1. People woke up early in the morning on March 4 to find out numerous buildings in the downtown area of the village were on fire. The well-known, popular restaurant, Sagebrush Cantina, was in one of the six buildings that were burning
At the end of the day, Orion Township firefighters from all the fire stations and firefighters from Oxford finally contained the blaze in the structures
The fire attracted statewide attention from the media.
Construction of a new Sagebrush Cantina is expected to begin early in 2005.
2. Orion Township officials claimed in April that the Gingellville Community Center would no longer be exempt from state property taxes. According to the center’s director Pam Hutchinson, the center has been tax exempt forever.
In a related story in September, files on GCC were found to be missing from the township accessing office.
3. Over $3 million was cut from the school district’s budget in March. In May, district officials announced they were eliminating some bus stops and starting a hub and shuttle busing system. Those actions were expected to save $500,000. Michigan school districts have lost over $222 million in funding from the state.
4. Chris Bowman, a former TV star and Olympic ice skater, was arrested in November at his apartment in the village for allegedly assaulting a friend.
5. Residents in the Park Island area in June were divided over whether an overly aggressive swan should be euthanized. It was later killed.
6. Oakland County Commissioners Eric Wilson of Lake Orion and Bill Patterson of Oxford in June announced they were supporting construction of a combined senior center that would serve Orion Township, Oxford Township, Addison Township, and the Villages of Lake Orion, Oxford and Leonard.
7. Due to a record amount of rain experienced in this area for several weeks in May, village officials were worried that the waters of Lake Orion may flood in certain spots.
8. Lori Penman resigned from the school board in July. Charlotte Patton resigned from the village council in August. In late August, Bill Walters was appointed to replace Penman and John Ranville was picked to replace Patton.
9. Gary Richardson retired in February from his position as Postmaster for the Lake Orion Post Office. He had worked for the post office for 34 years and had been in Lake Orion since 1983.
10. Orion Township t-rustees decided to ask for .75 mills for parks and recreation in June. The proposal was soundly defeated in November.
**Read this week’s Lake Orion Review for a look back at what else was in the news in 2004.