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Monday, April 8, 2013
cm-life.com SHOWING OFF
MUD & MARTINIS
Opus XVI provides audience with variety of music » PAGE 3A
Graphic design class creates gallery showcasing art from poor Uganda community » PAGE 5A
Bonkowski pleads guilty
Running
Former student avoids trial in poisoning case By Tony Wittkowski Senior Reporter
to remember KAITLIN THORESEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Freeland native and CMU alum Brad Kloha, 28, drags a cinder block through the sand while training Saturday afternoon at Island Park, 331 N Main St. Starting June 15, Kloha will attempt to finish 100 road and mud and obstacles races in 52 weeks as part of a project he calls “Run to Remember,” which will conclude in June 2014. The goal of “Run to Remember” is to raise $1 million for Alzheimer’s disease awareness through the Alzheimer’s Association.
CMU alum, employee Brad Kloha to run 100 races in 52 weeks to raise funds for Alzheimer’s awareness By Justin Hicks | Senior Reporter Driving home from a mentally and physically exhausting mud and obstacle race known as the Tough Mudder, Brad Kloha was deep in thought. Having completed a handful of these strength and endurance tests for various foundations, the 28-year-old Freeland native wanted to do something bigger. “Driving back, I decided I wanted to create my own (fundraising race), but then the idea came to me, ‘Why not pull off something where I run a bunch instead?’” Kloha said. “At first, I decided to run 52 races in 52 weeks, but that seemed too easy.” Starting June 15, Kloha will attempt to finish 100 road and mud and obstacles races in 52 weeks as part of a project he calls “Run to Remember,”
which will conclude in June 2014. The goal of “Run to Remember” is to raise $1 million for Alzheimer’s disease awareness through the Alzheimer’s Association. Kloha launched the website, runtoremember.net, four weeks ago and has already raised more than $6,500. The site, which includes a calendar of Kloha’s future races, his personal blog and a memorial wall, also gives people the option to donate and sponsor the cause in various ways. Kloha said finances for the year are a slight worry, as estimated costs of entry fees and travel will total between $10,000 and $20,000, but he is determined to find a way to finish 100 races. “When I run these races, I think I’ll have enough motivation,” Kloha said. “It’s too big of a cause not to finish. It’s not just about me anymore; it’s about all the families of people with Alzheimer’s disease. I might be hurting, but so are all those families watching family members go through it.” Kloha ran his first mud obstacle
race in 2010, when he completed the Warrior Dash with his sister Heather Wesolek in Illinois. At first, he thought he might run a race each year, but he said he caught the bug and began participating more frequently. After coming up with the initial idea to run 100 races, he got the support of his Central Michigan University coworkers to help formulate his ideas for the organization. Kloha, a 2006 CMU graduate, is an enrollment management analyst at his alma mater. In November, he met with the Central Michigan chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association in Midland. “I was primarily interested in getting permission to say it was sup-
PHOTO COURTESY OF BRAD KLOHA
On July 5, 2010, Freeland native and CMU alum Brad Kloha, left, posed for a picture with his grandmother Phyllis Brinkman, as they celebrate her last birthday before she died from Alzheimer’s Disease in June 2011.
porting the Alzheimer’s Association,” Kloha said. “They loved it and sent me the logo to put on all my materials. Then, they set up the donation page for me, so no money donated went through me.”
