The Wire

Great invention

2012-01-12T10:28:00.000-08:00

Today I ate a homemade cupcake at work, that I made, for the first time. This special moment took place thanks to a cupcake carrier my sister received as a gift. The plastic container holds a single cupcake and secures it, so fears of smeared frosting are long gone.

The container is a creative invention that will add a sweet treat to my lunch that I wouldn't have been able to transport safely before.

As you can see, the cupcake was transported so beautifully its deliciousness did not last long enough for the photo.

An open letter to MDOT on the Adopt-a-Highway sign on M-52 (updated)

2012-01-02T12:35:00.000-08:00

Dear Michigan Department of Transportation,

I gotta get this off my back, it's bugged me since before I began working at Heritage Media: this year, is it possible you could work and change the Adopt-a-Highway sign facing northbound M-52 and correct the spelling on it?

The Manchester Men's Club has sponsored two miles of highway on the road in Manchester Township. But, the sign has the name spelled wrong. Here's what it looks like:

I remember seeing it, and thinking "that's a strange way of spelling a group." But after seeing the sign pointing southbound closer to the village spelling it correct, I realized it was an error.

Perhaps this year when M-52 is being worked on in the village later this year (more on that later this winter/spring), someone could go down and correct it. I know MDOT's fixed other signs on the stretch several times closer to the village, and I'm sure the Men's Club would love to see the village's name spelled correctly.

Sincerely,
David Veselenak, Heritage Media online coordinator

P.S. While out on the road taking the picture of the sign, a man stopped and asked if I needed any help or a ride; he assumed my car had broken down and I needed help. I told him no worries, but thought it would nice knowing Michigan still has some pretty friendly drivers.

UPDATE: MDOT tweeted back at us this morning, saying they'll look into it and get it corrected:

@davidveselenak @HeritageNews Thanks for pointing out the misspelled AAH sign - we'll get this taken care of as soon as possible!
— Michigan DOT (@MichiganDOT) January 3, 2012

Looking for something to do New Year's Day? How about a hike at Hayes State Park

2011-12-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for something different to do on New Year's Day, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will host a hike at Hayes State Park near Onsted off Michigan Avenue (only about 11 miles from Manchester) at 11 a.m.

The hike will begin at 11 a.m. at the park, and the difficult will vary on what those in attendance want to partake in. The DNR encourages participants to bring their camera and a chair to enjoy a campfire later that day.

If you attend, you'll also have the opportunity to win several fitness club memberships, as well as an afternoon at Lazy B's Ranch.

If you're out of town, here's the list of other hikes taking place around the state. They range from Hayes all the way to the Porcupine Mountains in the western Upper Peninsula.

And for those of you who are worried about timing: yes, the hike says it will be complete before the Lions kick off at 1 p.m. against the Packers.

Offensive advertising?

2011-12-28T11:12:00.000-08:00

I was horrified today when I checked my email and saw the latest ad from Spirit Airlines.

The "busty" advertisement is outrageously offensive to women. The "double d" slogan is an extreme stretch to find some way to incorporate breasts into the company's advertising. It's sad Spirit has been forced to use sexual images of women to sell its services and can't stand on its reputation, treatment of customers and overall experience.

The subject of the email teased readers with "Check out our Double D's." Sounds quite similar to a slogan an adult entertainment company might use.

Worst of all, this ad commits one of the most common and repulsive parts of sexual advertising, not showing the model's face. Why isn't it shown? It's because the company could care less about anything above her neck, including her brain. This model's breasts were used as objects, trying to disconnect them from any uncomfortable feelings that could arise from associating them with a person with thoughts and feelings. It makes it easier for the ad to be digested, but actually adds to one of society's problems, the sexualization of women.

The ad also continues to send women and young girls the message that they have to have large breasts to be appealing. Who in the Spirit Airlines advertising department thought this ad campaign was acceptable?

Spirit may support it's double d promotion, but it's definitely disgusting.

Bridgewater is getting excited for the Sugar Bowl

2011-12-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

The painted rock in Bridgewater on Austin Road has had some additional embellishments in recent weeks to go with its "Go Blue" tagline:

We want to know how you think the Wolverines will do next week in the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech. Click on the widget below and enter your phone number, and Google will call you and prompt you to leave a message telling us how you think Michigan will do next week in New Orleans (Your phone number can be left private as well, if you're worried about giving out your phone number).

BRIDGEWATER TOWNSHIP: Man shoots his wife and himself, wife taken to U-M hospital

2011-12-19T07:04:00.001-08:00

By Ben Baird
bbaird@heritage.com
Twitter: @BenBaird1

A Bridgewater Township man shot his wife and then committed suicide Saturday night in the 13000 block of Austin Road.

The wife was shot in the chest and shoulder. She was taken to the University of Michigan Hospital and is reported to be in stable condition.

Township Supervisor Jolea Mull learned about the shooting at about 11:45 p.m. Saturday from the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office.

She said according to police, the couple was arguing throughout the day because of the man's depression issues.

He shot his wife and then turned the gun on himself. The wife was able to run out of their residence and call 911. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition, but on Sunday police told Mull the woman is now in stable condition.

There is no official statement on the shooting from the sheriff's department yet, Mull said.

Staff Writer Ben Baird can be reached at bbaird@heritage.com.

Text HERNews and HERWeather to 22700 to receive news and weather alerts to your cellphone. Msg and data rates may apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.

Midnight Madness event the result of quick brainstorming

2011-12-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how such a short time span can result in some of the best ideas.

A seemingly good example is the Midnight Madness Fundraiser event being put on by several of the merchants in Manchester next weekend. The event, designed to spur late-night shopping and donate to a local charity or community group, was thrown together just this month by two local merchants: Steven Hahne of MacLennan's Nursery, and Nichole Fisher, owner of Nichole's Emporium, which opened earlier this year.

Hahne said the ideas for it just came within minutes of the two of them discussing, and out of it a seemingly fun idea was born.

Janet Larson, the president of the Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce, said the talks for it happened at an evening chamber networking party. It's amazing what can happen with just a few minutes of small talk at a business-related function.

If you're planning on shopping that night and you have your camera, we'd love to publish any photos we receive from the evening (unfortunately, I have that day off, and won't be able to make it). If you have any, feel free to send me an email at dveselenak@heritage.com.

And be sure to spread the word of the event. We're doing our part, with the flyer posted on our front door at our downtown Saline office:

Land acquisition by DNR in Manchester, Norvell townships recommended by Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund

2011-12-08T16:00:00.000-08:00

The list of recommendations by the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund was tweeted this evening by the DNR, and the purchase of the Trolz family farm is listed.

