Mount Pleasant Discovery Museum is offering a train excursion from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday beginning at Mountain Town Station, 506 W. Broadway St.

Train enthusiast Sam Staples is lending his train car to the cause for the day.

“All of the proceeds will go to the children’s Mount Pleasant Discovery Museum,” Staples said.

Three train cars have seating available for 250 passengers, he said.

Staples said there will be a few Valentine’s Day decorations for endless love tailored to the theme.

“It’s a way for local people to raise capital to build a museum,” said Jennifer Fields, co-founder and member of the board of directors.

Fields said she wants to encourage as much involvement from Central Michigan University as possible.

A double-decker will seat up to 125 passengers for $25 per adult and $5 per child 12 and under, with a limit of three children per adult.

Those looking for a Valentine’s Day experience can purchase a $40 ticket for the Dome car, which will serve alcohol and hors d’oeuvres.

The business car, $35 a ticket, will serve alcohol and hors d’oeuvres, but in a less romantic setting, seating four to six passengers.

Fields said the museum is always offering ways for people to marry their love of the community and the museum.

“We need their support or we won’t open,” Fields said.

The proceeds will help build the exhibits inside the museum. The sooner the necessary funds are raised, Fields said, the sooner the MPDM can open.

Tickets can be purchased at Art Reach of Mid Michigan, 111 E. Broadway St., Commerce Center Phone Book Office, 711 W. Pickard St., and Gingko Tree Inn and River Bluff Bistro, 309 N. Main St.

Other business

Alpha Phi Omega will hold a Texas hold ‘em tournament from 7 to 10 p.m. Feb. 16 to benefit MPDM.

Early registration is $10, or $15 at the door. All proceeds of the tournament will benefit MPDM.

President and CEO of Middle Michigan Development Corporation Brain Anderson said the elimination of the MBT is both negative and positive, depending on who it’s affecting.

The transition would equal a $1.8 billion tax cut, affecting around 95,000 companies that pay taxes through their personal income tax return. These small businesses will no longer have to pay business taxes.

The new plan is thought to energize the economy and create jobs, according to a report from michigan.gov.

“For Class-C businesses, shifting to a flat tax is a tax increase in a lot of situations,” Anderson said.  “There’s a little bit of negative feedback.”

But on the other side, a flat tax makes it easier for credit situations, he said, and it may be a higher cost, but it’s more simplistic.

For Class-S businesses, things are more cut and dry for a flat tax. The small businesses that fall under the class will have a tax break, he said.

“It is a simple, straight-forward tax,” he said. “It’s going to help people because they will have much more time to operate, instead of trying to figure out their taxes.”

Even though it’s much more simplistic in the long-run, people always have a hard time adjusting to change, he said.

“People need to realize change could be a good thing.  If anything, it may be a short-term pain of learning the new system,” he said. “We need to embrace change.”

Anderson said the new flat tax puts Michigan in the lowest tax bracket sales in America. When companies are deciding where to locate, there is a lower cost of doing business in the state.

“From what I’m hearing, people are embracing the new tax system and are actually looking forward to it,” he said.

Some businesses are unaware of the change and whether it applies specifically to them.

“There’s a lot of media around it,” he said. “They will know once they start doing taxes.”

Thomas Raymond, owner of Tom’s Professional Accounting Services, 504 N. Main St., said the shift to a 6-percent corporate flat tax will be fairer than the MBT.

“Whatever business brings in, whether self-employed or a corporation, everybody is getting taxed instead of just the big companies,” Raymond said.

Previously, the MBT only targeted businesses that made more than a $350,000 net profit per year, he said.  Now, everyone gets taxed.

“If we are looking at it from a business point, everyone should be taxed,” he said. “They do it at the federal level, so they should do it at state.”

Zeigler, who is Central Michigan men’s basketball team’s leading scorer, attempted to return, but couldn’t. Head coach Ernie Zeigler said it was a lower-back injury and Trey will be re-evaluated.

Despite the injury, CMU rallied without the sophomore guard, but couldn’t overcome the physical play from Buffalo.

It lost 66-62, dropping its eighth-straight game.

“It’s frustrating, because we still can’t pull out a win,” said junior guard Finnis Craddock. “It’s tough, but in the locker room, we keep telling each other that we need to stay together and we have to keep fighting to dig out of this.”

The main contributor in Trey’s absence was forward Olivier Mbaigoto.

The junior scored a team-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and led a comeback that fall short.

The Chippewas went on a 10-0 run late in second half, cutting an 11-point UB lead down to one.

But the game was sealed when Buffalo forward Mitchell Watt swatted the Chippewas chances of winning away.

Austin McBroom stole the ball from Jarod Oldham, but was rejected by Watt with 1:18 remaining in a four-point game.

