Local News Briefs Saturday 3/29/14

The Fond du Lac Fire Department responded to a couple of unattended cooking fires Thursday night. The first was at 435 North Seymour Street about 6:30. An older woman forgot about a pan she had in the stove and the building began filling with smoke. The second fire occurred on the 4th floor of the Rosalind Apartments. A woman was cooking something on the stove and fell asleep after taking some sleeping pills. Residents of the apartments evacuated from the building. That fire happened about 10:30 p.m. No one was hurt in either fire.

Mayville Man Waives Hearing In Drunken Driving Injury Case

The 50-year-old Mayville man suspected of driving drunk and hitting two parked cars and a pedestrian in February has been bound over for trial. Bruce Stoy waived his preliminary hearing in Dodge County Court this week. According to police after hitting the two parked cars on Dayton Street Stoy drove up on a sidewalk and hit the pedestrian before crashing into a snowbank. The victim suffered cuts and abrasions, but refused treatment. A preliminary breath test put Stoy’s blood alcohol level at nearly twice the legal limit (.156).  He will be arraigned next month.

EAB Found In Town Of Lomira

State agricultural officials say the emerald ash borer has been found in three new communities within quarantined counties since the last update on March 14th. That includes the Town of Lomira in Dodge County, Town of Onalaska in La Crosse County and Town of Avon in Rock County. The three counties are among 21 Wisconsin counties under quarantine for EAB.

Taking A Closer Look At Filling FDL’s Deputy City Clerk Position

With a turnover in the City Clerk’s position this week the City of Fond du Lac may have an opportunity to rethink the deputy clerk’s position. City Clerk Sue Strands resigned and Deputy City Clerk Maggie Hefter accepted the position as City Clerk. City Manager Joe Moore says before they look at filling the deputy clerk’s position they will take a look at the Clerk’s office as a whole. He says they may be able to spread out the deputy clerk’s duties to others in the office without having to fill the position. Strands had been the City Clerk since 2006. Hefter has been with the Clerk’s office since 2003.

Next Big Traffic Enforcement Effort

While logically you might think the next big coordinated enforcement effort to crack down on drunken drivers might be during Memorial Weekend in Fond du Lac County, don’t bet on it. Sheriff’s Captain Rick Olig says with the weather warming up more people will be getting outside and there will be more events. He says they may choose a random weekend to do coordinated enforcement among the law enforcement agencies in the County. During St. Patrick’s Day weekend a coordinated enforcement effort led to 448 traffic stops and 11 drunken driving arrests.

Gudex Election Bill Becomes Law

Governor Scott Walker this week signed a bill into law authored by State Senator Rick Gudex of Fond du Lac that limits the number of signatures a person running for City Council needs on their nomination papers. The change is from second and third class cities like Fond du Lac and Oshkosh. This past December candidates running for Fond du Lac City Council needed 200 signatures on their nomination papers, the new law would cut that amount in half. Senator Gudex says, “After talking with the local City Clerks in my district, I decided to bring this bill forward to assist the city of Fond du Lac and Oshkosh with City Council Elections. Recently, both cities have had few candidates for City Council Spring Elections, and many other municipalities across the state are facing the same issue.”

Having A Convention Consider FDL

With several hotel projects slated in the Fond du Lac area this year Fond du Lac Convention and Visitors Bureau President Craig Molitor says the area will be able to accommodate more meetings and conventions. He says that’s why they are asking people who belong to clubs and organizations to consider having their groups meet in Fond du Lac for their annual conventions and important gatherings. The Holiday Inn is doing an expansion of its convention center along with a new Holiday Inn Express being built next door. A new Hampton Inn will also be built. 

Town Of Calumet Fire Dept Will Consider Four Wheeler Purchase

One of the pieces of equipment the Town of Calumet Fire Department would like to pick up in the future is a four-wheeler. Fire Chief Keith Lefeber says the four-wheelers and ATV with half track systems used during the St. Lawrence Seminary fire really demonstrated a capability to get to areas where bigger equipment can’t. He says with the 22 miles of Lake Winnebago lakeshore they cover the four-wheelers could be a life-saver. He says especially during the winter with ice conditions on the lake those minutes would be huge. He says they will hold fundraisers to pay for the equipment.