Fights at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix High School lead to a "lockdown." A recall effort begins against Albion's mayor and a member of the city council. WMU's women's soccer team loses at Eastern Michigan.
Fights between students caused a “lockdown” at one of Kalamazoo’s public high schools Thursday afternoon. The Kalamazoo Gazette says the lockdown at Loy Norrix High School was later lifted, but Public Safety officers remained at school afterwards. Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley says the incidents involved several fights between students in the high school’s cafeteria. Officers used pepper spray to break up the fights and one student was arrested.
A recall campaign has begun in Albion. MLive says recall petitions against the city's mayor and a city council member have been submitted for approval by the Calhoun County Clerk's office. Chase Baase filed the petitions. The former mayoral candidate says current Mayor Garrett Brown and Councilwoman Sonya Brown have violated Albion's city charter. He also says they created a hostile environment that led to the resignation of City Manager Sheryl Mitchell last week. Neither the mayor nor Councilwoman Brown would comment on the recall drive.
A lawsuit accuses the principal of Kalamazoo Loy Norrix High School of making unwanted advances. The federal sexual harassment lawsuit was filed by a former counselor at the high school. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports that the case is now in mediation in an attempt to reach a resolution. In the lawsuit, the former counselor says that she briefly dated principal Rodney Prewitt in 2013. She says the harassment began shortly after she told Prewitt that she did not have a romantic interest in him. The lawsuit also claims that Prewitt used his influence to prevent her from filling an assistant principal position. The counselor has since transferred to another school.
In women’s soccer, Western Michigan lost at Eastern Michigan Thursday 3-0. The Broncos play at Central Michigan on Sunday.