ANTRIM
Authorities continue death probe
ELK RAPIDS -- Authorities remain tight-lipped about a year-old shooting that left an Elk Rapids teen dead.
Meanwhile, the youth's mother waits to learn if she'll be charged as a result of a probe into her son's death, a shooting she contends was suicide.
Sam Avery, 16, was found dead Nov. 7, 2007, in his U.S. 31 home near Elk Rapids. Police said they aren't sure if the wound was self-inflicted or not, despite months of investigation and multiple searches of the house.
"We're still waiting for items that are being analyzed by the state police crime lab," Elk Rapids Police Chief Michael Miles said.
Authorities haven't publicly named Anne Avery-Miller, Sam's mother, as a suspect. But she contends the Elk Rapids community has at times treated her like one.
Avery-Miller spent three months in jail this year on a larceny conviction tied to a 2004 insurance fraud.
Before that, she disappeared for about four weeks in January and February, leading local authorities on a lengthy search for her. She eventually surrendered to police and said she was at a women's shelter in Nevada.
CRAWFORD
Body found in home still not ID'd
GRAYLING -- Local authorities said they can't identify a body found inside a burned home in Crawford County's Grayling Township, but a local funeral home held a service for the presumed victim.
Emergency responders found the body Nov. 21 after flames were extinguished at a house on Kelm Way.
The victim cannot be identified by normal means, so samples and other evidence will be sent to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab for DNA testing, officials said.
Officials at a local funeral home said the victim is presumed to be Richard Lee Williams, 57, who lived at the house that burned.
A memorial service with military honors for Williams was held Tuesday at Sorenson-Lockwood Funeral Home. Burial will be at a later time at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly.
Williams was a U.S. Army veteran and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, according to obituary information. He is survived by his wife Lori Williams, brother Harold Williams and daughters Cassandra Lee and Cheyenne Casey Williams.
GRAND TRAVERSE
4th disabled rider reports injury
TRAVERSE CITY -- At least four disabled people have been hurt on Bay Area Transportation Authority buses over the past year while seated on wheelchairs or electric scooters.
Two were injured when their wheelchair or scooter tipped over; two others were thrown from their wheelchairs.
BATA officials contend certain wheelchairs and electric scooters are difficult to secure, but said they are responding to the injuries with additional employee training and discussions with riders.
A Traverse City woman this month suffered a skull fracture when her wheelchair tipped over while traveling on a BATA bus and Record-Eagle coverage of the incident prompted another injured rider to tell her own story.
Martha Robinson, 85, said she fell over on her electric scooter while riding a BATA bus home from the doctor's office on Oct. 7.
Trustees approve Nelson's contract
TRAVERSE CITY -- The president of Northwestern Michigan College has a few new job perks following the approval of his updated contract by college trustees.
NMC President Tim Nelson will receive extra money for unused vacation time, in addition to his annual salary of $164,035. It's a new stipulation in his employment contract, approved by college leaders Monday night.
Trustees voted 5 to 1 in favor of Nelson's new contract. Trustee Robert Brick was absent and trustee Cheryl Gore Follette dissented.
Nelson will receive a payout this year of $13,251 for 21 of his 71 accrued vacation days, with each day worth $631. In the future, Nelson must surrender any vacation days in excess of 50 at the end of each year for a payment that reflects 65 percent of their initial value, according to the new contract.
Power lines to be moved for roads
TRAVERSE CITY -- A section of electric power lines will be moved to make way for the connection of Hammond and Keystone roads.
Traverse City Light & Power will begin work this month to relocate transmission lines that run along Hammond Road west of LaFranier Road in Garfield Township.
The line's new location will be just south of the current pathway. Voltage will remain the same, but new poles are about 10 feet higher with larger diameters.
Kent Power Inc. should complete the work by the end of the year. Grand Traverse County officials plan to connect the roads next year.
Trustees OK purchase of maritime gear
TRAVERSE CITY -- Northwestern Michigan College trustees purchased equipment to be used by cadets at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.
NMC trustees unanimously voted Monday to approve the purchase of $85,500 worth of specialized simulation equipment from NavSim Services of Buffalo, N.Y. The purchase also includes $25,200 in accompanying computers and electrical and data services.
The simulator equipment will allow cadets to practice engine situations for the diesel and steam vessel programs, replacing an inoperable system that was used during the last eight years.
Probe of assault continues
TRAVERSE CITY -- The Michigan Department of Civil Rights continues its investigation into allegations of a racially charged assault at Traverse City Central High School.
