An extra big, pre-election edition

Yes, if you've seen your April 30 Chronicle, by now you noticed that we went up four pages from our usual 10. We hope you like the variety of news, hopefully something to interest everyone, plus the many letters-to-the editor as school board candidates jockey for position and of course, all of the ads from our wonderful sponsors. Believe it or not, we were still unable to fit everything in that we had ready for print but the press crew was getting antsy. As always, if you hear of anything going on in your neck of the woods that sounds like news, please, never hesitate to call 781-5444 or drop us an email to chronicle@jasnetworks.net for the Chronicle and marytinsley@jasnetworks.net for the Ad-Visor. Have a GREAT week and thanks for reading.

News of the 1-4 Cav

We've been trying to keep you updated on news from Baghdad where three Marshall residents are situated at Camp Victory while one man, Adam Lafferty, is on the move with the 1-4 Cavalary Regiment from Ft. Riley, Kansas. At Michael Yon Online, he embeds with the 1-4 and reports on their discovery of the amazingly intact College of Babel in the heart of Baghdad.

This week's front page

Unsung heroes

If you're a little tired of seeing so much government related news in the Chronicle with the same sources quoted over and over, so are we. We'd like to feature special individuals not connected to local government who are working to make their world better, who have a unique story to tell or who survived a life changing event. Or, if you know a couple with a great love story or even a child who did something noteworthy for another person, we would love to tell those stories. Think about the people you play softball or bowl with who show love and dedication to the team/sport year after year. We're looking for the good people of Marshall who would otherwise get no recognition for being who they are. Please, don't hesitate to call Shelly or John at 781-5444, email chronicle@jasnetworks.net.

Thinking green

Yesterday was Earth Day. What did you do to celebrate? Have you noticed the increased push to be more environmentally conscious at the same time the EPA is planning to dump truckloads of PCBs into the heart of a Kalamazoo neighborhood? How can citizens make the government practice what its name seems to imply: Environmental Protection (Agency?) What's your take? Will individual efforts helps save the planet for future generations or should the corporate polluters take the lead? If you know someone who works to save our natural resources or even battles corporate and government bureaucracy in the process, drop us a line at chronicle@jasnetworks.net.

A more whimsical Marshall

We pre-empted our Gaming with the Intern column this week to make room for a special guest column for your visual pleasure by Art in the Eye creater, Vee Kalnins. Kalnins seeks to bring whimsy back to Marshall by scattering original and unique sculptures by various artists in and around the city - just for the fun of it. See what he has to say about art and look for Marshall's newest vagabond, Art Foman, around town. And, for more information, click the link at left.

MPS has crisis response plan

A tragedy like the one at Virginia Tech Monday, April 16, is at the forefront of everyone's mind. While no one can prevent all tragedies from happening, some preplanning hopefully can help deter or minimize the potential harm. Marshall Public Schools not only adheres to its crisis response guide, which covers everything from weather emergencies to shooters, the staff offers anti bullying education, more commonly known within the district as character education. Coupled with its plan, the district feels confident that they're doing everything they can to keep kids safe. But what about the broken security cameras at the high school? Police say the cameras have not worked for years and it's a concern to local law enforcement. What about the unlocked doors on the first level of the high school, out of sight from the office, and the unchecked freedom people have to enter and wander the buildings? Hughes Elementary school seems to do the best job of watching who comes and goes and expecting an explanation for who you are and what you're doing. See the April 23 Chronicle for more on what the district is doing and plans to do about improving safety and security for students.

Will downtown building owners pay?

As At Large Marshall City Council Trustee Ron Goodwin pointed out tonight, as he has in the past, downtown building owners affected by the upcoming alley improvement project may be slapped with the bill to finance their hookup to the newly sunken lines which, as he said, cannot be connected to the outdated buildings' 60 amp interior service panels. Who must pay for the interior building upgrade when the city seeks to sink the overhead power lines? That is the question the city council and staff is currently exploring, according to Director of Utilities and Infrastructure, Tom Tarkiewicz. In the meantime, the council voted 4-2 with Mike Kinter absent to approve a resolution to authorize the sale of $1.05 million in bonds to finance the burying of conduits and vaults in the back alleys behind the two main, north and south blocks downtown this summer during the alley improvement project.

Worst school shooting in U.S. history...

