Interim Albion College President Joe Calvaruso and Chief Financial Officer Gary Black have been instructed to sell.
Interim Albion College President Joe Calvaruso
The college Trustees Executive Committee has told them to start selling all the properties purchased under former Albion College President Mat Johnson to help raise funds for the cash strapped school. Johnson resigned last December after his very public altercation with an elderly Albion woman and icon.
Former College President Mat Johnson
Readers should remember that Johnson with the help of Attorney Richard Lindsey Jr., who at the time was the local school board President, were buying property throughout the city. These land purchases caused great concern for residents due to the fact that Marshall Public Schools was trying to pass a school bond in which some of that money would build a desperately needed Elementary School in Albion
Many claims from the public that Lindsey’s involvement with the college as a paid consultant was illegal along with what at the time was Johnsons attempt to force his plan of building the elementary school on some of this purchased college land was a major reason the Bond issue was soundly defeated.
Richard Lindsey former School Board President and lawyer
The college Trustees have also officially put on hold any work that was planned for the Washington Gardner High School. This means the three million already spent on the steam tunnel that ripped up streets, and that was only partially complete for the Gardner project was all for nothing.
City Watch has learned though from sources that during the construction phase of the steam tunnels the college discovered their physical plant was too small to supply steam to the new building anyway, according to sources that was another reason the college had to stop the project. City Watch has attempted several times to get any comment on this, but Calvaruso has not given any response to City Watch.
College executives have been told moving forward that these actions are needed for cash flow as the college must stop raiding endowment funds.
City Watch NEWS has learned that Albion College, the City of Albions top employer, is facing significant revenue loss, and this is going to cause layoffs in the coming weeks according to sources. On June 30 of this year a first round of Layoffs or job eliminations occurred with the affected employees being told not to share that information with the press. City Watch spoke with sources who said, “it almost seems like the employees were threatened”. When asked if they had direct knowledge of employees being threatened, the source said they did not directly hear it but spoke to one of the employees involved and that is how they took the “no talking to the press” statement.
Letter to Staff
City Watch has been given a copy of an email sent by Cathy Cole to staff on Friday July 15 at 4:40 P.M. Here is the email:
The subject line said “saving money just makes “cents”
Good afternoon,
This is a tough year, economically. Inflation is at record highs, the stock market is continuing to tumble and gas is at prices the likes of which we have never experienced. As much as this impacts your personal budget at home, it is also impacting our budget at Albion College.
Everyone at Albion College can be good stewards in managing the budget. We ask each department to come in under budget this year to help the institution meet its financial needs, build for the future and get through a difficult 2022.
Before spending any amount this fiscal year, please ask yourself, “Does this impact students?” If it does, how? Will they be impacted negatively? Will their experience be altered significantly? If not, do we really need to spend the money THIS year? Can the conference be put off until next year? Can we eke another year out of that copier? Can we not order those water bottles this year? Can we ask everyone to brown bag it for the lunch meeting and presentation? Can one person travel instead of four? Let’s take every opportunity we have to make “cents” out of our spending.
For this one year, we can work together to make a difference and save as much as we can, where we can. In the next few days, we will send out information about a spending approval process that will make saving easier. We will also send out information about how you can be a budget hero — one dollar at a time.
Look for the emails next week. We’ll also send invitations to fall Town Halls as we get closer to the beginning of the semester. A little “change” will help us all.
Thank you,
The Office of Business and Finance
Financial Problems
It has been reported here on City Watch that Albion College has been dipping into their endowment funds for the last several years. According to sources the college is in the hole again to the tune of millions. Former college President Mat Johnson who resigned/Let go, depends on who you talk to, was hired by the Board of Trustees solely to raise money and help right the school finances. Instead, he spent money “like a drunken sailor” said one staff member. One needs to remember that Johnson had no real-life experience in a significant leadership role and that the last job he was at, Brown University, he was demoted for unspecified public reasons prior to coming to Albion.
