Stretching the system

Brown County's foster care system will be challenged in the months ahead when a new law will add 50 homes to it's caseload on Jan. 1.

Trisha Rogers gives Lukas, 20 months old – one of her three foster children – a tickle while playing at home in Green Bay, Wis., Saturday morning, Nov. 14, 2009.

Back on the ice

It's hockey time... one of my favorite sports to watch and photograph.

St. Norbert's home venue has a press box directly over the benches about 14 feet above the ice, allowing you to shoot straight down for an overhead view near the boards. The odds of something great happening in that exact spot are slim, but it never hurts to be ready for it with a short lens.

St. Norbert College's Dylan Exton (27) pulls the puck out of the air while defended by University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point's Kyle Greco (9) in the first period of a game at the Cornerstone Community Center in Ashwaubenon, Wis., Friday evening, Nov. 13, 2009.

St. Norbert College's Justin Favreau (4) puts a big hit on University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point's Reed Lally (12) in the first period.

St. Norbert College players rush teammate Brandon Longley (23), far right, after his second period shorthanded goal – SNC's first of the season.

Recycling business

Jason Roffers poses for a portrait with collected aluminum cans at his home in Abrams, Wis., Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009. The disabled 29-year-old started a recycling non-profit business.

Kimberly steamrolling through the playoffs

What a game! Two-time defending state champions Kimberly High School playing Pulaski High School. Pulaski was unseeded, but beat the first-seeded Shawano 62-23 (no, that's not a typo) and fourth-seeded Menasha 17-7.

Pulaski handled Kimberly admirably in the first two quarters, going into the half up 14-7. But in the second half it was all Kimberly.

Kimberly High School's Colten Heagle (23) gets past Pulaski High School's Race Noeldner (4) for a touchdown late in the first quarter of a WIAA Division 2 Level 3 game in Pulaski, Wis., Saturday afternoon, Nov. 7, 2009.

Kimberly High School's Joe Julian (21) and Ryan Kiel (38) bring down Pulaski High School quarterback Race Noeldner (4) in the first quarter.

Kimberly High School's Craig Koeniger (27) can't stop Pulaski High School's Brett Smith (5) from pulling in a pass for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Kimberly High School's Zach Guckenberger (28) rushes for a touchdown past Pulaski High School's Kyle Kubiak (47) in the third quarter.

Pulaski High School's AJ Huxford (42) and Jake Vanderloop (15) stay on the field together after falling to Kimberly High School.

Humane society founder

The portrait session could have been a total flop. Conditioned to be fearful of guns and clicks, poor Gus was afraid of my camera. In 15 minutes I only made about 30 frames... about 29 of which were terribly lit, or the flashes didn't fire, or the expressions were bad, or the background wasn't clean, or Gus was hiding from me. To boot, the session was cut short because I got called off of it to cover a rollover crash in the vicinity.

I don't know how it happened... but this little moment occurred and somehow got captured. With more time and a calm dog I might have done better (particularly with the lighting), but I doubt I could have asked for a better picture given the circumstances.

Bette Anderson gives Gus, a three year-old Rottweiler-Chow mix, some scratches at Packerland Veterinary Center in Green Bay, Wis., Wednesday morning, Nov. 4, 2009. Anderson was a co-founder of the Bay Area and Oconto Area Human Societies.

Kewaunee knocks off Appleton Xavier

To call it a blustery evening would be an understatement. Near gale force winds made it a challenging environment for a Level 3 WIAA playoff game, but Kewaunee and Appleton Xavier came to play.

The teams kept things close in the first half, but Kewaunee took control in the second half to win 25-14.

It was pretty much the Connor O'Brien and Craig Christman show most of the game – both very talented runners.

Here are a few of my favorites from last night...

Kewaunee High School's Mike Lux (87) and Appleton Xavier High School's Connor O'Brien (20) grab each other's facemasks in the third quarter of a WIAA Division 4 Level 3 playoff game in Kewaunee, Wis., Friday evening, Nov. 6, 2009. No penalties were called on the play.

Kewaunee High School's Craig Christman (26) takes the ball upfield with Appleton Xavier High School defenders in tow during the third quarter.

Kewaunee High School's Alex Schleis (34), Matt Miller (79) and Tyler Wotachek (84) stop Appleton Xavier High School quarterback Chris Kessenich (8) at the line in the first quarter.

Appleton Xavier High School's Connor O'Brien (20) rushes upfield in the second quarter.

Kaukauna girls volleyball advances

Down two games to Fond du Lac in the WIAA Division 1 state quarterfinal, Kaukauna mounted a stunning comeback and won the next three games to advance to the semis against Middleton.

