Derek van der Merwe

Van der Merwe, a CMU alum and long-time administrator in the university’s athletics department, is one of five finalists being considered. Matt Pope, senior associate athletics director at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, interviewed Monday, while Bill Landsen, associate athletics director at the University of Memphis, was scheduled to interview today.

Schedules were still being sorted out for van der Merwe, Chad Kimmel, managing group leader for gifts in the athletics department at the University of Wisconsin, and Julio Freire, senior associate athletics director at the University of Neavada-Las Vegas.

The announcement marks the second time in recent years van der Merwe has been named a finalist for an athletics director job elsewhere. In 2010, van der Merwe was named one of three finalists for AD at Ferris State University, but later pulled himself out of the running to stay at CMU. Mount Pleasant native Perk Weisenberger would later get the job.

Van der Merwe earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from CMU, and was an offensive lineman on the CMU football team from 1991 to 1995.

He joined the CMU athletics department in 1997. Since then, he’s risen through the ranks — from academic adviser to assistant athletics director, to being named senior associate athletics director in 2005. Van der Merwe was promoted to chief operating officer and deputy athletics director in December 2011.

Austin Peay athletics director Dave Loos, who also serves as the head men’s basketball coach, announced plans to step down in April. Loos has held both jobs since 1997, but says he will stay on as basketball coach.

The school recently approved a $16.9 million renovation to its football stadium, due to be completed prior to the 2014 season. Former CMU secondary coach Kirby Cannon was named head football coach at Austin Peay in March.

Van der Merwe’s credentials include chairing the committee for the $22 million Events Center and negotiating a new sports apparel deal with Adidas in 2009.

The Division 1 Governors and Lady Govs, the school’s nickname for its eight sponsored female teams, are members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The football team is a member of the Football Championship Subdivision.

Van der Merwe and CMU athletics director Dave Heeke, through the department’s communications department, declined comment Thursday. Heeke, who has been athletics director since 2006, has 1 year remaining on his current contract.

Leachman now faces between 15 years and life in prison, according to Michigan legal guidelines.

The jury’s verdict comes after a trial that lasted close to seven days and more than 12 hours of deliberations.

Leachman was charged with first-degree murder on Nov. 26 for the death of Mount Pleasant resident Tyrone Stanley. Stanley, 20, was stabbed by Leachman with a seven-inch knife on Nov. 24 following a series of altercations in a pair of S. Main Street apartments.

Throughout the trial, defense attorney Thomas Weiss told the jury Leachman’s actions were preformed out of self defense and that his client was fearing for his life.

Isabella County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Robert Holmes said Leachman had enough time to consider stabbing and that the door at the end of the hallway at the apartment building would have served as a means to leave the altercation.

Holmes also had numerous witnesses who he said would bring clarity to what happened on the night of Nov. 24.

On Wednesday, the jury requested to see two video tapes after hours of deliberating. One video showed Leachman being questioned by Mount Pleasant Police Officer Jeff Browne about seven hours after Stanley’s death. The second was taken from a cell phone which showed a confrontation between the two men and others before the stabbing.

During the numerous testimonies, Officer David VanDyke told jurors Curtis Leachman did not have any wounds that indicated he acted in defense in his altercation with Stanley. VanDyke was involved in photographing Leachman following his arrest and took many photos from different angles.

On May 14, Brandon Harner, a friend of both Leachman and Stanley, told jurors he still doesn’t know what caused the fatal argument between the two and that Leachman directed some harsh words toward Stanley, who responded by asking someone for a belt.

During his testimony on May 15, McLaren-Central Michigan emergency physician Greg Hicks said the knife wound that killed Stanley could have punctured his lung, heart, liver and spleen. Hicks said the knife wound under the victim’s armpit seemed to go through his lung and into his heart.

David Start, a forensic pathologist and the official that conducted Stanley’s autopsy, testified on Friday. Start told the jury the stab wound Stanley suffered would have likely been fatal, even if he received immediate medical attention.

