OCR Text |
Show Small Community Is Frightened by Five Fires in One Night GREENVILLE, Mich. The small town of Greenville was so frightened fright-ened recently by a series of fires that at every home one member remained on guard during the night. The Michigan national guard was also called to the town to patrol. Before the night was over one church was destroyed and one was considerably damaged. Acting on a tip from Mrs. Harold Godfrey who said she saw a slender young man standing on the edge of crowds laughing hysterically, police po-lice arrested Vernon Mevis, 22-year-old factory worker. Mevis admitted setting the fires. , The youth said he was on his . way to work at a refrigerator plant I when he decided to "have some fun". He started looking for "places for good fires." i "I don't know why I do this," I Mevis cried. "But it just comes on me and I can't help myself." " Police officials said the newly redecorated Congregational Church . was gutted, while the blaze in the nearby Methodist Church was confined con-fined to the basement. Fires in a barbershop, a Western Union office, and a parked truck caused consid- ' crable damage also. In all, the damage dam-age was estimated at $175,000. During the past year the town r had several serious fires with dam-, dam-, age amounting to thousands of dol-s dol-s lars. Police said they would ques-3 ques-3 tion Mevis to learn if he was connected con-nected with them. |