Hometown Broadcasting News Thursday 8/27/20
27 August 2020 News
Oshkosh Woman Missing
Oshkosh Police are looking for a 33-year-old woman who hasn’t been seen since last Thursday. Jaclyn Smith doesn’t have her needed diabetic medication. Her disappearance does not seem suspicious; she has a history of wandering away. She may be in the Green Bay area. Police say she is Native American, 5 foot 3 inches tall, 200 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen at her residence in the 800 block of Vine Street. Police have released a photo of her (pictured above). Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Winnebago County Crime Stoppers at (920) 231-8477.
Ripon Communications Center Options Being Weighed
Ripon city officials are taking a long look at the future of the dispatch center for police, fire and EMS calls. Police Chief Bill Wallner told the City Council this week that their options are to keep the local communications center , which would require a significant investment by the city or to switch over to Fond du Lac County dispatch which would also have some costs associated with it. Chief Wallner says they should take their time to reach a decision and is not one they can make by January 1st. To keep the local system will require upgrading computers to handle 911 cell phone calls. The 911 system failed in February and Fond du Lac County had to take over dispatching of those calls. In addition Fond du Lac County will be upgrading its records management and computer-aided dispatch system in 2021, which the city of Ripon will need hardware and infrastructure to keep up with.
RASD Friend Of Public Schools Award
The Ripon Area School District this week named the winners of their 2020 Friend of Public Schools Award; Bill and Judy Neill. They have donated countless hours and made many donations to the school district over the years through the Ripon Education Foundation. The two met as students at Ripon College in 1965. Bill worked at Ripon College for 39 years and Judy worked for Moraine Park Technical College and Wisconsin Technical College System Foundation a combined total of 37 years. Bill and Judy shared they believe that strong public schools are essential to a high quality of life at all levels of community. You can read more about them and the many ways they have served the community in our story at Hometown Broadcasting.com.
Task Force Member Not Surprised At Step Back On Safe Restart Plan
A member of the Ripon Community COVID 19 Task Force says he’s not surprised to see Fond du Lac County return to Phase 1 of its Safe Restart Plan. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says there have been a higher number of cases of people testing positive for the virus in recent weeks in the county, but it’s not the number of cases that triggered a red color on cases metric, but the percentage of those testing positive which was 13.6 percent. “If you tested everybody in the community and 50 percent of us had it that would be really bad. If you test everybody in the community and 1 percent has it that is good as it gets in this country right now Massachusetts at 1 percent probably so, but after really terrorizing times.” Puhlmann-Becker says that hasn’t stopped officials at Boston University from stringent testing of undergraduate and graduate students to make sure the pandemic doesn’t cause another spike in infections.
Congressman Grothman On Kenosha Shooting
Congressman Glenn Grothman says the shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha Police officer has been quickly judged as another unfortunate incident of racial injustice. The federal lawmaker from Glenbeulah says we shouldn’t rush to judgement on an incident that has shocked the nation.“I thinks sometimes in the past people are quick to condemn the police and then later on more information comes out and I think that is the way we have to look at this.” Blake’s shooting has sparked violent protests in Wisconsin especially in Kenosha. The Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating Blake’s shooting.
Chamber Month In September
Many of the usual events that Chambers of Commerce promote have had to be cancelled, postponed, or done through drive through or virtual alternatives because of COVID-19. That’s also hurt room taxes that many chambers or visitor bureaus depend on as part of their funding. But plans are going forward to celebrate Chamber of Commerce Month next month in the area. Sadie Parafiniuk is the President and CEO of Envision Greater Fond du Lac. She says Envision and the Ripon Area Chamber of Commerce will be among the chambers celebrating Chamber of Commerce Month in September. She says there will be special events and happenings scheduled throughout the month.
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