Hometown Broadcasting News Wednesday 5/19/21
19 May 2021 News
FDL County Board Rescinds Health Emergency Declaration
Fond du Lac County supervisors made it official last night voting to terminate the County’s declaration of a Public Health Emergency due to the coronavirus. The same resolution also reinstated the 2018 Rules of the County Board, which were suspended due to the pandemic. County Executive Al Buechel had declared the health emergency on March 13th of last year. At the time the county had a total of 11 cases and as of this morning the county has had 12,432 total cases with 12,198 released or recovered cases. Governor Evers had also declared a Public Health Emergency for the entire state in March of 2020.
Face Mask Requirement Remains In Place For Most In RASD
The majority of staff and students in the Ripon Area School District will continue to wear face masks as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxes the requirement for those who are fully immunized against the disease. In a memo to the school board Ripon Schools Superintendent Mary Whitrock says the CDC and Fond du Lac County Health Department are continuing to recommend the use of face masks for both students and staff in certain schools which would include the pre-schools, Barlow Park Journey, Murray Park Quest, and the Ripon Middle School. Meanwhile those who are 16 years old or older who have been fully immunized do not need to wear face masks at the high school a practice that began Monday. All other safety measures remain in place for the district.
Interim FDL Police Chief Sworn In
With the retirement of Fond du Lac Police Chief Bill Lamb the city has a new interim Chief of Police Aaron Goldstein. City Clerk Maggie Hefter administered the Oath of Office to the Assistant Chief of Police Tuesday morning at the City-County Government Center. Goldstein says he’s honored to be named to the interim role by the city’s Police and Fire Commission. He says, “I truly believe in what we do and why we do it. We have invested a lot over the past decade in connecting our Officers with the community and we are fortunate to have a special relationship with our community.” Chief Lamb’s last day was Tuesday capping 33 years in law enforcement.
Grandparents Scam Hits Dodge County Again
Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt is warning residents about the “grandparents” scam ramping up in the area again. He says if done right scammers posing as a “grandchild” in trouble and in need of funding to get out of it can make up to $10,000 a day. He notes some county residents are out hundreds of thousands of dollars due to the scam which has been around about 13 years. He recommends not acting quickly, but calling the grandchild or a family member to verify whether someone is actually in trouble. He also recommends thinking about how the scammer wants to be paid and remember hospitals, jails, attorneys, and court systems don’t accept gift cards as payment.
Former Milwaukee Police Chief Speaking At AG Candidates Kick Off Fundraiser
Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales will deliver a law-and-order keynote address at the kick-off fundraising event for GOP Attorney General candidate Eric Toney today. Chief Morales says, “Wisconsin needs an Attorney General who is tough on crime, and Eric Toney is tough on crime.” Morales, who approved the use of pepper spray at a Black Lives Matters riot, was demoted from Milwaukee’s police chief in 2020. Morales subsequently retired and is litigating reinstatement, and the city of Milwaukee has admitted he was denied due process in his demotion. Morales is slated to speak at Toney’s kick off fundraiser, which is from 5:30 to 7 pm at the South Hills Golf and Country Club in Fond du Lac. Toney, a Republican, is running against the incumbent Attorney General Josh Kaul who is a Democrat.
Remaining Diligent
The Chief Nursing Officer for the Ripon Medical Center and Waupun Memorial Hospital says it’s important to remain diligent against COVID-19 by continuing to get vaccinated and masking. Nicolle Gill of Agnesian HealthCare/SSM Health says they have seen an overall decrease in hospitalizations from the coronavirus since a surge earlier this year. But she says we need to continue getting fully immunized and wearing face masks until we reach herd immunity with 70 to 80 percent of the population completely vaccinated. “Although patients are not hospitalized as frequently I think it is important that people remember that COVID has not gone away. I know it is difficult and we all just want this to be done, but we still need to stay diligent and continue our masking and social distancing. “Gill says the point is to safeguard against variants the vaccine might not work against by getting as many people vaccinated and protected from COVID-19 as we can. She says 70 percent of Agnesian workers and volunteers are fully immunized against the coronavirus.
Mask Option Good For Recovering Businesses
The President and CEO of Envision Greater Fond du Lac says the CDC’s decision to make face coverings and masks optional for those fully immunized against COVID-19 will be good for businesses still trying to recover from the past year. Sadie Parafiniuk says it has been a tough year for many. “We are seeing a lot of businesses, especially the big ones; you know Target, Walmart, Costco repealing their mask mandate to shop in the stores. I think we are starting to see that trickle down to more local shops and restaurants.” She says even at the Envision offices in Fond du Lac they have made face masks optional. Meanwhile she says with people adapting to that change she urges everyone to respect whatever decision someone makes about wearing a mask.
Ensuring Fairness In Funding For Elections
State Representative Alex Dallman says a bill passed by the State Assembly last week would make sure Wisconsin elections remain free and fair. The state lawmaker from Green Lake says the bill prohibits a third party or outside funding to come into specific cities or villages to be able to administer an election thereby creating influence on the outcome of an election. “Mega billionaires such as Mark Zuckerberg were able to come in provide a ton of money into certain areas and pockets of the state that he deemed necessary and was able to influence or drive an election in a way that he wanted to.” He says such political contributions should go into one source so it can be distributed throughout the state equally to all cities, villages and towns. He says the administration of our elections cannot be awarded to the highest bidder.
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