Lost Cell Phone

As many of you know cell phones have become an integral part of our lives. With that being said there are many times we misplace, lose, or our cell phone is stolen.  If this happens to you we recommend you first attempt to download "Plan B" from the Google Play market:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lookout.labs.planb&hl=en.

Note: this will only work if you have an Android based phone. Second once you login to the market you will be able to download Plan B to your lost or stolen cell phone and it will begin to send emails to you with the location of your cell phone. If you suspect the phone has been stolen please contact Police at 920-746-2450 and we will assist with recovering your cell phone.

School Starting Soon! Don't Pass School Buses

Drivers must stop on the street or highway 20 feet or more from any school bus that has stopped and is flashing red warning lights.

• This applies both to vehicles approaching from the rear and from the opposing lanes.
• All lanes of traffic must stop for the school bus, except in opposing lanes if the highway is divided with a center median.
• No vehicle may proceed until the bus resumes motion and has turned off the red warning lights.
• The stop arm on the bus is an added communication to other drivers, but the lack of an extended stop arm is not reason to pass a bus whose red lights are flashing.

In some urban areas buses will signal with yellow lights, or use red lights only in some parts of town. Motorists should observe school buses carefully for either the "pass cautiously" yellow light signal or the required full stop when a bus is flashing red lights.

A vehicle owner can be cited when the driver of a car passes a school bus illegally. A law enforcement officer need not witness this violation if the school bus driver reports it to the law enforcement agency within 24 hours. Fines can be quite high for illegally passing a school bus, but the risk of hitting a child is even higher.

Give A Tip!

A reminder to residents to continue using the "Give A Tip" web tip form, which is available on the Sturgeon Bay Police Departments Facebook Page as well as on our website located at http://www.sturgeonbaypolice.com/webtip.html.

Any information provided is completely confidential and is sent directly to investigators for review. As always we appreciate your help in solving crimes within the Community of Sturgeon Bay.

Move Over Law: Drivers must provide a safety zone for stopped law enforcement and other emergency vehicles

This time of year, law enforcement officers, tow truck operators and emergency responders are busy working on the side of highways to rescue motorists and remove vehicles that have slid off icy roads or into other vehicles. Although the frigid conditions test their resolve, the greatest danger these workers face is being hit by vehicles traveling at high speeds just a few feet away.

To protect law enforcement officers, tow truck operators, emergency responders, road maintenance workers, and others who work on the side of roadways, Wisconsin has a Move Over Law. The law requires drivers to shift lanes if possible or slow down in order to create a safety zone for a law enforcement vehicle, ambulance, fire truck, tow truck or highway maintenance vehicle that is stopped or parked on the side of a road with its warning lights flashing.

“To create a safety zone on interstate highways and other divided roads with multiple directional lanes, you must move over to vacate the lane closest to the law enforcement or other emergency vehicle if you can safely switch lanes,” says Wisconsin State Patrol Superintendent Stephen Fitzgerald. “If the road has a single directional lane or you can’t safely move over because of traffic, you must reduce your speed until safely past the vehicle.”

Violating the Move Over Law can be expensive as well as dangerous. A citation costs $263.50 with three demerit points added to your license.

“When drivers disregard the Move Over Law, they are putting lives at risk. Failure of motorists to create a safety zone by moving over or slowing down is one of the major reasons that motor vehicle crashes kill more law enforcement officers on duty than any other cause. Tow truck operators, highway maintenance workers and emergency responders also are killed and injured when drivers don’t move over or slow down,” says Superintendent Fitzgerald. “By obeying the Move Over Law, drivers can protect themselves, their passengers, our officers and others who work on highways from needless injuries and deaths.”

BOATING ACCIDENTS

An operator involved in a boating accident resulting in death, injury, or damage to the boat(s) or other property exceeding $2,000 must:
•    Stop his or her vessel immediately at the scene of the accident and …
•    Assist anyone injured or in danger from the accident, unless doing so would seriously endanger his or her own vessel or passengers and …
•    Give, in writing, his or her name, address, and vessel identification to anyone injured and to the owner of any property damaged by the accident.

A vessel operator is required to make an oral and written report whenever a boating accident results in:
•    Loss of life or disappearance of a person or …
•    Injury to any person or …
•    Property damage in excess of $2,000.

Oral reports must be made immediately to a DNR conservation warden or a local law enforcement officer.

A written report must be submitted within 10 days on a DNR Form 4100-20 to DNR-Boat Safety, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 52707.

YIELD TO PEDESTRIANS

At any intersection or crosswalk the operator of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian, bicyclist or person on an electric personal assistive device. The operator must yield right-of-way until the pedestrian is safely out of the roadway.

RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP

Being a responsible pet owner is much more than just providing adequate water, food and shelter for your pet. The City of Sturgeon Bay has several pet related ordinances which must be adhered to. Some of the requirements are as follows:

• No dog, cat or other animal shall be allowed in any city park, except for officially designated dog parks.
• The owner of a dog or cat shall have the animal vaccinated against rabies and distemper by a veterinarian within five months of age and revaccinated within one year after the initial vaccination.
• Any animal off the premises of the owner and not within an automobile shall be leashed and under control of its owner.
• While on walks it is the responsibility of the pet owner to pick up any waste that their animal might leave.
• It shall be unlawful to harbor any dog which habitually barks, howls or yelps or any cat which habitually cries or howls to the great discomfort of the peace and quiet of the neighborhood.