QAR team to visit Brandon Schools

Brandon Twp.- District officials have been preparing for two years for the special visitors they will host this week. On Feb. 6, 7, and 8, the AdvancEd District Accreditation Quality Assurance Review team will be in the district. The team, consisting of five educators, including current principals and teachers and a retired superintendent, two of […]

Art of Marriage

Brandon Twp.- Shane Stec has been happily married to his wife, Carrie, for 15 years, but he believes even healthy marriages need continuous nurturing to stay that way. With this in mind, Oakwood Community Church, where Stec is associate pastor, will host ‘The Art of Marriage,? a video conference that will take place from 7 […]

Village makes tentative deal on property with sewers in mind

Ortonville- The village council has approved a deposit on the purchase of property that could be used as the site of a future wastewater treatment plant. During their Jan. 23 meeting, the council unanimously approved a motion to pay $2,000 as a refundable deposit to Apex Company for the purchase of the property at 255 […]

Library millage on Aug. ballot

Brandon Twp.- Voters will be asked to approve a millage increase for the library this August. Library Director Paula Gauthier said she has received new legal counsel that it will not be necessary for the library board to have the support of township officials in order to put a millage request on the ballot. ‘Our […]

Main Street reaccredited

Ortonville- The village is small, but it has plenty of heart thanks to enthusiastic volunteers. On Jan. 18, Thom Guzman, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, conducted a day-long assessment of the village’s Main Street program, along with Alex Hritcu, assistant Main Street coordinator for Oakland County. The evaluation measures the village’s progress in […]

Township officials grapple with community image

Brandon Twp.- What does a rural community look like? Here in the township, there are two versions of rural, says Bill Dinnan? the Norman Rockwell version and the Sanford & Son version. Dinnan presented several pictures to township board members during a joint meeting with the planning commission on Jan. 23. One set of images […]

Village receives Tri-Party funds

Ortonville- The village has received a windfall of sorts. Village Manager John Lyons was recently notified by Oakland County that the village has accrued $54,883 in Tri-Party funds. The Tri-Party Road Improvement program was established in the 1970s to assist cities, townships and villages in Oakland County with funding of projects on county roads. ‘I […]

Bullied? Try’Blackhawk Hotline?

Brandon Twp.- 1-248-660-0138. This is the number Brandon High School students can call, anonymously, if they are being bullied, have witnessed bullying of others, or have other concerns over issues including theft, safety, or substance abuse. BHS Assistant Principal Mike Tucker established what will now be known as the ‘Blackhawk Hotline? with the help of […]

Out of Africa: ‘Instead of leaving a legacy, I want to live it?

The boy, Khamis, was just 7-years-old and terrified. Head down, he kept still and wouldn’t make eye contact. His mother, a poor widow with two other children, had walked more than four hours in the 90-plus degree heat of Tanzania, carrying her son on her back, to reach a medical clinic where she’d heard there […]