State Roundup

Deerfield Twp.
Worship at church where murder suspect preached
DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A small central Michigan church held Sunday worship services for the first time since its then-pastor was arrested on accusations he carried out the sexually motivated slaying of a 24-year-old neighbor.
About 20 members of Christ Community Fellowship in Isabella County’s Deerfield Township attended services, welcoming visitors despite the trauma of the arrest of 55-year-old John D. White, The Morning Sun of Mount Pleasant reported.
White is charged with first-degree murder, and Isabella County authorities say he confessed to killing Rebekah Gay on Wednesday to act out a fantasy of sex with a dead victim. The ex-convict was engaged to Gay’s mother and often cared for the victim’s 3-year-old son. They lived near each other in a trailer park.
“Even though this has been a horrendous week, there are blessings in the midst of it,” service leader Donna Houghton told worshippers Sunday. Houghton said that she wanted to “thank the hands that held us up,” and to ask that those same hands help Gay’s mother, Sally.
Houghton said the church’s members know that as Christians, they are supposed to forgive.
“Not at this point,” she said. “Forgive us for not being there yet. It may be a few weeks before we can.”
White was released from prison in 2007, after serving nearly 12 years for manslaughter in the death of a 26-year-old woman in Kalamazoo County. He had previously been sentenced to probation for choking and stabbing a 17-year-old Battle Creek girl in 1981.
Members of the congregation said they knew he had a criminal record.

Rockford
State wants man to tear down costly playground
ROCKFORD, Mich. (AP) — The state wants a West Michigan homeowner to tear down an expansive playground built near his home that encroaches on a right of way for the White Pine Trail.
Paul Golembiewski, a professional landscaper from Rockford, told MLive.com he got verbal permission in the 1970s to build the playground from the owner of the railroad that used the former rail line. He faces trespassing charges if it’s not removed by Nov. 30 from near the trail.
“No one has ever said this is horrifying. All I get ... is ‘Wow, I really like your yard,” Golembiewski said. “It’s more of a work of art for me and it has never done anyone any harm.”
The playground north of Grand Rapids includes a swing set and play tower, as well as a 16-foot-by-20-foot deck that doubles as a basketball court. There’s also a tire swing near a large Maple tree, a bench swing, a wood pile for his stove and a small vineyard. Most isn’t on his land, MLive.com reported.
Golembiewski said he also had verbal permission from state agencies that oversaw the land, but the state Department of Natural Resources notified him in January about the encroachment and sent enforcement officers last month. The trail runs from the Grand Rapids area to Cadillac, and is popular for walking, jogging and biking.
Christopher Stark, trail supervisor with the DNR, said the agency has safety and liability concerns. He noted, for example, there are relatively large landscaping rocks near the trail.
Golembiewski offered to lease the land for $100 per year and release the state from liability on the playground, but the DNR declined the offer.

Clinton Township
Fire chief raises $500 by scrapping extra walkers
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A suburban Detroit fire chief raised $500 for his department by taking extra walkers on hand to loan to residents and selling them for scrap.
Clinton Township Fire Chief John Shea says the walkers yielded about 400 pounds of metal. The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens reports the dozens of walkers were part of a collection of canes, crutches, wheelchairs, portable toilets and other items at the department for use by people in the Macomb County community.
Shea says the department only needed six or seven walkers. He says the extras “had some value so we turned them into money for the township.”