West Allis Hale Betz cross country invite photos now online

Sept. 04, 2010 7:57 a.m. | We've just posted a photo gallery from yesterday's West Allis Hale girls cross country invitational in Greenfield Park.

Arrowhead was first overall while Brookfield East finished second in the competition, which also featured runners from West Allis Hale, Wauwatosa East, Nicolet and New Berlin West.

Go to NOW photojournalist Peter Zuzga's photo gallery.

Nicolet, Wauwatosa East football photo gallery now online

Sept. 04, 2010 7:18 a.m. | We've just posted C.T. Kruger's photo gallery from last night's non-conference football contest between host Nicolet and Wauwatosa East.

Nicolet posted a 9-0 victory and improved to 1-1 this season as quarterback Brandon Kappel and Alex Walker hooked up for a 21-yard scoring pass. Kappel later added a 41-yard field goal.

Go to NOW photojournalist C.T. Kruger's photo gallery.

Nicolet defense prevails in win over Tosa East

Sept. 03, 2010 10:23 p.m. | They still have to change in the trailers and the tents by flashlight after games and they're still a week away from using their lockers, but the members of the Nicolet football team made themselves right at home Friday night, as they battled injuries, execution problems and inconvenience in dominating Wauwatosa East, 9-0.

"We just did what we could do," said quarterback Brandon Kappel, who threw a perfect 21-yard TD pass to Alex Walker with just four seconds in the first half and then added a clinching 41-yard field goal with less than six minutes to go. "It's football. We all did this and it just felt good. The line did the job and everyone stepped up. We could have scored a lot more points, but this is still special."

Indeed it was in the eyes of first-year coach Brian Sommers in the first official school-sanctioned event on the grounds since the July 22 floods.

"The kids are getting tired of life in a trailer," he said. "It's starting to wear on them. They want to get back into a routine. Maybe this'll start a routine of winning (laughs). Now that would be something fun to get into (laughs)."

And at that moment, an unknown assistant clapped him on the shoulder and said as he ran by: "The first of many more to come coach. Just the first."

Man charged in Whitefish Bay home burglary attempt

Sept. 03, 2010 5:03 p.m. | A 42-year-old Whitefish Bay man was charged today with two felonies in connection to an attempted burglary in the village, and police say he may be linked to six other similar burglaries on the North Shore.

Jettie L. Davis, was arrested by police after a resident in the 1500 block of North Cumberland Boulevard called at 1:30 a.m. Monday to report a suspicious person. Davis was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with possession of burglary tools and attempted entry to a building.

According the criminal complaint:

A woman who was sleeping her living room on the first floor of her house woke when her dog started to bark. The woman turned on an outside light and saw a man standing in the driveway. The man, who was carrying a black bag, turned and looked at her and then left.

When police arrived at the house, they found a chair outside the house under a kitchen window. The window screen had been cut. The woman told police the screen had been intact earlier in the day.

Suspect may be linked to seven North Shore home burglaries

Aug. 31, 2010 10:24 a.m. | Whitefish Bay police have arrested a Milwaukee man they believe is responsible for as many as seven burglaries in the village and neighboring Shorewood.

Police received a call of a prowler in the 1500 block of East Cumberland Boulevard about 1:30 a.m. Monday, according to police.

Responding officers located a suspect who matched the description provided by the caller and arrested him. The facts of this incident closely resemble recent entries to residences in both Whitefish Bay and Shorewood in which homes were entered by cutting first floor window screens at night while residents slept.

Police Chief Robert Jacobs said there were four incidents in Whitefish Bay and three in Shorewood in recent weeks.

The suspect remains in custody, and charges are being sought through the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.

TMJ4: Man arrested in North Shore home burglaries

Aug. 31, 2010 8:33 a.m. | Today's TMJ4 is reporting that a 42-year-old man arrested for breaking into several homes in the North Shore while the homeowners were sleeping.

Police said the suspect was arrested around 1:30 a.m. on Monday after they received a call about a prowler in the 1500 block of East Cumberland Boulevard in Whitefish Bay.

For more on this story, visit Today's TMJ4's website.

Special football preview section now online

Aug. 26, 2010 12:18 p.m. | We're just hours away from the first official games of the 2010 high school football season and there is no better way to find out the latest news on your favorite team then to check out NOW's comprehensive football preview page.

The page is packed with videos on area teams, a roundtable discussion from our sportswriters previewing the top teams to watch, position by position breakdowns, an interactive poll, photo gallery and more.

