Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 1

ssn s2a5" oprmia ''iiiiiii $1.50 SUNDAY, )ULY 12, 2009 3 DOORS The power Of Knowing Since 1855 WWW.LSJ.COM SPORTS, PAGE ID Everett's Williams shines in high school football All-Star game. DOWN 1 A J. interview on www.lsj.com I I Till IT I 111 li Im if i rl r---, V---- 'Cancer has changed my life' 0 JD 11? Freeway upgrade worth pricetag, wait, some say Christine Rook ROD SANFORDLansing State Journal Still smiling: Lansing's Shaye Ramont has survived cancer three times, including a 2006 diagnosis that gave him six months to live. atura WHERE IS ALL THIS LAND? I Map inside: More than 60 parcels of land have been purchased over the years. Page 4A Local governments can't collect taxes on it, and the state certainly could use a little extra cash, given it has laid off workers and cut funding for seemingly everything from prisons to grass cutting.

A 127 upgrade isn't even on the state's five-year plan. Republicans, Democrats and transportation officials, however, are unified in their commitment to hold onto what they've purchased and to finish U.S. 127 regardless of the cost, regardless of the wait. Even taxpayers such as Jones want the state to move ahead, even though it could take decades. "My children will be better off that we (state SeeU-S.

127Page4A Shaye Ramont credits his faith, attitude and organic therapy for how he beat a terminal cancer diagnosis and returned to the game he loves clrook lsj.com At the age of 5, Eugene Jones traveled the family farm in Greenbush Township with his father and came upon a series of orange flags cast across a field. His father explained that surveyors had plotted the path of a freeway U.S. 127. That was 49 years ago. There's still no freeway from St.

Johns to Ithaca. Since then, the state Department of Transportation has purchased more than $17.2 million in real estate, a substantial amount but nothing close to the acreage needed to change the 16 miles of slow-speed highway north of St. Johns into an expressway. So why should the state hang onto the land? WONDER Neil Koepke nkoepkelsj.com The words hit Shaye Ramont like a 90 mph fastball in the ribs. The Lansing native and longtime baseball star and coach had already survived cancer twice.

But this time in November 2006, after months of tests and numer ous hospital visits, the news from the Mayo Clinic doctors to Ramont and his wife, Lisa, was worse than ever. "They said it was Stage 4 pancreatic can- Obama: Give stimulus money time to work I'm a walking example of someone who was supposed to die and what can happen when you stay positive." Shaye Ramont about his recovery cer, that it was inoperable and terminal and I had six months to live," said Ramont, now 49. "It was devastating. "We had just been told that (the doctors) thought it was Hodgkin's disease, which is treatable and the rate of survival is very high. We were on the way out of the hospital when they paged us and we went back and got the new news." Just like that, the world for the Ramonts and their seven children (now ranging in age from 5 to 22) had changed drastically.

For Ramont, the key would be how he re I INSIDE GREG DeRUITERAansing State Journal Baseball lifer: Shaye Ramont played for two seasons in the Montreal Expos farm system. Shaye Ramont file Family: Wife Lisa; sons Shaye Patrick, 22, Javin, 15, Jacob 10, Charlie daughters Calla 12, Sophie 9, Audrey 5. Cancer battles: Colon (1993); rectal (2000); pancreatic (2006-2007) I Notable: Ramont 49, now counsels cancer patients; he coaches youth teams and still plays in Lansing city leagues. He's a strong believer in the Gerson Therapy in treating cancer. For information, go to www.gerson.org.

Matt Apizzo Associated Press WASHINGTON President Barack Obama said Saturday the $787 billion stimulus program must be given a chance to work Obama urges African progress with "yes, you can." I Ghanaians revel in visit of African-American U.S. president. Page 3A sponded to his prognosis. His friend, former Lansing Catholic baseball coach Jake Boss said there was never a doubt. "His approach and outlook was so positive.

He just said 'I'm going to beat Boss Sr. said of Ramont, who served as his pitching coach with Lansing Catholic for four years. "His competitive nature came through during his therapy process." That competitive nature had been molded over more See Wonder Page 10A betore consideration is given to a second such jolt for the still-ailing economy. Obama acknowl MORE SPEEDREADS i A daily feed of top headlines WWW1SJXOM Obama Republicans have labeled the $787 billion stimulus a failure. Both Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have argued that the bulk of the money from the stimulus program is still being disbursed and that it already has saved many jobs.

Obama criticized Republicans for opposing the stimulus but offering few alternatives to the worst recession since the Great Depression. And he rejected talk of a second stimulus, an idea that has see Stimulus Page 2 a 1 edged in his weekly radio and Internet address that people are getting nervous about continuing high joblessness the unemployment rate hit 9.5 percent in June but said reversing payroll losses takes time. He asked Americans to be as patient as possible. Garden artwork Hundreds of people were drawn to Cooley Gardens in Lansing to enjoy the creations Saturday of two area artists, Craig Mitchell Smith's whimsical glass-and-metal sculptures dotted the landscape. Sandra Davison's landscapes depicted scenes from the garden.

Both artists created their work especially for I the event. Page IB N. Korea wants remorse for 'hostile acts' SEOUL, South Korea North Korea is "seriously interested" in releasing two convicted American journalists but first wants the United States to acknowledge what Pyongyang sees as their "hostile acts," a U.S.-based scholar who visited Pyongyang said Saturday. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on North Korea to grant the two amnesty.

Page 3A HAPPENING TODAY Sparrow Hospice Benefit Car Show, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Logans Roadhouse, 5800 W. Saginaw Highway, Lansing. Capital Area Muscle Car Club Presents the third annual car show. All net proceeds to Sparrow Hospice Services.

Info: 819-1155, www.capital areamusclecarclub.com. Cost: show car registration $15, free for spectators. For more events, see Page 5B Full forecast 6B ROBERT KILLIPSlansing State Journal I. sivy ima I Van found in slaying of couple PENSACOLA, Fla. Tips from the public led to the discovery of a red van Saturday morning that likely is the same one used in the killing of a Fla.

couple. Page 8A Bombings kill 10 in Iraq BAGHDAD Separate bombings Saturday killed at least 10 people in Iraq, including youths who were in a billiards hall when a bomb exploded at its gate. Page 5A Enjoy Hand Dipped ro rrosm at ail ro fruam at ail I 1 TODAY'S FORECAST Mostly cloudy, high in the mid-70s, low in the mid-50s. Locations! v. Deaths 4B, 5B Sports ID Horoscopes Golf 5D Puzzles 3C Outdoors 7D Books 6C Classified Lottery 2A Nation World Opinion 6A Local State i f-pjl Breaking news on i Uwl your cell phone i Text LSJNEWS to 44636 (4INF0).

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