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March 5, 2000Week in ReviewantrimDeer crashes through school bus windshield ELK RAPIDS - A bus driver and a student suffered minor injuries when a deer was thrown through the windshield of the school bus they were riding in and landed inside the bus. An Elk Rapids school bus was taking students home from school Wednesday afternoon when an oncoming car struck a deer, hurtling the animal into the bus. The 65-passenger school bus was nearing the end of its afternoon run carrying middle and high school students and was on its way for an elementary school run. benzie Yacht club proposed for Elberta waterfront ELBERTA- A proposed $6 million yacht club on Elberta's waterfront is one step closer to reality now that a development company has bought the property. Vaunt-Courier Inc., a Traverse City development firm, bought the former Ann Arbor Railroad property Wednesday. As part of the agreement, Vaunt-Courier paid $220,000 for a 12.8-acre parcel and put an additional $500,000 in an endowment trust for the village to create a waterfront park on an adjacent 8.5 acres. If all permits are granted, Vaunt-Courier will construct a private recreational club with a 150-slip marina, a permanent pier, six boat houses, a club house and up to 80 condominium units. A public restaurant also is included in the plan and the public will be able to access the rails trail and beach-to-beach trail through the club's property. Accused embezzler waives arraignment BEULAH- Howard Smith, 70, the man accused of embezzling money from the Thompsonville Ambulance Service to pay for a magazine subscription, videos and auto insurance, waived his circuit court arraignment Tuesday. Smith stood mute to charges of embezzlement of less than $20,000, according to court records. A non-guilty plea was entered in his behalf. Smith, a volunteer for the ambulance service for about 25 years, allegedly wrote checks from the ambulance account to pay his household utility bills, purchase a subscription to National Geographic and pay other personal expenses. TRIAD helps victimized senior citizens HONOR - Andrew Yalch, 89, was home alone Tuesday when a man forced his way into his home, beat and robbed him. What happened to Yalch is a fear that many senior citizens who live alone face. Criminals see seniors, who may be frail, as easy targets for scams, abuse and robbery. Police and service agencies in local counties are banding together to help seniors from become crime targets and to offer assistance to those who have been victimized. A group called TRIAD, consisting of area service agencies has been formed in Leelanau County. Benzie County also is in the process of forming a TRIAD. The Benzie group will have its first meeting next month. charlevoix Man faces manslaughter charge in GHB death CHARLEVOIX - A 31-year-old Onekama man will face a charge of involuntary manslaughter for delivery of the drug Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, better known as GHB, to a 46-year-old Charlevoix man who died after drinking the drug. Charlevoix District Court Judge Richard May, in an order issued Tuesday, ruled that Marc Anthony Guzikowski "acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others" in offering GHB to David Hewitt and Bradley Genson. Hewitt died last October in a Charlevoix hotel room after consuming the drug. He had also been drinking alcohol. Involuntarily manslaughter carries a 15-year prison sentence. Jury convicts Suttons Bay man of sex charge CHARLEVOIX - After deliberating for just 45 minutes Tuesday, a jury found a 26-year-old Suttons Bay man guilty of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Lee David Wilks faces up to 30 years in prison as an habitual offender when he is sentenced March 17, Charlevoix Prosecutor Mary Beth Kur said. Wilks was arrested in December by Charlevoix deputies after a 21-year-old Wilson Township woman went to Charlevoix Area Hospital and told officials she had been raped. Wilks forced himself on the woman after she fell asleep. Kur said Wilks, who has been arrested previously on a gross indecency and weapons charge, had a Suttons Bay address but was living in Charlevoix County. Judge considers petition for school board recall CHARLEVOIX - A judge is expected to rule shortly whether a petition to recall the Charlevoix school board is valid. Circuit court judge Richard M. Patjas heard oral arguments Thursday on behalf of the five board members, who are seeking to have the language in the recall petition declared unclear. The petition was drafted by the Committee Promoting Neighborhood Schools, a group that is upset with the board over its selection of an out-of-town site for a new high school. Charlevoix County Prosecutor Mary Beth Kur, acting as counsel for the county election commission, which approved the petition language Jan. 28, has asked that the school board's appeal be rejected. crawford Juvenile accused of assaulting officer GRAYLING - A juvenile was