Hometown Broadcasting News Tuesday 9/15/21
15 September 2021 News
ThedaCare Nearing Hospital Bed Capacity
Officials with ThedaCare say because of the dramatically rising levels of COVID-19 in Northeast and Central Wisconsin, ThedaCare is nearing staffed-bed capacity to care of inpatient and COVID-19 patients at its hospitals. ThedaCare President and CEO Dr. Imran Andrabi says, “We are facing a serious surge in COVID-19 in the coming days and weeks, and we need our communities help to change course and get infections under control.” He added their team members are prepared to care for an increased number of COVID patients. But he also says they are asking people to rally again, get vaccinated, take COVID-safe precautions and support each other.
Deferred Prosecution Agreement In Sturgeon Caviar Case
A deferred prosecution agreement has been reached in the Fond du Lac County case of a 52-year-old Oakfield man facing misdemeanor charges for the illegal processing of sturgeon eggs into caviar. The District Attorney’s Office, Shawn Wendt, and Wendt’s attorney reached an agreement that stipulates claims against him will be withdrawn with the successful completion of a 12-month diversion agreement. Wendt agreed for the next year not to process sturgeon caviar for non-family members or at Wendt’s on the Lake except under Wisconsin’s lake-to-table restaurant processing law or with a permit from the DNR in its private game dinner program. Wendt for his part did not admit to doing anything wrong and will withdraw his motion to dismiss.
Oshkosh Lowers Marijuana Fine
The Oshkosh City Council last night voted 6 to 1 to reduce the fine for possessing small amounts of marijuana in the city to $75. The previous penalty for an adult caught with under 25 grams of pot or less than an ounce was a $200 fine. City Council members say lowering the fine is in line with other policies in Oshkosh.
Utility Scam
The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents that they may be getting scam calls from someone claiming to be with their electric utility company. A person got a call from someone claiming to be with WE Energies saying they owed money on an account and attempted to get that money out of them. Sheriff’s officials say this one was easy to identify as a scam because the person is not a WE Energies client, but the scammer did their best to make the call sound legitimate.
Surge Plan
The Director of Inpatient Services and the Emergency Department at the Ripon Medical Center says they are in a pretty good position to handle a surge of COVID-19 patients. Jenifer Bunker says they actually have a surge plan designed to expand their space and staff to accommodate a higher number of patients. She says they have the ability to create a negative pressure room designed to contain the virus. She says in addition government funding allowed them to purchase respiratory equipment that’s needed for some COVID-19 patients.
No COVID Baby Boom
There will be no baby boom associated with people being cooped up for the winter months because of the pandemic. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker of the Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force says in fact one article pointed out the birth rates for financially developed countries is actually down. For the U.S. that was by 3 percent, but some other countries it was down by 6 or 7 percent. Puhlmann-Becker says those couples reasoned that they didn’t want to bring a baby into the world during a time of such financial uncertainty, but effective vaccines have cleared away some of that doubt. He points out even if you are fully vaccinated you should still wear a face mask to protective yourself and others.
Court Of Appeals Opening
Governor Tony Evers is seeking applicants for the Court of Appeals-District II of Wisconsin which oversees a dozen counties in the state. The current Judge, Paul F. Reilly, will retire effective January 3rd of next year, and the appointee would complete a term ending July 31st of 2022. Among the counties served by District II Court of Appeals are Calumet, Green Lake, Fond du Lac, Winnebago and eight other counties. Applications will be accepted through 5 pm Friday, September 24th. Applications can be found on the “Apply to Serve” page on the Governor’s website.
Official Website for Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers Apply to Serve
Watson Street Car Show
The Watson Street Car Show enters its 22nd year this weekend when it takes part in Septemberfest in Downtown Ripon. Howard Stibb is one of the organizers he says participation varies from 150 to 180 classic cars depending on the weather. Unlike other car shows they have nine judges in groups of three that judge the different classes of cars and pick the best three in each class. To make things fair the top three each get “Best of Class” trophies. They have a separate set of judges for the “Best of Show.” Stibb says their other nine judges have enough to do during the car show and should have some time available to enjoy Septemberfest as well. The Car Show runs from 8 am to 3 pm Saturday. A complete schedule of Septemberfest events is available at the Ripon Area Chamber of Commerce website.
Septemberfest | Ripon Chamber of Commerce (ripon-wi.com)
Fill The Boat Successful
Mercury Marine employees in Fond du Lac have donated more than $5,600 in cash and PayPal contributions and over 2,500 pounds of nonperishable food items for Mercury’s annual “Fill the Boat to Cast Out Hunger” food drive, which supports the Fondy Food Pantry. It was the ninth annual Fill the Boat food drive. The Fondy Food Pantry has been a fixture in the community for nearly 50 years, serving roughly 1,100 individuals and distributing an average of 30,000 pounds of food each month. The pantry feeds 780 children every week.
Share |