Rod Keller digs in to a small mystery happening in Michigan…
In early October this sign appeared on a property in Birch Run, Michigan. Residents noticed; some began to Google “Narconon” and found it to be associated with Scientology. Township officials became concerned. They had received an application for an alcohol and drug rehab facility in February 2018 and had responded in August with a letter noting some deficiencies in the application. They haven’t heard back since. The application hadn’t mentioned Narconon, now were they opening the rehab facility without getting the proper permits?
The property at 7273 Birch Run Road was purchased in 2015 by Gregory and Lori Hetzer. There are seven bedrooms in the main house and three more over the four-car garage. Sitting on 10 acres, the estate has two ponds, a beach area, a volleyball court, indoor pool, exercise room, home theater, and four fireplaces. It’s a massive home and “The Castle” seems an appropriate name. The application says they plan to have up to 24 patients at a time in drug or alcohol rehab.
The Narconon sign came down on October 6. The Hetzers told township officials that Narconon visitors were flying in from California and they only wanted to offer them a warm welcome. They assured the officials that they had not opened without proper permits. The township isn’t so sure. “They are way back in the woods and we have no way of knowing what’s going on there,” one official tells us. Neighbors report an unusual number of cars coming and going to the estate.
Narconon is a subsidiary of Scientology. The Hetzers are Roman Catholics, and we can find no history of their membership in the church. They did not return requests for comment. Gregory is the author of The Battle, a book he describes as “about the rise of Donald Trump through though [sic] the Holy Spirit.” In it he describes spending his metal recycling fortune to buy seven ultrasound machines. Providing ultrasounds to pregnant women would encourage them to carry to term rather than seek an abortion. The plan for the Birch Run estate was to invite pregnant women to live there so they wouldn’t seek abortions.
That initiative is over; the Hetzers now say they can’t afford to keep the estate as a single family home and they plan to lease it to Narconon. At an October 9 zoning board meeting Lori Hetzer testified that she plans to live and work at the facility as a Registered Nurse. She denied that it was part of Scientology and they assured the board that there is no current activity, either as a drug rehab or a woman’s shelter.
If the couple refiles their application the zoning board would have to decide if a drug and alcohol rehab really fits the definition of the adult foster care facility permit they are seeking. So far it seems unlikely permission would be granted as a consultant concluded that the two are distinctly different uses. One official tells us they hope the application is never re-filed, and this situation goes away. That doesn’t seem likely.
Scientology has put out the word in to its members that they are hiring staff for Narconon Birch Run. The contact for this is Dennis Homant, who lists himself as Director of Narconon Freedom Center in Albion, MI. That Narconon closed in June according to the Michigan Bureau of Community and Health Systems, but it appears to be another case of Scientology figure Per Wickstrom closing a Narconon and reopening it under another name — in this case Awakenings Rehabilitation.
For years Wickstrom has run rehabs and detox centers in Michigan and Indiana which either had some connection to Narconon, or used Narconon materials while not actually in the Narconon system, or as appears to be the case now, have all cut off ties with Narconon. It also appears that he has no tie to the Birch Run experiment.
Residents and officials of Birch Run are waiting for the next step. Dennis Homant is being trained as the new Executive Director at Narconon Suncoast in Clearwater, Florida, the spiritual headquarters of Scientology. It seems clear that Scientology intends to move forward now on this stalled application. If the neighbors hope it will all go away they will probably be disappointed.
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We previously reported that in the Netherlands Scientology intends to re-open Narconon Zutphen as an Ideal Narconon. Algemeen Dagblad reported this week that the existing building has been closed because the interior was completely worn out, and that Narconon is looking for a building elsewhere in The Netherlands.
— Rod Keller
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Bonus items from our tipsters
Well, you knew this was coming…
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Scientology’s celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs’ — now with comments!
We’re building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs.’ We’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them, in order to build a record and maintain a watch as Scientology continues its inexorable decline — and yes, we finally have comments working on these new pages! Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.
Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!
Today’s Ideal Org: Detroit, Michigan!
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Now on sale: Twice the Miss Lovely!
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. What a pleasure it is for us to work with her on this after we wrote about her ordeal as a victim of Scientology’s “Fair Game” campaigns in our 2015 book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, which is also on sale in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions.
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] ‘Scientology is dying’: John Brousseau on the decline of Int Base and fate of Shelly Miscavige
[TWO years ago] Leonard Cohen: This awful year strikes again with the loss of a transcendent genius
[THREE years ago] Under oath, Narconon official lets slip that drug rehab organized just like Scientology
[FOUR years ago] Kim Poff fired by Oklahoma agency after stories (including ours) described Scientology dispute
[FIVE years ago] SCIENTOLOGY SUPER POWER COUNTDOWN: Six Days to Blast-Off!
[SIX years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: Tom Cruise’s Son Connor Fights the North Koreans!
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 11, 2018 at 07:00
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Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
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