Livingston County Daily Press and Argus from Howell, Michigan • 27

Hal U' fit" Qft a iff LL VMI- X1 i i nJ I iiiiiia LIuiiiptOfi! Ooilif: A T1 f1 i V'- Joe Hune's two-vote win in 47th House district primary tops stories for 2002 When the staff of the Livingston County Daily Press Argus sat down to select the Top 10 Newsmakers of the Year for 2002, lots of negative stories made the list, from arson to murders to bomb threats and beating trials. There was lots of competition for the top stories this year, but the biggest was how a young political unknown from Fowierville captured the newly created 47th state House district seat and became Lansing's youngest lawmaker. Jc Mur of lrvUi srvJ Mi mothft, Kim, Celebrate dusting Auguil's primary tarty favorable return show Hum htd tft the ill-man flcrxibll-can primary for the rwty drawn 47th lUte Koum seat the end of the night, the numbers showed Davtd Domat, chair of the Uv-trvgilon County Board of Commlav skxvers, ahead of Hune by one vote; however, during the recount, Hune prevailed by two votes. ii.ii.i,...i.n...i.,, i .11 I ill I Erif land has hern chaffed with trail-dcr. and hit case ti pendtn in court OnAuf 29.

Helen Catherine Ulrto Rich, 31. died at her home after hcing tlx tn (he nark. Police said her boyfriend. IJnk Michael Vcfdulla. allegedly thot her dunnf an arfumtfli, Verduili wmt chaffed with murder, and his case pending in court.

One of the most tragic inoJcnu occurred Oct 21 when Michelle Lee Voravc. a 24-ytar-old Hartland mother of throe described by family and neighbors aa caring, lovtnf mother drowned her two daughters, according io autopsy results. Police found 22-monih-old Anna Lynn and 3-monih-old Olivia Michelle lying face down in the bathroom tub in 8 inches of water. Police said Michelle, who might have been suffering from postpartum depression, shot herself after drown-ing her two daughters. Her husband and son weren't home at the time.

The couple's 8-year-old son returned home from school and discovered his mother lying dead in the master bedroom of their mobile home. yuunjfer hu like oWet or rruiurv men" The Michigan Suw iVrwrtmrot of Comxtwft. after Wamn of the site, tif htened Alfiero' probation rcVKtKfts and tarred him from uunf a cmmpuier In Use July, after neatly io months in Hamhuff Hill. Alfsero quietly mosed just hours before a termination of tenancy he arm was scheduled in ljsintunri County Distnci Court In the month before the most. Alfiero filed a compliant ith the lUmburf Township Police Department claiming hit pmperty had been vandalize by neighbor attempting to force him out Alfiero will remain on probation until August 2003.

9.lAVVNETraid A Howell woman openly cniicied LAWNET after the law enforcement group raided her home in May and found no drugs. Shawn Beaton was upset with LAWNET Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics Enforcement Team because she couldn't find out at the time why police raided her home. A copy of the search warrant affidavit which would have explained why police raided her home in the first place wasn't left at the house. LAWNET sought a search warrant after pulling trash from the home and finding marijuana seeds and stems; police also received infotmauon from a neighbor who said he overheard conversations at the Beaton home about marijuana use. However, LAWNET officers found no illegal drugs during the raid and made no arrests.

1. Hune vs. Domas tn one of the ckwoi race em in Livingston County history, a 22-ycar-old newcomer be! seasoned politician by the narrowest of mafg in the Republican primary far ihc newly formed 47ih Mate Him distort. When the dust kited. Joe Hune heal Dux Doma.

chairperson of the Livingston County Boar of Commissioner, by two vow. Six couniy Republicans slugged out in the primary. Initially, Domas won the election by one vote, with Hune coming in second. Domas, Tyrone Township resident, took substantial number of votes from the northeast end of the county, while Hune. who lives in Fowierville.

swept the townships on the west side of the county. Hune called for a re-count, with vote totals seesawing back and forth with the two GOP hopefuls losing and regaining leads. In the end. Hune prevailed by two votes to become Lansing's youngest legislator. 2.

Howell High School arson In the early morning hours of April 8, an arsonist broke into Howell High School and set several fires on the second floor in and near the library, burning books and triggering the sprinkler system, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. School and law enforcement officials were perplexed over who would do such a thing until a few days later when a City of Howell Police Department officer caught Sean McEvoy, 15, driving behind McPherson Middle School with a van full of burglar's tools and gasoline. The Howell High School freshman pleaded guilty to a blended sentence. McEvoy, who had never been in trouble before, pleaded guilty as an adult to a number of charges including arson and breaking and entering. In return he was sentenced as a juvenile.

A few days after the destruction was discovered the high school was cleaned and reclaimed by students and staff. dunng the Mtl2M0) fall rmrurt alone. Also this tshoot year. Brif hun Area SsbooH ha etpencocrd bomh threats. Howell Area SsttU three, and f-owlcmlle Community Schools one ist undents tram Ittrtlartd and Howell have hem etpeltcd for rrulmf threats to far In no case has any epk-uvc been found tn any of the KhooU Each of the threat hat cou (he ditnct several ihoiisand of dollar, hour of wasted class time and etpended effort from the knal taw enforcement afendes and their 9 units who pcrfum searches of the school.

They have frustrated officials and students alike, leading to letters home lo parents, school assemblies and the making up of class lime lost from the threats and scarchcv 7. Bullock incident What began as a minor perioral injury accident involving a mmorcycle over the Memorial Day weekend turned into something much more as 2002 progressed. The reason: Hamburg Township Police Officer Brandon Bullock, while off-duty, responded lo the scene of an accident that left a motorcycle passenger with minor injuries. The two people involved in the accident were leaving a party at Bullock's home at which alcohol was served; the driver of the motorcycle was underage. The accident was never reported to police.

