Anne Stanton

Features Anne Stanton My interview for my Northern Express job unexpectedly took place at a
Christmas party in 2003. I was about six months pregnant and nearly
suffocating from the warmth of bodies, packed like sardines in the tidy
Traverse City home of Jeannette and Bob Downes.
As I was trying to wriggle out of the crowd to the front door, I bumped
(literally) into Downes, who mentioned that he was looking for a crime
reporter for Northern Express. He wanted to “edge up” the paper, give it
more heft. Did I know of anyone?

Features Anne Stanton Slugged by a Student: Bus driver was fired for refusing to drive with violent teen onboard
By Anne Stanton
A bus driver, slugged in the head by a New Campus student in February, was
fired after he refused to drive the bus the next day without an additional
attendant to monitor the teen.
But Bill Schieber said that the incident brings up a larger issue than his
employment. He wants to make parents aware that their kids aren’t as safe
as they might assume—special needs kindergarteners ride the same bus as
older violent teens that boast about fights, routinely use profanity, and,
in his case, swing fists.

Features Anne Stanton Road to Nowhere:Leelanau taxpayers will pay for a road that no one seems to want
By Anne Stanton
 A legal settlement that has been reached over a controversial, unimproved
road past the Wings of Wonder bird rehabilitation center in Leelanau
County will likely cost county taxpayers something.

Features Anne Stanton Does Our Justice System Need Fixing? A retired judge weighs in
By Anne Stanton
 Slugging and choking a Michigan state police trooper gets a local deputy a
six-month jail sentence with almost immediate work release. He’s given a
plea bargain that involves a guilty admission to a misdemeanor. His record
was clean.

Features Anne Stanton Tragedy on A Ski Trail: Friends reflect on the death of Carole Hague
By Anne Stanton
A few days before St. Patrick’s Day, Carole Hague, a vivacious, pretty
brunette from Boyne City, was showing off pictures of a wooded
cross-country ski trail where she had just skied.

Features Anne Stanton Controversial Cases:Prosecutor Alan Schneider on recent
decisions that raised a ruckus
By Anne Stanton
 Whenever there’s a public flap over a sentence—whether too long or too
lax—the public often looks at the judge or jury to ask what happened.
Yet long before a case ever gets to a courtroom, the prosecutor and his
staff must review the police investigation and decide quickly on a
suspect’s fate.

Features Anne Stanton Rock Star for a day: TC photographer makes you look like a million bucks 2/28/11
By Anne Stanton
 Do you remember Glamour Shots, the national chain photography studio that
transformed an “ordinary” woman into a hussy with a red feather boa, sexy
lingerie, and black eyeliner as thick as tread marks? .
“An utter embarrassment,” said John Robert Williams. “No one saved those
pictures! I am all about having a wonderful image that you’ll keep for the
rest of your life—it’s you, only better. But it’s not as easy as just
showing up in front of the camera.”

Features Anne Stanton Howling Winds: Neighbors in a spin over turbine in Leelanau
By Anne Stanton
In one of Leelanau County’s most beautiful and peaceful corners, things aren’t quite so harmonious among the neighbors.
Richard and Kay Kobetz contend that their neighbor’s 115-foot wind turbine is causing them problems, including lack of sleep, nausea, headaches and fatigue.
But neighbors say that the Kobetz’s own construction efforts over the last few years have harmed the lives of those around them.
In 2006, the Kobetz’s built a luxury, multi-story home on a high ridge, made even higher after building up the lot with tons of additional fill dirt, scooped from their meadow below. Their home on County Road 651 oversees a majestic view of Good Harbor Bay.

Features Anne Stanton Serafin Mendoza, an undocumented worker from Mexico, was moved early last week to a new jail cell in Battle Creek, his last move in an odyssey of jail cells since his arrest three months ago. His attorney expects that officials from Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) will decide his final fate next week.
Mendoza will either stay in this country or be deported to Mexico. The decision is in the hands of a few people, and Traverse City immigration attorney Joanna Kloet is hoping that public sentiment will encourage them to let him stay—a decision, she admits, that would be nearly miraculous in a heart-wrenching case.
There are millions of undocumented workers in the same fix as Mendoza, but this stout, hard-working cherry orchard worker has earned the compassion of many who have followed his story in Traverse City.

