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December 11, 2005Week in reviewANTRIMTownship appeals case to Supreme Court ELK RAPIDS - Township officials will appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court in a contentious case involving the township, an area gun club and a dying woman's final wishes. When Mina Wilcox died in 1948 she left her property to Elk Rapids Township, with the stipulation the land be used for a public park. The township subsequently turned over the 11-acre plot to the Elk Rapids Sportsmans Club. Wilcox's family sued, and two courts thus far have ordered the township to give up land or turn it into a park as Wilcox intended. After a 30-minute closed-session Monday, the township board unanimously voted to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to hear the case. The township spent tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees thus far, and Supervisor Bill White said the move will cost the township about $5,000 just to file legal briefs, more if justices decide they'll hear the case. "I feel it's in the best interest of the township," said White. BENZIE Victim identified in fatal accident BEULAH - A local man was identified by authorities as the victim in a fatal snowmobile accident along the Betsie Valley trail. Steven R. Kopacz, 39, of Thompsonville was killed in the crash last Sunday, Benzie County Sheriff's Department personnel said Monday. Kopacz was traveling west at about 2:30 p.m. when the sled went off the trail and struck a stand of trees. Kopacz was pronounced dead at the scene. CRAWFORD Judge blocks land-clearing for drilling TRAVERSE CITY - A federal judge Wednesday blocked an energy company from clearing land in preparation for drilling a hotly contested natural gas well in a northern Michigan forest. Judge David M. Lawson of U.S. District Court in Bay City issued an order halting Savoy Energy LP from cutting timber, building a road and taking other steps to get the project under way in the Huron-Manistee National Forest east of Grayling. The order will remain in effect while the court hears a lawsuit against the drilling filed in June by the Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club and Anglers of the Au Sable, a sport fishing group. No trial date has been set. EMMET Family sues John Deere in fatality TRAVERSE CITY - The family of a teen who died in a lawnmower accident at an Emmet County golf course sued the mower manufacturer in federal court. The estate of Justin C. Conklin, who died in June when the mower he was driving at Bay Harbor Golf Club overturned, sued John Deere Company, and contends the mower should have been outfitted with a seatbelt. Conklin was mowing the tee box on the second hole at the Quarry course June 13 when the mower slid backward down a wooded incline, overturned and came to a rest against a tree. The 19-year-old Boyne City man was crushed by the roll bar, according to the suit. The suit contends John Deere Company was negligent to manufacture its model no. 2500E mower without a seat belt and seeks unspecified damages over $75,000. John Deere officials did not return a reporter's telephone call. GRAND TRAVERSE Tart cherries ordered for federal programs TRAVERSE CITY - The U.S. Department of Agriculture will help lighten the load of this year's bumper tart cherry crop with a major purchase for school lunch and other federal food programs. The department announced a preliminary proposal recently to purchase up to 15 million pounds of red tart cherries from this year's estimated 267 million pound harvest. The agriculture department buys the cherries for its Food and Nutrition Service program that supports several food assistance initiatives, including school lunch and breakfast programs, elderly nutrition programs and emergency food assistance for victims of natural disasters. More fields planned for Keystone Park TRAVERSE CITY - Grand Traverse County plans to clear-cut 17 acres of red pine this winter to make room for more baseball fields, a rugby field or another ice rink. The county parks commission was asked Thursday to approve requesting bids to cut the wood lot at the corner of Keystone and Birmley roads. Traverse City Little League, rugby groups and Centre ICE all have expressed an interest in using the property. City seeks less strict guidelines for cleanup TRAVERSE CITY - The city will take steps to clean up a former landfill, but it will ask the state for flexible deadlines and less direct supervision. The old Boot Lake Dump on Cass Road was used as a city dump in the 1960s to trash residential garbage and cherry processing waste. