Green Bay News

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) – Rand Paul lashed out Saturday at military hawks in the Republican Party in a clash over foreign policy dividing the packed GOP presidential field.

Paul, a first-term senator from Kentucky who favors a smaller U.S. footprint in the world, said that some of his Republican colleagues would do more harm in international affairs than would leading Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“The other Republicans will criticize the president and Hillary Clinton for their foreign policy, but they would just have done the same thing – just 10 times over,” Paul said on the closing day of a New Hampshire GOP conference that brought about 20 presidential prospects to the first-in-the-nation primary state.

“There’s a group of folks in our party who would have troops in six countries right now, maybe more,” Paul said.

Foreign policy looms large in the presidential race as the U.S. struggles to resolve diplomatic and military conflicts across the globe.

The GOP presidential class regularly rails against President Barack Obama’s leadership on the world stage, yet some would-be contenders have yet to articulate their own positions, while others offered sharply different visions.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose brother, President George W. Bush, authorized the 2003 invasion of Iraq, declined to say whether he would have done anything different then. Yet Jeb Bush acknowledged a shift in his party against new military action abroad.

“Our enemies need to fear us, a little bit, just enough for them to deter the actions that create insecurity,” Bush said earlier in the conference. He said restoring alliances “that will create less likelihood of America’s boots on the ground has to be the priority, the first priority of the next president.”

The GOP’s hawks were well represented at the event, led by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who has limited foreign policy experience but articulated a muscular vision during his Saturday keynote address.

Walker said the threats posed by radical Islamic terrorism won’t be handled simply with “a couple bombings.”

“We’re not going to wait till they bring the fight to us,” Walker said. “We’re going to bring the fight to them and fight on their soil.”

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham addressed the question of putting U.S. troops directly in the battle against the Islamic State group militants by saying there is only one way to defeat the militants: “You go over there and you fight them so they don’t come here.”

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz suggested an aggressive approach as well. “The way to defeat ISIS is a simple and clear military objective,” he said. “We will destroy them.”

Businesswoman Carly Fiorina offered a similar outlook. “The world is a more dangerous and more tragic place when America is not leading. And America has not led for quite some time,” she said.

Under Obama, a U.S.-led coalition of Western and Arab countries is conducting regular airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. also has hundreds of military advisers in Iraq helping Iraqi security forces plan operations against the Islamic State, which occupies large chunks of northern and western Iraq.

Paul didn’t totally reject the use of military force, noting that he recently introduced a declaration of war against the Islamic State group. But in an interview with The Associated Press, he emphasized the importance of diplomacy.

He singled out Russia and China, which have complicated relationships with the U.S., as countries that could contribute to U.S. foreign policy interests.

“I think the Russians and the Chinese have great potential to help make the world a better place,” he said. “I don’t say that naively that they’re going to, but they have the potential to.”

Paul suggested the Russians could help by getting Syrian President Bashar Assad to leave power.

“Maybe he goes to Russia,” Paul said.

Despite tensions with the U.S., Russia and China negotiated alongside Washington in nuclear talks with Iran. Paul has said he is keeping an open mind about the nuclear negotiations.

“The people who already are very skeptical, very doubtful, may not like the president for partisan reasons,” he said, and “just may want war instead of negotiations.”

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Milwaukee police are searching for the driver in a hit-and-run crash that killed a pedestrian.

Police say a 57-year-old man from Milwaukee was crossing the street at 10 p.m. Saturday when he was struck and killed.

The victim died at the scene. Police say he was crossing the street about 50 feet east of the crosswalk.

The crash happened at 27th and Burleigh streets. Police say they have little information about the vehicle or who was inside it.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Two years after Mark Friend lost part of his left leg when a car pinned him to his garbage truck, the former trash collector is frustrated to hear of such accidents still regularly occurring.

Friend served as the inspiration for a 2013 Wisconsin law that doubled the fines for drivers caught speeding around stopped garbage trucks, but he doesn’t think it’s being enforced or that sufficient efforts have been made to inform the public of the dangers. He said since his near-fatal accident, his employer, John’s Disposal in Whitewater, has reported four instances in which cars crashed into stopped garbage trucks or hit workers. The company did not immediately respond for a request to confirm.

“Have not enough people been killed? Why do so many people have to die for something to get done about it? It drives me absolutely crazy,” said Friend, of Ixonia.

The state Department of Transportation does not keep track of incidents specific to waste-hauling vehicles. Drivers found violating the law may face fines of up to $600 on a first offense. Alabama, Florida, Michigan and West Virginia also have laws enhancing penalties for not slowing down around stopped garbage trucks.

But in a survey last month, the National Waste & Recycling Association found that less than a third of Americans slow down around garbage trucks, far less than those who said they brake for emergency vehicles and school buses.

The 2013 bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Jagler, shares Friend’s frustration and has criticized the association and other waste management companies, saying they haven’t been actively promoting the law.

“It just irritated me to no end,” the Watertown Republican said. “You have the opportunity to reach people and you’re not doing it.”

