Mother of Carnel Chamberlain told FBI she believes her boyfriend assaulted 4-year-old on two occasions

In a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court Friday, Carnel Chamberlain's mother, Jaimee Chamberlain, said her boyfriend was violent with the now-missing 4-year-old boy. She alleges the boy was injured on two occasions. Anthony Bennett was taken into police custody Thursday and was arraigned in U.S. District Court Friday on a charge of assault resulting in substantial bodily harm to a child under 16, according to court documents. Law enforcement investigators have interviewed Jaimee Chamberlain several times since June 21, during the search for the missing 4-year-old, according to court documents. 


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Soaring Eagle RV Park cancels grand opening ceremony in respect for Carnel Chamberlain’s family

The Soaring Eagle Hideaway RV Park cancelled the grand opening ceremony that was scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday to pay respect to the family of 4-year-old Carnel Chamberlain. The ribbon-cutting was cancelled Friday morning. A new date has not been determined, according to marketing manager Jennifer Jones. "On behalf of the staff at the Soaring Eagle Waterpark and Hotel, Waabooz Run Golf Course, the Green Suites and the Soaring Eagle Hideaway RV Park, we wish to extend our condolences to Carnel's family and friends," Jones said in a press release. Carnel Chamberlain's family said his body was found under the porch of his home Thursday night, one week after his mother reported him missing.


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Candlelight vigil tonight for missing Mount Pleasant 4-year-old Carnel Chamberlain

A candlelight vigil at 9 p.m. tonight Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Center at Brockway and Leaton will mark one week since 4-year-old Carnel Chamberlain was reported missing. Attendees can offer support Chamberlain's family including his mother, Jaimee, who plans on attending. Carnel's aunt, Cheryl Chamberlain, said the family is holding out with hope that the 4-year-old will be found safely. "You can only look so much and talk about it so much," she said. "You just keep hoping and praying he's safe. You don't like to think about the bad things, what might have happened. 


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Fireworks bring revenue, debate to Mount Pleasant

A collection of white tents housing small armories of sparklers, 500-gram cakes and mortars have popped up all over Mount Pleasant. They are here because Michigan has removed its ban on consumer-grade fireworks. The bill, known as the Michigan Fireworks Safety Act and signed by Gov. Rick Snyder, took effect Jan. 1. It allows for the sale and use of all class C consumer-grade fireworks throughout the state. Shari Hall of Newaygo is running the Jake’s Fireworks tent on Mission Street. “I’m just glad they opened it here,” Hall said. “Everyone was just going out of state to buy them anyways.”


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Nancy Grace to interview MLive reporter about missing Mount Pleasant 4-year-old boy

An MLive reporter is joining television host Nancy Grace to discuss the case of the missing 4-year-old boy in Mount Pleasant. At 8 p.m. today or Thursday, Public Safety Reporter Erica Perdue will be interviewed by phone on "NewsHour with Nancy Grace" on Nancy Grace's show on CNN Headlines. Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Spokesman Frank Cloutier also will be interviewed. Perdue has covered the search for Carnel Chamberlain since he went missing on Thursday in Mount Pleasant.


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Search for missing Mount Pleasant boy now a criminal investigation

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe said Tuesday that the search for Carnel Chamberlain, who has been missing since Thursday, is now a criminal investigation. Authorities have been searching the Isabella Federal Reservation for 4-year-old Carnel Chamberlain for five days. On Tuesday, police began searching a wooded area near a wastewater treatment plant. They said the search is now being conducted as a criminal investigation into the boy's disappearance. Thy boy's mother, Jaimee Chamberlain, left her son with her boyfriend on Thursday while she was at work. 


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CMU to raise $60 million for bio-sciences building to receive $30 million in state capital outlay

Central Michigan University officials will meet this summer to determine a fundraising plan for the bio-sciences building. On Monday, Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law legislation that grants $300 million to Michigan universities and community colleges, including $30 million to CMU for the bio-sciences building. "We're very pleased. We're very excited to be able to initiate the work we need to do now. It will take some time," said Kathleen Wilbur, vice president of Government Relations and Public Affairs. The $30 million funding is the maximum amount the legislature will award higher education institutions. CMU must raise and spend about $60 million before the state grants the university the funding for the $89.5 million bio-sciences building.


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More searches planned for missing 4-year-old Mt. Pleasant boy

Additional searches are planned for a 4-year-old boy reported missing last week from a mid-Michigan Indian reservation. Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe spokesman Frank Cloutier says authorities planned to regroup on Monday after search teams, the FBI, police dogs and more than 100 volunteers scoured a densely wooded area Sunday for Carnell Chamberlain off the reservation near Mt. Pleasant. Cloutier says crews on Sunday also searched ponds at a wastewater treatment plant near the child's home, but nothing significant was found.


