www.mihomepaper.

com

Sunday, November 3, 2013 15-A

lines. In addition, the voters are being asked to change charter language for the recall from page 1A and nominating petition process to be in-line with state law. challenged by two write-in Charter candidates including Amendment Proposal the current seat 1 deals with the speholder Debbie cial assessment Marquardt who last process. As the speAugust opted not to cial assessment run again for the process currently position, wanting at stands in Lapeer, it the time to spend cannot be changed by more time with her the elected city comelderly mother. mission. City officials Regretting that deciare asking voter sion and wanting to approval to take the stay involved in city Elaine Gates special assessment government, process out of the city Marquardt, 58, decidcharter and place it ed to get back in the into an ordinance. race though because They contend that it she missed the filing would provide for condeadline would have sistency, flow, and to run as a write-in structure within the candidate. Marquardt special assessment was elected to the process. city commission in A big change would 2002, and was be that the charter reelected in 2005 and 2009. Debbie Marquardt states that any credit by more than 5 perSimilarly, two cent will be made first weeks ago Lapeer by inverse numerical resident and medical order of the remaining marijuana advocate unpaid installments, Jamie Fricke, 33, secondly any remaindecided to jump in ing credit will be the race as well as a applied toward the write-in candidate. payment of the next To vote for a city tax levied against write-in, registered such property until voters need to write the credit is depleted. in their best penThe proposed ordimanship the full Jamie Fricke nance would reflect name of Debbie any credit by more Marquardt or Jamie than 5 percent will be made Fricke on the blank line first by inverse numerical directly under Elaine Gates order of the remaining unpaid name on the ballot and then installments, secondly any complete the arrow across remaining credit will be made the adjacent line. Precinct to the current property owner workers will then document the variations, share there be of record in cash. Other examples include: any, of the write-in candi Charter Amendment dates names. It will then be Proposal 2: City officials are up to the Lapeer County asking the voters to have the Board of Canvassers to verify recalls of all elected officials the write-in votes. to be conducted in the manner prescribed by state law. Charter amendments Lapeer voters will be asked Public Acts 417 and 418 of 2012 changed the state and on a Nov. 5 ballot to amend the city charter as it relates to local recall processes: all local-level recalls (which special assessment districts include all elected city offiestablished within the city, cials) will now be handled by whether its to finance a utility extension or reconstruction the Board of County Elected Commissioners and preof local roads, water/sewer scribes the process to be followed. Charter Amendment Proposal 3: City officials are asking the voters to have the deadline for nominating petitions of all elected officials to be conducted in the manner prescribed by state law. Public Act 276 of 2012 changed filing petition deadlines to be 4 p.m. on the 15th Tuesday before the odd year general election beginning Jan. 1, 2014. Currently, the City Charter requires nominating petitions to be filed by 4 p.m. on the 12th Tuesday prior to the Citys general election date. Once again, this part of the city charter has become obsolete.

Voters to decide millage Election renewal for Mott CC

BY JACOB HUNSANGER 810-452-2609 jhunsanger@mihomepaper.com

LAPEER COUNTY Some voters in five Lapeer County townships will have a special bond proposition on their ballots Tuesday. The Mott Community College Bond Proposition will be, in part, decided by voters in portions of Elba, Hadley, Deerfield, Marathon and Oregon townships those voters who live within the LakeVille school district. Desiree Londrigan, director at Motts Lapeer Extension Center, said she hopes residents will vote in favor of the proposition, which is a renewal of the current millage rage. Mott College is the number one college destination for graduating students from all the high schools in the area, whether Genesee or Lapeer counties, Londrigan said. Also, those portions of Lapeer County voting on this proposal are within the MCC college district, giving their students in-district rates, which are less than half the rate of any other area college or university option. The bond proposition is a renewal of the current millage rate. Londrigan said voters have supported Mott Community College in the past, and hopes they will continue to do so especially in light of the fact that the bond proposition is a renewal, not an increase. If the proposition is passed, she said, taxpayers will not pay a higher rate. It will continue to be at the current rate. If it is approved, the funds raised through the millage will be restricted to capital improvements, not salaries or operational expenses. This strengthens the community asset that is MCC, Londrigan added. MCC students from Lapeer or elsewhere have the benefit of state-of-the-art

