Voter identification law causes a stir
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 1) — Local residents are divided over a new state law that requires voters to show picture identification before they cast a ballot.
Kirsten Policastro said the photo requirement will hinder the voting efforts of those who don't have photo identification.
Others said the law that goes into effect for the first time on Nov. 6 probably is a good idea.
"I think people should be really truthful about what they are doing and shouldn't (vote) if it isn't correct," Grace Hanninen said.
To vote, those who don't possess a driver's license, passport or state identification card will be required to sign an affidavit that states they don't have identification.
School get pool for students, community
MANISTEE (Nov. 1) — A pool wasn't part of the blueprints for Manistee High School, but the goal someday was to add one.
So administrators were overjoyed when a Manistee couple, Bill and Marty Paine, recently announced plans to donate a pool for school and community use.
"It'll be a great addition," Manistee Area Public Schools Superintendent Robert Olsen said. "We're so excited about it."
The pool will be located near the gym on the east side of the high school and will be run in a joint-operating agreement between the school district and city leaders. The city will contribute up to $45,000 a year for maintenance, Olsen said.
Nesbitt's Hardware closes doors
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 2) — Sometimes a business just works its way into the fabric of a community, especially a business that's been around for more than a century.
Nesbitt's Hardware on Union Street snugly fits the community fabric description. It's an Old Town tradition that's been part coffee klatch, gathering spot, card-playing hall, and incidentally, a hardware store since the late 19th century.
Owner Gary Hondorp is retiring after he hangs the "closed" sign for the last time this afternoon, marking the end of one of the longest-running businesses in the city's history.
"That's the one thing I'll miss, the people stopping by ... just coming in to talk," Hondorp said. "It's been a good run."
Death won't stop pot pie case
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 2)— A Northwestern Michigan College student who was hospitalized after eating tainted pot pies recently died at his campus apartment.
Medical personnel at a Grand Rapids hospital are conducting tests on the body of David Small, 51, after a friend and a college official found him dead inside his college apartment.
The concerned friend went to Small's apartment building at 1884 E. Front St. to check on him after he missed an Oct. 29 meeting, Traverse City Police Capt. Steve Morgan said.
"We are currently awaiting toxicology reports to see if there were any medicines or prescriptions that may have been involved here," Morgan said, adding that he expects the test results within the next couple weeks. "The initial investigation didn't show any signs of foul play or anything suspicious at all."
Small filed a lawsuit last week in circuit court against ConAgra Foods Inc. and Tom's Food Markets Inc. He said he was infected with salmonella after eating tainted pot pies in September.
Glitch may leave BATA riders cold
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 4) — Fourteen partially constructed bus stop shelters sit in stacks and crates at the Bay Area Transportation Authority's Cass Road maintenance facility, as winter approaches and riders face the elements.
They've had the shelters for months, but BATA officials have no immediate plans to erect them at bus stops around the city and outlying areas. They contend they're waiting for grant money to pay for installation.
Each shelter costs about $1,500 for installation, said Don Scharmen, assistant executive director of operations.
BATA is a publicly funded bus service with a $5.1 million annual budget and primarily operates in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. Authority officials have obtained permission for new shelters at several sites, but a capital grant must be amended to use the money for their construction, Scharmen said.
Students rub elbows with pro writers
BEAVER ISLAND (Nov. 6) — What do a New York Times best-selling author and two teenagers from a rural northern Lower Michigan high school have in common?
A voracious appetite and intense passion for all things that relate to writing.
Julie Sommers and Chris Charland from the Beaver Island Lighthouse School attended the annual Bear River Writing Conference held last summer at the University of Michigan Camp Michigania on Walloon Lake. The students were nominated by their teachers for a scholarship awarded through the University of Michigan, the Meier Foundation and the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District.
The Lighthouse School is the only high school in the state that has been invited to send youth to the adult writing conference, according to Sue Marie Papajesk, Bear River youth program coordinator.
As part of their participation, the students get published in the annual Poetry in Performance collection through the City College of New York.
Deal with five tribes approved
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 6) — Five American Indian tribes in northern Michigan will try to develop similar hunting and fishing regulations following a federal judge's approval of a deal acknowledging their rights under an 1836 treaty.
