Green Bay News

TOWN OF LENA – Grave markers can be simple or elaborate, telling a story of who lies where.

Each day, the number of surviving veterans dwindles. But pieces of history – like tombstones – can pop up and connect us with veterans and conflicts long ago; even those against our own countrymen.

Pvt. J. Kramer never had a problem of a missing grave marker.

“We went to look for records; there were no records in the cemetery,” said Beverly Doucette, a member of the Marinette County Cemetery Preservation group. “The sextant of the cemetery came out to see if there was an actual burial in there – there was no burial there.”

“There” was where Doucette unearthed Mr. Kramer’s homemade Civil War grave marker in the Peshtigo cemetery about a year and a half ago. But who – and more importantly where – was Pvt. Kramer?

Two months of searching led the group to St. Charles Cemetery in Lena, 20 miles away in Oconto County. But the problem was he had two of them, in two separate places.

“When we found the family – we of course found generations, great-grandchildren, great-nieces and nephews,” said Doucette. “But within a week we were put in touch with a much closer relative.”

More like closer relatives – as in plural. One of them is Manny Kramer Kobes of Green Bay.

“I am considered a granddaughter and there are four more of us,” said the 11th youngest of 14 kids.

“(A granddaughter) of Joseph Kramer?” I asked.

“That’s right,” she replied.

On this Memorial Day, with roughly 200 people in attendance, Joseph Kramer received a proper ceremonial burial with four of his five surviving granddaughters: Theresa Severa, 95, of De Pere; Audry Piper, 82, of Oconto Falls; Cherry Kroeger, 86, of Saukville; and Manny, 88, by his side. Just a mere 150 years after the end of the Civil War.

“I really feel really proud,” said Kramer Kobes, who grew up in Lena and knew of her grandfather’s exploits, but never met him. “Really, that I had a grandfather that was in the Civil War and was fighting along with so many other people to save us, to save our country – I’m happy about that.”

So how did the marker mix-up happen? In his old age, Joseph Kramer moved to Lena in 1909 to live with his son and daughter-in-law – Kramer Kobes’ parents. Kramer’s wife’s body was exhumed from the Peshtigo cemetery and moved St. Charles cemetery. A second homemade marker was installed after his death in 1913 at the age of 85 and the homemade marker in Peshtigo was left behind, until Doucette found it.

According to records found by Doucette, Kramer was part of the North’s attack on Atlanta, Ga., where he was shot in the leg during the Battle of Dallas.

He later returned to Peshtigo and survived the Great Peshtigo Fire.

“It didn’t take too much for all us to realize that it needed to go where it belonged, and that was over this veteran’s grave,” said Doucette.

Despite Kramer Kobes and her surviving sisters having never met their grandfather, she says they have long known about his efforts more than 150 years ago.

“I’m very proud. I’m proud. I like being a Kramer.”

MADISON (AP) – A frenzied week of backroom deals, lobbying and votes on the Wisconsin state budget awaits as a legislative committee looks to finish its work on the two-year spending plan.

Many major decisions are still up in the air as the Joint Finance Committee meets for the final scheduled times Wednesday and Friday.

Among the unresolved issues for the Republican-controlled committee is whether to go along with Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to cut the University of Wisconsin by $300 million, borrow $1.3 billion for roads and freeze the popular stewardship program that protects land from development.

Talks are also continuing privately on a deal to pay for a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks.

And some Republicans are pushing to include a repeal of the prevailing wage in the budget.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin state Assembly committee has scheduled a public hearing and vote Wednesday on a bill to repeal the prevailing wage.

The Assembly Labor Committee announced the hearing Tuesday. It’s scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday.

It’s unclear whether there is enough support in the Republican-controlled Legislature for a full repeal of the law that requires construction workers on certain government projects be paid wages equivalent to what they would earn working on other projects in the area.

• Click here to read 2015 Assembly Bill 32

Republican Senate Majority Scott Fitzgerald said last week he doesn’t have the votes for a full repeal, but he hopes to make changes in the state budget.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has also said he doesn’t have the votes in the Assembly to repeal the law.

The budget-writing Joint Finance Committee hopes to complete its work this week.

WAUKESHA (AP) – Attorneys for one of two Wisconsin girls charged in adult court with trying to kill a friend to please a fictional horror character will argue her case belongs in juvenile court.

