Local News Briefs Friday 8/14/15

A 29-year-old Brownsville is suspected of attacking the woman he used to live with. Jason Schlosser made his initial appearance this week in Dodge County court on charges stemming from incidents last weekend. He allegedly hit the woman with a set of car keys while struggling with her outside of a flower shop in the village of Kekoskee. Bond was set at $2,500 cash. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for next Thursday.

Waupun Police Warn Residents

Waupun Police are reminding residents to lock their vehicles and garages after a rash of vehicle and garage entries, which resulted in the theft of personal property. Officials say thieves and burglars look for easy opportunities. They say car owners who leave doors unlocked; windows open and keys in the vehicle are obliging those criminals. Police criminals do not want to be seen, heard, or take an excessive amount of time to break in.

Small Outage Reported In FDL

Alliant Energy was called out for a small power outage Thursday afternoon in Fond du Lac. An Alliant spokesman says the outage was reported in the 6th and 7th Streets area when a tree branch fell on a power line. The outage started just before 12:30 and affected 30 customers. Power was restored within a couple of hours.

PGA Events Good For Area

Among the volunteers working the PGA Championship this week at Whistling Straits in Kohler is Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation President Steve Jenkins. Jenkins and his wife will be working in the 40,000 square foot merchandising barn this weekend. He says he’s impressed with the way the event is run. He says it’s almost like a small city functioning internally like one. He says in speaking with Craig Molitor of the Fond du Lac Convention and Visitors Bureau he learned the championship has had an economic impact on the Fond du Lac area filling up hotel and motel rooms. He says an announcement this week at the PGA Championship means another prestigious event is coming in 2020. The Ryder Cup will be played at Whistling Straits then and Indy is coming back to Road America next year.

Ripon Job Fair A Success

The Royal Ridges in Ripon hosted a job fair for employees of ConAgra Foods in Ripon and Grede  Foundry in Berlin who are losing their jobs due to jobs cuts. About 170 job seekers attended the fair Wednesday sponsored by the Fox Valley Workforce Development Board. Thirty-six companies took part in the fair.  One of those companies was Alliance Laundry Systems of Ripon, which had waiting lines several times throughout the day.

Seclusion And Restraint Report Issued

The Fond du Lac School Board this week heard the annual seclusion and restraint report. Pier Elementary and Roberts Elementary had the most with 277 and 183 respectively. District Superintendent Jim Sebert says those schools equipped for handling students with emotional disabilities will report more incidents than others in the district. On the other hand some schools like Waters Elementary, the STEM Academy and STEM Institute had none. The high school reported 20 incidents. Sebert says with the proper support as those students with emotional disabilities get older they are better equipped to handle what they are feeling. He says ultimately it’s good for those students to be around students who don’t have the same challenges.

Veterans May Be Eligible For Expanded Benefit

Fond du Lac County Veterans Service Officer Rick Patton says the VA has expanded its review of chemical exposure in drinking water at the Marine Corps Camp Lejeune. He says to be eligible for a claim you have to have been stationed there for at least 30 days during a certain time frame. That would have to be sometime between August 1st, 1953 and December 31st, 1987. Under the expansion to be eligible for healthcare due to the contaminated drinking water you have to have developed one of three forms of cancer. Those diseases include kidney cancer, a form of liver cancer, and an acute form of leukemia. He says they are encouraging people to file a claim now so they don’t have to wait for time to process the claim when the VA makes it official. He says you can get the ball rolling at their office, but you will need to bring in medical records of your diagnosis. The Veterans Service Office is located at 50 North Portland Street in Fond du Lac.

Race The Lake Is Sunday

Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Sergeant Jeff Bonack is reminding motorists to be on the lookout for bicyclists during the annual Race the Lake, which is this Sunday. The race starts and ends at Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac. The 90 mile race goes west to Winnebago County up around Lake Winnebago then returns from the east. Bonack says there is one are they want drivers to be particularly careful of. He says that’s in the area of County Highway WH and Highway 151 that racers cross to get to Winnebago Drive. Racing actually begins before six that morning and the course closes at 1:45 that afternoon. Bonack says about 10 deputies work the race, but taxpayers are not footing the bill for their time. He says the organization sponsoring the race pay for the deputies’ time.