APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson has declared a state of emergency due to the storm damage.

"It allows us to marshal whatever resources we need right now," says Nelson. "It also puts us on track to be eligible for FEMA or Wisconsin Emergency Management grant funding to help pay for some of those costs."

Nelson has toured the damage in hard hit areas like Grand Chute, Greenville, Hortonville, Kimberly and Freedom.

"That is miraculous that given the type of damage that we have sustained from this storm, the fact that there has not been serious injuries and there have not been any deaths has just been incredible," says Nelson.

The National Weather Service says the thunderstorms packed winds over 80 miles per hour. Nelson says crews are assessing whether a tornado touched down in parts of the county.

The Red Cross has opened a shelter for residents displaced or in need at Appleton West High School, 610 N. Badger, starting at 4 p.m.

Nelson says it'll take days for the county to get back to normal.

For a list of roads closed in the county, click here.

County officials are also warning people about food and generator safety during the ongoing power outages.

APPLETON INFORMATION

Appleton Fire Department officials are collecting property damage information directly related to the storm. City of Appleton residents are asked to provide that information by calling (920) 832-5813. 

Appleton police say that many signal-controlled intersections in the city are without power. Temporary signs are up at those intersections. In the absence of temporary signs, signal-controlled intersections should be treated as a four-way stop. 

The city will be opening both yard waste sites for brush and yard waste only today until 6:00 p.m. Both yard sites will also be open on Thursday, August 8th from 9:00 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. 

Due to the severe nature of the storm, tree and branch debris will be collected from the terrace by Public Works crews starting on Monday, August 12th for all streets south of and including College Avenue and starting Monday, August 19 for all streets north of College Avenue. Residents will need to have this material on the terrace at that time as only one pick up will be conducted. During this special collection, trees need to be cut to a maximum of 8 foot in length. Large items (greater than 4 inches in diameter) do not need to be bundled.  Smaller branches, twigs and yard waste need to be bundled or placed in bags and weigh less than 45 pounds each. 

Bulky overflow (damaged building materials, damaged lawn furniture, etc.) will continue to be collected on the normal collection schedule.  This overflow must be kept separate from the yard waste debris that will be collected. 

The City Health Department is advising citizens, who may have experienced power outages, to check out information on the Health Department's Facebook page (Appleton Health Department) or the City of Appleton website for information regarding food safety during power outages.  If you are unable to access those sites due to power outages, the Health Department can be contacted at (920) 832-6429. 

The City Parks and Recreation Department is advising that the Erb Park Pool will remain closed until further notice, due to power outages. Mead Pool will continue to operate. 

Appleton residents are asked to check on the welfare of neighbors. If there is a concern about an individual's welfare, please contact the Appleton Police Department's non-emergency number at (920) 832-5500.  If the situation is medically related, please call 911. 

BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - Part of the Fox River Trail is closed due to storm damage overnight.

Officials with Brown County Park Management say the section of trail from Eiler Road in the Town of Rockland to Fair Road in Greenleaf is closed. Downed trees and branches have blocked off the trail.

Crews are working on cleaning the debris and officials hope to reopen the section of trail by the weekend.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - For the first time, the emerald ash borer has been found in Winnebago County.

The county will join 18 others on the quarantine list in Wisconsin.

Officials say the tree-killing pest was found in the yard of a private home on August 1 in the Town of Black Wolf.

The quarantine applies to all of Winnebago County. It prohibits wood products from being moved out of the county to areas that are not infested. 

For private citizens, this means that they cannot take firewood from Winnebago County to non-quarantine counties. For businesses handling wood products that could carry EAB, it means that they must work with DATCP to assure that their products are pest-free before shipping. 

The quarantine will be put in place temporarily by a Wisconsin emergency rule, until the U.S. Department of Agriculture completes the process to put a federal quarantine in place. 

Earlier this week, Fond du Lac officials announced the emerald ash borer had been found near the city, and added they'd put a plan of attack in place that will likely include taking out ash trees. 

