Green Bay News

STEVEN’S POINT – Portage County health officials say two suspected cases of measles were reported.

As a precaution, the individuals are isolated while confirmatory testing is happened at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene.

If the tests do confirm the individuals have measles, they would be the first in the state of Wisconsin this year.

According to the CDC, measles is a viral disease that starts with a fever, cough, runny nose and pink eye. A rash usually appears about 7-21 days after the person in exposed.

Measles is considered a highly contagious respiratory disease that spreads through the air through coughing and sneezing. People are considered to be contagious from four days before to four days after the rash appears. About three out of 10 people who get measles will develop one or more complications including pneumonia, ear infections, or diarrhea.

For more information on measles, click here to read the CDC’s website.

GREEN BAY – It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words.

And for Tim Mayer, the thousands of hand-drawn pictures collected from veterans across the state show more than our words can describe the memories and pain new veterans, and old, harbor within.

“An IED, and here’s a convoy,” Mayer said, pulling a sheet of paper with images of a military convoy driving past a hole in the ground, damaged vehicles and blast casualties. “I get a lot of images like this from Veterans, especially from Iraq.”

“The words say ‘Di di mau,’” said Mayer, describing the picture a Vietnam veteran made, “Which means get out of here.”

Mayer, and his group Artists for the Humanities, have been working with veterans since 2009, helping them open their mind’s door to talking about their experiences through visual storytelling, and hopefully – eventually – seek help.

“Sometimes it’s a lot easier for a person to tell a story drawing, creating a picture, than it is to verbalize that,” he said, “This is not arts and crafts, it’s visual storytelling.”

“The veterans tell their own story, on their terms.”

Terms veterans hope will be easier with the newly signed legislation intended to reduce military suicides, claiming lives each day.

President Obama signed a law Thursday, named a marine veteran Clay Hunt who killed himself in 2011.

Hunt had served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The new law requires the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs to improve what they do to identify veterans at risk. A website will also be created to help veterans and their families find mental health services.

However, the President acknowledges that still won’t be enough.

“So we’re ready to help you begin the next chapter of your lives. And if you are hurting, know this, you are not forgotten, you are not alone, you are never alone. We are here for you – America is here for you. All of us,” the president said Thursday. “And we will not stop doing everything in our power to get you the care and support you need to stay strong and keep serving this country we love.”

“Soldiers need help, soldiers coming home deserve our help,” said Melissa Duncan, a U.S. Army veteran.

Duncan’s husband still struggles with PTSD from deployment.

Duncan says mental health shouldn’t be stigmatized and the sign in her front yard on Hastings Street in Allouez, detailing the estimated number of veterans who die by suicide each day, is meant to confront the larger issue.

“There are 22 veterans and soldiers committing suicide every day, because they can’t and aren’t getting the help that they need,” she said.

And some Green Bay area veterans groups are working to do just that.

“On February 28th, this room will – hopefully,” said FOX 11’s Bill Miston.

“Be filled,” replied Duane Pierce, a Vietnam-era Navy vet with Green Bay-based support group Hope4Vets.

Pierce is hoping to connect veterans with others and the greater community with resources they need at an event at the Marion B. Warpinski center on Monroe Avenue in Green Bay later this month.

“We’re reaching out to the people that are in need, giving them a guiding hand as to where to go,” he said.

And there are peers ready and willing to listen.

(Green Bay) – Mike McCarthy said at the end of each season he looks at all aspects of the team, including his own performance to see what changes need to be made.

This year, despite having one of the top offenses in the NFL once again, he saw a tweak that needed to be made on the sidelines, starting with his own game day responsibilities.

Mike McCarthy has been calling plays almost his entire NFL coaching career, but next year, he will give that responsibility to new associate head coach Tom Clements, a move that will free McCarthy up for a wider coaching view.

“I’m excited about the improvements we will make from these changes,” said McCarty. “I think I have more to offer. I have enjoyed the last few days going through the defensive cut-ups with the assistants and staff, giving an offensive perspective the whole time. There is a vision each and every year that you give your special teams, defense and offense.”

