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MONDAY, NOV. 25, 2013 | MOUNT PLEASANT, MICH. | ISSUE NO. 40 VOL. 95
Decades n io t a ic d e d f o
LIFE IN BRIEF
MAN SENT TO HOSPITAL WITH GUNSHOT WOUND The Mount Pleasant Police Department responded to a call at 6:42 p.m. on Sunday in the downtown district of a man with a non-life threatening gunshot wound. According to a news release sent by MPPD Public Information Officer Jeff Thompson, the man was transported to McLaren Central Michigan, 1221 S. Drive, for treatment. The man’s age was not released. “During the initial investigation, it was determined that the incident did not take place within the city limits of Mount Pleasant,” the release reads. “The investigation has been turned over to the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police.” -CM Life Staff Reports
DRUG RAID RESULTS IN THREE ARRESTS FOR HEROIN Undercover narcotics investigators raided a Mount Pleasant home Thursday on an investigation as part of a heroin investigation. The Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team arrested three people while executing a search warrant on a house suspected to be involved in drug trafficking in the 300 block of North Adams Street. A 23-year-old Flint man, a 43-year-old Saginaw man and a 36-year-old Mount Pleasant woman were arrested and will be charged by the Isabella County Prosecutor’s Office. According to the release, there will be several felony charges made. The residence was searched by BAYANET investigators, who found about 13.4 grams of heroin, packaged into 110 bindles. The street value of the drugs found was estimated to be at $3,000. Officers also found $680 in cash, along with a loaded shotgun and a small amount of marijuana, according to a press release issued the next day by BAYANET. Narcotics agents were assisted in the seizure by Isabella County’s Emergency Services Team, the Mount Pleasant Police Department and the Michigan State Police. -By Adrian Hedden Senior Reporter
This is the last edition of CM Life until after Thanksgiving break. The next edition will publish Monday, Dec. 2
Daytona Niles | Staff Photographer Spanish professor Norma Richardson makes quesadillas Nov. 12 for new spanish major students in Pearce. “When I see students in class together, I hope they see what an opportunity this is for them,” Richardson said.
CMU’s longest-serving professor places emphasis on the present orma Richardson’s philosophy of focusing on the present is far more important to her than her status as Central Michigan University’s longest-serving professor. She has traveled around the country and been everywhere from Costa Rica to Japan, but 46 years ago, she began teaching at CMU and has been here ever since. In 1967, CMU’s 75th anniversary, she began teaching on a campus that looked a lot different than it does today. “The library has completely
University website to adapt to all mobile devices »PAGE 3A Isabella Community Soup Kitchen to serve Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow »PAGE 5A Wrestling coach, son battle at individual meet »PAGE 5B
The number of nuisance parties resulting in police action have dropped dramatically over the last four years in Mount Pleasant. After a total of 78 nuisance parties that resulted in police action in 2010, the number dropped to 65 in 2011 and then to 42 in 2012. There are 20 reports of handled nuisance parties so far this year. While Central Dispatch has received approximately 872 calls for a response to nuisance parties since 2010, only a small fraction of those result in either citations or jail time, according to MPPD Public Information Officer Jeff Thompson. This is not due to any change in the way students party, but rather how people behave toward officers when the parties are addressed. “We do see at times a higher level of cooperation from some houses, and at other times we see a decrease in cooperation,” Thompson said. The dramatic difference between the parties that are called in and the number of citations given out is due to not all calls actually needing to be followed up on. If a complainant does not take the initiative to identify him or herself to Central Dispatch, it is not likely the police will take action against the party. “It’s really officer discretion,” Thompson said. “What one person calls a complaint on might not be what another person calls a complaint on.” When disciplinary action is taken at the site of a party, it will result in either a citation and fine or one or more residents being escorted to jail, Thompson said. Residents will either be cited for hosting or attending a nuisance party or for disturbing the peace. Thompson said that officers never give out both citations at once, but decide which is more appropriate for the situation. Officer discretion also comes into play when police exercise the warning system in place to deal with rowdy parties. If residents at a party are slamming doors, ignoring the issue or otherwise disrespecting officers, Thompson said action will most likely be taken without a warning. “As long as we get cooperation at the door, that’s going to be good enough for us,” Thompson said. “Our goal is to address the problem.” Bloomfield Hills senior Dominic Tringali has lived in both Bluegrass w NUISANCE | 2A
ment numbers and tuition rates have steadily risen since then and the campus has expanded in both physical size and reach, Richardson believes at least one thing has yet to change. “It’s always been about giving students opportunities,” she said. Decades of work in the field of foreign language, literature and culture studies have given her a unique perspective and approach that can only be shaped by years of experience. w RICHARDSON | 2A
Nuisance parties over the last four years cited by the Mount Pleasant Police Department 2013: 20 (so far) 2012: 42 2011: 65 2010: 78 Approximately 872 calls for service for nuisance parties.
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hunter’s Ale House host raffle to help homeless By Nathan Clark Staff Reporter
Life inside
changed,” she said, for instance. “Everything used to be in a card catalog.” About the time Richardson was hired, Judson Foust was finishing his nine-year stint as president of the university, and about 9,500 students were taking classes on the 460-acre campus. “Everything evolves, and that is a good thing,” Richardson said. “I’m not in favor of every change, though — like rising tuition.” The cost of a semester hour was less than $50 during Richardson’s first years at CMU. While enroll-
By Megan Pacer & Derek Thiel Senior Reporter & Staff Reporter
NUISANCE PARTIES
By Kurt Nagl | Staff Reporter
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Nuisance party citations down significantly since 2010
Parishioners from the Immanuel Lutheran Church, in collaboration with Hunter’s Ale House, hosted a charity raffle to raise money for the Isabella County Restoration House to shelter homeless residents. The church sold raffle tickets from noon-4 p.m. Sunday afternoon with a top prize of $150, which was donated by the church. All other prizes, such as restaurant gift cards and tickets to the Jan. 11 Detroit Pistons game, were donated by community businesses. The pastor of the church, Dana Hendershot, gave a challenge to the entire congregation to raise money for the ICRH.
“There are not a lot of options for the homeless in the area,” said Amy Powell, the member of the church council who organized the event. “There are lots of emergency shelters, like domestic violence shelters, but those are not specifically for the homeless.” It is difficult to put an exact number on the amount of people in Michigan who are homeless, as they can only count people who apply for assistance or register at emergency shelters, but there are an estimated 11,527 homeless people in Michigan, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Community Planning and Development. w RAFFLE | 2A
Daytona Niles | Staff Photographer Lake Isabella residents Haley Burton, left, Tracy Burton, and Travus Burton discuss what baskets they will put their raffle tickets in Sunday at Hunters Ale house during the Raise the House event the Immanuel Lutheran church put on to raise money for the homeless.