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Thursday Afternoon State News Summary Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:46:55 EDT (Calhoun Co-Oil Spill Evacuation) The Calhoun County Public Health Department Is Recommending Immediate Evacuation Of Residents Directly Affected In And Around The Site Of The Kalamazoo River Oil Spill. The Area Affects Approximately 30 To 50 Homes North And Northwest Of The Oil Spill Site In Talmadge Creek Near Marshall. According To Media Reports, County Health Department And Michigan Department Of Community Health Officials And Volunteers Will Personally Visit Those Homes Affected To Deliver Notices Of Recommended Evacuation. The Recommendation Is Due To The Higher Than Acceptable Levels Of Benzene Found In Air Quality Tests And The Adverse Health Affects Associated With Long-Term Exposure To The Known Carcinogen. Volunteers Are Reportedly Securing Hotel Rooms And Arranging Shelter Locations For Evacuees. (Calhoun Co-Oil Spill Estimate) The Environmental Protection Agency Says It Believes More Than A Million Gallons Of Oil May Have Leaked This Week Into A Major Southern Michigan Waterway That Leads To Lake Michigan. The Estimate Reported Wednesday Night From The Epa Exceeds Earlier Estimates From The Company Responsible For The Spill Into Talmadge Creek, Which Runs Into The Kalamazoo River. Those Estimates Totaled About 819,000 Gallons. Epa Administrator Lisa Jackson Says In A Statement That The Agency And Calgary, Alberta-Based Enbridge Are Taking Action On The "Serious Spill." The Epa Says It's Requested The Coast Guard Make Two Million Dollars Available To Fund The Federal Government's Operations In Response To The Spill And The Agency Will Move Additional Vessels Into The Area Within Days To Assist In The Response. (Help From: Tim Durkee, Wbck, Battle Creek) (Mi-Drunk Driving Crackdown) This Year's Fourth Of July Holiday Drunk Driving Crackdown Resulted In The Arrests Of 239 Drunk Drivers. The Michigan Office Of Highway Safety Planning Says Law Enforcement Officers In 30 Counties Made More Than 68-Hundred Traffic Stops In The July 1-11 Crackdown. In Addition, 46 Fugitives Were Arrested And More Than One-Thousand Speeding Tickets Were Written. Last Year, One Pedestrian Died In Michigan In An Alcohol-Related Crash Over The July 4th Holiday. Preliminary Reports Indicate Five People Were Killed During This Year's Holiday Weekend With None Of The Crashes Involving Alcohol. Another Over The Limit. Under Arrest. Drunk Driving Crackdown Is Set To Start August 19th And Running Through The Labor Day Weekend. (Taylor-Officer Funeral) An Estimated Crowd Of Ten-Thousand Mourners Attended The Funeral For Taylor Police Corporal Matthew Edwards Today (Thurs). The Ceremony Was A Private Service For Family, Fellow Officers And Members Of Beacon Baptist Church. Edwards Was Killed In The Line Of Duty Last Friday When He And His Partner Answered The Call Of A Possible Home Invasion At The Coppertree Apartments. Tyress Mathews Allegedly Shot And Killed The Officer After He Was Stopped In The Parking Lot. Mathews Was Shot And Wounded By Edwards' Partner And Remains Hospitalized. Police Operations In Taylor Were Being Handled By Other Local Departments. Burial Is At The Michigan Memorial Park In Huron Township. (Metro Source) (Mi-Oil Leak Warning) Enbridge Energy, Which Owns The Pipeline That Leaked Near Battle Creek Earlier This Week, Was Warned By The Government That The Oil Leak Could Happen. A Confidential Letter Dated January 21st That Was Sent By Certified Mail From The Pipeline And Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Warned Company President Terry Mcgill Of The Potential Risk Of A Leak Of The Firms Pipeline In Griffith, Indiana. The Pipeline Is The Same One In Which A Leak Of An Estimated One-Million Gallons Of Oil Is Causing Major Environmental Damage In The Kalamazoo River. Houston-Based Enbridge Had Committed Probable Violations Of Pipeline Safety Regulations That Were Found In An Inspection Last Fall. The Problems Included Corrosion Of The Pipe And The Lack Of Equipment To Stop The Corrosion From Spreading. It Also States That Monitoring Equipment Should Be Installed. Ivan Huntoon, The Director Of The Central Region Office, Told Enbridge If Nothing Was Done, The Firm Could Be Liable For Civil Penalties Of $100,000 For Each Day In Violation, Up To One-Million Dollars. (Wwj, Detroit) (Kalamazoo Co-Oil Breaches Dam) An Oil Spill In The Kalamazoo River Has Breached A Dam That Officials Hoped Would Be The Last Barrier Between The Spill And Lake Michigan. A Helicopter Fly-Over Spotted The Breach At Morrow Lake In Comstock Township, Just East Of Kalamazoo. The Spill, Reported On Monday Afternoon From A Broken Pipeline Near Marshall, Is Now Estimated By The Environmental Protection Agency To Be About One-Million Gallons. (Metro Source) (Mi-Obama Returning) President Barack Obama Will Be Back In Michigan On Friday To Talk About The Auto Industry. Obama Will Tour And Speak To Workers At A Chrysler Plant In Detroit And A General Motors Plant In Hamtramck. The Visit Comes Just Over A Year After The President Helped The Two Companies Start Returning To Profitability By Pushing The Auto Bailout Package Through Congress. The Hamtramck Gm Plant Is One Of Nine That The Automaker Recently Kept Open During A Scheduled Summer Shutdown In Production. The Jefferson North Chrysler Plant Just Added A Second Shift Bringing Approximately One-Thousand-100 Jobs To The Facility. According To The Obama Administration, The Auto Industry Overall Is Strengthening Because Of The Steps The Administration And Congress Have Taken With Cash For Clunkers And The Recovery Act. (Ingham Co-Murder Suspects-Update) The Number Of Suspects Arrested In Connection With The Death Of A 19-Year-Old Lansing Woman Is Now Up To Seven. 