Local News Briefs Saturday 10/5/13

A Washington County jury this week found a 50-year-old West Bend man guilty of his ninth drunken driving offense stemming from a December 23rd, 2011 rollover accident. Bruce Kuechler will be sentenced on December 12th.  According to the criminal complaint Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene to find Kuechler unconscious laying about 30 feet away from his damaged pickup truck.  The scene was littered with debris from the crash including glass, wood, and beer cans.

EAB Meeting An Opportunity

Fond du Lac Public Works Director Jordan Skiff says he hopes people will take advantage of a public information meeting on the emerald ash borer. The meeting is on Monday, October 28th at 4:30 p.m. at the City-County Government Center. The Department of Natural Resources officials will have people on hand. The EAB has been detected as near as 15 miles away from Fond du Lac. The City has 7,000 ash trees in its street terraces and parks. The 2014 City Budget has $110,000 included in it for EAB prevention efforts. Skiff says the information session will precede an Advisory Park Board meeting.

Marijuana Bill Needs Floor Action

State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt says a bill he and State Senator Rick Gudex sponsored that would close a loop hole in state law for prosecution in minor marijuana possession cases needs to go to the floor after being approved in a Senate committee. The bill would end some frustration for law enforcement officers see second and subsequent possession cases dropped by district attorneys who don’t have the time or resources to prosecute them. It would allow municipal courts to prosecute those cases if a district attorney’s office chooses not to.

FDL Can Be Proud Of Its Arts Facilities

Fond du Lac City Manager Joe Moore says the City is fortunate to have such a strong arts community. He says multi-million dollar expansion and renovation of the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts and Children’s Museum relocation are something the City can be proud of. The City is including $115,000 in its 2014 City Budget for new ornamental street lighting and sidewalks on a two-block section of Sheboygan Street including Thelma that will tie into the Main Street design and compliment the center’s upgrade.

United Way/Walk To End Alzheimer’s

So far the Fond du Lac Area United Way has raised about $149,000 of its fall fundraising goal of $740,000. United Way Executive Director Tina Potter says company campaigns are just getting underway, though some have already contributed quite a bit. Potter says one effort they do support is today. The Fond du Lac County Walk to End Alzheimer’s will be held at Moraine Park Technical College in Fond du Lac. Registration for the walk starts at 8:30 a.m. with the walk stepping off at 10 a.m. If it rains it will be held inside. Last year’s walk raised $32,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association and research to find a cure.

Alcohol Enforcement Grant

The Calumet County Sheriff’s Department has been awarded a $29,000 Alcohol Enforcement Grant from the state’s Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Safety. The grant took effect Tuesday and runs through September 30th of next year. The grant will allow the Sheriff’s Department to put additional deputies on the roads enforcing the traffic laws and to crack down on impaired drivers.

Fundraiser For Rob Vande Zande Junior’s Family Sunday

The American Legion Post in Fond du Lac will host a breakfast buffet to benefit the family of Rob Vande Zande Jr Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon. Two guns will be raffled off and there will be a silent auction with over 80 items. Funds will benefit Rob’s widow Sara and their unborn daughter Ava who is expected next month. The 21-year-old Army Specialist died while swimming in a lake in a New Mexico state park last month. His father is former Fond du Lac City Councilman Rob Vande Zande Sr.