10/18/24 Hometown Broadcasting News Friday
18 October 2024 News
BAUR AND VANG CHARGED IN ELIJAH VUE’S DEATH
The mother of Elijah Vue and her boyfriend were charged in Manitowoc County Court Thursday afternoon with the three-year-old boy’s death. Prosecutors suspect the toddler was threatened with extreme punishment before his death and are charging those who threatened him. Katrina Baur has been charged with felony counts of chronic neglect of a child resulting in death and neglecting a child. Jesse Vang faces felony charges of physical abuse of a child, repeated acts causing death, and hiding a corpse. Both also face resisting or obstructing an officer charges. A child abuse pediatrician on the case believes Vue was subjected to a type of maltreatment characterized by physical assault, psychological mistreatment and neglect. There were wounds on the boy’s body the doctor says took place several weeks before his death. Vang was taking care of Vue for several days leading up to his death. Vang reported Elijah missing on February 20th. The medical examiner’s office says Vue’s cause of death is “homicide by unspecified means.” Baur and Vang will be back in court today for a bond hearing.
HIGH FIRE DANGER
The state’s Department of Natural Resources is asking the public to avoid burning due to elevated fire danger across the state. The DNR and partners at the National Weather Service are closely monitoring the situation throughout the weekend. Most of Wisconsin is at high fire danger due to gusty winds and dry vegetation. The DNR Thursday suspended burning permits for debris piles, burn barrels and prescribed burns in 25 counties. Among those counties is Columbia, Green Lake, Marquette, Waushara, and Waupaca. Sixty of the state’s 72 counties have a high fire danger, and the remaining 12 are at a moderate risk.
NORTH CAROLINA HURRICANE RELIEF EFFORT
Fond du Lac County residents have another opportunity this weekend to give to hurricane relief efforts. The collection site is at the Fond du Lac County Airport in Fond du Lac. Fond du Lac County is teaming with Timblin Trucking Company of Eden for a relief effort to help out victims in North Carolina. Fond du Lac County Executive Sam Kaufman says it’s a chance for us to do our part for the hurricane victims. Donated items needed include clothing, pet supplies, cleaning supplies, food, tools, and hygiene items. Items should be boxed and labeled, with like items kept together. Financial donations can be made online to Samaritans Purse.org, United Cajun Navy.org, or can be made at your local church. Hours for the collection effort are from 3 to 6 pm today, Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm, and Sunday from 2 to 5 pm. The Airport is located at 260 South Rolling Meadows Drive in Fond du Lac.
FDL COUNTY ARPA REMAINING FUNDS
Fond du Lac County is getting the most bang for its buck out of the $20 million it received from the federal government in American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA funds. The County has just over $800,000 left of the money, which it is required to use by the end of this year. County Executive Sam Kaufman says they will use that money to purchase 3 squad cars for the Sheriff’s Department and the rest will be spent on highway projects at the Fond du Lac County campus. He says the Highway Department will be paid for those projects at the campus. He explains that by paying the Highway Department for that they keep the money in the county budget and can use it again for other projects. He points out that they used $1.8 million for renovation projects at county parks and of that the Highway Department received $1.2 million for the work they did on those projects.
FLU VACCINATIONS
The Fond du Lac County Health Department held influenza vaccination clinics at schools the first three days of the week. County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says that was in schools that allowed them to do so. She says if your child hasn’t been vaccinated for the flu you can arrange to have them do it for free by calling 920-929-3085. Mueller says there has been talk about combining flu and COVID vaccines for those who would like to get both taken care of in the same vaccine. She says that day hasn’t arrived yet and there are still people that would prefer those vaccines be kept separate. The state will start seeing increases in flu cases over the coming weeks. According to the state’s Department of Health Services the latest weekly report puts the cumulative number of influenza hospitalizations at 16. During the last flu season there were nearly 3,950 hospitalizations for the entire flu season.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REFERENDUM
The President of the League of Women Voters of the Ripon Area recently penned a letter to the editor asking voters to vote no November 5th on a statewide referendum that would change wording in the state constitution on the right to vote. Ellen Sorensen says this is the fifth referendum question in two years asking to make a change in the state constitution. It asks that the wording be changed from “every” citizen to “only” citizens regarding the right to vote. She says that particular requirement could affect voting by older residents some of whom weren’t born in hospitals and don’t have birth certificates or driver’s licenses to prove their citizenship. Sorensen says there is no need to change the state constitution because there are already safeguards in place for voting. In her letter to the editor she said, “It’s a last-minute power grab before voters chose a new legislature under fair maps this November.”