U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen of Kalamazoo signed a consent decree between the state of Michigan and the tribes. It was the final step in a 4-year-old lawsuit rooted in decades of debate over the meaning of tribal rights in modern times.
The document says tribal members can hunt, fish and gather plants for subsistence and medicinal purposes on public lands and waters covered by the treaty. They will need owners' permission to use private property.
The deal affects roughly 37 percent of the state, extending from southwestern Michigan to the northern Lower Peninsula and eastern Upper Peninsula. It establishes a framework for the tribes to regulate members' activities and cooperate with the state to protect resources from overuse.
City commission reconfigured
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 7) — Newcomers Jim Carruthers and Barbara Budros brought in the highest number of votes in a five-way race for three, four-year terms on the city commission.
Top vote-getter Budros captured 2,822 votes and Carruthers 2,766; they'll join newly elected Mayor Michael Estes on a drastically reconfigured city board. Estes dumped Mayor Linda Smyka by 65 percent to 35 percent tally.
Incumbent Ralph Soffredine was re-elected to the commission, finishing in third place with 2,551 votes.
Swept off the board was incumbent Scott Hardy, who came in fourth in commission balloting with 1,896 votes.
Challenger Scott Sieffert received 1,029 votes. Commissioner Chris Bzdok was unopposed for a
partial term on the board and collected 2,896 votes.
Estes turns out Smyka in mayoral vote
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 7) — Michael Estes' supporters jammed into InsideOut Gallery downtown and burst into cheers, applause and hand shakes.
Their candidate, a 57-year-old businessman, ousted incumbent Mayor Linda Smyka to join an overhauled city commission that includes newcomers Barbara Budros and Jim Carruthers.
"We had a very clear message that we can do things," Estes said of his promise to run the city more efficiently and cut taxes. "The commission said, 'No you can't,' (but) the citizens believe we can do things."
Estes collected 65 percent of the votes to beat Smyka for a two-year mayor term.
Rich, Crandall win
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 7) — In a competitive race for two seats on the Traverse City Area Public Schools board of education, Marjie Rich and Megan Crandall bested five other hopefuls, including Kirt Kilbourne, Chris Thompson, Chuck Curtiss, Tom Kachadurian and Derek Christenson.
Rich earned 7,893 votes, or 29 percent, as of press time. Crandall earned 4,580 votes, or 16.8 percent.
Kilbourne, who finished third, earned 4,376 votes, or 16.1 percent.
Millage renewal passes
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 7) — Traverse City Area Public Schools will receive more than $100 million spanning a decade for infrastructure improvements, after voters supported a districtwide millage proposal.
The 3.1-mill levy approved Tuesday maintains the rate TCAPS received in its last ballot proposal in 2004. The proposal earned roughly 61 percent of votes, according to figures available late Tuesday.
The tax will generate $105 million over 10 years for capital improvements to elementary and secondary buildings, technology and buses.
Buses keep on rolling
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 7) — By more than a 3 to 1 margin, voters in both Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties overwhelmingly approved a five-year, 0.35 millage rate to keep the Bay Area Transportation Authority providing bus service.
The millage passed with 13,878 in favor and 3,996 opposed.
"The margin is bigger than we had anticipated and we're very pleased with the support," said Joseph DeKoning, BATA's executive director. "This will give us the local resources to move ahead and continue to provide bus service for the next five years."
The property tax millage will raise about $2.2 million in 2008 for BATA.
Voters nix tapping fund
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 7) — City voters rejected a proposal to dip into a trust fund to repair streets.
The ballot proposal was defeated 2,378 to 1,946.
That means the city can't cap its Brown Bridge Trust Fund and use money from it to pay for street, sidewalk and other repairs for five years. But city officials who backed the plan pledged to find other ways to pay for the work.
"(We'll) find another way of dealing with that," said Commissioner Ralph Soffredine. "We cannot allow it to go any further."
Millages approved, defeated
BEULAH (Nov. 7) — In a 3,192 to 927 vote, Benzie County voters approved .66 mills for five years for operating the Commission on Aging. The millage previously was approved by voters in 2002. County voters also approved a five-year renewal of 1 mill for operating the county medical facility, The Maples, by a margin of 3,285 to 856, a millage also approved by voters in 2002. In a 2,094 to 2,023 tally, voters rejected a six-year, .75 mill levy to improve, repair and maintain existing local roads within townships in the county.
