3/14/22 Hometown Broadcasting News Monday
14 March 2022 News
Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office Reports Scam
The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office is cautioning residents not to fall for a scam if someone calls them saying they are with the Sheriff’s Department. Over a 30-minute space of time last Thursday they got reports from seven people saying they had been called by someone saying they were a Sergeant Scarborough with the Sheriff’s Office and that person had to pay money to clear up a problem. Sheriff’s officials say the same scam was run in the area almost a year to day. They say don’t fall for it.
Master Planning Proposals Approved
The Ripon Common Council recently approved two master planning proposals one for its facilities and another for its parks. The City received five proposals for master planning for the police station and city hall and the DPW facilities. The Public Works Committee interviewed two finalists and recommended Short Elliot Hendrickson which put in $25,000 in bids. That bid was approved. City Administrator Adam Sonntag told the Council the DPW’s current garage was built in 1957 and wasn’t meant to house the six trucks they use for snowplowing. The Council also approved a $35,000 bid from MSA Professional Services for a master plan for Barlow, Selfridge/Horner and Ceresco Parks. Alderman Howard Hansen said the Friends of the Park group want to make donations and a master plan will give the city projects they will donate to. MSA had one of four proposals submitted to the city.
Different Outcomes For Senior Center Funding Requests
Competition for Neighborhood Investment Fund Grants from the State was fierce. Ripon and Waupun both needed money for Senior Center building projects. While Ripon didn’t get the $1.2 million it requested for the Grace and Lloyd Mitchell Senior Activity Center and Trailhead Project Waupun received a $5 million grant for the Senior Center it wants to build. Ripon will use American Recovery Plan Act money to fill in the funding portion it needs for the $2.5 million project. Waupun will build its center on city-owned land at 520 McKinley Street. The new center was identified as a need during a facility audit in Waupun.
Vaping Dangerous
A radiation oncologist for SSM Health’s Cancer Care Center in Fond du Lac says vaping may in fact be more dangerous than smoking Dr. Filip Triocki says vaping products contain nicotine, which is the same addictive drug that is found in cigarettes and other tobacco productions, in addition to flavorings and chemicals. He says that nicotine may actually create a bigger craving for nicotine products. He says there still isn’t much known about the danger of the other chemicals that goes into vaping products. Experts say while they’ve seen a decline in the number of teens that smoke tobacco they’ve seen even more of an increase in vaping.
Berlin Area School District Met COVID Challenges
Unlike most school districts the Berlin Area School District has been able to offer in-person learning for students the past two years. District Superintendent Carl Cartwright says when districts were shut down for in-person learning in the first half of 2020 they weren’t really prepared to go to virtual instruction, but they made the transition. He says one of the hard lessons they learned was about the lack of internet access in the district. During in-person instruction over the past two years they did have to shut down some grades at times because of staffing issues but they did not go back to virtual learning.
Friends Of Ripon Education
Ripon Schools Superintendent Mary Whitrock says over the years they’ve forged a great partnership with the Ripon Education Foundation. She says over the past couple of years their fundraising efforts had to go virtual because of the pandemic, but they managed to raising $37,350 from 244 donors during the Ripon Roar campaign in 2021. She says lately they’ve been working with the Foundation on re-envisioning some of their outdoors spaces. Whitrock says the Foundation’s support has included scholarships for students and grants for teachers who want to try out some innovative approaches to instructing.
COVID Testing Cancelled Friday
COVID-19 testing at the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds is cancelled for this Friday due to a scheduling conflict. Testing will still be available for all other scheduled days. The County Health Department encourages residents to visit their website to find additional testing opportunities.
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