8/12/22 Hometown Broadcasting News Friday
12 August 2022 News
FDL Man’s NGI Plea Accepted
The same Fond du Lac County jury that found a 29-year-old Fond du Lac man guilty of intentionally hitting and killing a motorcyclist with his father’s pickup truck, a day later found him not guilty due to mental disease or defect. The second phase of the trial for Daniel Navarro was held Thursday and resulted in the court committing him for life to institutional care at the Department of Health Services. The two doctors that testified gave the opinion that Navarro experienced paranoid delusions from schizophrenia and was not guilty due to a mental disease or defect. Two jurors dissented. District Attorney Eric Toney says the death of 55-year-old Phillip Thiessen of Fond du Lac in July of 2020 was a horrific act of violence born out of hate and a mental illness. Navarro told investigators he was harassed by white co-workers because he was Mexican. The homicide was charged with a hate crime enhancer. The case was investigated by the County Sheriff’s Office.
FDL Man Killed In Montana Motorcycle Accident
A 66-year-old Fond du Lac man was killed when his motorcycle crashed into a black bear on Montana Highway 83 last Sunday. Bruce Immel was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle and struck the bear as it was crossing the road that morning. Montana Highway Patrol officials say he was not wearing a helmet. Speed and alcohol were not factors in the crash. Due to its injuries the bear had to be euthanized after the crash. Funeral services for Bruce Immel will be held in Fond du Lac next Tuesday.
Four Oshkosh Residents Arrested During Washington County Drug Enforcement Effort
Four Oshkosh residents were among those arrested during a Washington County Drug Task Force enforcement effort on Interstate 41 Tuesday. Seventy-five traffic stops were made and 17 vehicles were searched based upon probable cause of criminal activity. An Oshkosh man was stopped for improper display of registration. A deputy observed an occupant of the vehicle concealing an item in the seat. There was a subsequent search and two Oshkosh men were arrested. The first was charged with possession of narcotics, cocaine and drug paraphernalia. The second man was charged with bail jumping and cocaine possession. Cocaine was also found on the second man during a search at the jail. During another traffic stop a man and a woman from Oshkosh were arrested for methamphetamine possession. The woman was later found to be in possession of fentanyl.
Beach Reopened To Swimming
Officials with the Green Lake County Public Health Department say the swimming beach at Soldiers and Sailors Park on Little Green Lake was reopened Thursday. The beach was closed earlier in the week due to a blue green algae bloom. The water quality has greatly improved and signs of the algae bloom have dissipated. Health Department officials caution that water conditions can change rapidly so they advise scanning before you swim to look for signs of potentially harmful algae and if the water does not look clear, stay out!
An Obvious Need
The process of finding the right opportunity to locate the Boys & Girls Club of the Tri-County Area in a facility in Ripon took 6 to 7 years. Boys & Girls Club CEO Jason Presto says they had been approached by community leaders in Ripon about the possibility but first they had to assess whether there was a need, which a survey of 50 community leaders bore out. He notes over the past 25 years the poverty level in Ripon doubled, the median household income dropped, and the number of students who qualified for the free and reduced school lunch program went from 17 to 50 percent. Presto says that and the need for after-school and summer care made the need obvious. Boys & Girls Club Board member Mary Lyke was a school nurse in the Ripon Area School District for 15 years. She says she they also saw the need increase with the opioid crisis and mental health issues of students. The Boys & Girls Club of the Tri-County Area will be building a new facility on the current Republican House site.
MPTC Signing Articulation Agreement With The UW Oshkosh
Moraine Park Technical College and the UW-Oshkosh will sign an articulation agreement allowing students pursuing Associate of Arts and Associate of Science liberal arts degrees to seamlessly transfer from Moraine Park and continue their education at the UW-Oshkosh with confirmed junior status. The agreement will be signed by Moraine Park President Bonnie Baerwald and UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Andy Levitt at Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac campus today. The two liberal arts degrees will be offered at Moraine Park starting this fall. Earlier this year Moraine Park signed a similar articulation agreement with Lakeland University.
COVID Experience Was Unpleasant
Former Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force member Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says his week with the coronavirus was a very unpleasant experience. He says he didn’t feel ill enough to go to a hospital, but for five days he spent most of his day in bed. He says he had a raspy voice, felt nauseous, dizzy, and had a total lack of energy. When his wife had COVID during the winter she isolated from him in their home, this time the shoe was on the other foot. Since he first tested positive for COVID, his wife got it again and his mother-in-law. He says even though he and his wife were living in the same home while he isolated he now has a better understanding of why people developed mental health issues while going through the isolation caused by COVID.
Lake Geneva Trip
The Ripon Senior Activity Center will be taking some seniors on a day trip to Lake Geneva on Tuesday, August 30th. Center Executive Director Noreen Johnson says it will include a 2 ½ hour tour on a U.S. Mail Boat which actually delivers the mail during the guided tour. After that there will be lunch at Popeye’s of Lake Geneva which will be serving chicken, but the restaurant is not part of the national franchise. After lunch people will have time to shop. The bus leaves from the Ripon Senior Center at 6:37 that morning and will be back by 6 pm. A light breakfast will be served on the bus. The cost for the trip is $65 if you’re leaving from Ripon, but $70 if you want to get on in Fond du Lac. People need to sign up by the end of today. For more information call 920-748-6225.
Ripon City Administrator Speaker At LWV Ripon Area Presentation
The League of Women Voters of the Ripon Area kicks off its 2022-23 program calendar year with a presentation by Ripon City Administrator Adam Sonntag. He has been the City Administrator for just over a year. During his presentation he will update League members as well as the public on both current and future matters regarding the City of Ripon. The presentation will be held in the Common Council Chambers of Ripon City Hall next Wednesday night at 7 pm. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. Sonntag is a Ripon College graduate and previously worked as the Hillsboro City Administrator before returning to Ripon.
Waupun Memorial Hospital Rummage Sale
SSM Health Waupun Memorial Hospital, through its Mission Action Team, is sponsoring a free community rummage sale for individuals and families within the Waupun community. The sale will be Wednesday, August 24th from 8 am to 4 pm and on Thursday, August 25th from 8 am to 2 pm in the hospital’s Marsh Conference Room on the lower level. Masks are required in the hospital. The sale will feature gently-used clothing for all ages and sizes, backpacks, coats, shoes, purses, wallets, blankets, and linens. Participants will also have the opportunity to donate a canned good for the Waupun Food Pantry.
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