Two Accidents In The Town Of Calumet

A Chilton woman and a volunteer firefighter were injured in two separate accidents yesterday afternoon in theTown of Calumet. Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Sergeant Ryan Waldschmidt says 19-year-old Brittany Ecker was on County Highway HHH, east of County Highway C, when she swerved to avoid a small animal. She lost control of her vehicle. It went off the edge of the road and struck a culvert causing it to roll over. It then started on fire. He says Steven Goebel of Fond du Lac, a roofer, saw the crash and helped Ecker out. Goebel put the fire out with a fire extinguisher and got Ecker out of her vehicle.A Flight for Life helicopter flew Ecker to Theda Clark Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. Meanwhile Calumet Fire Department volunteer Phillip Freund was on his way to the scene when he crested a hill and came upon some farm equipment. He swerved to avoid, went off the road and his vehicle rolled over. Freund suffered minor injuries and didn't need an ambulance. He was cited for operating left of center and failing to wear a seatbelt.

FDL Man Sentenced To Maximum In Child Injury Case

The  21-year-old Fond du Lac man who severely injured a 2-year-old girl while supposedly playing "airplane" with her has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and 8 years of extended supervision. Fond du Lac County Judge Richard Nuss handed down the maximum sentence for Thomas Abitz, Jr. yesterday. During a February jury trial, the jury returned guilty verdicts against him on felony charges of child abuse recklessly causing great bodily harm and bail jumping. The child is the daughter of a former girlfriend. Abitz gave authorities several versions of a story about playing with the girl including that he was playing "airplane" with her on March 26th of last year when the injury occurred. The girl suffered a fractured skull and permanent brain damage. She will require full time assistance for the rest of her life. The Judge also ordered Abitz to write letters of apologies to the victim and the families affected by her injury.

Driver Injured In Winnebago County Accident

One person was injured in a single-car accident in the Town of Oshkosh yesterday afternoon. The accident happened just before 4 p.m. on Highway 41 northbound near Highway 45. The injured driver suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to an area hospital by Oshkosh paramedics.

Jefferson County Man Killed In ATV Accident

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-Wisconsin records its third all-terrain vehicle fatality in one month. A Jefferson County man died over the weekend from injuries suffered after he lost control of the ATV he was driving. The Department of Natural Resources ATV safety administrator Gary Eddy says most ATV-related deaths and injuries could be prevented.The agency wants ATV operators to be on high alert to always think about safety, Eddy says, especially on private property for recreation or agricultural use. Regulations are relaxed for ATV use on family farms. State law is stricter for kids riding on the trails. Eddy suggests parents take training classes with their kids. In addition to Sunday's fatality, 48-year-old Todd Wenzel of Menasha died after an ATV accident in Calumet County and a child died in a Lafayette County accident last month. Last year, Wisconsin saw 16 fatalities involving the use of an ATV.

Dodge Correctional Inmate Charged

(WBEV-Beaver Dam)-An inmate at Dodge Correctional in Waupun could have up to six years added to his sentence for allegedly assaulting a prison guard. Thirty-year-old John Gross is charged with felony Battery By Prisoner for the incident last November. A corrections officer reportedly enforced a policy that prohibited Gross from watching television in his cell. Gross told the officer he was "ready to snap on someone and you're here" and then struck him in the side of the face. A short struggle followed and the guard wound up with bruises to his cheek bone and lips. A signature bond was set at a $1000 yesterday and a preliminary hearing is on the calendar later this month.

Woman Wanted On Warrants

Oshkosh Police are looking for a woman wanted in connection with one of their investigations. Jezell Evans also has two felony warrants out of Outagamie County for forgery and fraud. She is described as being black, 5-foot-5 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes. She may be in the Green Bay, Appleton or Menasha area, but anyone with information about her is asked to call Oshkosh Police at (920) 236-5700.

Council To Consider City Manager Position

The Fond du Lac City Council will meet in closed session tonight to consider selecting the City's next City Manager. Last weekend the Council interviewed the five finalists for the position. Tonight they could decide to offer the position to one of the five or to have a second round of interviews. City Manager Tom Herre will be retiring on June 15th. The Council's special meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the legislative chambers of the City-County Government Center.

Funding Continues For ADA's Position

Fond du Lac County supervisors last night approved a funding mechanism that will keep an Assistant District Attorney's position going through the end of the year. The DA's Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Special Prosecutor position was previously funded by a grant program. There was an increase of $37,300 in the DA's Bail Bond Forfeiture account after a review of open case files. That money will be used to continue to fund the position. District Attorney Dan Kaminsky says this may be the first step in the position becoming self-sufficient. Also last night the board approved a resolution of appreciation for former board members Robert Fox, Mel Heller and Shirley Ries who just completed terms on the board. Fox served 28 years on the board, Heller 20 and Ries 12 years.

