12-2-13 semi truck fire-fox lake

No one was injured when a semi truck loaded with cheese caught fire in Fox Lake.  The Fox Lake Fire Department was dispatched to the intersection of Highway 33 & Howard Drive.  Fire Chief Bill Frank says upon arrival, a Fox Lake Township officer and the semi driver had the trailer unhooked and the fire extinguished, and there was heavy damage to the refrigeration unit on the trailer. The owner of the truck was Dart Transportation from Sacramento, California.  The cause of the fire is unknown.

12-2-13 fatal crash-dodge county

On Saturday, November 30, 2013 at about 5:32am, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office responded to a motor vehicle crash on County Highway I south of County Highway SS in the Township of Lowell.  Preliminary investigation shows that a Ford F-250 truck was traveling north on County I and failed to negotiate a curve south of County SS.  The truck entered the ditch, striking the embankment, overturning multiple times, resulting in the driver being ejected from the vehicle. The male driver of the Ford F-250 was pronounced dead at the scene by the Dodge County Medical Examiner.  There were no other occupants in the vehicle. The name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.  Agencies assisting the Sheriff’s Department were:  Lowell First Responders, Beaver Dam EMS, Lowell Fire Department, Dodge County Medical Examiner, and Dodge County Sheriffs Department Chaplain.  The Dodge Sheriffs Department continues to investigate the crash.

12-2-13 fatal crash-sheboygan county

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — One person is dead and two are injured after a single-car rollover in Sheboygan County.  The crash was just after 2 a.m. Friday. The Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office says three people were in the car on a county road near the Town of Mosel in the northern part of the county.  The sheriff's office says the car was traveling at high speed when it went onto the shoulder briefly, corrected and then rolled numerous times.  Authorities say 18-year-old William Oakley was ejected from the vehicle. He died from his injuries.  Another passenger, 18-year-old Guy Kosolek, was seriously injured and flown to Theda Clark hospital.  The driver, 18-year-old Steven McGrew, was taken to a local hospital by ambulance.  All the teens are from Sheboygan.

12-2-13 old murder-calumet county

MENASHA, Wis. (AP) — Calumet County investigators have not given up on the murder case of a 17-year-old girl killed 35 years ago.  Dawn Schnetzer's decomposed body was found on November 4th, 1978 by a farmer in the Town of Woodville. She had disappeared about six weeks earlier after being dropped off by a motorcyclist in Menasha.  Authorities issued a public appeal in August looking for the owner of a flannel shirt found near Schnetzer's remains, but they haven't found the owner. Authorities previously noted the State Crime Lab had developed a DNA profile from the shirt.  County Sheriff's Sergeant Investigator Gary Steier says they are waiting for the results of more DNA testing from certain items of evidence.  He says DNA testing can still solve the case.

12-2-13 fdl homicide update

Two Fond du lac women are expected to be formally charged this week in connection with the disappearance and death of a Fond du Lac man.   Timothy Nance was been missing for nearly a month before his body was found Thanksgiving Day and police believe he is a homicide victim.

Assistant police chief Steve Thiry says investigators believe the victim’s wife Eve Nance and her sister Tina Ewell are responsible.  Last week Fond du Lac judge Richard Nuss denied a writ of habeas corpus petition for both women stating he did not believe their constitutional rights were being violated.   The women have been sitting in jail for nearly two weeks without being charged.

12-2-13 democratic gubenatorial candidate makes campaign stop in fdl

The only announced Democratic candidate for governor has made her first official campaign stop in Fond du lac.  Trek Bicycle Company executive Mary Burke met with local Democratic party members and the public at Irish’s bar last week.  Burke says she’s getting a lot of positive feedback on  the campaign trail.   In an exclusive interview with WFDL news Burke criticized the governor on a wide range of topics including his promise of creating 250,000 jobs by the end of his first term.  "Well we have a long way to go and I hear from people all over the state that they're struggling,"  Burke said. 

The former state Commerce Secretary  says the governor made a mistake right off the bat when he rejected federal stimulus money for a high speed rail system.  "I can tell you that as governor I'm going after every single dollar of federal money, which is Wisconsin taxpayer money that we pay into Washington."   Burke says the governor was wrong in rejecting billions of federal dollars to expand Medicaid.  "Not only was that defying common sense, we need that money back here to fuel our economy and to support affordable health care for people."    Burke says expansion of school vouchers will not improve student learning, and only drains resources for public education.  Burke says she opposes Act 10, but would not say if she would try to reverse it if  elected.   "As governor I would have negotiated firmly but fairly to get the changes that were needed to balance the budget, but I do believe our public sector workers should have the right to collectively bargain."

12-2-13 specialty license plates

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Military-themed plates benefiting the state's Veterans Trust Fund are the most popular among the 13 types of state special plates.  According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, as of July, more than 20,000 plates benefiting veterans were registered in Wisconsin. That total covers 51 versions promoting various military service or medal designations.  The least popular were the "Lions Foundation" plates, which were purchased by 248 vehicle owners in the last fiscal year to benefit the Wisconsin Lions Foundation.  The issue of which groups get special license plates arose earlier this month during a legislative proposal to add an anti-abortion "Choose Life" plate to the lineup.