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Week of Thursday, July 22, 2004Clerk candidate has By KATHLEEN CONAT Samantha Adkins-Buescher, who is a candidate for Ypsilanti Township clerk, has a criminal conviction on her record, but Buescher said that fact doesn’t tell the whole story. There have been two legal proceedings in which Buescher was involved, one as a witness and the other as the defendant. Rumors about Buescher’s past have been circulating since she announced she was running for office. In the first case, Buescher testified before the Michigan Board of Medicine in a case against a doctor for whom she worked that she had altered a patient’s consent to surgery form according to the directions given by her employer, the doctor, in 1992. According to her testimony, Buescher received a call from the doctor in the evening and went to the office to alter the document that night. When interviewed, Buescher said she believed that alteration to be preceding surgery the following morning. In fact, the surgery had been done the previous day. The doctor received a three-month suspension of his license and one year probation. Buescher was not charged. In the second case, Buescher was accused of practicing as a health professional without a license, a felony, and eventually agreed to plead guilty to the misdemeanor charge of unauthorized use of the title of a health care professional. According to court documents, Joan Chesler, executive director of the Corner Health Center in Ypsilanti, made a police report on May 4, 1995, complaining that Buescher had worked at the clinic as a licensed practical nurse from January 1994 through April 1995. According to the record, Chesler said that at the time of Buescher’s employment Buescher had provided the clinic with a photocopy of a certificate of license. Later, Chesler said she became suspicious of Buescher and contacted the Michigan State Department of Commerce and learned Buescher had never been licensed as a practical nurse. According to the report, Buescher was then fired from Corner Health Center. According to police records, Chesler provided investigators with a typed letter from Buescher, stating she would provide a copy of a medical license to complete her personnel file. That letter was not part of the files reviewed for this story. On July 17, 1996, a warrant was issued for Buescher’s arrest. On Jan. 28, 1997, she appeared before Judge Betty R. Widgeon for a preliminary examination. At that time, in a plea bargain agreement, she pled guilty to the lesser charge of Unauthorized Use of a Title in the Health Profession, a misdemeanor, in exchange for the prosecution dropping the felony charge. Buescher differed with the court record on several points. She said she began as a volunteer at the Corner Health Center and eventually became a part-time paid employee, working between 10 and 12 hours a week at the clinic. "Corner opened my eyes to the many kids who have unmet needs, medically, no insurance, and the clinic can’t keep up," she said. "It showed me there were things in the community I could do." She said the title of "clinic nurse" was given to all employees, but she never acted in the capacity of a nurse. Buescher began her business, Crime Prevention Security, in 1992, working from her home. She said it was a natural move after her previous employment as a police officer with the Putnam County, Ohio, Sheriff's Department and Columbus Grove (Ohio) Police Department. She said she left her part-time position with Corner Health Center when her business grew to the point she needed to give it her full-time attention. The arrest the following year was, according to Buescher, traumatic. "It was one of the worst periods of my life," she said. "My mother was dying of cancer; my livelihood was being threatened, and I had three children to raise and protect." On the advice of her attorney and knowing her security license could be suspended during lengthy trial proceedings, Buescher said she chose to accept the plea bargain. "It was a business decision," she said. "As a single mother, my family depended on that income. You can’t go to a client and say, ‘Gee, I’ve run into some problems and could you get someone else to patrol your complex while I straighten this out, then hire me back when I do.’ It doesn’t work that way. If you lose them, they’re gone for good." According to the other members of her campaign team, Buescher was open about the incident from the beginning. "She’s been honest about it and hasn’t shied away from questions," said State Rep. Ruth Ann Jamnick, who is running for township supervisor on the slate with Buescher. "She’s demonstrated that she has gone on to be a good citizen and clearly wants to serve the community." Buescher has a record of community service. She is the founder of the Blanket Express, which provides blankets to low-income families. She has also worked as chair and co-chair of Ypsi PRIDE, helped with Coats for Children, given single working parents seminars and provided car seats for the children of her employees. Scott Martin, candidate for township treasurer on the same ticket, said he first met Buescher when he was trying to clean up a baseball field and asked for help. "This woman showed up with a bunch of people and tools and equipment and they worked until it was done. Then she disappeared. It was kind of like ‘Who is that masked stranger?’" Martin said. David Ostrowski, candidate for township trustee, said, "Sam has my full support. She’s been open about this for years." He cited Buescher’s business background as an important component to what she can offer the township. Derrick Jackson, also a candidate for township trustee, said he met Buescher through the Blanket Express and was impressed by her dedication to helping the community. "I knew about the record," Jackson said. "She told me when we decided to run together." |
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