Green Bay News

KAUKAUNA — Former Badgers forward Sam Dekker didn’t need much time after his junior season ended to know he wanted to turn pro, but that doesn’t mean it was an easy decision.

“It’s been talked about but not 100%,” said Sam Dekker’s father Todd Dekker. “After our discussion with some people we thought it was time that he would move on. I think him having a really good tournament and having his stock go up I think was really important to him. What he did this past summer at the camps with Kevin Durant and LeBron [James] showed he can play and get to that level, so I think that kind of set us in that direction.”

Todd Dekker was in Kaukauna on Saturday to watch his other son John Dekker play in the Holy Cross Men’s Open basketball tournament. He and his wife said it was somewhat strange being able to drive to watch these games, where the last several weeks were flights around the country watching the Badgers march to the Final Four.

Sam Dekker announced on Friday he was going to skip his senior season and enter the NBA Draft. Todd, who was also Sam’s coach at Sheboygan Lutheran High School, said the family settled on the decision around Wednesday night.

“You have to weigh your options, you have to be prepared for both [returning to school or leaving,” said Todd Dekker. “When we sat down as a family with the pluses and the minuses we felt this would be the time to enter the NBA.”

Sam Dekker wrote an open letter to the Badgers community thanking them for his time in Madison. His father said that was one of the toughest parts of deciding to leave school.

“He loved Madison,” said Todd Dekker. “He loved the support from the school, he loved his teammates and the things that surround college basketball. That was really tough. It’s been such a great ride and experience. To weigh that in, that was really hard for him.”

As for now, Dekker is finishing up classes in the next couple weeks, having worked with professors knowing he won’t be in school the entire semester. From there, his father says he’s going to head for Chicago to prepare for pre-Draft workouts. Sam has been invited to attend the NBA Draft but Todd says the family has not decided if they’ll attend.

“We’re proud of what he’s done and how he’s developped not only as a basketball player but as a person,” said Todd Dekker. “The things he’s gone through, the ups and downs of any basketball player, any college athlete. How he represented himself and his community, the university, how he’s taken strides in his development as a player, we couldn’t be happier for him.”

Sam Dekker also leaves Madison having dealt with his fair share of criticism during his college career. The forward was a high-caliber recruit out of Sheboygan and, to some fans, never lived fully up to expectations.

“That’s just part of sports,” said Todd Dekker. “Sam’s real good about that, there’s always going to be someone who will knock you down. He’s real good about that. He knows what he wants, he has his goals. He was criticized in high school, he was criticized in middle school, it just goes with the territory. Sometimes that kind of gets him going. If that’s motivation, so be it, but he just wants to be a better basketball player.”

The 2015 NBA Draft is June 25th in New York City. Mock drafts have Sam Dekker pegged as a first rounder, possibly landing as a lottery pick. Wisconsin has had just one lottery pick since the league started using a draft lottery in 1985 — Devin Harris in 2004. They may have two lottery picks this year with Dekker and senior Frank Kaminsky.

TOWNSEND – The Oconto County sheriff’s department says a 53-year-old Menasha man was killed in a traffic accident around 9:15 this morning.

The sheriff’s department says a driver of the vehicle failed to negotiate a corner on State Highway 32 just north of Surprise Lake Road in the township of Townsend.

Sheriff officials say the vehicle struck two trees and then hit a guide line wire for a utility pole.  The vehicle then overturned.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

Speed and alcohol are not considered factors in this crash at this time.

The name of the driver is being held pending notification of next of kin.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Police say the U.S. Capitol is on lockdown as a precaution after shots were fired in what appears to be an attempted suicide.

Capitol Police spokeswoman Kimberly Schneider says the suspected shooter was “neutralized” after a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It’s unclear whether the man is dead. No one else is believed to be hurt.

Schneider also says Capitol Police are investigating a suspicious package on the lower west terrace of the building.