Features Anne Stanton Eighteen years ago, the nation’s immigration law made it fairly easy for a farmer to hire migrant workers and simple enough for the workers to live in the United States legally. But current regulations amount to a “monstrous buzz saw” with a disastrous fall-out for everyone, said Old Mission Peninsula farmer Josh Wunsch.
Good farmers are stable people who require a strong team and the involvement of skilled knowledgeable people. Yet there are 8 million workers without acceptable documents, Wunsch said, quoting a policy statement from the American Farm Bureau.
He passionately argues for change.

Dining Anne Stanton Afternoon Delight! The Roost offers a view of the Bay and a quiet place to chat
By Anne Stanton
If you’re looking to spend some alone time with your Valentine or a
favorite friend, check out the newly opened Roost—a cheerful nook
above Bay Bread Company in Traverse City.
The Roost is the newest addition to Bay Bread, a corner neighborhood
bakery known for its 40 different homemade breads, sandwiches, soups
and salads. Until now, customers had to order their sandwich or salad
as a take-out or wait for limited seating in the bakery, which can be
busy and noisy.

Features Anne Stanton Brewing up hope: An inside look at the lives of Ethiopian coffee farmers 1/31/11
By Anne Stanton
This article is the second report of the Run Across Ethiopia (See Jan.
17 issue). Journalist Anne Stanton accompanied 10 American runners on
a two-week trip that began on January 5.

With a tears-of-joy finish last week, 10 American and six Ethiopian
runners ended a 250-mile jog across southern Ethiopia in a remote and
rural village where thousands gathered to celebrate.
The run—which raised $150,000 to build three village schools—was the
brainchild of Chris Treter, the owner of Higher Grounds Trading
Company in Traverse City. With a plodding running style described as
“Buddha like,” Treter is hardly the picture of a stick-thin

Features Anne Stanton White Men Can Run: A report from Run Across Ethiopia 1/17/11
By Anne Stanton
On January 5, six runners left Traverse City to “Run Across Ethiopia”
-- an 11-day, 250-mile (plus) ultra-marathon conceived by Chris
Treter, who buys coffee beans from farmers in Southern Ethiopia. They
run at elevations of 6,000-7,700 feet in temperatures ranging up to
115 degrees.

Features Anne Stanton Maggie Daniels: Changing lives in Petoskey ... one muscle at a time
By Anne Stanton
Maggie Daniels’ life changed when she stopped smoking Tareyton cigarettes
at the age of 28. She took up the habit with a couple of rebellious high
school friends, but one day -- and she doesn’t remember why -- she stopped
smoking, just like switching off a light. If she had the urge for
nicotine, she’d get on the floor and do sit-ups. The pain, the headaches,
the cravings all stopped in a matter of two weeks. And in their stead,
Daniels discovered a lifelong passion for fitness and health.

Features Anne Stanton Beyond Spinning: Hard-core 90 minute sessions on a high-tech bike…
By Anne Stanton
Yes, we are in the dead of winter—a time when most serious cyclists put on their skate skis or snow shoes or ride a stationary bike. But now there’s a new option—a hardcore indoor cycling class for those determined to increase their speed and strength over the winter.
It’s almost guaranteed, said Lauri Brockmiller, who runs the class. Of course, there’s a niggling caveat. The cyclists must commit to a three-day-a-week, 90-minute training sessionover eight weeks and follow a specific ride progression of minutes and intensity.
“It’s hard not to get better when the training is dialed in,” said Brockmiller, who writes down the ride format on a card for each rider before each session.
Of course, a 90-minute ride (at 5 a.m. no less) is easier said than done. But the universal lesson in life is the more you put into it, the more you get out of it, plain and simple.