INSIDE

The
VOL. 28, NO. 39

Scholars shed light on Constitution for law students See Page 4-A

ENTERTAINMENT

SPORTS

Area actress working with A-list performers See Page 2-C

Belleville falls to Country Day See Page 1-B

50
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2012 Weave the Web:
Make sure to click on www.heritage.com around the clock for the most in-depth coverage. See most popular stories....Emmy Awards 2012: Predicting who the big winners will be.

Baby left outside re hall

By Ben Baird
Heritage Media

A newborn girl was found abandoned Saturday on the front step of Van Buren Townships fire station one. Township dispatch received a call at 8:39 p.m. from an anonymous caller who said he saw the baby dropped off while driving by but didnt see anyone answer the door, according to the Van Buren Township Police Department. The caller was later identified as the babys 17-yearold father. After receiving the call, dispatch notified on-duty fire personnel at the station, 45400 Hull Road, who found the newborn wrapped in a towel on the front step. Huron Valley Ambulance was called while fire personnel performed a medical evaluation on the baby. She appeared to be in stable condition but was later treated for hypothermia and respiratory issues while being transported to the University of Michigan Health System. Doctors determined the baby was just hours old and confirmed she was in stable condition, although she was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit for observation. Police were able to make contact with the anonymous caller who alerted dispatch to the baby. He admitted he and his girlfriend are the parents and they left their newborn at the fire station, according to police. They wanted to leave her at a safe location because they were afraid of reactions from their parents. He told police they first went to Oakwood Healthcare Center in Belleville but found it closed, so they went to the township fire station. They didnt get a response when they knocked on the door there, so he said he called 911 to make sure the
PLEASE SEE BABY/3-A

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Mark Girard leans on the tractor he used to destroy his raspberry crop last week at Rowes Produce Farm in Van Buren Township.

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Insect forces local farmer out of the raspberry business for good
By Gary Winkelman
Heritage Media

Under siege
shotgun and begins targeting the ravenous rodent. Alas, the pest has disappeared and Girard is back describing the challenges a grower goes through in bringing food to fruition. People dont have a clue, he says about the behind-the-scenes labor and love that surround raising crops. From uncontrollable weather like drought conditions he faced this summer to maintaining control over invading bugs, the fight is eternal. Girards newest enemy is the

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Its a sunny and warm afternoon in late September but Mark Girard is having a bad day. A few hours earlier, the Van Buren Township farmer scrapped thousands of dollars of fruit due to an emerging insect threat, and now hes spotted a woodchuck out in the green field. Are you squeamish? he asks a visitor casually. A minute later hes retrieved a

Spotted Wing Drosophila, an insidious insect that has ruined his September raspberry harvest and disappointed customers who come to Rowes Produce Farm year after year for the sweet, red fruit. Moreover, from what Girard has been able to determine, this pest is proving too expensive to fight, so Rowes is abandoning its raspberry business altogether. Girard, who has been operating Rowes since 1988, says spraying
PLEASE SEE FARMER/3-A

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INDEX
Editorial Page 6-A Page 1-C Page 1-B Calendar Sports

About this series

As Van Buren Public Schools undergoes wide-ranging change, special writer Jerry LaVaute talked with Supt. Mike Van Tassel about whats happened in the district and whats on the horizon, as well as some of the criticism thats been leveled at the school leader during his rst year on the job.

Kids have to come rst

Superintendent wants to see rise in student test scores
Part 3 of a 4-part series

Death Notices Page 16-A

By Jerry LaVaute
Special Writer

Mike Van Tassel

On the first day of school Sept. 4, Van Buren Public Schools Superintendent Mike Van Tassel visited

every school in the district, talking with principals and with classroom teachers. Asked to rate the morale of the staff on a scale from 1-10, he said he couldnt provide an overall assessment, because everybodys in a different place.

He did say that classroom teachers have had a very rough go in the last several years. Some feel as if the public views them as being personally responsible for the decline in academic achievement across the nation. Add to that what Van Tassel called a salary
PLEASE SEE SCORES/3-A

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