Board takes first steps toward school advertising

Brandon Twp.- School district officials are pursuing advertising revenue as a partial solution to the budget crisis they are facing. School boardmembers approved at their March 8 board meeting a memorandum of understanding with Alternative Revenue Development, a Bloomfield Hills-based company that aims to bring new and innovative revenue streams to school districts around the […]

Ortonville man charged with drunk driving in Ferndale

A 53-year-old Ortonville man who left a trail of destruction in Ferndale has been charged with drunk driving and heroin possession. Ronald Eugene Lamm has been arraigned on a charge of operating while intoxicated, second offense, a 1-year misdemeanor as well as a charge of possession of a controlled substance under 25 grams, a 4-year […]

Relay for Life kick-off

Ortonville- This June, the community will have an opportunity to pull together for 24 hours with a common goal? to fight cancer, remember those who lost their battle to the disease, and celebrate survivors. The third annual Relay for Life of Brandon/Ortonville is planned for June 19-20 at the Brandon Schools Athletic Complex on Varsity […]

Mediation: Peers Making Peace

Brandon Twp.- When two students were having an argument at Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School last week, Matt Read stepped in to help. ‘We talked about it, got them to agree on something and they basically solved it themselves, we just coached them along,? said the fifth-grader. ‘After we were done, I felt good, because we […]

Brandon swimmers tops in Metro League

They are pond swimmers no more? competitive swimming has come a long way at Brandon High School. When Todd Duncan joined the teaching staff at Brandon High School in 2002, there was no swim team, only a swim club with 10 participants. In 2005, swimming became a varsity sport, with 48 members on the girls […]

Developers, variance seekers to pay more

Brandon Twp.- Commercial developers or individuals seeking permission for something a township ordinance does not allow will be paying more in Brandon? in some cases, nearly double? after the board unanimously approved increases in the planning commission fee schedule during their March 1 meeting. ‘If you’re a user of the system, you have to pay […]

“It’s a world we don’t even relate to”

Oxford resident Rhonda Hervey was half-a-world away from her husband Mark on Valentine’s Day, but she has a new appreciation for the sacrifice he is making for them as he works and lives in Qatar, a wealthy Arab emirate located on a peninsula in the Persian Gulf. ‘I have a new level of understanding of […]

‘Rare Breed? saved

Atlas Twp.- On the side of Jim Betzing’s red 1957 Chevy Sedan Delivery are the words ‘Rare Breed,? fitting because he says the classic car is one of only 30 in the country. On Feb. 19, Betzing’s unique vehicle was saved from extinction, as he and kind passersby pushed it out of his garage, which […]

Destination Haiti: ‘They were on the edge of hell?

People around the world scrambled to offer whatever aid they could when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti last month. Two local men were among the few that were able to reach the devastated country in the chaotic days immediately following the tragedy. Bob Lambert, a Village of Ortonville resident, and Adam Stith, a Brandon […]

FAIL: 24 hours without computers in district

By Susan Bromley Staff Writer Brandon Twp.- The days before computers may seem like a distant memory, but for students and staff in the district it was a reality for about 24 hours this week as technology failed. At around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, every computer in the district, roughly 1,600 of them, went down when […]