No one is being allowed to enter or exit the Capitol and the visitors’ center, and some streets around the complex are closed.

The lockdown comes during Washington’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival, which attracts scores of tourists.

Congress has been on spring break for two weeks and lawmakers are set to return to work Monday.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The mother of a Wisconsin man accused of trying to join the Islamic State group says he’s a mentally ill loner who often makes boastful comments to try to win acceptance.

Federal prosecutors have charged 34-year-old Joshua Van Haften with trying to aid a terrorist group. He was arrested at O’Hare Airport in Chicago on Wednesday. He’s accused of traveling to Turkey in a failed attempt to join the group in Syria.

His mother, 56-year-old Janice Van Haften, of Beloit, tells the Wisconsin State Journal he likes to make wild comments to draw attention to himself or to keep other people away.

And she says he never fully recovered from a serious brain injury he suffered when he was hit by a car when he was 15.

GERMANTOWN, Wis. (AP) – Firefighters say one man has died in a house fire in Germantown, northwest of Milwaukee.

Heavy smoke was pouring from the two-story house when firefighters arrived early Saturday. Authorities say they pulled the man from the house, but he wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. He was later pronounced dead.

Fire Chief Gary Weiss tells WTMJ-TV the fire may have started near the couch, but that the investigation was continuing.

The victim is believed to have been the only person home at the time. His name has not been released.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The story has played out the same way in Ferguson, Missouri, New York City and Milwaukee. A white police officer kills an unarmed black man, sparking waves of protests before a white prosecutor ultimately decides not to file charges or hands the case off to a grand jury.

That narrative looks different in Wisconsin’s capital city, where a liberal biracial prosecutor will decide whether to charge a white officer in an unarmed biracial man’s death.

Black protesters have likened last month’s fatal shooting of 19-year-old Tony Robinson by police officer Matt Kenny to the killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner in New York City and Dontre Hamilton in Milwaukee. Grand juries in Ferguson and New York, convened by white prosecutors, chose not to charge the officers in those cases. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, who is white, declined to file charges in the Hamilton shooting.

The decision to press charges in the Madison case will be made by Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, a biracial Democrat who identifies as black.

Ozanne, whose mother was an activist in the South during the Freedom Summer of 1964, got his start as an assistant Dane County district attorney in 1998. Ten years later, then-Gov. Jim Doyle chose Ozanne to help lead the state Department of Corrections, where he helped implement Doyle’s early release program.

Doyle appointed Ozanne as Dane County district attorney two years later, and Ozanne was elected to the position in 2012, running on promises to reduce racial disparities. Last year, he ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general, vowing to expand programs that allow young adult offenders to clear their records by completing their sentences and connect violent offenders to mentors.

Doyle said he thinks more African-Americans should serve as prosecutors and judges, a view that factored into his decision to appoint Ozanne to his position.

“Not to say they should make decisions (based) on race, but it brings a greater sense of fairness to the system,” said Doyle, a Democrat who served as Wisconsin attorney general before he was elected governor in 2002.

He said he’s confident that Ozanne will weigh the facts in the Robinson case impartially.

“His decision isn’t to see whether all of justice is done in the world or all the wrongs have been righted or whether police behavior is appropriate or inappropriate,” Doyle said. “His decision will determine whether he thinks there’s probable cause (to support charges). You just really have to go back to the basics.”

Ozanne has cleared police in a number of officer-involved shootings since 2012, but none of those cases generated to as much scrutiny as the Robinson case.

Police said Kenny shot Robinson in an apartment house near the state Capitol building on March 6. They said Robinson attacked Kenny, who was responding to calls that Robinson had attacked two other people and was running in traffic. Investigators have released no other details.

The Young, Gifted and Black Coalition staged daily peaceful protests in the week after the shooting. Demonstrators demanded that Kenny be fired and charged with homicide.

Kenny has not responded publicly.

