According to Charlevoix Prosecuting Attorney John Jarema, the tentative agreement, reached on Jan. 25, would call for Veryser to repay at least $75,000 of the money she is thought to have taken from her former employer in at least 45 incidences over an approximately three-and-a-half year period beginning in September 2006.

“She is expected to bring in, as part of this deal, $37,500 of the restitution up front,” Jarema said.

According to Jarema, due to changes in the way embezzlement is charged, he could not ask for any prison time for Veryser even though the penalty for embezzling between $1,000 and $20,000 carries penalties of up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

Officials say funds were used for everything from a loan for a cosmetic procedure, children’s ski academy, personal credit card, student loans, and other purchases.

According to Jarema, the school was tipped off to the alleged embezzlement when a “suspicious” check was written on a school account for a personal matter.

“The school began looking at the School’s books and accounts and found what appeared to be payments to Keisha Veryser’s personal credit card from school funds,” stated Michigan State Police Det. Sgt. Jerry Briolat stated in his affidavit of probable cause. “My investigation revealed that Keisha Veryser was a signer on numerous accounts including the miscellaneous account, Northern Lights Account, Scholarship Account and on the school’s CD accounts … (and) Veryser had possession of the school’s First Bank Card and the statement was apparently sent to her home address.”

According to police, the alleged embezzlement began in 2006 with $100 on Sept. 15, when Veryser allegedly took three checks totaling $300 to a Charlevoix bank, but only deposited $200 into the school’s miscellaneous account.

Numerous alleged incidences of embezzlement occurred during each year of Veryser’s employment with the last alleged offense involving the withdrawal of $3,500 from the school’s miscellaneous account on Jan. 13 2010. Officials say Veryser turned the money into an official cashier’s check and sent it to pay Veryser’s personal Visa credit card bill.

The perjury charges Veryser had faced, but will likely be dropped, stemmed from a civil suit filed against Veryser by the Gaylord Catholic Diocese which is suing Veryser for the money they allege she took.

Jarema said he would make a formal statement following the plea hearing which has been set for March 9 in Charlevoix Circuit Court.

Veryser’s attorney F. Randall Karfonta could not be reached by press time.

Look for an update on this story in the Feb. 15, edition of the Boyne City Gazette.

Painter Jerry Douglas approached the Boyne City Main Street Board last week during the Feb. 2, main street meeting, with a plan to paint the founding of Boyne City on large wall along the Glen’s Market plaza in Boyne City.

“Boyne City is definitely blessed with a lot of historic buildings in our downtown district but we have this great story,” said Douglas. “This dramatic story of this family that moves up into the wilderness here in the middle of November and gets the whole thing started.”

He added, “Their relationship with the Ojibwa tribe – as soon as I started thinking of this I knew I wanted to represent them because it would seem so arrogant to talk about Boyne City’s founding as though there was nothing there before. There was a culture there a long long time before … longer than we’ve been here totally.”

Douglas approached the Boyne City Main Street Board for permission to begin fund-raising on this proposed project.

Former Boyne City Mayor Chuck Vondra, who attended the meeting, said he and Douglas have been discussing the idea of such a mural for a number of years.

“I’ve never been a real artsy guy, but I admired the mural when Jerry was painting the mushroom (on another mural Douglas painted,” Vondra said. “I’m a big fan and a huge supporter.”

Douglas said he will employ the help of several young artists who will act as interns.

“The idea is a positive message about Boyne City’s past, present and future,” he said. “It’s an idyllic scene … the family working together; the Indian natives approaching them; that is the entire community of that time – all of them were working together building a future.”

Douglas added, “So, it not only commemorates the founding of Boyne City but it says something about us as a community. It’s intended to be a positive message about who we are.”

At the center of the composition will be Harriet Miller, upon whose dream the family’s major life change occured.

“Based upon her dream, they dropped their life in New York and sold their farm and got on a steam ship and headed out west and ended up finding the cabin about what like she dreamed of,” Douglas said. “John Miller is the father of Boyne City. He’s in the foreground. The boys are working in the background.”

Douglas said the proposal is merely conceptual and could change.

Douglas said working on the mural will be an attraction in itself.

“This is the most ambitious mural project anyone’s ever proposed in Boyne City,” Douglass said, adding that figuring the cost to create the mural will be difficult.

The approximate cost will be $53,650 according to Douglas.

“I’m seeking funding sources,” Douglas said. “I’m not proposing Boyne City pay for the whole thing.”

Douglas said he was inspired to finish his concept after the last Boyne City Commission race because, he said, the candidates communicated a very positive present and future for Boyne City.

And, he said he chose the 148-foot long white wall along Vogel Street because it is large, blank and nearest to the original cabin site.

“It sits a little bit back from Lake Street,” he said. “The wall’s in pretty good shape (and) Vogel Street is a major artery. It’s an important cluster of businesses that occupy that building.”

Douglas added, “The building also lacks character. This mural would dramatically change that facility. It would be the focal point of north Boyne City and change that whole atmosphere.”

The guide explaining the mural would be an estimated 10 feet high by 15 feet wide.

