Brandon Twp.- Free breakfast and free lunch for children will be available Monday through Thursday beginning July 7 at Oakwood Elementary, 2839 Oakwood Road. This is the third year in a row the school district has sponsored the Summer Food Service Program, federally funded and available to all children under the age of 18, regardless […]
Ortonville- The village council approved the 2014-15 budget by a 4-0 vote at their June 23 meeting. Council members Dan Eschmann, Courtney McClerren and Tom Peters were absent. The budget has $527,105 in revenues, with matching expenditures. The current fund balance is $401,622, or 76 percent. ‘The fund balance is healthy and very good, we’re […]
Ortonville- School is out, summer is underway, and still the Village Skate Park is closed. The park may remain that way for the rest of the year. ‘If we don’t have people signed up, we’re not going to open,? said Village Manager John Lyons. As of June 25, only one person had registered to use […]
On July 10, the community can help a Brandon graduate’s family, bereaved by her sudden death. Tracie Anne (Austin) Vargas, a 1990 BHS graduate, died June 12 at the age of 41. Surviving are her husband, William, and five children, Victoria, Tevin, and triplets, Evelyn, Dezi, and Grace, 4-years-old; as well as her parents, Dan […]
Jeff Axt moved to Brandon Township because, like many others here, he liked the natural beauty of a rural community with ordinances in place to protect woodlands and wetlands, as well as prevent overdevelopment. Now he feels he and other area landowners are being penalized for their desire to live here by multi-billion dollar companies […]
Ortonville- Mike McLain’s 28th birthday weekend featured a treasure hunt that led him to the ultimate prize? his bride, Daphne. Mike and Daphne, Ortonville residents who met two-and-a-half years ago, became engaged this past Valentine’s Day in Grand Rapids and planned to get married next year, but budget constraints altered plans, and Daphne made the […]
Brandon Twp.- About 130 students in this school district speak English as their second language. These students bring to the district 16 different languages in which they are fluent, including Spanish, Hmong (native to Laos), Polish, German, Italian and French. An innovative program at Brandon High School which educates the ESL speakers while also acquainting […]
(Editor’s note:Part one of a two-part story. Conclusion in July 19 edition of The Citizen.) Gwyn Brady’s first time using heroin was on her 21st birthday. It wasn’t her first time seeing the drug? that would have been nearly 19 years before when she saw her own father shoot up, her earliest childhood memory. And […]
In the heat of summer, the cold winter may seem a distant memory. Or not. This past winter was particularly brutal, but thanks to ‘The Heat Stays On in Ortonville,? many struggling local families received assistance with paying their utility bills and keeping warm. Now the community has an opportunity to enjoy the warmth of […]
Ortonville- After 35 years as a teacher, Alice Robb knows the importance of school supplies. ‘There is always a need for notebooks, folders, pencils, pens,? said Robb, who retired as a Brandon Middle School math teacher in 2007. ‘The district can’t supply all of that. And backpacks are a big need.? With summer in full […]