One of the big reasons to be able to hand off the play calling, with a veteran quarterback like MVP Aaron Rodgers, it’s like having another coach on the field.

The man now calling the plays will be new Associate Head Coach Tom Clements, formerly the offensive coordinator and before that the quarterbacks coach since Aaron Rodgers’ second year in the league.

“We have gotten to know each other, we know how we work,” said Clements. “We know how to effect each other positively so its been a long term relationship and it’s been good.”

For McCarthy, it was about making sure the quarterback is happy and comfortable with the collaberation when it comes to calling the plays, some of which Rodgers is free to change at the line of scrimmage. “The fit with Aaron is the highest priority and thats why I thought this was the right decision,” said McCarthy.

The move also frees up McCarthy to have imput on defense, and on special teams, which particularly struggled this year, and has a new coordinator in Ron Zook.

Zook thinks McCarthy’s input will be invaluable. “Obviously Mike is a great football coach,” said Zook. “I know when he talked about giving up the play calling I said you are really going to enjoy these games even though calling plays is a lot of fun. Now he will be able to be involved in all three aspects. Its a combined effort, something where we’ll be doing the same thing in the same direction. once again like I said, an inch here and an inch there and things are completely different. Being here and knowing how Mike expects things done, wants things done, knowing the players, knowing the players, knowing their personalities, helps you in terms of trying to get things across.”

“I am going to be the third guy in the room now, so that culture is going to change now I can promise you that,” said McCarthy.

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) – An attorney for a gay couple says they have received a marriage license in an Alabama county that had earlier refused to grant it to them.

Attorney David Kennedy said Thursday the couple was wed in Mobile County, just hours after a federal judge ordered the county to start issuing gay marriage licenses.

The county had refused after Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore told probate judges on Sunday they didn’t have to.

U.S. District Judge Callie Granade overturned the state’s ban on gay marriage last month and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stop gay marriages from beginning Monday. Granade on Thursday ordered Mobile County to issue the licenses, signaling to probate judges across the state that they should do the same.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A proposal to build an 80,000-seat stadium in the Los Angeles suburbs that could become the home of an NFL team has taken a step forward.

Los Angeles County election officials said Thursday they have verified enough petition signatures to allow the plan to go before voters in Inglewood, where the stadium would be built.

That vote could come in June.

A development group that includes a company controlled by St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke announced plans to build the stadium last month.

The proposal envisions a stadium rising on the site of a former horse track. It raises the possibility again that Los Angeles could get an NFL team after a two-decade drought.

If voters approve, stadium construction could begin in about a year.

STOCKBRIDGE – Lake Winnebago was buzzing Thursday with the sights and sounds of the sturgeon spearing season.

Fishermen and women need to cut thousands of holes through the ice before Saturday’s opener.

“I’ll probably cut about 30 today, and about 30-40 tomorrow. We usually cut about 70 a year,” said Scott Broehm, Stockbridge.

Broehm says the ice is about 20 inches thick in the area near Stockbridge.

He and his group of family and friends spear for sturgeon in the same spot every year. His home-made saw worked overtime Thursday morning.

“If it’s cold like this, you got to be easy on them, the cold is obviously hard on any equipment,” said Broehm.

Removing the solid chunk of ice was no easy task. It took teamwork, patience, and a little brute force before the underwater block slid safely away.

Spearers have been checking water clarity for weeks. Now that the holes are actually cut, they can see what the conditions are.

“Obviously with as cold as it is, it’s got to be still making some ice. I do believe the water is going to be clear. We checked a couple of days ago, and it was nice,” said Broehm.

When it comes to spearing, water clarity makes a big difference.

Inside the shanty, Broehm used his lucky decoy to check conditions in 16 feet of water.

“The clarity was down to the bottom. We’re hoping that it stays that way for Saturday morning,” said Broehm.

