BENZIE
Suicide spurs discipline at Benzie jail
BEULAH -- Two Benzie County corrections officers received written discipline following a jail inmate's suicide.
Edward D. Baughman wove a bed sheet through a vent grate in his cell and hanged himself during a corrections staff shift change lockdown on Aug. 28. The Elberta resident, 49, was in jail on a domestic violence charge when he died.
Benzie Sheriff Rory Heckman issued written reprimands to Kristi Fortine and Christopher Woods, two corrections officers on duty when Baughman hanged. The two were told they didn't properly supervise inmates the day he died.
"They were obviously advised that further violations will result in progressive discipline up to and including termination," Heckman said.
Fortine has worked for the department since 2001; Woods hired on about a year ago.
Officers locked Baughman and other inmates in their cells for a jail staff shift change at 2:30 p.m., and Baughman didn't emerge into a commons area when officers unlocked cell doors using a remote system at 3:30 p.m. An inmate found Baughman hanging in his cell by about 4:30 and notified corrections officers.
Heckman said the entire staff was told after the incident to always complete physical cell inspections instead of solely relying on surveillance cameras. Jail officials also switched to vent grates with openings too small for a sheet to be threaded through.
GRAND
TRAVERSE
TCL&P; must choose between coal, renewable
TRAVERSE CITY -- Municipal utility leaders must decide where to buy electricity starting in 2011, whether from coal-fired power plants or renewable energy sources.
Traverse City Light & Power will lose access in January 2011 to a long-term, coal-based energy contract with a downstate company, a contract that for more than 25 years provided 50 percent of the publicly owned utility's demand.
Now utility board members must decide whether to pursue renewable energy sources or continue to buy coal-fired power elsewhere.
The board will meet Tuesday for a study session to discuss options to replace the expiring energy purchase contract. Public comment will be taken.
"We can find places to buy energy," said James Hoogesteger, Light & Power board member. "The renewable source is not big enough to meet demand. We probably will consider a mix of coal and green energy." Hoogesteger said the utility wants to get away from coal, but there are few options to provide base-load energy for growing customer demand.
Some energy options include wind, solar, landfill gas, natural gas and wood-fueled biomass electric generation.
Agency may sue for Front, Division cleanup
TRAVERSE CITY -- A Grand Traverse County agency may sue to force former gas station owners to pay more than $2 million in cleanup costs at one of the county's top pollution sites at the West Front and Division streets' intersection.
Historical leaks from buried tanks at gas stations on the four corners left gasoline floating on top of the water table and saturated in soil beneath the intersection, said Ann Emington, DEQ senior geologist in its Cadillac office.
A gasoline-contaminated groundwater plume has migrated from the site to within a couple blocks of West Grand Traverse Bay.
The county's brownfield redevelopment authority told its attorney in September to investigate whether it can recover more than $475,000 in cleanup costs for one of the corners. The authority will consider a recommendation from attorney Scott Howard to begin legal proceedings against 23 potentially liable parties when it meets at 8 a.m. Dec. 3 in the Governmental Center.
"From my perspective, it's very much the right thing to do if there are liable parties out there and the contamination is still out there and needs to be cleaned up," Howard said.
Garfield Township Supervisor and brownfield board member Chuck Korn said he expects the agency to take action.
Traverse City bayfront to be revitalized
TRAVERSE CITY -- A revitalized Traverse City bayfront is in the works.
Traverse City commissioners discussed how to move forward with conceptual plans to build enhancements such as additional pedestrian crosswalks across Grandview Parkway, new and improved restrooms, children's play equipment and both beach and trail improvements, among other amenities. Much of the conversation at Monday's study session focused on how to pay for a bayfront overhaul and whether to seek proposal requests for a preliminary engineering study.
One idea is to tap the city's Brown Bridge Trust Fund to help pay for bayfront improvements -- something voters must approve -- and combine those dollars with other local, state and federal grant funds.
Matt McDonough, city resident and land protection director for a local land conservancy, said he supports using trust fund dollars for bayfront improvements, but he wants it done economically.
"I'm not opposed to using Brown Bridge Trust Fund dollars for these types of projects, especially those for the benefit of the public and those tied to recreation," McDonough said.
He just doesn't want the city to spend local trust fund money alone.
"Be smart about it and leverage those trust fund dollars with other funds," McDonough said.
TC commission to vote on Wharton proposal
TRAVERSE CITY -- A decision could come soon on the City Opera House's future.
Traverse City commissioners may decide next week whether to sign off on a proposed three-year management deal between the opera house board and the Wharton Center for Performing Arts from Michigan State University in East Lansing.
Wharton would take over operations, bookings and financial responsibility for the venue in July, should commissioners approve.
The deal was negotiated quietly for months and the public and elected officials learned about the proposal late in the game, a situation that drew heavy criticism at a Nov. 23 city meeting. The contract could have been pursued differently, but it doesn't diminish the promotional expertise Wharton can offer the opera house, officials said.
