Muskego cross country invite photos now online

Sept. 28, 2009 10:36 a.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery from Saturday's cross country invite hosted by Muskego High School at Lake Denoon Park.

The gallery features runners from Brookfield Academy, Brookfield Central, Cudahy, Franklin, Germantown, Greendale, Homestead, Muskego, Oak Creek and West Allis Central and Hale.

Homestead won the girls race and Muskego was second. Brookfield Central led the boys field with Germantown the runner-up.

See NOW photojournalist C.T. Kruger's photo gallery.

Oak Creek vs. Franklin football photos now online

Sept. 28, 2009 7:52 a.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery from Friday's soggy Southeast Conference match up between Oak Creek and host Franklin.

Franklin posted a 14-6 homecoming victory. It was the second straight win for the Sabers over the Knights, the first consecutive victories over their rival since winning three straight from 1973-75.

See NOW photojournalist C.T. Kruger's photo gallery.

Franklin pulls off rare feat against Oak Creek

Sept. 25, 2009 10:17 p.m. | With a 14-6 homecoming win over the visiting Oak Creek Knights on Friday, the Franklin Sabers accomplished something they had not done in more than three decades.

The victory was the second straight for the Sabers over the Knights, the first consecutive victories over their rival since winning three straight from 1973-75.

And it wasn't pretty.

Franklin (4-1 overall, 3-1 Southeast Conference) managed just 170 yards of total offense, 32 of which came on a first-quarter touchdown pass from Lance Baretz to Brady Oates with 5 minutes, 41 seconds left in the first quarter. That play gave Franklin a 14-0 advantage.

Franklin's first touchdown came when Tim Gross recovered a fumble on Oak Creek's first possession of the game. It was the third center-to-quarterback fumble in three plays for the Knights, who played most of the game without starting quarterback Kyle Veloz.

City gets a look at lakefront development 'catalysts'

Sept. 24, 2009 4:00 p.m. | All stakeholders in the redevelopment of the Oak Creek lakefront should acknowledge environmental constraints, retain viable buildings and work together with landowners to ensure success.

Those were some of the recommendations in a Sept. 24 presentation by the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit organization that spent three days evaluating the lakefront's potential.

The institute studied a 250-acre area in Bender Park once home to industrial facilities that are now closed or relocated. The ULI split the area into a northern and southern portion, saying each part is unique with different development potential.

A panel of members discussed several projects that could be "catalysts" on the north and south ends of the park, including a water resource technology center that could take advantage of Lake Michigan's proximity.

Before any major development takes place, interim uses, such as a network of trails, should be established to generate excitement for the future of the site, members said.

Oak Creek at Franklin video preview now online

Sept. 23, 2009 9:34 a.m. | We've just posted NOW sportswriter David Cotey's video preview of Friday night's football game between Southeast Conference rivals Oak Creek and Franklin, one of the most-anticipated match ups in the area this week.

It's homecoming for Franklin (3-1 overall, 2-0 conference) and the Sabers are coming off a 54-0 rout of Racine Case last week. Oak Creek (3-1, 1-1) enters the game looking for a victory after falling, 34-6, at Kenosha Bradford.

Watch the preview.

Read the preview story.

Oak Creek man sentenced for attack on mother

Sept. 22, 2009 10:04 p.m. | An Oak Creek man accused of slashing his mother with a knife and shooting her three times with an AK-47 was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison.

According to online state court records, Frederick W. Bertrang, 31, pleaded no contest last month to first degree reckless injury and second-degree recklessly endangering safety when penalty enhancers for being armed were dropped from both charges.

He was sentenced to two years in prison and six years and eight months of extended supervision for the first charge and three years in prison and three years of extended supervision for the second charge, according to the records.

According to a criminal complaint, after Bertrang came home from a bar he cut his mother on her left hand when she refused to give him $2. He also stabbed his brother's girlfriend twice in the right leg when she called 911 before fleeing to the basement of the home, where he began firing an AK-47 rifle into the ceiling, wounding his mother three times in the left leg.

Meeting focuses on lakefront redevelopment

Sept. 21, 2009 1:24 p.m. | A presentation on the redevelopment of the Oak Creek lakefront will be held at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Oak Creek Community Center, 8580 S. Howell Ave.

The presentation comes after a three-day evaluation of the lakefront area by a panel of members of the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit research and education organization that studies responsible land use, according to a city news release.