Holocaust survivor Vera Meisels shares her story at CMU
A BONKOWSKI | 2A
A KLOHA | 2A
UNIVERSITY CAMPAIGN
Employees raise $892,503, marking third-highest drive ever for university By Justin Hicks Senior Reporter
By Ryan Fitzmaurice Senior Reporter
Sunday night’s reading was the end of a 16-day journey for Holocaust survivor Vera Meisels. Meisels traveled from Isreal to help advise and narrate last week’s production of “The Fireflies,” a play originally performed by children in the German ghetto Terezín during World War II. Meisels was an original participant in the play when she was sent to the Terezín ghetto at the age of eight. The reading, attended by about 70 in the Moore Hall Kiva, was part of the Harold Abel Endowed Lecture Series and showcased Meisels’ biographical works on the events of her childhood. The reading was the last event for Meisels before her return home. The works brought further insight into Meisels’ time in Terezín. The first story read, entitled “Dancing Afraid,” described the joy Meisels experienced in Terezín
Kayla A. Bonkowski, 20, pleaded guilty in Isabella County Trial Court Friday after being charged for putting bleach in her roommate’s iced tea. The Sterling Heights native and former Central Michigan University student was charged with poisoning food/drink/ medication/ water supply, a Kayla Bonkowski 15-year felony, but entered into a guilty plea agreement that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Bonkowski will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. on May 10 before judge Mark Duthie in Isabella County Trial Court. The court will take the guilty plea to an amended count 1 under advisement pending youthful trainee status. Defense attorney Todd Levitt declined comment, while Isabella County Prosecutor Risa Scully could not be reached. On Nov. 7, Bonkowski allegedly put bleach in her 20-year-old roommate’s iced tea at their Jamestown apartment complex following an argument over dirty dishes, according to court documents. Bonkowski said she knew poisoning her roommate was a serious thing, but she did it anyway because she said her roommate was being “mean,” according to an affidavit. After consuming the iced tea, Bonkowski’s roommate was taken to the hospital for treatment and later reported the incident to the authorities. The court found Bonkowski in violation of her bond conditions on Jan. 22 after being spotted at Wayside Central, 2000 S. Mission St., on Jan. 9 at the same time as her former roommate. The conditions she broke included a restraining order and attending an establishment that served alcohol. Bonkowski was then held without bond in the Isabella County Jail for 13 days before Feb. 4, when the court denied a motion to reinstate the original bond that was set at $20,000, which was paid on Dec. 12, 2012.
CHUCK MILLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Holocaust survivor Vera Meisels sits in the Kiva of Moore Hall Sunday evening and listens as her stories and poems are read to the audience. The stories detailed her childhood experiences during World War II and as a prisoner in the Terezín concentration camp.
while being in the play, but also the sense of terror that hung over every moment. “In the front row, German soldiers wearing black uniforms with white skulls sat,” Meisels wrote. “Here it comes, the end of the performance, they had come to take us. We were going to die; there were no parents to lean on.” The stories and poems presented were read by Meisels and three additional professors, Assistant Professor of Communication and Dramatic Arts Lauren McConnell, Assistant Professor of Communication and Dramatic Arts Annette Thornton and “The Fireflies” direc-
tor Nancy Eddy, because of Meisels’ difficulty speaking English. The works not only focused on her stay at Terezín, but also on her life afterward. They explored her childhood obsession with the piano, her relationship with her father and her trip back to Terezín years later. “Their poems are my therapy,” Meisels said. “When I am depressed, the poem comes.” Manchester junior Logan Caszatt said she came to the event because of her interest in Holocaust speakers. She found Meisels inspirational. A HOLOCAUST | 2A
Central Michigan University’s current and former employees pledged $892,503 for the 2012 Annual University Campaign, the third-highest total donation in school history. The College of Business Administration was the recipient of two of the seven AUC awards last week during the campaign luncheon. CBA pledged the most money by a college with more than 100 employees at $150,787 and received the highest participation by a college of the same size with 50-percent participation. “I think what (the awards) really say is we’re pretty invested in our efforts here in the College of Business and across campus,” said Sandy Sommer, director of development for the CBA. “We had high participation, because everybody is involved and cares about the university, not only just about supporting their own programs.” Each year, faculty, staff and retirees of CMU make internal pledges
between mid-October and the first week in December for the annual campaign. CMU will match 50 cents of each dollar donated during the campaign. This year, a combined 1,011 current and former employees made contributions to various areas, including scholarships, athletics, the library and many of CMU’s individual departments. Faculty pledging increased 13 percent from last year, with 331 faculty members supporting the campaign. Professional and administrative employees also made strides by setting an all-time record of 280 individuals participating. Brian Griffin, director of annual giving, said the two groups were key in this year’s campaign success. “I think we’ve built the campaign over time,” Griffin said. “I think what we’ve done is we’ve engaged people more on campus. This year was the third-highest year we’ve had, so we were pretty pleased.” A UNIVERSITY CAMPAIGN | 2A