1/18/22 Hometown Broadcasting News Tuesday
18 January 2022 News
Indiana Man Sentenced For Dealing Meth In The Fox Valley Area
A Federal judge in Green Bay last week sentenced a 22-year-old Anderson, Indiana man to 13 years in prison and 5 years of extended supervision for selling methamphetamine in the Fox Valley area. An investigation by the Lake Winnebago Area MEG Unit last fall found that Dylan Cole was transporting methamphetamine from Indiana to the Fox Valley area. Investigators arranged for undercover purchases totaling over nine pounds of methamphetamine from Cole. During those transactions Cole was armed with a semi-automatic handgun. U.S. District Judge William Griesbach sentenced Cole on drug trafficking and weapons charges last Thursday. Cole was also ordered to forfeit nearly $17,000 he made on the drug sales.
East Oshkosh Water Main Break
The City of Ripon Water Department will be working on repairing a water main break on East Oshkosh Street today. East Oshkosh Street between Vermont Street and Stanton Street will be closed during the repair. Truck traffic will be diverted to other routes of travel during the repair and may be traveling on routes that are typically non-truck routes until completion of the repairs. Motorists are asked to use caution if traveling in this area.
ThedaCare Deferring Non Urgent Elective Surgery
ThedaCare officials say due to the COVID-19 pandemic they are seeing a record number of patients in their seven hospitals. Throughout the ThedaCare system, there are nearly 95 COVID patients admitted as of Monday, which is more than any other time during the pandemic. Nearly 80 percent of COVID patients who have been hospitalized in the ICU at ThedaCare during the pandemic were unvaccinated. As part of the ThedaCare preparedness plan, the health system has decided to defer non-urgent elective surgeries at all seven hospitals. All urgent surgeries, and those that are performed on an outpatient basis, will continue. Care teams are working directly with patients to change appointments as needed.
RASD COVID Precautions
The Ripon Area School District is continuing its school masking policy and other precautions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus in its schools. District Superintendent Mary Whitrock says because of the precautions they are able to continue in-person learning in their classrooms. She says they’ve also provided close to 4,000 COVID-19 tests for students and their families since the beginning of the school year. She says they recommend that those who have been vaccinated also get booster shots to make sure they are fully immunized. To that end they are asking the state’s Department of Health Services to allow them to provide on-site vaccinations clinics by the end of the month. Whitrock says they update their COVID dashboards every Tuesday and families every Friday. The information is available on the district’s website.
N95 Masks Offer The Best Protection
The Administrator for Ambulatory Operations for SSM Health Greater Fond du Lac Region says while the CDC is recommending N95 masks for maximum protection against the COVID-19 virus they are happy to see people using any type of facial masking in their facilities. Missy Tate oversees the ambulatory operations at SSM Health hospitals in Fond du Lac, Ripon and Waupun. She says the N95 provides the most protection so if people can access them they would be the best mask to use. She says access to the N95 masks may be challenging so they are pleased to see people using any type of facial mask out in the community. Not all health departments are opting to provide the masks to the public. The N95 masks are available on the internet, but health officials caution to watch out for counterfeits.
Ripon Area United Way
A Ripon Area United Way official says the 17 agencies they help to fund provide more than emergency services. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker is the President of the Board of Directors for the Ripon Area United Way. He says the Salvation Army and American Red Cross provided valuable service during the Watson Street fire some years ago, but some of their agencies help to educate and enhance our quality of life for example the Ripon Children’s Learning Center, Discovery, Grace Preschool also provide valuable services. He says Diverse Options provides employment and support to those of differing abilities and the Boys and Girl Scouts provide good programming. He says others like ASTOP provide education about sexual assault and advocate for the victims. To learn more about the United Way visit Ripon Area United Way.org. You can also make a donation at that site, by stopping by Horicon Bank or sending them to the Ripon Area United Way at PO Box 71, Ripon Wisconsin 54971.
Freedom To Vote Act
The League of Women Voters of the Ripon Area is hoping people will turn out for a presentation on the Freedom to Vote Act on Saturday. The presentation will be at 1 pm at the World War II Memorial Center in Wautoma and will be carried live on Zoom too. Other sponsors for the discussion are Fair Maps Midstate, The Commoners, and The Farmers’ Union. Topics will range from gerrymandering to redistricting to voting rights. There is no cost to attend.
EAA Winter Flight Fest
The annual EAA Winter Flight Fest will bring family activities, virtual flight simulators, and the popular skiplane fly-in to the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh on Saturday, February 12th from 10 am until 4 pm. The day is designed for all ages and is a family-friendly series of activities through the museum and at its Pioneer Airport facility. Among the highlights included with regular museum admission that day are virtual flight experiences, paper airplane launcher, the para-rescue challenge, a chance to meet EAA’s Stan Lee-created superhero, an airplane model building contest and more.
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