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GRAND
TRAVERSE
Meijer wants lid on case pleadings
TRAVERSE CITY — Meijer Inc. wants a judge to close the lid on information filtering out about its confidential lawsuit settlements with Acme Township officials.
Meijer's attorneys filed a motion that asked 13th Circuit Court Judge Philip Rodgers to seal all pleadings in a legal dispute with the retailer's insurance company.
New York-based American Home Assurance Company sued Meijer in June and contends it's not responsible for coverage of $2.2 million in payouts Meijer made to six township officials to settle a 2008 lawsuit.
Meijer responded to its insurer's suit in a document it requested to be held under seal, or exempt from public review. Meijer then counter-sued American Home, and that document also was filed under seal.
"It is imperative that the answers be filed under seal to protect Meijer's interests ... ," Meijer wrote in its request to Rodgers. "Meijer will suffer even further irreparable harm by the further disclosure of confidential information." American Home holds that it doesn't have to pay Meijer's $1.5 million settlement with five township trustees and planning commissioners because Meijer publicized "known false information" about the officials, failed to share information about the case, and didn't exhaust its underlying insurance coverage.
The dispute over insurance claims effectively solved two mysteries in the lengthy Acme-Meijer saga. Based on American Home court filings, Meijer's confidential 2007 settlement with former township Treasurer Bill Boltres came in at $2 million, and Meijer also quietly paid an unnamed township official, believed to be former Acme Supervisor Bill Kurtz, $700,000. Kurtz' name was mentioned in documents filed with American Home's original suit Neither settlement figure had been publicly reported prior to American Home's lawsuit.
Meijer alleged in its counter-suit that American Home's court filings breached its confidentiality with Boltres.
New leader at NMC's Maritime Academy
TRAVERSE CITY — Jerry Achenbach has made a living off the water.
Achenbach, 48, spent more than two decades with the U.S. Coast Guard, where he serves as prevention chief for a sector/air station in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The New York native soon plans to retire from the coast guard, but won't leave his nautical passion behind — he's been named superintendent of Northwestern Michigan College's Great Lakes Maritime Academy.
Achenbach will replace John Tanner, who retired in June after 15 years with the maritime academy.
"I'm excited and can't wait to start," he said. "I will do everything not to let them down."
Achenbach is expected to earn $90,000 annually as superintendent. His retirement from the coast guard is set for December, but he plans to use leave time in order to make the job transition by October.
"At a certain point in time, your coast guard career ends," he said.
NMC officials launched a nationwide search to replace Tanner that attracted nearly 50 applications. Four candidates were invited to Traverse City last month to participate in open forums that were posted online in hopes of generating public feedback, said Stephen Siciliano, NMC vice president for educational services.
Cow-shooting suspect arrested at fairgrounds
TRAVERSE CITY — Deputies on patrol at a local fair tracked down a Traverse City teen who they said shot a cow with a bow and arrow, then left it for dead.
Grand Traverse sheriff's deputies arrested Jared R. Kaltenbach, 18, on Tuesday after a tipster reported he was at the Northwestern Michigan Fair in Blair Township. Prosecutors charged Kaltenbach last week with killing or torturing an animal, but deputies said he was difficult to track down.
"He just didn't want to be found right away," said sheriff's Lt. Bryan Marrow. "We were actively looking for him, and I think he knew that. It's only a matter of time before we find them."
Judge Thomas J. Phillips, of 86th District Court, arraigned Kaltenbach Wednesday on the felony charge. He remained in the Grand Traverse County Jail on Wednesday afternoon on a $50,000 cash bond. Kaltenbach also had another open warrant on a traffic offense, court records show.
Deputies responded last month to an animal cruelty complaint at Bob Boeve's Garfield Township farm off Hoch Road. Boeve noticed an unusual wound near the cow's neck, so his friend examined it and dug out an 8-inch piece of an arrow.
"It's just one of those things that's kind of a wake-up call," said Boeve, who plans to keep a closer eye on his farm.
Kaltenbach's arrest comes days after deputies tracked down his accused accomplice, Kody M. Richardson, 17, of Traverse City, at his Garfield Township home. Richardson shined a flashlight on the Angus so Kaltenbach could shoot it with a bow and arrow, deputies said.
BATA bus evacuated, marijuana found
TRAVERSE CITY — An unusual odor detected by passengers aboard a local transit bus prompted one arrest and a full evacuation.
Traverse City police and fire responded Thursday to the Bay Area Transportation Authority transit center along Hall Street after two bus passengers complained of dizziness from a chemical substance that emanated from a pair of backpacks.
"They said their eyes were burning when they opened up the bag," said city police Capt. Brian Heffner.
The bus driver evacuated 10 passengers from the bus, along with the foul-smelling backpacks.
"It was a sweet, perfumy-like smell that made them light-headed," said city fire Capt. Theo Weber.
Both passengers were treated at the scene by Northflight paramedics. They were not hospitalized.
Members of the city fire department's hazardous materials unit sifted through the bus and the backpacks, but found no hazardous materials. They also couldn't determine what caused the odor.