Sample

equipment, which properly prepares them to enter their career ready to go. While Mott Community College has recently made significant commitments to the Lapeer campus by purchasing its site in Lapeer and dedicating millions of dollars to improvements there, the funds from this millage will not be used at the Lapeer Extension Center. Lapeer County voters rejected a special millage district years ago to support Motts Lapeer campus, so it is only voters living inside the LakeVille school district that will have a say in and reap the benefits from the millage. That includes in district tuition rates and other benefits. Mott Community College has been rated one of the top ten best community colleges in America (out of 1,200), Londrigan said, and operates a University Center that allows students to go on to earn bachelor and master degrees without leaving the area. Voters in the five Lapeer County townships will cast their decision on Tuesday whether to continue supporting Mott. If passed, the sale of bonds will take place, with the maximum number of years each series of bonds may be outstanding set at 20 years. The estimated millage in the first year of the levy is 0.08 mills (equal to 8 cents per $1,000 of taxable property in the district) and the estimated annual millage required to retire the bonds is 0.25 mills (equal to 25 cents per $1,000 of taxable property in the district).

Lapeer Community Schools

Operating Millage Renewal Proposal This proposals calls for a five-year renewal of the nonhomestead property tax that would allow the district to continue to levy 18 mills in the event of future Headlee rollbacks up to three mills. This applies to industrial real property and certain commercial property and rental and seasonal homes. As a renewal request, if passed, there would be no additional cost to taxpayers. Owner-occupied homes and qualified agricultural property are exempt from this levy.

Mott Community College

Bond Proposition This request by MCC is for a 20-year renewal of a $50 million bond that raises money for maintenance and capital improvements to its facilities, including the Lapeer campus. Bond millage funds cannot be used for salaries or operating funds. The only residents this impacts are those that are adjacent to or share school districts in Genesee County, including the townships of Deerfield, Elba, Hadley, Marathon and Oregon. The polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Batch PDF Merger

See how Lapeer West and Almont fared in the high school football playoffs, page 1B
www.mihomepaper.com

SUNDAY

Mobile: mcp.mihomepaper.com
In our 174th year

2010-2013 General Excellence Award Winner

November 3, 2013

Locally Owned Locally Connected Locally Committed

1.50

Voters to decide Lapeer races, charter amendment proposals

Millage, bond renewals also sought by LCS, MCC
BY JEFF HOGAN 810-452-2640 jhogan@mihomepaper.com

Steven Cole Auctions Family Owned 35 Years

Farm Auctions Estate Auctions Fundraisers Appraisals and More

LAPEER COUNTY Many Lapeer County residents will go to the polls on Tuesday in the Nov. 5 general election, though the majority of the ballot proposals are central

to City of Lapeer residents and residents in the city and townships served by Lapeer Community Schools. In Lapeer, Mayor Bill Sprague is running unopposed for the seat. Sprague was appointed mayor in September 2006 after thenmayor Chuck Treece

resigned, as has been reelected twice since. Also on the ballot for city commission is Elaine Gates, 52, a paralegal and office manager for her husband, Bernard Jocuns, a trial attorney in Lapeer. Gates, however, is being
SEE ELECTION, PAGE 15A

www.AuctionStreet.net 810-397-3199

Fired VA employee files suit

County named in whistle blower act complaint
BY KRYSTAL JOHNS 810-452-2601 kjohns@mihomepaper.com

For

Duty & Honor

Photo courtesy of Don Nelson

Local graduates (left to right) Brad Szczesny, Dustin Pockrandt and Kyle Nelson were sworn in to the Marine Corps in September before they were shipped out to basic training in California.

Local men enlist in United States Marine Corps

BY JACOB HUNSANGER 810-452-2609 jhunsanger@mihomepaper.com

LAPEER COUNTY They left their homes as sons, brothers and friends. They left their homes as boys. They will return as men, and as Marines. Three Lapeer Community Schools graduates, Kyle Nelson, Dustin Pockrandt and Brad Szczesny, decided after high school that they wanted to do something better with their lives, something they could be proud of doing and that would help serve their country, so in September all three enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and were sworn into full time active duty.

They left their families in Lapeer, who have now become friends and supporters, for basic training in California. Kyle Nelson, 20, is the son of Don and Cheryl Nelson and a 2012 graduate of Lapeer East High School. Dustin Pockrandt, 18, is the son of Jason and Jennifer Hoeft and a 2013 graduate of Lapeer East High School. Brad Szczesny, 18, is the son of Char and Tim Westman and Dennis Szczesny and a 2013 graduate of Lapeer West High School. Their parents, who couldnt be prouder of the young

men, said they knew each other through school and hockey, but it was joining the Marine Corps that really brought all three together. Even before officially enlisting through the Lapeer recruitment office, the boys were studying, training and working out together for months to prepare for boot camp. That brought them together as close friends, and when the emerge from boot camp on Dec. 6 as Marines, they will have not just a friendship

but camaraderie built through hard work and duty.

