Local News Briefs Monday 6/29/15

A Sheboygan County judge found a 19-year-old Sheboygan man guilty of killing his father during a bench trial that concluded last Friday. Judge Terrence Bourke found Dorian Torres guilty of the January 2014 beating death of 41-year-old Emilio Torres. The two shared an apartment. Dorian Torres faces a mandatory life sentence. The judge will decide whether he’s eligible for extended supervision after serving at least 20 years of the sentence. A sentencing date will be determined today.

Food Trucks Ordinance Being Updated

The Fond du Lac City Council recently gave the nod to City officials to work on updating the City’s ordinance regarding the use of food trucks. City Manager Joe Moore told the Council last week that the current ordinance is incredibly restrictive. He says it only allows the use of food trucks in the downtown and by someone who already owns a restaurant. You can also only operate the truck within 100 feet of that restaurant. The Council will consider allowing the food trucks to serve parks and other neighborhoods. There could be some debate on the use of food trucks in at least one park. Councilman Gary Miller says they shouldn’t be allowed in Lakeside Park because the City already has a contract with a food vendor for the park.  Moore says updating the food truck ordinance is one of the new things the City is attempting to do this year. He says two things from the current ordinance would remain intact. He says food trucks would have to comply with all health department regulations and meet inspection criteria. He says they also have to be manufactured to be mobile food vending trucks.

FDL City Council President Urges People Not To Make Snap Judgments About Park Report

The president of the Fond du Lac City Council urges residents to take a look at the Lakeside Park Exploratory Committee report and not to make snap judgments about some of the recommendations. Lee Ann Lorrigan says the presentation on the final report at last week’s City Council meeting gave her optimism about some of the potential ways of using the park in the future. She says the report contains 27 recommendations or suggestions and they shouldn’t be dismissed outright just because someone opposes the idea. Lorrigan says there are several efforts underway to recruit engineers, doctors and other professionals to the City. She says we need to find reasons for people to live here and Lakeside Park is one of the City’s biggest assets.

Motorcycle Safety Reminders

Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Cameron McGee urges motorists to be on the lookout for motorcyclists. He says take a couple looks before turning or merging into traffic. McGee rides a motorcycle himself and he says the thing that worries him the most is when the driver of a vehicle is going to make a left-hand turn. He says if you ride a motorcycle there is a way of getting a motorist’s attention if you think they are going to make a left-hand turn in front of you. He says he flashes his headlight bright and then dims it. In a recent accident in Fond du Lac a Warrens, Wisconsin woman was critically injured when a pickup truck turned left in front of her bike. In another accident in Dodge County a Ripon man was killed when an SUV merged into his lane of traffic in the path of his motorcycle.

FDL City Holiday Hours Announced

City offices in the Fond du Lac City-County Government Center will be closed on this Friday in observance of Independence Day. The Municipal Service Center will be closed on Friday and Saturday for all services, including refuse collection and bulky waste drop off. There will be no refuse collection on Friday. The trash normally collected on Friday will be collected this Thursday one day early, along with the normal Thursday collection. However the recycling collection, performed by Waste Management, will be on the regular schedule, with Thursday and Friday collection being performed on the regular days. Yard waste may still be dropped off during the holiday hours. The Fond du Lac Public Library will be open on Friday, but closed on Saturday. The City Transit buses will not operate Friday and the Senior Center will be closed.

MPTC Honors Retirees And Employees For Service Anniversaries

Moraine Park Technical College recently held its Retirement and Service Recognition event. It both honored and expressed gratitude to retirees and those who reached service anniversaries during the past academic year. “This year we had 320 combined years of service from our retirees and 795 combined years from our staff members that received service recognition awards,” said Bonnie Baerwald, president of Moraine Park. “We are very grateful to all of them for contributing so much to Moraine Park throughout their years of service with our College.” In all, 15 retirees and 59 staff members were recognized.