Bay County round up of trick-or-treat times

via MLive.com

Halloween is Monday and Bay County communities have announced hours for trick-or-treating. Hours are as follows:

Auburn — 6-8 p.m.

Bay City — No established hours

Essexville — 6-8 p.m.

Hampton — 6-8 p.m.

Pinconning — 5-8 p.m.

While no hours are officially established in Bay City, officials say trick-or-treating traditionally begins at dusk. Area residents planning to hand out candy are encouraged to turn on their porch lights and turn them off when the candy runs out. Officials in Bangor and Monitor townships also report they have no set hours.

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State police in Bay City seeking information on double stabbing at Bay Valley Resort

via MLive.com

Two people were hospitalized with stab wounds after a pair of fights broke out at a Halloween Party at Bay Valley Resort early today. State police from the Bay City Post already were on scene at 2470 Old Bridge Road in Frankenlust Township, when the second fight erupted, prompting officers to call in additional troopers and Saginaw Valley State University police. A local promoter, whose name was not revealed, had rented one of the resort’s large ball rooms where the first fight started about 1 a.m. Investigators did not say where in the business the second fight took place. Police shut down the party while they gathered information about the stabbings.

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Bangor Township man survives truck falling on chest, rescued by neighbors

via MLive.com

Ryan Bouchard was ready to take his final breath as he lay dying beneath his Chevy Tahoe in the driveway of his Bangor Township home. With veins popping from his purple face, Bouchard decided to muster up one last cry for help. “I saw my wife and daughter’s face flash into my mind as the tears fell. I thought of all of the things I would never be able to experience,” said Bouchard, 31. “With one last hope that my life was not over, I yelled once more knowing the air contained in my lungs had almost all but left.” Bouchard’s cry for help was answered by the most unlikely of heroes — two neighborhood boys, ages 11 and 6, whose quick actions are the reason Bouchard is alive today and able to tell his miraculous story.

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2011 Halloween Charity Bash to benefit children's hospital

via MLive.com

The Great Lakes Bay MLS will host a Halloween Costume Party to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The event is set for 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, Oct. 28, at Bay Valley Resort, 2470 Old Bridge, in Frankenlust Township, and will feature a social hour with live music, cash bar and hors d’oeuvres, a kid’s and adult costume contest with prize packages, a Halloween dance and 50/50 raffle. Cost is $15 per person with all proceeds to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The Great Lakes Bay MLS is a multiple listings service that takes advantage of the Internet to help boards, agencies and realtors close their deals with ease and efficiency.

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Mother of alleged victim testifies in Bay City man's sexual assault trial

via MLive.com

The lawyer for a Bay City man charged with having sex with an underage girl began presenting evidence this morning in his client’s trial. Defense attorney Matthew L. Reyes called the alleged victim’s mother to the stand. She said she was concerned about her daughter’s interaction with Mark A. Bennett, 38, as early as May 2010, something she addressed to both her daughter and Bennett. "I took her to a counselor because I thought she had a crush on my husband’s best friend and I didn’t think that was right,” the mother said. “We kept them away for several weeks at that time. We didn’t feel (Bennett) should have any contact with her for any reason.” After discovering some suspicious text messages on her daughter’s cellphone in September 2010, the parents and their daughter went to Bennett’s home to confront him, the mother said. “He never admitted, but he never denied having a sexual relationship with my daughter during that conversation either,” she said.

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Bay City police patrol former union representatives file complaint against city

via MLive.com

The state-wide Fraternal Order of Police labor council isn't done with its fight to have the Bay City police patrol union's relationships with a new labor representative terminated. The FOP recently filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the state's Employment Relations Commission against the City of Bay City for not recognizing them as the patrol unions union representation. Bay City's Human Resources Director Wendy White declined to comment on the issue. In August, the patrol union voted to switch union representation from the FOP to the Police Officers Association of Michigan. "We weren't happy with our representation, so we switched," said Cpl. Pat Lochinski, president of the city's patrol union. The union plans to switch its name from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 103 to the Bay City Police Officers Association to avoid confusion.

