1975-12-03; Clare Sentinel

              va*AKFteu» MCMSHtAL  LIBRARY
JNCEWAK 5T»
CMRE
®fje Clare Sentinel
FIFTEEN CENTS
SIXTEEN PAGES    PLUS SUPPLEMENT
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1975
OUR 96TH YEAR
VOL.84 NO.l 4
Clare Board Orders Lt. Aleck Returned
To Duty; Inmate Abuse Charge Dropped
GRIEVANCE HEARING - Former Clare Sheriff's Lt.
Cbazcy (Gusi Aleck i center) and Deputy Richard J ensen
(left center) listen Intently during the grievance hearing
before the Clare County Board of Commissioners. The
board at their .Monday (Dec. 8> meeting denied 4 of the 5
grievances. The Sth grievance to reinstate Lt. Aleck to the
sheriff department was upheld by a t to 3 vote of the board.
The bottom picture shows the board at the top of the
photograph and part of the estimated 200 persons who
attended the 3«a houi**long hearing. (Clare S entinel photos)
Farwell Begins Land Use Plan Study
By Jeanne Schulz
The Farwell Village Planning Com*
mission,formed this fall, is in the process
ot developing a fuluro lasts ?*.:•«* pis:, lathe village, according to John Tom-
shack, chairman of the commission.
"Since Farwell was the only municipality in dare County and the surrounding area without a land use program*, the Village Council decided to do
something about it," Tomshack said.
"Even Surrey Township, which sur-
round*** the village of Farwell. has used
•!,o program '"
'i & .-■■._..*. j ^: ■ ?.*-!o-*l!«»take ad vantage
of a Federal grant ottered in the summer
for use in planning and zoning programs. The .grant, involves matching
funds, andisin use by eight other nearby
townships.
Mark Graham, planning advisor for
the programs, said $25,000 was made
available by the Federal government,
while $12,500 must be supplied by the
local units of government involved, "Of
that amount. FarweU receives about
$2,400," Graham added.
The planning commission, consisting
of Tomshack, tarry Schofield snd
Robert Pine, is presently in the process
of gathering materia! which will guide
future development in the Milage. According to Tomshack, the fjommissiw is
presently involved in six major projects.
They include a housing check, which
involve* "literally walking the streets"
to imd out where each house is and the
condition of the houses.
"We must inspect the site, shape and
age of each home in the village in order to
get an up-to-date look at the housing
situation." Tomshack said. "Then we
(Continued on page tl.)
By Alfred R. Bransdorfer
Editor
Former Sheriff's Lt. Ghazey (Gus)
Aleck was ordered returned to duty by
the Clare Counly Board of Commissioners.
The board on a 4-3 vote upheld the
grievance filed on behalf of Lt. Aleck by
the Clare Fraternal Order of Police,
Prosecuting Attorney Richard Allen
earlier told the board that evidence
submitted to him by Michigan State
Police Detectives did not upholds charge
of mistreating a prisoner charged
against Lt. Aleck.
Lt. Aleck was fired by Sheriff Raymond Lippold on Nov. 17 and charged
with mistreating a prisoner in the county
jail on Nov. 14.
Lt. Aleck denied the charge and
claimed he was fired because of his work
with the union and the fact he had
announced he would be a candidate for
sheriff in 1976.
The board held a hearing on the
grievance and 4 others filed against
S heriff Lippold.
The board studied the evidence and
handed down its rulings on Monday, Dec.
1.
Voting to reinstate Lt. Aleck were
commissioners Toni Lester, Arnold
S tamman, Russell Eberhart and Allan
Kolwalk.
Voting no were commissioners Donald
Case, Thomas Bradley and George
Palmer.
Four other grievances submitted to the
board were denied by the board.
It was difficult to determine the exact
vote since voting was not by roll call but
on a voice vote.
The reinstatement issue became a roll
call vote only when it was impossible to
determine the voting on a voice vote.
The grievance which was upheld by the
board asked thai Lt. Aleck be returned to
duty with all back pay and benefits and
that his command authority be returned
immediately.
Grievances denied dealtwith equal pay
for employees doing the same work; not
giving required 14 day notice for overtime; sex discrimination; changing work
schedules to avoid overtime*, gross
misuse of overtime.
Commissioner Case, chairman of the
sheriff's committee, dealt with each
grievance in turn and recommended
each be denied.
Case, who voted against reinstatement of Lt. Aleck, said that the firing was
not due to criminal charges but because
of disregard of department rules and
regulations.
Sheriff Lippold last week said the
discharge of Lt. Aleck was violation of
department rules and pointed out that
one rule is not to mistreat prisoners.
Case said this issue was a matter
between the sheriff and Lt. Aleck and the
board should not act on this. He
suggested that the issue should be
decided by arbitration if necessary,
Lester said that Lt. Aleck was fired
without written notice in violation of the
Contract and that Lt. Aleck should be
returned   to   duty   pending  final   de-
(Continued on page It,)
Clare Bank Plans
Two Branch Offices
Frank LaGoe, President, Citizens
Bank and Trust Company, Clare, announced this week that the banks applications to establish the bank's fifth
and sixth banking offices have been
approved by Michigan's Financial Institutions Bureau, and by the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
S ystem.
The branch offices, to be located in
Hayes Township, Clare County, approximately '-a mile north of Harrison,
and at 631 VV. 5th S treet, Clare, just west
of Clare's city limits, will be placed in
operation as soon as suitable facilities
can be constructed, LaGoe said.
Alden Dow Associates of Midland have
been engaged to design the Hayes
Township facility, which will be of
contemporary design and contain all of
the features necessary to provide full
service banking functions, including
drive-up, night depositary and safety
deposit box activities. Planning of the
structure is now in progress, it was
stated and consideration is now being
given toward establishment of the office
al a very early dale in temporary
quarters.
Irwin Broecker, of Battle Creek, will
provide arctitectural plans for the Clare
West 5th Street office, to be located on a
portion of the site now occupied by Paul
Lapham & Associated offices, and construction will begin as soon as plans can
be approved and weather permits the
construction of a permanent facility. The
office will initially provide 'drive-up and
interior teller stations and its use will
relieve congestion al the bank's main
office in Clare.
LaGoe indicated that the bank's expansion program is continued evidence
of the bank's faith in the growth of the
area and expression of its desire to
provide the best and most convenient
banking services possible.
OPERATION ID 'Lary S chofield, an Independent Insurance agent, and Chief
Winfield Godwin of Farwell are shown holding special Identification marking
equipment used to mark valuable Items, the equipment uses invisible lift
which can only be read with an ultra-violet tight. The police department, In
c ©operation with the Independent Insurance Association, will mark • person's
valuables upon request in order to aid recovery in case of theft, (Clare
8 entinel photo)