News 08.08.16
8 August 2016 News
A hunter is in stable condition after falling 20 feet from an elevated tree stand in Green Lake County. Chief Deputy Sheriff Mark Putzke says emergency responders were called to a woods near County Highway BB, one half mile west of State Highway 73, in the Town of Marquette. Upon arrival, a 19-year-old Waupun male was found at the bottom of a ravine near a creek. The man had to be extricated from the ravine and was then transported to a local hospital for treatment. Putzke says foul play is not suspected and the fall appears to be accidental. The incident happened last Thursday around 11:45 a.m.
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The Fond du Lac County Health Department reports a dead crow found on July 25th tested positive for West Nile virus. This is the first bird that tested positive for West Nile virus in Fond du Lac County since surveillance for the mosquito-transmitted virus began May 1. County Health Officer Kim Mueller says the positive bird means residents need to be more vigilant in their protective measures to prevent mosquito bites. She says some examples include limiting time spent outdoors at dawn and dusk, using insect repellent, and making sure areas that can retain water – such as bird baths, wheelbarrows and other receptacles – are emptied frequently. West Nile virus is spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes acquire the virus by feeding on infected birds. Muller says the best way to avoid the disease is to reduce exposure and eliminate breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
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A sheriff’s deputy kills a man following a standoff. Authorities were called to an apartment complex in Beaver Dam around 6:45 p.m. Friday for a report of a suicidal man. Dodge County Sheriff’s deputies and officers from the Beaver Dam Police Department surrounded the area and received information the man wanted to commit suicide by being shot by an officer. Sheriff Dale Schmidt says the person was seen waving a gun around and at one point turned the weapon toward a deputy and fired. The deputy, who has nine years on the job, returned fire. The person with the gun died at the scene. The deputy wasn’t hurt but was immediately placed on leave, standard policy in an officer-involved shooting. The state Justice Department is investigating.
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Madison police believe a Cross Plains man has information that could help them solve the 2008 slaying of a University of Wisconsin-Madison student. But, that man, Andrew Scoles, says he wants two felony convictions expunged from his criminal record before he’ll give investigators more information about his friend and former roommate, who he says has confessed to killing Brittany Zimmermann. The 38-year-old Scoles says he wants a 2010 marijuana possession conviction in Green County and a 2014 federal conviction for possession of firearms as a felon expunged so he can get his gun collection back. It was confiscated by police. The federal conviction would require a presidential pardon. Scoles appeared in Dane County Circuit Court Thursday on an additional charge of possessing a gun as a felon.
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Agricultural experts say Wisconsin is in the midst of an nearly perfect growing season. The National Agricultural Statistics Service has ranked Wisconsin’s corn and soybean crops tops among the nation’s corn and soybean-growing states for having the highest percentage in excellent condition. As of last week, 39 percent of the state’s corn and 35 percent of its soybeans were in excellent condition. Agricultural specialists credit an early start to the growing season, timely rain, seasonal temperatures and little disease. Anticipated record yields, though, have led to lower future prices. The corn future price for delivery in December dropped to $3.34 on Aug. 1 after reaching $4.48 in June. Soybean future prices for delivery in November dropped to $9.65 after hitting $11.86 in June.
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Scientists say they’ve discovered a new virus during an investigation into a largemouth bass die-off in Forest County’s Pine Lake. The University of Wisconsin-Madison issued a news release Friday saying researchers at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Fish Health Center in La Crosse isolated an unknown virus from dead fish collected as part of a probe into the May 2015 Pine Lake die-off. UW-Madison’s Department of Pathological Sciences sequenced the virus’ genome but couldn’t find it in any databases. UW-Madison scientists say the virus, dubbed largemouth bass reovirus, is new to science. The virus hasn’t been directly linked to fish mortality but is a distant relative of other viruses associated with disease in other fish species, making it the prime suspect in the Pine Lake die-off.
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