GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ)-An overnight house fire caused some damage in Green Bay, and puts a family out in the cold. The fire broke out around midnight at 24-39 West Point Road. Investigators say the fire may have started near the chimney. About $5,000 in damage was caused. No one was hurt. 2 adults and 2 children were displaced. The Red Cross is helping them out.
COMBINED LOCKS, WI (WTAQ) - Officials in Outagamie County have contained a gas leak in Combined Locks.
Fox Valley Metro police are clearing the scene near Kimberly Avenue and Prospect Street.
An unknown amount of people were evacuated during the leak.
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Police have indentified the man found dead outside in frigid weather on Green Bay's east side.
Authorities believe 38-year-old Brian L. Hicks died of environmental hypothermia due to prolonged exposure with inadequate clothing.
Fox 11 reports neighbors who found him say he had no jacket or shoes on.
Investigators ruled out trauma or foul play through their examination.
Overnight temperatures Sunday night and Monday morning were below zero degrees.
Police say preliminary toxicology results indicate that alcohol was a factor in Hicks’ death, although complete lab results are not expected for about two weeks. Cops are still trying to figure out exactly where Hicks was leading up to his death.
His vehicle was found at a bar on University Avenue in Green Bay.
Hicks’ body was found just before 8 a.m. Monday outside his home in the 1700 block of East Shore Circle. He lived alone.
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Green Bay Area School District is looking to re-define how they teach students.
That was part of Superintendent Michelle Langenfeld's "State of the District" address, which was given to the public and media Tuesday at Green Bay West High School.
Langenfeld says that customizing education to meet each student's individual needs for success will help improve test scores and graduation rates.
"I think you can't do status quo anymore if you're going to afford all students a pathway to success, students are about choice and change," says Langenfeld. "We recognize that students need change, and that we can't afford to offer students the same old, same old, while engaging them in their learning."
The district says it hopes to address those needs by a philosophy of “your choice, your path, your tomorrow.”
Langenfeld says the district looks to expand the following programs:
Langenfeld says she doesn’t expect these programs to cost the taxpayers much more than already budgeted, including a possible referendum.
“At this point in time, we don't anticipate any increase in costs. Again it goes back to realigning resources and rethinking how we do business,” Langenfeld explained.
The superintendent outlined student readiness as a main area that the district could improve upon.
Last year, 20 percent of incoming kindergarteners could not recognize letters or numbers, and could not properly write with a pencil. Langenfeld says it will take involvement on all fronts: parents, birth-to-three-years educators, and the community at large to make sure these children have the skills to learn.
The Green Bay Area Public School District will host two sessions this week for parents, students and the community. It will focus on these new areas of education customization.
They will be on Thursday, January 24, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at East High School, and on Saturday, January 26 at West High School from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) - Ashwaubenon school district officials say nine school buses broke down Tuesday morning, thanks to the frigid morning temperatures in the area.
District officials say all the buses started fine, but at some point stopped. That meant the children on board were at risk - either stuck on the bus or out in the cold.
Officials couldn't say how many students were left waiting in the cold for their bus, or for how long. And because so many buses were affected, the bus company – Lamers – didn't have enough vehicles to relieve the struggling ones.
Those that did break down did have heat. The students who took the buses that broke down did get to school, but late.
Parents were notified about the problem, but the district admits the information could've come out sooner.
"We know that we need to get that alert out sooner,” Keith Lucius, Assistant Superintendent with the Ashwaubenon School District, told FOX 11. “Because this is a problem we've never had before, we didn't have a process in place for communicating with parents quickly and have those things ready. We will communicate, if this happens again, much earlier and be much more prepared."
Lucius says it’s believed fuel played a role in the problems. He says the district and Lamers are working to ensure the same problem doesn't happen again.
The district typically looks at wind chill temperatures as a gauge for closing school - to protect the students. But that, Lucius says, may change if actual temperatures continue to cause mechanical issues.
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - There is a problem with the city of Green Bay hiring its next Chief of Police, he says he won’t move back into the city.
Tom Molitor retired as Assistant Police Chief in 2011. Then in mid-2012 was appointed as Interim Chief to replace outgoing Chief Jim Arts.
The city then began a months-long process to hire a new chief, even doing a national search that weeded out 54 other candidates from around the country.
Molitor was one of four finalists.
On Monday, the Police and Fire Commission made a recommendation to hire Molitor as the next Chief of Police.
However, city ordinance requires all department heads to live within the city’s boundaries.
Molitor says he made that clear during his first interview with the PFC. Molitor added he would not be moving back into town and if that disqualifies him, he would be finished at that point.
