“Flint man charged with bond absconding waives preliminary hearing in ... - Grand Rapids Press” plus 3 more

Flint man charged with bond absconding waives preliminary hearing in ... - Grand Rapids Press
Beauchamp drives family legacy - Escanaba Daily Press
Body found in Lake Monona is missing swimmer - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
GEICO Gecko Tour Ends 2009 at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo - Businesswire.com

Flint man charged with bond absconding waives preliminary hearing in ... - Grand Rapids Press

Posted: 17 Sep 2009 10:33 AM PDT

by Cole Waterman | The Bay City Times

Originally charged with several counts of auto theft, a Flint man is now facing a charge of bond absconding in Bay County District Court.

Scheduled to appear before Bay County District Judge Craig D. Alston today, Jonathan W. Burton, 19, waived his right to a preliminary examination related to the new charge.

Prosecutors previously charged Burton with six counts of unlawfully driving away an automobile, after he and accomplices allegedly broke into Bay Auto Auction, 573 S. Tuscola in Portsmouth Township, on March 3. The suspects allegedly made off with a van, two trucks, six ATVs and a dirt bike, valued at more than $87,000, court records show.

One of Burton's co-defendants, his brother Joshua W. Burton, 18, faced the same charges and pleaded guilty to two of them in exchange for prosecutors dismissing the remaining four. On Aug. 31, Bay County Circuit Judge Kenneth W. Schmidt sentenced the younger Burton to 210 days in jail, with credit for 117 days served.

The elder Burton had the same plea deal but failed to appear at an Aug. 4 hearing, prompting authorities to issue a bench warrant for his arrest. He was later charged with bond absconding.

Burton is next scheduled to appear before Alston in Circuit Court at 9 a.m. on Oct. 6, where he is expected to plea guilty to attempted bond absconding.

As to the auto theft charges, a jury trial is scheduled to begin before Schmidt at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 6.

Other suspects in the case are facing charges in Genesee County.

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Beauchamp drives family legacy - Escanaba Daily Press

Posted: 17 Sep 2009 06:16 AM PDT

ESCANABA - Racing has been in the blood of the Beauchamp family for almost 40 years.

Scott Beauchamp is no exception. The Escanaba native capped off an exciting 2009 off-road season Sunday by winning the World Championship Mole Lake Casino and Lodge Stock Truck Cup race in Crandon, Wis. Sept. 6.

The win also propelled Beauchamp to his second TRAXXAS/TORC off-road series championship in three years.

"The whole season kind of ended on a high note for our team," said Beauchamp. "We won the championship in 2007, and finished second overall in 2008, so we were really gunning for this season."

Before being crowned champion, Beauchamp and his team hit a few bumps in the road during the year. "We had some engine problems mid-season that knocked us way down in the points standings," he said. "We were 14 points down going into the (last) weekend, pulled out a second place finish (Saturday) and that put more wind into our sails."

Heading into Sunday's race, Beauchamp needed to win and Eric Ruppel (Chetek, Wis.) had to finish third or lower for the Beauchamp team to pull out the title. It was Beauchamp teamwork which enabled Scott to win the championship, as his cousin Danny Beauchamp finished second, with Ruppel right on his rear bumper in the third position.

"It was down to the last corner of the race," said Scott. "Ruppel was on the inside of Danny, but couldn't pass him. Dan ran a great race Sunday to help secure the championship for us."

Scott Beauchamp has been involved in some form of racing for about 20 years. "I used to race circle track at Escanaba/Norway in the late 1980's," said Beauchamp.

After receiving an automotive engineering degree in 1993, he worked in the auto industry in Detroit for six years before moving back to the Escanaba area in 1999 to help his father Richard run the family business, Best Equipment and Trailer Sales Inc.

Beauchamp also got back into racing, driving four-wheelers on the American Motocross Association's ATV Grand National Circuit, where he finished second overall in the nation in the 30-plus veteran class. He began racing trucks in 2001 and moved into the stock truck class in 2004.

"I was rookie of the year in 2004," said Beauchamp, who steadily moved up the ladder by taking third overall in 2005, placing second in 2006 and winning his first championship two years ago.

"Our whole family has been racing since the late 1960's," said Beauchamp. "My dad raced, my uncles raced, mainly all circle track in Escanaba. Growing up, I was always around the tracks. It's an adrenaline rush to race," he said.

According to Beauchamp, the support of his family has meant everything. The 41-year-old has been married to wife Tammy for six years. The couple have three children: five-year-old Braden, three-year-old Luke and eight-month-old Brooklyn.

"Racing and raising kids has definitely been a challenge," said Beauchamp.

"Tammy has really stepped up to the plate. Without her, none of my racing accomplishments would be possible."

As for his kids growing up to be like dad, Beauchamp says he wouldn't be a bit surprised. "We take Brooklyn on the four-wheeler or the golf cart and she doesn't want to get off," said Beauchamp. "Braden and Luke both have four-wheelers and Braden has a dirt bike."

Braden had his first day of kindergarten Sept. 8. According to Scott, when Braden was asked what he wanted to be someday, he replied "I want to be an off-road truck racer."

"All three of them (kids) are gearheads, they just want to be around what I'm doing all the time," said Beauchamp.

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Body found in Lake Monona is missing swimmer - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Posted: 14 Sep 2009 12:38 PM PDT

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GEICO Gecko Tour Ends 2009 at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo - Businesswire.com

Posted: 13 Sep 2009 12:54 PM PDT

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GEICO's traveling Gecko Exhibit will make its last stop of 2009 at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, bringing the giant day geckos to the residents of Northeast Ohio from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31, 2009. This stop brings GEICO's one-year anniversary celebration to a close, and prepares new AZA-accredited (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) zoos and aquariums for the second year of GEICO and AZA's three-year partnership designed to promote wildlife conservation.

The GEICO tour features giant day geckos, one of the largest of all geckos, which are native to Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands. The GEICO Gecko costume character will also appear at the zoo on select weekends through the end of December, a schedule of which can be found on the Zoo's Web site at www.clemetzoo.com.

GEICO and AZA took the traveling GEICO Gecko Exhibit on a whirlwind trip of AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums nationwide throughout 2009, launching the tour's one-year anniversary at the Miami Metro Zoo, stopping next at the world's largest aquarium in Atlanta and then heading to America's first zoo in Philadelphia.

Through GEICO's AZA advertisements, which have helped boost zoo and aquarium attendance, GEICO has provided a commitment to the AZA and wildlife conservation. The tour will continue into 2010, with the next stops to be announced early next year.

"It has been an exciting year, traveling to each AZA zoo and aquarium, and celebrating our exhibit's one-year anniversary with families around the country," said GEICO Vice President Rynthia Rost. "Watching children learn about conservation efforts and helping them understand the importance of preserving our wildlife for future generations has been a hugely gratifying experience for everybody involved."

About GEICO

GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) – as part of Berkshire Hathaway – is the third-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States*. GEICO provides auto insurance coverage for 9 million policyholders and insures more than 16 million vehicles.

In addition to auto insurance, GEICO offers customers insurance products for their motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), boats, homes, apartments and mobile homes. Commercial auto insurance and personal umbrella protection and life insurance are also available.

As a member of the Berkshire Hathaway group of companies, GEICO is rated A++ for financial strength by A.M. Best Company and ranks at the top of several national customer satisfaction surveys. For more information, go to http://www.geico.com.

*A.M. Best 2008 market share data