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February 12, 2006Week in reviewCHARLEVOIXFormer ISD director gets jail time, probation CHARLEVOIX - A former school administrator has been sentenced to six months in jail for lying about his criminal past on a concealed weapons permit application and for owning firearms despite his criminal record. Former Char-Em ISD AmeriCorps director Arthur Kirk was sentenced to one year of probation and six months in jail, with an additional six months that could be deferred if Kirk is successful on probation. Charlevoix County Circuit Judge Richard Pajtas handed down the sentence Friday. Kirk, 71, was first arrested last summer after a background check for a concealed weapons permit revealed that he had thrice been convicted of sex crimes in the late 1970s and early 80s. He had changed his name to Kirk from Kirkeby in 1985 after spending five years in prison on a criminal sexual conduct conviction involving an 8-year-old boy in Macomb County. Kirk pleaded guilty in December to being a felon-in-possession of a firearm and making false statements on his weapons-permit application. He has been in jail since September on a high bond and has nearly enough time-served credit to cover the initial six-month sentence, Prosecutor John Jarema said. Kirk still faces charges in federal court for making false statements on ISD forms in 2001 and 2002 in order to work there. Community center group is target of suit BEAVER ISLAND - Architects who worked on a new community center for island residents sued a citizens' fundraising group for nonpayment of more than $135,000. Grand Rapids-based Cox Medendorp Olson Architects asserted that the Preservation Association of Beaver Island owes $135,329 for work performed in 2003 and 2004, according to a Charlevoix County civil suit. The architectural firm also claimed a lien with the register of deeds on the community center land in St. James, Beaver Island's unincorporated village, and wants the court to foreclose on the property. Don Tritsch, vice president of the nonprofit citizens' organization, said he hasn't seen the lawsuit. Cox Medendorp "designed a building that we couldn't afford," Tritsch said. The association paid Cox Medendorp more than $68,000 for design services, according to court records. Construction began last year. The shell of the center, a two-story, 9,000-square-foot building that will house an auditorium, a youth center as well as the island's chamber of commerce offices, is nearly complete. Work continues despite the lawsuit, Tritsch said. As of December, the group had raised about $1.3 million of the necessary $2 million for the new hall. Township supervisor forces official's ouster CHARLEVOIX - A township supervisor who's pushing to open a contested mine on his land forced the removal of a fellow public official opposed to his project. Norwood Township Supervisor Wayne Wynkoop insisted that Sadie Bartosik's sudden dismissal from the township planning commission Wednesday had nothing to do with his mine proposal, but others aren't so sure. Bartosik has a been a verbal skeptic of Wynkoop's plan to run a limestone mine on his 100-acre spread south of Charlevoix. She's the second planning commissioner to be removed after questioning the project. In December, when it came time to make commission reappointments, Wynkoop passed over a commissioner who had criticized his project and appointed one of the few citizens who publicly supported it. On Wednesday, Wynkoop contended that Bartosik had shown bias against his project. But he insisted she was dismissed not because of her views but because, as secretary, she had made a series of errors in recent meeting minutes. CHEBOYGAN Tissue manufacturer faces DEQ lawsuit CHEBOYGAN - A tissue manufacturing company will defend allegations of water and air quality violations in the community it's accused of polluting. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality last year filed a civil lawsuit against Great Lakes Tissue Co. of Cheboygan on more than a dozen charges of contaminating the Cheboygan River and also the air around the downtown factory. The company recently was granted a change of venue from Lansing to Cheboygan County Circuit Court, but no trial date is set. Roznowski bought the plant 12 years ago and changed it from processing virgin pulpwood to only recycled paper products. "We put the recycling mill in and that's when we started having problems with the DEQ," he said. Dozens of complaints about fallout emissions covering homes, vehicles and boats in the area were logged with state officials between 2000 and 2005. The DEQ also alleges the company is late to pay air and water quality fees and penalties. EMMET Bay Harbor developers reacquire lavish home PETOSKEY - Bay Harbor developers reacquired at least one home because of environmental contamination in the resort and have negotiated with other property owners about compensation. Myron