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April 3, 2005Week in reviewANTRIMSheriff's officials warn of police impersonator BELLAIRE - Antrim County Sheriff's officials are warning residents about a man who may be impersonating a police officer in the county. Sheriff Terry Johnson said a white male appeared at a residence on Birch Lake Road in Kewadin last week and talked to a 16-year-old girl who was there alone. Officials said when the girl answered the door, the man asked her whether her mother was there. When she told the man her mother would be home shortly, the suspect left. The man, described as being between 40 and 50 years old and approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall, was wearing a blue, dress-style uniform and a black patch with the word "police" written in yellow. Police said the man was last seen driving a blue unmarked vehicle similar to a police vehicle with a single spotlight on the driver's side. Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's department at (231) 533-8627. Bank takes ownership of Shanty Creek resort BELLAIRE - Comerica Bank has taken ownership of Shanty Creek resort after its former management failed to stave off a mortgage foreclosure. How the move will affect resort operations is unclear. Shanty Creek is Antrim County's largest employer at more than 600 workers in peak season. Comerica spokeswoman Kathleen Pitton said San Diego-based Douglas Wilson Companies, the court-appointed receiver for Shanty Creek, is operating the resort. "The resort is expecting to open for golf season," Pitton said, declining further comment. Comerica began foreclosure proceedings against then-resort owners Go Forward Limited Partnership and LaVanway Capital and Trade Corp. last August, accusing them of defaulting on a $20.35 million mortgage. Affected properties include Shanty Creek's Summit and Cedar River Village lodges, its Cedar River, Summit Village and Schuss Mountain golf courses, the Schuss restaurant and ski slopes, and numerous individual condominium units throughout the resort off M-88 highway between Bellaire and Mancelona. BENZIE Man wants officials held in civil contempt BEULAH - A man who has devoted years to being a thorn in the side of Benzie County officials wants them held in civil contempt for ignoring a months-old court order to turn over documents under a Freedom of Information Act request. John Peters, an attorney for Eric VanDussen, a Benzie resident who repeatedly sued the county and Sheriff Robert Blank over FOI requests, said Circuit Judge James Batzer ordered the county and Blank to turn over volumes of documents to VanDussen. David Bedells, who represents the county and Blank, said he needs more information about which documents have not been turned over. He said documents will be turned over and the matter likely will be resolved before a May 6 hearing on the contempt motion.Batzer also ordered the county to pay VanDussen thousands of dollars in sanctions and attorney fees, but the county has yet to do so. Bedells said payments to VanDussen are being processed by the county's liability carrier and the county is not disputing the attorney fees requested. CHARLEVOIX 'Clerical error' may cost taxpayers CHARLEVOIX - A "clerical error" may cost city taxpayers more than $220,000. City officials agreed to pay United Fire and Casualty Co. of Iowa nearly $223,000, after not including the insurer as a co-payee on a check to a contractor. The contractor, CCMS Inc. of Barbeau, cashed the check but never paid United Fire as the insurer insists was required. United Fire had issued performance and payment bonds for CCMS, assuring completion of a 2001 city street and sewer improvement project and payment of all suppliers and subcontractors. United Fire officials informed the city in 2002 they had received claims against their CCMS bonds, and to either make all future payments directly to United Fire or to the insurer and contractor jointly. The failure to include the insurer on a $223,000 check written to CCMS on April 2, 2004, was a "clerical error," city manager Michael Wiesner said. CHEBOYGAN $9.5 milion harbor planned at ferry site MACKINAW CITY - A new state harbor of refuge will be built at an old car ferry dock over the next several years, beginning with two breakwater walls and navigation lights this year. The site was last regularly used in 1957 before the Mackinac Bridge opened to traffic and is now leased by passenger ferry companies for long-term parking lots. The new Mackinaw State Harbor will cost $9.5 million to build, state officials said. Construction begins with breakwater walls and navigation lights to form a calm water area. Durocher Marine of Cheboygan, a division of Kokosing Construction Company, was awarded a nearly $1.5 million contract to install 73,800 tons of stone for 850 feet of breakwater and two navigation lights, to be completed by January 2006. Future phases include harbor buildings and floating piers for boaters looking for a calm spot to moor during bad weather. A final project completion date in 2007 depends on state funding, said Colleen Steinman, DNR spokeswoman. $3.2 million library expansion to begin CHEBOYGAN - A $3.2 million building expansion project at Cheboygan Area Public Library begins this month with a public celebration and groundbreaking. More than 26,000 books will be added to the stacks after construction, nearly quadrupling the size of the library to 27,000 square feet. A new presentation room will be added and used for adult educational programs, while the children's area will be enlarged and upgraded, director Mark Bronson said. More space for computers will be available after the expansion, Bronson said, and a wireless high-speed Internet system will be installed. The project is funded through $250,000 in local contributions, $400,000 from the library's savings and a $2.8 million bond repayment plan approved by voters last year. Tax dollars will pay for about 80 percent of the project, expected to be completed in March 2006. The public groundbreaking will be just after 5 p.m. April 14 on the east side of the