Local News Briefs Saturday 3/22/14

The North Fond du Lac Village Board this week discussed some wording for a vacation policy for full-time employees. Village Administrator Chuck Hornung says some employees are entitled to an extra week’s vacation. He says that’s because some of the Village employees have to attend off-hour meetings like Village Board meetings. He says an extra line is being added to the policy to explain why those employees are entitled to the extra vacation, but they needed to do some rewording of the sentence and won’t take up the policy change again until the board’s next meeting. 

Calumet County Road Maintenance Helped By Additional Funding

A bill Governor Scott Walker signed into law this week will provide funding to improve a nearly four mile stretch of road in Calumet County. The law put ad additional $43 million into the State Highway Rehabilitation Fund and will be used for 14 projects across the state including the project in Calumet County. That project will be for maintenance preservation of 3.8 miles of State Highway 114 in Menasha and Sherwood.

Dealing With Lobbyists

State Senator Rick Gudex says one of the challenges of being a state legislator is dealing with lobbyists. The state lawmaker from Fond du Lac says anyone who knows him knows he’s very honest and tells it like it is. He says if he doesn’t want to take time to talk about something that isn’t good for the 18th State Senate District he’s going to let the lobbyist know that. He says when he first got to the State Capitol he must have had nearly 200 meetings with lobbyists. He says on the other hand sometimes they do have good ideas that would impact the district and the state of Wisconsin.

FDL Police Offer Scholarship Opportunities

The Fond du Lac Professional Police Association is once again awarding scholarships to local high school seniors in the Fond du Lac area. Nominees will be judged on the basis of multiple achievement, character, leadership, community service and scholarship. The scholarships are made possible through annual Fond du Lac Police Benevolent Association fund raisings. The deadline to apply is April 25th.  Applications can be obtained at the front desk of the Fond du Lac Police Department located at 126 North Main Street. Questions can be directed to Lead Detective Steve Kaufman at 322-3725.

Ballweg Scholarships Available

Once again this year State Representative Joan Ballweg of Markesan is sponsoring a scholarship program for high school seniors who will be attending a 2-year technical college or a college or university for a 4-year degree. Ballweg says students need at least a 3.0 average on a 4.0 point scale to be eligible and must have lived in the 41st State Assembly District during this school year.  She says they normally award 5 or 6 $500 scholarships. She says with this year’s scholarships she will have given out $26,000 in scholarships to students living in her district. The deadline for applications is April 15th. Packets are available at area high school guidance offices or you can call her office toll free at 1-888-534-0041 to get one.