Keep Your Home Safe

With the 4th of July holiday ahead, a lot of you are probably planning on heading out to visit friends and families this weekend, leaving your home unattended. Some great common sense tips to keep your home safe were faxed to us this morning thanks to Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski and the rest of the fine folks at the Isabella County Sheriff's Department, and I felt it was a good idea to pass them along.

First, a few things you should know about burglars, according to the good Sheriff:

• Professional burglars are few and far between, and most break-ins are crimes of opportunity, i.e. because a door or window is left unlocked.
• A recent study showed that 38% of the time, burglars get in through an unlocked door or window.
• In most cases, a burglar will attempt to enter a home while the homeowner is away, giving the thief more time to enter, locate, and remove valuables from the home.

So how can you protect yourself?

• Check all doors and windows in your home before you leave. Most of us lock the door behind us when we leave, but what about those back doors or bedroom windows? Make sure that all possible points of entry are locked.
• Make sure your home looks occupied even if you aren't in it. You may want to have timers set so the lights come on one at a time to create the illusion that someone is moving from room to room at dusk.
• You may also want to consider having a radio tuned to an all-talk station (may I suggest our sister station, WMMI AM 830?) to further the illusion. Timers set on radios and television will help create a more convincing illusion.
• Arrange with friends and neighbors to have your newspapers and mail collected daily. If that's not possible, fill out a vacation hold card with the local post office and ask the newspaper to temporarily suspend delivery.
• Doors are often the point of entry for most burglars. They'll either kick the door open, break out the window to reach in, or pry the door open with a tool. Preventing these methods of entry can be as painless as installing a deadbolt lock and using it every time you leave the house.
• If you decide to use a deadbolt, however, keep in mind that burglars can still obtain entry by breaking the window and flipping the deadblot lock open. A double-keyed deadbolt (which requires a key from each side of the door) can solve that but it will also keep anyone from getting out, which could be deadly in case of a fire. These types of doors should be replaced and in the interim the window should be covered with plywood.
• If you've got a sliding door, simply placing a cut-off broomstick or other piece of wood in the track will make any attempt to break the normally flimsy lock on these doors pointless. The same trick will work on windows that slide open from side to side.
• Keep bushes and trees near potential entry points trimmed so the burglar doesn't have anything to hide behind as they attempt to enter your house.
• Keep the yard free of clutter and your garage door shut. The absence of a vehicle is an obvious sign to a burglar that nobody is home.

By following these simple steps, you can substantially reduce your chances of becoming a victim of a break-in. If you have any questions or would like more advice on protecting your home while you enjoy your vacation, you are invited to contact Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski at (989) 772-5911.

BREAKING: Two-Vehicle Accident in Isabella County

The Isabella County Sheriff's Department responded to the scene of a two-vehicle collission that occurred on North Winn Road at West Weidman Road last night at 10:50 PM. A 1996 Dodge pickup driven by 66 year-old Gerold Clark Brady was travelling northbound on North Winn Road when he failed to yield at the stop sign at Weidman Road, and pulled into the path of a 1993 Chevrolet Blazer driven by 21 year-old Brad Allen Danielski traveling eastbound on Weidman Road.

Brady had non life-threatening injuries and refused treatment. Danielski was flown by Flight Care to St. Mary's Hospital in Saginaw. As of this writing, the extent of his injuries are unknown. Brady was wearing his seat belt; Danielski was not. It is unknown whether or not alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.

We'll have more information for you on Lite Hits 104.3 WCZY with Josh Price at 4:00 PM and tomorrow morning on the John Sebastian Morning Show, so stay tuned.

BREAKING: Isabella County Sheriff's Department Arrests Four In String of Break-Ins

WCZY can confirm that the Isabella County Sheriff's Department has arrested four individuals charged with at least seven breakings and enterings in Isabella County. Among the break-ins the group has been charged with:

• MacLean Construction Company construction trailer, S. Isabella Rd. near the U.S. 127 Business Loop (Union Twp.)
• A-1 Mini Storage 1067 N. Mission Rd. (Isabella Twp.)
• Isabella County Animal Control, 1105 S. Isabella Rd. (Union Twp.)
• Baumann's IGA, 4130 E. Rosebush Rd. (Isabella Twp.)
• Jack's Auto Glass, 1198 S. Mission Rd. (Union Twp.)
• Hydroponics Store, 1012 W. High St. (Mt. Pleasant)
• All Decked Out Store, 802 E. Palmer St. (Mt. Pleasant)

The following is a list of the suspects and a partial list of their charges.