It was the first time the ash tree-killing insect has been found in Fond du Lac County. 

Fond du Lac city officials are encouraging residents to attend a DNR informational meeting set for 4:30 p.m. Oct. 28 in the legislative chambers of the City/County Government Center, 160 South Macy Street.

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) - Neenah water officials say that should safe samples come back Thursday and Friday from the water main, they will start to turn residents' water one, one-by-one, on Friday.

The water was first shut off Monday for part of S. Commercial Street after tests continued to show bacteria in the water.

As the 30 addresses are turned on, crews will be flushing the service lines, installing new water meters, doing a cross-connection inspection, and taking a water sample for testing. It will take about one hour at each residence.

However, the "boil water notice" will not be lifted until each address passes one safe water sample test. It will be lifted for those addresses that pass the water sample.Officials say you must contact the Water Utility to make an appointment to turn on the water. Every property must be inspected, and the water will not be turned on without an appointment. 

Call (920) 886-6190 by Thursday, August 8, 2013 to schedule an appointment between 7:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

PULASKI, WI (WTAQ) - A Pulaski School Board member convicted of hosting an underage drinking party with her son and other high school friends back in May decided not attend a discussion about her actions Wednesday night. 

Christine Vandenhouten showed up for the meeting, but upon seeing WTAQ’s vehicle pull up, she turned around and left in her car. 

Milt Thompson is the new Superintendent. He took over on August 1^st. 

Thompson shared his reaction to Vadenhouten leaving. 

“It’s not a big deal, I’m not upset about it, really I have no reaction," Thompson said.   

Thompson has spoken with Vandenhouten about the incident, but says she hasn’t given him any indication she would resign. 

Vandenhouten paid a $366 fine on July 30^th concerning the incident.  Since she is not a school district employee, she can’t be disciplined. 

Thompson says Wednesday’s discussion was an important one to have.

“Primarily because our school mission is always focused on students and we want to make sure all of our actions, the actions of each of us, reflect positively on students, their behaviors, on habits we want them to develop throughout life,” Thompson said.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Charges have been filed against a Green Bay woman for allegedly hitting two homes with her car.

On Wednesday, 22-year-old Janae Owens was charged with several counts, including OWI causing injury.

Authorities say Owens was speeding down 9th Street Tuesday morning when her vehicle went off the road, slammed into a home and severed the gas meter.

The car then hit another vehicle parked in the driveway, careened into the next driveway and pushed a Jeep into a second home. 

No one was hurt.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Thursday is the 36th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s final ride on his favorite roller coaster – the Zippin Pippin, which is now in Green Bay.

The rock and roll legend died just over a week later.

The ride is now at Bay Beach Park in Green Bay, where officials plan to celebrate the anniversary in a number of ways.

Riders will get glowing necklaces to help brighten the wooden roller coaster. Presley’s favorite peanut butter and banana sandwiches will be served, along with “hound dogs.”

A costume contest and tribute performance will also be featured.

The Zippin Pippin ran for decades in Memphis where it became Elvis’ favorite ride. Green Bay spent almost $4 million to recreate the roller coaster, using the original seats.

It has attracted thousands more riders than expected since it opened at Bay Beach in 2011. 

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Friday is the deadline for low-income parents to apply for state-funded vouchers to send their kids to private schools this fall.

Wisconsin approved a limited statewide choice program a few weeks ago.

48 private and religious schools have applied for the program. The limit is 500 students – and if there are more applicants than that, only the 25 schools with the highest numbers of applications will be allowed to take part.

The state Department of Public Instruction says it will wait until next week to announce how many parents apply, and which schools will make the final cut.

Wisconsin’s voucher program has run for 20 years in Milwaukee, and two years in Racine.

Supporters say it provides a better alternative to underperforming public schools. Opponents say it takes away much-needed state funds from public education. 

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Five town hall meetings will be held throughout Wisconsin during the next month, on the issue of weight limits for agricultural equipment on state highways.

A study group with more than 20 stakeholders recommended new height and width requirements for farm equipment that travels on Wisconsin highways.

