Local News Briefs Monday 10/7/13

The Fond du Lac couple accused of stealing from relatives and vandalizing a Ripon hotel room have been bound over for trial on some of the charges they are facing. Twenty-two-year-old Edward Uttendorfer was in a Fond du Lac County courtroom Friday on burglary and theft charges and his 21-year-old girlfriend Allison Weber on theft and receiving stolen property charges. The two were bound over for trial by Judge Dale English. According to the criminal complaint Uttendorfer allegedly stole cash and jewelry from his two grandfathers amounting to more that $17,000 in value. Last month they also allegedly smashed windows at the Boarders Inn in Ripon after smoking marijuana. They believed the relatives and police had tracked them to the hotel and were attempting to escape.

Minks Loose

Calumet County Sheriff’s officials say someone let 2,000 mink loose from a mink farm at W1597 Foundry Road in the Town of New Holstein early Saturday morning. Passing motorists notified the Sheriff’s Department just before 5 a.m. The farm is owned by Bonlander Furs and has been operating since 1978. Anyone with information is urged to call the Sheriff’s Department at 920-849-2335 or Calumet County Crime Stoppers at 1-877-765-8327.

Sheboygan Couple Steal From Walmart On Back-To-Back Days

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-Two Sheboygan residents face retail theft charges for trying to steal over $3,000 worth of items from Wal-Mart last week. According to a criminal complaint, Sheboygan Police were informed Thursday of a theft incident the previous day at their south Sheboygan location.  Video footage showed 51-year-old Mark Ball walking out of the store with over $1,400 of unpaid items, most notably two TVs.  He left the area in a vehicle driven by 49-year-old Patricia Nimmer. Police were heading to Ball’s residence to investigate when they got word that the vehicle was spotted again in the store’s parking lot.  Police responded and stopped the car with Nimmer driving and later found Ball as he exited the store with more unpaid items, including two TVs, worth over $1,600. When asked about the incidents, Ball admitted to the crimes and said he was doing them to pay off some sort of debt.

Lakeside Park Dredging Method Chosen

City officials in Fond du Lac recently awarded a bid for dredging work on the Lakeside Park channels this winter. City Manager Joe Moore says details are still being worked out on how that will be accomplished before it gets started. He says they have to determine where they will put the soil that will be excavated. He says they’ve chosen to use hydraulic dredging with equipment that will vacuum out the sediment and solids through long tubes depositing them on dry land where the water drains out and the solids remain. Moore says the other option would have been to dam the channels, remove the water and have heavy equipment remove the soil and sediment. He says either way it’s a project that people will have an interest in seeing.

New Principals At Fondy High Like What They See

Two new assistant principals at the Fond du Lac High School say they’ve enjoyed their time at the school so far. Michelle Hagen came from Milwaukee Mitchell School a K-8 facility. She says she and her husband bought some land on Lake Winnebago and built a home there. When he retired she decided to look for a job in the area. She says she’s impressed with the staff and resources at the high school and everyone is interested in furthering students’ educations. Anthony Pizzo worked with at-risk students through CESA 1. He says that involved a lot of travel to different schools. He says it’s nice to be in a situation where he has a home base. Pizzo, who lives in Oconomowoc, says he can offer a fresh perspective for a district that has a lot going for it. High School Principal Jon Wiltzius says the district is fortunate to have hired two people with Hagen and Pizzo’s experience.

Ages And Stages Questionnaire A Child Development Tool For Parents

Fond du Lac County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says the Community Partnership for Young Children or SPROUT has a new tool to gauge the development of young children. She says the “Community Developmental Screening Initiative” is for the very young to children five years old. She says it’s a teaching tool for parents and assessments can lead to referrals if a child needs help in their development. The questionnaire is available in both Spanish and English. It’s available outside the WIC office on the 3rd floor of the City-County Government Center in Fond du Lac. For more information call the Health Department at 929-3085.

Survey Inconclusive On Billing Cycle For Water/Sewer Bills

City officials in Fond du Lac used water and sewer bills to determine whether residents wanted a change in billing time for those bills. According to survey results that went out with recent bills 47.6 percent of those taking the survey would like to pay monthly, 40.3 percent favored the current quarterly system and 12.1 percent had no preference. Because there was no overwhelming preference the current quarterly billing system will be used. Two other questions were also posed. 69.2 percent of those taking the survey knew the City accepts credit cards for payment of the bills and 61.6 percent were aware the City has online payment option on its website.

Feds Will Pay For Bridge Repair Costs

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-The federal government will pick up nearly the entire tab.for the Leo Frigo bridge project. The D-O-T announced last Friday that the Federal Highway Administration decided that the problem qualifies for emergency funding. It will cover 100 percent of any emergency repairs and 90 percent of any permanent fixes over the first 180 days. That time period dates back to September 25th when a pier sank about two feet into the ground. After that time is up the federal government will still cover 90 percent of the costs. D-O-T spokesman Kim Rudat says the money is great, but crews will take their time to do the job right. The bridge is closed indefinitely. A preliminary estimate for the repairs is $50 million. The D-O-T says the pier that sank settled another half-inch. Officials say they’re going to build towers this week to support the sagging segment of the bridge.

Penny Campaign Art Winner

Artwork from a Rosenow Elementary School third grader will be featured on the donations canisters for the annual penny campaign for the Fond du Lac Area United Way. United Way Executive Director Tina Potter says they had a contest and Ava Woolhether won it with a picture of a semi-hauling a trailer filled with pennies. She says Ava won more than just acclaim for her unique design. Potter says they went to the school and recognized her during a school assembly. She was given a gift certificate to Cherry Berry, Live United t-shirt and a few other things. Potter says students really enjoy the penny campaign and every donation adds up when you’re trying to make a goal of $740,000.

Waupun Fire Open House Tonight

Waupun’s Fire Department is holding an Open House at the Safety Building in Waupun tonight from 6 to 8 p.m.  There will be displays, apparatus, a fire safety house, and a small hose for kids to spray. Cookies and refreshments will be served! The public is invited. Firefighters will also be in the schools this week giving fire safety presentations.

Walk To School Day Wednesday

“International Walk to School Day” is coming up on Wednesday. Tressie Kamp is the state Department of Transportation’s multi-modal program coordinator. She says there are plenty of good healthy reasons to use people power to get to class. Walk to School events can be registered at www.walkbiketoschool.org. Last year, 100 Wisconsin communities officially registered their events online. Fond du Lac elementary and middle schools, and the STEM Academy and STEM Institute have planned activities for Walk to School Day on Wednesday.