Sharon Kneiss, president and CEO of the National Waste & Recycling Association, said in a statement that the organization has promoted the campaign on social media, but was still working to make signs available for waste hauling trucks.

“If they’re out on social media saying something about it, I haven’t seen it,” Jagler said, adding that few trucks display the signs. “They’re either not doing it well enough or not investing enough funds to make it work.”

Waste hauling company Advanced Disposal, based in Ponte Vedra, Florida, has ramped up its social media campaign and has sent inserts with information about the “Slow Down to Get Around” campaign with more than 70,000 invoices for Wisconsin locations that span across the state since September, spokeswoman Mary Middleton O’Brien said.

In some cities, local governments handle bills from Advanced Disposal, so not all customers would see the inserts, but that more than 35,000 people since September have viewed the company’s local webpages, where it promotes the law.

And in the last eight months, the company has not reported an incident of workers being hit by drivers, she said. “It certainly appears drivers are paying more attention,” O’Brien said.

Friend was emptying garbage bins into his truck when a car slammed into him, pinning him between the two vehicles. He was airlifted to a hospital in Madison.

He said he’d like to see the association create a television commercial like those aimed at reducing texting while driving and speeding in construction zones.

“Nobody thinks about it like that (man) could be their uncle or their brother, they just think about how they have all these places to get to in a hurry,” Friend said. “We have to pound that into people’s heads.”

Jagler said people have called him saying they continue to see drivers racing past garbage trucks, in some cases when the trucks have “Slow Down to Get Around” signs. Jagler said he and Friend feel disheartened by the lack of response to the law.

“Mark is wondering if we went through the whole legislative process in vain,” Jagler said, “and, frankly, it seems like we have.”

MADISON – Two former congressmen who served on different sides of the aisle for decades are joining together to talk about the importance of civic involvement and bipartisanship.

Republican Tom Petri of Fond du Lac and Democrat Dave Obey of Wausau collectively served nearly 80 years in the House of Representatives. After Petri left Congress earlier this year, the pair started speaking to students and other political groups.

“Well we’re basically out of the fray in the sense we’ve been through the battles and we’ve got our scars,” said Petri. “I think we’re basically just trying to share with people how important we think the process is of getting it right.”

Petri represented the 6th Congressional District in east-central Wisconsin for 35 years. Dave Obey represented the 7th Congressional District in north-central Wisconsin for 41 years, stepping down in 2011. His stint is the longest ever for a Wisconsin congressman.

On Wednesday, April 15 the pair spoke at a political lunch series in Madison. Since last month, they’ve presented 10 other times at places like high schools and colleges in northern Wisconsin and the Milwaukee and Madison areas.

“I think we share the same values and the same concerns,” said Obey. “We’re certainly two different people. He’s a committed conservative and I’m a committed progressive. We’re still personal friends. Part of the utility of this is demonstrating that it’s not a mortal sin to be in politics and have a friend on the other side of the aisle.”

Petri explained how the lecture series came about.

“(Obey) called me up after I announced I wasn’t seeking re-election and said, ‘How about the two of us going around the state and visiting colleges and talking with young people and civilly disagreeing on things and agreeing on things,” said Petri. “The underlying message is that despite the low rating of Congress and the frustration that a lot of people have with the political process that it’s an important thing to be involved in. Whether it’s at the local level and school boards or city councils.”

The two hope to make an impact by addressing some common complaints about politics and inspiring younger generations to get involved.

“First of all, why is the public so turned off on politics these days and what has happened to politics these days,” said Obey. “How does it fit in historical context?”

Obey and Petri haven’t spoken together yet in Northeast Wisconsin, but they say they hope to schedule more events in the coming months.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – A march and rally will be held to mark the one-year anniversary of the killing of a man by a police officer in a downtown Milwaukee park.

Officer Christopher Manney shot Dontre Hamilton on April 30, 2014 after responding to a call of a man sleeping. According to Manney’s account, Hamilton grabbed the officer’s baton and attacked him with it, forcing him to open fire. He shot Hamilton 14 times.

Hamilton’s family has said he suffered from schizophrenia but was not violent.

Organizers say there will be a march April 30 that ends with a rally at the park where Hamilton died.

They say they want to stand against injustice in their communities and hope the anniversary events will help bring awareness to the stigma around mental health and homelessness.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Several hundred people have gathered at the former site of the Oklahoma City federal building to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the terrorist bombing there that killed 168 people and injured many others.

Survivors of the April 19, 1995, attack and relatives of some of the dead are among those attending Sunday’s memorial service. The service is set to begin at 9:02 a.m., which was when the bomb detonated, with a 168-second moment of silence followed by a reading of the names of those killed.

Former President Bill Clinton and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin are expected to speak at the gathering.

Timothy McVeigh, an Army veteran with strong anti-government views, was executed for carrying out the bombing. His accomplice, Terry Nichols, is serving life in prison.

MENASHA – A group of people are Making a Difference in the Fox Valley.