arrested at Grayling High School Tuesday after police said he assaulted an officer. Police were called to the high school because administrators were having trouble handling the juvenile, who the sheriff's department said was being disorderly. After administrators repeatedly tried to remove the youth from the school office, an officer intervened, police said. The juvenile assaulted the officer and was arrested, according to the press release. The youth is being held at the Shawano Center near Grayling pending a court hearing. grand traverse Truancy law targets junior high student's parents TRAVERSE CITY - A West Junior High mother appeared in court Tuesday on charges that she failed to send her daughter to school. The 14-year-old's father faces the same charge this week, after letters to the parents from school officials, truancy officers and prosecutors failed to summon regular attendance. The eighth-grader has 32 unexcused absences in 112 days in this school year, according to school records. Traverse City residents Diane and Ronald Brown, both 45, are the first in Grand Traverse County to be accused of violating Michigan's truancy law since the school district and the Traverse City Police Department established a truancy office at the school in January. The charges carry a minimum of two days to up to 90 days in jail, or a fine of $5 to $50, a penalty established in 1893 when the law was passed. Group forms to fight sex discrimination issue TRAVERSE CITY - A local group has formed to fight an expected ballot challenge to an anti-discrimination policy which includes sexual orientation adopted by the city commission last month. An organization called the Traverse City Campaign Against Discrimination says it's raising money to actively campaign against an anticipated city charter amendment drive to overturn the city's new anti-discrimination resolution approved on Feb. 7 in a 6-1 vote of the commission. The non-binding resolution was opposed by some city residents who criticized it as a "special rights" policy for homosexuals. An organization called the American Family Association of Michigan based in Midland helped organize a petition drive to place a proposed charter amendment in front of Traverse City voters that would prohibit the city from "granting special class status based upon sexual orientation, conduct or relationship." Drug-busting police dog Astor dies in retirement TRAVERSE CITY - A veteran Traverse City Police officer responsible for recovering thousands of dollars worth of drugs during his five-year career in Traverse City died of cancer Monday. He was about 70-years-old, in dog years. Astor, a German Shepard trained to sniff down drugs and suspects who fled crime scenes, joined the department in early 1993 and worked until November 1998 with his trainer, Sgt. Stephan Morgan. After the dog was retired it lived with the Morgan family, where Astor was also a beloved family pet. In Michigan, Astor was used for training K-9 units at other departments, lent to other departments for drug searches, and used in demonstrations across Michigan for students in elementary school to college. Munson Medical Center receives national award TRAVERSE CITY - Munson Medical Center was named Wednesday as the sole nationwide winner of the National Quality Health Care Award, presented by the National Committee for Quality Health Care and Modern Healthcare magazine. Munson is the smallest hospital to receive the award, which has been given for seven years. Previous winners include Henry Ford Health System in Detroit and the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia. Less than a dozen hospitals were nominated for the award. However, National Committee for Quality Health Care president and chief executive officer Catherine McDermott said Munson was up against "very stiff" competition. Saginaw man accused of molesting children TRAVERSE CITY - A 35-year-old Saginaw man is accused of molesting three children while visiting Grand Traverse County last year. Paul Anthony Colpean is accused of fondling, performing sex acts, and trying to rape three boys. Two of the boys, brothers aged 9 and 10, were allegedly molested while camping in September. A third boy, who was 7, was allegedly molested at a home in December. Colpean was charged Tuesday with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. He asked for a court-appointed lawyer and is being held in jail in lieu of a $50,000 bond. Topless bar worker faces felony poisoning charge RAPID CITY - A disc jockey for a topless bar in Rapid City is charged with slipping drops of eye medication into a dancer's coffee, causing her to become sick to her stomach. Jonathan Michael Houston, 26, of Traverse City, was arraigned Thursday on a felony poisoning charge, punishable by up to five years in prison, according to Kalkaska County District Court files. According to police, Houston slipped Visine into the woman's drink at the Crossroads Bar on Nov. 20. The woman went home sick from