Weight allowances for so-called “implements of husbandry” would be 15 percent above those recommended by federal bridge formulas – except where posted, and during spring thaws.

The UW Extension Service will co-sponsor the five upcoming public meetings, along with agriculture and transportation officials.

Those meetings will all start at 7 p.m. on August 19th in Madison, August 20th near Stratford, the 28th in Cashton, the 29th in Green Bay, and September 3rd in Chippewa Falls.

More information is available on the DOT’s Web site, accessible at Wisconsin.Gov. 

MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin’s governor is being asked to send a criminal suspect from Upper Michigan back to his home state.

52-year-old Scotland Stivers of Sault Ste. Marie has been fighting extradition ever since he was arrested in Marinette County on June 7th.

He’s charged with endangering courtroom workers, when he tried to ingest a vial of sodium cyanide in a suicide attempt. That happened in March of last year, right after he was sentenced to jail for polluting a bay along Lake Huron by illegally mooring three old tugboats.

Stivers also faces assault charges in a second county, where authorities said they found poison and 25 firearms at his home. Officials said Stivers has skipped out on subsequent court dates in both Chippewa and Cheboygan counties in Michigan.

Authorities said they captured Stivers in Marinette when he tried to check into a motel under an assumed name but paid with a credit card that listed his real name. That was when Marinette officers learned that he was wanted on Michigan warrants.

He’s being held there under a $100,000 cash bond. A Chippewa County judge has asked Governor Scott Walker to order Stivers’ extradition. 

NEW LONDON, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker got a first-hand look of the damage from a storm that rolled through parts of Northeast Wisconsin.

The governor arrived just before 8 a.m. in New London Thursday and surveyed the downed trees, power lines, damaged structures, homes and vehicles.

Walker held a press conference in front of Trinity Lutheran Church, which was destroyed by an EF-2 tornado. He also visited storm damage in Hortonville.

Governor Walker says said the state is looking at several options to help communities clean up debris. One option could include calling in the Wisconsin National Guard for help.

He also said the state is actively making sure insurance adjusters are assisting storm victims at a rapid pace.

Walker is also expected to visit Marinette County Thursday, where a town chairman was killed while cleaning up storm debris.

APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) - Just over 8,000 Fox Valley electric customers are still without power, two days after heavy thunderstorms and a newly-confirmed five tornadoes hit the area.

We Energies is hoping to get everybody back on line by the end of Saturday.

Over 70,000 customers of We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service lost their electricity at the height of the northeast Wisconsin storms, which killed a Marinette County town chairman who was hit by a car while clearing highway debris.

WPS has virtually all its customers back, with just 14 out as of 4:30 a.m. Friday.

Thursday, Governor Scott Walker announced various types of state assistance after inspecting Trinity Lutheran Church in New London that was leveled by one of the twisters.

Parishioners attended an outdoor service outside the church Thursday night.

The National Weather Service confirmed Thursday that 5 tornadoes touched down early Wednesday morning. The twisters stretched from New London to Maribel in Outagamie, Brown, Calumet, Kewaunee, and Manitowoc counties.

One of them was an EF-2 storm with winds up to 110 miles an hour, and the other four were EF-1 tornadoes. 

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Officials with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation says they will have a full overnight closure of the northbound Highway 41 off-ramp to Highway 29 beginning Thursday at 7 p.m.

The closure will run through Friday at 6 a.m.

The reason is to set tub girders.

According to the DOT, the following detours will be in place:

• Northbound US 41 traffic wanting to exit at WIS 29 will be detoured to exit at Mason Street
• Eastbound WIS 29 traffic will take Mason Street east to Military Avenue and follow Military Avenue north to eastbound WIS 29
• Westbound WIS 29 traffic will take Mason Street west to Packerland Drive and follow Packerland Drive north to westbound WIS 29

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - The Green Bay Packers pre-season home opener Friday against the Arizona Cardinals has the Wisconsin Department of Transportation issuing a travel advisory.