Senate votes to kill off service tax
LANSING (Nov. 8) — As expected, the Michigan Senate voted 23-15 to repeal a much-maligned tax on services such as business consulting, tanning and graphic design before it takes effect Dec. 1.
The full House could follow up with a plan replacing the $614 million the tax would generate this fiscal year.
The linchpin to successfully killing the service tax is making up for the revenue that lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm have designated for K-12 public schools and other government services.
"It's the reasonable and responsible thing to do," said Sen. Michael Prusi, D-Ishpeming.
House Tax Policy Chairman Steven Bieda, D-Warren, hopes his committee can vote on legislation repealing the tax and replacing the revenue. The panel has been mulling whether to add a surcharge to the new state business tax to make up the difference, with no business paying more than $2 million extra.
Transition house may become work-release center
GAYLORD (Nov. 8) — Otsego County officials will decide whether to spend $14,000 to keep a transition house in Gaylord open until the end of the year, when they hope to take over the program as a daytime work-release center.
Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan intends to close its Gaylord transition house in December because of state budget cuts to housing and treatment programs. It marks the third such closure for the nonprofit agency, following programs that were ended in Cadillac and Traverse City.
"We're looking to hopefully assume it at the first of the year, making it some kind of work-release center for inmates at the jail," said Otsego Sheriff Jim McBride.
U.S. Marshals evict last resident
GLEN HAVEN (Nov. 9) — Carolyn Bumgardner stood in the cold drizzle amid friends and family while authorities boarded up her trailer home and U.S. Marshals instructed movers to box and load her belongings in a truck.
The Leelanau County woman, 70, had about an hour to collect what she could from a double-wide trailer parked behind her childhood home, declared the marshals, who then ushered Bumgardner to the road and blocked her driveway.
She can never return home. Bumgardner was the last resident of the village of Glen Haven, now entirely consumed by the sprawling Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
"I was on my way to a funeral when I got stopped by three police vehicles," Bumgardner said as she stood under an umbrella with her daughter Jo Lynn Davis. "I couldn't believe it. We are a five-generation family in this area."
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Holmes Bell issued a writ of assistance that allowed marshals to evict Bumgardner, ending her decades-long dispute with the National Park Service.
Her trailer, like the rest of the village, is now owned by the government.
Town evacuates after gas leak
MANCELONA (Nov. 9) — Sue Blackmore's plans changed quickly.
She usually opens The Pizza Shoppe in Mancelona around 11 a.m., but firefighters had a different idea. She'd have to evacuate immediately — scant minutes before opening — due to a major natural gas leak.
A construction contractor boring into the ground near 205 W. Main St. separated a 2-inch gas main from a 6-inch main at about 10:45 a.m., DTE Energy spokesman John Austerberry said.
The 6-inch main leaked gas into the surrounding area for much of the day.
Mancelona Middle School and most downtown businesses were completely evacuated.
Village President Bob Wilcox said Cadillac-based Meyer Construction was working on a downtown sewer project, though he wasn't sure the company was responsible for the mishap.
A similar leak in April 1995 caused a massive explosion in downtown Mancelona and destroyed three buildings near the intersection of State Street and U.S. 131.
No plea deal in trooper's case
MANISTEE (Nov. 10) — State police trooper Robert Marble's day in court was postponed after a prosecutor and his attorney were unable to reach a plea deal.
Two of Marble's friends, as well as Manistee County Sheriff Dale Kowalkowski and two officers waited quietly in Manistee's district courtroom for about an hour as Special Prosecutor Mark Smathers discussed possible plea bargains with Marble's attorney, William Grant.
Marble, 48, is charged with seven misdemeanors after authorities contend he hosted an underage drinking party at his River Road residence Aug. 19.
Marble is charged with seven counts of allowing a minor to consume alcohol on his premises, one charge for each allegedly intoxicated minor arrested. The misdemeanor is punishable by up to 30 days in jail. Marble, a 20-year state police veteran, was taken off road patrol and continues to work inside the Manistee post.
