Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 7

TT Lansing State Journal ESTATE OCAL WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2011 EDITOR: AL WILSON METROLSJ.COM 377-1154 WWW.LSJ.COM Legislation would end gun free zones "We are constitutionally able to defend ourselves when we need it, yet we lose our constitutional right when we walk into the door of a gun-free zone." Mike Green state senator, R-Mayville lic zones. Those include sports stadiums, schools, university dorms and classrooms, day care centers, churches, hospitals and casinos. Similar proposals in recent years have not gained much momentum in the Michigan Legislature. But sponsors are taking another crack because more than half of the members of the House and Senate are new to their current seats this year, and Republicans control both chambers. Green was a key sponsor of laws approved in 2000 that made it easier to get a weapons permit in Michigan.

Green said gun-free zones were included in the origi- Proposed bill allows concealed weapons in schools, hospitals Associated Press A Michigan lawmaker introduced a proposal Tuesday that would lift restrictions on where residents with the proper licenses could carry concealed weapons. The legislation sponsored by Sen. Mike Green, a Republican from Mayville, would repeal so-called "no carry" or "gun-free" pub I IN BRIEF Courtesy photo Suspect: Police are looking for a suspect pictured in a surveillance video from a Lansing bank robbery. Police look for suspect in Lansing bank robbery Police are searching for a suspect in a bank robbery that occurred at about 11:10 a.m. Tuesday at PNC Bank, 1715 W.

Mt. Hope Ave. A man wearing a ski mask entered the bank and brandished a black handgun, police said. Lansing police Lt. Noel Garcia said the man immediately went up to a teller and demanded money.

The teller then gave him an undisclosed amount of money, Garcia said. The robber told employees to lay down on the ground and left, Garcia said. No customers were in the bank at the time, he said. The man is described as a black male between 20 and 30 years old, about 6-foot tall and wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, black leather gloves, blue pants and white sneakers. He was carrying a red canvas bag with "Toyota" on it, according to dispatch reports.

Okemos man, 49, injured when car hits his bike MERIDIAN TWP. A 49-year-old Okemos man was taken to a local hospital Tuesday with non-life-threatening injuries after his bicycle was struck by a car, said Meridian Township police Lt. Greg Frenger. Police were called to the intersection of Beaumont Road and East Mt. Hope Road before 9 a.m.

in response to the accident, which occurred on a slippery roadway, Frenger said. The bicyclist was heading west on Mt. Hope when a car that was traveling in the left lane switched to the right lane to avoid a vehicle that was turning left onto Beaumont, Frenger said. The driver hit the bicyclist after switching lanes, Frenger said. Sheriff arrests 2 St.

Johns teens in armed robbery BINGHAM TWP. -Two St. Johns teenagers were arrested early Tuesday following an armed robbery at the Speedway gas station located at Scott Road and M-21 in Bingham Township. Police were called to the gas station at 12:24 a.m. A clerk told police two men wearing masks pulled out a gun and made off with a small amount of cash and cigarettes, according to the Clinton County Sheriffs Office.

A canine track led police to a home on South Kibbee Street in St. Johns, where the suspects a 19-year-old and 17-year-old were arrested, Clinton County Sheriff Wayne Kangas said. From staff reports t-: 1 His plan already is facing opposition. Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said in a statement that the previous legislation was working and the proposed repeal "causes me a great deal of concern for the safety of our schools and hospitals." IF YOU GO 'Happy Holy Days' Written and directed by Rob Roznowski The Auditorium Arena Theatre Michigan State University Performance times I Today 7:30 p.m. Thursday 7:30 p.m.

Friday 8 p.m. Saturday 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday 2 p.m. Tickets are available from the Wharton Center box office, (800) WHARTON or at whartoncenter.com one holiday to the next while jumping back and forth between periods of Sherrie's life, presents her at age 6 asking whether Santa Claus brought presents to Jesus, at age 20 wondering whether members of her church will accept her if she has an abortion, at age 68 mourning both her husband and the lack of comfort offered by her unbelief.

See PLAY Page 3B MATTHEW DAE SMITHFor the Lansing State Journal Rehearsing the play: MSU theatre professor Rob Roznowski (right) works with actor David Clausen during a rehearsal for "Happy Holy Days" at MSU's Fairchild Auditorium. Play debuting at MSU questions faith, beliefs Green's bill also would get rid of local gun licensing boards. The Secretary of State's office would take over permits for concealed weapons. State law related to who could get concealed weapons permits would not change under Green's propos-aL Permits should be issued if applicants are at least 21 and haven't been convicted of a felony or selected misdemeanors. Permits can be denied in cases where applicants have a history of mental illness.

More than 250,000 people in Michigan have concealed weapons permits. The bills are Senate Bills 58-59. Michigan Works honors successes 25 worked hard to beat the odds, land jobs in tough times Laura Misjak Imisjak91sj.com Failure was not an option for Guadalupe Gonzalez-Arias. Three years ago, the 32-year-old Lansing woman found herself juggling a heavy class load, raising her three children alone and working upwards of 60 hours a week. "I was working crazy hours.

