A Michigan minor league team plans to offer its fans an oink-tastic treat this summer.   

Those who come to see the West Michigan Whitecaps play will have the opportunity to chow down on a Baco, a taco with a specially made bacon shell.

The Baco was the top vote-getter in the fourth annual Whitecaps food contest, which determines Fifth Third Ballpark’s next culinary delight.

The team narrowed to 10 a list of more than 150 fan-submitted menu ideas and turned the contest over to the fans.

The second-place finisher was The Bad Joke, a corn dog covered in cheese with two strips of duck bacon in a hotdog bun.

Previous winners of the food contest include Chicks with Sticks and the Declaration of Indigestion. They’ve since been retired from the menu.

–––––––––––––––––

A Wishy-Washy Proposal

A Detroit-area couple who became stranded on an island last year exchanged vows in a wedding ceremony that — unlike the elaborate proposal that prompted their rescue — went according to plan.

WDIV-TV reports Nathan Bluestein and May Gorial were married at Assumption Grotto Catholic Church in Detroit.

Bluestein and Gorial set out by canoe in September in Wild Fowl Bay near Caseville, about 110 miles north of Detroit. Gorial accepted the proposal, but strong wind and waves kept them from returning to shore. Bluestein had planned the proposal for months.

The two talked and snapped pictures, and didn’t realize they were too far from land. They ended up on North Island, unprepared for the weather.

Two Huron County sheriff’s deputies rescued them.

Source: WDIV-TV, http://www.clickondetroit.com

–––––––––––––––––

Seeking Atonement

A burglar expressing guilt about stealing $800 from a western Michigan store three decades ago has repaid the money, plus some interest.

The anonymous thief sent a note and $1,200 in $100 bills to the Barry County sheriff’s department in Hastings, and they arrived one Monday, WOOD-TV reported.

The writer admitted breaking into the Middle Mart on Michigan 37 in Thornapple Township north of Middleville about 30 years ago.

In a letter packed with emotion and spelling errors, the writer asks for “help in locating a man” to whom the writer owes the money.

“Anyways, I did a very bad thing that I am shamed of and have lived with this guilt,” the writer said. “I can’t begin to say how sorry iam but have lived with this guilt too long,” the letter went on to say. “If you do find him, please tell him that I was afoolish stupid man when I did that and iam sorrie.”

The letter was unsigned and had no return address.

The $1,200, while it includes some interest, falls short of making up for the loss in the dollar’s purchasing power over the intervening years. The stolen $800 would be worth about $1,800 today, based on changes in the consumer price index.

WOOD-TV said the former owner of the store, now called Greg’s Get-N-Go, confirmed it was broken into in the 1980s. The store was sold in 1988.

Undersheriff Bob Baker said the letter and cash came as quite a surprise.

“This doesn’t happen every day,” Baker said. He said the department isn’t interested in reopening the case because of the time that has passed.

Source: WOOD-TV, http://www.woodtv.com

–––––––––––––––––

Unfriending Issues

A western Michigan woman is accused of creating a Facebook account to stalk herself.

Cheryl Nelson, a 52-year-old from the Grand Rapids area, complained to sheriff’s deputies that she was the victim of stalking, harassment and other crimes. But authorities learned that she set up a Facebook account with her ex-boyfriend’s information and made it appear that his new girlfriend was using it to harass her.

Detective Jason Russo of the sheriff’s department says Nelson couldn’t let go of her relationship with her former boyfriend.

MLive.com reports that Nelson is charged with falsely reporting a felony. She could not be reached for comment. There is no listing for a home number.

Source: The Grand Rapids Press, http://www.mlive.com/grand-rapids