State Roundup

Lansing Michigan State Parks getting official ice cream LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan will be getting an official state park ice cream -- and residents will help pick the flavor. The Grand Rapids Press reports Tuesday that people will be invited in January to submit their own favorite ice cream recipe for judging, naming and final selection. The Michigan State Parks system is partnering with Hudsonville Ice Cream of Holland to produce the treat in 2012. The state Department of Natural Resources says it will be a limited edition official flavor of the Michigan State Parks. Hudsonville Ice Cream says the effort was developed over six to seven months. A decision is expected early next year. Muskegon 2-year-old girl helps 911 respond to ill relative NORTH MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) -- A 2-year-old girl is credited with giving a 911 operator information that helped to save her ill great-grandmother in West Michigan. Virginia Claflin, 77, placed the call for help Saturday from her North Muskegon home, WOOD-TV reported. She was able to tell the operator that her internal defibrillator had activated four times and gave her address, but thereafter she was unable to speak. A short time later, Aliya Carrasco, 2, picked up the phone and started talking with the operator. On a recording of the call, the girl says her great-grandmother had fallen. When asked whether it looked like her great-grandmother was sleeping, Aliya answered: "Yes." When rescuers arrived, the girl told them where to find her great-grandmother, her younger brother and her sleeping great-grandfather. Alicia Szymczyk, Claflin's granddaughter and Aliya's mother, said her grandmother was expected to undergo surgery in Grand Rapids and recover. As for her daughter's ability to talk with a 911 operator, Szymczyk said she wasn't surprised. "That's pretty typical," Szymczyk said. "She loves talking on the phone." Szymczyk said the family, which was in Michigan visiting from California, had talked with Alyia about police and firefighters. North Muskegon Fire Chief Steven Lague said he was impressed by how Aliya reacted. "In my 28 years of experience, I've never experienced anything with a two-and-a-half-year-old like this," Lague told the station on Monday. "We have had 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds, but at this age, I was very shocked." Lague said what happened can be a reminder for families to talk about emergencies. He said that children should know their address and what 911 means. He said the department talks to kids in day care about handling emergencies. On Sunday, Lague stopped by the North Muskegon home to give Aliya a present: A doll with a doctor's stethoscope. "This is my dolly," Alyia said, holding it up. Adrian Adrian College gets $20 million gift of support ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) -- Adrian College says it recently received a $20 million gift that's the largest in its history. The private college about 60 miles southwest of Detroit said in a statement Monday that the bequest is from the estate of Willard M. Cornelius Sr., who served as a member of the school's board of trustees from 1931 to 1948. According to the school, Cornelius was an early innovator in rustproofing for the automotive industry. The money will be used to help students with tuition as well as support renovation to the college's science and business buildings. Adrian College President Jeffrey Docking says the "benefits of this tremendous gift are difficult to quantify." Detroit Man gets prison time for attack on elderly woman DETROIT (AP) -- A 49-year-old Detroit man has been sentenced to prison for assaulting and robbing an elderly woman in her apartment building. The Wayne County prosecutor's office says Christopher Elledge was sentenced Monday. A jury convicted Elledge last month in the June 28 attack on 70-year-old Annie Smith. For the attack on Smith, he will serve 20 to 40 years for unarmed robbery, 10 to 20 years for assault and 10 to 15 years for larceny. A 40 to 60 year sentence for home invasion will be served after the other sentences. Video footage showed Smith being punched and knocked to the floor after she let Elledge into her building. Her bridge card and a credit card were taken. Elledge also received shorter sentences in two other cases involving female victims. Detroit Ex-union leaders sent to prison for labor dispute DETROIT (AP) -- Two former union officials have been sentenced to prison for threatening to prolong a strike against General Motors for personal gain. Donny Douglas and Jay Campbell had been placed on probation, but the light punishments were overturned by an appeals court. Douglas got 18 months in prison Monday while Campbell received a year and a day. They had been accused of threatening to extend a three-month strike at the Pontiac truck factory in 1997 unless a friend and family member were hired for $150,000 jobs. Prosecutors say it was akin to public corruption. The appeals court overturned the original sentences because a judge failed to consider the financial loss suffered by GM when the two people were hired and many UAW members filed grievances. Lansing Nonprofit details donations lost in weekend fire LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A charitable organization in Lansing says a weekend fire destroyed more than six months' worth of donated clothing and possibly two months of donated furniture. The Lansing State Journal reports that Marcia Barrons Maiville, president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul's Lansing District Council, on Monday detailed the extent of the damage from Sunday's fire. Maiville says insurance covers up to $50,000 in contents. She said the goods that were destroyed may have been worth twice that. The nonprofit hopes to open a temporary thrift store soon. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing is opening a clothing bank Tuesday to help those in need following the fire. Authorities believe the fire was accidental and started in a room used to store and refinish furniture. Lansing Kellogg Foundation awards grant to bridge info gap LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is giving the Michigan League for Human Services a three-year grant to create a "Prosperity Coalition" and support its ongoing budget and tax research into issues affecting the poor. The $1 million grant was announced Monday. Foundation deputy director Ali Webb says the coalition will "bring new voices to the table" on the topics of vulnerable children, their families and racial equality. Using research and analysis from the league's State Fiscal Analysis Initiative and other work, the coalition will attempt to influence state budget, tax and policy decisions to take the needs of low-income children and residents into account. It also aims to promote more civic engagement. The league is a nonpartisan policy group based in Lansing. The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek. Published: Wed, Dec 21, 2011