Green Bay News

Who will Packers pick in first round at No. 30?
FOX 11 Sports Staff Predictions

Drew Smith: Sports Director
Pick: Eric Kendricks, ILB, UCLA. The selection fills a huge need inside for a team that is looking to add depth at the position. Especially after the departure of A.J. Hawk in the off season. Kendricks has the size and speed to cover in the middle of the field and would see time immediately. The addition would also allow Clay Matthews to spend more time outside as a pass rusher, where the former first round pick excelled in his first few seasons in the league.

Justin Felder: Reporter/Anchor
Pick: trade down. A cop out you say? Trader Ted Thompson has only traded out of the first round once: 2008. The first selection he made that year was Jordy Nelson. With a run on top corners come and gone and the best inside linebacker prospects not going anywhere, Thompson helps a team get back into the first round to lock up a second-tier quarterback like Bryce Petty or Brett Hundley while nabbing a couple extra prized picks.

Dylan Scott: Reporter/Anchor
Pick: Eric Kendricks, ILB, UCLA. I’m always wary of Ted Thompson trading out of the first round with a late first-round pick, but he has only done that once as Packers GM, so I think he stays where he is this year. Thompson may say he picks the best available player, but that usually means the best available player in one of a few positions of need. With that pick, the Packers will be looking for a linebacker or corner, and I think they go with an inside linebacker here. Eric Kendricks of UCLA would be a solid pick for the team. He was a second-team All-American, the Butkus Award winner in 2014 and was an absolute tackle machine, racking up almost 150 tackles in 11 games. Kendricks has been praised by a number of football people with his intellect and a great character. Thompson isn’t one to take too many chances on players who could be a problem off the field (which is why CB Jalen Collins and his drug suspensions doesn’t get my vote here) and Kendricks would be a solid late first-round pick.

Doug Ritchay: Reporter
Pick: Eric Rowe, CB, Utah. The Packers lost starter Tramon Williams and backup Davon House in free agency leaving them thin at cornerback. For now, Sam Shields and Casey Hayward are the starters and Demetri Goodson and maybe Micah Hyde (who played safety last season) are the backups. Rowe is 6-1, 203 pounds, giving him size to compete against the likes of Calvin Johnson and Alshon Jeffery in the division. This is a huge Packers need and don’t be surprised if they fill it at No. 30.

Garrett Stolz: Sports Producer
Pick: Trade Down. The 30th pick is almost a second-round pick anyways. Ted Thompson likes quantity when it comes to the NFL Draft. This move would allow them to acquire more picks, which Thompson has been known to do. Moving down to the second round could allow them to have two picks on day two while adding an additional pick later in the draft. Thompson has fared better with 2nd-round picks also, especially at wide receiver, where he could find another “best player available” if he goes with another weapon for Aaron Rodgers.

MADISON – The Wisconsin Assembly’s Public Benefits Reform Committee planned a public hearing Thursday morning on Republican-backed bills that would require drug screening for state job training program applicants and some people claiming unemployment benefits.

State Rep. Mike Rohrkaste, R-Neenah, introduced a bill that would require applicants for state-administered job training programs such as Wisconsin Works to answer a questionnaire that screens for drug abuse. Based on the answers, the state or contractors administering the programs can order the applicant to undergo a state-funded drug test. If the test is positive the person must participate in state-sponsored drug treatment to remain eligible for the training programs. He or she would be allowed one positive test during treatment.

• Click here to read 2015 Assembly Bill 191

Rohrkaste has also written another bill that would impose the same requirements on anyone applying for unemployment benefits if the state Department of Workforce Development determines the applicant is suitable for work in an occupation that regularly tests for drugs, such as the trucking industry.

• Click here to read 2015 Assembly Bill 192

Another bill up for a hearing Thursday deals with food stamps. The measure would require users to use at least two-thirds of their monthly benefits to purchase nutritional foods such as beef, chicken and fresh produce.

Legislators would need a waiver to impose limitations on food users could purchase. No state has ever received such a waiver, according to Wisconsin Grocers Association President Brandon Scholz.

The bill’s author, State Rep. Robert Brooks, R-Saukville, acknowledged as much but said the legislation still sends a message to the federal government that food assistance programs must be reformed.

• Click here to read 2015 Assembly bill 177

FOX 11’s Andrew LaCombe will be at Thursday’s hearing and will have balanced coverage tonight on FOX 11 News at Five.