That’s when more than 13,000 spearers will be ready and waiting for a sturgeon to swim by.

“I’ve gotten seven sturgeon in the last eleven years. It took me 27 years to get my first fish,” said Broehm.

“Mine is not too good. I’ve gotten a couple in the last 15 years,” said Terry Jansen, Stockbridge.

“I actually got one in 2011, that was my first fish, and that was the only one I’ve gotten so far. So I’m actually looking forward to this year, and hopefully, with my new shack, can accomplish something,” said Adam Broehm, Stockbridge.

The season begins Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. It is scheduled to run for 16 days, or until the limit is reached.

Last year the season ended after less than a week.

APPLETON – The city of Appleton is building a new website and is looking for your help in the process.

City leaders are asking people to take a survey on what they would like to see on the website.

• Click here to take the survey

They are also asking for photos taken in the city. Pictures being sought include beauty shots of the city, its events or people. The photos must be high-resolution and cannot be copyrighted by anyone else.

Photo submissions are due March 5.

• Click here to learn how to submit a photo

The city is working with California-based Vision Internet to build the website. Officials have budgeted $60,000 for the project. City leaders hope to have the new website up by June 1.

GREEN BAY – The City of Green Bay and Fox River Hospitality have finalized the transfer of the former Clarion Hotel property Thursday afternoon.

Fox River Hospitality and American Hospitality Management can now move forward with turning the former Clarion Hotel into a fully remodeled Hampton Inn to open along with the KI Convention center.

The former Clarion Hotel, and Holiday Inn before that, closed in July 2014.

The city of Green Bay bought the property more than a year ago, to guarantee the hotel would be a part of the $23 million expansion of the nearby KI convention center.

“This is the perfect hotel type to compliment the KI Convention Center, Hyatt and Northland Hotel,” said Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt. “The renovated hotel will serve the business traveler as well as tourists with Hampton quality and service.”

The city’s planning department says the KI expansion is on schedule and both projects are expected to be done by August 2015.

MARINETTE – A Wausaukee woman and a Crivitz man are accused of neglecting a baby who ended up in the hospital, and investigators are appealing to the public for more information.

The four-and-a-half-month-old boy was taken to a Marinette hospital on Feb. 2. He was eventually airlifted to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa. According to a criminal complaint, doctors there found that the child had severe injuries including fractures to his skull and other parts of his body, brain injuries and bite marks. Doctors said some of the injuries were fresh, but some were old. Doctors went on to say the injuries were unlikely to be caused by normal household accidents; they more likely resulted from the baby being slammed, shaken or thrown.

It is unclear who actually abused the baby.

According to the criminal complaint, the baby’s mother, Katrina Blasing, left the child with a friend in the town of Stephenson. Blasing went to Milwaukee with the friend and the friend’s grandmother. Another man at the house, Ryan Lenz, was watching the baby. The complaint says he noticed the baby was injured and called Blasing, who told him to wait until she returned. Prosecutors say Lenz cared for the baby and called Blasing several times to ask if the baby should be taken to the hospital. Each time, Blasing said to wait until she returned.

Finally, several hours after Lenz first noticed the injuries, Blasing called 911 for medical help.

Blasing, 33, and Lenz, 29, are charged with child neglect resulting in great bodily harm. No one is charged with abusing the baby.

Sheriff’s investigators are still looking for more information in the case. They ask that anyone who knows anything call them at (715) 732-7626.

Chaos and lawlessness are causing the U.S. State Department to update its worldwide “caution list” for Americans traveling abroad.

Two weeks ago, dozens of Twitter bomb threats caused several airliners to make emergency landings as a precaution. Two passenger planes landed in Atlanta flanked by fighter jets. One flight was diverted from Orlando to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport without incident. The FBI refused to identify a flight that landed in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport after someone hiding behind a Twitter handle claimed a bomb was aboard. No bombs were found and everyone deplaned without incident.

FBI officials say the Twitter account was quickly dropped. But they are saying very little about the ongoing investigation. As sophisticated as extreme jihadists like ISIL are getting with social media, the FBI admits it cannot rule out the Islamic State or terrorist copycats.