IRO AND EVANS HONORED
Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s K9 IRO and his handler Deputy Blaine Evans were honored during the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Canine Handler Association’s annual training conference hosted last week by the Fond du Lac Police Department. IRO and Deputy Evans were honored with the Dave Demos Award. The award is in memory of Deputy Dave Demos of the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, who was struck and killed along I-94 in Milwaukee County in 1997. Deputy Demos was assisting a motorist on the side of the road when he was struck and killed by an impaired driver. Deputy Demos was among the first K9 handlers of the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office. The award serves as recognition and appreciation for continued dedication and commitment to law enforcement and the profession. The actions of K9 IRO and Deputy Evans on October 14th, 2023 in which K9 IRO was shot, served as the recognition of courage and bravery demonstrated by both while serving the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office and its citizens. Over 170 K9s and their handlers participated in last week’s conference including Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s K9s Rip and Cohl and their handlers’ deputies Nick Birkholz and Tyler Hoerig.
JOLLY GOOD VOTED COOLEST THING MADE IN WISCONSIN
Jolly Good Soda, manufactured by Krier Foods in Random Lake has been crowned the winner of this year’s Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin. The announcement was made at Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce annual Business Day event yesterday in Madison. Over 130 products were nominated for the contest this year, representing dozens of manufacturing sub-sectors and each corner of the state. The annual online voting contest draws attention to Wisconsin’s vibrant manufacturing industry and the rewarding careers available throughout the state. The industry contributes nearly $72 billion to the state’s economy and employs nearly 1 in 6 Wisconsin workers-more than any other economic sector. October is Manufacturing Month.
MPTC AWARDED GRANTS
The Wisconsin Technical College System has awarded Moraine Park Technical College six grants for $1.1 million. The College’s Economic & Workforce Development team applied for Workforce Advancement Training grants. Moraine Park received full funding for all 6 grants which will support over 54 companies and almost 7,000 hours of training. Moraine Park Dean of Economic and Workforce Development JoAnn Hall says the training projects will assist businesses in their employee engagement and retention efforts. The grants were written for consortium initiatives in quality and advanced manufacturing, industrial maintenance, advanced automation and robotics, leadership, welding, fabrication and supervision.
PHEASANT HUNTING SEASON BEGINS
The state’s Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters and the general public that the 2024 pheasant season opens at 9 am tomorrow morning and runs through Sunday, January 5th. The opening weekend has a daily bag limit of one rooster per day. Starting Monday the daily bag limit increases to two roosters per day. That limit will remain in place for the remainder of the season. Hunters may harvest a rooster or hen when hunting in designated rooster and hen hunting areas. Several pheasant hunting properties close at noon on weekdays beginning Monday through November 3rd. Those areas are listed on page 18 of the hunting regulations. Hunters are also encouraged to double-check the legal shooting hours on the properties they intend to hunt. The DNR plans to stock approximately 75,000 pheasants from the state game farm on over 80 properties statewide.
OASD EDUCATION FOUNDATION WINTER GEAR DRIVE
The Oshkosh Area District School Education Foundation and Community Clothes Closet are joining forces to provide essential winter gear to Oshkosh public school students in need. With 52 percent of elementary students in the district, over 2,000 children, coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, many families struggle to afford essential winter gear. Thanks to a generous $10,000 grant from the J.J. Keller Foundation to the Community Clothes Closet, the initiative has received a strong start. The OASD Education Foundation is seeking to raise an additional $5,000 to expand the initiative’s impact. Community members can make a donation online. The donation campaign runs through October 31st. The grant from J.J. Keller Foundation will outfit 200 students with snow boots and pants. If the additional $5,000 is raised it will completely outfit students with additional winter gear.
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