Advisor & Chronicle by Tim Sutton

January 11, 2014 • Vol. 135 No. 2 514 S. Kalamazoo Ave. in Marshall, MI • Phone 269-781-5444 and FAX 269-781-7766 • www.advisor-chronicle.com

In The News: 1-2 punch of snow and cold leave region in deep freeze Nearly 18 inches of snow, -40 wind chills and treacherous driving conditions force schools to close and events to be cancelled Just days after power was restored to thousands in Southwest Michigan following an ice storm just before Christmas, the region was dealt a 1-2 punch last week with the largest snowfall in recent memory and the coldest temperatures in decades that forced schools to close for nearly the entire week and led to the cancellation of numerous meetings and events as roadways were buried in snow and then converted into sheets of ice. The first round came Jan. 5 with heavy snow that blanketed the region with upwards of 18 inches, with Marshall officially receiving 17 inches. See story on page 20

London family loses home to fire It was shortly after 8 a.m. on Jan. 7 when Elliott London was awakened by the smell of smoke in his home on Birch St. in Marshall. “We were all sleeping and the smell of smoke woke me up,” he said. ”I went downstairs to see what was going on and there was smoke in the basement.” London got his wife Jennifer and daughters Anna and Elizabeth out safely before firefighters arrived on the scene on a morning where the air temperature was -14 degrees and wind chills approached -40. “That was one of the coldest fires we’ve ever had,” said Marshall Deputy Fire Chief Greg McComb. “We had every problem with water you can imagine with that temperature.” The home was a total loss and a web page dedicated to the London family was established for citizens to make donations. As of midday Thursday, more than $36,000 had been donated. See story on page 31

Two Marshall businesses recently announced plans to close It’s still quite early in 2014, but the city of Marshall has already seen changes to the business landscape with the closure of two long-time businesses, Longstreet Furniture, 823 W. Michigan Ave. and Burger King, 15998 W. Michigan Ave. Burger King’s last day was Jan. 1 and Longstreet Furniture announced on Dec. 30 their plans to close in the coming months, with their last day yet to be determined. See story on page 26

Veterans eligible for property tax break Veterans disabled one hundred percent or their un-remarried surviving spouses are now eligible for property tax exemptions for 2013 and 2014. In November, Gov. Rick Snyder signed into a law P.A. 161 for 2013, amending MCL 211.7b, allowing for property tax exemptions for 2013 with the deadline last month. But due to the fact that many veterans did not have time to apply by the Dec. 14 deadline, the Michigan Veterans Affairs Office announced it is allowing for reimbursements of 2013 taxes. The deadline for the next round of tax exemptions is March 31 for the 2014 taxes. See story on page 24

Keep pets safe this winter The most important thing to know is that pets cannot tolerate weather conditions below freezing, despite having fur coats. There definitely are variances in how long pets can be outside due to coat thickness and overall size. See tips on how to keep your pets safe this winter from Humane Society of South Central Michigan Board Chair and Veterinarian Jennifer Aschenbrener. See story on page 22

he Marshall Community Follies will be held Jan. 24 and 25 in the new Marshall High School Auditorium for Performing Arts, with its spectacular lighting and sound design options now available for this biennial show benefiting the Marshall Music Boosters. Tickets to see performers such as the 2014 Competition Team from Repertoire Dance Studio and some of the musicians of the Community Music School Jazz Band, pictured above, are $10, available at the door 45 minutes before showtime. See story on page 18

Planner 2014 This special section will contain local/area businesses that specialize in everything a young couple will need to plan their big event. If you provide products and services for weddings, contact your advertising representative or our office at 781-5444 in Marshall or 965-3955 in Battle Creek to reserve space for this important annual reference guide.

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In the issue of Saturday, January 18 Deadline, Monday, January 13

In the issue of Thursday, January 16 Deadline, Monday, January 13

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Word on the Street

How did you manage during last week’s polar vortex? Editor’s Corner

After upwards of 18 inches of snow, the region, including Marshall, fell victim to the coldest temperatures in decades as the polar vortex sent temperatures to as low as -16 and wind chills to as low as -40.

