6-4-14 girl stabbing plot-superintendent

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — The superintendent of Waukesha schools says the district is reviewing the websites its student can access in light of the recent attack on a middle school student.

Prosecutors say the two 12-year-old girls charged with stabbing a classmate were influenced by a website of fictional horror stories.  Superintendent Todd Gray says the crime isn't a district issue because it didn't take place on school grounds or during school hours. Gray says technology employees are reviewing similar websites to see if the district should block student access.  Gray says counselors are being made available to students who may want to talk about the crime.

6-4-14 wi elections-legislature

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Most of the seats up for election in the Legislature this year will be contested, but only a fraction of them will have partisan primaries.  Of the 99 Assembly seats up for election, 63 of them are contested based on candidate filings made by Monday's deadline.  Fond du Lac Republican state representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt is running unopposed.  Of those contested seats, there are 11 Democratic primaries and 18 Republican primaries.  In the Senate, 15 of the 17 seats up this year are contested. In those, there are four Democratic primaries and three Republican primaries.  The Government Accountability Board will meet June 10 to certify the final list of candidates for the Aug. 12 primary. The general election is Nov. 4.  There are seven vacant Senate seats and 22 in the Assembly.  Republicans currently have a majority in both houses.

6-4-14 frigid lake superior

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The aftermath of the long, frigid winter continues to affect Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes.  A research team funded partly by the University of Michigan finds that surface water temperatures over the deepest sections of the lake are expected to be at least 6 degrees colder than normal by August.  That will delay the point at which heavy evaporation begins, which will boost water levels faster than normal.  Climatologist John Lenters of Ann Arbor-based Limno Tech says the result could be a water-level gain of up to 10 inches by next spring, although much will depend on amounts of rain and snow between now and then.  Water levels also are expected to rise in the other Great Lakes, continuing the recovery from a prolonged low-water period.

6-3-14 girls stabbing plot

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — Two 12-year-old southeastern Wisconsin girls charged with trying to stab their friend to death to please a mythological creature had struggled to decide who should do the deed.

According to a criminal complaint, the girls said they had been planning to kill their 12-year-old friend for months to please Slenderman, a fictional online character.  The complaint said they invited the girl to a sleepover Friday. They planned to tape her mouth shut, stab her in the neck and run away to Slenderman's mansion.  Instead, they attacked the girl in Waukesha on Saturday, handing the knife back and forth between them before one girl held the victim down and the other stabbed her 19 times.

One girl told detectives she regretted it. The other said she was sorry.

6-3-14 former ripon college IT director bound over for trial

A former Ripon College employee accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school has been bound over for trial.  Ronald Haefner  waived his preliminary hearing Monday afternoon

on 62 counts including felony and misdemeanor theft.  District attorney Eric Toney says Haefner was terminated last November after school officials learned Haefner had allegedly made unauthorized electronics and furniture purchases while he was the school’s IT director.  According to the complaint Haefner is accused of making about $270,000 in unauthorized  electronics equipment  purchases and making approximately $150,000 in unauthorized  purchases with a college credit card.  Haefner is being held in jail on $250,000 bond.

6-3-14 fire destroys camper at fdl county campground

Nobody was injured in a fire that destroyed a camper at a Fond du Lac County campground over the weekend.  Firefighters were called to Mr. Ed’s campground on Highway 67 near Campbellsport Sunday to a report of a camper fully engulfed.  The camper was unoccupied,  and the power and propane tanks were turned off.  The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

6-3-14 fdl wastewater treatment plant director retires

A longtime Fond du Lac city employee is stepping down.  Wastewater treatment plant operations manager John Leonhard is retiring after 30 years of service to the city.  "Its been a great place to work, have had real good communication witth all the staff over the years, its been my pleasure to work with five different city managers, four different public works directors and I'm leaving on a high note,"  Leonhard said.  "Its been a happy career."  Leonhard was recognized at last week’s city council meeting.