Local News Briefs Thursday 1/7/16

Oshkosh Arson Suspect Arraigned

The 42-year-old Neenah man suspected of setting a warehouse fire in Oshkosh last November pled not guilty to an arson charge this week in Winnebago County Court. Jeremy Neumann was arraigned Tuesday on one count of arson. Neumann operated a business in the Bowen Street facility. He denied going to the fire scene last November 6th, but police were able to use GPS data to tie him to the scene. He also put in an insurance claim a day after the fire. He had increased the liability coverage on his business a little over a week before the blaze. Neumann will be back in court on February 25th.

Columbus Man Killed In Accident

A 69-year-old rural Columbus man was killed when his tractor was hit by a semi-truck near Columbus Tuesday morning. Columbus Police say the accident happened on Highway 151 southbound at 9:14 a.m. A 45-year-old Iowa man was driving the semi. Highway 151 southbound near Columbus was shut down for about four hours while the crash was investigated.

Corrections Officer Workplace Safety Bill Proposed

State Senate Democrats Wednesday introduced a Corrections Reform package designed to make the workplace safer for corrections officers. State Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling is one of the authors of the Correctional Officer Workplace Safety Bill. She says conditions are unsafe in the prisons and it’s time to do something about them. She says morale is down, assaults are up and understaffing has become a critical safety issue. She says among the things the legislation would do is establish a minimum number of first responders to be on duty per shift, make sure guard towers are manned on all shifts, make incident reports available to the public and for inspection, and it would provide proper training for administering medications. It would also restore the right of correctional officers to collectively bargain over workplace safety issues.

New Ambulance Got Early Test

Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue’s new ambulance got a little road testing before it was supposed to hit the street. Chief Peter O’Leary says during snowstorm last week when other ambulances were getting stuck in heavy snow they put the new ambulance into service. He says the reason for that is because it’s their first ambulance with all-wheel drive and it performed well. He says they certainly would like to go with an all-wheel drive ambulance the next time they replace an ambulance. O’Leary says they hope to have the new ambulance all ready to go by next week. He says they are still doing some training on it and have to finish equipping it yet.

Save A Smile

The oral health coordinator for the Fond du Lac County Health Department says they would like to get more information out about the adult portion of their Save a Smile dental health program. Samantha Twohig says people are aware of their program for children on medical assistance, but not as many people are aware of the program they partner with Agnesian HealthCare on for adults. She says that’s for adults on medical assistance or that meet certain income eligibility who have urgent dental needs. She says they’d like to catch any problems before someone has to consider going to an emergency room. She says she’s happy to appear before groups or clubs to talk about the program to get the word out. She says you can also call them at 929-3090 with any questions.

Next History At Home Program On The Packers

The popular History at Home program at the Fond du Lac Public Library will feature the history of the Green Bay Packers. “Why We Love the Packers,” will be presented at 2 and 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 21st at the library. Community Information Coordinator Terri Fleming says author Jim Rice has done several books on the Packers and will give the presentation. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Rice’s books have detailed the rivalries between the Packers, and the Bears and Giants and Championship games the Packers were involved in from 1933 to 1965. Fleming says due to the popularity of the History at Home series they will now offer two presentations for each program at 2 and 6 p.m. the third Thursday of the month.