Hometown Broadcasting News Wednesday 5/27/20
27 May 2020 News
FDL County Sees Spike In COVID 19 Cases
Fond du Lac County got 25 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend, some due to people not practicing social distancing. During her weekly update Tuesday morning County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller said many of the cases were related to current outbreaks they have been addressing and actively investigating through contact tracing. She says a lot of the newly identified cases were from people attending recent birthday parties and other gatherings including funerals. Mueller says some of those who tested positive said they went to the parties thinking they were suffering from seasonal allergies. The County now has a total of 182 COVID-19 cases. County residents can call 844-225-0147 to ask about being tested.
National Guard Collects Specimen For COVID Testing At Two Area Prisons
Wisconsin National Guard specimen collection teams collected specimens for COVID-19 testing at prisons in Dodge and Fond du Lac County Tuesday. Two teams collected specimens at Dodge Correctional in Dodge County and another two teams gathered specimens at Waupun Correctional in Fond du Lac County. The National Guard teams are supporting operations by local health departments and the state’s Department of Health Services across Wisconsin. Collection over Memorial Day weekend was limited to Milwaukee and Madison sites on Saturday.
River Rescue Went Well
An official with the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department says things went about as well as they could while they were looking for two teenage kayakers on the Fond du Lac River Monday afternoon. Sheriff’s Captain Bill Tadych says they got a call from a 30-year-old Fond du Lac man who was with the 13-year-old boy and girl when the turbulent river overturned their kayaks. He made it to a residence on Shraven Circle and called 911. Later the teens were found safe on the riverbank north of Rogersville Road. Tadych says it helped that everyone was wearing personal floatation devices and were carrying cell phones. “You know this time of year if you go earlier in the spring when you get the melt off it can be quite turbulent.” Tadych says he’s familiar with that stretch of river and it isn’t too deep and the current isn’t usually very strong.
Pandemic Forces Business Pivot
The President and CEO of Envision Greater Fond du Lac says she’s amazed how quickly some businesses were able to pivot to adapt to the harsh realities of COVID-19 and the business restrictions it forced. Sadie Parafiniuk says many had to adapt to continue to provide service. “It’s been a fascinating time to see our businesses totally pivot, but we’ve seen a lot of our businesses completely pivot and change what their traditional business model was in order to accommodate.” She says some began making products needed to protect us from the pandemic, others had to provide delivery services they may not have offered before, and an online presence became even more important. Envision is also the lead organization for Reopen Fond du Lac County.
Virtual Learning Numbers Up
Open enrollment numbers for the Ripon Area School District look promising especially for the Odyssey Academy of Virtual Learning. District Superintendent Mary Whitrock says in looking at applicants who chose Ripon first or only for open enrollment they have some good numbers for next fall. “And in counting those we’re looking somewhere 60 or 70 new students that are applying for Odyssey Virtual Academy.” She says they’ve been fortunate that they had the academy running for a year and were able to tap into it as a resource when they had to turn to virtual learning due to COVID-19 and Safer at Home orders. Open enrollment was also extended because of the pandemic, but ends at the end of the month.
RMC Triathlon Now Green Lake Triathlon
Last year the Ripon Medical Center began a partnership with Race Day Events to coordinate the long-standing RMC Triathlon. The partnership has proven beneficial for the triathlon as Race Day Events works with all types of events from small, community 5k/10 run/walks, to large multi-day bike rides, triathlons, mud runs and full marathons. Due to the successful relationship in 2019, Ripon Medical Center has transitioned RMC Triathlon oversight to Race Day Events, and the event is being renamed as Green Lake Triathlon, scheduled for July 19th. More information about the event is available online.
Pardeeville Man Arrested For Ninth OWI
Maybe he was going to confession? Columbia County Sheriff’s deputies observed a swerving vehicle in the Village of Cambria early Sunday morning. It struck a curb as it parked on Scott Street near West Florence Street. Thirty-eight-year-old Matthew Hollendyke of Pardeeville got out of the vehicle and approached a church. He failed field sobriety testing and was arrested for his 9th operating while intoxicated offense. He’s also facing a charge for not having an ignition interlock device installed in the vehicle and violated parole.
Oshkosh Overnight Parking Permit Sale
The Oshkosh Police Department will temporarily be re-opening the lobby next week to sell overnight parking permits. The overnight parking permits were previously extended through the end of May, but new permits will now be required going forward. The lobby will be open Monday, June 1st through Wednesday, June 3rd from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to sell the permits. Signs will be displayed reminding everyone of Social Distancing recommendations and where the permit sale line begins.
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