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Friday Afternoon State News Summary Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:28:11 EDT (Mi-Obama Auto Visits) During His Visit To Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly Plant In Detroit Today (Friday), President Obama Sang The Praises And The Spirit Of The American Worker. Over The Cheers Of The Crowd Obama Said, Quote, "Don't Bet Against The American Worker And Don't Bet Against The American People." He Talked About 14 People From That Plant Who Just Won The Lottery. The President Said That One Of Those Men Bought A Jeep Grand Cherokee Built Right There At That Plant. As Further Testimony To The Heart Of The American Worker, The President Said That Same Man Plans To Buy New American Flags For His Home Town. In Closing Obama Said, Quote, "I Have Confidence In The American Worker And Confidence In The Economy. We Are Coming Back." Later, At A Stop At General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck Plant, Obama Got Behind The Wheel Of A Black Chevy Volt Electric Car And Drove It 10 Feet As The Plant Manager Rode Shotgun. That Was Enough For The President To Conclude That The Ride Was, Quote, "Pretty Smooth." (Metro Source) (Sterling Heights-Chrysler Adds Shift) Chrysler Announced Today (Friday) Plans On Adding Another Shift At Its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, North Of Detroit. The Move Will Reportedly Add 900 Jobs By Early Next Year. In Addition The Company Says It Will Keep The Plant Open Beyond Its Previously Planned Closure Date Of 2012. The Plant Makes The Dodge Avenger And Chrysler Sebring Midsize Sedans. Governor Granholm Calls Chrysler's Announcement The Best News Of The Summer And A Tremendous Economic Boost. The Word Came Just Hours Before President Barack Obama Visited Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly Plant In Detroit Where The Automaker Just Added Nearly Eleven-Hundred Jobs As Part Of A Second Shift. That Plant Makes The Jeep Grand Cherokee. (Metro Source) (Calhoun Co-More Spill Evacuations) Calhoun County Health Officials Today (Friday) Were Evacuating Dozens Of Additional Homes In The Area Surrounding The Kalamazoo River Oil Spill South Of Battle Creek. They Are Concerned About 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. In Addition, About 100 Families Along The Contaminated River Have Been Asked To Drink Bottled Water. Estimates Of The Amount Of Oil Lost From The Pipeline Leak Now Range From 800,000 To One Million Gallons. Residents Of The Hard-Hit Area Are Outraged By The Response To The Oil Spill. Robert Haynor Jr. Owns Five Acres Along Where The Kalamazoo River Empties Into Morrow Lake And Wonders If He Might Have To Give Up His Land Because Of The Oil Spill. Roger Wayview Of Kalamazoo And His Wife Brought Their Kayak To The Lake But Had To Go Elsewhere After The Health Department Closed It. (Wwj, Detroit) (Battle Creek-Enbridge Apologizes) Oil From The Enbridge Pipeline Which Ruptured Near Marshall Is Now About Halfway To Lake Michigan. Enbridge's Ceo Patrick Daniel Apologized For The Spill On Thursday And Pledged The Company Will Take "Full Responsibility" For The Cleanup. The National Transportation Safety Board Is Investigating The Leak, Which Happened On Sunday And Sent More Than 800-Thousand Gallons Of Oil Into The Kalamazoo River. The Environmental Protection Agency Is Heading Up The Cleanup Efforts Which It Estimates May Take Several Months. (Metro Source) (Ludington-Plane Wreckage Found) Search Crews Have Located The Wreckage From A Small Plane That Crashed Into Lake Michigan Last Week Near Ludington. State Police Sonar Units Discovered The Plane On The Bottom Of The Lake At 6:00 P.M. Thursday. Dive Teams Were Able To Confirm That The Wreckage Was From Last Friday's Crash. Additional Divers Are Attempting To Reach The Wreckage Today (Friday) To Determine If Any Bodies Are Inside. Four People Remain Missing. The Pilot Of The Cesna 206 Was Found Alive. The Plane Was En Route From Alma To The Mayo Clinic In Rochester, Minnesota When It Went Down. (Alan Neushwander, Wkla, Ludington) (Mi-Census Deadline) Today (Friday) Is The Last Day For Michigan Residents To Be Counted In The 2010 Census. Officials Say Residents Who Did Not Mail Back A Form Or Have Not Been Contacted By A Census Worker Are Encouraged To Call 1-866-872-6868 To Ensure They Are Included In The Head Count. The Telephone Assistance Line Will Close At 9 P.M. Tonight. The Toll-Free Line Is Being Shut Down So That Census Bureau Professionals Can Process The Data And Ensure That Residents Are Counted In The Right Place And Prepare The State Population Counts By The Statutory Deadline Of December 31st. (Big Rapids-Body Found In River) An Autopsy Is Scheduled For Today (Friday) On A Body That Was Pulled From The Muskegon River In Big Rapids Thursday Afternoon. Department Of Public Safety Director Franks West Says The Body Was Located By Fire Officials Along The West Riverbank About A Quarter-Mile South Of Highbanks Park. Authorities Believe The Body Is That Of 28-Year Old David Aube Of Big Rapids. Witnesses Told Police They Saw Aube Struggling In The Water Monday Night, And He Never Came Back Up. (Help From: Wbrn, Big Rapids) (Detroit-Police Shoot Kidnapper) A Kidnapping