Lawyers for 13-year-old Anissa Weier will argue in court Tuesday that the law requiring adult charges for attempted first-degree intentional homicide is unconstitutional. That girl and a 12-year-old friend, Morgan Geyser, are accused of stabbing another 12-year-old in a Waukesha park last May to please Slender Man, a character they believed could kill them or their families. The 12-year-old victim survived 19 stab wounds.

State law requires children as young as 10 to be charged as adults for certain serious crimes. The defendants can try to have their cases moved to juvenile court where a sentence would not be as severe.

MADISON (AP) – The head of tourism for Wisconsin’s 11 American Indian tribes is trying to develop a series of TV shows that will highlight the reservations as attractive places to visit.

Ernie Stevens is executive director of Native American Tourism of Wisconsin. Stevens is shooting video of the reservations’ lakes and rivers, festivals and more. He says the organization is putting together a pilot program that he hopes will lead to additional shows.

Wisconsin Public Radio says the tourism group is trying to raise $25,000 by early August to launch the project.

Wisconsin has the largest number of Native American tribes east of the Mississippi River. Their reservations include more than one-half million acres.

WISCONSIN DELLS (AP) – Authorities say they’ve found the body of a 21-year-old Chicago man who disappeared in the Wisconsin River near Wisconsin Dells.

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office says the man was found dead by a dive team around 6 p.m. Monday. According to authorities, he went underwater about 7 p.m. Saturday and did not resurface.

Witnesses told the sheriff’s office that the man had been fishing on a rock island in the river and appeared to get caught in a current as he swam back to shore. Family members and witnesses did not succeed in attempts to rescue him.

The man’s name has not been released.

GREEN BAY- It’s spring time, and you might be looking for a new bike.

In Competition Sports in Green Bay talked with Rachel this morning about a number of options.

Click here to learn more.

HURLEY- We’re waiting to hear if a UTV parade in Hurley will go into the record books.

The goal of Friday’s parade was to become the longest UTV parade.

UTV stands for Utility Terrain Vehicle.

289 UTV’s were registered.

The Guinness Book of World Records is verifying.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – Police say two people have died in a shooting at a Wal-Mart store in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Officers responded to reports of gunshots shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday. Deputy Police Chief Mike Ferguson says officers discovered “multiple victims” inside the store, and that several of them were taken to a hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries.

Police did not immediately release any details on the shooter but did say that they do not believe there is any further risk to the general public.

The names of the two people who died were not immediately released.

NEW YORK (AP) – Taco Bell and Pizza Hut say they’re getting rid of artificial colors and flavors, making them the latest big food companies scrambling to distance themselves from ingredients people might find unappetizing.

Instead of “black pepper flavor,” for instance, Taco Bell will start using actual black pepper in its seasoned beef, says Liz Matthews, the Mexican-style chain’s chief food innovation officer.

The revamped recipes come at a time when the country’s biggest food makers are facing pressure from smaller rivals that market themselves as more wholesome alternatives. Critics say the purging of chemicals is a response to unfounded fears over safe ingredients, but companies are nevertheless rushing to ensure their recipes don’t become a marketing weakness.

CHICAGO (AP) – Police say a 5-year-old boy has been killed by a dog in Chicago.

According to police, the boy was mauled by the dog Monday night on the city’s South Side. The boy was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Neighbors tell WLS-TV that people hit the dog with rocks and other objects, killing it and freeing the boy. Marquis Lewis says he didn’t realize at first that the boy was being mauled.

The TV station reports no tickets have been issued.

NEW YORK (AP) – Charter Communications will spend $55.33 billion to acquire Time Warner Cable in a cash-and-stock deal that would instantly create one of the largest pay-television and broadband operators in the U.S.

As part of the agreement, Charter will also buy Bright House Networks for more than $10 billion.

Charter will provide $100 in cash and shares of a new public parent company equal to 0.5409 shares of Charter for each outstanding Time Warner Cable Inc. share. The transaction values each Time Warner Cable share at about $195.71.

The companies on Tuesday valued Time Warner Cable at a total of $78.7 billion.

Shares of Charter Communications Inc. are up more than 3 percent in premarket trading.

TWO RIVERS – A popular summertime attraction in Two Rivers is back open for the season.

Rogers Street Fishing Village and Great Lakes Coast Guard Museum opened on Memorial Day.

The attraction celebrates 175 years of the area’s commercial fishing history.

Visitors can check out the 1936 wooden fishing tug BUDDY O, explore the fishing sheds, learn how the antique Kahlenberg Marine Oil Engine started up and climb up to the 1886 Two Rivers’ North Pier Lighthouse for a beautiful view of the Fishing Village among the many activities.