McBroom, who scored 11 points, appeared to have an uncontested layup, but couldn’t cut it to a one-possession game after Watt sent the ball back, CMU never got closer from that point on.

“We’re going to remain confident in what we’re doing,” Ernie said after the loss.

The frontcourt tandem of Javon McCrea and Watt were a main reason why CMU still carry the losing streak.

McCrea dropped a team-high 16 points and Watt scored 15. McCrea also hauled 10 rebounds and Watt had seven.

Their ability to rebound the ball helped lead a 48-27 outburst on the glass for the Bulls.

“They’re just a one-two punch,” Ernie said. “Both of them can score. Both of them made plays down the stretch that sealed the game for them.”

CMU guard Austin Keel kept the team in it down the stretch, knocking down 3-of-5 3-point attempts, but the struggles on the glass were too much to overcome.

Ernie said the lack of ‘quality’ depth in the front court was too much to withstand losing Trey.

Buffalo’s struggles at the free-throw line (10-for-23), kept the Chippewas around and they took advantage.

CMU went to the line 20 times in the second half, making 17, but still couldn’t muster up a victory.

The Chippewas have their last chance to get a win against a Mid-American Conference East opponent at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against Miami OH in Oxford, Ohio.

This item was in the 2012 budget and will be split evenly between the water and sewer fund.

The original truck was traded in at a value of $12,934 from Krapohl Ford as opposed to the $12,500 that would have been received with the Gateway Chrysler Dodge bid. These were the only two bids received.

After the trade in, the price for the 2008 Ford F250 pickup truck was $10,000.

“There is no manufacturer that has created a hybrid truck, (but) eventually this is the path we would like to go down,” said Township Supervisor John Barker.

Barker also talked about how a few different organizations in Mount Pleasant and Isabella County are trying to get a  liquid natural gas conversion. However, that is expensive, he said.

Barker said there were some grants that could be used for liquid natural gas conversion, but they have been cut back.

“We have one truck that would be liquid natural gas convertible,” Barker said.

Other Business

Also at the meeting, a Brine Contract with Isabella County Road Commission was approved by an 8-1 vote.

The approved contract is for three applications of brine at 2,000 gallons per mile, totaling a cost of $13,436.64.

“There are 21 miles of gravel roads in our township” said Trustee Phil Mikus.

Last year the township paid $12,227.04 for the brine applications. The new contract is an increase of 9.89 percent from 2011.

The increase was the result of a 1 cent per gallon increase in the cost of the brine itself.

There will be three applications of the brine; one in mid-May, mid-July and mid-August.

Central Michigan head coach Dan Enos walks the sidelines of Commonwealth Stadium Sept. 10 as the Chippewas lost to the University of Kentucky 27-13. (Andrew Kuhn/Assistant Photo Editor)

Head Football Coach Dan Enos’ contract was extended for one year, Athletics Director Dave Heeke announced Wednesday.

Enos is in his third year of the original five-year contract.

Enos’ contract has a base salary of $250,000, plus an annual media bonus of $75,000 for working with radio and TV, totaling $325,000 annually. The extension comes with no increase in base salary or buyout provisions.

“I commend Dan on his patience and courage over the past two seasons and thank our many fans who have stood behind this program as we have done the things necessary to rebuild and maintain success,” Heeke said.

The Chippewas recorded back-to-back 3-9 seasons during Enos’ first two years as coach.

“I can’t say enough about the support our program has received from our director of athletics, Dave Heeke, and the rest of our administration,” Enos said. “We share the expectation that our program will compete for championships on the field and achieve academic excellence in the classroom.”

Dean of the College of Medicine Ernest Yoder talks briefly to the Board of Trustees about the College's latest progress in the President's Conference Room in the Bovee University Center. (Photo by Kaitlin Thoresen/Assistant Photo Editor)

The College of Medicine moved one step further toward the goal of opening in 2013.

Central Michigan University officials said Wednesday the Liaison Committee on Medical Education has granted preliminary accreditation to CMED.

“We remain committed to our goal of welcoming our first class in the summer of next year and now look forward to beginning the student recruitment process,” said CMED Dean Ernest Yoder in a press release. “At the same time, we continue to recruit outstanding faculty and develop our curriculum in accordance with LCME requirements.”

An LCME team came in mid-November to discuss plans for CMED. They met with CMU officials and some faculty members, who expressed concern with the current plans.

The press release said the LCME looks for five items while at CMU: governance and administration, curriculum, medical students, faculty and resources.

“We are very pleased that the LCME has granted preliminary accreditation to our medical school,” said University President George Ross.  “This is a significant milestone as we strive to create an innovative and highly successful program to help fill imminent needs for physicians and medical education opportunities in our state.”

Stay tuned to cm-life.com for more updates as this breaking news develops.