The state Justice Department investigated the shooting and handed its findings over to Ozanne at the end of March. Ozanne has said he has no timeline for a charging decision. He didn’t return a message seeking comment.

Brandi Grayson, a spokeswoman for Young, Gifted and Black, told the city council that the city will “erupt” when the full facts emerge. Decisions not to file charges in the deaths of Brown, Garner and Hamilton all led to protests, including violent demonstrations in Ferguson.

The group said in a statement that it doesn’t expect Ozanne to charge Kenny. Grayson said in an interview that Ozanne’s racial identity doesn’t matter because he’s part of a criminal justice system that works against blacks.

“We expect him to proceed and investigate as if he was white or Asian,” Grayson said. “It doesn’t matter. He’s a representative of the system and the system is fixed. The laws are written in a way to ensure Matt Kenny won’t be indicted.”

Michael Scott, a former Madison police officer and law professor who heads the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing Inc., which advises police agencies on crime fighting techniques, said officer-involved shootings rarely result in charges against the officer.

“In highly emotional and controversial events, it’s not uncommon that the facts get lost in the emotion,” Scott said. “I don’t know what happened in that apartment. (But) as a general matter of course, it’s just a very rare case where the facts support the allegation that a police officer intentionally murdered somebody with no legal justification whatsoever.”

MILWAUKEE (AP) – All-Star outfielder Carlos Gomez had a game to remember despite another loss for the Milwaukee Brewers.

He fulfilled a dream on Friday night by playing second base in the top of the ninth, the first time he had played the position in his eight-year career.

Gomez would have enjoyed the moment more if Milwaukee hadn’t fallen to the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 to drop the Brewers to 0-4 on the year.

“It’s one of my dreams to play in the infield. And I had the opportunity today but I (didn’t) enjoy it,” the normally upbeat Gomez said.

Pedro Alvarez homered and drove in two runs, Neil Walker had three hits and the Pittsburgh Pirates avoided their first 0-4 start in nine years with a 6-2 win Friday night over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Jeff Locke (1-0) allowed seven hits and two runs in six solid innings for Pittsburgh, which rebounded after getting swept in three games in Cincinnati to open the season.

The Pirates roughed up Mike Fiers (0-1) for five runs and seven hits in five innings.

Pittsburgh got to the right-hander in the second, when Walker opened with a double before Alvarez singled him home two batters later.

It was a disappointing outing after Fiers had struck out the side in the first on 12 pitches.

“Left some pitches up. Missed locations on some. That first inning was pretty impressive, and then to come back and have them get three off you after you do that,” manager Ron Roenicke said, “but then he settled down.”

Roenicke was forced to turn to Gomez after starting second baseman Scooter Gennett was ejected in the bottom of the eighth after arguing with the umpire after a strikeout. Backup infielders Hector Gomez and Luis Jiminez were used earlier as pinch hitters.

Carlos Gomez takes grounders during batting practice in the infield, so it wasn’t an entirely new position. Still, Gomez said he couldn’t fully enjoy his dream of playing the infield in the majors because of the team’s scuffling start.

“It is what it is and it’s a tough loss today. We have to come tomorrow to try and play,” he said.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

After allowing four doubles on the night, Brewers pitchers have now allowed 20 through the first four games.

According to STATS, it is the most doubles allowed by a team in its first four games since at least 1914.

All those extra-base hits are a big reason why the Brewers have opened a season 0-4 for the first time since 2010. It’s the first time that Milwaukee has started 0-4 at home since 2003.

Adam Lind had two hits and two RBIs for Milwaukee.

LOCKE IT UP

Locke, a left-hander, had a decent night at the plate, too after doubling in a run in the second.

“We’re not very good at seeing pitches and deciding whether we’re going to swing,” said Locke, a career .102 hitter going into Friday. “My mind is pretty much made up before I get in the box whether I’m going to swing or not. It just worked out that time.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: All-Star outfielder Andrew McCutchen left the game after his bat in the top of the ninth due to left knee soreness. “Took himself out after he ran down the line,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “The at-bat, the swing . he felt a little something.”