From local boys to men of duty

All three boys were described by their parents as hard working, smart, but not necessarily the best students in high school. It had nothing to do with intelligence, however, it had to do with motivation and drive. They were looking for something to challenge them, to motivate them, and something they felt was worth doing. They found that in the United States Marine Corps. Pockrandt was the first to decide he wanted become a Marine. His parents said that
SEE MARINES, PAGE 14A

LAPEER The County of Lapeer is the defendant in a lawsuit filed in Genesee County by a former Dept. of Veterans Affairs employee, Renee Verbeke. On Sept. 20, Verbeke filed a complaint that the county violated the Michigan Whistle Blowers Protection Act. According to the complaint, Verbeke was hired into the department on June 10 as a veterans benefits counselor, and was discharged from her position on Sept. 12. Verbeke is claiming that she reported to Leonard Schaffer, the chairman of the Lapeer County Veterans Affairs Committee that the department was not processing veterans benefits claims and appeals properly, which is a violation of the rules and regulations promulgated by the United States Dept. of Veteran Affairs. The Lapeer County Veterans Affairs Committee oversees the activities of the county Dept. of Veterans Affairs and its director, Debra Worden, who was Verbekes supervisor. Verbekes complaint also claims she reported to Worden that the county was violating the rules and regulations of the United States Department of Veteran Affairs concerning the processing and/or appeal of veterans benefits claims, reported her concerns
SEE LAWSUIT, PAGE 14A

Community
Sunday

VIEW
See page10A

INDEX
Vol. 175, Number 88 2013 County Press, Inc. Printed in the U.S.
Newspapers VIEW
published by JAMS MEDIA

Night of the bowling dead

Business . . . . . . . . .5A Classifieds . . . . . . .5B Crossword . . . . . . .13A Obituaries . . . . . . . .6A Opinion . . . . . . . . . .4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . .1B

CONTACT US
Delivery questions: 810-664-0811 News Tip Hotline: 810-664-0811 Ext, 1138 Classified Ads: 810-664-0811 Ext. 1100 www.mihomepaper.com

Elaine Gates for Lapeer City Commissioner

SHRINK WRAP & STORAGE

W INTERIZE! SPECIAL!
Sports Center, Inc.

NOW'S THE TIME TO

OPEN 6 DAYS Mon.-Fri. 9-5; Sat. 9-2

Pick-up & Delivery Available! Insured

4 Miles East of Davison

5605 Davison Rd., Lapeer, MI 810-653-0490

Vote November 5th to Re-Elect

WRITE IN

Lenses single vision or bifocal with any frame purchase of $110 or higher.
(Up to $125 value)
Cannot be combined with other offers, insurance or discount plans. With this coupon Expires 11/30/2013

FREE

VOTE NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Paid for by Elaine Gates

MARQUARD

Deb

T
Paid for by Friends of Debbie Marquardt, 3191 Oregon Road, Lapeer, MI 48446

Under City Commissioner Write In: Debbie Marquardt Then connect the arrow

2012

4A

Sunday, November 3, 2013

OPINION

SOUND OFF
www.mihomepaper.com
To Sound Off on topics you want to share with the community, call (810) 452-2639 or e-mail us at editorcp@mihomepaper.com and leave your message, along with your name, hometown and phone number. Submissions are limited to 30 seconds or 75 words.

