GRAND TRAVERSE
Students to learn about civil rights leader
TRAVERSE CITY -- Students in Mary McKeon-Jacob's class will hear -- or see -- a famous speech in a new light today.
McKeon-Jacob teaches American Sign Language to all grade levels at Traverse City West Senior High School. She plans to deliver a portion of Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech in sign as part of a lesson plan specifically crafted for the civil rights leader's namesake holiday.
"I believe in the principles he stood for, so I thought, why not put forth the extra effort and put together a lesson for that day," she said.
McKeon-Jacob's classroom is one of several places today where local students will learn about King. She thinks it's important, especially as time increasingly creates space between the current generation and those who grew up in the civil rights era.
"For one, because we don't have it off, it would be easy to kind of minimize or ignore," she said.
Volunteers with United Way of Northwest Michigan will read books about King today to Traverse City Area Public Schools elementary students in preschool through second grade.
City asks MDOT to repave Division
TRAVERSE CITY -- City commissioners have asked the state to repave Division Street as an insurance policy while it scrambles to birth a new design for one of Traverse City's busiest thoroughfares.
The commission voted unanimously Monday night to ask the Michigan Department of Transportation to go forward with a resurfacing project in 2011. The vote also authorized city Manager R. Ben Bifoss to negotiate a no-bid contract with the engineering firm URS Corporation to create a conceptual redesign of Division from Grandview Parkway to Fourteenth Street.
Mayor Chris Bzdok said the MDOT request will keep Division Street from disintegrating if the city can't quickly get a plan together voters would support and MDOT can fund.
"If we do a redesign that requires a vote and the vote doesn't pass, then we need a plan B," Bzdok said. "If we do a vote and it passes, but MDOT can't fund it, we need a plan B. Either way we need a plan B." A potential street-widening might require using parkland property from the Grand Traverse Commons, something city voters must first approve. City commissioners would have to decide by May 25 to place the question on the Aug. 3 ballot.
MDOT originally planned to resurface Division Street in 2009 but halted the project to allow the city to work within The Grand Vision land use and transportation plan for an improved, more pedestrian friendly road.
NMC students compete for parking spots
TRAVERSE CITY -- Kirk Turner pulled into Northwestern Michigan College shortly before 9 a.m. and nabbed a parking space in the center of main campus.
But campus parking isn't always such a breeze.
"It depends on the time you get here," Turner, 19, of Kingsley, said last week. "You have to get here a lot earlier to get a spot in the closer main lot. It's typically difficult to find a spot later in the morning." Parking at Traverse City's NMC has long been a challenge for students, particularly as their ranks swelled over the years. The state's lousy economy has spiked enrollment to record levels, and campus parking is at more of a premium than ever.
The community college has 5,155 students enrolled this semester, an increase of about 800 over last year, said Jim Bensley, admissions director.
Sharp spikes in student numbers mean lots more campus traffic, and more demand on NMC's dozen or so parking lots. College officials recently hired a crew of temporary workers at $9 an hour to help students find parking during the first weeks of classes.
"I hired 20 Manpower people temporarily for two weeks," said Michael Hoffman, NMC's security director.
Garfield Township suing Tower Automotive
TRAVERSE CITY -- Garfield Township is suing Tower Automotive LLC to recover more than $1 million in tax abatements granted to the now-closed automotive parts manufacturer.
The Livonia-based, multi-national company announced in September 2008 it would close its Garfield plant and lay off about 318 hourly workers and 40 salaried workers. Tax abatements granted by Garfield officials in 1998 and 2005 and renewed in 2007 on property and equipment had trimmed the company's tax bill by half.
But abatement terms required Tower to continue operating for 12 years.
"They were given the abatement to provide a certain number of jobs for so many years, which they did not do," said township Supervisor Chuck Korn. "We don't want the money, we wanted the jobs." Tower employs more than 8,000 people in 13 countries, according to its Web site. A recorded message at Tower's headquarters on Tuesday said the company was closed for the holiday. Its attorney, Jason Conti, of Detroit, did not return a message left at his office.
The township contacted Tower early in 2009 about the abatements, shortly after officials documented that the company moved equipment from the plant.
TART Trails director to step down
TRAVERSE CITY -- The leader of a local outdoor recreation group soon will leave the organization, but said he won't depart until his successor is hired.
Bob Otwell, executive director of TART Trails Inc. since 2001, notified board members in December that he planned to resign his position after at least six months of serious consideration.
Otwell said he wants to stay active with TART Trails, but not as a full-time executive director. No details have been finalized.
A former civil engineer, Otwell said he "agreed to help out for a period of time" nine years ago and stayed longer than he expected.
The organization added full-time staff members under his leadership and started construction on a number of trails for walking and biking.
"It's just time to continue that progress, and I think it's time to bring someone else to help with that," he said. "I still care very much about the projects I've been involved with."
Court: TC may expand no-boat swim areas
TRAVERSE CITY -- Steve Purkiss finds it convenient to anchor his boat less than 10 blocks from home.
Purkiss often left his 20-foot Four Winns in waist-deep water near Clinch Park Marina, a popular gathering spot for locals and tourists alike.
But he's nervous after a local judge ruled that city officials have the right to expand no-boat swim areas on Grand Traverse Bay.
