GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Police in Green Bay need the public's help in solving a fatal hit-and-run crash from two years ago.

41-year-old Thomas Counard was struck while riding his bike in the 1500 block of Elm Street on February 16, 2011.

A passerby found Counard, attempted CPR and called police. Counard was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Detectives investigating this case believe that there is someone in the community who has information that could help identify the driver of the vehicle in question.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call the Green Bay Police Department at (920) 448-3200 or Crime Stoppers at (920) 432-6867.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - The Appleton City Council delayed action Wednesday night on hiring it's new IT Director because of Mayor Tim Hanna's request for a $25,000 relocation benefit for him. 

Dean Fox has been serving as interim IT Director since 2011, but lives 10-miles outside the city. 

Council members took issue with the lump sum benefit for Fox to move into the city as required by the city's employee residency rule. 

Hanna says Fox would be given $5,000 up front, and $20,000 would be paid to Fox once the move is complete. 

Hanna also requested a 24-month window for Fox to move into the city. 

Standard protocall allows for one year, with up to a possible one year extension.  Hanna says Fox made the request up front and because of the housing market. 

MT. MORRIS, WI (WTAQ) - The search is on in Waushara County for a murder suspect.

Sheriff's investigators say the body of 50-year-old Robert Kasun of rural Wautoma was found Wednesday morning in a motel room in Mt. Morris.

The owner of the Mt. Morris Motel says Kasun moved into room 4 of the 10 room motel on Sunday. Ken Lange says when he was plowing snow from the motel's driveway Tuesday night he noticed something strange.

"The door to the room was wide open and I thought that was unusual," Lange told FOX 11.

So Lange says he went inside.

"And I just happened to be walking by so I went in there and he just looked like he was passed out."

Lange says he didn't know Kasun and didn't want to disturb him.

"I closed the door and closed the refrigerator door because that was left wide open and then I left and I didn't think nothing of it."

The Waushara County Sheriff's Department was called to the room at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Lange says a man who helped Kasun move in on Sunday found him and called 911.

"That's when they said he was dead and it was a surprise to me."

Kasun's death is being investigated as a homicide. Waushara County Sheriff David Peterson would not comment on the investigation.

"It's already the talk of the town, people are wondering what's going on, especially for the safety of neighbors because it's quiet out here," Sandra Bishop who lives next door to and managers the motel told FOX 11. 

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Waushara County Sheriff's Department at 920-787-3321.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Police in Appleton arrest a man they say robbed a woman and tried to sexually assault her early Thursday.

Police were called to the 300 block of North Appleton Street just after 2 a.m.

A female told officers a stranger had attacked her and dragged her to a nearby parking lot. She said he then punched her in the face several times, choked her and tried to sexually assault her. When a vehicle pulled into the lot, the victim said the man ripped her purse from her and ran away.

While cops were looking for the suspect, they saw a suspicious vehicle circling the area. An officer pulled the vehicle over for an equipment violation.

The officer then saw that the passenger matched the description of the man they were looking for. Police say the passenger lied to the officer about who he was, but further investigation helped the officer determine his true identity. Police also found the victim’s wallet in the vehicle.

The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Perry T. Hulbert, was arrested. Officers found out that he was out on bond from charges in Winnebago and Outagamie counties.

Court records indicate Hulbert is facing charges in Winnebago County for robbery with use of force and bail jumping. He is facing charges in Outagamie County for criminal damage to property, resisting or obstructing an officer, disorderly conduct and bail jumping.

Appleton police are still investigating the case and would like to speak with more witnesses, including the people in the vehicle that disrupted the attack. Police are also looking for the victim’s brown Coach purse. Appleton police can be reached at (920) 832-5500.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A Green Bay man accused of trying to burn down Dollar Land, the former Beach Road Liquor store, has been charged with a hate crime.

53-year-old James Parrish is facing charges of arson with a hate crime enhancer, first-degree recklessy endangering safety and carrying a concealed weapon.

On Thursday, a Brown County judget set Parrish's bail at $40,000.

Parrish allegedly went into the North Irwin Avenue store and poured gas on the cash register, then lit it on fire.

According to the criminal complaint, Green Bay police officers were at Parrish's house twice on Tuesday, the same day of the fire. Both calls were for welfare checks.

Authorities say Parrish told them he was going to burn the store's money. He also told police he was a freedom fighter and his job was to round up terrorists and torture them.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - A man pled no contest to a homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle charge for a fatal crash.

Jeremy Derks will be sentenced May 9 in Winnebago County court.

Police say Derks failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Highway 21 and Reighmoor Road in the town of Omro last May. Derks' vehicle slammed into another vehicle, killing the passenger Richard Bielinski.

Three other charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal but will be considered at sentencing.

WRIGHTSTOWN, WI (WTAQ) - Crews are working on fixing a gas leak just north of Wrightstown Thursday.

ANR Pipeline Co. found a leak in a six-inch diameter gas pipe, according to a Wisconsin Public Service spokesman.

