ANTRIM
Woman killed in motorcycle crash
BELLAIRE -- A Kalkaska woman died in an Antrim County motorcycle crash.
Devin McCammon, 30, was a passenger on a motorcycle driven by Joshua Smith, 30, of Kalkaska.
Smith was driving his motorcycle east on M-88 near Grass River Road last Sunday around 9:40 p.m. when he lost control, left the road and struck two signs, Michigan State Police said. McCammon was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities believe alcohol was a factor in the crash, according to a police statement. It remains under investigation.
CHARLEVOIX
LexaMar plant lays off 95 workers
BOYNE CITY -- LexaMar's automotive parts plant here laid off 95 workers and its parent company blamed the continuing downturn in the automobile market.
Local workers learned of the layoffs Wednesday afternoon. The company confirmed just over a week ago that it was looking at a major restructuring plan. Layoffs were effective immediately and impacted both hourly and salaried workers, and represented almost a quarter of the plant's estimated 400-person workforce.
GRAND TRAVERSE
Attorney: Ruling won't stop probes
TRAVERSE CITY -- Even total victory by Meijer Inc. at the state Court of Appeals may not prevent a group of Acme Township officials from finding out who at the retail giant authorized illegal election tampering.
Meijer recenlty won a round in an escalating battle with local officials when a three-judge panel in Grand Rapids temporarily halted Acme Township planning commissioner Robert Carstens' suit against the retailer.
That judicial panel froze Carstens' suit while it considers Meijer's appeal of a Grand Traverse County judge's ruling that allowed Carstens and other Acme officials to sue Meijer for harassment.
But Carstens' attorney, Michael Dettmer, of Traverse City, said he still expects to take depositions from Meijer President Mark Murray and co-chairman of the board Hank Meijer. Both have made public statements indicating they were unaware of Meijer's illegal efforts to influence Acme elections in 2005 and 2007, but neither has had to do so under oath.
Three schools fail to meet standards
TRAVERSE CITY -- For the second straight year, Traverse City's three high schools failed to meet state and federal academic standards.
Traverse City Area Public Schools, as a whole, made adequate yearly progress, or AYP, for the 2007-08 school year.
But West, Central and Traverse City high schools fell short of the federal benchmarks, according to data released Monday by the state Department of Education.
States are required to report AYP results under the No Child Left Behind Act.
The results are based on math and language arts test scores and participation rates on the MEAP test for elementary and middle school students and on the high school Michigan Merit Exam. Attendance and graduation rates also are factors.
To meet AYP goals, schools must achieve the criteria for all students and for subgroups of at least 30 students, including ethnicity, students with disabilities and those who are economically disadvantaged.
West didn't meet math proficiency targets for students with disabilities, Superintendent James Feil said.
Central failed to meet participation goals in either language arts or math for both students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students, among other factors.
And the alternative Traverse City High School missed AYP in part because of its 22.8 percent graduation rate.
Committee seeks to extend Feil's contract
TRAVERSE CITY -- Some Traverse City school board members want to extend the contract of the district's top leader, a move they say will better position him to guide the school system in coming years.
But the proposal surprised other board members, who say they are not convinced this is the right time, manner or reason to make any changes to Superintendent James Feil's contract.
The idea surfaced last week as board members discussed ways to improve how to evaluate Feil and all future superintendents.
A committee composed of board members Gerald Morris, Dave Barr and Alice McNally recommended breaking the annual performance review into quarterly segments with one final report in December, as well as basing the evaluation on the district's three main goals.
But the suggestion concerns other board members, who worried it could set an unwanted precedent for future leaders.
Woman, girl die in 3-vehicle crash
TRAVERSE CITY -- Authorities continue to piece together details of a grisly traffic crash that killed a Kalkaska Public Schools third-grader and another passenger.
Andrea Kennedy, 8, was days away from starting school at Birch Street Elementary in Kalkaska, Superintendent Lee Sandy said. Andrea died in a three-vehicle traffic crash on U.S. 31 in Grand Traverse County's Acme Township Monday morning.
The crash also killed Barbara Antaya, 51, of Kalkaska, and injured four others.
Police believe Andrea was a backseat passenger in a vehicle driven by her mother, Louann Hubbard. Antaya was a front-seat passenger in that vehicle, investigators said.
It appears Hubbard, 47, crossed the center line at about 10:30 a.m. Monday and struck a pickup truck driven north by Elk Rapids resident Michael Manzardo, police said. Hubbard's vehicle separated from Manzardo's truck and then struck a Cadillac heading north.
Hubbard remained in critical condition at Munson Medical Center Tuesday. The Cadillac was driven by Traverse City resident Theresa Fogle, 61. Also in that vehicle were Delores Witkop, 71, and Gail McCormick, 61.
Fogle and both of her passengers remained in the hospital with serious injuries Tuesday.
NMC trustees mull tuition hikes
TRAVERSE CITY -- Some of next year's maritime students at Northwestern Michigan College could face tuition rate hikes of 50 percent or more.