Because of early deadlines, covering the fifth game of the match wasn't a possibility. But the other games afforded ample opportunity to capture some moments that helped tell the story.

Kaukauna High School's Jenni Fassbender (13) hits the ball past Fond du Lac High School's Emily Riese (17) in the first game of a WIAA state quarterfinal match at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon, Wis., Thursday evening, Nov. 5, 2009.

Kaukauna High School's Maria Van Abel (1) reaches for a dig in a WIAA state quarterfinal match against Fond du Lac.

Kaukauna High School's Jenni Fassbender (13), Maria Van Abel (1), and McKinzie Freimuth (3) celebrate a point in the second game of their match against Fond du Lac High School.

Kaukauna High School players celebrate another crucial point.

Kaukauna High School head coach Dan Scharenbroch reacts to his team's comeback against Fond du Lac High School in the fourth game of the WIAA state quarterfinal match.

Kaukauna High School's Leah Van Zeeland (10) cannot contain her joy after a point late in the fourth game to hang on against Fond du Lac High School.

Waiting for a verdict

A jury deliberated until 11:30 p.m. on the case of Jeremiah Felton. After the guilty verdict was read and court was adjourned, some jurors received concerning text messages on their cell phones. Security was heightened and all jurors and court employees were escorted to their vehicles by sheriff deputies. After an investigation the next day, it was determined that the messages were not a threat.

Jeremiah Felton stands with his defense attorneys, Tayyibah Sethi, left, and Jacqueline Rogers, right, as the jury enters the courtroom before handing over their guilty verdict on the count of first-degree intentional homicide at the Brown County Courthouse in Green Bay, Wis., late Monday evening, Oct. 26, 2009. Felton, 21, of Green Bay, had been accused of killing his 4-month old son, Jeremiah "J.J." Felton, Jr., in June 2008.

Two women in the courtroom gallery react to Jeremiah Felton being found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide at the Brown County Courthouse in Green Bay, Wis., late Monday evening, Oct. 26, 2009.

Bailiff Bob Demro hands Judge Kendall Kelley a juror's phone after a concerning text message was sent to two of the jurors after the panel found Jeremiah Felton guilty of first-degree intentional homicide.

After conferring with Judge Kendall Kelley, Brown County Sheriff Sgt. Kirk Schupbach hands Bailiff Bob Demro a juror's phone after a concerning text message was sent to two of the jurors after the panel found Jeremiah Felton guilty of first-degree intentional homicide.

Brown County Sheriff deputies monitor the Brown County Courthouse after Jeremiah Felton was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide at the Brown County Courthouse in Green Bay, Wis., late Monday evening, Oct. 26, 2009. Two jurors received concerning text messages on their cellular phones after the verdict was read that caused courthouse security to take extra precautions. Felton, 21, of Green Bay, had been accused of killing his 4-month old son, Jeremiah "J.J." Felton, Jr., in June 2008.

Art for Life's Sake

Kim Thornborrow, an art therapist with HEAL (Helping Elevate thru Art & Love), transforms hospital rooms into temporary art studios for patients – often children – struggling with illness or disabilities. "I'm not very good with words," Thornborrow says. "But I can paint my feelings. And these children are better able at times to express themselves through their paintings."

Kim Thornborrow, founder of HEAL – Helping Elevate thru (sic) Art & Love – paints with cancer patient Lilyana Barthuly, 5, of Rosendale, at St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, Wis., Friday afternoon, Oct. 9, 2009. Barthuly was diagnosed with a neuroblastoma in April 2008.

Barthuly shares a laugh with Thornborrow during the Oct. 9 painting session.

"The panda's eyes – they're brown like her eyes," says Thornborrow, referring to the eyes of a pediatric patient who painted the paintings she holds for a portrait at St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, Wis., Friday afternoon, Oct. 9, 2009.

Pee-yew

Hazardous Waste Facility aide Matthew Colwell sweeps up after trucks delivered recyclables to the Brown County Materials Recycling Facility in Ashwaubenon, Wis., Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009.

Environmental field trip

Luxemburg-Casco sixth-grader Zach VanRemortal searches for macroinvertibrates in a creek during an environmental field trip to Baird Creek Parkway in Green Bay, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009.

TSA routine special operation

Unsure how something can be routine and special at the same time, but that's TSA's story and they're sticking to it.

Security personnel from the Transportation Security Administration and Federal Air Marshalls stand in the terminal area at Austin Straubel International Airport in Ashwaubenon, Wis., Tuesday morning, Oct. 6, 2009 during a routine special security operation conducted by the TSA.

Brown County sheriff's deputy Tim Newtols guides K-9 dog Enzo around a vehicle at a checkpoint.

