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  • 3/15/23 Hometown Broadcasting News Wednesday

3/15/23 Hometown Broadcasting News Wednesday

15 March 2023 News


Vigil Held for Eldorado Woman

A vigil was held at Marian University in Fond du Lac yesterday afternoon for a 20-year-old Eldorado woman who died in a residence in Omro during a shooting incident Saturday. The vigil was held in the school’s Dorcas Chapel for Johanna Schultz. Marian President Michelle Majewski released a statement saying Schultz was “a bright light, hard-working and ambitious, who embodied our Marian University spirit.” Schultz was working on a double major, a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Health Care Administration and Marketing. She was also an entrepreneur with her own jewelry business. Authorities took a 22-year-old man into custody after a brief standoff during Saturday’s incident. He was initially charged with recklessly endangering safety as the investigation continues. (Photo provided to Marian University)

Fentanyl Has a Role in Eight Washington County Overdose Deaths This Year

Washington County Sheriff’s photo.

Washington County Sheriff’s officials say preliminary autopsy findings and evidence suggest a 41-year-old St. Anthony man and his 29-year-old wife both died of unintentional drug overdoses. Fentanyl and cocaine were found at the Town of Addison home they were living in. A roommate called Friday to report finding the couple dead. It was the eighth and ninth drug overdose deaths in the county this year. Fentanyl is suspected in at least six of those deaths. Sheriff Martin Schulteis says normally they don’t issue press releases while investigating those types of tragic deaths because of the complex and sensitive family issues involved. However in this case, community concerns developed relating to the two deaths so they wanted to ensure the public they were not in danger.

Charges Brought Against Kaukauna Woman For Fatal Calumet County Crash

Bond has been set at $300,000 cash for a 59-year-old Kaukauna woman suspected of driving drunk and causing an accident in Calumet County last Saturday that killed a 19-year-old Grand Chute man and injured two others. Bridget Miller is suspected of causing the two-vehicle crash at the intersection of State Highway 114 and Oneida Street. According to the criminal complaint her blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit and it was her fifth drunken driving offense. Names of the victims were not released. Miller is charged with six felonies including homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle. She made her initial court appearance Tuesday in Calumet County court and will be back in court for a preliminary hearing on April 21st.

Bind Over Stands For Oshkosh Man

A Winnebago County judge Monday denied a request to overturn the bind over for trial decision made during a preliminary hearing last month for a 52-year-old Oshkosh man suspected of driving a powerboat that crashed into a paddlewheel cruise boat. In February Jason Lindemann pled not guilty to the 21 different charges he faces for the hit-and-run accident and was bound over for trial. The crash between the 38-foot powerboat and the paddlewheel boat on the Fox River occurred last July 9th.  There were 44 people on the paddlewheel boat at the time. Judge Michael Gibbs did remove Lindemann from 24/7 monitoring, but kept in place an order not to operate a motor boat and to maintain absolute sobriety. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for May 15th.

Dodge County Sheriff’s Office Takes Over Lomira Policing

Dodge County Sheriff’s photo.

At the beginning of the month the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office began its contract for police services with the Village of Lomira. Sheriff Dale Schmidt had been directing the village’s police department since September 23rd during which he was able to analyze their law enforcement needs. The village has never had a full-time law enforcement agency. The Sheriff’s Office will now provide 24/7 law enforcement coverage for the village with three full-time deputies being assigned to work in the village on a full-time basis. Sergeant Donald Counard has been assigned to lead the law enforcement efforts within the village. He is a 28-year law enforcement veteran. Deputy Codey Bratz will be working as a deputy in the village and has been temporarily assigned as a school resource officer for the Lomira School District. Deputy Jay Thielmann will be assigned to take over the SRO duties at the end of the year. Deputy Thielmann was originally selected for the assignment, but that was delayed temporarily until about May.

RAFD Strategic Planning

The president of the Governing Board for the Ripon Area Fire District says recent retirements of the fire department’s leaders and strategic planning can be a good thing for the District. Ellen Sorensen says a strategic plan will give them a better idea of what they need and the future of the department. She says they may want to explore combining fire and EMS for efficiencies and whether the service should remain with the District or go back to the city, but they are conversations that have to be had. Sorensen says interim appointments to Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, and Assistant Chief should improve communications and administration for the District while they are developing a strategic plan. She says in the past they were lacking in administration.

Representative Dallman Meets with Sheriffs

Sheriff Podoll, Representative Dallman, and Sheriff Konrath (left to right)

State Representative Alex Dallman recently met with Sheriff’s from Green Lake and Marquette counties to discuss issues facing law enforcement and their communities. As part of Badger State Sheriffs’ Association’s Spring Conference, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll and Marquette County Sheriff Joseph Konrath visited Representative Dallman in Madison. They discussed topics such as an Assembly bill, which would classify county jailers as a protective occupation status under the Wisconsin Retirement System. They also discussed increased shared revenue for local municipalities, increased pay for prosecutors and staffing shortages. The state lawmaker from Green Lake says, “I appreciated hearing their view on issues that affect Green Lake County, Marquette County, and the State of Wisconsin.”  Dallman says he will continue working hard to fight for law enforcement and public safety in the state legislature.

Community Game Day in Wautoma

The Waushara County Health and Human Services Department and Dynamic Family Solutions are teaming up this Saturday to offer a Community Game Day at the Wautoma High School. Hours for the free event is from Noon to 5 pm. Bryan Wright is the founder of Dynamic Family Solutions. He says the community will be able to enjoy free food, games, and prizes. Wright notes the goal is to work toward building relationships making a better connection between individual families and youth. But he says the day is mostly about having fun. Most of the games focus on team building. One of the most popular has to do with stacking 32-gallon garbage cans into a pyramid. There are others games as well and music. As for the food there will be pizza, chips, cookies, and Dairy Queen Dilly bars. Those who would like to participate can call Wright at 715-853-6968. The first 25 teams that sign up will be entered into a raffle to win a prize.

FDL County Committees

Fond du Lac County officials are looking for individuals interested in serving on one of the boards, committees or commissions that serve it. In particular at this time there is a need for those willing to serve on the Commission on Aging or Gottfried Prairie & Arboretum Advisory Committee. The Commission on Aging acts as the reviewing entity for all county programs on aging and the area agency on aging. The Arboretum Advisory Committee oversees the ongoing development of an arboretum at the UW-Fond du Lac. Anyone who would like to be considered for membership to either committee should contact Rhoda Hinz via email (Rhoda.hinz@fdlco.wi.gov ) or should call 920-929-3155 by March 27th. County Executive Sam Kaufman will review the list of interested persons and make recommendations for appointments to the county board of supervisors at their April 18th meeting.


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