Hometown Broadcasting News Wednesday 5/12/21
12 May 2021 News
Waupaca Man Sentenced For Church Break In
The 26-year-old Waupaca man who broke into and vandalized the Waushara Community Church in Marion last August has been sentenced. Nathan Kozlowski was in Waushara County court Tuesday where he pled guilty to burglary and criminal damage to religious property charges. Three other counts were dismissed and he was sentenced to 4 years and 8 months of extended supervision and three years of probation. In addition he was ordered to pay nearly $27,500 to the church and its insurance company. According to the criminal complaint derogatory slurs against law enforcement and religion were spray-painted throughout the building. Also, file cabinets were opened, doors were damaged, and rooms were ransacked during the August 17th break-in. Kozlowski was identified through surveillance photos.
Menasha Man Announces Run For Congress
The 6th Congressional District in Wisconsin has its first Republican candidate for the seat in Congress and it is not the incumbent. Douglas Mullenix of Menasha announced his candidacy Tuesday. The 31-year-old Mullenix will kick off 120 days of campaigning by holding town halls and virtual meetings with voters. Congressman Glenn Grothman currently holds the seat and is in his fourth term representing the district. He has not announced another run for the office yet. Mullenix says now is the time for a change in the district’s leadership. If there is a primary election for the office it would in August of 2022.
National Police Week
Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt says he can appreciate the dangers law enforcement officers face every day. Waldschmidt was one of the officers working at the scene when Fond du Lac Police Officer Craig Birkholz and State Trooper Trevor Casper were killed in separate shootings in Fond du Lac in 2011 and 2015. In both incidents the shooter also ended up dead, but put others at risk first. Waldschmidt says during the course of their career a law enforcement officer will be put in a life-threatening situation. “It’s not uncommon at all on the course of a career to encounter situations that could have very well resulted in significant injury or death to anyone of us. It is a dangerous profession.” Waldschmidt says you have to have passion to do the job they do and keep the community safe. National Police Week is May 9th through the 15th and National Police Officers Memorial Day is May 15th, this Saturday.
COVID Safe Restart Dashboard More Encouraging
Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force member Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says the Fond du Lac County Safe Restart dashboard has showed more indications over the past few weeks of turning the COVID-19 pandemic around, but we should still be vigilant. He notes four of the five metrics are in the green with only contract tracing being of potential concern, but contact tracing have been difficult for a while. “We were really excited when we were down to two that were red or yellow. Now we are down to and we’ve been for a long time we have four green and one yellow. Contract tracing is always a challenge and that is the one that is at 95 percent, but the others look quite good.” He says there are a lot of good signs, but if we are going to defeat the virus we have to depoliticize public health measures and be more respectful of those who are hesitant about being vaccinated.
Future Expansion Phases For EAA Museum
A $6.2 million expansion of the EAA Aviation Center in Oshkosh is just the first phase of future expansions for the center. Dick Knapinski says it’s hard to believe that the museum has been around since 1983 and it has served its purpose well, but they are constantly looking at ways to draw and attract people to it. “You think of what the technology was in 1983 and even 10, 15 years ago that has changed so rapidly. So how do we engage people, welcome people in, use today’s technology to bring it in and reshape the museum?” He says there will be additional expansion phases in the future, but for now there is the current project and getting ready for this year’s AirVenture. The new two-story, 30,000 square facility will feature a Youth Education Center and Pilot Proficiency Center.
CDL Training Grants Available
The Fox Valley Workforce Development Board will be funding 10 free training grants to eligible people with an interest in obtaining training in a Commercial Driver’s License program at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Clintonville and Wautoma. Each grant, valued up to $6,000, will earn each participant a Truck Driving Technical Diploma and a Class A Commercial Driver’s License from FVTC. Qualified participants will have all costs for these programs covered, including application fees, tuition, supplies, mileage back and forth to the classroom, child care and more, depending on eligibility. For more information on the program or to begin the eligibility determination visit the board through foxvalleyjobcenters.com or call or text 920-594-3655.
Memorial Day Weekend Will Be Busy Travel Weekend
The Wisconsin AAA estimates there will be 711,649 people in the state traveling by car, air, and other forms of transportation this Memorial Day Weekend. That’s an increase of 56 percent over 2020 when 455,156 people traveled at least 50 miles during the holiday weekend. Debbie Haas is the Vice President of Travel for AAA. She says, “A year’s worth of pent- up demand is being unleashed this summer, as Americans anticipate the kick-off to the season.” She notes that due to the pandemic for many people this is the first summer vacation in two years. She says because of the pandemic, many theme parks and hotels are running at reduced capacity, and some services are not currently available. More than 37 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more between May 27th and May 31st a 60 percent increase from last year.
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