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Word-of-mouth keeps customers coming to G's Pizzeria in Bay City

via MLive.com

It was back in 1983 when Scott Galea's grandparents opened the first G's Pizzeria and Deli in West Branch, but he can't really say he grew up in the business. While other family members opened restaurants around Michigan, Galea moved with his mother to Windsor, Ont., from Detroit when he was 5 and eventually took a job with Toyota in Cambridge, Ont. Then an uncle called in 2000 and he moved back to help open a family restaurant in Oscoda. "I was 26," he said. And five years later, he heard about a place available in Bay City, the former O Sole Mio, "and I decided to try it out," he said, the morning sun glistening on the restaurant's polished woodwork. The window on the main dining area is one of many changes he and his partners brought to the eatery on Bay City's Saginaw Street corridor. While the restaurant's woodwork is intact, he replaced the dark carpeting with ceramic tile and painted the walls a burnt orange. The airy feel continues through a wall of shuttered openings, open most days but easy to close when the room hosts a private party.

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Bay County businesses give disabled students a glimpse of working life

via MLive.com

Students from John Glenn, Bay City Central and Bay City Western high schools learned that smiles and a good attitude are the key to successful employment in the working world Tuesday morning at the Bay Regional Medical Center. Both students and the medical center were participating in Disability Mentoring Day, a part of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. “It was great,” Junior Paige Thomas, 16 of Bay City Central said. “It was just an eye-opener on the various fields that Bay Med has to offer.” Greg Purtell, Vice President of Human Resources at Bay Regional Medical Center, said he was happy to have the students visit the hospital for the first time. “I thought it would be a great thing for us and a great thing for the students,” he said.

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2011 Halloween Charity Bash to benefit children's hospital

via MLive.com

The Great Lakes Bay MLS will host a Halloween Costume Party to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The event is set for 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, Oct. 28, at Bay Valley Resort, 2470 Old Bridge, in Frankenlust Township, and will feature a social hour with live music, cash bar and hors d’oeuvres, a kid’s and adult costume contest with prize packages, a Halloween dance and 50/50 raffle. Cost is $15 per person with all proceeds to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The Great Lakes Bay MLS is a multiple listings service that takes advantage of the Internet to help boards, agencies and realtors close their deals with ease and efficiency.

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Kawkawlin Township man sentenced to nine to 30 years for armed robbery of party store

via MLive.com

A man charged with a trio of party store holdups told a court today that he has no one to blame but himself. “I’ve done some selfish and awful things, without excuse, to fuel an addiction,” said Thomas J. Hodder. Bay County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran sentenced the 25-year-old Kawkawlin Township man to nine to 20 years in prison for one count of armed robbery, a life felony. “I will put my best effort to get the most out of (his time in prison),” said Hodder. “I ask the court to temper my punishment with mercy.” In August, Hodder pleaded no contest to the charge that stemmed from the April 6 robbery of Dore’s Party Store, 764 E. Linwood Road in Kawkawlin Township.

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Auburn lottery winner who continued using food stamps featured on TLC reality show

via MLive.com

Controversial lottery winner Leroy Fick is back in the spotlight. This time on The Learning Channel. TLC's show "Lottery Changed My Life" premiered last night with a new episode titled, "Most Eligible Millionaire," that featured Fick, the 59-year-old Bay County man who continued to use his Michigan Bridge Card after winning a $2 million jackpot in the state's Make Me Rich! lottery TV show in June 2010. The show, however, depicts Fick's story as one of rags to riches. The show's teaser reads: "Luck was on Leroy's side when he won two million dollars in the Michigan lottery. Now, he's gone from food stamps to living the high life with his son Jeff in tow, who is determined to help his dad become the most eligible millionaire!"

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Saginaw County doc facing federal drug charges asks court to let her work in medical field

via MLive.com

The attorney for a Saginaw Township doctor facing federal drug charges has asked a judge to ease one of the restrictions of his client’s pre-trial release. Ruth A. Buck was charged in June 2010 with 32 counts of unlawfully distributing controlled substances. She was released on bond on the condition that she surrender her medical license. Now, her attorney, Clinton Township-based Carl J. Marlinga, has asked that Buck be allowed to use her medical license as long as she doesn’t have any contact with patients. “While being unemployed and out of jail is better than being unemployed and in jail, it may be possible for defendant to support herself so as not to be a burden on others if she were allowed to use her M.D. degree in a job that did not involved patient contact.”

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Bay City man pleads no contest to sexually assaulting girl, 12

via MLive.com

A Bay City man will be sentenced next month after pleading to two of nine charges of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. James D. Brown pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim younger than 13, court records show. The charge involves penetration. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed not to pursue four more identical charges plus three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person younger than 13, records show. Second-degree criminal sexual conduct involves touching. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.

