12/28/23 Hometown Broadcasting News Thursday
28 December 2023 News
PEDESTRIAN KILLED IN WASHINGTON COUNTY ACCIDENT MAY HAVE BEEN DESPONDENT
Washington County Sheriff’s officials say a man was killed when he was struck by a semi Wednesday morning on Interstate 41 at Sherman Road in the Town of Polk. Deputies and Slinger Police were sent to the area just before the accident for a possible distressed individual on the Sherman Road overpass. The victim was struck in the middle of the traffic lanes of the interstate. The semi-truck driver was not injured and cooperated with investigators. The accident happened around 7:45 yesterday morning.
CRIMINAL COMPLAINT SIGNED AGAINST RIPON SEX OFFENDER
A criminal complaint was signed Wednesday charging a 31-year-old convicted sex offender in Ripon with ten counts of possession of child pornography. According to the criminal complaint a sergeant with Ripon Police received numerous tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on April 12th and 14th that appeared to all be a link to the same person. Through investigation that person was determined to be John Pergler a convicted sex offender staying in a Ripon hotel. In May police executed a search warrant for his room at the hotel. A cell phone belonging to Pergler was seized during the search. The phone had been used to do thousands of searches for young boys naked or engaged in sexual activity with other children and adults. Photos were found in a media folder. According to the criminal complaint 162 photos were tagged as evidence, but there were many more photos depicting child pornography. (Wisconsin Department of Corrections photo).
MISTRIAL GRANTED IN RECKLESS HOMICIDE TRIAL
A jury-trial in Green Lake County for a 63-year-old Fox Lake man suspected of causing a fatal traffic accident three years ago made it through two days before the judge granted a motion for a mistrial. Carlton Schley, Sr. was charged with second degree reckless homicide and second-degree reckless injury. Charges stemmed 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. According to court records the jury trial began on December 11th and the following day a motion was made for a mistrial and there was discussion about ineffectiveness of counsel. District Attorney Gerise Laspisa did not join in the motion for a mistrial.
SEX OFFENDER BEING RELEASED IN OSHKOSH
Oshkosh Police say a 47-year-old sex offender will be released from prison and will be living in the city starting January 5th. Initially Christopher Fleischman will be homeless. He will be on electronic monitoring and will be on probation until December 10th of 2039. In 2017 he was convicted in Winnebago County of second-degree sexual assault of a child, child enticement, and two counts of causing a child to view or listen to sexual activity. He met both 16-year-old girls online. He also had interactions online with an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl. Fleischman is currently incarcerated at the New Lisbon Correctional Institution. (Wisconsin Department of Corrections photo).
DIVERSE OPTIONS SUPPORTED IN PART BY UNITED WAY
Diverse Options of Ripon is one of the agencies that the Fond du Lac County United Way provides funding for. Diverse Options has been around for more than 50 years. Their mission is to support, educate and empower individuals with a variety of developmental disabilities to reach their highest level of independence. Diverse Options serves Fond du Lac County, Green Lake County, and a portion of Dodge County. They serve over 70 individuals providing adult day services, group homes, supported employment opportunities, and a production facility. Susan Osteen is the President and CEO of Diverse Options. She says most of the funding supporting their services comes through the state’s Department of Health Services. It provides pay for those who are employed through Diverse Options, but the United Way provides funding for extras. Those extras could include outings to Brewer’s games, bowling, and other fun opportunities.
VICTIM BLAMING
The Executive Director of ASTOP in Fond du Lac says in addition to providing support for sexual assault victims they also do their best to battle “victim blaming.” ASTOP is an acronym for Assist Survivor Treatment Outreach and Prevention. It dates back to 1992 and provides assistance and support for victims of sexual abuse or assault. Isabel Williston is ASTOP’s Executive Director. Williston says they provide advocates’ to victims who report the assault and during any legal proceeding that may follow that. She says sometimes in court the person accused of the assault or abuse uses a defense strategy known as victim blaming. She says ASTOP, law enforcement, schools, social workers, and hospitals in Fond du Lac and Green Lake counties do a good job to protect the victim. She says they also provide a lot of outreach to schools, groups, and at events. In Ripon their prevention educators have done presentations in all the schools and Ripon College. ASTOP has a 24 hour crisis line. The phone number is 920-926-5395.
DRETSKE RUNNING FOR TWO OFFICES
Luke Dretske who serves on both the Berlin City Council and Green Lake County Board of Supervisors is running for reelection to both governmental bodies. Dretske, a Berlin native, says in running for the County Board he had three priorities. They were to elect a new county board chairperson, remove and appoint a new Corporation Counsel, and remove and appoint a new County Administrator. All three of those goals were met but he would like to see the county’s sales tax put to more use. He says future goals for the County should include correcting their bookkeeping system, increasing oversight of some departments, and focusing on economic development. As for the City of Berlin, Dretske says they are moving in the right direction on reducing their budget deficit. He is a graduate of Ripon College and is currently a law student at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
MARKESAN GARBAGE AND RECYCLING REMINDER
The City of Markesan is switching garbage and recycling companies to GFL Environmental next Tuesday. Trash pick-up will switch to every Monday with recycling being bi-weekly starting January 2nd. GFL delivered new carts to residents last week. Residents need to put out both current Advanced/Waste Management garbage and recycling cans today. They should be left out until Waste Management picks them up. Anyone with questions about the switch in services should call Markesan City Hall at 920-398-3031.
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