Local News Briefs Tuesday 2/10/15

A Sheboygan alderman has been charged for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy. According to the criminal complaint Sheboygan Alderman Kevin Matichek and the victim had multiple sexual encounters over a period of several months.  Matichek says he and the victim had a friendship and did make out, but did not perform any sexual activities. Police say they got tips as early as last June, but weren’t able to identify actual victims until last week that they could speak to. A 17-year-old boy also allegedly had a sexual encounter with Matichek, but no charges were filed in connection with that. Bond was set at $75,000 cash and Matichek has a preliminary hearing on February 18th.

FDL Efforts To Reduce Storm Water Pollution Could Help With Another Effort

Fond du Lac Public Works Director Jordan Skiff says in the long run the City may be glad his predecessor took to heart meeting requirements to reduce storm water pollution by 40 percent. He says Mark Lentz did a great job making sure the city met that reduction level for total suspended solids. He says the retention ponds put in, the change in street sweeping procedures and education all helped get to that level.  He says now a future requirement is to reduce the total maximum daily load going into impaired waters like Lake Winnebago. He says it has to do with reducing nutrient levels. He says the City’s efforts to reduce the storm water pollution may actually help the City get to higher standards for total maximum daily loads quicker than other cities.

Being Proactive About Anthem Hack

Fond du Lac Police Officer Steve Olson says if you are or were a member of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance there are a few things you can do to be proactive about a hack of the company’s records. It’s estimated up to 80 million people could be affected by a hack of the company’s records, which included customers’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and other information. He says Anthem will notify you if you were affected. He says you can also go to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion websites to notify you want a fraud alert in case someone tries to get your credit report. He says for $10 you can have your credit frozen, but it will cost you $10 for each of the companies. Olson also says to be leery about any calls or emails you may receive for a company saying they are working with Anthem because it’s probably any effort to get personnel or financial information. He also recommends monitoring your financial statements and credit card bills. You can also get a free credit report at annualcreditreport.com.

Check Ice Conditions Before Venturing Out

A member of the Fond du Lac County’s Ice Rescue Team urges residents to check ice conditions before venturing out to sturgeon spear or to take in the sturgeon stampeded or World Ice Sailing Championships. Sheriff’s Lieutenant Bill Tadych says temperatures and wind can change ice conditions in a hurry. He says they had to rescue some fisherman last month because a crack that was open about a foot wide had increased to about 100 yards wide by the time they were trying to get off the ice. He says they will have the Sheriff’s Amphibious Rescue Craft or SARC out on the Lake this opening weekend of the spearing season. He says it’s best to check with local fishing clubs and not just go by where the Christmas trees are on the ice. He says the fishing clubs are willing to let you know. He also recommends carrying a cell phone with you.

FDL Metro Advanced Industries Impact

The Fond du Lac Metro Area (County) ranked 13th among the nation’s small metros for the presence of Advanced Industries and their impact. The closest other metros in Wisconsin were Oshkosh (#22) and Racine (#19).  In 2013 (latest statistics available), the Fond du Lac Metro had 6,640 advanced industry represented 13.4% of all jobs, highest of all small Wisconsin metros, and leveraged 5,310 other jobs. The total output of the industries was $1 billion or 22.2% of all output in the metro.  The annual growth rate was 10.3%, highest of all small Wisconsin metros, and the annual output growth was 11.5%, again highest in the state.  The study was released by the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institute.

Source: http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports2/2015/02/03-advanced-industries#/M10420

FDL County Board To Honor Robert Fox

The Fond du Lac County Board tonight will pay tribute to a long-time member who recently passed away. Robert Fox served on the County Board from 1984 to 2012. During his time of the board Fox served on the Finance Committee, the ADVOCAP Board of Director, the Highway Committee and the East Wisconsin Counties Railroad Consortium Board of Directors. Fox passed away last Tuesday. Fox was 84-years-old. The Board meets at 7 p.m. at the City-County Government Center.

RMC Consultants Laboratory Receives Accreditation

Consultants Laboratory of Wisconsin, LLC, at Ripon Medical Center has achieved a two-year accreditation by the Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP), based on the results of a recent on-site inspection in Ripon. Consultants Laboratory – including sites in Fond du Lac, Ripon and Waupun – is one of the more 7,600 CAP-accredited laboratories worldwide. “We believe it is important to seek this accreditation because the CAP is the industry leader and symbolizes excellence, experience and professionalism – qualities we embrace on a daily basis,” says Carol Hyland, Consultants Laboratory president and chief executive officer. “The CAP congratulated us for the ‘excellence of the services being provided.’”

FBI Undercover Agent Talk Rescheduled At MPTC

An East Coast snow storm has led to the rescheduling of a speaking event at Moraine Park Technical College’s Fond du Lac campus. Former FBI undercover agent “Jack” Garcia was originally scheduled to speak today, but due to a snow storm in Boston the event has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 3rd at 11:30 a.m. at the school’s cafeteria. Garcia infiltrated the Gambino crime family by posing as “Jack Falcone” a Sicilian jewel thief. In his three years as posing as an Italian gangster Garcia was responsible for the convictions of 39 mobsters.  He’s written a book about the experience “Making Jack Falcone.” His book will be available for purchase at the event and he will autograph copies. Garcia was with the FBI for 26 years.

Dodge County Fair Acts

Most of the Grandstand musical acts for the Dodge County Fair are set. On opening night Wednesday, Scotty McCreery will perform. The 21-year-old won the tenth season of American Idol in 2011.  On Thursday, Gloriana takes the stage. The Nashville-based country group is known for songs like “Wild at Heart” and “Kissed You Goodnight.”  The Swon Brothers are the final music act of the fair on Saturday night. The duo finished in third place on the fourth season of NBC’s The Voice. A classic rock act for Friday has not been finalized. There will again be a demolition derby on Sunday. The Dodge County Fair runs August 19th-through-the-23rd.