Fire merger

In nearby Calumet County, the Town of Harrison fire departments and first responders are merging. To illustrate the story I spent an evening at a joint training session. Lucky for us, the training was taking place on a tower about 80' above the highest ground in the valley (High Cliff)... not to mention it was all going down at sunset!

The sun sets over Lake Winnebago as Lt. Mark Vanderzee of Harrison Fire Department No. 1, left, prepares a tripod and pulley system with his fellow firefighters during high-angle rescue training atop the tower at High Cliff State Park in Sherwood, Wis., Thursday evening, July 24, 2008. Plans are advancing for a Jan. 1, 2009, merger between the Town of Harrison Fire Departments No. 1, No. 2 and First Responders. They have already begun training together.

Seizure treatment

Ben Anderson, 15, lets a scarf float and land on his face while participating in a Lawrence Academy of Music music for special needs class at Trinity Lutheran Church in Appleton, Wis., Monday afternoon, April 21, 2008. For five years, Anderson has been seizure-free thanks to an implanted vagus nerve stimulator.

Tennis tournament

Fox Cities Maria Gee's Rootin' Tootin' Cowboys' Maria Georgen returns a shot from opponent Samantha Nagin in a Fox Cities Racquet Club-hosted USTA Wisconsin junior tennis tournament in Grand Chute, Wis., Saturday, July 26, 2008.

Your Helpful Neighbor

This was a Living Well story about a local businesswoman who watches houses, pets, and teenagers when you can't be home.

Max, below, is just about the cutest gigantic dog I've ever seen. And I'm scared of big dogs. He's only a puppy! I think he looks like he was bred from Clifford and the Downy bear.

Paperfest

Brothers Michael, left, 10, and Chris, 7, Carreon of Kimberly joust at Paperfest at Sunset Park in Kimberly, Wis., Friday afternoon, July 18, 2008.

Racetrack washed out

Paint lines on a condiment stand show the former ground level as Roger Van Daalwyk, background, owner of Wisconsin International Raceway walks the grounds near the racing venue's drag racing track Thursday, July 17, 2008 after it fell victim to water erosion from Wednesday's storms in Buchanan, Wis.
The evening's races were canceled.

Garage Politics

They're opinionated, conservative and strict constitutionalists. And they'd be proud to tell you that.

They're The Group – a semi-formal political discussion group that meets monthly in Brian Garrow's garage in Appleton about 2-3 blocks from my place. They discuss local and state politicians and issues and decide who they will support in upcoming elections.

It's grassroot politics at its best.

Peter Stueck, far left, a candidate for Wisconsin's 57th Assembly District, speaks while being interviewed by The Group, a small political discussion group, that gathers at the garage of Brian Garrow in Appleton, Wis., Wednesday evening, July 9, 2008.

Vested member Chuck Schmidt, right, asks a pointed question of Stueck during the interview Wednesday evening.

Junior golf

Erik Thulien cringes after narrowly missing a putt on the 15th hole during second round play of the Fox Cities Amateur junior golf tournament at Reid Municipal Golf Course in Appleton, Wis., Wednesday, July 16, 2008.

A.J. Selig punches out of a bunker on the 16th hole.

Lost lovers no longer lost

Another photo from our series of stories about the reunion of Don Spooner and Shirley (Brown) Kerber who were torn apart by World War II and separated for 66 years. With an open-ended plane ticket, Shirley came to Appleton to see Don for the first time on June 21. She hasn't left.

Don Spooner puckers up for a smooch on reunited love Shirly (Brown) Kerber at Waverly Beach in Menasha, Wis., Thursday afternoon, July 10, 2008.

Bird Bath Invitational

The Bird Bath Invitational.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 teams with each having between 0-80 members.

I think somebody needs to start having tryouts and cuts!

Another year of covering the youth swim meet. Trying to make different pictures than last year... not sure if that really happened...

There's the good and the bad...

I love my job. I get to experience some really great things. Unfortunately bad things come with that: crime, accidents, death, disasters. Life is a wide gamut of happenings...

On my way back to the office from an assignment in Wisconsin Rapids, I was called about a possible fatal accident on the freeway on the north side of the city. I didn't have a radio with me so I didn't have much information other than an approximate location.

It was a situation where you really don't have a way of getting information at the scene. It's in the median of a highway – it's loud, you can't cross, authorities won't really go out of their way to help you this early in the investigation. All you can do is shoot what you see and ask questions later.

Back at the office we got the official press release from the state highway patrol and the gravity of the situation set in. What we thought was a collision between two cars actually turned out to be a collision between a single car and a pedestrian who entered the roadway.

According to the release, a man blew out a tire, pulled onto the shoulder and then got out of his vehicle to remove debris from the road. At that moment he was struck by an oncoming car driven by a 16-year-old girl.

It bothered me.

Usually you view a crash in terms of whose fault it is. You can point a finger. You can condemn somebody's actions as irresponsible or reckless.

This time I really didn't know who to feel more sorry for. The man was killed while trying to do something responsible. And the whole experience will certainly occupy the mind of that teenage girl for a long-time... the crash being something she may not have been able to avoid.

Authorities investigate the scene of a fatal collision between a teenage driver and pedestrian on southbound US 41 east of Ballard Road and west of Hwy. 441 in Appleton, Wis., Friday afternoon, July 11, 2008.

Rack 'n' Roll

Cal Peterman of Grand Chute wheels his bike away from the No. 8 bus at the Appleton Transit Center in downtown Appleton, Wis., Tuesday afternoon, July 8, 2008. Valley Transit says that usage of their Rack 'n' Roll bike program is up 79 percent.

Mid-Western Rodeo in Manawa

This is the third year in a row I've covered the Mid-Western Rodeo in Manawa. I feel like I come out of it every year with the same pictures, but I got a couple different ones this year. Finally some decent bucking action and a detail I've never shot before.

Bareback rider James Earl Carter of Ellsinore, Mo., hangs on for the ride during competition at the Mid-Western Rodeo in Manawa, Wis., Saturday afternoon, July 5, 2008.

Fireworks on the 4th

Last time I shot the Appleton fireworks was when I was an intern. I got a better shot this year. Next time, if possible, I want to see how well I can shoot the show from the top of the Post-Crescent building, much in the same style as the lunar eclipse I shot in winter.

Fireworks explode in the sky over Memorial Park in Appleton, Wis., Thursday evening, July 3, 2008.

Grappling Club

From a story about a fight club in Grand Chute. Photo was nixed because it didn't mesh with the story's lede about dude (and a few dudettes) beating the crap out of each other.

Olivia Arbogast-Holton, 11-months-old, hangs out ringside while mom, Amanda, background at right, trains at the Fox Valley Grappling Club in Grand Chute, Wis., Wednesday afternoon, June 25, 2008.