State of Wisconsin Aviation

I found it funny that this story ran on "10-4."

Airframe and powerplant mechanic Gary Zimmerman works on a Mitsubishi MU-2, installing a new avionics package, at Jet Air Group in Ashwaubenon, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009.

Setting goals

Yesterday, I ran in my first 5k. I've never run (a distance) before. I trained for a couple weeks with the goals of simply finishing under 35 minutes and changing my health and lifestyle for the better.

My official time blew away my goals. I finished in 29:49. Mile-marker splits were 11.09, 20.27, and 28:40.

Some great friends were at the finish line to cheer me in.

(Photo by Kirk Wagner, The Post-Crescent)

Snoopy One

Scott Flannery, a crewman for MetLife's Snoopy One climbs down off a mast after attaching a pennant line to the blimp's nose cone before take-off from Austin Straubel International Airport in Ashwaubenon, Wis., bound for an event in Prairie du Sac, Wis., Friday morning, Sept. 18, 2009. The blimp is in the Green Bay-area for televised coverage of Sunday's NFL football game between the Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals at Lambeau Field.

Duck hunting and river dredging

The Fox River is being dredged to clean up the PCBs that were dumped over the course of decades by the region's paper companies.

The gist of the story: Ducks Unlimited and the Fox River Cleanup Project are working together to make sure that no dredging workers get shot. It's unlikely it would happen, since the hunters are using pellet guns and the dredgers are probably out of range... but better safe than sorry, I suppose.

Tom Olejniczak, right, his black lab Bronko, 12, and friend John Gray pose for a photo by their duck blind at Olejniczak's home along the Fox River in De Pere, Wis., Thursday evening, Sept. 17, 2009.

Unclaimed cremains

A sad story about unclaimed cremated remains... they're not unidentified. They're unclaimed – unwanted or forgotten.

Allouez Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum provides storage and safekeeping of the remains. Very rarely, though, does anybody come looking.

Steve Gooding, administrator at the Allouez Catholic Cemetery in Allouez, Wis., holds a bag of unclaimed cremated remains, Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 16, 2009. The remains are those of Albert Dremel who died in February 1986 of lung cancer. The unclaimed cremated remains of about 70 people are held at the cemetery.

The collection of about 70 sets of unclaimed cremains, above, will soon be moved from a utility room to one of the cemetery's crypts.

An alternate photo of Gooding with one of the bags of unclaimed cremains.

African dance

April Turner of Life As Art Productions of Charlotte, N.C., leads an African dance and drumming workshop in Theatre Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in Green Bay, Wis., Tuesday evening, Sept. 15, 2009.

Lambeau Field line painting

This could be a pretty cool video story. A day or two before every home game, the packers field managers drop about 170 gallons of paint on the field in lines and logos. It's an all-day job making the playing surface accurate and beautiful for fans and television audiences.

I was happy with this assignment and really tried to work it well.

Green Bay Packers Field Manager Allen Johnson, left, and volunteer Mike Schoeller, right, refill a paint sprayer while painting the lines and logos on the playing surface at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., Saturday afternoon, Sept. 12, 2009. The Packers play host to the Chicago Bears in their home opener Sunday night.

Johnson paints the sidelines on the playing surface at Lambeau Field, Saturday afternoon.

With another coat of paint, Johnson boldens the white outlines of lettering in an endzone at Lambeau Field, Saturday afternoon.

Green Bay Packers Assistant Field Managers, clockwise from bottom left, Joel Hunt, Bart Bartelme, and Derek Paris paint hash marks on the playing surface at Lambeau Field, Saturday afternoon.

Corn silage dry-down day

Proved I was a city boy today while covering corn silage dry-down day in Greenleaf. I asked a lot of questions asking about the "thingies" on the "thingies" on the corn "plants". This is an annual event that lets farmers bring in corn plant samples for testing to determine when their crop will eventually be ready for harvest.

The photos for the story were pretty standard, but I was happy with a frame I was able to make of one of the agronomists.

Agronomist Steve Keil at Agri-Partners Cooperative waits for corn samples to arrive from area farming operations during one of two corn silage dry down days in Greenleaf, Wis., Tuesday morning, Sept. 8, 2009.

Green trays

Yep... a story about lunch trays...

Reusable lunch trays are new at Green Bay Preble High School shown during a lunch period on the first day of school in Green Bay, Wis., Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009.

Freshman move-in day

Jessica Baumann of De Pere carries a tall load while helping boyfriend Daniel Potts move-in to Roy Downham Hall during freshman move-in day at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in Green Bay, Wis., Monday, Aug. 31, 2009.

Christian Hampton, a freshman from Neenah, left, gives his father Sheldon a hug after setting up his dorm room.