The dean of students came for two reasons: to honor the nation’s fallen soldiers and to watch his son perform in the Mount Pleasant High School Marching Band.

“My family comes out every year to honor the veterans and recognize the contributions people have made over the years,” Roscoe said. “It’s a great reminder to people of the sacrifices individuals have made throughout the years
for our country.”

The parade started at the corner of Broadway and Arnold streets and marched toward Main Street, where American flags were placed on crosses representing wars with US involvement.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3033, women’s auxiliary groups and the Mount Pleasant High School marching band kept step in the honorific procession.

Roy Thomas, an Iraqi war veteran and leader of his marine unit, marched with the color guard.

Thomas said his unit took a lot of casualties and lost many brave men during his service overseas.

“This day is a day to sit and remember all my fallen buddies that I’ve served with that aren’t with us today, and everyone else from prior wars that did the same thing,” Thomas said.

He said he plans on marching in the parade ever year in rain, sleet or snow.

The MPHS Marching Band performed patriotic music as many audience members waved miniature flags.

Not “just another holiday”

Iraqi war veteran Jason Huss held VFW colors for the post during the parade.

While in combat, Huss helped protect a military base from insurgents setting off explosives in Balad, Iraq.

Huss said he enjoyed marching in the parade and wished more people would attend.

“All those men and women made the ultimate sacrifice for this country and a lot of people tend to forget about it and think its just another holiday,” Huss said.

After the parade, participants headed to Riverside Cemetery, the Vietnam Memorial at Island Park, Calvary Cemetery and finally to Memorial Gardens to pay their respects.

“Its very important to remember all the veterans who died and the men who were killed in action,” said Ivan Ayris, the parade’s Grand Marshal.

West Branch junior Nick Fox images being able to drive a car that never needs the gas to be refilled.

These ideas and many more were the focus of the Make-a-Pitch contest Thursday in Grawn Hall.

Twelve students shared their ideas for a project or invention in a five-minute time frame to an audience of around 35 while six judges critiqued their work.

The winner — Alma senior Jason Whitmore — received a $500 check.

Chuck Fitzpatrick, director of LaBelle Entrepreneurial Center, was one of the judges and said the presentations were well prepared and practiced.

“I was impressed,” he said. “We would like to get people from other disciplines and hold competitions at other schools.”

The winning idea

Whitmore plans on using the prize money to launch his idea, which is is to create a Web site similar to hulu.com, where users can watch television shows not given air time on cable networks.

Whitmore said the site would create a way to connect the content creators with the advertisers to achieve several things, such as the advertisers paying for product placement.

“I’m pumped,” Whitmore said. “I’ve never won $500 before.”

Vassar junior Molly Bender pitched an idea that could benefit ice tea drinkers.

Her idea is to create an ice tea pack, hot or cold, that will speed up the boiling process and can fit into a bottle of water.

Bender said she’s been thinking about the idea for a couple of years.

“I drink ice tea everyday and it takes a long time to prepare,” she said. “(With my idea), you wouldn’t have to boil it.”

Midland senior Baron Kimble has an idea he said would help all college students.

Kimble, who has been working on it for about a month, plans on providing tax help for low-income earners.

“Everybody needs their taxes done,” he said. “I guarantee you’ll be seeing fliers around for this and I’ll be getting calls.”

Fenton junior Nicholas Laue wants to help people in third-world countries with his idea.

Laue plans on creating a Web site that would connect a portal to sites for stores such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Circuit City.

From there, he would take a percentage of the revenue from the money made and donate it to third-world countries.

“It’s a noble business,” he said. “I don’t feel enough people give back anymore.”

But it’s no accident – a local artist and about a dozen of her friends spent Sunday evening transforming a tree in front of the building into a musical piece of art.

Mount Pleasant resident and Central Michigan University alumna Ingrid Tourangeau and her friends spent the day hanging hundreds of bells in a tree in front of Sloan Hall.

