ANTRIM
Hundreds attend fallen Marine's funeral
MANCELONA — Life often was a competition for Jason Calo.
Calo, 23, of Mancelona, hit the books in order to achieve higher grades than his classmates.
He trained harder during practice to chalk up better game statistics than his teammates.
The 2005 Mancelona High School graduate also used his knack for comedy in hopes he could create more friendships than his brothers.
And when his fellow Marines told him nobody achieves the rank of sergeant within three years, he did it.
"Well, look around, he did it again," said Angel Rogers, Calo's cousin, as she pointed to hundreds of family and friends who gathered Tuesday in the Mancelona High School gymnasium to honor the fallen Marine.
Calo died Aug. 22 while on patrol with the Second Marine Battalion in Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife, Sarah; two children; and several other family members.
Zack Zirkle remembered Calo for his generosity and willingness to help out friends and family.
"The kid loved so hard that you got to take a break," said Zirkle, a longtime friend. "Jason was an epic, epic person. We all love him."
BENZIE
Benzie official pleads guilty to misdemeanor
BEULAH — A Benzie County elected official is left to pay about $250 in court costs after prosecutors dismissed criminal charges that accused her of drug possession.
Mary Pitcher, a longtime Benzie County commissioner, pleaded guilty Monday to having an open intoxicant in a vehicle — a misdemeanor offense. Wexford County prosecutors dismissed her other criminal charges, including marijuana possession and allowing a person with a suspended license to operate her vehicle, as part of a plea deal.
"I had a lapse in judgment, but it won't impact my ability to serve on the commission," Pitcher said outside the Benzie County courtroom. "I made a mistake, and I'm ready to move on." Pitcher, 51, of Beulah, is required to pay $253 in court costs and will not face probation.
"This is a learning experience for you," said 86th District Judge John D. Foresman, of Traverse City, who was assigned to the case because of Pitcher's status as a county commissioner.
Benzie sheriff's deputies stopped Pitcher's vehicle June 19 along Shorewood Drive after they said the driver, Bart Anderson, swerved between lanes. Authorities located a bag of marijuana near Anderson's feet and an open beer bottle near Pitcher's feet.
GRAND TRAVERSE
Man guilty of sex charges after mistrials
TRAVERSE CITY — The third time proved to be a charm for prosecutors in their case against a Traverse City man accused of sexually assaulting a girl in his care.
After two mistrials, jurors late Wednesday convicted Danny Roy Schneider, 56, of first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person younger than 13.
Grand Traverse County prosecutors reopened a sexual-assault case against Schneider after two hung-jury trials, a move that paid off for them this week.
Thirteenth Circuit Court Judge Thomas G. Power, who presided over all three trials, plans to sentence Schneider on Sept. 24. First-degree CSC is punishable by up to life in prison, while second-degree CSC is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Schneider had repeated sexual contact with a girl for whom he and his wife served as babysitters for a few years at their East Bay Township daycare, police reports show.
His wife ran the daycare, but Schneider looked after the children when she was away.
School equity may return for state schools
TRAVERSE CITY — Equity aid payments for Michigan schools, relatively new when they disappeared in the recession, could resurface this year if lawmakers succeed in using federal dollars to close the gap.
Local school administrators hope a return of the "2X" formula that until last year had given more money to the state's lowest-funded schools won't be temporary.
Legislators who represent the region aren't sure but said the action would offer much-needed cash for districts starting the year on lean budgets.
The state House recently approved a bill that would use the equity formula to distribute more than $300 million to schools to preserve education jobs. The bill now moves to the Senate.
All districts last year absorbed a $165 per-student state cut. This year's schools budget, already approved, reduced the structural loss to $154.
Under the bill, districts would receive enough federal funding to bring their per-student allocations back to 2008-09 levels, when the base was $7,316 per student, plus another $17. The lowest-funded districts, including many in northern Michigan, would receive an additional $17 in equity aid.
A 90-14 vote included support from state Reps. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City, and Dan Scripps, D-Leland.
"It's great that occurred, even with the stimulus," Schmidt said. "The real question is what happens next year."
Equity payments recently were given in 2007-08 and 2008-09, but were cut last year.
Peninsula patrol millage is now up to voters
TRAVERSE CITY — Peninsula Township residents will get to decide if they want to pay for a sheriff's deputy to patrol their 18-mile-long spit of land in Grand Traverse Bay.
It took the township board three votes over two August meetings to agree on a 0.2 mill request for the November ballot, a measure that would fund an officer dedicated to patrolling the township. The board initially shot down the millage notion by a 5-1 vote, then again by a 3-3 count.
The proposal eventually was passed 4-2 at a special meeting. Trustee Gary Wilson missed both meetings.
"We're already paying for the county and the state police that are supposed to cover us," said township Treasurer David Weatherholt, who voted no all three times, as did Trustee Jim Horton. "I think there are enough police around to cover Old Mission Peninsula ... there's not much crime," he added.