Brewers: Outfielder Ryan Braun went 1 for 4 in his return to the starting lineup since leaving the season opener on Monday with what was called “lower right side soreness.”

UP NEXT

Pirates: Vance Worley had a subpar spring after going 1-1 with a 4.71 ERA in six starts. The right-hander is looking for a solid outing in his first appearance as Pittsburgh’s fifth starter.

Brewers: Lind, Khris Davis and Jean Segura will each try to extend their season-opening hitting streaks to five games. Right-hander Jimmy Nelson makes his 2015 debut on the mound.

___

Follow Genaro Armas at http://twitter.com/GArmasAP

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

GREEN BAY – More than 100 moms are at Lambeau Field today learning about football safety.

The first ever Packers Moms Football Safety Clinic gives parents the opportunity to hear from medical experts and Packers alumni about some of the changes being made in football to make it a safer sport.

Melissa Klatkiewicz has two sons who play football and she knows how risky the game can be.

“I know that my youngest son enjoys playing but I’m still concerned. They’re learning and even in the learning process, there still is that risk where a wrong hit can send them to the emergency room,” said Klatkiewicz.

During the event, moms will also learn the tackling techniques that the NFL says can help prevent concussions.

FOX 11’s Gabrielle Mays will have the full story tonight on FOX 11 News at Nine.

FALL CREEK, Wis. (AP) – A man who was driving a lawn tractor has died after his machine was struck by a train in Fall Creek, near Eau Claire.

A police statement says the accident was reported around 7:45 a.m. Friday. It says 29-year-old Dustin Keith, of Altoona, a public works employee for the Village of Fall Creek, was operating a lawn tractor with a rotating brush on the front to clear snow from the bike-and-walking path that crossed the tracks.

According to WEAU-TV, police say the initial investigation suggests the lawn tractor crossed into the path of the oncoming Union Pacific train, which consisted of three engines.

Keith died at the scene.

The Fond du Lac fire department responded to a chimney fire Friday night after a Good Samaritian alerted the family inside.

Firefighters encountered heavy smoke and flames coming out of the chimney of the single family home at 178 University Ave around 9:50 last night.

An alert passerby banged on the door and residents of the single family home were able to evacuate the home.

Fire crews were able to extinguish the fire and keep it from spreading further into the home.  The home did sustain some smoke damage but was ventilated so the residence could remain inside the home.

No word on what caused the fire or a damage estimate.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is becoming something of a globe-trotter as world affairs loom large in the 2016 Republican presidential race and attention has been drawn to his early foreign policy stumbles.

He began a weeklong visit to Germany, France and Spain on Friday, and in May plans to go to Israel, a touchstone for many U.S. politicians with presidential aspirations. Meantime his political group, Our American Revival, has bulked up on staffers to coach Walker on foreign policy, a gap in his resume as he considers entering the GOP presidential contest.

Walker faltered during a London trip in February, refusing to answer questions about foreign policy during an appearance at an international affairs think tank and dodging questions about evolution. Back at home, in an otherwise well-received speech to conservative activists, he drew ridicule when he suggested that his political fight with labor union protesters in Wisconsin helped prepare him to combat global terrorism as president.

When Walker said this week he would revoke a nuclear deal with Iran on his first day in the White House, President Barack Obama said the governor should “bone up on foreign policy.”

Walker called that remark “unbelievable.”

The governor has had less experience abroad than many of his potential 2016 rivals. He didn’t travel overseas at all the first two years he was governor, or in 2014 when running for re-election. In 2013, he went to China and Japan.

Walker’s trip to Europe is a trade mission, with two public events planned in Germany and the rest of his meetings behind closed doors.

“To me, if you’re doing your job well, obviously there’s a political advantage,” he told The Associated Press. “Talking about anything other than trade issues related to the state is not appropriate.