Organizers say the city of Menasha along with the local YouthGo program will be doing a joint cleanup of a family’s property on Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The youth from YouthGo volunteer their time to help others.

Some of the members joined FOX 11’s Emily Deem on Good Day Wisconsin to talk about the project.

Click here to learn more about YouthGo.

Ingredients:

1 cup tortilla chips, slightly crushed
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded slightly
1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Place butter in one shallow dish or pie plate and the chips in another. Dip chicken in butter. Season each piece with cumin and chili powder. Then roll in crushed chips. Arrange chicken in a foil lined baking sheet that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 20-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and golden. Serve with lime wedges. Great with fresh Pico de Gallo or salsa on top.

DE PERE – Bridgett Lowery from 416 Cuisine has some great recipes for spring.

Lowery joined FOX 11’s Emily Deem to create some tasty pasta dishes.

Click here to learn more about 416 Cuisine.

Lemony Rainbow Ravioli Salad:
1 package 416 Cuisine mini rainbow ravioli
1 bunch asparagus, cleaned and trimmed to 1/2 in pieces
1/4 C sun dried tomatoes
2 T chopped fresh parsley
3/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 C fresh lemon juice (one lemon)
the zest of one lemon
1 clove garlic, grated
pinch red pepper flake (optional)
pinch of salt
Parmesan cheese for garnish
I think it is best to make the dressing first, since the ravioli and asparagus cook in a few minutes.  In a jar or squeeze bottle, combine olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, grated garlic, red pepper flake and salt. Shake vigorously until well combined- there should be no separation in the oil and lemon juice.  Set aside.  Bring large pot of salted water to boil and cook ravioli and asparagus for 1 to 2 minutes, drain and rinse under cold water since this is a cold salad. Drain well and place in a large mixing bowl.  Add sun dried tomatoes and parsley and add about half the dressing (1/2 C).  Toss together and season with salt and pepper, as desired.  If eating immediately, garnish with Parmesan cheese.  It is best served the next day, and you may need to add more dressing once you have stirred the pasta salad. Then, add cheese.  If you have remaining lemon dressing, it keeps for about one week and is great on a garden salad.  Salute!
Five Herb Pesto with Pasta:
A 4 ounce of 416 Cuisine pasta for each person (recipe makes 4 to 6 servings)
1 C fresh parsley, washed with stems removed
1/4 C basil leaves, washed
4 to 5 large mint leaves, washed
1 T fresh thyme, washed and removed from stem
1 T fresh chives, washed
1/4 C slivered almonds
1 clove garlic
1/4 C grated or shredded Parmesan
pinch of salt
1/4 to 1/3 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
To make pesto, combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse on low to combine, this may take a few pulses.  Then, turn processor on low and slowly add olive oil as it runs.  You want to add as little oil as possible- as soon as it comes together, you do not need to add more oil.  Carefully remove blade and place about a tablespoon of pesto in each individual bowl.  To make pasta- boil a large pot of salted water.  Boil each nest for 2 to 3 minutes, until al dente, and place in each pasta bowl.  Take pasta nests out of pot with tongs- some of the pasta water will be in the pasta bowl and that will make it easier to combine with the pesto.  (if you are cooking the same flavor of pasta, as many as 4 nests can go in at once, just be sure to have plenty of water in pot.)  Add more pesto, if desired and garnish with parmesan or red pepper flake.  Left over pesto can be frozen- I like to freeze it in ice cube trays, so it is portioned and I can use as little or as much as I need.  You may want to double the recipe, so you will have some on hand- it is great as a pizza sauce, sandwich spread, or stirred into scrambled eggs.  Salute!

OSHKOSH – The start of spring also brings the start of the racing season.

Thousands of runners will be making their way through the streets of Oshkosh Sunday morning for the marathon, half marathon and 5K.

This will be the 10th year for the Oshkosh half marathon and organizers have added a new full marathon race this year.

All of the races will start at Ceape Street and end at the Leach Amphitheatre.

The half marathon and marathon courses will take runners by the city’s historic Paine Art Center and Oshkosh Public Museum and through the heart of downtown Oshkosh. The marathon course will also take advantage of the Tribal Heritage Crossing Trail and Wiowash trails.

Drivers can expect road closures between roughly 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. The road closures include Parts of Algoma Boulevard, Congress Avenue, Wisconsin Street,  Jackson Street, West Fifth Avenue, Iowa Street, West Sixth Avenue and North and South Main Streets.

Fox 11’s Pauleen Le spent the morning checking in with runners as well as final preparations.

For more information on the Oshkosh Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K, click here.

ROME (AP) – A major air and sea search and rescue operation is under way south of the Italian island of Lampedusa after a migrant ship capsized.

Italy’s ANSA news agency says an estimated 700 people were aboard and only 28 people have been rescued so far.

Barbara Molinario, spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency, said Sunday that the Coast Guard operation is continuing. She says the number of victims is not known.

