Local News Briefs Tuesday 10/8/13

Police in Oshkosh say a man tried to entice three children into a vehicle in the 1000 block of Weisbrod Street Saturday afternoon about 5 p.m. They were playing in front of the house when the man drove up, stopped and told the kids to get in the car and he would take them to grandma’s house. The children’s mother noticed the car outside and the driver talking to the children. She went to see what he wanted and the man drove away. The man was described as being older, heavy set, with a bald spot on top of his head and gray/brown long hair on the sides. He was driving a 1990’s model Chevy Beretta maroon in color with rust on the bottom portion of the vehicle and black bumpers. Anyone with information is asked to call the Oshkosh Police Department at (920) 236-5700.

Oshkosh Attempted Robbery

A man in his early 20s tried to rob the Lang Oil Gas Station at 305 Ohio Street in the City of Oshkosh just before 10 p.m. last night. Police say the suspect is white, 5 foot 8 to 5 foot 10 inches tall and weighs 160 to 170 pounds. He was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and black shorts. Anyone with information should call Oshkosh Police at (920) 236-5700.


Armed Robbery Suspect Shot In Jackson

Jackson Police shot a man who tried to rob the Culver’s restaurant in the Village of Jackson Sunday morning. Police say the man was armed with a shotgun when he confronted a police officer and two Washington County Sheriff’s deputies behind the restaurant. Officers fired striking him several times. He was taken Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee where he is in critical condition. The manager of the Culver’s heard a noise outside the rear door of the restaurant as employees prepared to open the restaurant and went to investigate. He was confronted by a man who was masked and had a shotgun. He was injured while grappling with the suspect who also had a knife. The manager was taken to St. Joseph’s with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect is a 24-year-old Waukesha man. The hold up is being investigated by the Sheriff’s Department and the West Bend Police Department is investigating the officer involved shooting. Police were called to the restaurant at 8:30 Sunday morning.

Mink Investigation

(WHBL-Sheboygan)-The F-B-I is helping local authorities investigate the release of 2,000 mink from a fur farm near New Holstein.  Calumet County sheriff’s deputies were called late Saturday afternoon to Bonlander Furs after mink were spotted on a road. Co-owner Virginia Bonlander told the Appleton Post-Crescent that about 1,500 of the loose mink were captured almost right away.  About 100 friends, relatives, and other mink farmers helped retrieve the mink by hand, and with traps.  Bonlander said the people who released the mink probably had an agenda.  Wisconsin mink farms have previously been targeted by animal rights’ protestors some of whom have endorsed the farms’ destruction.  The Bonlander farm has around 5,000 mink.  Most of it goes to Toronto to make coats, jackets, and hats.

Scott Street Bridge Closure

The Scott Street Bridge over the Fond du Lac River will close next Monday for bridge deck and sidewalk repairs and will remain closed for about three weeks. The bridge is located between Brooke Street and Lakeshore Drive. The bridge will be closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic. A detour route will be marked for southbound Highway 45 traffic from Lakeshore Drive to the west on Scott Street to Peters Avenue, then south to Johnson Street and then east to Main Street. A northbound detour will follow the reverse route. Bus service on Scott Street will be moved to Arndt Street from Brooke Street to Hickory Street.

Wayfinding Effort Will Make FDL More Welcoming

Fond du Lac City Manager Joe Moore says the City and area sees a lot of tourism and a wayfinding or signage effort will only help those visitors. He says one complaint they do hear from those who visit is that they don’t always know where to go when they get here. Moore says it’s all about making those visitors feel more welcoming and providing those visitors with the information they need to know. They will chip in $50,000 for the wayfinding effort next year that will tie into the Fond du Lac Area Convention and Visitors Bureau’s “C’mon In” theme. Moore says the signage will be going up next summer with welcome signs, district signs and more.The Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership will also be doing its part with welcome to downtown signs, banners and more. Moore says it will make the City look more professional, more inviting and is a good statement about the City.

Law Of The Month Yield To Pedestrians

Fond du Lac Police Captain Mat Mueller is urging residents to be on the lookout for pedestrians this month. Yielding to pedestrians is the law of the month. He says people have probably seen the signs in crosswalks downtown and elsewhere. He says if someone is in the crosswalk you’re supposed to yield. Mueller says on the other hand a pedestrian can’t simply dart into that crosswalk to force the issue.

Senator Johnson Staff In Sheboygan County Today

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson’s staff will be available for mobile office hours today in Sheboygan County. They will be at the Cedar Grove Village Hall from 10:30 to 11:30 this morning. This afternoon finds them at the Lakeview Community Library in Random Lake from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., the Waldo Village Hall from 1 to 2 p.m., and the Glenbeulah Village Hall from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Roundy’s Donates To Three Local Food Pantries

The Roundy’s Foundation will be donating nearly $11,000 in food to three local food pantries at the Pick ‘n’ Save Store on West Pioneer Road this afternoon. Pick ‘n’ Save employees will unload 7,116 pounds of food that will be handed over to representatives from the Fondy Food Pantry, Celebration Assembly Church Food Pantry, and Broken Bread Food Program. That will happen at 2 p.m. Roundy’s officials say it is part of a five-day, 13-city tour that will donate $218,000 in food and money to 60 food pantries across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Each pantry will receive a donation of food and money that is valued at over $3,600.

Reeseville Trust Fund Loan Approved

The Village of Reeseville is getting a $36,367 state trust fund loan for its sewer upgrade project. The Board of Commissioners of Public Lands recently approved $3.1 million in state trust fund loans and the Reeseville project was among them. The loans will support eleven municipal projects and two school projects.

FDL Reads Next Book Ready Player One

The Community Information Coordinator for the Fond du Lac Public Library says next year’s Fond du Lac Reads book will be a contrast to the current one. This month Michael Hingson’s autobiographical book “Thunder Dog” is about surviving 911 in the one of the twin towers. Terri Fleming says next year’s book is called Ready Player One and about a fictional future that looks pretty bleak. It’s about a teen and world that is set in virtual reality. She says she enjoyed the book in which the teenage hero has to solve a puzzle in virtual reality. She says one of the things people will enjoy in the book is that the people in it are entrenched in 1980s nostalgia, which will lend to some great activities for the Fond du Lac Reads program. The book is being developed as a movie.