“Beyond that, if I was just on a political trip overseas, I still wouldn’t talk about that. I’m old school. I believe in that tradition when you’re on foreign soil you shouldn’t be talking about foreign affairs,” he said.

That tradition is commonly understood to mean that U.S. politicians, while abroad, do not criticize U.S. foreign policy or the president, not that they decline to discuss international affairs.

Lanhee Chen, a Republican strategist who served as policy director for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, thought Walker’s travel was a good idea.

“The trip is useful in terms of building relationships and getting the experience of being abroad,” Chen said. “I don’t really see any risks.”

Walker met British Prime Minister David Cameron in his London trip.  Walker said the focus of his first visit to Israel will be to get a better understanding of the issues facing the Middle East by meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials.

Netanyahu, who has repeatedly criticized the emerging U.S. deal with Iran to curb that nation’s nuclear program, has become a favorite of many Republican politicians.

The governor plans to return from Europe earlier than the rest of the trade delegation so he can join other GOP presidential hopefuls for a political event April 18 in New Hampshire.

Low expectations for Walker on foreign policy could play to his advantage, said Kevin Madden, a Republican consultant and adviser to Romney’s 2012 campaign.

“You can surprise people and they will begin to take notice,” Madden said.

OUTAGAMIE COUNTY – The Outagamie Co. Sheriff’s Department is investigating a suicide at the county jail.

Authorities say a 50-year-old man from the Hortonville area was found dead in his cell just after 4 a.m. Saturday.

The man had been booked into the jail just hours earlier, after he was arrested for his 3rd OWI offense and a probation hold.

Officials say the man was alone in the cell, and had been checked on less than an hour before he was found dead.

Attempts to revive him failed.

Authorities are not releasing the man’s name until after his family is notified.

ASHWAUBENON – This week’s Cooking With You guest is Jim Roeser!

Jim joined FOX 11’s Emily Deem on Good Day Wisconsin to create some tasty dishes!

Chicken Lombardy
8 oz Package Sliced Fresh Mushrooms
2 tablespoons Butter
6 Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts
½ cup All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Butter
¾ cup Marsala Cooking Wine
½ cup Chicken Broth
1/8 teaspoon Pepper
1/8 teaspoon Garlic Powder
½ cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 Green Onions-chopped
Cook mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring constantly for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
Place chicken breast between 2 sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap and flatten to 1/8 inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin.
Mix flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Dredge chicken pieces in flour mix. Cook chicken in batches in 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Place chicken in a lightly greased 13×9 in baking dish, overlapping edges. Repeat process with remaining chicken.  SAVE DRIPPINGS IN THE SKILLET.
Sprinkle mushrooms evenly over chicken.
Add wine and broth to skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle mozzarella cheese and chopped onions over chicken. Bake uncovered at 450 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes until cheese melts.
Serve over eggs noodles, mashed potatoes or rice. Drizzle sauce over chicken before serving.

Butterfinger Cheesecake Pie
1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust (or chocolate)
8 oz Softened Cream Cheese
8 oz Container of Whipped Cream
10 Fun Sized Butterfinger candy bars, crushed
Combine softened cream cheese, cool whip and about 6 crushed Butterfingers. Spoon mixture into prepared graham cracker crust. Top with remaining crushed Butterfinger. Chill at least 4 hours before serving.

ASHWAUBENON – It will be a busy Saturday for babies in Ashwaubenon!

Bay Park Square is hosting a Diaper Derby!  This is where babies race to the finish line for a fun competition — it’s to see who is the fastest crawler.

Stephanie Blavat-Vesely, Director of Marketing & Business Development at Bay Park Square Mall joined FOX 11’s Emily Deem and Phil DeCastro to talk about the event on Good Day Wisconsin.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

*Participants must be under the age of 12 months and not yet able to walk.
*Babies will crawl from one family member to another, as relatives and friends cheer them on.
*The fastest infants will receive a prize, and all participants will take home a goody bag.

