Archive - Nov 25, 2009

By DEB WUETHRICH

The Tecumseh School Board approved a resolution Monday night to begin responding to what Chief Financial Officer Bill Wright described as “a financial crisis for Tecumseh Public Schools,” considering ongoing losses in student enrollment and reductions in foundation allowance monies due in part to the state’s faltering economy.

The resolution authorized district officials to: 1) establish a special committee to review the TPS financial position; 2) request and authorize administration to open all labor agreements for the purposes of reviewing wage and benefit levels and cost containment; and 3) identify mid-year budget cuts in response to the recent state aid reductions of $292 per student.

Wright said that given the recent foundation allowance cuts of $165 per student and $127 per student this year, and a projected cut of $600 per student for next year, the prudent response would be to identify and implement some mid-year budget reductions. The district anticipates a further loss of 140 students for fiscal year 2011 with a two-year reduction in revenue projected to be $4,630,048 or 19.7 percent of the formula revenue received in fiscal year 2009.

“I think time is of the essence,” said Wright. “The time has come to entertain these recommendations to respond to the crisis we believe we have in the district in the next couple of years.”

“I think this is a first step forward for us,” said Board President Debbie Johnson-Berges. “It’s a huge step to try to deal with what is an unfortunate set of circumstances for the state and for us.”

By DEB WUETHRICH

To be an editor of a car enthusiast magazine he subscribed to for a long time is something of a dream job for Tecumseh resident Roger Hart, but it’s a role he’s served in for nearly a decade now. Hart is Managing Editor for the world’s leading automotive enthusiast publication, AutoWeek magazine and its Web site, autoweek.com.

Last Friday, Nov. 20, Hart visited the Lenawee Intermediate School District (LISD) TECH Center’s Automotive Service Technology students to discuss various avenues that can open up in the automotive industry — even unexpected pathways as happened for Hart. Students were more than a little impressed with the wheels Hart drove into the Center’s shop. It was an Audi R8V10 with a sticker price of $172,000 and students aimed cell phone cameras at everything from the engine compartment to the dashboard to help preserve the moment that they got a close-up look at the sports car.

Part of Hart’s job is to test drive cars, about 210 of them a year, and then write about the experience. He told the students that over the previous weekend, he’d driven an Aston Martin, on Monday a BMW, and on Tuesday, a Smart car, which he didn’t particularly enjoy because it is not the right car for a 60 mile commute from Tecumseh to Detroit. Hart “talked tech” with the students, told them he was one of diesel’s biggest fans, and admitted he was a “car guy” from way back when he was a teen in Morenci and he and his dad helped a friend replace an engine that blew up on a 1968 Firebird.

By DEB WUETHRICH

Last week, the Herald reported on a story about how Tecumseh Police Department Dispatcher Monica Andrews had helped emergency responders locate a woman in Connecticut who had been stabbed multiple times after the woman used a cell phone to dial 911. Former Tecumseh resident Jeffrey Asbill was later arraigned on attempted murder charges.

Since then, Andrews said the phone was actually not a cell, but an Interconnected VoIP service (Voice Over Internet Protocol). Such services have proven to be a challenge to emergency responders because they are different from landlines and cell phones. A VoIP allows a person to make and receive calls to and from traditional phone numbers using an Internet connection.

Still, tracking down the call that made its way into the Lenawee County Sheriff Department’s 911 Center was pretty amazing. The call came up with a Tecumseh address, and Andrews dispatched officers to a Union Street address. She said as they checked things out, however, information on the computer screen listed a Connecticut phone number, prompting Andrews’ further investigation which led to her also contacting the appropriate responder in that state.

One of the Public Safety challenges has been that with portable interconnected VoIP service, consumers can take their home or business phone service almost anywhere with them and use virtually any Internet connection. Although service users initially provide an address, such as the former Tecumseh family did here, procedures are only now coming into place (through the Federal Communications commission requirements) that prompt updating information such as an address when a person relocates. This, at least, is expected to help track callers in a specific geographic area if they are using VoIP systems by providing an initial and current address to start from.

Tecumseh High School had several girls receive all-state honors during the Division 3 state meet at Eastern Michigan University over the weekend with its 200-yard relay team placing in the top eight finishing positions.

The Indians 200-yard medley relay team of Allie Merritt, Gretchen Seidel, Rachel Waite and Danielle Sloan placed fourth with a time of 1:52.92. The team set Tecumseh’s varsity record time in the event during preliminaries with a time of 1:52.89.

Tecumseh’s 400-yard freestyle relay team of Sloan, Diana Brown, Merritt and Waite place ninth with a time of 3:45.44.

Waite is only a freshman but has been dubbed “The Beast” by her Tecumseh teammates for her strong finishes during the regular season. She didn’t disappoint while in the state finals, finishing in the top 15 four times. She placed ninth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:09.87 and finished 15th in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:02.61.

Tecumseh junior Allie Merritt also turned in two additional top 15 performances. She placed 11th in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:03.71 and 12th in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:01.02.

Sloan also finished 13th for Tecumseh in the breaststroke in a time of 1:11.04 and placed 28th in the 50-yard freestyle (26.27). Brown also finished 25th in the 100-yard freestyle (56.95).

The Indians’ 200-yard freestyle relay team of Sloan, Brown, Nicole Greene and Chelsea Shartle, placed 17th with a time of 1:44.69.

The Indians placed 11th overall at the Division 3 state meet as a team with 74 points.

Tecumseh’s divers Marissa Martin placed 27th (140.85) and Alisha Payne placed 30th
(139.35).

By MICKEY ALVARADO

While Tecumseh’s varsity football team members would have loved to finished .500 or better after their inaugural season in a brand new Indian Stadium, many of the players will carry with them a proud feeling of accomplishment from their experiences this year.

Tecumseh coach Jason Mensing sent four seniors out to the center of the football fields to represent the Indians during the coin tosses and they each said they learned valuable lessons this season. The athletes said they were proud to have represented Tecumseh as the first football team ever to play on the new synthetic field in front of near capacity crowds in the new home stands.

Each of the four senior leaders, Cole Havelka, Jacob Bloom, Justin Coffin and Jordan Coward, agreed it was a very exciting, and rewarding, season despite finishing 2-7 overall.

“I thought it was special,” said Bloom, “It was an honor to be the first ones to play on the new field.”

Being the first team to highlight Tecumseh’s Smash Mouth style of play put some pressure on the players but because they were so excited about playing it didn’t bother them too much. What made them feel like they actually belonged in the new stadium were the fans who stuck by their side the entire season.

“Every time we came out I felt like the fans were behind us,” said Jacob Bloom.

“The fans were great,” said Justin Coffin. “There wasn’t pressure at all. It was just fun.”
When talking about their overall finish the players were jut as disappointed as the fans but they were able to pick out a few highlights from the nine-game schedule. They deemed their 44-42 win over Ypsilanti as the team’s shining moment. It was the first ever varsity football victory on the new field.

I'm sitting here in my corner at the Herald gearing up for tomorrow's feast. Not that that takes a whole lot of gearing up. It does for my dear partner J, who is doing all the cooking. I'l just be eating and visiting. I won't be blogging on Thanksgiving, so I figured I'd wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving on Wednesday, the travel day. Be safe, eat plenty. I'll blog at you on the flip side.