ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) - A decade of honoring local veterans is being marked Thursday at the Brown County Veterans Memorial.

The first bricks at the memorial site were laid on May 23, 2003. It sits in front of the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena, which is near the corner of Armed Forces Drive and S. Oneida Street.

Since then, more than 4,000 bricks have been purchased and displayed. Each one has the name of a veteran from Brown County. 

Founders say this memorial is intended to recognize not just for those who have died, but for all who have served.

“The individuals like to have their name on display or whatever, showing that they served their country. And of course, the plaques on the inside are people that never came back,” Doug Santy, president of Friends of Brown County Veterans, told FOX 11.

Santy says bricks can still be purchased through his group, Friends of Brown County Veterans.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - UW-Green Bay men's basketball coach Brian Wardle will hold on to his job following the review of an investigtion into alleged abuse of players.

University Chancellor Tom Harden released a statement Friday about the findings of an independent review conducted by local attorney Joseph Nicks.

The statement read, "the review concluded that a good deal of what was alleged did not occur as it was stated in the complaints I received in April.”

The investigation began after two players accused the coach of misconduct. Transferring freshman Ryan Bross told the school Wardle had worked him out until he lost control of his bowels, then mocked him for it. Graduating senior Brennan Cougill said Wardle called his clinical depression a distraction.

"I do not take these actions lightly. There will likely be those, here at the university and in the broader community, who will disagree with the steps I have taken. I urge anyone with an interest in this case to read the entire report before drawing conclusions," Harden said in a news release.

• Click here to read the full investigation results (WARNING: explicit language)
• Click here to read Harden's statement

While Wardle will not be fired, the university says it will not extend his contract during 2013. The contract, which expires in 2017, will be reviewed on an annual basis. A disciplinary letter will be placed in his personnel file. He will be assigned an adviser for the upcoming season with the goal of improving some of the ways in which he motivates players. Finally, he will be required to be more involved in university-wide activities in the future, “to better understand the broader university environment.”

Wardle released a statement on Friday, which read, in part:

“I have done a tremendous amount of reflection and self-examination over the past several months that will help me improve as a coach.  I am confident that our players are in a healthy environment where they can reach their academic and athletic potential. I believe the University’s findings support my claim, and my family and I would like to express our gratitude to Chancellor Harden for his leadership in executing a thorough investigation.”

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) - “Open the register, you’re being robbed.” 

Those were the words from a robber at a Neenah Subway restaurant Wednesday evening. 

Neenah police say the would-be-robber attempted to reach over the counter and open the register of the Subway in the 1500 hundred block of South Commercial Street. 

However, he didn’t get any cash. 

Police say he never showed a weapon. 

He was caught on surveillance video inside at a nearby McDonalds, before he attempted to rob the Subway. 

The suspect is described as white, average height with long wavy black hair.  The suspect had a blue streak running through it.  He was wearing a darker hooded sweatshirt, a green Carhartt ball stocking cap, with khaki pants and dark Nike shoes. 

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ0 - A man is dead following an apparent suicide involving a gun after a standoff with Appleton police Friday night.  

Authorities arrived around 8:20 pm last night to a home in the 1000 block of South Walden Avenue. 

Police say they were there to serve an arrest and search warrant in connection with a firearms investigation. 

Fox 11 reports a 62-year-old lived at the residence and he refused to leave the house. 

After SWAT and authorities could not make contact with the man after several hours, teams moved in and found the man dead.

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin’s governor says he expects leaders in the Joint Finance Committee will reach a deal on expansion of private school vouchers before they vote next Wednesday.

The voucher program in Milwaukee and Racine subsidizes private school tuition for students.

Governor Walker’s plan would expand the program to large districts which have at least two schools getting a D or F on state report cards.

That guideline would mean nine new districts would qualify for vouchers next year, including Green Bay schools.  

The expansion would cost an estimated $73 million.

A number of Wisconsin Republican Senators have challenged the use of the state report cards as a way to trigger the expenditure.

ALLOUEZ, WI (WTAQ) - Fire officials have started the investigation into what caused one of the largest fires the Green Bay area has ever seen.

The blaze at the Hilltop Place Apartments on Hilltop Way in the village of Allouez Thursday put over 100 people out of a home.

Firefighters have been on scene for more than a day now keeping an eye on the rubble.

Everyone made it out of the fire. But for those who returned Friday, the sight of the damage won't soon be forgotten. Bikes burned and a television torched.

Seared reminders of the massive fire Thursday. Briar Schultz was asleep at the time of the fire.

“It's heartbreaking to see all the stuff that all of us have worked so hard to have, now it's all gone,” Schultz told FOX 11.

