Green Bay Press-Gazette from Green Bay, Wisconsin • 3

ocalState A-3 Contact Local News Editor Amber Christopher at (920) 431 -8361 or achristogreenbaypressgazette.com Green Bay Press-Gazette Monday, October 19, 2009 FOCUS: PARKING FOR CHARITY IN BRIEF yf A WARREN GER0S Commentary 1 4 1 ijyi 4- IP 1 1 fc -S i A 4 I jr Ct I SSt jarLry Godoy could meet Oscar in February Melissa Godoy, a documentary filmmaker who got her start in Green Bay, is a step closer to sharing in an Oscar. Godoy was line producer for HBO's "The Last Truck: The Closing of a GM Plant." The film is a finalist for an Oscar nomination along with seven other candidates. The initial field was 37 films. Using no narration, "The Last Truck" tells through workers' lives the closing of a sport-utility plant in Moraine, Ohio, that cost 1,000 jobs. Godoy was on hand for three months as the plant shut down.

The film premiered on Labor Day The film reunited Godoy with producers and directors Steven Bog-nar and Julia Reichert, who made "A Lion in the House" about five families struggling with childhood cancer. Still having a ripple effect is "Do Not Go Gently," a documentary narrated by Walter Cronkite about creativity among the elderly. Made in part in Green Bay, that film was directed by the team of Godoy and her mother, Eileen Littig of Green Bay. The Oscar nominations will be announced Feb. 2.

Three to five films will be named in the best documentary category. Official ratings: The record-setting Oct. 5 Green Bay Packers-Minnesota Vikings game had a 13.2 rating, according to Nielsen. ESPN, which carried the game, reported a 15.3 rating. ESPN reported the numbers the next day.

Nielsen reported its numbers when the full week of ratings were known. A rating is the percent Curt DeQuaine, left, Aaron Embury, Emily Embury, Mike Allison, Jessica Allison and Erica Murphy tailgate in their parking spot at Pioneer Credit Union's Morris Avenue location Sunday before the Green Bay Packers-Detroit Lions game at Lambeau Field. The cost to park is $10, and all money goes to charity. Photos by Corey WilsonPress-Gazette Tailgating for a reason for more than 20 seasons Pioneer Credit Union offers parking, gives money to charity GREEN BAY 3 arrested at Lambeau Field Green Bay police arrested three people and ejected a dozen more at Sunday's Green Bay Packers game against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field. Two persons were arrested for unlawful conduct at a public event and underage use of alcohol.

One person was arrested for unlawful conduct. The ejections were for various acts of misconduct. Eight people were arrested and 30 ejected during the game against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 14. Four were arrested and 12 ejected during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept 20.

Richard RymanPress-Gazette MADISON Senate considers texting-ban bill Drivers under age 18 would not be allowed to text while behind the wheel under a bill the state Senate will consider on Tuesday Wisconsin would become the 10th state to ban texting by young drivers should the measure pass. A bill that would ban text messaging for all drivers has been introduced in the Assembly Nineteen states have passed laws banning text messaging for all drivers. The Senate measure would make a violation subject to fines between $20 and $400, the same penalties as inattentive driving. A bill banning texting for all drivers passed the Senate two years ago but died in the Assembly The Associated Press MADISON Groundwater group to meet Legislators studying Wisconsin's groundwater protection laws will meet again this week. The group is gathering information to draft proposals to better protect the state's drinking water as well as lakes, streams and wetlands fed by groundwater.

State Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, and Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, lead the group. It will meet for the fourth time on Wednesday morning at the State Capitol The meeting is open to the public. The Associated Press TOMAH DNR kill carp to restore lake The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources hopes to restore a lake in western Wisconsin by eradicating its carp population The DNR says the fish are a big reason why Lake Tomah's water quality gets worse every year.

The carp eat much of the lake's plants and crowd out other fish species. So DNR officials have drawn out water from the 250-acre lake and begun spraying a fish-killing pesticide. The next step involves refilling the lake next summer, and then restocking the game-fish population. DNR fisheries supervisor Dave Vetrano says the pesticide does kill some game fish, but the vast majority of dead fish are carp. He says officials only mount a spraying effort of this magnitude every two or three years.

The Associated Press money to support its athletic fund and youth groups, said Bill Bridger. Bridger said they charge $20 a car, more than surrounding lots, because they don't want to take money from their neighbors. They usually fill up anyway "We get a lot of repeat customers. They like the fact that we'll use it for the athletic fund for our school," he said. Pioneer executives take turns parking cars, and they get to pick the organization to which the money goes when it's their turn.

For over 20 years, parking cars at their former office on Holmgren Way and for the last five years at their new headquarters on Morris Avenue, they've supported the Boys Girls Club, Freedom House, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the Bay Area Humane Society, a handicapped skating program and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Tom Young, credit union president, said their lot holds 200 cars, and they collect between $17,000 and $20,000 a year. Lambeau Field is less than a half mile away, a reasonably easy walk, and the credit union provides bathroom facilities and hot coal disposal. "And we have a lot of grass for throwing the football around," said Joe Slattery, vice president of marketing, whose turn was Sunday Slattery said people respect that the money goes to charity Three customers who got to the lot for the last home game before anyone was collecting money settled up on Sunday BY RICHARD RYMAN rrymangreenbaypressgazette.com ASHWAUBENON Jim and Rebecca Muth of Slinger park at Pioneer Credit Union on Morris Avenue for Green Bay Packers games because access is easy, the lot is big and clean, and the money goes to charity. Luke Markus of Madison, who parked in the Pioneer lot for the first time Sunday, agrees.

