Board inks tighter budget; projects dashed

Groveland Township-The township budget belt just became a little tighter. The 2008-09 township budget will be $160,000 less compared to last year, with no new capital expenditures, and no pay hikes for elected officials and office staff. The township board OK’d the $986,007 budget by a 5-0 vote on Monday night. ‘The new budget reflects […]

Area man jailed on four counts of CSC

David Michael Bowman, 37, was arraigned on Feb. 29 at 52-2 District Court before Judge Kostin on four counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct first degree stemming from a relationship with his 14-year-old niece. According to police reports, in 2006 the niece was living with Bowman after the death of her parents. The victim was a […]

Brandon’s first Head Start teacher remembered

Deana D. Barrick, of Oxford, died March 3. She was 84. Barrick was born in Juanita, N.D. the daughter of Ora (Ground) and Charles Dean. The family moved to Flint in 1933. She married George Barrick in 1953. She taught school in the Flint area and in New Jersey with the public schools, and at […]

Local centenarian to celebrate birthday

Faith in God and a healthy diet that includes vegetables and walking are Ona Bixler’s keys to living a century. ‘Mom never thought she’d live this long,? laughs Joyce Brendel, speaking for her mother. ‘Her three brothers all died in their late 60s or early 70s.? Brendel, a 1954 Ortonville High School graduate, will be […]

Groveland Twp. opts for recreation user fee

Groveland Twp.-By a 4-0 vote Monday night, the township board of trustees agreed to dump an annual $15,000 fee paid to Brandon Recreation for township participants. Trustee David Ax was absent from the meeting. Instead, residents who want to participate will pay a $60 fee for an individual for a single program or an annual […]

Pets becoming latest victims of poor economy

Bandit is one lucky dog. Last December, Brandon Township resident Cynthia Strehle received a phone call from a Flat Rock, Mich. woman regarding a 9-year-old Shiba Inu dog, that reportedly was left alone in an abandoned home. ‘The neighbor kids had been feeding the dog for several months,? said Strehle, who owns several of the […]

Local soldier injured in Baghdad explosion

Ty Gucwa, 23, a 2003 Brandon High School graduate, was injured when a bomb exploded on Jan. 29 in the streets of Baghdad. According to newspaper reports, five Fort Carson, Co. soldiers including Gucwa were wounded in the blast. All are expected to recover. The bomb was detonated near a checkpoint where American and Iraqi […]

‘Each day I still feel the pain?

Army Spc. Jan Mayhew is proud of his more than five years of service in Vietnam. But 35 years after the conflict in Southeast Asia ended’the battles still rage in his mind. ‘I’m always fighting the Viet Cong,? said Ortonville resident Mayhew, 62, who was drafted into the Army in September 1966. ‘I was never […]

Township residents eye user fee for recreation

Groveland Twp.- Residents who play may have to pay. That’s the message more than 320 residents indicated through a survey from township officials after area residents were asked their input on funding for recreation services through the Brandon Recreation Department. Officials from Brandon and Groveland townships discussed the recreation funding issue last December. Brandon officials […]

Overfeeding deer sparks concern over possible TB case

Mary Dettloff, a spokesperson for the Department of Natural Resources, said a deer harvested during the late antlerless season in Bennington Township in southeast Shiawassee County, about 30 miles west of Atlas Township, may have tested positive for bovine Tuberculosis (TB). The DNR is waiting for the final test results from Michigan State University before […]