Green Bay News

DETROIT (AP) – Under pressure from U.S. safety regulators, Ford is expanding a recall of small and midsize cars to fix door latches that may not stay closed.

The recall now covers almost 546,000 Ford Fusions and Lincoln MKZs from the 2013 and 2014 model years, and Ford Fiestas from 2011 to 2014.

Ford Motor Co. added about 156,000 Fiestas to a recall announced a week ago. It also determined that some of the Fusions and MKZs under recall were made at a factory near Detroit.  Previously the company thought all the cars were made in Mexico.

Ford says a broken spring part can stop the doors from latching properly. The doors also can open while the cars are in motion, increasing the risk of injury.

Earlier this week, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warned owners of the cars to get them repaired as soon as they get a notice from Ford. The company said notices should start arriving the week of May 18. Dealers will replace all four door latches for free.

Ford reported two minor injuries from unlatched doors bouncing into people when they tried to close them. There also was one crash when a door opened and hit another vehicle in a parking lot.

NHTSA said that if owners find it difficult to close doors, their cars should not be driven, even if it appears as if the doors have latched. Instead, the cars should be towed to a dealership, the agency said. Also, NHTSA warned that if a door pops open while the car is in motion, drivers should pull over and have it towed to the nearest dealer.

MADISON – Gov. Scott Walker is looking for college students to serve on two statewide boards.

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents has an opening for a traditional student representative. The representative must be at least 18, enrolled at least half-time in a UW institution, in good academic standing, a Wisconsin resident and enrolled for the entire term in office. Because students from the La Crosse, Madison and Platteville campuses have recently served on the board, no applications will be accepted from these schools. In addition, applications cannot be accepted from UW-Milwaukee because of a state law prohibiting students from the Madison and Milwaukee campuses serving on the board at the same time.

There is also an opening on the Wisconsin Technical College System Board. The representative must be at least 18, a Wisconsin resident, enrolled at least half-time and in good academic standing. The term expires on May 1, 2017. Because Madison College has recently been represented on the board, no applications are being accepted from that school.

• Click here for more information on applying

NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (AP) – The 33 full-time employees of a New York supermarket just got a special bonus: Their boss is giving them part ownership of the business.

Frank Budwey says Friday he hopes the move will ensure that the 90-year-old independent market bearing his family name makes it to 100 and beyond.

The 66-year-old will remain the majority stakeholder until he retires and divides his shares among selected employees. Until then, his 33 new partners will split 45 percent and share profits going forward.

Budwey surprised the staff with the news at a mandatory meeting Thursday evening. Some employees say they feared Budwey was announcing he planned to close his store in North Tonawanda, outside Buffalo, or that it was being sold.

Budwey’s grandmother opened the original store in 1925.

NEW YORK (AP) – Health officials now think Ebola survivors can spread the disease through unprotected sex nearly twice as long as previously believed.

Scientists thought the Ebola virus could remain in semen for about three months. But a recent case in West Africa suggests infection through sex can happen more than five months later.

Based on the case, officials are now telling male Ebola survivors to avoid unprotected sex indefinitely. They had previously advised using condoms for at least three months.

A report released Friday detailed the case of a 44-year-old Liberian woman whose infection likely came from a 46-year-old man who had Ebola symptoms last September. She fell ill in March, a week after sex with him, and died. Another woman he had sex with around the same time tested negative.

The Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with an Ebola patient’s blood or other bodily fluids like urine, saliva, semen and sweat. Once patients recover, health officials say they aren’t contagious except there’s a chance it could still be in semen.

Investigations of other recent Ebola cases in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone have pointed to sexual transmission from survivors, but those have not been confirmed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

There have been fewer than 10 such cases, said CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund. It’s been difficult to pinpoint that sex was the only way they may have been infected, she added.

In Guinea, Dr. Sakoba Keita, the national coordinator for Ebola response, said a woman in the southeastern town of Macenta contracted Ebola after having unprotected sex with her husband. For the past month, officials have recommended all survivors use condoms until more is known.

