Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 9

TT Lansing State Journal LOCALgMWTE FRIDAY MAY 1,2009 EDITOR: AL WILSON METROLSJ.COM 377-1154 WWW.LSJ.COM nuns After guilty plea, 69-year-old man some touching," Hall told Judge Thomas Boyd during Thursday's plea hearing. races years at June sentencing WHAT'S NEXT Lloyd M. Hall Jr. is scheduled to be sentenced June 10. He faces up to seven years in prison.

Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III. In felony cases, the district court typically determines whether there is enough evidence for a case to advance to trial in circuit court. Most pleas in felony cases happen in circuit court. Allowing defendants to plead guilty early "speeds up the process," Dunnings said. "And, as a benefit, it helps alleviate jail The couple left the courtroom together.

As they walked out the door, Hall placed a hand on his wife's back. "They are going to get through it," Hall's attorney, Brian Morley, said after the hearing. "Dr. Hall, like all of us, has his own issues that he deals This is just a weakness that he has." Morley said his client is not a predator, and only sought some images of children. "Nobody was harmed in this matter, except Dr.

Hall," he said. Hall's plea in district court was unusual, but something defendants are able to do, said Ingham County Hall, who is free on a $1,000 bond, faces up to seven years in prisoa He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10. Hall's wife of 43 years, Laura, was in the courtroom Hall for the hearing. She watched as Hall wearing a suit and tie, his white hair neatly combed stood and admitted that he knew "at least some of the images" depicted teenage boys. 7- ing a computer to download child pornography.

The former pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church resigned last month after the images were found on his laptop. A former church employee reported to police that he saw the pornographic images on the laptop at the church. Some of those images involved "at least some erotic fondling, SPARROW PARTNERSHIP TAKING OFF Kevin Grasha kgrashaIsj.com MASON The 69-year-old former pastor of a Lansing Township church admitted Thursday that he had numerous images of naked teenage boys on his laptop. The Rev. Lloyd M.

Hall Jr. pleaded guilty in 55th District Court to one count of possessing child pornography and one count of us I IN BRIEF Dan Rather to speak at May 8 ceremony at MSU Longtime newsman Dan Rather will speak at the Michigan State University advanced degree com mencement at 7 p.m. May 8. Because of scheduling issues, Rather's appearance was not confirmed until after the university announced that Rather another speaker, human rights activist Bishop Desmond Tutu, would be speaking at the undergraduates' ceremony at 1 p.m., said MSU spokeswoman Kristen Parker. Tickets are not required.

Police say man in van approached children Lansing police are seeking any information about a man driving a van covered with stickers that has been approaching children in recent days. Lansing police Lt. Noel Garcia said two Lansing sisters were walking near Randolph and Turner streets near St. Therese School when they were approached by a light blue van with numerous stickers at approximately 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Police said the white male driver, who had a black male passenger, asked the 5- and 9-year old girls if they wanted a ride home. The driver is described as a white male, in his 30s or 40s, with gray hair. He also had a large dragon tattoo with fire markings from his shoulder to hand on one arm and numerous tattoos on the other arm. The mother reported the incident to police, detailing the stickers on the van. One includes profanity; another was of a provocatively dressed woman.

She also said a man with a similar description approached her girls last week in a '90s, two-tone Chevy truck with an extended cab. The top was teal and the bottom was gray. That time, the man asked the girls if they could help him find a lost dog. "It's our goal to identify this person immediately and to sit down and have a long talk with him." Those with information are asked to call Detective Matt Ramsey, 483-4612, or Crime Stoppers, 483-7867. From staff and wire reports I MORE INSIDE SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH: Brighton narrows field to four candidates, Page 2B I PEOPLE NEWS: Columnist Vickki Dozier writes about people and events in the Lansing area, Page 3B 051 Breaking news Jon your cell phone Text LSJNEWS to 44636 (4INF0).

'y. BECKY SHINKLansing State Journal Ready to fly: Sparrow Hospital's new partnership with Air Methods, a medical transport system, could help the hospital receive 400 helicopter-transported patients a year. Hospitals helipad may see a lot more traffic Lansing won't be building schools Wallace asks board to take issue off the table at meeting Kathleen Lavey klaveylsj.com Consolidating two high schools into one new facility and building four new elementary schools won't be part of the Lansing School District's plan in the near future. "Eastern, Everett and Sexton high schools will be open this fall and in years to come," school board President Hugh Clarke Jr. said.