Many veterans face new battles
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 11) — War veterans Jack Pickard, LaVern Broughton and Ken Pickard took inventory of socks, beef jerky, batteries and other items, then sealed the goods into boxes for military personnel fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The packages are meant to be little luxuries from thankful folks back home, courtesy of the Cherryland Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2780. The names on the packages — and those who filled them — are among nearly 24 million veterans who will be honored at processions and memorials across the country.
Post 2780 members said they planned to participate in traditional memorial ceremonies at two local cemeteries this Veterans Day to honor comrades who fought for America.
Traverse City vets wonder why so many vets struggle to receive adequate health care and why so many end up alone and on the streets.
Pickard, 58, served as a U.S. Army paratrooper in Vietnam in 1971 and traveled to Washington, D.C., several times over the years as commander of the Cherryland post.
There, he's met with other leaders to discuss what he said are some of the more serious problems with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"The biggest current problem is no one was prepared for the wounded coming back from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan ... some guys end up homeless because it takes too long for some of them to get a bed," he said. "They're overloaded. The funding wasn't there."
Lewis, Crough under microscope
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 12) — New city commissioners plan to scrutinize the performance and salaries of city Manager Richard Lewis and Downtown Development Authority official Bryan Crough.
"I would like to see some fairly substantial changes with the way the information flows from both the (DDA) and the city manager," Mayor-elect Michael Estes said.
Lewis has been city manager for more than 16 years and makes about $98,000.
"He's been around a long time, making decisions people aren't happy with," Commissioner-elect Jim Carruthers said. "The new commission could change that if we needed to or wanted to. It's going to be a wait-and-see."
Crough makes $81,730 as the DDA's executive director, a post he's held for 17 years.
"Considering Bryan Crough only manages a four- or five-block (area) of downtown, he makes a lot of money for that," Carruthers said.
The city commission has the power to hire and fire the city manager. Commissioners appoint DDA board members, who in turn choose their executive director.
More dead birds wash up
EASTPORT (Nov. 13) — State officials confirmed that hundreds of dead birds that washed ashore in Antrim County died from Type E botulism poisoning.
Residents from Elk Rapids to Eastport are reporting another wave of rotting loons, mergansers and gulls along Grand Traverse Bay. Test results from 20 carcasses collected near Elk Rapids confirmed state officials' suspected cause of deaths.
Meanwhile, more birds are showing up dead, locals said.
"Almost every day there are fresh ones. There's easily a dozen carcasses scattered down the beach here," said Joan Heizer, who lives in a lakeshore house near Eastport. "It's disturbing to see it and I wonder why it's happening. It doesn't seem like a normal occurrence."
Ken Milne, of Eastport, said he estimates there are as many as 50 bird carcasses per mile of Lake Michigan shoreline in Antrim County.
"I'd love to have some answers. The birds we're seeing are not the ones we normally see on our beach. Sometimes we see a gull because there's so many, but not loons and mergansers," Milne said. "The last few days we haven't seen any gulls in the sky, either, which is a little scary."
Substation irks neighbors
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 14) — Angry neighbors thwarted Wolverine Power Cooperative's first attempt to locate a large, high-voltage electrical substation on the west side of town.
Now there's a new site and new neighbors, who contend the company turned to stealth with a plan to build in Elmwood Township.
In a deal with Traverse City Light and Power, Wolverine Power Cooperative wants to build a $4 million substation to interconnect transmission lines controlled by Wolverine for Cherryland Electric Cooperative and Traverse City. The new substation would provide a second source of electricity for both companies.
Wolverine last spring abandoned a similar substation project on Gray Road in Garfield Township amid intense public opposition and skeptical township officials.
The new location is on an expansive farm plot on the corner of Bugai Road and M-72. The new substation would be adjacent to a residential subdivision.
The substation will cover 1.5 acres with electrical equipment that could tower up to 40 feet high.
Wheelchair user injured in bus accident
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 14) — A bus accident left Alice Skrzysinski with more than just a bruised face and sore body.
She's also distraught over the safety of fellow riders who use wheelchairs.