“We give a kit containing a condom,” to all survivors leaving the treatment center, he said.

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AP reporter Boubacar Diallo in Conakry, Guinea contributed to this report.

GREEN BAY – More than 100 volunteers will be installing garden boxes in Green Bay this weekend.

The Green Bay Garden Blitz will install 130 garden boxes in various locations around Green Bay.

The event got underway Friday at UW Green Bay with dirt dessert and make-your-own recipe cards.

Organizer Kristin Denslow says it’s a great way for people to get high quality garden boxes, “We want people to get outside and grow some food, that’s really what we are about. We want people to have access to low cost and high quality garden boxes and for a lot of people, this isn’t something they are prepared to do in their own yards without a little bit of assistance.”

This is the second year for the event.

WASHINGTON (AP) — District of Columbia rescuers are preparing to search through the rubble of a collapsed parking garage at the Watergate complex, and one person has been injured.

Fire department spokesman Timothy Wilson says three stories of the garage apparently collapsed Friday. One person sustained a minor injury and was taken to a hospital. The area was under construction at the time.

Wilson says all construction workers have been accounted for. Firefighters are shoring up the structure to search for anyone else who may be trapped.

Construction worker Gabriel Gresczyk tells WRC-TV that he heard a rumble and then saw a 40-foot-by-40-foot section of earth go down, hitting the floor below it. Then he says the floor below collapsed.

The Watergate building was evacuated after the collapse.

APPLETON – Area nonprofit organizations and other groups looking for funds have a new place to find information on grants.

Lawrence University says it has become a Funding Information Network partner of the Foundation Center of New York. As part of the partnership, the college is providing free public access in its Seeley G. Mudd Library to a collection of funding resources.

The collection includes access to the Foundation Directory Online, which profiles more than 110,000 U.S. grantmakers; Foundation Grants to Individuals Online; Philanthropy In/Sight; print directories and proposal writing guides.

A series of public events is also scheduled to help people learn more:

• A community open house at Lawrence’s Mudd Library will be held Monday, May 11 from 4-7 p.m. It will include tours of the library, information on library resources available to the public and an introduction to the Funding Information Network resources.
• On Tuesday, May 19 from 6:30-8 p.m., Lawrence will conduct the first of three “Introduction to Finding Grants” workshops in the Mudd Library. These hands-on workshops, led by members of Lawrence’s own grant-writing staff, will provide an overview of the grants landscape, basic strategies for identifying potential funding sources as well as a demonstration of “Foundation Directory Online.”
• The workshop will be repeated Thursday, May 28 from 6:30-8 p.m. and again Saturday, June 6 from 10-11:30 a.m. Space is limited at each session and an RSVP is required to reserve a spot.

• Click here for hours and directions to Seeley G. Mudd Library

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin first lady Tonette Walker has launched a website for Fostering Futures, a collaborative effort aimed at providing trauma care for children.

Walker on Friday announced the launch of the campaign’s website in a statement, saying proper care after a traumatic experience in childhood can aid healing and recovery.

The first lady founded the collaborative during her husband Gov. Scott Walker’s first term as governor. She says the website went up Friday in recognition of National Foster Care month during the month of May.

FOREST COUNTY – The sport fishing season on inland lakes is just hours away.

A relatively mild winter is gone, and for the first time in three seasons, so is the ice from northern lakes.

On Lake Lucerne near Crandon, Roger Hillberg says clear blue water for opening day is a welcome sight.

“Last two years, it was more chilly. Downright cold. Today last year I think it was about 35. This year, we’re at 60. That’s the difference,” said Roger Hillberg, Water’s Edge Lodge Owner.

And what a difference a year makes. Last season Hillberg says he could only watch and wait.

“There will be no open water fishing on this lake. It’s melted out from shore maybe ten feet, in places, but by now, it should be open,” he said in a Fox 11 News story from May 2014.

And this year, it is.

“The last two years, it’s gone off on the first and seventh respectively, This year, the 16th of April. It’s perfect,” said Hillberg.

