Local News Briefs Tuesday 7/8/14

A 62-year-old Oakfield woman was injured by a riding lawnmower Saturday afternoon at a residence on Prairie Road. Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s officials say the woman and her husband were unloading a riding lawnmower from a trailer. It rolled back and got away from them. The side chute of the mower hit the woman’s leg and knocked her over. When she fell she struck her head on the concrete. The lawnmower wasn’t running at the time. She was flown to an area hospital.

FDL County Official Struck By Vehicle While Bicycling

A Fond du Lac County official suffered minor injuries when he was struck by a vehicle while bicycling early Saturday afternoon in Fond du Lac. A vehicle backing out of a driveway on Dixie Street hit County Planning and Parks Director Sam Tobias. He was taken to St. Agnes Hospital where he was treated for his injuries and released. Police cited the driver of the vehicle for unsafe backing.

Boater Missing On Lake Winneconne

The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Dive Team will resume their efforts to find a missing boater on Lake Winneconne today. Sheriff’s officials got a call at 12:30 p.m. Monday afternoon about a boat that was going in circles on Lake Winneconne. No one was in it. The operator couldn’t be located and the Sheriff’s Dive Team was called. They searched the lake until 6 p.m. when it started getting rough and called off the search until 8 a.m. this morning.

Oshkosh Post Office Struck By Vehicle

Oshkosh Police say a 52-year-old Oshkosh woman had a medical issue occur when she hit the north side of the Oshkosh Post Office with her vehicle Sunday afternoon shortly after 5:30 p.m. Investigators say the woman was driving west in the post office parking lot when the vehicle veered to the left and struck the building. She wasn’t injured in the crash, but was taken to Mercy Medical Center for observation. Police say the vehicle was severely damaged in the accident and had to be towed from the scene. The driver was not cited and no alcohol or drugs were involved in the mishap.


Meth Labs Uncovered Near Pickett

Winnebago County authorities found two locations Monday near Pickett being used for the manufacturing and delivery of methamphetamine. Officials with the County’s Drug Enforcement Unit with the aid of Oshkosh Police Drug Task Force, and the state’s Department of Criminal Investigation served a search warrant at the Pickett location and found another meth lab nearby in an abandoned building. Three individuals were arrested on drug-related charges.

Solutions Center Puts Search On Hold For Strategic Planning

Solutions Center Interim Executive Director Maggie McCullough says the center’s Board of Directors has decided to do some strategic planning before renewing their search for a new executive director. She says they needed to set a course of direction for the center’s future before renewing the search for a new executive director. She’s hoping the search will resume this fall and she will be done by the end of the year. McCullough was named the center’s interim executive director after Lindee Kimball left.

SAGES Curriculum Being Fine Tuned

Officials in the Waupun School District will be meeting with their agricultural teachers today to map out a K-12 curriculum for their SAGES or School for Agriculture and Environmental Studies. It will be implemented in the fall with the purpose of making sure what they do in the initial grades feeds what they will be doing in their strong 7-12 Ag program. Waupun Schools Superintendent Tonya Gubin says teachers will be designated to teach agriculture and environmental classes specifically to students. The 2014-15 School Year will be the third for the SAGES program at the charter school in Fox Lake and Gubin says their classes and business partnerships continue to get stronger. Gubin also notes that just before the end of school last month they dedicated their new outdoor learning area at the school.

Lakeside Park Dredging Taking A Little Longer Than Expected

Dredging in Lakeside Park will continue for several more weeks. Fond du Lac Public Works Director Jordan Skiff says they had hoped the dredging of the channels in the park would be completed by the end of June. However, he says they asked the contractor to do some additional dredging. He says they found some locations near Fishermen’s Pier and wanted to do something about a sand bar near the entrance of the harbor. He says the weather also slowed down the de-watering of dredged materials in Lakeside Park West. Skiff says they have been working around activities in the park. He says the additional dredging hasn’t increased the budget for the project. Skiff says the end result will be improved fishing habitat and better navigation for boaters.

Disaster Planning Being Prepared

Fond du Lac County Communications and Emergency Management Director Jim McNabb says officials from agencies across the County actively plan for various disaster scenarios. He says essentially they can use one template for all kinds of disasters, but manage each a bit differently depending on the circumstances. He says they’ve also compiled commodity flow studies for the different types of materials that are carried on area road and rail ways. McNabb says they also do drills and table top exercises to make sure people are ready for what could occur.

Senator Johnson Staff In Reeseville Wednesday

Staff for U.S. Senator Ron Johnson will be holding officer hours in a Dodge County community Wednesday. Johnson staffers will be at the Reeseville Village Hall from 10 to 11 a.m. Office hours allow constituents to meet with the Senator’s staff to request assistance with a federal agency or regarding other federal matters.

Summer Reading Program Going Well At FDL Public Library

Officials with the Fond du Lac Public Library say their summer reading program “Reading is Brain Food” is one for the record books. More than 3,500 people have signed up for the summer program.  Library Community Information Coordinator Terri Fleming says that includes the number of teens and adults who have also signed up for the program. Fleming says the free programs they’ve been offering kids and teens have also been well attended. During the summer reading program each person gets a card and they get to fill in a circle for each 30 minutes spent reading. Kids get a prize right away when they get a card filled in and adults and teens will be entered into a drawing for some big prizes.