Molitor says the PFC suggested he move forward and there would be talks of a waiver down the road. That waiver, or exception to the city’s residency requirement, would have to go before the city’s Personnel Committee.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, Molitor stated his intentions if the city council did not grant him an exception.
“I don’t want to be in a position to draw a line in the sand, but I’m not going to move back in” Molitor said.
Under the city’s policy, Molitor would have a year to move into the city.
Molitor stated that he bought a house in Abrams in 2005, and put a lot of blood and sweat into it. Molitor told the committee that he feels the market is soft and doesn’t know if he could turn it over and didn’t think the juice would be worth the squeeze.
The Personnel Committee voted 3 to 1 against granting a waiver.
Alderman Tom Sladek voted no and had this to say after the meeting.
"The Police Chief is responsible for a 364, 24-7 response organization, and I believe the Police Chief needs to live in the city,” said Sladek.
Alderperson Amy Kocha was the lone vote in favor of an exception.
“Having a candidate that’s risen to the top of the pile is great in of itself” Kocha explained, “I think that’s why an exception should be made.”
Kocha pointed out Molitor's long history with the department. He was first hired as a cadet in 1980.
The city council has the final say when they meet on February 5th.
OUTAGAMIE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - A pair of fires Tuesday night kept crews busy in Outagamie County.
The first broke out at a barn at N8523 Mill Creek Road in the Bear Creek area around 7:30 p.m.
Firefighters say the barn was fully engulfed. At this time, there's no word on if anyone or animals were hurt.
Then a short time later, around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, a chimney fire broke out at W9030 Nitzke Road, also in the Bear Creek area, east of the barn fire.
Outagamie County officials tell us the American Red Cross is assisting the family.
Officials don't believe anyone was injured in this fire.
MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - A Fox Valley man who disappeared in Madison a week ago might have fallen into open water on Lake Monona.
That’s according to Madison Police, who have been searching for 26-year-old Charles Guerts of Kaukauna.
He was in Madison for a business conference when he was last seen leaving the Sheraton Hotel early last Wednesday.
Officials said a police dog found Guerts’ scent where a man who was believed to be Guerts knocked on a home’s patio door about a half-hour after he left the hotel. Dane County sheriff’s personnel then searched the nearby Lake Monona. But they could not find any indications that he fell into the water.
A police search was suspended during the weekend – but officers plan to resume it once the weather gets a little warmer.
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt is reversing his position the city’s residency rule so the city can the new Police Chief.
Schmitt says an exception should be made so the city can hire retired Assistant Chief Tom Molitor as full-time chief.
Schmitt said people say he is “Mr. Residency” and that’s true, but Molitor is the best man for the job and that he only lives 10 minutes away with lights and sirens.
Molitor lives in Abrams and city ordinance requires department heads to live in the city.
Schmitt said “I’m fine with where Molitor lives; he lives like in the greater, greater Green Bay area.”
Molitor has been filling in as interim chief since mid-2012 and the Police and Fire Commission recommended him for the job on Monday thinking a waiver could be granted.
However, on Tuesday the Personnel Committee voted against a granting an exception.
The full council makes the final decision at its February 5th meeting.
Molitor says he will not move back into the city because his house is underwater. The home is worth less then he paid for it, so selling it wouldn’t be worth it.
The position pays just over $102,000 annually.
Just a few months ago the city council considered eliminating the city residency rule. The council voted to have a requirement for department heads to live in the city. Schmitt was a strong advocate for employees of the city live within the city.
Many of those arguing for abolishing the rule say it's about hiring the best candidate for the job and it doesn't matter where they live.
KIMBERLY, WI (WTAQ) - A case of possible human trafficking is being investigated in the Fox Valley.
Fox Valley Metro police say it's a rare case for their department, so they're getting help from state and federal authorities.
"On January 15, we did execute four search warrants at three different residences," says Officer Scott Van Schyndel.
Those residences are in Kimberly and the town of Harrison. According to search warrants, a Fox Valley restaurant owner is the suspect.
According to FOX 11, the suspect listed in the search warrants either had at one time owned or rented each of the three residences searched, as well as a Chinese restaurant in Kimberly.
According to the search warrants, the suspect is accused of smuggling a woman into the country, forcing her to work at the restaurant without pay and beating her.
"We're sorting through the evidence currently and we're also still speaking with more people involved in the case," said Van Schyndel.
Some of that evidence includes bank statements, immigration documents and tax forms.
"There are possible state and federal charges," Van Schyndel said.
Police will meet with the Outagamie County District Attorney's office next week to decide on what, if any charges may be filed and if they will be state or federal.
