Murder of jewelry store owner and customer top story of 2008 in Tri-Cities

Wed, Dec 31, 2008    to del.icio.us

The Grand Haven Tribune's top story of 2008 was the July 2 murder of a Grand Haven jeweler and his customer.

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During what was supposed to be a time of celebration, Grand Haven was rocked by a double murder in the heart of the city.

On July 2, Staci Czadzeck returned to R.K. Jewelers, 124 Washington Ave., from picking up coffee and found her father, Bob Karell, on the floor of his office, killed by a bullet to the back of his head. Police later located the body of a Roosevelt Park man, 77-year-old Louis Paparella, in the store's common area.

"This type of thing doesn't happen in Grand Haven," Grand Haven Department of Public Safety Director Dennis Edwards said at the time.

Within days, on July 5, Darick O'Brien Anderson of Muskegon Heights was arrested in connection to the murders was later charged on counts of open murder, armed robbery, and being a habitual offender.

Just over a month later, a second suspect — Darick Anderson's brother, Dmitri — was arrested and charged with the murders. Police also found what they believe to be the murder weapon — a .22-caliber Ruger semi-automatic handgun — buried in the back yard of a Muskegon Heights home.

This month, after initially requesting that the brothers be tried together, Ottawa County Assistant Prosecutor Greg Babbitt asked 20th Circuit Judge Ed Post for separate trials in order for more evidence to be admissible. The brothers are currently in the Ottawa County jail, with Dmitri Anderson's trial scheduled to begin Jan. 27 and Darick Anderson's set for Feb. 24.

June storms kill three, causes flooding

Winds and flooding at the end of June claimed the lives of three Ottawa County residents and caused road closures and flooding across the region.

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Chad DuShane of Spring Lake died when a huge tree limb fell on his car June 8, killing him instantly.

DuShane was driving on River Street in Spring Lake with his fiancee, Kathleen Tyer of Houghton Lake, who suffered minor injuries.

"She was in the only spot in the vehicle that you probably could have survived," Spring Lake Township Fire Chief Rick Nuvill said. "Fractions of a second, one way or another, and it could have been both of them."

John Pekich, 76, of West Olive Township likely died of drowning in Worley Drain. His body was recovered downstream from the drain after his car was found parked near it. He had been inspecting the drain.

Ursula Swidwinski, 53, of Chester Township died in her backyard when a falling tree landed on her.

The storms also caused the flooding of farmland, prompting county, state and presidential emergency declarations.

County relaxes Sunday alcohol rules

With triumphant fanfare, Ottawa County bar and restaurant goers were finally able to order a glass of beer or wine with their Sunday dinners.

A 32-year-old restriction against serving beer and wine on Sundays was repealed when 67 percent of voters cast ballots to overturn it.

The Say Yes to Sunday group made a tremendous push in July and August to put together a 42,821-signature petition, enough to put the measure on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Many saw this as a victory for residents, but business owners and tourism experts agreed it will spur the local economy and bring more business to the area.

Bar owners expect a big boost in business on one particular Sunday in February.

"Most people during Super Bowl Sunday want a beer — not a martini," said Bernadette Benkert, manager of Holiday Inn in Spring Lake.

Wilkinson leads police on chase across Lake Michigan ice

In late January, Jeremy Wilkinson and another man broke into the Spring Lake Township home of Bob and Leda Palmatter in an attempt to loot safes and cases containing gold coins from the rare coin business the Palmatter's ran out of their home.

The couple returned home during the robbery, at which time Wilkinson sprayed Bob Palmatter with pepper spray and tied him up. Leda Palmatter was able to sneak out of the garage and contact authorities. Wilkinson then led police on a 4-hour foot chase across the Lake Michigan ice, firing shots at officers before being captured.

He later pleaded guilty to four charges, including home invasion, robbery, unlawful imprisonment and possessing a firearm during a robbery. In August, Circuit Judge Ed Post sentenced him to at least 15 years in prison for his involvement in the incident.

New Spring Lake pool opens

The Spring Lake swim teams — and of course the rest of the community — finally have a facility to be proud of.

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But the 66,350-square-foot Spring Lake Community Fitness & Aquatic Center includes much more than just a state-of-the-art competition pool.

Along with the eight-lane pool, the new facility features a family pool with a 100-foot water slide and other fun features, a 12-person hot tub and steam room, a weight room, a cardio room and an indoor track.

Spring Lake voters approved a $17.6 million bond in 2006 to pay for the project, which cost $14 million to build.

Teachers, students and community members toured the pool in late summer, and the official grand opening was Sept. 20.

Adjacent hotels planned along GH riverfront

Grand Haven approved plans for two new hotels — a Country Inn & Suites east of U.S. 31 on the Grand River's South Channel and a Hilton Garden Inn across the highway at the Grand Landing development.

City Council reviewed and approved plans for both hotels this year, but groundbreaking hasn't occurred on either.

Developers expect the two hotels to add greatly to local tourism. The six-story Hilton Garden Inn hotel will be next to a 24,000-square-foot convention center, and construction could begin as soon as June, according to developers.

Developing the Grand Plaza site has been in the works for more than a decade, and the new Country Inn & Suites will include a boardwalk along the South Channel.

County shakeup brings new courthouse

While the $21.4 million Ottawa County Courthouse won't be complete until well into 2009, county employees are already moving to new posts.

Around 50 employees have begun moving from offices in Grand Haven south to the county's Fillmore Street Complex in Olive Township.

Many of the employees say they'll miss working in Grand Haven, but the new location will make the offices more accessible to residents of southern Ottawa County.

The new courthouse already stands tall above Grand Haven, but crews have much work to do inside the hulking frame. The building is expected to be complete by November 2009, with the 40-year-old courthouse next door coming down in the fall.

Masked men rob Grand Haven bank

The two men responsible for robbing Citizen's Bank in Grand Haven were caught on tape, but they still haven't been caught in reality.

Wearing hats and bandanas over their faces, the young-looking men threatened bank employees and took an undisclosed amount of money from the bank's cash drawers.

The men implied they were armed, and forced bank employees and the manager to the floor.

A security alarm didn't sound until several minutes after the suspects fled the scene.

"It was a pretty cold trail by the time we got there," said Lt. Mark Reiss of the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety.

String of metal thefts solved

Two Tri-Cities men were sentenced in April for their roles in 15 area thefts dating back to May 2007.

George Campbell of Grand Haven and Kenneth Pagel Jr. of Spring Lake were each sentenced for breaking and entering and ordered to pay a combined $447,000 in restitution.

The men were charged with breaking into many businesses to steal valuable scrap metals, which they allegedly sold in the Detroit area.

They were arrested following a task force investigation involving authorities from Ottawa, Muskegon and Newaygo counties.

Election fever sweeps Tri-Cities

Thousands of yards signs, volunteers marching door to door and endless letters to the editor marked this year's presidential election.

Much like the rest of the country, Ottawa County voting booths were flooded with people eager to cast votes for either Sen. John McCain or now-President-elect Barack Obama.

In Ottawa County, McCain took 61 percent of the vote while Obama garnered 37 percent. But the roles were nearly reversed in Grand Haven, where Obama had 58 percent of the vote compared to McCain's 39 percent.

The elections also brought out strong opinions on state initiatives such as stem cell research and medicinal marijuana. Ottawa County voters joined others across the state in voting to approve the use of medicinal marijuana and while 62 percent of Ottawa County voters rejected a proposal to expand stem cell research, it passed on the state level.