NMC trustees last week discussed financial concerns with the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, including potential tuition hikes and plans to seek state funding to help support the program. There currently are about 120 GLMA students.
If the proposed rates are approved, it will bring all GLMA rates above estimated program costs for non-residents at comparable maritime academies in California, New York and Texas. However, rates would remain below those for non-residents at academies in Maine and Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, NMC leaders intend to seek state funding through the Legislature.
Men charged in pizza shop break-in
TRAVERSE CITY -- Two Traverse City men who allegedly broke into a local pizza restaurant face felony charges.
Joshua Allen Core, 21, and Randall Anthony Roman, 18, both are charged with breaking and entering a building with intent. Preliminary examinations for both are set for Sept. 5.
Police believe Core and Roman were responsible for an Aug. 16 burglary at Little Caesars on Division Street in Traverse City. Roman allegedly told a detective he smashed the restaurant's glass door with a baseball bat and took money from the store's safe, court records show.
Core allegedly told a detective he entered the shop with Roman and took a bag of money Roman took from the safe.
Developer's gesture kills project
TRAVERSE CITY -- A developer who pledged about four acres to Garfield Township to help extend a road found himself undermined in part by his own benevolence.
The township's 19-month review of developer Scott Norris' proposed affordable housing complex resulted in Garfield officials denying the plan because it fell short of acreage required for such a project.
Brookside Commons was to be a mixed-use development that included small neighborhood stores, 72 apartments and eight single-family homes on 21 acres at Zimmerman and North Long Lake roads.
The project required 20 acres for all components, but the loss of the 3.8 acres Norris pledged to the township left him short, the township's zoning office ruled.
County delays decision on recycling surcharge
TRAVERSE CITY -- Grand Traverse County will wait another month before it decides to can half or all of its recycling drop-off bins.
A county board committee this month recommended killing the trash tax that funds the eight drop-off sites, but the board tabled action Wednesday after a request from board Chairman Addison Wheelock.
Wheelock vowed two years ago that he'd never vote in favor of a surcharge extension. Now he proposes a compromise to cut the surcharge by a third instead of eliminating it. He asked for a month to work out details.
Traffic fatalities soar in August
TRAVERSE CITY -- Traffic fatalities skyrocketed in northern Michigan this month, and officials hope increased caution will reduce the number of deaths on local roads.
At least 11 people died in crashes in Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix and Emmet counties since Aug. 9, and several others were hospitalized. One victim was a bicyclist who was struck by a vehicle and killed.
The same set of counties had a combined total of three traffic deaths in August 2007, according to Michigan State Police crash records, and two in July of this year.
The reasons behind each crash vary, but familiar factors played a role in many of the recent incidents, police said.
"The common denominator is speed and alcohol," Antrim County Undersheriff Dave Kopkau said.
Utility retains Rice as executive director
TRAVERSE CITY -- Ed Rice can now scratch the word "interim" from his title of executive director for Traverse City Light & Power.
Rice took over as interim director in April after the public utility drove out its top two administrators amid incidents of misconduct and public discord.
Light & Power board members on Tuesday voted to retain Rice as their permanent director.
A national search would have cost between $75,000 and $100,000, Johnson said. Rice's salary will be $107,000.
Rice, 62, retired in 2002 from a management position at Consumers Energy after 32 years with the company.
Former Director Richard Smith was ousted in March.
KALKASKA
Woman enters plea in fatal crash
KALKASKA -- A woman who caused a traffic crash that killed a local pastor pleaded no contest to a criminal charge.
Amy Marie Sargent pleaded no contest to operating under the influence of drugs causing death, a 15-year felony.
Charges of negligent homicide and operating under the influence causing serious injury were dismissed, Kalkaska County Prosecutor Brian Donnelly said.
Sentencing is set for Oct. 20. A no contest plea is treated the same as a guilty plea for sentencing purposes.
Rudolf Kuyten, 75, died in a July 10, 2007, crash on County Road 612 near Kalkaska. A van driven by Sargent, then 21, crossed the center line and slammed into Kuyten's vehicle, police said.
The serious injury charge stems from a person in Sargent's van who was badly injured.
Sargent tested positive for THC, a chemical found in marijuana.
Man dies in two-vehicle crash
KALKASKA -- A Manton man died in a Kalkaska County traffic crash.
Edward Dean Hubbell, 51, died in a crash at the intersection of Shippy and Coster roads at about 4 p.m. Tuesday. Hubbell's vehicle collided with another vehicle at the intersection, and Hubbell died while being transported to the hospital, according to a statement from the Kalkaska County Sheriff's Department.
The crash remains under investigation, and Sheriff Bill Artress said it's too early to say which vehicle caused it.
LEELANAU
New faces at Northport school
NORTHPORT -- A new administrator and board member will be in place after school resumes at Northport Public School, the result of a resignation and a recall vote.
John Hoeffler, a former superintendent with Birmingham Public Schools in Oakland County, was named interim superintendent and school principal this month.
Former Superintendent Ty Wessell took a new position as director of instructional services with the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District.