Mat Johnson former College President
He created departments and “schools” which in turn hired a significant number of staff, these newly hired Department heads, Johnson appointees, have not been released. Johnson was also making financial promises to every community organization and leader in Albion that would benefit him, promises that he never backed up and having the college paying off the huge debt of Dave Diemert’s former construction company to then turn around and place Diemert in a position of authority under the new construction company name of WG Construction Company now owned by the college. This venture has several employees at the college receiving scrutiny for their involvement in WG and the amount of money funneled through it.
Johnson was doing this all the while the college sunk deeper in debt. It’s been no secret by staff there were problems, but some were shocked at the level of debt the school carries.
Johnsons’ influence at Albion appears to continue. City Watch has spoken to two different employees who state they are aware of senior staff appointees of his who regularly talk to him. It is for this reason that many at the college still fear for their jobs. His high-level appointees have appeared to have a free pass and continue to hire employees. “During Johnsons purge” said one staffer, “he pushed out good people and brought in his flunkies to do his bidding”. The source continued that many are fearful that they will be released as these Johnson appointees and the people they hired remain.
Stay connected to City Watch and follow this and other stories.
As the search comes to an end for the elusive alligator things slowly return to normal. Albion College released a statement via their Facebook page that the Whitehouse Nature Center would reopen as usual. They stated “Staff consulted with state and local wildlife experts and followed their advice about when and how to conduct searches along the trails and Kalamazoo River. The College followed the instructions precisely and found no evidence of an alligator at this time in the Whitehouse Nature Center”.
What this means is that there are no obvious signs of an alligator beyond the two separate witness reports. Now this does not mean that BRITagator isn’t out there. So, as you walk the trails and float the river be aware of your surroundings because you never know if ole “BRIT” will appear again.
BRITagator, the name given to the elusive alligator swimming in the Kalamazoo River around Whitehouse Nature Center on the campus of Albion College has not been seen since its first sightings. Authorities have been tight lipped so far about their searches and continue to have the Nature Center closed out of an abundance of caution.
City Watch will bring updates as soon as we get them.
The following is from Albion College Facebook page.
Over the weekend, Albion College received two independent sightings of a possible alligator in the Kalamazoo River at the Whitehouse Nature Center.
The College is working directly with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and other local agencies to resolve the situation as safely and quickly as possible.
While there has been no confirmation of an alligator after multiple searches, Albion College is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of the campus and the surrounding community.
As a result, the Whitehouse Nature Center will remain closed until further notice.
Out of an abundance of caution, the Whitehouse Nature Center will be closed Sunday, July 10, 2022.
Today, there were two independent signtings of what is thought to be a four- to five-foot alligator at around the same time in the same vicinity earlier today in the Kalamazoo River where it runs through the Nature Center. The College is in communication with local and state experts and is working toward a resolution as quickly as possible.
For your safety, we ask that you stay away from the areas near the Nature Center and remain vigilant around bodies of water.
Update 1: A hiker allegedly saw the alligator swimming in the Kalamazoo River claiming it was around 5 feet long then contacted authorities initially.
Press release
Albion College Facebook post:
Earlier today, July 9, 2022, a person reported seeing what they thought was an alligator while hiking in the Whitehouse Nature Center. College staff investigated but did not locate an alligator. The College is working with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to determine the next steps.
In the meantime, we urge everyone to stay away from the area while the College works with authorities to locate and remove the alligator.
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.
Attendees wait for the start of the ceremony.
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.
Plaque honoring Pee Wee baseball and Jerry Sacharski
The Sacharski brothers Left to right: Mike, Will and Dave
Pee Wee ball player Mitch Lutzke acted as moderator
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.
Janet Domingo speaks
Pee Wee ball player John Sims shares his stories
Waverly Short Pee Wee baseball player talks
Left, Linda Kolmodin with Janet Domingo right
Short and Sims unveil plaque
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.
Current T-Ball players in Albion. Some day they will appreciate what was started here in Albion 67 years ago today.
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.
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.
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