Local News Briefs Monday 1/26/15

A man has been indicted in Wisconsin’s Eastern District Federal court for his participation in the robbery of the National Exchange Bank & Trust in Allenton on December 12th. George F. Atwater has been charged with bank robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime, and possession of a firearm as an Armed Career Criminal. Washington County Sheriff’s Detectives worked on the case, in conjunction with the Violent Crimes Task Force, which consists of members of the FBI and Milwaukee Police. Atwater was arrested on December 17th.

Highway 175 Drainage Issues Focus Of Public Meeting

The state’s Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting to discuss drainage improvements of State Highway 175 from County Highwa B to US 151 in Fond du Lac County.  The meeting is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 5th at the Fond du Lac Town Hall, W5990 W. Pioneer Road, Fond du Lac.  A short presentation will be made at 5:10 p.m. The project is located approximately 1000 feet south of US 151. Improvements include replacing the existing culverts and re-grading the immediate area to eliminate the existing beam guard. Construction is scheduled for fall 2016.

FDL School Board Meets

Fond du Lac High School English Teacher Adele Adams will be honored during the School Board meeting tonight. She will be recognized by the board as the winner of the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English Nancy Hoefs Memorial Award for Outstanding 1st Year Teacher Award. The board will also be updated on the High School’s career and technical education programs. The board meets at 5 p.m. in the District Administration Center Board Room at 72 West 9th Street.

Higher Speed Limit More Serious Accidents

Fond du Lac County’s Chief Deputy Sheriff says if the state passes a law allowing speed limits to be raised on certain highways to 70 miles per hour they will abide by that decision. Mark Strand says ultimately the state’s Department of Transportation would make decisions on which highways would have that speed limit. He says with Highway 41 due to become an interstate that could be one of the highways. He says people generally travel faster than the speed limit already on 65 miles per hour highways. Strand says they will enforce the law whatever the speed limit is set at, but at faster speeds an accident will be more serious. The State Assembly passed a 70 mile per hour speed limit bill during the last session, but it got bogged down in the Senate’s Transportation Committee.

Congressman Grothman Pleased With Committee Assignments

Congressman Glenn Grothman says his experience in the state legislature should serve him well on the four committees he’s been assigned to in the house. He is serving on the House Budget Committee, Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, and the Education & the Workforce Committee. He says normally a freshman Congressman doesn’t get as many committee assignments. He’s concerned about the government’s ever increasing borrowing and spending so he says he’s glad to be serving on the budget committee. He says he requested to be on the budget committee. The federal lawmaker from Campbellsport also asked to serve on education committee. He says they will deal with student loans and federal involvement in education. He says he’d like to see the federal government less involved in education, which would help out school districts. 

Senator Gudex Begins Service On WEDC Board Of Directors

State Senator Rick Gudex of Fond du Lac says he couldn’t be more pleased to be serving on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors. He says he enjoyed some of the economic development they worked on while he served on the Fond du Lac City Council and believes similar efforts can be made at the state level. He says the WEDC went through a shaky period at first after the Department of Commerce was folded. He says since then there have been management changes and an audit was done that led to more changes that have strengthened the WEDC. He says the WEDC is making decisions about investing in businesses that are creating jobs throughout Wisconsin. Gudex attended his first meeting of the WEDC Board of Directors this past week.

Senator LeMahieu Works On Raffle Bill

State Senator Devin LeMahieu of Oostburg inherited a bill from his predecessor State Senator Joe Leibham. LeMahieu says it would ease restrictions for non-profits and clubs that want to use raffles as fundraisers. He says they are working out the kinks in the bill that led the governor to veto Leibham’s version of the bill. He says they hope to have hearings on the bill in the next couple of weeks. He says clubs and non-profits contribute a lot to their communities, but need fundraisers to continue their good work. He says it’s one of the things he heard the most about while he was campaigning for Senator because Leibham had worked so hard on it.

3 Guys Liquor License To Go Before Alcohol Licensing Committee

Fond du Lac’s Alcohol Licensing Committee this afternoon will consider a liquor license for 3 Guys and a Grill at Trinity. The owners of 3 Guys and a Grill and 3 Guys and a Pizza Pie in Elkhart Lake will open a restaurant at the former Trinity Restaurant site in Fond du Lac. Fond du Lac Police have no objections to the license being granted. The Alcohol Licensing Committee meets at 4 p.m. this afternoon at the City-County Government Center. The Committee recommendation will go before the City-Council for their approval.

FDL County Republican Party Caucus Set

The Fond du Lac County Republican Party has set the date for its annual caucus. It will be held Thursday, February 5th at the Elks Club in Fond du Lac. Registration will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the caucus kicking off at 6 p.m. The annual business meeting will include a recap of 2014 and an update of Party activities for 2015 including the State Convention and county resolutions. To participate in the County Caucus or be a delegate to the Republican Party State Convention you must be a dues paying member of the Republican Party of Fond du Lac County. You can join and pay dues online at www.fdlgop.com. The minimum membership is $20.

Record Skydiving Attempt At EAA AirVenture This Summer

A world-record skydive attempt will be part of EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh this July.  An international team of top skydivers is aiming to make history at The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015 is July 20-26 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Skydiving Hall of Fame based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, will organize the 108-person jump team for the record attempts sanctioned by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), which is the official organization that maintains the world’s aviation-related records. The teams will practice and prepare with record attempts at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois, before the scheduled record attempts on July 22 and 24 at Oshkosh (weather and conditions permitting).