IN OUR WORDS
Millage, bond renewals, city charter amendments deserve voter support
uesday, Nov. 5 is an election day in Lapeer County though not everyone will have issues to decide at the polls. The residents of Imlay City, the villages of Almont and Clifford as well as the townships of Almont, Imlay, Goodland, Burnside, Burlington, and Rich can sit this one out. In the City of Lapeer, Mayor Bill Sprague is running unopposed for a third 4-year term as mayor. On the ballot for Lapeer city commission is Elaine Gates, 52, a paralegal and office manager for her husband, Bernard Jocuns, a trial attorney in Lapeer. Gates, however, is being challenged by two write-in candidates including current city commissioner Debbie Marquardt who last August opted not to run again for the position. Regretting that decision and wanting to stay involved in city government, Marquardt, 58, decided to get back in the race. Because she missed the filing deadline Marquardt has to run as a write-in candidate. Marquardt was elected to the city commission in 2002, and was reelected in 2005 and 2009. Three weeks ago Lapeer resident and medical marijuana advocate Jamie Fricke, 33, also decided to jump in the Lapeer city commission race as a write-in candidate. Its a rare occasion to have two write-in candidates running in an election, let alone challenging for the same seat as will be the case Tuesday for the city commission post. We applaud the level of activism and interest by these three candidates to serve their community coming from three very different walks of life. Lapeer voters will also be asked to amend the city charter as it relates to special assessment districts established within the city, whether its to finance a utility extension or reconstruction of local roads, water/sewer lines. In addition, the voters are being asked to change charter language for the recall and nominating petition process to be inline with state law. The latter two, Proposal 2 and Proposal 3, are essentially housekeeping measures for the City of Lapeer to be in compliance with state law. Charter Amendment Proposal 1 is a little more complicated as it deals with the special assessment process, yet we recommend the approval of all three city charter amendment proposals. As the special assessment process currently stands in Lapeer, it cannot be changed by the elected city commission. City officials are asking voter approval to take the special assessment process out of the city charter and place it into an ordinance. It would provide for consistency, flow, and structure within the special assessment process. Essentially in the event of a special assessment charged to a city resident or property owner it would allow unspent money to be returned much quicker to those individuals, a no brainer in our opinion that ought to be approved. Registered voters in the City of Lapeer and townships served by Lapeer Community Schools will be asked Tuesday to approve a five-year renewal of the non-homestead property tax that would allow the district to continue to levy 18 mills in the event of future Headlee rollbacks up to three mills. This applies to industrial real property and certain commercial property and rental and seasonal homes. As a renewal request, if passed, there would be no additional cost to taxpayers. If passed, the millage would raise an estimated $6.2 million for the LCS district in 2014. We recommend a YES vote and passage of the non-homestead property tax renewal sought by LCS. Likewise, residents of Deerfield, Elba, Hadley, Marathon and Oregon townships will be asked to renew a 20-year $50 million bond proposition by Mott Community College that would allow MCC to make building improvements, equipping and reequipping college buildings and sites as well as to purchase additional building and properties for the purpose of future expansion needs. Bond millage funds cannot be used for salaries or operating funds. We recommend a YES vote on this proposal as well to ensure the future vitality of MCC in our community. Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Keep the light

Lets not fall back. Im with everybody who doesnt want Daylight Saving Time changed. I mean after 5 oclock its dark. Who wants that? Lets just keep things the way there are. Erma Bailey Lapeer

Get with program!

IN YOUR WORDS
Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.
So wheres the pool?
The artists rendering of the proposed athletic complex is beautiful, but where is the pool? Not one of the proposed sports fields will be used in the winter. A pool can be used year round by everyone and all ages. Weve had swimming teams but theyve had to compete in less than good conditions. Our team had a good record, considering. The dive team had to drive to Oxford for instruction because of lack of pool time. The Lapeer teams have only been able to host one meet in three years. Its too hard for the Rec Center to change the water temperature, cancel classes and try to make room for locker use. Our teams have practiced there, but thats about it. In these beautiful plans we see a grand entrance, concession area, team locker room building behind the scoreboard and enhanced visitor bleacher space. Imagine having a football team without a field to play on, well, we have swim teams with no pool. Patricia Fitzgerald Lapeer commissioner if elected. A recent letter to the editor and an article in this newspaper painted a distorted picture of Jamie by pointing out only some of the facts about her life. Many people know her as a single mom who while raising three great kids graduated from college earning honors with a business management degree and was elected precinct delegate for the 2nd Precinct. And while its apparent that shes a smart, energetic, and hardworking young woman with drive, whats not so obvious is in her heart and soul. She spends more of whats got to be limited personal time helping other people with their problems than anyone I know of. She has helped dozens if not scores of people who are truly the most legitimate of Medical Marijuana Patients. One way or another good people are becoming ensnarled in what looks like a money making machine for the law enforcement community. Jamie founded the Lapeer Area cannabis Network several years ago to help those people and has donated much time and money to keep it going. Jamies not rich and has little for them to confiscate so one is left to wonder at the polices motivation in arresting her in the first place as she is clearly not a criminal. Being a write-in candidate is a huge disadvantage, so write-in Jaime Fricke. You wont be sorry. M. A. Waller Attica treatment, a phrase that has real meaning to those who survived the Holocaust. Again, in spite of over 160 visits to the White House by the head of the IRS, Obama claimed no knowledge of the special treatment. In fact he was quoted as saying he learned about it when he read it in the paper. When the government shutdown took place and the Veterans Affairs department told the survivors of American soldiers killed overseas that they would not receive the promised $100,000 benefit Obama claimed no knowledge. When Edward Snowden released documents disclosing the spying taking place by NSA upon United States citizens, both phone and e mail, Obama claimed no knowledge. When confronted with irrefutable evidence that Obamas solemn promise that if you like your health care plan you can keep it. No one will take it away ever. Obama did not claim a lack of knowledge. He just admitted that he lied to the American public. I am beginning to see a pattern. Obama is either not telling the truth, is so disengaged in governing that he truly has no idea what is going on, he is the most incompetent individual ever to serve as President or a combination of the three. As President he might not be aware of one, or even two of the above examples but it strains credulity to accept that he knew nothing about all of them. Following the principle of Occams razor, ie, the simplest explanation is most likely accurate; I think Obama is just a liar. John L. Lengemann Imlay City

