Hills and Dales ER Celebration of Thumb Local vets, scouts team recognized woman’s life on tap share lessons Page 4 in village of Ubly Photos, page 16 Page 12 Complete coverage of the Cass City community and surrounding areas since 1899 VOLUME 113, NUMBER 7 CASS CITY, MICHIGAN - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019 .75 CENTS ~ 16 PAGES Drowning School board claims life reviews bond of Thumb work update by Tom Montgomery man Friday Editor by Tom Montgomery A bond construction update Editor prompted Cass City Board of Ed - ucation officials Monday night to A Unionville man lost his life in discuss scheduling additional a drowning accident Friday after - work in the district this summer, noon. thanks to some estimates coming Lt. Jim Lang, assistant com - in under budget. mander of the Michigan State Po - School Supt. Jeff Hartel noted lice Tri-City Post, Freeland, the 2018 capital improvements identified the victim as Kenneth budget was originally set at Woloszyn. $2,458,900, but the latest figures Lang reported troopers from the estimate that total at $1,933,553, MSP post in Caro were dispatched to a residence on Cottage Drive in Please turn to page 6. Unionville to investigate the acci - dent. “Tuscola County Central Dis - Scholarship still patch advised that they received a DIANE RAPSON-Gabil (left) and Rose Putnam accepted the 2019 Tuscola transfer call from Huron County honoring teen’s Central Dispatch indicating a 63- Stars group category award on behalf of the Friends of the Thumb Octagon year-old male had been pulled Barn during Thursday’s 17th annual Tuscola Stars breakfast at the Tuscola memory; auctions from the water and was unrespon - sive, Lang said, noting Cottage Technology Center in Caro. set this weekend Drive is a private residential road located on the eastern shore of the Saginaw Bay in Tuscola County’s by Tom Montgomery Akron Township. Editor “Troopers responded to the scene Shining stars Paul DeLong lost his life in a and were assisted by rescue per - sonnel from both Akron-Colum - tragic farming accident 20 years bia-Wisner (ACW) Township and County honors volunteers who quietly make a difference ago, but family members and McLaren Bay Region EMS ambu - friends have made sure his mem - lance services. The victim was ory has remained very much alive pronounced deceased on scene. by Tom Montgomery ple Thursday morning at the Tus - help clean up the waterway and through a scholarship fund that “During the investigation, troop - Editor cola Technology Center in Caro, improve the water quality is (his) has benefited nearly 180 high ers learned the man was attempt - where a host of individuals, goal,” Pierce added. “To expand school graduates in the Thumb. ing to repair his boat dock and “This is the celebration of be - groups and agencies were recog - the use of the river, this ‘star’ Live and silent auction items are remove weeds from the water. longing, being part of something nized for their contributions to works with property owners to se - being accepted for a fundraiser The man’s wife went out to check beyond ourselves – family, friends, residents throughout the county. cure more access points along the that will benefit the Paul DeLong on him and discovered him float - our neighborhood, and the larger This year’s winners in four dif - river.” Memorial ing in the water,” Lang said. community. Shared values and ferent categories are: Suuppi’s efforts include playing Scholarship “The wife was able to get help faith bolster the feeling of belong - *Individual category – Gene Su - a key role in organizing annual Fund. from a nearby neighbor who at - ing and reinforce the solid rela - uppi, a retired state of Michigan clean-up days along sections of The tempted to pull the victim from tionships that define our lives. Department of Environmental the river, including a project last fundraiser the water but was hindered by Community makes us part of Quality (DEQ) inspector, was summer south of Cass City, where will be Sat - high winds and rough water con - something that was there before us honored as this year’s outstanding volunteers collected and disposed urday, April ditions. The victim was also wear - and will outlast us.” —Unknown individual “star” for his volunteer of dozens of old tires littering the 27, at the ing rubber waders, which had work focused on improving the waterway. Sanilac filled with water, making it diffi - Tuscola County honored its own Cass River. Also nominated in the category County cult to get him out of the water. It last week, focusing the spotlight “The Cass River is a gem in Tus - were Suzette Bennett, Bernadette Fairgrounds is