On April 20, senior pitcher Kara Dornbos delivers a pitch during the game against Toledo at Margo Jonker Stadium. Dronbos pitched all seven innings allowing only three hits as the Chippewas beat Toledo 3-0 to for their seventh straight victory. (File Photo by Chuck Miller)

Senior pitcher Kara Dornbos came into the Mid-American Conference Tournament with the third-best ERA on the softball team, but she finished the tournament with championship and tournament MVP honors.

She now leaves the MAC champion Chippewas behind with an impressive legacy.

“I just want to say that I feel blessed to be able to play for Central Michigan, to represent the ‘C’ and also play under coach (Margo) Jonker,” Dornbos said. “I’m going to miss (my team), but I’ll still be at Central, so I’m going to see them a lot.”

Even though Dornbos took losses in both games of NCAA regionals — where the Chippewas’ season ended — the team wouldn’t have gotten that far without Dornbos’ phenomenal pitching in the MAC tournament.

“Dornbos pitched an outstanding tournament, both last year and this year,” said head coach Margo Jonker, who earned her 1,100 career victory May 11. “So, kudos to her.”

The Hudsonville senior dominated the tournament, starting all four games in four consecutive days and finished with three complete game shutouts and an MVP trophy.

“Our whole team should have got it, because I had success off defense and Cory (DeLamielleure) did a great job behind the plate,” Dornbos said after CMU beat Northern Illinois 4-2 to win the MAC Tournament. “It wasn’t just me, it was everyone.”

Her tournament numbers are outstanding.

In four games, Dornbos was 3-0 with a 0.29 ERA, 24 1/3 innings pitched, 13 hits allowed, nine strikeouts, three extra base hits allowed and held opponents to a .159 batting average.

One of those victories came in a 1-0 pitchers duel against Kent State’s Emma Johnson, the 2013 MAC Pitcher of the Year.

This type of performance is not foreign to Dornbos. Dating back to high school, she was an all-state pitcher at Unity Christian High School, and in her freshman year at CMU, Dornbos was named to the MAC All-Freshman Team.

Dornbos has been especially dominant in MAC tournaments. The six-foot tall right-hander was 3-1 with a 0.42 ERA in the 2012 tournament, where CMU lost in the championship game to Miami.

Her final numbers in four years of MAC tournaments are impressive. In 15 games, Dornbos went 7-2 with a 0.95 ERA in 73 1/3 innings.

The softball field hasn’t been the only place where Dornbos has been clutch.

The health fitness major graduated with a 3.98 GPA, was named Academic All-MAC in 2011 and 2012 and was named to the Capitol One Academic All-District V first team in 2013.

Dornbos made a name for herself at CMU and finds herself throughout the program’s record books, leaving behind a legacy of postseason success next year’s pitchers hope to model themselves after.

The bulk of that leadership came from the seniors: pitcher Kara Dornbos and outfielders Macy Merchant, Brogan Darwin and Summer Knoop.

Sophomore third baseman Trista Cox was quick to say the four will be irreplaceable.

“The seniors set a big stage for us and they’re four very irreplaceable people,” she said. “The heart that they played with all season long, from the start to the end, they lead by example. We have great class of juniors, but like I said, the four seniors are irreplaceable.”

Head coach Margo Jonker was also quick to say how players come and go from a team, but, as people, the four departing seniors won’t soon be replaced.

“They are irreplaceable as people,” she said. “Position-wise, as players, we will move on. But, you can never replace the people.”

Dornbos finished her college career with a record of 53-45 and five saves with an ERA of 2.29.

In her four seasons, Dornbos finished fifth in appearances (119), fifth in wins (53), fifth in saves (5), third in complete games (67), sixth in shutouts (21), third in innings pitched (631), sixth in strikeouts (351) in program history and has the single-season record for appearances in a season with 36 in 2012.