The group studied 250 acres, which includes one mile of Lake Michigan shoreline adjacent to Bender Park. The panel will present its initial findings to the city at Thursday's public meeting.

For information, call (414) 768-6526.

Oak Creek sets property revaluation

Sept. 16, 2009 1:34 p.m. | Oak Creek — A citywide property revaluation will be done for next fall for the 2011 tax year.

The most recent revaluation was begun in November 2006 and finished in August 2007.

The city has generally done revaluations every three years, according to a resolution presented Tuesday to the Common Council.

The resolution, which the council approved, calls for the city to pay $92,500 to Tyler Technologies - CLT Division to do the revaluation.

Growing Power could expand food programs in deal with MMSD

Sept. 14, 2009 2:24 p.m. | Growing Power Inc., a non-profit group operating an urban farm at 5500 W. Silver Spring Drive, would expand its food waste composting capacity by leasing a four-acre unused lagoon at the South Shore sewage treatment plant in Oak Creek, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District officials said Monday.

The lagoon previously had been used to store sewage sludge but it has been empty for nearly 15 years, MMSD Executive Director Kevin Shafer said.

On Monday, the policy committee of the district's governing commission approved Shafer's request to negotiate a five-year lease with Growing Power. The full commission will act on the request at its Sept. 28 meeting.

The lease would give the group access to the lagoon and a separate one-acre parcel west of S. 5th Ave. owned by the district, Shafer said. Growing Power has proposed erecting greenhouses on the one-acre property so that it could grow more food for its community programs.

Oak Creek plans citywide property revaluation

Sept. 14, 2009 2:04 p.m. | Oak Creek — A citywide property revaluation is planned for next fall for the 2011 tax year.

The most recent revaluation was begun in November 2006 and finished in August 2007.

The city has generally done revaluations every three years, according to a resolution being presented Tuesday to the Common Council.

The resolution calls for the city to pay $92,500 to Tyler Technologies - CLT Division to do the revaluation.

Oak Creek to vote on plans to spur development

Sept. 14, 2009 1:58 p.m. | Oak Creek — The Common Council on Tuesday will vote on creating two tax incremental finance districts to spur development of a business park in one part of the city and a possible hotel in another.

The vote on the planned business park is for the area of S. Howell Ave. and W. Oakwood Road. The business park would be one of the largest in Milwaukee County.

A possible new school and possible commercial or retail development also are being eyed for that area. In May, the city bought 240 acres at the southwest corner of the intersection with the plan to sell about 50 acres to the school district for use as a possible school site.

The other TIF would be for 48 acres of commercial land near S. 13th St. and W. College Ave. It is anticipated that new development will be mixed use with primarily commercial/retail buildings and may include a new hotel.

Local cop noted for role in serial killer arrest

Sept. 08, 2009 3:52 p.m. | At a Monday news conference announcing the arrest of a suspected serial killer, officials credited an alert Franklin police officer who saw the suspects' car at a 27th Street motel, which led to the capture of the suspect.

Franklin Police officer Jason Fincel spotted Walter E. Ellis' vehicle at the Park Motel, 7273 S. 27th St., on Saturday morning.

More police officers soon arrived and Ellis was taken into custody. Ellis has since been charged with two counts of first-degree homicide and has been linked to eight other murders in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn and Mayor Tom Barrett thanked Fincel at the Labor Day news conference, and Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor the Franklin Police Department "performed tremendously" in responding and the incident shows the value of good officers.

"Franklin is relatively crime-free, but that's the way we want to keep it," he said. "The best way to do that is to be vigilant and have quality police officers."

Meeting focuses on Puetz Road project

Sept. 08, 2009 1:26 p.m. | A public information meeting on proposed improvements to West Puetz Road will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday in the council chambers of Oak Creek City Hall, 8640 S. Howell Ave.

Under the plan, the road would be reconstructed to a four-lane divided roadway from Interstate 94 to South Liberty Lane. The construction would also include curb and gutter, storm sewer inlets and pipes, new street lighting and sidewalks on both sides of the road.

A start date for the project has not been set. The meeting will give residents an opportunity to review plans, offer suggestions and present problems.

For information, call (414) 768-6534 or (414) 266-9032.

Oak Creek downs Koch, Pius

Sept. 04, 2009 10:25 p.m. | Former Oak Creek coach Joe Koch's return to his old stomping grounds was certainly a memorable one.

