BENZIE
Woman dies in 2-vehicle crash
THOMPSONVILLE -- A downstate woman died in a Benzie County traffic crash.
Nancy Geary, 54, of Canton, died in a two-vehicle crash on M-115 near Crystal Mountain Aug. 9. A van driven by Samuel Beadle, 22, of Troy, attempted to make a U-turn on the road at about 7:30 p.m. and turned into the path of Geary's vehicle, Benzie Sheriff's Sgt. David Tucker said.
Geary's four passengers were taken to Munson Medical Center. Beadle, the lone occupant of his vehicle, wasn't injured.
The incident remains under investigation, and the case will be sent to the prosecutor for review.
CHARLEVOIX
Police offer reward for stolen flag pole
CHARLEVOIX -- Police are offering a $200 reward for information leading to a flag pole stolen from a Charlevoix County Sheriff's Department substation.
The flag pole was taken to the Boyne Falls substation from the main sheriff's department offices in Charlevoix. It was going to be donated to a Boyne Falls cemetery, but someone took it from the rear of the substation building.
Anyone with information is asked to call 547-4461.
GRAND TRAVERSE
Meijer files appeal in Grand Rapids
TRAVERSE CITY -- Meijer Inc. wants Grand Rapids-based appellate judges to quash an Acme Township official's lawsuit and protect the retailer's top officials from having to testify in the case.
Meijer filed an emergency appeal that asks the state Court of Appeals in Grand Rapids to block a lawsuit filed in Grand Traverse County Circuit Court by Robert Carstens, an Acme planning commissioner.
Meijer is headquartered in the Grand Rapids suburb of Walker.
Carstens' lawsuit charges that Meijer and its former attorneys intentionally harmed him and other townships officials through a frivolous 2005 lawsuit, illegal campaign activity and secret financial support of a "citizens" group that harassed township officials.
Meijer's filing in Grand Rapids 3rd District surprised Carstens' attorneys. Appeals from Grand Traverse County normally are heard by appellate judges elected in the 4th District, which covers all of northern Michigan.
Meijer attorney James Brady said his filing in Grand Rapids has "nothing to do with anything," because the three judges assigned to the panel can come from anywhere in the state.
Firefighters douse kitchen blaze
TRAVERSE CITY -- Fire crews extinguished a weekend kitchen fire in Traverse City.
Fire crews with the Traverse City Fire Department went to a house at 1018 Washington St. at about 8 p.m. Aug. 9.
A neighbor heard smoke alarms in the house, looked through a window, noticed a fire in the kitchen and called 911.
Fire crews were on scene within three minutes of the call. They forced the front door open and put out the fire, which was caused by a cutting board left on a stove burner in the kitchen.
No one was injured.
Criminal charges may be coming
TRAVERSE CITY -- Several U.S. Coast Guardsmen accused of exposing themselves to a woman and her family might face criminal charges.
Traverse City resident Heather McCann said about six men exposed themselves at a June 14 Coast Guard gathering in Blair Township. The men stood in the road and bent over to show their bare bottoms as McCann and her husband drove by, she said, and one faced forward to show his genitals.
The Coast Guard's investigation gave the sheriff's department enough evidence to seek criminal charges, Undersheriff Nate Alger said.
Board candidate faces no opposition
TRAVERSE CITY -- An opening on the Traverse City school board drew just one candidate, making it a much different race than a year ago.
Amy Sutherland, 23, of Traverse City, was the lone person to file for candidacy by Tuesday's deadline. Her name will appear on the ballot in the Nov. 4 general election.
Former board President Gerald Morris will not seek re-election. His is the only vacant seat.
A self-described "career volunteer," Sutherland works with Rotary Charities of Traverse City. She has never attended a meeting, but has watched them on television.
She graduated from Central High School at age 16 and earned a degree in finance from the University of Michigan. Sutherland previously worked as a financial adviser at Merrill Lynch and interim executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Grand Traverse, a post she gave up in 2007.
Officials investigate suspected arson
TRAVERSE CITY -- Officials are investigating a suspicious fire in Green Lake Township.
Crews responded to a fire at a ranch home at 6100 Fall Road shortly before about 2 a.m. Friday. The fire was brought under control, but the home was a complete loss, Grand Traverse Rural Fire Department Chief Bill Sedlacek said.
The Grand Traverse Sheriff's Department is investigating. Investigators believe the home was broken into and intentionally set on fire to cover the crime. Sedlacek said several large items were taken, but he wouldn't provide details.
Sheriff Scott Fewins didn't return a call for comment. Anyone with information is asked to contact the department at 995-5002.