Witnesses said a large group of young males descended on a black youth at the school Sept. 26. At least one of them allegedly spat racial slurs as the group beat and kicked the victim, 15.
That youth, 16, was charged with a felony count of ethnic intimidation a few weeks after the incident. Several other youths were identified in a police investigation, but no additional charges were filed.
MDCR spokesman Trevor Coleman said his agency is in the process of "reaching all the key people" in the case, specifically family members. The department's investigation could end up with a number of different results. It could recommend legal action or sanctions against an individual or organization, Coleman said. It also might provide counseling and support if it perceives racial stress.
Files cite alleged insubordination
TRAVERSE CITY -- A department head at Northwestern Michigan College was forced out for alleged insubordination and a lack of honesty and judgment, according to school documents.
Bill Hendry, the community college's former executive director of human resources, resigned in October after a flurry of memorandums between him and his boss about his alleged inability to complete a project and to conform to changes at NMC, among other issues.
Hendry is set to receive a 10-week severance package worth about $25,000 in salary and benefits.
Hendry could not be reached for comment Wednesday, and college officials refused to discuss the situation.
Hendry's personnel file contained NMC's allegations against him. The Record-Eagle reviewed the file under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.
Copper Ridge parking deck OK'd
TRAVERSE CITY -- Munson Medical Center will get a $6 million taxpayer funded parking deck in the Copper Ridge development after the Grand Traverse County Board voted 8-1 on Thanksgiving Eve in favor of the project.
The deck would serve a new $40 million cancer treatment center Munson would like to build at Copper Ridge in Garfield Township. Munson will build and operate the deck. Grand Traverse County's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority will then intercept 99 percent of the local property taxes paid by Copper Ridge for up to 14 years to reimburse Munson.
KALKASKA
DNR deal to help protect trout farm
KALKASKA -- The Flowing Well trout farm and surrounding property on the North Branch of the Upper Manistee River is protected forever.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources now owns about 1,720 acres in Kalkaska County in a land conservation partnership with the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. The $3.4 million land sale was finalized late last month.
The property includes more than 10,000 feet of frontage on various creeks, rich conifer swamps, aspen-birch woodland and northern hardwood forest. The land is adjacent to more than 100,000 contiguous acres of state and federal forestland.
LEELANAU
Detour planned for bridge work
GLEN ARBOR -- Traffic will soon begin to detour from M-22 to M-109 in Leelanau County.
Construction workers for the Michigan Department of Transportation on Monday will begin a bridge replacement project on M-22 at the Glen Lake Narrows. The $3.4 million project will replace the bridge that's been there for about 80 years, officials said.
Bridge traffic on M-22 will be detoured using M-109 while the structure is closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Boat traffic will be maintained, but is subject to temporary closures for construction site safety risks.
The bridge replacement work is expected to be finished by the end of next year's construction season.
MANISTEE
MasTech inks deal with energy firm
MANISTEE -- A local manufacturer reached a multi-year agreement to produce a wind generator developed by an alternative energy company in Nevada.
MasTech Manufacturing in Manistee inked a five-year pact with Mariah Power of Reno, Nev., to begin volume production and distribution of Mariah's "Windspire," a 30-foot-tall vertical wind turbine that can generate about 2,000 kilowatt hours per year for residential and small commercial applications.
Officials said the first units are expected to be produced by March and production of 1,000 units per month is planned. The work is expected to generate 41 new jobs at MasTech and up to 116 new positions by the end of 2011.
Casino-resort to lay off 100 workers
MANISTEE -- The Little River Casino Resort in Manistee has announced that it's laying off 100 employees as it deals with the economic downturn.
Radio station WKLA in Ludington reports it's the first layoffs at the casino, owned by The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.
The west Michigan gambling facility is among other casinos in the state this year to announce cuts, including MGM Grand Detroit and Greektown Casino.
Authorities try to identify body
MANISTEE -- Authorities are working to identify a body found in a burned-out car in Pleasanton Township.
At 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Michigan State Police began investigating a report of a missing Bear Lake man, 45. Family members said they were concerned because he'd been missing eight hours.
The man's vehicle was found on Lumley Road at about 10 p.m. The vehicle had struck a tree and was destroyed by fire.
A deceased person was in the vehicle. Police said medical officials were scheduled to examine the body Friday or Saturday. The incident remains under investigation. Troopers aren't sure if the crash caused the fire.