“We wanted to string thousands so the tree would sing,” Tourangeau said. “It sounds like fairies are in the tree.”

Tourangeau said she has had the idea since the beginning of summer, and said the idea was influenced by Gordon Matta-Clark’s art piece, “Tree Dance.”

The tree will be part of Tourangeau’s art display called “Housewarming,” which will be presented at the Art Reach Gift Shop and Gallery, 111 E. Broadway St., until Aug. 29. The opening reception for her work will be at 5 p.m. Thursday.

“It’ll be nice to walk underneath and hear bells ringing,” said Mount Pleasant resident Andrew Dunn, who helped put the bells up. “It’s a beautiful tree, it deserves to be noticed.” Dunn said people walking by the tree may not realize where the sounds are coming from, since the bells appear to be very subtle. He said the exhibit lasts one month, and then they will take the bells down.

“The sound is the coolest part,” Dunn said. “Hearing bells will cheer people up. I’d be cheered up if I was walking by.”

Mount Pleasant resident Dave Musser connected the bells to the strands in various different ways.

Stevenson Lake resident Jolene Klumpp also helped hang the bells. Klumpp took art classes with Tourangeau when she taught at Mid Michigan Community College, 5805 E. Pickard Road. She said she loved having Tourangeau as an art teacher.

“The students loved her,” she said. “She got me out of the box with art and creativity.”

Mount Pleasant resident Sarah McBryde shot a video of the tree decoration for Art Reach.

“I think it will be interesting to see people’s reactions,” she said.

news@cm-life.com

Juan Luis Montoya-Pego, a 27-year-old member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, and Nickol May Jackson, a 26-year-old Mount Pleasant resident, were arraigned Monday in the 76th District Court in Mount Pleasant in connection to the incident.

According to the Michigan State Police, the victim, Farhang Silevany, was attending a party at Jackson’s trailer home residence Friday morning on Isabella Road when he was assaulted by the suspects. He was bound by duct tape, thrown into the trunk of Montoya-Pego’s maroon 2004 Chevy Impala and dumped in a Grand Rapids alley 90 miles away.

Silevany stated that Montoya-Pego choked him, held a knife to his throat and bound him in duct tape. According to court documents, he stated Jackson assisted in binding him with duct tape and took his wallet and cell phone.

He was dumped in an alley near Turner Avenue and Mrytle Street in Grand Rapids around 11 a.m. Friday, said Sgt. Del Putnam of the Michigan State Police Mount Pleasant post.

According to court documents, witnesses confirmed seeing a dark skinned male with a shaved head, Montoya-Pego, pulling the victim out of the Impala’s trunk, dumping him in an alley and then fleeing the scene at a high speed.

Grand Rapids Police found Silevany with duct tape bound to his wrists, ankles, shoulders and mouth and started conducting the investigation with the help of state, local and federal agencies.

The suspects were taken into custody within 48 hours of the initial Grand Rapids Police report, according to a release.

Montoya-Pego was arrested at a motel in Alma, where his Chevy Impala was found. Court documents state he purchased the car two days prior to the crime.

Montoya-Pego admitted to fighting with Silevany at Jackson’s residence, but denied any further involvement, the documents stated.

A search warrant of the 700 block residence of South Isabella Road, where the incident occurred, resulted in the seizure of Silevany’s ID, wallet and other evidence and property.

Putnam said Silevany and Montoya-Pego were acquaintances and the incident started from an argument.

“It wasn’t about money,” Putnam said. “They had a dispute and they (the suspects) were taking out their frustrations.”

The victim suffered only minor injuries and some bruises, Putnam said.

According to court documents, Jackson confessed to witnessing Montoya-Pego holding Silevany down on a couch at her residence with a knife to his throat.

She also confessed to slapping Silevany in the face and binding his arms, legs and mouth with duct tape. She said she saw Montoya-Pego put Silevany in his Chevy Impala’s trunk.

