10/23/12 - The Fenton Downtown Development Authority is planning to sell $5 million in bonds to pay for improvements to the cityâs downtown area. The sale of the bonds was approved by the city council last night, but the DDA will be responsible for their sale and repayment. The sale will provide $1 million to the Fenton Community Center renovations, which will add two classrooms to the south side of the building and improve handicapped access. The remaining $4 million will go toward the cityâs streetscape project. That initiative will make various improvements to the downtownâs sewer and storm water systems, provide new benches and trash bins, and repave portions of Shiawasse and Leroy Streets. City Manager Lynn Markland tells WHMI these improvements will complement other projects happening in the downtown in the coming months. The DDA improved its chances for a better interest rate on the bonds by grouping the two projects into a single bond sale. (TD)
$5 Million In Bonds Approved For Sale By Fenton City Council$5 Million In Bonds Approved For Sale By Fenton City Council
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Fowlerville Will Postpone Hiring New Manager Until New YearFowlerville Will Postpone Hiring New Manager Until New Year
10/23/12- The Fowlerville Village Council will continue to operate without a manager until they have the funds to fill the position. The village has been without a manager since April, and with around a $30,000 deficit, members agree that it doesnât seem likely for the position to be filled by the end of this year. Village President Pro-Tem David Kuehn told WHMI that it just isn't in the budget to hire a full-time manager right now, but that the council will revisit the issue once the 2013 budget is set. Though Keuhn mentioned looking at the issue after the New Year, members think it might be up to a year or more before they can afford to fill the position. The manager duties are currently split between Village President Wayne Copeland and Village Clerk Kathy Arledge. However, members are looking into other options to ensure that all duties are reassigned appropriately until a new manager is hired. (SO)
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City Officials Excited About "Heart Of Howell"; Work To Start SoonCity Officials Excited About "Heart Of Howell"; Work To Start Soon
10/23/12 - Howell City officials are pretty excited about the re-development of three adjacent historic buildings downtown. Council members met Monday night, where it was relayed that building rehabilitation and some exterior façade work is expected to begin almost immediately on the âHeart of Howellâ project. The total project investment is pegged between $3 (m) million and $4 (m) million. Developer Joe Parker and his family are leading the effort to resurrect the previously abandoned Swann, Thistledown, and Spagâs buildings. Some grant funding has already been secured for the project but the Downtown Development Authority is currently pursuing some for infrastructure work. It could receive up to $750,000 to upgrade parking lots, put in trash dumpsters and repair some sidewalks adjacent to the property where the equivalent of around 40 full time jobs are being created. Since Howell is not a low to moderate income community, they must have job creation to access those particular grant funds but DDA Director Diane Larkin tells WHMI theyâve received encouragement from the state and feels they have a pretty good shot. All businesses that come into the building would have up to two years to meet the job creation quotas required under the grant, which wouldnât be approved until spring at the earliest. Larkin says itâs an ambitious timeline but theyâre hoping to have the majority of work done by next summer so construction could begin on the restaurant component and ideally be operational for the 2013 holiday season. Just recently, it was made public that Parker has been in talks with The Root, an acclaimed bar and restaurant out of White Lake specializing in Michigan-based foods, to occupy the first floor of the facility. Although the papers have not yet been signed, the parties entered an informal agreement last week. (JM)
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Arrest Made In June Death Of Howell Man At Local Gun RangeArrest Made In June Death Of Howell Man At Local Gun Range
10/23/12 - A Howell man was arrested on charges of open murder Monday in connection with a fatal shooting at a Brighton Township gun range this past summer. Authorities say the 19-year-old suspect will probably be arraigned sometime Tuesday. He was at the Livingston Conservation and Sports Association gun range on McClements Road June 30th when his weapon, a knockoff of the AK-47 assault rifle, discharged. The shot struck his friend Charles Robert Kimball in the head and killed him instantly. Kimball is pictured at left. It was originally claimed that the discharge occurred while the 19-year-old was cleaning the weapon after a jam, but Sheriff Bob Bezotte says that story has been questioned from the beginning. The investigation has continued since then and Bezotte says eyewitness statements and state police crime lab reports contradict the original story. Based on evidence, the sheriffâs department arrested the Howell man at about 11:00 Monday morning on a charge of open murder. (TD)
