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ANTRIM
Anne Avery-Miller commits suicide
An Elk Rapids woman accused of slaying her teenage son turned off a jailhouse TV, returned to her cell and hanged herself from a bed sheet, authorities said.
Antrim County corrections officers found Anne Avery-Miller, 39, hanging from a bed sheet inside her jail cell just before 11 p.m. Monday. She died Tuesday at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City.
Authorities in November charged Avery-Miller with an open count of murder in the 2007 slaying of her son. She told police Sam Avery, 16, committed suicide. Sam Avery was shot in the back of the head in an upstairs bedroom in the Elk Rapids home where he lived with Avery-Miller and his young sister.
Three corrections officers checked on Avery-Miller at 10:22 p.m. as she prepared for bed, said Sheriff Dan Bean. Bean could not determine how long she hanged from her jail cell, but said she must have attempted to kill herself shortly after corrections officers checked on her.
Officers who found her cut the bedsheet with a pocket knife.
"When they cut her down, she was unconscious," Bean said.
An ambulance arrived a few minutes later and took her to Kalkaska Memorial Hospital, then to Munson, where she later died.
Avery-Miller was placed on suicide watch last year when she entered the Antrim County Jail, but was not deemed suicidal after an evaluation and returned to a general population jail cell, Bean said.
'No closure' for Elk Rapids residents
ELK RAPIDS — Lori Kaltenbach is deeply bothered by Anne Avery-Miller's suicide, a sentiment shared by many in the close-knit Antrim County community.
Kaltenbach is sad for Avery-Miller's family, but that's not what troubles her most. Avery-Miller's death means she won't stand trial in her teenage son's 2007 shooting death, and that leaves an open end to a long-running saga that's consumed Elk Rapids for nearly three years.
"There's no closure for anybody," said Kaltenbach, who lives next to Avery-Miller's former home on the outskirts of Elk Rapids. "Nobody will ever know the truth." Avery-Miller's twisting, turning story hung like a dark cloud over Elk Rapids, and residents there hope to move on in the wake of her death.
"It gets to the point where guilty or innocent, it doesn't matter," said Elk Rapids resident Julie Smith, 48. "It's a wound, and it needs to heal." The majority of those who live in or around Elk Rapids have an opinion on Avery-Miller's guilt or innocence. Most don't mince words, and many suggested the community made up its mind a long time ago.
"Everyone was sure she was guilty," said Jill Ile, a waitress at Elk Harbor restaurant. "I don't know one person that doesn't think she was." But Avery-Miller's dedicated cadre of supporters called her a victim of malicious prosecution, a woman "backed into a corner" by charges for a crime she didn't commit.
BENZIE
Human skull found in Benzie County
BEULAH — Mushroom hunters found a human skull in Benzie County's Almira Township.
A woman who was looking for mushrooms with her children Wednesday afternoon found the skull on the ground. The area was searched, but nothing else that could be linked with the skull was discovered, police said.
It's hard to say how old the skull is, Benzie Sheriff Rory Heckman said. There's a "good possibility" it was carried there by an animal.
Michigan State Police directed the skull be sent to the anthropology department at Michigan State University.
GRAND
TRAVERSE
Soffredine may take impaired plea deal
TRAVERSE CITY — Traverse City police Officer Joseph L. Soffredine is considering a deal in which prosecutors would drop a drunken-driving charge in exchange for a guilty plea to impaired driving.
Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Alan Schneider recently offered Soffredine, 38, a deal that would allow Soffredine to retain his driving privileges — and potentially continue road patrol duty. Schneider last month charged Soffredine with drunken driving, an accusation levied nearly two months after the off-duty officer crashed and burned his SUV early Feb. 7 off Cedar Run Road.
"My client is still considering it," said Clarence Gomery, Soffredine's attorney.
Gomery plans to decide on the offer before jury selection for Soffredine's trial begins on May 25 in 86th District Court.
Michigan Secretary of State officials can restrict a drivers license for 90 days if an individual is convicted of impaired driving. But those convicted of operating while intoxicated are placed on a suspended license for 30 days, along with another 150 days of license restrictions.
An impaired-driving offense is punishable by four points on a driving record, compared to six points for those convicted of operating while intoxicated. And the driver responsibility fees for impaired driving cost $1,000 — half of what operating while intoxicated offenders pay.
Judge: County owns septage plant files
TRAVERSE CITY — A judge's ruling means Grand Traverse County stands to retrieve roughly 50,000 pages of documents from local attorney Michael Houlihan.
The county sought the documents amid an investigation of their troubled septage treatment plant. Houlihan, the county Board of Public Works' former attorney, wanted $32,000 to organize, index and copy septage plant-related files in his possession.
The BPW offered $5,000 and sued when the two sides couldn't come to terms.
Thirteenth Circuit Court Judge Thomas Power on Monday ruled the county, not Houlihan, owns the files. He ordered Houlihan to turn over all files related to the septage plant by May 10 at 5 p.m. Power gave Houlihan 30 days to turn over the balance of his taxpayer-funded files that stretch back about 30 years.
"I thought Judge Power was right on with a very measured opinion," said current BPW attorney Scott Howard. "It sounds like now we'll have to send a truck over there to pick them all up." Houlihan's attorney, Stephen Turner, of Grand Rapids, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday on whether his client will appeal the ruling.
Howard said regardless of an appeal, Power ruled Houlihan must turn over the documents.
Communities tout roundabout advantages
TRAVERSE CITY — Public reaction wasn't exactly pleasant when Mike Roper proposed a roundabout for a busy intersection near Gaylord High School.
Roper, former director of Otsego County's Road Commission, figured a roundabout at the intersection of Old U.S. 27 and Livingston Boulevard would ease congestion and left-turn danger. Many residents were convinced otherwise.