“It concerns me a lot, especially with everything that’s going on today,” says Cynthia Russell, a frequent international flyer, “That really concerns me. I hope they find out who is doing that.”

Airline passenger Diane Murray thinks homegrown jihadists are behind the nefarious tweets. “Copy cats! I’m worried someone will jump on the bandwagon and pose a real threat.”

Ever since U.S. airstrikes targeted ISIL training camps and hideouts last fall, ISIL’s rallying cry was to attack foreigners in the Middle-East, Africa, Europe, Asia and North America. The State Department keeps amending the “caution list” which every act of deadly jihadist attacks. The list includes nations like Israel, Lebanon, Mexico and the Philippines. Airports still remain among their main targets of choice. American citizens are number one on their target list.

“They see us as leaders of the world; an empire,” says Clifford May, president of Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, “If they bring us down, everything else comes down with it.”

Whether ISIL maximizes its deadly message on video or hides behind a keyboard, the objective is crystal clear: Strike fear in the heart of the United States and divide its people.

You can find the U.S. State Department “caution list” by clicking here.

TOWN OF MENASHA –  Police say a 62-year-old Manitowoc man was approaching a railroad crossing south of Plank Road Wednesday when he heard the horn of a train also coming toward the crossing.

He tried to stop on the snowy road before the crossing, but could not.

The driver who received minor injuries received a ticket for driving too fast for conditions.

KENT, Wash. (AP) — One student in a suburban Seattle dog agility class is drawing a lot of attention, and not just for her athletic skills. Amy is a pig.

Amid the barking of corgis, collies and Labradors, visitors will sometimes hear a snort. And there’s Amy, jumping through the hoop, balancing on the teeter-totter, retrieving the dumbbell and zipping through the play tunnel.

Lori Stock owns 5-month-old Amy and says her indoor pig is a quick learner and very motivated by food rewards.

KOMO reports that Amy has already graduated from puppy manners class and has moved on to agility and obedience at the Family Dog Training Center in Kent.

Training center president Kathy Lang says that’s a first, though she recalls a pygmy goat did attend several training classes.

APPLETON – A man who operated a meth lab in a Grand Chute hotel was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison.

Jason Koski was convicted of manufacturing amphetamine and possessing meth waste after police busted the operation last June at the La Quinta hotel.

Koski was also placed on extended supervision for five years, according to online court records.

A second suspect in the case, James Parchem, is scheduled for trial April 15.

The most serious drug counts against a third suspect, Karisa Doe, were dropped. She was convicted of a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia, and was placed on probation.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration’s senior counterterrorism official is acknowledging that U.S. intelligence was surprised by the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Yemen.

Nick Rasmussen, who directs the National Counterterrorism Center, told the Senate intelligence committee Thursday that Yemen’s American-funded army failed to oppose advancing Houthi rebels in the same way the U.S.-supported Iraqi military refused to fight Islamic State militants last year.

Rasmussen made the admission under questioning by Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican who noted that President Barack Obama recently touted Yemen as a success. Now, it’s a “total disaster,” Blunt said.

Rasmussen acknowledged that efforts against al Qaida’s Yemen affiliate, considered one of the most dangerous to Americans, had been significantly diminished by the collapse of the government and this week’s evacuation of the U.S. Embassy.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – A federal appeals court has reversed lower-court victories by two western Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses and a private Christian college that challenged birth control coverage mandates as part of federal health care reforms.

The 3-0 ruling Wednesday by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found that the reforms place “no substantial burden” on the religious groups and therefore don’t violate their First Amendment right to religious expression.

All three organizations are mulling whether to appeal to the entire 3rd Circuit Court or the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Such a ruling should cause deep concern for anyone who cares about any First Amendment rights, especially the right to teach and practice a religious faith,” Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik said in a statement. “This decision says that the church is no longer free to practice what we preach.”