Douglas said he could feasibly finish the mural over the course of a spring and summer.

Questions and concerns the board briefly discussed included whether any future owners of the building would retain the mural, and whether the proposed site is the best place for a historic mural.

The Boyne City Main Street Design Committee will discuss the matter further during its Monday Feb. 13, meeting.

Germany filed the case in December 2008 after a court in Italy ordered Berlin to compensate an Italian civilian sent to a German labour camp in 1944. Germany had claimed that the ruling failed to respect the jurisdictional immunity that it has a right to under international law.

It had also claimed that it had already paid reparations under international treaties with Italy and argued that as a sovereign State it has immunity in Italian courts. At the same time, it fully acknowledged the untold suffering inflicted on Italians during the war.

“The Italian Republic has violated its obligation to respect the immunity which the Federal Republic of Germany enjoys under international law by allowing civil claims to be brought against it based on violations of international humanitarian law committed by the German Reich between 1943 and 1945,” the ICJ, also known as the World Court, stated in its judgment.

Italy has also violated Germany’s immunity by taking measures of constraint against Villa Vigoni, German State property situated in Italian territory, and by declaring enforceable in Italy decisions of Greek civil courts based on violations of international humanitarian law committed in Greece by Nazi Germany.

The Court added that Italy must ensure that the decisions of its courts and those of other judicial authorities infringing on Germany’s immunity “cease to have effect.”

Germany has paid tens of millions of dollars in reparations, under various agreements, for crimes committed during the Second World War.

Established in 1945, and based in The Hague in the Netherlands, the ICJ settles legal disputes between States and gives advisory opinions on legal questions that have been referred to it by other authorized UN organs.

While Nohel will likely continue to coach – he coaches wrestling, and has coached baseball and volleyball at times, he said he needs a break from the workload of the head coaching position.

Nohel, now in his 24th year as an educator, teaches woodworking, CAD (computer-aided drafting), drafting, weight training and physical education.

With 13 years of his three decades of coaching as a head coach, Nohel has developed a style which focuses heavily on developing the character of his players.

“Don spent a fair amount of time working on character skills and he had a program of once a week we focused on a piece of character and I think the kids will miss that opportunity to sit down and have it not just be about Xs and Os,” said Boyne City High School Assistant Varsity Coach David Bricker, who worked with Nohel for nearly 10 years. “We were not just coaching football but coaching young men to become better people, better husbands, better bosses, better fathers.”

He added, “One doesn’t really know what they’re going to miss.” “I don’t know how long he’ll stay out of coaching, but I wish him the best and hope our paths cross on the football sidelines again,” Bricker said.

Nohel said he enjoys coaching because it teaches life lessons, and he likes helping young men grow.

He said he has always felt the purpose of athletics was to help kids become better people and he also enjoys the relationships that he has developed with the kids.

Nohel’s favorite season?

“All seasons have been good ones,” he said. “You just win more in some than others.”

Nohel’s advice for the next coach: “Keep the kids first – we are here to serve the kids.”

Boyne City Public Schools Athletic Director Mike Wilson said while the school will miss Nohel, he understands that some things are more important than football.

“Don is a man of principles and morals just like I want to implement in my coaching staff here,” Wilson said.

Wilson has advertised the position for head coach and received several applications locally and from outside Michigan.

“We had a mixed bag of applicants, some as far away as South Carolina and Georgia,” he said. “I have assembled a panel to go through the resumes and I hope to have a decision and a head coach to offer the position to by Wednesday.”

Wilson said no matter who is selected, he expects Boyne City football to continue to be a positive program for the kids.

“We have a very talented group of kids coming up so I think the program, with the right leadership, will thrive and we’ll be successful,” Wilson said.

Bricker said he has not decided if he will continue coaching football for Boyne City.

“I just finished my 38th football season as a coach and a lot depends on who they hire as head coach,” he said. “If they would like me in the program and if their philosophy is something I can work with, I will probably be back next year.”

“I get an opportunity becauseof our multiple offices to participate in events, boards and functions in manyof the communities around here and in November, as a part of the PetoskeyChamber of Commerce Board, I was part of the strategic planning and one of thethings that we chose to do as part of that strategic planning process wassurvey our members and survey the business community in Petoskey in terms ofour planning,” Flinn said. “One of the questions was what can the PetoskeyChamber of Commerce do differently. And, out of the 10 people that I was incharge of calling and surveying, three of them said – unbeknownst to myinvolvement with the Boyne City Chamber – ‘You know, I’d like to see thePetoskey chamber be more like the Boyne City chamber.’”

He added, “I quizzed them alittle bit and they said, ‘You guys at the Petoskey Chamber seem to be focusedon the tourist industry at the exclusion of everything else and you seem to befocused on the gas light district – why didn’t we get Precision Edge? Why don’twe have Kirtland Products? Why don’t we have more going on in Petoskey thanjust tourism and downtown?’ And it just brought home to me the whole communityin Boyne City and how everybody pulls together, whether the focus is ontourism, whether the focus is on growth in some other area, whether it’seducation, whether it’s manufacturing.” Flinn said there always seems to be interest and involvement and an overallopenness to other people’s ideas and opinions.

