Ortonville- After 29 years as the senior center coordinator, Wilma Merritt is retiring. Merritt, 72, started her coordinator assignment at the Brandon Senior Center (now known as the Edna Burton Senior Center) in 1977. ‘She’s been the first and only senior center coordinator,? says Jeannie McCreery, township clerk. ‘She’s been there from the very inception. […]
PFC Eugene Schudlich is missing the firsts. His first anniversary, his daughter’s first taste of baby food, her first crawl. ‘It’s really sad,? says his wife, Amber Schudlich, 20. ‘He’s going to miss out on first everything pretty much.? Schudlich, 24, is deployed to Iraq as a Chinook helicopter mechanic in the Army. Serving his […]
In a three-month visit to India, Matt Milligan encountered food poisoning, pollution, squalor, scam artists, and extreme poverty. But the Groveland Township resident is glad he went and plans to return someday. ‘India is a very interesting place,? Milligan, 20, says. ‘It was very worth it.? The 2003 BHS graduate spent last semester in India […]
Goodrich- Tim Jones spent 10 years pursuing a bachelor’s degree, working in restaurants to put himself through school. But after he received his degree from the University of Michigan in resource planning and was in the middle of a job search, an opportunity arose not in the field he’d studied, but in the one he […]
Brandon Twp.- Christine Gatton says Christmas wouldn’t have happened for her family without the help of the Ortonville Community Emergency Fund. Gatton, a single mother and Ortonville resident, works both a full-time job in Rochester as a direct-care provider and a part-time job to make ends meet and support her four children, aged 9, 3, […]
Brandon Twp.- Voters will be asked in August 2006 to approve the restoration of .3981 mills to the township’s operating tax rate on property. Approval would bring the total mills that the township could levy to 1.41, the amount voters authorized in 1978. The Headlee Amendment, which limits property tax revenues to the rate of […]
Solutions for the library By Susan Bromley Brandon Twp.- The police are out, but a ‘Center for the Afterschool Crowd? is in. The Community Afterschool Taskforce is out, but a taskforce to consider a community center is in. The Brandon Township Library staff and community members have been busy working on solutions to the library’s […]
Brandon Twp.- During a special meeting Dec. 14, the township board adopted a $2,170,345 operating budget as well as approved a 2.5 percent raise for elected officials and all township employees. Both the budget and the raises were approved by a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor Ron Lapp, Clerk Jeannie McCreery and trustees Tom Stowell and […]
Community Emergency Response Team By Susan Bromley Brandon Twp.- In the event of a terrorist act or natural disaster, the community has a new line of defense in addition to traditional professional emergency services. The Community Emergency Response Team program was begun shortly after Sept. 11, 2001 as part of President George W. Bush’s Citizen […]
Brandon Twp.- Mathew Daigle grew up during the Great Depression. He was one of three senior citizens at the Edna Burton Senior Center and others who recently shared their memories of Christmases when they were children. Toys weren’t plentiful for Daigle during Christmas in the 1930s, in fact, they were pretty rare. Daigle felt fortunate […]