Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page A6

6A WWW.FREEP.COM THURSDAY, DEC.29,2011 Headlines WASHTENAW COUNTY Norovirus is going around, officials warn Norovirus, a gastrointestinal illness, is circulating in Washtenaw County, the county Public Health Department warned. Several outbreaks of the illness have been reported in the past month, according to the county department. The department did not say where the outbreaks were reported. Noroviruses are highly contagious viruses that cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramping. Some people also experience headache, low-grade fever and body aches.

Symptoms usually last 24-48 hours. According to the department, norovirus is transmitted by eating food that was prepared or handled by another ill person, by touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then touching the mouth, or by having contact with aperson who is infected and showing symptoms. To prevent spreading the illness, officials recommend washing hands frequently, staying home if ill, disinfecting with a bleach-based solution and not preparing food for others if ill. Anyone who believes an illness occurred after eating at a specific restaurant can call Environmental Health at 734-2223800. REGION Listeria prompts recall of cheeses The state Department of Agriculture has announced the recall of two cheese products from Green Cedar Dairy in Dearborn because of possible contamination with Listeria bacteria.

The recall covers packages saying All Natural Ackawi Cheese and All Natural Chives Cheese with a sell by date up to July 1, 2012. The products are distributed in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties. The department said the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Wayne County Public Health Department are investigating two recent cases of human listeriosis in people who may have been exposed to Green Cedar Dairy products. The agriculture department says its lab has found Listeria in samples of All Natural Chives Cheese. METRO from reports by Free Press staff and the Associated Press A WRAP: The Michigan Legislature officially wrapped up its business for 2011, holding a brief, procedural session Wednesday to mark the end of formal activity.

Lawmakers are expected to resume voting sessions in the second week of January. session does have some legal bill signed by the governor takes effect 90 days after the session, unless lawmakers have voted for legislation to take effect at another time. Press HOLIDAY CLOSINGS Federal, state and local government offices will be closed Monday in observance of New Day. Banks will be closed, too. There will be no mail delivery there will be Saturday.

Most post offices will close at noon Saturday. State of Michigan offices will be closed Fridayand Monday. Secretary of State SUPER Centers will also be closed Saturday. In Oakland and Macomb counties, the Office and courts will be closed Monday. In Wayne County, the Office and courts will be closed Friday and Monday, except the criminal division of 36th District Court.

City of Detroit offices will be closed Friday and Monday. Buses will operate on Sunday schedulesMonday. The People Mover will not operate on will operate noon-3 a.m.Saturday and 11a.m.-9 p.m. Monday. Detroit police are awaiting dental records to confirm the identities of two women whose burned bodies were found in a car trunk on Christmas a case investigatorssay theybelieve could be linked to the deaths of two other women.

According to the Wayne County Medical Office, the identities still had not been confirmed Wednesday. The office requested dental records from the families. The victims, ages 28 and 29, were discovered six days after police found the bodies of two other women just blocks away. Detroit police have tied three of the victims to Backpage.com, awebsite that advertises escort services. Police said Tuesday that they are seeking warrants to search various IP addresses and cell phone numbers in connection with the deaths.

On Wednesday, police said they did not have new information to release on the cases. Police have said someone could be targeting escorts, but they stopped short of calling it a serial killing. The victims include cousins Renisha Landers, 23, an assembly-line worker at a Chrysler plant in Sterling Heights, and Demesha Hunt, 24, of Detroit, who left behind a 10-month-old daughter. They were found dead in the trunk of Chrysler 300 on Dec. 19 in the 14900 block of Promenade.

Police said there were no obvious signs of trauma to the bodies, and toxicology results are pending. On Sunday, the bodies of the two other women were found in the trunk of a 1997 Buick Le- Sabre parked in a garage in the 14900 block of Lannette. Their bodies were burned beyond recognition, and theircause of death also has not been determined. Dental records sought to ID last 2 victims No cause yet in deaths linked to escort ads By Tresa Baldas and Gina Damron Free Press Staff Writers Demesha Hunt Renisha Landers Pharmaceutical giant GE Healthcare will pay $30 million to the U.S. Department of Justice to settle claims in a case filed by a Michigan salesman, alleging one of its companies marketed a diagnostic drug used in cardiology tests as one that could be diluted and stretched to more patients than intended.

James Wagel, who began the whistleblower case against the New Jerseycompany, will get of the settlement. Wagel sold Cardiolite, a com- petitor to Myoview, the drug at the center of the case. The agreement was finalized late last week. In his 2006 case in U.S. District Court in Detroit, Wagel charged that Nycomed renamed GE Healthcareafter General Electricacquired and several Michigan providers violated the federal False Claims Act.

attorney, Monica Navarro, said potential clients around metro Detroit repeatedly told Wagel they were purchasing Myoview rather than Cardiolite because they could stretch the Myoview product more. The products are used to enable doctors to see blood flow in images of a heartand help them detect coronary heart disease. going into these labs and hospitals and hearing the same story over and over said Navarro, a Troy attorney and associate professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School. By maximizing the number of times a vial of the solution would be used against directions outlined by the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration healthcare providers were able to bill Medicare multiple times for the product, according to the 2006 complaint. For patients, the diluted product resulted in more false positivesduring cardiology testsand exposedthem to additional and unnecessary testing, Navarro said. GE admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement. In a written statement, company spokeswoman Aleisia Gibson noted the allegations detailed in the settlementdate to 2003 and than a year before General Electric acquired Ny- comed Amersham. CONTACT ROBIN ERB: 313-222-2708 OR Drug firm to pay $30million in false claims suit By Robin Erb Free Press Medical Writer ARochester Hills man charged with a five-year felony for reading his e-mail pledged Wednesday to take the matter to the highest court after a lower court refused to dismiss the charge.