Montoya-Pego remains lodged in Isabella County Jail on a $500,000 bond. He was charged with armed-robbery, unlawful imprisonment and assault with a dangerous weapon and faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Jackson remains lodged in Isabella County Jail on a $200,000 bond and is charged with unlawful imprisonment and assault with a dangerous weapon. She faces up to 15 years in prison.

Montoya-Pego has prior criminal charges including breaking and entering and larceny with a firearm. Jackson also has prior arrests relating to theft.

news@cm-life.com

Wayne Allen Hartley is lodged in Isabella County Jail on a $1 million dollar bond and was charged with assault with intent to commit murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, child abuse and domestic violence.

According to a police press release, investigators are requesting a warrant for attempted murder.

Isabella County Sheriff Department Undersheriff Laude Hartrum said Hartley allegedly strangled his daughter while his wife was away.

“He used his hands to assault the child when his wife wasn’t home,” he said.

According to a statement from the Isabella County Sheriff’s Department, Hartley’s wife and the victim’s mother found her daughter bruised in bed Tuesday morning.

The victim’s mother then proceeded to take her daughter to Central Michigan Community Hospital, 1221 South Dr., and Hartley was arrested after police questioned him.

According to a press release, the mother of the victim asked her husband what had happened to the child and did not believe the husband’s answer.

Hartrum declined comment on details regarding Hartley’s reaction to being arrested but said that he did make several admissions to the police.

Hartley could face up to life in prison on the attempted murder charge. The assault charge carries a maximum 10-year penalty; the child abuse charge carries up to four years in prison and the domestic violence charge a year in jail.

news@cm-life.com

Matthew Allen Grinzinger, a Mount Pleasant freshman, is facing five charges resulting from the incident.

According to the Isabella County Sheriff’s Department, a 25-year-old Mount Pleasant female was struck down by a 1988 Cadillac DeVille, allegedly driven by Grinzinger, on East Bluegrass Road just west of Collegiate Way in Union Township at around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

The victim was in the process of crossing Bluegrass Road when she was hit by the westbound traveling vehicle, according to the release.

According to police, Grinzinger initially fled the scene but returned within a few minutes and was arrested.

Grinzinger is charged with operating while intoxicated causing injury, failure to stop at the scene of a personal injury, failure to report an accident, zero tolerance, which requires 360 hours of community service and a minor in possession. He could face more than six years in jail, more than 360 hours of community service and $100 in fines.

According to court documents, the victim was laying on the roadway in a puddle of blood from a severe head injury when police arrived to the scene of the accident.

Witnesses stated in the documents that Grinzinger’s car had struck her, and then stopped for a few seconds without ever attempting to aid her or identify himself before fleeing the scene.

Grinzinger arrived back at the scene during the investigation and stated he was sorry and that he left because he was scared and shaken up.

The documents stated that Grinzinger claimed he was westbound on Bluegrass Road when the victim crossed the street in front of him. He claims to have tried to avoid her.

Grinzinger admitted to drinking prior to the accident and the responding officer smelled a strong odor of intoxicants on his breath, according to court documents.

His PBT Breathalyzer test was a 0.06. In Michigan, 0.08 is considered under the influence.

Principal Trial Attorney Bob Holmes said Grinzinger’s blood-alcohol level during the incident has yet to be determined, as the prosecutor’s office is waiting for the results of a toxicology test.

Holmes said the victim is recovering with the help of her family, and was released Wednesday from Covenant Healthcare, 800 Cooper Ave, Saginaw.

The victim spent four days in the hospital and was shipped to Covenant after initially being treated at Central Michigan Community Hospital, 2120 S. Mission St.

She has more than 100 stitches in her head, a broken leg and uses a walker and neck brace, Holmes said.

According to a police press release, she suffered multiple broken bones and head trauma resulting from the accident.

Holmes said the victim could have died.

“Anytime you have someone who was ran over by a car, its pretty serious,” he said. “But it could’ve been much worse.”

Grinzinger’s parents supported him during his Thursday arraignment.