Go to NOW's 2010 football preview section.

BD's Novak, BE's Byrne and Nicolet's Sperl ito go into WBCA Hall of Fame

Aug. 24, 2010 12:20 p.m. | Long-time Brown Deer boys basketball coach Mike Novak and Nicolet assistant coach Jim Sperl will be inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Hall of Fame in ceremonies to be held Oct. 2 at the Marriott Hotel in Middleton.

The pair will be two of 27 inductees to be honored that night. Sperl, who worked at Nicolet for 27 years is the only assistant being entered, while Novak will be one of nine head coaches to go into the hall including Racine St. Catherine's legend Bob Letsch.

Other inductees of note include Marquette's Al McGuire, Governor Jim Doyle, Lomont Weaver of Beloit and Kelly (Byrne) Mueller of Brookfield East.

Last chance to win State Fair tickets on Facebook

Aug. 12, 2010 8:04 a.m. | With just a few days left of the Wisconsin State Fair, you still have time to score free tickets from NOW Newspapers.

All you have to do is "like" NOW Newspapers on Facebook and respond to our last status update and tell us your favorite story from our papers this week.

A random drawing will be held at 8 a.m. Friday and announced on Facebook.

Winners will receive a four-pack of tickets to the fair, which begins runs to Sunday. Winners will have to pick up the tickets in our Waukesha office, 1741 Dolphin Drive, Suite A, 53186.

Nicolet's flood damage estimate tops $5 million

Aug. 11, 2010 7:48 p.m. | The price tag for repairing Nicolet High School after 80% of the building was damaged in last month's floods rings up at more than $5 million, Superintendent Rick Monroe said Wednesday.

School officials also announced Tuesday that the first day of school will be pushed to Sept. 13, rather than Sept. 1.

"The last couple weeks, it seemed like the scope of the project was growing exponentially, and we just had many more areas of the building that needed to be renovated and restored," Monroe said.

The flooring in the building makes up a large amount of the work that still needs to be done. In addition to replacing the gym floor, the theater stage, dance studio and most of the flooring in classrooms and offices will be replaced. The cafeteria floor, only about 3 years old, will be replaced during winter break.

In addition to the few inches of standing water on the main level, 6 feet of water in the basement damaged two major boilers, each costing $160,000, ruined the football team's new equipment, submerged the building's three main electrical units and destroyed the drama department's props and costumes.

School year starts late due to flood damage at Nicolet

Aug. 11, 2010 12:06 p.m. | The first school bell will go off nearly two weeks later than initially planned this fall at Nicolet High School. District officials have announced the start date at the school - heavily hit by last month's storms - has been pushed to Sept. 13. School originally was set to start Sept. 1.

Nicolet, one of the hardest hit areas of the North Shore, endured about $6 million damage from the heavy rains July 22. Since then, crews have been working around the clock with clean-up efforts. Inspectors have found the building to be structurally sound.

The alterations will affect the entire 2010-11 school year at Nicolet. The regular school year is scheduled to end June 16, 2011, and graduation has been rescheduled to June 19.

Fox Point police seek help finding man missing from group home

Aug. 09, 2010 4:50 p.m. | Fox Point police are searching for a 67-year-old man who was reported missing from a group home Monday morning, according to a Police Department news release.

Dennis J. Pfeil suffers from dementia and may have suicidal tendencies, according to the release. He was reported missing from a group home in the 6800 block of N. Santa Monica Blvd.

Pfeil has walked away from group homes in the past, the release says.

Pfeil is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds, according to the release. He has blue eyes, gray facial hair and gray hair on his head.

He was last seen wearing a gray baseball hat, a navy blue coat and blue jeans.

Residents voice frustration over flooding

Aug. 05, 2010 10:30 p.m. | A standing-room only crowd of more than 100 people packed a meeting room at the Shorewood Library Thursday night and peppered officials with questions and complaints about the severe flooding that hit the community last month.

Some residents at the meeting, the first of four town hall sessions on the flooding in the village, held signs that read "Sewerwood" or branded biohazard symbols. Complaints also were heard over the lack of seating as residents lined the wall of the room.

Frustrated residents like Mary Jo Kukoda said the village didn't do enough during the floods that caused at least $1.5 million in damage and affected hundreds of homes.

"Shame on the village of Shorewood, shame on you," Kukoda said.

Other residents asked about potential health issues associated with sewer water in basements and wondered why the village didn't answer phone calls on the Monday following flooding.