Patten, a Bay Harbor landowner for more than five years, said he sold his vacation home back to developers after toxins from a former cement operation seeped onto his property. Patten said his house on Coastal Ridge Drive, appraised at more than $750,000, went back to CMS Land, a subsidiary of CMS Energy. CMS was an initial partner and primary financier in the plush development west of Petoskey on Little Traverse Bay. The Pattens got a condominium elsewhere in the resort. Teen accepts plea deal over false assault claim PETOSKEY - A teenager pleaded guilty to concocting an assault story that landed two innocent men in jail. Simone Dominic, 17, accepted a plea deal in Emmet Circuit Court that likely will keep her from serving more jail time, her attorney said, but will also mar her record with a felony conviction. She pleaded guilty last week to filing a false police report and will be sentenced next month. When questioned by her adoptive parents about breaking curfew Nov. 12, Dominic invented a tale about being sexually assaulted by two men. The two she fingered - a pair of out-of-towners she'd met only briefly - were arrested and spent more than two days in jail before police found holes in her story. GRAND TRAVERSE Sheriff seeks funds to fight computer crimes TRAVERSE CITY - Grand Traverse County wants more training for sheriff's deputies to combat an "alarming" rise in computer-based crimes. Undersheriff Nathan Alger said the department asked the county board for approximately $10,000 previously earmarked for vehicles to expand the department's computer forensic capabilities. A rising tide of criminal cases and investigations are computer-based, officials said, including child pornography, stalking, embezzlement and Internet fraud. "This is going to explode in the next several years, and we are going to have to keep up with it," Alger said. Alger said the proposal provides approximately $5,000 for equipment and another $5,000 for training, and recently was approved by the public safety committee. It's set for a vote by the full board this month. Alger said the proposal was made after a $20,000 budget request to beef up the forensic program was denied. State files suit against cherry processor TRAVERSE CITY - The state filed a lawsuit against Williamsburg Receiving and Storage, alleging the cherry processor violated Michigan's environmental laws by illegally discharging wastewater and creating nuisance odors at the site. The Department of Environmental Quality filed a four-count suit Monday in Ingham County Circuit Court. The suit charged the company with violating the state Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act and an earlier consent agreement with the DEQ because of cherry wastewater high in chloride and other contaminants dumped on the property earlier this year. It also asked the court to order the plant to cease processing operations until the contaminated wastewater is removed and odors eliminated. According to the 14-page complaint, DEQ staff documented several instances where the cherry processing water was dumped around the plant along Munro Road in Whitewater Township, creating areas of dead and stressed vegetation and high concentrations of chloride and other contaminants. Assistant attorney general Alan Hoffman filed the complaint on behalf of the DEQ. The lawsuit cited evidence of unauthorized discharges of wastewater in two other areas spotted by DEQ inspectors during a July 15 visit. Watson seeks change of venue for trial TRAVERSE CITY - East Bay Township's treasurer says community sentiment is so strong against her that getting a fair trial on charges she neglected her duties as a public officer would be impossible. Debora Watson, 45, filed a change of venue motion asking 86th District Judge John Foresman to move her trial out of Grand Traverse County because of "considerable publicity" regarding her case and financial high jinks in the township. Watson was charged in November with willful neglect of duty as a public officer for allegedly failing to "take charge" of township money as treasurer after former clerk Janice Gee was charged with embezzlement in June 2005. Prosecutor Alan Schneider said the complaint against Watson has been amended to add three additional charges of neglect, each punishable by up to a year in jail. A hearing on Watson's motion was set to be heard by Foresman on Friday. Check of TC schools finds no sex offenders TRAVERSE CITY - A statewide background check didn't turn up any convicted sex offenders working for Traverse City Area Public Schools, but district officials are cautious about disclosing the full results. The state reports, sent recently to school districts, are part of new laws that went into effect Jan. 1 and aim to keep sex offenders out of schools. Michigan State Police ran background checks on about 200,000 current school employees statewide. Christine Davis, TCAPS human resources director, said