GREEN BAY –  We are firing up the grill with the Executive Chef from Houdini’s Escape Gastropub in Appleton.  Scott Halbach joined us on the weather deck to talk about their menu, their new building expansion and to prepare two dishes.

For the first segment, Halbach prepared grilled sea scallops over a bed of arugula, oranges, grapefruit and limes tossed with a key lime vinaigrette. Finished with a drizzle of blood orange EVOO, Maldon sea salt and cracked black pepper.

For the second segment, he showed us how to make grilled medallions of beef over a grilled fingerling potato salad with roasted Brussel sprouts, pecan wood smoked bacon, Maytag Blue cheese and a roasted garlic and herb vinaigrette. He finished the dish with micro greens, EVOO, Maldon sea salt and cracked black pepper.

Houdini’s Escape Gastropub
1216 South Oneida Street
Appleton, WI 54915

(920)  574 – 2616

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) – A man accused of causing the death of his fiancee’s four-year-old son will stand trial in Sheboygan County.

Armando Aguirre says he was playing with the child and swinging him around by the legs when his head hit the carpet. But prosecutors say injuries to the boy aren’t consistent with Aguirre’s explanation.

In court Wednesday, a Sheboygan County sheriff’s detective testified Aguirre initially said the child sustained a “glancing blow” to the head, but later said the boy may have hit the floor harder than he first thought.

Sheboygan Press Media says Aguirre’s attorney, Kirk O’Bear, noted the detective said the child wasn’t bleeding and there were no other outward signs of a severe injury.

You can find a variety of amazing spices at the Bulk Priced Food Shoppe, click here.

Ingredients:

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 strips bacon(not thick cut)
4 Tbsp spicy brown sugar rub, recipe below

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.
Spray bottom of 9×13 pan with non stick spray.
Lay bacon on cutting board, place chicken breast on one end and wrap bacon around. you can secure with a toothpick if needed. Arrange in pan.
Sprinkle spicy brown sugar rub over bacon wrapped chicken.
Bake at 375* for 30 minutes, you can turn chicken over after 15 minutes.Then broil for desired bacon crispiness. (watch closely!)

Spicy Brown Sugar Rub:

¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well. Pour into an airtight container and store for up to six months.–
Rub is also very good on ribs, and pork tenderloin!

NEW YORK (AP) – A New York nurse practitioner has been charged in the killing of a developmentally disabled toddler who was submerged in scalding bath water.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown says 54-year-old Oluyemisi Adebayo was arrested Wednesday just as she was about to board a flight to Africa.

Authorities say Adebayo was taking care of 23-month-old Naomi Mondesire on April 21 and when she prepared Naomi for a bath. Investigators say she told detectives she tested the water before placing Naomi in the tub. But she noticed skin falling off Naomi’s legs when she took her out.

Police say Naomi was submerged in 130-degree water for 30 seconds. Naomi died Monday, three days after doctors performed surgery on her.

It’s unclear if Adebayo has an attorney who could comment on the charges.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) – A long-absent noise – cheers – rang out in Nepal’s capital Thursday as rescuers pulled a teenager alive from the earthquake rubble he had been trapped in for five days. The joy interrupted a dreary and still fearful day in which thousands worried about aftershocks lined up to board free buses to their rural hometowns.

Hundreds cheered as the 18-year-old, identified by police as Pemba Tamang, was pulled out of the wreckage, dazed and dusty, and carried away on a stretcher. He had been trapped under the collapsed debris of a seven-story building in Kathmandu since Saturday, when the magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck.

Nepalese rescuers, supported by an American disaster response team, had been working for hours to free him. L.B. Basnet, the police officer who crawled into a gap to reach Tamang, said he was surprisingly responsive.

“He thanked me when I first approached him,” said Basnet. “He told me his name, his address, and I gave him some water. I assured him we were near to him.”

When Tamang was lifted out, his face was covered in dust, and medics had put an IV drop into his arm. A blue brace had been placed around his neck. He appeared stunned, and his eyes blinked in the sunlight as workers hurriedly carried him away.

The jubilant scene was welcome on a drizzly, chilly day in Kathmandu where many residents remained on edge over aftershocks that have rattled the city since Saturday’s mammoth quake killed more than 5,500 people and destroyed thousands of houses and other buildings.