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Shooting Incidents Reach 22 in Four CountiesShooting Incidents Reach 22 in Four Counties
10/23/12 - A multi-jurisdictional task force continues to investigate a series of reported shootings targeting people, mostly motorists, across four counties that have now reached to 22 incidents. No one has been injured in the shootings, all of which occurred during a three-day period last week, but there have been close calls. Police say that the shootings, which occurred between last Tuesday and Thursday in Oakland, Ingham, Livingston and Shiawassee counties, are believed to be the work of one man firing a handgun as he drives. However, authorities say it is unclear whether the shooter is intentionally missing people. Three bullets, some fragments and a cartridge have been recovered and sent to the Michigan State Police crime labs for testing, with results expected by the end of the week. A sketch of the suspect (pictured here) was released on Sunday and police also are compiling a behavioral analysis of the shooter, who they believe lives in one of the four counties. The shooter is thought to be driving a dark car resembling either a late-model Oldsmobile Alero or Toyota Camry. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 1-800-SPEAK-UP. (JK)
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Teen Pleads Guilty in Incident That Injured Hartland School WorkerTeen Pleads Guilty in Incident That Injured Hartland School Worker
10/23/12 - A 16-year-old former Hartland High School student who authorities say struck a security officer with a vehicle in a school parking lot has pleaded guilty in the case. The teen, who lives in Brighton, entered the plea Monday to operating a vehicle while intoxicated and causing injury. He was charged as a juvenile and is due back in court Nov. 19 for sentencing on the charge and a marijuana possession charge. He was previously expelled from the Hartland district. The Livingston County sheriff's department says the boy in May sprayed a household product from an aerosol can into a rag and passed out after inhaling it. 52-year-old Susan Hazzard was hit outside Hartland High School and was hospitalized afterward. She continues to recover from the injuries she sustained. (JK)
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Fenton Fire Hall Restaurant On Track For April OpeningFenton Fire Hall Restaurant On Track For April Opening
10/23/12 - A liquor license transfer for the Fenton Fire Hall restaurant was approved by the Fenton City Council last night, keeping the business on track to open in the spring. The cityâs approval is just one step in getting the green light from the state government to transfer the license from a Genesee County business to the Fire Hall. The license will include three bars, one each for the restaurantâs lower level, main level, and planned rooftop beer garden. Fire Hall owner Curt Catallo says work on the Fenton Fire House may not be obvious from the outside, but architects are working hard behind the scenes to make sure nothing gets overlooked. A site plan for the building has been submitted, and if that process goes well Catallo says they will begin filing for permits to work on the foundation of a planned expansion and some light interior demolition. He plans to maintain an aggressive schedule to make his original goal of opening by April 1st. (TD)
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New Scranton Middle School Athletic Field Debated at MeetingNew Scranton Middle School Athletic Field Debated at Meeting
10/23/12 - Several dozen residents attended Monday nightâs Brighton Board of Education meeting to express their displeasure with the decision to relocate the original site of the planned Scranton Middle School football field. The residents, most of whom live near the Maltby Road school, complained about the prospect of bright lights, noise coming from a public address system and more cars parking on the street. Several who addressed the board said they moved to the area for peace and quiet, and a field with blazing lights and amplified sound would diminish their quality of life. But Superintendent Greg Gray says neither of those should be problems as the nearest backyard is at least 300 feet from the field. He adds that they've done impact studies, but will study those issues again. Another critic is resident Brenda Goebbel, who lives near the school and implied voters should not vote in favor of a school millage renewal issue on the ballot next month. The new Scranton field and related facilities will be built as part of an $88 million dollar bond issue passed by voters last May. Goebbel claimed the Scranton athletic facilities