1/12/23 Hometown Broadcasting News Thursday
12 January 2023 News
FDL Murder Suspect Arraigned
One of the two Fond du Lac men suspected of robbing and killing Benzel Rose of Fond du Lac was arraigned yesterday in Fond du Lac County court. Twenty-eight-year-old Eric Perry pled not guilty to first degree intentional homicide and armed robbery with use of force charges stemming from Rose’s death. Late the night of October 17th, 2021 Fond du Lac Police responded to a 9-1-1 call for assistance at a residence in the 300 block of 8th Street. Officers found the 26-year-old man dead from a gunshot wound to the head. A gun and some money were stolen from Rose. Perry and 23-year-old Julius Freeman were picked up on probation warrants in the fall of 2021 and have been incarcerated since. Freeman will be arraigned on similar charges next week.
FDL Man and Oshkosh Woman Facing Drug Charges In Forest County
A 29-year-old Fond du Lac man and 21-year-old Oshkosh woman are facing drug charges in Forest County after an incident at a hotel on January 2nd. The Forest County Sheriff’s Office got a call about a man and woman fighting at a hotel and responded to that. While speaking to them, a deputy noticed drugs on top of a bed. The hotel room was searched and Fentanyl, Methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were found. The two, Thomas Owens and Amanda West, were arrested and were taken to the Forest County Jail. The execution of search warrants for their vehicle and their residence in Oshkosh turned up more drugs, a firearm and ammunition. Owens is being held in the Forest County Jail on a $25,000 cash bond and West on a $10,000 cash bond.
Altercation At Merrill Middle School
Oshkosh Police arrested several adults and one juvenile after a disturbance at the Merrill Middle School Wednesday afternoon. Police say earlier in the day there was a physical disturbance between two students. Around 2:15 in the afternoon, family members and acquaintances of one of the students arrived at the school. The adults forced their way into the school and created a disturbance. School staff and the School Resource Officer told them they had to leave but they refused to do so. The adults created a physical disturbance with school staff and officers. Several adults and one juvenile were taken into custody. No weapons were involved. The school went into a hold for student safety until the incident was resolved.
COVID Variant More Contagious
A member of the former Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force says being vaccinated against the coronavirus is still your best way to find some protection against it. Jeff Puhlmann-Becker says the latest variant XBB.1.5 is being termed the grandchild of the Omicron variant because it is so contagious. But so far it hasn’t proven to be any more dangerous that other variants that have come along since the Omicron variant. He says the problem is people who aren’t vaccinated could be seriously at risk if a variant mutates back to a dangerous and more lethal level. He says at this point XBB is becoming the dominant variant in the New England area but could spread to other parts of the country.
Controlled Water Outage
The installation of a new water valve resulted in a water outage for some Oshkosh businesses and residents Wednesday afternoon. They were notified of the water outage ahead of time. The valve installation took place at the Sterns Drive and West Snell Road intersection which is currently closed for construction. The repair was expected to take up to five hours to complete. The valve controls water service to the area west of U.S. Highway 45 between West Snell Road extended and Ryf Road or County Road T.
Ripon Council Approves Agreement For Project Design and Construction Services
The Ripon Common Council this week approved an agreement with Short, Elliot, Hendrickson or SEH to provide design and construction services for the Public Works Facility Project. City Administrator Adam Sonntag says SEH will be providing those services for $482,700 or about $70,000 to $80,000 under the Master Plan estimate. Trevor Frank of the firm says the first phase of the project would involve replacing the old garage and demolition of the old facility. A second phase would be an expansion of the facility. The Council also approved the bid of $16,820 plus an annual fee of $2,500 from Cemetery Information Management System or CIMS for cemetery management software. Two other vendors bid on the software contract. CIMS is a product of Ramaker 7 Associates out of Sauk City, Wisconsin.
RAFD Administrative Roles
With the retirement of two chiefs and a captain from the Ripon Area Fire District last month a number of people have stepped up to take over leadership roles for the district. Ellen Sorensen is the President of the Ripon Area Fire District Governing Board. She points out they hired McMahon Associates for strategic planning prior to Chief Tim Saul’s retirement. McMahon has since been hired to handle administrative duties with Fire Chief Robert Whitaker of McMahon taking over some of the administrative work. Sorensen also authorizes some of the purchases as president of the board. Other McMahon and Associates members, Kevin Kloehn and Kevin Bierce who are also fire chiefs with other communities’ departments, are handling other duties. Kloehn is helping with training and Bierce is handling inspections which Sorensen says need a lot of work. The strategic plan is expected to be presented to the board in April or May.
Protecting ARPA Funds
Winnebago County protected itself from having to give back $33 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds by passing a resolution claiming it as lost revenue. They then created the Spirit Fund within their General Fund balance. Winnebago County Supervisor Jacob Floam says it was a way to protect the funds should the Federal Government want to reclaim unused ARPA funds. He says the County will find uses for the money like funding improvements at a boat landing and providing new radios for the County Jail which need to be replaced every 10 years. He says 25 percent of the funds will be distributed to nonprofits like the Boys & Girls Club in Oshkosh which is doing a big expansion.
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