THE FACE OF ANN ARBOR VOLUME 4, NUMBER 7

75

Inside

Subscribe by calling 877-837-1118

At Hip-Hop Congress Midwest Summit, the Art of Freestyle Inside: Welfare drug testing suits cost taxpayers $115K Page 2-A Rap Page 3-A
Thursday, February 16, 2012

1-C

OUR CALENDAR

TOP $ GOLD OVER $1650!! FOR GOLD & SILVER

WE WILL BEAT ANY OFFER BY 10% OR MORE!

(734) 433-9900

1170 S. MAIN STREET CHELSEA

Chelsea Rare Coins

Sell Your Unwanted/ Broken Jewelry Here WE BUY ALL COINS & CURRENCY

1-800-666-0348
Minutes from Ann Arbor I-94 Exit 159

Lawsuit led against school district regarding sexual assault of 8-year-old

Mother says young daughter assaulted twice
By Ben Baird
A2 Journal

On the RAIL

The mother of an 8-yearold girl, who was allegedly sexually assaulted twice by a boy in a special educa-

tion class at Eberwhite Elementary School, has filed a lawsuit against the Ann Arbor school district. It was filed Feb. 2 in U.S. District Court. The lawsuit is seeking at least $75,000, the minimum jurisdictional amount for a lawsuit in federal court. The lawsuit alleges the second-grade girl was sexually assaulted in March 2011 and October 2010 in

the bathroom of the special education classroom and accuses the school of not responding accordingly. On March 22, a boy in the class entered the bathroom after her, pulled her off the toilet and kissed her 10 times. The lawsuit states he exposed himself and tried forcing her to perform oral sex. The teacher, two teacher assistants and a student

teacher were responsible for the classroom. The lawsuit states only the student teacher was there at the time the incident occurred. During the sexual assault, the student teacher noticed the girl and boy were missing and called their names, and she went near the bathroom and asked them to come out. The boy exited fastening his belt and the girl came

out afterward pulling up her pants, according to the lawsuit. The student teacher took them to the office. The teacher was called from a meeting and spoke to them. The girl told her what happened and the teacher promised she would call her mother. According to the lawsuit, however, the teacher only
PLEASE SEE LAWSUIT/7-A

Sports
Theron Wilson is leaving his mark on Skyline athletics.

Brenner family meets the Tigers

Motor sports facility hosts annual event
By Lori Maranville
Special Writer

Page 1-B

group of local families involved with area nonprots got the chance to meet some Detroit Tigers baseball players and see some cool cars in the process Jan. 19 in Brighton. The Lingenfelter Motor Sports facility was one of many featured stops of the Detroit Tigers annual winter caravan, where invited guests included participants of Eles Place, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Team Joseph, the Make a Wish Foundation and the Alzheimers Association. The Brenner family of Saline, who has been involved with the grief support group Eles Place for the last few years, met relief pitcher Daniel Schlereth and other Tigers baseball players during the event. It was fun, said Jeanette Brenner, who attended with husband, Jon, and their sons, Max, 12; Aaron, 11; and Joel, 7. The Tigers were nice and funny, she said. Kristen Lingenfelter said there were about 50 guests and 20 members of the

Photo courtesy of the Lingenfelter family

The Brenner family of Saline was among Eles Place participants who got the chance to meet some Detroit Tigers baseball players at the Lingenfelter Motor Sports facility Jan. 19 in Brighton. The team made a stop at the famous car collection facility as part of its annual winter caravan. In the photo are Jon Brenner and sons, Aaron, 11; Joel, 7; and Max, 12. They are pictured with Tigers relief pitcher Daniel Schlereth. Tigers baseball team contingent, including players, coaches, and others associated with the team. Lingenfelter said she was thrilled the Detroit Tigers chose the car collection as one of the stops on the caravan tour. We invited families who have touched our hearts in the last year, she said, a list which included about 12 to 15 families associated with various nonprofit organizations. She and her husband, Ken, frequently make their private collection of almost 200 high-end cars available for charity events. She said both she and her husband were delighted to be able to be a part of this event and others that help raise awareness for organizations close to their hearts. The Lingenfelters hosted the Mission Possible charity event for Eles Place last October. She said she heard about the organization through a friend and recognized what a great service it provided to grieving families. Its just a great way for families to heal to together, she said. We just want to do whatever we can to grow the organization.