At issue is an “accommodation” written into the Affordable Care Act that says religious organizations can opt out of directly providing and paying to cover medical services such groups would consider morally objectionable. In this case, that refers to all contraceptive and abortion services for the Catholic plaintiffs, and contraceptive services like the “week-after” pill and other medical coverage that Geneva College contends violate its anti-abortion teachings. The school in Beaver Falls is affiliated with the Reformed Presbyterian Church.

Justice Department lawyers have argued the accommodation solves the problem because it allows religious groups to opt out of directly providing such coverage. But the plaintiffs contend that merely filing the one-page form, which puts a religious group’s objections on record with the government, violates their rights because it still “facilitates” or “triggers” a process that then enables third-party insurers to provide the kind of coverage to which they object.

The appellate opinion written by Judge Marjorie O. Rendell rejects that reasoning.

“Federal law, rather than any involvement by the appellees in filling out or submitting the self-certification form, creates the obligation” for third parties to offer the objected-to coverage, Rendell wrote.

But the opinion doesn’t explain why the form is even necessary if the third-party providers are obligated under law to provide such services anyway, a question that is expected to be raised in future appeals.

The Catholic plaintiffs raise a second issue. Churches themselves, and their employees, are automatically exempt from the health care mandates. But affiliated organizations – like the college – and charities are not, so the dioceses contend the law essentially divides the church against itself.

The 3rd Circuit, based in Philadelphia, is the fourth federal appeals court to rule that the accommodation is not a burden on the nonprofits’ exercise of religion. The other courts that have ruled are based in Chicago, Cincinnati and Washington, D.C. At least four other appellate courts are considering the same issue, and experts on both sides expect the Supreme Court eventually will settle the matter.

The justices could act on a request by the University of Notre Dame as soon as Feb. 23. The earliest the issue could be argued at the Supreme Court is October, and a decision would not be expected until 2016.

___

Associated Press writer Mark Sherman in Washington contributed to this report.

MADISON (AP) – A 17-year-old suspect faces two felony charges and a possible lifetime prison sentence after a shooting that left two dead in Mazomanie.

In an initial court appearance Thursday, Dean Sutcliffe was charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide. Each carries a maximum sentence of lifelong imprisonment. Court Commissioner Jason Hanson set cash bail at $2 million.

The Dane County Medical Examiner’s office identified the shooting victims Wednesday as Ariyl Brady, 16, and Christopher Schwichtenberg, 39.

Sheriff’s officials say the suspect was apparently upset over his break-up with Brady’s 15-year-old sister and went to her home Monday night with a gun. Schwichtenberg’s mother, Joyce Zimdars, says her son lived at the home with his two sons and the sisters’ mother. Mary Brady and the boys were not injured.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Harry Reid is recovering at his Washington residence after surgery Wednesday to restore vision in his wounded right eye.

It was Reid’s second surgery since breaking bones in his face and hurting his eye in a violent exercise accident at his home in Nevada on New Year’s Day. He also suffered broken ribs.

The Nevada Democrat’s office said Reid’s doctors hope to have a clearer prognosis for his vision in coming days. He is under instruction to rest the eye.

Reid’s office said he will return to work after next week’s recess, and that it is unknown whether additional surgery will be needed.

Get the latest updates on the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin from the tribe’s Facebook page.

OSHKOSH – Anglers aren’t the only ones gearing up for the spearing season, so are some jewelers.

Many know sturgeon are not the prettiest fish in the lake, but one goldsmith is proving beauty can be found in all creatures.

Sturgeon inspired jewelry is hand-crafted at Reimer Jewelers in Oshkosh. They design rings and pendants that can be a very unique gift for someone who loves the outdoors.

Owner Paul Reimer, says, “The hunters, the fishermen. People who are looking for something that is very unique and is, um, orientated towards that hobby or that person interests, we can create that perfect gift for them right here in our shop.”

Sturgeon aren’t the only fish the goldsmith creates. They also create perch, salmon, carp and many more.