Skrzysinski, 61, was riding a Bay Area Transportation Authority bus when the driver slammed on the brakes to avoid a collision. The quick stop threw Skrzysinski from her wheelchair, which was fastened to the floor.
"I want (BATA) to know they don't have any handicap restraints to hold the person," said Skrzysinski, a widow who lives in Traverse City. "I want something to be done."
Final numbers down slightly
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 15) — Thirteen fewer students are enrolled in Traverse City Area Public Schools than initially were reported in September, a final fall enrollment report shows.
The report indicates 10,313 students in kindergarten through 12th grade in the district, down from a preliminary head count of 10,326 on Sept. 26, the state's official count day.
The final tally represents a 1.6 percent decline from the September 2006 head count of 10,479 students.
Administrators had 30 days to account for excused absences, and 10 days for unexcused absences, before they had to report the data to the state, said Christine Davis, the district's executive director of human resources.
Township to get the lead out
ELK RAPIDS (Nov. 16) — Officials must address several decades' worth of lead contamination at an old gun club before moving ahead with plans for a public park in Elk Rapids Township.
Thousands of dollars will be spent to consolidate and cap lead-tainted soil on 11 acres of township land once occupied by the now-defunct Elk Rapids Sportsman's Club, Supervisor Bill White said.
The land on U.S. 31 north of Elk Rapids is contaminated from years of scattered lead shot and bullets. The township plans to clean it up and begin construction of a park on the site next summer.
"We'll have a park by the end of 2008 (where) people can walk and not worry about washing their boots off because of where they've been," White said.
A planner was hired to design a park that eventually will include a sledding hill, volleyball pits and more, White said. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and other state agencies made recommendations regarding proper site cleanup, he said.
'Frosti' voted off the island
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 17) — After 27 days of battling hunger, the elements, and fellow contestants on a remote jungle island, Michael "Frosti" Zernow was eliminated from the reality TV show "Survivor: China."
The Traverse City native was voted off the show and the next morning was in New York for a marathon round of media interviews.
Zernow, 20, originally was notable for being the show's youngest castaway but quickly became one of its most likeable. After the eighth episode, a CBS online poll showed him tied for third as the most popular contestant. Even some of those who voted for his removal drew frowning faces on their ballots to indicate their ambivalence.
In a "final words" taping following his elimination, Zernow said he had no regrets.
"When I came out here I wanted to prove that somebody who was younger, smaller, less experienced in life could come out here and do the same job that anyone else could," he said, "and I think that by getting (this far) I have proven that — not only to the world and everyone here, but to myself."
Six area wineries in top 10 in the state
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 18) — The numbers don't lie: Northern Michigan wineries are shooting up the sales charts in the state's burgeoning wine market.
Leelanau Wine Cellars took over the top spot among Michigan wineries for in-state wine sales last year, and it shows no sign of loosening its grip on first place in 2007, according to excise tax reports from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.
Six of the top 10 wineries in state sales last year were from Leelanau or Old Mission peninsulas, a fact area vintners said enhances the region's reputation for crafting high-quality wine.
Leelanau Wine Cellar's Michigan sales totaled almost 685,000 liters last year, up a whopping 47 percent from 2005.
The Old Mission Peninsula's Chateau Grand Traverse ranks a solid third in Michigan sales, showing an increase of more than 18 percent last year while also aggressively marketing its wines in far-away markets including California and the East Coast.
The local wineries in the top 10 are: Leelanau Wine Cellars, Omena; Chateau Grand Traverse, Traverse City; Chateau Chantal, Traverse City; Black Star Farms, Suttons Bay; Good Harbor Vineyards, Lake Leelanau; L. Mawby Vineyards, Suttons Bay.
Trial set in Pictured Rocks death case
MANISTIQUE (Nov. 19) — A trial date has been set for a man accused of pushing his wife to her death from a cliff at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
Jury selection is scheduled for Jan. 30 and Feb. 1 in the trial of Thomas David Richardson.
Opening statements and testimony are expected to take place starting Feb. 4 in Manistique.
The trial is expected to include six weeks of testimony.
Richardson, of McBain, is charged with an open count of murder and with manslaughter in the death of Juanita Richardson, who fell off a 140-foot-high cliff overlooking Lake Superior in June 2006.