And she saved her best for the postseason, leading the Chippewas to back-to-back Mid-American Conference championship games in 2012 and 2013, when CMU took home the MAC title.

“It’s huge to have someone in the circle like that,” Jonker said. “Kara has a lot of records.”

Merchant was named to the All-MAC First Team and All-MAC Tournament Team in 2013, and she finished her senior season with an astounding .408 batting average, good for third best single-season average in program history.

She won’t only be missed as a leadoff hitter. She’ll be equally as missed for her presence in center field as a defender.

Her speed and route to the ball made sure base runners would stop before taking the extra base. Her name, along with Dornbos’, can be found numerous times in the program’s record books for her offensive prowess at the plate and on the bases.

“First team all-conference, stolen bases and a great defensive player,” Jonker said of Merchant.

Knoop might not be all over the record books, but her only career home run will resonate in the program for quite sometime.

The utility player showed her power in game two of the MAC tournament, as her home run was the difference in a 1-0 win against Kent State.

“We moved summer from third to outfield and then to right field, and she was willing to play any position we asked,” Jonker said. “Whatever the team needed, she was willing to attempt to do.”

Darwin, a fifth-year senior, was bright spot for the team in the NCAA regional, hitting .429. She wasn’t a starter to begin the season, but she made her impact as the starting left fielder to end the season.

“She was on the bench for the first part of the year and managed that really well,” Jonker said. “She had a great attitude, and I was very impressed.”

The four seniors helped set an example of winning that the junior class and under will try to copy next season as the team makes a run for another MAC title.

“(The seniors) set a huge stage,” Jonker said. “We’re going to miss who they are as people … you’ll never replace the people. Ever”

Photo Courtesy of Scott Hart

Scott Hart’s experiences in the public education system ended in the same place it began: a first grade classroom.

The 2012 South Boardman graduate, who majored in special education with a minor in child development at Central Michigan University, recently returned from Immokalee, Fla. from his last tenure as a student teacher at Pinecrest Elementary School.

However, this wasn’t your basic grade-school teaching job.

“My experience in Immokalee consisted of my time being split between teaching first and second grade sheltered classrooms,” Hart said. “Sheltered basically means the student is an English Language Learner and needs to receive basic English instruction.”

Photo Courtesy of Scott Hart

Working against a language barrier in any profession can be difficult.

“For my particular students, all 38, Spanish was their first language,” Hart said. “I didn’t really know what to expect … I feared not being able to teach my students.”

However, with time, this concern quickly evaporated.

“After spending just one day there, my fears were erased and it was more welcoming and happy than I could’ve ever expected,” Hart said. “Overall, they flowed like any other classroom.”

Hart was one of nine CMU students who were student-teaching in Immokalee when he first arrived. He said he began each day at 5 a.m. and would depart for the elementary school by 6:30 – just enough time to arrive a half-hour before class began.

“Arriving at school a half-hour before school began gave us time to prepare,” Hart said. “When the bell rang at 8 a.m., I would bring the students inside, and they would begin morning work while the school news was broadcasted.”

Hart’s decision to go travel to Immokalee through the study abroad program was an easy one to make, but a difficult one to implement. As with all study abroad trips, there is a requirement that a specific number of students participate. Hart was charged with recruitment.

Photo Courtesy of Scott Hart

“Recognizing the name of the professor leading the group, Lorraine Berak, I quickly emailed her to get more details,” Hart said. “I told her I would be dedicated to ensuring this trip took place. About 15-20 class presentations later, we had nine student teachers signed up.”

After the logistics of the trip were worked out, Hart says the final decision to go was a no-brainer.

“The price was right, the location was great, and it would be a new experience,” Hart said. “I’ve always loved Florida, and since age 14, I set it as my goal to move there. It was if the stars were aligned that day. My mind was racing with the potential opportunities.”

He was soon offered a full-time kindergarten teaching position at the same school – just in time for graduation.

“From the first day I started student teaching at Pinecrest, my heart was settled,” Hart said. “I felt right at home. The atmosphere was inviting, and the staff was incredibly helpful.”