upgrades were not part of the original bond, which Gray says is not the case. He tells WHMI the millage renewal doesnât affect homeowners, since the 18-mill renewal on the ballot is only on non-homestead property and not on a personâs primary residence. The determination to move the field was a direct outgrowth of the decision to put in a roundabout on Maltby Road in front of the school instead of a traditional traffic signal. The county road commission said an additional 100 feet of land was needed to build it, and that forced the footprint for the field back to an area directly over a secondary septic system. As a result, it was decided to move the proposed field to the back of the school next to other athletic fields, but also several subdivisions and condominium developments. Gray says the decision to relocate the field is not cast in stone. In fact, the board directed administration to review the plans for the Scranton athletic facilities and report back to the board at the next meeting on Nov. 12. (TT/JK)
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Howell Twp. Woman Who Contracted Meningitis Hospitalized Again Howell Twp. Woman Who Contracted Meningitis Hospitalized Again
10/23/12 - A Howell Township woman who was the first to file a federal lawsuit after contracting fungal meningitis is back in the hospital. 46-year-old Brenda Bansale was discharged last Saturday from St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, where she had been hospitalized for two weeks. Her lawyer Marc Lipton tells WHMI that Brenda had some additional symptoms that required her to be urgently tested and she was re-admitted to the hospital today. He says she was already scheduled for an MRI tomorrow but called her physician to see if she could get in any earlier. Lipton says itâs his understanding that when they learned of the symptoms she was experiencing, they told her to come in to the hospital. Bansale was diagnosed with fungal meningitis after being injected with a contaminated steroid at a Brighton clinic for back pain. She was the first in the state to file a class action lawsuit against the Massachusetts specialty pharmacy that produced the tainted steroids. The suit is for all Michigan residents who were exposed. Meanwhile, authorities reported today that there are now a total of six deaths and 69 infections in Michigan as part of the national fungal meningitis outbreak. The deaths include a 62-year-old man and a 78-year-old woman in Washtenaw County, a 79-year-old Oakland County woman, a 56-year-old Genesee County woman, and 67-year-old Lilian Cary of Howell Township, who was the first reported in the state. Photo courtesy of WLNS. (JM)
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Police Say Novi Man Led A High Speed Chase Through Milford
10/24/12 - A Novi man has been charged with 3rd degree fleeing in a vehicle following a high-speed chase through Milford early Sunday morning. Police began their pursuit of 27-year-old Braden Mathis at about 1:00am Sunday after they alleged he failed to come to a complete stop at an intersection and narrowly missed hitting a van. The patrol officer who witnessed the event says when he tried to pull Mathis over he sped off, beginning a chase down Milford Road that reached speeds of 75 miles per hour. Police say during the course of the chase Mathis drove over a lawn, jumped a curb, ran over a gas marker, blew his front passenger tire, and drove through red lights. Police say the chase ended when Mathis stopped his car and was ordered out at gunpoint, and that his blood alcohol content at the time was .20, more than double the legal limit for driving. According to the Milford Times, Mathis reportedly called himself an idiot several times following his arrest. He pleaded ânot guiltyâ to 3rd degree fleeing in a vehicle at his arraignment Sunday and was scheduled for a pre-exam conference today (Wednesday). He is currently out of jail with a tether on a $15,000 cash surety bond. (TD)
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Work Skills & Studio West Gallery In Brighton Celebrating 40 Years Work Skills & Studio West Gallery In Brighton Celebrating 40 Years
10/24/12 - An organization dedicated to providing educational services and job training opportunities to people with barriers to employment is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a variety of events this Thursday. Brighton-based Work Skills Corporation was established in 1973 by a group of parents concerned about the lack of vocational services for special education graduates. It draws its employee base from a wide range of sources, all of whom have difficulty thriving in a traditional job search environment. Work Skills is the parent company of Studio West Gallery, also known as âThe Home of Art with a Heartâ. It allows people with disabilities and others to express their artistic abilities through the creation of artwork in a multitude of media but then gives them the opportunity to display and sell their work for income. To celebrate its 40-year milestone, a series of events are planned and an open house will kick things off at the Work Skills offices on Summit Street in Brighton. Employees will provide guided tours to the public from 2 to 5pm and then from 6 to 9pm, a âpaint and pourâ party will be held at Studio West located at 111 West Street in downtown Brighton. The cost to attend the party is $40 and all participants will paint a commemorative tree piece with instruction, a canvas and painting supplies provided. All proceeds from the events will benefit the non-profit Work Skills Corporation. Tickets are available online or at the door. For details, click on the link below. (JM)