The capsizing comes amid a wave of migrants trying to leave Libya for Italian shores. So far, at least 900 have died trying this year as boats capsized.

GREEN BAY – Police are investigating a shooting on the city’s west side.

Authorities say two shots were fired just before 6 p.m. Saturday.

No one was hurt but two people are in custody.

Police believe the incident may be drug related.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) – The last man to shoot an American president now spends most of the year in a house overlooking the 13th hole of a golf course in a gated community.

He takes long walks along tree-lined paths, plays guitar and paints, grabs fast food at Wendy’s. He drives around town in a silver Toyota Avalon, a car that wouldn’t attract a second glance. Often, as if to avoid detection, he puts on a hat or visor before going out.

These days, John Hinckley Jr. lives much of the year like any average Joe: shopping, eating out, watching movies at a local Regal Cinemas.

Hinckley was just 25 when he shot President Ronald Reagan and three others in 1981, and when jurors found him not guilty by reason of insanity they said he needed treatment, not a lifetime in confinement. The verdict left open the possibility that he would one day live outside a mental hospital.

For the past year, under a judge’s order, Hinckley has spent 17 days a month at his mother’s home in Williamsburg, a small southeastern Virginia city known for its colonial roots. Freedom has come in stages and with strict requirements: meeting regularly while in town with both a psychiatrist and a therapist, getting a volunteer job. It has all been part of a lengthy process meant to reintegrate Hinckley, now nearing 60, back into society.

On Wednesday, court hearings are set to begin on whether to expand Hinckley’s time in Williamsburg further. His doctors’ recommendation isn’t yet public, but the latest plan could see him living here permanently.

Some Q&A about Hinckley and the insanity defense are the bottom of this story

It’s not unusual for most of the small number of defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity to ultimately return to a community. Still, in Hinckley’s case, that leaves some in the place he’d call home wondering: Is he really ready for life on the outside? And are they really ready for him?

“We can’t prevent him from being here. He is still an American citizen,” said Bryan J. Hill, administrator of James City County. On the job now for seven months, Hill was surprised when contacted by The Associated Press to learn that Hinckley is a frequent visitor. His name hasn’t come up in meetings with public safety officials, although every time there’s a hearing in Washington, D.C., about his potential release, it does make the local news.

“I’m not saying that we should forgive or forget,” Hill said. “We have to monitor, and hopefully it doesn’t happen again.”

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A two-and-a-half-hour drive south of Hinckley’s institutional home of St. Elizabeths Hospital in the nation’s capital, Williamsburg is both a tourist destination and a retirement mecca. It’s home to the College of William and Mary and the Busch Gardens amusement park. Nearby is Colonial Williamsburg, where on a recent weekday visitors could catch a reading of the Declaration of Independence at 1 p.m. and see a military reenactment at 5.

Residents call it small-town living, the kind of place where people wave at their neighbors.

Whether it is also a place that will welcome a would-be assassin is less clear.

Local real estate agent John Womeldorf, who calls himself “Mr. Williamsburg,” always points out the street where Hinckley’s mother lives if he’s showing a house in the same resort community. He doesn’t want new homeowners to be surprised after they’ve moved in.

“I just matter-of-factly ask them ‘Do you remember the guy that shot President Reagan?’ And usually they do. And I say, ‘Well his mother lives here and he gets released a number of times a year and comes and stays with his mom,'” Womeldorf said.

The news has deterred maybe one or two buyers in the more than a decade he’s been an agent in the community, he said. “It’s been a non-issue.”

Not so for others here. Some have griped about Hinckley in the local paper, The Virginia Gazette, which has a section called “Last Word” containing anonymous comments about city life.

Cabot Wade, a musician who once gave Hinckley guitar lessons and described his singing voice as Kenny Loggins-like, said he never personally felt that Hinckley was violent or dangerous. Nevertheless, he said, “Nobody will touch him with a 10-foot pole.”

Hinckley’s doctors have said for years that he is no longer plagued by the mental illness that drove him to shoot Reagan outside a Washington hotel in an effort to impress actress Jodie Foster, whom he grew obsessed with after seeing her in the movie “Taxi Driver.”

Among those wounded was Press Secretary James Brady, who was shot in the head and left partially paralyzed. When Brady died last year, the Virginia medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide, but prosecutors said legal barriers including the length of time between the crime and Brady’s death prevented them from pursuing additional charges against Hinckley.

In hearings before U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman, doctors have testified that Hinckley’s original diagnosis – psychosis and major depression – has been in remission for decades and that while he still has a narcissistic personality disorder, its effects have diminished. He takes Zoloft for anxiety and, before bed, one milligram of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal.

Psychological testing designed to predict violence shows Hinckley’s dangerousness risk is “decidedly low,” Hinckley’s longtime lawyer, Barry Levine, said during the most recent set of hearings over his release that started in late 2011 and continued intermittently through 2013.

“This man is not dangerous. The evidence shows that he is not dangerous,” Levine told Friedman, who was assigned the case in 2001 after the previous judge overseeing it died.