Rosalio Rodriquez used to live in a second floor apartment.

“When we saw smoke in the hallway, yeah that's when we started thinking hey this could be big,” said Rodriquez.

His girlfriend Erika Kabacinski is a nursing student.

“I had a thousand dollars of nursing books, and just all my notes, and hard work that I put into all my classes, is gone,” said Kabacinski.

Crews spent Friday morning pumping water out of the basement.

“The fire did originate in the basement. We do know that. Other than that, cause-wise, we really have no ideas,” Green Bay Metro Fire Chief Mike Nieft told FOX 11.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries Thursday. Nieft says all three were treated and released from the hospital.

“No traumatic injuries, it was just some overwork, and possibly some smoke. But they'll be all right,” said Nieft.

Nieft says water was tanked in to fight the fire.

“There was a point where we were flowing so much water that we were starting to deplete the system, and we didn't want to totally deplete the system, because that affects people in their homes,” said Nieft.

Fire investigators from both the state and county are on scene.

“Anything like this you want to get the absolute determination of what happened, so obviously with this much property loss, the insurance companies are going to want to know, so it's a big deal. So we'll work hard to figure out what happened,” said Nieft.

As far as a damage estimate, the chief says the building is a total loss.

WINNECONNE, WI (WTAQ) - One group honored the nation's men and women who served in the military, while also spending time with them on the water.

The Wounded Warrior Project and professional fishermen teamed up for a fishing tournament for veterans on Saturday.

Veterans like Corey Richards, who was deployed to a desert, and came back with a Purple Heart for wounds to his shoulders and back.

“Spent a year in Afghanistan,” Richards, who served with the Michigan Army National Guard, but currently lives in Wisconsin Rapids, told FOX 11. “March 20 ^th, 2009, I ended up in a roadside bomb accident.”

Professional Walleye fisherman Jeff Nuechterlein wanted to give wounded warriors a chance to reconnect with their passion this Memorial Day weekend.

“They've sacrificed so much for us and this is the least we can do is take them out on a really nice boat like we get the opportunity to drive and treat them to a nice day of fishing out here for the weekend,” Nuechterlein told FOX 11.

Nuechterlein paired up 16 Wisconsin veterans with fishing pros with help from the Wounded Warrior Project in Chicago.

Together they started this fishing tournament on Lakes Winneconne and Poygen.

These professional fishermen showed their appreciation by taking wounded warriors out on boats this weekend. But organizers say you can show your support by thanking veterans in your area.

As for Richards, helping him catch a trophy fish like this has been the perfect way to say "thanks" for his service.

The tournament went so well this year, organizers say they hope to involve more wounded veterans and volunteer fishing pros next year.

HOWARD, WI (WTAQ) - A two-vehicle crash Saturday leaves two people injured.

Authorities say it happened at the intersection of Velp and Glendale Avenues in the village of Howard.

The Brown County Sheriff's Department says they received a call about the crash just after 3:20 p.m.

Two people were injured in the crash, but only one was transported to the hospital. That person suffered non-life threatening injures.

The cause is still under investigation.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - A tribute to fallen Fox Valley soldiers was held at the Outagamie County courthouse in Appleton Saturday.

The afternoon ceremony highlights Staff Sergeant Matthew Hermanson, who was a 2006 graduate of Appleton North High School.

Hermanson was killed in Afghanistan in 2011 after enemy forces attacked his unit.

Family members said they're proud of his service, but still struggle around this time each year.

"It's hard because he died at the end of April. So all of May is always hard," his brother Nate Hermanson told FOX 11.

Hermanson had already completed a 14-month tour of duty in Iraq before being sent to Afghanistan in November 2011.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A verbal argument between a man with a knife and a woman at a Shell gas station on Green Bay’s West side ends after bystanders intervene.

Police say the man walked into the gas station at 515 W. Walnut St. around 6 p.m. Sunday to confront a woman there and an argument began. 

Lt. Patrick Childs says the woman, several patrons and bystanders told the man to leave. 

Things then escalated and the man pulled out a knife. 

However, several bystanders disarmed the man and subdued him until police arrived and took the man into custody. 

One of the bystanders sustained a minor injury.  

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - An Appleton man is helping everyone remember that fallen veterans honored this Memorial Day weekend, grew up right alongside of us in our communities.

"Ultimately these soldiers and sailors came from communities like Appleton," Joe Garthofner tells FOX 11. "The United States military would not exist without volunteer servicemen from communities like Appleton, Green Bay, various areas." 

So Gaerthofner, a self-proclaimed history nut, is working to keep history alive by helping others discover the veterans behind the headstones in Riverside Cemetery in Appleton. 

