BENZIE
Former owners to purchase Brookside Inn
BEULAH -- Randy and Carol Dye know a little something about running the Brookside Inn.
They owned the Benzie County restaurant and inn for a brief stint nearly 30 years ago.
But after Honor State Bank foreclosed on Brookside in October, the couple decided to give it another shot.
They plan to sign a purchase agreement this week for the rights to Brookside, a hot spot for tourists and locals alike, just off U.S. 31 in Beulah.
"We're expecting to finish the paperwork (today) or Wednesday," Randy Dye said.
Dye and Bank President Mike Worden would not discuss a selling price because the purchase agreement has yet to be signed.
When the Dyes first purchased Brookside, they overhauled the building. And that's where they plan to start this time around. Renovations will begin in the dining area.
"The kitchen is going to be totally gutted. The ceilings, the floors will be cut out," he said. "The repairs are going to be so much."
Joni Holbrook sent
back to county jail
BEULAH -- Joni Holbrook's family wept and embraced as a bailiff prepared to lead her from a Benzie County courtroom to a jail cell.
Holbrook, 48, is charged with an open count of murder in the Aug. 10 shooting death of her husband, Michigan State Police Sgt. Melvin P. Holbrook. She had been free on bond since October, but headed back to jail Tuesday after a brief hearing before Benzie Circuit Judge James M. Batzer.
Holbrook was bound over for trial in October after a preliminary examination. District Judge Nancy Kida ruled Holbrook must stand trial on the murder charge, but she granted bond after her attorneys said Holbrook had a serious heart condition.
Batzer later ordered Holbrook's attorneys to provide a doctor's note as proof.
Holbrook attorney Jesse L. Williams gave Batzer notes from two medical doctors and a psychologist that said jail could aggravate Holbrook's medical conditions, but he acknowledged a "misdiagnosis" of her heart condition.
The alleged misdiagnosis is a game-changer, Batzer said.
"The premise of the district court's decision for admitting this defendant to bail was there was a representation of a heart condition which would require a number of medically invasive procedures. It turns out that, lo and behold, that simply is not the case," he said. "So the premise for the district court's decision ... has evaporated upon further medical investigation, apparently." Williams said Holbrook suffers from stress and is "on the verge of suicide," though Batzer said jail isn't an easy place to be.
GRAND
TRAVERSE
Nonprofits: Holiday donations strong
TRAVERSE CITY -- At first glance, a New Year's Eve fundraiser for the local Goodwill organization appeared to be a success, collecting about 2,500 pounds of food for people in need.
In reality, it was even better than that.
Employees and volunteers discovered the holiday haul -- donated to gain access to the Cherry-T Ball Drop in downtown Traverse City -- weighed about 1,000 pounds more than they'd suspected.
"People were pulling a can out of this pocket or that pocket or their kid's hood," local Goodwill spokeswoman Ruth Blick said. "We're probably in the best shape we've ever been in." 'Tis the season for giving, the time of year nonprofits typically notice a spike in donations. Several of the region's charitable organizations say they received enough this holiday season to propel them into the new year, since demand hasn't yet ebbed due to the lingering recession.
"The community continues to hit home runs," said Norm Bamberg, operations director for the Father Fred Foundation in Traverse City. "They know the need's gone up, so they dig a little deeper." The foundation received close to $363,000 in cash donations from Nov. 1 through late 2009, up about $77,000 from the same period a year ago, Bamberg said. The funds arrived as checks and online donations.
Donors gave more memorial or honorary monetary gifts this year than ever to the Good Samaritan Food Pantry and Resale Shop in Ellsworth, Director Mary Peterson said.
Munson considers merger with Spectrum
TRAVERSE CITY -- Leaders of two West Michigan health systems are in talks to combine their operations, and call the move a way to provide services to a wider area.
Munson Healthcare, of Traverse City, and Spectrum Health, of Grand Rapids, are in preliminary discussions about forming one organization that would offer greater access to financial and clinical resources.
A specific model has yet to be developed, but Tom McIntyre, Munson Healthcare's board chairman, said a merger is a possibility.
It won't be considered an acquisition, in which one hospital takes over another that's struggling, said Richard Breon, president and chief executive officer of Spectrum Health.
"They're two very strong organizations," Breon said. "When you bring those together, there's tremendous value." Both systems could eliminate inefficiencies by centralizing technology and business operations, McIntyre said, as well as physician-recruiting techniques.
Having joint access to capital would be a primary benefit, he said.
Both are regional health systems with satellite hospitals in outlying communities, and both have students studying with Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine.
Attorneys to study septage plant liability
TRAVERSE CITY -- Grand Traverse County attorneys will try to determine if the county septage plant's project manager and design firm are financially liable for some of its failings.
A county Board of Public Works committee on Monday unanimously recommended that its attorneys analyze liability issues surrounding the alleged failure of Michael Houlihan, project manager, and engineering firm Gourdie-Fraser Inc. to follow professional standards of care when they determined the plant's size and financing method.
Financial and structural problems dogged the plant since it opened in 2005. The plant nearly broke even for the first time in 2009, but faces losses estimated at $2.4 million over the next five years.
