Local News Thursday 3/21/13

FDL Man Sentenced To Prison For Battery And Assault

 

Fond du Lac County Judge Robert Wirtz sentenced a 36-year-old Fond du Lac man to 23 years in prison and 8 years of extended supervision Wednesday. Daniel Sease was sentenced on charges of strangulation and suffocation and aggravated battery. The victim a Menasha woman was sexually assaulted and beaten. A 2nd degree sexual assault charge was dismissed on a prosecutor’s motion.

 

Insanity Plea In Christmas Eve Shooting

 

A 26-year-old Neenah man has been found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect of the shooting and wounding of his brother-in-law. Christopher Andreas was convicted this week in Winnebago County Court of four counts of 1st degree recklessly endangering safety, but was found not guilty due to the insanity determination. Christopher Garland was watching football with his son in the Town of Clayton on Christmas Eve of 2011 when Andreas shot and critically wounded him.  He was paralyzed as a result of the shooting. On April 3rd a hearing will be held to determine terms of his commitment.

 

Sheboygan Man Sentenced To Prison For Sexual Assault

 

A 30-year-old Sheboygan man has been sentenced to 5 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision for his role in a rape. Sheboygan County Judge L. Edward Stengel sentenced Gregory Basped this week. Basped will also have to pay restitution to the victim a 46-year-old Sheboygan woman. Basped and 56-year-old Lester Green of Sheboygan picked the woman up at a tavern and later sexually assaulted her at her home. Green was sentenced last month to 8 years in prison. The sexual assault occurred last July.

 

Campbellsport Woman Suffers Exposure After Jumping Out Window

 

A Campbellsport woman was taken to St. Agnes Hospital suffering from exposure after she jumped out of the second story of a home on Scenic Road. According to Sheriff’s logs the woman had been depressed when she went to bed Monday night. She was found lying in the snow Tuesday morning. Fond du Lac Fire Department officials say she was unresponsive. They were asked to do a transport after Flight for Life was waived off due to the windy and snowy weather that morning. Sheriff’s officials say she suffered severe injuries. 

 

Armed Robbery In Oshkosh

 

Oshkosh Police are investigating an armed robbery that occurred early Wednesday morning in the 900 block of Merritt Avenue. Three black men, one armed with a handgun, robbed a pizza delivery person of an undisclosed amount of cash. The victim wasn’t injured. Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call Oshkosh Police at 920-236-5726. The robbery was reported at 12:42 a.m. The suspects fled on foot.

 

Binge Drinking Rate In FDL County 22 Percent

 

A report last week revealed the cost of excessive alcohol use in Wisconsin is $6.8 billion a year; broken down further it’s $118.2 million for Fond du Lac County. Karen Rucks of the Drug Free Communities of Fond du Lac County says that comes to about $1,163 a year per person living in the County. Rucks who is also a Family and Community Therapist for Lutheran Social Services says much of that is related to binge drinking. She says its considered binge drinking if a woman has more than 4 drinks in a row at any one time and 5 drinks for a man. Rucks says excessive alcohol use costs include money spent for law enforcement, health care, insurance claims, lost productivity work at work and more. She says too many of festivals and other events held in the state center around the use of alcohol. She says no one should take pride in the reputation of the state for binge drinking. The binge drinking rate in Fond du Lac County is 22 percent. To see the report click here.

Legislators Concerned With Impact Of Hwy 151 Bypass On FDL’s Traffic

 

A pair of state legislators from Fond du Lac are keeping a close eye as the state develops plans to improve the Highway 151 bypass in the future. Both State Senator Rick Gudex and State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt attended a recent public hearing hosted by the Department of Transportation in Fond du Lac about the future of Highway 151. Gudex says when the interchange goes in at County Highway V it’s going to create more traffic in an area of the City that isn’t currently designed for the increase. Thiesfeldt says the topic also came up when he hosted a Town Hall meeting this week. He’s particularly concerned with one stretch of County Highway V between Pioneer Road and Fond du Lac Avenue. Both say they will be fighting for funding to complete the interchange.

 

When future improvements are made to the Highway 151 bypass in Fond du Lac in a few years, State Senator Rick Gudex and State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt want to make sure they are done right. Both attended a recent public hearing hosted by the state DOT in Fond du Lac about the future project. Gudex says it will be nice to have an interchange at County Highway V, but that will have an impact on other streets in the City as a result. He says he’s spoken with Fond du Lac City Manager Joe Moore about the situation. Thiesfeldt says he’s particularly concerned with a stretch of County Highway V from Pioneer Road to Fond du Lac Avenue. State DOT officials say the earliest work on the improvements would begin is 2015 and the latest would be 2020 depending on funding.