More than 70 aftershocks stronger than magnitude 3.2 have been recorded in the Himalayan region by Indian scientists over the past five days, according to J.L. Gautam, the director of seismology at the Indian Meteorological Department in New Delhi. The strongest, registering magnitude 6.9, came on Sunday, he said.

Rattled by the shaking and anxious to check on family members in outlying areas, tens of thousands of people have left the capital on buses this week. The government has been providing free bus service to many destinations.

“I have to get home. It has already been so many days,” said Shanti Kumari, with her 7-year-old daughter, who was desperate to see family in her home village in eastern Nepal. “I want to get at least a night of peace.”

Five days after the quake, tent cities in Kathmandu had thinned out, as overnight rainfall persuaded many people to return to their homes, even if they were damaged by the quake. The streets of the capital were slick with rain Thursday morning, the potholes were filled with water.

Still, life in the capital was slowly returning to the way it had been before the quake. Small snack shops were open. At a leather goods shop, a merchant brushed dust from a jacket on display. A man laid out carpets and rugs beneath an awning at a handicrafts store. Foreigners stood in line at a cellphone store.

“It’s getting back to normal, but we’re still feeling aftershocks. It still doesn’t feel safe,” said Prabhu Dutta, a 27-year-old banker from Kathmandu. He said he felt four aftershocks in the morning, including one that rattled the sliding glass doors of the bookshelf in his bedroom -“My morning wakeup notice,” he said.

Dutta has been sleeping in his home, which has some cracks in the wall, for two nights, but the dozens of small aftershocks that he has felt since Saturday’s huge quake make him uneasy. “I am worried about whether they will continue for a long time or whether it will calm down.”

Gautam of the Indian Meteorological Department, said the aftershocks could continue for long periods.

“We can expect aftershocks over the next few weeks, or months, or even years,” he said. “These aftershocks are quite normal after a powerful earthquake of such magnitude.”

There was no way, however, for seismologists to predict when the “next big one” would occur, he said.

Dutta said some people are returning to work, including at his bank, but that it was impossible to concentrate. “We roam around the office. We only have one topic of conversation: the earthquake.”

Many people in Kathmandu are going to the country fearing that a big aftershock is coming, he said.

On Wednesday, helicopters finally brought food, temporary shelter and other aid to villages northwest of Kathmandu in the mountainous Gorkha District near the epicenter. Entire clusters of homes there were reduced to piles of stone and splintered wood. Women greeted the delivery with repeated cries of “We are hungry!”

While the death toll in the village of Gumda was low – only five people were killed and 20 were injured among 1,300 residents – most had lost their homes and desperately needed temporary shelter, along with the 40-kilogram (90-pound) sacks of rice that were delivered Wednesday.

Meanwhile, at least 210 foreign trekkers and residents stranded in the Langtang area north of Kathmandu had been rescued, government administrator Gautam Rimal said. The area, which borders Tibet, is popular with tourists.

Police said the official death toll in Nepal had reached 5,489. That figure did not include the 19 people killed at Mount Everest – five foreign climbers and 14 Nepalese Sherpa guides – when the quake caused an avalanche that hit part of the base camp.

Dutta, the banker, said that while many of Kathmandu’s cement and concrete buildings survived with only minor damage, many of the older buildings, ones made of tile, wood or bricks, have been leveled.

“Things have to return to normal, but it will take time,” he said. “No one is ready to do the work needed to recover because of the closeness of the deaths. There is still shock.”

___

Associated Press writers Binaj Gurubacharya in Kathmandu and Katy Daigle in Gumda, Nepal, contributed to this report.

Ashwaubenon- The YMCA is trying to get kids to be more active, both physically and mentally.

Marketing director Sherri Valitchka joined Pete Wednesday to talk about the Health Kids Day event ay Shopko Hall.

The free event runs for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 2.

Click here for more information.

GREEN BAY- The 39th annual Bellin Run is Saturday, June 13.

And it’s not too late to start training.

We spent the morning with a running expert from Bellin Health. Nate Vandervest shared tips on warming up, cooling down and stretching.

Click on the videos for more information.

ASHWAUBENON – There is a new store now open at Bay Park Square!

FOX 11’s Emily Deem spent Thursday morning at Apricot Lane Boutique to check out the new place.

Click here to learn more about the new store.

GREEN BAY- We’ll have mainly sunny skies Thursday with a temp around 60 (our normal high is 61).