He's a volunteer with the History Museum at the Castle in Appleton. And this Memorial Day weekend he's taking groups on a tour of the cemetery of those who served. 

"There's many, many stories of veterans out here not only who served their country, some have paid the ultimate sacrifice. And we though it was important," Gaerthofner said. 

From the Civil War to the current conflict in Afghanistan, there are local veterans who fought for our freedom and the freedom of others being remembered at Riverside. 

"Matt was from Appleton, born in Appleton, graduate of Appleton North High school...," Gaerthofner told the small group on Sunday's tour about one of the more recent local veterans to lose his life servicing his country.

Staff Sgt. Matt Hermanson died in 2011. But veterans from Appleton have been serving their community and country ever since people settled in this community. And Gaerthofner says they should not be forgotten either. Gaerthofner offered pictures and stories her researched about the veterans to help visitors make a connection. 

"It's a weekend of remembrance and certainly with all the men and women who served it's important that we remember what this weekend is about," said Gaerthofner.

CASCO, WI (WTAQ) - This Memorial Day weekend, one local family is reflecting on its own loss.

“It puts us on a list that most people don't want to be on. The list of honoring your own. But, it's something Dean wanted to do. He wanted to join the service, he wanted to serve his country, and he did the almighty service, he lost his life doing it,” David Opicka, standing in front of a framed picture of his son, tells FOX 11.  “As the saying goes, freedom was never free.”

David Opicka's son, Lance Corporal Dean Opicka, was killed in Iraq. The vehicle the Marine was driving hit a land mine.

“With what, 100,000 troops there, you know you say what are the odds that it's going to be your son or daughter, that the Marines are going to be at your door, because there are so many there. But you do know that when you look out the door and the Marines were there, we knew it was not for a good thing,” his father recalled.

“It's difficult to realize that your son is here,” said his mother, Donna, told FOX 11 at his grave site.

Now instead of just a barbecue, Memorial Day will focus on a trip to the cemetery where Opicka is buried, less than a mile from the family's Casco home.

This year marks five years since Lance Corporal Dean Opicka was killed in action. He was actually the third Marine from Luxembourg-Casco area to die in Iraq. And with this 10th anniversary of that conflict beginning, families say they will never forget the service their sons gave.

“The large flag in the middle is the one that covered his coffin,” Opicka's mother pointed out.

Pictures, mementos and flags cover the Opicka's living room wall.

A memorial in their backyard proudly displays an American flag, and statue of a Marine: The same statue that guards Opicka's grave.

As a family with a long military tradition, the Opickas say they remain like this motto: Always faithful, committed to keeping their son's memory alive.

The Opicka family gives high school scholarships each year in honor of their son. A softball tournament fundraiser is set for next weekend in Casco.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - A special event for Vietnam vets at this summer’s EAA’s AirVenture 2013. 

A group of 100 Vietnam vets will be selected for a one-day trip to Washington D.C. to visit the Vietnam Memorial Wall. 

The event is in partnership with Northeast Wisconsin Old Glory Honor Flight of, American Airlines, and Oshkosh Corporation. 

Old Glory Honor Flight President Drew McDonald says it is the 40^th anniversary to the end of hostilities and this is the perfect opporuntiy to give Vietnam vets this opportunity.  McDonald days Vietnam vets have been heavily supportive of their previous trips for WWII vets and recent Korean War vets.

The trip will include a stop at the Wall, the Smithsonian, and Arlington National Cemetery to the changing of the guard.

Vets interested in going need to apply online through AirVenture.org or OldGloryHonorFlight.org.

DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) - Fire damages a home in De Pere Monday.

Crews get the call to the house in the 600 block of North Webster Street just after 2 p.m.

Upon arrival, firefighters saw smoke coming from an opened garage door and they determined the it was coming from a dryer fire. Officials say the fire was under control in less than 10 minutes.

No one was hurt. The estimated cost of damage from the fire is $10,000.

SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ) - In Shawano, Dee Lyons' garage and house are filled with items ready to be donated to victims of last week's deadly tornado in Moore, Oklahoma.

“I have over one hundred people willing to donate,” Lyons told FOX 11.

“This is just horrifying for them people,” said Lyons. “That's why I'm doing it.”

Lyons got into the giving mood last December. Since then, she has held collections for 15 Shawano area families.

“All different crises: fire, one had a brain aneurism couldn't support his children, domestic abuse,” said Lyons.

Helping the people in Oklahoma is her first long distance effort.

