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December 3, 2003Charges against protesters droppedByRecord-Eagle staff writer PETOSKEY - Trespassing charges were dropped this week against four protesters who refused to leave Northern Michigan Hospital this summer. Hospital management requested charges be dismissed against Stephen Brede, Linda Badalucco, Jim Norgaard and Quentin Kuebler, members of a grassroots group called Citizens to Save Healthcare. They were arrested following two incidents at the hospital's administrative offices on July 29 and Aug. 7. Group members entered the offices and refused to leave until hospital officials disclosed how much they are spending for an ongoing nurses strike. The four were set for trial next Monday, but Emmet County District Judge Richard May granted Prosecutor Robert Engel's request for dismissal. Hospital spokesman Thomas Spencer confirmed NMH officials requested the charges be dropped. "We didn't see any need for it to go any further," he said. "We got what we wanted, which was getting the individuals out of the hospital. These individuals came here for the reason of disrupting our operations." Brede said he and other group members were glad the charges were dismissed, but had looked forward to attempting to cross-examine hospital officials on their strike-related expenditures. "It was something we certainly would have asked about," Brede said. "Maybe we could have found out why they didn't want to give us the answers."
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