KAUKAUNA, WI (WTAQ) - The push to revitalize downtown Kaukauna is expanding.
Plans were first announced last fall to redevelop the old Eagle Mill on the Fox River, near the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Now on Wednesday, developer Stadtmueller and Associates unveiled plans for the old Gustman car dealership site, across from the mill on Wisconsin Avenue.
The redevelopment plan is now being called the Grand KaKalin neighborhood.
“The exciting part is to see new life breathed into areas that were once productive parts of the community,” Randy Stadtmueller, the president of Stadtmueller & Associates, tells FOX 11.
Affordable senior housing is the first thing planned to be built on the old Gustman land. Another residential building and three commercial buildings are expected to follow.
Under the current plan, the city’s library would take up about a fifth of the old Eagle Mill building. Developers are exploring what might fill the rest of it.
“I think we're going to have a lot of interest, but we haven't actually been out signing contracts at this point, so we're hoping we'll have some senior services and other community amenities in that location,” said Stadtmueller.
The redevelopment of the old mill is expected to start this spring and cost about $8 million. The library could move in by the end of the year.
“We're going through the dollars right now and at the present time they look pretty favorable that we're not putting the taxpayers at risk for the development and yet we'll be able to provide the necessary incentives to preserve a building of the 1800's,” said Bob Jakel, the director of planning and community development for Kaukauna.
A loan financed through future tax dollars will help pay for the mill redevelopment. Developers are applying for state housing tax credits to help pay for the redevelopment across the street.
City officials say the development would help meet the demand for commercial space.The city's planning director says commercial buildings on the north side of downtown are all occupied.
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Metro Milwaukee lost an estimated 2,700 jobs in December.
State officials released preliminary job data Wednesday – and 9 of the state’s 12 metros either lost jobs or had steady employment from November.
The report said Eau Claire lost 1,300 jobs, Wausau 700, and Oshkosh-Neenah 500. Green Bay, Fond du Lac, Janesville, and Madison lost 500 jobs or fewer.
Sheboygan’s total employment was unchanged. The Appleton area gained an estimated 1,000 jobs, while Racine and La Crosse each added 200.
Jobless rates went up from November in all 12 metros. They ranged from 4.6 percent in Madison to 8.3 in Racine. Milwaukee’s rate went up two-tenths of a point to 7 percent.
All but two of Wisconsin’s 72 counties saw their actual unadjusted jobless rates go up in December.
Menominee County’s rate fell by 1.7 percent, and Kenosha by 0.2. The local job numbers are based on surveys of only a small percentage of employers.
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Six Wisconsin communities will get federal money to help new refugees settle in.
Barron, Oshkosh, Appleton, Green Bay, Madison, and Milwaukee will share one-and-a-half million dollars in re-settlement funds administered by the state Department of Children-and-Families.
Officials say the refugees are from Nepal, East Africa, and Burma – as well as from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Local agencies use the money to provide numerous services to refugees.
They include help with enrolling in school, taking language and literacy classes, getting jobs, and obtaining mental health services.
The refugee status is given to people who fear persecution back home, and are not safely able to return to their home countries.
According to a release from teh state Department of Children and Families, Wisconsin expects to receive approximately 1,000 refugees from overseas during 2013 for resettlement primarily in four areas of Wisconsin: the greater Milwaukee area, the Fox Valley, Dane County, and Sheboygan County.
MANITOWOC COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - Packers’ running back Cedric Benson was recently given a pair of citations for letting his Rottweiler dogs run loose in Manitowoc County.
He also received two traffic tickets a couple weeks ago for going 41 miles an hour over the speed limit, and for driving without a valid license – both in Manitowoc County.
The 30-year-old Benson can either pay the fines, or appear in court to challenge the forfeiture actions. Online court records show that the fines total just over $1,050 for the four charges.
He has court dates set for February 13th and 20th.
The two newest citations involved Benson’s two Rottweilers. Authorities said the dogs attacked 17 calves at his neighbor’s farm last month near Maribel. Sheriff’s deputies said the dogs had chewed the legs of the young cows, and several calves had deep wounds.
Officials said Benson put up a fence to keep the dogs on the property – but someone said they got loose again 11 days ago, and he was cited a second time this week for having animals running at large.
Benson joined the Packers in September when injuries forced the team to scramble for a running back. He played in 5 games before sitting out the rest of the season with a left foot injury. Benson ran for 248 yards and a touchdown, after having over 1,000 yards with Cincinnati in each of his previous three seasons.
He recently expressed an interest in returning to the Packers next season.
GRAND CHUTE, WI (WTAQ) - An 83-year-old woman who spit on a Mitt Romney supporter last year in Grand Chute will not be charged criminally for her actions.