For Hart, the best part of student teaching is the students.

“They were learning so much, and I think they were teaching me just as much, if not more,” Hart said. “One of the biggest things I took away from this experience was don’t assume. Don’t assume that because a student doesn’t know English, they’re not intelligent or that they don’t care. They are intelligent, and they do care.”

The No. 8 Chippewas will kick off their 10th consecutive MAC tournament against No. 1 Kent State at 7:30 Wednesday night at All-Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio.

Even though the team needed to take care of its business with the Broncos on the road first, a few of players were aware that the Eagles and Rockets finished before their game on Saturday.

“We knew Eastern (Michigan) had to lose (to get into the tournament), but we had to focus on Western (Michigan),” sophomore pitcher Jordan Foley said.

Foley was not pitching in the final game on Saturday and was one of the players who knew full well when the Eagles had lost.

“Our trainer had the game up on his phone so I was keeping track,” Foley said. “We found out in the sixth or seventh inning that (the Eagles) had lost, and we had a big lead, so it was pretty relaxing.”

Foley said it was gratifying taking two of three from the Broncos in their weekend series and knocking Eastern Michigan out of the playoffs.

“Both in-state schools there is a bit of a rivalry,” Foley said. “It didn’t really matter who we took out as long as we got in, but it was cool that we bumped (the Eagles) out of there.”

With the win, the team clinched its 10th-straight tournament appearance, something head coach Steve Jaksa said is the standard for the baseball program.

“This is the expectation,” head coach Steve Jaksa said. ”This is what we do and why we play. Sometimes you have to remember why you play and what you’re playing for. I thought we played well this weekend at Western (Michigan), and Toledo gave us the help we needed.”

CMU finished the regular season at 25-30 overall and 12-15 in the MAC and will play the regular season champion Golden Flashes (34-21, 20-7) in the first round of the tournament.

The Chippewas played three games at Kent State earlier this year, winning one of the three, and the teams are familiar with one another. The two teams meet frequently in the MAC tournament, last season coming in the championship game that Kent State would eventually win. The Golden Flashes would advance to the College World Series last year.

“That doesn’t make any difference this year as far as what they did last year,” Jaksa said. “Being in the College World Series doesn’t help the kid that’s throwing, who has never thrown in the conference tournament. Our guys played them in the conference championship last year, and it has become a good rivalry.”

Foley will be getting the start against the rival Golden Flashes Wednesday. He went six innings against Kent State earlier this season, allowing two earned runs and taking the 4-1 loss.

The Michigan State Police in Mount Pleasant responded to a call from a witness at the Deerfield Village apartment complex, 3400 E. Deerfield Rd., about a dumpster fire, according to Michigan State Police Sergeant Lance Cook. Central Michigan University Police and the Mount Pleasant Fire Department assisted at the scene.

Another fire was lit in a dumpster at Lexington Ridge Apartments, 3700 E. Deerfield Rd., before the dumpster at Deerfield Village Apartment Complex.

A news release listed the man as a Rochester Hills native, though police told Central Michigan Life they are unsure if that is where he is actually from and whether he is a CMU student.

State police are also pursuing drug charges against the man.

The Michigan State Police are leading the investigation and trying to confirm whether or not there is a connection to these recent dumpster fires to the dumpster fires from the end of exam week at CMU that occurred between April 28th and May 5th.

As previously reported by Central Michigan Life, the Michigan Arson Prevention Committee offered an up-to $5,000 reward for information for the “rash” of fires in Mount Pleasant toward the end of the school year.

Mount Pleasant police said 21 dumpster fires and 11 outdoor fires, including furniture fires, were responded to during that period.

Mount Pleasant firefighters scrambled to put out four dumpster fires at Lexington Ridge Apartments, 3700 E. Deerfield Road, and couch fires on Main Street and at the Jamestown and Deerfield Village apartment complexes, among other locations, during the last weekend of the spring 2013 semester.

