Tag Archives: fond du lac

Dan Lefeber’s Give Impromptu Talk on National Medical Examiners Convention

Monday Morning
We had 20 members at our Monday meeting at our temporary location at Baptist Trinity Church. Gary Miller thanked the members that made the InterClub to the FDL Evening Club last Wednesday evening. Sharon Kollman provided a brief update on the progress toward finding a new meeting location. The ad hoc committee is looking at the following locations; Holiday Inn, Retlaw, Faro’s, Rolling Meadows, MPTC, possibly Lake View Estates and possibly our old location but under a new owner. More details will follow as the facts become clearer. Bob Kahl noted that we had several Club members at last Monday’s Fruth Field ribbon cutting. Our Club donated $10,000 toward this project and will have naming rights to one of the concession stands. Dave Lefeber was the 50/50 Raffle Winner and he drew the Eight of Clubs, not a winner. Next week’s drawing will have 12 cards, four pay cards and a pot of at least $521.

Dave Lefeber, National Medical Examiner’s Convention
Our scheduled program for Monday was unable to attend so Dave Lefeber agreed to talk about his attendance at a National Medical Examiner’s Convention in New York City two years ago. Dave was fortunate to attend this week long convention funded by various grants to New York City. He talked about the 17 story DNA lab in New York that employs 34 forensic pathologists. These folks do over 5,500 autopsies per year. This DNA lab is the largest in the entire country. Dave talked about the advancement that has been realized in DNA testing in that results that used to take eight weeks are now done in eight hours. While at the convention Dave was able to tour the site of the 2001 terrorist attacks and heard about many of the details of that 9/11 attack. He told us about the many issues that the rescuers face as a result of all of the chemicals and toxins that came from the falling twin towers. Dave also described what happens even today when any sort of body fragments are found in and/or around ground zero. He noted that there were still 1,123 victims of that disaster still unaccounted for as of two years ago. Nice impromptu program Dave. Thanks.

Gottfried Arboretum Invites Kiwanians to Enjoy Nature


Monday Morning
We had 17 members at our Monday meeting at our new temporary location along with three guests and our guest speaker, Brain Kolstad. Joining us for breakfast were Lin & Beth Leeds and Chris Cooper. Gary Miller was able to put together an InterClub to the FDL Evening Club for Wednesday evening, August 14th to hear about a Police Department program on Internet crime and how the local Kiwanis Clubs might be able to help. Del Waldschmidt was the 50/50 Raffle Winner and he drew the Seven of Spades, not a winner. Next week’s drawing will have 13 cards, four pay cards and a pot of at least $505.

Brian Kolstad, Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum
Restored with seeds collected from plants found in the last original prairie remnants in Fond du Lac County, the 42-acre prairie located on the UW-Fond du Lac campus serves as a living snapshot of the wildlife and colorful landscape that was once common to this region. Adding a 4.5 acre formal arboretum representing eight types of Wisconsin forest communities, the Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum provides a unique opportunity for education and the enjoyment of our natural heritage.
The project began in 1990 when a group of students and staff at UW-Fond du Lac approached Dean Bradley Gottfried with an idea to establish a prairie on campus. The majority of the land surrounding the campus was open lawn which provided no ecological benefit and was costly to mow and maintain. With the help of Bill Volkert, a naturalist with the Department of Natural Resources in Horicon, and the UW-Madison landscape architecture program, a plan was prepared and in 1992 the first 20 acres of native prairie grasses and wild-flowers were planted by volunteers. Since then the prairie has grown to include an additional 22 acres, a formal arboretum, interpretive hiking trails, a bike path, a shelter with an informative kiosk, two native wildflower display gardens, and a wildlife pond. All projects have been funded with private donations and grants. Today the Gottfried Prairie and Arboretum is managed by a board comprised of educators, ecologists, and wildlife enthusiasts in conjunction with UW-Fond du Lac and the FDL County Board.

County Medical Examiner Speaks to Kiwanis


Monday Morning
We had 17 members at our Monday meeting along with our guest speaker, Dr. Kristinza Giese from the Fond du Lac County Medical Examiner’s Office. Bonnie Baerwald had a “Happy Buck” thanking everyone that helped at last Friday’s Relay for Life Brat Fry. Gary Miller is putting together an InterClub to the FDL Evening Club on Wednesday evening, August 14th to hear about a Police Department program on Internet crime and how the local Kiwanis Clubs might be able to help. Jan Krug was the 50/50 Raffle Winner and she drew the Nine of Hearts, not a winner. Next week’s drawing will have 14 cards, four pay cards and a pot of at least $489.

Dr. Kristinza Giese, FdL County Medical Examiner
Dr. Giese is a forensic pathologist and has been in the FDL County Medical Examiner’s (MEO) office for about a year. She went to medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin and did her pathology residency in Washington State. According to Dr. Giese it takes about 13 years of training to be certified as a forensic pathologist. The Medical Examiner’s Office determines whether a death falls within their legal jurisdiction, as outlined in Wisconsin State Statutes. To arrive at this decision may require information from many sources: witnesses, family and friends; information from personal physicians and medical records; information from law enforcement agencies; information from the scene investigation, etc. While this process is underway, the decedent’s body may be transported to the FDL County MEO for temporary storage. Based on the information collected during the death investigation, the Medical Examiner will then consider the facts of each case individually, and determine whether it falls within the legal jurisdiction of the office. If the FDL MEO assumes jurisdiction, the Medical Examiner will then decide what level of investigation/examination is necessary to determine the cause and manner of death.
The question was asked if Dr. Giese’s job was anything close to CSI. Unfortunately, it’s not. It’s much more methodical and lengthy than TV portrays.