1. The Year in Pictures – 2006 by Mark Hertzberg Gregory Shaver / Journal Times
2. Corrine Owens, a pioneer in Racine's civil right movement 50 years ago, pleads for a lessening of the violence in the community at the annual King commemoration at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza, January 16. Owens, who talked about having marched with Dr. King, has been called 'Racine's Rosa Parks.'
3. Adrial White is searched by police January 18, after he shot at three young men trying to steal stereo equipment from his girlfriend’s car. One of the men was wounded, another killed. White had shot them from behind. The shootings sparked robust community debate. White was convicted in November.
4. Buckets of balls in hand, Vinny Rottino heads for a batting cage at the Racine Baseball Cooperative's Haban Jensen Hitting Center, January 24. Rottino realized his baseball dream when the Milwaukee Brewers called him up from the minors in late summer.
5. Rose Seeger, principal of SC Johnson Elementary School, takes a weekly cello lesson with four students who are also learning to play string instruments, March 14. Seeger, who stresses 'lifelong learning,' had been playing for a month.
6. Rick Smetana, center, hands a tissue to his wife, Kellie, left, and hugs police officer Kurt Meyer, right, after Antonio Martinez was found guilty March 24 of four felonies in connection with a shooting at Ricky's Place tavern at 236 Main St. in August. Martinez had shot and wounded Rick , the bar owner, and Nicholas Seeger, a bar employee. Rick's brother, Dave, hugs Kellie.
7. Campaigning by bike, Debra Hall wears an Abe Lincoln mask March 31. Hall was promoting her candidacy for the Wind Point Village Board, and support of a resolution for open communication between county employees and county board supervisors.
8. Oliver Lopez, 4, sits on one of the school buses that took several hundred people to a rally for immigrant rights in Milwaukee, May 1.
9. Racine police SWAT team members move toward 1922 Prospect St. after reports that Terry Shannon, a suspect in the murder of Bennie Smith, had been spotted going to the upper flat, May 17. I was surprised, but pleased, to be able to get such close access to the scene.
10. Gina Glass worked on her prom dress for two months in her family and consumer education class at Walden III High School. She models the dress in her former middle school homeroom, May 18. Glass was in Walden's Prom Court.
11. Police and personnel from the Loomis Fargo armored truck company stand guard as money is transferred from an armored truck that ended up on its roof after being hit by a sports utility vehicle in the 2700 block of S. Green Bay Road, May 24. The Loomis employee was very concerned about my showing the transfer of money between the trucks.
12. Amber Kastenson, 17, a member of the Raymond 4-H club, holds CoCo, a Nigerian dwarf goat, as they participate in the costumed goat parade at the Racine County Fair, July 26.
13. Jim McVeigh and his son Pierce, 11, pause at the lookout tower at the end of the Christopher Columbus Causeway during a bike ride August 14. I shot the photo while out on my own bike ride after work. I often carry a camera when I ride.
14. Firefighters are ordered off the roof as fire rages through the Courtyard Apartments at 4225 Durand Ave, August 18. Two people died in the fire, which the police call a homicide.
15. Waterspouts move east of Racine over Lake Michigan, August 29. I was on a bike ride, and confess to not realizing how unusual this was, until I got a cell phone call that readers were calling the newsroom about the waterspouts.
16. Correlle Day is charged with arson in connection with the fire set at the Lydia Group Home in Sturtevant. She asked at the court hearing September 11 to no longer have to wear a suicide prevention jacket. There was no record presented to the court why she had to wear it. Day was subsequently waived into adult court. I have never felt such empathy photographing a defendant.
17. Forty people gather on Monument Square at dusk September 21 for a prayer vigil for peace, to celebrate the United Nations' International Day of Peace. The vigil was sponsored by the Racine Coalition for Peace and Justice. I selected this photo because the Coalition is so passionate and tenacious.
18. Police officer Donna Hanke escorts a Horlick High School sophomore, who has just received his fifth truancy ticket, to the school's Main Office, September 27. We were doing a story about the police truancy reduction effort.
19. Park defenders Anton Graham, left, and Evan Moore touch hands after Horlick quarterback Steve Morris falls running the ball in their football game September 30 at Hammes Field. Many of my favorite sports photos show reaction to a play, rather than the action itself.
20. Nolan Crawford, 16 months, stares at the Italian Sausage. The Milwaukee Brewers Racing Sausages appeared at the Bank of Elmwood's United Way tailgate party for employees October 9. My colleagues know that I am not fond of the word “cute.” Still, this unexpected moment at a routine assignment is one of my favorite photos of the year.
21. Dancers from Ballet Folkorico Mexico do Los Hermanos Avila celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at Horlick High School October 13. The dancers also performed at several middle schools earlier in the day. The troupe is based in Madison.
22. Author Jane Hamilton at her farmhouse in Rochester, October 19...her fifth novel, "When Madeline was Young," was published this year.
23. Some 200 people gathered in memory of Damian Tubbs at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center, October 22. The Racine Interfaith Coalition holds candlelight vigils at the scene of every homicide in Racine. Tubbs was gunned down outside the center's rear door. Many young people who knew him joined the people who customarily attend RIC's vigils.
24. A deputy is protected by blankets as rescue workers cut his squad car apart so he can be taken to the hospital. He was injured October 24 on I-94 after his squad car was hit by a car that had moved across all lanes of traffic before hitting his car. The deputy had complained of back and leg pain.
25. Vincent Cosey shows no reaction, while Bridgett Bland-West expresses relief, October 27, as a jury finds him guilty of killing Stefnee Goines. Goines had been shot seven times. Bland-West was her first cousin. Goines' family gathered in prayer outside the courtroom, after the verdicts were read.
26. Adrial White describes how he shot Enrico Serra Jr., on November 9, the fourth day of his trial. This was the first trial I covered from start to finish, because of the community interest. I used my laptop’s wireless connection in the courtroom to post more than a dozen photos on our web site each day of the trial.
27. Students from Jefferson Lighthouse School walk to Holy Communion Church November 17 to deliver their contributions to the church's food pantry.
28. Cadet 2nd Lt. Tommy Sharrett waits with a wreath before members of the Racine Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol place wreaths in front of the World War II Veterans Pavilion at Graceland Cemetery December 14.