For decades, Hinckley spent all of his time at St. Elizabeths. Then, in 2003, Friedman ruled he could have day visits with his parents outside of the institution, followed by overnight visits within a 50-mile radius.

Starting in 2006, Hinckley was allowed three-night trips to Williamsburg. Eventually that went to four nights, then more. In late 2013, the judge upped Hinckley’s time to the current 17-day stretches. Friedman said he was persuaded that Hinckley was not a danger and that the longer duration might “provide new opportunities for employment and structured community activities.”

In new hearings set to begin Wednesday, St. Elizabeths and Levine are expected to urge the judge to give Hinckley even more freedom. That could mean 24 days a month, which was previously requested, or full-time, year-round “convalescent leave” in town.

Prosecutors have consistently opposed Hinckley’s release, arguing he has a history of deceptive behavior. They have pointed to a 1987 journal entry in which he claimed his psychiatrists would “never know the true John Hinckley.”

“Psychiatry is a guessing game and I do my best to keep the fools guessing about me,” he wrote.

Prosecutors have also said Hinckley’s relationships with women remain troubling. They took issue with some of the romantic relationships he formed with a few patients at St. Elizabeths. He also once feigned a toothache to try to see his female dentist and looked up pictures of her on the Internet.

More recently, they cited a July 2011 incident in which he was supposed to go see a movie in Williamsburg and instead went to a nearby Barnes & Noble. The Secret Service, whose agents sporadically tail Hinckley while he is in town, reported he was observed looking at shelves that contained several books about Reagan and the attempted assassination, though he didn’t pick anything up.

Hinckley then lied when he returned to St. Elizabeths, suggesting he’d seen “Captain America.” A few months later he claimed he saw “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” when instead he ate at Quiznos and again went to the bookstore.

“Mr. Hinckley has not shown himself ready to conduct the hard work of transitioning to a new city,” prosecutor Sarah Chasson told the court in 2011.

Experts not involved in Hinckley’s case said that people like him can successfully transition back to a community and there are tools to evaluate whether they remain dangerous, though there are limits.

Dr. Paul Appelbaum, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and a past president of the American Psychiatric Association, said those tools usually say more about groups than they do individuals: Men are more likely to be violent than women, young people are more likely to be violent than older people, people who abuse substances like alcohol are more likely to be violent.

“No matter how well you know somebody, no matter the evaluation you do, there’s some uncertainty” when such defendants are released, Appelbaum said.

That’s why the standard approach is to give someone like Hinckley freedom incrementally, with oversight by doctors, and see how they do.

___

In Hinckley’s case, Williamsburg was chosen as the place he could test his freedom because it was where his parents had made their home.

Though Hinckley grew up in Texas, where his older brother and sister still live, his parents bought here in the 1980s. John Sr., a former oil executive, died in 2008, leaving only Hinckley’s mother, Jo Ann. She lives in an unassuming home in the community of Kingsmill, which sits along the James River. The garage is painted a woodsy brown and rounded shrubs suggest a gardener has been by.

Inside, Hinckley’s room has a king-size bed and TV and is decorated with paintings he has done of houses and cats, according to a hospital report. Nearby homes are listed at around $400,000. Residents can play tennis or swim at three recreation centers.

The adjoining Kingsmill Resort has a spa, a marina and three golf courses. President Bill Clinton played golf at Kingsmill in the 1990s. President Barack Obama has also been to the resort, staying in 2012 while preparing for a debate. Secret Service records suggest Hinckley wasn’t in town when Obama stayed there.

One of the many restrictions placed on Hinckley while in Williamsburg is to avoid traveling to Richmond or “areas where the President or members of Congress may be visiting.”

He can drive solo but only to go to places where “people will be expecting him.” Talking to the media is a no-no. Weekly visits to his psychiatrist and therapist are a must.

A court order permits two, two-hour walks daily. Hinckley also gets six unsupervised outings of up to four hours, and he has been required to create a detailed itinerary of what he will do. He is required to carry a GPS-enabled cellphone during all unsupervised activities.

The aim of it all is to help Hinckley rebuild some semblance of a normal life: To hold a job, make friends, participate in activities with others. But his progress has been halting.

Judge Friedman’s latest opinion criticized Hinckley’s “cookie-cutter” itineraries and his lack of participation in activities, noting he “has not made any friends in the community.” The judge blamed a lack of aggressiveness by his case manager and “insufficient initiative” by Hinckley.

“Mr. Hinckley is, by nature, an introverted person and prefers to engage in solitary pursuits; he therefore must be motivated to interact with others,” the judge wrote.

But Hinckley’s notoriety has made that a challenge.

Once, several years ago, when Hinckley’s sister took him to a church meeting for singles, they were asked to leave because one group member felt uncomfortable. Another time, an artist who initially expressed a willingness to teach Hinckley turned him down.