“It’s just such a warmcommunity and such a well-rounded community, and I know that comes back to notjust the chamber director and the chamber board members, it’s the entirecommunity and the way people look at themselves and the community they’re apart of and how progressive people are,” he said. “It doesn’t go unnoticed andit doesn’t happen by accident. It happens through a lot of hard work by a lotof people and I’m just happy to be here and proud to be a part of it.”

Volunteer of the Year Awardhonorable mentions were Chuck Vondra, Gail Fox, Linn Williams and ScottMacKenzie with this year’s award winner being Cindi Malin of CindiFranco’s CoolStuff.

“I just have an idea buteveryone helps make it happen,” Malin said.

The Community Pride Award wentto The 4th of July Festival Committee. Accepting the award was Liz Kroondyk,the committee’s co-chair.

Honorable mentions includedBoyne Valley Lions, Morel Mushroom Festival Committee and the Fraternal Orderof Eagles.

“Behind this committee areabout a hundred other people who volunteer to make this festival work,” shesaid. “Without them we wouldn’t be able to do it.”

The Boyne City 4th of July Paradeis rated as one of the top five in the state.

Entrepreneur of the Year wasawarded to Todd Wright and Andy Poineau for starting Wildwood Rush Canopy Tours.

Honorable mentions were PaulNicholls of Michigan Mountain Mayhem, Leon Tupper of Kirtland Products, MichaelSehr of Dunagain’s Antiques and Collectibles and the John and Shari ThompsonFamily of Shaggy’s Skis and Thompson Home Construction.

“The help we got and theencouragement we received from everybody in the Boyne business community wasoutstanding,” Wright said.

Poineau thanked EvangelineTownship for their help in making the business a possibility.

The duo said business wentgreat in their first year and they are looking to double their staff in theupcoming season.

Young Entrepreneur of the Yearwas awarded to Kelly Woodard and Ryan Houghton of Bella Vita restaurant.Honorable mentions included Karen Wright of Elite Energetics Massage, RyanMoskal, Moskal Chiropractic and Bethany Revoir of Logo Pros and Northern EagleClothier.

The Heritage Award went to Ray andKaren Guzniczak, Country Now & Then/Up the Lazy River for their ongoingcontributions to the community.

Honorable mentions includedLynda Christensen of Lynda’s Real Estate Service, Bruce Janssen of The WoodShop, Ed Barden of F.O. Barden & Son Lumber, Betty Korthase of ParksideGrill & Treats and Pat O’Brien of Pat O’Brien & Associates Real Estate.

The Sally Roselli BusinessLeadership Award went to Mary Palmer, Fred Moore and Jim Cartright of MagnumHospitality, the parent company of Cafe Sante and Red Mesa Grill.

Honorable mentions includedRandy Flinn of Korthase Flinn Insurance and Financial Services, MichelleCortright of Harbor House Publishers and Tom Veryser of Michigan CommunityDental Clinics.

“Cafe Sante opened ayear-and-a-half ago and it has rose to the top of our sales for all four of ourrestaurants and I’ve got to thank the community who supports us,” said Palmer.

“According to our previous understanding, any magnetic field that had been made ought to have gone away by now,” said Paul Drake, the Henry S. Carhart Collegiate Professor of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences and a professor in physics at U-M. “We didn’t understand what mechanism might create a magnetic field, and even if it happened, we didn’t understand why the magnetic field is still there.

“It has been a very enduring mystery.”

With high-energy pulsed lasers in a French laboratory, the researchers created certain conditions analogous to those in the early universe when galaxies were forming. Through their experiment, they demonstrated that the theory known as the Biermann battery process is likely correct.

Discovered by a German astronomer in1950, the Biermann process predicts that a magnetic field can spring up spontaneously from nothing more than the motion of charged particles. Plasma, or charged particle gas, is abundant in space.

Scientists believe that large clouds of gas collapsing into galaxies sent elliptically shaped bubbles of shockwaves through the early universe, touching off flows of electric current in the plasma of the intergalactic medium.

Anyone who has built an electromagnet in middle school science class is familiar with this concept, Drake said.

“If you can make current flow, you make a magnetic field,” Drake said.

The question in astrophysics was what could have generated the current. This experiment demonstrated that such asymmetrical shockwaves could do the job.

The results, Drake said, aren’t particularly surprising. But it’s important for scientists to test their theories with experiments.

“These results help strengthen the understanding that we’ve taken from our interpretation of astrophysical data,” Drake said. “And understanding the universe and most definitely the origin of life is one of the great human intellectual quests.”

The paper is titled “Generation of scaled protogalactic seed magnetic fields in laser produced shock waves.” Other co-authors are from the University of Oxford, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Laboratoire pour l’Utilisation de Lasers Intenses, the University of Strathclyde, the University of California-Los Angeles, the University of York, the Institute of Laser Engineering at Osaka University, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse. The work is funded by the European Research Council, Laserlab-Europe, the Science and Technology Facilities Council, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council of the United Kingdom.