results received Monday showed none of the district's 2,000 employees had convictions for sex offenses, for which state law would require immediate termination. Davis said she found numerous misdemeanor criminal convictions inaccurately assigned to district employees. She is contacting the affected employees, running another criminal record check through state police and relaying that information to the state department of education so officials there can correct the list. Commission approves Ramsdell/M-72 access TRAVERSE CITY - Gerald Shaffran can look out the back window of his Cherokee Street house and see deer. But he's certain that using nearby Ramsdell Road as an access to the Incochee Woods subdivision in Garfield Township will make his street a lot less quiet. He was prepared for the city commission's 6-1 decision Monday to allow access to the project from Ramsdell and M-72. Now, Shaffran said the city needs to ensure the added traffic won't threaten safety on the city streets. Many in the city's Slabtown Neighborhood wanted subdivision traffic to enter and exit only on M-72 and worried a Ramsdell entrance would create cut-through traffic and endanger pedestrians. Developers Bob Brick and Ted Lockwood want up to three access points. City manager Richard Lewis and deputy city attorney Karrie Zeits sided with developers, who said the city was legally bound to allow access at Ramsdell and at M-72 using Old Sawmill Trail Road. Zeits cited court cases in an opinion that said the city can't deny access. Rotary reaches deal for sale of State Theatre TRAVERSE CITY - Rotary Charities of Traverse City closed on the State Theatre building downtown and the structure next door to clear the way for the sale of both properties. The deal was announced Tuesday by Rotary Charities executive director Marsha Smith, who said both buildings will be appraised to determine market value and will be put up for sale. Rotary is negotiating with the Traverse City Film Festival for the theater building, Smith said. The year-old film festival budgeted $1 million this year for the potential purchase and rehabilitation of the State Theatre. Other parties have also expressed interest in the properties, she said, but declined to identify other potential buyers. She said it is possible the two properties could end up with different owners. Rotary Charities has a lien on the theater, and its board voted last month to take over the title from the State Theatre Group. It also voted to buy the adjacent Smith-Kurtz building. Man allegedly drove drunk, fled deputies TRAVERSE CITY - An Elk Rapids man is in trouble after he allegedly led Grand Traverse County sheriff's deputies on a chase while driving drunk. Sheriff Scott Fewins said deputies attempted to stop the 20-year-old man just after 3 a.m. Tuesday on Silver Lake Road. Fewins said the man allegedly failed to comply, but lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a snowbank near Boone Road. The man was lodged in the county jail for operating while intoxicated, driving with an open intoxicant, and fleeing and eluding officers, Fewins said. A 17-year-old passenger was cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol. Ex-TC resident seeks to erase criminal past TRAVERSE CITY - A former Traverse City man who teaches at Escanaba High School wants a judge to erase his 1983 felony manslaughter conviction. Victor B. Thompson, 43, was convicted in February 1983 in Grand Traverse County in the stabbing death of 22-year-old David Coddington. On Jan. 3, he asked that the court set aside his conviction and clear it from his record. Thompson's request comes as Michigan school districts receive results of statewide criminal background checks on school employees. Thompson has taught woodworking and industrial arts in Escanaba Public Schools since 1989. Local districts must fire any employee convicted of a sex offense, and employees with other felony convictions must get written permission from their superintendents and school boards to continue their jobs. A hearing on Thompson's request is set for March 17 in front of 13th Circuit Court Judge Philip Rodgers. His application cites volunteer work within his church and community, a clear criminal and civil court record since his release, and six letters of recommendation. Developer seeks delay to study requirements TRAVERSE CITY - Developer Gerald Snowden asked the city to temporarily postpone review of his project at 305 W. Front St., saying he needed more time to study a required residential component. Snowden requested a special land-use permit for a seven-story mixed use building on West Front. The city was to hold a public hearing last week on that permit and one for the project's bank drive-through. But Snowden asked the city commission to "temporarily postpone" permit approvals. He planned office and retail uses in the seven-story building, but later learned the city required at least one