The leak is near the intersection of Lost Dauphin Road and Fox Field Court.

Crews were venting the gas from the leak in order to make repairs. The venting was taking place near Shirley Road and Blake Road east of the Fox River.

WPS says natural gas service to customers will not be affected.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Green Bay police union and the city can’t come to an agreement on a new contract. 

The current contract expired in at the end of 2011. 

The Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, which over saw mediation, has declared contract talks at an impasse. 

An arbitrator will now hear both positions, and then make a decision, siding with one party or the other.   The mediator described the differences as “relatively large” according to the Press-Gazette.  Police Chief Tom Molitor says both sides can’t find any common ground on compensation.  “Everybody would like to put this behind us”  Molitor said Thursday night. 

An arbitration hearing could be held as early as this summer.  HR Director Lynn Boland says the last time the city went into arbitration with union contract talks was 10-years ago with public workers.  The main sticking point during contract negations in 2011 was the city’s request for members to contribute more to health and pension benefits.  They union refused, and the city spent the first half of 2012 dealing with a $700,000 shortfall because of it. 

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Just over 30 applicants are looking to become the next Green Bay Fire Chief.

The city has been advertising the position for several weeks and also did some direct recruiting.  HR Operations Manager Melanie Falk says they sent out letters to 60 other fire chiefs in the mid-west in cities with a population of over 50,000. The Police and Fire Commission is starting to screen the applicants.  At their meeting next month, commission members will decide on whom to interview.  Back in August, Robert Goplin stepped down as fire chief after only seven months on the job. 

Asst. Fire Chief Mike Nieft, who has applied for the position, has been serving as interim chief since then. 

The commission waited to fill the fire chief position until after a new police chief was hired. 

Also during that time, Mayor Jim Schmitt also commissioned a study on the possibly of moving towards a public safety model, that would combine some aspects of both police and fire departments under one director. 

However,  that report recommended aaginst a public safety department. 

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Around 400 firefighters are gathering this weekend at the KI Convention Center for the 45^th annual Wisconsin State Firefighters Association convention. 

Firefighters will get various training, handle business, and announce the “Firefighter of the Year” on Saturday.

Association Treasurer and spokesman Barry Kuenkel says one new training session this year is pet resuscitation.  Other training sessions are being held on arson detection, tactical decision making, leadership and accountability, and troubleshooting equipment and maintenance. 

The convention is also the largest display of trucks and new equipment in the state.

Around a dozen various trucks will be on hand and hundreds of fire equipment vendors will be showing off the latest for fire departments and personal use. 

The public is invited to see everything Friday and Saturday starting at 9 a.m.

OCONTO, WI (WTAQ) - A family in Oconto County is forced from their home after a fire Thursday.

Firefighters get the call around 4:35 p.m. to the home on County Highway N in the town of Oconto.

Oconto Fire Department officials say crews arrived to find flames coming from the front and side of the home..

No one was hurt, but a pet was lost in the blaze.

The home has extensive fire, water and smoke damage. The siding on a nearby home was also melted.

Investigators are trying to figure out what caused the fire

KEIL , WI (WTAQ) - Bloodshot glassy eyes and slurred speech just some of new details regarding the drunk driving arrest of former Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan.

Ryan was stopped in Keil just late Sunday night. 

Ryan told officers he was the former Mayor of Sheboygan and says he should call in a favor from Keil’s Mayor, who would have fixed the problem.

Ryan also told officers that he would have been preferred to have been arrested the “hot” female Manitowoc police officer.

Ryan has admitted in the past to being an alcoholic.

Ryan lost a recall election last February.  The recall stemmed from a weekend drinking binge in the summer of 2011. 

KEWAUNEE, WI (WTAQ) - East central Wisconsin will suffer a huge blow to its economy after the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant closes this spring.

According to a new impact study, the plant’s employees in Kewaunee, Manitowoc, and Brown counties will lose $85.5 million in annual income.

Based on averages for the nuclear power industry, the Kewaunee area can expect to almost $640-million a year – all but $50-million of that directly from the plant.

Kewaunee’s owner, Dominion Resources, expects to close the nuclear plant in April of May.

The firm could not arrange new contracts for utilities to buy plant’s electricity, because it got cheaper for the utilities to buy power made from lower-cost natural gas.

The Kewaunee County Economic Development Corporation recently conducted a new impact study, with help from UW economist Steve Deller.

The report said the plant was responsible for over 1,100 jobs, including almost 650 directly at the nuclear facility.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A mental competency exam has been ordered for a Green Bay man who walked into the Dollar Land store, poured gas on a register and started it fire. 

53-year-old James Parrish is charged with arson with a hate crime enhancer, first-degree recklessly endangering safety and carrying a concealed weapon.

The incident happened at the former Beach Road Liquor Store Tuesday evening. 

Parrish tells police he wanted to burn the store's money. He claims to be a freedom fighter and his job was to round up terrorists and torture them. 

Police had also performed two welfare checks on Parrish early in the day.

