After more than a year of negotiations, Okemos Public Schools and its teachers have reached a new contract agreement.
The deal comes following lengthy discussions between the district and the teachers union, with benefits and pay serving as the primary sticking points throughout negotiations. Details of the agreement have not yet been released.
Meanwhile, Michigan lawmakers have reached an agreement on a state budget despite missing the July 1 deadline for the upcoming fiscal year. House Speaker Matt Hall said the spending plan totals more than $75 billion. Legislators worked through the overnight and early morning hours to finalize the agreement.
In Clinton County, authorities have identified the man killed in a two-vehicle crash last weekend on U.S. 127 near St. Johns. The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office says 64-year-old Anthony Boushee of Elsie died in the collision, which happened around 4:15 p.m. Sunday.
Investigators say Boushee was attempting to turn onto the southbound highway from Maple Rapids Road when his vehicle was struck by another southbound vehicle. The driver of the second vehicle, a 51-year-old woman, along with her 80-year-old passenger, were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Authorities in Shiawassee County are also investigating a drowning involving a father who disappeared while swimming with his 8-year-old son Thursday. Officials say the man left the designated swimming area of a lake at a campground on Krouse Road near Owosso. The child was not injured.
A bill introduced in Congress would rename the Charlotte post office after a local Medal of Honor recipient. Congressman Tom Barrett’s legislation would designate the facility as the Francis C. Flaherty Post Office Building. Flaherty, a sailor from the area, was killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
In Livingston County, a 23-year-old construction worker died Wednesday after a trench collapsed near Fowlerville. Sheriff’s officials say the incident happened at a worksite near Grand River Avenue and Nicholson Road. Authorities noted it was the third trench-collapse accident reported in Michigan within two days.
The Michigan Department of Corrections also confirmed another death at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Washtenaw County. Officials say 62-year-old Dalephenia Jones died Thursday, two weeks after suffering a cardiac event. Her death marks the fourth reported at the prison in the past two months.
Independence Day festivities are getting underway across mid-Michigan, with one of the region’s largest celebrations taking place tonight in Mason. The annual parade is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., followed by fireworks shortly after 10 p.m. at the Ingham County Fairgrounds.