by John Hendler First of all, my prayers and thoughts go out to the London family, who lost their home to a fire Jan. 7 on what was probably the coldest morning of a generation as wind chills approached -40 degrees. I can only imagine, thankfully, what that must of been like for Elliott London to find smoke in the basement and get his family out safely in a matter of seconds and out into the snow, ice and bitterly cold temperature. And then, once again, in the face of a tragedy, the people of Marshall came together to help the London family by their generous donations in the 48 hours following the fire. If you would like to make a donation, go online to to find the dedicated page for the family at www.gofundme.com/63m12c. And kudos to the 30 firefighters that braved the lifethreatening weather to perform their duty that frequently puts them in harm’s way on a regular basis. It was certainly a memorable weather week, that’s for sure. Snow can be beautiful and make things look peaceful and serene up to a point, and that point was passed sometime last Sunday afternoon when I went outside to shovel my driveway for the third time in six hours just to keep up with the snowfall. “Keeping up” with the snowfall meant that I only had to go out three more times to clear my driveway before the big, bad polar vortex swooped in and made us all feel like we were living somewhere up in Manitoba or Saskatchewan. On Monday and Tuesday and also Wednesday, I couldn’t get two pieces of music out of my head: the song Cold As Ice by Foreigner and the intro theme to the movie Fargo. I must have heard that theme enough times in my head because I ended up watching the movie Tuesday night, don’t ya know. Oh ya. You betcha. So, as we approach the weekend what other weather craziness can we expect? How about an inch of rain on top of 18 inches of snow that sits on the frozen tundra? Looks like more headaches ahead. Usually, I don’t get sick of winter until after we get past the Super Bowl, but, not to sound like too much of a wimp, I’ve had enough of winter, thank you. I know that the reward is out there, way out there: that first warm spring-like day when you can’t imagine living anywhere else because the sunshine and the scenery make Pure Michigan look like heaven. How quickly we forget, only to be rudely reminded again the next go-round. Until next week, stay safe out there and may the good news be yours.

Dyan Sykora, Marshall

Jon Allen, Eaton Rapids

Lonnie Whitaker, Olivet

"I stayed in playing old fashion board games and drinking hot cocoa with my middle school aged son. Priceless!”

"I knew it was coming so I stocked up hard. I waited until I was forced to go out and I bundled up.”

"I blanketed off all the rooms in my house and begged my landlord to plow our driveway, which he did. We ate lots of chili and drank hot cocoa.”

Kymberley Andrews, Bellevue

Laurie Gladstone, Marshall

Mareike Wieth, Marshall

"We watched movies and played games. We made snow cream for the kids and snow margaritas for the adults.”

"Fortunately, I didn’t have to work, so I hung out at the house with my dog and cat, hibernating.”

"I stayed inside and played with my 20-month-old daughter.”

Letters Many thanks to Oaklawn Hospital for excellent care To the Editor: I recently spent almost two and a half weeks at Oaklawn Hospital before being transferred to University of Michigan’s oncology unit. I cannot thank Oaklawn’s amazing staff enough for their excellent care, beginning with the valet parking attendant all the way to the third floor receptionist and staff, physicians, technicians and nurses. I will be eternally grateful to my primary care physician, Dr. Dave Byrens and his

staff, Hematologist/Oncologist Dr. Vincent Shen, Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. William Comai, Vascular Surgeon Dr. Subhash Thakur and their teams. A very, very special thanks goes out to the dedicated, caring and compassionate Oaklawn nursing staff. It’s easy to see why the American Nursing Association recognized them with the “Magnet Designation of Excellence.” I would be remiss if my family and I did not express our deep gratitude to

my social worker Sherri Seifert for skillfully coordinating the many moving pieces of my complex case and tirelessly advocating on my behalf (along with some beloved family angels) to secure me a bed at U of M. Finally, I would like to extend a big thank you to my former teacher Jan Covert and her husband Rob for their lifelong friendship and support, which culminated in a perfectly timed visit during which they helped me pack

up my hospital room before the ambulance transferred me to Ann Arbor. As I reflect on my many blessings I will never forget the patient care that was so loving provided to me by Oaklawn Hospital. I will forever remain an unofficial “Oaklawn Ambassador.” Wishing you God’s blessings in 2014. Belinda Biggs Bird, Marshall

Columns Law that helps people...Breakdown of court names By GEORGE M. STRANDER Ingram County Court Administrator and Probate Register Including both state and federal governments, we come into contact with courts of a variety of names. At the trial level in Michigan there are Circuit, Probate and District Courts; in our federal system it is simply the District Court where trials originate. At both state and federal levels, appellate courts include the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. The origins of the names of some of these courts are obvious. The “Supreme Court” is the highest court in both the federal and Michigan court systems, which makes sense since “supreme,” from the Latin supremus, means “high-