It happened at a “Women For Mitt” rally.
Mary Hoglund got into a verbal spat with a Romney supporter and spit in her face as she was being escorted out.
The incident was caught on video.
The Green Lake County District Attorney’s office reviewed the incident and said no criminal charges would be filed and that a disorderly conduct citation, that comes with a $277 fine, would be more appropriate.
TOWN OF LAWRENCE, WI (WTAQ) - After a year with no violations, Packers linebacker Eric Walden will have a disorderly conduct charge dismissed as part of deferred prosecution agreement.
The charge stemmed from a domestic dispute with his girlfriend back in November of 2011.
Walden was arrested for felony substantial battery and spent that Thanksgiving weekend in jail.
Walden was never faced the more serious charge because his girlfriend changed her story after being told he would be arrested.
The NFL would later suspend Walden for one game because he violated the league’s personal conduct policy. He missed the 2012 season opener.
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Close to 40% of the employers who took part in a new kind of job fair in Green Bay during the fall made job offers to those who came in.
An estimated 1,550 job seekers came through, and of those, employers reported 101 people were offered a job in the end.
The Bay Area Career Expo was advertised to have over 100 employers with 1,300 plus job openings.
39 employers reported making a job offer.
Those employers had to have a job posted on the Job Center of Wisconsin website. That site, often touted by Governor Scott Walker, has currently 38,670 jobs posted as of late Thursday night.
More than 2,000 job seekers were also pre-screened to be part of the job fair for what the Department of Workforce called “job ready’. But in the end, just over 1,500 came through.
“When we saw people one on one, it was just to try and make sure they were in the best possible position and the most prepared, so when they got in front of an employer they could handle that transaction” said Bay Area Job Service Director Brian Pelon.
Pelon says this type of career expo was done in Milwaukee first with a manufacturing focus, then in Green Bay for all employers in the area looking to hire.
The event is being considered again for next fall.
MENASHA, WI (WTAQ) - A hunter from Menasha will have quite the tale to tell at deer camp in the future.
That's after the biggest buck he ever shot was stolen and eventually dumped into the Fox River. But now, the people responsible owe some big money.
In November, Kelly Sokel shot the buck with a crossbow during the gun deer season.
"I was pretty proud of it. It was the largest spread buck I ever got," Sokel told FOX 11.
However, the 175-pound, field-dressed, 8-pointer with a 19 1/2-inch spread is nothing more than a broken rack. How it got that way is quite a story.
After Sokel shot the deer, he showed off his prize at a Menasha bar. He told FOX 11 that's when two women he'd never met before became argumentative.
While Kelly was in the bar, the deer was strapped to the back of his truck. The two women went outside, took the deer out of the truck, then ran it over with their own car.
"That's where their prank kind of went awry. They thought it was just going to be a prank. They ended up leaving and driving a couple of blocks and realizing they were dragging this deer with them," said DNR Conservation Warden Ryan Propson.
Propson said the women called a male friend who helped them throw the animal into the river. He said, "this is by far the craziest thing I have run into."
Propson gave them the DNR's harshest tickets. The women will have to pay more than $2,000 each for larceny of wild game. While their friend will pay about $300 for his part.
"They got a due punishment, I believe," said Sokel.
The deer itself was found more than a month later, a mile downriver.
"That's what I'm left with, a pile of bones.. It's very disappointing. I'm out all the time, the effort," said Sokel.
But the disappointment hasn't hurt Sokel's love of hunting.
"The memories are still great, and believe it or not, it's probably the best deer story I have," he said.
HUTCHINS, WI (WTAQ) - One woman suffered minor injuries after a house fire in Shawano County.
Fire crews get the call around 8 p.m. Thursday to the home on West Cherry Road in the Town of Hutchins. That's near Mattoon.
When officials arrived on the scene, the home was fully engulfed.
The homeowner had escaped with her four dogs. She was treated for a minor injury and released at the scene.
The house is a total loss. The cause of the fire is not known.
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - The Oshkosh Corporation has raised its earnings forecast for the current fiscal year, in the wake of stronger sales for its construction equipment.
The company now expects to make between $2.80 and $3.05 a share, up from its previous range of $2.35 to $2.60.
Oshkosh reported a successful fiscal first quarter, with a net profit of $46.5 million from October through December. That’s up from almost $39 million the year before.
Earnings rose from 43 cents a share to 51 cents.
The growth comes despite a reduction in sales of the famous Oshkosh military vehicles. Those sales were down over 6 percent in the last quarter, as the Pentagon scales back the war in the Middle East.
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