Clean Water Corps wanted

By David Fleet Editor Lake residents of Brandon and Groveland townships are needed for a long term study. This year the Oakland County Board of Commissioners and Health Division will partner with the Michigan Clean Water Corps to provide Oakland County residents with free training and equipment to monitor lake water quality during the summer […]

Council OKs village audit

By David Fleet Editor Goodrich-By a 4-0 vote on Monday night, the village council accepted an audit report from Lewis & Knopf for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017. Council member Jake Vick was absent. Christie Bueche senior accountant for Lewis & Knopf, delivered the report to the council. According to the 2017 audit, […]

Heroes of Harvey

By David Fleet Editor The water stopped rising about 400 feet from their home. James Vultaggio, a 1997 Brandon High School graduate, along with wife Shannon, children Celeste, 9, and Dominic, 7, are residents of Spring, Texas a community of about 55,000 located 50 miles north of Houston. The family home is about 230 miles […]

Donor keeps Sharin ‘O’Green growing for another year

By Shelby Stewart Staff Writer The annual Sharin’ O’ the Green fundraiser is arriving soon. The fundraiser, which runs through March, benefits the Ortonville Community Emergency Fund, has another anonymous donor this year, who will match up to $3,000 in donations in the spirit of Roger Duval, who founded Sharin’ O’ the Green in 2009. […]

Murder suspect found competent to stand trial

By Shelby Stewart Staff Writer A Macomb County resident was found competent to stand trial in connection with the death of an Oakland County deputy. On Feb. 12, Christopher Barek was found competent to stand trial by District Court 52-2 Judge Joseph Fabrizo. He was ordered a competency hearing on Dec. 4. Barek was arrested […]

DTE crews spark outage

At about 7 p.m., Feb. 6 about 14,000 DTE customers lost power in northern Oakland County including Clarkston, Brandon and Groveland townships. DTE Energy spokesperson Amanda Knaebel said the electrical failure was due to equipment damage during scheduled maintenance on area circuits. The crews were already on site when the outage occurred and resorted power […]

Township fire responses continue to grow

By Shelby Stewart Staff Writer Brandon Twp.- The fire department responded to 1,323 calls in 2017, a new record for the department. “When I started with the department in 1987, we responded to 314 calls,” said Brandon Fire Chief David Kwapis. “That’s a 400 percent increase.” Kwapis gave his 2017 year end report to the […]

Township move debate continues

By Shelby Stewart Staff Writer Brandon Twp.- The township board will be looking further into purchasing the Belle Ann Elementary school building that has been closed since 2013 due to a decline in enrollment in the Brandon School District. The board gathered at a special meeting on Feb. 1 to discuss the costs associated with […]

Iron Belle Trail plans continue

By David Fleet Editor On Feb. 1, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources hosted a meeting to discuss the future of the Iron Belle Trail north connecting the Lake Orion and Independence to trails north in Atlas Township. The gathering was at the Orion Center, 1335 Joslyn Road, Lake Orion an included representatives from the […]

Snow days on the rise

By David Fleet Editor The recent Feb. 5 snow day following Super Bowl Sunday marked the sixth for the Brandon and Goodrich School districts. The half dozen days off maxed out the number allowed by the State of Michigan prompting distinct officials to explore some options the next time it snows. “It’s still early February […]