Hinckley’s therapist, Dr. Carl Beffa, had a tough time finding him a volunteer job. A hospice where he thought Hinckley might play guitar had concerns about negative publicity. A cat rescue organization rejected his help because board members thought Hinckley would frighten away other volunteers. Beffa and others involved in Hinckley’s care won’t talk with reporters but have testified in court.

Finally, the librarian at Eastern State Hospital, a facility for the mentally ill, agreed to take Hinckley on. “Not everyone was real happy about it,” Sandra Kochersperger, who retired in 2013, said in an interview with the AP.

Kochersperger worked with Hinckley for about three years, and said she found him “very quiet” and “kind of shy,” ”considerate” and “very sweet.”

As a volunteer twice a week in the hospital’s staff library, he made copies and shelved books. He sometimes talked about his love of playing guitar, writing music and painting. One week he brought Kochersperger one of his paintings, a vase of flowers done in broad messy brush strokes and vibrant colors – yellow, red, blue and purple – his name signed in cursive at the bottom left.

They talked about movies, including the 2010 film “Shutter Island,” about an asylum for the criminally insane. He talked about the feral cats he cares for at St. Elizabeths, and on occasion he mentioned girlfriends. Neither of them brought up his crime.

Before she retired, Kochersperger made sure Hinckley had another volunteer position at the hospital, working at a patient cafe.

“I think John’s paid for what he did. He was in a totally different mind at that time. He was psychotic,” she said. “I think he needs to be given the opportunity at this stage to try to have some kind of a life.”

Others are also accepting. Dewayne Tomlin, who has a barber shop near Kingsmill, said he isn’t worried about Hinckley and would cut his hair “as long as he’s got 13 dollars” to pay for the trim.

Some residents said they wouldn’t recognize Hinckley if they saw him. They remember only a boyish mugshot from the ’80s. And a few younger people had no idea who he is.

“Who?” said a 20-year-old hostess at The Sportsmans Grille, a bar where Hinckley had eaten just days earlier. A 24-year-old reading at the Barnes & Noble that Hinckley has visited didn’t know Reagan had been shot.

Then there are those unwilling to forgive, or forget.

“I’d just as soon not have that whole business in my neighborhood,” said Kingsmill resident Jim Shoemaker, 72, who has doubts about whether Hinckley really is, in fact, cured.

“I don’t trust the science,” he said.

Another Kingsmill resident, 73-year-old Joe Mann, said if it were up to him, he’d keep Hinckley confined, arguing that he doesn’t need a gun to be dangerous.

“All it takes is one slip, one flip of whatever in the brain caused him to do what he did before.”

Hinckley’s attorney has said in court that those concerns are unfounded, and the sooner Hinckley makes Williamsburg his full-time home, the better. His elderly mother helps supervise him, and lawyers have discussed what might happen if she becomes incapacitated or dies. Hinckley’s sister has testified that the family home would be sold but that Hinckley would want to remain in Williamsburg.

“Time is not our friend. This thing has a growing urgency to it,” Hinckley’s attorney told the judge in November 2011, when the last hearing about Hinckley’s freedom began.

“The time,” he said, “is now.”

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Some questions and answers about Hinckley and the insanity defense

When John Hinckley Jr. was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1981 assassination attempt of President Ronald Reagan, jurors left open the possibility that he would one day live outside a mental institution. For decades he’s been receiving treatment at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., and in 2003 a judge ordered Hinckley be allowed to start testing his freedom outside of the facility. For the past year, Hinckley has spent 17 days a month living with his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia. Hearings set for Wednesday will determine whether that time should be increased. Nearing 60, Hinckley could potentially be granted full-time, year-round “convalescent leave” in the community.

Some questions and answers about Hinckley and the insanity defense:

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HOW OFTEN ARE DEFENDANTS FOUND NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY RELEASED BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY?

Most people found not guilty by reason of insanity and confined to a psychiatric facility ultimately get to leave, though some do not, said Paul Appelbaum, a Columbia University psychiatry professor and past president of the American Psychiatric Association. A person’s length of stay at a psychiatric hospital tends to be proportionate to their crime, Appelbaum said, and different states have different rules about how much control officials have once a person is released.

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HOW DID INSANITY DEFENSE LAWS CHANGE AFTER THE HINCKLEY CASE?

The jury’s decision in Hinckley’s case caused a public outcry. Congress and many states changed laws to make it more difficult for a defendant to win a case using the insanity defense. The use of the defense is rare. One commonly cited study of eight states published in the 1990s found insanity defense pleas used in about 1 percent of all felony cases, with only a quarter of those who used the defense being acquitted.

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WHO IS MONITORING HINCKLEY WHILE HE’S IN WILLIAMSBURG?

The Secret Service tails Hinckley intermittently when he’s outside of St. Elizabeths, and in the past he’s had to provide detailed itineraries of where he will be and when. When he’s at his mother’s house, she or his siblings supervise him. He and his mother also have to have daily telephone contact with the hospital.