estimated the man may have on the spirit of volunteering – cit - cola County and provides our res - Cain, Cheryl Deike, Karen Good - in San - been in the water for as long as ten izens giving of their time and tal - idents and visitors with a great child, Carl Holmes, Ron Johnson, dusky. minutes.” ents to benefit others and, in the place for rest, relaxation and Marianne Karpovich, Kelly Kish, Auction An autopsy was scheduled to de - end, making Tuscola County a recreation. This volunteer has Mandy Knox, Chris LaBerge, item sugges - Paul DeLong termine a cause of death, accord - better place to live and work for dedicated many years to ensuring Sarah Piazza, Todd Squires, Sarah tions include ing to Lang. everyone. its future,” Gene Pierce, Tuscola Tyson and Val Humes. gift certificates, homemade crafts, Troopers were assisted by The 17th annual Celebrating Tus - Stars Planning Team co-chairman, *Group category – The Friends home and garden items, seasonal Unionville police and the Tuscola cola’s Stars awards breakfast drew said of Suuppi. of the Thumb Octagon Barn took items, and farm and show items. County Medical Examiner’s Of - an attendance of roughly 125 peo - “Rallying many volunteers to Please turn to page 8. Please turn to page 6. fice. Glaspie closing the (law) books on nearly 30-year career on the bench by Tom Montgomery cluding their children and grand - political science in 1977. He Editor children. Their son Zach, an in - earned his law degree in 1980 dustrial real estate appraiser, and at the Thomas M. Cooley Law Kim Glaspie wasn’t aspiring to his wife, Liz, have two young School. serve as a judge during his years sons, Cameron and Quinton, and Prior to taking on the role of as a successful attorney, but when reside in Brighton; daughter judge, Glaspie served as a Tus - the opportunity came along, he Samantha, an attorney who shifted cola County commissioner knew accepting an appointment to her career interests to event plan - representing the Cass City the bench was the right choice. ning, and her husband, Wil, also area. He ran as a Democrat and That was back in 1990. Now, 29 an attorney, live in Ann Arbor; and was first elected in 1986, then years later, the Cass City native daughter Alyssa resides in Santa reelected to another two-year and Tuscola County’s longest- Monica, Calif. term in 1988. serving district court judge is em - Glaspie, whose mom, Gerri After accepting the appoint - bracing another major change in Glaspie, still resides in the Cass ment to serve as a judge, his life – retirement — for the City area, was among six candi - Glaspie closed his own private same reason. dates vying for the county’s dis - law practice after 10 years, “I’ve thought about it for a long trict court position when knowing he was not only fac - time, looked at the pros and cons then-Gov. James Blanchard ap - ing a new role in the legal sys - of staying or retiring. It just pointed him to the post in April tem, but also the challenge of seemed like the time to do it while 1990. He succeeded the Honor - gaining voters’ confidence be - VETERAN TUSCOLA County District Court Judge my health is still good,” said able Richard F. Kern, who had fore the next election, just Kim David Glaspie – only the second district court Glaspie, 63, who has watched been the sole district court judge eight months away. judge to serve in Tuscola County – is gearing up for some of his peers lose out on that in Tuscola County, serving for 21 In the end, he emerged the opportunity due to health issues. years before retiring prior to the victor among four candidates retirement after 29 years on the bench. His tenure of - “It just felt like it’s time to move end of his last term. seeking election to the judge - ficially ends June 14, but collecting on vacation time on to another chapter, to wake up A 1973 Cass City High School ship for a six-year term – in - in the morning and do what I want graduate and a former Cass City cluding attorneys Duane he has coming will enable him to step down May 13. to do, not what I have to do.” Junior Citizen of the Year recipi - Burgess, John Bishop and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will appoint a replacement Among the things Glaspie and ent, Glaspie prepared for his ca - David G. Myers – in the 1990 to complete the remainder of Glaspie’s current term, his wife of nearly 42 years, Jackie, reer in law by enrolling at the non-partisan primary vote. would like to do are travel and University of Michigan, where he And, three months later, he de - which expires at the end of 2020. spend more time with family, in - earned his bachelor’s degree in Please turn to page 7.