But authorities discovered marijuana in Michael George Widmaier's backpack, then arrested him. Widmaier, 43, of Leland, had six outstanding warrants in Leelanau County and another two in Grand Traverse County, Heffner said.
Benishek has a 15-vote lead over Allen
TRAVERSE CITY — The state board of canvassers squeezed state Sen. Jason Allen's time frame from 12 days to three to decide if he wants a recount of the 1st Congressional District Republican primary.
Crystal Falls physician Dan Benishek clings to a 15-vote lead after the district's 31 county board of canvassers certified their election results on Thursday. The sprawling district runs from the outskirts of Bay City to the Upper Peninsula's western border.
The state board of canvassers, originally scheduled to meet on Aug. 23, instead will convene today at 10 a.m. to canvas and certify 1st District results.
"We want to have some closure and let people know who their candidate will be," said Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land.
If Allen indeed ends up on the short end of the tally, he will have until sometime Monday to request a recount of any or all of the district's 508 voting precincts.
"Over the next 48 hours we'll be sitting down and reviewing all of the options we have to us, from asking for a recount, to a partial recount, to doing nothing," said Allen, who moved from Traverse City to Alanson to run for Congress. "We'll make a decision based on our statistical analysis of the votes."
Both candidates agreed the longer the process takes, the bigger the disadvantage to the eventual winner.
Healthy fair menu built from area fields
TRAVERSE CITY — About 565 children and teens have set up camp at the Northwestern Michigan Fair in Traverse City, their temporary home while they show and send 4-H livestock to market.
It's a week of fun in the sun, hard work in the barns, intense pressure in the show ring. And fair week also offers an array of delectable fair delicacies, from elephant ears to deep-fried candy bars and buckets that overflow with greasy french fries.
But a daily dose of carnival food doesn't make for a well-balanced diet, so many area 4-H clubs set up their own camp-style kitchens to feed fair participants and their families and friends.
Many put a focus on meat and produce generated by local farmers.
"Two weeks ago we bought a pig from a local farmer in Buckley and butchered it for the fair," said Jeff Zenner, a volunteer with the Rickety Ranchers 4-H Club from Kingsley.
Add sweet corn, tomatoes, basil and lettuce from area farmers and you've got the fixings for a healthy menu gleaned from local fields, he said.
"This way you know each kid is getting a good meal," Zenner said.
Up to 100 people are fed at each meal, including the club's 26 young 4-H participants, fellow volunteer Bob Weber said. By week's end they'll consume about 60 pounds of hamburger, 40 pounds of pork sausage, 40 dozen eggs, 100 pounds of chicken, 9 dozen ears of corn, 10 loaves of bread and 110 pounds of potatoes, plus much more.
"We purchase some and a lot of it is donated," Weber said.
LeeAnn Weber, whose daughter is a recent 4-H graduate from Kingsley, stopped by the Rickety Ranchers' camp to drop off two boxes loaded with fresh zucchini and squash.
"They needed it and we have plenty. We try to bring food up and help. We love the group," LeeAnn Weber said.
LEELANAU
Cuts in works for Leelanau County
SUTTONS BAY — Budget cuts are inevitable across Leelanau County, especially after voters this month rejected a 911 millage increase.
County commissioners plan to meet today with emergency management officials to discuss how to respond to voters' rejection of a 4-year, 0.425-mill property-tax levy for emergency dispatch services. Residents rejected the measure during last week's primary election by 253 votes, which means no millage increases on county ballots for another year.
"If you want to live in an area that has lower crime and good schools, you've got to be willing to pay taxes for that," said county Commissioner David Shiflett. "There's no free lunch."
The millage failure shocked Shiflett, who said he and fellow commissioners might have to cut expenses from the 2011 budget, which could include some reductions to county services.
"We're going to get down to the meat and potatoes of what we want to do," he said. "We have some real tough challenges ahead of us. Now we've got to figure out how to pay for it through the general fund."
The 911 millage was expected to raise nearly $1 million a year to run the county's dispatch center — a 13 percent increase from the 2-year, 0.375-mill levy that expired in December. The county shifted to a property-tax levy four years ago to replace a local telephone surcharge used by some area counties to run 911 operations. The county also receives about $125,000 a year in 911 fees collected by the state.
"People are obviously concerned of any increase in millage rates," said board Chairwoman Mary Tonneberger.
Possible cuts include staff, travel and other miscellaneous items, like office supplies.
MANISTEE
Medical waste washing ashore in Manistee
MANISTEE — Syringes are washing up on Lake Michigan beaches and officials believe the potentially dangerous medical waste came from Wisconsin.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment officials said Thursday they are receiving reports about syringes washing ashore from Shelby in Oceana County north to Arcadia in Manistee County. It's suspected the syringes are from a major combined sewer overflow in the Milwaukee area on July 25.
Officials said wind and lake currents are thought to have carried the waste across the lake. The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating.
Liz Browne, DNRE assistant division chief, said that anyone who comes in contact with medical waste should use extreme caution to avoid being stuck. If handled, the syringes should be picked up using puncture-resistant gloves.