It will warm up as we approach May. Friday’s high will be around 70 and 72 for Saturday.

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

GREEN BAY – One person is dead after a motorcycle crash in Green Bay.

Police say it happened a little before 2:30 p.m. Wednesday on North Huron Road near the intersection with Woodside Road.

Police say the driver was thrown from the motorcycle.

The motorcyclist was a 20-year-old from Green Bay.

No other details are being released.

After months of preparation, the build up to the NFL Draft is almost complete.

“I think it’s awesome, we’re really excited,” Bears fan Chris Assise said. “I think it’s time New York shared the fun with the rest of us.”

For the first time in 64 years, the draft is back in the Windy City, giving everyone a chance to enjoy the big head treatment.

“We’re going over there, I need to take a picture with the Packers helmet.” Packers fan Jori Weissman said.

Of course with 10 cities in driving distance, disagreements are just a part of the fun.

“When the Packers pick, I’ll boo,” Bears fan Jacob Dillon said.

“When the Bears pick, I’ll leave,” Packers fan Joshua Dillon said.

“Yeah I think it’s a safe bet to say we’ll be booing your viewers on Thursday and Friday,” Assise said.

From the historic beautiful Auditorium Theater to the 900,000 square feet, Chicago is ready to prove they’re worthy of the #1 pick.

I’ll be live blogging the entire draft from Chicago, so come along for the ride. Log on to Fox11online.com and scroll over the draft coverage banner.

It all gets underway tomorrow night at 7 p.m., we’ll have full coverage beginning at 5 p.m. At the NFL Draft in Chicago, Dylan Scott Fox 11 Sports.

SUAMICO — Alek Kleis can make a lot of things happen on the soccer field and if she has a strong defense behind her, watch out.

Tuesday night, Kleis and the De Pere girls soccer team put their talents on display against Fox River Classic Conference rival Bay Port and the Redbirds had too much.

Kleis assisted on a corner kick and added a goal of her own as the Redbirds moved to 3-0 in the FRCC with a 2-0 win.

She creates all kinds of opportunities,” De Pere coach Andy Steger said. “Whether it’s her scoring or her assists we feed off of her. She does a lot for us.”

Kleis first struck on a corner kick with an assist.

“We’ve been working on corners for a while,” Kleis said. “I just tried to place it where Kenzie (Wallace’s) head was. That’s where I put it.”

She’s not only accurate with the pass, but also the shot. On her goal she noticed the keeper gave her an opening.

“I saw she was stepping out and she still had to run backwards,” Kleis said. “I kicked it and it fell in the goal.”

De Pere pressured throughout but couldn’t tally another goal. Late in the game Steger was yelling to Kleis, “Let’s get one more Alek!”

“We put two in the first half and we were looking to put another one in the second half,” Steger said. “We had some opportunities that we were putting over or wide. We hoped to find that third one in the second half and it never happened. Credit Bay Port for what they did in the second half.”

De Pere (7-2-1 overall) is one of five teams in the FRCC without a conference loss, so there are plenty of key games remaining. So far, the Redbirds are pleased with their effort as keeper Kelly Kent (a Green Bay recruit) and the defense has allowed just three goals and shut out eight opponents.

“We’re extremely happy; it’s another shutout,” Steger said. “Kelly Kent in the net has been wonderful all year long. We talk about team defense and it starts with our forwards through our midfield and our defenders. It’s truly a team defensive effort.”

Kleis and the defense have been on their mark early this season and the UW-Oshkosh recruit is looking for her third trip to state on four years.

“Right now, we’re looking for a conference title and then get back to state,” Kleis said.

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

CALUMET COUNTY – A longtime teacher in Calumet County is giving back in a big way.

Violet Laack died in January at the age of 97. 49 of those years were spent teaching.

Laack is leaving her $1.2 million estate to go toward education in the county.

“Her whole life was education and children,” said Gert Behnke, a former coworker of Laack, who met her in the 40s. “They didn’t have any children themselves. She and Ruben didn’t, but she really helped a lot of students.”

While Laack’s passion was teaching, her husband Ruben’s was cheese making. He sold his Potter cheese factory in 1987 and died in 2001, 14 years before Violet.
Despite having money, Violet kept teaching, even as a substitute into her 80s.