Refinancing Old Debt

Fond du Lac County supervisors last night approved an initial resolution to borrow $8.1 million to refinance some old debt. The refinancing is for money that was borrowed in 2005 for the jail and safety building expansion and remodeling. County Executive Al Buechel says they borrowed that year for the project and had no plans at the time for a sales tax. He says now that tax is helping them fund capital improvement projects and pay down the County's debt. Buechel says the interest rates on the refinancing will be about half of what they were and each year the County will be saving money. He says over the life of the refinancing the County will save about $934,000 in interest payments. The Board is expected to approve a final resolution for the refinancing next month. In other action the Board approved a resolution commemorating the 100th anniversary of the U-W Cooperative Extension program.

Dine For Disaster Thursday

The American Red Cross and restaurants across northeastern Wisconsin will stage their annual Dine for Disaster fund raising event tomorrow. Sherry Holmes is the Director of Development for the East Central Wisconsin Chapter. She says the program started in Fond du Lac with 11 restaurants in 2010, grew to 71 across northeastern Wisconsin last year, and this year has about 150 participating restaurants. Dave Noe owns Sebastians and Saltys in Fond du Lac, and Friar Tucks in Fond du Lac, Manitowoc and Oshkosh. He says it's important to back the Red Cross because in addition to their health and safety programs, armed services programs, and blood drives they are always there during a time of disaster. Holmes says you can get a complete list of participating restaurants at the Red Cross website. Another 30 restaurants in southeastern Wisconsin will also be participating.

The Bear Did It

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-Sheriff's deputies in north central Wisconsin ran into a bear-of-a-case recently. Lincoln County authorities said a bear broke into a man's garage and stole a 50-pound bag of sunflower seeds. The victim thought a human might have done it, and called 9-1-1. An investigating officer found claw marks next to a window that was broken to enter the garage.  And the evidence appears that a bear dragged the sunflower seeds into the nearby woods. The offending bear was never found.

1-to-1 Study

Fond du Lac Schools Superintendent Jim Sebert says they will be interested in what the UW-Fond du Lac will come up with as a team of faculty and staff conducts research and evaluates the impact of the 1-to-1 computing initiative at Fond du Lac High School. Starting with the next academic year, all students in Grades 9-12 at the High School will be supplied with a Chromebook. The partnership between the two schools began the week of April 23rd with data collection and will continue through the next school year. Sebert says it's been a great partnership already. He says they'll find out from the study whether they will achieve the goals they hope to with the 1-to-1 initiative. Sebert says they are really excited about the initiative. Results of the study will be shared with the school district, high school and nationally through research conferences and reports.

Thiesfeldt Highlights Tourism

State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt recently highlighted Fond du Lac County tourism efforts. According to a report from the state's Department of Tourism visitors spent nearly $20 million more in Fond du Lac County in 2011. Tourism spending was up almost 23 percent, the largest percentage increase of all Wisconsin counties, to $103.6 million. Tourism-related jobs also increased from 2,146 in 2010 to 2,368 in 2011. Fond du Lac Convention & Visitors Bureau President Craig Molitor says, "We've been working in conjunction with the State and it is paying off in a big way for Fond du Lac County." He added he cannot thank the legislature and Governor enough for making a pro-active investment in tourism. Overall, tourism travelers spent more than $10 billion last year in Wisconsin. Another $6 billion is generated through indirect expenditures. The $16 billion in 2011 represents an 8 percent increase over 2010. One in every 13 jobs in the state is sustained by tourism activity. For more click here.

Samaritan Clinic House Raffle Today

The Samaritan Health Clinic's annual house raffle will be held today at the home site, at 630 Whispering Springs Drive in Fond du Lac. KFIZ's Bob Hoffmaster will be doing the Morning Show live from the site. The drawing for the home and other prizes will be about noon. This marks the 17th year for the raffle sponsored by the Agnesian HealthCare Foundation, the main source of funding for the clinic's operations. In its first 16 years the house raffle has raised just more than $2 million for the Samaritan Health Clinic. The Samaritan Raffle House is a 2,224-square-foot ranch house located in The Highlands subdivision.

Ripon Will Host Circus

The circus is coming to Ripon next month. The Common Council Monday night approved allowing the use of the City's business Park on Highway 44 for the Family Fun Circus on June 7th. City Administrator Lori Rich says it's a European Style Circus. According to the Family Fun Circus website it's a family-owned circus that travels to smaller communities in the U.S. It features clowns, acrobats, aerialists and more.