residential floor for buildings over 60 feet tall. Snowden said he isn't sure about building residential space, citing downtown market history. The city commission rescheduled the public hearing on both permits for March 6. Snowden wouldn't say if the design he will bring back will include residential space or not. LEELANAU O'Non pleads guilty to conspiracy charge GRAND RAPIDS - Convicted murderer Matthew O'Non has pleaded guilty to a federal charge that he was part of a conspiracy to sell marijuana in Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties. O'Non, 23, pleaded guilty Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess over 50 kilograms of marijuana between 1997 and 2005. O'Non is serving life in a Michigan prison after being convicted last March in the drug-related murders of Texans Raul Ramirez and Manuel Longoria at his family's Bass Lake cottage. In exchange for the plea to the 20-year offense, federal prosecutors will dismiss a charge of conspiring to distribute cocaine when O'Non is sentenced. O'Non associate pleads guilty in drug case GRAND RAPIDS - An associate of convicted double-murderer Matthew O'Non pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiring to sell drugs in northern Michigan. Joseph Stayer, 21, of Suttons Bay, pleaded guilty in United States District Court Tuesday to using a communications facility to carry on a drug conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine in 2003 and 2004. The charge carries a maximum of four years in prison. In exchange for his plea, Stayer agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's office and other law enforcement officials investigating drug-related crimes in northern Michigan. MANISTEE Little River Band council names new tribal leader MANISTEE - The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians named a new leader to replace one who was fired recently by the tribal council. Patrick Wilson was named ogema of the tribe by a unanimous vote of the tribal council Wednesday, according to Glenn Zaring, tribe spokesman. Wilson will replace Lee Sprague, who was fired after a bitter feud with the council over power sharing and allegations of mismanagement. Wilson will serve the remainder of Sprague's term until April 2007, when elections will be held. MISSAUKEE Woman dies following collision on M-55 LAKE CITY - A Merritt woman died as the result of injuries sustained when she lost control of her car and collided with an oncoming car on M-55 east of Jeffs Road in Missaukee County. The sheriff's department reported that Kelly Wilson, 41, died last Sunday. Police said Wilson was traveling eastbound shortly before 7 p.m. Feb. 4 when she lost control and struck a car driven by Gerald Ball, 77, of Roscommon. Ball and his passenger, Rosalie Ball, 75, both were transported to Cadillac Mercy Hospital. Wilson was transported to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. All three people were wearing seatbelts, and the accident remains under investigation, the Missaukee County Sheriff's Department said. OTSEGO Man charged with felony home invasion GAYLORD - A 24-year-old Boyne Falls man arrested following a standoff with police appeared in Otsego County court on a felony home invasion charge. Joshua Stutzman appeared in 87th District Court on Thursday with his court-appointed attorney, Dawn Lacasse of Prudenville, for a felony pretrial hearing. Stutzman allegedly committed a domestic assault against a girlfriend in Mancelona on Feb. 1 and then drove to and barricaded himself inside an Otsego Lake Township home. He was possibly armed with a loaded gun during a nearly seven-hour standoff. Stutzman surrendered after speaking with a trained state police negotiator. District Judge Patricia Morse set his bond at $5,000, which was posted by a bond agency, and Stutzman was released from Otsego County Jail on Feb. 3. Passenger, 91, killed in head-on collision GAYLORD - A head-on collision claimed the life of a 91-year-old woman in Otsego County. Two vehicles collided at around 1:50 p.m. Tuesday on McCoy Road near Chester Road in Chester Township, and the backseat passenger in one of the vehicles was killed, state police said. The victim's name was not released pending notification of a large family, police said. Three other people involved in the crash were taken to Otsego Memorial Hospital, police said. Jail inmate survives alleged drug overdose GAYLORD - A Gaylord man survived an alleged jailhouse drug overdose while locked up on several convictions. Now an investigation is under way into how he obtained the drugs. Other inmates at Otsego County Jail notified corrections officers that the man was having trouble breathing around 10 p.m. Feb. 2. He was rushed by ambulance to Otsego Memorial Hospital, a few blocks away in Gaylord. Officials do not yet know what type of drugs the man allegedly ingested because results of a toxicology screening are not yet completed, said Lt. Brian