Clous facing a legal threat
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 20) — State and county officials are beginning to make noises about taking developer Bill Clous back to court.
In 2004, Clous agreed to a consent judgment with Grand Traverse County and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality over allegations he illegally bulldozed wetlands in portions of his 360-acre East Bay Township property.
The major enforcement actions of the agreement have been completed, but two items continue to drag on three years later, including easement signage and sediment traps to preserve a creek. "They need to comply and finish the job," said Michigan Attorney General spokesman Matt Frendewey. "If they continue to fail to comply, we'll go to court to force them to comply, including (financial) penalties."
Officials said the consent agreement did not spell out a specific time frame for accomplishing the tasks, but the work should still be completed in "reasonable time."
Old airport terminal to be torn down
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 20) — When Cherry Capital Airport opened its first commercial airline terminal, spectators weren't so much fascinated by take-offs and landings as they were another technological marvel:
The escalators.
"At one point we had the only escalators north of Grand Rapids," said airport director Steve Cassens.
Today the escalators are gone, along with most of the building that opened in 1971 with a $1.2 million price tag.
Interior demolition began about three weeks ago and S. A. Torello Demolition Inc. of Port Huron began knocking down walls as part of its $247,600 contract. Project funding comes from a surcharge on plane tickets.
Cassens said the old terminal couldn't be reused because it sits inside the runway safety area, along with the airport control tower.
The tower is scheduled to be replaced in 2011, and the area will be paved to park general aviation planes.
Family Time
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 21) — Single mother Angela Bryan sat beside her recently adopted sons Corey and Daniel at a reception as the boys sipped juice drinks and munched on cake and finger foods.
The Traverse City woman was one of 13 families who adopted 19 children at the Robert P. Griffin Hall of Justice as part of the fifth annual Michigan Adoption Day.
"It has been a long journey and it is a chapter that is closed in our lives," Bryan said, adding that she adopted the half-brothers from a relative who struggled with drugs and other personal problems.
Bryan worked through the probate court system to gain custody of the boys and has taken care of them for years, but attended the celebration to show Corey, 5, and Daniel, 3, that their formal adoptions are "a special event that's for them and about them," she said.
Police position eliminated
SUTTONS BAY (Nov. 21) — Village police cut a position and accepted wage and benefit cuts to save the department from closing amid tough financial times.
"There will be some reductions in hours and visibility," police Chief Del Moore said. "Our schedules will be somewhat sporadic, (but) we'll continue to provide the best service we can."
The department, which ran on two full-time and two part-time positions, will be down to Moore's full-time position and two part-time officers.
Expenses were projected at $212,000, but a village committee indicated the department's budget should be less than $100,000.
Village officials rescinded proposals to either downsize to a pair of part-time officers or contract with Leelanau County Sheriff's Department.
Cow's death has family howling for justice
THOMPSONVILLE (Nov. 22) — Benzie County authorities find Richard Buckner's story udderly preposterous.
Colfax Township resident Buckner, 42, contends he shot and killed a pregnant, 1,400-pound breeding cow because he mistook it for a coyote.
The cow's owners are howling over the coyote tale, and sheriff's officials say they plan to mooooove ahead with criminal charges.
DeAnn Mosher owned the cream-and-white cow, Hannah, that wandered away from her hobby farm and allegedly into Buckner's sights near his house on Wooden Bridge Road early Nov. 17.
"Apparently, he said he saw some movement through the brush ... and thought it was a coyote," Mosher said. "My husband thought that he should go through some therapy looking at repeated pictures of cows and coyotes because they look nothing alike."
Buckner, authorities said, shot the cow but didn't kill it with the initial shot. He allegedly shot it twice more and chained the bovine to his vehicle.
Authorities are seeking several charges against Buckner.
Foundation holds annual holiday meal
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 22) — Greg Heckathorn had seen enough.
He and his wife, Mary, tried in years past to volunteer at the Father Fred Foundation's annual Night Before Thanksgiving Community Dinner, but they were always too late to sign up.
The Heckathorns made the list this year, and they joined the legions of apron-clad volunteers who buzzed about The Dome at the Park Place Hotel Wednesday evening in preparation for the event.