Truck hits teen on Front Street
TRAVERSE CITY -- A Gaylord teen was struck by a truck while riding his bike.
The boy, 15, was riding on the sidewalk along Front Street at about 10:30 a.m. Monday. The boy rode in front of and was struck by a truck on Front Street. He was taken to Munson Medical Center with injuries that weren't considered life-threatening.
The driver of the truck wasn't injured and wasn't ticketed, police said.
Officials return to parking deck issue
TRAVERSE CITY -- City officials again are looking at the possibility of buying land on West Front Street for a public parking structure.
City Manager Richard Lewis asked developer Gerald Snowden if he'd be willing to sell a 125-by-204-foot swath at the corner of West Front and Pine streets in order to build a public parking deck.
Lewis said the city might consider a multi-million-dollar deck of four or five stories. A bond would be required to pay for such a project, but it'd be up to voters if they want a referendum.
Voters in August 2006 soundly rejected a bond proposal of up to $16 million to pay for a public parking deck on Federated Properties' proposed West Front Street development.
Munson, MSU strike partnership
TRAVERSE CITY -- Michigan State University medical students soon can spend their third and fourth year of studies in northern Lower Michigan.
Munson Medical Center will partner with the university's College of Human Medicine to start the college's seventh community campus in the state. The new Traverse City site joins campuses in Lansing, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Saginaw, Flint and the Upper Peninsula.
The first medical students at the Traverse City-based campus will start next summer. A total of 20 students are expected to study at area hospitals from Traverse City to Petoskey, Manistee and Alpena.
Festival recycles 10 tons of waste
TRAVERSE CITY -- The National Cherry Festival's increased focus on thinking green helped boost materials recycled at the 2008 event by about seven percent.
Public service announcements, more volunteer hours and recycling efforts at venues outside the Open Space resulted in nearly 10 tons of material diverted from landfills over this year's nine-day festival.
About 33 percent of the roughly 27 tons of Cherry Festival-generated waste was recycled, with an additional 1,500 pounds of materials composted, figures from Waste Management show.
Groups collaborate on GT Commons barns
TRAVERSE CITY -- Local groups are making strides in efforts to sprout new life at the Grand Traverse Commons barns with community events, a botanical garden and educational farming.
Brainstorming for the public property near West Silver Lake Road began last January, and now four organizations are working with a combined Traverse City and Garfield Township recreational authority to bring the community's visions to fruition.
"It's been a long process getting to this point, but we're seeing just so many signs of things coming together all at the same time," said Mike Groleau, recreational authority member. "It's exciting."
Recreational authority members are working on bringing utilities to the two historic barns and installing safety aspects, such as fire sprinklers.
The local groups are forming their organizational framework and next will create a master plan. They hope to host a harvest and wine festival this fall, and see more activity by next summer.
KALKASKA
Bicyclist's death on Rapid City Road probed
KALKASKA -- A Kalkaska County bicyclist's death remains under investigation, two weeks after the driver of a truck struck him on Rapid City Road.
Carl John Ray, 62, of Clearwater Township, was riding a bicycle July 31 near Hill Road in Kalkaska County when a truck hit him from behind. Ray was obeying all rules for cyclists and authorities are investigating what caused the truck to collide with him.
Officials await the results of blood tests to determine whether the driver was drunk or on drugs. The name of the truck driver is withheld because he has not been charged with a crime, Kalkaska County Prosecutor Brian Donnelly said.
Lab tests are expected to be completed within about two months, authorities said.
Candidate in prosecutor race wants vote recount
KALKASKA -- A candidate for the office of Kalkaska County prosecutor wants the public to initiate a recount after he lost a close race in the Aug. 5 primary election.
Traverse City Attorney Patrick Fragel fell to three-term incumbent Prosecutor Brian Donnelly 1,202 to 1,177, a 25-vote difference. Both are Republicans, and no Democrat registered to run.
Fragel, who has a residence in Kalkaska County, served as an assistant prosecutor under Donnelly before entering private practice. He said several people urged him to ask for a recount after the election, but he'd rather have the public take up the cause to "strengthen their confidence in the voting system."
"I would suggest, and I have suggested, that they take the recount into their own hands to either discover the error or be confident that it was a fair vote," he said.
Any voter can formally request a recount through Aug. 18, Kalkaska County Clerk Patricia Rodgers said. The cost would be $10 for each of the county's 13 precincts the requestor wants recounted.
Donnelly didn't return a call for comment.
LEELANAU
Tribal court ruling throws out results
PESHAWBESTOWN -- A new election will be held for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians' chairman's post after a tribal court ruled the band's election board improperly censured candidate Derek Bailey just before the initial vote.
