2/19/24 Hometown Broadcasting News Monday
19 February 2024 News
DIDION EMPLOYEES SENTENCED
Two senior employees of a Wisconsin corn plant have been sentenced to two years in prison for falsifying records and obstructing an investigation into a fatal corn dust explosion in 2017. Last Thursday U.S. District Judge James Peterson sentenced 50-year-old Derrick Clark of Waunakee and 45-year-old Shawn Mesner or Readstown who were convicted last October on multiple safety, environmental and fraud charges. Clark was Didion Milling’s vice president of operations and Mesner was the company’s former food safety superintendent. They are among several Didion employees found guilty in connection with the May 31st, 2017, explosion that killed five workers and injured more than a dozen others at the plant in Cambria. In December the U.S. Department of Labor reached a settlement with Didion that required the Cambria corn milling company to pay more than $1.8 million in penalties and make extensive safety and health improvements at the facility.
WAUTOMA MAN ARRESTED FOR FOURTH OWI OFFENSE
The State Patrol arrested a 54-year-old Wautoma man for his fourth operating a motor vehicle while under the influence offense early Sunday morning in Oshkosh. A state trooper conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for speed and equipment violations. Thomas Schneider was pulled over on Highway 44 southbound at West 4th Avenue. The trooper saw indications of impairment and Schneider allegedly admitted to consuming alcohol prior to the stop. He refused to take field sobriety tests. Schneider was arrested and was booked into the Winnebago County Jail for his 4th OWI and a probation hold.
HEART MONTH
Fond du Lac County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller reminds us to take care of our heart with February being American Heart Month. Suggestions include choosing low sodium, low-fat foods and getting regular exercise, like walking or biking. Mueller says if you don’t feel well and experience chest pains you should have it checked out. She recommends learning CPR and with many businesses and public places now equipped with automated external defibrillators knowing how to use an AED could also save a life. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has information on its website CDC.gov about preventing heart disease.
Prevent Heart Disease | cdc.gov
CONGRESSMAN GROTHMAN ON THE CATCH AND RELEASE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
The chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs says the Biden Administration isn’t detaining and deporting a significant fraction of illegal border crossers. During the subcommittee’s meeting in Washington, D.C. last Thursday Congressman Glenn Grothman emphasized the national security risk that catch-and-release policies present to the country. He says the subcommittee has heard a lot about drug crimes and sexual assaults committed by those coming across the border, as well as the sexual assaults of women before they come across the southern border. The federal lawmaker from Glenbeulah says President Biden has the power to end the illegal border crossings with the stroke of a pen, but chooses not to do it. Grothman points out busloads of illegal immigrants are making their way into Wisconsin cities including Fond du Lac, Eau Claire, and Chippewa Falls.
FREE NARCAN TRAINING AT RIPON COLLEGE TUESDAY
Free Narcan training will be held at Ripon College tomorrow. During the free training you can learn how to recognize an opioid overdose, how to respond to an opioid overdose, and how to safely administer Narcan. The training will be held at the Ripon College Great Hall from 11:30 am to 12:15 pm. Narcan kits will be available upon completion of the training. The training is being offered by Ripon College and the Fond du Lac County Health Department. Those who plan to take the training are asked to register online or by calling 920-929-3190.
Ripon College Narcan Training – Feb 20 Survey (surveymonkey.com)
WINTER PARKING ORDINANCES IN EFFECT
Although we’ve had a lack of snow this winter many communities have winter parking ordinances that are in effect until mid-March or April 1st. Ripon enforces its winter parking ordinance until April 1st. Ripon Police Chief Bill Wallner says there’s no parking allowed on city streets during the early morning hours from 3 am to 6 am. Wallner says even with the sparsity of snow this season the ordinance is enforced. He says there are other street maintenance issues the DPW can see to while vehicles aren’t parked on the streets such as fixing broken water mains. Ripon’s winter parking ordinance is in effect November 15th through March 31st of each year.
FDL COUNTY VETERANS SERVICE OFFICE EXPANDS ACCESSIBILITY
Fond du Lac County’s Veterans Service Office has expanded their availability and accessibility to areas of the county outside of the city of Fond du Lac monthly. Senior Benefit Specialist Rachael Peschke will be working at the Ripon Public Library on the first Monday of every month from 9 am to 4 pm. Benefit Specialist Nicole Russell will be working at the Waupun Public Library on the first Thursday of every month from 9 am to 4 pm. Starting February 28th County Veteran Service Officer Dave Tellefsen will be working at the Municipal building in Campbellsport the last Wednesday of every month from 8:30 am to 4 pm. The dates and times are subject to change. A notice will be released if the date, time, or location has to be adjusted.
FAR OFF LISTENERS
Occasionally we hear from listeners from far off lands who picked up our broadcasting signal. These are no ordinary listeners but those who try to pick up signals a few hundred miles north of the Article Circle. Timo Metso and Ismo Kauppi are from Finnish Lapland they picked up The WAVE, WRPN 1600 AM last October 17th. They estimated the distance from their radio monitoring base to Ripon, Wisconsin is over 4,000 miles. Each of the last three years they’ve taken off a week just to listen for broadcast signals from foreign lands. This time they just happened to catch The Wave.
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