Needless to say, our hearts go out to the families of those lost and to those who were injured in today's shocking shooting spree on the Virginia Tech. college campus. What a senseless act that has destroyed all of those precious young people with bright futures, so much talent, skill and worth to offer society. It's simply unfathomable how and why this could happen to so many innocent people. At tonight's Marshall City Council meeting, all those in attendance paused, and rightly so, in a moment of silence in deference to those whose lives were lost today in that terrifying rampage. Scott Loughrige of Crossroads Church led tonight's pause to remember those who died. If you know someone connected to this tragedy, please give us a call at 781-5444 or email, chronicle@jasnetworks.net

Food for thought

This is a photo taken and published by the Hastings Banner to illustrate citizen concerns about the daily gathering of high school kids across the street from the building prior to the morning bell. As you can see, they used their time to smoke, fight and even possibly drink and do drugs, according to some citizen reports. What is your reaction to this picture, showing the youths faces in full view of the public - and the camera? Let us know your reaction and afterward, we'll tell you the rest of the story.

Adult bookstore opens in Marengo

One and a half years after challenging Marengo Township's zoning ordinance in federal court, Little Mack Entertainment II has opened its adult bookstore at Partello Road and I-94 exit 112. While township officials say the shop is in violation of the 35-percent ordinance limit by consuming 98 percent of its floors space with sexually explicit materials, the township has delayed issuing a citation due to the pending federal litigation. See this story in the April 16 Chronicle.

When to get a tune-up and more

Detailing, mufflers, tires, engines, wipers and more will be the featured topics when the Ad-Visor publishes a special car care section in next week's edition. Pull out and save this informative collection of car care tips coupled with advertisements from local professionals who can help attend to those issues.

Meet our Intern

As you may have noticed, we have an intern who has been with us for about a year now. Santino Guile is no ordinary intern - here for the summer and gone. A graduate of Battle Creek Central High School, Santino went on to complete four years at Central Michigan University, majoring in journalism. He spends most of his time working for Meijer in Battle Creek and all that stands between Santino and his degree, is a couple dozen more hours or so. His ulimate dream is to become a full time sports reporter. He's reported for us on sports, human interest stories, business features and more. Now, we're putting his love for video games and tech gadgets together with his writing skills to present a new feature we call, Gaming with the Intern. He enjoys the research, we enjoy reading his findings and we hope you will ind his new feature a fun addition to our publication. If you have any subject ideas for him, feel free to email him at chronicle@jasnetworks.net.

Update on 1-4 Cavalry Regiment

While we have not received word on any other Marshall residents currently serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, we did get this news on the 1-4 Cavalary Regiment of which 2004 Marshall graduate Spc. Adam Lafferty is a part. What follows was sent by his commander to Lafferty's mother, Tracy Reuss:

Family and Friends of 1-4 CAV,
I have been attempting to carve out some time to provide you all with another update as I received some positive feedback from my last update and know that many of you appreciate it. Fortunately, we have had a couple of reporters with our Squadron who will help provide some third party perspective of what we have been up to. First, we had Mr. Michael Yon who is a very popular blogger and has spent a great deal of time in Iraq and is himself a former soldier in Special Forces. Mr. Yon knows what he is looking at and how to put it in the proper perspective so he is generally well-respected and has a loyal following on the internet. FOX News recently added the link to his website to their own news web site. He published one article on the web about us entitled RUBS #2 (Raw, Unedited, and Barely Spell-checked) which I know that many of you have read. He will publish a much more detailed article with pictures any day now. In fact, by the time you get this email, it may be published. He was great to work with and I hope you enjoy his insight. I have not seen any kind of draft so I am operating on faith here! The second reporter is named Shashank Bengali. He writes for the McClatchey News Group (formerly Knight Ridder). His articles are picked up by several major newspapers to include the Kansas City paper. His focus is on our Combat Outpost as is Mr. Yon’s.
Since my last update, we have completed our move into our COP which will allow us to integrate our capabilities much easier and quicker into our area of responsibility. This was a major undertaking by the entire Squadron as well as a large number of Army Engineers. First, B Troop secured the route we used to get all of our logistical support to the COP. They stood guard along the route 24/7 for a week to ensure we could move safely back and fourth as there was a great deal of US traffic. They did an excellent job as there was not a single hostile act along that route. One interesting side note… We often hand out soccer balls and backpacks filled with paper, crayons, etc to some of the local children and one of our B Troop NCOs was doing so when one child came up to him and slipped him a hand written note in English which said:

Dear Sir,
We ask your help and support us. We want to tell you that there is no electricity in this neighborhood about six months ago and we suffer a lot. People here scare to go to Al Dura station and ask there and there is no other direction just you. Will you make us a favourit to help the citizens of this neighborhood. With appreciation…

