11/3/22 Hometown Broadcasting News Thursday
3 November 2022 News
Winnebago County Inmate Death
An inmate at the Winnebago County Jail died late Wednesday morning. Sheriff’s officials say around 11:18 am deputies inside the jail saw a male inmate who appeared to be unresponsive. They immediately began lifesaving measures, while additional deputies, jail nursing staff, and the Oshkosh Fire Department were summoned. Lifesaving measures continued but were unsuccessful. Through normal protocol for an in-custody death, the investigation into the death has been turned over to an outside agency, the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office. The inmate’s name hasn’t been released pending notification of family.
Montello Man Killed In Motorcycle Versus Deer Accident
A 64-year-old Montello man died after his motorcycle hit a deer Wednesday evening in Columbia County’s Town of Otsego. The Columbia County Dispatch Center got a 911 call about 5:24 pm about the crash on County Highway C, south of County Highway B. The caller witnessed the accident saying the operator of the motorcycle was thrown from the bike after striking the deer. The motorcycle operator suffered serious injuries and when emergency personnel arrived they began lifesaving measures and called for Medflight. Sometime later the Medflight doctor pronounced the rural Montello man dead of his injuries. The man’s name has not been released pending notification of next of kin.
Fox Lake Man Arraigned On Reckless Homicide Charge
A 62-year-old Fox Lake man suspected of causing a fatal traffic accident was arraigned in Green Lake County Court this week. Carlton Schley, Sr. pled not guilty to charges of second degree reckless homicide and second degree reckless injury. Charges stem from an accident that occurred on July 22nd, 2020 at the intersection of County Highway A and Hickory Drive in the Town of Mackford. According to the criminal complaint Schley was operating a John Deere tractor sprayer with booms and failed to stop at a stop sign on Hickory Drive. A Toyota RAV4 driven by a 73-year-old man struck the tractor sprayer killing him and injured the 72-year-old woman who was his passenger. Schley will be back in court on January 17th.
Sex Offender Being Released In Oshkosh
Oshkosh Police are advising the public that a 25-year-old sex offender is being released from prison this month and will be living at 2847 Fond du Lac Road in Room #3 in Oshkosh. Dakota Degroot is currently incarcerated at Oshkosh Correctional Institution but will be released from that facility on November 22nd. He was convicted in Winnebago County in 2016 of two counts of possession of child pornography. The images he possessed were of girls 5 to 12 years of age who he didn’t know. He will be supervised by probation and parole until November 26th, 2028 and will be on GPS monitoring the remainder of his life.
RSV Cases Increasing
A pediatrician with SSM Health Regional Clinic says they are seeing an increase in RSV or Respiratory Syncytial Virus in the community. Dr. Jeanne Lyke, who sees patients at Ripon Community Hospital, says some of the cases are severe and require hospitalization. The numbers they are seeing are higher than they typically see in October, when they normally just start seeing them. Most children get it by the time they are 2 years old, but it is usually mild to moderate. Symptoms include coughing, wheezing, sneezing, fever and loss of appetite. She recommends getting your child to a doctor if they have difficulty breathing. Dr. Lyke says the American Academy of Pediatrics, Healthy Children.org, and Kids Health.org all have great information about RSV on their websites.
FDL County Budget Health Care Insurance Impact
The Fond du Lac County Board of Supervisors will be asked to approve the 2023 County Budget and Tax Levy next Thursday evening. A public hearing was held this week for the budget. The proposed levy is $50.8 million which works out to a tax rate of $5.20. County Executive Sam Kaufman says they managed to trim $4 million from the budget to keep the levy down but it wasn’t easy. Kaufman says health care insurance for employees was by far one of the toughest decisions to make. Their current insurer quoted a price that increased by 19 percent or equated to $2.4 million. That would have meant charging employees $200 to $350 more per month for their share of premium costs or layoffs. He says they just couldn’t do that. Instead they went with Dean Health Care which quoted them a 4.5 percent increase in costs which worked out to adding $450,000 to the 2023 County Budget and allowed them to keep a health care clinic Dean offers available to employees. Kaufman says Dean also offered to keep annual increases in insurance costs to the single digits for a few years.
Dodge County Highway Maintenance Trucks Going Green
Highway maintenance trucks in Dodge County are going green. State legislators recently adopted revisions to a state statute relating to warning lights on highway vehicles. Basically it allows green lights on government-owned highway maintenance vehicles. The provision has been in effect in Michigan and is proving to be very beneficial. Michigan officials say the green color can be detected more clearly and brightly by the human eye than traditional amber lighting, which makes it easier to see in heavy snow. Dodge County Highway Department maintenance vehicles are being converted to flashing green and amber lights to increase driver awareness.
City Of Oshkosh Survey
The City of Oshkosh is conducting a comprehensive quality of life survey for all residents. The survey includes questions about community characteristics, services provided by Oshkosh and priorities for the future. Residents are invited to complete the online survey. Some residents have randomly received the survey by mail as part of the statistically valid sample. The survey is open through November 15th and is available in English and Spanish. Survey results are expected in mid-December and will be made available via the City of Oshkosh website. Residents with questions about the survey may contact the City Manager’s office by phone at 920-236-5002.
Ripon Area United Way Campaign Underway
The Ripon Area United Way campaign this year will help out a dozen area agencies and organizations that provide services to the community. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker is the President of the Board of Directors for the United Way. He says a lot of agencies they are helping with funding are on the list every year such as ASTOP, Diverse Options, the Boys and Girl Scouts, Ripon Reads, a couple of daycare centers and more. The campaign goal remains the same as this past year at $80,000. Puhlmann-Becker says they have raised about 23 percent of the funds they need to reach their goal. He says donations they receive big or small get them to their goal. To give to the Ripon Area United Way send money or checks to Ripon Area United Way, P.O. Box 71, Ripon, Wisconsin 54971 or you can donate at their website Ripon Area United Way.org.
Natural Beautification Awards Presented
During a special presentation at the Fond du Lac County Board meeting Tuesday, the Natural Beauty Council Beautification Awards were presented. Natural Beauty Council vice-chairperson Sarah Everson announced the four winners. Those winners included the Marie and Steve Boone home in Oakfield, the Ralph and Lauren Janzer and Dave and Cindy Leibl family farms which are across the road from each other in Campbellsport, and Fond du Lac County’s Harbor Haven Health and Rehabilitation Center in Fond du Lac. The awards recognize homes, farms, and facilities with beautiful rain gardens, prairie plantings, or carefully tended ornamental landscaped yards. Everson told the board that for each of the winners their landscaping is a labor of love.
Share |