Hinckley also has weekly one-on-one visits with his psychiatrist and a therapist while in Williamsburg and has to attend a weekly group therapy session, according to a court order. During his latest Williamsburg visits, he’s also supposed to be seeing a music therapist. And he has to carry a GPS-enabled cellphone so his location can be tracked.

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WHAT IS THE LIKELIHOOD HINCKLEY WILL EVER BE 100 PERCENT FREE?

The judge overseeing Hinckley’s case has been quoted as saying he expects to have the Hinckley case as part of his docket until he dies, or Hinckley does, suggesting ongoing oversight even if Hinckley is allowed to go on “convalescent leave,” living outside the hospital full time. A prior plan suggested that even if Hinckley is allowed to remain in Williamsburg, he would have to return regularly to St. Elizabeths for outpatient visits.

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WHAT ABOUT OTHER PROMINENT DEFENDANTS FOUND NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY?

In 1993, Lorena Bobbitt severed her sleeping husband’s penis. She testified she had endured years of beatings, rapes and emotional abuse, and a jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity. After five weeks in a state mental hospital, Bobbitt was released after the hospital and judge agreed she was not a danger to herself or others. The court ordered her to continue therapy, then lifted that order in 1996.

Texas mother Andrea Yates was initially convicted of drowning her five children in a bathtub and sentenced to life in prison, but during a 2006 retrial a jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity and she was sent to a mental hospital. In 2012, a judge declined to let her attend church services outside the hospital. In 2014, she and her doctors asked that she be allowed to leave the institution for group outings with other patients, but the request came under such scrutiny it was withdrawn.

ASHWAUBENON – The Green Bay Blizzard dropped their third-straight contest Saturday night, falling 56-37 to Billings at the Resch Center.

Quarterback Donovan Porterie struggled against the Wolves defense, tossing four interceptions in the game.

One bright spot for Green Bay was the rushing attack of Lucien Walker. The tailback paced the Blizzard with two touchdowns and 40 yards.

After starting 2-1, Tommie Williams’ team has stumbled to a 2-4 record midway through the season.

Green Bay travels to Cedar Rapids next weekend to begin a three-game road trip. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m.

FOND DU LAC – Fond du Lac police say officers arrested a 32-year-old Montello woman for shoplifting at Kohl’s Department Store on W. Johnson Street.

Police responded to the area just before 3 p.m. Saturday for a report of a shoplifter that had left the store with a significant amount of merchandise and who had physically assaulted a Kohl’s Loss Prevention Officer.

Officers saw a vehicle matching the suspect vehicle description attempting to drive away. They tried to stop the vehicle but say the driver initially refused to stop. Officers followed the vehicle out of the parking lot and onto adjacent N. Pioneer Road.

Police say the suspect eventually stopped, but would not get out of her vehicle and would not cooperate with any instructions from officers.

Officers formed a shield team. The team was able to safely get the woman out of the vehicle.

The woman was arrested for a number of offenses, some felony, that include shoplifting, battery, and obstructing law enforcement. She is being held in the Fond du Lac County Jail.

Officials say the investigation into the incident is ongoing and further details will be released at a later date.

BROWN COUNTY – People brought their bikes out of storage Saturday to enjoy the warm weather.

The Brown County Park Department opened its mountain bike trails and horse trails at the Reforestion Camp.

Passes are required for all people 16 years and older.

Annual passes are availabe at the Brown County Park Department office or online.

Bikers say they have been waiting for the trails to open all winter.

“I love this trail because there are certain paths for all skill levels. You could be a beginner mountain biker and you can ride any trails here and you’ll be just fine,” said Martin Gaurano of Green Bay.

Trail hours are from eight in the morning until sunset.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Starling Marte homered for the second game in a row and drove in a career-high five runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates over the slumping Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 Saturday night.

The Brewers lost their fourth straight game and are off to their worst start since also going 2-9 in 2002.

Marte hit a two-run single to cap a three-run first inning that included an RBI double by Gregory Polanco. Marte’s three-run homer to left field in the fifth made it 6-1.

In the first two games of the series, Marte has gone 4 for 8 with seven RBIs. He was 0 for 11 with six strikeouts in his previous three games.

Jeff Locke (2-0) tied a career-high by pitching eight innings while beating the Brewers for the second time in eight days. He allowed only one run and four hits while striking six with no walks.

Kyle Lohse (0-3) has lost his first three starts of a season for the first time in his 15-year career. He was tagged for six runs and six hits in six innings.

Ryan Braun, batting leadoff for the first time in his career, and Jean Segura each two of the Brewers’ five hits. Jonathan Lucroy hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning and Khris Davis singled in a run in the ninth.

The Pirates have gone 4-1 against the Brewers this season and 1-5 against everyone else.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: RHP Charlie Morton (right hip surgery) threw 55 pitches in a simulated game Saturday at the extended spring training camp in Bradenton, Florida. He was supposed to pitch in a game against Yankees minor leaguers at Tampa, but it was called off.