There was no shortage of smiles during the Tigers visit with families at the car collection. All of the kids loved meeting the Tigers and it was a great opportunity for them to ask questions, Kristen Lingenfelter said. It was fun for the children to get to sit in some of these high performance vehicles. She added that the children especially seem to like it when they started up the engines of the vehicles near the end of the event. Vehicles within the collection include the Ferrari Enzo, Bugatti Veyron, Porsche 996, Lamborghini Reventon and the Rolls Royce Phantom. Families were treated to refreshments and mingled with Tigers baseball players, many getting their photos taken with their favorite players. The car collection was just one of the many stops the Detroit Tigers made around the region during the two-day tour. The caravan also made stops at Childrens Hospital of Michigan, Henry Ford Hospital, Western Michigan University, the Michigan State Capitol building, the Detroit Fire Department and North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Lori Maranville is a freelance writer. She can be reached at lorimaranville@att.net.

ON THE WEB

Become a fan of A2 Journal on Facebook (523 fans) and follow us on Twitter (3,379 followers). Also, check out our blog, Inside the Newsroom. Links provided on the A2 Journal home page.

Weave the Web:

Make sure to click on www.heritage.com around the clock for the most in-depth coverage of Washtenaw County. One of our Most Viewed stories is Standoff between alleged gunman ends after five hours.

Check out our video:

A lesson in Jazzistry with Vincent York

Get breaking news

To receive breaking news alerts, text HERNews to 22700.

City talks sustainable uses of land

Subhead goes here, typically three decks
By Amy Bell
A2 Journal

Nearly 100 people came out Feb. 9 to talk about sustainability in Ann Arbor in regard to land use and

accessibility. The Ann Arbor District Library hosted the second of four sessions regarding sustainability within the city. The 18-month project, sponsored by the Home Depot Foundation, seeks to create an action plan consisting of goals and ways to measure progress toward sustainability.

Wendy Rampson, planning manager with the city of Ann Arbor, moderated the event, which featured speakers from the city and the University of Michigan. The session focused on the citys efforts toward sustainability in regard to land use and access.

We are very pleased at this turnout. It really is a great statement for this community and all things sustainable, she said. Speakers included Joe Grengs, associate professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Michigan; Susan Pollay, spokeswoman for the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority;

Eli Cooper, manager of the citys transportation program; Jeff Kahan, city planner; Ginny Trocchio, spokesperson for the Ann Arbor Greenbelt Program and Evan Pratt with the citys planning commission. Grengs spoke about aiming for interaction as opposed to movement when
PLEASE SEE LAND/2-A

Click on the jobs tab on the home page of our websiteror a g edirectly to h e i t go . c o m http://jobs.heritage.com.

Online poll:
Make sure to visit www.heritage.com each week to participate in out online polls.

INDEX
Second Front Editorial A2Live Sports Calendar Page 4-A Page 6-A Page 8-A Page 1-B Page 1-C

Peace Neighborhood Center gives lessons in saying no

High school counselors talk one-on-one
By James David Dickson
A2 Journal

Several dozen Ann Arbor Public Schools students made their way to the Peace Neighborhood Center, 1111 North Maple Road, Feb. 8. In addition to the usual tutoring and social scene available to the teens on Mondays and Wednesdays,

two groups of special guests came to visit. On hand were counselors from Pioneer and Skyline high schools, and volunteers from the Black Medical Association at the University of Michigan Medical School. The counselors, Colleen Creal of Pioneer and Amy McLoughlin of Skyline, were there to help students navigate the scheduling process at the high schools. Its nothing that couldnt have been done at the school building, but for

students like Errol Kelsey, a Pioneer freshman, it was a matter of comfort and convenience. More than a dozen students, mostly from Pioneer, had brief counseling sessions. Paul Johnson, a program director at Peace, said that he sees those mentoring relationships as a way to make the center a microColleen Creal, a Pioneer High School counselor, helps PLEASE SEE LESSONS/7-A Errol Kelsey nd classes for next year.

News Tip Hotline: 877-995-NEWS (6397)

Printed on recycled paper