ANTRIM
Housing project gets new life
ELK RAPIDS -- A long-delayed and highly contentious residential development and wetlands restoration project is expected to go from idle into overdrive.
The Cottages of Elk Rapids, a project by a company called Elk Rapids Preserve, is soon expected to receive a final permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin a wetlands restoration project after years of languished work at the Antrim County site.
Elk Rapids village officials on Monday granted a one-year extension on a planned unit development permit for the project.
The project is a 20-acre-plus housing development that stalled more than five years ago when federal officials learned the developer illegally filled wetlands near East Grand Traverse Bay. Traverse City-based developer Bill Clous is among the project's chief investors, said Matthew Vermetten, Clous' attorney.
Plans call for two single-family homes and 12 duplexes, for a total of 26 housing units.
BENZIE
Frankfort approves snowmobile races
FRANKFORT -- City officials reversed a previous decision and green-lighted a series of snowmobile races within city limits.
The Frankfort-Elberta Area Chamber of Commerce plans to host the three-day event beginning Feb. 20. More than 100 riders are expected to compete in a series of "motocross" type races on an obstacle track built in the city's Open Space Park. The event will coincide with the city's inaugural Shiver By the River winter festival, slated for Feb. 21.
The Frankfort City Council voted against allowing the snowmobile races at its Nov. 18 meeting, but gave it unanimous approval Monday.
Driving snowmobiles within city limits has been a contentious issue before, Councilman Fred Stransky said. They are prevented by an ordinance in the city.
GRAND TRAVERSE
Man charged with drug possession
TRAVERSE CITY -- Jerry Lee Nelson's failure to heed promotional messages about not getting in a car with a drinking driver landed him in the Grand Traverse County Jail.
Traverse City Police arrested Nelson, 26, shortly after 2 a.m. Nov. 29 for possession of marijuana after a traffic stop near the downtown intersection of Cass and State streets. The driver of the Jeep Cherokee, a 25-year-old female from Traverse City, was pulled over for a traffic violation and then arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
Police also determined Nelson, a passenger in the Jeep, had violated a condition of his parole for a drug charge in Kent County.
A drug-sniffing dog was brought in and indicated the presence of what turned out to be four ounces of marijuana, along with $800 in cash inside the vehicle.
Son accused in house fire
TRAVERSE CITY -- The son of a Grant Township couple has been accused of burning down their house.
Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Alan Schneider issued a warrant for the arrest of Walter Franklin Adomat, 28, who resided at the home on 6506 Lost Resort Drive before it burned Nov. 19.
Capt. Ron Taylor of the Grand Traverse Rural Fire Department said fire and sheriff's department investigators, with the help of a fire accelerant-sniffing dog from the Michigan State Police, determined the fire was intentionally set.
No one was injured in the blaze but the single-family dwelling was a total loss, Taylor said.
Arson of a dwelling is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Injured motorist sues BATA
TRAVERSE CITY -- A woman who said she suffered serious injuries when a Bay Area Transportation Authority bus rammed her car is suing the agency.
Candace M. Schoech seeks at least $25,000 in damages following a July 13, 2007, crash at the intersection of Summit City and Walton roads in Grand Traverse County's Paradise Township.
Schoech's suit, filed recently by Traverse City law firm Dingeman, Dancer & Christopherson, alleges a BATA bus failed to stop at a stop sign on Walton Road and "violently crashed" into Schoech's station wagon as she drove north on Summit City Road.
Her crash-related injuries "constitute a serious impairment of body function and/or permanent serious disfigurement," according to the suit, which lists a concussion, herniated spinal disks and chronic pain and depression as some of Schoech's problems.
A Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department crash report indicates the bus driver, Raymond J. Fulk, was ticketed for failure to yield. The suit alleges he drove the bus in a "careless and negligent manner" and may have been driving too fast to stop.
Carlson attorneys say Fewins wasn't in charge
TRAVERSE CITY -- Attorneys for Grand Traverse County contend Sheriff Scott Fewins wasn't in charge of a tactical squad of police when one of his deputies shot an armed, allegedly suicidal man in his Interlochen home.
The estate of Craig Carlson is suing Fewins and Grand Traverse County over Carlson's shooting death Nov. 10, 2007. The county's attorney acknowledged Fewins was at a command center and in charge of operations at the time, but denied Fewins had "tactical command" of any of the 60 officers who surrounded Carlson's home for 11 hours, according to federal court documents.
The standoff ended when Grand Traverse sheriff's deputy Charles Jetter, a trained sniper, killed Carlson, 49, with a single shot to the head.
The lawsuit alleges Fewins, Grand Traverse County and the Emergency Response Team, consisting of police officers from various area law enforcement agencies, violated federal law and Carlson's constitutional rights.
Fewins was at the command center during the siege but not in control of the Emergency Response Team, his attorneys said.
Man arrested for Kingsley thefts
TRAVERSE CITY -- Grand Traverse sheriff's officials arrested a Traverse City man who admitted to several thefts in the Kingsley area.
Larry James Underwood, 22, told officials he committed a series of burglaries and thefts in late October and early November.
A firearm was stolen in one incident, but it has not been recovered, officials said.
Underwood is expected to be charged with first-degree home invasion. He's been at the Grand Traverse County Jail since Nov. 10 on unrelated charges.