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Bay City Hall architect calls for independent assessment of roof project

via MLive.com

The architect hired to design the new roof at Bay City Hall is calling for an independent assessment after dozens of newly installed terra cotta tiles flew from the top of the historic building on Wednesday. It’s the second time this year that strong winds have dislodged tiles at City Hall, 301 Washington Ave. in downtown Bay City. The tiles were found smashed on the ground following Wednesday’s storm that produced wind gusts as high as 65 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Bay City Clerk Dana Muscott said clean-up began almost immediately and the cost to repair the damage is covered under warranty. She added that City Hall did not sustain any damage beyond the falling tiles and no one was injured.

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Photo gallery and video tour of the new Dow Bay Area Family Y in downtown Bay City

via MLive.com

The basketball court is beginning to shine, a fresh coat of paint brightens the exercise room and an artistic array of tiles wraps around a zero-entry swimming pool. The new Dow Bay Area Family Y in downtown is coming to life and on schedule for a Dec. 27 opening. On Thursday, members of the local media were invited inside the 96,400-square-foot building rising from land near Bay City Hall along the Saginaw River. “It’s really amazing how quickly everything is coming together on the inside,” said Joy Buchanan, a spokeswoman for the project. “Before you know it, we’ll be open for business.”

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Winds hit 64 mph on Saginaw Bay during destructive storm

via MLive.com

It's safe to say that it's not a good day to go boating on the Saginaw Bay. According to the National Weather Service, winds were as high as 64 mph at about 3 a.m., when the storm was at its peak. Matt Mosteiko, a meteorologist at the Pontiac-based weather station, said the storm hit the Saginaw Bay area the hardest statewide. "That weather pattern came straight down into the Saginaw Bay from Lake Huron and it could not have been a more favorable wind direction to get hit as hard as it did," said Mosteiko.

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Bay City firefighters and police keeping busy in wind-rain storm

via MLive.com

The emergency responders of Bay City have been keeping busy in the midst of a heavy blowing rain and wind storm. Bay City Interim Fire Chief Karey Prieur estimated his crews have responded to 150 to 200 calls since yesterday afternoon. "They're piling in on us right now," he said. "We're still going strong." The majority of calls consist of down wires, trees on wires, trees on structures and sparking wires, Prieur said. A downed wire fell on the roof of Skipper Bud's, 1809 S. Water St., sparking a small fire before crews quelled it. "We had it out in a hurry," Prieur said. "It's been busy," added Bay City Police Sgt. Will Badour. The boat launch at Veterans Memorial Park has been flooded, the sergeant said.

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Vehicle crashes through I-75 construction site in Fraser Township

via MLive.com

A portion of southbound Interstate 75 near E. Coggins Road in Bay County's Fraser Township is now open after a driver lost control of his vehicle, crashed through a road construction site and ended up in a ditch. At about noon Tuesday, a male driver lost control of his Ford Focus while driving southbound on I-75, southwest of Pinconning, in a construction zone. While the two-year, $18.5 million construction project is under way, drivers going southbound are routed to the northbound road bed. A Michigan State Police official at the scene said the driver lost control of his vehicle, veered off the main highway over the median and through the construction zone, before finally stopping in the ditch on the southbound side of the interstate.

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Bay City man charged with abusing girlfriend's 2-year-old child

via MLive.com

A 24-year-old Bay City man is facing a two-year felony for allegedly abusing a 2-year-old boy he was baby-sitting. Bay County District Judge Timothy J. Kelly on Monday arraigned Kyle M. Witkop on one count of third-degree child abuse. Kelly set Witkop’s bond at $10,000 cash-surety. A Bay City Police officer on Saturday night was dispatched to Bay Regional Medical Center in reference to a small boy having been abused. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with the boy’s 21-year-old mother, who said she had left her son with Witkop, her boyfriend of seven months, earlier in the day before she went to work, court records show.

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2011 St. Jude Halloween Bash planned for Oct. 28th at Bay Valley Resort!

Great Lakes Bay MLS is proudly hosting the 2011 St. Jude Halloween Bash on Friday, October 28th at Bay Valley Resort in Bay City. 100% of the proceeds from this social event/dance will go to St. Jude Children's Hospital. Great Lakes Bay MLS is encouraging business members/leaders of the Great Lakes Bay area to come network with participants of an event sponsored by Kloha Contracting, Saginaw Spirit, Wolverine Bank, Dow Event Center, and more!