Suspect Was Shot And Killed By Detroit Police Overnight. Authorities Say Two Officers Stopped A Car Matching The Description Of One Used In An Alleged Kidnapping Early This Morning (Friday) On The City's Southwest Side. As They Approached The Car, The Driver Pointed An Automatic Weapon At The Officers And Was Shot Several Times. The Man Described As In His 20's Was Pronounced Dead At The Scene. A Female Passenger In The Vehicle, Also In Her 20's, Was Reportedly Unharmed. The Officer Who Shot The Suspect Has Placed On Paid Administrative Duties Pending The Outcome Of An Investigation Into The Shooting And The Alleged Kidnapping. (Help From: Wwj, Detroit) (Baraga Co-Burned Vehicle Victim) Baraga County Authorities Have Identified An Elderly Man Who Was Killed When His Vehicle Crashed And Burned In The Western Upper Peninsula Earlier This Week. State Police Found 90-Year Old Donald Manninen Of Covington In His Vehicle Monday Night As It Was Burning On The Baraga Plains East Of The Sturgeon Gorge Wilderness. The Vehicle Had Been Apparently Traveled Off The Road, Struck Two Trees And Burst Into Flames. Manninen Was The Lone Occupant Of The Vehicle. A Michigan State Police Fire Marshal Is Assisting Troopers In The Investigation Of The Cause Of The Crash And Fire. (Help From: Aaron Harper,Wjnr, Iron Mountain) (East Grand Rapids-Worker Death) The Kent County Medical Examiner Is Expected To Release An Exact Cause Of Death Today (Friday) Of A Construction Worker Who Possibly Electrocuted Yesterday Afternoon. 49-Year-Old William John Ryan Was Working On A Floating Boardwalk System In Reeds Lake At Waterfront Park In East Grand Rapids. Two Workers Noticed The Victim Collapse, While Arc-Welding Some Docking Together. Despite Efforts To Revive The Man, They Were Not Successful And He Was Pronounced Dead At The Scene. Ryan Was Employed By Flotation Docking Systems Of Cedarville In The Upper Peninsula. The Floating Boardwalk Is Part Of A 756-Thousand Dollar Revamping Of The Waterfront Park And Was Slated To Include Benches And Fishing Rod Holders. (Help From: Metro Source) (Washtenaw Co-Mom Charged In Fatal Shooting) The Mother Of Two Young Men Charged In A Fatal Shooting Sunday Near Ypsilanti Has Now Been Charged In The Case. Tina Crockett Is In The Washtenaw County Jail On 300-Thousand Dollars Bond Charged With Accessory After The Fact To A Homicide. Her Sons, 20-Year-Old Michael Crockett And 16-Year-Old Charles Pippens, Are Each Behind Bars On Charges Including Open Murder In The Death Of 20-Year-Old Chris King. Police Say The Ypsilanti Township Man Was Fatally Shot Outside A Kmart In His Hometown. Deputies Said At Least Two Guns Were Involved In The Incident, One Of Which Was Recovered At The Scene. (Help From: Wwj, Detroit) (Macomb Co-More Legionnaires') A Third Worker At Selfridge Air National Guard Base In Macomb County's Harrison Township Has Been Diagnosed With Legionnaires' Disease. According To Base Officials, 31 People Have Become Ill With An Upper Respiratory Disease In The Last Two Weeks. The Latest Worker Diagnosed With Legionnaires', A Lung Infection Caused By Bacteria, Is A Civilian Employee. At Least One Person, Identified As A Member Of The Michigan Air National Guard, Remains Hospitalized. Two Buildings On The Base Were Closed And Sanitized And Air And Water Tests Have Been Conducted. (Metro Source) (Dickinson Co-Tornadoes Confirmed) The National Weather Service Has Confirmed That Two Tornadoes Touched Down During A Thunderstorm That Swept Through The Western Upper Peninsula Earlier This Week. The Relatively Weak Twisters Uprooted And Snapped Off Trees In Norway And Near Vulcan In Dickinson County. Both Had Maximum Wind Speeds Of 70 Miles Per Hour. According To The 'Iron Mountain Daily News,' Some Houses And Structures Were Damaged When Trees Fell On Them But No Injuries Were Reported. (Grand Rapids-Fix On I-196) Work To Rebuild I-196 Through Downtown Grand Rapids Is About A Week Ahead Of Schedule. The Michigan Department Of Transportation Now Has Two Lanes Open In Each Direction On The Highway, With Nearly All Ramps Open. M-Dot Says The Project Is Now 70-Percent Complete. Crews Will Continue To Work On The Four Center Lanes, Two In Each Direction. The Two-Mile Reconstruction Added Four Lanes, Widened The Roadway And Replaced Five Bridges. It's Scheduled To Be Wrapped Up In November. (Metro Source) (Isabella Co-Fatal Crash Charges) An Isabella County Man Was Arraigned Thursday On Charges Stemming From A Single Vehicle Crash In May That Left His Passenger Dead. 18-Year Old Cody Weisenburger Of Mt. Pleasant Is Charged With Operating With The Presence Of Drugs Causing Death And Negligent Homicide. Police Say Weisenburger Was Driving A Chevrolet Corvette At A High Rate Of Speed May 14th When He Lost Control Of The Car In Deerfield Township. The Vehicle Hit A Ditch, A Tree, A Large Part Of A Tree That Had Been Cut And Continued Into A Field, Rolling Over Several Times. 18-Year Old Mt. Pleasant High School Student Carolynn Cosan Was Pronounced Dead At The Scene. Weisenburger Faces Up To 15 Years In Prison If Convicted On The Drug Charge. Negligent Homicide Is A Two-Year Felony. He Is Free On Bond. A Pre-Trial Conference Is Set For August 5th. |
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