GRAND TRAVERSE
Teen critical after U.S. 31 crash
TRAVERSE CITY -- A crash on snowy roads left a Traverse City high school student in critical condition after he lost control of his car on U.S. 31 in Grawn.
Another student and an Interlochen resident also were injured in the crash.
Grand Traverse sheriff's officers said Nicholas Nagy, 17, was westbound on U.S. 31 about 8:30 p.m. Dec. 19 when he lost control of his 1995 Buick at East Silver Lake Road. Nagy's car crossed the center line and was struck by an eastbound Pontiac sedan driven by Jessica Brimmer, 24, of Interlochen.
Brimmer and Nagy's passenger, Donald Eager, 17, of Traverse City, were both taken to Munson Medical Center where they were treated for injuries and released. Nagy remains at Munson and was listed in critical condition Monday.
Man arrested in TC stabbing
TRAVERSE CITY -- A Traverse City man faces two felony charges after allegedly attacking another man with a hunting knife.
Dustin Robert Hoffman, 19, is charged with carrying a concealed weapon and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, a charge punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Traverse City police said Hoffman arrived at the Riverine Apartment complex at about 3 a.m. Dec. 18 with another man to give a woman a ride home. A fight ensued with a male resident of the apartment. Hoffman then left the apartment, allegedly retrieved a large hunting knife and returned to stab the victim four times.
Downstate resident faces drug charge
TRAVERSE CITY -- A downstate resident was arrested in East Bay Township for a parole violation and possession with intent to deliver marijuana.
State Police stopped a vehicle for an equipment violation along Holiday Road early last Sunday morning. Officers determined a passenger in the vehicle, a 31-year-old resident of Grand Rapids, was wanted on a state Department of Corrections warrant for a parole violation. A search of the suspect resulted in seizure of a bag of marijuana and $1,300 in cash, and more marijuana was found in a subsequent search of the vehicle.
The passenger was lodged in the Grand Traverse County jail.
Vandalism incidents under investigation
TRAVERSE CITY -- Police are investigating multiple incidents of vandalism in Traverse City.
City police responded to several vandalism complaints early Tuesday. The suspect or suspects used a BB gun to shoot the front window at Burger King on Front Street and damage vehicle windows on Maple Street. Additional car windows were shot on the west side of town Dec. 20.
It appears the suspects are driving and shooting from a vehicle, police said. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Traverse City Police Department at 955-5152 or Silent Observer at 947-TIPS.
Man charged with drunken driving
TRAVERSE CITY -- A Traverse City man is charged with felony drunken driving.
Jason James Maddasion, 31, is charged with third-offense drunken driving and operating with a suspended license.
A Grand Traverse sheriff's deputy on Dec. 9 saw a vehicle in a ditch off Cedar Wood Lane in Acme Township, court records show. A passenger in the vehicle allegedly told the deputy Maddasion was the driver.
Maddasion smelled of alcohol, the deputy said, and he had difficulty maintaining his balance.
Maddasion has drunken driving convictions from 1995 and 1999, court records show.
LEELANAU
Grant helps boost radio system
SUTTONS BAY -- Suttons Bay is one of several schools in Leelanau County to receive mobile and handheld radios from the county this fall, funded through a $50,000 grant from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.
The radios can be used within a school, between districts, to reach buses and to contact 911, said Tom Skowronski, Leelanau County's director of emergency management.
Most of the system's use so far has been for daily operations, Skowronksi said, including during fire and lockdown drills.
Lawsuit filed over tribal wages
PESHAWBESTOWN -- Tribal officials with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians are caught up in another lawsuit.
Members of the band's compensation committee filed suit in tribal court alleging former tribal Chairman Robert Kewaygoshkum inappropriately raised council members' salaries.
The complaint was filed in October amid several disputes over the tribal chairman election. Kewaygoshkum, 57, defeated Derek Bailey, 36, in the original May election, but those results were overturned in tribal court. Bailey won a special election for the chairman's post in September.
More challenges followed the second vote, but results were certified this month. Bailey took office on Dec. 11.
The compensation committee's suit alleges Kewaygoshkum raised salaries and gave retroactive pay to five tribal councilors without committee approval. The suit seeks to void the pay raises and recoup increased wages already paid.
Teens arrested for break-in
MANISTEE -- State police arrested a pair of Wellston teenagers for allegedly throwing a brick through a party store window to steal a pack of cigarettes.
Troopers responded early Dec. 20 to an alarm at the Dublin Express store in Norman Township where they found a brick was thrown through a store window. Officers tracked footprints in the snow from the scene to a home on Rosemarie Street in Wellston where they arrested two suspects, ages 17 and 18, on charges of breaking and entering.