Here's the tweet announcing all the recommendations statewide, which includes six projects in Washtenaw County:

Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board recommends 99 grant-funded projects totaling $39.6 million: ow.ly/7TwWl
— Michigan DNR (@MichiganDNR) December8, 2011

The recommendation of the acquisition, which is being called the River Raisin Recreation Area, is to cost $3 million on the area, which is "to focus on hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation."

The move was the next step in the land acquisition, the DNR told The Enterprise in September. The next step is to send the recommendation to the state legislature, a process that could go well into next year.

Other projects on the recommendation list in the county include:

Washtenaw County

$2.275 million to connect to urban nature preserves

Ann Arbor

$300,000 to Gallup Park for several improvements, including energy improvements and better access to buildings
$300,000 to help fund the in-ground skate park at Veterans Memorial Park

Ypsilanti Township

$300,000 to renovate Rutherford Pool

Ypsilanti

$289,400 for developing the Heritage Bridge over Michigan Avenue and a fishing pier

Manchester resident appears on NPR's "Talk of the Nation"

2011-12-02T07:27:00.000-08:00

A benefit from Google Alerts is to see whenever something is written about "Manchester, Michigan." Yesterday, an interesting piece came across and thought I'd share it.

It was a link to NPR's "Talk of the Nation" show, a call-in program for listeners to voice their opinions on different subject matters in the nation. This clip talks about the new television show, "All-American Muslim," a show filmed in Dearborn to showcase Muslims living in America.

Many of the callers debated on whether the show was a good representation of Islamic life here in America, and one of those callers came from the village.

A caller identified as Susan called the show from Manchester, and talked about how she would like to see more diversity when it comes to showing Muslims in their day-to-day lives.

"And when I go to the masjid or the mosque in my area in Ann Arbor, I don't see this as a cross-section of Muslims," she told the radio show. "I see this as a very small proportion of Muslims."

It was a show filled with Michigan voices, as another caller voiced their opinion from Ann Arbor, and another from Dearborn.

You can read a transcript of the conversation here, or click below to listen to the show. It's about 16 minutes long.

Bomb Patrol Afghanistan is best new TV show

2011-11-23T07:22:00.000-08:00

Of all the new TV shows this fall season, "Bomb Patrol Afghanistan" is the only show that has garnered my attention and respect, and I only discovered it this month.

The show, which airs at 10 p.m. Tuesdays on G4, gives viewers a first-hand look at the daily activities of the U.S Navy's Ordinance Disposal Mobile Unit. The team specializes in detecting, destroying and investigating improvised explosive devices.

Cameras are on board military vehicles, on the site of IED investigations and inside the military base. Viewers get to know the military members and experience highly-stressful and dangerous situations where the soldiers risk their lives to protect fellow military members and Afghan citizens.

The show features soldiers carefully climbing out of a military vehicle, situated directly on top of an IED, and trying to cut the cord without setting it off. It also shows how the soldiers take in all their surroundings to determine IED and civilian dangers.

"Bomb Patrol" opens viewers' eyes to the reality of what's going on in Afghanistan and makes them appreciate how much members of the armed services are risking to protect others.
The unique setting and experience makes it the best new show of the season.

Employees suffer on Black Friday

2011-11-18T09:06:00.000-08:00

I've always thought waking up at the crack of dawn to wait in line and fight for Black Friday sales was insane. But with the increasingly-popular decision to open stores either all day Friday, or in the late evening, it's gone far beyond insane.

It seems like people are embracing the change to Thanksgiving night shopping because shoppers would much rather stay up late than wake up early for 5 a.m. sales. What they don't realize, or don't care about, is how the hours will be affecting employees and their holiday celebrations.

My sister is a cashier at a department store and I also worked several years in retail. We've both suffered the wrath of Black Friday, from long hours to crabby customers.

Last year, my sister was scheduled for the 5 a.m. shift and had to be awake by 3 a.m. in order to get to work on time. We had family staying with us from out of town and going to bed at 8 p.m. definitely put a damper on her family holiday activities.

This year, she's scheduled to work 11 p.m. Thursday night to 12 p.m. Friday afternoon. Again, she will either have to try to squeeze in a Thanksgiving nap, or face a 12-hour shift with no sleep. I don't know how this can be safe or acceptable for employees and I don't think shoppers realize what employees are put through.

That brings me to my retail experience. Shoppers tend to believe you're getting paid extra to work the holiday and only work your eight-hour shift and go home. This couldn't be further from the truth.

As an assistant manager, I was required to work all day Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. I'd start at 7 a.m. and wouldn't leave until after 10 p.m. both days. It also usually took longer to get out because the store was such a disaster and required extra cleaning.

On top of the 15-hour Friday and Saturday, I also usually put in a 14-hour day the day before Thanksgiving in order to finish setting up displays required for the day after Thanksgiving. The display changeover usually began earlier in the week, so the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving were in no way short days either. And trust me, there was no special pay except for overtime after 40 hours.

In order to alleviate the pain of retail employees, Thanksgiving day sales should be online only.
Shoppers can still shop, but there will be less of a need for employees.
Until the shopping trend changes, I ask that all shoppers please be kind to your retail employees. Clean up after yourself, be patient and realize the employees have given up a great deal to make your Black Friday shopping possible.

Voting is especially important in local races, like Sharon Township and Manchester schools

2011-11-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

Did you pick up your sticker
today?

I've always been taught that voting is just something you do as a citizen. I remember the first time I voted, and it felt kind of cool to do it. Today, voting still felt just as cool, even though it was not in the usual spot for me (I casted a ballot in Clinton this morning, the first time I've done so away from my hometown).

These local races many residents are voting on today are perhaps the most important ones they'll vote on. Presidential and gubernatorial races have all the glamour, but it's these city council and school board elections that determine more of your daily life than what Barack Obama does in the White House.

Be sure you head to the polls and vote today. There's a contested race for two seats on the Manchester school board, and there's an uncontested race in Sharon Township for two seats on the board, stemming from the recall election in August (if you think not voting in an uncontested race is an okay thing to do, reflect on what I wrote here a few months ago about that very issue. I hope you'll look at it differently).

There still is time to go to the polls today, they're open until 8 p.m. So go pick up your sticker and wear it the rest of the day.

Sharon Township impresses

2011-11-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

I was quite impressed at the Sharon Township Board of Trustees meeting Nov. 3. First, agendas were printed and available for residents, a practice that has began taking place the last month or so.

Next, Interim Treasurer Brian Simons presented the board and audience members with a packet detailing the townships financial information. For the first time since I began covering Sharon Township in April, audience members had the financial information at their fingertips. They were also able to ask questions, which Simons competently answered, although he's been on the job a few months. His organization and willingness to engage residents was impressive.

Finally, mineral licensing board chair Jim Hopkins gave an extremely informational presentation on the MLB that far exceeded my expectations. He even said he would do additional research to try to establish a list of all the townships in Michigan that have MLBs, something he would have found helpful for his presentation.

