BENZIE
Holbrook prosecutor accused of withholding
TRAVERSE CITY -- Attorneys for murder suspect Joni Holbrook accused the Benzie County prosecutor of withholding investigative information that could benefit their client.
Holbrook, 47, is jailed without bond on an open count of murder in the Aug. 10 shooting death of her husband, Michigan State Police Sgt. Melvin Paul Holbrook, of the Traverse City post. Investigators believe she shot him at around 1 a.m. as he slept in the couple's residence on Derby Lane near Benzonia.
Defense attorney Jesse Williams said Holbrook endured years of "physical, mental and sexual abuse" from her husband during their marriage, and on Monday charged that county Prosecutor John Daugherty has withheld facts and evidence substantiating the alleged abuse.
Williams also said Daugherty is "leaking" information to the media to help his case while withholding details that are beneficial to Joni Holbrook.
"This isn't professional and the way it's being handled is making a mockery of the criminal justice system," Williams said.
Daugherty previously sought a gag order to prevent Joni Holbrook's attorneys from speaking to the media about the case, which was denied by a judge in Benzie County. Daugherty then released detailed information about the investigation in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
Daugherty declined to speak to the Record-Eagle on Monday.
Peace is pledged in Holbrook murder case
BEULAH -- Attorneys on both sides of the Joni Holbrook murder case pledge peace after a spate of finger-pointing and heated rhetoric.
Benzie Prosecutor John B. Daugherty on Wednesday issued a press release that criticized Holbrook defense attorney Jesse L. Williams. His brief statement said Williams had "his facts wrong" when he publicly accused Daugherty this week of withholding crucial investigatory documents from Holbrook's defense team.
Everything Daugherty's office receives is "promptly provided" to the defense for discovery purposes, the statement said.
But Williams said he discovered Wednesday that a staffer in Daugherty's office who was instructed to copy and provide documents to him wasn't doing it. Daugherty didn't deny the allegation.
"That could have been it," Daugherty said Thursday. "She's on vacation this week, I haven't had a chance to talk with her about it. If there was a shortfall, I apologize ... we're not trying to sandbag them or anything."
Holbrook, 47, is held on an open count of murder in the shooting death of her husband, Michigan State Police Sgt. Melvin P. Holbrook. Police believe she shot him with his service weapon as he slept in the couple's Benzie County residence Aug. 10.
Court: Officer shouldn't get his job back
FRANKFORT -- A former Frankfort police officer with a troubled history shouldn't get his job back, an appeals court ruled.
The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed Benzie Circuit Judge James M. Batzer's ruling that upheld an arbitrator's 2007 decision to send Tim Cavric back to work. The ruling is the latest in a long-running legal battle between Cavric, 37, and the city.
Frankfort laid off Cavric in April 2003 for what officials said were financial reasons, though residents there repeatedly had complained about his alleged strong-arm tactics. He filed a union grievance in June 2006 after the city hired a part-time officer without offering the open position to him.
Arbitrator James A. Mackraz eventually demanded Cavric's reinstatement, but the city filed a lawsuit to have the ruling tossed out. When Batzer agreed with the arbitrator, the city appealed to the state.
The state court, in a 2-1 opinion, ruled Mackraz improperly interpreted the union contract.
"In our view ... the arbitrator exceeded his authority under the contract and imposed his own brand of industrial justice by disregarding the admitted and undisputed clear and unambiguous language of the contract," the majority judges wrote.
Changes coming to Benzie jail after death
BEULAH -- Officials are making changes to the Benzie County Jail in the aftermath of an inmate's death.
A fellow inmate found Edward Dale Baughman, 49, hanging from bedsheets in his one-person cell on Aug. 28 at about 4:30 p.m. Sheriff Rory Heckman said jail officials await the results of his autopsy, but they believe the death was a suicide.
The incident remains under investigation, and Heckman said steps are being taken to prevent future incidents.
"We're already in the process of working on physical corrections in the jail," Heckman said.
The sheet from which Baughman hung was wound through an opening in a cell vent cover, Heckman said, and crews are in the process of replacing the covers, which will have openings that are too small to fit a sheet through, he said.
Officers locked Baughman and other inmates in their cells for a jail staff shift change at 2:30 p.m., and Baughman didn't emerge into a commons area when officers unlocked cell doors using a remote system at 3:30 p.m. An inmate found Baughman hanging in his cell an hour later and notified corrections officers.
Jail supervision policy is under review, Heckman said.
GRAND TRAVERSE
City leaders discuss smoking ban in parks
TRAVERSE CITY -- Zachary Collins and Ally Smith sat near a flower bed at Traverse City's Open Space, each smoking a cigarette.
They didn't throw their cigarette butts on the ground or into Grand Traverse Bay, yet they still did something city leaders may consider banning: they smoked in a city park.
"It's our choice to do it, so why do we always get the short end of the stick?" said Collins, a downstate musician looking for work in Traverse City.
Smith said she doesn't want to light up near a family or playground, but if city commissioners banned smoking in parks, people would simply stand on sidewalks. Maybe designated smoking areas would be better, Collins said.
City commissioners discussed all that and more at their Monday meeting.
City leaders already banned smoking in workplaces, save for restaurants and bars, places they've lobbied state lawmakers to consider a ban on smoking.
"People need to understand that parks should encourage active lifestyles and healthy living. That's what parks should represent," said Nathan Elkins, chairman of Traverse City's Parks and Recreation Commission.
