Written by John Face

Photos by John Face

June 25, 2022

More than one hundred locals met this morning to officially dedicate the T-Ball Park along with a statue and plaque. The ceremony was to recognize the late Jerry Sacharski a long time Albion teacher, coach and inventor of the game of t-ball. This event was attended by Sacharski’s three sons who all spoke during the event. Mike, Will and Dave were touched at the outpouring of respect given to their late father.

Speakers shared stories of their time playing T- Ball or Pee Wee baseball as it is known in Albion. The plaque which is pictured in the photo below tells the story best.

Event organizer Linda Kolmodin, stressed to this writer to make mention of Janet Domingo’s work as co chair. “It is because of Janets hard work that this all came together. Without her we may not be here”‘ she said.

The statues unveiling was well received by the crowd and the Sacharskis.

The furure of Pee Wee, or T-Ball in Albion had their chance to pose with the statue.

Written by John Face

June 23, 2022

Albion Department of Public Safety (ADPS) Chief Scott Kipp has released the name of the suspect in last night’s officer involved shooting here in Albion. Jason Elliotte Dodds, 42, of Albion is alleged to have raised his hand with a gun in it and an officer shot him. This information comes from the press release Chief Kipp sent out last night that is shown below. Dodds was transported to the hospital and succumbed to his injuries a short time later. The location of the shooting is the 700 block of North Eaton Street.

All this writer asks from the public now is calm as we go on this fact-finding process. There are several people this morning that are hurting, from the suspects family and one of our own ADPS police officers who must deal with this shooting. Let us not make assumptions by using second hand and often false information from the public, some of which is well intentioned while others are trying to sow discord and create trouble in town.

City Watch can confirm from ADPS that body cam video of the situation does exist and is being reviewed by the Michigan State Police investigators.

As always City Watch will do its best to keep you updated.

PRESS RELEASE:

Earlier today, ADPS received information from family members that a relative was having psychological issues and was taking psychological medication and drinking, which caused him to be irrational. The family was concerned because this subject had told them he wanted to kill another relative with whom he had been in a fight a few weeks earlier. At 5:20 PM, ADPS put out information to all its officers, the Marshall Police Department, and the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department, hoping we could locate the individual and get him help. Unfortunately, we only had information that he may be in the Marshall area.

At approximately 6:30 PM, 3 ADPS officers, two of whom are Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) certified officers, responded to a report of an unwanted subject on the porch of the relative who had been threatened in the 700 block of N Eaton St., attempting to break in. The relative the individual was looking for, fled out the residence’s back door as the subject broke into the front door. Upon arrival, officers entered the porch to find the entrance to the house open. The officers confronted the individual, who quickly turned toward the officers and started to raise the gun. The officers ordered the subject to drop the gun multiple times as he raised it toward them. An officer fired, striking the individual, who then fell to the floor. ADPS Officers immediately began first aid and CPR until ambulance crews arrived and transported the individual to the hospital. The individual’s gun was recovered and turned over to the Michigan State Police. ADPS has requested the Michigan State Police investigate the shooting.  The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Chief Scott Kipp

Albion Public Safety

UPDATE AT 10:11 p.m.

Written by John Face

6/22/2022

Follow this page for further details

UPDATE PER ADPS The victim in the shooting has died per the Michigan State Police and Albion Public Safety Pictures included below.

Albion Department of Public Safety released the following on the shooting that occured earlier this evening:

PRESS RELEASE:

Earlier today, ADPS received information from family members that a relative was having psychological issues and was taking psychological medication and drinking, which caused him to be irrational. The family was concerned because this subject had told them he wanted to kill another relative with whom he had been in a fight a few weeks earlier. At 5:20 PM, ADPS put out information to all its officers, the Marshall Police Department, and the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department, hoping we could locate the individual and get him help. Unfortunately, we only had information that he may be in the Marshall area.