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality said the city is liable for soil and groundwater contamination at the spot. Monday, city commissioners agreed to ask the DEQ for permission to follow less-strict guidelines than what the state requested to fix up the site. The city's plan would require the city to conduct a feasibility study and ensure the site is safe to the public. But, a DEQ official said last month that the city's plan for cleaning up the dump would not necessarily "bring the site to a closure." It also doesn't fully consider groundwater issues, the DEQ said. Commission changes building height rule TRAVERSE CITY - The city commission Monday unanimously approved an amendment to the building height ordinance that will sweeten a proposed West Front Street project by developer Michael Uzelac of Federated Properties. The zoning district in which Uzelac plans an eight-story, 100-foot tall building gave a height bonus to screen rooftop equipment. The ordinance change means Uzelac can build residential units on the seventh floor with a second story that reaches into the top level. He plans to use about 24,000 square feet in the top floor as residential space. Uzelac earned approval in September for a three-story building on the north side of West Front Street. Both that project and his taller south-side building include public parking, with the city's share estimated to cost between $10 million and $12 million. Road officials consider adding Michigan Left TRAVERSE CITY - Staff at the Grand Traverse County Road Commission wants to study adding boulevards and Michigan Lefts to major portions of South Airport Road. Road commission manager Mark Makowski said a study of traffic light coordination on South Airport last year by Wade-Trim Engineering concluded they were maxed out on moving traffic safely along South Airport Road. The Michigan Left, a traffic control design developed in southeast Michigan in the 1960s, requires drivers to first make a right or a U-turn to go left. Though common throughout metropolitan areas of the state, the Michigan Left is rare outside of Michigan and not always popular with motorists inside the state. Interlochen man held on sex charges TRAVERSE CITY - An Interlochen man is being held in the Grand Traverse County Jail without bond for allegedly raping a local woman at knifepoint. Kyle Lynn Donkers, 22, is being charged with two felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly forcing a woman to have sexual relations in September. Donkers is also charged with felonious assault with a dangerous weapon, a four-year offense, and with being a habitual offender. Donker was convicted in Benzie County in December 2003 for fourth-degree CSC, according to court records. If convicted, Donkers faces up to life in prison for the charges. Man gets nine years for abuse of infant TRAVERSE CITY - A local judge sentenced Phillip Jon Fahrner to nine years in prison for throwing his ex-girlfriend's infant son to the floor, causing brain damage, paralysis and other injuries the baby may not survive. "That little boy, he has a life sentence. Who knows what he might have been," 13th Circuit Judge Thomas Power said Monday, ignoring state sentencing recommendations of four to six years in prison. Fahrner was charged in July with child abuse after he apparently threw Cameron Strang, then 11 months old, to the floor and onto his head after the child vomited. Sheriff's detectives told Power in October that doctors said Cameron likely will succumb to his injuries. Prosecutor Alan Schneider has said repeatedly he will pursue homicide charges against Fahrner if Cameron dies as a result of his injuries from the incident. Construction foul-up cuts water to homes TRAVERSE CITY - A handful of houses on the city's west side lost water service for much of the last two days because of a foul-up at a development project in neighboring Garfield Township. Workers at the 70-unit Incochee Woods residential development were testing a new water line Tuesday when they released too much water and dropped the pressure in another city water line served by a booster station along Wayne Street, city officials said. The pressure loss cut water service to seven neighborhood homes, city engineer Tim Lodge said. The problem was discovered when the city received calls Tuesday morning from homeowners in the Wayne Hill area who said they had no water. City officials said the affected homes received notices to boil their drinking water until 2 p.m. Wednesday, and were provided with bottled water. Planners OK project for West Front Street TRAVERSE CITY - One of the multi-story projects pegged for West Front Street - where developers have planned a building bonanza - earned city planners approval. Developer Gerald Snowden wants to build a seven-story multi-use building at 305 W. Front St. He later plans to build a neighboring eight-story retail and residential building along the Boardman River. Snowden is seeking two special land-use permits for the seven-story, first phase of his project. Wednesday, city planners recommended approval of a permit for a bank drive-through at the site. The second permit, to build taller than 60 feet, also was recommended for approval, but with city commissioner Scott Hardy opposed. City zoning requires buildings more than 60 feet tall to have at least one floor of residential space. Snowden's submitted plan included only first-floor retail topped by office space. Planners suggested approval of the project as long as it includes the residential space. The two land-use permits now go to the city commission for final approval. Transportation group offered incentive TRAVERSE CITY - The state of Michigan is dangling $25,000 before a local transportation study group to jump-start a process several members acknowledge is stalled. "We're starting to hear grumbling in the community that (we) aren't doing anything," said Ken Kleinrichert, a member of the Land Use and Transportation Study group. "People are losing interest." Eight months after their appointment to study and recommend a long-term remedy to the region's burgeoning transportation woes, the 29-member group has failed to agree on the scope of work they want studied or