Holmes said Grinzinger’s family has expressed concern for the wellbeing of the victim.

Grinzinger has no previous criminal history and is not being tried as a habitual offender.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled to take place at 8:15 a.m. Aug. 27 at the Isabella County Courthouse, 300 N. Main St. He is currently out on bond.

Check cm-life.com for more updates.

A new Biggby Coffee will open Wednesday at 210 S. Mission St., in the north half of the old Isabella County Credit Union building.

Owner Matthew Taylor said he is excited to start business and that his operating philosophy is designed to ensure that every customer leaves the store in a better mood than when they first walked in.

Taylor has been drinking Biggby Coffee ever since the first Lansing location opened in his hometown of East Lansing.

“I fell in love with Biggby Coffee, especially black, which I drink everyday,” he said. “I got to have my Biggby black coffee.”

He said one of the reasons he decided to open the cafe is the “express box,” a box which is at the counter and allows fast access to brewed coffee.

During a long line, customers ordering brewed coffee can go straight to the express box without waiting in line.

People should wait in line just for brewed coffee, Taylor said.

Taylor will start training his 26 current employees on Friday, five days prior to the grand opening.

During the first week of business, free brewed coffee will be given away.

On Tuesday August 25, the business will be hosting a remote broadcast with WMHW-FM 91.5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The business will have a drive-thru and a patio on the north and south sides of the location.

Taylor said the cafe’s location is perfect and is not concerned about the competition that may result from having two Biggbys in town.

“I think its good to have one on the north side and one on the south side,” he said. “But we’re going to have lower prices.”

Canadian Lakes junior Stephanie McGuffie and Lake Isabella senior Emily Zolynski are both baristas at the Mission Street location, and worked at the Bluegrass Street location before it closed.

“I’m extremely excited to meet new customers,” McGuffie said.

Taylor said customers will love his staff.

“(Biggby) has the world’s best coffee,” Zolynsky said. “I’m looking forward to working with energetic customers.”

The new location will be open until 10 p.m., Taylor said. He said the location may eventually be open until midnight, and hopes to start these hours by finals week of the fall semester.

metro@cm-life.com

Donald Lee Morrison was charged with one felony count of conducting a criminal enterprise, two felony counts of breaking and entering and three felony counts of larceny in a building.

The charges involve crimes that occurred on both Central Michigan University’s campus and within Mount Pleasant.

“We’re definitely glad he’s caught and the victims are just as happy as we are,” said CMU Police Det. Sgt. Mike Morrow.

Morrow said Morrison is believed to be responsible for all of burglaries at Warriner Hall over the past couple of months.

The burglaries occurred in more than 15 offices and prompted nine separate investigations. Cash and personal items were stolen, Morrow said.

The first crime was reported on May 7 and involved $135 stolen from a Warriner Hall office file drawer. The final report was filed on July 6.

Morrison stole approximately $200 in cash from several offices Warriner Hall, according to court documents. Personal items such as keys and books of stamps were also stolen.

When investigating an unrelated crime, the Mount Pleasant Police Department found property stolen from a Mount Pleasant residence at Morrison’s Elm Street residence, including foreign coins and paper money.

Once it was suggested that Morrison had stolen items from a Mount Pleasant home, the CMU Police conducted a follow-up investigation and determined the methods of entry and items stolen were consistent to the Warriner Hall burglaries, which helped lead to his arrest.

According to court documents, the homeowner of Morrison’s residence said she was packing up Morrison’s stolen possessions and was planning on turning them over to the police. The homeowner said Morrison would take frequent walks alone and would often return with money in his possession, the documents stated.

During a July 17 investigation, Morrison denied stealing anything from CMU and said the last time he was in one of the school’s building was when he was 17 or 18, according to court documents.

The same day, a CMU police officer showed a photo of Morrison to a Warriner Hall custodian, who immediately recognized him and said he was in the building on several occasions during June. The custodian also said Morrison was seen in possession of keys and on one occasion, observed him in one of the rooms that the burglaries occurred.

