Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
2014 will soon become a memory and 2015 is on the horizon. Many of you may be thinking about New Year’s resolutions and hopefully you keep them.
Here is a review of The Review’s great and not-so-great happenings in 2014.
The week will include the first six months of the year. Please see next week’s Review for more photos and a summation of the second half of 2014.
By most accounts, 2014 was an exciting year to be in Lake Orion and the surrounding communities.

January
The year started off with a big crash as heavy snow and winds caused the vacant Wagon Wheel to collapse.
The building, in downtown Lake Orion, was fondly remembered as residents recalled its many faces over the years and some of the famous musicians it hosted in its heyday.
But the structure was as it lay in rubble. Lake Orion condemned the structure and it was later bulldozed away. The site is still vacant.

More than a foot of snow fell in the region on the first weekend of the year, signaling a very cold and snowy season.

Orion Township announced that it would take over the Fourth of July fireworks celebration as the event will move from the village side of the lake to the township side.

The move comes after organizers said they had difficulties with village officials asking to pay for clean up and police services. Fireworks organizers said they are all volunteers and use 100 percent of funds raised to pay for the show. Township officials did not seek funds to help pay for clean up or police services.

Children in Lake Orion and in the region enjoyed their snow days by taking to the hills and yards to play in the snow and enjoy another break from school. Many parents, on the other hand, wanted to see an end to the white madness and get the kids back in school.

The Oakland County Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET) raided a hair salon business at 107 N. Lapeer, called Back to Beautiful and seized 47 marijuana plants, 3,775 grams of marijuana, which is about eight pounds. They also seized two digital scales and packaging material.
sThey arrested the owner, Robert Weeks, and charged him with manufacture and delivery of marijuana.

The North Oakland Transportation Authority has asked voters to consider a quarter mill tax to help fund the busing authority. The tax is necessary because of federal funds that no longer would be available. NOTA also announced plans to charge small amounts for the services it provides to seniors and handicapped individuals.

NOTA provides door-to-door rides to senior citizens, handicapped individuals and welfare-to-work clients.

The village of Lake Orion announced that it is putting city hall up for sale. The plan is for the village to move its offices from the downtown area at 37 E. Flint, to the old senior center at 21 E. Church.

Lake Orion firefighters saved a two-month old infant after the baby stopped breathing at home with her parents. The baby was seemingly fine but just stopped breathing, according to parent, Keith M’Atamney.
When firefighters arrived, the baby was in full cardiac arrest.
Firefighters took over CPR from M’Atamney and eventually baby Allison coughed and began breathing again. Baby Allison was fine after she was brought back to life.

February

An Orion Township resident , Dave Duenow, said he opposed prayers that are said before each township board meeting. Duenow said he did not think it was legal to say prayers at the public meeting. Township officials said they believed it was legal and they would continue with non-denominational prayers.

Orion Township officials passed a resolution to increase non-union township employees pay by three percent.
Non-union employees include all full time firefighters, department heads, administrative assistants, and some other officials. It does not include elected township officials.

The Lions Club and Lake Orion are considering moving the annual summer Lions Jubilee back downtown. The popular event was held the past few years at Canterbury Village because of the streetscape improvements in downtown. The event is scheduled from June 18 to 22. A survey of downtown businesses was planned.

Scripps Middle School eighth grader Nikhil Dwibhashyam won the Oakland County regional spelling bee. He won the opportunity to compete in the national Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.

Lake Orion High School cheerleading coach, Nancy DeAvila, was charged with embezzlement for allegedly using funds from a charitable organization at Lake Orion schools for personal use.
The funds were from the Natalie Rae Nance Scholarship Fund. Money from the charity was used to provide monetary scholarships to Lake Orion High School graduates in areas of art, cosmetology and cheerleading.

Lake Orion schools ranked above average in a state-wide study of school districts, conducted by Bridge Magazine and Public Sector Consultants.
The district was 81st out of 540 districts in the state.

Bruce Gertz, a homeless man often seen in the Lake Orion area on his bicycle, was missing and police and concerned residents were looking for him in hopes that he did not freeze to death in the very cold winter.
Bruce was sometimes found sleeping by police in back of businesses in the frigid weather. Police and others were concerned that he might freeze to death.

March

Lake Orion’s competitive cheer team finished fourth in the state in Division 1 competition. The team had a very successful season, winning the OAA Red Division title, District 1 district title and competing in the state championships.

Students in grades three through nine outranked state and Oakland County averages in every category of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program. The tests are administered in October each year.

Orion Township officials approved ballot proposal to ask voters to approve millage increases for the Orion Township Fire Department . The millage being sought was 1.6 mills that would increase staffing.

Bruce Gertz, Orion’s homeless man, was found safe and warm. He was located by sheriff’s deputies in a Waterford hotel where he has been for the past several weeks.

The Village of Lake Orion announced they have a bid to sell the old village hall and move to new digs at the old senior center on Church Street.
Lockhart’s Barbeque of Royal Oak, placed a bid to buy the hall for the price of $525,000. The plan is to place a new Lockhart’s in the building, giving local residents another great place to eat in downtown Lake Orion.

Lake Orion senior Trenton Elkins, set four new state records in high school powerlifting. Elkins shattered his own state records from the previous year in bench press, squat and deadlift. His totals for the three disciplines also set a state record.
His totals for those events topped totals in all weight classes, easily giving him the designation as the strongest high schooler in the state.

The cold and extra snow during the winter that led to increased snow days for Lake Orion students means that there will be an extra week of school this June.
There were 11 snow days during the great and cold winter of 2014.

Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett delivered his state of the township address touting increased business and a large number of new housing projects projected for the area in 2014 and beyond.
The address, which took on a Detroit Tigers theme, highlighted all of the wonderful things in Orion Township and noted that living here is a vacation.

April

Lake Orion school officials announced plans to seek a 20.25 ten-year non-homestead millage renewal to be placed on the November 4 ballot.
The millage would be placed on all non-homestead property, which includes industrial, commercial and some agricultural properties and second homes.
The millage does not affect primary residences.

The cold and snowy winter has led to a delay in the start and in the numbers of games that Lake Orion’s spring sports will have. The cold temperatures have kept participants practicing indoors and have canceled and delayed some of the games.

Orion Township officials are asking voters to approve a fire department millage increase for two separate questions. The township is asking for a one-mill proposal for fire operations and a second one for one mill for fire department capital improvements and equipment. The ballot questions will be on the August 5 election.

As if the cold and bitter winter of 2014 wasn’t enough, a straight-line wind storm heaped more damage on the area in mid-April. It was called the Evergreen Storm and it led to several thousand trees uprooted in the area and caused wide-spread power outages.
The winds were estimated at 60 to 70 miles per hour.
Many homes were heavily damaged from falling trees and branches as well as being pelted by hail. Telephone poles along M-24 folded and fell onto vehicles. Several residents reported major damage from hail to their roofs and siding.

The damages caused by the Evergreen Storm was met with an equal amount of help from local residents, who pitched in to clean up the mess. All over the area, neighbors helped neighbors to rid the area of the damaged trees and other problems.

Lake Orion’s boys track team won its first meet and readied for another sold season under Coach Stan Ford.

Two Lake Orion high school teachers are being credited with saving a student from drowning. Derek Delzer and Dave Whitaker jumped into action to help student Alex Johnson had a seizure in the shallow end of the pool and went underwater.
Delzer and Whitaker jumped into action when Johnson was spotted. A student initially reacted to it and pulled Johnson to the edge of the pool. Both Delzer and Whitaker provided CPR and rescue breathing until Johnson’s heart started and he began breathing again.

May

An Orion Township business, Fuyao Automotive, announced plans to spend $15.3 million on expansion and hire 102 new employees. The facility, on Silverbell Road, is one of the top suppliers of auto glass in the world.
The local plant provides glass and supply services to Chrysler, General Motors, Kia, Hundai, Honda and Ford.
The facility employs about 100 residents from the Orion area. General Motors is one of the companies that has named Fuyao its coveted Best of the Best Suppliers.

Lockhart’s Barbeque is coming to Lake Orion and the restaurant’s pitmaster has been named the nation’s BBQ Person of the Year. Steve Coddington’s barbeque was on display in the annual Flower and Art Fair in downtown Lake Orion.

In an effort to close an estimated $1.5 million deficit, Lake Orion schools announced 11 teacher layoffs. District officials said they hoped that most of those who received pink slips would be called back if projected enrollment increases are realized.

Lake Orion’s varsity baseball team won the OAA Red Division title and was hoping to advance in state district and regional play.
Lake Orion’s boys track team were regional champions, winning the fourth such title in the past 10 years.
The varsity softball team won a district title also and went on to compete in the regional championships before falling.

Former Lake Orion competitive cheerleading coach, Nancy DeAvila, pleaded guilty to embezzlement in Oakland County Circuit Court. The charge stemmed from the theft of funds from a charitable organization used to help students at Lake Orion schools.
The funds were from the Natalie Rae Nance Scholarship Fund. Money from the charity was used to provide monetary scholarships to Lake Orion High School graduates in areas of art, coemetology and cheerleading.

Memorial Day was remembered in downtown Lake Orion with an annual parade to commemorate those who fought in our nation’s wars.
Veterans and others packed Veteran’s Park for a ceremony honoring those who gave their lives for freedom.

An audit of Orion Township’s finances was given a ‘clean opinion? by the auditing firm of Plante Moran. There was some concern among township trustees prior to the report that there were some issues with funds overseen by Treasurer Mark Thurber. The auditors, however, found no problems.

June

The annual Fourth of July fireworks in Lake Orion will be moved to Orion Township after the Lake Orion Fireworks Association worked out a plan with township officials. The move means the fireworks will be held on the west side of the lake.
The fireworks group said it could not reach an agreement with the village to hold the fireworks there. In the past village officials have sought to receive some compensation for the use of police and the clean-up that was necessary after the fireworks.

Lake Orion’s boys track team set two school records in the state track meet. The records came in the 800 meters by Kirk Hansen and in the 1600 meter relay. The team finished 12th in the state championships.

The Lake Orion Lions will return to downtown Lake Orion for their annual Jubilee carnival. The Lions also announced plans for a fireworks show and a larger beer tent. For the prior two years, the event was held at Canterbury Village due to construction in downtown.

The Lake Orion High School class of 2014 graduated in a ceremony held at DTE Energy Center.

Engineers have determined that the Orion Center heating and cooling system is failing. The question is whether the failure is due to installation of technical design of the system, or both. Areas of the new center have been either too cold or too warm.

The return of the Lion’s Jubilee to downtown Lake Orion was a rousing success. The event helped raise money for the Lion’s causes in the community. The three most popular parts of the event, the carnival, beer tent and fireworks were all brought together in the event for the first time in about 20 years.

Construction was expected to begin in the fall on the new Orion Commons Park View housing community. The community will feature 102 single-family homes as well as 88 duplexes. The community will be along Scripps road, near Lapeer Road.
It is being developed by Pulte Homes.