Local News Briefs Tuesday 10/7/14

Winnebago County Sheriff’s officials say human remains were found inside a burning vehicle in the Town of Oshkosh early Monday morning. Authorities got a call at 3:52 a.m. about the fire at the intersection of Leach Road and County Highway S. Investigators are working to identify the body and determine the cause of the fire.

Oshkosh Armed Robbery

Police in Oshkosh are looking for three men suspected of robbing a man early Monday morning. Police say the 26-year-old man was robbed in the 300 block of Broad Street. He was out walking about 1 a.m. in the morning when the three men approached him. One had a gun and pointed it at him. They took his cell phone and keys and ran from the scene.  The suspects were described as being black, in their twenties, 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9 inches tall and weighing between 140 and 160 pounds. The man who had the guns had dreadlocks. Anyone who might have information about the robbery is asked to contact police.

Voter ID Constitutional

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled Wisconsin’s Voter ID law is constitutional and does not violate the federal Voting Rights Act. Monday’s decision comes about a month after a three judge panel in Chicago lifted a lower court’s injunction that had been blocking the law from taking effect. State election officials and local clerks have already been gearing up for the law, which requires voters to show a government-issued photo ID when requesting a ballot, to be in effect for the November 4 election.

Ebola Virus

Fond du Lac County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says the chances of Ebola becoming a problem in the U.S. aren’t likely. Five Americans have been treated for the Ebola virus since an outbreak, but they all picked it up in Africa. The latest is an NBC camera man who was working in Liberia. Mueller says another case involved a Liberian man who was visiting relatives in the U.S. and is being treated in Texas. She says health care workers are making sure that the virus hasn’t been spread. She says Ebola is not an airborne virus. It is spread by coming into contact with blood and bodily fluids. She says that blood or bodily fluid would have to be ingested or make its way into an open wound or sore for a person to become infected.

Watertown Murder Suspect Declared Incompetent

(WBEV-Beaver Dam)-An accused killer from Watertown has been declared incompetent to stand trial on first-degree murder charges.  Twenty-nine-year-old Young Choi is accused of stabbing his 27-year-old neighbor in the stomach last July.  Prosecutors say Dustin Vanderheyden was partially scalped by his attacker.  Choi told the court he wanted to represent himself.  The Jefferson County judge stopped the proceedings last Friday and committed Choi to treatment for up to 12 months.  Doctors say Choi could regain competency after treatment and proper medication.  He could go on trial then.

Next County Board Meeting Will Be Streamed Live

The Fond du Lac County Board will make a little history when their next meeting is streamed live on the County’s website. County Executive Al Buechel says it’s first for the County and the City Council meetings will also be streamed live on the City’s website. The County Board meeting is on October 28th. He says they also would be able to stream committee meetings when a controversial issue comes up. Buechel says it took a little while to work out the bugs for the new audio and video equipment in the legislative chambers, but they have it figured out now.

Open House Part Of Fire Prevention Week In FDL

As part of Fire Prevention Week the Fond du Lac Fire Department will have an open house this Thursday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at their South Main Street Fire Station. Division Chief of Fire Prevention Troy Haase says they hope to have a kitchen fire demonstration. He says they will also have a Jaws-of-Life demonstration, Flight for Life will be there, there will also be activities for the kids and more. He says the theme for Fire Prevention Week has to do with smoke detectors it is “Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives: Test Your’s Every Month!”  He says a smoke detector does no one any good if the batteries are disconnected or not working. Home fires killed more than 2,300 people in the United States in 2012.

Railroad Safety

Railroad safety rolls into the spotlight this week as Wisconsin observes Freight Rail Week. Last year, six people died in Wisconsin rail-related incidents — another 25 were hurt. Donna Brown-Martin is the director of the state Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transit, Local Roads, Rails and Harbors. She says sometimes motorists or pedestrian become distracted. She says anytime you approach a rail crossing in a vehicle or if you’re walking, the key is to look, listen and live. She says one thing you should also remember is that train tracks and rail yards are considered private property and trespassing is not only illegal, but can be dangerous.

Youth Impacted By United Way Funded Programs

Fond du Lac Area United Way Executive Director Tina Potter says the majority of their funding helps out youth in the community. She says a lot of programs they fund impact youth like funding for ASTOP, which goes into classrooms to talk about stranger danger and sexual assault. She says the Children’s Museum, the Boys & Girls Club, Youth for Christ, and others all have programs for youth. She says the Fond du Lac Area YScreen program screens high school freshmen for possible mental health concerns. She says the majority of the $740,000 they raised last year will be going toward agencies with programs that impact youth. She estimates about $380,000 of that total. More than 36,000 people will be helped out this year through an agency that receives United Way funding.

Insurance License Denied

A Fond du Lac man’s application for an insurance license has been denied. The state’s Commissioner of Insurance says Brian Schmitz of 109 W. Cotton Street was denied an insurance license based on allegations of having criminal convictions which may be substantially related to insurance marketing type conduct and having unpaid civil money judgments.