Patrick Sullivan

The Reed’s tranquil spot in Leelanau County could, however, be in jeopardy. According to Realtytrac, the Reed’s property is just one of 137 bank-owned properties currently in Leelanau County, many of them remnants of the 2008 financial crisis.

Irresponsible NRA  The NRA and its members must be in a total adrenalin rush with the murdering of 26 children and teachers along with the mother of the shooter...

The role of mental illness I seem to have a little different take on the Newtown tragedy than most. What I notice is that on the same day, halfway around the world, a disaffected Chinese worker went to a local elementary school and stabbed 22 kids.

No such thing... How stupid are the American public? And how disingenuous is the left-wing press? Those poor children’s bodies were still inside the school building and the freekin’ liberals were all talking about gun control.

Extremists in charge Our Republican dominated State Legislature has passed legislation that allows religiously affiliated hospitals and physicians to deny emergency room care to anyone who is a member of a group they consider immoral.

An answer to ignorance But what feeds that confusion is exemplified in last week’s letter by Joel Weberman, titled: “An ignorant letter.”

The concert controversy Regarding the Veterans Day concert at First Congregational Church ... As a Christian, FCC member, and veteran, I attended the concert and commend all who participated.

Lame duck outrage One hundred eighty-two bills were passed in Michigan’s lame duck session, many in the middle of the night with no discussion. Guns & the Constitution There were no bullets as we know them today. To fire the gun the frontiersmen had to first pour a measured load of gun powder down the barrel.

Features Kristi Kates “I read in Popular Science that ruby was made from aluminum oxide and chrome oxide,” he explains, “And I had noticed that the sandpaper my father used was covered with aluminum oxide. So I scraped some of it from the sandpaper and put a small piece of chrome from a car bumper in with it, and put it on a firebrick. I used an acetylene/ oxygen torch to melt it, and presto! At the age of 12, I had made my very first red colored ruby. It wasn’t clear like good ruby - but it was ruby.”

Features Patrick Sullivan Douglas Charles Hastings has never received a “key to the city” from Traverse City leaders, but he did get his hands on a key that’s arguably much more valuable.

Hastings managed to get a copy of a key that unlocks any of the city’s parking meters, sturdy steel containers that can be laden with change. A single meter can hold up to $300; a double, up to $600.

Features Patrick Sullivan

There’s been a steady interest in John C. Mitchell’s book, “Grand Traverse The Civil War Era,” since it was published in 2011 but that interest has only picked up with the popularity of the movie “Lincoln” and renewed interest in the Civil War as events from that era celebrate 150 year anniversaries.

Mitchell sat down with the Express to talk about his book and his lifelong friendship with Peter Leonard, son of Detroit crime author Elmore Leonard.

In these, McGahey said, she saw evidence she believed showed that her daughter was not being treated well in her new home. She said she saw in the pictures what appeared to be bruises on Hayden’s face and body. She said she also thought her daughter looked too thin.

Features Patrick Sullivan It was a hare-brained plan, and it failed in almost every way it could, except that no one got shot or killed.

There were six involved, and five went to the trailer that night, Feb. 28, 2012, a rundown, dingy-looking thing on a dead-end street across from a cemetery in the village of Wellston in Manistee County.

The plan was to rob the place to get a backpack that belonged to the woman. She was a medical marijuana patient, and they figured there was pot and cash in the bag.

Features Patrick Sullivan Ten months after Keno was installed in the bar at VFW Cherryland Post 2780 in April, 2010, an audit discovered that $26,000 in gambling revenue was missing. The person who conducted that audit, Richard Thibeau, was then just a rank-and-file member, but he had an accounting degree and almost two decades of criminal investigation experience in the Army...

Features Patrick Sullivan

After something unthinkable happened in a restroom during a service at Immanuel Baptist Church in January, one of the church-goers had something urgent to say to his pastor. Steven William Richard, 28, had just locked a six-year-old boy (who was attending church with his grandfather) in a toilet stall and molested him, and now he wanted to make things right, at least as far as he could see it.

Features Patrick Sullivan The older one is taking vocational training and doing well. He is making all of his therapy sessions and when he meets with his probation officer, he brings proof that he’s completed his required drug and alcohol testing and has been to the AA meetings he’s supposed to attend.