After handing him the note, the boy slipped into the crowd of the other kids and walked away. In my own personal interaction with people here I do find that they really believe that we can do anything. I even had one young man ask me if we could fix the broken water pipes in by his home and another man asked us to provide security for him while he loaded his household goods to move. Yet another woman asked me to find out what happened to her husband since he had been arrested eight months ago. For the record, I couldn’t fix the water pipes but we did send a local patrol from C troop into the man’s area while he loaded his possessions and I took the woman’s name and number to our NP battalion commander who I work closely with. He actually called her to try to help. One cannot help but feel compassion.
Back to the COP story… A Troop spent the week set in outer security around the COP while the Engineers emplaced large concrete barriers around an already existing perimeter wall. While we did have some sporadic attacks, no one was injured in large part due to A Troop’s vigilance throughout the week. While on the outer perimeter, A Troop did some excellent interaction with people in the neighborhood. C Troop’s focus was in the building itself. They moved sand bags, collected up furniture and other items in the building into single rooms for safekeeping until we turn it back over. They also secured the building itself from the roof top. The engineers were incredible as they brought large concrete barriers during the evening and emplaced them all day and night. They actually had a day and night shift. With some of the extra wood, SSG Littleton took the initiative to build two quality soccer goals for the kids in the neighborhood and the engineers leveled out a field for them in a huge empty lot close to our COP. Those touches are a reflection of your troopers and while it won’t win the war, it doesn’t hurt. Some of those kids will grow up and remember those acts of kindness I am sure. A and C Troop will work from this COP which our crack staff has named COP Amanche. (Apache + Comanche, the troop nick names). Our Forward Support Company, D/ 610 BSB, has played a huge role in the COP Amanche occupation as well. They brought out all of our building supplies, fuel, sandbags and even out mobile kitchen trailer so that we can all enjoy a hot meal even while away from the FOB.
As I patrolled through the surrounding neighborhoods I found specific examples of families returning because of the added security we would provide. They are not returning in droves yet but it is a move in the right direction. Word will spread. I know A Troop also found families who had returned. So far, the insurgents are the only ones unhappy with our new strategy. This week we will begin work on the Joint Security Station (JSS) that I mentioned last time. B Troop will eventually work from a COP that is co-located with the JSS on the NP Battalion compound. Engineer work begins there this week.
In the mean time, soldiers from all of our troops continue to conduct patrols with our National Police counterparts. They continue to set a spectacular example for them and build a trust between our organizations. This is focused work at the troop and platoon level. One final note, while driving to the COP several guys in our convoy saw what they thought was a dead body on the side of the road. Unfortunately, this does occur here from time to time. We turned around and when we arrived to him I noticed that he was moving some. Cautiously, we got out after stopping traffic on a four lane road and as we all approached we noticed that his fists were clenched and he was very stiff and in the middle of an epileptic seizure. We always have a medic with us (SPC Roden) but today we happened to bring our medic platoon sergeant, SFC Dixon. He and SPC Roden quickly conducted an assessment and had him on his feet in short order. He said that he had run out of his medicine and had been wal king all morning from another part of Baghdad to look for a job. We contacted the police and convinced them (yes, we had to convince them) to take him to a hospital as he would certainly have another seizure if we allowed him to continue to walk down the road. We can only hope that things worked out for him.
In closing, we just completed a picture video for Captain Laybourn to show all of the families at the CAV Family roundup in a couple of weeks. I hope you all enjoy it. Please continue to pray for this organization and keep us in your thoughts. We will never know all of the close calls go our way due to Divine intervention but we are aware of several. Thank you for your vigilance at home. It truly helps us to remain focused and “switched on” over here. God Bless,


LTC Jim Crider
Commander, 1-4 CAV
“Prepared and Loyal”

Editor's Note: At left is a link to Michael Yon Online Magazine which features news of the 1-4 at a link called RUBS (as referenced in the above.)

Your cheers and jeers?

In this week's paper, you saw my cheers and jeers. But, I'd always rather hear from you and print everything you like and dislike about whatever. Please, feel free to let me know what you'd like to see published, good and bad, in the next 'cheers and jeers' section. Email your cheer or jeer with your name and telephone number to me at chronicle@jasnetworks.net. As soon as I have a hefty collection from you, I'll print them, with your name. I'm waiting! -Shelly

MHS teen facing six sex related charges

Police are now telling us the Marshall High School student charged with criminal sexual conduct is 14 and the victim is 16. He faces 8 counts related to two separate incidents. More information is forthcoming. Find this and other public safety reports on page 2 of the April 9 Chronicle and in the April 16 edition, see what else police revealed about these allegations.

Voters to decide on paying same or lower taxes

During parent-teacher conferences at Marshall Public Schools, brochures on the extension of the current operating millage were available to those attending. In fact, at each of the three elementary schools, the middle school and high school, the brochures were enlarged on poster board and highly visible to those entering the buildings. What may not have been as apparent was the fact that school tax bills will begin to reduce by .6 mil this summer if voters turn down the May 8 ballot question of whether the district should continue to levy the 2001 bond millage at is current level of 4.45. Find out more about this proposition, designed to finance building improvements, on page 1 of the April 9 Chronicle.

