Local News Briefs Friday 7/5/13

The Chief Deputy for the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department says an investigation into an infant’s death would have been much simpler if a former Campbellsport couple hadn’t lied about it. Mark Strand says the death of the 4-month-old baby boy last July 7th was tragic enough, but the infant’s parents complicated it by lying about events leading up to the discovery of the baby’s body in a playpen. Twenty-year-old Mitchell Towne and 19-year-old Victoria Jarowski were charged this week in Fond du Lac County Court with obstruction.  Strand says what they were originally told was about 180 degrees different from what they learned from Jarowski when she was interviewed about 10 days later. The couple originally said they had watched movies all night, but it turns out they’d smoked pot and went to bed about 6 a.m. discovering the infant’s body about 11:30 that morning. The baby, Greyson, was found dead with a pillow on his head. Strand says no charges would have been referred if deputies hadn’t been lied to. The two are free on $1,000 signature bonds. An autopsy into the baby’s cause of death was inconclusive.

 

Sheboygan Man Gets Probation For Injuring Infant

 

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-A 33-year-old Sheboygan man was sentenced this week to spend three years on probation after he caused serious injuries to his seven-week old daughter back in January.  George Kuble was sentenced in Sheboygan County Court Wednesday. He was charged with a child abuse felony due to throwing his infant daughter onto a couch when she would not sleep.  The infant suffered a skull fracture, broken ribs, a brain hemorrhage, and internal bleeding. In his ruling, Judge James Bolgert noted Kuble’s limited past criminal record, current treatment with veterans counseling, and the need for him to be out of jail to help provide for his children.  If Kuble violates his probation, he will serve a two year jail sentence.

 

Arizona Firefighter Deaths Touches Firefighter Community

 

The deaths of 19 firefighters during a wildfire in Arizona this week is being felt by the community of firefighters across the nation. Fond du Lac Division Chief of Fire Prevention Troy Haase says up to this point the national toll for firefighter deaths wasn’t running that high. He says it’s a reminder of how dangerous firefighting or law enforcement jobs can be. Haase says typically firefighters from all over the country will attend firefighters’ funerals such as they did when Green Bay Fire Lieutenant Arnie Wolff was killed in a fire in August of 2006. The 19 firefighter deaths are the most in a single fire event since 9-11.

 

Mercury Marine Will Break Ground On Two Expansion Projects

 

Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac will be breaking ground next week on two expansion projects. The $20 million in expansion projects will increase manufacturing capacity for the maker of recreational marine engines. Mercury is expanding and enhancing its manufacturing capacity and capability in support of market growth and expanded product offerings. Two Fond du Lac firms Excel Engineering and C.D. Smith are heading up the projects. Excel will be doing architectural design and C.D. Smith will handle construction management. Company officials say approximately 90 percent of the project work is being performed by companies in the Fond du Lac area or Wisconsin.

 

EAA Petitions For Relief

 

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-Officials with E-A-A are filing an appeal in federal court, after the Federal Aviation Adminstriation sent the organization a $447,000 bill for staffing air traffic controls during the upcoming AirVenture show. Spokesman Dick Knapinski says they already cut a check for half of that amount for a down payment, but the organization does not believe the F-A-A followed the rules. He says they are asking the court to review and provide relief from payments demanded by the F-A-A in relation to air traffic control services for AirVenture. Knapinski says the F-A-A did not go through the normal notice and comment period when it made the sequestration-related cuts, and the E-A-A believes that violated procedural rules making the cuts illegal. To see the EAA press release click here.

 

Highway Bill Overdue

 

Congressman Tom Petri says one of the biggest challenges in approving a new transportation bill is finding ways to fund it. The federal lawmaker from Fond du Lac says its renewal has been delayed for years about 3 or 4 years overdue by his count with a year and half temporary bill thrown in. He says user fees through fuel taxes have been paying for highway improvements, but that only pays for about 60 percent of what is being spent on highways now. Petri says there are plenty of reasons for that, but they boil down to people traveling less by car and using vehicles that are more fuel efficient. He says some countries are now using satellite technology and GPS tracking to determine how many miles people travel and what time of day to tax them for highway improvements, but the U. S. isn’t ready for that yet.

 

Waupun School District Completing Meadow View Move

 

The Superintendent of the Waupun Area School District says she’s pleased with the move into the new Meadow View Primary School. It once housed the Jefferson School. Tonya Gubin says it made sense to sell the former Meadow View School to the City because it was in a commercial district and close to Highway 151. She says the Jefferson Building is in a site more conducive to a school use. She says the Jefferson Building is a beautiful building and served the district well as a school before, but they had to move out due to consolidation efforts.

 

Lottery Deadline For Upriver Lakes Sturgeon Spearing Season

 

DNR officials are reminding sturgeon spearers that they have until August 1st to apply for a 2014 Upriver Lakes Sturgeon spearing lottery tag. Participation in the sturgeon spearing season on Lakes Butte des Morts, Winneconne and Poygan, is controlled through a lottery. Those selected in the lottery will be notified by October 1st and will have until October 31st to buy a license for the Upriver season.

 

Energy Scam Ongoing

 

Alliant Energy officials are reminding customers to be wary of scam phone calls, as complaints similar to those received in winter and spring are continuing into the summer. Customers report receiving phone calls that threaten electric service disconnection and ask them to purchase a prepaid card, which is similar to a scam that has been occurring locally and nationally. Alliant Energy does not ask customers to purchase prepaid credit cards and or make immediate cash payments over the phone. This scam appears to target Spanish-speaking customers. Alliant officials recommend not providing your Social Security number, credit card numbers or bank account information to anyone who requests that information during an unsolicited phone call or an unannounced visit. Customers should report attempted scams to local law enforcement and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. 

 

Tickets On Sale For Samaritan Health Clinic House Raffle

 

Tickets are on sale now for the Samaritan Health Clinic House Raffle. They went on sale yesterday. Pat Waisanen of the Agnesian HealthCare Foundation says the raffle is in its 18th year, but the October 30th drawing is something that’s new for it. The house raffle is the main source of funding for the clinic’s operations. All proceeds help provide patients with important basic health services, medications and urgent dental needs. She says they provide nearly 350 health service vouchers for those services on a monthly basis. The raffle house will be a 2,248-square-foot ranch house, which is valued at $269,000. It will have all the latest conveniences including a message center. The raffle house is located in the Town of Fond du Lac at N6003 Hideaway Lane in the Westfield Hideaway Subdivision. Raffle tickets are available at the St. Agnes Hospital information desk and clinic desk in Fond du Lac, from Foundation members and at registration desks at Waupun Memorial Hospital and the Ripon Medical Center.

 

Library Open Buses Running Today

 

Fond du Lac City and County offices remain closed today for the 4th of July Holiday weekend. Exceptions include the Fond du Lac Public Library, which is open today. Also City Transit Buses will be running their regular routes today.