Webber, jail administrator. "We believe it was prescription pills. I think they were probably smuggled into the jail, but we don't know by whom," Webber said. The man is back at the jail in good condition. However, his medical condition was tenuous during the alleged overdose, Webber said. The inmate has been in jail since November for probation violation, forgery and use of marijuana. Records show he is scheduled to be released at the end of March. Company wants new well instead of facility GAYLORD - A Traverse City oil and gas exploration company planned a new production facility in Otsego County, but now intends to create only a wellhead and pipeline. Officials with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will soon decide whether to allow Sturgeon Point Development Co. to occupy state land and drill a new natural gas and oil well, west of Otsego Lake in Bagley Township. "Originally, they wanted to put a production facility there," said Thomas Wellman, a DNR manager of minerals and land. Mike Jasinski is president of the company and said they opted for a pipeline to an existing production facility in Otsego Lake Township because of restrictions on building a new one. The existing facility is about four miles south of the proposed well, which will require a new pipeline. The company already owns the mineral lease for the property, but needs DNR permission to occupy the land for drilling operations. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality must approve a drilling permit before work can begin. WEXFORD Downstate driver killed in U.S. 131 rollover CADILLAC - A downstate woman was killed after she lost control on U.S. 131 and was ejected from the vehicle as it rolled several times before coming to rest. Peggy Jo Parsons, 33, of Marysville was pronounced dead last Sunday at Spectrum Hospital in Grand Rapids as a result of injuries sustained in the accident that occurred about 1 a.m. Feb. 3, the Wexford County Sheriff's Department reported. The crash remains under investigation. Recall moves ahead, second falls short CADILLAC - Enough valid signatures were collected to move ahead with a recall election for Wexford County Commissioner Jay Thiebaut, but a separate campaign to remove Commissioner Linda Stahl fell short. Thiebaut has time to challenge signatures in petitions against him, and Linda Stahl's opponents may also challenge the findings of the clerk's office, said Clerk Elaine Richardson. If the findings hold up, Thiebaut, whose district includes northeast Cadillac, would face a recall election May 2. The recall campaigns followed controversy over contamination at the county landfill and a perceived effort by some commissioners to cut funding to 4-H. Temperance man dies in single-vehicle crash CADILLAC - Police identified a man who was killed after he apparently lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree. John Arthur Bays, 54, of Temperance, was killed in the accident in Boon Township Wednesday afternoon, according to the Wexford County Sheriff's Department. Police said the man was not wearing a seat belt and alcohol may have been involved. Cash seized from owners of farm market CADILLAC - An informant who suspected the owners of a farm market lived too lavish a lifestyle prompted an Internal Revenue Service investigation and the seizure of hundreds of thousands in cash from two businessmen. The businessmen, brothers Timothy Walraven and William Walraven Jr., of Harrison, have not been charged with a crime. Agents executed search warrants at their homes last month. The brothers own farm markets and car washes across northern Michigan, including Walraven Produce in Cadillac. The brothers reported income that would not support the real estate and vehicles they purchased going back to 2000, according to an affidavit filed in federal court. Buckley school worker admits to stealing funds TRAVERSE CITY - A Buckley Community Schools employee who stole thousands from an education association's coffers to cover gambling jaunts agreed to plead guilty to a felony and pay restitution. Ricky Dean Conway, 44, is scheduled was to be sentenced Friday by 13th Circuit Court Judge Thomas Power after he pleaded guilty to a felony count of embezzlement between $1,000 and $20,000 from the Northern Michigan Education Association. Conway worked as a cook at Buckley Community Schools and was charged in November with three felonies for allegedly embezzling more than $40,000 from the NMEA, including a number of cash advances made on the organization's credit cards. Conway agreed to pay restitution of $23,628. He was the NMEA treasurer from 1998 until his resignation in February 2004. Buckley superintendent Chet Janik said Conway was terminated Jan. 13, the same day he accept the plea deal. Conway is appealing the termination, Janik said, and is scheduled for a Feb. 14 hearing before the school board.
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