The eagerness of Sharon Township officials to be more transparent to its residents is a welcome change that is not going unnoticed by the residents. It's what the residents hoped for after August's successful recall election. The obvious change is probably in part due to the board a facelift with it's two newest members, Simons, and interim trustee Peter Psarouthakis.

At the meeting, the audience applauded the efforts from both Simons and Hopkins and I'd like to do the same.

Halloween means candy, neighboorhood interaction

2011-10-31T12:02:00.001-07:00

There are several reasons I enjoy Halloween. The first, of course, is that for the month leading up to Halloween it's socially acceptable to eat all candy in sight.

Second, I love how the neighborhood comes alive for one night. Whether walking door to door trick-or-treating or handing out candy at home, you get to see neighbors that normally hide inside. It's the one opportunity each year you get to verify the ancient old lady down the street is indeed still alive and the chance to meet new neighbors.

The foot traffic up and down the street can only be matched when the power goes out and neighbors emerge to verify it is in fact not just their house, or when an ambulance, police car, or fire truck make a visit to the neighborhood and all the gawkers find their gawking spot.

Halloween costumes not only mask faces, but can mask inhibitions and get neighbors interacting.

High school football is Pure Michigan, especially in Manchester

2011-10-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

Manchester JV against Clinton earlier this year.

There's nothing more Michigan than the high school football playoffs.

The season continues for the Flying Dutchmen, after posting one of the best records in Washtenaw County at 8-1. They play in a Division 6 district which contains several southern Michigan teams, including Leslie, Hillsdale (Manchester's most recent victim) and Grass Lake, which gave them their only loss of the season.Move on farther, and the possibility of playing other teams from other parts of the state emerge. Because of being in Division 6, a division with smaller schools, it opens up the geography, as many smaller schools are in more rural areas.

This is a football state, no question about it. Between two Big Ten schools, several other Division I programs (including my alma mater), Division II schools that garner national attention and we can't forget about these guys, this state loves it some football. Which is why the high school football playoffs are so special: what's a better way to celebrate Michigan than competing against some of the other best schools and regions in the state? It's a wonder the Pure Michigan campaign hasn't thought of marketing it harder.

I'm not a football writer, and I don't pretend to be. I'm no expert on stats, and I can't tell you who will win it all (of course, it'd be nice to see the Dutch play in Detroit). The closest experience I have is I played in one playoff game as a backup to the backup in high school for my now-defunct high school (We were clunked 47-7).But I do know that while everyone wants their team to win at Ford Field come Thanksgiving weekend, it's something the entire state can embrace.

Manchester's journey could be an interesting one geographically. Once it gets through districts, Manchester will play a school from southwest Michigan (Hartford, Cassopolis, Constantine or Schoolcraft) for the regional crown. From there, they could play schools ranging from Ecorse to Vassar in the state semifinals. And it wouldn't be uncommon to see an Upper Peninsula school in the state title game.

I've seen how football is in other communities across the state. Living in mid-Michigan for several years, It wasn't hard to see that's a football-hungry area of Michigan. Schools like Mount Pleasant, Beal City and Ithaca expect to do well in the playoffs after completing 9-0, 8-1 seasons. Near Detroit, it's no secret who the teams to beat are (yes, I'm looking at you, Brother Rice), and it's best not to knock East Grand Rapids anytime. I don't know a lot about the Upper Peninsula's football hunger, but I bet it's not a bad feeling to win a title and knock off a few "trolls" (Lower Peninsula dwellers) in the process.

Manchester's hungry for a playoff victory, especially after losing in the first round last year to Willow Run. The road the Dutch could take may make for just as an exciting trip as the games themselves.

In any case, Go Dutch!

Time to run?

2011-10-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

Forbes released a list this week of the most dangerous cities in America and Detroit was number one. Living in a suburb of Detroit, the top ranking increased my desire to move as far away from city as possible. I enjoy visiting Detroit when going to an event, like a Tigers game. I would not, however, want to live there. I appreciate those trying to bring the city back to life, and maybe I should try to make change instead of complaining.
The list also reminded me of one of the things I hate about watching Detroit sports on national television. Usually when a Tigers or Wings game is broadcast nationally, the announcers make some type of comment about the fans showing the spirit of Detroit and breathing new life into the city. Yes the fans attending the games are putting money from parking and concessions into the city, but after the game they get in their cars, lock their doors and go back to the suburbs.
Also, in now way are these people the true "spirit" of Detroit. Eight-two percent of Detroit's population is African American. Take a look at the stands, it's predominantly white.
I wish national broadcasters would call it as it is and draw attention to what Detroit is really like. Show the homeless people begging for change outside the stadium, as well as the guy with the foam Tiger paw, $8 beer and $4 hot dog texting on his smartphone.
Let's show American a full image of Detroit, the rays of sunshine emerging from the financial troubled city, along with the hardships.

Don't be silent

2011-09-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

A new school year brings news friends and new experiences. It can also bring new dangers. Women and students in Washtenaw County can easily become victims of sexual assault, not only from new friends, but trusted friends at well.
One of my friends from college was recently featured in a television news story discussing how she was raped her senior year of college. The incident really hit close to home. Women and men of all ages should know how to protect themselves and how to get help.
Safe House Center in Ann Arbor which provides support for sexual assault victims and is a wonderful source for victims.

A little village politics during last weekend's Oktoberfest bed races

2011-09-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

Local political jabbing anyone? (Photo by Tanya Wildt)

There was a little fun-poking at the village council for those paying attention during the bed races at Oktoberfest last weekend.

The team from Stockwell's Home Cooking on Adrian Street had its team members wear cardboard sandwich board signs around their necks with phrases like, "Is my sign in the right place?"

The signs were an allusion to the sign ordinance debate earlier this year. Owner Dawna Stockwell had a sandwich board on Main Street to bring patrons into her restaurant for several years, and was ordered to move it after it was found it was in violation of the village's ordinance.

After several months of debate back and forth between the village council and the planning commission, it was decided that the sign remained off Main Street. The board has stood in front of Stockwell's and Kellie's ever since.

Jackson Model Rocketry Club

2011-09-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

The Jackson Model Rocketry Club held a launch at Horning Farms in Freedom Township.

When voting still matters, even if every candidate is a shoo-in

2011-09-14T10:26:00.000-07:00


This was the scene most of the day in the village room Tuesday.

It's always been something that's been engrained in me since I was in school: vote, vote, vote and yes, don't forget to vote. Your voice is important.

That's why it was slightly stunning to see only eight ballots cast in the Manchester village elections Tuesday when I stopped by the polling place at 12:30 p.m. in the village hall.

Sure, there were only four candidates running for four slots in an election in September, but surely more than eight folks would turn up before noon, right?