A 23-page order issued by the band's appellate court recently threw out the results of the May 21 tribal chairman's election and ordered a new vote for the four-year post.
Bailey lost by 23 votes to two-term incumbent Robert Kewaygoshkum. But he challenged the results because the band's Election Board held an emergency meeting two days before the election and subsequently issued an e-mail censuring him for allegedly using his tribal computer to visit his campaign Web site.
No date for the new election has been scheduled, tribal officials said.
McManus may want vote recount
TRAVERSE CITY -- A recount in the Republican 101st District state House race looms after the district's four counties certified results that gave Ray Franz an apparent nine-vote win over Mike McManus.
Benzie, Leelanau, Manistee and Mason counties' ballot certification did not alter Franz's 4,855 to 4,846 victory. The next step is certification by the state board of canvassers on Aug. 21.
McManus, a retired Traverse City teacher, then has 48 hours to ask for a complete or partial recount by precinct.
Both McManus, of Leelanau County, and Franz, a Manistee County grocer, retained attorneys who specialize in recounts.
MANISTEE
Police investigating death of 2-year-old
MANISTEE -- Michigan State Police troopers are investigating the death of a 2-year-old boy.
Troopers from the Manistee post went to a residence in Stronach at about 2:20 a.m. Monday on a call of an unresponsive child. The child was in his parents' bed.
Troopers and emergency personnel attempted CPR at the scene. The child was taken to West Shore in Medical Center in Manistee, where he was pronounced dead.
Police wouldn't identify the child or the parents. An investigation is continuing, and an autopsy is expected to be scheduled, according to a police statement.
OTSEGO
Ex-worker charged with embezzling
GAYLORD -- A former employee of St. Mary Cathedral and school is expected to face criminal charges for allegedly embezzling nearly $300,000 from the Catholic parish.
Police wouldn't identify the woman, who now lives in Port Orange, Fla. A letter sent to parishioners by the church identifies her as Shelly Patterson, 44.
Authorities expect to return Patterson to Otsego County to face charges, but the extradition process could take more than a month. Police in Florida arrested her late last week.
Patterson worked as St. Mary's business manager until her resignation in September 2007, said Candace Neff, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Gaylord. The diocese oversees St. Mary, which consists of a church and a pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade school.
Officials plan to charge Patterson with embezzlement, uttering and publishing and forgery charges.
WEXFORD
Buckley Old Engine Show picks up steam
BUCKLEY -- Steam spewed from a 1919 Chase engine as it chugged down a dirt path, while the twang of an old-time band spilled from a hilltop.
Amid the clamor, Aaron Huttenga, 5, fiddled with an antique farm tractor.
"I wonder what this lever does," Aaron said as he gave it a yank.
His brother Nicklas, 3, watched with interest, but both let out a sigh when the machine didn't come to life.
Their grandmother, Gail Steenwyk, carted the boys up from Hudsonville Thursday for the 41st Annual Buckley Old Engine Show, where they planned to watch the threshing and plowing demonstrations, browse rows of old-fashioned tractors, and take in the massive flea market.
"They are just thrilled with tractors," Steenwyk said. "They just like to get on one ... then go right to another one."
Hundreds of camping trailers surrounded the grounds off M-37 in Buckley for the opening of the four-day show. Droves of spectators marveled at the machinery of yesteryear.
Wood shavings dusted visitors who gathered around an antique, tractor-powered Pringle & Brodie bowl mill once used to produce hundreds of 8-inch wooden salad bowls each day. The click-clack of an early gas-powered mower greeted guests at another booth lined with numerous decades-old boat motors.
Canine disease found in three counties
CADILLAC -- State officials urge caution, not panic, in the wake of a contagious bacterial disease that cropped up in three Northern Michigan dog breeding facilities.
Canine brucellosis can lead to the death of puppies and cause a host of other problems in adult dogs, Michigan Department of Agriculture officials said. It recently was identified in breeding facilities in Wexford, Missaukee and Osceola counties.
Officials wouldn't identify the three facilities, but said they are businesses specializing in small-breed "lap dogs." Anyone who has purchased such a dog from a local facility within the past year should visit a veterinarian if the animal shows signs of malaise, back pain or arthritis.
But the disease, which normally is sexually transmitted, doesn't pose a significant risk to the rest of the dog population.
"This is not something where people have to be afraid of taking their dogs to the park," said Bridget Patrick, a Department of Agriculture spokeswoman.
The first case was identified in December. The Department of Agriculture hopes to make sure veterinarians know the disease is present so they consider it when examining sick dogs.
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