of our schools.” He says the spring football season presented some injury challenges because the season is usually in the fall and players are active over the summer months. Several different sports were also staged during alternative seasons because of COVID-19.
Youth Leadership FDL Ripon Day
Ripon will be represented in the Youth Leadership Fond du Lac program this year. Christa Williams is the Executive Director of Sophia Partners, which now coordinates the program. She says when Envision Greater Fond du Lac asked them to take over the program they noticed Ripon didn’t have any representatives with the program. “Whenever there is a change in something it’s just an opportunity for a new set of eyes. One of the things we recognized is we didn’t have participation from anybody from Ripon and so we reached out to the Ripon Schools and they nominated a couple of students so we have some students from the Ripon area that will be in the program this year.” She says in fact they are going to have a Ripon Day during which participants in the program will be able to learn first-hand in Ripon about some of the businesses, organizations and attractions that make Ripon special. The Youth Leadership Fond du Lac program has been around since 2006.
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