Break-in at China Fair probed
TRAVERSE CITY -- Grand Traverse sheriff's officials are investigating a break-in at a local restaurant.
The front door of China Fair Restaurant was smashed in sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning, officials said.
About $300 in cash was missing from the restaurant on South Airport Road in Garfield Township. Anyone with information about the break-in should call the sheriff's office at 995-5002.
Outage leaves shoppers in the dark
TRAVERSE CITY -- The holiday shopping season hit an unexpected snag at a popular retail center south of Traverse City when the power went out shortly after 3 p.m.
A Consumers Energy spokesman said a damaged underground utility line created an impromptu blackout Tuesday at the complex along U.S. 31 that includes Kohl's, Michael's, Bed, Bath and Beyond, ABC Warehouse and Gander Mountain.
Most businesses closed, but Bed, Bath and Beyond stayed open with its emergency backup plan to manually complete purchases and guide shoppers around the store.
Consumers spokesman Terry DeDoes said the outage started at 3:07 p.m. and impacted 241 customers, including several commercial businesses along U.S. 31. A work crew struck an underground power line at a nearby substation, he said, and repair crews were en route by 4 p.m.
DeDoes said power was restored at 6:37 p.m.
Woman loses second son
TRAVERSE CITY -- Dylene Zolikoff is overwhelmed by a familiar and devastating grief.
The Kingsley woman's son, Marc Zolikoff, was struck and killed by a car in front of his Gaylord-area home Tuesday night. Another of her sons, Vanya Zolikoff, was struck and killed by a car as he walked along M-37 in Grand Traverse County's Mayfield Township on Dec. 11, 1986.
Police are still investigating the incident, which happened along North Townline Road in Livingston Township, State Police Trooper Mike Tilley said. Zolikoff was in the road when he was struck by a vehicle driven by a 20-year-old Gaylord man at around 10:20 p.m. Troopers on Wednesday were speaking with family members and witnesses to gain more information.
Marc Zolikoff, who moved from Kingsley to Gaylord a few months ago, was divorced and is survived by five children, Dylene Zolikoff said.
Teens accused of vandalism
TRAVERSE CITY -- Police arrested two teens suspected of vandalizing homes and vehicles in Traverse City's Central Neighborhood.
Officers went to the area after a resident saw a male suspect inside of her parked vehicle at around 6 a.m. Wednesday. The suspect was gone by the time police arrived, but officers located him and another male suspect nearby.
Police allege the suspects had been throughout the Central Neighborhood spray painting "vulgar messages" on garages, fences and vehicles. One suspect also allegedly was in possession of stolen property.
One suspect, 17, is from Suttons Bay. The other, also 17, is from Traverse City. Both were jailed and are expected to face malicious destruction of property and possession of stolen property charges.
$3M grant targets park expansion
TRAVERSE CITY -- The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund on Wednesday gave Acme Township an early Christmas present in the form of a $3 million grant to expand Bayside Park on East Grand Traverse Bay. The award will allow the township to purchase the Knoll Wood Motel, Willow Beech Motel and the Shore Side Inn along the bay for $4 million.
The purchase will add almost four acres and 540 feet of shoreline to the existing five-acre park just south of M-72. Township officials consider the purchase a first step in their effort to extend the park south to Five Mile Road.
A local match of $1 million will come from a mix of private donations and public funds, including $150,000 from the township's general fund.
Committee looks at Hickory Hills
TRAVERSE CITY -- City taxpayers increasingly are having to pick up the tab for red ink at Hickory Hills ski area.
But most people who use the city-operated ski area come from out of town, and that doesn't sit well with a citizens committee studying city spending and services.
The committee, composed of 26 city residents and business owners, recommended the city's parks and recreation department spend two more years attempting to eliminate Hickory Hills' deficit.
If the ski area can't come close to breaking even, the committee suggested the city cease its funding in favor of Hickory Hills becoming a privately managed or county-funded program.
The ski program racked up a $84,600 deficit in the 2003-04 season. That prompted the city's parks and recreation commission to study ways to cut costs and increase revenues.
But shortfalls have only increased since then. The city's general fund had to cover more than $130,400 last season.
Woman accused of filing false report
TRAVERSE CITY -- Prosecutors in Grand Traverse County are seeking a felony charge against a Grawn woman who allegedly filed a false police report.
An arrest warrant was authorized Nov. 24 for Amy Marie Alexander, 26, on one count of filing a false report, court records show. She had not been arrested Thursday.
Alexander is alleged to have falsely reported to a Grand Traverse County sheriff's deputy that she was sexually assaulted by her ex-husband, court records show. She allegedly later recanted her statement.
The felony count carries up to four years in prison, according to the Michigan Penal Code.
LEELANAU
Authorities ID man killed in crash
GLEN ARBOR -- Police identified a body found in a burning van.
Larry Thomas Higgins, 58, of Honor, died last Sunday morning. Passersby contacted authorities at about 10 a.m. after they saw his van burning near some trees off Cheney Road in Glen Arbor Township.
Medical examiners determined Higgins died of a heart attack, Leelanau County Undersheriff Scott Wooters said Wednesday. Investigators believe the heart attack may have caused him to drive his van off the road.
It's still not clear how the van caught fire, and the incident remains under investigation.