“She just wasn’t ready to quit,” said Behnke. “I don’t even know what possessed her to stop, but I think she would teach right to her last day if she could have, because she was a very dedicated teacher.”

“It was clear in talking to her that her years working as a teacher were very important to her,” said Kim Rietbrock, Laack’s attorney.

Rietbrock helped facilitate Laack’s estate wishes. One fund will annually award a $3,000 scholarship to a graduate from each of Calumet County’s six public high schools. Another fund will support educational, library, speech, forensics, and theater programs in the Chilton area.

“She was concerned about those resources being somewhat limited with budgets and things,” said Rietbrock.

“She knew just how to get the students to speak and she knew what categories she wanted to put them in,” said Behnke. “She was just a good judge of that.”

The Chilton Area Community Foundation will facilitate the two funds in Violet and Ruben’s names. The foundation’s chairman told FOX 11, this is one of the most generous donations in the foundation’s 15 year existence.

TOWN OF CRANMOOR, Wis. (AP) – Authorities say a man cutting trees has died after a tree fell on him in central Wisconsin.

The Wood County Sheriff’s Department was notified about the logging accident in the Township of Cranmoor just after 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The man suffered major head trauma and died at the scene. His name is being withheld until family members are notified.

NEW YORK (AP) — More than a dozen people have been arrested at a rally in New York City to protest the death of Freddie Gray, a Baltimore man who was critically injured in police custody.

Several hundred protesters began gathering in Manhattan’s Union Square Wednesday night, chanting “no justice, no peace” and “hands up, don’t shoot” as police officers watched.

Later, a group of protesters spilled into the street disrupting traffic. The police moved in and began making arrests. Officers with batons had to push the crowd back onto the sidewalk.

As a protester being arrested was led to a police van, people shouted “the whole world is watching.”

Another group of protesters marched north to Times Square where they held a “die in” by lying on the ground.

MANITOWOC – As prom approached, Manitowoc Lincoln High School students saw this message around the halls: A poster that stated, “a night to protect her character.”

Images went viral, with students saying the message was “sexist.”

UW-Green Bay Women Studies’ professor Christine Smith says she can understand how the message is interpreted that way.

“There’s nothing about his character. The implication is that she needs to be kind of shielded, because she could be seen as having a bad reputation. Well, what about him?” said Smith.

We came to Lincoln High School Wednesday. The principal would not go on camera with us. He did release a statement.

The statement read in part: “any message can be interpreted in a wide variety of ways….the posters have been taken down and the school hopes that the focus of prom can return to what should be a positive social experience for our students.”

The poster was created by The Crossing, a pro-life pregnancy counseling clinic, and Holy Family Memorial Hospital.

Holy Family Memorial also released a statement, saying: “Holy Family Memorial supports the core message within this Prom poster, which is the promotion of social responsibility and safe behaviors for both young women and men.”

But Smith says she thinks the poster could do a better job of explaining responsibility.

“Not only mutual responsibility but mutual respect and mutual dignity between each of them rather than somebody being the protector and sort of basically in charge of the other person,” said Smith.

A student sent FOX 11 this message, released by the Lincoln High student body president, saying the posters were not meant to offend.

It said: “I believe these posters do an excellent job at bringing awareness to the ever growing social and legal issue of sexual assault in which females are statistically at a much greater risk of being victimized than males.”

Smith says she hopes parents talk to both boys and girls about mutual respect and responsibility, and not just on prom night.
The school also said the poster was not meant to promote a religious theme or idea, as one blog had suggested.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says he will step into negotiations to finance a new downtown Milwaukee arena for the Bucks.

Walker told reporters Wednesday the intent is to try to get a deal done quickly.

The Journal Sentinel reports Walker said he would be personally involved in the talks Thursday in Milwaukee. He repeated that the city and county needed to play what he called “meaningful roles” to get a package that has a chance of legislative passage.

The Republican governor first proposed a $220 million bonding plan in late January to help fund the proposed $500 million arena. Until now, he has not participated in face-to-face talks with city, county, legislative leaders and representative of the Bucks. He had top staffers attend previous arena summit meetings.

SHEBOYGAN – An employee was killed during a work incident at Sheboygan Paperbox Company Wednesday afternoon.

Sheboygan Police say they were dispatched to the company, located at 728 S 11th Street, at 4:16 p.m.

Officials say an employee was killed at the warehouse involving a motor vehicle.

The investigation in the incident is ongoing.