Detectives from the Brighton post of the Michigan State Police were requested to investigate, and Bullock was suspended without pay. Upon completion of the investigation, the county Prosecutor's office decided to file a misdemeanor charge against Bullock for failing to report an accident which is punishable by up to 90 days in jail andor a $100 fine. In November, the Hamburg Township board voted unanimously to fire Bullock. The case is set for trial in January 2003. 8.

Neighbors battle sex offender A mix of fear and outrage spread through the streets of the Hamburg Hills Estates manufactured housing community In Hamburg Township in June, when residents there discovered a convicted murderer and child molester was living in the neighborhood unannounced. Robert Alfiero, 50, moved to the community just weeks before residents began circulating petition to have him evicted on grounds of being a public nuisance. Alfiero was on probation at the time after he served one year in the Macomb County jail for a child sexual assault conviction involving his then-5-year-old daughter. Prior to that, he served nine years of a 15-30 year prison sentence for second-degree murder for the strangula- tion death of a 13Tyear-old Allen Park boy in the early 1970s. It was later learned Alfiero maintained a Web site seeking "friendship with any age" and "a relationship with someone fm srw bf KM WWHOtaw mm mm No.

3: Greg BogdanekJ talks on cell phon outside a polling place during Ms Nov. 19 recall lection. 3. Bogdanski recall By a margin of 2-to-I. Hartland Township voters ousted Supervisor Greg Bogdanski from his position in November.

The recall effort, led by resident Larry Hopkins, made Bogdanski the first Livingston County official to be successfully recalled in over a decade. Hopkins filed the recall petition earlier in the year, citing two reasons: That Bogdanski removed fill dirt from Hartland Township property for private use and that he withheld information regarding the township's water project Bogdanski said the allegations were false and misleading and attributed the recall to a "personal vendetta." Hopkins said he also has issues with Bogdanski's style, contending he is a poor leader who cannot unite the community. Hopkins expressed hope that the community could come together after the recall and move forward. Bogdanski, who has been involved with township politics for 12 years, has continued to be a part of township board meetings from the audience since his recall, voicing his concerns with the township government Five other Hartland Township officials faced recall this year, with Township Clerk Ann Ulrich and trustees Don Wyland, Don Hill, Doug Kuhn and Vicinia Phillips all targeted. All recalls except that for Ulrich expired; hers was determined by the county to have insufficient signatures.

4. Domestic violence deaths 2002 was a deadly year on the home-front in Livingston County, with five domestic violence murders including the drowning of two young children and the suicides of two of the perpetrators." Typically, the county might have one such death a year. The first happened March 17 when Michael LeFevere drove his 35-year-old wife, Shari, to the house they used to share in Oceola Township. Michael had moved out when the couple separated. When they pulled into the driveway, Michael fired a .357 Magnum handgun three times into the left side of his wife as she sat in the van.

Michael men went inside the home and shot himself. The couple had four young children, now being cared for by family members. The second two incidents occurred in Fowierville within a month of each other. Police said Austin Junior England killed his 30-year-old wife, Jennifer Lynn England, at their home on Aug. 3.

Although England claimed his wife fell down the stairs, the medical examiner concluded Jennifer died from a neck fracture and multiple blunt force trauma after being struck with a blunt object Be photo by GILLIS BENEOICTAmlymcssi nous No. 4: A police officer and the Livingston County Medical Examiner study a handgun at the scene of a domestic violence shooting in Fowierville In August 10. (tie) GOP reigns supreme Not even a strong top-of-the-ticket could help Livingston County Democrats capture any political seats. And it was the election the Democratic party, which had fielded an attractive slate of candidates, said was going to change things in Livingston County, which has historically elected Republicans. After all was said and done, the local GOP came away with as much as 75 percent of the vote in races the Democrats thought might be competitive, winning every local seat convincingly.

2002 Relay For Life Despite near record-low temperatures, Livingston County's 2002 Relay For Life, held in May at Brighton High School, set a record of its own. The 24-hour team event benefitting the American Cancer Society raised more than any other single-event fund-raiser in Livingston County history and 50 percent more than it did during the previous year's event. Approximately 5,000 people helped to raise over $309,000. r- i i -Til T1 5. Trooper beating trial One of Livingston County's most high-profile criminal cases stemming from the attack on a black, off-duty Michigan State Police trooper at a Brighton bar in April 2001 -r- ended with convictions for the.

two suspects, Jasen Barker, 23, of Howell Township, and his cousin, Travis Sales, 23, of Webberville, in The first trial of the cousins was declared a mistrial in November 2001 because of a hung jury. At the start of the second trial in 2002, Sales pleaded no contest to assault and ethnic intimidation charges in the trooper attack and served one year in the Livingston Couniy Jail. In February 2002, a jury found Barker guilty of aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation and misdemeanor assault and battery. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison. 6.

Bomb threats in county schools This calendar year, Hartland Consolidated Schools experienced 11 bomb threats, eight of which have been It FSe photo by GILUS BENE- DICTDMLY PRESS lAWSUS No. 10 (tie): In the early morning hours of the Relay for Life, some slept, but many continued to walk or jog around the track at Brighton High to raise a record amount of money for the Cancer Society. File photo by GILLIS BENEDICToaiy press wous No. 2: One of the numerous fires started in Howell High School burned books In the library..