News 08.05016
5 August 2016 News
The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office identifies two people hurt in a small plane crash Wednesday. The Sheriff’s Office says the pilot is 73-year-old Thomas Helm of Neenah. The passenger is identified as 60-year-old David Plathe of Dedham, MA. Helm was taken to St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac. Plathe was airlifted to ThedaCare Regional Medical Center in Neenah. There was no update on the condition of the victims. On Wednesday, rescue crews responded to Esterbrook Road and Grove Street in the Town of Fond du Lac, just beyond the Fond du Lac County Airport. The investigation found the pilot and passenger were practicing takeoff and landing at the airport. Shortly after takeoff, the plane experienced engine failure. The pilot tried to return to the airport, but did not get enough altitude. The plane hit a power line before crashing at the edge of a farm field. The investigation is in the hands of the FAA and NTSB.
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The state Department of Health Services says Medicaid overpaid eight family planning clinics by about $63,800 in 2014. The agency issued a news release saying the its inspector general’s office notified the clinics of the audit in October 2015 and visited the clinics the following month to collect documents. The audit found a number of discrepancies, including prescriptions not signed by a valid prescriber, quantities billed not matching prescription quantities and reimbursements in excess of what is allowed. Out of $131,543 of Medicaid payments, $63,813 were overpayments. The clinics included Planned Parenthood facilities in Appleton, Green Bay, Madison and Milwaukee. A Planned Parenthood spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a message.
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Wisconsin is about to take center stage in the presidential race. Donald Trump is headed to the critical Fox Valley region today for his first visit to the state since losing its primary and refusing to endorse fellow Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. Just hours before Trump’s rally Friday night, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine was to talk about Hillary Clinton’s job plans at a brewery in the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee. Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki says the Kaine visit to Milwaukee, home to the largest pocket of Democratic voters in the state, is all about rallying the base to volunteer and vote in November. Green Bay and the Fox Valley is more of a swing part of the state where a close election could be decided.
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Wisconsin State Fair organizers say additional security measures this year will ensure fun at the annual event isn’t disrupted by lawbreakers. The fair opened for its 165th year on Thursday in suburban West Allis. Interim CEO Kathleen O’Leary says for the first time, fairgoers will pass through metal detectors at all seven public admission gates. O’Leary says safety at the fair is first and foremost. She says hundreds of surveillance cameras inside and outside State Fair Park will be monitored. 110 sworn police officers and 550 public safety officers will staff the fair’s 11-day run. O’Leary says a police command post staffed by Milwaukee officers and State Fair police will operate 24/7 during the fair.
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Detectives investigating the 1989 death of a newborn in Kenosha County say they have targeted a person of interest in the homicide case. In order to obtain DNA evidence, the remains of the boy, known as Baby John Doe, will be exhumed from a cemetery in the Town of Randall. Trappers found the infant’s body beneath the Des Plaines River Bridge in the Town of Paris on Nov. 9, 1989. An autopsy determined the baby was born alive and his death was ruled a homicide. The sheriff’s office says the case was reopened about a year ago when new information became available. Kenosha County sheriff’s detectives, the Kenosha County Medical Examiner’s Office and representatives of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children will be present for the exhumation.
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A U.S. Department of Labor investigation found employees at Waupaca Foundry Inc. are at risk of hearing loss, respiratory illness and “other dangers from exposure to noise, silica.” The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued two repeat and two serious safety violations to the company. OSHA says the investigation found employees were overexposed to noise, respirable crystalline silica, and carbon monoxide. OSHA also found that the company failed to implement a formaldehyde training program and controls to reduce exposure to hazards. OSHA has proposed penalties of $56,950. A correction deadline is set for Sept. 7, 2016. Waupaca Foundry can contest the violations. Waupaca Foundry produces iron castings. It employs about 4,000 people at nine plants. Plants are located in Waupaca and Marinette in Wisconsin; Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
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