A Marquette County man charged in connection with an accidental shooting near Big Bay was arraigned yesterday in 96-th District Court in Marquette. 29-year-old Shane Treloar of Negaunee plead not guilty to a charge of careless discharge of a firearm causing injury or death in the shooting of 37-year-old Eric Thomas of Marquette. Treloar faces up to two years behind bars and a fine of $2,000. The charge is a high court misdemeanor which carries the legal weight of a felony. He is expected back in court on April 23-rd. Thomas remains at Marquette General Hospital in fair condition.
Authorities in Menominee County are continuing their investigation into a fatal off-road-vehicle accident that claimed the life of a Delta County man. The Menominee County Sheriff’s Department says 45-year-old Ricky John Peterson of Escanaba was killed Friday evening when he lost control of his O-R-V on a curve on private property about a mile south of M-69 in Spalding Township. Deputies say he was not wearing a helmet and alcohol use and excessive speed may have been involved.
The Bell Foundation is presenting the Bell Bike Race this weekend at Bell Hospital in Ishpeming. The event is a competitive relay spinning bike race for teams of up to six people. Each relay spot will have a rider spinning for 25 minutes and allow for a five minute change-over for riders. Each team is encouraged to raise funds for their team registration; the suggested amount per person is $100. The funds raised go for the hospital’s innovative Strength from Within Program, which is a comprehensive youth wellness and fitness challenge that engages adolescents in healthy choices and educates them on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout adulthood. The event starts with registration at 8-am Saturday.
Michiganders believe the state’s economy is improving, according to a new statewide poll. The poll, by Lansing-based “Epic MRA,” shows 58-percent of likely voters believe Michigan’s economy has bottomed out, and is on the way up. That’s up from the 49-percent recorded in January and 39-percent last November. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
The state public service commission has confirmed what a lot of Michiganders have already learned. That their heating bills are somewhat lower than expected. The M-P-S-C reports that warmer temperatures this winter and lower natural gas prices brought down those heating bills statewide. Temperatures were, on average, 20-percent warmer for the heating season, which is defined as November through March. Natural gas is used in 80 percent of Michigan households.
The price of a gallon of gas dropped about 13 cents during the past week in Michigan. That puts the statewide average of a gallon of gas at about three dollars and 90-cents. It’s about five cents per gallon higher than last year at this time. Among the surveyed cities, the lowest average price for self serve is in the Flint area at three-dollars and 79-cents. The highest is in the Marquette area at just over four dollars per gallon.