Morrison has a criminal background, including 16 prior convictions.

He remains lodged in the Isabella County Jail on a $100,000 bond and could face up to 52 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

He was released from prison for the fifth time February after serving seven years for attempted criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13, according to the Michigan Government Corrections Web Site. He failed to register as a sex offender earlier this year.

Morrison has served time in prison for six separate sentences, including breaking and entering, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and attempted larceny in a building.

A preliminary examination for Morrison is scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Thursday at the Isabella County Courthouse.

news@cm-life.com

MPPD Information Officer Dave Sabuda said it started with an exchange of words inside the 223 S. Main St. location.

The male suspect had a problem with a 27-year-old female, who previously served a supervisory role over him, Sabuda said.

The exchange of words took place when the male suspect confronted the female at the bar. The two then went their separate ways, he said.

The female, who was with a 27-year-old male friend, left the bar and ran into the suspect outside on Main Street. Once the suspect saw the female, he punched her in the face, Sabuda said.

“He was saying, ‘you don’t have any power over me,’” he said.

After the female was assaulted, her male friend tried to intervene and was punched in the back of the head by an suspect’s accomplice, 31-year-old Carson Dale Conley of Mount Pleasant.

Sabuda said at that point, both suspects took off running and were observed by police patrolling the area. Conley was arrested at the scene on a parole detainer in addition to the assault and battery charges.

He was arraigned Monday and remains lodged in the Isabella County Jail on $5,010 bond.

Sabuda declined to release the name of the other male suspect because he has not been arrested or arraigned, but said a warrant for his assault and battery charge has been requested.

“We’ll get him,” Sabuda said. “He is local and is someone known to officers.”

Assault and battery is punishable with up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Sabuda said the incident had few witnesses, and the ones that did witness the crime were friends of the suspects.

According to documents from the Michigan Department of Corrections Web site, Conley has previously served time in prison for two sentences of unlawfully driving away in a vehicle, fleeing a police officer and second degree home invasion.

Assaults and batteries are not uncommon around bars at night, Sabuda said.

“We take several (assault and batteries) a week,” he said.

news@cm-life.com

Juan Montoya-Pego, a 27-year-old member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, and Nicole Jackson, a 26-year-old Mount Pleasant resident, were arraigned in the 76th District Court in Mount Pleasant today in connection to the beating.

According to a police press release, the victim, while attending a party on Isabella Road early Friday afternoon, was assaulted by the suspects, bound by duct tape, thrown in the

back of a truck and then dumped in a Grand Rapids alley 80 miles away.

Montoya-Pego assaulted him and held a knife to his throat, while Jackson allegedly bound his mouth, shoulders, ankles and wrists with duct tape, police said. The suspects also stole his phone, wallet and ID.

Sergeant Del Putnam of the Michigan State Police Mount Pleasant post said the victim was dumped around 11 a.m. Friday in Grand Rapids, where many witnesses saw the victim removed from the truck. He was dumped in an alley near Turner Avenue and Mrytle Street.

“He had some minor injuries, but he’s doing fine,” Putnam said.

The victim then went to the Grand Rapids Police, who helped conduct the investigation with the help of state, local and federal agencies. The suspects were taken into custody within 48 hours of the victim’s report being filed.

Putnam said the victim knew Montoya-Pego.

Troopers executed a search warrant at 707 S. Isabella Road, where the party allegedly occurred and recovered the victim’s property.

A 22-year-old Saginaw man found at the residence was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant for unrelated charges.

Montoya-Pego is charged with armed-robbery, unlawful imprisonment and assault with a dangerous weapon. He remains lodged in Isabella County Jail on a $500,000 bond, Putnam said. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Jackson remains lodged in Isabella County Jail on a $200,000 bond and is charged with unlawful imprisonment and assault with a dangerous weapon. She faces up to 15 years in prison.

Check cm-life.com for more updates.