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Police, volunteers search for missing 4-year-old Michigan boy Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/22/police-volunteers-search-for-missing-4-year-old-michigan-boy/#ixzz1yYPT6ybA

Police and volunteers are searching for a 4-year-old from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe who was reported missing by his family in mid-Michigan. Tribal Public Relations Director Frank Cloutier tells The Associated Press that the search was ongoing Friday in the Mount Pleasant area after Carnal Chamberlain was reported missing Thursday night. More than a dozen agencies were involved in the search, which was led by tribal police. In some reports the child's first name was spelled Carnel. Cloutier says the circumstances surrounding his disappearance were under investigation.

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Anna Nicole Smith's half-brother, charged with illegal marijuana sales, uses pot as pill alternative

A mid-Michigan man who was arrested and charged with illegal marijuana sales last week said he uses marijuana to manage chronic pain and wants to help others who are in pain gain access to the plant. The half-brother of Anna Nicole Smith, Donnie Hogan said he believes marijuana is a safe alternative to narcotic painkillers. “I’ve got nothing to hide,” said Hogan, 38. He and his wife, Billie Jo, owners of Mid-Michigan Care Givers Club, were arrested Thursday, June 14, and charged with the illegal sale of marijuana. Hogan said he has a hereditary condition that causes chronic pain, and he suspects his half-sister, Anna Nicole Smith, could have had the same illness.


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Helmet prevents serious injury in Union Township motorcycle crash

Police said a 39-year-old Mount Pleasant man's helmet is credited with saving him from extensive injuries after he hit a whitetail deer on his motorcycle. The man was riding his 2004 Harley Davidson Road King north on U.S. 127 at 9 p.m. Saturday when he collided the deer. He was thrown from the motorcycle, according to the Michigan State Police.  The man was wearing a Michigan Department of Transportation-approved helmet. Police said the helmet played a key factor in preventing severe injuries. The helmet was severely damaged form the impact of the man being thrown. He was transported to a hospital for treatment.


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Protesters greet Rick Snyder at Kevin Cotter fundraiser

Gov. Rick Snyder was greeted by more than 100 protesters waiting in the hallway of the Bovee University Center when he appeared for a fundraiser for Republican Rep. Kevin Cotter of Mt. Pleasant. The protesters, mainly women and mainly wearing pink, were demonstrating in support of a Democratic Michigan lawmaker barred from speaking in the state House after she used the word “vagina” during a debate on an anti-abortion bill. Republicans who control the chamber said West Bloomfield Democrat Lisa Brown violated decorum last week while speaking against a bill requiring doctors to ensure women aren’t coerced into ending their pregnancies. Brown told Republicans she was flattered they were “all so concerned about my vagina. But no means no.”

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Dan LeFevour impresses Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who release former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier

Former Central Michigan University quarterback Dan LeFevour made a strong enough case in one preseason game to force the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' hand. LeFevour completed 8 of 15 passes for 99 yards and one touchdown in Hamilton's 29-24 preseason loss to the Toronto Argonauts. After that game, Hamilton released former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier, essentially awarding the third-string job to LeFevour. Forcier was 0-for-4 with an interception. CFL veteran Henry Burris is Hamilton's starting quarterback. 


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Mt. Pleasant-based Beard Oil withdraws from Michigan International Speedway ARCA race

When the starting field takes the green flag in Friday afternoon's RainEater Wiper Blades 200 ARCA race at Michigan International Speedway it is going to be one car short. A last-minute rule change has forced the Mt. Pleasant-based Beard Oil racing team to withdraw its No.45 Beard Oil / Conoco Phillips Lubricants Chevrolet from the race. The team and driver Clay Rogers pulled out earlier this week after determining the new rules package would have left their team with no chance of winning. “When they changed the rules we decided not to run,” team owner Mark Beard said. “We go there to win.” Before the 2012 racing season the track surface at MIS was repaved. The new asphalt has resulted in the highest speeds ever at the track for stock cars with NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers clocking speeds upward of 210 miles per hour at points around the 2-mile tri-oval, the Detroit Free Press confirmed racer Martin Truex, Jr. posted the track's first-ever 200 mile per hour lap on Thursday during a test session.


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Mt. Pleasant-based Beard Oil withdraws from Michigan International Speedway ARCA race

When the starting field takes the green flag in Friday afternoon's RainEater Wiper Blades 200 ARCA race at Michigan International Speedway it is going to be one car short. A last-minute rule change has forced the Mt. Pleasant-based Beard Oil racing team to withdraw its No.45 Beard Oil / Conoco Phillips Lubricants Chevrolet from the race. The team and driver Clay Rogers pulled out earlier this week after determining the new rules package would have left their team with no chance of winning. “When they changed the rules we decided not to run,” team owner Mark Beard said. “We go there to win.” Before the 2012 racing season the track surface at MIS was repaved. The new asphalt has resulted in the highest speeds ever at the track for stock cars with NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers clocking speeds upward of 210 miles per hour at points around the 2-mile tri-oval, the Detroit Free Press confirmed racer Martin Truex, Jr. posted the track's first-ever 200 mile per hour lap on Thursday during a test session.