UP NEXT

Milwaukee’s Matt Garza (1-1) faces Gerrit Cole (1-0) on Sunday in the finale of the three-game series. Garza is 2-2 with a 3.92 ERA against Pittsburgh in eight career starts. Cole has won his last five decisions, dating to Sept. 1, and is 1-2 with a 3.27 ERA against the Brewers in five career starts.

CHICAGO (AP) – Derrick Rose had 23 points and seven assists in his first postseason game in three years, Jimmy Butler scored 25 points, and the Chicago Bulls opened the playoffs with a 103-91 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.

Rose was at his fearless best, driving hard to the rim in the early going, and mixed in three 3-pointers in the second half. He shot 9 of 16 and got serenaded with “MVP! MVP!” chants.

It was quite a night for a superstar point guard making his first playoff appearance since he tore a knee ligament in the 2012 playoff opener against Philadelphia.

Chicago hosts Game 2 on Monday.

Khris Middleton scored 18 points and Zaza Pachulia had 15, but Michael Carter Williams finishing with nine on 4-of-13 shooting as the sixth-seeded Bucks came up short after jumping from 15 wins to 41 this season.

Butler showed the form that made him an All-Star for the first time this season. He was 8 of 14 and had six assists.

Aaron Brooks provided a spark off the bench with 13 points, and the Bulls opened the series on a winning note after fighting through injuries to finish 50-32.

They led by nine at halftime and hung on after the Bucks pulled within three points early in the third quarter.

The Bulls won despite committing 19 turnovers. They outrebounded Milwaukee 52-41, with Pau Gasol grabbing 13 and Joakim Noah and rookie Nikola Mirotic 11 apiece.

The Bulls believe they are poised to make a run now that they finally have Rose playing in the postseason. The last time they had him for the duration of the playoffs, he capped an MVP season by leading them to the Eastern Conference finals in 2011. Chicago lost to Miami, and what happened after that is well documented.

The Bulls earned the No. 1 seed for the second straight year in 2012, only to have Rose tear his ACL late in a lopsided playoff-opening win over Philadelphia. Chicago lost in the first round to the 76ers and had its championship hopes placed on hold, with Rose sitting out a year and having his comeback get cut short last season by a torn meniscus in his right knee.

This was a good start.

Chicago took a 60-51 lead to the locker room after getting 17 points from Butler and 12 from Rose.

The star point guard headed to the sideline to a loud ovation with 1:37 left after throwing down a hard two-handed off a feed from Butler in transition and then scoring on a neat reverse layup that brought the bench to its feet.

The Bucks pulled within three early in the third, but the Bulls answered with a 15-7 run. Rose hit three 3-pointers during that stretch, including one that made it 77-66 with 4:33 left in the quarter.

TIP-INS

Bucks: Had he stayed healthy, this would have been quite a homecoming for Jabari Parker. Instead, the Chicago product was an observer as the Bucks opened the playoffs against the Bulls. “He’s here with us for the playoff experience mentally, being able to go through different film sessions, and also being able to be on the floor with his teammates, being able to pass to do different drills is good for him mentally and physically,” coach Jason Kidd. A season-ending knee injury limited Parker to 25 games after being drafted with the second pick. He averaged 12.3 points and was a candidate for Rookie of the Year before he went down.

Bulls: G Kirk Hinrich (left knee) sat out after missing the final two regular-season games.

NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Some of the biggest names in the Republican Party wrapped up the two-day Republican Leadership Summit in Nashua, New Hampshire Saturday night.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker gave the final speech at a dinner Saturday evening talking about his direction for America, while outlining his accomplishments in Wisconsin.

The state hosted 19 Republicans to the summit. Some have already announced they are running for president in 2016, like U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. Others, like Walker, have been high on the GOP radar and scoring well in polls evaluating possible presidential candidates.

Walker outlined what he considers to be some of his accomplishments as governor, including abolishing tenure for public school teachers.

“That means we can hire based on merit, we can pay based on performance,  we can put the best and the brightest in our classes and we can pay them to be there.  It’s a pretty big deal.  And it makes our schools better,” said Walker.

New Hampshire holds the nation’s first presidential primary, making it a key state for candidates.  To date the only Democrat to announce a run for president in 2016 is Hillary Clinton. Clinton is scheduled to campaign in New Hampshire on Monday and Tuesday.

GREEN BAY – The push to improve Green Bay’s Colburn Pool got a boost Saturday with a special fundraiser.

It was held at the Riverside Ballroom on the city’s east side.

The fundraiser included live auctions, with dinner and dancing later in the evening.

Green Bay’s city council approved a funding plan last October to rebuild the pool, but it requires public support.

People at the event say the pool is an important part of the city’s history.

“The pool has been there for 50 years, it’s been a part of Green Bay and that neighborhood for half a century. When you start taking things away from your communities and your neighborhoods, then you are giving people a reason to move out of Green Bay,” said Chris Wery, Colburn Park Leadership Team.

The fundraiser was organized by the advocacy group Friends of Colburn Park Pool.

The group hopes to raise one million dollars for the project.