"I don't think we're getting that much extra for the money." If approved, the millage would cost the owner of a home with a $100,000 taxable value $20 a year.
Plan to buy 25% of TCSB being reviewed
TRAVERSE CITY — Federal regulators are reviewing a $1 million investment in Traverse City State Bank by the owner of a local oil and gas exploration company, a move that could alter control of a local bank that struggled mightily in recent years.
The Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago this week issued a public notice on a proposal from the Thomas C. Pangborn Trust to potentially acquire more than 25 percent of the shares of TCSB Bancorp Inc., the parent company of Traverse City State Bank. Pangborn is founder and CEO of Savoy Exploration Inc., a Traverse city-based oil and gas exploration company. The trust includes Pangborn and his three daughters.
The local bank posted nearly $5 million in losses over the past two years, though Pangborn contends the region's economy is recovering and he expects to make money from his investment.
"I think it's a sound investment in the bank and the community," he said. "I looked at it as a business opportunity." Bank officials said Pangborn purchased $1 million in subordinated debt in spring 2009 when the bank attempted to raise capital during mounting losses tied to bad commercial and housing loans and a drop in local real estate values. Pangborn was offered stock options at a fixed rate of $6 per share that expire at the end of 2013, and as part of the transaction will convert $500,000 of his sub debt to common stock to relieve the bank of monthly interest payments and expense payments on the debt.
If Pangborn converts all his subordinated debt to stock and exercises other stock options, he potentially could acquire more than 25 percent of the bank's shares, which triggers the Federal Reserve review. Federal regulations require a "Change in Control" application for large-volume share purchases that includes background checks on applicants.
KALKASKA
Boy on road to recovery after brain surgery
KALKASKA — Wyatt Miller sat on the floor in the basement at Kalkaska Memorial Health Center and used plastic bingo chips to develop his fine-motor skills.
"Use your right hand," said Traci Hart, his certified occupational therapist assistant.
Wyatt took one chip and used it to flip others across a table, a relatively easy task for most 12-year-olds. But Wyatt is different from most children his age. Doctors diagnosed Wyatt with an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM, that led to a stroke as he slept.
The March episode forced Wyatt to spend weeks in the hospital before he briefly returned home to Kalkaska. In May, surgeons removed the AVM from his brain, and he spent the summer in speech, physical and occupational therapy sessions, as well as tutoring to catch up with lessons he missed while hospitalized.
"I really didn't have a summer break with therapy and tutoring," Wyatt said. "There's always next summer." Wyatt's ordeal left his right side weaker than his left, particularly his right hand. Now he must re-train his muscles to perform ordinary tasks, a real challenge since his left hand is far easier to use.
"He keeps on using his left, so I grab his left hand so he can't use it," said Avery, Wyatt's 8-year-old brother.
Wyatt's therapists use the same tricks; they make him tuck his left hand in his back jeans pocket and use his right hand to bounce a balloon and keep it from falling to the ground. Same thing with stacking cups and playing cards: He has to use the hand that needs the most exercise.
LEELANAU
Tribe wants to join Asian carp lawsuit
TRAVERSE CITY — An American Indian tribe based in Leelanau County requested permission Tuesday to join a lawsuit demanding stronger action to prevent Asian carp from infesting the Great Lakes.
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians said it fears that five states suing the federal government and Chicago officials over the carp issue will not devote enough attention to the tribe's interests — particularly fishing rights provided under an 1836 treaty.
In a brief filed in U.S. District Court for northern Illinois, the tribe contended those rights are "paramount" to the economic needs of Chicago-area businesses that favor continued operation of navigational locks and gates through which the carp could gain access to the lakes.
A lawsuit filed by Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and Pennsylvania accuses the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago of creating a public nuisance by refusing to close the locks and gates. A hearing on the suit resumes Sept. 7.
The states want Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. to issue a preliminary order to shutter the locks and take other steps to keep the carp out. The Grand Traverse tribe's motion asks to intervene on the states' side — first as an observer, and later as a full participant if the case advances beyond the preliminary injunction stage.
OTSEGO
Gaylord graduate dies in Afghanistan
TRAVERSE CITY — The Department of Defense confirmed the death of a Gaylord High School graduate in the Afghanistan war.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew J. West was among five U.S. servicemen killed Monday when their unit was attacked in the Arghandab River Valley of Afghanistan by insurgents using an improvised explosive device, the DOD said Wednesday. West, 36, is a 1992 graduate of Gaylord High School who is survived by his wife and three children, according to family members in Michigan.
West was a resident of Conover, Wis., and was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. He was also deployed in Iraq from March 2008 to June 2009. He received numerous awards and commendations after enlisting in 2004, including a Bronze Star, Army Good Conduct and Commendation medals, a Combat Action Badge, a NATO Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service and Expeditionary medals and Senior Explosive Ordnance Disposal Badge. He was a member of the 62nd Explosive Ordnance Company and 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group.
