Local News Briefs Thursday 6/18/15

State Senator Rick Gudex believes the state will get a deal done for helping finance a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks. He says instead of the $220 million the governor at first proposed in the state budget about $80 million will be contributed by the state. He says that would include the principle and interest. He says it also provides some protections should the Bucks decide to leave the state. He says the Bucks would have to repay the state and local investors, so it does provide some taxpayer protection. Gudex says if the Bucks left the state now the state would still be on the hook for $120 million over the next 10 years for payments, upkeep and maintenance of the Bradley Center. He says this way the Bucks would stay and it would get the state out of the arena business. The state lawmaker from Fond du Lac believes the issue will be pulled out of the state budget and addressed as a stand alone bill.

FDL Man Gives Talk On Mt Everest Climb And Earthquake Tonight

The Fond du Lac man who survived an earthquake while climbing Mt. Everest will give a slide show presentation tonight on his experience. Andy Land was climbing Mt. Everest in April when an earthquake hit Nepal. The climb was to create awareness and raise funds for hospice care. Land’s experience climbing the mountain and helping people on his way back down will be the subject of the presentation at Marian University’s Stayer Center tonight at 7 p.m. The presentation is free, but a $5 donation will be collected at the door for the Sherpa Fund. They are the people who guide climbers up the mountain. Land says 100 percent of the money collected will go to the fund. He says the people of Nepal are poor and rebuilding after the earthquake meant using the same building materials destroyed in the quake. Land is the Director of Hospice and Palliative Care Services for Agnesian HealthCare. Although the event is free they are asking people to register. You can do that by emailing epicdisaster427@gmail.com or at the eventbrite.com website. As of this morning there were a little over 50 seats left. 

Plymouth Man Sentenced For Role In Heroin Overdose

A 26-year-old Plymouth man has been sentenced to four years in prison and five years of extended supervision for dealing heroin. Joshua Huston was sentenced in Sheboygan County Court this week. Charges stemmed from an incident last December in which a Plymouth woman overdosed on heroin he provided. Emergency responders were able to save the woman’s life. Huston and 22-year-old Calla Herziger of Elkhart Lake bought the heroin in Milwaukee. Last month Herziger was sentenced to five years of probation. If she fails to live up to that she could spend three years in jail.

Federal Complaint Filed Against Defective Coffeemaker

A federal complaint has been filed against a company with ties to Wisconsin and its subsidiary that distributed coffeemakers with defective carafe handles. Consumers registered hundreds of complaints about the handles for the Black & Decker brand SpaceMaker coffee pots over a three-year period. Dozens were burned by hot coffee after the handles detached. A total of 1,600 complaints were registered about the defective handles. The coffeemakers were recalled in June of 2012. The Department of Justice and the Consumer Product Safety Commission filed the complaint Wednesday against Spectrum Brands Inc., alleging that the company and its former subsidiary, Applica Consumer Products, failed to report the defect.  Spectrum Brands is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.  Applica Consumer Products was the Florida company that imported and distributed the coffeemaker.  Applica became a subsidiary of Spectrum in 2010, and the two companies merged in 2014. To read more click here.

Highway 151 Work Starting Tuesday

Work begins on improvements to Highway 151 in Fond du Lac County next Tuesday. Governor Scott Walker approved $10.1 million to improve Highway 151 at County Highways T and V. An overpass will be put in at County Highway T. Prairie Trail will be reconstructed in the work zone. Work will be completed in November of next year. Reinhardt Road is being realigned and fill work is being done in preparation for construction of an interchange at County Highway V. This portion of the project will be completed by December.  In November the DOT will let bidding for a separate project that will complete the interchange. It will be open to traffic by December of next year. The prime contractor is Mashuda Contractors Inc. of Princeton.

Hwy 26 Hearing In Rosendale Thursday

The state’s Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing tonight in Rosendale to discuss the proposed controlled access highway designation for State Highway 26. It will be from approximately one and quarter miles north of the State Highway 26/US Highway 151 intersection in Fond du Lac County to the north Fond du Lac county line. The hearing will be at the Rosendale Town Hall from 5 to 7 p.m. A brief presentation about the project will be held at 5:15 p.m. The hearing is being held as an open house and the public can attend at their convenience. The controlled access designation would assist the DOT in controlling future access along this section of State Highway 26. Without controlling direct access, the safety and operating capacity of the highway will deteriorate.

North Fondy Fest This Weekend

North Fond du Lac’s Village Park will host the majority of activities for this weekend’s North Fondy Fest. The summertime festival is now in its 28th year. Laurie King says they will kick off things with a chicken dinner at 5 p.m. Friday. She says the half-chicken dinners go fast. Also Friday they have a deal on carnival rides with rides just $2 each. Things start early Saturday with the pancake breakfast at the park. It’s sponsored by the Presentation Men’s Club and goes until 11 a.m.. Also on Saturday there’s a noon parade, activities for the kids, the softball tournament, a model train show, cash raffle and Oil Can Harry performs. You can get more information on North Fondy Fest at their Facebook or Instagram pages. 

Little Farmer Focus Of FDL Public Library History At Home Tonight

The Fond du Lac Public Library’s History at Home program focuses on the Little Farmer tonight. Community Information Coordinator Terri Fleming says the 6 p.m. program is free and no registration is required. She says it started out 149 years ago as a family farm and is now a bustling center of agri-tourism. Farmhouse Manager Teri Mayer will talk about the history of the farm. Fleming says she will also talk a little about their upcoming 150th anniversary. She will talk about planning for that big event. Mayer will share why – even though the farm is open to the public just August through Thanksgiving weekend – prepping for the “fast and furious” open months is a yearlong endeavor. The staff revs up to provide made-from-scratch baked goods, caramel apples and of course bushels of apples.