Local News Briefs Thursday 9/19/13

Another big Powerball jackpot has been won by someone out-of-state. This time it was for $399 million and the winning ticket was sold in South Carolina. Last month a $448 million Powerball jackpot went to winners in New Jersey and Minnesota. Lottery players can console themselves with the fact that tomorrow night’s Mega Millions jackpot will be worth $145 million. The winning numbers for last night’s Powerball jackpot were 7-10-22-32-35, and the Powerball was 19. The jackpot starts over Saturday at $40 million.

 

Trial Set For Reeseville Man Accused Of Drugged Driving Fatal Accident

 

A week-long jury trial is scheduled in Dodge County Court for a 63-year-old Reeseville man suspected of being under the influence of drugs when he hit and killed an elderly Reeseville man with his jeep. The 5-day trial for Harry Schoephoerster  would begin next March 24th. Seventy-nine-year-old Edward Hahn of Reeseville was crossing County Highway G to get his mail in May of 2010. Hahn was in an electric utility cart when he was struck by the jeep driven by Schoephoerster. Hahn died at the scene. Schoephoerster later told investigators he had smoked marijuana the night before the accident. If he’s convicted he could get up to 25 years in prison.

 

Sheboygan Man Will Remain In Prison For Life

 

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-A Sheboygan man serving life in prison for sexual assault under the state’s “two strikes and you’re out” law will not be getting a new trial.  Thirty-seven- year-old Rogelio Cortez was sentenced last April.  He had been convicted of impregnating his sister when he was a teen and then last year was convicted of touching a girl while she was in the 5th and 6th grades. Judge Terrence Bourke then sentenced him to life in prison. Rogelio had appealed on grounds that Bourke erred during his trial by admitting other acts of evidence against him and refusing to allow evidence in his favor in prior allegations.  The 2nd District Court of Appeals rejected those arguments, upheld Judge Bourke, and denied the request for a new trial.

 

Roofers Who Damaged NFDL Roof Gone From The State

 

North Fond du Lac Village Administrator Chuck Hornung says they have a pretty good idea of who the group of errant roofers was that mistakenly tried to reroof the Community Center. He says unfortunately they were traveling roofers who’ve since left the state. He says they will have to settle for how far the insurance company wants to investigate the Labor Day incident. The roofers didn’t finish what they started and caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the roof, which now leaks when it rains. Hornung says they know it wasn’t done on purpose they were working on the wrong roof.

 

FDL County School Districts Meet Or Exceed Expectations

 

Public school districts in Fond du Lac County met or exceeded expectations in the state Department of Public Instructions latest district report cards. The Fond du Lac School District met expectations with a score of 68.6 and the North Fond du Lac School District had a score of 67.7. Also meeting expectations were the Campbellsport (70.0), Oakfield (66.8), and Waupun School Districts (69.2). Both the Ripon (73.3) and Rosendale-Brandon School Districts fell into the exceeding expectations category. The majority of Wisconsin’s Public Schools and School Districts met, exceeded or significantly exceeded expectations. To see scores for individual districts click here. 

 

FDL Schools Improve On School Report Cards

 

Fond du Lac Schools Superintendent Jim Sebert says he’s pleased with the progress schools in the district made since their first report cards from the DPI last year. Overall the district had a score of 68.6, which means it met expectations. Sebert says he’s pleased that Riverside and Parkside Elementary and Woodworth Middle School who didn’t meet expectations last year, did this year. He says they also had two schools that exceeded expectations Rosenow and Lakeshore. He says it’s a real credit to their teachers and their students. He says the district and school report cards are much more than just a gauge. He says they can break down individually how a student does on the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam from year-to-year. He says that will help them make instructional decisions.

 

NFDL Schools Superintendent Pleased With District Report Card

 

North Fond du Lac Schools Superintendent Aaron Sadoff says he’s pleased with how the district did on the Department of Public Instruction’s recent district report cards. The district got an overall score of 67.7, which means it met expectations. Sadoff says they have some work to do on closing the gaps in testing scores between subgroups of students for example traditional students and those who come from financially struggling families or students with disabilities for example.

He says the high school got a score of 59.4, which meant it meets few expectations. He says that’s primarily because of the ways some students did on math testing, but he says that’s one way gauging where they need to improve. Sadoff notes during recent ACT testing their students were above the state average in three out of four testing categories.

 

FDL Wayfinding Effort Involves A Number Of Partners

 

The City of Fond du Lac, Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership, Fond du Lac Area Conventions and Visitors Bureau and others are partnering on an effort called wayfinding. Visitors Bureau President Craig Molitor says it’s a signage effort, but goes beyond providing the traditional signs pointing the way to area attractions. Molitor says he and Downtown Partnership Executive Director Amy Hansen hired a designer to help with the project. The City will be divided up into six different districts. City Manager Joe Moore has proposed including $50,000 in the City’s Capital Improvements Project for 2014 for the wayfinding effort. That will help pay for welcome to Fond du Lac signs, district menu signs and district identifiers. Downtown Fond du Lac would be responsible for Downtown Fond du Lac welcome signs, Kiosk maps and new banners. Molitor says the district menu signs will feature direction arrows to each attraction. He says the wayfinding effort will also incorporate information on their various websites as well. He says overall about $78,000 is being invested in the effort.

 

Workforce Development Focus This Fall

 

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-Governor Scott Walker will propose workforce development efforts.

Walker says he expects to have an announcement soon, on a direction he’d like the legislature to go in this fall. He says there are a number of things that can be done with technical colleges and investment boards. He says he’s also interested in helping people with disabilities gain employment. He says that’s a proposal put forward at the National Governors Association conference in Milwaukee. He says the fall session can be less contentious than the legislature’s budget session.The state continues to perform poorly on private sector job development.

 

Senator Gudex Testifies About Drug Formulary Bill

 

It’s been a busy week for State Senator Rick Gudex of Fond du Lac who testified at the State Capitol on three different bills he authored or co-authored including one that would create drug formularies for nursing homes. Gudex says that would create a list of prescription drugs used in the nursing homes that would be go to pre-prescribed and pre-approved drugs. He says he came up with the idea after visiting with different nursing home officials including those from Harbor Haven Health & Rehabilitation and the St. Francis Home. He says that will help them save costs on prescription medications and create a little more continuity between the doctors, pharmacists and nursing home staff. He says with new medications coming on the market constantly Medicare won’t reimburse for those drugs, but drug formulary ensures nursing homes will get more reimbursement for the drugs they use.

 

Summerfield Brat Fry Today Benefits Cops For Kids

 

J & K Summerfield Aligning Service in Fond du Lac will host their 16th Annual Brat Fry today benefitting a Fond du Lac Police Department program. This year the program is Cops for Kids. Police Officer Steve Olson says last year they cooked over 300 pounds of meat, which was brats and burgers. That worked out to 636 burgers and 540 brats. KFIZ’s Wade Bates will be broadcasting live from Summerfield’s. He says some listeners have made pledges depending on how many brats and burgers he can eat at the brat fry. The Cops for Kids program does a lot to reach out to families and kids in the community. Hours for the brat fry are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Burgers and brats are $2.50 each. Summerfield Aligning is located at 275 North Hickory or the corner of Hickory and Arndt Streets.