11/8/23 Hometown Broadcasting News Wednesday
8 November 2023 News
EMERGENCY PHONE LINE ISSUES IN GREEN LAKE AND WAUSHARA COUNTIES
Both the Green Lake and Waushara County Sheriff’s Offices reported widespread phone problems Tuesday afternoon. The problems continued overnight. The Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office asked emergency callers who could not get through on 911 to call 920-299-0978. The Waushara County Sheriff’s Office this morning was asking those who could not get through on 911 to call the Waushara County Crimestoppers line at 1-800-800-5219 to get the assistance they needed.
MISSING NFDL MAN FOUND SAFE
A missing 80-year-old North Fond du Lac man was found safe Tuesday afternoon. A Silver Alert was issued for Norbert Kroening who dropped off a family member at the Aurora Clinic in North Fond du Lac at 9:30 in the morning and was supposed to pick that person up at 1 pm. Family members were concerned because he doesn’t carry a cell phone and they thought he might be lost, disabled or confused. Norbert had last been seen on a license plate camera driving a 2013 white Jeep Grand Cherokee. He was found safe several hours after the Silver Alert was issued.
TIS THE SEASON FOR CARD SKIMMERS
With Holiday shopping season upon us police in Fond du Lac are encouraging both shoppers and businesses to make sure the ATM they use doesn’t have an illegal “card skimmer” device attached to it. Scammers use the devices to steal bank account information from individuals. Residents are reminded to ensure their account information is secure and their finances have not been compromised. Business owners are urged to make sure they inspect their card readers on ATM’s, registers, fuel pumps, etcetera to determine if the devices have been tampered with.
DRIVER SAFETY REMINDERS
A couple of area Sheriff’s offices are reminding drivers to keep their eyes and minds on the road. The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department released some reminders following four fatal crashes in the last three weeks. Among the things they recommend is monitoring your speed, don’t become distracted, and allow yourself adequate spacing especially if there are slippery conditions. They also point out that the deer population is active, and farmers are working in and traveling between the fields removing crops. Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt says deer are in frenzy with the rut and can pop out on a roadway at any time. Another thing you should do is make sure all the equipment in your vehicle including headlights, taillights and turn signals function properly. With winter nearly upon us tires should have adequate tread to ensure proper traction, and batteries should be fully charged.
HIGHWAY 23 PROJECT IN RIPON ON DOT CALENDAR FOR 2030
Although its six years out the City of Ripon is doing some of the preparatory work for the State Highway 23 improvement project already. Plans are to improve Highway 23 from Douglas to Houston and Blackburn to Union Streets. City Administrator Adam Sonntag says comprehensive infrastructure planning is something they are including in the 2024 City Budget. He notes in the past few weeks they completed televising of sanitary and storm sewers so they know what they are facing when they do the infrastructure work for the project. He says the state has already hired engineers. The project will be bid in 2029 and executed in 2030. Sonntag says the city had to convince the state’s Department of Transportation to do the project which they saw the need for after driving over the route. He says they are hoping the project can all be completed in one year so it won’t be too disruptive.
ASSEMBLY BILLS ADDRESS FREE SPEECH AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES
State Representative Jon Plumer voted with his colleagues in the State Assembly Tuesday to pass three bills designed to protect free speech and end race-based affirmative action on college campuses. The state lawmaker from Lodi says, “Far too often on college campuses we see students shouted down or intentionally disrupted, physically blocked from attending a speech or have their opinions censored.” One bill ensures freedom of the press for student journalists on campus and in school sponsored media. Another bill prohibits UW schools or tech colleges from restricting a student or speaker’s lawful speech on campus, from placing undue burdens on speakers in an attempt to restrict their free speech, and prevents individuals from intentionally disrupting lawful speech. The Assembly also passed legislation ending race-based affirmative action programs in higher education in Wisconsin. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year struck down affirmative action in college admissions.
VETS READY EMPLOYER INITIATIVE HONORS
Governor Tony Evers Tuesday announced the 2023 winners of the Vets Ready Employer Initiative. The award recognizes Wisconsin employers who have gone above and beyond in efforts to hire and support veterans and their families. Every year, the state’s Department of Workforce Development and its Office of Veteran Employment Services recognize businesses with either a gold or silver certification in one of three categories: small, medium, and large. An unprecedented 17 employers are being honored this year at events in Milwaukee and Oshkosh. Among the large employers category receiving Gold Certification is the Oshkosh Corporation in Oshkosh, and receiving Silver Certification is 4imprint in Oshkosh. In the medium employer category receiving Silver Certification is Kingsbury Incorporated of Oshkosh.
SSM HEALTH HYGIENE PRODUCTS DRIVE BENEFITS PANTRIES IN RIPON AND GREEN LAKE
SSM Health Ripon Community Hospital and SSM Health Fond du Lac Regional Clinic-Ripon team members came together to donate hygiene products as part of the Ripon Mission Action Team’s first competitive drive. Team members collected more than 2,000 hygiene products for the Ripon Traded Treasures Food Pantry and the Green Lake Food Pantry. The SSM Health Behavioral Health Walk-In Clinic team collected the most items 1,164, and because of that distinction received pizza gift cards.
RIPON HOLIDAY COMPETITIONS
Ripon’s Parks and Recreation Department has a couple of holiday-themed competitions people can participate in. There’s a Run Santa Run 5K on December 2nd. It’s a family and dog friendly walk/run. The cost is $20 and all registered participants will receive a swag bag and finishers a medal, stocking cap and more. It will take place in front of city hall. Registration must be completed online at Ripon Rec Desk.com by November 13th. There is also a house decorating contest “Deck the City.” Registration for the free outdoor lighting competition is available online through December 7th. After that an interactive google map and voting form will be posted for all community members to drive around and vote for their favorite house. Winners will be announced on December 19th with prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
Deck the City – House Decorating Contest Survey (surveymonkey.com)
Envision Holiday Gift Boxes
It’s not too late to order a Holiday Gift Box through Envision Greater Fond du Lac’s Agri-Business Council. The ordering deadline is December 1st. There are four boxes to choose from ranging in cost from $30 to $100. The boxes contain cheese, sausage, meats, cheese curds, even chocolates produced in the area. Amy Ries is the Director of Agricultural Programs for Envision she says it’s her favorite time of year because she picks up the items that go into the boxes from local producers. Orders can also be shipped anywhere in the Continental United States. Details on costs, pick-up dates, and shipping can be found on the Envision website. Go to the Events tab and click on that and when you get to the calendar click on the blue field for the Agri-Business Council Gift Box Fundraiser. There’s also an email address there to contact Ries directly. Proceeds go toward the Ag in the Classroom program which teaches the importance of agriculture to students in schools across Fond du Lac County.
Envision Greater Fond du Lac (envisiongreaterfdl.com)
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