Local News Briefs Wednesday 6/4/14

The State Patrol has released the names of the two men injured in a collision on State Highway 44 at Burr Oak Road near Oshkosh Monday afternoon. Thirty-five-year-old Jerimiah Hamilton of Oshkosh crossed the centerline with his car and collided with an SUV driven by 61-year-old Henry Wendt of Ripon. Hamilton was flown to Theda Clark Regional Medical Center with life-threatening injuries and Wendt was taken to Mercy Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

Six File For 6^th Congressional District Seat

Six candidates have filed papers for the open 6th Congressional District seat Tom Petri of Fond du Lac is retiring from.  Four Republicans filed by Monday’s deadline including State Senators Glenn Grothman and Joe Leibham, and State Representative Duey Stroebel. The other GOP candidate is Tom Denow of Oshkosh.  Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris is the only Democrat who filed for that post.  Gus Fahrendorf of Neenah also filed papers as a Libertarian candidate.

No Opposition For Thiesfeldt Or Schraa

No one filed papers to oppose State Representatives Jeremy Thiesfeldt and Michael Schraa in the 52nd and 53rd State Assembly Districts this fall. However State Representative Gordon Hintz, a Democrat, will be opposed by Oshkosh Republican Mark Elliot. In the 41st State Assembly District incumbent Joan Ballweg will be challenged by Joe Kallas who ran against Congressman Tom Petri in the last two elections. In the 42nd Republican incumbent Keith Ripp faces two Democratic challengers George Ferriter of Fall River and Steve Gulasky of Poynette. In the 59th incumbent Dan LeMahieu decided to retire. The only candidate nomination papers approved by the state’s Government Accountability Board for that seat is from two Republicans, Jesse Kremer of Kewaskum and Bill Savage of Hartford.

Heavy Rains Hurt Farm Fields

Fond du Lac County Crops and Soils Agent Mike Rankin says farmers could use some sun and wind to dry out fields after heavy rails over the weekend. He says rain was needed, but not the five or so inches that fell in some areas. He says the fields were recently planted and were vulnerable to a heavy rain. He says standing water could damage crops that were recently planted and are starting to germinate. He says nitrogen fertilizer applied to the fields was also probably lost in the heavy rain. He says last week there were several good days allowing farmers to get in their first crop hay, but a delay in harvesting alfalfa in the field could hurt their forage value.

Rain Softened Grounds Won’t Interfere With Walleye Weekend

There are some waterlogged conditions in Lakeside Park, but nothing that would prevent Walleye Weekend attendees from having a good time this weekend. Fond du Lac Public Works Director Jordan Skiff says last weekend’s heavy rains did leave the park a little waterlogged, but there was no flooding and they are hoping it will dry up some before the weekend. He says any damage done by vehicles accessing the park to put up booths, stages and displays needed for the weekend will be addressed after the weekend. Skiff also says the dredging company will be pulling off site Thursday and disposal pipes have been moves and won’t interfere with festival goers. He says that particularly applies to Oven Island.

E Cigarettes

The program coordinator for the 5 counties for Tobacco Free Living says a debate over the use of electronic or E cigarettes is more about the public’s health than living up to state or municipal law. Sandy Bernier says Fond du Lac County officials are holding discussions now about how to handle people who want to use E cigarettes in County-owned facilities. She says technically what comes out of E cigarettes isn’t vapor, it’s considered aerosol but it still could be a health risk. She says its liquid nicotine, metals and carcinogens coming out of that aerosol. She says the Food and Drug Administration is giving companies two years before they start regulating E cigarettes, but they are still doing research on E cigarettes. She says the other danger is companies are making E cigarette flavors that appeal to kids. She says they also know of a case in La Crosse where an over heated E cigarette started a fire when it exploded across a room.

Waukesha Stabbing Prompts Warning About Website Monitoring

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-A social media expert says an attempted murder case in Waukesha should be a reminder for parents to keep tabs on what their kids are doing online. A pair of 12-year-old Waukesha girls say they were inspired to stab a classmate after becoming followers of stories about the Slenderman. Madison College Marketing professor Steve Noll says the character is like an online boogeyman who has thrived in fictional stories written by fans. The stories featuring the character are typically gory and violent, and are written with an adult audience in mind. Noll says it’s surprising to see a pair of 12-year-olds had been reading the material and developed into fans something he says should serve as a reminder to parents to monitor where their kids visit online. Noll says parents can install software to block certain types of sites or, at the very least, check their child’s browsing history.

Wolf Lake Will Be Dredged This Fall

Fond du Lac County Planning and Parks Director Sam Tobias says he’s renewed a maintenance dredging permit for Wolf Lake. Tobias says dredging during the winter has worked out in the past. He says working off the ice in the winter didn’t minimize the cost the way they had hoped. He says they found a contractor in Markesan who has the equipment they need to get the project done. He says they will be able to dispose of the material on a farmer’s field. He says they won’t proceed with the project until this fall. He says the farmer can basically use the dredged materials as a top soil.

NFDL Village Board Changes Shoreline Setback Requirement

The North Fond du Lac Village Board this week approved an amendment to an ordinance that could prove valuable in shoreline developments. Village Administrator Chuck Hornung says a new state law allowed a change to setback requirements for properties annexed since 1982. He says the change from a minimum setback of 75 feet to 50 feet could help more shoreline development in the Village. Municipalities wanting to take advantage of the new law needed to change existing ordinances by the end of the month.

Sex Offender Released In Oshkosh

Oshkosh Police say a 27-year-old sex offender is now living at 1105A Jefferson Street. Nikkita Williams was convicted in 2011 of 3rd degree sexual assault for sexually assaulting a woman he knew. Physical force was used, injuring the victim. He will be on electronic monitoring and will be actively supervised by the Department of Corrections until June 6th of 2017.

Jesse Harding Joins The Farm Report

You will be hearing a new voice associated with the Farm Report on News-Talk 1450 KFIZ. Farm Report Director Pam Jahnke says Jesse Harding will be working as Farm Assistant for the statewide farm network. Harding will be on the air soon with the Farm Report and will assist Pam with events across the state. Harding grew-up on a 5-acre hobby farm in Southern Illinois raising every animal her family could. She was a 10-year member of 4H which is what formed her passion for agriculture. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a major in Agriculture Communications and is part of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB), Collegiate FFA and started the Collegiate Farm Bureau Chapter at Champaign.