Kyle Veloz's 38-yard touchdown pass to Joey Gribble with 26 seconds remaining erased the memories of a muffed punt minutes earlier and gave Oak Creek (2-0) a 12-7 win over visiting Pius XI (0-2) on Friday.

On first-and-25, Veloz threw a perfect strike to Gribble, who had beaten two defenders deep and caught the ball in stride in the end zone.

Pius took a 7-6 lead with 2:01 left on Tyler Brusky's 4-yard TD run and Patrick Kessenich's point after attempt. The Popes punted the ball just over two minutes earlier when a nine-play drive stalled out, but an Oak Creek player muffed the return and Pius took over on the Knights' 17 with a fresh set of downs.

Brusky's TD looked like the game-winner until Veloz's heroics. He completed three passes on the game-winning 61-yard drive that was aided by a 15-yard personal foul on Pius on the preceding kickoff.

1,500 pot plants seized in Oak Creek bust

Sept. 04, 2009 2:38 p.m. | Two citizen tips led Oak Creek police to seize more than 1,500 marijuana plants Wednesday.

According to a Police Department news release:

The citizens led officers to two fields of marijuana plants in an organized growing operation. The plants were in various stages of growth and mixed in with the underbrush natural to the terrain.

No arrests have been made. Police are not releasing the location of the site or information about the suspects because the investigation is ongoing.

The bust does not appear related to any past investigations in Oak Creek.

DNR hosts Sept. 16 meeting on plans for Hank Aaron State Trail

Sept. 04, 2009 10:38 a.m. | People can get information about a proposed state recreation trail that would wind past the some of the Milwaukee area's biggest attractions during a public information session from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 16 in West Allis.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials will discuss design and development details for the Hank Aaron State Trail, which runs from Miller Park to 94th Place. Development of the corridor is planned for 2010. A new bicycle and pedestrian bridge is planned for the crossing of Hawley Road. The path would also make its way past the National Soldiers Home, State Fair Park and the Pettit National Ice Center.

Using an open-house format, members of the public can stop in anytime during the two-hour session at West Allis City Hall, 7600 W. Greenfield Ave. to review project displays or ask questions. A brief presentation on the project is scheduled for 5:15 p.m.

Franklin, Oak Creek football video previews now online

Sept. 03, 2009 10:10 a.m. | Be sure to check out our video of NOW sportswriter David Cotey previewing Friday night's football games between Franklin and Marquette and Oak Creek vs. Pius.

Franklin's offense will square off against a Marquette defense that includes three Division-I prospects. The Oak Creek game features former Oak Creek coach Joe Koch, who now coaches Pius.

Each week our sportswriters will pick their game of the week and it will be featured in a video on a NOW site.

David Cotey previews Franklin and Oak Creek's matchups.

One dead, another injured in motorcycle crash

Sept. 02, 2009 5:18 p.m. | A 32-year-old Oak Creek motorcyclist was killed and his female passenger critically injured Wednesday when the cycle they were on collided with a car in Kenosha County.

The crash was reported shortly after noon in the 4400 block of County Highway JR near the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in the Town of Somers, according to a news release from the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department.

According to the release, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle was headed west on Highway JR from Outer Loop Road when the driver of an eastbound Honda Element turned left to enter a parking lot at Petrifying Springs County Park. The motorcycle then collided with the car, according to the release.

The motorcycle operator died at the scene and his passenger was flown by helicopter to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, where she was in critical condition, according to the release.

The driver of the car was not injured and he agreed to submit a voluntary blood test, according to the release.

Oak Creek offices win 'green' certifications, sign new tenant

Sept. 02, 2009 11:38 a.m. | Two buildings located within Liberty Corporate Preserve, a 30-acre Oak Creek business park on S. 27th St., south of W. Ryan Road, have received LEED Silver certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council, developer Liberty Property Trust Inc. has announced. Read more in Land and Space.

Oak Creek to South Milwaukee: Take our money

Sept. 01, 2009 11:36 p.m. | Thanks to the City of Oak Creek's generosity, as well as some confusion with county government, the City of South Milwaukee will get more money from the federal government.

It will be enough to buy new playground equipment for a school and to fix up an old building where a charity helps the poor.

The Oak Creek Common Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to transfer the $31,050, Mayor Dick Bolender said.

The money comes from the Community Development Block Grant program, in which the federal government distributes funds to local governments.

Oak Creek planned to use the $31,050 to buy three thermal imaging cameras, which help firefighters find people inside hot and smoky buildings.