The Martin Luther King Jr. Day march was lovely and moving today, despite the wet snow and the cold. I was especially impressed with the local turn out, including the high school students and teachers who found time to participate. For photos check out Tuesday Morning Sun.

Also, the Rev. Jesse Jackson is speaking at CMU Tuesday, and there is a candlelight vigil Wednesday at CMU, all in honor of MLK.

On Monday, Central Michigan will name four assistant coaches to the coaching staff.

They include:
WR Coach and Assistant Head Coach: Zach Azzanni out of Bowling Green (was WR coach)
Def. Coordinator: Tim Banks out of Maryland (was DB coach)
Tight Ends Coach: Max Glowacki out of Wayne State (was TE coach)
O-Line Coach: Don Mahoney out of Tulane (was OL coach)

Each of the four assistants was a member of the 1994 Mid-American Conference Championship team at CMU as a player or coach.

More information will be available in Monday's edition of the Morning Sun and can also be read on www.themorningsun.com.

Today, employees at the Morning Star Publishing Company/Morning Sun intalled a green cross in front of the Commerce Center near the site where Mary Babb was slain.

More from Morning Sun employees in memory of Mary Babb

In Memory of a Friend

Days of quiet reflection,
are over now my friend.
But you will never ever be forgotten,
no reason your life had to end.

I’ve chosen to remember you,
in my own special way.
I won’t say ‘farewell’ to you,
I’ll just remember your smile each day.

Your never-ending energy, your smile,
the bounce within your step,
Are all engraved in my soul,
never to forget.

You left our earth too early,
of which I will never understand.
But your legacy is in your son,
who’ll grow up to be a wonderful man.

Sympathy, none given,
sympathy, none implied.
For the evil that lay inside a man,
who thought nothing of how you died.

He thought of only one person,
himself, an evil man.
Not of what he was taking away,
and the pain that he would cause.

Retribution is something that no one can escape,
surely not even an evil man like he.
I only wish that I could tell him now,
his soul will never, ever, be free.

You’re in a better place now friend,
surrounded by love, not fear.
And your spirit will be with me always,
through sunshine or silent tears.

May the glow and warmth of your heart,
shroud little Sam for years to come.
You’re his Guardian Angel now,
who better than his Mom.

See you on the other side, friend. JS

The Morning Sun will be posting thoughts, prayers and memories of Mary babb from our employees.

Mary, I wish I could have taken the pain in your life away and... I wish; like many of our talks in the breakroom, we could have went out and celebrated our divorce/freedom (you know what I mean).
You came into our lives for a reason --- to give us sunshine on a cloudy day.
My prayers go out to you, Sam and your family. Your sweet disposition was one to be cherished and now will shine bright in Sam.
God has taken one more angel from us to heaven.
You will be missed by all. Take care and God Bless!

-Candy Eichhorn

Yesterday was a very harrowing day at work. I happen to work at The Morning Sun, where yesterday, a coworker, who finally left her abusive son a bitch husband, was shot dead in our parking lot by him. Needless to say it was terrifying, actually I do not think terriffying does justice. You always here about that sort of stuff happening, however, it is not supposed to happen to someone you know, nor is it supposed to happen where you work. My heart goes out to her son, who is only just turned 3, and to her parents. To imagine what she was thinking and feeling would give the most hardened person nightmares for years to come.

My heart goes out to anyone who has ever been in an abusive relationship or to anyone that is currently in a abusive relationship. My thoughts and prayers are with you. How ironic is it that the justice system that is supposed to protect you can also let harm or death come to you. Be strong please.

The bastard that murdered by coworker actually waited for her to come out of the building. He rammed her SUV until it flipped over onto its roof. She tried getting out to no avail. He shot her twice in the chest with a shotgun.

My heart goes out to my friends that happened to be outside and saw the whole nightmarish ordeal. I can not even fathom having to deal with what you saw. It is enough just seeing and knowing what happened. You are my hero. My heart goes out to the people that tried feverishly to save her, even though they knew she was already gone. You too, are my hero, and will always be that, my hero.

Everyone plays the "what if" song in their head, when the truth is, he knew what he was going to do, there was no stopping him.

This whole thing got me thinking a lot about my family. My dear sweet family that I can not even try imagining having to live without. I pray that nothing ever happens to any of them. I would not be able to survive without your strength.

If you have never been in a building that has ever been put into a lockdown because of a psycho with a F150 and a gun, pray to God that you never are. It is truly the most horrible thing. Every time I close my eyes I see her. Every time I close my eyes I see the SUV flipped on its roof and people trying to save her life. I really hope no one has to ever experience such sadness and terror. I do know, however strange it is, that it is exactly what lots of people face all the time. And to all of you, I hope you find a way to cope, however that may be.

- Felicia Gross

Oh, My Mary...

With that Smile so bright like sunlight, a Laugh that was Musical like her soul. Her personality was that of Magical ...with a Love that was unmeasured.
To have you part of our lives and call you friend - Priceless... But, to have you so suddenly, and tragically taken from us - Unforgivable...
Oh, My Mary, you will NEVER be forgotten... Your sunlight, magic and love is the music we hear, you will be with us and live in us Forever.

-Michelle L. Bain - 1/11/07

It is hard to even describe how I feel. It is such a shock. A killing.....so brutal....right outside our front door......and a little 4 year old boy left behind with no mommy to love him..........whose life was was changed forever.........as soon as his father pulled the trigger. God rest your soul Mary............and God love your son.

-Joni Linville Pkg. Mngr.

I want people to know what an amazing friend Mary was – a smile to cheer someone or a kind word to someone scared. Mary was always optomistic, no matter how frightened she was. She was an amazing Mom. I'm honored to have been her friend. May God give you the peace you deserve Mary. You will never be forgotten.

-Janet Sowle

Thomas Daniel Babb was apprehended at around 7:10 pm in the Evart area. Babb is suspected of shooting and killing Mary Babb, in the Morning Sun parking lot early today.

Mary Babb, a Morning Sun sales representative, was shot and killed in the parking lot of the newspaper office about 4:30 Tuesday afternoon.

Babb, a longtime employee who had worked in both the Mt. Pleasant and Gaylord offices, was returning from sales calls when a man driving a Ford pickup truck rammed her SUV and pushed it several hundred feet.

Babb's SUV rolled over, and the man jumped from the truck and shot her twice with a long gun, believed to be a shotgun. He fled westbound on Pickard Street and is still at large at this hour.
Several newspaper employees and at least two customers witnessed the attack and shooting.
Morning Sun offices were in lockdown for an hour while police and ambulance crews responded. A Michigan State Police crime lab team was enroute to investigate the scene.

Mt. Pleasant school programs that were still open, including the PEAK after-school program, were also in lockdown mode.

Further details will be reported in Wednesday's edition of the Morning Sun.

-Post written by Morning Sun Executive Editor Rick Mills

At left, Butch Jones, Central Michigan University's new head football coach, and Athletic Director Dave Heeke clap along to CMU's fight song at the beginning of a press conference at CMU's Indoor Athletic Center in Mt. Pleasant Friday.

Sun photograph by Victor Fitzsimons

President Ford's hearse drives in to the Ford Museum Wednesday in this photo I took when Sue Field and I took a trip to Grand Rapids. Wednesday was the final day of ceremonies for the ex-President; his final resting place is on hill next to the museum. For more on the events check out http://themorningsun.com, or look for Sue's column in Thursday's Morning Sun.