Battle Lake man injured in road accident

By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Sheriff deputies, On Jan. 10, reported several fraudulent unemployment applications in Otter Tail County.

One county resident reported that he was notified that he was approved for unemployment benefits even though he had not applied for unemployment. Deputies advised the person to contact his bank and look into credit monitoring.

Here are other tips from county and state authorities.

• Tell credit bureaus about fraudulent unemployment claims using your identity. Have credit bureaus place a fraud alert on your identity.

• If you don’t have an upcoming major purchase, such as a home, consider freezing your credit. Your credit report will often be the first source that can reveal if there has been any suspicious activity.

• Contact the Minnesota Department of Labor to find out if someone is collecting unemployment in your name.

• For further assistance contact the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office at 218-998-8555.

Battle Lake man injured

in roadway accident

Sheriff deputies reported, on Jan. 10, that a Battle Lake man was injured in a roadway accident in nearby Douglas County. The accident took place close to 3 p.m. on Highway 78 close to the Otter Tail County line near Ashby.

Receiving non-life-threatening injuries was Roger Eugene Barth, 58.

He was in a Ram pickup that was traveling northward when the vehicle left the roadway and entered a ditch. Barth was taken to the hospital in Fergus Falls.

Fire destroys

chicken coop

Fire destroyed a chicken coop southeast of Rothsay, shortly after midnight on Jan. 11. The location was near Highway 118.

Firefighters believed the cause of the blaze was a faulty heating element. The dollar loss was estimated at close to $5,000.

Fish house break-in,

theft reported

Sheriff deputies, on Jan. 11, reported a fish house break-in and the theft of items near Wintergreen Road, north of Big Pine Lake and northeast of Perham.

Taken were a generator and small tackle box. The total value of the items stolen amounted to $1,020. The stolen generator was a Honda EU2000 model.

Injuries when car

and semi collide

Injuries to two individuals were reported during a car and semi accident, shortly after midnight on Jan. 12. The accident took place near the intersection of Highway 29 and 620th Avenue, near Bluffton in the far eastern section of Otter Tail County.

The State Highway Patrol, assisting sheriff deputies, said the Kenworth semi was westbound on Highway 29 and a Honda Accord was eastbound on Highway 29 when the two vehicles collided. There was snow and ice on the roadway when the accident took place.

Injured while driving the accord was 30-year-old Krista Leanne Decker of Wadena. Injured in the semi was 47-year-old Dennis Gayland Fronning of Battle Lake. Both injuries were non-life-threatening.