And on the waters west of Crivitz, the ice melted about a month ago. Local experts say that helps this area become fish-friendly for anglers.

“Last year was very cold, and rainy and wet. Ice went out late, temperature in the lake were below what they’ve been for the time of the year. So this year’s much more promising with water temperatures are getting into the fifties, which will promote the bluegills, and crappies to come in. The bluegills to feed, and the crappies to spawn,” said Frank Harth, Hook Line ‘N Sinker Owner.

Harth says opening day is not as big as it used to be, but it is still a Wisconsin tradition.

“You went fishing. You didn’t look at the weather first. Aw, it’s a little rainy, aw it’s a little cold. You went fishing. Period,” he said.

But with weekend temperatures expected in the seventies, thousands of lakes across Wisconsin, including Lake Lucerne are open for business.

“Fishing season always starts it off for everybody. Not only for me, but everyone. So it’s a good thing. It gets people, they finally say it’s summer when fishing season starts,” said Hillberg.

The season starts tomorrow for inland lakes, and generally runs through next March.

Good luck to all the anglers.

ALLOUEZ – One person has died in a crash that knocked out power to more than 400 people.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened around 12:40 p.m. near on Greene Ave. at Libal St. in Allouez. Investigators say a driverwas headed east on Greene Ave. when he lost control and hit a fire hydrant and a power pole. His vehicle then started on fire.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin Public Service says at least two power lines were hit in the crash. The utility says power will likely be out until the evening.

FOX 11 News and fox11online.com will have more information on this crash as it becomes available.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A new report shows the state Department of Justice is investigating substantially more officer-involved deaths in the wake of a new law requiring outside agencies run such probes.

A Legislative Fiscal Bureau report released Friday shows DOJ has investigated 12 deaths since the law took effect in April 2014. That’s up 71 percent from seven death investigations in 2013. The agency investigated a total of 19 officer-involved deaths from 2010 to 2013.

DOJ investigated 18 fatal and non-fatal officer-involved incidents last year compared with 26 total incidents from 2010 to 2013.

DOJ officials say theirs has become the go-to agency for local police who now need outside investigators. The Legislature’s budget committee is set to consider creating five more positions within DOJ to handle such investigations next week.

Go to the donation page on the Red Cross website.

Six officers are charged in Freddie Gray’s death from injuries he suffered while in police custody. State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby says the officers repeatedly failed to get Gray medical treatment after his arrest. The police officers union has said they are not responsible for Gray’s death.

Here is a look at each of the six officers.

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OFFICER CAESAR R. GOODSON Jr.

• Second-degree depraved heart murder, 30 years
• Involuntary manslaughter, 10 years
• Second-degree assault, 10 years
• Gross negligent manslaughter by vehicle, 10 years
• Criminal negligent manslaughter, 3 years
• Misconduct in office

OFFICER WILLIAM G. PORTER

• Involuntary manslaughter, 10 years
• Second-degree assault, 10 years
• Misconduct in office

LT. BRIAN W. RICE

• Involuntary manslaughter, 10 years
• 2 counts of second-degree assault, 10 years each
• 2 counts of misconduct in office
• False imprisonment

OFFICER EDWARD M. NERO

• 2 counts of second-degree assault, 10 years
• 2 counts of misconduct in office
• False imprisonment

OFFICER GARRETT E. MILLER

• 2 counts of second-degree assault, 10 years each
• 2 counts of misconduct in office
• False imprisonment

SGT. ALICIA D. WHITE

• Involuntary manslaughter, 10 years
• Second-degree assault, 10 years
• Misconduct in office

OFFICER CAESAR GOODSON

Goodson was the driver of the van that transported Freddie Gray, and he faces the most serious charges. Mosby said Friday that Goodson repeatedly failed — a total of five times — to seatbelt Gray in the transport vehicle. Overall, Goodson faces six charges, including “second-degree depraved heart murder,” which carries a potential 30-year sentence.

