KALAMAZOO GAZETTE
SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013 A5
Power expected to be restored by Monday Severe storm knocks down trees, power lines
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THERESA GHILONI | TGHILONI@MLIVE.COM
A tree knocked down a power line on Cork Street, closing the road between Lovers Lane and Portage Street Saturday.
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Nautica, Cotton Traders & Others. A strong thunderstorm late Friday caused widespread damage in the Kalamazoo area.
there currently are over 1,400 customers in Branch County
effected, according to the Cosumers Energy outage map.
Olympian Claressa Shields to visit Eastside Boxing Club KALAMAZOO — Flint’s own Claressa Shields, 18, was the first American woman to win a boxing gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Now, she’s visiting the Kalamazoo area for the first time since her win. Kalamazoo’s Eastside Boxing Club is hosting the first inaugural Michigan vs. Indiana boxing tournament at Parchment Middle School’s gym at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 10. The tourna- Claressa ment will fea- Shields ture 21 matches with three two-minute rounds. Founder and coach of Eastside Boxing, Curtis Isaac, 60, said he’s not sure whether Shields will be boxing, but she definitely will be there with her gold medal, signing autographs. With the help of her boxing coach, Jason Crutchfield, Shields used boxing to overcome big life obstacles, Isaac said. At the Eastside Boxing Club, Isaac uses the same coaching techniques to keep young kids out of trouble and in the gym. “I keep hearing people say kids have nothing got do,” he said. “With us, they do have something to do.” Isaac uses boxing to teach kids how to cope with temptations like violence and stealing, he said. “It’s intense, but it’s social work too,” he said. “I teach them morals and stuff. We don’t allow any type of bad behavior.” Isaac said he’s starting to get a lot of young girls calling into his gym and asking questions about boxing. “Kids love her,” he said. “When she comes around, they’re in awe of her because it’s just like seeing Muhammad Ali coming in.” Shields visited Portage Northern High School last year, where she received keys to the city of Kalamazoo and Portage, but hasn’t made an official appearance in the city of Kalamazoo. “Getting her here is no problem,” he said. “Getting somebody to fight her is another thing. She’s tough.” Shields grew up in Flint, which was named the most violent city in the nation in 2013. Isaac has known Shields since she was 9 or 10 years old, but he didn’t know her rough
background until after she won the Olympic gold medal. “When you talk to her, you’ll feel the strength in this girl,” he said. “Boxing was an out for her.” Isaac said boxing, just like Flint, gets a bad name.
“They think boxing brings out a bunch of heathens,” he said. “They confuse us with MMA. If it wasn’t for boxing, I wouldn’t be here today.” Boxers from Chicago, Detroit, Canada and Indiana will be at the tournament. Boxers
from Chicago will fight for Indiana, and boxers from Canada will fight for Michigan. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the fights start at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $10, and ringside seats are $12. They can be purchased at the event.
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Crews are working diligently to remove debris, however many roads in Kalamazoo and Portage are blocked in areas. Lt. Jeff Vanderwiere of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety said no injuries were reported from last night’s storm, but there are many roadways blocked in the Oakwood and Milwood neighborhoods. “We have several streets in the Milwood and Oakwood neighborhoods that have tree branches and power lines down,” Vanderwiere said. “We urge people to avoid areas where they see power lines down or lots of police tape.” Other counties effected by the storm were Allegan County with over 1,000 Consumers Energy customers effected. Calhoun County also has 1,000 residents with out power and
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BY THERESA GHILONI TGHILONI@MLIVE.COM
KALAMAZOO — More than 16,000 Consumers Energy customers are without power in Kalamazoo County this morning, according the Consumers Energy outage map. A severe storm that tore through Friday night knocked down many trees and power lines in the area. One of the hardest hit areas appears to be the Milwood neighborhood in Kalamazoo. Brian Wheeler, a spokesman for Consumers Energy, said many Kalamazoo County residents are expected to remain without power until 11 p.m. Monday. “However, that could change as crews work on the situation this morning,” Wheeler said in a comment on MLive.com. Judy Martin, a resident of the Milwood neighborhood, said she called Consumers Energy this morning after losing electricity service Friday night. Her neighbors had a large tree down in their front yard that took down power lines with it. “I was quite surprised when I got up this morning,” Martin said. “When I called Consumers they told me it wouldn’t be back on until 11 p.m. Monday.” Martin and her husband Larry, who is an insulin-dependent diabetic, said they were going to spend the next couple of hours figuring out where to store their food and his insulin.
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