6-22-13 two men charged in heroin overdose death of fdl man

Two men have been charged in connection with a drug overdose death in Fond du lac.  Forty nine year old Jeffrey Abitz of Lomira is charged with party to the crime of  first degree reckless homicide.  Abitz  is charged in connection with the heroin overdose death of a Fond du lac man last July.    Abitz is currently not in custody.  He is scheduled to make his initial Fond du lac Court appearance Tuesday.   Meanwhile charges of reckless homicide have also been filed against 56 year old Reginald Dorsey of Milwaukee in the case.    Both men are accused of supplying the heroin that led to the Fond du lac man’s death.

6-22-13 new fdl school district business manager

The Fond du lac School District has a new business services manager.  The Fond du Lac School Board is expected to approve the hiring of  Wendy Brockert at their meeting Monday evening.  Brockert comes to the Fond du Lac School District from Lake Mills, where she has been the business manager since 1991.  Her starting salary in Fond du lac will be just under $105,000.

6-22-13 hamilton park playground donors

Local residents and businesses are stepping up to help rebuild the Hamilton Park playground destroyed by arson fire last month.  Fond du lac Parks Director John Kiefer says residents Sandra Ritchie and Charmaine Luczak along with Domino’s Pizza, the Fond du Lac Firefighters Union and

the Stone Foundation have all donated money to the cause.   Kiefer says between the donations, including $10,000 from the Stone Foundation and the insurance and grant money the city is confident the new playground will be bigger and better than ever.  The Fond du Lac Parks Department is arranging to buy the new equipment and selecting a design.  Local contractor BCI Burke will design, construct and install the playground.  Kiefer says the hope is to have the new playground built before the end of summer.  The city council will recognize the donors at their meeting next week.

6-22-13 youth baseball diamonds proposed for lakeside park

The Fond du lac Advisory Park Board will consider a proposal to build two new youth baseball diamonds at Lakeside Park.  Ryan Haus tells AM 1170 WFDL's Between the Lines program the diamonds would be located along Harborview Drive between Main and Doty Streets.  Haus says each diamond would be fully or partially enclosed with 225 foot fences.  Haus says there is an extreme need for more quality baseball diamonds in Fond du lac with a high number of kids playingbaseball and a growing youth girl’s softball program.  Haus says a fundraising campaign would begin immediately if the city gives approval.  He says the cost of each field is about $35,000.

6-22-13 city of fdl receives recycling grant

The city of Fond du Lac is encouraging Lakeside Park goers to recycle.  Through a grant from the Keep America Beautiful and Coca-Colar Foundation the city has placed 25 recycling bins throughout the park.  The city was one of 156 local government, schools, colleges and other community groups
nationwide to receive a grant.

6-22-13 retlaw still owes money

The future of the Fond du Lac Retlaw Hotel may rest with the city council next week.  The hotel has until Tuesday to make good on its debt or face losing its alcohol licenses.  The city council is scheduled to take up the matter at their meeting Wednesday.  Earlier this month city manager Joe Moore rejected the hotel owner’s offer to wipe the slate clean with a $25,000 payment,

when the hotel still owes $39,000 in back taxes and utllity fees.  Moore said as of Friday nothing had changed.

6-22-13 strawberry season

This year's strawberry season is getting off to a slow start.  Cool temperatures that have extended well into June have delayed the season. Dave Mischler operates Mischler Berry Farm in Waupun.  "You know we really do need some heat right now to get them berries to ripen up,"  Mischler told AM 1170WFDL's Between the Lines program.  "The weather as far as being cool slowed the growth but we've got a lot of nice looking berries that are coming."  Mischler's opens for strawberry picking at 7am Saturday.  He tells am 1170 WFDL’s Between the Lines he'd already be done picking his early berries by this time. He says the farm is almost always picking by Father's Day, which was Sunday.  Strawberry growers plant multiple varieties — early, late early, mid-season and late-season. The varieties ripen about four days apart, which lets farms stretch the picking out about a month. They say that this year, picking could extend into mid-July.