FOX 11’s Pauleen Le spent the morning exploring the Rogers Street Fishing Village and Great Lake Coast Guard Museum.

For more information on the Rogers Street Fishing Village and Great Lake Coast Guard Museum, click here.

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) – Police are looking into the shooting of a man outside his Waukesha home.

In a news release, the Waukesha Police Department says the victim called around 5:40 p.m. Monday and said he was bleeding from gunshot wounds. Police say the man sustained injuries that were not life threatening.

Waukesha police say the investigation into the shooting is ongoing and did not release any further information.

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Two B.B. King heirs who’ve been most outspoken about the blues legend’s care in his final days have accused King’s two closest aides of poisoning him, but the attorney for King’s estate called the claims ridiculous and police said there was no active homicide investigation.

Three doctors determined that King was appropriately cared-for, and King received 24-hour care and monitoring by medical professionals “up until the time that he peacefully passed away in his sleep,” attorney Brent Bryson told the AP on Monday.

Daughters Karen Williams and Patty King allege that family members were prevented from visiting while King’s business manager, LaVerne Toney, and his personal assistant, Myron Johnson, hastened their father’s death.

Toney is named in King’s will as executor of an estate that, according to court documents filed by lawyers for some of King’s heirs, could total tens of millions of dollars.

Johnson was at B.B. King’s bedside when he died May 14 in hospice care at home in Las Vegas at age 89. No family members were present.

“I believe my father was poisoned and that he was administered foreign substances,” Patty King and Williams say in identically worded sections of affidavits provided to The Associated Press by their lawyer, Larissa Drohobyczer.

Skies will become mostly cloudy Tuesday and showers and thunderstorms will push through the area mainly this afternoon.

Some of these storms may have damaging wind with them.

Rainfall amounts will be between a half inch and an inch.

Click here for Director of Meteorology Pete Petoniak’s full forecast.

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (AP) – Authorities say they’ve found the body of a 21-year-old Chicago man who disappeared in the Wisconsin River near Wisconsin Dells.

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office says the man was found dead by a dive team around 6 p.m. Monday. According to authorities, he went underwater about 7 p.m. Saturday and did not resurface.

Witnesses told the sheriff’s office that the man had been fishing on a rock island in the river and appeared to get caught in a current as he swam back to shore. Family members and witnesses did not succeed in attempts to rescue him.

The man’s name has not been released.

WIMBERLEY, Texas (AP) – Recovery teams are set to resume looking for the 12 members of two families who authorities say are missing after a rain-swollen river in Central Texas carried a vacation home off its foundation, slamming it into a bridge downstream.

Trey Hatt, a spokesman for the Hays County Emergency Operations Center, said Monday night that the “search component” of the mission was over, meaning no more survivors were expected to be found in the flood debris along the Blanco River. But recovery efforts were to resume Tuesday morning, following a long holiday weekend of severe weather that led to four confirmed fatalities across the state.

Authorities were also searching for victims and assessing damage just across the Texas-Mexico border in Ciudad Acuna, where a tornado Monday killed 13 people and left at least five unaccounted for.

In the U.S., a line of storms that stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes dumped record rainfall on parts of the Plains and Midwest, spawning tornadoes and causing major flooding that in Texas destroyed or damaged more than 1,000 homes and forced at least 2,000 residents to leave their homes.

“You cannot candy coat it. It’s absolutely massive,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said after touring the destruction.

The governor has declared disaster areas in 37 counties so far, allowing for further mobilization of state resources to assist.

The worst flooding damage was in Wimberley, where the vacation home was swept away, a popular tourist town along the Blanco in the corridor between Austin and San Antonio.

Witnesses reported seeing the swollen river push the home off its foundation and smash it into a bridge. Only pieces of the home have been found, Hays County Judge Bert Cobb said.

One person who was rescued from the home told workers that the other 12 inside were all connected to two families, Cobb said. Young children were among those believed to be missing.

The Blanco crested above 40 feet – more than triple its flood stage of 13 feet. The river swamped Interstate 35 and forced parts of the busy north-south highway to close. Rescuers used pontoon boats and a helicopter to pull people out.

Hundreds of trees along the Blanco were uprooted or snapped, and they collected in piles of debris that soared 20 feet high.

Flooding wreaked havoc late Monday afternoon in Austin, where emergency crews responded to more than 20 high-water rescues, and later in Houston, where the National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency and an announcer at the Houston Rockets game asked fans not to leave because of severe weather.

