Local News Briefs Saturday 9/27/14

An accident involving a semi-truck and a power pole on Morris Street left a little over 2,700 Alliant Energy customers in Fond du Lac without power. Annmarie Newman of Alliant says power was restored to all, but about 2 or 3 by 8:45 p.m. Friday morning. She says there was damage to the transmission system. St. Peter’s Lutheran School on South Main Street cancelled classes due to the outage. Police say the semi-truck had some problems with its trailer, which became dislodged and hit the power pole. No one was injured in that accident. 

Ripon Man Arraigned

The 22-year-old Berlin man police in Ripon found passed out behind a residence last weekend pleads not guilty to the 6 felony and 6 misdemeanor charges he’s facing.  Aaron Erdmann was arraigned in Fond du Lac County Court after being bound over for trial during a preliminary hearing. Last Saturday he was unresponsive when officers arrived in the 300 block of Blackburn Street. An ambulance was dispatched to the scene and he was taken to Ripon Medical Center. Police found marijuana and drug paraphernalia including pipes and four hypodermic needles at the scene.

Man Poses As Oshkosh City Worker

Oshkosh Police say they’ve gotten a report of a person posing as a City employee. It happened in the 600 block of West 11th Street on September 17th. A man knocked on the door of a residence saying he was with the City and had to cut down a tree. The homeowner followed the man to the back yard where the man showed him the tree; he then walked back to the front yard. The homeowner asked for an ID, but the man got into the passenger side of a pickup truck and left. The truck did not have a City logo on it. The man was 5-foot 6-inches tall and well dressed. Nothing was reported missing from the house. The City has seen similar incidents in the past few years.

Sidewalk Maintenance Finishes Early In FDL

Fond du Lac Public Works Director Jordan Skiff says the City finished up its annual sidewalk maintenance program early this year. He says that happened even though it was a cold and wet spring. He says the contractor also finished up some work they weren’t able to get to during 2013. He says the cost of sidewalks is assessed to property owners, but they have a choice of contracting someone to do it for them or going with a City contractor. He says on the other hand the City pays for work at crosswalks and that takes more time because they don’t always have money in the budget for it.

FCEDC Impacts Everyone

The president of the Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation says not everyone may be aware of the services the FCEDC provides, but the economic development they attract affects everyone. Steve Jenkins says what they do has a ripple effect on the local economy. He says new wealth is brought in terms of payroll and taxes into the community, which increases the income and disposable people have that in turn supports local small business. The County Board this week appropriated an addition $50,000 from the County sales tax into the FCEDC’s revolving loan fund. It’s estimated money from the sales tax used for economic development including the retention of Mercury Marine has a $500 million impact on the County’s economy each year.

FDL County Sheriff’s Department Will Be Getting New Website

Fond du Lac County got a new website a few months ago and the County Sheriff’s Department will have a new website by the end of the year. Sheriff’s Secretary Donna Whitty when their new website is up, they will delve a little more into the world of social media. She says that will likely include Twitter and Facebook pages, but it’s all stuff that is down the road. For the mean time the Sheriff’s website is linked to the County’s website or you can access it at fdlsheriff.com.

Marian Named To Military Friendly Schools List Fifth Year In A Row

Marian University in Fond du Lac has been named to the coveted Military Friendly Schools® list for a fifth year in a row. Marian was named to the list by Victory Media, the premier media entity for military personnel transitioning into civilian life. The list honors the top 20 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools in the country that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans, and spouses as students and ensure their success on campus. Overall 1,868 colleges, universities and trade schools made the list this year.