News 12.23.16
23 December 2016 News
Fond du Lac County hopes contracting with the state will help in the collection of unpaid court fines. The Fond du lac County Board has approved a resolution authorizing the clerk of courts to contract with the state Department of Revenue. Fond du lac County executive Al Buechel says the county currently uses a collection agency to collect unpaid fines. Buechel says this would potentially eliminate transferring claims to a collection agency and instead, the claims will be transferred to the state online. He says placing a different kind of emphasis on unpaid fines can help them get cleared up.
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A new Fond du Lac County Highway garage is the big ticket item in the next five year capital improvement plan. The county board this week approved a resolution to borrow more than $50 million for the first four years of the five year plan. County executive Al Buechel says construction on a new $22 million highway garage is expected to start in 2020. The garage will be located on 40 acres of county owned property off the Highway 151 Bypass and Hickory Road.
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Oshkosh Police are investigating a hit and run accident that injured a pedestrian. According to a press release, the incident happened Wednesday evening around 10:30 p.m. at Jackson Street and Pearl Street in the City of Oshkosh. Investigation shows a pedestrian was crossing Pearl Avenue on the east side of the street when a vehicle hit the individual on the front passenger side of the vehicle. The vehicle then left the scene. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. Police say the vehicle is described as an older and dark in color with four doors. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Oshkosh Police Department at 920-236-5700.
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State attorneys are arguing a Wisconsin prison inmate featured in the Netflix series “Making a Murderer” voluntarily confessed to helping rape and kill a photographer and should remain behind bars. Brendan Dassey was sentenced to life in 2007 in the death of photographer Teresa Halbach. He told detectives he helped his uncle, Steven Avery, rape and kill Halbach in the Avery family’s Manitowoc County salvage yard. A federal magistrate judge ruled in August that detectives falsely promised leniency in exchange for his confession and ordered Dassey released. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the release pending a state appeal. Deputy Solicitor General Luke Berg filed a brief Wednesday arguing Dassey’s coercion claims have no legal or factual basis and the 7th Circuit has upheld techniques the detectives used.
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Republicans in control of the Wisconsin state Legislature are considering splitting up the Department of Natural Resources, scattering parks, forestry, environmental, hunting and fishing programs among three existing agencies and two new ones. The lawmakers behind the plan say they’re pursuing the dramatic change because the DNR is not working in its current form. And Gov. Scott Walker says he sees the plan as worth pursuing. Republicans have tried to break up the DNR in the past but have fallen short. The plans have traditionally met with opposition from outdoor clubs and environmental groups. The latest proposal comes from state Rep. Adam Jarchow, a Republican from Balsam Lake.
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A boy dies after police say he fell from an outdoor water slide at a resort in the Wisconsin Dells area. Police say the incident happened Wednesday night at Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park in Lake Delton. The area surrounding the slide is closed for the season and is fenced off and the gates are locked. Lake Delton police say the boy and two other juveniles entered the restricted area and climbed to the top of the slide. The boy used a sled to go down the slide, but got caught in the snow. When he tried to free himself, he fell 35 feet to the ground. He died at the scene. Police say the boy’s family was staying at the resort at the time.
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