Local News Briefs Friday 8/8/14

Dodge County Sheriff Pat Ninmann says two area men were injured in a two vehicle accident on Highway 67 at Spring Valley Road early Thursday morning, but the accident isn’t as simple as it sounds. The Sheriff’s Department got a call about a rollover accident on Highway 67 just before 3:30 a.m. The driver 40-year-old Anthony Martin of West Bend said he fell asleep at the wheel, he entered a ditch and struck a retaining wall and rolled the vehicle over. It came to rest in the eastbound lane of traffic. Martin got out of his vehicle and began looking for his dog. Meanwhile the rolled over vehicle was in the middle of the road and was struck head-on by a vehicle driven by 66-year-old Thomas Riehle of Brownsville. Both Martin and Riehle suffered some injuries and were flown to either Theda Clark Regional Medical Center in Neenah or St Agnes in Fond du Lac. Ninmann says the initial roll over crash was caused by inattentive driving and the second by the rolled over vehicle in traffic.

IRS Scam

Police in Ripon and Oshkosh are warning residents about a telephone scam in which the caller says they are with the IRS and after an audit you owe them money and if you don’t pay it you will be going to jail. Oshkosh Police say one such caller told the person they called they owe $3,000. After the person said it must be some kind of mistake the caller said abruptly, “We don’t make mistakes!” The caller was also phishing for bank account information.

New Green Lake County DA Comes From FDL County

Green Lake County’s new District Attorney is coming out of Fond du Lac County. Governor Scott Walker Thursday announced Andrew Christenson will serve as Green Lake County’s DA replacing outgoing DA Kyle Sargent. Christenson has worked for the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s office as a prosecutor since 2008. The appointment earned the praise of Ripon Police Captain Bill Wallner, Oakfield Police Chief Renee Schuster and Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney. Toney says, “When Andrew speaks people listen because they want to hear what he has to say. Simply put, Andrew knows what it takes to be a district attorney.”

Saving Retlaw Theater Was A Great Dream

The President of Commonwealth Companies says he too would have liked to save the Retlaw Theater and restore it, but it wasn’t practical given the costs and condition of the current building. In an interview with KFIZ Louie Lange said he had a meeting with the group that was trying to save the theater. He says he remembers going to the theater back in the day when he was a kid. He says it’s a great dream, but not feasible given the cost to do it or the shape of the building. The purchase of the property at 23 S. Main Street and the adjacent property at 17-19 S. Main was finalized last Friday. Lange says they have some initial work to do. He says that includes removing asbestos and debris and taking out some historic relics. He says they hope to preserve some of the relics and will be restoring the front façade, but the theater portions will be taken down. Once complete the front floor of the renovated building will contain office and retail space, the second floor will be luxury market rate apartments, and the third floor will be used by the current dance studio if they choose to remain under the terms of their lease.

Charter School Grants

Several school districts in Fond du Lac County will be receiving funding for their charter school programs. Receiving Implementation Renewal grants are the Fond du Lac School District for $150,000 for the STEM Institute, the Ripon Area School District will get a $170,000 grant for the Journey Charter School, and the Rosendale-Brandon School District a $150,000 grant for the Cirrus High School. The Ripon Area School District will also be receiving a $125,000 Dissemination grant for the Quest Charter School. Officials at the state’s Department of Instruction say 51 charter schools across the state are getting a total of $8.1 million in grants for the 2014-15 School Year.

FDL County Website Gets A New Look

Fond du Lac County’s website has a new look. Scott Schmitz is the County’s Information Systems Director. He says eventually they will have an on-demand section with podcasts of County Board meetings and will be able to stream the meetings live on the website. He says users of the website should find it much easier to navigate. He says it looks very modern compared to the old site and is eye catching. Schmitz says users should also like the appearance of the new website. He says they also are now on Facebook and Twitter.

NFDL National Night Out Pool Party A Success

More than 300 people attended North Fond du Lac’s National NightOut family pool party at the Village pool Tuesday night. The evening featured swimming, refreshments, and prizes. The North Fond du Lac Police Department thanks Target, McDonald’s, Culver’s and Rippin’ Good Cookies for partnering with them to make the National Night Out pool party a great success. They also appreciate the residents who participated in the pool party to send a message to criminals that village neighborhoods are organized and fight back to prevent crime.

Harley Advocacy Tour Rolls Through Lomira

A nationwide campaign to press Congress to support pro-manufacturing policies will roll through Lomira today when the I Make America Harley Tour stops at Kondex Corporation. The event is from noon to 3:30 p.m. Kondex will also host a brat fry during the event that is open to the public from noon until 2:00 p.m., with all proceeds donated to Lomira High School student organizations. Students will be grilling lunch on their Project GRILL grill, a Fond du Lac Association of Commerce program that Kondex has supported since 2011.