"I'd rather park here than pay $20 at a bar that keeps all the profits," Markus said. Much has been reported about homeowners who park cars for the football games, but east and west of the stadium most of the parking is provided by businesses, and many of them get that money into the hands of nonprofit organizations and charities. How much money is made from parking is hard to judge, but the Packers say nonprofit groups operating concession stands in Lambeau Field received $700,000 last season. All told, nonprofit groups likely make nearly $1 million a year directly because of Packers' home games. "With school budgets getting tighter and tighter every year, you have to come up with fundraisers," said Curt Cootway, girls track coach at Ash-waubenon High School.

Cootway was parking cars at the W.W. Grainger company lot, 751 Morris Ave. He said the team made $3,500 two years ago, when the Packers also age of TV homes in the United States tuned into television. ESPN and Nielsen re Joe Slattery, vice president of marketing for Pioneer Credit Union, parks vehicles in the bank's Morris Avenue location Sunday in Ashwaubenon. hosted two home playoff games.

They used the money to buy covers for their high jump pad and poles for their vaulters, among other items. Greg Schwister, branch manager for Grainger, said they alternate seasons between the Boy Scouts and Ashwaubenon High School. "We've probably been doing it for the last seven years," he said. "It works out fantastic." St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1167 Kenwood has been parking cars for more than 30 years.

The church operates a school as well, and uses the ported 21.8 million viewers saw the game, with ESPN saying it was the most-watched program in cable TV history Factoring huge was Minnesota Vikings quar terback Brett Favre facing, and beating, his for mer team tor the tirst time. That's proof of his impact. The following week's Monday Night Football" game on Oct. 12 was exciting as the Miami Dol Former congressman, Green Bay TV news anchor dies phins beat the New York Jets late in the game. However, the game had a A Democrat, Johnson genkamp, "I told my wife Jay Johnson spent On the Net 9.7 rating and 13.1 million viewers, ESPN says.

Those still are good Click on this story at www.greenbaypress gazette.com to see photos from Jay Johnson's career. numbers for ESPN but not close to the week before. Change coming: Fine ran twice for Congress, beating former state Rep. David Prosser of Apple-ton in 1996 and losing to former state Rep! Mark Green of Hobart in 1998. In 2000, Johnson was appointed director of the U.S.

Mint by President Bill Clinton and served two years. More recently 32 years working in journalism industry BY RICHARD RYMAN rrymangreenbaypressgazette.com Former U.S. Rep Jay Johnson, a longtime Green Bay TV news an Living will leave the air in fall 2010, to be replaced by the new The Cooking Channel. Scripps Networks Inter active will move the latter from the company's head quarters Knoxville, to New York City's food-oriented Chelsea Market. chor, died Saturday at his suburban Washington, D.C., home of an apparent heart attack.

Johnson, 66, had a 32-year journalism career that included work as he ran Jay Johnson Coins Consulting. Johnson won his congressional race as a Democrat in an 8th district that sent Republican Toby Roth to Con I was one of 435 people in the world who's doing this. It's like a guy making the Packers. A lot of guys show up for training camp and most of them get cut." Johnson also was news anchor for stations in West Palm Beach, and Lansing and Grand Rapids, Mich. He was a radio reporter for stations in Fort Wayne, and Miami.

He also was a disc jockeyannouncer in San Antonio, Texas, and in Ironwood and Marquette, Mich. In 1988 he received the Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award from Washington Lodge 21 of the Green Bay Masons for his work with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Family Violence Center. Johnson, a native of Bessemer, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, was survived by his wife, JoLee. He received a bachelor's degree in radio and televi- The Cooking Network sion from Northern Michigan University and a master's degree from Michigan State University Larsen said Johnson was interested in many things. "He was very, very interested in everything.

He really dug into things." Johnson explained his attraction to reporting to the Press-Gazette's Warren Gerds in 1985. "Because of this job, I've gotten to interview presidents and vice presidents of the United States, ride in hot air balloons, ride in the Goodyear blimp a couple times, go on an undersea expedition off the Bahamas. That's the fun part," he said. Jay Johnson will be a 24-hour channel that "caters to avid food lovers by focusing on food information and instructional cooking programming," the company says. Scripps also owns The Food Network, HGTV and DIY Network.

Warren Gerds writes about television and radio for trie Press-Gazette. Write to him at P.O. Box 23430, Green Bay, Wl 54305-3430 or e-mail wgerdsgreenbaypressgazette.com. news anchor at WFRV-TV from 1980-1986 and WLUK-TV from 1987 until his election to Congress in 1996. "He was a good guy and he was kind to everybody.

He was always a gentleman in every sense of the word," said Mary Smits Larsen, who was Johnson's co-anchor at WFRV. gress for 18 years. "I felt that victory for him had to be the most important moment in his professional life," Larsen said. "I think he wanted to serve and I think that was very important to him." After his election to congress, Johnson told-Green Bay Press-Gazette reporter Don Lan- Correction policy The Press-Gazette corrects factual errors promptly and courteously. If you have a correction or clarification, please call Local News Editor Amber Christopher at (920) 431-8361 or e-mail achristo greenbaypressgazette.com..