1/15/24 Hometown Broadcasting News Monday
15 January 2024 News
WIND CHILL ADVISORIES
Wind Chill Advisories are in effect for the area to start the week. An advisory is in effect for Calumet, Waupaca, Waushara, and Winnebago counties until noon today. Wind chills will be from 20 to 30 below zero. An advisory for Columbia, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, and Sheboygan counties is in effect until 9 am Wednesday morning. Wind chills could be as low as 35 below zero. The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.
ICE RESCUE ON LAKE WINNEBAGO
Two snowmobilers went through the ice on Lake Wisconsin in Sunset Bay late Sunday morning. Columbia County Sheriff’s dispatch received a 911 call at 11 am. One person was in the water and the other on the ice. A Sheriff’s deputy arrived minutes later and saw a person in the water 100 yards from shore and two people were on the ice attempting a rescue. The deputy, a Lodi firefighter and two others made their way toward the area where the person was in the water. They threw him a ski rope and pulled him from the water and towards shore. He was taken to a waiting ambulance. He was wearing a floatation device designed for snowmobiling that greatly aided in the rescue. The Wisconsin DNR is investigating the incident. Sheriff’s officials say despite the last few days of cold weather, ice conditions are poor.
STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE
Fond du Lac County’s Chief Deputy Sheriff says if your vehicle slides off the road during a snowstorm stay with it until help comes. Kevin Galske says they already had two vehicles slide off the road within the first few hours of when the storm started on Friday. He recommends having an emergency kit in your vehicle to sustain you until help arrives. He says it is important to stay in your vehicle if you can so you aren’t accidentally struck by another motorist who might not see you or is distracted by the accident. He recommends safety flares, a safety kit, making sure you have enough gas, and have a cell phone to call for a tow truck or help. He says he’s worked accidents where a tow truck got hit by another vehicle because that driver got distracted by the accident and began to slip and slide just like the first vehicle. He says that’s one of the reasons Wisconsin has a move over law.
RIPON SCHOOL MERGER PROPOSAL
The principal of Ripon’s Barlow Park Journey School says there are some advantages to having that 4K-2nd Grade program and the one for the Barlow Park Charter Elementary School in the same building should the two combine. The contract and federal grant for Barlow Park Charter ends on June 30th. Governance Councils and staff for both schools would like to see the creation of one elementary school. Barlow Park Journey Principal Shawn Gartzke says although the two programs are located in the same building they use different areas of it for their programs. He says they enjoy some similarities like curriculum, start and end times, both are committed to innovative teaching methods and have highly trained and dedicated staff, and they share some of the same. The school board will start discussing the merger proposal tonight, but they won’t vote on it until next month. It’s hoped the two 4K-2nd Grade Schools can be combined for the 2024-2025 school year.
LT GOVERNOR VISITS MPTC WEST BEND CAMPUS
Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez visited Moraine Park’s West Bend Campus last week to learn how Moraine Park serves its students and communities in the Washington County Area. MPTC President Bonnie Baerwald; Douglas Hamm, Vice President of Teaching and Learning; James Barrett, Vice President of Student Services; and Peter Rettler, dean of the West Bend Campus; joined Rodriguez in a roundtable and campus tour. The group discussed the College’s referendum projects and upcoming construction, enrollment numbers, program offerings, K-12 partnerships, the new University Transfer program and more. The group talked extensively about the challenges facing health care careers and the impact to Moraine Park programs post-COVID. Baerwald says she’s hoping Lt. Governor Rodriquez will return for a visit next year after the West Bend Campus referendum projects are completed. (MPTC photo).
GROTHMAN BILLS INCLUDED IN COLLEGE COST REDUCTION ACT
Two of Congressman Glenn Grothman’s bills have been incorporated into the College Cost Reduction Act, a piece of legislation that provides a comprehensive solution that will lower costs for students and families. The bill was produced by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in consultation with Congressional testimony, universities, and student loan scholars. Grothman’s bills were the Responsible Borrowing Act and the Protecting Taxpayers from Student Loan Bailouts Act. The first bill allows institutions of higher education to implement guard rails on how much money students can borrow. The other bill requires the Department of Education review the fiscal impact of any future plans to forgive student loan debt to ensure costs to the federal government do not increase and result in taxpayers footing the bill.
BREAKFAST ON THE FARM
This June’s Fond du Lac County Breakfast on the Farm will be the 35th for the annual event spotlighting a dairy farm in the county. Amy Ries is the Director of Agricultural Programs for Envision Greater Fond du Lac. She says it will be held on Sunday, June 23rd at the Steve and Deb Abel Dairy Farms in Eden. It is a 4,500-cow dairy operation. Ries says those attending the Breakfast will not only enjoy a great breakfast but will have the opportunity to see a rotary milking parlor that was part of an expansion at the farm. She says it is like a merry-go-round with the cows stepping in to get milked and stepping back out when they are finished. It’s not robotic there are farm hands who attach the cows, but it is efficient taking only about five minutes to milk a cow.
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