1. Joshua Lee Brown, 20 year-old Mount Pleasant male. Charged with Conducting Criminal Enterprises (20 year felony and/or $100,000 fine), 4 counts of Breaking & Entering (10 year felony), Felony Firearm (2 year felony). His bond is set at $400,000/10%.
2. Richard Lee Davis, 19 year-old Mount Pleasant male. Charged with Conducting Criminal Enterprises (20 year felony and/or $100,000 fine), 4 counts of Breaking & Entering (10 year felony), Felony Firearm (2 year felony). His bond is set at $400,000/10%.
3. David Anthony Hosler, 25 year-old Mount Pleasant male. Charged with Conducting Criminal Enterprises (20 year felony and/or $100,000 fine), 3 counts of Breaking & Entering (10 year felony). His bond is set at $300,000/10%.
4. Lisa Marie Brown, 18 year-old Mount Pleasant female. Charged with Conducting Criminal Enterprises (20 year felony and/or $100,000 fine), 4 counts of Breaking & Entering (10 year felony), and Felony Firearm (2 year felony). Her bond is set at $50,000/10%.

The case remains under investigation. We'll have more information and word from Sheriff Leo for you on the John Sebastian Morning Show.

Part-Time Legislature, Full-Time Headache

My close personal friend* Tim Skubick wrote a column a couple weeks ago in the Lansing State Journal that you can read by clicking here. In it, he addresses the issue of a part-time legislature, one of the most common solutions that is offered as way to plug budget holes. On surface, the idea makes sense: why not save some cash by making elected service a part-time, rather than year-round pursuit? Certainly, there is money to be saved. The efficacy of such a solution, as far as an impact on the budget, cannot be overstated.

And certainly we have seen a groundswell of public support for such an idea. A story we covered on the morning show last week shows that a poll of 600 likely Michigan voters resulted in 51 percent of those asked favoring the idea, 33 percent opposing the change, and 16 percent undecided (Thanks to the Michigan Radio Network). While I have never personally looked at polls as the end-all and be-all of political attitudes, there is no doubting their usefulness for coloring in some of the blank spaces in Michigan’s political picture. So we have a solution that logistically saves money and people like. So far, so good, right?

The sociopolitical concerns, however, cannot be overlooked. As soon as we solve the issue of whether or not money can be saved by asking our elected officials to only do their jobs on a part-time basis, we open the door for a great deal of discussion on term limits and issues associated with them.

State government, much like the federal government, is predicated on a balance of power between the branches. By instituting a part-time legislature, we effectively weaken the legislative branch and thereby strengthen the other two. Unless we want to make the executive and judicial branches part-time as well, there’s no way such a solution could be considered constitutionally viable.

One could argue, anyhow, that we have already effectively weakened the legislative branch via term limits. Now, incoming legislators who do not have a background in Lansing are expected to learn the dance in the political equivalent of a few hours and are then expected to lead it for the remainder of their terms. This idea is the catalyst for the phenomenon that political scientists call the “permanent campaign”, in which prospective legislators spend the first weeks, months, or years of their campaign learning the ropes of how to draft legislation, who to talk to, etc. and are then forced to run again in order to actually do anything. This in turn creates legislatures that have difficulty getting anything done with any great speed or efficiency, because a majority of legislators are in the process of either learning how to do their jobs or running for re-election.

So if that’s our current system, imagine how making the legislature part-time would exacerbate it. It’s difficult enough for our legislators to get work done as it is: imagine the difficulty in balancing the budget for next year’s presumed shortfall with a legislature that wouldn’t meet full-time! Naturally, of course, such a move would not take place immediately – it would have to pass both houses and then get put on the ballot, and that seems rather unlikely – but we’ve gotten into a problem here in Michigan where state government is so concerned with the short-term benefits that we forget about the long-term problems.

The odds of a part-time legislature taking effect are low. But the consequences to this proposed solution certainly bear thinking about. Already, we are seeing legislation being introduced at the state level to lengthen term limits. From a pragmatic perspective, this is a viable solution to governmental efficacy; the philosophical arguments against term limits are better saved for another time. My point, however, is that this is a more viable solution for the greater good of the state. There’s seldom, if ever, a perfect solution in the world of government. Oftentimes, we just have to pick something and hope for the best.

*Not actually true. But I have met and talked to him on a few occasions. And we do carry his news reports on the station occasionally. So, in a way...

The World's Ugliest Dog

We mentioned the World's Ugliest Dog just now on the morning show. For the curious, information on the dog, as well as a picture, can be found by clicking here. Please make sure your breakfast is in no danger of coming back up.

BREAKING: Stolen Property Recovered From Last Week's Construction Site Break-In

10:05 AM

According to information we received minutes ago, WCZY can confirm that the Isabella County Sheriff's Department has recovered all of the stolen equipment that was taken from a construction trailer in Mount Pleasant last week.

The recovered goods are valued at $85,470 and included GPS equipment, laser equipment, and various tools. An Isabella County detective, in cooperation with a Michigan State Police detective, were able to put together enough information to locate the stolen equipment from last week's breaking and entering. The property was located in a shed on East Pickard Road in Chippewa Township.

Arrest warrants will be requested from the Isabella County Prosecutor in the next day or two. No suspects have been named at this time.

We will have more information for you as it becomes available, as well as a full update tomorrow morning on the John Sebastian Morning Show.