"I thought tourism was our thing here," said Purkiss, 51, of Traverse City. "If you take the boaters away, you aren't going to have anything there." Thirteenth Circuit Court Judge Thomas Power sided with the city this week in its lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Natural Resources over control of waters just off public beaches.
Traverse City Mayor Chris Bzdok contends the ruling doesn't mean the city will declare war on boaters.
"Now we will be able to come up with a plan that balances uses and separates uses that are non-compatible," Bzdok said. "We are not going to exclude boats from Grand Traverse Bay."
Marijuana conviction may be thrown out
TRAVERSE CITY -- A former local high school student's marijuana conviction could be thrown out after an appeals court said officials illegally searched his vehicle.
A Grand Traverse County jury in August 2008 convicted Michael James Perreault, 19, of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. Perreault was a student at Traverse City Central High School, and the charge was based on a bag of marijuana assistant principal Rick Vandermolen found in his vehicle.
The Michigan Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling released this week said Vandermolen violated Perreault's civil rights by searching the vehicle, and that local 13th Circuit Judge Thomas G. Power should have granted a defense attorney's pre-trial motion to suppress evidence gathered in that search.
The appeals court sent the case back to 13th Circuit Court for further proceedings, though county Prosecutor Al Schneider said he'll be forced to dismiss the charge if he's barred from using the evidence discovered in the search.
Jim Hunt, Perreault's Traverse City attorney, said he believed Power wrongly included evidence seized by Vandermolen.
Supreme Court ruling limits Meijer probe
TRAVERSE CITY -- The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uncap limits on corporate political contributions won't derail an investigation into Meijer Inc.'s alleged criminal violations of Michigan campaign law.
The court on Thursday threw out a 63-year-old law designed to restrain the influence of big business and unions on elections, and ruled 5-4 that corporations may spend as freely as they like to support or oppose candidates.
The justices did uphold bans against direct contributions to candidates and requirements that anyone spending money on political ads must disclose contributors.
The decision eliminates a possible felony complaint against Meijer officials for using corporate funds to influence an Acme Township recall election, but leaves in place potential misdemeanor violations against Meijer officials for failing to report expenditures.
"We're going to see this through to the end, and whatever we produce as a result of our investigation will be available for public inspection," said Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Alan Schneider.
Meijer admitted in 2008 it spent more than $100,000 on lawyers and a public relations firm to use front groups to secretly influence a 2005 township referendum and a 2007 recall attempt.
The Grand Rapids-area retailer paid a $190,000 civil fine to the Secretary of State and apologized for its actions in an unsigned statement. It's never disclosed who in its corporate hierarchy sanctioned the illegal activity.
Vandals drive truck on Vasa trail
ACME -- Tom Sutter often starts his day with a workout on cross-country skis.
But vandals forced him to unstrap his skis this week and walk a portion of the Vasa Pathway Trailhead in Acme.
"It's just so devastating," said Sutter, of Cedar. "This was deliberate, outright vandalism." Crews spent hours grooming a two-mile stretch of the trail Wednesday morning after someone drove a truck through the popular cross-country ski spot.
The truck dug deep ruts in the trail, and signs were destroyed and torn from the ground, said Vasa volunteer Jim Dombrowski.
Dombrowski helped repair the trail, but a shortage of snow made it difficult to fill ruts that were a foot deep in areas.
"It's so senseless," said Eric Dreier, of Traverse City, who takes to the trail about four times a week.
Dreier also had to walk a portion of the trail Wednesday morning because ruts made it nearly impossible for him to maneuver on cross-country skis.
KALKASKA
Man allegedly linked to abusive materials
KALKASKA -- A Kalkaska man faces felony charges after he allegedly conspired to produce child sexually abusive material.
State police troopers arrested Donald Weighman, 35, last week after he allegedly was connected to child sexually abusive material in Kalkaska County.
He was charged with child sexually abusive activity and possession of child sexually abusive material, both felonies.
Police said Weighman could face additional charges as forensic teams sift through hard drives found in his possession at the time of arrest.
MANISTEE
Woman faces felony embezzlement charge
TRAVERSE CITY -- A Manistee County woman who works for an armored truck company faces a felony charge after authorities said she took $16,000 from the business.
Renia Louise Kuenzer, 55, of Bear Lake, is charged in Grand Traverse County with embezzlement of more than $1,000 but less than $20,000 by an agent or trustee. Her preliminary examination, held to determine if there is enough evidence to send the case to trial, is set for Jan. 26.
Kuenzer works for Federal Armored Truck Inc., a Detroit-based company with offices in Garfield Township. Company officials suspended her and contacted police in October after they discovered the alleged theft.
Kuenzer, a three-year employee of Federal, was tasked with delivering money shipped from a company facility in Grand Rapids to area banks and businesses. A surveillance video in the company's vault allegedly shows her take a money bag intended for a bank in Alpena, police reports indicate.
The bag contained $16,000 and wasn't supposed to be delivered by Kuenzer. It was discovered missing when another delivery crew counted the bags and came up one short.
Kuenzer didn't give a statement to police, reports indicate. She allegedly came up with "three different stories" about where she had delivered the bag when company officials interviewed her, though the bag never turned up.