Many will say, "what does it matter? Those four people are going to get elected anyway" and not show up to vote. To a degree, this makes sense for all of us, and I might have done the same before. But my thinking has changed.

Here's an interesting tale to put things in perspective: a woman in Burton, a suburb of Flint, ran for the lone spot on the Bentley school board in May. She was a write-in candidate for one of two spots, and was the only other eligible candidate. In other words, one vote for her would win.

But she didn't win. She failed to have one person vote for her, including herself that day.

She told The Flint Journal she was at her son's baseball game, and couldn't make it to the polls.

“I (thought I) would have gotten a vote,” she told The Journal. “I had plenty of people I know that would have gone up there and voted.”

Because of remembering this incident and seeing the low vote total in the afternoon, I asked Village Clerk Julie Schaible Tuesday afternoon what would happen if someone, for some reason, didn't get a vote. She was not completely sure how it would be handled, understandably so. It's not like this happens all the time.

Thankfully, no such incident happened. All four candidates received at least one vote, and they'll be sworn in on Oct. 3. But it does put things in perspective: just because someone is a shoo-in for a seat doesn't always mean they'll get voted in. Which is why that old cliche, "every vote counts" still rings true today.

The Wurster Park gazebo is getting a facelift

2011-09-12T09:25:00.001-07:00

Hopefully this will fix the leaking roof in the gazebo in Wurster Park.

Today, Tom Pratt of C. Schmitt Contracting was working on the roof of the gazebo, ripping up shingles in preparation of installing new ones this week.

Pratt said the roof will have shingles instead of wood to help prevent leaking.

The village contracted with C. Schmitt Contracting to repair the roof for $1,120 earlier this year.

More photos from the field day on the Kuhl farm in Sharon Township

2011-09-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

Going out to the farm on a cool September afternoon was the perfect way to spend some time out in the Greater Manchester area.

I attended my first field day Tuesday at the Kuhl family farm on Peckins Lane in Sharon Township, midway between Manchester and Chelsea. The subject matter dealt with soybean aphids and different types of fertilizers for both soybeans and corn.

We went out into the field to observe some of the traps that had been set up for the bugs, and Ned Birkey from the Michigan State University Extension demonstrated and showed the traps to the farmers in attendance, which equaled about 30.

Here are some photos from the event, as well as a speech given by Keith Reinholt of the Michigan Soybean Committee on aphids:

Procrastination can be productive

2011-09-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

Procrastination isn't always a waste. See how this reporter takes a day dream and comes up with a story idea. You never know what will inspire you. View my stream of consciousness/events below.

I need a story idea.

What can I write about?

Is it time for lunch yet?

I have leftover Mexican.

I wonder what Manchester students eat in the school cafeteria.

I think I'll look at the Manchester cafeteria menus.

Man, I used to love those peanut butter and jelly graham cracker sandwiches my elementary school served. I wonder if I can find them.

Google search peanut butter and jelly graham cracker sandwiches.

Find image of sandwich.

Look at photo comments and find out they were served at a Relay for Life event and commenter says you can buy them at MarketDay.com.

Find out MarketDay.com is a fundraising website.

Search groups using MarketDay.com near Manchester.

Discover Manchester band boosters are affiliated with MarketDay.com.

Decide to write story about Manchester school fundraisers.

Purchase peanut butter and jelly graham cracker sandwiches.

New Lawn Sod Farm

2011-09-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

This morning I went to New Lawn Sod Farm in Van Buren Township. The DeBuck family talked to me about the business and had me ride on the harvester. View some photos below.

Live chat regarding the Todd Green photo incident

2011-09-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

Heritage will host a live chat today at 3 p.m. for members of the community who would like to have a discussion regarding the photo incident that has shown much outcry on The Enterprise's Facebook page.

The chat is embedded on our website here, but will also take place here on our blog. We hope you can join us and have a discussion with us regarding the incident.

Reminder: Comments are moderated. Vulgarity, libelous comments and personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Discussion with Heritage Media regarding publishing decisions

More photos from Saturday's Medieval Faire

2011-08-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

If you were like me Saturday, you traveled back in time a few hundred years visiting Carr Park.

The library hosted its second Medieval Faire, this time taking advantage of the large space on the park on the west side of Manchester. As soon as you arrived, you spotted people wearing hats they wouldn't wear today, heard the clanging of the metal worker and heard the trumpet of the heralder announce events about to take place.

The big event had to be the sword fighting, where demonstrators from Jackson and Ann Arbor were on hand to answer questions and act as a medieval resource.

And even the animal lovers had something to look forward to: a pen of Great Danes came out, as well as a hawk used for falconry. It was quite the scene.

Here are some other photos from the event, as well as a compilation video I compiled from Saturday's faire:

Camping season

2011-08-29T08:41:00.000-07:00

I spent the past weekend camping at my favorite campground in Michigan, Fort Custer State Park in Augusta, just outside of Battle Creek. The large sites surrounded by trees are the perfect setting for a relaxing weekend. The bike trails and beach are added bonuses.
I've never done any camping in Washtenaw County. Are there any suggestions?

Manchester High School football is back

2011-08-25T08:55:00.000-07:00

Ah, football season.

It's close to being the greatest time of the year (I'll still give Christmas the nod here). It's the quintessential American sport, and is played by people of all ages, in pads and in shorts.

While I haven't had the pleasure of enjoying a football game in Manchester, I was treated to the beginning of the season last night, as I watched the JV team play Clinton down in Clinton, nearby where I live. While the game was postponed due to the weather being poor, it was still refreshing to see the players on the sidelines, hearing the shrill of the whistle and seeing the lights pour down onto the field.

High school football is a great thing for both the community and the players. It's a game that brings together some unlikely kids, and forces them to get along while doing some physically and mentally tough training. It's a great thing for kids to partake in; I played football for three years (read: backup to the backup), and don't regret anything about it. With it comes risks, such as injury, but most times, the rewards outweigh the negatives.

As the Flying Dutchmen look to return to the playoffs this year, here's a taste of fall football from last night's JV game in Clinton. The Dutchmen held a 20-14 lead with more than nine minutes remaining in the third quarter:

The 9/11 10-year anniversary is coming and we want to know what you remember

2011-08-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

It's just one of those days everyone know what they were doing.

Right up there with Pearl Harbor, JFK's assassin and the moon landing, everyone knows exactly what they were doing the day the Twin Towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001.

We'd like to help share some of the stories Manchester and Washtenaw County residents have from that day, which can either seem like it was forever ago, or just yesterday.

That's why we need your help. Let us know in the comments below what you were doing that fateful day. Include your real name, and where you live, and we'll include it in our 9/11 coverage next month. You can even post it on our Facebook wall, as some others have already done.

It's something we all can share and remember, no matter what our political differences are. It's a time to remember.