Cook said if there is a connection between those fires and Friday’s, other departments, such as the CMUPD, could also become involved in the investigation.

Jessica Holly Roth, left, and father Steve Roth perform at Starry Night’s Gala Benefit Program Sunday evening at Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium. The event intended to bring awareness to Starry Night, an organization founded by Marie Louise Lannen that brings the arts to children with autism. (Christiana Kurtz/Staff Photographer)

Sunday’s Benefit Gala for Starry Night and Max’s Place for Autism showcased three local musicians to help benefit a local source of help for autism-affected families

The gala, held in Plachta Auditorium in Warriner Hall, was one of several events being held during the summer every saturday by Max’s Place for Autism, a summer art camp run at Central Michigan University.

“We are focusing mainly on family-friendly events this summer,” staff behaviorist Jennifer Richardson said.

The local performers included 2013 “American Idol” semifinalist Shubha Vedula, Jessica Holly Roth and Traci Nelson and the Band of Aviators.

In addition to raising funds for Max’s Place, the gala aimed to raise autism awareness and to honor autism-disabled advocates and their families.

The main goal of the program is to provide a community with unique social-emotional therapeutic environments through pro-social group environments.

Marie Louise Lannen, the founder of Starry Night and Max’s Place for Autism speaks at Starry Night’s Gala Benefit Program Sunday evening at Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium. (Christiana Kurtz/Staff Photographer)

“We’ve all been sick with the flu and had a fever in which lights and colors are intense. That’s what it’s like for our kids,”  Starry Night founder Marie Lannen said. “This program gives them a social experience that isn’t traumatic.”

In 2007, Max’s Place for Autism put on the first summer camp for children with autism that mainly focused on art and companionship. It has been about two years since the last summer camp was held.

“This program gives our kids something to look forward to,” Richardson said. “… It’s amazing to see what can happen when we let go of our expectations in these kids.”

Evart resident Joshua Lewis’Sauntman, who has autism and Asperger’s syndrome, went to the camp in 2007.

“I like the art parts there,” Lewis’Sauntman said. ”I made a lot of abstract stuff. You get lots of air and go out whenever you want or need to with a counselor.”

The children are split into four groups with five kids in each one. They go around and do different activities together, each treatment or therapy session is two times a week in which they have to travel from home.

“It’s rewarding because they don’t usually have one friend in school, but at Max’s Place for Autism they leave with at least one good friend,” Lannen said.

On March 22, sophomore guard Crystal Bradford dribbles toward the hoop during the NCAA tournament game against University of Oklahoma in Columbus, Ohio. (File Photo by Adam Niemi)

She will travel to Russia July 8-15 to represent USA Basketball, as announced by the organization on Sunday. She joins four other first time members of USA basketball and seven USA gold medalists.

Bradford said when she received word she made the team she was thrilled.

“They called out the names of who made the team in alphabetical order, and, with my last name being Bradford, before I could even brace myself for the worst or the best, they said Crystal Bradford as the first name,” she said. “I was pumped, I was stoked. I went into shock until they read the last name.”

University of Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale will coach the USA squad. She has already seen Bradford play live when the Sooners played the Chippewas in the first round of the 2013 NCAA tournament. Bradford scored 36 points in that game.

Coale said Bradford is part of an intriguing USA team in a news release.

“Fun … that’s the first word that comes to my mind (when describing the team),” Coale said. “I think they will be a really interesting bunch to coach. They can do a lot of different things. There were a lot of shooters at the trials in general and a lot of shooters on the team. A lot of versatility, post guys who can step out and score, and then we also have guys who can break you down off the dribble. Good pieces. Really good pieces and really good parts.”

The World University Games are held every other year and is organized by the International University Sports Federation. It is a multi-sport competition open to both men and women between the ages of 17 and 24. Participants have to be U.S. citizens and enrolled in college with eligibility remaining.

