Local News Briefs Monday 9/30/13

The Fond du Lac School Board will hold a public hearing this afternoon on the preliminary 2013-14 Budget. The meeting is at 5 p.m. at the District Administration Center Board Room at 72 West 9th Street. The budget includes a proposed tax levy of $33.9 million an increase of $1.2 million or 3.74 percent over the 2012-13 Budget. That works out to an increase of 36 cents per thousand dollars of value on a property or a mill rate of $10.14. The board won’t give final approval to the budget until next month.

Two FDL Residents Charged For Thefts And Hotel Incident

Two Fond du Lac residents were charged last Friday for breaking windows at a Ripon hotel. Twenty-two-year-old Edward Uttendorfer and 21-year-old Allison Weber allegedly stole money from relatives in the Fond du Lac area and believed they were at the hotel and along with police were looking for them so they broke the windows to escape. In addition to criminal damage to property and bail jumping charges the two face other charges. Uttendorfer was charged with two counts of burglary and two counts of theft and Weber was charged with felony theft, two counts of receiving stolen property, and one count of drug trafficking. The two are back in court for preliminary hearings on Friday. Bond was set at $1,500 cash for Uttendorfer in his two cases and $1,750 cash for Weber in her three cases.

Sheboygan Falls Man Injured In Traffic Accident

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-Sheboygan County Sheriff’s officials say a Sheboygan Falls man was hurt last Friday afternoon when a van made an unexpected turn in front of his motorcycle. Forty-six-year old Jeffrey Schmitt was following a van, driven by 32 year old Kia Vang of Sheboygan, on Highway 32.  She signaled to make a left turn onto County A, but as Schmitt moved to pass her on the right, she made a right hand turn and the two collided. Schmitt was taken to St. Nicholas Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Vang was cited for the illegal turn.

Several Injured In Watertown Bar Fire

Several people were seriously injured jumping out of second story windows above a Watertown bar trying to escape from a fire. Authorities say the blaze was above Stacy’s Bar at 501 North Fourth Street Sunday morning. The injured were taken to a hospital. Several fire departments battled the fire, which caused extensive damage to the building.

Special Meeting Of FDL City Council Scheduled

The Fond du Lac City Council will hold a special meeting Wednesday night to review the proposed 2014 City Budget and 5-year Capital Improvements Plan. City Attorney Deb Hoffmann will go over the process for approving the budget. Questions on the budget and the timeline for approving the budget will also be discussed. Only one person spoke on the budget during the Council’s meeting this past week. Mel Kolstad of the Library Board asked the Council to consider more funding for the budget saying the library will have to consider staff furlough days and cutting back on hours of operation without additional funding. She noted library use continues to increase while there have been no adjustments for the rate of inflation. Wednesday’s meeting is at 6 p.m. at the City-County Government Center.

Portion Of FDL County Hwy KK Closed

Fond du Lac County Highway officials inform us that a portion of County Highway KK between Douglas Street and Brandon Road will be closed for road maintenance starting today. Traffic will be detoured to State Highway 44/49 and State Highway 23. The work is a joint project with Wisconsin & Southern Railroad to improve the County Highway KK railroad crossing. Weather permitting, the work is expected to be completed by the end of the day on Wednesday, October 9th.

Stakeholders Weigh In On UW-FDL Facilities Master Plan

Fond du Lac County and the UW-Fond du Lac are involved in a master planning effort for the University’s facilities. UW-Fond du Lac Dean John Short says recently they spent a couple of days talking to stakeholders about what they can do to keep the university a vital part of the community. He says in November the master plan will be rolled out by Strang, Incorporated of Madison to the County Board and the campus. He says the plan will guide the future development of the campus in Fond du Lac. UW-Fond du Lac officials are already looking at the possibility of on-campus housing for students, but need approval of the County Board next month on a lease agreement to get the ball rolling.

Prescription Medications Should Be Monitored

A Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Detective is cautioning residents to carefully monitor there prescription medications if they are expecting people in their homes. Sheriff’s Lieutenant Cameron McGee says you should be careful with all your medications, but especially pain medications. He says if you are showing your home or expecting visitors there’s an opportunity for theft. He says if you have old or unused prescription drugs there are quite a few police department that have drug drop boxes or will soon. He says the Fond du Lac and North Fond du Lac Police Departments have drug drop boxes. He says Waupun, Ripon and Sheriff’s Office will have drop boxes and Campbellsport Police Department has one. McGee says parents should watch their medications as well. Since 2008 the Fond du Lac Police Department’s drug drop box has collected 8.6 million pills.

FDL Police Warn Of Scams

Fond du Lac Police Officer Steve Olson says they’ve heard about a couple of recent scams. Olson says one involves using the name of Publisher’s Clearing House and their popular sweepstakes. He says a woman recently reported to them that she received a call in which she was informed she was a winner. The woman said the caller informed her she had won $250,000 and a Mercedes. To secure her winnings she needed to go to Walgreen’s or Walmart and buy a reloadable gift card, put $500 on it and send it to the caller. The other scam involves a caller who says they are from the Microsoft Corporation and they need to have remote access to your computer because your computer has a virus or malware on it or you have some illegal software licensed by Microsoft on it. He says if you give them access they will have remote access to all your files and information. A number of people have reported getting calls from someone posing as a Microsoft representative.

Keeping Youth Engaged In Hunting And Fishing

The president of the Association of Great Lakes Outdoors Writers says one of the challenges they faces is getting youth interested in fishing and the shooting sports. Jeff Davis and members of the association were in Fond du Lac this past week for their annual fall conference. He says according to one survey children who have not fished by the time they are teens likely never will. He says as writers and outdoorsmen and women they have to lead by example and show them what a great benefit it is. He says their membership does engage youth about hunting and fishing. He says that’s done through their outdoors columns and through outdoor days and fishing derbies. He says it’s an ongoing process. About 175 people attended the association’s conference in Fond du Lac this past week. 

Winning United Way Artwork Featured On FDL City Buses

The Fond du Lac Area United Way’s fall fundraising effort will get a little extra publicity on wheels. United Way Executive Director Tina Potter says using their Live United motto they held a contest asking kids to design some artwork that they could put on a few of the City’s buses. It’s featured on three buses. For the contest they involved a couple of United Way agencies. Kids from 2nd grade all the way through 12th grade that are members of the Boys & Girls Club and Big Brothers Big Sisters were invited to participate. The winning artwork came from three young ladies 9th grader Shannon, 5th grader Kelly, and 3rd grader Kaylen. Each of the winners received a United Way t-shirt and gift certificate and of course their artwork will be featured on the buses.

World Dairy Expo In Madison This Week

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-Tens of thousands of visitors from around the world will be in Madison this week for the World Dairy Expo. It’s an opportunity to talk about the dairy industry in Wisconsin and host many foreign guests. Last year’s World Dairy Expo had 71,788 guests. From 95 different countries, says state Ag Secretary Ben Brancel. The economic impact from the event is estimated at nearly $20 million in the Madison area, and $50 million for the entire state.