Goodson, 45, has been on the force since 1999. Friends describe him as a family man who likes to watch football and works part time as an auto mechanic at a shop specializing in Saabs. With help, he restored a green Saab convertible, a car one friend says he only takes out a few times a year. He wasn’t scheduled to work on the day Gray was arrested but had been asked to work overtime, friends said.

A friend who worked with him as a mechanic said Goodson had hoped to retire in several years.

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LT. BRIAN RICE

Rice was on bike patrol when he made eye contact with Freddie Gray on a Baltimore street April 12. Gray ran, and Rice pursued him. Bike patrol officers Garrett Miller and Edward Nero joined the pursuit.

Rice, 41, is the most senior officer to be charged. He joined the police force in 1997 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2011, police said. Records obtained by The Associated Press from a sheriff’s department and court show he was hospitalized in April 2012 following concerns about his mental health. Worries about his stability led deputies to confiscate both his official and personal guns, and his commanding officer was called. It was not immediately clear whether or when all of Rice’s guns were returned.

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OFFICER GARRETT MILLER AND OFFICER EDWARD NERO

Gray surrendered to Miller, 26, and Nero, 29. Miller and Nero handcuffed Gray and put him on the ground. Gray told the officers that he couldn’t breathe and requested an inhaler, Mosby said. The two officers, both of whom joined the police force in 2012, sat Gray up and found a folded knife clipped to the inside of his pants pocket, a knife that is lawful under Maryland law, Mosby said. Previously, police have said they found a switchblade.

Mosby said Gray didn’t commit any crime, and the officers “illegally arrested Mr. Gray.”

The officers put the knife on the sidewalk and then put Gray back down on his stomach, when he started to flail legs and scream, Mosby said.

Nero held Gray down until Goodson arrived driving a police transport van. Miller, Nero and Rice then put Gray inside.

While Gray was being transported, Miller, Nero and Rice took him out of the wagon and put flex handcuffs and leg shackles on him. After that stop, they put Gray back into the van on his stomach without a seatbelt.

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OFFICER WILLIAM PORTER

At one point during the van ride, Goodson requested help checking on Gray. Porter, 25, who joined the force in 2012, responded. Both he and Goodson checked on Gray. Porter helped Gray from the floor to a bench in the van, but neither Goodson nor Porter requested medical attention or put a seatbelt on Gray.

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SGT. ALICIA WHITE

White is the second-highest officer charged in the Gray case. She met the van at its stop to pick up the second person. White, 30, was responsible for investigating two citizen complaints about Gray’s arrest. She joined the police in 2010 and was recently made a sergeant in January 2015, police said.

During the stop, White, Goodson and Porter saw Gray unresponsive on the floor. White “spoke to the back of Gray’s head” but he did not respond, Mosby said. The group did not call for medical assistance.

APPLETON – The Outagamie County Board is looking for a new supervisor.

Supv. Mark Rahmlow has resigned from his seat representing District 32. The district covers part of Wrightstown and parts of the towns of Freedom and Kaukauna.

Board chairperson Helen Nagler is looking for applicants who live in the district.

• Click here to learn how to apply

MADISON (AP) – Republican state Sen. Paul Farrow, of Pewaukee, says he will resign from his seat effective July 17.

Farrow was elected on April 7 as Waukesha County executive. Farrow had said he would resign his Senate seat following that win, but he wanted to wait until the state budget was passed.

Farrow notified the Senate clerk on Friday that because the Legislature planned to pass the budget in June, he would resign July 17.

Notice of his resignation allows Gov. Scott Walker to move forward with setting a date for a special election to replace Farrow. His district is in a heavily Republican area, so the seat is expected to remain in GOP control.

Republicans have a 19-14 majority in the Senate.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says it’s “absolutely vital” that the truth about what happened to Freddie Gray comes out.

Obama commented Friday shortly after Baltimore’s top prosecutor announced criminal charges against the six police officers who were suspected after the 25-year-old Baltimore man suffered a fatal spinal injury in police custody. His death under mysterious circumstances angered the community and led to violent protests, including looting and fires, after his funeral earlier this week.