work later that night, with an upset stomach and diarrhea, Detective Sgt. Richard Simpson of the state police said. The woman didn't know why she was sick until someone else who works at the bar told her the next day that Houston had slipped something into her drink, according to police. Whitewater residents file petition to recall board WILLIAMSBURG - Petitions seeking the recall of four of the five members of the Whitewater Township Board were filed with county officials early Thursday afternoon. A recall vote could be held by early May. Petitions with upwards of 260 signatures were filed by township resident and fire department member Gary Kiernan for Clerk Sandra Beckwith, Treasurer David Galligan and trustees Dieter Amos and Judith Tank. A minimum of 232 verified signatures of registered voters in the township are needed to force a recall vote. The petition wording, approved by the county election commission in late January, refers to a fire chief dispute in the township and the board's decision last year to transfer title of a township rescue vehicle to the Grand Traverse Rural Fire Department. Members of the township fire department want township supervisor Randy Stites, the only board member not targeted in the recall, named to the chief's position. MDOT unveils plan to upgrade Munson Avenue TRAVERSE CITY - The state Department of Transportation on Thursday unveiled its plans for reconstructing 1.63 miles of U.S. 31 through the city, starting in front of the Holiday Inn and going east to Eighth Street. The $1.17 million project is scheduled to begin sometime in May. By contract, must be completed by June 24 so it won't interfere with the start of the National Cherry Festival in July. MDOT officials said at least one lane will remain open in each direction throughout the construction, although it will create some delays for motorists as that stretch of road handles an average of 34,000 vehicles per day. Five vandalism suspects plead not guilty TRAVERSE CITY - Five teen-ager boys accused of smashing windows across Traverse City in January pleaded not guilty in separate hearings in juvenile court this week. The suspects will next face a pretrial where they will either plead guilty or a trial will be scheduled in Grand Traverse Probate Court. No date has been scheduled. Four 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old from Traverse City were charged in February with malicious destruction of property between $1,000 and $20,000. Damage estimates from the vandalism is likely to far exceed $20,000, police and prosecutors have said. The teens, whose names are being withheld by the Record-Eagle because they are juveniles, have been implicated in as many as 73 acts of vandalism around Traverse City. kalkaska Village cuts some services in leaner budget KALKASKA - Kalkaska village officials have cut police overtime, a spring cleanup program and other services in a 2000-2001 budget that's $58,000 leaner than the previous one. The village council approved an $860,128 budget Monday, down from the $918,808 budget for the fiscal year that ended Feb. 29. The reason for the drop is that last year, the village failed to take about $45,000 out of the general fund that was to have gone to the village's three new tax increment financing districts for the downtown development authority. The districts, which generally consist of downtown-area businesses, take the taxes from all new construction and improvements within their boundaries and apply them to improvements. The improvements usually include things like new sidewalks, lighting and landscaping. leelanau Prosecutor denies financial wrongdoing LELAND - Problems over omissions in his 1996 campaign statement are much ado about nothing, Leelanau County prosecutor Clarence Gomery said. Gomery came under fire in January after it was reported that some advertising in the Preview, a weekly newspaper formerly owned by Frank Noverr, was unaccounted for in the financial information Gomery provided the Michigan Department of State Elections Division. The Leelanau Enterprise reported that Gomery accepted newspaper inserts without paying for them or reporting them on his campaign statement. Preview invoices obtained by Gomery show charges for two inserts. Gomery said he forgot to include the charges in his campaign statement. When the allegations first surfaced, Gomery requested bank statements and could remember paying the $207 charge, but wasn't sure if the $813 had been paid. Both are paid in full, according to Noverr. Attorney is suing judge who had him arrested LELAND - A Mt. Pleasant lawyer jailed for failing to honor a subpoena to appear in court is suing the judge who had him arrested. Thomas J. Plachta filed suit Feb. 25 against 13th Circuit Court judge Thomas Power. The 13th Circuit covers Antrim, Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. The lawsuit, which requests more than $25,000 in damages for injuries suffered, costs, interest and attorney fees, alleges Power