WINNEBAGO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - A pair of snowmobilers broke through the ice on Lake Butte des Morts Friday night, reiterating a warning from Winnebago County officials.

Authorities say it happened about 200 yards south of the Butte des Morts shoreline near Winneconne around 10 p.m.

Officials say two 40-year-old men were traveling from Omro when they broke through the ice. One man was able to pull himself out, and the other was in about 4 feet of water.He stood on his snowmobile until rescue workers arrived. 

Neither were hurt.

Winnebago County officials are again warning people to be careful if they're heading out on the ice this weekend.

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) - A sober server ordinance is under consideration in the city of Neenah.

Police believe making it illegal for bartenders to drink while on the job would make the city safer.

But not everyone is on the same page.

At Cranky Pat's in Neenah, the bartenders are not allowed to drink on the job.

"We have had sober bartenders for over eight years, but I would certainly see that in some circumstances you'd want the bartenders to be able to have a social drink with customers," owner David Earle tells FOX 11.

But Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson told FOX 11 his department brought the idea to the city's Public Services and Safety committee. He said it would make officers' jobs easier, because sometimes situations at taverns can get out of hand. For example fights or underage drinking.

"The likelihood of that happening goes up significantly if the bartender himself or herself is intoxicated," explained Wilkinson.

Under the ordinance, bartenders would need a .04 blood alcohol content or lower to work and could not consume on the clock.

Wilkinson told FOX 11 the change could work well in Neenah.

"We're a community that doesn't allow alcohol consumption in the parks, we don't allow the gas stations to serve alcohol.  That's pretty unique, but that's part of what Neenah is," said Wilkinson.

But before the conversation goes any further, the police department is asking for the public's opinions on social media.

"I think it's fair that we try to have some kind of discussion or some kind of measure to find out how people feel," explained Wilkinson.

The state tavern league told FOX 11 there are already enough laws on the books to deal with problems at individual bars.

"So go and pass an ordinance that would blanket every bar in the city of Neenah, we think that's unnecessary.  For the government to say, 'no, we want you to do it our way,' we don't like that idea," explained Pete Madland, executive director of the Tavern League of Wisconsin.

Neenah's Public Services and Safety Committee will review the proposed ordinance again later this month.

Chief Wilkinson said La Crosse has an ordinance like it on the books -- but police have only given out a handful of citations.

GRAND CHUTE, WI (WTAQ) - A single car rollover crash injures an Appleton man early Sunday.

Authorities say it happened on the Highway 41 northbound off-ramp to Wisconsin Avenue in Grand Chute just before 3:30 a.m.

Cops say the 25-year-old man lost control of the car while exiting Highway 41. The vehicle hit a snowbank, went airborne and hit a traffic sign. It then rolled multiple times.

Authorities say the man was conscious when they arrived at the scene but suffered multiple non-life threatening injuries. He was taken to an area hospital.

Grand Chute police say alcohol was a factor in the crash.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A task force is being assembled to look into the possibility of combining the Brown County Central Library with the Neville Public Museum. 

County Executive Troy Streckenbach says the “cultural campus” idea came from Supervisor Thomas Lund and has interest among county supervisors and city leaders. 

The idea was tossed around at a time when the library needs tens of million of dollars in repairs, maintenance and upgrades and visitors to the Neville are declining.

Streckenbach says the combination could represent a “rebranding of both the library and museum for future generations.”

Streckenbach says the task force will look at required programming and space needs for the library and how it could fit in the museum’s existing foot print, an expanded museum or an entirely new facility. 

“All options are on the table”  Steckenbach said.

The task force will be announced later this week.

WAUPACA, WI (WTAQ) - A former Waupaca County man is not sure when he’ll be sentenced, after he admitted raping a 20-year-old woman in Iola back in 1990.

41-year-old Glendon Gouker has struck a plea deal in which he was convicted of first-degree sexual assault. He was charged in late January, about the time when authorities said he was a person of interest in the killings of a man and a woman in Weyauwega in 1992 – two years after the sex assault.

State and local authorities are still looking into the slayings of Tanna Togstad and Tim Mumbrue. And they’ve taken several steps to ask the public what it knows about the case – including a billboard on Highway 10 in Waupaca County with photos of the two murder victims.

Gouker appeared in court on Friday to settle his sexual assault case. A sentencing date was not immediately set.

Gouker has lived in Oklahoma in the recent past. He was extradited to Wisconsin a month-and-a-half ago, even though he faces a homicide charge in Oklahoma in the death of a 19-year-old man. 

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A hospital in Green Bay is expected to get all of its power back Monday afternoon, after a transformer malfunctioned during the night.

Bellin Hospital said it had a brief loss of power.

Officials could not say what percentage of the hospital lost its electricity.

They said no patients were at risk, although some medical procedures had to be re-scheduled.

The hospital reported a small amount of smoke in the basement level, right after the transformer went out.

Fire-fighters were called, but they could not find anything burning.

Officials said most of the hospital’s electricity was restored by late morning, as hospital crews and engineers worked with the Wisconsin Public Service utility to get everything back on.