12/16/22 Hometown Broadcasting News Friday
16 December 2022 News
Ripon Man Charged With Drug Possession
A 60-year-old Ripon man is facing charges for what was inside a black bag he left in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 600 block of Oshkosh Street in Ripon last April. The manager for the Willowbrook Apartments called police to report the bag. When police opened the bag to try and identify who it belonged to they did find a wallet and cell phone belonging to Jay Conn. But the bag also contained small amounts of marijuana and methamphetamine. Shortly after Conn called police to report the theft of the bag. Conn admitted there were drugs in the bag but also told officers he has “MS” and they were used to relieve his condition. According to the criminal complaint he introduced the topic of methamphetamine. Conn will make his initial appearance in Fond du Lac County court on January 3rd on charges stemming from the incident He has previous drug convictions in Winnebago and Fond du Lac counties and has open marijuana and methamphetamine possession cases in Green Lake County. (Fond du Lac County Jail photo)
Deadly Year For Fires In Wisconsin
The Wisconsin State Fire Inspectors Association has set a goal of no more fire deaths for the remainder of 2022. With two weeks to go there have been 51 fire fatalities compared to 40 in all of 2021. There were five deaths in two separate fires last Friday. Three children died in a fire in Watertown and two lives were claimed by a fire in La Crosse. There were 52 fire-related deaths in 2020 and the Association would like to keep this year’s number below that. The Association offers these tips; install smoke alarms inside and outside each sleeping area, test those alarms monthly, sleep with bedroom doors closed, stay in the kitchen when cooking or baking, and develop and practice an escape plan. Association officials say without a home sprinkler system, home fires can become deadly in as little as two minutes.
Phone Scam Reported In Oshkosh
Oshkosh Police are investigating several phone scams which occurred in the city. Several residents reported receiving a phone call from a man stating that he was an officer with Oshkosh Police and they missed a court date. Officers from the department may call residents regarding investigations but they would not call to solicit money or gift cards. Anyone with information, but who wish to remain anonymous can call the Winnebago County Crime Stoppers at 920-231-8477.
Senior Center Dedication Plaque Discussed
The Ripon Common Council this week continued its discussion over a dedication plaque at the Grace and Lloyd Mitchell Senior Activity Center. The plaque includes the names of current Council members. Some of those members didn’t feel that was right since three different Common Councils had a hand in approving the new center. The Council was informed that they really couldn’t do anything about the current dedication plaque since it is permanently attached to the brick siding of the building. Mayor Ted Grant said one suggestion made to him was to put up a donation board inside the center listing those who contributed to the center and those who will contribute in the future. The Council will continue their conversation about that possibility next month setting perimeters for what level of donations should be recognized on the board.
Merrimac Ferry Closing For The Season
The Merrimac ferry will be closing for the season next Monday at 7 am. It has been in operation since 1848 and was taken over by Sauk and Columbia counties in 1924. The state’s Department of Transportation took charge of the operation in 1933. It began as a wooden ferry but evolved over time and currently operates as the Colsac III, a 15-car ferry. The Merrimac Ferry crosses the Wisconsin River between Sauk and Columbia counties and is the state’s only free ferry. It shuttles State Highway 113 traffic between Okee on the east bank and Merrimac on the west. The ferry is open for service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, normally from April 15th through November 30th.
COVID and the Holidays
A member of the former Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force encourages people to get COVID-19 vaccine or booster shots before the holidays. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker also urges people to avoid holiday gatherings if they are sick and to cover your nose and mouth if you sneeze, which could prevent the spread of the virus if you have COVID but aren’t aware of it yet. He says the best way to cover a sneeze is to sneeze into your elbow or shoulder. He points out the Christmas season is all about goodwill toward others and certainly a person’s health should be considered part of that. Wisconsin is still seeing more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 a day.
Ripon Chamber Remains Busy
After staging successful Septemberfest and Dickens of a Christmas events this fall you might think the Ripon Area Chamber of Commerce would go into hibernation mode for the winter, but that is far from the case. Chamber Executive Director Mandy Kimes says their primary responsibility is to provide services for their membership businesses and that includes instituting new software to accomplish that. She says they are all about helping businesses grow and promoting Ripon as a visitor destination. Kimes celebrated six months as Executive Director earlier this month. She started on June 6th succeeding Jason Mansmith who left in March to work with the Thrasher Opera House in Green Lake.
Xmas In Oshkosh
Oshkosh native Franki Moscato and her all-girl band, “Shoot the Moon,” will be performing their “Christmas in Oshkosh” concert tonight at the Time Community Theater. It’s a fundraiser for the Franki Moscato Foundation which she started in 2019. Franki says before that she had been a spokesperson for three different mental health organizations but she wanted to shift her focus to the problem of teen suicide. After the show Franki invites people to visit the foundation offices which are across the street from the theater. As for the show there’s a social hour at 6 pm with the show at 7 pm. There are also basket and 50/50 raffles. The theater is located at 445 North Main Street in downtown Oshkosh. Tickets for the show are available online.
Christmas In Oshkosh (wellattended.com)
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