Organizers say following the race, there will be a special performance from students at Danaille’s Dance Academy.  The event is free, but space is limited.

Registration is now underway at Guest Services, located in Center Court.  The event starts at 10:00 a.m. and runs until 1:00 p.m.  It will take place in the Younkers Wing near Children’s Place.

Kaukauna pitcher Haley Hestekin talks about her team’s 5-0 win over Appleton East on Friday.

Appleton East visited Kaukauna in a Fox Valley Association game on Friday.

Kaukauna won. 5-0.

KAUKAUNA — Good news for Fox Valley Association softball teams — Haley Hestekin isn’t a freshman anymore.

Bad news — she’s just a sophomore.

Hestekin was in mid-season form Friday with Appleton East visting Bayorgeon Park. The University of Wisconsin commit dominated East, allowing two hits and striking out 14 as the Ghosts defeated the Patriots, 5-0.

“(Hestekin) has been throwing lights out so far this year, so you get a few runs it does make you feel reassured but we have to learn to how to put the nail down,” Kaukauna coach Tim Roehrig said. “We’re a little bit young in some spots and we have to learn how to do that. She pitched well, but we have some things we have to do.”

Offensively, Kaukauna doesn’t have to do much with Hestekin pitching but the Ghosts made sure she pitched with the lead early. After loading the bases, Kaukauna’s next two batters failed to drive a run home, but finally scored twice in the inning.

Hestekin appreciated the runs.

It was good to get the lead early,” Hestekin said. “You relax a little bit more but you still want to put the pressure on. It gives you confidence and it relaxes you. You know your hitters are on for you today.”

Still, Kaukauna could’ve scored more. The first inning could’ve seen the Ghosts score more and other innings there were threats, too.

In the end, it didn’t matter, but Roehrig wants to see his team take care of business.

“With all the force outs we had at third base, we just have to find a way to put one through the infield and we blow this up a bit,” he said. “We haven’t done that in the first three games we’ve played.”

Kaukauna figures to be a major contender in the FVA with defending Division 1 state champ Kimberly and also in the mix to make a run at the state title. The Ghosts aren’t thinking too far ahead, though.

“I think we’re taking it one game at a time; we’re trying not to get overconfident,” Hestekin said. “We want to take it slow and play our game.”

“Mid-June, I don’t even think we’re thinking that far ahead.”

“We have some new pieces to the puzzle and we play hard,” Roehrig said. “I like the makeup of this team and we’re pretty athletic and when you have athleticism behind a pitcher like Hesty and a pitcher like (Leah) Binsfeld you’re going to do really well.

“Our goals are just to play hard every night. Each night you never know what’s going to happen on the field. These guys know there’s a lot of talent around the diamond and we just have to figure what we want to do with that talent.”

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

NEW YORK (AP) – Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the lineup with 23 points and moved the Milwaukee Bucks to the verge of a playoff spot with a 99-91 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.

The Bucks lowered their magic number to one for clinching a playoff berth, which would complete a remarkable turnaround from an NBA-worst 15-67 record last season. They would have secured a place in the postseason with losses by either Boston, Brooklyn or Indiana, but all three won Friday.

The Bucks can wrap up their spot Sunday at home against the Nets, the team Jason Kidd led to the playoffs last season before taking over the young Bucks.

Antetokounmpo, who had played in every game this season and started most of them before Kidd surprisingly chose to sit him in Wednesday’s 104-99 loss to Cleveland, added nine rebounds.

Khris Middleton had 22 points for the Bucks, who snapped a two-game skid. Michael Carter-Williams finished with 19 points and seven rebounds as Milwaukee swept a four-game season series from the Knicks for the first time since 1990-91.

Langston Galloway scored 20 points and Lance Thomas added 16 for the Knicks, who are closing in on following the Bucks as the NBA’s worst team.

