News 09.09.16
9 September 2016 News
The Fond du lac County District Attorney is questioning whether a Fond du Lac judge should step down from the Dennis Brantner murder case but has not formally asked to the judge to recuse himself. Brantner is charged with first degree murder for the 1990 murder of Berit Beck. Fond du lac judge Gary Sharpe declared a mistrial earlier this summer after the jury said they could not reach a verdict because of one holdout juror. In a letter to the court, District Attorney Eric Toney expressed concern about comments the judge allegedly made about the case, suggesting the possible appearance of the court being unable to be impartial. Toney says there are four areas of possible concern he wants the judge to address during a motion hearing scheduled for next week. Toney says multiple jurors stated after the mistrial was declared judge Sharpe expressed opinions to them about the case. Toney says in the letter that he has heard the judge also expressed opinions to employees at the city-county government center about who he feels is responsible for the crime. Toney also says he is concerned that at a recent status conference the judge unilaterally suggested revisiting prior rulings to not allow other acts evidence regarding another potential suspect. Toney says the final potential area of concern is regarding statements the judge’scourt reporter made regarding the case. Toney says while some of the statements are second hand, that could be little more than gossip, it would be wise to address the matters on the record.
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A coalition of community partners is taking steps to address the heroin epidemic that has gripped the Fond du Lac County area. Fond du Lac County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says the county Opioid Initiative is partnering with the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin for a series of free Narcan training for the public. Mueller says its designed to help friends or family save the life of a heroin addict in the event of an overdose. Mueller says the first community training session will be held at 5:30pm on Tuesday, September 27th at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Fond du Lac. Another training session will be held in October in Ripon and in January in Fond du Lac.
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What’s Wisconsin’s coolest thing? Limburger cheese, foam cheeseheads, kringle or campfire logs? Toilet flappers, cheese curds or industrial air pollution destruction systems? Or one of several varieties of beer? A contest sponsored by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce is attempting to get to the bottom of the burning question. The state chamber of commerce is sponsoring the online voting contest with Johnson Financial Group. More than 200 products have been nominated. Voting ends on Sept. 12. To cast a vote for beer, cheese or even historical recreations of swords, go to www.madeinwis.com . The winner will be presented with the Wisconsin’s Coolest Thing Award in October.
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A legislative committee is studying changes to Wisconsin law protecting burial sites after a Republican bill that would have allowed quarry owners to excavate American Indian mounds died last session. The measure would have allowed Wingra Stone and Redi-Mix to excavate Ho-Chunk Nation burial mounds that lie in a Dane County quarry to prove whether human remains are really present. A legislative committee comprised of leaders from both parties created a committee after the bill died to study possible changes to burial site protection. The committee has met only once and hasn’t set firm goals. Possible discussion areas, however, include making burial site locations more accessible to land developers, the size of development buffer zones around cataloged sites and allowing minor disturbances at sites.
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The Brown County Sheriff’s Office confirms the arrest of 38-year-old George Steven Burch for the murder of Nicole Vanderheyden of Ledgeview. Burch was expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon for his initial appearance and a probable cause hearing. Investigators will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. this morning to release details of the arrest. He was booked into the jail Wednesday morning.Burch has had run-ins with the law in the past. Court records from Virginia show a jury found him not guilty of first-degree murder in 1998. At the time, he was associated with a gang. His prior convictions include possession of a weapon by a felon, burglary, and possession of marijuana. The 31-year old Vanderheyden was found dead May 21 in a Bellevue field. Police say she was beaten to death.
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A group of farmers has formed to buy and deliver clean, bottled water to families with contaminated drinking wells. The nonprofit Peninsula Pride Farms will pay for well inspections and most of the cost of in-home water treatment systems for those whose well water tests positive for E. coli. The farmers are addressing a groundwater pollution problem in Kewaunee County some environmentalists say is caused by large-scale agriculture. A study released in December found 34 percent of wells tested in the county had unsafe levels of nitrates and bacteria. About 2 percent of tested wells were contaminated with E. coli. A work group set up by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended in June that farmers and other stakeholders provide emergency water supplies.
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