Tickets for the event are $15/person and can be purchased online at the official event website. For more details on attending, sponsoring, and/or donating for this special evening please visit HalloweenCharityBash.com or call Matthew at 989-698-3403.

Bay City to amend utility cutoff policy

via WNEM.com

The Bay City Commission will look at a policy change tonight that would change its shutoff policy to residential customers in cold conditions. The new policy allows for extreme winter temperatures to be considered when determining if electric shutoffs should happen. WNEM TV-5 found reaction to the new policy from some local senior citizens and discovered it rekindles memories of a resident who died after his utilities were shut off. A lot of folks who live around Bay City remember Marvin Schur. He's the 93-year-old resident whose utilities were cut off to his home by the city due to non-payment back in January of 2009. Schur had the money on his kitchen table. But he froze to death because he didn't get the cash to the city. Some seniors we talked with say the city should consider the weather when cutting off power, especially if it's freezing cold outside. Charley Ueberroth says "I think they should be really lenient, because there are a lot of people who get up in age, and sometimes they even forget to go pay their bill and they shouldn't go and shut it off on them."

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Restoration and renovation work begins at Bay City Hall, more than a year after fire closes down building

via MLive.com

Plastic sheeting hangs in the entryways of offices and in hallways at Bay City Hall. Paper covers the marble flooring on the building’s ground level, and missing ceiling exposes duct work and wiring it concealed. A year after the historic structure at 301 Washington Ave. was damaged, first by fire and then by water, work only now is turning from cleanup to the task of restoration and renovation. City Clerk Dana Muscott doesn’t expect offices to reopen in the building until sometime next year. But the building is buzzing with the activity of contractors working inside. On Thursday, crews from Goyette Mechanical of Flint were preparing to remove the building’s old boilers and cooling system to prepare City Hall for a new, energy efficient system.

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Bay City man avoids trial by entering plea in assault, robbery case

via MLive.com

A jury will not get to decide the fate of a Bay City man accused of assaulting and robbing an acquaintance. Santino L. Robledo was to go to trial on five felony charges Tuesday. Instead, the 24-year-old accepted a plea deal in which four of the counts were dropped last week. Robledo now awaits sentencing Dec. 12 on one count of assault with intent to rob while armed, court records show. Robledo pleaded no contest, which is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped charges of armed robbery, felony firearms, carrying a weapon with unlawful intent and assault with a weapon, records show.

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Coast Guard crews tow disabled vehicle back to shore early this morning

via MLive.com

A Coast Guard rescue crews spent four hours Sunday towing a 21-foot power boat that broke down while in the Saginaw Bay, returning the boat early Monday. Matthew Bell, petty officer second class with the U.S. Coast Guard Station Saginaw River, said two people and a dog were in a powerboat five nautical miles off the Quanicassee Wildlife Area when the boat broke down. The Coast Guard was contacted to tow the boat.

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Bay County leaders gear up for potential change in Taser laws

via MLive.com

Bay City gun shop owner Glenn Duncan is ready to pull the trigger on stocking his shop’s shelves with Tasers. Duncan, owner of Duncan’s Outdoor Shop, 501 Salzburg Road, has been following legislation for several years that would legalize Tasers and other electronic control weapons. With the passage of a package of bills in the state Senate earlier this month Michigan is one step closer to legalizing the use of Tasers for civilian use. “Some people are afraid of guns, but still need protection,” said Duncan, owner of Duncan’s Outdoor Shop, 501 Salzburg Road. “Crime is out there, and police can’t protect everybody. A Taser adds a great deal of protection for people that feel uncomfortable having some other form of protection.”

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Peanut shortage hitting peanut butter supply at Bay County stores

via MLive.com

Debra Wiesen, 52, of Bay City has an annual Halloween tradition of making peanut butter cookies for her children. But a 13 percent drop in this year’s peanut harvest threatens to put that little treat to an end. Peanut butter producers nationwide plan to raise peanut butter prices in the coming months. According to an Associated Press report, J.M. Smucker Co., makers of Jif peanut butter, expect to raise its wholesale prices 30 percent in November. Kraft Foods Co., plans to raise its Planters peanut butter prices 40 percent at the end of this month, with more brands expected to follow suit throughout the year. “If peanut butter goes up like that, I won’t buy it,” said Wiesen while grocery shopping on Thursday at Kroger in Bangor Township.