est.” Also, a “District Court” is a court for a specific district or area (such as a portion of a state for federal District Courts or a city or county for state District Courts). The origins of the other courts’ names, however, are a little less obvious. C ir cuit C our t : 200 years ago some judges and justices in this country “rode a circuit,” traveling from town to town in a specified circuit to hold court and decide cases. From this practice of “circuit riding,” we got the name of “circuit court.” Even though permanent courthouses are now long-established and circuit riding is a thing of the past, the name has stuck. The term “circuit” comes from the Latin circuitus, for “a going around.” The same word forms the basis for our term “circumference.” P r ob a te C our t: Even though Probate Court concerns cases such as guardianships, conservatorships, trusts and involuntary mental illness proceedings, most people associate the term “probate” with

decedent estates and the admission of wills. It turns out from a word-origin perspective this makes sense. “Probate” comes from the Latin verb probare, meaning “to test or prove,” and more specifically from probatum, meaning “having been proved.” Historically, when a will was approved as valid to govern the distribution of a decedent’s assets, a statement in Latin using “probatum” was appended to the document, and this key term in the court’s action came to name the court itself. [The term “probation” comes from the same Latin root, meaning a “testing” of a person’s conduct.] C ou r t of Appea ls: The term “appeal,” like the others we have discussed, comes originally from Latin. One of the meanings of the Latin term appellare is “to call,” and it is through the idea of a call to a higher authority that the notion was applied to the Court of Appeals. It is from the same Latin root that we get our synonym for name – appellation.

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health, mind&body

SPECIAL FEATURE SECTION for 2014 This special feature is devoted to a personal well-being. A selection of editorial features covering topics like relaxation tips, healthy eating, mental and emotional balance, skin care, stress-beating hints and EXERCISE, all designed to improve overall sense of health and happiness. A time to GET MOTIVATED to GET FIT!

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ad-visor&chronicle – January 11, 2014 – Page 20

1-2 punch of snow and cold leave region in deep freeze Nearly 18 inches of snow, -40 wind chills and treacherous driving conditions force schools to close and events to be cancelled By JOHN HENDLER News Editor Just days after power was restored to thousands in Southwest Michigan following an ice storm before Christmas, the region was dealt a 1-2 punch last week with the largest snowfall in recent memory and the coldest temperatures in decades that forced schools to close for nearly the entire week and led to the cancellation of numerous meetings and events as roadways were buried in snow and then converted into sheets of ice. The first round came Jan. 5 with heavy snow that blanketed the region with upwards of 18 inches, with Marshall officially receiving 17 inches With an arctic outbreak on the horizon, Marshall Public Schools, and virtually all school districts in the region announced on Sunday that there would be no school Monday and Tuesday, extending students' winter breaks. On Monday, as the snow was starting to wind down, one of the coldest air masses since the mid 1990s, called the polar vortex, brought single digit and below zero temperatures and wind chill indices that approached -45 degrees. Monday's high tempera-

Because of the large snowfall, a postal worker walks along E. Michigan Ave. Monday to deliver the mail. (Photo by John Hendler)

Tyler Martin enjoys another snow day on Wednesday, sledding down the hill next to Gordon Elementary School. (Photo by John Hendler) ture was 16 degrees, which occurred just after midnight. By 6 p.m., the temperature had dropped to -16. Tuesday's high temperature was -1 and with the threat of dangerous wind chills continuing, MPS and other school districts cancelled classes on Wednesday. While temperatures had moderated some, MPS cancelled classes on Thursday as well, due to early morning wind chills and road

Dave Heidenreich shovels outside his dental office on Green St. Jan. 6. (Photo by John Hendler)

conditions that would have impacted school bus travel. “There are a number of conditions we look at in determining the conditions of roads,” said MPS Superintendent Dr. Randy Davis on Thursday. “We take a look at snowfall, pending snowfall, wind chill factors, ice and then we take a look at the plowing that’s been done. Most of our bus transportation is in the country and one of the issues we had was a lot of intersections on the north end, where we couldn’t get buses to maneuver safely through those intersections.” As a result, Davis said that would have slowed down bus pick ups, forcing students to wait in sub zero wind chills for too long a period. “We decided to err on the