Despite a young roster, Kidd said the players set a lofty goal of making the playoffs, one they are close to achieving even after losing No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker when he tore his left ACL in December.

Milwaukee can become the first NBA team to make the playoffs a season after finishing with the worst record since the 2008-09 Miami Heat, who also were 15-67 in 2007-08.

Antetokounmpo didn’t take long to show his joy in being back on the court. He grabbed an early defensive rebound, glided up the court and threw down a powerful and mostly uncontested dunk when Cole Aldrich smartly moved out of the way rather than get run over.

Like a Bucks’ slogan says: Fear the Deer.

Antetokounmpo then scored 11 points in the third quarter when the Bucks put away the game, capping their 29-point period by banking in a floater to beat the buzzer.

TIP-INS

Bucks: Milwaukee did sweep the Knicks in the 2009-10 season, but the teams met only three times. … The Bucks would be the 10th team to go from worst record to playoffs in one season, according to STATS.

Knicks: Andrea Bargnani, the Knicks’ leading scorer in the absence of Carmelo Anthony, sat out with an illness. … Starting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. bruised his right wrist in the first half. X-rays were negative and he returned to the game, finishing with seven points.

UP NEXT

Bucks: host Brooklyn on Sunday.

Knicks: visit Orlando on Saturday.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The tornado that swept through northern Illinois Thursday created a lot of damage.

The National Weather Service from the Chicago office was out Friday surveying the damage path to judge the size, strength, and length of the tornado. Crews will be doing additional survey work Saturday.

The main tornado was rated as an EF-4 on the enhanced fujita scale. The tornado was up to 1/2 mile wide at times, and had maximum winds between 180 and 200 mph. The main tornado was on the ground from west of Rochelle, IL to just east of Belvidere, IL.

Transposing that tornado path to our area would have covered an area 1/2 mile wide from just west of Neenah, through Appleton, all the way to downtown Green Bay, about 35 miles.

SHEBOYGAN – One group of runners will likely stand out at next month’s Green Bay Marathon.

Eight police officers, from various departments, are planning to run in full uniform.

Sheboygan Police Officer Israel Deutsch has geared up for long races before. Last year, FOX 11 caught up with Deutsch as he trained to complete an Ironman in full police uniform

“It was rewarding, it was extremely rewarding,” said Deutsch. “It was difficult running in uniform especially if it gets hot out.”
This year Deutsch recruited others in the police family to join him.

“I’m a runner, I enjoy running, so I saw what Izzy did last year and it motivated me and talking to Izzy and some other officers, we thought it would be great to show comradery that’s in law enforcement,” said Chief Todd Thomas of the Appleton Police Department.

Bringing their police gear, the group meets to train. Friday’s training run was 18 miles.

“I notice when I run you don’t really feel it, but after mile 14,15, 16, the 20 pounds starts feeling more like 50 or 60,” said Thomas. “That’s going to be the biggest challenge.”

What keeps the officers going, is C.O.P.S. It stands for Concerns of Police Survivors. The organization supports families and coworkers who lost an officer in the line of duty.

“Fundraisers like this really help our cause and so we provide financial support, emotional support, mental support, if necessary, legal support,” said Denise Held, the President of Wisconsin’s chapter of C.O.P.S.

Pulaski officer Kyle Betzner will be wearing the support during his run. His badge used to belong to former Pulaski officer Bob Etter. In 2002, Etter lost his life while working for the Hobart/Lawrence Police Department.

“That in itself I think is a pretty remarkable piece of equipment to be having on and just running with him knowing that he is going to be with me running for the full marathon,” said Betzner.

The officers have already raised 6,000 dollars for C.O.P.S. They have a month before race day to raise even more.

Three of the officers participating in the marathon were not at tonight’s training run.

The other departments involved are Sheboygan County Sheriff’s, and Whitefish Bay Police.