Marquette
Only 135 licenses left for Michigan’s initial wolf hunt
MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) — Hunters have snapped up most of the licenses for Michigan’s first wolf hunt in November.
But Michigan Department of Natural Resources spokesman Ed Golder said Monday that 135 of them remain.
More than 1,000 licenses were sold over the weekend. The hunt starts Nov. 15 and runs through the end of the year.
The Natural Resources Commission is allowing 43 wolves to be killed in seven Upper Peninsula counties. Opponents hoping to stop future hunts are gathering petition signatures for a statewide vote.
A wolf license costs $100 for a Michigan resident and $500 for a non-resident.
A recent census by the DNR put the wolf population at 658. Some U.P. residents say wolves are out of hand, preying on livestock and pets and venturing too close to residential areas.
Lansing
Tier 3 sex offense verification starts in state tomorrow
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The quarterly verification period for Michigan residents convicted of sex offenses gets underway Tuesday across the state.
It lasts for 15 days.
State police say so-called “Tier 3” offenders are required to report their current address to a local law enforcement agency, sheriff’s office or state police post.
The Michigan Sex Offender Registration Act requires Tier 1 offenders to verify their address annually, during the first 15 days of January. Tier 2 offenders must verify their address semi-annually, during the first 15 days of January and July.
Tier 3 offenders must verify their address quarterly, during the first 15 days of January, April, July and October. Failure to do so carries a penalty of up to two years behind bars.
Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo to host annual reunion of WWII veterans
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — An annual reunion of World War II veterans that is held in the hometown of a different member each year will be in Kalamazoo this week.
Members of the 368th Fighter Group, which served in France during the war, are set to attend events that will run from Thursday to Sunday at the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites.
Ken Kik is hosting this year’s get-together. His grandfather, 368th Fighter Group member Richard Kik Jr., died in 2005. He was a medical doctor who practiced in Richland from 1956 to 2002.
This year marks the second time Ken Kik, of Danville, Ky., has hosted the reunion. He previously hosted the 2008 reunion in Nashville, Tenn.
Kik told the Kalamazoo Gazette that the number of veterans who make it to the reunion has declined significantly in recent years due to their increasing age.
Kik said he is excited to take the members of the 368th Fighter Group to Kalamazoo’s Air Zoo, because the museum has a P-47 Thunderbolt, the same plane the men flew during the war.
Richard Kik Jr. rotated back to the United States in 1944 after serving in France and was promoted to captain. He became a fighter pilot instructor and eventually made his way to West Point, where he trained fighter pilots for the remainder of the war.
Eaton Rapids
Retired teachers add solar panels to Mich. school
EATON RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Two retired teachers have spent two years and $20,000 of their own money to add solar panels to Eaton Rapids High School.
Gary Vittoz and Gerald Adams said they see their effort as a money-saving measure for the mid-Michigan school district as well as a chance for students to see science in action.
“This is real stuff,” Vittoz told the Lansing State Journal for a story Monday (on.lsj.com/16Oih3p). “It’s a practical application of solar energy in use right here at the high school.”
Vittoz and Adams each donated $10,000 toward the project, which is expected to save the school district about $1,500 a year in electricity costs.
One-third of the $20,000 was spent outfitting the solar paneling with equipment that will record daily data, which will be transmitted to an online program Eaton Rapids students can study and use in class.
The data will include the amount of energy the panels generate, the times at which they generate the most energy and the weather patterns at any given moment.
The paneling requires little upkeep and is expected to withstand inclement weather.
Superintendent Bill DeFrance said the money saved annually through use of the solar panels won’t be absorbed back into the budget. Instead, school officials will reinvest that cash into new “green” energy applications and energy education programming for students.
Students already are excited about the work they’ll be doing, said Eaton Rapids High chemistry and environmental sciences teacher Jennifer Grivins.
Lansing
Police report fewer car-deer crashes in Mich.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The number of vehicle crashes involving deer is falling again in Michigan.
The Lansing State Journal says about 49,000 were reported to state police last year, down 8 percent from 2011 — and down 20 percent from 2009.
Why? It could be a smaller deer population, better drivers or simply fewer crashes being reported to police. Brent Rudolph of the DNR believes the herd has been shrinking in the southern Lower Peninsula.
Car-deer crashes still can have tragic results. State police say 1,300 people were injured last year and eight people died, including three on motorcycles.
Oakland County was No. 1 with about 1,700 crashes. Kent County was No. 2 after three years in the top spot.