The storm system also prompted reports of tornadoes across the state and was blamed for four deaths: a man whose body was pulled from the Blanco; a 14-year-old who was found with his dog in a storm drain; a high school senior who died Saturday after her car was caught in high water; and a man whose mobile home was destroyed by a reported tornado.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management also reported four fatalities between Saturday and Monday across the state, which also saw severe flooding and reported tornadoes.

In Ciudad Acuna, Mayor Evaristo Perez Rivera said 300 people were treated at local hospitals after the twister, and up to 200 homes had been completely destroyed. The government was talking with families whose homes had been damaged to determine how much assistance would be needed to rebuild the city of 125,000 across from Del Rio, Texas.

“We have never registered in the more than 100 years in the history of this city a tornado,” he said.

By midday, 13 people were confirmed dead – 10 adults and three infants. At least five people were unaccounted for.

The twister hit a seven-block area, which Victor Zamora, interior secretary of the northern state of Coahuila, described as “devastated.”

“There’s nothing standing, not walls, not roofs,” said Edgar Gonzalez, a spokesman for the city government, describing some of the destroyed homes in a 3-square kilometer (1 square mile) stretch.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto was expected to travel to Acuna with officials from government agencies.

Gonzalez said late Monday night that rescuers were looking for four members of a family who were believed missing, adding that there were still areas of rubble that remained to be searched. Zamora said rescuers were searching for an infant who was missing after the tornado ripped the baby carrier the child was in from its mother’s hands.

Luis Antonio Hernandez, 37, looked in disbelief Monday at what remained of his house. Three vehicles had smashed through the back, leaving a heap of twisted metal and the smell of gasoline.

Hernandez and his three children had hidden in a bathroom as the tornado sent the cars passing over them. “It’s a miracle that we’re alive,” he said.

Residents retraced the tornado’s path in trucks, hoping to salvage their mattresses, furniture and other belongings. But there was little left intact.

Antonio Sanchez’s home was now nothing more than an open shell strewn with rubble.

“We lost everything,” he said. “But at least I didn’t lose my family.”

You didn’t have to look hard, if you wanted to take in an event, honoring Memorial Day. There were parades, dedication ceremonies, and lots of people were there to be a part of it.

The national anthem was played proudly Monday morning, at a solemn ceremony in Appleton, called “moment of Remembrance. It took place at Riverside Cemetery.

Military family members were there, braving the wet conditions, along with a variety of guest speakers.

One of the highlights of the ceremony was a bagpiper who played Amazing Grace. He was followed by a group of National Honor Society students, who dropped fresh flower petals onto the ground, near the graves of the soldiers. A rifle salute helped to close the ceremony.

Parades took place around the area, including one in De Pere. Bands played for the crowds, and flags could bee seen everywhere. Military members passed by and the crowds clapped as a way of saying “thank you.” Soldiers from World War II, Vietnam, and Desert Storm took part.

After the parade, people gathered in Voyager Park to continue their Memorial Day traditions. This year, it included a flyover. Looking at the sky you could see a B-25 bomber fly over the grounds. The aircraft served during World War II.

GREEN BAY – The United Patriotic Society held its annual Memorial Day service in Admiral Flatley Park Monday.

“It’s our 70th year of honoring our comrades,” said Larry Heyrman, President of the United Patriotic Society.

Veterans and family members brought flowers and wreaths to place in the river. The symbolic act is meant to remember those who died serving this country.

“Right here in the state of Wisconsin, since 9-11, 141 people have given their lives in service to their country and just from the Green Bay area, right around this area, 34 of them,” Lieutenant Commander Glenn Ruedy of the US Navy told FOX 11.

Veterans told ys Memorial Day is so much more than the unofficial start to summer.

“It’s one day when people should take time to pause. Our government gave us the day off, not just to go swimming or play golf,” said Heyrman.

According to Ruedy Memorial Day started as Decoration Day shortly after the Civil War. The idea was to take a day to place flowers at the graves of fallen service men and women.

Ruedy told FOX 11 this day is not about those who currently serve and it’s important to remember that.

“Seeing how many people made comments about thanking the service men and woman, as much as we appreciate that, we truly do, it’s not about us today, that’s Veterans’ Day. Today is about those who’ve given their lives,” he explained.

Ruedy said this is also a day to bring comfort to those who have been left behind.

“Even more so today it’s about the families who live on with their legacy,” he exlained.

It’s a legacy Ruedy told us we all have a responsibility to carry on.

“It’s something we don’t want our children to forget about. I don’t want my son to forget about it,” he said.