“Watching the news and stuff and seeing the devastation in Oklahoma, it's just awesome that Dee is doing this kind of thing for them,” Alan Janus, a neighbor helping Lyons, told FOX 11.

Word of Lyons' collection has spread mostly on Facebook.

“The people just keep coming and coming,” said Lyons.

“There's cars two, three, four of them will pull up in an hour,” said Janus.

Lyons says personal care items are still needed, along with help to sort items. But at the moment, one need is outweighing the rest.

“Our biggest hurdle is finding our transportation to get it there,” said Lyons. “All the trucking companies that we've asked, they've all said no so far. So plan B will be Ryder or Uhaul.”

Lyons is holding a rummage sale next weekend to get gas money to get the donations to Oklahoma. It's a trip she plans to see through herself.

Lyons says she is exploring the idea of turning her collection efforts into a nonprofit organization under the name Heaven Sent.

Even though transportation and distribution systems still need to be worked out, she says she's still accepting donations at her house at 403 South Hamlin Street in Shawano. She says she'll even arrange to have donations picked up by calling her at (715) 584-4269.

FORT HOWARD, WI (WTAQ) - Fort Howard Memorial Park in Green Bay held a ceremony on Memorial Day to hear the names read of the 57 veterans buried there over the past year.

Hundreds attended as members of the Army Reserve's 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion provided a 21-gun salute.

Four veterans placed a wreath in the cemetery's field of honor.  

FOX 11's Tom Milbourn, who is also a veteran, was the speaker at the Memorial Day ceremony.

Milbourn reminded the crowd about the urgency of remembering the sacrifices made in light of the passing of the World War II generation.

"We must remember not to forget.  So on this day, as Americans have done for 145 years, we pause in grateful memory of those we have known, also mindful of the many we have not known, who have paid the highest price for freedom here at home and in other parts of the world," said Milbourn.

DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) - The annual Memorial Day parade in De Pere had people honoring those veterans who've made the ultimate sacrifice.

It began Monday morning outside West De Pere High School.

Desert Storm veterans marched in the procession; while purple heart recipients were also in attendance.

Those at the event say, it was a somber remembrance of the price for freedom.

"It's one of those days that I think America puts aside to remember those that have given everything," Bob Pointer, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 970, told FOX 11.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Bartenders in downtown Green Bay can keep drinking with their customers.

Alderman Mark Steuer says he’s withdrawing a proposed city ordinance that would have barred bartenders from drinking on the job.

Green Bay Police suggested the ban last year, as part of a series of measures aimed at making the downtown safer and more welcoming to new business.

The so-called “sober server” law attracted criticism from a host of people, including the Brown County Tavern League which called it excessive government regulation.

Alderman Steuer chairs the Green Bay Protection Committee. He said his proposal is on the “back burner,” and it’s not a dead issue yet. Steuer said he was reminded that, “In Wisconsin, alcohol is part of the culture.”

The police package also included surveillance cameras in bars, not allowing troubled customers to move from tavern to tavern, and encouraging outdoor patio seats.

One proposal has already been adopted – a ban on late night street parking on portions of Washington Street, so officers can keep a closer eye on the crowds.

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - The state panel that’s re-working the new state budget is scheduled Wednesday to consider the governor’s proposed expansion of private school choice.

Senate leaders in Scott Walker’s own Republican Party have been talking about a compromise – but if they agreed on an alternative, it has not been made public yet.

A number of GOP senators have balked at the governor’s plan to offer private school vouchers in up to 9 new Wisconsin school districts, including Madison and Green Bay.

Walker says he wants to give parents an alternative to failing neighborhood schools, but opponents say the plan increases state aid to voucher programs and not public schools.

The voucher program has been offered in Milwaukee for 20 years. It expanded to outlying Milwaukee County and Racine two years ago.

The governor also wants to offer vouchers to parents of special needs’ students, but critics say parents who accept the vouchers would lose federal protections for their kids in the process.

ALLOUEZ, WI (WTAQ) - The fire that destroyed much of an Allouez apartment complex remains under investigation.

The Green Bay Metro Fire Department says they continue to look into what may have caused the blaze last Thursday at the Hilltop Place Apartments at 3415 Hilltop Place.

A news release indicates that the investigation report for the fire, which displaced 107 residents, could take 4 to 6 weeks to complete. The Green Bay Metro Fire Department Fire Marshal’s Office, the State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Brown County Fire Investigation Task Force is still investigating.

As of now, the official status is, "under investigation."

Officials estimate the damage caused by the fire is more than $3 million.

The scene has been turned over to the building owner at this time. 

The fire department is no longer accepting donations at the stations for residents of the apartment complex.  Residents wanting access to the building should contact building management.