"In hindsight, could we have done it differently? Yes, maybe. But I don't know that we'd come to a different conclusion," said Bob Spence, opera house board co-chairman.
Spence said board members discussed other possible management organizations, including national companies, but did not issue a request for proposals. They decided a deal with nonprofit Wharton couldn't be outdone, he said.
New judge to
oversee Mikko trial
TRAVERSE CITY -- A visiting judge will handle former 13th Circuit Court referee Dennis P. Mikko's criminal case after local judges recused themselves.
Mikko, 53, is charged with five felony counts of possession of child sexually abusive materials. He was bound over to 13th Circuit Court after an Oct. 23 preliminary examination before 86th District Judge Michael Haley.
State officials assigned Charlevoix County Circuit Judge Richard Pajtas to supervise Mikko's case.
Local circuit judges Philip E. Rodgers and Thomas G. Power declined to take the case because Mikko was an employee of their court. Rodgers and Power could be witnesses, and they also want to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
"Most people are going to look at that and say, 'No, you can't have that person's employer judging the case,'" Rodgers said.
Mikko handled custody matters and child support stemming from divorces that involved minor children in Grand Traverse, Antrim and Leelanau counties. He handled child abuse and juvenile offender cases in Grand Traverse County only.
Commission on Aging to discuss budget
TRAVERSE CITY -- Alice Chouinard hopes snow remains at bay until she's off a waiting list for home chore services provided by Grand Traverse County's Commission on Aging.
"We called and asked about snow-plowing, but if we don't have any snow we won't need it," said Chouinard, 76, who lives with her daughter in Garfield Township. "We're both handicapped, and I have arthritis in my spine, and my daughter has back trouble and we can't clean like we should. We'd just like someone to come once or twice a month." Chouinard and other local seniors who find themselves at the mercy of waiting lists could soon have a better handle on service delays. The Commission on Aging is scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. today at its 520 W. Front St. office to consider how to address declining revenues amid greater demands for service.
"What we're doing is trying to decide how big we want to get," said Georgia Durga, the agency's director. "Our revenue isn't going to grow. It might even go down, but our client list is growing by four to six people a week."
Shoreline site in Acme to become new park
TRAVERSE CITY -- A shuttered restaurant and a nearby motel will make way for Acme Township's vision of a mile-long, public open space along East Grand Traverse Bay.
Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund will provide $2.26 million to Acme to add 768 feet of bay frontage to its ongoing park project. The award follows a $3 million state grant approved last year to purchase three small motels near the township's existing park on M-72 and U.S. 31.
"It's all part of our vision to recreate Acme Township," said township Supervisor Wayne Kladder. "It's a great day for Acme Township and it's a great day for all of northwestern Michigan." Township officials want to extend the community park south to Five Mile Road and add gardens, volleyball courts, a marina and places to picnic and swim.
The new grant will help purchase the former Mountain Jack's Steakhouse restaurant for an estimated $1.8 million; the Sun 'N Sand Motel south of the restaurant for $800,000, and vacant land owned by George and Dianne Sarris north of Mountain Jack's for $300,000.
The restaurant closed in 2008 after a 14-year run. The site originally opened as Embers by the Bay, owned and operated by Clarence Tuma and Keith Charters, who still own the property.
Let it snow! Resorts prepare for skiers
TRAVERSE CITY -- Green patches covering ski slopes throughout northern Michigan slowly are starting to disappear.
And none too soon for Jim Bartlett and other regional ski resort operators.
"They're white, finally," said Bartlett, general manager of Nub's Nob Ski Area in Harbor Springs. "Now we can get things going."
A cold air system from Canada dumped lake-effect snow on many northern Michigan communities Thursday. The National Weather Service in Gaylord issued a winter weather advisory for the Traverse City area through noon today. Total accumulations in some areas could reach up to seven inches by this afternoon, said Andy Sullivan, NWS meteorologist.
And with below-freezing temperatures expected into next week, Sullivan said the snow likely will stick around.
That's good news for Bartlett, who held off making snow because of November's mild temperatures.
"To make good snow, you really gotta have 28 degrees or less," he said.
The weekend forecast called for overnight temperatures in the 20s, so Bartlett anticipates the slopes will remain white into this week.
Board: Aloia 'exceeds requirements'
TRAVERSE CITY -- Some of Dennis Aloia's county board bosses see perfection in his work as Grand Traverse County administrator -- while at least one commissioner thinks he should be fired.
Aloia's overall average rating from commissioners totaled 7.9 on a 10-point scale, which means he "exceeds requirements." But the individual grades were spread out over a wider spectrum than past reviews, with newer commissioners giving him lower marks.
Commissioner Christine Maxbauer rated Aloia a 4.7 overall, which included the only marks from any board member that he's failed to meet requirements.
Commissioner Larry Inman, the board's longest serving member, scored Aloia a perfect 10 for "far exceeds requirements" in all 11 performance categories.
"I graded him so high across the board because I think he's done an excellent job, he's really doing the work of three people and maintaining his own work load," Inman said, referring to supervisor vacancies in three departments that Aloia helped cover over the past year.