The high schools and new elementary buildings were among a set of recommendations from a district-wide task force charged with improving student achievement, facilities and funding in light of tight budgets and dwindling enrollment. The board met Thursday for the first of three special meetings to consider the task force's recommendations. Superintendent T.C. Wallace Jr. asked the board to take the new buildings and the idea of asking voters to approve a bond issue to pay for them off of the table.

"People are going to say, 'How in the world, in this economy, is the school district going to ask me to pay Wallace said. Clarke said the public's negative response to the idea of closing any of its three high schools weighed into the decision. So did uncertainty for incoming freshmen at each school. "What we found is that we See Schools Page3B WHAT'S NEXT The Lansing school board has two additional meetings scheduled to discuss the right-sizing plan: A special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The plan will be discussed as part of an informational study session at 6 p.m. May 7. Both meetings take place in the district's administration building, 519 W.Kalamazoo St. its illegal suits in physical harm, or death, to a child, the potential penalties increase all the way up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. As for the vague part of the law the "period of time that poses an unreasonable risk of harm or injury" Meadows' chief of staff, Susan Schmidt, said, "That's where the sanity of prosecutors and judges comes into play." They're the ones who will distinguish between a mother who leaves her 5-year-old in her driveway for 60 seconds while she goes into her house to grab a shopping list, and a father who leaves four kids in a car for an hour.

The law was created for extremes," Schmidt said. Call John Schneider at 377-1175, send a fax to 377-1298 or e-mail jschneidlsj.com. In the air: Air Methods pilot Peter Roelands flies over Lansing on Thursday. Air Methods deal could lift hundreds of patients to Lansing Sisan Vela svelalsj.com Sparrow Hospital's helipad is ready for a lot more business. Today, officials announced a goal that calls for the hospital to receive 400 helicopter-transported patients a year compared to the latest rate of four a month.

Online Extra It's possible For photos and thanks to Spar- a video, visit row's new partner- www.lsj.com. ship with Colorado-based Air Methods Corp. to have pilots, an aircraft, a mechanic and flight paramedics and nurses based from the hospital on Michigan Avenue. Dennis Swan, Sparrow Health System's president and chief executive officer, said Sparrow already has an extensive ground-level network involving ambulances and the John Schneider 377-1175 away, but instead chose to get involved. Wal-Mart incident In a May 30, 2007, column I relayed Spurbeck's account of an incident in the parking lot of the Eastwood Towne Center Wal-Mart parking lot: "When I parked, I noticed that the van next to me had the front windows open and there were kids in the back seat.

The three I saw looked to be about 2, 3 and 5." Spurbeck went shopping for tfly Leaving kids in car alone not only foolish, there's a need for such a mid-Michigan service. "We go anywhere in the state of Michigan that calls," said flight medic Autumn Millerov, an Air Methods employee. Sparrow built a $2.5 million helipad as part of a recent west See Sparrow Page 2B LSJ BL0GS Chrysler: A personal history I hate to see Chrysler file for bankruptcy. I really do. And yet Check out my blog at www.lsj.com schneiderblog dren alone in sun-baked parking lot was not a wise thing to do.

Unwise, but to the surprise of both Spurbeck and me not specifically outlawed at the time. It is now. Kids under 6 The new law applies to children younger than 6. A simple violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine. If, however, the violation re- local 911 dispatch system.

But if the hospital wants to improve its emergency medical care services for the tri-county region and beyond, "air is just the better way to go," Swan said. Within the last month. Air Methods was granted a certificate of need from the state, establishing that Michigan officials believe about 30 minutes. When she returned to her car, the kids in the van were still there, alone. "The little ones were crying and the 5-year-old was trying to get them to be quiet.

They were dripping with sweat They were miserable, and they were scared." Spurbeck's first thought was that the situation wasn't any of her business. But she suppressed that inclination and marched back into Wal-Mart, where she worked her way up to a customer-service manager. The manager checked on the kids, and was about to bring them water when the driver of the van an older woman with another child in tow appeared. The store manager approached the driver and pointed out what should have been painfully obvious that leaving young chil- If the world worked the way it should, we wouldn't need the force of law to make parents do the right thing. But it doesn't; so, we do.

As of April 1, it is illegal in Michigan to leave a child unattended in a vehicle "for a period of time that poses an unreasonable risk of harm or injury to the In a recent report to his constituents, one of the sponsors of the bill that became the law, state Rep. Mark Meadows, an East Lansing Democrat, wrote: "This is another bill that developed directly from a John Schneider column in the Lansing State Journal." But I hereby deflect the credit to an LSJ reader named Jenny Spurbeck, who could have just climbed in her car and drove 13.