Thursday 10/4/18
4 October 2018 News
Legion Official Charged With Felony Theft
A felony theft from a business setting charge has been brought against a 64-year-old Mt. Calvary woman. The charge against Donna Wilhelms is based on thefts that occurred while she was Fond du Lac County American Legion Treasurer. According to the criminal complaint officers of the American Legion Auxiliary in Fond du Lac first noticed discrepancies after a poppy sale fundraiser in 2017. Half of the proceeds were supposed to go to the Auxiliary and the other half to the Legion main branch. Fond du Lac Police learned Wilhelms was taking checks written out to the American Legion and was depositing them into an account at a credit union and later would draw cash out of that account for personal use. Police weren’t able to get an accurate account of how much was embezzled, but surmised from documents from the auxiliary nearly $7,500 was taken from June of 2013 to December of 2016. Wilhelms told detectives she did not know how much she took. Her initial hearing in Fond du Lac County Court was adjourned to October 12th. She’s free on a $5,000 signature bond.
.Oshkosh Burglaries Investigation Continues
Oshkosh Police have given a few more details about the burglaries committed near the UW-Oshkosh last month. During a nineteen day span there were nine burglaries and three attempted burglaries. Police say residents can help during the investigation by locking their cars and homes, including windows, and by reporting any suspicious activity that occurs. The majority of burglaries that occurred happened during hours of darkness and access was gained to unlocked homes, garages and cars.
FDL County Health Board Votes Against Marijuana Advisory Referendum
The Fond du Lac County Board will have to make its own mind up about putting an advisory referendum before voters on whether to ask the legislature to legalize the use of Marijuana for adults. The County’s Public Safety Committee voted 3 to 2 in favor of putting the referendum on the ballot, but Tuesday night the County’s Board of Health voted 6 to nothing against it. County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says the Board of Health will forward its materials to the County Board to help them make their decision. She says, “We are going to be giving information to the County Board that it didn’t pass. We are also going to give all those letters of support that were provided to us for that resolution we are going to be forwarding those on to the County Board.” The Board of Health also passed and forwarded a resolution to the County Board urging the state to do a study about the benefits of medical marijuana.
Deadline For Bids On Former Boca Properties Coming Up
An open house was held this week at 303 and 305 Watson Street in Ripon for potential bidders to see the former Boca Grande properties Fond du Lac County is selling. County Board Chairman Marty Farrell says there are about $300,000 in unpaid taxes on the properties, which led to foreclosure and they would like to at least get $325,000 for the commercial spaces and properties to make county taxpayers whole. He says, “We thought $400,000 was a reasonable minimum bid. We had several interested parties look over the property very carefully. I guess the numbers didn’t quite work for them at that price point so we lowered it to $325,000.” There were no interested bidders at the previous asking price of $400,000, but those who are interested have until Monday, October 15th to submit a minimum bid of $325,000 or more to the County Treasurer. Forms are available on the County’s website.
Congressman Grothman On Kavanaugh Hearings
Congressman Glenn Grothman would like to see the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the US Supreme Court move forward. He feels the Senate Judiciary Committee is getting into an area they never thought they would be in. Grothman says the appointment has merit if you look at Kavanaugh’s history as a judge and not what he was accused of doing over 30 years ago. He says, “You got a guy people think did a good job as a judge of course he’s a judge right now, but they are delving into things that I would think for most people are ancient history.” As for criticism of Kavanaugh’s reaction to Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony Grothman says it is hard not to get heated when you consider his wife and kids are also having to live through the scrutiny.
Ripon Common Council Discussing Budget Tonight
The Ripon Common Council will discuss the City’s proposed 2019 Budget tonight. Department heads had to cut their budgets by 2.5 percent to achieve a balanced budget. Council members will learn about that impact during a presentation on the budget at 6:30 at the City Hall. There will be a staff presentation then the Council will pose questions and discuss the budget. The City is considering a proposed mill rate of $8.21 an increase of just over 3 percent over last year’s rate of just under $8.11. Another budget session is scheduled for Monday, October 15th also at 6:30 pm.
Dodge County Not Eligible For Federal Disaster Assistance
Dodge County didn’t make the grade when it comes to qualifying for federal assistance for public infrastructure damaged by tornadoes and flooding. Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state’s Department of Natural Resources recently toured the region to assess damage from floods and tornadoes. To qualify for assistance the county need ed expenses totaling more than $335,000, but eligible expenses came to about $289,000. Dodge County Emergency Management Director Amy Nehls says while the county didn’t qualify for federal assistance is may still be eligible for the Wisconsin Disaster Fund.
State Highway 116 In Omro Reopening
The state’s Department of Transportation says State Highway 116 in downtown Omro will reopen to traffic Friday afternoon. The nearly $3.5 million project to improve one mile of the highway in Omro began on March 12th and will finish on time and on budget. The highway in Winnebago County was closed and detoured during construction. Crews are finishing pavement marking and tree planting. Some minor clean-up work may be needed next week, but it will not affect traffic.
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