School contract
Goodrich – In June, the end was in sight for contract negotiations that had long plagued the Goodrich School District and a tentative agreement was finally reached. School Board President Michael Tripp announced the tentative agreement between school administrators and teachers at the June 11 special meeting of the Goodrich Area School Board of Education. Issues had been ongoing in the district, with disputes ranging from the proposed school calendar to concerns over health care benefits, leaving the school on the MEA’s critical list since 2005. Teachers and support staff had been operating without a contract since July 31, 2006.
Twp. gambling scam
Brandon Twp.-Christopher Aaron, 47, was arraigned in federal court in Detroit on a 22-count indictment with charges including obstruction of the administration of Internal Revenue Service law, signing false IRS forms under penalty of perjury and causing casinos to file false reports.
The indictment charged that between January 2000 and December 2003, he provided false Social Security numbers to various casinos so that gambling winnings reported to the IRS would not be reported under his true Social Security number. His alleged actions caused the casinos to file false forms with the IRS, reflecting amounts won by the defendant, but which contained a false Social Security number.
The total gross winnings reported under the false Social Security numbers was more than $3 million, but due to Aaron’s alleged actions, it was impossible for the IRS to accurately determine his net income or loss due to gambling.
Rader retires
Brandon Twp.-H.T. Burt Principal Debbie Rader retired after a 30-year career in the Brandon School District.
‘I’ve loved every minute of it,? said Rader. ‘But it’s time I moved on to another chapter of my life.?
Rader started in the Brandon district in 1976 as a fifth grade teacher at Belle Anne Elementary. She became principal of H.T.Burt Elementary in 1993.
Quisenberry steps down
Ken Quisenberry stepped down from the Brandon School Board and announced plans to run for village council president.
After eight years on the school board and 96 consecutive meetings without an absence, Quisenberry attended his final meeting in June. He was first elected to the board in 1999 and decided not to seek reelection in 2007.
Less than a week after his final school board meeting, Quisenberry announced his plans to run for village council president.
Planning commission OKs commercial development
Steve Collin, representing Lockwood LLC, presented a plan for a multiple-business development that will include a total of about 122,000 square-feet of retail space between eight separate buildings.
The township planning commission unanimously approved the preliminary general site plan for the multiple-business development.
The commercial property is located on M-15 south of the Brandon High School entrance along M-15 south to Elizabeth Street.
The plan features a restaurant, bank, gas station, general retail space and a 70,000 square-foot market. A total of 669 parking spaces are needed for the project. Each site will have individual wells and draw off two septic systems.
Confusion over petition deadline, positions
Hours before the petition deadline on Tuesday, June 19, positions available for the village council election ballot changed when Village Clerk Mary Clark was informed by Joseph Rozell of the Oakland County Elections Division that the village did not have a 2-year council trustee term available, as she initially believed.
Up until June 18, the seats announced as available were a 2-year term for council president; two four-year terms for council trustee and one 2-year term for council trustee. By the end of that Monday, there were three 4-year council trustee seats available, no 2-year term, and a candidate that had withdrawn because of it; and by Tuesday morning, a 2-year term was back on the ballot, albeit a partial term currently occupied by Council Trustee Larry Hayden, who had no idea his term was expiring.
‘The confusion is because all of the previous elections had a 2-year term on the ballot, instead of a partial term expiring on such and such a date,? explained Clark. ‘I’ve been clerk since March 2003 and this has been happening since 2000. It’s just the way the ballot has been written, an error in terminology. It was a misunderstanding. I’m really