Is There a Cougar Lurking in Battle Creek?

Laura Hammer reported seeing "a large cat-like animal with a long, fat tail in Jacaranda Estates (suburb in Battle Creek)" on Sunday. This isn't the first report of cougar sightings in west Michigan. Lately, there have been a number of reported sightings, but those have come from rural areas. An officer with the Battle Creek Police Department's Animal Control unit found the prints left by the animal in question not to have been made by a deer or domestic cat. It is possible that this case will be forwarded to the DNR.

The odds are good that if indeed it was a cougar that Hammer spotted it most likely was an illegal pet that either escaped or someone just let loose. The DNR says that there are no wild cougars breeding in Michigan.

Recently, in Lawrence, MI there was a deer kill that was reported to have been made by a cougar that is currently being nvestigated. The number of cougar sightings has continually increased in west Michigan as of late. It makes one wonder if perhaps the DNR is wrong.

Maybe the DNR isn't totally wrong in their stance. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possiblity that there are actually cougars breeding in Michigan, but they came into the wild as pets turned loose. Therefore, they wouldn't technically be "wild", but I still wouldn't want to run into one.

WWMT - Digital Channel 3

Motel Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to be Razed

The Snowflake Motel gathers numerous opinions on architectural taste. Some think that this building designed using the principles of Frank Lloyd Wright is a building that exudes fun and uniqueness. Others find the building ugly and cannot wait for it to be torn down. In 1998, the Snowflake Motel was added to the National Register of Historic Places. However, this does not prevent it from being torn down. The hotel garners its name from the shape the six buildings create - a snowflake. Though you can only tell this from the air.

Read the full article -

HERALD-PALLADIUM

Detroit Man Claims Lotto Jackpot Hours Before Deadline

A Detroit man came within 4 1/2 hours of missing the deadline to claim his $1.5 million winnng lotto ticket. The man had purchased the winning ticket a year ago and placed it in the pocket of a jacket he didn't care to wear. Evidently he never paid attention to the winning numbers of the lottery until a story in The Detroit News jogged his memory and he new he was the winner. Let that be a lesson to you. If you play the lottery, always check to see if your numbers won and never wear a jacket that you don't like ;).

Catch the full story here - Dad finds $1.5M ticket in pocket-Detroiter claims lottery winnings hours before big prize would have expired.

The Leetsville Shoe Tree

Hundreds of lost soles (ooh, pun number one) have made their way to the branches of a big maple tree on the west side of U.S. 131. When the maple sheds its leaves each fall the shoes, sandals, and work boots numbering around 100, become the new foliage. The shoes are hanging there throughout the year, but are more apt to be seen after the leaves have fallen from this mighty maple. It takes some real sole-searching (ouch, the puns are killing me) to get to the origination of this mysterious maple malady. We came upon the tree in a way that I am sure most folks do. We were taking U.S. 131 south as we traveled home from northern Michigan. We topped a hill just south of Leetsville (between Mancelona and Kalkaska) and in the valley below on the west side of the road we saw a very peculiar looking tree. We pulled off the road for a closer look and some pictures. Needless to say, we were not the only ones to do so at that time. There must have been six or eight other vehicles that stopped to gaze upon this roadside oddity.

Now, back to the origins of the Leetsville Shoe Tree. Some locals say that is all began with just a pair or two thrown upon the maple's branches. Possibly as a prank of some sort by some road weary travelers who needed an excuse to stop and get some fresh air. Others think that it began with the nearby Kalkaska High students tossing their shoes upon the lofty branches just for fun. Regardless of the reasons, the shoe tree most likely began like all other shoe trees. One or two pairs were thrown up in the tree and when they were spotted, others joined in and now there are nearly a hundred shoes in the tree with some almost 70 feet high.

If you go:

Just south of Leetsville (between Kalkaska and Mancelona) on the west side of U.S. 131.