how the study should be designed and implemented. A proposal mandating that a timeline be in place by February for hiring a consultant was defeated Tuesday by a lone member. Under the proposal, if the timeline is missed, TC-TALUS, the governmental organization responsible for spending up to $3.3 million in federal money on the study, would create the schedule. The Michigan Department of Transportation said it will authorize $25,000 for TC-TALUS to hire attorney Robert Grow to coach the transportation group to design its study process and hire a consultant. Man accused of fondling teenage girl TRAVERSE CITY - A local man allegedly fondled a teenage girl in downtown Traverse City. Cruz Rogelio Romo, 32, of Traverse City, is being charged with one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct stemming from an incident last Sunday evening. City police Capt. Steve Morgan said the 17-year-old girl told officers she was walking downtown just before 6:30 p.m. when Romo allegedly approached her and asked to walk along. The teen said after several blocks Romo allegedly attempted to hug her before touching her inappropriately. Morgan said the teen screamed and Romo allegedly fled, but was found a short time later walking on Woodmere Avenue. Morgan said Romo allegedly has a criminal record in Texas and is a registered sex offender in Michigan for a previous CSC charge. Romo, who is being held in the Grand Traverse County Jail on $25,000 bond, faces up to two years in prison for the misdemeanor charge. Local man accused of stealing from cars TRAVERSE CITY - A local man is in jail for allegedly helping himself to the contents of a few area cars. City police Capt. Steve Morgan said a 25-year-old Garfield Township man was arrested just after 4 a.m. Wednesday after a complaint of a suspicious subject in the area of Grant Street. Morgan said when the man was stopped officers allegedly found a cache of cash, electronic equipment and other personal items in his backpack. The man was lodged in the Grand Traverse County Jail for felony larceny from automobiles. Police seek husband accused of assault TRAVERSE CITY - Police issued an arrest warrant for a Kingsley man accused of assaulting his wife with a telephone and a fake gun on two separate occasions. Michael Todd Welke, 37, is charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and a misdemeanor count of attempting to tamper with a phone line. Welke's wife told Grand Traverse County sheriff's officials that in October her husband allegedly struck her in the head with a telephone at their home on Clark Road in Kingsley. Approximately a month later, Welke allegedly assaulted his wife again, this time by allegedly holding an air gun to her head. The woman told police that Welke cocked the gun and pushed it into her head, causing bruising. If convicted, Welke faces a maximum of four years in prison for the felony assault charges. Traverse City man faces drug charges TRAVERSE CITY - A local man faces multiple charges for allegedly using his Traverse City residence to sell drugs. Nathan Witt, 24, is charged with a count of possessing methamphetamines, a 10-year felony, after officials from the Traverse Narcotics Team arrived at his Woodcreek Boulevard home during an investigation in May. Witt, who is also being charged with misdemeanor counts of maintaining a drug house and possession of marijuana, allegedly told police that he used the home as a location to make drug sales. Witt, who was released on a $5,000 bond, is scheduled to appear for a preliminary examination on Dec. 20. Police investigate teen's 'sudden' death TRAVERSE CITY - State police officials are investigating what caused the "sudden" death of a local teen at his father's home. Kyle Hagelberg, 17, of Traverse City, was found dead at his father's home on Manhattan East in Long Lake Township Wednesday morning, officials said. Lt. William Elliott, commander of the Michigan State Police post in Traverse City, said a friend apparently stopped by to get Hagelberg up to go to work that morning. "(Hagelberg) was not feeling well or was going to stay in bed, and later they found him deceased," said Elliott. Elliott said Detective Sgt. Mark Harris is trying to determine what Hagelberg did the night before his death and is awaiting results of a toxicology screening. Women sue employer, landlord over mold TRAVERSE CITY - Four women are suing their employer and its landlord, saying they failed to address a workplace mold problem that made them sick. The suit alleged Real Estate One at 521 Randolph and 98 Real Estate Leasing of Cadillac, owner of the building, failed to warn workers of health risks and were negligent in dealing with the mold. The four women - Linda DePoister, Shirley Allison, Elizabeth Lannen and Angela MacDermaid - either worked directly or on a contract basis for Real Estate One, attorney Blake Ringsmuth said. The building had been leaking "for years," allowing in water and the growth of "certain harmful molds," the lawsuit said. The suit also named Patrick Johnson, an agent of 98 Real Estate, and Flood Fighters Inc. of Traverse City, which allegedly was hired to help remove the mold. Ringsmuth said the women suffered a number of physical ailments, including severe respiratory and allergic reactions, and vision problems as serious as cataracts. The suit alleged Johnson and Real Estate One knew about the mold as early as January 2004 but didn't