(Waupun) The Waupun Police Department recently released its 2022 annual report. According to the agency, their officers responded to 19 accidents with injuries and three burglary calls. Chief Scott Louden highlighted several accomplishments throughout last year including being named the 15th safest city in the state by Safewise. The department also implemented the use of body cameras and Officer Andrew Halverson and K-9 Jet earned their certification in October.
(Winnebago) The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office had another busy year last year handling more than 44,600 calls for service. According to the Sheriff’s annual report deputies issued 3,374 traffic citations and arrested 216 people for operating while intoxicated. They handled a total of 1,708 traffic crashes including six traffic fatalities. The Sheriff’s dispatchers received 51,077 911 calls, up 368 from 2021. That is up significantly from 2017 when dispatchers took 40,688 911 calls. Each of the Department’s Divisions, specialized units and staff are highlighted in a 44-page annual report which is available online.
(Green Lake County) The Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office is asking residents to turn off the Emergency SOS feature if they have a newer smart phone and do not anticipate using that feature. During a recent month they saw the number of inadvertent 911 calls increase from 30 a month to nearly 150. Chief Deputy Matt Vande Kolk says the vibration from placing a phone in a cup holder in a moving boat or riding lawnmower triggers buttons that set off the feature which then calls 911. It can also be triggered if the phone interprets you have suffered a traumatic injury from a fall or a car accident.
(Waupun) Cash bond has been set at $100-thousand-dollars for a Waupun man facing drug charges for a traffic stop in Fond du Lac County early last Sunday morning. Sheriff’s K9 Rip sniffed out drugs in the car that Dwaun Fleming Sr. was in. Drugs reportedly found in the vehicle included fentanyl, marijuana, methamphetamine, and cocaine. Fleming’s 17-year-old son Dwaun Fleming Jr. of Milwaukee who was in the vehicle with him is facing the same drug charges as a party to a crime. Fleming Jr.’s bond was set at $25-thousand-dollars. Both have preliminary hearings next Friday. The 35-year-old Fleming Sr. was already on probation for a cocaine trafficking conviction in Winnebago County.
(Winnebago) The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says spearers yesterday (Friday) reached the 90-percent harvest cap on the Upriver Lakes. They add that spearers with tags for the Upriver Lakes can continue to spear until 1pm today (Saturday). Spearers with tags for Lake Winnebago may continue to harvest sturgeon until harvest caps are reached or until the Lake Winnebago System harvest caps are reached.
(Juneau) The Dodge County Master Gardener Association is offering a scholarship. The organization will give $1,000 to a graduating senior who is planning a career in some area of horticulture. The be eligible, the recipient must live in Dodge County and be graduating from any public high school, parochial high school, or home school. Application forms are available in the guidance offices or from Agricultural teachers and FFA sponsors of Dodge County and area high schools. The deadline to apply is April 1st. More information can be found with this news story at DailyDodge.com.
(Juneau) Dodge County 4-H is bringing 4-H Family Learning Days to Dodgeland school on March 25. All current 4-H’rs, their families and other youth are welcome for a fun day of hands on activities, education and more. There will be four one hour time slots with eight to ten session choices in each. The sessions cover a wide variety of topics including animal projects, photography, cake decorating, beekeeping basics, 4-H camp, and LEGO robotics. The event begins at 8:30am with registration, followed by learning sessions that begin at 9am and end at 2:30pm.
(Dodge County) The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection is accepting nominations for three seats on the state’s Potato Industry Board. One of those seats is in District three which includes Dodge, Columbia, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Jefferson, and Washington counties. Producers must sign, notarize, and postmark completed nomination forms by March 31st and include signatures from at least five eligible growers other than the nominee.
(Fond du Lac) It’s been 23 years since Fond du Lac County’s last wage and benefits study, but that will change next month. County Executive Sam Kaufman says they have hired a firm to take a look at the wages and benefits they offer their employees. He points out that they are not able to fill vacancies and are losing people to private industry and other counties and municipalities that offer more. He is particularly concerned about what will occur over the next 5 to 10 years because they have an aging workforce.