The volunteers served fresh Thanksgiving meals to the visitors, allowing them to sit back and enjoy the evening.
Raymond Leavitt, 31, came with his wife, Cecelia, 28. The two are looking for work and a permanent place to stay, and both said they were very grateful the foundation put on the event.
"I think it's a great showing of love," Leavitt said as he waited in line before the dinner.
Dinner brings together Benzie 'community'
BEulah (Nov. 23) — Don Paone started making Thanksgiving dinner around 6 a.m. Not for friends and family, but for hundreds of folks he doesn't even know.
"I think it's fun. I think it's a great thing for me to do today ... I love to feed people," said Paone, among the volunteers at an inaugural Benzie Community Thanksgiving Dinner that brought together scores of Benzie residents for a holiday feast and fellowship at the Scenic Hill Resort along U.S. 31.
The event came together after months of planning by members of the Benzie Ministerial Association and resort owner Dave Easter, who plan to make the dinner an annual event.
"It's a community thing," said Easter, who planned for more than 300 diners in three sit-down sessions over the day in the spacious conference area of the 43-room motel.
He came up with the idea because there hasn't been a traditional community Thanksgiving Day dinner in Benzie County, but when he asked around he found plenty of interest in starting one.
"I'm thrilled with the response we've gotten," Easter said.
Sculpture may find new home at Open Space
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 24) — City officials are beginning conversations to introduce public art to the Open Space.
Negotiations are in the works for the Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College to obtain a white steel beam sculpture valued at $800,000, said Gene Jenneman, the museum's executive director.
The museum hopes to give the piece to the city as public art on the bay.
The sculpture currently is on display at Kmart's Troy headquarters.
"It would be a tremendous opportunity," Jenneman said. "For us to start from scratch with a project like this would be very substantial, and this provides an opportunity for getting an outstanding work by a recognized Michigan sculptor for the community at a much more modest cost."
Sculptor John Piet of Southfield created the piece 30 years ago for Kmart's art collection.
Jenneman asked about obtaining the piece when Sears Holdings Corp. bought Kmart and the latter's art collection was liquidated.
TCL&P to have trees trimmed
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 24) — Traverse City Light and Power will begin removing and trimming trees on Monday in the Hickory Meadows and Hickory Hills area.
The utility hired a company to trim and cut trees within a 100-foot right-of-way along electrical lines in preparation of a $1.4 million transmission upgrade. It should take about a month to finish, said Richard Smith, Light and Power executive director.
Light and Power officials met with representatives from the Grand Traverse Conservation District to discuss ways of minimizing harm to the area. It's the first part to be cleared from the roughly four-mile line that runs along parts of Barney Road and Wayne Street.
Area sees fewer hunting accidents
GAYLORD (Nov. 25) — Alpena resident Fred Baker once came uncomfortably close to being shot while deer hunting: He saw another hunter observe him through a rifle scope as he walked to his natural deer blind.
"I got up there and asked him if that rifle was loaded and he said it was. I thought that was pretty dangerous," Baker said last week as he shopped for a new rifle at a Gaylord sporting goods store.
Such behavior can lead to injury or death in hunting accidents, state officials said. And while no major hunting accidents were reported in northwestern Lower Michigan since the Nov. 15 start of the firearms deer season, that's not the case elsewhere.
Hunters were injured in 13 reported accidents during the last nine days, including two fatal shootings — on Nov. 17 in Montcalm County and in Oceana County on Thanksgiving Day. There were 17 hunting accidents during the entire deer season last year, including three fatalities.
Statistics show most injuries occur when hunters shoot themselves or a hunting partner, often in the foot.
Residents to see fees jump $500
SUTTONS BAY (Nov. 25) — Village residents will pay more than $500 more each year in water and sewer bills to make up for flawed projections on a wastewater system.
The village finished a wastewater treatment plant last year with expectations that a new home and condominium development would more than double the number of residential water and sewer users, but forecasts have fallen drastically short.
"The wastewater treatment system was overbuilt ... now it's up to the present residents to pay it off," resident Bill Blair said. "My concern was this developer sold them a bill of goods."