In a written opinion released Wednesday, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that Leon Walkershould proceed to trial on charges that he gained unlawful access to then-wife Clara Gmail account in summer 2009. His arrest in 2010 prompted widespread outrage and a national debate about computer privacy in the marital home. In decision, the three-member appellate panel said computer hacking law has spousal and the law as written applies to Leon case. The judges also noted that discussions are under way in Legislature to amend the law to exclude spouses. unless and until such legislation occurs, this court is left with the statute as the court said in its decision.

Walker, computer technician for Oakland County who is currently on leave during the criminal he and his attorney will keep fighting the charges. He has 41 days to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court. this court did was in effect take the argument and put their names on he said. very Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Coopersaid the Court of Appeals decision is in keeping with the law. was never a domestic case, a husband and wife she said.

was a computer hacking case. The guy is a The appellate court also let stand a charge that Walker attempted to access a law enforcement data bank. The story first made headlines after Walker, Clara third husband, read his e-mail because he believed she was having an affair with her second husband man who had been arrested for beating her in front of a child she had with her first husband. The e-mails proved the affair. Leon Walker remains free on bond.

E-mail caseon track for top court Leon Walker Oakland Co.man has 41days to appeal By L.L. Brasier Free Press Staff Writer put on a few pounds since he retired in September, and his muscles are starting to ache. And bothered by all the attention the annoying new pup in his home is getting. After eight years as one of the dogs in the K9 unit of the Oakland County Office, Rudy the German shepherd now spends his days relaxing. He has the run of his family home and 9-acre yard in Fowlerville.

And life is good when he plays with what only a dog could consider the best toy in the world a green tennis ball. that what retirement is all about? For the dogs in the canine unit, work is often grueling and intense. Rudy has chased down robbers and thieves, stopped suicides, tracked down marijuana, heroin and cocaine. Once, he ran four miles after a guy who ditched his car and ran off from a traffic stop. And even though Rudy has gracillis degenerative muscle disease, he still trots to the front door every day, hoping to hop into the SUV, when his handler Deputy Dave Roddy, 42, puts on his uniform and leaves for the night shift.

almost sad to see it. got this long look on his face every day when I Roddy said. really miss him on the job. one of the best tracking dogs every Rudy was among six dogs to retire from the office this fall. canine unit is all about value-added said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

able to bring them in to track is a great tool and their noses are incredibly sensitive. They can find things we could never He recalled how one dog tracked down a big cocaine stash in a Nevada car. find anything, but the dog kept hitting on the gas Bouchard said. Officers used a special camera to locate the cocaine in the tank. The program has been so successful, Bouchard said, that organizations and individuals, including Detroit rock legend Bob Seger, have donated money to sponsor the $10,000 cost of buying and training a dog.

The handlers can purchase their retired dogs for $1. Since retirement, Rudy has gotten more attached to now, instead of looking to the deputy for permission, he obeys her when she tells him to sit. I let him get away with more. If he come right away or sit, I say to myself, DaveRoddy said. He be that way with Charge, the Belgian Malinois he bought last year from a breeder in West Virginia and trained.

At 17 months old, Charge spends his downtime in a dog crate because he needs to rest after a hard work. In addition to going in to work every day with handlers, the 16 members of the K9 unit do an additional day of training every week. The job takes a toll: Three of the dogs that retired in the fall have died. dogs are in great shape. But run they Roddy said.

Rudy and Charge get along, but are jealous of one another, Roddy said, noting that Charge will fly across three rooms in the house if he sees Roddy petting Rudy. And Rudy bit part of ear off during a fight over a toy. the life of me, I know what it is about this Roddy said as Charge jumped against his chest trying to retrieve the tennis ball. And for Rudy, retirement all helps out with a deer-tracking service, basically renting Rudy out to help hunters follow the blood trails of wounded deer. CONTACT KATHLEEN GRAY: 313-223-4407 OR Oakland Countyretirement DOG CALLS IT A CAREER PHOTOS BY ERIC FREE PRESS Deputy Dave Roddyis a handler in the Oakland County Office.

He plays with who retired in the fall after eight years. new partner is Charge, right. 8years of tracking for superstar Rudy By Kathleen Gray Free Press Staff Writer Rudyhas a muscle disease.Once, during his healthier days, he ran four miles after a man who ditched his carduring a traffic stop..