Local News Briefs Friday 12/27/13

 

Unemployment


The state
of Wisconsin
has released the November job numbers and its shows the city and county are
about the same compared to October.  Fond du Lac County’s unemployment rate in November
was at 5.3% compared to 5.2% in October while the city’s rate dropped from 6’6%
to 6.5%.  Both the city and county have
lower jobless rates than November of 2012. 
The city and county’s rate is .4% lower this year compared to last year.

 

Restrictions
On Use Of Pepper Spray For Self-Defense Eased

 

State
Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt says a bill he authored that Governor Walker
recently signed into law basically removes the restrictions on the use of
pepper spray for self-defense. The state lawmaker from Fond
du Lac
says Wisconsin
had some of the toughest standards in the nation on the use of pepper spray
including how strong it could be. Some restrictions remain. It can only be used
for self-defense, felons can’t possess it, it can’t be used against law enforcement
officers and it can’t be sold to minors but minors can carry it with the
permission of a parent or guardian. Thiesfeldt says pepper spray is a
self-defense option for people who prefer not to carry a firearm. 

 

MPTC Uses
Former Ambulance For Paramedic Lab

 

An
associate dean of human services with Moraine Park Technical College says they
are making the most of an ambulance was donated to the college. Jim Brace says
they are using it to train EMTs and Paramedics, but couldn’t very well motor
around the City of Fond du Lac
in it. He says they cut the box off the ambulance and a plate was welded on the
front so they could use a fork lift to move it around there new paramedic lab.
He says it will give students an opportunity to train in a space similar to a
real ambulance.

 

E-Cigs


(WRN)
A state lawmaker is pushing to make sure electronic cigarettes can be used in
bars and restaurants across Wisconsin.
State Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) says the devices can help people
drop traditional tobacco products, and he wants to make it clear that the
statewide smoking ban does not apply to them. Grothman is sponsoring a bill
that would update the statewide smoking ban to make it clear that e-cigarettes
are allowed in public places.