The DOT says road construction season continues on most major roads across Northeast Wisconsin. Officials say fans should not encounter any significant traffic impacts due to the construction heading to the game.

However, the DOT strongly recommends drivers allow themselves more time to get to their destinations.

Here is a list of the major roads in Northeast Wisconsin most Packers fans will be traveling and the road conditions they should anticipate:

US 41

Brown County

• Drivers will encounter 11-foot travel lanes and reduced shoulders in multiple locations along a 10-mile segment of highway. The speed limit is reduced to 55 mph from just south of Scheuring Road to I-43.
• The US 41 southbound Mason Street exit is closed. All traffic going to Mason Street from US 41 southbound must exit at the off-ramp to WIS 29. They will then continue south on the WIS 29 on-ramp back to US 41 southbound. At the top of the ramp, the left lane merges back onto US 41 southbound and the right lane continues to Mason Street.

WIS 29

Brown County

• WIS 29 has narrower shoulders due to temporary barrier wall at various locations that will cause traffic to slow.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - A disaster declaration has been signed by Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach in the aftermath of tornado and storm damage from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

Officials hope that the declaration will help the county and surrounding communities receive funds for cleanup efforts.

Some state agencies have started helping out those affected by the storms. Click here for details and contact information.

Shortly after midnight Wednesday, a tornado embedded in straight-line winds touched down in southern Brown County, southeast of Kaukauna.

The disasater declaration comes the same day that officials in neighboring Outagamie County asked for cleanup help from the National Guard.

WAUPACA COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) - Authorities say a central Wisconsin woman found dead in a burned vehicle in Waupaca County was apparently murdered.

The victim is a 36-year-old Plover woman.

Sheriff Brad Hardel said she might have been killed before being placed in a car found Wednesday in the Waupaca County town of Harrison.

Also, officers in Plover are checking out an apartment there.

The state Justice Department is helping with the investigation.

An autopsy is pending, and the victim’s name was not immediately released. 

NEENAH, WI (WTAQ) - Water officials in Neenah have canceled a "boil water" notice.

A boil advisory was issued almost two weeks ago for a section of the city, centered on addresses between 512 and 741 S. Commercial Street . 

Officials say let the water run through all of your hot and cold water faucets inside and outside for 5 minutes.

Water Utility Director Kent Taylor says they have not nailed down what caused the coliform bacteria.

"We do know that it's associated with the construction area, but we can't say it was a pipe, or valve, or a hydrant or anything of that sort," says Taylor.

GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Three more tornadoes were confirmed Thursday by the National Weather Service in Green Bay. 

They were all part of the storm that hit late Tuesday into Wednesday. 

Two EF-One tornados hit Mackville and Maribel area.  One of those twisters had a 30-mile track.  A third EF-One was confirmed in Pilsen, the only tornado near the Fox Valley area. 

The previous two that were confirmed on Wednesday included an EF-Two near New London and an EF-one near Hortonville. 

KAUKAUNA, WI (WTAQ) - A crash in Outagamie County Thursday injures five people.

Authorities say it happened on Highway 55 at Highway KK near Kaukauna just before 8 p.m.

Officials say a car lost control, crossed the center line and struck a minivan going the opposite direction.

Two adults and three children, ages two, three and seven, were in the minivan.

The adults and two of the children were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the car was also taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Authorities say alcohol appears to be a factor in the crash.

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) - The Oshkosh Corporation has given the military the first of 22 prototypes for a new breed of basic military vehicle to replace the Humvee.

Oshkosh is one of three contractors hoping to win a huge $30 billion contract to make the new vehicles over a 20-year period.

The Pentagon is looking to replace up to 55,000 Humvees with safer units that offer more protection from improvised explosive devices. Officials also want the new vehicles to be faster, lighter, and more nimble than other armored trucks which are now on the market.

Oshkosh plans to deliver the rest of its prototypes this month.

The company was hoping to get its main employee union to extend its labor contract by five years, saying it would give Oshkosh a better chance to win the contract. However, talks on an extension recently broke down.