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Unseasonably cool weather won’t last

The official temperature low in Mt. Pleasant came within two degrees of breaking a 106-year-old record. It got down to 28 degrees in Leota in northwestern Clare County, and scattered reports of frost came in from across mid-Michigan. The official low temperature recorded at Central Michigan University’s weather station was 45 degrees. The record low for June 13 was set in 1906, when temperatures got down to 43. But it was colder in other places. The automated weather observing station at Mt. Pleasant Municipal Airport dropped to 41; Gratiot Community Airport recorded a low of 43. Big Rapids dropped to 35 while it got down to 33 in Cadillac.

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Mt. Pleasant City Commission denies conditional rezoning request for Main Street property

The 714 S. Main St. property was denied conditional rezoning into a multi-family residential property following the decision of the Mt. Pleasant city commission. The commission held a public hearing at its June 11 meeting following April’s debate, public hearing and decision of the city’s planning commission. Vice Mayor Kathleen Ling made the motion to affirm the planning commission’s decision to deny the request for a conditional rezoning, saying she did not think the rezoning was in the best interest of the city. “I certainly understand the arguments of the developer, but I think that the planning commission made a very good decision when they said right now, our future land use plan does not call for multiple family housing north of High,” she said. “Our current master plan makes it clear that the community wants that community to remain residential.”

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Coneys for a Cause set for Wednesday

Big Brothers/Big Sisters in the Heart of Michigan and the Mt. Pleasant Police Department Youth Services Unit are gearing up for their annual coney dog fundraiser. “Coneys for a Cause” is being held Wednesday, with LaBelle Management donating all proceeds from the sales of 99-cent coney dogs to the two entities. Coneys will be on sale on Wednesday, and anyone pre-ordering will get their coneys delivered from a YSU officer or a representative from Big Brothers/Big Sisters in the Heart of Michigan, Mt. Pleasant Police Public Information Officer Jeff Browne said. For pre-orders, there is a minimum of $15, and the annual “Pixie Pig Out” will be at the restaurant at 7 p.m.

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CMU College of Medicine accepting online applications for 2013 class of 60 students

The admission process for future Central Michigan University College of Medicine students is underway. CMU on Wednesday opened online admissions through the American Association of Medical Colleges. The $30 million school is scheduled to accept its first class of 60 students in 2013, eventually growing to a class of 100 students. “Our curriculum will be focused on addressing the growing need for physicians nationally and regionally, particularly in small towns and rural communities,” said Ernie Yoder, College of Medicine dean in a statement. “We will prepare students to practice patient-centered health care and focus on the health problems most prevalent in mid- and northern Michigan.”

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Michigan State-CMU football kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m., Sept. 8

Central Michigan University announced Thursday that its football game against Michigan State at CMU's Kelly/Shorts Stadium will kick off at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8. The Mid-American Conference and Big Ten Conference also announced the game, called the Clash at Kelly/Shorts, will be televised on ESPNU. Gametimes for three more of CMU's 2012 football games were also announced Thursday.

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2012 College Football Season Preview: Central Michigan Chippewas

It's been a rocky two years for Dan Enos in Mount Pleasant. Dan Enos has won just 25% of his games. Butch Jones had a 59% winning percentage in his first two years and Brian Kelly won 45% in his first two campaigns. In the third season, Kelly took the next step by going 9-4 and Jones went 11-2. They both posted their best records in their third seasons (and then promptly moved on to a different job). If Enos is to turn it around, it needs to be this year.

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Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe to hold day of remembrance for students of Mt. Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan will hold the second annual “Honoring, Healing and Remembering” day of remembrance in honor of the students who died while attending the Mt. Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School on Wednesday June 6. Over 179 children died at the school, which was open from 1855 to 1934, said Frank Cloutier, Public Relations Director for the tribe. The day-long event will begin with a sunrise ceremony at Mission Creek Cemetery at 1475 S. Bamber Road at 7 a.m.

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Mount Pleasant man sentenced for witness tampering

A 24-year-old Mount Pleasant man was sentenced today to 35 months in prision for witness tampering in a case police began tracking in late 2011. U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington also imposed 2 years of supervised release on Aaron Scott Hendrickson, who pleaded guilty on Feb. 9, 2012.  "Tampering with witnesses is a serious crime because it goes to the heart of our criminal justice system," United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade said. "We will work vigilantly to protect the security of federal witnesses."

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