At approximately 6:30 PM, 3 ADPS officers, two of whom are Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) certified officers, responded to a report of an unwanted subject on the porch of the relative who had been threatened in the 700 block of N Eaton St., attempting to break in. The relative the individual was looking for, fled out the residence’s back door as the subject broke into the front door. Upon arrival, officers entered the porch to find the entrance to the house open. The officers confronted the individual, who quickly turned toward the officers and started to raise the gun. The officers ordered the subject to drop the gun multiple times as he raised it toward them. An officer fired, striking the individual, who then fell to the floor. ADPS Officers immediately began first aid and CPR until ambulance crews arrived and transported the individual to the hospital. The individual’s gun was recovered and turned over to the Michigan State Police. ADPS has requested the Michigan State Police investigate the shooting.  The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Chief Scott Kipp

Albion Public Safety

Written by John Face

June 21, 2022

Come one come all to the T-Ball Garden dedication This Saturday June 25th at 11:00 A.M., this event will dedicate the park to forever honor the birthplace of T-Ball. The garden location is across the street from the Gardner House Museum on South Superior near the Library and there will be plenty of parking on the streets available. Take a few minutes and attend this historic event. As you will see in the press release there will be a regular T-Ball game later in the day along with an old-timer’s game.

Please read the following press release from the committee:

TEE-BALL GARDEN DEDICATION TO FEATURE FORMER PLAYERS

Former members of the original tee-ball team coached by Jerry Sacharski will be featured
speakers at the June 25 dedication of the South Superior Street Tee-Ball Garden.
These former youth players will be joined by the three Sacharski sons who are returning
to Albion to celebrate the day which honors their dad.

The Tee-Ball Garden dedication will begin at 11 AM. Ceremonies to dedicate the new
tee-ball player statue and historic plaque will be held at the garden plot on the west side of South
Superior Street across the street from the Albion District Library and Gardner House Museum.
Everyone is invited to attend this community celebration. Those who played for Coach
Sacharski are especially encouraged to attend and honor the legendary coach.

Under the leadership of Janet Domingo and Linda Kolmodin, volunteer co-chairs of the
Restore Our Coke Sign: Bring Art and History Downtown campaign, this Tee-Ball Garden
represents the long history of youth sports in Albion.

To honor the late Coach Sacharski and the game’s roots, this garden is cooperative
venture with the Calhoun County Land Bank and the Albion Community Foundation. Money
was raised for these art installations and additional landscape improvements through a matching
Patronicity campaign through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Donated funds
were held by an Albion Community Foundation. Other completed projects included the iconic
Coca-Cola sign restoration and the new Malleable Mural celebrating Albion’s long foundry
history.

Following the 11 am dedication ceremony at the Tee-Ball Garden, current tee-ball team
members will play a short game in Victory Park on the ball field close to Hannah Street. The
current players are coached by Play Right Sports Academy under the leadership of President
Milton Barnes. Jim Stuart of Sterling Books and Brew is assisting in organizing this game and
the Old-Timers game that follows. Those games should start around noon.

Dennis Reid will have his hot dog truck at Victory Park for the tee-ball games. His menu
features hotdogs, chips and drinks to add to the old-fashioned ballpark fun.
John Shedd, a member of the Old-Timers emphasized that the game will only be for few
innings and the major rule is “no running.” Everyone is invited to participate in the game. Just
bring a glove and a sense of humor, Shedd said.

Written by John Face

Photos by John Face

June 2, 2022

Over the last few weeks this writer has been approached by several people about what happens in Albion during active shooter calls such as occurred in Texas. I reached out to Chief Scott Kipp, the Director of Albion Department of Public Safety (ADPS) in Albion. This morning we sat down to have a frank discussion about exactly where things in Albion stand.

When asked what exactly the training for his officers is for active shooters, Chief Kipp said that all officers receive such training in the police academy. The department has regular training for all officers as well. Chief Kipp admitted they need to do more training locally and regionally. They do inhouse training all the time he said but “hands on in the field training is so important”.

The department policy is much the same as nationally, at all costs get to the shooter and control the situation, shooting them if necessary, waiting for no one else. Chief Kipp was very frank with me. He said, “just because there is a policy that says to do something, the hard reality is no officer knows how they will react in this situation until they are in it”. Though he is certain his officers will engage the shooter he did say, “we are human too, people forget that sometimes”.