"I had a lot of flak from a lot of people," said Roper, who retired in March. "People said, 'What are you, crazy?'" The device was completed in 2006, and now traffic "flows" through the intersection, Roper said. It's been so well-received that some in Otsego County clamor for more roundabouts, he said.
"After it was put it in, the majority of people came up to me and said it's been a really great thing," he said.
Roundabouts exist in several communities across the state, and not just at small-scale intersections. Several state highways and business loops feature the devices.
Engineering firm URS recently suggested roundabouts as one possible alternative for a long-planned revamp of Division Street. URS proposes up to five roundabouts between 14th Street and Grandview Parkway.
Some residents are intensely skeptical. They believe roundabouts would further clog traffic on Division Street, a busy thoroughfare that handles more than 20,000 vehicles a day. They also worry the devices could confuse residents and lead to increased cut-through traffic in city neighborhoods.
COA violated state election laws
TRAVERSE CITY — A committee created to support a seniors' millage campaign will reimburse Grand Traverse County for staff time and other costs after learning this week it violated state election laws.
County voters in August will decide whether to renew a millage that funds commission on aging programs. The commission formed a subcommittee to run a pro-millage campaign, and that group illegally used county staff and resources.
"This is just awful for me. I can't believe I screwed up this bad," said county Commissioner Christine Maxbauer. "As committee co-chair it was my responsibility to follow through and check with the county prosecutor. I should have known better." Commission on aging director Georgia Durga said she cleared the process with the county clerk six years ago for a previous millage campaign.
"But apparently she heard one thing, and I heard another," Durga said.
County Clerk Linda Coburn said she did not approve the committee's campaign structure and procedures. Coburn said she told Durga commission on aging board members could develop an independent campaign committee and serve on it, but could not use county resources.
Wireless Internet plans are put on hold
TRAVERSE CITY — Traverse City Light & Power's plans to provide wireless Internet access downtown will be delayed past summer, at the very least.
The local public utility's board discussed the plan for a few months and initially hoped to have access downtown by July 1. But they've delayed a decision to allow for further study, and now the project might not happen until the end of the year, or beyond.
"There was this big rush to do it before Cherry Festival and the Fourth of July, and it just didn't seem feasible," Light & Power board Chairwoman Linda Johnson said. "We want to be able to do it in a timely fashion, but we also want to do due diligence." Light & Power's board will discuss wireless at its Tuesday meeting, set for 5:15 p.m. in the Governmental Center on Boardman Avenue. Johnson said it's likely the matter will be tabled yet again for more discussion.
The utility could spend about $350,000 to launch wireless in a corridor roughly bordered by Grand Traverse Bay, Eighth Street, Greilickville and Northwestern Michigan College.
Light & Power officials hoped to receive $1 million in federal stimulus funds to improve and expand the service beyond downtown, but later discovered they didn't qualify for the grant.
Much of Light & Power's discussion focuses on the potential wireless project's business model. Officials don't want to get stuck with a program that loses money or is subsidized by ratepayers, so they could support continuing costs of such a program by selling ads that would be viewed by those logging into the system.
Deck departure comes amid merger talks
TRAVERSE CITY — Munson Healthcare abruptly parted ways with K. Douglas Deck, its president and CEO, and its point man for merger talks with Spectrum Health.
Munson Healthcare replaced Deck with Edwin Ness, who spent the past six years as Munson Medical Center's CEO. Munson Healthcare's board accepted Deck's resignation Wednesday afternoon, and the hospital announced the change on Thursday.
Munson officials had little to say about Deck's departure.
"It's a personnel matter, a private matter, and it's better not to discuss matters that are private," Munson Healthcare Board Chairman Tom McIntyre said. "Doug's resignation was really a personal decision that Doug had come to and advised the board (Wednesday) afternoon. Sometimes that's the way things happen — even among friends you can have surprises like this." McIntyre declined to release a resignation letter or say if Deck received a severance payment. Deck did not return a reporter's phone calls seeking comment.
Munson and Spectrum officials met Thursday to reiterate their intent to continue merger talks. Spectrum officials said Deck is not joining the Spectrum staff.
"We have been informed of the resignation of Douglas Deck and understand that Munson Healthcare leadership is undergoing a transition," Spectrum's statement said. "Our discussions with the Munson Healthcare boardand leadership regarding a potential integration continue to move forward."
Deputies pay price in Soffredine case
TRAVERSE CITY — Joseph Soffredine continues to work as a Traverse City police officer, but two deputies today find themselves unemployed because they failed to investigate his sobriety.
Grand Traverse County Sheriff Tom Bensley on Thursday fired deputies Robert William Sillers, 29, and Mark Robert Noffke, 25. Bensley said they neglected their duty and gave preferential treatment to Soffredine following his Feb. 7 crash on Cedar Run Road.
Sillers and Noffke did not test Soffredine for intoxication after he missed a curve on Cedar Run Road and barrelled into a wooded stretch about 3:20 a.m. The incident sparked months of internal investigations by multiple law enforcement agencies and prompted significant community uproar.
Authorities last month charged Soffredine, son of longtime Traverse City police chief and current city Commissioner Ralph Soffredine, with drunken driving for the early morning incident.
Bensley said numerous factors influenced his decision, including how the deputies' treatment of a fellow police officer reflected on the sheriff's department in particular, and law enforcement in general.
"We believe that Joe Soffredine was given preferential treatment because he was a police officer," Bensley said in a prepared statement. "The officers' actions on Feb. 7, 2010, were not what we or the public expects. Everyone expects fair and equitable treatment and I don't believe that happened in this case." Deputies' union representatives voiced disappointment with Bensley's "severe" action and contend public opinion drove the process.
