Local News Briefs Wednesday 8/5/15

Winnebago County Sheriff’s officials say a 24-year-old Oshkosh man whose motorcycle went off a curve on County Highway T last weekend died of the injuries he suffered in the accident. Kyle Kelbach was ejected from his bike after it went off the curve and hit a utility pole in the Town of Oshkosh early Saturday morning. He wasn’t wearing a helmet.  He died at the scene.

Migrant Worker Charged With Stabbing

Washington County Sheriff’s officials say a 37 year old Hispanic immigrant worker is suspected of stabbing another farm worker early last Saturday morning at a residence in the Town of Farmington.  Investigators say Roberto Castillo-Noyola believed another man had stolen beer and money from him. He grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed the victim multiple times. The victim ran from the home and called 911. He was taken to Froedtert Hospital and is expected to survive. Castillo-Noyola is charged with 2nd degree recklessly endangering safety and disorderly conduct.  He’s being held in the Washington County Jail on a $20,000 cash bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for August 17th.

Iron Ridge Man Pleads To Armed Burglary Charges Involving Estranged Wife

The 65-year-old Iron Ridge man who allegedly threatened to kill his estranged wife while holding a handgun to her head was back in Dodge County Court this week. Charles Kaepernick  pled no contest to felony charges of armed burglary and recklessly endangering safety. Four other charges were read into the record and dismissed.  Charges stem from an incident last January when he forced his way into his estranged wife’s Hustisford home and threatened to kill her because he claimed she ruined his life. He also fired several shots into the floor next to her. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 21st.

Milwaukee Woman Charged For West Bend Arson

Washington County authorities have charged a 26-year-old Milwaukee woman for allegedly setting a house fire in the Town of West Bend last September. Sheriff’s officials say the investigation revealed Roneshia North set the fire as an act of revenge against the homeowner. The home at 5484 Peninsula Drive suffered severe damage. North is charged with two counts of 1st degree recklessly endangering safety and arson. She made her initial court appearance on the charges in June and has a preliminary hearing on August 21st.

Traffic Crash Training On Highway 26 Near Waupun

The state’s Department of Transportation will be hosting a multi-vehicle accident training scenario on the closed portion of State Highway 26 near Waupun today.  The exercise will include a simulated traffic crash with injuries and a fatality. Law enforcement, fire, EMS, county highway, DOT officials, a medical examiner and medical helicopter personnel will be involved in the exercise that will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Highway 23 Traffic Counts Questioned

The Highway Safety Coordinator for Fond du Lac County says he grew up in the Mt. Calvary area and the recent multi-vehicle accidents on Highway 23 east of Fond du Lac come as no surprise to him. Sheriff’s Captain Rick Olig says he worked with the ambulance crews there for more than 20 years and they knew when they were responding to an accident on Highway 23 it would be serious. Two recent crashes involved a total of seven vehicles and 14 injuries. He says vehicle counts for the Highway are about 9,000 vehicles a day, but he says that doesn’t take into account what the average might be if the counts were done during the peak travel times. A federal lawsuit stalled the expansion of Highway 23 from Fond du Lac to Plymouth from two to four lanes in part due to future traffic projections and supposed errors in those calculations. Olig says they’ve been fortunate that there weren’t secondary accidents because of the rerouting of cars for major accidents.

PGA Traffic Enforcement

The State Patrol and Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department are getting a jump on traffic enforcement on I-43 prior to next week’s PGA Championship. Captain Tony Burrell is the commander of the State Patrol’s Northeast Region. He says they want to make sure people are paying attention to their speed and the road in front of them. The PGA Championship will be played at Whistling Straits near Kohler next week. Golf fans will be using I-43 and other major highways to get there. Burrell says people traveling from the west will also make State Highway 23 busy. He says record attendance is expected for the event. Burrell says they expect more traffic on north/south routes.

NFDL Board Approves EMS Contract And Offer For New Fire Chief

The North Fond du Lac Village Board this week approved a contract with the EMS union and a conditional offer to fill the vacant EMS Director and Fire Chief position. Village Administrator Chuck Hornung says he can’t reveal many details about the new EMS Director and Fire Chief because it still has to be approved by the Police and Fire Commission and go through other employment steps. But he says the person comes from outside the organization. He says they hope to have the person on board by the end of the month. He says the contract with the EMS union is for two years and is retroactive to the beginning of the year. It is for 2 percent increases both this year and next.

FDL Salvation Army Offers Pathway To Hope

Officials at the Fond du Lac Salvation Army are now dispensing a little hope with the financial assistance they provide to those in need. Ron Jacobson is their Social Services Director. He says a little over eight months ago they began the Pathway of Hope program. He says it’s not just a case management program. He says their case manager assesses a person’s needs and tries to put them on a path to self sufficiency. He says it’s all about trying to get people out of the cycle of poverty.  He says if they can help people find a job or help them with managing their finances they may not have to come back to the Salvation Army for assistance. He says one family they worked with never had a checking account.

New Circuit Court Judge In Sheboygan County

Sheboygan County has a new circuit court judge. Rebecca Persick was sworn in Monday as the new judge for Branch Four. She won an election this past April over Catherine Delahunt and succeeds Terence Bourke, who retired from the bench at the end of July. Persick served as a court commissioner for 12 years. Ryan O’Rourke will fill that position. He’s a former assistant district attorney for Sheboygan County.