Local News Briefs Wednesday 3/5/14

Police were concerned about the suspect in a lengthy car chase before he led Fond du Lac County authorities on a 45-mile pursuit Monday night. Fox Valley Metro officer Scott Van Schyndel says the 37-year-old Appleton man showed up at St. Agnes Hospital with a 10-year-old boy last Sunday. He says the two quickly left when officers got there and they later went to a hospital in Oshkosh. Van Schyndel says the boy’s mother lives in Little Chute and that’s how Fox Valley Metro police got involved. The boy was released to the biological mother, but Schyndel says during contact with the Appleton man they were concerned about his mental and physical well-being.  He says while they were working with agencies to try to get help for the man they learned that he was driving around and trying to get into incidents with other drivers. Van Schyndel says they let law enforcement agencies throughout northeast Wisconsin know about the situation. Monday night’s chase started on Highway 41 in Winnebago County and it ended on Oakwood Road in Dodge County with the suspect’s arrest.

Challenges With Ruggles Street Fire

The Division Chief of Fire Prevention for the Fond du Lac Fire Department says firefighters had to deal with several challenges while putting out a house fire on Ruggles Street Monday. Troy Haase says the cold froze up a fire hydrant they were going to use. He reminds residents that a fire hydrant buried in snow costs them precious time they need to put out a fire. There was also a lot of brush to deal with around the outside of the home and clutter inside it. Haase says the more difficult it is for them to get into your home to fight a fire the more difficult it is for you to get out of the home. He says in addition to helping them with the frozen hydrant public works crews also dealt with diverting water from the fire around an adjacent home to keep it out of that person’s basement. The man and woman living in the home were both injured during the blaze and were taken to the hospital. 

Fresh Snow Leads To Accidents

The fresh snow we received yesterday morning led to a few calls for assistance for Fond du Lac and Winnebago County Sheriff’s deputies. Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputies responded to six runoffs, one accident without injury, and a car fire. Winnebago County Sheriff’s officials say they handled 13 crashes and 5 rollover accidents that resulted in seven reports of injury. They also assisted 15 motorists whose vehicles went into ditches.

Waupun Inmate Gets 9 Years For Stabbing Guard

Nine years has been added to the prison term of the Waupun Correctional inmate who attacked a prison guard on Christmas Eve of 2012. Abdishakur Noor Muddey pled “no contest” to a felony battery charge when he appeared in Dodge County Court this week. A substantial battery charge was read into the record and dismissed. The 30-year-old stabbed a guard in the cheek with a pair of scissors saying the devil made him do it. He later confessed he was afraid of the general prison population and was trying to get his own cell in the segregation unit of the prison. In addition to the prison sentence he was given four years of extended supervision. 

Drug Dealing Suspect Bound Over For Trial In Green Lake County

The 38-year-old New London man who is suspected of trying to sell an undercover officer two pounds of cocaine in Berlin last month has been bound over for trial. Jose Fernandez was in Green Lake County Court for a preliminary hearing Tuesday. His lawyer also entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to cocaine trafficking charge he’s facing. Fernandez was arrested during an arranged buy on February 21st. Investigators found 18 pounds of pot and $21,000 in cash when they searched his New London home. The pot and cocaine had an estimated street value of $90,000.  He will be back in court on April 22nd for a status hearing. He’s being held in the Green Lake County Jail on a $250,000 cash bond.

Sheboygan Woman Sentenced For Beating Boys

A 30-year-old Sheboygan woman will spend 30 days in jail and three years on probation for beating her boys with a belt last December. Anna Reichard was recently sentenced in Sheboygan County Court. An acquaintance captured the beating of the 6 and 8-year-old boys on cell phone video and gave it to police. The 6-year-old was beaten because he got a bad report at school. Reichard told investigators she got carried away.

Wisconsin Assembly Has New Republican Majority Leader

(Wisconsin Radio Network)- The GOP Assembly caucus elects Pat Strachota of West Bend as their new majority leader to replace Representative Bill Kramer (R-Waukesha), who was ousted from his leadership post amid sexual harassment allegations. Representative Mary Williams (R-Medford) believes Kramer has lost the trust and confidence of his colleagues, so he has to go. Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) credits GOP members for acting quickly. “Unanimously deciding that when somebody makes a major mistake — an embarrassing, reprehensible action — we didn’t sit around and let the person stay in their seat or have no repercussions,” He says, “We took immediate action to say that he no longer can represent our caucus, and that’s why unanimous vote shows, he’s out.” Some female staffers had expressed concerns to Vos about their safety around Kramer, who was allegedly drunk during one instance of harassment, according to Vos, but not the other. To read more click here. 

State Senate Passes Tax Cut Passage

(Wisconsin Radio Network)-The state Senate has passed Governor Scott Walker’s $504 million dollar tax cut package. “This is a great day for taxpayers,” said Republican Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. “It’s a great day for Wisconsin.” The package, which was modified in the Joint Finance Committee after being passed by the state Assembly in February, includes $131 in property tax relief for a median-priced home, and an income tax cut averaging $46. La Crosse Democrat Jennifer Schilling charged the income tax cuts favor the wealthy. “So if you are a family of four, we’ll see a tax reduction of $58. Meanwhile a select group of 30,000 individuals will get a $1500 tax break, or more,” said Schilling. To read more click here. 

Senator Johnson On Federal Budget

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson recently criticized his Democratic colleagues for not producing a federal budget. The Republican lawmaker from Oshkosh says too much of the federal budget is based on mandatory spending. He says with over 10,000 people retiring every day federal lawmakers have to find a way to sustain programs like Medicare and Social Security. He says part of the problem is President Obama producing a budget that will increase spending. He says the current path of spending will lead to $127 trillion in federal deficits over the next 30 years.

State Senate Will Take Up School Accountability And Standards

The State Senate Majority Leader says the senate will be spending some time before they adjourn on school accountability bills. Senator Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau says a bill addresses accountability standards. He says a bill the Senate passed involves collecting data to establish standards. He says critics say the bill doesn’t go far enough. He says the Assembly is working on their own version. Fitzgerald says the Governor also wants a bill on the Common Core standards, but he wants a version that will establish Wisconsin’s own standards that will exceed the national standards.

Mercury Marine Commemorative 75^th Anniversary Oil Drum Available

To celebrate 75 years of marine engine production and innovation, Mercury Marine is making available a limited edition 75th Anniversary oil drum. This 16-gallon steel drum is emblazoned with Mercury Marine 75th Anniversary branding and also includes historic photos that showcase the company’s rich heritage. A full version of this drum will be available, with the industry-leading 25W-40 oil that Mercury developed and recently released for sale. Empty commemorative oil drums are also available for purchase. These new, unused oil drums are ready for display in any Mercury Marine collection. See a Mercury dealership for more details and availability.

Snowmobile Trails Open

Dodge County Manager of Parks and Trails Bill Ehlenbeck says all zones of the county’s snowmobile trail system are now open. He says the ATV trail on the Wild Goose Trail is also open. Ehlenbeck also reminds residents that the Rock River Mayville Snowmobile Club will be holding a fish fry this Friday at the Mayville American Legion Hall from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.  According to the Fond du Lac County Snowmobile Association website all trails in Fond du Lac County are also open and are in fair to good condition.