Hometown Broadcasting News Tuesday 12/14/21
14 December 2021 News
Missing Green Lake County Woman Found Safe
An 80-year-old Markesan woman who was the subject of a Silver Alert from the state’s Department of Justice was found safe Monday afternoon. Diana Austin was reported missing after she was last seen Monday morning at 10:30 leaving a residence on Prairie Road in Markesan with a suitcase, a dog, and a cat. Her physical description and description of what she was wearing and the vehicle she was driving were posted on the DOJ’s Silver Alert Facebook page along with a photo of the type of pickup truck she was driving. The Silver Alert was cancelled about 5:15 pm Monday afternoon.
FDL Man Charged With Fifth OWI And Recklessly Endangering Safety
The 47-year-old Fond du Lac man suspected of driving his vehicle into a piece of Fond du Lac County Highway Department machinery made his initial court appearance on charges stemming from the December 2nd incident on Kinker Road. A county highway worker narrowly escaped injury by leaping from the piece of equipment when Tony Schumacher allegedly drove his vehicle into it. Schumacher was in court last Friday for his fifth operating while intoxicated offense, and 2 counts of second degree recklessly endangering safety, and 1 count each of felony bail jumping and a felony count of criminal damage to property. He had previously posted a $10,000 cash bond and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for February 4th.
Hintz Stepping Down As Assembly Minority Leader
State Representative Gordon Hintz of Oshkosh announced Monday he is stepping down as the State Assembly’s Democratic Leader effective January 10th. Hintz has been the Assembly’s minority leader the past four years. He says after winning reelection last year he was committed to serving as the minority leader through the 2021 state budget process and redistricting. He says he has been humbled and honored to lead the Assembly Democrats for the past four-plus years but he wants to have more time for his district and family, which includes two children under the age of five. He added he is looking forward to continuing to serve alongside his Democratic colleagues in the State Assembly.
Phishing Delivery Scams
The administrator for the state’s Division of Trade and Consumer Protection warns holiday shoppers to watch out for phishing scams in which you receive an email or text message masked as a shipping or delivery alert. Lara Sutherlin says you should avoid clicking on links or opening attachments in those emails. She says the link will redirect you to a site that infects your computer with malware, ransomware or a site designed to get more information about you so they can steal your identity. She says some clues that the email or text is not legitimate include; poor grammar and spelling errors, lack of specifics about the sender or package’s content, threats that a package will be returned to sender, and prodding to open an attachment to review an order.
Giving To Tornado Victims
The Better Business Bureau has some tips for those who would like to help tornado victims in Kentucky and other states as they begin to recover from the damage caused by several storms and multiple tornadoes over the weekend. They recommend sending a cash donation directly through a charity’s own website. Among the charities they recommend are the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and Feeding America. They also recommend giving to people and organizations that you know. They also suggest doing your research on crowdfunding sites as to their legitimacy and be advised that not all contributions to crowdfunding sites are tax deductible. For more information you should visit the BBB’s Give.org. website.
Find Best Charities To Donate | Charity Ratings, Reviews (give.org)
ADVOCAP Tuition Assistance Program
A business development specialist for ADVOCAP says they can offer tuition assistance to workers who are willing to get training for some in-demand jobs. Jan Griedl says the grants are forgivable and will pay up to $900 per semester for tuition and books for those who are income eligible. She says the program focuses on finding skilled employees for in-demand business and jobs. Some of those jobs would include nursing and health care, positions, CNC machining, welding, logistic jobs and more. In addition to income eligibility guidelines those applying for tuition assistance must work a minimum of 20 hours a week. The assistance also includes reimbursement for mileage and child care in some instances. The program is available to workers in Fond du Lac, Green Lake, and Winnebago counties. To inquire about the assistance call Jan at 920-361-9880.
COVID And Voting
A Washington Post comparison of presidential election results for the two main candidates given their positions on testing and vaccination for COVID-19 yielded some interesting results. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says those counties who heavily backed President Trump were more likely to see higher incidents of COVID infection that those who favored Joe Biden. He says in fact counties who voted for Trump were three times more likely to see COVID infections than those that went for Biden. The study also looked at the vaccination rates for Dane County Wisconsin and San Francisco. In Dane County 86 percent of those 12 years of age or older have been vaccinated against the coronavirus and in San Francisco that percentage was 84 percent.
Residents Invited To Comment On Draft Of Connect 2050 Plan
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is inviting residents to comment on the future of transportation in the state. Connect 2050, Wisconsin’s statewide multimodal transportation plan will help guide infrastructure investments through 2050. The draft version of the plan is available online. Comments on the plan can be submitted through January 24th. DOT Secretary Craig Thompson says the draft Connect 2050 plan relied on more than 2,200 survey responses, 2,400 written comments and participation from every county in the state. He urges residents to continue to make their voices heard by commenting on the draft of the plan online. A mail in form can be requested by calling (608) 266-3581.
WisDOT Public Forms (wisconsindot.gov)
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