He said that Albion does have a strong relationship with all the area police departments. Though the initial attack will be his officers it will not take long for more help to arrive. He said that situation has happened in Albion in the past needing help and his officers have responded all over the area for requests of emergency help to other officers as well.

He said that they do have officers from the department who are part of the Calhoun County Emergency Response Team, or ERT. This unit is trained for all situations from active shooter, hostage rescue to warrant serving for drug busts. He currently has 3 officers’ part of this team plus several others who have been in the ERT or been trained in the past.

We discussed what tools are available to officers on his department. He said all officers carry their revolver, have shotguns in their cars. Some he said participated in a program that allowed them to purchase AR style weapons for themselves that they are allowed to use while on duty. This was done mostly because the department can’t afford to purchase these weapons for officers. He stated that they have “level 4” type armor which gives protection from rifle fire.

He also explained that they do have some breaching equipment. City Watch will not share the specific tools, but they carry them in the cars. He did remind this writer that sometimes that is not enough. “Remember”, he said, “those doors at the high school are thick and are attached to steel frames and are difficult to breach”.

We talked about specific targets in Albion and yes, the public schools and college are certainly on his and officers’ minds. “These are targets that are obvious, and we all take them seriously” he said. We need to stress that these targets need to be “hardened”, which means taking steps to make it more difficult for a shooter. Again, he stressed the need for more training in the field.

I asked Chief Kipp what people can do to help his officers out. His advice was fairly simple, stating “if you see something, someone that doesn’t fit the situation call 911 and ask for an officer to check it out’. You the public, “knows your neighborhood better than anyone else. Call us”. My officers are trained to engage people to see if there are any issues.

I asked what the public should do if they are suddenly in a situation that involves an active shooter. He said the options are run, hide or fight. If you can run, get out of their as fast as possible. If running is not a safe option, then hide is next. Hide in another room, behind things. The last one is what he said is the toughest, it is fight. He said if you have no choice and attacking the shooter is your option you better be “committed to fighting and hurting the shooter”. He said find a weapon of any type. Fire extinguishers are very good tools. Spraying the chemical at the shooter blinds them and is a hard tool to strike them with. He said believe it or not getting online to see what you can do is an option. Be prepared before anything happens. Have your plan.

I asked the chief if he supports any type of gun controls. He said he understood the 2nd amendment people but the reality is there are people who should not have weapons of any kind. “A few years ago,” he said, “we had a situation where someone who has serious mental health issues and was in crisis was in possession of weapons. Not only that but licensed to carry. We desperately tried to have this person seperated from these weapons but there is no law giving us that authority”.

He vigorously supports “Red Flag Laws”. These are laws that allow law enforcement the ability to remove weapons from an individual that may be a danger to themselves or others. When weapons are removed the issue goes to the courts and mental health professionals to determine if there is a threat. “They are using this Law in Florida” he said, “and are removing weapons daily saving lives”.

My suggestion to the reader is whether we want to accept it or not, we may be a target and need to think about that before we go out. Don’t forget run, hide or fight.

Have your plan.

Written by John Face

Video by John Face

We are releasing this video to give you an idea of the extent of the water issue. The video shows the front lobby about 40 minutes AFTER water was shut off to the building on Sunday morning. The water flow in the video is a fraction of what was first discovered but can give you an idea what staff was dealing with, as the lobby area looked like a shower.

Click here to view the video.

The leak which was caused by a malfunctioning urinal in the upstairs bathroom and caused water to soak floors all the way to the basement. As you can see the lobby ceiling is the most prominent issue, but other areas were damaged.

Written by John Face

May 23, 2022

There is no significant news out of the Bohm theatre today other than the drying out of the building continues. It’s still too early to determine how deep the water damage is until the building is completely dry. A short visit today looks the same as yesterday for the most part.

We will keep you informed.

Written by John Face

May 22, 2022

The first 2 paragraphs of Act II Community Theatres social media press release said it all:

“It is with great sadness that we inform our supporters that our third and final performance of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has been canceled.