The hours for trick or treating in Columbiaville for Halloween were 5 to 7 p.m. Seriously? Whoever thunk that one up obviously isnt a single parent with kids trying to work for a living. Get with the program and make it 6 to 8 p.m. next year like everybody else. Im not from Columbiaville, but Im just saying. Bob Rozen Oregon Township

Wake up parents!
I commend the young ladies telling their story of what they saw going on at West, because guess what? My 17-year-old girl said the same kind of stuff goes on, so I told her she needs to report it and not worry about being the snitch. She doesnt want to report it because she fears she will be bullied. I hope the school district and the police look into this, and parents you need to wake up in a big way. Julianne Croswell Lapeer Township

Time for a long talk

I see a lot of people on Facebook talking about the prescription drug abuse going on at the high schools, and some middle schools too, so before people blame the messenger (the newspaper) for telling a story they dont want to hear they better sit their kids down and have a long talk. This behavior and the drugs come from home. Maryann Bronson Attica Township

Fricke the right choice Tuesday

Not being a resident of Lapeer I cant vote in your city elections but if I could I would vote for write-in candidate Jamie Fricke. Shes running for city commissioner and will make a heck of a

President Obama is just a liar!

Editors note: The following guest column was written by Imlay City resident John L. Lengemann. For the past five years I have listened to liberals, pundits, talking heads and political leaders describe the intellect of Barack Obama as being beyond compare. He, purportedly, asks the most pointed and intelligent questions, he has hands-on involvement in all important matters, he has a most curious and inventive mind and he is able to reduce complex concepts to simple explanations instantaneously. However I am beginning to suspect that these claims are, perhaps, slightly overstated. Benghazi: Obama claimed he had no knowledge about the repeated requests for additional security. Obama claimed, as long as two weeks after the event, that it was caused by an obscure video on the internet. We now learn that almost immediately it was known by the news media as well as the State Department that it was a planned attack; not a spontaneous response to a video. We also learn that the day before the event on 9-11-12 a White House meeting was held regarding security in Libya. Fast and Furious: A Dept. of Justice plan to smuggle American made weapons into Mexico went awry and a Michigan man was murdered. Obama claimed no knowledge of the plan as did his attorney general The IRS made Tea Party organizations and organizations with names that were associated with liberty, taxes, democracy etc. the focus for special

Report the violators

My kids have told me there are drugs in the schools for two years, but I know from talking to them that theres a culture of protecting one another from the cops and school people. The kids and parents need to feel safe to report the violators, but heres the deal some of these kids come from prominent families and you know how small towns work. Anita Varney Mayfield Township

Easy to get drugs

My daughter graduated from Lapeer West last year. Now at MSU, she says it was easier to get prescription drugs in Lapeer than it is in her college dorms in East Lansing. Im glad my kid openly talks about this, but wow thats quite a statement coming from a college kid who likes to party. Holly Kallio Elba Township

THE COUNTY PRESS

Rick Burrough, President Wes Smith, Group Publisher Dale Phillips, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Hogan, Editor 810-664-0811, Ext. 1131 editorcp@mihomepaper.com

Not in my backyard!
I think Mr. Hogan wants to sell newspapers and is making up the drug stories to scare us. Im 64 and have never heard of heroin or other drugs in my neighborhood. This isnt Detroit, its Lapeer. Darryl Justin Jr. Lapeer

Newspapers VIEW
published by JAMS MEDIA

Whats on your mind?

Letters policy: No longer than 325 words. We reserve the right to edit to fit. Send your mail to: Letter to the Editor, PO Box 220, Lapeer, MI 48446 or by e-mail to: letterscp@mihomepaper.com.