museum director starts new job, 6A
Mainstage | Event will feature local musicians this year, 2A Obituary | Former band director Norman Dietz dies at age 91, 3A
Central Michigan Life
xxxxxday, Mon. xx8, 2007
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
[cm-life.com]
Bernero, Snyder to battle in governor’s race Both win in Isabella County By Eric Dresden Editor in Chief
Michigan voters are one step closer to deciding the new leader of the state. The Detroit Free Press reported Democrat Virg Bernaro and Republican Rick Snyder will face off over the next few months leading up to the Nov. 2 general election. Bernero, the Mayor of Lansing, beat out Speaker of the House Andy Dillon for the Democratic nod in Tuesday’s
Michigan primary election. “At this point we’re feeling good with what we’ve done to date,” said Bernero cam- Virg Bernero paign spokesman Jamaine Dickens on Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile for the Republicans it was a bit more of a fight with Ann Arbor businessman Snyder beating out Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, Attorney General Mike Cox, U.S. Representative Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, and State Senator Tom George, R-
Kalamazoo all running for the position. The Snyder campaign did not return calls from CM Life. Polls from Rick Snyder the Free Press just before the election showed Snyder had a slight lead of 26 percent of votes ahead of Cox, who had 24 percent and Hoekstra, who received 23 percent of the votes. Snyder is running on the campaign platform of “reinventing Michigan” while Bernero is running on the idea of “making Michigan work
Michigan Gubernatorial Race in Isabella County Name Republicans Mike Bouchard Mike Cox Tom George Pete Hoekstra Rick Snyder Write-In
Percent
Number of Votes
10.37% 26.7% 1.27% 20.4% 41.21% 0.11%
481 1238 59 946 1911 2
Total ...
100.00%
4637
again.” In Isabella County 44.04 percent of people voted for Snyder, while Cox followed
Name Democrats Virg Bernero Andy Dillon Write-In
Percent
Number of Votes
67.91% 32.09% 0 percent
804 380 0
Total ...
100.00%
1184
by receiving 25.98 percent of votes. For the Democrats in Isabella county Bernero received
67.83 percent of the vote, while Dillon 32.17 percent. metro@cmich.edu
Cotter wins 99th GOP race, defeating Alwood Will face Sessoms in general election By Ryan Taljonick Staff Reporter
Republican Kevin Cotter won the primary election for the 99th district Republican state legislature representative, beating his opponent Chrstine Alwood 56.86 percent to 43.11 percent. Cotter said winning the primary feels good, but is only the first step in his campaign. “I’ve got a great team of supporters,” he said. “It’s just the beginning.” Cotter said he must now prepare for the general election on Nov. 2. “We will extend our reach out to voters who generally vote in the general election,” he said. Cotter said his main focus is turning the economy
Inside w More coverage on the winners, 3A around. “In the past I have not pursued political office,” he said. “I made the decision to run for this seat back in November, motivated out of frustration.” He plans on helping to build and strengthen small businesses in the 99th district. Cotter said he and his wife are planning on starting a family soon and want to help create a stable economy in Michigan. “We’re really concerned about what it might look like 18 to 20 years down the line when our kids are making the decision as to where they’re going to settle down,” Cotter said. “I’d like A Cotter | 2A
Photos by amelia eramya/Staff photographer
Cammie McConnell, 9, leads the prayer for the daily devotions of the Baptist Children’s Home of Mount Pleasant, 1715 E. Bellows St. Monday.
seeking sanctuary Mount Pleasant residents give children hope, guidance
By Amelia Eramya | Staff Reporter Sean proctor/photo editor
Charles Joseph Scicluna, a Chesterfield junior, walks into the Isabella County courtroom prior to being sentenced for the April 11 hit-and-run accident that left 20-year-old Matthew Dominique Green, a Mount Peasant junior, paralyzed from the waist down.
Scicluna sentenced to up to five years in hit-and-run Victim dragged more than 1000 feet, possibly paralyzed By Joe Borlik Senior Reporter
A Chesterfield junior was sentenced to up to five years in prison Monday for the drunken driving accident in April that critically injured a 20-year-old Central Michigan University student.
Charles Joseph Scicluna, 21, was sentenced to no less than 18 months and no more than five years in prison in Isabella County Trial Judge Mark Duthie’s courtroom. “I do find that prison is appropriate in this particular case,” Duthie said. Scicluna was charged with operating while intoxicated causing serious injury and leaving the scene of an accident causing serious injury resulting from an April 11 hitand-run accident. A Scicluna | 2A
O
ne year ago Deborah Richard was kept awake by the sound of gun shots and gangs scuffling in a neighborhood full of violence in Park Hill, New York. “You can’t sleep at night,” said Richard, 12. “All gangs do is shoot people.” In September of 2009, she discovered an escape from her undesirable surroundings. Baptist Children’s Home, a non-profit home for children in troubled circumstances, has housed more than 1000 individuals in Indiana, Michigan, India, Southeast Asia and Liberia. Richard wanted to be a part of BCH to better her life and decisions. “I wasn’t really listening to my mom, so I chose to come to (BCH),” she said. Tori, 36, and Rob, 36, McConnell, of Mount Pleasant, are just two of several house parent ministries that care and guide children in need of assistance. The Baptist Children’s Home of Mount Pleasant, 1715 E. Bellows St., currently houses eight children along
Tori McConnell, right, and Deborah Richard, 12, of Park Hill, New York, take down laundry in the backyard of the Baptist Children’s Home of Mount Pleasant, 1715 E. Bellows St. Monday. Richard said the family rarely uses the dryer because it causes humidity in the home.
with the McConnell’s daughters, Alexis, 11, Bailley, 10, Cammie, 9, and Desiree, 7. The home is run solely on church and individual donations. Although the children choose to leave their household due to troubled circumstances, they still have the desire to return home, Tori said. “Our goal is to reunite the children with their family if at all possible,” she said.
Doing God’s work Before becoming involved with BCH, Rob held a job at a prison. “It was good money,” Tori said. “(But) there was no satisfaction from the job.” About six years ago, Tori and Rob filled in as Youth Leaders at Trinity Baptist Church of Alma. During their time as leaders, a presentation about Baptist Children’s Home was made, and both Tori and Rob instantly knew it was what
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they wanted to do. “That was just what we were looking for,” Rob said. The McConnells sold their home in Stanton and headed to Mount Pleasant in August of 2005 to begin their journey doing God’s work, Tori said. Since then, a total of 23 children have been in the Mount Pleasant home. “(We) try to get the whole broad spectrum of the physical, spiritual, and emotional
A home | 2A