12/7/23 Hometown Broadcasting News Thursday
7 December 2023 News
PRELIMINARY HEARING FOR RIPON MAN SUSPECTED OF ATTEMPTED HOMICIDE
There’s a preliminary hearing today for a 45-year-old Ripon man suspected of stabbing and beating a 35-year-old man in the head with a pipe last month. The hearing for Carlos Mendez Villegas is in Fond du Lac County court on attempted first degree intentional homicide and aggravated battery charges. According to the criminal complaint on November 18th Mendez Villegas went to an apartment building at 721 Thorne Street in Ripon and confronted the victim about a girlfriend Mendez Villegas had dated for several years, but was now dating the victim. The victim suffered a laceration to his forehead and a puncture wound to his lower abdomen, both of which required several stitches. Mendez Villegas is being held in the Fond du Lac County Jail on a $1 million cash bond. (Fond du Lac County Jail photo).
SIX OF SENATOR BALLWEG’S BILLS SIGNED INTO LAW
Governor Tony Evers yesterday signed 48 bills into law including six bills authored by State Senator Joan Ballweg of Markesan. The Senator for the 14th State Senate District says getting six individual bills across the legislative finish line is a great accomplishment. Among Ballweg’s bills was one allowing the use of newborn infant safety devices, also called “Baby Boxes” under the state’s existing safe haven law. Another modernizes Wisconsin’s financial aid process for students who are pursuing a degree in higher education. Ballweg was also pleased the governor signed into law a bill that allows local units of government to apply for a grant from the Department of Health Services to administer suicide prevention programming. Ballweg says she is grateful for the work from supporters for each of the bills.
REPRESENTATIVE DALLMAN BILL SIGNED INTO LAW
Among the nearly 50 bills Governor Evers signed into law Wednesday was a piece of legislation both State Representative Alex Dallman and Senator Joan Ballweg worked on. Act 60 requires a high school student to complete one-half credit of personal financial literacy in order to graduate. The requirement takes effect for high school students that graduate in 2028. The course must include, at a minimum, the following topics: financial mindset, education and employment, money management, saving and investing, credit and debt, and risk management and insurance. The bill had strong bipartisan support passing the Assembly 95 to 1 and the Senate 29 to 4. Representative Dallman says, “I am thrilled to see that the governor signed this important piece of legislation into law. The state lawmaker from Green Lake added, “Financial literacy in schools will ensure our students have the skills they need to succeed.”
OSHKOSH PARKS DEPARTMENT RIBBON CUTTING
The Oshkosh Parks Department has moved into its new operations and administrative building at 805 Witzel Avenue. A ribbon cutting will be held for the media, city staff and officials, and community organizations next Wednesday at 3 pm. Light refreshments and tours of the new facility will be provided. The new building replaces an aging and inefficient 1960s building. The operations and administrative staff are now under one roof and are realizing the benefits of improved communications and efficiencies. The new facilities will allow staff to better serve the residents of Oshkosh. Late next spring the Oshkosh Parks Department will host an open house for the public.
MAYVILLE APPLYS FOR SAFE DRINKING WATER LOAN
The state’s Department of Natural Resources tells us the city of Mayville is an applicant for funding through the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program to improve their public drinking water system. Mayville will replace the water mains on Alley Street and reroute water mains on County Highway V. Activities related to the project are minor actions for which no environmental analysis is required. However, following the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program federal requirement, an environmental review must be conducted before funding the project. The program has determined the project will not result in significant adverse environmental effects and no further environmental review or analysis is needed before proceeding with funding the project. The public is encouraged to submit comments regarding the decision. More information is available at the DNR’s website.
HEATING SEASON INCREASES NEED FROM THE RIPON FOOD PANTRY
Traded Treasures & Community Food Pantry in Ripon is one of the organizations that benefits from the Fond du Lac County United Way. Items donated to and sold at the thrift store raise funds for the food pantry. Traded Treasures Executive Director Amy Pollesch says beginning in November they start saying an increase in the need for the food pantry. She says that’s because heating costs go up for families and some struggle to pay for that and may have to cut down on other household needs like their food budget. She says ideally they would like to make sure every family in the community doesn’t have food security issues. Traded Treasures & Community Food Pantry is located at 102 West Jackson Street in Ripon. The food pantry is open from 10 am to 4 pm Mondays and they have emergency help for those who can’t make it then. The store is open Mondays through Saturdays starting at 10 am. Closing times vary throughout the week.
STRUCTURE REVIEW TASK FORCE EFFORT FALLS SHORT
The chairman of Winnebago County’s Structure Review Task Force says their recommendations to consolidate down from 15 major county committees down to 10 did not get the approval of the County Board last month. Jacob Floam says he is disappointed the effort fell short because the County hasn’t restructured its committee structure for at least 25 years and most county boards operate with far fewer committees. He says the City of Oshkosh reviews its committee structure every five years. He says the hope was that restructuring would make the committee process more efficient and speed up the process for approving projects that benefit the public. The Task Force was formed last February, reviewing what other counties had and getting input from other county supervisors and department heads.
PROJECT LEAD THE WAY
Berlin Schools Superintendent Emmett Durtschi recently participated in a couple of exercises for the Project Lead the Way program. He says Project Lead the Way is part of their STEM or Science, Technology, Engineering and Math efforts in the elementary and middle schools classes. In one exercise at the middle school he pretended to be a patient for the Medical Detective program. The patient had returned from a trip abroad where he had some bad water. Another exercise involved a Rube Goldberg-type contraption. Rube Goldberg was known for coming up with complicated ways of solving simple problems. The exercise involved ultimately getting a wig placed on a teacher’s head. Durtschi says the Berlin Schools are really trying to create engaging class opportunities that are hands-on, problem-solving, and collaborative.
MENOMINEE ELEMENTARY BLUE JAYS IT IS
The Oshkosh Area School District is excited to announce that Menominee Elementary School’s mascot will be the blue jays and its colors will be blue and white. The School District worked with the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin to identify mascot options that would align with the tribe’s rich history and culture. Students and staff from the three schools that will combine to form the new school were given the opportunity to vote on three potential mascots: the blue jay, cardinal, or robin. After collecting 327 responses, the blue jay was selected by an overwhelming 53 percent. In Menominee traditions, blue jays are revered for their observation skills and for the belief that they alert the tribe that change is coming. Blue jays are also often seen as symbols of communication, curiosity and confidence. Once the mascot was selected, school and District leaders worked with Bray Architects to develop a comprehensive school branding package.
THRASHER PARTICIPATING IN ADOPT A TEEN TREE PROGRAM
Thrasher Opera House in Green Lake is offering an accessible drop-off site for the Adopt-A-Teen Tree. Christmas is supposed to be a joyful time, but for some families, it’s a time of stress and uncertainty. Thrasher is uniting with The Boys and Girls Club of the Tri-County Area to collect gifts for teens in need this season. Stop in the Thrasher lobby to view the “Teen Tree” full of gift ideas. Choose your gift idea ornament, purchase the gift, and bring it back to the Thrasher before next Tuesday. Please only new unwrapped gifts. Thrasher Opera House’s Development Director, Katie Mentig, says, “We are honored to be collaborating with the Boys and Girls Club on the Teen Tree again this season. Last year, we were able to provide gifts to area teens! I know teens are often difficult to shop for, but their wish lists make it super easy.”
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