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Seminar to Discuss Youth Drug CultureSeminar to Discuss Youth Drug Culture
10/24/12 - A seminar aimed at teaching parents and professionals the latest changes in youth drug culture will be returning to Pinckney this week. The program, called Drugs 101, has taken place in Pinckney before but has been brought back due to a continuing need for adult education on the topic of drug use. The event features local experts on drugs, drug culture, and the impact substance abuse has on young people. Russell Stratton, a Community Prevention Specialist for Karen Bergbower & Associates, says any adult is welcome to participate and the meeting has gotten a very positive response in the past. The meeting will begin by allowing attendees to examine a mock-up of a teenagerâs bedroom littered with more than 70 drug-related items to see how many they can spot. Experts will then identify each piece of drug paraphernalia and explain to the audience how it is used. The meeting will also discuss the nature of commonly abused drugs and how to spot signs of abuse among students. Drugs 101 will take place at Pinckney Community High School on October 25th from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Details are available in the flyer that can be downloaded below. (TD)
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Ceremony Held To Honor Ed Alverson After Facility RenamingCeremony Held To Honor Ed Alverson After Facility Renaming
10/24/12 - The Fowlerville School Board paid tribute last night to longtime district teacher and administrator Ed Alverson, after whom the high schoolâs performing arts center was recently named. Alverson has served in the district for 40 years, first as a teacher and principal at the high school and later as district superintendent. He oversaw the construction of the performing arts center and was involved in raising public support for the bond issue that paid for the project. A committee of parents, staff, and board members recommended the name change earlier this month, and on October 9th the school board approved a resolution identifying the facility as the Alverson Center for the Performing Arts. Alverson tells WHMI that he was surprised by the news and happy to be recognized by the community he has worked with for so long. Originally the board considered renaming Gold Road, which leads to the performing arts center, but later chose the facility itself as a tribute more fitting for Alversonâs accomplishments. (TD)
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Task Force Says At Least Seven Shootings Linked To Same Gun Task Force Says At Least Seven Shootings Linked To Same Gun
10/24/12 - Investigators say tests have linked seven shooting incidents to the same weapon, possibly a 9 millimeter handgun. A task force of local and state police agencies met in East Lansing yesterday to discuss efforts in tracking down whoever is responsible for 22 shootings that occurred in four counties over three days and are believed to be random. The Oakland County Sheriffâs office Forensic Laboratory completed preliminary tests on ballistic evidence that was submitted by the Wixom Police Department and the Livingston County Sheriffâs Department. The task force says preliminary results indicate that the evidence was fired from the same gun but additional testing will be completed to determine the gunâs caliber. At least one news outlet was reporting a 9-millimeter handgun. No one has been hurt in the vehicle shootings that occurred last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The task force is stressing that there have been no new incidents since then. Most incidents involved cars along the I-96 corridor with one in Howell Township but ten took place in Wixom. The task force has received more than 250 tips and investigators continue to follow up on those and suspect leads. Tips can be made to the Livingston County Sheriffâs Department or 1-800-SPEAK UP. A reward of up to $11,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. (JM)
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Genoa Trustee & Local Man Engage In Political Facebook WarGenoa Trustee & Local Man Engage In Political Facebook War