"We don't have an option. We have a fiduciary responsibility to our residents," said Rob Manigold, BPW member and Peninsula Township supervisor. "We have to pull the trigger and go to the next step." Monday's vote followed an independent review issued Friday by engineering firm Prein & Newhof. The report said Houlihan, for 30 years the county BPW attorney, failed to exercise due care when he didn't validate volume projections created by Gourdie-Fraser in 2001 and 2002.
TC on track to be
10th Coast Guard city
TRAVERSE CITY -- Traverse City is in line to become the 10th U.S. Coast Guard city in the nation and the second in Michigan.
City leaders applied in August to the Coast Guard's commandant, Adm. Thad Allen in Washington, D.C., to receive the designation. Cmdr. Jonathan Spaner, top officer at Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, recently learned the approval process is moving along at a good clip.
"I'm really excited how this worked out," Spaner said at Tuesday's City Commission meeting.
Allen said in a letter to Mayor Chris Bzdok that he intends to approve Traverse City's request that is now before Congress for final authorization. Traverse City will be proclaimed a Coast Guard city, should there be no objections from U.S. congressmen or senators in the next 90 days.
"It's a hard designation to earn and Traverse City deserves it," Spaner said.
A city's special effort to acknowledge the Coast Guard is a major requirement for the namesake and Traverse City does that well, he said.
For example, Coast Guard members receive military discounts at most local businesses, appreciation days at baseball games and a local ski facility, plus heroes night at the annual National Cherry Festival. Traverse City Area Public Schools also host events for Coast Guard families to discuss education options during their time stationed here.
Estimates sought on bayfront improvements
TRAVERSE CITY -- A revitalized Traverse City bayfront is moving closer to reality.
City officials issued a request for proposals this week that seeks firms to bid on engineering designs and detailed cost estimates for bayfront improvements. The idea is to overhaul a two-mile stretch along West Grand Traverse Bay centered at the former zoo property.
"This is the necessary first step to fixing up the bayfront," said Mayor Chris Bzdok.
Plans call for new and upgraded restrooms, playground equipment and beach and trail improvements, among other options. Ideas were generated during the mid-decade "Your Bay, Your Say" planning process.
"You take the master plan and public input and then develop a design," said Nate Elkins, chairman of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission, the board that is spearheading the bayfront project.
A design consultant could be hired by early March, but major on-the-ground work may not happen for another full construction season as planning and fundraising ensues, he said.
"I'd like to see it spruced up a bit," said Christine Langschwager, a city parks and recreation commissioner. "I'd like to see the grass a little greener and I'd like to see some shady spots at the beach with some more benches where people can go sit." The goal is to achieve a more attractive waterfront with amenities that create a dynamic public space, Langschwager said.
Pictures result in
sex offender's arrest
TRAVERSE CITY -- A convicted sex offender faces a fresh criminal charge after he allegedly took a picture of a student near Eastern Elementary School.
Scott Allen Mallwitz, 44, pleaded guilty in March 2008 to three felony counts of child pornography possession in Grand Traverse County. He was sentenced to 11 months in jail with credit, and released in August 2008.
Now Mallwitz is back in jail after authorities allege he hovered around the school and appeared to take pictures of children. He could head to prison if it's determined he violated conditions of his probation, and he faces a new misdemeanor charge of being a sex offender in a school zone.
School officials contacted police in December with reports of a man in a van driving near the school and taking pictures with his cell phone. City officers stepped up patrols, but weren't able to find the man or his van.
Last week, a woman who went to Eastern to pick up her child from school saw the van drive by and decided to contact police.
LEELANAU
Murray to remain
Suttons Bay schools chief
SUTTONS BAY -- Mike Murray, superintendent of Suttons Bay Public Schools, won't be leaving the district.
He withdrew his name this week from consideration for superintendent of Grosse Ile Township Schools, in the Downriver area of Wayne County.
Murray had been the sole remaining finalist for the job after Waterford School District Superintendent Rob Neu -- a former Traverse City West Senior High assistant principal and coach -- withdrew before his second interview.
Murray's decision was based in part on the outcome of a community forum last week, in which parents said they did not want the district's leadership to change at a time of financial difficulty.
He applied to Grosse Ile after proposing that Suttons Bay consider combining the superintendent and high school principal positions, in hopes of managing anticipated midyear state funding cuts that never materialized.
Board members were "not supportive" of the idea, Murray said.
BATA union files
labor practice complaint
TRAVERSE CITY -- A local transit authority's unionized employees filed an unfair labor practice complaint after their contract expired.
Bay Area Transportation Authority is negotiating contracts with 70 employees who belong to Teamsters State, County and Municipal Workers Local 214, including drivers, mechanics, and dispatchers. They continue to work under terms of their prior three-year contract that expired Dec. 31.
Union officials recently filed an unfair labor grievance with the state because they contend BATA executive director Tom Menzel tried to negotiate with employees in an undated letter sent to all BATA personnel after the new year began.
"It's against the law for an employer to bargain directly with the employees," said Sheryl Langdon, the union's business representative.
The Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth's Bureau of Employment Relations received the grievance filing on Wednesday, but a hearing date has not yet been set, said Ruthanne Okun, bureau director.
BATA last met with union negotiators on Dec. 15, and no real progress was made, Menzel said.
"They want to negotiate exactly the same way they did three years ago and the world is different now," Menzel said.