Waterford senior Jennifer Tabeek, HDF 409 student assistant, laughs as Carson, 4, left, and Henry, 4, play with toy trains Tuesday afternoon in the Education and Human Services Building's Child Learning Lab. (Ashley Miller/Staff Photographer)

They graduated in December, ready to take on the real world.

But, two months later, CMU alumnae Abbey Nirva and Kelsey Koewers still find themselves working at the Child Development and Learning Lab, the preschool inside the College of Education and Human Services Building. Four days a week, 72 children spend part of their afternoon there, interacting with students and faculty.

More than 100 students work in the lab for school credit, and additional students, five undergraduate and two graduate students, work in the lab for employment, alongside full-time staff memberss.

CDLL Faculty Director Cheryl Priest said the lab serves as a training facility for students who major or minor in child development.

“It is amazing to have strong students majoring in Early Childhood Development and Learning, because we know that they are going to make a difference in the lives of children around Michigan,” Priest said.

Nirva, of Allen Park, and Koewers, of Lowell, worked as student employees last semester and were kept for another semester after graduation because the lab required staff to help a child full-time.

Highland senior Kaitlyn Schultz, HDF 402 student assistant, works with Mariah, 3, center, and Colton, 5, at the art station Tuesday afternoon in the Education and Human Service building's Child Learning Lab. "(My favorite part is) working with all the kids and seeing what they create. It's so fun," she said. (Ashley Miller/Staff Photographer)

“On occasion, when someone works really well with our program and there’s an opportunity later, we make sure they know about this opportunity,” Priest said. “Abby and Kelsey were hired temporarily, because we had a special need within the program.”

She said in this case they were able to continue to work with two outstanding students and former student employees who were available for the time period they needed. We consider ourselves extremely lucky, she said.

Nirva is currently working in the lab as a paraprofessional. She prepares activities for the classroom, works in the kitchen in the morning afternoons works individually with the child.

“I feed her and walk around with her,” Nirva said. “She is the sunshine to my day; she makes my life so much better. We’re great together.”

Koewers has been employed by CDLL since August 2011, and before that, she was a student teacher in the lab. She said after her experience working at the lab previously, she wouldn’t turn down the position this semester.

“With my job position still available, there was no question in my mind whether to stay or not. It is such an amazing place to work in and be a part of,” Koewers said. “I honestly believe that there is no better preschool out there than the Child Development and Learning Lab here at CMU.”

While working at the lab, Koewers said she has built great relationships with children, faculty and other students.

“I chose to stay to not only get an amazing reference added to my resume for the future, but I also simply didn’t want to leave the school, my coworkers, who I now consider great friends, as well as the children, some of which I have now known for almost two years,” she said.

Both Nirva and Koewers believe they have been lucky to work in the lab, which has taught them aspects they could only learn firsthand.

Koewers said she has gained aspects of patience, diversity, support and understanding.

“Working in the lab has shown me how adults can be a major support system for children in so many ways,” she said. “Letting the children know you’re there to support them can be key to having them enjoy learning as well as relaxing and trusting in the people and environment.”

Nirva said she has gained a lot of hands-on experience, as well as now seeing children in a new light.

“I always thought that I knew how to connect with children, but being in classes and actually learning and applying it in the classroom has been an eye-opener,” she said.

They’re at a vital age and are capable of learning so much, she said.

Both Nirva and Koewers are sad to leave the CDLL after the spring semester.

“The lab is and will be one of the best parts of my life, and the idea of leaving it in the spring devastates me,” Koewers said. “It is an amazing place, and I can only dream I will work in and send my future children to half of a school that the CDLL is.”

Nirva said the lab is a fun atmosphere and much more than what students see on the exterior.

“It’s so much cooler than people know. It’s a top-notch preschool. It’s nothing like when we were kids,” Nirva said. “You never want to leave. It’s great.”

As the FA and administration worked on a contract, a Facebook page called “Friends of CMU Faculty” was utilized to keep supporters of the FA informed. Constant updates, newspaper stories and both faculty and student opinions were voiced, and the page was updated as new information became available.

John Hartman, professor of journalism, said without the page, information wouldn’t have been shared as well as it was.

Hartman was on sabbatical during the fall semester.

“It would have been harder (to share information). I would have had to spend much more time phoning or emailing colleagues to ask what was going on. Even then, I do not believe I would have been as well-informed, because there were postings on both pages from faculty and students that I did not know and with whom I would not have been in touch,” he said.

Cody Armstrong, a freshman from St. Clair, said he would not have been informed about anything going on between the faculty and administration had it not been for the Facebook page.

“Being a new student, I was very unaware of any problems occurring between the faculty and administration,” he said. “I used the Facebook page to gain an understanding of what was happening, and without it, I would have been completely lost. I’m glad it was started.”

Hartman said students on the page varied from being well-informed of the issues at hand to having no idea what was going on and being confused. As words were exchanged, both parties became deeply involved in debates.