10/24/12 - A Genoa Township resident says a recent Facebook exchange with an elected official means he has no plans to âlikeâ him on Election Day. Daniel Atherton says he was on Facebook Saturday night when an ad popped up on the screen for Genoa Township Trustee Todd Smith. When he looked at it, he says it trumpeted Smithâs conservative beliefs but contained nothing of substance about the township. That prompted him to put a post on Smithâs Facebook campaign page that said, "Thanks for polluting my Facebook page and letting me know who not to vote for." Smith then replied, "Daniel, no problem. I'm sure the food stamps and government hand outs will still be available for you instead of contributing to the world!!!" Atherton says Smithâs response was not only rude, but off-the-mark as he is college-educated and employed since he was 16. Atherton, who has âlikedâ the pages of two candidates running against Smith, maintains that he and his wife do own property in Genoa Township and heâs troubled by the conclusion that Smith was looking up his tax information after the exchange. Smith maintains Atherton is not listed as a property owner and the information is a matter of public record, which anyone can look up at any time. Smith says tells WHMI he does not have any paid pop-up advertising on Facebook, just his candidate page that Atherton posted directly to. Smith says after a series of derogatory posts made directly by Atherton, he responded. Looking back, Smith says he probably shouldnât have stooped to Athertonâs level. Smith says there are a lot of positive things going on in Genoa Township that should not be overshadowed by partisan bickering and overall non-productive comments. The two candidates running against Smith are Linda Rowell, who is running as a Republican for the township board, and Terry Croft, who is running as a nonpartisan challenger. The exchange can be downloaded below. (JK/JM)
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Sheriff: Motorists Should Not Fear Freeway Travel After Shootings Sheriff: Motorists Should Not Fear Freeway Travel After Shootings
10/24/12 - A $12,000 reward is now being offered as investigators from local and state police agencies work to catch a man suspected of firing shots on at least 22 vehicles. Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte tells WHMI they are part of the multi-jurisdictional task force formed but their involvement is limited in that there has only been one vehicle shooting reported in Howell Township on I-96 October 18th. He says there have not been shootings in any of the four counties since last Thursday so it could be that extensive media coverage is deterring the suspect from striking again. Bezotte says the mere fact someone was firing at a moving vehicle shows the intent of trying to seriously injure or kill someone. While theyâre fortunate the incidents have stopped, Bezotte does not believe itâs the end. He says ironically, they handled the one incident on I-96 but all of the other shootings have been on side roads in Wixom and Commerce Township and then up M-52 into Perry. He says some people have said theyâve been taking Grand River as an alternate route instead of getting onto the expressway but he has told them that the majority of the shootings have occurred on side roads and they donât know why the suspect is taking these paths. The task force investigating the shootings has received more than 250 tips and authorities continue to follow up on those. Bezotte believes the best chance of finding the person responsible is through the public eyes and ears of the communities involved. Tips can be made to the Livingston County Sheriffâs Department or 1-800-SPEAK UP. (JM)
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Howell Man Charged In Gun Range Death Howell Man Charged In Gun Range Death
10/24/12 - A Howell man has been formally charged in connection with a fatal shooting in June at a Brighton Township gun range. 19-year-old Jessce Lincon Stearn was arraigned today on manslaughter and felony firearms counts for the June 30th incident at the Livingston Conservation and Sports Association gun range on McClements Road in Brighton. Police say Stearns was holding a replica AK-47 when it discharged and hit Charles Robert Kimball in the head and killed him instantly. Stearns told police the gun discharged while he was cleaning the weapon. Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte tells WHMI they originally believed the shooting was accidental, based on witness testimony at the gun club that was given on the day of the incident but concerns surfaced soon after that. As it bears out, he says witnesses came forward and gave a different account of what happened, which led to the warrant being issued. Bezotte says the weapon had been sent to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab in Lansing for examination and testing but no one there could get it to malfunction. He says that caused concern as well as trajectory of the bullet from the position Stearn said he was, compared to where the victim was. Livingston County Prosecutor David Morse told WHMI that while he canât discuss the specifics of this case, a manslaughter charge means the defendant did not intend to kill Mr. Kimball but was deliberately aiming the weapon when it fired. Stearn was ordered held on a $250,000 cash bond. Heâs due back in court next Wednesday for an exam conference. If convicted, Stearn would face up to 15 years in prison on the manslaughter charge and an additional two years on the felony firearm charge. (JK/JM)