You may see Tanya or I in the village later this month with our Flip cameras out, talking to people. We're looking to also gather several videos across Washtenaw County of people talking about that fateful day and what they remember. The staff here at Heritage will be doing the same, leading up to Sept. 11. We'd love to hear what you remember.

Worthy of a mention, but not first prize

2011-08-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Bears Dunes was voted the most beautiful place in America by "Good Morning America" voters Wednesday. The Dunes were one of 10 finalists, including Aspen, Colorado, Grand Tetons in Jackson, Wyoming and Lanikai Beach in Oahu, Hawaii. As much as I love Michigan's natural beauty, there's no way Sleeping Bear Dunes is the most beautiful location in America.
I've been lucky enough to visit a lot of locations in the country, camping from east to west and north to south, all around our beautiful country. These travels have also included a great deal of time within the state of Michigan and I've always thought the beauty of the state was overlooked. The gorgeous coastlines and friendly small vacation towns were a hidden gem. This is why I'm pleased to see one Michigan location on the list.
Having visited Colorado and the Grand Tetons, as well as the Dunes, there's no comparison. The first two breathtaking locations win out over Sleeping Bear every time. I was also shocked not to see Alaska anywhere on the top-10 list. I've only seen photos, but the Alaskan wilderness and wildlife would top Sleeping Bear any day.
If I'm right, then what led to the Dunes being selected?. I have a theory. You may disagree and question my Michigan pride, but I think Michigan earned the top spot due to unemployment. There are probably a lot more Michigan residents sitting at home watching "Good Morning America" than in many states in the country where people are at work during most of the broadcast, accounting for more voters.
Even though Sleeping Bear Dunes may not be the most beautiful place in America, it's definitely one of the most beautiful in Michigan, and I support that vote.

An earful

2011-08-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

I paid my first visit to the Manchester Farmers Market on Thursday for the Faerie Festival. I took the opportunity to buy local sweet corn from Saline farmer Richard Weisenreder. Every year my family and I try to find the best local corn. Weisenreder's corn was fabulous and the family members I ate it with couldn't stop talking about how delicious it was. You'll probably see me at the market again this Thursday, buying more of Weisenreder's corn and trying other local farmers' corn as well.

The M-52 sign to Bridgewater is busted again

2011-08-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Either someone is a clumsy driver, or they just don't like Bridgewater.

The sign along M-52 just east of the village in Manchester Township points to the hamlet's direction down Austin road right before you get to the light. But for the second time in several months, the sign has been destroyed, leaving half of it still upright and the other half on the ground.

I noticed several months ago the first sign had been broken a few months ago, but thought of it as accident. It took quite a while for it to be replaced, but was new just a few weeks ago. When I drove to Manchester from my home in Clinton Monday, the sign was damaged again. Now, since the second sign is broken in the exact same way as the first, I can't help but wonder if it's a target for vandals.

Kari Arend, the communications representative for the University Region (which consists of south-central Michigan) of the Michigan Department of Transportation, said MDOT repairs signs based on priority, and couldn't speak for the specific sign on M-52.

"We will go out there and replace it as needed," she said. "When we have time, we’ll get a road crew out there."

Until then, just remember: Bridgewater is east on Austin Road.

115 House Concert

2011-07-31T16:25:00.000-07:00

Today I went to a live folk music concert in Manchester...in someone's house. Mike and Kathy Austin have opened their home for house concerts, an event where artists perform inside homes instead of traditional venues. House concerts provide an intimate setting for performers and audience members.

This was the second show for the Austins, hosting Annie and Rod Capps with Jason Dennie. They played two 45-minute sets with time for crowd interaction in-between.
If you haven't attended one of the Austin's shows yet, you definitely should. The music sounded great and all the Austins asked for is a donation of roughly $10, with all the money going to the artist.
The next concert is scheduled for Sept. 24 with blues/folk artist John Latini, who has been nominated for four Detroit Music Awards this year.

The blotter's back: let us know what you think

2011-07-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

In going through some old papers, Tanya found some papers with police blotters in them. So we've decided to resurrect the tradition and bring the blotter back to the Manchester Enterprise, starting today.

Each week on Friday, we'll collect blotter information from the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department for the Greater Manchester area that week, and publish the roundup on our website. Then, that list will appear in the newspaper the following Thursday.

We know people are always curious about the police activity in their area, and we're hoping the blotter will clear up some confusion over what's happening in your neighborhood, block, or township. While Nixle, the service the sheriff uses, displays some activity, not everything is sent out via a Nixle alert.

While we know Manchester is a pretty safe place to live, work and play, we realize things happen, and people want to know about them. We hope the blotter will help communicate that to the community. For larger news items, a news brief will be posted to our site, as well as a map showing the area of the crime, as was done with this alert in Sharon Township regarding vandalism to some property.

We're hoping to add on incidents in the some of the townships (Manchester, Freedom and Sharon) that are serviced by the Michigan State Police; we'll be working on bringing those to you in the future as well.

Let us know what you think of the blotter idea. We'll try to get the information out to you as we get it.

A video review: How is the chicken at the chicken broil?

2011-07-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

The event came in with high expectations for me.

As I've written before, I've been waiting to try the chicken from the Chicken Broil for about seven months now. I finally got my chance Thursday at about 4:30 p.m.

It was a great-looking plate of food, and the chicken was enormous, as each plate contained half a bird. No added seasonings or sauces, just good old-fashioned broiled chicken.

The first bite was a tasty one, where it was obvious it had been slowly cooked. The chicken was moist mostly throughout, although I think one bit was a bit dryer than what I was looking for. But you get that on nearly 100-degree days.

Even with the heat, the meal was great. I'm looking forward to next year. Here's hoping the temperatures comes down about 10 degrees with it.

Photos from setting up for the Chicken Broil

2011-07-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

According to my phone, it's going to reach as high as 101 degrees today for the 58th Annual Chicken. Broil. And it's not stopping the guys from getting the birds on the grills.

The chicken was unloaded from the chicken beginning around noon today, and all 19,000 pounds of it will make it onto the concrete brick grills. This is after all the setup earlier this week.

Today's festivities have even been noticed near Detroit. Radio station 104.3 WOMC published a write-up on the event, after Chris Fegan of the village won a contest on the radio station.

It's quite the process. Take a look at some of the photos from Thursday afternoon's setup at Alumni Memorial Field.

Recall is coming

2011-07-21T07:27:00.001-07:00

The Sharon Township recall election is just around the corner. August 2 will be here before we know it. I'd like to say I've personally polled all the residents and can give you an accurate prediction of the outcome, but I haven't. I have, however, been to every Sharon Township board meeting for the last four months, where I've listened to residents' thoughts on the issue. Unfortunately, this is of little help to me as well.
At the board meetings, the residents who usually make reference to the recall tend to be in favor of it. While this may point to a successful recall, it's the voices of the majority of residents, who do not attend board meetings to voice their concerns, who will truly impact the outcome.
I'm anxious to see the results when they come in. I think I'll be surprised either way.