Obama says justice needs to be served and all the evidence needs to be presented. He says the individuals facing charges are entitled to due process.

He added that what the people of Baltimore want most is the truth.

Obama commented during a media availability at the White House.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon, a Labor Day television tradition for decades, is ending.

MDA said Friday that “the new realities of television viewing and philanthropic giving” make it the right time to end the annual event, memorably hosted for most of its life by Jerry Lewis.

Celebrities including Frank Sinatra, John Lennon and Michael Jackson to Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez have performed on the telethon, first hosted by Lewis and Dean Martin in 1956. It moved to Labor Day in 1966.

The telethon ran 21 and a half hours in 2010, Lewis’ last year as host, and had dwindled to a two-hour show the last two years.

WLUK-TV carried the telethon for more than four decades until MDA decided to move the telethon to a different network in 2013.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Two labor groups representing police officers in Wisconsin are objecting to a piece of art on display at the capital city’s main library entitled “Don’t Shoot.”

The Wisconsin Professional Police Association and the Madison police union say they’re “deeply troubled” by the display which shows a young African-American boy pointing a toy gun at three officers in riot gear who are pointing guns back at the child.

The art piece by Mike Lroy is on display at the Central branch of the Madison Public Library. The police groups say the “storm trooper” portrayal of the officer advances negative stereotypes of law enforcement. The groups are not asking the art to be taken down.

Library director Greg Mickells says they adhere to the principle of intellectual freedom.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ben E. King, the unforgettable lead singer for the Drifters and a solo star whose plaintive baritone graced such pop and rhythm ‘n blues classics as “Stand by Me,” ”There Goes My Baby” and “Spanish Harlem,” has died.

King died Thursday at age 76, publicist Phil Brown told The Associated Press on Friday. Brown did not immediately have other details.

A native of North Carolina, King was singing with the Five Crowns when he and his fellow band members were hired to become the new incarnation of the Drifters, who had several doo-wop hits in the ’50s featuring tenor Clyde McPhatter. Their records were among the first in the rock era to use strings. The new Drifters had a more polished production and vocal style and quickly became stars in their own right, widely regarded as one of the greatest harmony groups. King co-wrote and sang lead on “There Goes My Baby” and he and the Drifters followed with such hits as “Save the Last Dance for Me” and “This Magic Moment,” mostly written by the team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman and some of the most romantic and emotional ballads of the early rock era.

King’s time with the Drifters was brief. He left in the early ’60s because of a contract dispute, but had little trouble making hits on his own. He broke through with “Spanish Harlem,” co-written by Phil Spector and Jerry Leiber, and sealed his name in music history with “Stand by Me.” Co-written by Leiber and Mike Stoller, “Stand by Me” was a soaring declaration of dependence and support, chosen as one of the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America and added earlier this year to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. John Lennon covered it in the 1970s and “Stand by Me” found new listeners in the ’80s when it was featured in the Rob Reiner movie of the same name.

Like many early rock performers, King saw his career fade when the Beatles and other British acts arrived in the mid-1960s. He did manage a hit during the disco era in the 1970s with “Supernatural Thing” and continued to record and tour. According to Billboard, he had 21 songs in the top 100 between 1961 and 1975. King and the Drifters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

King was born Benjamin Earl Nelson in Henderson, North Carolina, moved to New York City at age 9 and by 20 was singing with the Five Crowns. He changed his name to Ben E. King after becoming a solo performer.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker says he thinks a deal to pay for a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks is “close.”

Walker commenting on the status of negotiations Friday, the day after he personally joined the talks for the first time.

Walker says, “I think we’re close. But obviously we have to work out the last little bit of details.”

Walker says his only criteria are ensuring that taxes don’t increase and that there is a net benefit to taxpayers in the state.

The Republican governor first proposed a $220 million bonding plan in late January to help fund the proposed $500 million arena. Other ideas would lower the state’s contribution to around $150 million, with more money coming from local governments.