Kuehl Arraigned
6/24/10 – A Hustisford babysitter pleaded “not guilty” yesterday to homicide charges. Renee Kuehl is accused of inflicting fatal trauma on a 22-month-old boy she was babysitting in November of 2007. The incident was reviewed after another child was allegedly injured while recently in her care. The 47-year-old says the child died from a fall down the stairs. The medical examiner testified at a preliminary hearing last week that it was unlikely that a fractured skull, broken arm and abdominal injuries could result from a fall down the stairs. In the most recent case, Kuehl says she was babysitting a 2-year-old girl fell on concrete while twirling. She sustained two skull fractures and facial brusing. Dr. Lynn Sheets of Children’s Hospital testified that the contusions came from “multiple different angles” and it didn’t make sense how one fall could cause all of the injuries. Kuehl faces up to 115 years in prison, if convicted. She requested a jury trial and has a scheduling conference in late August.
Teens IDed In I-94 Triple Fatal
6/24/10 – It appears that the three teens killed on I-94 near Ixonia Tuesday afternoon were not wearing their seatbelts Tuesday when their car collided with a truck. The Sheriff’s Department identified the passengers as 17-year-old’s Amanda Nowicki of Hartland and Sean White of Oregon, and the driver as 16-year-old Victoria M. Braun of McFarland. Authorities say their eastbound Honda Civic struck a construction barrel, went across the median into the westbound lanes, where it hit a truck and rolled into the ditch. The 24 year-old truck driver was wearing his seat belt and was treated at the scene.
Wind Farm Hearings Set
6/24/10 – A half-dozen public hearings will be held over a three-day period next week as the Public Service Commission works on adopting uniform siting rules for wind power projects. Two hearings each day will be held Monday in Fond du Lac, Tuesday in Tomah and Wednesday in Madison. The process was started when the Legislature passed a uniform siting law last year. Questions to be discussed include how far a wind turbine has to be from a nearby home and what the maximum allowed noise should be. In the past Wisconsin had a patchwork of different rules imposed by counties and towns around the state. With wind power growing in interest, the state statutes became important.
Area Firefighter on Regis & Kelly
6/24/10 – Fond du Lac firefighter Laura Ketelhut is putting her cooking skills on the line in a national competition. She’s a semi-finalist for the “Firehouse Cook-off” on “Regis & Kelly” and is in New York City this week to tape a segment for the show that will air tomorrow (Fr). Ketelhut is making a Stuffed Boursin Burger. Boursin is like cream cheese. It’s not her first national cooking competition. She entered one on the Food Network and was runner up in a competition for Tobasco Sauce with an entry for Chipotle Mac & Cheese. If she wins the Firehouse Cookoff, which runs over the next six weeks, she will get a check for $10,000. You can see her contest video at the “Regis & Kelly Firehouse Cookoff” website. Ketelhut says she will be the one wearing the Fond du Lac Fire Department logo.