I would sleep three hours a day," she said. "It was just ridiculous. "I look back at pictures of myself and think 'Who was that But her efforts paid off. She landed a job as a registered nurse at Ingham Regional Medical Center. Gonzalez-Arias was one of 25 people throughout the state honored by Michigan Works on Tuesday for Gonzalez-Arias overcoming the odds and landing a job.

"The barriers that (the hon-orees) face are varied and many times through no consequence of their own," said Luann Duns-ford, CEO of Michigan Works. "Many times they are odds people should not have to face." Gonzalez-Arias said her life became more manageable after she attended an orientation at Capital Area Michigan Works in January 2009. The agency, with offices in Lansing, Charlotte and St. Johns, is part of the larger Michigan Works organization and offers training and other worker assistance in the tri-county area. Capital Area Michigan Works picked up the tab on lab fees, parking costs and even helped when Gonzalez-Arias needed to buy professional wear for school.

"So much weight was lifted off my shoulders," Gonzalez-Arias said. The agency will go as far as see Successes Page3B Shreck said, the honor goes to retiring longtime MDOT employees who achieve a certain rank. Not every MDOT retiree gets the honor. The designation is not necessarily permanent, but usually lasts at least 10 years. The names of most rest areas change over the years, although it's a pretty good bet that most people never notice.

Shreck acknowledged that it's largely a formality, noting that rest areas are known by the average citizen not by their names, but by their locations. There are 67 rest areas in Michigan, and 14 full-blown welcome centers providing tourist information to visitors. Call John Schneider at 377-1175, send a fax to 377-1298 or e-mail jschneidbj.com. nal legislation to help ensure its passage, but experience has shown they are not needed. "We are constitutionally able to defend ourselves when we need it, yet we lose our constitutional right when we walk into the door of a gun-free zone," Green said.

in flux, to work through changes and cuts and rewrites as a script takes shape, to play roles no one has played before. "Happy Holy Days," which had its world premiere Tuesday night, was an exception. "What is great about it for the students is they're getting new scenes, getting new lines, getting changes every day," said Rob Roznowski, a professor of theatre at MSU and the play's author and director. "That's what they'll be doing a lot of out in the world," he said, "no safety zone of a published play that has had many different productions throughout its time." The play itself is a mediation on religion and tradition, on our capacity to ask questions about both and on the choice not to believe. "I had defined myself as an atheist for quite a long time, Roznowski said, "and I wanted to bring to light some of the groundwork as to why someone would make this choice." And so the play, which uses a sort of chronological counterpoint, moving through the calendar from offenders Disgraceful I spoke on the phone to the mother of one of Brown's victims.

She thought it was a disgrace, as well as a cruel irony, to allow the rest stop to continue to bear Brown's name. MDOT officials agreed. Department spokesman Bill Shreck said MDOT yanked Brown's name from the rest area on the very day officials there learned of his conviction. "Once we found out," Shreck said, "we didn't think it would be fair to the victims and their families (to allow the designation to stand)." A call to the attorney listed as representing Brown in Kent County Circuit Court records Jeffrey J. O'Hara of Grand Rapids was not returned Tuesday.

(MP 'Happy Holy Day revisits holidays in main characters life Matthew Miller mrmillerlsj.com EAST LANSING The cast members of "Happy Holy Days" had memorized their lines by mid-December. When they returned to rehearsals in early January, they had something waiting for them: a new script, not rewritten in its entirety, but different enough. "We didn't have to start from scratch," said Mikayla Bouchard, who plays Sherrie, the character whose struggles with faith and skepticism form the core of show, "but we did have to take a few steps back from where we were." The Michigan State University senior called it "crazy." She also called it "amazing." It's seldom that student actors have the opportunity to see a play John Schneider jschneidlsj.com 377-1175 tances of Brown. The Grand Rapids Press reported that prosecutors, as part of a plea deal, agreed to dismiss one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, in exchange for the no-contest plea to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. The assaults happened over a period of years.

Brown was charged in June 2010. MD0T removes sex name from rest area LSJ BL0GS The MDOT pit stop on southbound U.S. 131, in Osceola County, was the Larry Brown Rest Area up until a few weeks ago. Now it's a no-name rest area. Brown was a 30-year employee of the Michigan Department of Transportation, who was a district engineer when he retired about 14 years ago.

The rest area, between Cadillac and Reed City, was named in Brown's honor in 1997. Earlier this month, the 66-year-old Brown, who lived in Belmont, north of Grand Rapids, pleaded no contest to sexually assaulting a young relative. State police said Brown had assaulted three other girls who ranged in age from 7 to 11 all of whom were relatives or acquain- Kelley says Wal-Mart factor is bogus Frank J. Kelley, regarding his Wal-Mart connection, and its potential influence on his about-face on the item-pricing law: "I'm not for sale, and never have been Anybody who knows me knows I don't change my mind for a buck." Check out my blog at www.lsj.com schneiderblog. Brown's sentencing is scheduled for Feb.

3. Rest Area Committee So, who determines which people get rest areas named in their honor? MDOT's Rest Area Committee, of course. Generally, 1.