held Plachta in contempt of court "without probable cause and with malice." Plachta was subpoenaed by Power to appear in court in November to explain his defense of William LeBlanc, a tribal police officer earlier convicted of sexually molesting his then 15-year-old stepdaughter. wexford Man receives prison sentence in baby's death CADILLAC - A Manton man who pleaded guilty to attempted child abuse last month for severely shaking his infant daughter was sentenced Monday to two to five years in prison. Kyle Lee Nyberg, 19, admitted that he had shaken 3-month-old Imani Hall hard enough to send her into convulsions and unconsciousness after her mother left her alone with him on Nov. 1. The baby had to be hospitalized for three months. Police investigate passing of counterfeit cash CADILLAC- Police are investigating the passing of two counterfeit $100 bills in the Cadillac area. According to the Wexford County Sheriff's Department, a woman used one phony $100 Tuesday to make a purchase at the Cadillac K-Mart. Police believe the same woman tried to use another fake bill Wednesday for a purchase at Wal-Mart. The woman is a white female, about 25 years old. She is described as 5'2" and 5'4" and between 110 and 120 pounds. At K-Mart, she had short, blond hair, but at Wal-Mart, her hair was very short and black. She may be driving a medium-size metallic purple pickup truck with a chrome roll bar and lights on the top. Appeals court upholds man's assault conviction CADILLAC - The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a Cadillac man who beat his girlfriend's head on a grocery store parking lot in September of 1997. The court upheld Douglas James Anderson's conviction of assault with intent to commit murder in a ruling signed by judges David Sawyer, Roman Gribbs and Gary McDonald. The 32-year-old Anderson is serving 25 to 50 years in prison for beating Muriel Joyce Brown with a motorcycle helmet, then smashing her head on the asphalt in the Carter's Food Store parking lot in Cadillac on Sept. 26, 1997. The injuries severely hindered Brown's speech and her ability to walk. Three girls expelled for bringing alcohol to school CADILLAC - Three girls accused of bringing alcohol to school in a pop bottle and passing it around to other students have been expelled for the rest of the school year. The Cadillac school board expelled the 10th-grade girls Monday, saying they brought butterscotch schnapps to school. The girls shared it among themselves and with other students on the school bus and in the hall of Cadillac High School about two weeks ago, Superintendent Fred Carroll said. The school district will provide homework and tutors for the girls so they can complete this year's studies at home. Commissioners approve adult business ordinance CADILLAC - Wexford County will regulate the hours, lighting and location of any new sexually oriented businesses in most of the county outside Cadillac. The county board of commissioners approved an ordinance regarding the businesses Wednesday by a 6-1 vote, Bob Lee, vice chairman of the board, said. Lee cast the only dissenting vote, calling it premature because the state legislature is working on similar regulations on a statewide basis. Also, the county ordinance is stiffer than the state ordinance on closing times. County gives boost to recycling plan CADILLAC - Wexford County residents will have more options for recycling under a new county solid waste plan. County commissioners approved the plan Wednesday, including provisions to increase recycling drop-off sites throughout the county, according to Bob Lee, vice chairman of the board of commissioners. The county currently has one site that has limited hours. The plan also allows for up to 10 percent of the dumping fees at the county landfill to go toward recycling costs, without increasing the fees, Lee said. Officials have estimated the cost at about $140,000 per year. Weather changes nature of winter festival CADILLAC - Does no snow equal no show? No way, as long as the sun shines. About 800 Oldsmobile employees had planned to descend upon Cadillac this weekend to play amid the winter wonderland. Days of warm weather later, and they now just might roll up their sleeves for skiing, skip ice fishing for angling from the shore and may even look to golf a few rounds. Yes, golf. "It's turning into a spring fest instead of a winter fest," said Bill Green, a toolmaker for Oldsmobile and an organizer of the 47th annual Oldsmobile Outdoor Club Winter Festival. Until last year, the event was always held in Houghton Lake. One of the big events this year was supposed to be a free ice-fishing contest today for children. The contest still will happen, but it will be with poles along the banks of the canal between lakes Cadillac and Mitchell rather than with tip-ups out on any ice. "The ice is not gone, but it's not safe at all," Carol Potter, director of the Cadillac Area Visitors Bureau, said. |
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