The Manchester Bur Oak tree: A reminder of home

2011-07-15T11:53:00.000-07:00


Dave Bishop of Dave's Tree Service uses a chainsaw to cut rings from the Manchester Bur Oak.

When I arrived at the site of the Manchester Bur Oak tree on Austin Road in Manchester Township Sunday, I was shocked. I could've believe how big the tree was.

I hadn't seen a tree with a trunk that big since I visited the redwoods in California, and that was in 2004. Its size was incredible, and each ring cut by some township residents for preservation and historical purposes, weighed in at several hundred pounds. It was an amazing sight.

These rings were heavy, each weighing several hundred pounds.

Manchester Township resident and trustee Sybil Kolon told me before the tree was cut down, it hadn't been in a single accident, despite being inches from the road, until last year. Of course, it's important to note, the tree was more than 270 years old, dating it to before the American Revolution, and nearly 100 years before Michigan was granted statehood. But it looked like that car crash did the tree in, as burn marks on the bark were visible. Kolon said it was cut down probably sometime in May.

Hearing the story of the Manchester Bur Oak and its demise reminded me of home, which is Royal Oak, north of Detroit. The actual "Royal Oak" was in England, and used by King Charles II in the 1600s to hide from the Scots. Lewis Cass, who became governor of Michigan and made a run at the presidency only to lose, saw a similar tree at what is now the intersection of Main Street, Crooks and Rochester roads, and proclaimed it a "royal oak." Clearly, the name stuck.

But its demise was similar to that of the Manchester Bur Oak. It was hit by a car in the 1980s (I believe) and was damaged and had to be removed. Now, only a plague remains at the site.

It makes me beg the question: What memory will the Manchester Bur Oak have in area residents minds? I know the oak meant a lot to many people, otherwise they wouldn't have fought so hard in the 1980s to keep it standing when the Washtenaw County Road Commission wanted to cut it down.

What memories do you have of the Bur Oak? Leave a comment below, we would love to hear some stories of the majestic tree.

Manchester Community Fair

2011-07-07T13:41:00.001-07:00

The Manchester Community Fair kicked off Tuesday night at Alumni Memorial Field. I've put together an interactive slideshow of some of the highlights.

More photos from the Manchester Community Fair parade Tuesday night

2011-07-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

Parades around the Fourth of July are a special occasion.

Manchester's parade Tuesday night was no different, as several hundred people lined Main Street to watch the local fire trucks, service organizations, Cub Scouts and local leaders, drive on by.

It also made some of the local dentists happy, since the streets were lined with more candy than Gumdrop Lane in Candyland.

Weren't able to make it down to the parade? We've got some photos from the event last night here:

A call for some Chicken Broil help

2011-07-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

I still remember the first thing I noticed about Manchester when I first came here, looking for a place to live.

It was the sign to the village limits on Austin Road, saying "Home of the Famous Chicken Broil." It was one I found slightly ironic, since I hadn't heard of this Chicken Broil before.

It didn't take me long to realize what a big deal the event was, and I've been excited to see it come alive since January.

However, since I am still a Chicken Broil newbie, I need a little help. I'm looking for some Manchester (and non-Manchester) folk to help me understand how important this event is. That being said, I have a few questions I'd like to pose:

What makes the Chicken Broil such a special event for Manchester, and why?
What are some of your favorite memories of the Chicken Broil?
What are you looking forward to the most?
And last one (and I need a complete honest answer here): How good is the chicken served at the broil??

If you know anyone else that comes out of town for the broil, be sure to send this link along, I'd love to gain some perspective, as well as include some info for a story for next week.

Way to go Sharon Township

2011-07-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

In my last blog I wrote about the lack of public participation during Cherie Vannatter's interview for Manchester Community Schools superintendent. Today, I'm happy to report Sharon Township residents come out in floods during Thursday's special board meeting regarding noise complaints on Peckins Lane.
Over 50 residents packed the township hall and had their voices heard regarding the noise complaint and whether or not a noise ordinance was needed to strengthen the current nuisance ordinance. There was standing room only when the meeting started. To top it off, the meeting was a hot topic with many strong emotions on both sides, however, both sides of the fence remained civil throughout the majority of the discussion. Way to go Sharon Township for making sure your voices were heard, but doing it in a way that was respectful to all involved.

Google finally got it right

2011-06-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be a post on how Google just keeps wrong information about Manchester live and doesn't do anything about it. And then I checked, and found they had fixed themselves, saving a scolding from this blogger.

For the longest time, Google has listed Manchester High School as being at 410 City Road, and not at it's current location on Dutch Drive. Because I'm still relatively new to the village, I would assume this is where the high school was before the current one was built.

Being the map nerd I can be, I submitted an edit to Google to show them where the school is actually located. While it won't do too much during the summer, I venture it could be useful come this fall, say, when football season starts.

Sometime in the last week or two, someone finally made the changes, and Manchester High School's address and location are correct, although two listings appear: the first shows the school simply on Dutch Drive, and the second gives the correct location:

I'm not sure if it was my edits that did this, since I didn't receive an email telling me the edit had been reviewed and corrected, as has happened to some previous edits I've made. But it's now corrected, and Manchester is slightly better represented on the world's biggest search engine.

Is there someone wrong listed on Google in Manchester or the surrounding areas you'd like to see corrected, but don't know how to fix it? Email me at dveselenak@heritage.com and I'll submit a problem ticket for it! (And FYI, C&C Pizza owners: I've already submitted one to have your business replace Classic Pizza on the map.)

Take their word for it?

2011-06-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

I was more than a little shocked Monday night when I went to the Manchester Community School Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. for its annual budget hearing and found I was the only person in attendance besides the director of transportation, Jeff Knasiak. What was even more surprising was when Finance Director Elizabeth Wingfield told me she hadn't had to publicly present the budget in the past, because no one usually showed up to the hearing. Wingfield did a wonderful job answering all my questions about the budget. It's too bad no one else was there to gain from her knowledge.

Granted, Wingfield went over the budget again during the regular meeting, but even then, no audience members asked any questions regarding the funds. I'm not sure if the taxpayers are extremely trusting of their school board's decisions or simply don't care.

I was further surprised Tuesday night when I attended Cherie Vannatter's interview for MCS superintendent. The district held various meet and greet opportunities with Vannatter during the day, prior to the interview. I'm not sure exactly how many community members took advantage of the opportunity, but at the interview it didn't seem too promising. I spotted maybe a handful of faces that normally don't attend board meetings. The rest were the usual staff members who diligently show up each month.