library, 107 S. Ball in Cheboygan. EMMET Pellston man thrown from sled, dies PELLSTON - The Emmet County Sheriff's Department is investigating a McKinley Township snowmobile accident that killed a Pellston man. Phillip Saddison, 42, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which occurred March 25 night on a snowmobile trail paralleling U.S. 31 highway. Saddison was southbound when he veered off the trail and was thrown from his snowmobile as it rolled several times, Emmet Sheriff Peter Wallin said. Bay Harbor is focus of federal-state study PETOSKEY - A joint federal and state study is under way to determine the human health effects of cement kiln dust seepage contamination in and around Bay Harbor resort. Conducting the study are the state Department of Community Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a division of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State health department spokesman T.J. Bucholz said epidemiologists - medical science professionals who study the incidence, distribution and control of disease in a population - this year took samples of kiln dust leachate contamination along the Lake Michigan shoreline within the resort. State health officials will write a report of their findings and share it with the federal agency, Bucholz said. The federal agency may then make its own additions or modifications to the report before it is released, he said. GRAND TRAVERSE O'Non's mother put on paid suspension TRAVERSE CITY - Matthew O'Non's mother is on paid suspension from the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's office as officials question testimony she gave during her son's double murder trial. Faye Robyn O'Non, 50, a corrections officer at the Grand Traverse County jail since 1998, was suspended March 17 as sheriff's administrators review whether she violated code of conduct expectations or broke a law with testimony she offered March 10, Undersheriff Nathan Alger said. Faye Robyn O'Non testified she found a bullet shell casing from a handgun near the driveway of her Bass Lake cottage where Matthew O'Non admitted killing Texans Raul Ramirez and Manuel Longoria on May 1. During her testimony, Faye Robyn O'Non said she threw the casing away and never informed police or the FBI about it, even after state police found the victims' bodies on the property May 16. Motorist jailed on variety of charges TRAVERSE CITY - A local man is in jail for drunken driving after he allegedly crashed his car through a fence at the Turtle Creek Casino before leading officers on a foot chase. Keith Butler, 20, is being charged with drunken driving, fleeing and eluding, and resisting police after deputies from the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's office attempted to pull him over on M-72 just after 1:30 a.m. March 26. Undersheriff Nathan Alger said Butler drove through a wooden fence at the casino before leading officers on a short foot chase. Butler, who is lodged in the Grand Traverse County jail, was paroled from prison earlier this month after serving 16 months for drunken driving and fleeing police in 2002. Pair face arraignment in mailbox thefts TRAVERSE CITY - Two area men will appear in court this week to be arraigned on charges of allegedly stealing mail from more than 50 residential mailboxes. Kurtis Tulppo, 18, of Kingsley, and Joshua Morrison, 20, of Traverse City, are scheduled to appear in 86th District Court on April 6 to be arraigned on charges of receiving and concealing stolen property, according to court records. Tulppo and Morrison also face misdemeanor charges of being minors in possession of alcohol. County delays action on recycling program TRAVERSE CITY - The county, struggling with a deficit in its recycling program, will wait for a meeting with its recycling contractor before it considers increasing the trash surcharge. The Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners was scheduled to act on a recommendation Wednesday from its board of public works to solve the county's projected two-year $280,000 shortfall in its recycling program. The proposed solution was to extend the current $1.50 surcharge on a cubic yard of trash through the year 2006 and increase the fee to $2.75. Elmwood to hire help for project application TRAVERSE CITY - Elmwood Township will hire more planning help to review the biggest development proposal in its history. The township board on April 11 is expected to appoint a planning consultant to help process a planned unit development (PUD) application for the proposed Glacier Bay Resort, a $50 million-plus project planned for a 230-acre site near M-72 and Carter Road. Township planner Bill Swanson said he'll be on a review team with township attorney Jim Young and the planning consultant to review the company's PUD application before it formally accepts the proposal. The zoning ordinance requires the township to act on the application within 120 days, he said. The cost for an outside consultant will be paid from an escrow account charged to project developers, Swanson said. Former patient files suit against Munson TRAVERSE CITY - A former patient is suing Munson Medical Center after allegedly suffering from an overdose of insulin wrongly given to her by a nursing student. The lawsuit alleges in September 2003 Phyllis Manville "erroneously" received 250 units of insulin administered by a nursing student under the supervision of Munson nursing personnel. The suit seeks damages over $25,000 for Manville, who contends that due to the insulin overdose she sustained severe injuries, including memory loss, loss of word recall and "decreased cognitive function," as well as lessened ability to care for herself and "live independently." The suit alleges hospital workers failed to double-check medications being administered, that the nursing student was not properly supervised and medical personnel failed to follow physician orders. Also seeking at least $25,000 damages is Manville's husband, Orval, who alleges he lost companionship. Motorist likely to face OUIL charges FIFE LAKE - A Cadillac man who crashed his car into a Fife Lake home likely will be charged with drunken driving, police said. Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Capt. Tom Emerson said a 44-year-old man was driving his vehicle on M-113 just after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday when he left the road, hit a culvert, went airborne and ran into the house. Emerson said the Cadillac man, who wasn't immediately arrested, was taken to Munson Medical Center to be treated for injuries. No one in the home was injured, Emerson said. "I was told there is quite a bit of damage to the house," he said. "We suspect drunk driving and are definitely going to pursue that investigation." Sender of marijuana gets month in joint TRAVERSE CITY - A Cheboygan woman is to have no contact with the incarcerated boyfriend to whom she admitted mailing drugs at a local prison. Melissa LaHaie, 31, was sentenced Friday morning to a month in jail and 36 months of probation by 13th Circuit Court Judge Philip Rodgers for mailing marijuana to David Vanalstine at the Pugsley Correctional Facility in Kingsley. Rodgers also ordered LaHaie to have no contact with Vanalstine, 33, who is serving time at the Kinross Correctional Facility for his part in the scam. "If you initiate contact to visit him, take calls or receive letters, that will be a violation of your probation," he said. LaHaie told the court that she sent the drugs to be sold in prison because she was in financial straits, spending $300 a month on collect phone calls from Vanalstine and sending the man money each month. Alleged scammers face reduced charges TRAVERSE CITY - Charges were reduced to misdemeanors against two Alabama men accused of running a slot machine scam at local casino. Matthew Queen, 39, and Morris Honneycutt, 69, were arrested March 26 at Turtle Creek Casino by Michigan State Police for allegedly shaving the edges off quarters in order to get more money from slot machine winnings. Honneycutt and Queen originally were lodged in the Grand Traverse County jail on felony charges of larceny and money laundering, but charges were reduced to a misdemeanor charge of obtaining goods and services from a vending machine without payment. Prosecutor Alan Schneider said the original charges were amended because a state statute for felony gaming violations doesn't apply to gambling on American Indian land. If convicted of the new misdemeanor charges, Queen and Honneycutt could serve a maximum of six months in jail. LEELANAU O'Non witness pleads guilty to sex crime TRAVERSE CITY - A former friend of convicted killer Matthew O'Non pleaded guilty to a charge of gross indecency after having sex with a 15-year-old Suttons Bay girl. Jorge Roman Jr., 19, of Suttons Bay, pleaded to the five-year felony in 13th Circuit Court in exchange for a deal that would dismiss two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. According to police reports, Roman was at the Shoreline Motel on Dec. 31 with two girls between 13 and 15 years old. All appeared to have been drinking and had intercourse. In September, Roman testified at O'Non's preliminary hearing that he was asked to serve as "bait" to lure Raul Ramirez and Manuel Longoria into a trap at the O'Non family cottage on Bass Lake. But Roman refused to testify against O'Non during the trial, instead exercising his Fifth Amendment rights to avoid giving testimony that could be used against him in an ongoing federal grand jury investigation into drug trafficking in Leelanau County. Roman will be sentenced on the gross indecency charge on April 22. Unoccupied house destroyed by fire MAPLE CITY - Officials are investigating a fire that destroyed an unoccupied Maple City house. Steve Ward, rescue chief for Cedar Fire Department, said a blaze at 1715 Burdickville Road in Maple City destroyed a four-year-old house Monday afternoon. "We were there for four hours, but the house was a no save," said Ward. "No one was home at the time." Ward said Michigan State Police fire investigators will investigate the fire, which started just after 12:30 p.m. from an unknown source. Sugar Loaf ski resort purchase is completed CEDAR - Sugar Loaf resort's new owner, Kate Wickstrom, closed on a deal to purchase the resort for an undisclosed price March 25, said Wickstrom's attorney, Michael J. Corcoran, of Charlevoix. Skiers may not return to the resort next winter, however, Corcoran said. "That would be great, nothing would please us more, but my crystal ball says it may take one more winter," he said. Wickstrom will concentrate on renovation of the resort first, Corcoran said. All of the licenses for the ski lifts have lapsed and they are at varying stages of disrepair, he said. Wickstrom purchased the resort from a company owned by the wife of former Sugar Loaf owner Remo Polselli. A company headed by Polselli owned the resort when it closed in 2000. OTSEGO Vanderbilt's future likely lies with voters VANDERBILT - Voters in this small town likely will decide the fate of Vanderbilt School at an election this year. The district faces a $200,000 budget shortfall this year and nearly $500,000 next year - significant dollars for a district with 18 teachers and where students from kindergarten through high school attend classes in one building. Superintendent Ellen Bonter said employee salaries and benefits consume 98 percent of the budget, leaving the district just enough for utility bills. New textbooks and building repairs come only through grants, Bonter said. Vanderbilt School leaders have discussed whether to annex their district of 194 students into Gaylord Community Schools, or consolidate with other neighboring districts, such as Wolverine Community Schools or Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools. Only voters in the Vanderbilt district would go to the polls for an annexation to Gaylord, in which the existing Gaylord Board of Education would take over and run the school. With consolidation, voters in both districts would choose whether to dissolve their respective school boards and form a new entity, with members from both areas.
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