“Some (students) were knowledgeable and were helping the FA efforts. Others were not well-informed about the issues. I and others often explained issues and background on unfamiliar topics to them. There were a few students whose feelings were hurt, because they made statements that drew fire from those deeply involved in the matter,” Hartman said. “I regret that. None of us wanted to do anything to harm students.”

During the past year, social media have taken on an important role for revolutionaries in the Middle East, protesters here at home and politicians across the world.

The Arab Spring’s explosive growth would have been largely impossible without the use of social media. Protesters looking to overthrow dictators and install democracies organized on Facebook and Twitter and shared YouTube videos of brutal crackdowns. Their actions online made it easier to mobilize, but governments would not have fallen without acts of courage, said Timothy Boudreau, Associate Professor of Journalism.

“Social media helped the protesters communicate and organize much more effectively, but the protesters posed a real threat only when they took to the streets and put their lives on the line,” Boudreau said.

Many countries have threatened to arrest bloggers who are accused of spreading “malicious rumors,” according to a report by Reuters examining the impact of social media. Twitter announced in late January it will allow for country-specific censorship, sparking outrage from internet users across the world.

Here in the United States, social media are also having an enormous impact on the political landscape.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has used social media to organize and mobilize thousands of protesters around the country, and eventually around the world, in a similar way to the Arab Spring protesters. This has allowed OWS to spread around the globe at a pace previously unimaginable.

Internet users have also had an impact on lawmakers on Capitol Hill. After websites like Wikipedia and Reddit shut down for a whole day to protest the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act  and Protect IP Act on Jan. 18, the number of opponents to the bill in Congress more than tripled from 31 to 101, according to ProPublica.org. The bill has since been shelved.

As the 2012 elections heat up, social media will continue to leave its mark on American politics.

“I think candidates are using all available tools, including social media, to reach voters,” said Orlando Perez, political science professor and department chairman. ”Studies have shown that repeated personal contact with the voters is the most effective way of getting people to support a candidate.”

President Barack Obama, who was the first presidential candidate to effectively use social media in a presidential campaign, recently held a question-and-answer session via YouTube and Google+ with a group of people, showing the appeal of directly speaking to voters without the use of traditional news outlets.

“Obama’s campaign seems more adept at using social media, but that might be because his supporters tend to skew younger than the GOP’s,” Boudreau said.

Hoekstra, who is running to be the Republican nominee against second-term Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, should end his campaign for producing an ad which is unacceptable in modern society. The ad featured a young Asian woman speaking about the threat of Chinese economic growth and Stabenow’s fiscal policy.

“Thank you, Michigan Sen. Debbie ‘Spend-It-Now,’” the woman says at the beginning of the ad. “Debbie spends so much American money. You borrow more and more from us. Your economy get very weak. Ours get very good. We take your jobs.”

Tellingly, she never stumbles over the ‘Spend-It-Now’ or ‘Spend-It-Not” titles for Stabenow or Hoekstra, respectively. She’s Asian, perhaps Chinese, and apparently threatening, but she certainly stays on message.

What’s worse, the scene honestly opens with a gong. The absurd music, intermittent grammar issues and pointed straw hat that follow are all designed to remind us that this is a foreign culture, a people apart — something different from our wounded, reeling America. This sort of race-baiting is simply unacceptable for a person running to represent Michigan at a federal level, but of course it does not belong in any campaign or conversation.

There is no acceptable move Hoekstra can make other than to withdraw from running for the nomination. His appearance at the end of the commercial reiterating the points in front of a fireplace, ending with “I’m Pete ‘Spend-It-Not” Hoekstra, and I approve this message,” tells us he cannot legitimately distance himself from the controversy.

Hoekstra may actually believe both the content and strategy of the ad are acceptable and see no problem with them, in which case he has no business running or holding any elected office. The only other alternative is that he was unaware of the extent of the ad’s racial bias and stereotyping, that he gave into the pressure of a cut-throat campaign team, which demonstrates he lacks the spine and foresight a U.S. senator should reflexively display.

Resorting to the depths he did with this ad sets back the tone of political discourse decades, if not a century. It is an offense to Asian-Americans and other minorities, but it stings basic human dignity. Hoekstra worked hard to portray himself as the moderate candidate in this race, earning endorsements from national figures including Mitt Romney, but that hard work was undone instantly with this embarrassment.

Instead of trotting out evasive half-apologies or jingoistic defenses, it’s time for Hoekstra to step aside and allow the process to continue without him. He has done more than enough already.

Michigan has long battled a poor reputation nationally and internationally. We have suffered as a punchline for industrial decline and social backwardness.

If we are to move forward, tactics such as the campaign commercial must be shelved permanently.

To help us move forward, Pete ‘End-It-Now’ Hoekstra must stop his campaign.