18-Year Old Demetris Kline Surrendered To Police Late Wednesday And Was Arraigned Today (Thursday) On Multiple Charges Including Open Murder, Armed Robbery, Home Invasion And Felony Firearm Possession. He's Being Held Without Bond In The Ingham County Jail Pending A Preliminary Examination On August 5th. Shayla Johnson Was Shot And Killed Friday Night After A Group Of Men Armed With Handguns And An Ak-47 Assault Rifle Stormed Her House On The City's Near South Side. Five Other Men Already Have Been Arraigned On Charges Including Murder And Home Invasion While Police Are Still Looking For 32-Year-Old Charles Lewis. One Of The Suspects' 13-Year Old Son Has Also Been Arrested And Prosectors Plan To Ask That The Boy Be Designated As An Adult. (Grand Rapids-Cold Case Murder) An Alabama Man Already Jailed For The Murder Of A Young Grand Rapids Woman More Than 30 Years Ago Has Been Charged With The Murder Of Another. 58-Year Old Russell Allen Vane Was Arraigned Wednesday In A Kent County Court On An Open Murder Charge In The Death Of Diane Holloway. The 21-Year Old's Body Was Found Near Some Railroad Tracks In August 1979, Two Days After She Had Been Reported Missing From Her Boyfriend's Apartment. The Kent Metro Cold Case Team Identified Vane As A "Person Of Interest" When They Discovered He Was One Of The Last People To See Holloway Alive. Vane Was Already Being Held Without Bond In The Kent County Jail After Being Charged In The 1976 Murder Of Kathryn Darling. The 17-Year-Old Was Found Raped And Strangled In Her Grand Rapids Home. Investigators Say Vane Was Also One Of The Last People To See Darling Alive. Over The Course Of Her Murder Investigation, Detectives Discovered That Vane Had Sexually Assaulted At Least 13 Women In The Grand Rapids Area In The 1970s. But, Because Of The Michigan Statute Of Limitations Only Six Of Those Rape Cases Can Be Prosecuted. Vane Moved To Alabama From Grand Rapids In 1982. (Help From: Rod Kackley, Wood, Grand Rapids) (Detroit-Kilpatrick Deposed) Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Was Back At The Federal Courthouse In Downtown Detroit Thursday Morning To Answer Questions About The Unsolved Murder Of A Stripper. The Deposition, Which Began At About 10 A.M., Is Expected To Last All Day Although His Attorney Could Advise The Former Mayor To Take His Fifth Amendment Rights. A Lawsuit Was Filed Against The City Of Detroit And Kilpatrick Claiming They Obstructed The Investigation Into Tamara Greenes April 2003 Death. She Was Rumored To Have Danced At A Never-Proven Party At The Manoogian Mansion Just A Few Months Before She Was Shot To Death. Kilpatricks Attorney Said His Client Denies The Allegations. The 40-Year Old Kilpatrick Was Brought To The Courthouse From The Federal Prison In Milan Where He Is Serving Time For A State Probation Violation And Awaiting Trial On A Federal Fraud And Tax Indictment. Kilpatricks Chief Of Staff Christine Beatty Was Questioned In Birmingham Wednesday As Part Of The Case. His Wife And Father Could Be Questioned Friday. (Wwj, Detroit) (Marshall-Oiled Animals) Agents From The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Do Not Want The Public To Try To Help Oiled Animals Near The Oil Spill In Kalamazoo And Calhoun Counties. There Is A Hotline To Call At 800-306-6837 If You See Animals Who Have Gotten Into The Crude. Another Issue Is That Of Mosquito-Borne Illnesses Such As Equine Encephalitis Which Has Been Reported In The Area. Kalamazoo County Medical Director Dr. Richard Tooker Said Trying To Help The Animals Affected By The Oil Spill Will Likely Take People Into Mosquito-Infested Areas And Increase Their Chance For Infection. (Metro Source) (Detroit-Power Outages) The Work Continues To Get Power Back On For Thousands Of Homes And Businesses In Southeast Michigan. Strong Thunderstorms With High Winds Moved Across The State Wednesday Afternoon Taking Down Trees And Power Lines. The Majority Of Power Outages Were Reported In Wayne, Oakland And Macomb Counties. Wind Gusts Estimated At 72-Miles Per Hour Were Reported In Mount Clemens. No One Was Injured During The Storms. Officials With Dte Energy Say They Plan To Have All Power Restored Later Today (Thursday). (Metro Source) (Gladwin Co-Triple Fatal) Three People Were Killed In A Rollover Accident Tuesday Night In Gladwin County. State Police Say The Crash Happened On Lyle Road East Of M-18 In Tobacco Township Where Troopers Found All Four Occupants Of A Station Wagon Had Been Thrown From The Vehicle. 31-Year-Old Randi Wang And 34-Year-Old Cory Bearden, Both Of Beaverton; And 30- Year-Old Amanda Beardon Of Prudenville Were Pronounced Dead At The Scene. A Fourth Person Is Listed In Stable Condition At Mid-Michigan Medical Center In Midland. The Accident Is Still Under Investigation. (Wsgw, Saginaw) |
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