After Vannatter interviewed, the audience had the opportunity to submit questions for her to answer. Not a single question was asked. After Vannatter left, the board asked for feedback from several audience members who spoke with Vannatter during the day. They gave great input, but where was the rest of the community?

Why wasn't anyone there to ask Vannatter tough questions? It would seem especially important when this interview process is extremely out of the ordinary, with board members approaching Vannatter about the position and forgoing a traditional search method. Without a traditional search firm to assist, public input would seem even more important.

More photos from this past weekend's Relay for Life

2011-06-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

Not very often do you get to hear from a cancer survivor of 10 years who hasn't hit 40 yet. But those who attended the first-ever Relay for Life event last weekend at the Manchester High School track did just that, listening to Eagle resident Lisa Mulder talk about her battle with colon cancer at the age of 29.

Overall, more than $20,000 was raised for the American Cancer Society to help fight cancer. Dozens of local residents came to walk the track for 24 hours, and 13 teams set up camp during the weekend.

If you missed it, here are some more photos from the event last weekend, which organizer Chris Fegan said will return next year:

Manchester's congressional, state senate, house districts may change under new plan

2011-06-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

If you follow me on Twitter (which you should!), this morning I was tweeting up a storm of Michigan county names and numbers. The reason?

It was my second journalistic Christmas.

This morning, Michigan's Republicans released their proposed redistricting plan for the states congressional, state Senate and state house representatives for the next 10 years. It comes just a few months after the U.S. Census Bureau released specific data for states and municipalities, which I blogged about here.

Manchester's positioning saw a bit of a change, namely in its state Senate district. Currently, the village, Manchester and Bridgewater townships are represented by State Sen. and Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, in the 17th District. Freedom and Sharon townships are in the 18th district.

Richardville's current district, which includes all of Monroe County, most of southern Washtenaw County and a few townships in Jackson County.

Under the proposed plan, all four townships and the village would be placed in the 22nd District, which encompasses all of Livingston County and Washtenaw County west of Ann Arbor.

The new district with Manchester,
with all four townships
represented by the same senator.

No matter what happened, however, Manchester was going to have new representation in 2014, since Richardville is term-limited out.

This move makes good sense for the village for a few reasons: One, the Greater Manchester community falls under the same Senator, which is a good thing. Two, it connects Manchester more with communities that are more similar to it and it relates to; Chelsea is a closer town to Manchester than say, Monroe.

The state House district remains very similar, covering most of western Washtenaw County. The only real difference is it snakes out a bit farther north and east, stretching to Salem Township, and no longer covers part of the City of Ann Arbor.

The new 52nd district, under
the state GOP plan.

Congressionally, the village would remain in the 7th District, currently represented by Tim Walberg. The district doesn't change too much, except it loses Calhoun County and the Battle Creek voters it comes with, and now includes Monroe County, which is currently served by U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn.

The new 7th district, proposed by the Michigan legislature. If it goes into effect,
the 7th would lose Calhoun County and pick up Monroe County.

Overall, not too much change for Manchester. The biggest change is the state Senate, but it looks like the village will be grouped with similar areas and could benefit from it in the long run.

Of course, all this is conditional that the legislature approves the change and challenges to the plan are not successful. Plans must be completed and finalized by Nov. 1 of this year, and will take place during the next election cycle.

And because I can't help myself, here are a few other observations from around Michigan:

People talk a lot about gerrymandering, or drawing the lines to benefit one party or another. The most obvious case I can see of this is the new 5th Congressional district, which takes Bay County, most of Saginaw County (including the city of Saginaw), western Tuscola County and all of Genesee County, home of Flint. The district is a very liberal one, and keeps many blue areas together.
Detroit has the potential to not be represented by a native in both the state Senate and Congress, which was pointed out in this Detroit News article. Because of federal law, majority minority districts must be protected. And since Detroit lost so much in population the last 10 years, boundaries had to be expanded into more black suburbs, such as Southfield and Oak Park.
As many people thought, Reps. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, and Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, have been merged into one seat, since Michigan had to forfeit one of its 15 seats due to decrease in population. The next curious step is, who will run, and who will win?
The 1st Congressional district, aka the "Yooper District," has boundaries that make more sense now. Before, the district, which spans the entire Upper Peninsula, reached down the eastern coast of Lake Huron and touched down into northern Bay County. Meanwhile, Traverse City and Leelanau County were represented by U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland. The proposed map has the 1st district lines across the state, taking the complete upper third of the Lower Peninsula with it. This is a no-brainer, and probably should have been done 10 years ago.

Are there other anomalies with the proposed map? Share them in the comments, I'd love to hear them!

The Civil War: Still making news 150 years later

2011-06-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

Our story on the Civil War was posted today at heritage.com, and it documents some historic ties Washtenaw County had with the bloodiest war in American history.

It's a fascinating war, the only war fought completely by Americans. Being in Michigan, it can be difficult to connect with the war: most of the battles were fought in the South, and very few made it north of the Mason-Dixon Line (with the exception of this doozy).

But we have lots of history from the war in our state, and Washtenaw County, and specifically Manchester, is no exception.

If you travel down Main Street to Austin Road on the west side of the village, you'll find Oak Grove Cemetery, which is full of history and headstones from the Civil War. It's always interesting to wander around old cemeteries and look back at what remains of people that died 100, 150, even 200 years ago.

The flagholder with an iron star denotes a
Grand Army of the Republic member in Oak Grove Cemetery.

Almost immediately walking into the cemetery for the first time a few weeks ago, you are in the midst of American flags complete with "GAR," or Grand Army of the Republic, icons. The Grand Army of the Republic was the North's fraternal organization after the war that lasted until the mid-1900s, when the remaining Civil War vets died. It's a reminder of the service those men and women performed to keep the Union intact, and also, not to mention that below your feet rests someone who fought during the most divisive period in American history. It's kind of eerie, if you think about it long enough.

Manchester has several veterans buried in the cemetery from the war, and it could behoove you to just go and visit. School's out, which makes for the perfect history lesson field trip during the day. Read the names on the headstones. Maybe head to the Manchester library and find some local history. Or talk to the Manchester Area Historical Society, there are several members that are into the war and could help you understand more about our local ties.

And you'll never know when you'll find that connection. Just this week, my parents, who are vacationing in Kansas to visit family, found out our family had several soldiers participate in the Civil War. They were members of the 12th and 13th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and participated in battles such as the ones at Shiloh, Vicksburg and even Gen. George Sherman's infamous March to the Sea, which resulted in the burning of Atlanta.

Hopefully our local history piece has inspired you to go and do some digging on your own. It's a lot like the Ancestry.com commercial: You don't have to know what you're looking for, you just have to start looking.

Banning pit bulls in Michigan?

2011-06-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

If one Michigan legislator had his way, this little guy wouldn't be allowed to cross the border to Michigan.

