A jail sentence of up to 15 years in prison for the man convicted of killing Comstock Township's Fire Chief. State Budget Director Al Pscholka won't run for a Southwest Michigan state Senate seat. A WMU forward is the NCHC's freshman of the week.
The man convicted of killing former Comstock Township fire chief Ed Switalski could spend up to 15 years in prison. The Kalamazoo Gazette says Brandon Clevenger was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty in December. Switalski died in June last year when Clevenger's car hit him on I-94. Switalski was at the scene of an earlier accident when he was killed. Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Paul Bridenstine sentenced Clevenger to a minumum of three-and-a-half years in prison. Police say Clevenger was driving at 90 miles-an-hour while talking on his mobile phone when he hit Switalski.
State Budget Director Al Pscholka says he won’t be running for state Senate in Southwest Michigan this year. The St. Joseph Benton Harbor Herald-Palladium says the Republican has decided not to seek the 21st district state Senate seat, which includes Berrien, Cass and St. Joseph Counties. Current state Senator John Proos cannot run again for the seat due to term limits. Pscholka who previously served three terms in the state House plans to step down as state budget director at the end of the month.
A "blue-ribbon" advisory committee meets Wednesday to consider changes in Battle Creek's city charter. The 18-member panel includes former congressman Joe Schwarz and former Battle Creek mayor John Godfrey. It will consider several proposed changes in the city's charter. They include the way the mayor and vice-mayor are selected and staggered terms for city commissioners. The committee will also look at old, gendered, language in the charter. The meeting Wednesday starts at 5:30 at the Public Works building on South Kendall Street.
Western Michigan University forward Ethan Frank has been named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s Freshman of the week. Frank scored three goals in two games as the Broncos split a weekend series with Miami. He scored twice in Saturday night’s victory over the Redhawks. Western is off until February 16th and 17th when they host Saint Cloud State.