Local News Briefs Monday 3/7/16

State Highway Projects In FDL County This Year

The state Department of Transportation has quite a few projects lined up in Fond du Lac County this year. The big projects will be a partial cloverleaf interchange at Highway 151 and County Highway V and an overpass at Highway 151 and County Highway T. There will also be intersection modifications at Highway 151 and State Highway 23, a culvert replace on Highway 175 and crack filing on I-41. DOT officials say there will also be some sealing of road decks on area highways.

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Downtown Investment Talk A Long Way From Consideration

Fond du Lac City Council President Lee Ann Lorrigan says the City Council will have to be mindful of how much money it might invest in improving the downtown after an exploratory committee makes its recommendations. She says she knows from talking with people is that some people are struggling financially. She says it’s going to take a delicate balance when it comes to investing taxpayers’ money. She says they have to be real mindful of the costs for development. Wednesday night the City Council will be asked to approve 17 people to serve on the committee and 2 alternates. She says the committee is a long way from making recommendations, but the creation of the committee has people thinking about ways of improving the downtown. It’s hoped the committee will give the Council an interim report before the end of July.

Senator Johnson Continues Fight To Repeal Obamacare

While President Obama was in Milwaukee last week touting the success of his health care program, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson was pointing out its shortcomings. The federal lawmaker from Oshkosh gave as an example what a 60-year-old Spooner woman had written to him about how her health care coverage has suffered under Obamacare. He says before Obamacare she was paying $276 a month for coverage and now she is paying $787. He says the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care plan is not living up to its name. He says a lot of things that were promised with Obamacare haven’t come true. Johnson says the health care and insurance systems didn’t need to be overhauled to make it more accessible and affordable for everyone. He says Obamacare is doing real harm and real damage to real people. He says he will continue to work to repeal Obamacare.

Law Enforcement Pillar In Combating Heroin Reaching Goals

The Drug Free Communities of Fond du Lac County has four pillars when it comes to combating opioid and heroin abuse. They are Prevention, Harm Reduction, Treatment and Law Enforcement. DFC grant coordinator Ellen Sorensen says their law enforcement pillar has made some real strides towards their goals. She says they implemented their pillar 18 months ago and will meet or exceed their goals long before their goal date. She says providing drug drop boxes around the County have really helped and Rosendale will soon be adding one. She says she’s written for a grant to add three more drug drop boxes and if the grant doesn’t pay for a drug drop box in Rosendale, the Village Board will. She says through a Drug Endangered Children program, children exposed to drugs in homes can be removed from them. She says additional law enforcement agencies in the County are getting the training for that. Fond du Lac Police have the training and are training others. Ripon uses it and North Fond du Lac and Waupun have the training or are getting it.

Watson Street Bid Under Estimates

The Ripon Common Council recently approved a low bid for the second phase of improvements to Watson Street. City Administrator Lori Rich says they got 8 bids and the lowest bid came under their estimates. She says the low bid was from Ripon Lime and Materials and was just under $630,000. She says that was about $75,000 less than their estimates. She says work will start in mid-April. She says the first phase was from Watson to Sullivan and the second phase is from Sullivan to Griswold.

Jane Of All Trades Tuesday At MPTC

Moraine Park Technical College’s Fond du Lac campus will host a “Jane of All Trades” event Tuesday evening. MPTC President Bonnie Baerwald says it’s from 5 to 7 p.m. and is designed for women. She says they will have a chance to check out 12 careers that are usually thought of as fields for men. She says it’s a judgment-free environment in which women can sample some of those careers usually associated with men. She says that includes Automotive, Criminal Justice, IT, Mechanical Design and other professional trades. Attendees can see career labs, demonstrations and more. The event is free to attend. For more information or to register call Ranae Fischer at (920) 929-2477.