 

Unemployment Rates Up

 

The City and County of Fond du Lac both saw increases in their unemployment rates from December to January. They were not alone however as the state’s Department of Workforce Development reported that all 32 cities with populations over 25,000 and all 72 counties saw hikes in their jobless rates for the period. The City of Fond du Lac’s unemployment rate jumped from 7.2 percent in December to 8.9 percent in January. The County’s rate increased from 6.1 percent to 7.7 percent. Rates were also up slightly compared to January of 2012.

 

Fallone Runs For State Supreme Court

 

He’s been teaching law students at Marquette University since 1992, now Ed Fallone says he wants to teach the State Supreme Court how to get along. Fallone is running against incumbent Justice Pat Roggensack in the April 2nd election. He says the court hasn’t been able to function as well since an incident a couple of years ago when Justice David Prosser allegedly choked Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. He also feels too much special interest money has crept into judicial campaigns.Those who would like to know more about his campaign can check out his website of Facebook page or follow him on Twitter.

 

Marquette Law School professor Ed Fallone believes he can help resolve personal differences on the State Supreme Court if he’s elected to it on April 2nd.  He says a well publicized dispute between Justices Prosser and Bradley has cut into its effectiveness. Fallone’s campaign has also seen a bit of controversy over his initial support of an ex-gang leader who founded and became the executive director of the Latino Community Center in Milwaukee about a dozen years ago and then fathered two children with a woman who came to the center for help. Modesto Fontanez later resigned when the woman killed one of the boys and injured the other. Fallone was the president of the board for the center in 2001 when those events transpired. He says despite that the center did some good work with children in that area. Fallone is challenging incumbent Justice Pat Roggensack for a seat on the bench.

 

Fallen Police Officer’s Name Not Included On National Monument

 

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-The state attorney general is hoping a Wisconsin cop’s name will eventually be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. The board that oversees the memorial in Washington D-C ruled against adding Wauwatosa Police Officer Jennifer Sebena’s name, because her death was the result of a suspected case of domestic-violence. Attorney General J-B Van Hollen says how Sebena died should not have been a factor, since she was clearly working at the time of her death. Sebena was shot and killed on Christmas Eve while on duty and Police have charged her husband with first degree intentional homicide. Van Hollen believes the decision to leave her name off of the memorial was a mistake. Van Hollen and other law enforcement officials are urging the Memorial Fund to reconsider the decision.  Officials have a meeting scheduled today to reconsider their initial decision to keep Sebena’s name off of the memorial.

 

FDL Woman Finds Success Through MPTC Boot Camp

 

A Fond du Lac woman found success in Moraine Park Technical College’s CNC machining Boot Camp program. Diane Stepp had worked in manufacturing jobs for 15 years when she was laid off last August. She learned about the Boot Camp program, which not only involved training but internships with participating company’s like Amerequip. She says she was very pleased when she found out her application for the program had been accepted. She interned with Amerequip and later was offered a job there. She says if the program worked for her it can work for others who are interested in CNC machining and welding opportunities. She was one of 12 who successfully completed the first boot camp. In fact Governor Walker singled out her success during his State of State Address January. MPTC Project Manager Ann Lemke says they will have CNC and Welding Boot Camps in West Bend and Fond du Lac this summer. Information and testing sessions are scheduled for April 9th and 10th. To sign up call 929-2117.   

 

Waupun School District Works On Budget Deficit

 

(WBEV-Beaver Dam)-A budget deficit of $1.2 million dollars in the Waupun School District earlier this year is now at $200,000. District Administrator Tonya Gubin says they were able to do it with a variety of maneuvers including layoffs, retirements, and a change in insurance carriers. An increase in employee’s health insurance contributions is also likely. To take care of the rest of the deficit Gubin, and school districts across the state, are hoping for an increase in per pupil funding. As currently proposed Governor Walker’s budget includes a zero increase. However, legislators on both sides of the aisle are looking to increase that aid before the budget goes up for a vote this summer.

 

Berlin Man Sentenced For Car Entries And Thefts

 

A 51-year-old Berlin man was sentenced in Dodge County Court this week to four years in prison and four years of extended supervision for breaking into a dozen vehicles at two golf courses in the Town of Beaver Dam. Douglas Will committed a series of smash-and-grab purse snatchings in December of 2011 at the Beaver Dam Country Club and Old Hickory Golf Club. Cars were broken into and purses stolen. A cell phone in one of the purses had GPS, which led police to him. They also found purses taken during the thefts in his truck when he was pulled over during a traffic stop in the Neosho area.