Marshall, Albion rap 911 consolidation

With the threatened state revenue sharing cuts, along with loss of business tax revenues and the potential of increased state funding if municipalities combine resources, the cities of Marshall and Albion are currently exploring the idea of merging emergency dispatching services. Though he insists it's not a done deal and that talks are only in the early stages, the city has created a separate budgeting account for Marshall's dispatching arm of the public safety department reflecting some $230,000 in the proposed 2007-2008 budget.

Tenneco to add 22 jobs

A Ford muffler contract awarded to Tenneco late last year has led the company to add $2 million in equipment and 22 new jobs. While producing exhaust systems for the Big Three is a tenuous business in these tough economic times, Tenneco has managed to keep costs down and meet customer pricing demands and keep people working. See the front page of the April 9 Chronicle for more on how Tenneco, under the shrewd guidance of Plant Manager Randy Rial, has managed to remain the last auto parts manufacturer in Marshall.

Angry responses...

While we received rave reviews for our coverage of Aaron Morse and the Dark Horse Brewery, the Ron Behrenwald story and positive feedback on the Patrick Reese legal challenge to the city, one story has triggered some angry response. Our lead story about the six teens who created a scare with a simulated weapon has created backlash from parents. While we were careful to avoid identifying the young men, the parents of course know who their sons are in the photo, showing only their backs and a partial side view of one young man. The boys report that they were not on school property but on the sidewalk in front of the school and that they were filming each other with an empty air gun for a class assignment to create a movie about Julius Ceasar in modern day. The parents claim their teacher gave them permission to use the gun in their film as long as it was not loaded. Police have also since learned that there is no zone but that weapons can not be on school property and that simulated weapons are not covered by the state statute. The boys' encounter with police and the police officials carrying their own assault rifle during their investigation of the reported gunmen was in plain view of the public. While we are not required by law to do so, we were careful to avoid printing photos that would identify the boys. We quoted police officials who spoke to us at the scene. We stand by our story and will offer a follow-up report in the April 9 Chronicle.

Proposed City Budget is balanced

A balanced budget proposal that freezes the deputy treasurer position, one street department job and one police department position, was delivered to the city council and the public at the April 2 regular city council meeting. Following is a budget memo shared by City Manager Chet Travis:

"The preliminary budget you are receiving tonight is a balanced budget without using any of the undesignated fund balance. We are proposing the use of $98,909 of the designated from the Lear tax recapture. The proposed budget includes freezing three vacant positions which have opened up recently. Hopefully, after some further negotiations, these positions may be refilled. The budget plans for a very small amount of captial expenses. The air compressor for filling the fire department air tanks is being funded by a grant and contributions from area fire departments. The $12,000 proposed city hall repairs is planned to be paid for with local grants. There are others areas of the budget that we will be proposing changes in to the council when we have our work sessions. We would like to suggest a work session on April 11 at 6 p.m. and, if needed, April 12, 6 p.m. I would also like to let the council and the public know that we are in negotiations with the city of Albion to combine our dispatch centers with the hope of saving more money."

The council tabled ratification of a proposed contract for the Dial-A-Ride employees union due to the 3.5-pecent raise in each of the three years of the deal until after budget workshop discussions.

Watch the April 9 Chronicle for more detail on these and other issues.

Brush pickup back on April 16; Trash pickup studied

After the administration's canceling of curbside brush pickup this year, the Marshall City Council last night voted unanimously with Mike Kinter and Matt Glaser absent to reinstate this spring's service "one time only" on April 16. That means if residents miss the as yet unspecified pickup day, there will be no more chances. Curbside junk/trash pickup for spring cleaning, however, is still up in the air as city officials gather proposed costs. Both services could be eliminated entirely from the 2008 spring season, however.

Public Opinion Corrections:

We are ever so sorry to have inadvertantly omitted the answers to this week's question for Leroy Oliver, Carolyn Curtis and Jim Cracraft: To them, we apologize for running last week's answers from different individuals regarding the pet food recall. We also inadvertantly lost the photo of Amie Camp:

Here are our gracious pollees and their answers. Corrections will also be published in the April 9 Chronicle:

Who is your pick for the NCAA championship?
“Georgetown, no question about it. Florida’s got a lot of spirit, but UCLA would give Georgetown a better game.”
Jim Cracraft,
Marshall & Chicago, IL

“I know nothing about basketball. But, I’ll pick Georgetown because it’s a Jesuit school.”
Carolyn Curtis,
Marshall

“I’ve been watching the tournament. I think the final will be Ohio State against Florida. I think Florida’s going to win it again.”
Leroy Oliver
Ceresco

“No, I don’t watch basketball actually, but I’ll pick Ohio State because my husband’s cousins go there.”
Amie Camp,
Marshall