February 4
Local businesses deal with sour economy In its 20-year history, the Orion Kennel Club had two bounced customer checks. In the most recent 20 months, there were four. Rosemary Rangi, director of operations at Crittenton Medical Equipment, said that while the health care industry is being touted as ‘safe’ in the current economy, there are still noticeable signs of decline. Jacobsen’s Flowers has also seen its share of hard times, according to owner Brad Jacobsen, who is also on the Oakland County Commission. He said it was tied in with the troubles the auto companies are facing.
Winter problems snowball Over 70 inches of snow fell on Orion Township since November 2008 and it kept on coming. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the Detroit-metro area had about ten inches on the ground. Mike Olsen at the village’s Department of Public Works says road crews tried to keep up with the weather as best they could.
Suspected wanted for child pornography nabbed at LO Big Boy Peter Lawrence Montgomery, a 42-year-old Farmington Hills resident, was arrested at the Big Boy in Orion Township Friday afternoon. He was wanted for 32 counts of criminal sexual misconduct in Maryland, according to police reports.

February 11
Village crime numbers mixed In Lake Orion, social crimes like drunk driving, juvenile offenses, narcotics possession, animal complaints and traffic enforcement totals were down. However, person-to-person crimes like robbery, sexual assault and kidnapping, and property crimes like home invasion, larceny and malicious damage were up.
Are shared services in Orion’s future? The township, village, schools and library joined forces in on-going efforts to improve the community and save money. Superintendent Ken Gutman, Village Manager Paul Zelenak, Township Supervisor Matt Gibb and Township Library Director Linda Sickles met to discuss possible partnerships between the entities. Emergency management was high on the group’s priority list.

February 18
Downtown authority sets course Lake Orion’s Downtown Development Authority drafted a list of their short-term and long-term goals. The items with top priority included lake parks improvement, an updated and more easily identifiable streetscape, building and storefront enhancements and more frequent high-quality community events.
Keeping hope alive: LO woman receives transplants After a year of waiting, Darci Seipke’s wishes came true. The Lake Orion woman finally got the kidney and pancreas transplants she needed. Seipke, whose battle with diabetes has been chronicled in The Review, was last featured when she went on the organ waiting list through the University of Michigan hospital system in November 2008.
Walgreens robbed Oakland County Sheriff Department deputies responded to an unarmed robbery at the Walgreen’s located in the 3000 block of Baldwin Road. The store clerk stated that a white male subject came up to the register and said, “Give me all your money.”

February 25
Schools keep May elections The school board voted to keep Board of Education elections in May. Eight Oakland districts recently moved their elections to November, but, despite the county trend, the board voted on the resolution without any opposition.
Pounding the pavement In Lake Orion and surrounding areas, unemployment numbers doubled in 2008 compared to 2007. The local Michigan Works office had 2,586 people register in 2007. In 2008, the number of unemployed coming through their doors rose to 4,603.
Program targets foreclosed homes Funding for the Oakland County Home Buyer Program made buying the 70 vacant homes in the township and village easier. Vacant properties were not only a burden on Orion’s economy and property values, but also public safety issues.