Fire budget woes pinned on pensions

Fire budget woes pinned on pensions

Staffing changes could improve service, chief says BY MATT MACKINDER Clarkston News Staff Writer Increasing pension costs are close to crashing the Independence Township Fire Department’s budget, warns township Supervisor Pat Kittle and Independence Township Fire Chief Mitch Petterson. The fire department operates on a $6 million yearly budget, and its 2019 labor expenses are […]

Sashabaw work enters next phase

BY MATT MACKINDER Clarkston News Staff Writer Construction on Sashabaw Road will switch sides in the next couple weeks. Paving work on the southbound lanes from I-75 to Clarkston Road was to begin on Tuesday, with work on the shoulders and driveways starting on Thursday. There will be a stop sign added and lane shifts […]

Township urged to reconsider cannabis business

BY MATT MACKINDER Clarkston News Staff Writer Would a cannabis business work in Independence Township? Two area women think so, presenting the idea to the Board of Trustees on Aug. 20. The Township Board approved and adopted a zoning ordinance amendment prohibiting marijuana establishments in the township earlier this year. But emergency administrative rules for […]

Lock doors to thwart thefts

BY MATT MACKINDER Clarkston News Staff Writer A reader went on Facebook in the early hours of July 26 and posted a warning to area residents. “Hate that I have to write this…LOCK YOUR CAR DOORS!! Car burglar is back.. around cranberry lake road/ Holcomb road.. long story short, my car door passenger side doesn’t […]

Questions of safety on new safety path

BY MATT MACKINDER Clarkston News Staff Writer The swamp safety path currently being installed on Clintonville Road between Waldon and Maybee roads is sagging, according to reader Michael Powell, who sent an email to The Clarkston News recently. “In the last ‘Township Times,’ Supervisor (Pat) Kittle mentions rain as being the reason for the lack […]

Intersection under scrutiny after recent accident

BY MATT MACKINDER Clarkston News Staff Writer After a July 30 traffic accident at the intersection of Clintonville and Mann roads where three cars were involved, an area resident voiced his displeasure in an email to The Clarkston News. “The driver who blew the stop sign on Mann Road east of Clintonville Road took off […]

Road work delayed

BY MATT MACKINDER Clarkston News Staff Writer Road work that was supposed to begin this year on Clintonville, South Clarkston, Flemings Lake and Walters roads will be delayed to 2020, according to Independence Township Supervisor Pat Kittle. “By the time all the plans were put together, packages put together, it wasn’t until well into the […]

Hit-and-run victim dies from injuries, suspect still sought

BY MATT MACKINDER Clarkston News Staff Writer The wheelchair-bound man who was hit by a car outside of the Clarkston Specialty Healthcare Center on the night of March 14 has died from his injuries. Albert Russell Orsette, an 83-year-old resident of Independence Township, then a patient at the facility, passed away on April 8. Authorities […]