Local News Briefs Thursday 8/7/14

The Sears Store at the Forest Mall in Fond du Lac will be closing in early November. Forty-two people are employed by the Sears store and Sears Auto Center. Employees who are eligible will get severance and had the chance to apply for open positions at other area Sears or Kmart stores. The store has been in business since 1997. The store plans to begin a liquidating sale on Friday, August 15th. Employees were notified a few days ago that the store would be closing on November 2nd. No other Sears stores in Wisconsin are impacted. A call to the manager of the Sears store was not returned.

Fleet Farm Bomb Threat Suspect Charged

The 17-year-old Fond du Lac man suspected of a bomb scare at the Fleet Farm in Fond du Lac has been charged. Christopher Porter made an initial appearance in Fond du Lac County Court this week on a bomb scares charge. He was released on a $1,000 signature bond and has a preliminary hearing on September 12th. An employee at the store on Rogersville Road found the threat on July 3rd and police were called. The store was evacuated while the store was searched. The threat was found not to be credible. 

Taycheedah Correctional Hosts Signing For Memorandum Of Understanding

Local and state officials will sign a memorandum of understanding at Taycheedah Correctional this afternoon that will try to eliminate rape in prison. Linda Selk Yerges is the Director of ASTOP Sexual Abuse Center in Fond du Lac. She says the Prison Rape Elimination Act was an outgrowth of the federal Violence Against Women Act. She says a number of agencies in Fond du Lac County formed the Sexual Assault Response Team and have been meeting for over a year.  She says they hope to reduce the potential for sexual assault in prison and if it happens have a way of dealing with it. She says the state wanted ASTOP to be part of the effort to model a program that could be used in other prisons in the state. She says 85 to 90 percent of the women in prison were already victims of sexual assault or abuse before they were incarcerated.  Among those involved in the effort are ASTOP, Taycheedah Correctional, the Fond du Lac Police Department, the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department, St. Agnes Hospital’s SANE Program, the Division of Community Corrections, and the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office.

Washington County Deputy Saves Man

A Washington County Sheriff’s deputy is being credited for helping save a 36-year-old Richfield man who overdosed on heroin. The deputy found the man in his car in a ditch near the Richfield Truck Stop. He was unconscious and had stop breathing. He also had fresh injection marks on an arm and a heroin kit was in the passenger’s seat. The deputy pulled him from the vehicle and gave him CPR. The man regained a weak pulse. When paramedics arrived they administered NARCAN. The man was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital where he was treated. He was later arrested for his 4th OWI and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Ripon College Recognized By Forbes

Ripon College has been recognized again by Forbes as a top college in America. Ripon College ranked 308th in the nation out of 650 institutions reviewed. The magazine examined student satisfaction and school efficacy, retention rates, graduation rates, alumni career success and low student debt. “Having a local college that is nationally recognized in this regard is good for the College as well as the County”, stated Steve Jenkins, president of the Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corporation. “Ripon College is a great resource for our community and offers excellent programs, particularly those that foster entrepreneurship and student involvement.” Other area colleges recognized include Lawrence University (106th) and Saint Norbert College (267th).

Making Sure Your College Bound Kid Stays In A Fire Safe Residence

The Division Chief of Fire Prevention for the Fond du Lac Fire Department urges parents to make sure their kids are safe when they go off to college this fall. Troy Haase says take a look around and make sure the building or residence they are staying in is fire safe. That it has fire extinguishers and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. He says preferably the building will have a sprinkler system to put out fires. Haase says it’s also important to make sure that the room or residence that they stay in has at least two exits. He says that’s important if they will be living there for 6 to 8 months or more.

FDL Auto Dealer License Suspended

The state has suspended the motor vehicle dealer license of a Fond du Lac auto dealership was suspended for at least 30 days for multiple serious infractions. Family Auto Budget Sales, LLC at 556 S. Military Road in Fond du Lac admitted to 17 violations of state law. Those violations included failing to properly inspect vehicles or provide the written statement “Not inspected for sale.” They also altered temporary license plates, issuing multiple temporary license plates per single vehicle, and failed to keep accurate records of all temporary license plates issued. State officials say they also failed to execute purchase contracts and failed to submit application for title within 7 business days. The state’s Department of Administration’s Division of Hearing and Appeals found the violations. The suspension went into effect July 28th.

Tickets Available For FDL Are Foundation Celebration Of Giving Dinner

The Fond du Lac Area Foundation will be holding its annual “Celebration of Giving” dinner at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 10th at South Hills Golf and Country Club.  The annual awards for outstanding philanthropic support of our community will be presented this year to Richard & Ann Blamey and Paul Graham. The Foundation will also be paying special tribute to Janet Schmidt, the first Executive Director of the Fond du Lac Area Foundation. Since its inception 39 years ago, the Fond du Lac Area Foundation has helped to enhance the quality of life in the Fond du Lac Area by awarding over $13 million back into the community in the form of charitable grants to our local non-profits.  The dinner allows them to honor some of the great people and organizations that have invested time and money in helping the Fond du Lac Area Foundation in its vision for creating a better community today and forever. Tickets for the event are $40 per person or $320 for a table of eight.  For reservations, contact the Fond du Lac Area Foundation at (920) 921-2215.

4,000 Participate In FDL Public Library Summer Reading Program

The Fond du Lac Public Library is seeing some records set in its summer reading program “Reading is Brain Food.” Librarian Lori Burgess says they’d like to get 2 million minutes read by the end of the program and they are approaching that number. She says nearly 4,000 people registered for the summer reading program and they’ve read more than 1.7 million minutes. Community Information Coordinator Terri Fleming says there’s still time to register for the program that runs through Friday, August 15th. There are some nice prizes for both children and adults that go along with the summer reading program, which ends for teen readers with a pizza party on Saturday, August 16th. Kids in grades 6 through 12 are welcome to that party, which begins at 1 p.m. that afternoon.