Oconto County Times Herald

Lakewood DNR station has new conservation warden

Published by admin on Thu, 01/30/2020 - 1:50pm

A Michigan native who served the country in military deployments to Somalia and Haiti before starting his law enforcement career is the new state conservation warden based at Lakewood in Oconto County.

Jamin Leuzzo, born and raised in the Upper Peninsula Michigan town of Bessemer, was hired by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Bureau of Law Enforcement in late 2018 to serve the public as a conservation warden assigned to the Peshtigo Warden Team.

Prevea Health launches podcast

Published by admin on Thu, 01/30/2020 - 1:48pm

Prevea Health has announced the launch of Plug in to Health, a podcast focusing on various health topics, the latest developments in health and medicine, and more. It is available for free on Apple, Spotify and other podcasting platforms, as well as at: www.prevea.com/podcast

Oconto County Circuit Court proceedings

Published by admin on Thu, 01/30/2020 - 1:46pm

Proceedings of Jan. 17

Damian Lee Murphy, 18, Abrams, pleaded not guilty to homicide by negligent operation of a motor vehicle in the Aug. 14 crash that killed Albert W. Reppert, 71, of Midlothian, Illinois. A pretrial conference was scheduled for March 19.

Jason L. Mulikin, 44, Kingsford, Michigan, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, in connection with an incident that occurred Sept. 9. Judge Michael T. Judge scheduled sentencing for March 27 and ordered a presentence investigation.

Veterans honored at Oconto Falls High School

Published by admin on Mon, 01/27/2020 - 1:18pm

OCONTO FALLS — Five local veterans were honored Friday night in the first-ever Military Appreciation Night at Oconto Falls High School.

They included Staff Sgt. Kurt Buhrandt, a logistical specialist for the Wisconsin National Guard who is in his 23rd year of service. He met the night’s master of ceremonies, John Maino, when the longtime media personality was embedded in Afghanistan and Buhrandt was commander of convoy security, driving what Maino described as “the most hostile, most dangerous roads on the entire face of the Earth.”

Oconto County officials fear southern floods and northern wildfires

Published by admin on Mon, 01/27/2020 - 1:13pm

OCONTO — The threat of fire danger looms in northern Oconto County over the next two or three years, as the southern part of the county braces for severe flooding.

The County Board received an update Thursday from Emergency Management Director Tim Magnin regarding the aftermath of last summer’s windstorm that downed hundreds of thousands of trees, as well as flooding that plagued the city of Oconto and other bayshore communities at the start of 2020.

Suring man sentenced to 10 years for meth sales

Published by admin on Wed, 01/22/2020 - 6:44am

GREEN BAY – A rural Suring man found with more than a pound of methamphetamine and a gun in his house was sentenced Jan.15 in federal court to 10 years in prison and seven years’ supervised release for distributing methamphetamine.

Oconto fire victims identified

Published by admin on Wed, 01/22/2020 - 6:41am

OCONTO — Counselors were made available at Oconto High School on Saturday to help grieving students after a mother and three children were killed early Friday morning in a house fire.

Authorities on Monday identified the victims as Katherine DeCoursin, 35, and her children Jeri Schroeder, 15, Dalton Schroeder, 13, and Nicholas DeCoursin Jr., 11.

The wooden two-story frame house at 907 Fabry St. was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived just before 3 a.m., Fire Chief John Reed said.

Just three races for Oconto County Board

Published by admin on Sun, 01/19/2020 - 10:22am

OCONTO — It ought to be a quiet election day around Oconto County, if the ballot lineup for the County Board is any indication.

While more than a dozen Democrats maneuver for our attention in the April 7 presidential partisan primary, only three races emerged among the 31 supervisory districts when the deadline passed for the nonpartisan spring election the same day.

Four dead after Oconto house fire

Published by admin on Fri, 01/17/2020 - 2:11pm

OCONTO — Four people are dead after a house fire on a short residential street in the city of Oconto early Friday morning.

The Oconto fire and police departments were called to the two-story wood frame structure on Fabry Street just before 3 a.m. Fire Chief John Reed said in a news release that crews encountered “heavy fire conditions” when they arrived.

”During the suppression efforts, four individuals and one pet were found deceased in the fire scene,” Reed said.

Identification of the victims and notification of next of kin are pending.

Great Lakes start the year near record highs

Published by admin on Tue, 01/14/2020 - 4:32pm

DETROIT — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, announced last week that water levels on each of the Great Lakes started 2020 higher than they started 2019, a year where many record high water levels were set across the lakes.

The Corps urged people impacted by the high water levels of 2019 to prepare for similar levels again in 2020. The most recent six-month forecast of Great Lakes water levels shows water levels continuing to be well above average over this period. Unlike last year, lakes Michigan and Huron are forecasted to reach record high levels this year.