Hometown Broadcasting News Thursday 11/18/21
18 November 2021 News
Ripon Man Suspected Of Sex Crime
A 19-year-old Ripon man is suspected of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl. The victim reported the assault to the Ripon Police Department’s School Resource Officer Lindsey Michels. According to the criminal complaint the incident happened last Saturday at the residence of Devonte Foster. The two were laying on his bed when he had sex with her. The victim said she didn’t want it to happen and told him so a couple of times. When Officer Michels interviewed Foster about it he was asked if the victim consented to the sex and he told Michels he was assuming she didn’t want to because Michels was talking to him about it. Foster has been charged with sexual intercourse with a child 16 or older.
Waupun Man Sentenced On OWI Injury Charge
A 37-year-old Waupun man has been sentenced to four months in jail and two years of probation for driving under the influence of an opioid and injuring another motorist in a traffic accident on State Highway 49. Nicholas Leser pled “no contest” to an operating while under the influence 2nd offense charge Monday in Dodge County court. During the February 12th accident he allegedly rear-ended another vehicle twice. Sheriff’s deputies recognized him because he had been arrested for OWI the day before. According to the criminal complaint the crash left the victim with a slipped disk that required surgery. Leser admitted to investigators that he took Percocet that day. He also pled “no contest” to a felony bail jumping charge, but was given a deferred prosecution agreement on that charge, which will be dismissed once his probation is complete.
Sex Offender Being Released To Live In Oshkosh
A 67-year-old sex offender will be released from prison later this month and will be living at 2989 Brooks Road in Oshkosh. Howard Mundt is currently incarcerated at the Sanger B. Powers Correctional Center in Oneida, Wisconsin. He was convicted in Winnebago County in October of 2016 of possessing child pornography. Mundt will be under the supervision of probation and parole agents until November 29th of 2031. He will be on GPS monitoring for the rest of his life.
Mitigating The Risks Of COVID For Thanksgiving Gatherings
As we approach Thanksgiving Minnesota, Michigan, and Western Wisconsin have the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the country. The state’s number of new cases is as high as they were last December as COVID-19 was peaking. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker of the Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force uses a New York Times graph to track infection rates in the country and he says our area of the country is seeing another surge in cases. Jeff and his family will be hosting their family’s Thanksgiving Dinner. He and his family have been vaccinated for the coronavirus, but they will be doing what they can to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19 for their guests and he suggests others try to do the same for their gatherings.
Worker Relocation Incentive Program
The Vice President of Economic Development for Envision Greater Fond du Lac says their Worker Relocation Incentive Program has drawn interest from across the nation. Jim Cleveland says five employers have applied for the program which allows employers to offer employees willing to relocate to Fond du Lac County for a position up to $15,000 in incentives. If the worker lives in the county and works for that employer for a year the employer gets half of the incentive money back from the program. Cleveland says in addition to those employers they’ve heard from potential employees interested in taking part in the program through a local employer. Los Angeles, New Orleans and New Jersey are just a few of locations people have reached out from. The city of Ripon is one of the employers who applied for the incentive program. Cleveland says any type of employer in the county is welcome to participate in the program. In the city of Ripon’s case their incentive was worth $6,000.
Winter Weather Awareness
Governor Tony Evers has declared this week Winter Weather Awareness Week and Wisconsin Emergency Management has released some facts to reinforce preparedness for this winter. According to the National Weather Service, Wisconsin experiences an average of three to six winter storms during the season. Last winter, the city of Hurley in Iron County received the highest one-day snowfall of 14 inches on December 24th. Land o’ Lakes in Vilas County got the most snowfall a total of 83.2 inches of snow and the coldest temperature belonged to Barnes in Bayfield County at 41 degrees below zero. As for being prepared officials recommend following the latest forecasts from the National Weather Service and having emergency kits prepared for your vehicle and home. More information is available at the Wisconsin Emergency Management website.
November 15-19 is Winter Awareness Week in Wisconsin
Oshkosh Bus Service Will Not Run On Thanksgiving
Oshkosh’s city bus service GO Transit will not be operating next Thursday, November 25th to observe the Thanksgiving holiday. GO Transit’s office at 926 Dempsey Trail will also be closed on Thanksgiving. Regular operations will resume next Friday, November 26th. To learn more about GO Transit visit their website or call (920) 232-5340.
Random Acts Of Kindness
Before COVID-19 forced kids into virtual learning at home some students would use their creativity and artistic talents to decorate bags used by ADVOCAP for meal deliveries to the homes of the elderly. Amanda Wieckman is an Outreach Specialist for ADVOCAP. She says the decorated bags were especially popular during the holidays and once again schools are offering to provide some decorations for the holidays created by their students. She says it works out well for the students too because the schools are focusing on teaching them about acts of kindness.
Lights Of Love
The SSM Health Ripon Community Hospital Auxiliary is sponsoring its 34th annual “Lights of Love” program, a living memorial or tribute to friends, relatives or dedicated citizens of the community. Proceeds from this year’s project will help fund two community transport chairs for loan to nursing home patients in need. These will be returned once the patient has been safely and comfortably transferred from the hospital to the nursing home. Lights of Love provides the opportunity for individuals, groups or businesses to purchase lights in honor or memory of loved ones for a gift of $5 or more. Due to COVID-19, the tree lighting event will not be held this year. However, the tree will be lit on Thursday, December 9th with a list of names for light purchases to be published in the Ripon Commonwealth Press. Lights of Love brochures, including donation forms, are available at the hospital information desk and gift shop.
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