Local News Briefs Monday 2/16/15

A 32-year-old Oshkosh sex offender has been released from prison and is now living at 1105 Jefferson in Oshkosh. Paul Paulsen was convicted in 2003 for 2nd degree sexual assault for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. He will be on GPS the rest of his life and will be actively supervised by the Department of Corrections until June 6th of 2017.

Former Sheboygan Man Sentenced For Sex Trafficking

(WHBL-Sheboygan))Former Sheboygan resident Jason Guidry will serve 25 years in federal prison for sex trafficking and heroin distribution.  Federal prosecutors say evidence showed the 33-year-old Guidry got three women addicted to heroin and used it to get them to work as prostitutes. The sentence was announced last Friday and was the first federal conviction in the state of someone who used addictive drugs to control the trafficking activities of his victims. Sheboygan Police arrested Guidry in 2012.

Evaluation Program Being Put Together For Downtown Apartment Possibilities

An effort is underway in downtown Fond du Lac to identify more space that could be renovated and used for apartments. Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership Director Amy Hansen says they don’t have a catchy name yet for the effort, but an evaluation team has been formed to do free assessments for property owners. She says the City’s retired building inspector and architect, and a finance person will go through your property and tell your how things should be laid out and what needs to be upgraded. She says grants and loans may help with some of the cost. It will also be determined how long it would be for you to see that investment payoff. Hansen says she recently did a survey of property owners who currently have apartments downtown on occupancy rates for one, two and three-bedroom apartments and how much is being charged for them. She learned there is nearly a 100 percent occupancy level.

Nerds Needed

Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation President Steve Jenkins says there’s an effort underway to determine needs in the area for information technology (IT) jobs and how many people are actually employed in IT jobs. He says the North East Wisconsin Education Resource Alliance and a consultant are working with them on that issue. He says the problem is that not all positions that are IT jobs are considered that way. They also need to determine a strategy for drawing people to IT positions because some frown on the perceptions people have of those types of jobs.

Grothman Town Hall Meetings This Week

Congressman Glenn Grothman will be holding town hall meetings at 15 different locations across the 6th Congressional District over the next five days. He says it’s nice to be getting back to the district to speak with constituents. He says he’d love to hear from people about their concerns with federal government issues. He will be in Waupun, Beaver Dam, Columbus and Portage today. Tuesday he has stops in Sheboygan, Port Washington, Cedarburg and Plymouth. Thursday he will have town hall meetings in Reedsville, Mishicot, Two Rivers and Manitowoc. On Friday he’s in Fond du Lac, Neenah and Oshkosh.

For the full schedule click here.

Winter Driving

When it comes to traffic incidents in the winter, speed is often a major contributing factor. Inspector Tom Tweedy, with the Wisconsin State Patrol, reminds drivers it is illegal to drive too fast for current road conditions. He says drivers have to adjust their speeds according to what’s going on, on the pavement beneath them. Back to the state law — Inspector Tweedy says it requires drivers to travel at speeds that are reasonable and prudent. If you’re pulled over for driving too fast, you face a fine of more than $200 and can lose four points off your driver license.

Hot Dog On Cold Road

The iconic symbol of the Oscar Meyer Weiner has seen better days. The popular Oscar Meyer Weinermobile was involved in a crash in Pennsylvania yesterday. The giant hot dog-shaped vehicle slammed into a pole in East Pennsboro Township in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. No one was hurt, but there was heavy front end damage to the specially designed veh