Hometown Broadcasting News Wednesday 9/2/20
2 September 2020 News
South Capron Street Parking Lot Dispute
Police in Berlin have been trying to mitigate a dispute between younger adults hanging out in the South Capron Street parking lot and a neighbor. Police Chief J.D. Lind says those hanging out in the lot are about 17 to 21 years of age and there have been some differences with a neighbor. There were allegations of threats and a post on Snapchat further fueled the fire. Lind posted a plea on the Department’s Facebook page saying with all that is going on in the world today they are asking that residents not spread the hate, anger or violence. Police are also asking that the South Capron Street parking lot only be used for parking and say loitering won’t be tolerated.
Investigation Into Kenosha Shooting Continues
Wisconsin’s Department of Justice Tuesday issued an update on the Division of Criminal Investigation’s investigation into the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey. No new facts about the shooting were released, but the DCI says along with the FBI they have conducted 88 witness interviews, collected 102 evidence items, downloaded 28 videos for review, issued 4 search warrants, and dedicated over 600 hours working on the case as of last Saturday. Once the investigation is complete the DCI will turn over its report to a prosecutor for a decision about possible charges.
Victim In Fatal Columbia County Accident Identified
Columbia County Sheriff’s officials have identified the 70-year-old Poynette man that was struck and killed when a vehicle lost control on Tipperary Road in Columbia County’s Town of Dekorra last Friday afternoon. David Hepler was walking against traffic when a 76-year-old man from Dane lost control of his vehicle in the 25 mile an hour zone. The vehicle went off the road and overcorrected, which caused it to spin and hit the pedestrian. The vehicle then went up a retaining wall and rolled over trapping the driver inside. Hepler died at the scene and the driver suffered minor injuries. Speed is a factor in the crash.
No FDL County Health Department Flu Clinics
The Fond du Lac County Health Department made it official this week announcing they will not be administering paying influenza vaccines due to their contact tracing efforts associated with COVID-19. They do however encourage residents to be vaccinated against the flu. Flu shots will be available through primary care providers, pharmacies, and some grocery stores. Flu vaccine will still be offered to students attending schools in the county. The Health Department will be offering childhood vaccines including influenza to children with no medical insurance or medical insurance/coverage gaps.
Ionization System Could Make A Difference
Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force member Jeff Puhlmann-Becker commends Ripon College on installing devices in its furnaces that could help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. He says he talked with the facilities director at the college and they had looked into something called Needlepoint Ionization Systems. It’s a unit installed in a furnace that releases positive and negative ions into the air. The ions have a way of attaching to microscopic bacteria, viruses and dust. “Then it goes blown around the house through the air system and it attaches to microscopic bacteria, viruses, dust in the air even smells in the air and it deprives it of hydrogen which basically kills the cell.” Puhlmann-Becker says according to the research people with allergies saw a huge difference in just two days. He says Ripon College officials are convinced it will make a difference.
Learning About COVID
Barlow Park Elementary School Principal Tanya Sanderfoot says kids will be learning a little bit about COVID-19 this school year. She says for kids at the elementary school and their two charter schools in Ripon it is a part of their lives and they will try and put it in kid-friendly terms. “There’s a lot of amazing picture books and videos geared at our littles that have come out and resources that we will be able to access, but really what we talk about is a lot of those safety procedures that we put into place we don’t just do it for ourselves we do that so that we can show care for others.” She says with the Governor’s mandate they will be wearing masks in the building and they have always taught about the benefits of hand washing.
Business Intelligence Specialist
Elle Moore of Envision Greater Fond du Lac has a rather unique job, she is a business intelligence specialist. Moore grew up in the Eden area of Fond du Lac County graduating from Campbellsport High School and got bachelor and master’s degrees at the UW-Oshkosh in psychology, research and statistics. She puts that to good use helping businesses that want to expand or entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground. Moore notes business intelligence uses data and information to help achieve that. “It is a combination of data and information that your business can use to make the best possible decision for you and it encompasses so many different areas.” She began at Envision in February a few weeks before the pandemic started to hit Wisconsin and worked remotely for months. Moore says that in itself was a good learning opportunity because no one had dealt with something like this before. Her first few months she worked on COVID-related projects and how it affected the business community.
Broadband Expansion Grants Available
State officials are now taking applications for a second round of funding from its Broadband Expansion Grant Program. In 2021 $24 million in funding is available for projects that will expand high-speed broadband internet to unserved and underserved areas of the state. Governor Tony Evers says the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored how critically important broadband is to the state. In March of this year, the Public Service Commission awarded 72 grants to extend high-speed internet access to as many as 3,182 businesses and 46,537 homes, including 39,778 locations that are currently underserved. Application materials for next year’s grants are available online.
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