Many Marshall area residents were out numerous times Jan. 5 snow blowing or shoveling to keep up with the 17-inch snowfall. (Photo by John Hendler) side of caution,” said Davis. The forecast for Friday, although milder, also included rain, which left the school situation up in the air

heading into Thursday evening. Because of the high snowfall totals and extreme cold temperatures, road

crews were not able to treat area roadways as effectively because salt usually doesn’t work on roadways once temperatures drop below 15 degrees. In light of the amount of snow, the city of Marshall declared a snow emergency that prohibited motorists from parking their cars on city streets through Wednesday afternoon. Neighboring cities Albion and Battle Creek followed suit. Numerous events were cancelled because of the dangerously low wind chills, including the Marshall City Council meeting on Jan. 6. Many downtown business owners braved the cold to stay open last week, including Herman’s Hardware, where, shovels, heaters, snow blowers, generators and roof rakes were flying off the shelves. “My dad always told me to stay loaded up on weather-extreme items, because all you need is one big blast and those items will be in high demand,” said owner Paul Herman, who credited his supplier “Do It Best Corp.” for helping him stock his inventory. “You always want to be ready for your customers when extreme weather hits.” John Hendler can be reached at 269-781-5444 ext. 212 and through e-mail, chroniclesports@jasnetworks.net

Downtown Marshall on Monday, a day after receiving 17 inches of snow. (Photo by John Hendler)

Marshall varsity girls stay unbeaten Win close one over Olivet 37-35 to go to 7-0 The Marshall High School girls varsity basketball team improved to 7-0 following a 37-35 victory over Olivet on Jan. 3. Marshall’s leading scorer was Tierra Orban with 12 points. Orban also led the team with four steals, four assists and tied for team lead in rebounds with five. Logan Kiessling also had five rebounds to go along with 10 points, while Taylor Jungel and Cortazia Wilson each scored four points. “The game was a battle, yet I don't think either team played as well as they are capable of,” said Marshall coach Sal Konkle. “Each team knows each other very well. Our goal was to keep their top player, Haley Walkowski under her average of 22. She had 20. She is a very good player but we are capable of better. We were up by seven going into the fourth quarter and to Olivet's credit they hit four 3pointers to make the game a very close one. We had kept them to single figure scoring until that final quarter. All in all it is a win and we will take it while also learning from it. It is all about our team getting better from here on out." Marshall was scheduled to play at Lakeview Friday night (Jan. 10) and will play at Coldwater on Jan. 14 and at Gull Lake on Jan. 17.

Tierra Orban tries to get past Olivet’s Kiley Ploehn Jan. 3. Orban led Marshall with 12 points as the Redhawks improved to 7-0. Orban also led the team with four steals, four assists and five rebounds.

Sisters Taylor Jungel, left, and Hailey Jungel battle for position after Chelsea Tobias’ fourth quarter shot. Taylor Jungel scored four points on the night.

Cortazia Wilson scored four points versus Olivet on Jan. 3.

photos by John Hendler

Logan Kiessling scored 10 points and had five rebounds versus Olivet.

Nicole Tucker calls for the ball inside.

The Marshall High School Dazzlers performed during halftime of the boys varsity game Jan. 3.

MHS boys varsity gets first win of season Angus Bennett scores 20 and pulls down 11 rebounds in 72-48 win over Olivet

photo by John Hendler

Jacob Brubaker, above, scored nine points in Marshall’s first win of the season, a 72-48 victory over Olivet on Jan. 3. Angus Bennett led Marshall with 20 points. Also in double figures were Landry Reynolds with 15 points and Danny Welke with 10 points. Welke also led the team with six assists and four steals. Also scoring nine points was Chris Thomas. Marshall was scheduled to play at Lakeview on Friday night (Jan. 10) and will host Coldwater on Jan. 14.

MHS wrestlers defeated by Lakeview, BCC

Angus Bennett puts up the inside shot over Olivet’s Craig Byron in the first quarter of the Jan. 3 contest. Bennett led Marshall with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Landry Reynolds goes over Olivet’s Ryan Tennant for the score. Reynolds scored 15 points in Marshall’s first win of the season.

Marshall coach Nick Dent said the key to Marshall’s victory was getting off to a fast start. “We executed the fast break offense really well and that quick start maintained the momentum throughout the game,” said Dent.

The Marshall High School wrestling team lost at Lakeview on Jan. 8 by a score of 66-9. The lone victors for the Redhawks were Kiefer Bartlett, who won by pin in the second period and a hard fought overtime victory by Sergeo Brown, 1513. In the second match of the night, Marshall lost to Battle Creek Central 54-30. Wining at 112 pounds was Erik Doane with a pin with only one second left in the match. Also winning was Bartlett, Bobby Owens, Justin Saari, and Corey Dexter. "We fought extremely hard in every match tonight,” said Marshall coach Nick Zuehlke. “Even in our losses, I was proud of how we battled until the last whistle." Marshall will host its first home meet of the season on Wednesday, Jan. 15 versus Coldwater and Sturgis beginning at 5:30 p.m. Marshall will also be home on Wednesday, Jan. 29 when the team hosts the Marshall Quad at 6 p.m.

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