Local News Briefs Friday 4/24/15

Bond was set at $10,000 for a 34-year-old Fond du Lac man suspected of breaking into a convenience store on Winnebago Drive last Sunday night. Anthony Tynan made his initial appearance in Fond du Lac County Court Thursday. He was charged with burglary, theft and criminal damage to property. Glass in a door at the East Side Minute Mart BP was busted in to gain entry to the store. A delivery person noticed the damage and called in the break-in. Tynan has a preliminary hearing next Thursday.

Ripon Grocery Store Robber Sentenced

A 21-year-old West Bend man involved in the armed robbery of the Ripon Pick ‘N Save last September has been sentenced to three years in prison. Cody Schaffer was also sentenced to one year each of extended supervision and probation when he appeared in Fond du Lac County Court this week. Schaffer stole a toy gun from a store in Ripon to stage the robbery and got away with more than $2,000. His accomplice, 17-year-old Tyler Cody of Ripon, will be sentenced for his role in the robbery in June.

Four Fined For Hunting And Fishing Offenses In Canada

Canadian officials have fined four Wisconsin men a total of $6,000 for hunting and fishing offenses. Richard Lisowe of Plymouth, Matthew Hoekstra of Suamico, Jonathan Hoekstra of Kohler and Brian Boll of New Holstein pleaded guilty and were each fined $1,250 for hunting moose without a license. Lisowe was also fined $1,000 for catching and keeping two brook trout during the closed season. The offenses occurred last September while six Wisconsin residents, including the four, were staying at a tourist camp. The case went before a judge in Thunder Bay, Canada at the beginning of the month.

Dealing With Grief Over Troopers Death

An inspector with the State Patrol says the death of a state trooper in a shootout with a bank robber is something members of the Fond du Lac Post are coping with a month after the shooting. Trooper Trevor Casper died after an exchange of gunfire with Steven Snyder in Fond du Lac on March 24th. Both men died. Inspector Scott Hlinak says it was very traumatic especially for members of the State Patrol who were at the scene. He says a day after the shooting they had to put it behind them to deal with a snow storm.  He says they’ve gone through a roller coaster of emotions since Casper’s death dealing with their grief. He says what Casper did was truly heroic.

Senator Gudex On Prevailing Wage

State Senator Rick Gudex says he’s not in favor of a full repeal of prevailing wage for public works projects. The state lawmaker from Fond du Lac says not many projects done by municipalities or counties can be performed for under $100,000, which is when the prevailing wage kicks in. He notes the trigger number for prevailing wage was reduced during Governor’s Doyle’s administration starting in 2009 and was tweaked by Governor Walker after that. He says he’d like to see it go back up to about $300,000 with some tweaks to the formulas for the dollar amount for the area or region that is being served. Gudex says he knows from his own time on the Fond du Lac City Council what kind of impact prevailing wage can have on projects. He says some changes have to be made, but he thinks there is a sense in both houses in Madison that there’s not an appetite to do a full repeal of the prevailing wage at this time.

Lowell Woman Arraigned On Embezzlement Charges

The 35-year-old Lowell woman suspected of embezzling thousands of dollars from a Dodge County cemetery was arraigned in Dodge County Court this week. Katie Norton pled “not guilty” to two counts of felony theft from a business.  She allegedly took over $17,500 from the bank account of the Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery Association in the Town of Trenton while working as their office manager.  The owners of the cemetery say many checks had to be returned because there was insufficient money in their bank account when there should have been. 

MPTC Involved In Lemonade Day

Among those partnering with Fond du Lac Works for the upcoming Lemonade Day is Moraine Park Technical College. About 30 kids throughout Fond du Lac and some in Lomira will have Lemonade stands from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 2^nd. MPTC Vice President of Academic Affairs Jim Eden says it’s a good way to get elementary school students acquainted with running a business. He says they had to develop business plans and some went to the MPTC president to borrow money to build their stands. Eden says the stands MPTC helped sponsor will be located at the Children’s Museum, Gille’s, Horicon Bank and Sebastian’s.

Boogie For ASTOP

Area residents are invited to Boogie for ASTOP a week from today. Boogie and the Yo-Yoz will be performing at the Press Box in Fond du Lac on Friday, May 1st from 8:30 p.m. to Midnight. ASTOP Executive Director Jan McDonough says it’s a good way to donate towards the services ASTOP provides for sexual assault and abuse survivors and you can save a couple of bucks if you buy your tickets in advance. She says you can call them at 926-5395 or go to their website to get the tickets. The tickets are $8 in advance or $10 at the door.

Arbor Day Celebrations

The City of Fond du Lac will observe its annual Arbor Day celebration today at the Lakeside Park Pavilion starting at 1:00 p.m. Festival Foods will be donating the Arbor Day tree and the tree seedlings. The Arbor Day tree will be planted by a third grade class from Waters Elementary School. The public is welcome to attend to help celebrate Arbor Day with the school children. North Fond du Lac will hold its Arbor Day celebration at 10 a.m. at the Friendship Learning Center. 

Deadline To Register For NBC Dinner Extended

The deadline to register for the Fond du Lac County Natural Beauty Council’s 33rd Arbor Day Dinner has been extended to next Monday. Reservations can be made by calling (920) 929-3173. This year’s dinner will feature a program on the Niagara Escarpment. The dinner and program are next Wednesday at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Fond du Lac.  Registration will be from 5:30 to 6:30 that evening, with dinner starting at 6:30. The program will follow.