KFIZ News Friday 12/23/16

Appeals Court Ruling On Highway 23 Expansion Likely In The Spring

It could be closer to spring before a federal appeals court rules on whether the Highway 23 expansion between Fond du Lac and Plymouth should be allowed to continue. Fond du Lac County Executive Al Buechel says it is of course up to the court, but it could be March or April before they rule whether the 1000 Friends of Wisconsin lawsuit that halted funding for the project should be allowed to continue. Buechel says the Governor has already said he won’t be including money in the next state budget for the project, but funding should have been lined up in case the Appeals Court ruled in the state’s favor. He says the stretch in Fond du Lac County was not going to be constructed until 2018.

FDL County Has Fifth Lowest Unemployment Rate In The State

Unemployment levels in the City and County of Fond du Lac held nearly steady in November around 3 percent. The County’s level remained at 2.9 percent for a second straight month, but the City’s jobless rated dipped a tenth of a percent to 3 percent. According to Federal Labor statistics only four of Wisconsin’s 72 counties had lower unemployment rates than Fond du Lac County in November. Dane County had the lowest rate at 2.7 percent.

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Oshkosh Pedestrian Hit And Run

Oshkosh Police are looking for a driver who struck a pedestrian at Jackson Street and Pearl Avenue Wednesday night then left the scene. The pedestrian was hit on the passenger side in front of the vehicle. The car was a dark-colcred older 4 door vehicle. The victim was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Anyone who has information about the crash is asked to call Oshkosh Police at (920) 236-5700.

Elected County Officials To Be Sworn In January Third

Four elected Fond du Lac County officials will be sworn into office for four year terms at the beginning of next month. On Tuesday, January 3rd Senior County Judge Peter Grimm will administer the oath of office to those four officials who were elected last month.  The newly elected officials are County Treasurer Brenda Schneider and Register of Deeds James Krebs.   Lisa Freiberg will be sworn in for her third term as County Clerk and Eric Toney will be sworn in for his second term as District Attorney. The ceremony will begin at 8:00 a.m. in Courtroom 1, located on the 2nd floor of the Fond du Lac City-County Government Center.  The ceremony is open to the public.

United Way Update

With a little over a week left in the year the Fond du Lac Area United Way is inching closer to its goal of raising $760,000. United Way Executive Director Amber Kilawee says they are getting closer to $600,000 in contributions. She says they are at 77 percent or $587,000 of their goal and they are pleased to be at that point in the campaign. She says contributions made before the end of the year are tax deductible for 2016. She says nearly all of donations made to the United Way stay in the area. She says 99 percent stays in the community to help support 26 human service programs. Kilawee says the campaign usually goes a couple of weeks into the New Year.

FDL Community Christmas Dinner

Today is the final day you can call to arrange transportation for the Fond du Lac Community Christmas Dinner or to have it delivered. Transportation and deliveries are available in Fond du Lac and North Fond du Lac. The 16th Annual Community Christmas Dinner will be held at the Eagles Club Hall on Christmas Day. Dinner will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mike Turk is one of the organizers of the dinner. He says it will be a traditional Christmas meal. He says they will also be delivering dinner to those staying in the warming shelter at the Fond du Lac Salvation Army. The dinner is open to anyone who is alone, unable to prepare a meal or just wants to share the day. To arrange transportation or delivery of meals call (920) 278-7222.

Washington County Fire

Fire destroyed a home on Holy Hill Road in Washington County Thursday night. Germantown firefighters responded first and got assistance from 15 other departments. No injuries were reported and the cause is being determined.

New City Administrator For Fox Lake

The City of Fox Lake didn’t’ wait long to find a new city administrator.  Gary Rogers is retiring at the end of the month. The Fox Lake Common Council this week approved Mayor Tom Bednarek’s appointment of Dean Perlick as part-time administrator. He will start on March 1st and will work 20 hours a week.  Chuck Schranz is serving as interim administrator.  

Offices Closing Early Today

If you have business to do with Fond du Lac City and County offices today better do it early. All of the offices will be closing by noon and will remain closed until Tuesday. The Sheriff’s Lobby/Records Office and the City’s Municipal Service Center will both be closing at 11 a.m. Fond du Lac Area Transit will operate normal hours today.  The Senior Center will be closed on Monday and the Library will be closed this weekend.

Holiday Depression

A local police chief recommends checking on friends and loved ones this holiday season that might be suffering from depression. North Fond du Lac Police Chief Darren Pautsch says Christmas isn’t a happy time for everyone especially if they have suffered a personal loss like a spouse or family member. He says sometimes they only need to talk with someone about what they have been through. Bringing them a Christmas card, gift or plate of cookies might be just the way to get the conversation started.

Fire Safety For The Holidays

The Division Chief of Fire Prevention for Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue reminds residents to be careful with their holiday lighting this Christmas. Troy Haase says even if your Christmas lights are new he recommends turning them off when you leave your house. He says it is best to turn the lights off and unplug the tree when you are not around. He says you should also avoid running extension or lighting cords through areas people walk. Haase also says a lot of people use candles during the holidays and they are one of the major causes of holiday fires. He suggests not leaving them unattended or where a child or pet might knock them over when they are lit.