Detroit
Project hopes to transform 2 railroad viaducts
DETROIT (AP) — Proposals for a project to transform the undersides of two railroad viaducts in Detroit have been submitted from as far afield as Europe and Asia, as well as North America, organizers said.
Proposals accepted by the Midtown Viaducts Public Art and Light Project will be funded up to $75,000 per viaduct. The project is organized by Midtown Detroit Inc., a nonprofit planning and development organization that works in the area. The application deadline is April 30.
“These once magnificent viaducts have been poorly maintained over the years and lack adequate lighting, contributing to unsafe perceptions of the district,” organizers said in a statement. “This call seeks to give these industrial bridges new life — making them a choice destination rather than a place to pass through.”
Originally constructed in 1934, the Second Avenue and Cass Avenue viaducts are near what’s now called TechTown, a research and technology center involving Wayne State University, the College for Creative Studies and the Henry Ford Health System.
Winning proposals will be selected by a panel of Detroit-based curators and arts professionals. Details and application information are posted online.
Glen Arbor
Wreck of old boat revealed on Lake Michigan beach
GLEN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The harsh winter and Lake Michigan waves have revealed the wreck of a large boat along a northwestern Lower Peninsula beach that may be more than 100 years old.
Ward Lamphere tells the Traverse City Record-Eagle that he was walking about a mile north of Glen Arbor in Leelanau County on March 31 when he saw a 40-foot-long string of large, worn wooden objects poking out of the sand.
The wreck is north of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, but will be included in a database maintained by the park.
Lamphere, who has a condominium at the nearby Homestead Resort, says he connected with Kerry Kelly, chairman of the board for Friends of the Sleeping Bear, and Kelly visited the site. Kelly recorded the specifications and photographed the wreck.
Scio Twp.
Company plans drilling in area west of Ann Arbor
SCIO TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A company is moving forward with plans to drill for oil or natural gas in a rural area west of Ann Arbor, officials said.
Some residents of Washtenaw County’s Scio Township are being asked to give up mineral rights, The Ann Arbor News reported. The update comes after Traverse City-based West Bay Exploration Co. performed seismic testing in September.
“Running the seismic tests was the first step in any process,” company vice president Patrick Gibson said. “The next step, if we see something that is of some interest, is to come back and lease the minerals that we consider to be possibly valuable.”
Some Scio Township residents have begun to meet and educate themselves further on the potential impact of drilling near their homes. June McColm attended a meeting at a friend’s house and said residents are “talking about all the different options, the pros and cons” of the plans.
“I will say that the lease as I read it appeared to be extremely one-sided in favor of the oil company,” McColm said.
Scio Township plans a public forum April 24 that’s expected to include presentations by West Bay Exploration and others.
“We’ve been out there for a number of months and we have taken a fairly significant number of leases already,” Gibson said. “We’ll continue working on that until we get to a position where we feel comfortable in investing further dollars in either more seismic testing or drilling.”
Manistique
Man pleads in Michigan cougar poaching case
MANISTIQUE, Mich. (AP) — A man charged in a cougar poaching case in the Upper Peninsula has pleaded to a lesser charge and been sentenced to community service and fines.
WLUC-TV reports Todd Richard pleaded no contest in Manistique District Court on Monday to taking, possessing, buying or selling an endangered animal. The 44-year-old Burt resident was sentenced to 24 hours of community service and $625 in fines.
Richard’s father, Theodore, and his brother, Troy, pleaded guilty in the case a month ago.
State wildlife officials say the cougar posed no threat and was poached by the men in December.
Troy Richard says he shot the big cat because it approached his father and wouldn’t flee when he yelled at it.
Portland
In-home day care shut down after child’s death
PORTLAND, Mich. (AP) — An in-home day care in Ionia County has been shut down after a 5-month-old died last year after being put to sleep in an adult bed.
WOOD-TV reports that the state found owner Diane Hillis violated regulations when someone working at her Portland home put Levi Spear to sleep Nov. 6. The Department of Human Services says the boy was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at a hospital.
An autopsy found that unsafe sleeping conditions were a factor in the death.
In a settlement agreement with the state, Hillis agreed to close her day care. She will be able to reapply for a license in two years. Hillis says she doesn’t believe that the baby’s sleep conditions contributed to his death. She tells the station she loved the child.
St. Clair Shores
Police: 2 gunmen target Salvation Army store
ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (AP) — Police are seeking two masked gunmen who broke into a Salvation Army thrift store in suburban Detroit, hit a worker and left without taking anything.
The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens and the Detroit Free Press report that the robbery attempt took place on Sunday morning. The store was closed at the time, but workers were sorting clothing and other items to get ready for sale to the public.
Police say one man kept some workers in a loading dock area as the other searched part of the store.
Detective Jay Cohoe described the suspects as cowards because they targeted a Salvation Army store. He says: “It’s like targeting a church.”
Cohoe says the woman who was struck is expected to be OK. Police are seeking tips from the public.
Plainfield Twp.
Baseball team’s home opener is 3 months after fire
PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan minor league baseball team is set to hold its home opener three months after a fire destroyed part of the ballpark.
Fifth Third Ballpark near Grand Rapids is home to the West Michigan Whitecaps. Reconstruction efforts at the park are giving the home team a larger, relocated souvenir shop, a new administrative building with a rooftop grill deck and an expanded clubhouse.
The home opener for the single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers is Tuesday against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The Whitecaps say the first-base side of the ballpark is to be open. It sustained heavy fire damage.
Fire investigators have said that a trash container placed next to a space heater caused the fire. No one was hurt.
Monroe Twp.
Authorities: Man dies following vehicle fire
MONROE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a man has died following a vehicle fire in Monroe County.
The sheriff’s department says it responded about 1 a.m. Tuesday to the fire in Monroe Township and found the man, who had been pulled from the vehicle by witnesses.
Fire and ambulance crews tried to revive the man, but he didn’t survive.
The man’s name wasn’t immediately released, pending notification of family. The department says he’s not believed to be from Monroe County.
Grandvillle
Mall apologizes after bandana wearer asked to go
GRANDVILLE, Mich. (AP) — A shopping mall in western Michigan has apologized after a 26-year-old man was asked to remove a bandana or leave the mall.
Christopher Leach tells The Grand Rapids Press he often wears a bandana or hat to keep his hair out of his face. Leach, who served in the U.S. Marines from 2006 to 2010, says he was taken aback Thursday after a security guard approached him and a friend.
Leach left Rivertown Crossings Mall in Grandville.
Randy Zimmerman, the mall’s senior general manager, issued a statement saying the mall “regrets that this incident occurred.” Zimmerman says the business that handles security is investigating.
Leach, who lives in the western Michigan community of Wyoming, says he wants people to be aware of their rights and “stand up for themselves.”
