A new CEO for Kalamazoo's Lakeside Home for Children. Battle Creek's fire chief is stepping down, at least for now. Some schools in Southwest Michigan respond to concerns about violence. WMU men's basketball wins in overtime over rival Central Michigan.
Kalamazoo's Lakeside Home for Children has a new CEO. The agency for at-risk youth says it's picked Sandra Lealofi for the job. She'll replace outgoing Lakeside CEO Don Nitz, who's retiring after 12 years. Lealofi is now the executive director of the non-profit group Eastside Youth Strong. Before that, she headed the Eastside Neighborhood Association. Lealofi will start her new position at Lakeside on April 1st.
Battle Creek's fire chief is stepping down, at least temporarily. City officials say David Schmaltz asked for time off to in their words "focus on his personal well-being and consider future options." No other details about the reasons for Schmaltz's leave which began yesterday were announced. Battle Creek Police Chief Jim Blocker will fill in as fire interim chief for up to six months. Schmaltz has been Battle Creek's fire chief since 2014.
An Otsego High school student has been arrested after allegedly being overheard making threatening remarks. The Kalamazoo Gazette says details about the nature of the threat and information about the arrested student have not been released. In an email to parents, Superintendent Jeffrey Haase says there will be a police presence in the high school this week, but he says the plan is to operate as normal. The Gazette reports that there will also be an increased police presence at Gobles Public Schools Wednesday. District officials say they had information about a threat, but found it not to be credible.
In men’s basketball, Western Michigan beat rival Central Michigan Tuesday night 83-81 in overtime.Thomas Wilder led the Broncos with 22 points. Western will play at Ball State Friday night.
