Brandon Twp.- If 300,000 barrels worth of heavy crude oil is to flow daily through a new pipeline, two 6,000 horsepower pumps will be needed here to aid it on its way. Each pump is only 3 feet high and six feet long, but they are causing plenty of controversy, particularly because a structure proposed […]
Ortonville- For decades, bringing sewers to the village has been little more than a topic of discussion from time to time. But years of all talk and no action are finally changing and sewers could be a reality within the village if the council continues on their current course. ‘In 50 years, we’ve never been […]
Brandon Twp.- Fred Waybrant is taking a vacation, but it won’t be a permanent one. The township recreation director fielded questions from township board members, maintained his composure and kept his job during an employee review hearing July 22 at the library. ‘In the first five minutes of the Q and A, I started to […]
The first day of school is more than a month away, but it’s on the minds of many, in good ways and bad. Karyn Milligan, director of the Ortonville Community Emergency Fund food pantry, has already had inquiries from some OCEF clients about receiving help with school supplies. ‘If they are already asking in the […]
Ortonville- The Batson family has some of the coolest kids on the block thanks to two local charities. When temperatures recently soared past 90 degrees, Jennifer Batson’s worries soared, too. She and her husband, Matt, have three daughters, Sidney, 7, Katerina, 2, and Ava, 3-months-old. Their middle child was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was […]
Brandon Twp.- Patrick Montgomery began a speech at the July 16 Brandon School Board meeting by quoting Abraham Lincoln. ‘Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor and could never have existed if labor had not existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher […]
Brandon Twp.- Julie Pretty felt a surge of emotion last month as history was made with two U.S. Supreme Court rulings that are widely considered as victories for same sex marriage. The court struck down as unconstitutional the Defense of Marriage Act, passed in 1996 and which only recognized marriage as between a man and […]
Brandon Twp.- It is ‘profoundly unpalatable? to LeAnne Schmidt to borrow money to pay on debt. However, that is exactly what the school board is forced to do, and during their July 16 meeting, Schmidt and the other six board members voted to approve borrowing up to $4 million from the state School Bond Loan […]
Brandon Twp.- An employee hearing for embattled Recreation Director Fred Waybrant will be held at 6 p.m., July 22, at the library, 304 South St. It is undetermined whether the hearing will be held in open or closed session. Waybrant had not seen any agenda, nor received any correspondence from any of the township board […]
Ortonville- Heritage Garden renovations are nearing completion. The native landscape project, which includes the garden next to the Old Town Hall as well as a buffer by Kearsley Creek at the Old Mill, has been getting a makeover since last fall when volunteers began the arduous task of pulling up quack grass that had flourished […]