begin removal work until eight months later. LEELANAU Conservancy seeks Cedar Lake property TRAVERSE CITY - The Leelanau Conservancy wants to purchase the Louis DeYoung farm to establish a nature preserve that would include nearly a mile of Cedar Lake frontage. The conservancy put down $50,000 for an option on the 145-acre property recently but hasn't bought the farm yet - they must raise $130,000 in three months and the rest of the $1.8 million purchase price by June 1. The property stretches across Cherry Bend Road in Leelanau County and includes nearly a mile of undeveloped shoreline on the northwest edge of Cedar Lake. The Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation Trail runs through the property. The conservancy plans to make the land open to the public for hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing, or bird watching. Health center sale is close to being reality NORTHPORT - A buyer with plans to transform Leelanau Memorial Health Center into a senior living complex appears ready to close the deal. Parkside Senior Services, based in Skokie, Ill., wants to establish a mix of independent living condominiums, assisted-living apartments and dementia care. The company started negotiations in July with Munson Healthcare to purchase Leelanau Memorial. Michael McCarthy, Parkside chief executive officer, said he and Munson officials are fine-tuning details. He predicted the purchase could be final within a week. Renovations and additions wouldn't begin until Tendercare Inc., which manages long-term care services at Leelanau Memorial, transfers patients to its building under construction in Suttons Bay. Panel says petitions can be circulated NORTHPORT - Leelanau County's election commission ruled that recall petitions filed against seven Northport village council members contain language clear enough to be circulated for signatures. Northport resident John Kutilek filed petitions Nov. 22 seeking recall of village president Michael Rogers Sr. and trustees William Brendel, Richard Burmeister, Steven Mattson, Fredrick Thomas, Stephen Wetherbee and Barbara VonVoigtlander. All seven petitions list identical reasons involving the proposed municipal sewer, including failure to bring the matter to a public vote and lack of direct testing to prove environmental need. Each petition would need 75 signatures from registered village voters to force a recall election. Circulators have 180 days to submit petitions, but signatures are valid for 90 days. OTSEGO Cleanup plan begins; legal move is possible GAYLORD - Groundwork on a contentious pollution cleanup project in Otsego County is under way and a legal maneuver may be in short order. Construction workers are laying pipe for more than 1 million gallons of treated groundwater to be dumped daily into Kolke Creek, part of the Au Sable River headwaters. The project was approved by state regulators to clean up a plume of hydrocarbons in the Manistee River watershed, where toxins inch toward a residential area. But a local conservation group may seek a temporary restraining order in 46th Circuit Court to prevent the start of the cleanup. "What usually happens is when you turn a pipe on, it's difficult to get it turned off," said project opponent Rusty Gates, president of Anglers of the Au Sable. It could take 10 years to complete the cleanup and objectors say there are better ways to remove contaminants and return the treated water to its point of origin. Pollution came from leaking tanks, pipes and a flare pit at a Shell Western facility in Hayes Township. Meijer unveils plans for $15M supercenter GAYLORD - Meijer plans to build a $15 million supercenter in northern Michigan's Alpine town. Bagley Township Supervisor Bill Giles said the company bought 140 acres at the corner of M-32 and South Townline Road and is amending construction plans after meeting with local officials. The store would be built across the highway from an existing Kohl's and Old Navy development, east of Gaylord. "They came in with their designs and it's in the Alpine theme, which everyone liked. We're pleased to see they're going to come in. If they bought the property, they're pretty serious," Giles said. The more than 200,000-square-foot store will include a gas station, car wash, restaurants and other businesses in the outlying parking area. Inside the store will be groceries, clothing and household merchandise, similar to the Traverse City store, said Meijer spokeswoman Judith Clark. The approval process could be complete in 2006 and Meijer officials said they hope to have the store open in 2007. WEXFORD Man faces charges following standoff CADILLAC - A Manton man who allegedly threatened his family with a shotgun before a stand-off with police now faces multiple felony charges. Timothy Scott Wright, 39, is charged with four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery stemming from a seven-hour standoff with police Dec. 2. Wright, who is being held on $750,000 bond in the Wexford County Jail, was arraigned Dec. 3 on the five charges. Michigan State Police and Wexford County sheriff's said officers were called to Wright's home on 12½ Mile Road about 9 a.m. Dec. 2 after neighbors reported he was threatening his family with a gun. When police arrived, they said, Wright's wife and three children had fled the home by driving the family van through a garage door.
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