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Job fair set for SVSU alums, students

via WNEM.com

A record 80 employers will be on hand this week for the annual employment and networking fair at Saginaw Valley State University. The fair offers students and alumni an opportunity to improve their job prospects. It runs Friday, Oct. 14 from noon to 3 p.m. in the Curtiss Hall banquet rooms. The event provides a chance to sharpen interview skills and make contacts with many potential employers in one setting. "Employers are back to hiring, and we continue to see an increased employer interest in SVSU students and alumni," said Samuel Tilmon, SVSU's assistant director of career services. "Attendance at the fair has risen the past two years; this is the highest number of employers we have had participate in our fall fair."

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TV5 gets inside look at Bay City Hall renovations

via WNEM.com

WNEM TV5 cameras got to go inside the Bay City City Hall on Wednesday for a sneak peek as the renovations continue after fire and water damaged the building one year ago. It was a day Dana Muscott will never forget. "The panic just kind of overtook me," she said. The City Clerk talks about what she saw, as a fire damaged city hall one year ago. "Some days it just doesn't hit home that city hall had a fire and that our employees are not there." No one was hurt in the blaze but the building sustained heavy smoke and water damage, a year later it's still closed. City employees are still using this temporary building. And the new roof that was under construction during the fire is now complete.

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Sexual assault victim denounces Bay County hairstylist at sentencing hearing

via MLive.com

Despite weeping heavily, a woman remained resolute in telling a Bay County hairstylist how the sexual assault she suffered at his hands shattered her life. “I felt like a piece of crumpled white trash left on a street corner,” said the woman this morning just before Khiem N. Tran learned he will spend up to the next 15 years in prison. The woman was 21 when she visited Stylistics By Night in Monitor Township on Aug. 8, 2010, and was molested by Tran as he washed and cut her hair. The woman had not met Tran, 49, before visiting his salon. “At age 21, I was a sister, a daughter, a lover, a friend, a coworker and a boss,” the woman continued. “I am no longer the person I once was. I survived and I’m alive, but I feel empty.”

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$51 million water plant could come to Bay County

via WNEM.com

A $51 million water plant could come to Bay County. Right now, the county relies on Bay City for its water, but that contract will end in 2015 and officials are looking for a new source. The latest plan involves a focus on a membrane filtration plant that would be owned and used by both the city and customers living in Bay County. It would treat water purchased from the Saginaw-Midland Municipal Water Supply Corporation. That water comes from Au Gres.

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2011 St. Jude Halloween Bash planned for Oct. 28th at Bay Valley Resort!

Great Lakes Bay MLS is proudly hosting the 2011 St. Jude Halloween Bash on Friday, October 28th at Bay Valley Resort in Bay City. 100% of the proceeds from this social event/dance will go to St. Jude Children's Hospital. Great Lakes Bay MLS is encouraging business members/leaders of the Great Lakes Bay area to come network with participants of an event sponsored by Kloha Contracting, Saginaw Spirit, Wolverine Bank, Dow Event Center, and more!

Tickets for the event are $15/person and can be purchased online at the official event website. For more details on attending, sponsoring, and/or donating for this special evening please visit HalloweenCharityBash.com or call Matthew at 989-698-3403.

Lane Closures expected as work begins today on Liberty Bridge in Bay City

via MLive.com

Woodside Avenue from Washington Avenue to Walnut Street, crossing the Liberty Bridge, will have lane closures starting today. Both east and west-bound traffic will be reduced to one lane as crews work to repair sidewalks, curbs and medians, including structural repairs of steel hatch covers, upgrades of guardrails and epoxy injections of the piers, according to a release from the city. The work is expected to be completed in about four weeks. Once work is completed on the Liberty Bridge, crews will shift to the Independence Bridge for similar work.

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Bay City man sent to prison for attacking roommate with knife

via MLive.com

A Bay City man who reportedly feared jail so much that he considered suicide as a means of avoiding it will be spending up to the next few years behind bars. Bay County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran on Monday sentenced Alexander N. Nagy, 23, to 23 to 48 months in prison, with credit for 102 days served. Nagy in August pleaded no contest to assault with a dangerous weapon, which is punishable by up to four years’ imprisonment. On June 23, Nagy entered a marijuana grow room in the Bay City house he lived at with his father and Jonathan Lago, a licensed medical marijuana grower and caregiver. After being removed from the grow room by Lago and the elder Nagy, Nagy grew increasingly unruly, claiming he was going to steal the marijuana and sell it.

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