There has been a catastrophic incident at the Bohm involving a major water leak and this has caused us to cancel our show. To say we are broken hearted would be an understatement. We are crushed as our actors, musicians and crews worked so hard to bring a quality show to Albion”.

Patrons who did not find out about the cancellation prior to the 2:00 P.M. play were greeted with this sign on the front doors of the Bohm.

Early Sunday morning when staff arrived to clean the Bohm and make it ready for ACT II’s show in the afternoon they were greeted with water coming through the ceiling in the main lobby. Upon further inspection the leak was determined to be because of a urinal that malfunctioned on the 2nd floor mens room.

Water was literally everywhere in the lobby area pouring through the ceiling “like you were in a shower,” said staff. The bathroom and office area above the lobby was flooded with 1/2 inch of standing water. Water was cascading down the stairway like a waterfall at first. Staff was shocked at the extent of the damage.

Albion Department of Public Safety arrived as fire alarms were activated. This was happening because water was using any opening to flow, including light fixtures, fire extinguisher system. ADPS officers worked with Bohm staff to isolate the problem and the decision to turn off the water to Bohm 1 was made and they accomplished that. They also offered equipment to the Bohm to try and clean up the situation and make it less devastating.

Bohm staff contacted an emergency clean up service who came to mitigate the situation.

Residents driving by the Bohm saw several vehicles on scene as around a dozen workers worked to make the damage less destructive. ACT II representatives as well as Bohm representatives were on scene very early. It was obvious to Tom McClure President of ACT II Community Theatre and John Face the Secretary a decision needed to be made quickly.

Both discussed with Bob Veramay General Manager of the Theatre that the Bohm would be closed for the remainder of the day and most likely for an extended time. McClure and Face discussed many options but ultimately decided the third and final show Sunday must be canceled, and their show came to an end.

McClure when asked for a comment sent this to City Watch: “On one hand it’s a loss,” he said. “Not just financially, but more importantly, a loss for our actors who lost that last chance to deliver a tremendous show to an audience. Our directors, crew, and orchestra lost that opportunity as well.” “However,” added McClure “this cast, and crew were incredible, and nothing can take that away. This group has helped to define us and put the “live” back in live theatre here in Albion. We are very proud of all of them.”

Social media sprang to life as word of the situation at the communities beloved Bohm became public along with the cancellation of the show. Words of encouragement to ACT II and the Bohm, came from those who had attended the performances Friday and Saturday as well as the public’s concern for the Bohm. City Watch reached out to Shane Williamson, the Executive Director of the Albion Community Foundation and Executive Director of the Bohm sent us this statement:

“The Bohm Theatre suffered a severe blow to its infrastructure overnight when a plumbing malfunction happened causing extreme flooding from the second floor down to the basement of the main historic Bohm Theatre. As you can imagine the staff and board are devastated that Albion’s arts and culture crown jewel is experiencing this situation.

We are fortunate to have insurance and a strong team of staff that helped mitigate damage. Cat Rec also was fast in responding to calls for help and have started the drying process. Over the next several days we will learn the extent of the damage and will be communicating openly about the path forward and when normal operations will continue. Bohm II now is serving as our movie screening theatre. Our thoughts are truly with Act II Community Theatre as this incident disrupted their third show of their inaugural show at the Bohm.

This is Devastating for their organization as they see large lost revenues from not being able to perform their third show. If you are wondering how you can help, please consider making a donation to both the Bohm Theatre and ACT II Community Theatre to support these organizations that have had some of the hardest times during the pandemic and in a shifting entertainment landscape post-Covid. And when things get taken care of; buy a membership, buy a ticket, support local arts right here in downtown Albion.”

Williamson also added “The Albion community foundation has been care taking the Bohm Theatre since the start of the pandemic and has been shepherding the Bohm through the new post-Covid 19 environment. “

Cliff Harris the President of the Bohm added “There was a plumbing leak, there is some damage, but we’ll be back and at this point I don’t think it will be that long.  We have experts on the way. As for time until we reopen? The experts haven’t made any evaluations yet.”