Ann Arbor
Military care package effort returning to roots
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — An effort to make care packages for U.S. military members around the world is expected to return to its roots in a Michigan living room.
John Kinzinger on Sunday held a gathering to make packages that was hosted by the Washtenaw County Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 310 in Ann Arbor.
Each box includes snacks such as chips, crackers, beef jerky, cookies, candy and canned food. The boxes also contain books, magazines, socks, pens, paper and notecards.
The effort started 12 years ago in Kinzinger’s living room with a group of about eight. More than 3,800 packages have been sent since then, but The Ann Arbor News reports it’s being scaled back as combat troops return to the U.S.
Instead, packages will again be made in his living room.
Grand Rapids
Man’s WWII dog tag found in Nome, Alaska
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A man searching for sea glass along a western Alaska beach has discovered a Michigan soldier’s World War II dog tag.
WOOD-TV reports Mario Gandolfo said Sunday he found the dog tag in Nome, Alaska, on Nov. 4 and wanted to return the 70-year-old artifact to its original owner’s family before Veterans Day. The tag belonged to Earl L. Vogelar of Grand Rapids.
Social media and the television station helped connected Gandolfo with Vogelar’s grandson Dustin Vogelar. He says he never met his grandfather but he knows he was stationed in Alaska for a few years during the war and died after returning home in 1994.
Dustin Vogelar says he is very grateful to have connected with Gandolfo over his grandfather.
Cross Village
Diver discovers shipwreck cluster in Lake Michigan
CROSS VILLAGE, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan shipwreck diver says he has discovered a cluster of wrecks in northern Lake Michigan.
The Grand Rapids Press reports Ross Richardson of Lake Ann said he uncovered the wrecks this summer in the waters around the small Island of Skillagalee, located between Beaver Island and the northern Lower Peninsula community of Cross Village.
He says he believes his discoveries include the remains of a 226-foot sidewheel steamer that sank in 1850 called A.D. Patchin. That shipwreck prompted the construction of a lighthouse on the island to warn crews of nearby reefs. The wreck is below about 30-35 feet of water.
Richardson says he was looking for undiscovered wrecks that had a last known position in the vicinity. He found four other wreck sites during his three trips to the island.
Grand Rapids
Sheriff: Michigan man hit, killed by tree branch
JENISON, Mich. (AP) — Ottawa County authorities have identified a western Michigan man who was killed when a large tree branch hit him in the chest in the woods near his apartment building.
The Grand Rapids Press reports the sheriff’s office said Sunday that 26-year-old Tyler Hemmes of Jenison died Saturday. Authorities say he was walking with his friends when he started pulling on the fallen branch, which was stuck in trees and suspended off the ground.
They say the branch struck him in the chest and knocked him to the ground. His friends called 911 and he was later declared dead at the scene.
Authorities are investigating the incident.
Battle Creek
City settles with firefighters for $1.5M in OT case
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — The city of Battle Creek says it will pay $1.5 million to former and current firefighters to settle an overtime pay dispute.
The Battle Creek Enquirer reports (http://bcene.ws/1GGvf8z ) the settlement comes after 70 firefighters filed a lawsuit in October 2013.
They sought about $1 million following a U.S. Labor Department investigation into unpaid overtime. The firefighters say they weren’t properly paid for overtime because the city rounded their hours down.
They sought about $1 million following a U.S. Labor Department investigation into unpaid overtime. The firefighters say they weren’t properly paid for overtime because the city rounded their hours down.
The city denies that it violated wage laws. It will pay $1.17 million to firefighters. Most of the settlement covers damages, while $585,000 is for wages. Battle Creek will also pay about $330,000 in attorney fees.
The Labor Department said the city was liable to pay only about $73,000. Ten firefighters decided to accept their checks and not sue.
Sault Ste. Marie
Researchers find Atlantic salmon reproducing
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (AP) — Lake Superior State University researchers have determined that Atlantic salmon are naturally reproducing in the St. Mary’s River.
The Upper Peninsula university says recent graduate Stefan Tucker has published his findings along with two biology professors and an aquatics researcher in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. The school says researchers have wondered for years whether the salmon are reproducing in the wild.
The fish are native to Lake Ontario but their populations declined by the late 1800s. University and state officials began stocking the salmon in the river in 1987.
Lansing
Michigan group expands effort to bar anti-gay bias
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A coalition of business and civil rights leaders is expanding an effort to lobby Michigan’s Legislature to make it illegal to discriminate against gay and transgender people.
The Michigan Competitive Workforce Coalition last week unveiled its Freedom Michigan campaign and website as lawmakers began their “lame-duck” session.
Advocates are hoping that by year’s end, the Republican-led Legislature will update the state’s civil rights law to include protections for gay and transgender residents. They say discrimination is wrong and hurts Michigan’s ability to attract talent.
Lansing
Michigan gets $13M for student health, safety
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan is getting nearly $13 million in federal grants to help improve students’ health and safety.
The Michigan Department of Education recently announced the funding in partnership with the Michigan Department of Community Health.
Michigan is getting more than $1.9 million per year for five years from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It’s in part to help increase awareness of mental health issues among school-aged youth.
Those involved include the Michigan Department of Human Services, Kent Intermediate School District, Jackson Intermediate School District and Oakland Schools.
The state also getting $640,000 per year for five years from the U.S. Department of Education’s School Climate Transformation grant. Up to 90 school districts are expected to benefit from that grant.