After hearing the news of making the team, Bradford said she automatically thought of her family and everyone that has helped her to get to where she is today.

“I had a lot of different emotions,” Bradford said. “I thought of my mom first, my coaches and everybody that’s helped me. People came up hugging and congratulating me. It was just a rewarding experience. It just feels good.”

USA Basketball women’s teams have participated in 16 World University Games and have collected a record of eight gold medals, six silver medals and one bronze medal.

As to why she thinks she stood out among the other invitees at tryouts, Bradford spoke of her leadership qualities and ability to learn from her mistakes.

“I was being a leader, I was talking. I think the biggest thing was I made mistakes, but I played through them,” she said. “I would miss a shot but then run back and get stops. I was playing hard. My endurance and energy were pretty high.”

Russia is the host country this year, and, along with the United States, there are 14 other countries that will be competing at this year’s games.

Since the tournament’s inception in 1973, the USA women have compiled a record of 95-15. In 2011, the team was led by 2012 NCAA National Player of the Year nominees Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins, who helped lead the team to a 6-0 record and a gold medal.

Training will begin June 25 in Colorado Springs as the team will begin preparation for the 2013 World University Games in mid-July. Bradford said she is taking no time off and plans to train up until June 25 before she goes to Colorado to train with the team.

“I’ll continue to play basketball and continue to get shots up,” Bradford said. “I’ll be  doing two-a-days, running and hitting the track to time my mile. I just basically want to stay in shape. I’m not going to change too much. I’m going to continue what I’ve been doing.”

On May 13, Mount Pleasant resident Curtis Leachman looks to his attorney Tom Weiss during his trial in Judge Mark Duthie’s courtroom at the Isabella County Trial Court, 200 N. Main St. Leachman was charged with first-degree murder for the death of Mount Pleasant resident Tyrone Stanley, 20, on Nov. 24, 2012 in his Main Street apartment. (File Photo by Emily Brouwer)

Jurors are expected to begin deliberation today in Isabella County Trial Court in the murder trial of Curtis Leachman.

Leachman, 25, is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Mount Pleasant resident Tyrone Stanley, 20, on Nov. 24 in his S. Main Street apartment.

On Monday, Officer David VanDyke testified Monday and told jurors Curtis Leachman did not have any wounds that indicated he acted in defense in his altercation with Stanley.

VanDyke was involved in photographing Leachman following his arrest and took many photos from different angles.

On May 14, Brandon Harner told jurors he was a close friend of Stanley’s, even though he had been rooming with Leachman in November. Harner said Leachman was getting upset because he would not take sides after a verbal altercation with Stanley and that he still doesn’t know what caused the fatal argument between the two.

He also said Leachman was directing some harsh words toward Stanley, who responded by asking someone for a belt.

Though Harner did not see the stabbing, he said he looked toward Stanley after some women began to scream and saw Leachman was carrying a bloody knife. Harner also testified there was no expression on Leachman’s face immediately after the stabbing.

McLaren-Central Michigan emergency physician Greg Hicks testified on May 15 and said the knife wound that killed Stanley could have punctured his lung, heart, liver and spleen. Hicks said the knife wound under the victim’s armpit seemed to go through his lung and into his heart.

Though Hicks did not perform the autopsy of Stanley, he did say Stanley was dead when he arrived at the hospital.

Hicks also said paramedics indicated Stanley had been on the “down” and not moving for almost 10 minutes by the time they reached the hospital.

That same day, Karena Tucker testified that the fight between the two men was less than a minute long and said Leachman threatened to stab the people who saw what happened to Stanley.

Tucker told jurors she did not see Stanley get stabbed but saw the aftermath, including when Stanley fell down next to a chair after splitting up blood.

David Start, a forensic pathologist and the official that conducted Stanley’s autopsy, testified on May 17. Start told the jury the stab wound Stanley suffered would have likely been fatal, even if he received immediate medical help.

Jurors are expected to begin deliberating tomorrow.