KFIZ News Thursday 1/5/17

FDL County Executive Running Unopposed

Fond du Lac County Executive Al Buechel will be running unopposed in the spring election. Buechel is serving his sixth term and will be seeking a seventh term. He is the longest serving County Executive in the state. Last April he celebrated his 40th year in County Government.

Waupun Has New Public Works Director

Waupun has a new Public Works Director. The Common Council appointed Jeff Daane to the position at a special meeting Tuesday night.  The Waupun native has worked for the city since 2000, most recently as Public Works Foreman.  Daane replaces Dick Flynn, who resigned late last year to take a similar position in Fond du Lac.

Christmas Morning Fire An Example Of Why Smoke Detectors Are Needed

The Division Chief of Fire Prevention for Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue says a nine-year-old boy did everything right in getting his family out of burning home on Christmas morning. Troy Haase says the boy alerted his parents to the fire in the two-story home at 473 Park Avenue. He says the boy was sleeping on a couch and smelled the smoke. He got up and got everyone out of the house. But Haase also has some criticism about the fire. There were no working smoke detectors in either the basement or first floor of the home. He says they should have had working detectors on each level of the home. He says firefighters did install some detectors for the family. The fire was contained to the basement of the home.

Waupun Office Seekers

Waupun Mayor Julie Nickel will be running unopposed this spring. Nickel was appointed to fill the office after Kyle Clark retired. She filed the necessary paperwork to run for Mayor. District One Alderman Jason Westphal and District Three Alderman Ryan Mielke are unopposed. District Five Alderman Michael Johnson filed non-candidacy papers, but Bobby Vossekuil has filed the necessary paperwork for that seat.

A Couple Of Firsts For Sturgeon Spectacular

The second year of the Sturgeon Spectacular will offer a couple of firsts. Fond du Lac Area Convention and Visitors Bureau President Craig Molitor says it’s a three-day festival centered around the opening weekend of the sturgeon spearing season with events both off and on Lake Winnebago . He says it will drive community tourism and will feature events indoors and outdoors, and on and off the ice. He says Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts Executive Director Kevin Miller came up with the idea of staging performances of the play “Guys on Ice,” which is about ice fishing on the ice. For the comfort of spectators the play will be performed in a heated tent on the ice. Molitor says they will also host the Wisconsin State Snow Sculpting Associations’ championship. The Sturgeon Spectacular is Friday through Sunday, February 10th through the 12th.

Two Plus Two Equals Four Year Degree

The president of Moraine Park Technical College has been working with other schools to allow degrees in Information Technology to be transferred for students who would like to pursue a four-year degree. Bonnie Baerwald says it’s known as the “Two plus Two” program. She says a number of higher education presidents from Fond du Lac up to Green Bay have been working on collaborative efforts in programming. She says this year they have been working on the “Two plus Two” initiative, which is for IT and various tracts of IT. She says they are working with two UW schools that would allow students to transfer credits from their Associate Degree towards a four-year degree with one of those schools. She says they are currently working with the UW-Oshkosh and UW-Green Bay. She says students would be able to take two years at Moraine Park and then transfer as a junior to those other schools.

Insurance License Of Campbellsport Woman Denied For Two Months

The state’s Commissioner of Insurance Office says a Campbellsport woman had her application for an insurance license denied for 60 days because she allegedly failed to disclose a criminal conviction on a licensing application. The action taken against Heather M. Nickerson also known as Heather M. Jump, was taken last month.  She also failed to disclose a criminal charge and conviction when previously licensed.