A woman driver was killed today during a head-on crash on Swan Creek at Miller, police said. The male driver of the other vehicle involved was in stable but serious condition at a local hospital as of 7 p.m. Tuesday, Saginaw County Sheriff's Office Lt. Randy Pfau said. Names of the victims will be released tomorrow pending notification of their families, he said. The road was closed for approximately an hour as emergency responders converged on the scene.
Few 16-year-olds can say they've written and published a book, but McKenzie Dempsey is on her fourth. The sophomore at Valley Lutheran High School in Saginaw Township wrote the prologue to her fourth book last week. Shes got two books in print and another on the way to publication. "Shes really carried it the way it needed to go," said McKenzies mother, Karen Dempsey of Richland Township. In seventh grade, McKenzie started writing because she was bored, she said. The teen ended up outlining the first of her books, The Last Acer. Even then, the fan of fantasy-fiction series such as Harry Potter and the Inheritance Cycle, knew she wanted to create a set of tales of her own. She came up with the Spirit Hearts series.
A 34-year-old man has died at a local hospital after being transported from a house at 2323 State with critical injuries Monday night. The death has been ruled a homicide by the Saginaw Police Department. Police responded to a report of a cutting at the house on the city's West Side at 5:48 p.m. and found the man inside in critical condition. Emergency responders attempted lifesaving measures as the man was being taken from the house to a Mobile Medical Response ambulance outside. The man, whose name is being withheld pending notification of his family, died approximately one hour after arriving at the hospital, police said.
Saginaw has agreed to renew an agreement with the United States Marshal Service to provide an officer to a fugitive task force for the next year. "We've had one officer assigned to this fugitive task force for a number of years now," Saginaw Police Chief Gerald H. Cliff told City Council at its meeting Monday. "We pay his salary, they pick up 5,000 per year of his overtime, he operates out of our detective bureau and in exchange for our participation we get the services of this task force when we have someone to be chased down. "That alleviates us of having to dedicate manpower that would otherwise be doing investigation, so it's a good deal for us; it's not an imposition."
Irresponsible discarding of a cigar caused a house fire Sunday, said Saginaw Fire Department Battalion Chief Maurice Patterson. The fire started around 3:30 p.m. Sunday under the porch of 923 N. Harrison. Firefighters extinguished the fire before it spread past the porch. Two residents and a child were inside the home. No one was injured and they were allowed back in the home Sunday evening. Feb. 2, police discovered Cassandra Lynn Nelson's dead body inside the home. Her death was ruled a homicide the next day.
The Buena Vista Township police officer charged with killing the mother of his unborn son may not find out until April when he'll stand trial. Kenneth T. Bluew and his attorney, Rod OFarrell, are scheduled to meet with prosecutors and Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson on April 9 for a "status conference" to discuss outstanding issues regarding Bluews case. Bluew was scheduled for trial Feb. 28, but Jackson postponed the trial earlier this month at OFarrells request. The attorney indicated that he needed additional discovery materials before proceeding to trial, court records showed.
Liz Fisher didn't sit down much Thursday night, even though she had a front row seat on Kansas visit to Saginaws Temple Theatre. When she did join her husband Ron, the Tawas City super-fan was drumming along with Phil Ehart, playing the keys with Steve Walsh and punching the air when guitarist Rich Williams lit into an especially tasty lick. After following the band through 34 states since 1980 - the couples first date was a Kansas concert the Fishers have lost count of the shows but none of their passion for the classic rockers. And when fiddler David Ragsdale, bassist Billy Greer and their bandmates on Thursday wrapped up the night with "Carry On Wayward Son," some 1,200 more fans echoed their sentiments.
Residents aren't sure why management has since Wednesday stripped all security personnel of master keys that open all doors in at least three Saginaw Housing Commission high-rise properties, says Sherry Tucker, a resident of Rosien Tower, 310 S. Harrison. She said building managers made the announcement during an "emergency meeting" this afternoon. "We're kind of in the dark," said Tucker. Security guards and trusted residents have traditionally had access to master keys to assist residents with after-hours access to certain rooms in the building or if they are locked out. The high rises provide public housing to disabled, elderly and low-income individuals.
Attorneys likely will deliver their closing arguments today in the trial for the Saginaw man accused of fatally shooting Francine Conversa-Redburn at point-blank range in April. A jury of nine women and five men on Wednesday heard testimony from 10 witnesses in the trial for Mark A. Abraitis, 25, charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the April 25 death of the 48-year-old Conversa-Redburn. Wednesday was the first day of testimony in Abraitis' trial before Visiting Saginaw County Circuit Judge William J. Caprathe. County Assistant Prosecutor Norm Donker intends to call at least two more witnesses to testify today, and the case then would turn to Abraitis and his Saginaw-based attorney, Eldor Herrmann. If Abraitis elects against testifying and Herrmann does not call any witnesses, closing arguments would begin.
Brian Weems of Saginaw is suing Saginaw for injuries and damages he suffered after tripping outside of United Dairy and Bakery Workers Local 87 Union Hall at 2329 N. Michigan. Weems' St. Clair Shores-based attorney, Brian E. Muawad, filed the 25,000-plus trip-and-fall lawsuit on Aug. 1 and a case evaluation is scheduled before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Janet M. Boes on May 10. The lawsuit says Weems "tripped and fell on a metal pole from a former sign that had been protruding from the ground or sidewalk approximately 12 inches." What injuries Weems suffered is unknown.