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Howell Township Man Hospitalized For Fungal MeningitisHowell Township Man Hospitalized For Fungal Meningitis
10/24/12 - After originally being told he was in the clear, a local man whose wife died in the national meningitis outbreak has been hospitalized and says he is being treated for the same illness. 65-year-old George Cary of Howell Township told The Associated Press that he began having severe headaches on Friday, just days after being told that tests in early October and a spinal tap showed no evidence of meningitis. He did not disclose the name of the hospital but just yesterday, another local woman was re-admitted to the hospital after experiencing new symptoms. Caryâs late wife Lilian died September 30th. Both received injections at a Brighton clinic along with 46-year-old Brenda Bansale of Howell Township, who spent two weeks at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor after contracting fungal meningitis. She had been discharged last Saturday but was re-admitted yesterday. Bansale is suing the Massachusetts pharmacy for negligence after contracting meningitis from the tainted steroids. Her lawyer Marc Lipton told WHMI yesterday that she was suffering from some additional symptoms that required her to be urgently tested and then re-admitted to the hospital. At least six Michigan residents have died as a result of the outbreak. The rare disease has been traced to contaminated steroids made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts, which were sent to clinics across the country including Michigan Pain Specialists in Brighton. Photo Courtesy of AP. (JM)
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Police Say Reports Confirm Medical Emergency Caused Fatal Crash
10/25/12 - Local authorities say toxicology reports confirm that a medical emergency was the cause of a head-on crash that killed three people on I-96 in Howell Township and seriously injured another. The August 12th crash happened near the Tanger Outlet Center when a pickup truck traveling eastbound on I-96 crossed the median into the westbound lanes near M-59 and then struck a sedan head-on in the center lane. The driver of the pickup, 54-year-old George Tissen of Fowlerville, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The freeway was shut down for hours after the crash while authorities from multiple agencies investigated. Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte tells WHMI they were aware of a heart condition Tissen had before and suspected he suffered some sort of medical emergency based on witness statements at the scene. He says toxicology reports received this week confirmed that and showed no trace of any drugs, alcohol or prescriptions in Tissenâs blood system. 49-year-old Susan Bloomstine of Wyoming died from her injuries overnight at the University of Michigan Medical Center where she had been taken by Survival Flight. She was a backseat passenger in the sedan that was driven by her husband, 57-year-old Legrand Bloomstine, who was seriously injured. Also killed in the crash was 80-year-old George Wright of Wyoming, who was a front-seat passenger. (JM)
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Special Ministries Holds Largest Ever Fundraiser in Opera HouseSpecial Ministries Holds Largest Ever Fundraiser in Opera House
10/25/12 - Special Ministries of Livingston County held a fundraising dinner at the Howell Opera House last night. Special Ministries is a nonprofit associated with Saint George Lutheran and Saint Patrick Catholic Church that is celebrating its 40th year of operation. It provides social services and programs to adults living with disabilities with more than 200 participants over the last year. The fundraising dinner last night sold out its 195 seats and included an auction of goods and services donated by local businesses, some worth hundreds of dollars. It was the largest fundraising event in the organizationâs history. Advisory Board volunteer Nancy Hall helped plan and organize the event, and she tells WHMI the organization hoped to raise about $10,000 from the event to help subsidize its programs for participants living on limited incomes. The funds will go to pay for transportation, facility use, and other expenses associated with the programs. Hall adds that the organization is in constant need of volunteers, especially now that other sources of funding have been cancelled and larger fundraising events like this have become more necessary. For a link to the Special Ministries website, click on the link below. (TD)
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