He will oversee such areas as curriculum, teacher training and testing for the intermediate district's 16 public school systems, four charter academies and numerous private schools.
In addition, school board members are seeking candidates to fill a board seat left vacant after member Alan Woods was recalled in this month's primary election.
Leelanau considers ORV ordinance
Suttons Bay -- Leelanau County may consider adopting an ordinance allowing off-road vehicles, or ORVs, to drive up to 25 mph on the far right side of maintained portions of certain roads.
Several northwestern Michigan counties are looking into such ordinances since a state law passed last month that gives counties the power to do so. Townships and villages also can enact their own rules under certain provisions.
County Commissioner William Bunek raised the issue, but recognizes potential resistance and hopes to gain community input.
He supports the idea as a way to help tourism. He also realizes that plenty of people already use ORVs on roads, so he'd like to make it legal.
Efforts to legalize ORV traffic on roads in other area counties met strong opposition from residents concerned with safety, erosion and noise.
The county has yet to take official action or schedule discussion on a possible ORV ordinance.
TC-based company conducts test drilling
Greilickville -- A local oil and gas exploration company is test drilling for natural gas in Elmwood Township.
Traverse City-based Presidium Energy began drilling one well last week, and it has permits for about a dozen other area sites.
The drill rig is east of Bugai Road between M-72 and Hoxie Road, on property owned by Elmwood Township Trustee Terry Lautner. He did not return calls for comment.
Presidium received permits to dig from the state Department of Environmental Quality.
After a few days of drilling, the large rig will come down and could be replaced with a well head about five feet tall. One producing well is allowed per 80 acres.
Allegedly drunken driver hits pedestrian
SUTTONS BAY -- An allegedly drunken driver struck a pedestrian in Leelanau County.
Christopher Lee Seymour, 53, of Cedar, allegedly lost control of his minivan on South Cedar Road near Alpine Road at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Leelanau County sheriff's deputies said he left the road and struck Maryanne Macy with his minivan as she walked in a ditch along the road.
Macy, 63, of Traverse City, was taken to Munson Medical Center where she's listed in fair condition. Seymour was arrested and is expected to face drunken driving charges.
School board reinstates 15
SUTTONS BAY -- Half the Suttons Bay Public Schools staff members who were laid off this summer have been reinstated, as administrators anticipate receiving thousands of dollars in federal aid.
School board members last week voted 6-0, with member David Buffum absent, to bring back 15 of the 30 certified and support staff cut in late June.
They include elementary classroom teachers, Montessori aides and a counselor to serve both the middle and high schools, Superintendent Mike Murray said. Not all were rehired for their original positions.
The cuts were made ahead of a projected $1 million budget deficit that stems in part from an enrollment decline and rising energy prices.
Murray also said the district lost revenue two years ago because of what he believes was a miscalculation in how much federal aid it should receive. That aid has not been recovered.
MANISTEE
Franz wins recount in House race
TRAVERSE CITY -- Republican Ray Franz will continue his campaign for the state House of Representatives while Mike McManus returns to cherry farming after a recount upheld Franz's slim primary victory.
The manual recount of more than 17,300 votes boosted the Manistee County grocer's winning margin over state Sen. Michelle McManus's dad from nine votes to 21 votes. The final tally in the four-way race was 4,873 to 4,852.
The recount started in Mason County on Tuesday where both candidates picked up one vote. On Wednesday Franz padded his lead by nine votes in his home county of Manistee and added three more to his margin after Benzie County's recount Thursday morning.
OTSEGO
Alleged embezzler faces felony charges
GAYLORD -- A woman accused of embezzling thousands of dollars from a Catholic parish was arraigned on multiple felony charges.
Shelly Patterson, 44, was arraigned on felony embezzlement, forgery and uttering and publishing charges in Otsego County Wednesday. Local officials issued a warrant for her arrest and had to extradite her from Florida to face the charges.
Investigators believe Patterson embezzled nearly $300,000 from St. Mary Cathedral and school in Gaylord, where she worked as a business manager until her resignation in September 2007.
Patterson moved to Port Orange, Fla., after her resignation, officials said.
WEXFORD
5 injured in crash with truck
CADILLAC -- Five people were hospitalized after a Wexford County traffic crash involving a large logging truck.
The crash happened at about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday on E 16 Road near N 31 Road in Colfax Township. Deputies believe a car driven by Cadillac resident Crystal Hoffman, 35, was stopped and waiting to turn left from the east lane of E 16 Road onto a private drive.
An empty "stake truck" and trailer, used to haul logs, was driven east by Shane Blake, 36, of South Boardman. Blake came over a hill, saw Hoffman's car and realized he wasn't going to stop in time, deputies said. He tried to turn off the road, but his trailer struck the rear of the car.
Hoffman and three passengers were taken to Munson Medical Center. The passengers were Kevin Foster, 8, Marsha Spencer, 5, and another child, Skyler Hoffman. A fourth passenger, Warren Foster, 46, refused treatment at the scene and got a ride in a private vehicle to Munson.
Blake wasn't injured, and deputies ticketed him for being unable to stop in the assured clear distance.
