Local News Briefs Monday 3/10/14

Police say a gunshot was fired into the ceiling of a room being used for a dance at the UW-Oshkosh’s Reeve Memorial Union late Saturday night. Campus police say about 300 people were attending the dance on the second floor of the building. University Police say they got a call about a fight between two people at Reeve Memorial Union just before 11:30 p.m. No one was hurt during the incident and the building was evacuated and locked down after the shot was fired. University Police suspect the person who fired the shot wasn’t a student, but a visitor. Oshkosh Police also responded to the scene.

Heroin Use And Deaths Increasing

Fond du Lac Police Chief Bill Lamb says heroin cases have quadrupled across the state over the past few years. Lamb will be a presenter at the Heroin Summit tomorrow night at Marian University’s Stayer Center. He says their drug task force handled 131 drug trafficking cases last year. He says 67 of them or about 51 percent were heroin cases. He says users have made the transition from prescription drug abuse to heroin because the availability of opiate prescription drugs was clamped down on. He says the problem is the heroin user never knows when they are going to get a hot load and today’s heroin is 10 times more potent than what was available in the 1970s. He says far to often they find someone dead from a heroin overdose. The Heroin Summit is from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday night at the Stayer Center.

Sheboygan Woman Sentenced For 5^th Drunken Driving Incident

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-A Sheboygan woman who nearly hit a police officer while driving drunk has been sentenced to two years in prison.  Police say the officer was standing by his squad car last October when he spotted the car driven by 36-year-old Laura Kampmann coming directly toward him.  The car missed him by a couple of feet as he jumped out of the way.  The officer caught up with her and arrested her. The officer found a half-empty bottle of vodka in the car.  It was her fifth drunk driving arrest.  During her recent sentencing she was also ordered to pay fines and fees totaling more than $6,000.

Red Cross Volunteers Make Services Possible

You can’t talk about Red Cross month without talking about the volunteers who make many of the organizations services possible. Lisa Stanchfield of the Fond du Lac chapter says there are many roles for volunteers with the Red Cross. She says some of them do office work for them. Others go into schools to teach students about preparedness. Volunteers also help at fire scenes and natural disaster sites. Volunteers also help out with blood drivers in programs supporting our troops and even fundraise. She says about 97 percent of the Red Cross workforce is made up of volunteers and there are about 50,000 of them working in the 30 or so counties that make up the Northeast Wisconsin and Michigan Border area. 

Former Ripon Police K9 Dies

There were some heavy hearts at Ripon Police Department last Friday as they found out that former K9 officer Danni was put to rest because of rapidly declining health. Ripon Police Officer Trevor Hanke informed the department of his longtime partner’s passing. Danni served with the department from January 2003 to his retirement in December of 2012. Ripon Police say many children and adults got to known Danni through presentations and events during his time with the department. Ripon PD photo.

Winter Takes Toll On State Roads

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-This harsh winter has not been kind to roads in Wisconsin. It’s a bumpy ride on many streets and highways in Wisconsin, thanks to the harsh weather this winter. Steve Krebs is the chief materials engineer for the state Department of Transportation. He says the depth of the frost has been a lot deeper than they’ve seen in recent years and it goes deeper into the ground it causes more moisture to freeze and more heaving of the roadways. Krebs says resurfacing options are limited and expensive until the spring thaw comes.

FDL ACUniversity Offering 157 Rules For Success

There are 157 rules for success. Well at least that’s the title of a program that will be presented as part of the Fond du Lac Area Association of Commerce’s AC University classes this Wednesday at Moraine Park Technical College. Jim Cleveland of the chamber says international business speaker Patrick McGaughey will give the presentation aimed at businesses and nonprofits. The first 100 registrants for the program will get a break on the cost thanks to the Fond du Lac Area Foundation. Hours for the event are from 8 to 11 a.m. To register call the association at (920) 921-9500 or visit their website. Those attending will get an audio CD of the 157 rules.

FDL Amateur Radio Club Meets

One of the most famous Ham Radio operators in Wisconsin, Ray Grenier, will be speaking to the Fond du Lac Amateur Radio Club when they meet tonight in Fond du Lac. The meeting is at 7 p.m. in Room A-102 at Moraine Park Technical College. Ray just accepted an offer to take a marketing position at West Mountain Radio, a company specializing in products for amateur radio. At the meeting he will speak about the future of Ham Radio. The public is welcome.

Marian University Class At FDL Public Library A Surprise Hit

Officials at the Fond du Lac Public Library say a history class presented by Marian University associate professor Rick Whaley and co-instructor Herman Bender is a surprise hit. “History of America from 1400 to 1865 in Objects and Artifacts” has been playing to a packed crowd during its 13 week run. Whaley says, “People are curious about how and why the objects we have reflect the values of way of life of those who were here before us.” Whaley and Bender are so pleased they’ve decided to bring another history class back to the library in the spring semester of 2015. The class meets every Wednesday night at 6 p.m. through April 30th.