The parks commission recommends city commissioners adopt a total smoke-free policy for city parks because it would be easier to enforce than an ordinance that called for no smoking within so many feet of playground equipment, pavilions and such, said Lauren Vaughn, the city's parks and recreation superintendent.
"I think this is a great idea," said Commissioner Jim Carruthers.
Air travel up locally despite travel slump
TRAVERSE CITY -- Northern Michigan airports are bucking a national trend by picking up more passengers this summer amid a national airline travel slump.
Summer passenger traffic is up slightly at Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City and Pellston Regional Airport compared to 2008, and is off-the-charts at smaller Blacker Airport in Manistee, where operators report a record number of travelers this summer.
Passenger traffic in July totaled more than 59,000 at Cherry Capital, up 5.6 percent from 2008. June's total of 38,340 was down 2.2 percent from last year, while the August numbers were about the same as last year, totaling more than 53,400 for 2009. Total passengers for the three-month period topped 152,000, up about 2 percent from last summer.
Air travel soared this summer at Manistee County's Blacker Airport. It's still relatively small at fewer than 1,000 passengers a month, but passenger numbers through Great Lakes Airlines at Blacker jumped 83 percent in June compared to 2008, increased 43 percent in July and 33 percent in August to around 788 travelers for the month.
Julie Payne, station manager for Great Lakes Airlines, which operates two daily flights to General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, said Blacker is seeing a big take-off in passengers from throughout northern Michigan, including the Traverse City area. Perks like free parking and one-way fares as low as $59 to Milwaukee generated record numbers at Blacker this summer, she said.
Glitch leaves some kids without ride home
TRAVERSE CITY -- A transportation system glitch left about 200 Traverse City middle school students without an afternoon bus route during the first week of school.
The situation at East Middle School was among a handful of busing issues that cropped up across the district when school resumed last week, problems administrators said are not uncommon at the start of a new year.
But parents contend the district should have done more to prevent such problems before students boarded buses Sept. 8.
New routing software, fewer bus stops and cuts in the number of transportation employees all contributed to the problems, said Paul Soma, chief financial officer for Traverse City Area Public Schools, who also oversees operations.
None of the factors alone are to blame, he said, and most of the concerns are resolved or have improved.
In the first week, some students boarded the wrong buses home. At least one bus ran out of gas.
One arrived close to an hour late on the first day at Willow Hill Elementary, Principal Colleen Smith said. Since then, she said, buses have been a few minutes late, at most.
"Things are starting to smooth out," she said. "Drivers are getting to know the routes."
Ruling 'a relief' to Cherry Blossom workers
TRAVERSE CITY -- Workers who weren't paid when Cherry Blossom LLC closed its Williamsburg processing plant may see some relief.
Sensient Flavors LLC, of Indianapolis, agreed to pay almost $40,000 to cover wages owed to at least 25 Cherry Blossom workers in a deal brokered by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Cherry Blossom processed and shipped to Sensient a quantity of cherries in May, shortly before Cherry Blossom owner Chris Hubbell closed the plant. Sensient could not sell those cherries, based on a provision of federal labor laws.
"Oh, my goodness, that's good news," said Linda Vasquez, who worked at the plant with her husband, Benito Vasquez Sr., and faced losing about $3,000. "Just yesterday, I told my husband it would be so nice to get the money they owe us so we could catch up on our overdue bills."
Under the "hot goods" provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act, it's illegal to sell goods worked on by employees who were not paid in compliance with the federal minimum wage laws, labor department officials said.
The labor department tracked the cherries to Sensient, and stopped further fruit distribution until Cherry Blossom workers' wages were paid. Sensient agreed to pay $38,700.
Sensient agreed to cover all wages owed, not just the minimum wage amount of $6.55 an hour, said labor department spokesman Brad Mitchell.
Other workers expressed surprise at the settlement.
"This is a relief, to be honest," said Aurora Bernal, who also worked at Cherry Blossom with her husband. "I'm very glad."
Area students mark Constitution Day
TRAVERSE CITY -- Laura Carpenter reigned in her classroom kingdom like it was the 1700s, holding court from her rocking chair as her second-grade subjects watched from the floor.
"I'm the king," she said in a deep voice, sitting tall in the chair. "You have to do what I say when I say it."
She softened her tone and looked at the children, and again became Mrs. Carpenter in the 21st century.
"You don't think they'd like that?" she asked her students about early American colonists living under British rule.
Not so much.
"That's unfair," one student said, just as the class agreed it would be if fifth-graders decided second-graders no longer could use the playground equipment.
The students at Silver Lake Elementary in Traverse City weren't much different than the country's founders because each wanted a common set of rules, Carpenter told them Thursday on Constitution Day, a federally-mandated event held on the anniversary of the document's signing in 1787.
Teachers across the country began to recognize the Congress-appointed day in 2005. It is held annually on Sept. 17 or a surrounding day if it falls on a weekend.
Locally, instructors at varying grade levels said students need to know about U.S. history and planned to work it into lessons, even when the Constitution already is taught in school.
Brian Lynch's high school social studies students at Grand Traverse Academy worked all week to prepare lessons on the Constitution. They will share them with elementary classrooms today.
Not only do students learn better when they teach others, "it's a very good history snapshot," Lynch said. "It impacts all of us for different reasons."
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