Village council President Larry Mawby blames a poor real estate market for off-target estimates made two years ago that were based on the BayView development. Only 30 units have been built of a projected 550, he said, and he doesn't know how many of those 30 are occupied.
"This projection for over 500 users from BayView, that was out for over 15 years," he said. "There was no expectation all 500 of those were going to show up by now. We did expect more than we have, though."
Re-opening exceeds expectations
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 27) — Michael Moore had high hopes for the opening week of the newly revived State Theatre downtown, but even he's bedazzled by the results.
The founder of the Traverse City Film Festival and architect of the downtown theater's reopening said thousands of movie-goers, sports fans, children and other interested onlookers filed through the theater in its first week after reopening Nov. 17, with each event drawing more patrons than organizers expected.
Film festival representatives said the nonprofit group took in gross ticket sales of $25,000 from Nov. 18-25, which included 15 and 35-cent admission rates during two days of shows.
"We had an unbelievable opening weekend — actually a whole opening week," Moore said. "To have literally a few thousand people come out in the first week, in the winter, was pretty amazing."
Moore said after a sold-out opening night, close to 4,000 people toured the theater during a Nov. 18 open house.
Council approves short-term rentals
ELK RAPIDS (Nov. 27) — The village finally settled on zoning rules for the contentious issue of short-term housing rentals after more than two years of discussion, but some residents still aren't satisfied.
The Village Council agreed recently to allow for short-term rental of single-family homes in all residential zoning districts, village President Daniel Reszka said. The amendment defines "short-term" as 27 days or less at a time, a resolution reached after the issue spent more than two years weaving its way through the planning process.
Some residents worry the proliferation of such rentals could alter the character of the community. Others were concerned the rentals could create problems with noise and parking and lead to other disturbances, Reszka said.
But short-term rentals have always been allowed in the village, Reszka said, adding the zoning could be changed if officials decide there are too many.
Cleanup to cost millions
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 27) — A contaminated site in Leelanau County that federal regulators once considered safe for humans will require $4.3 million in extensive short- and long-term cleanup.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it will begin demolition of the former Grand Traverse Overall Supply Co. building in Elmwood Township so it can remove soil contaminated with carcinogenic solvents. The former industrial laundry is next to Norris Elementary School at the corner of Cherry Bend Road and M-22.
The cost of demolition, further testing and soil excavation is approximately $2 million. Additional long-term cleanup, including pumping and treatment of contaminated groundwater, is estimated at $2.3 million.
EPA contractors will start work on the interior of the building Dec. 1, but will wait until the school goes on Christmas break to begin demolition.
Choking cop crases patrol car
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 30) — A Grand Traverse County sheriff's deputy choked while eating pizza at the wheel of his patrol car and crashed, prompting a trip to Munson Medical Center for treatment.
Deputy Mike Opper suffered a minor head injury after his patrol car spun out of control on Veterans Drive and crashed into a mail box and fire hydrant, Sheriff Scott Fewins said.
"We know that the deputy was choking and he blacked out because he wasn't breathing," Fewins said.
A passing motorist stopped at the scene, realized the deputy wasn't breathing, and struck Opper multiple times in the abdomen, which dislodged the pizza, Fewins said.
Opper, who was wearing a seat belt at the time, hit his head on the driver's side window and was treated at Munson.
Authorities are unsure if a medical issue contributed to the choking, although Undersheriff Nathan Alger said no medical problems were detected at the hospital. Road conditions were "greasy" from snow at the time of the crash, he said.
Eating while driving is not against the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department's policy, Alger said.
Cherry Festival finds new location
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 30) — The National Cherry Festival is on the move.
Festival officials verbally agreed to lease office space at Chase Bank on East Front Street through April 2010. The organization sold its Sixth Street headquarters and is required to be out by the end of the year.
Doug Wolf, Chase Bank's regional president, heard the festival needed a place and contacted the group with an offer for a temporary spot.
"I'm just trying to be a good community citizen ... and show our support to a very valuable asset to the community," he said.
The bank and festival are in the process of signing a $2,000 monthly lease for a 2,300-square foot space, said Festival Director Tom Menzel.
That's less than half the size of the Festival's current headquarters, but slices expenses by about $50,000 a year, Menzel said.
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