8/20/24 Hometown Broadcasting News Tuesday
20 August 2024 News
COLUMBIA COUNTY FATAL CRASH INVESTIGATION
Columbia County Sheriff’s officials say an investigation into a fatal near head-on crash in April that claimed five lives shows one of the drivers was impaired by alcohol and drugs. Toxicology reports showed 70-year-old Robin Purcell of Prairie du Sac who was driving a pickup truck had a blood-alcohol level of .090 or just over the legal limit, and the restricted controlled substance Delta-9 THC in his system at the time of the crash. The driver of the passenger car a 17-year-old Merrimac girl showed no signs of impairment. According to the investigation Purcell was heading west on State Highway 60 and the passenger car was going east. Purcell crossed into the eastbound lane and both vehicles trying to avoid each other ended up crashing near head-on at highway speeds in the westbound lane. Purcell and the girl were killed. Three people in the passenger car 42-year-old Shain Scoville of Merrimac, 26-year-old Kaiyzer Ballweg of Sauk City, and 62-year-old Julie Scoville of Blue Mounds were also killed in the crash. The fatal accident happened on April 7th in the Town of West Point.
US HIGHWAY 45 IMPROVEMENT PROJECT IN FDL COUNTY
Governor Tony Evers has signed a $3.5 million contract to improve 7.4 miles of U.S. Highway 45 in Fond du Lac County. The stretch to be improved is from Scott Street in the village of North Fond du Lac to the North County Line in the town of Friendship. Construction begins next Monday and should be completed in early November. US Highway 45 will remain open during the work. Northeast Asphalt of Greenville is the prime contractor. The project involves resurfacing-level improvement which includes milling existing pavement and overlaying asphaltic pavement, and beam guard grading/replacement. Improvements also include three new cross culverts under US Highway 45 in the project limits. US Highway 45 will remain open during construction using single-lane closures and flagging operations.
FDL COUNTY BOARD CONTINUES WORKING ON CAMPUS TRANSITION
The Fond du Lac County Board of Supervisors tonight will continue approving resolutions tied to transitioning from the former UW-Oshkosh Fond du Lac campus to the Fond du Lac County Campus. That includes entering into a settlement agreement with the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents terminating the 1967 Memorandum of Agreement. The Board will also approve the sale of just less than 12 acres of vacant land within the Fond du Lac County Campus for $2.45 million, and will apply for and accept a $2 million grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for projects at the campus. Supervisors will also be asked to approve a schedule of fees and charges for the Fond du Lac County Campus Prairie Theater and Gymnasium. The Board will also consider approving a resolution recognizing and thanking the Ripon Early Bird and Noon Kiwanis Clubs for their support of Riggs County Park and authorize the acceptance of a donation of $134,000 to the Fond du Lac County Parks Department from the two clubs. The County Board meets at 6 pm in the City-County Government Center in Fond du Lac.
EQUALIZED VALUES IN THE STATE UP BY EIGHT PERCENT
The state’s Department of Revenue released its annual Equalized Values Report. It shows Wisconsin’s total statewide equalized property value as of January 1st 2024 was $907 billion, an increase of 8 percent over the prior year. According to the state $14 billion of the $75 billion increase in value was due to new construction. The remainder of the increase $59.3 billon was due to market value increase. Fond du Lac County’s total equalized value was $11.9 billion, an 8 percent increase. Dodge County’s total value was $10.7 billion, an 8 percent increase. Green Lake County’s value was $3.98 billion a 13 percent increase. Waupaca County’s total equalized value was $6.8 billion a 13 percent increase. Waushara County’s equalized value was $4.4 billion a 12 percent increase. Winnebago County’s total equalized value was $21.3 billion, an 8 percent increase. More information is available at the state’s Department of Revenue website.
DOR Statement of Changes in Equalized Values (wi.gov)
RIPON NEW DPW BUILDING
Ripon City Administrator Adam Sonntag says they are hoping to break ground yet this fall for the new Department of Public Works building. The Common Council last week approved a low bid of $8.6 million from Cardinal Construction of Fond du Lac and two other bids to move water and gas and electric lines for the new facility. Sonntag says they were surprised to receive five bids for the building project but the market was soft, and they benefitted from that. Original estimates for the project were $10 to $11 million. The new DPW building will be on property adjacent to the current building. Sonntag says it will take a year to a year-and-a-half to complete and move their people into the new DPW building.
AGRICULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM PROGRAM
More than 10,000 students will learn about the importance of Agriculture in Wisconsin through Envision Greater Fond du Lac’s Agriculture in the Classroom program this school year. Amy Ries is Envision’s Director of Agricultural Programs. She says they saw 9,750 students through the Ag in the classroom program last year and once again have a goal of 10,000. Primarily they teach students from 4K through 5th grade, but have adapted their programs for middle school and high school as well. Ries says after school starts they will begin reaching out to schools about the program. Students learn about where food comes from, what it takes to process things like milk into other products like cheese, careers connected to agriculture, and how technology has affected agriculture. To learn more about the Ag in the Classroom program call Envision at 920-921-9500.
LAKEAPOOLOZA COMING UP
The 6th Annual LakeApooloza and Street Dance is coming up Labor Day weekend. It’s on Saturday, August 31st from 3 to 10 pm. Mike and Jill Havey have been sponsoring street dances dating back to 2004. Things get started at the American Legion Parking Lot in downtown Green Lake at 3 pm that afternoon with music by the Grasshoppers, followed at 7 pm by the Davidson County Band. There will be cold beverages and food trucks. Food trucks will include Carribean Taste, On the Fritz, and Jamie Beach/Adam’s Rib. Mike says proceeds will benefit three Green Lake nonprofits the Green Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, Green Lake American Legion Post, and Thrasher Opera House.
WATERFOWL HUNTERS’ EXPO IN OSHKOSH SATURDAY
The state’s Department of Natural Resources will co-sponsor the fourth annual Waterfowl Hunters Expo on Saturday at the Sunnyview Expo Center in Oshkosh. The event is a 1-day celebration of waterfowl and waterfowl hunting. The Waterfowl Expo’s one-of-a kind experience will feature the 2024 Wisconsin Duck and Goose Calling Championships, a faster-retriever contest, judging for the 2025 waterfowl stamp contest and a decoy carving contest. The expo will also include more than 120 hands-on exhibits and booths from industry leaders, habitat managers and waterfowl experts. Waterfowl enthusiasts can learn more about several topics, such as dog training, waterfowl research, conservation and hunting history. For more information and a full schedule of events, visit the Waterfowl Hunters Expo webpage.
Waterfowl Hunters Expo -A great Day for Waterfowlers
MEONOMINEE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DEDICATION
A public dedication and community open house for Menominee Elementary School in Oshkosh will be held on Sunday, September 22nd from 4 to 6 pm. The celebration will feature a dedication ceremony starting at 4 pm in the cafeteria at the school. Following the ceremony the school will be open for self-guided tours. The School will open its doors for the 2024-2025 school year, uniting the former Merrill, Washington, and Webster Stanley Elementary School communities. Funded as part of the $107 million capital referendum approved by voters in November 2020, Menominee Elementary School marks the completion of the first phase of the District’s four-phase long-range facilities plan.
WMH PROGRAM CERTIFIED
SSM Health Waupun Memorial Hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program has received certification from the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. The certification recognizes the hospital’s commitment to improving the quality of life of patients by enhancing standards of care. Cardiac rehabilitation programs are designed to help people with cardiovascular concerns recover faster and live healthier. Those concerns could include heart attacks and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Cardiac rehabilitation programs include exercise, education, counseling, and support for patients and their families. To earn accreditation, the Waupun Memorial Hospital Cardiac Rehabilitation Program participated in an application process that requires extensive documentation of the program’s practices.
In the photo: Angela Haan, registered nurse, and Thorne Wittstruck, clinical exercise physiologist, are among Cardiac Rehabilitation Program team members celebrating their program’s certification.
COOLEST THING MADE IN WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and Johnson Financial Group are again partnering to host a contest to determine the ‘Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin.’ The popular competition highlights Wisconsin’s robust manufacturing industry, which contributes over $71 billion in total economic output to the state. This year, the contest organizers are refreshing the program with a new logo and rebranded website as a nod to the modernization of the manufacturing industry as a whole. The ninth annual contest will culminate by crowning a Wisconsin-made product as the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin. Any product that is manufactured in Wisconsin qualifies for the contest, and nominations are being accepted at the new website made in wis.com. Nominations will be accepted through September 6th, a popular vote will determine the Top 16 products that will be placed in a bracket style tournament called Manufacturing Madness. This year’s Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin will be announced in Madison on October 17th.
Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin Contest
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