Last week's village council meeting touched on, among several other issues, the village's dog ordinance. The issue came up when several residents, including Planning Commission Chairman Ron Milkey, approached the council after a neighbor's dog had gotten loose and attacked a family pet, killing it.

Current village ordinance states that a dog that has been found to be dangerous, but does not cause any harm to anyone or anything, can be returned to it's owner, so long as a few precautions are taken.

More discussion is scheduled to take place at the next council meeting, which is at 7 p.m. June 20 in the village chambers of the village hall.

Some discussion, triggered mostly by Trustee James Dzengeleski, revolved around banning specific breeds in the village altogether, namely pit bulls. That discussion was seemingly shot down quickly by other trustees, saying it was illogical to approve an ordinance like that.

Several other communities has taken measures against the dogs, including the City of Saginaw, which recently began working to ban certain breeds in the mid-Michigan city.

But a recent lawmaker in Michigan from Grosse Pointe may change this discussion completely. Although currently tabled, State Rep. Tim Bledsoe, a Democrat, recently introduced legislation that would eventually ban pit bulls from the State of Michigan.

Several dog groups and bloggers, including our sister paper The Oakland Press' Karen Workman, opposed this law, saying banning a specific breed of dog isn't fair. A big argument is that breeds aren't naturally vicious, but rather are trained to become vicious.

The law's been tabled, which means very little action will be taken soon. But judging by the response online, it doesn't look like there's a lot of support for the bill.

My two cents: I'm not a dog person at all; I've grown up around a cat my whole life (even though sometimes, my previous cat thought he was a dog. He did the usual stuff, play fetch, etc), so I'm not the most qualified to speak.

However, when I worked in Bay City this past fall, I lived next door to a woman who owned a little puppy pit bull. He was a nice little dog, and he grew fast. Never once was I worried that he might suddenly attack when he was out; the only thing I couldn't stand about him was the constant howling early in the morning, which I assume was because he was lonely. It did help change the perception of pit bulls, and showed that they can be good dogs, as long as they're trained properly.

Congratulations Megan Linski!

2011-06-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

Manchester Enterprise freelance writer Megan Linski graduated with the Manchester High School class of 2011 June 5 in the Manchester High School . Watch the video of her big moment.

Graduation ceremony highlights everyone's achievements

2011-06-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

When I graduated from John Glenn High School with roughly 400 other kids at Eastern Michigan University, there was barely a pause after my name before the next student was announced to come get their diploma. Manchester High School graduates had no such problem Sunday. With about 100 students graduating, each student had a moment to shine.
After each student's name was called, announcers read off accomplishments of the graduate and their future plans. It was an intimate ceremony in the high school gym with the graduates surrounded by family and friends. Each graduate also went into the crowd and gave their parents a flower.
After all the hard work students put in throughout their school career, it was nice to see each one recognized for more than half a second. The ceremony showed another aspect of how special it can be to be a student in Manchester Community Schools.

One reporter's small memories of Dr. Jack Kevorkian

2011-06-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

Whether you loved him or hated him, you to to respect the guts he had.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian died this morning at the age of 83 at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. The physician, who became an advocate for assisted suicides and helped dozens of people perform them, served eight years of a prison term for the murder of Thomas Youk, a Waterford man who was unable to press the button to inject the deadly chemicals that would take his life. Kevorkian would be found guilty of murder and sentenced to 10-25 years in prison.

With me being a Royal Oak native, Kevorkian was talked about a bit more than normal in the city. He would always be found downtown, walking the streets wearing his trademark sweater-vest. His art was in a gallery downtown, and while I never saw it, I heard he had some skills with a paintbrush.

One day, in the summer of 2008, I went to the Royal Oak Post Office to mail something to my girlfriend who lived up north at the time. As I walked in, I saw a little man chatting it up with the worker behind the counter. Sure enough, it was Kevorkian.

I'd never seen him in person before. My parents had, but not me. It kind of became an urban legend.

He was in the midst of running for Congress in the 9th District, which is now represented by Gary Peters. He collected a good chunk of his signatures there, as did most people who wanted something or someone on the ballot.

He came in, and I just listened intently to his conversation, without looking too obvious as to what I was doing.

"Do you collect signatures?" the woman behind the counter asked him.

"Yup, I'm on the ballot," he said, swinging his hand in happiness.

Kevorkian had been such a polarizing figure during my childhood, especially with Court TV (remember that?) airing his trial. It was on the whole time in my house as my mom watched it closely. And now, here I was, feet from a convicted murderer, and one of the most internationally-known Royal Oakers of all time, and he was a short, little old man wearing a derby hat and coat. Needless to say, I was slightly disappointed.

Do you have any memories of Jack Kevorkian? What did you think of his philosophy regarding assisted suicide? Let me know in the comments below!

Everyone loves a parade, especially in Manchester

2011-05-31T07:36:00.000-07:00

I was able to attend my first parade in Manchester yesterday, and was excited to see how the town honors its fallen veterans. I come from metro-Detroit, so I've not seen any of the "small-town America" celebrations, and knew I'd be in for a treat.

The parade in Manchester is more of a community walk than parade, a different element I've not seen before. With stops at both Wurster Park and Oak Grove Cemetery, Manchester makes the parade more veteran-centric than some others I've seen.

Not able to attend yesterday's celebration? Here's a link to the story, and here are some more photos from the day. Also below is a video highlighting the celebration.

An awesome Manchester tale from across the pond

2011-05-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

Photo linked from road2manchester.blogspot.com

I can't lie: when I was offered this job back in December when I was still an intern with The Bay City Times, I had an idea of the geography of Manchester and knew it was close to Ann Arbor. But I didn't know exactly where it was.

Enter a man from Manchester, England, who not only knows where this village is, but every other one in the country. That's impressive.

Pete Johnson, a British citizen, is riding his motorcycle,or motor bike, as it's being called in other news stories, to every Manchester in the U.S. and Canada, exploring what makes the name "Manchester" so special.
I loved every minute of reading on his journey, namely, because I'd love to make a journey like this. I also loved it because I felt a bit more connected to my British heritage in doing so.

My great-grandfather grew up in a town called Fraserburgh, a predominant fishing town in northwest Scotland, before he came to the United States. My entire life, I've been surrounded with Scottish and British flags, prayers, and even kilts (and no, I do not own one, nor have I worn one, for those curious).

When I interviewed Pete via Skype a few nights ago, I found it enjoyable to hear his story and use common British terminology to describe it (when my internet or power wasn't going out; thanks to Pete for dealing with me during that time).

It's an exciting adventure he's on, and hopefully you get a chance to meet him whenever he stops in. He said he tries to stop by the municipal buildings in town to speak with officials, and tries to eat at local places.

If you want to read more about his trip, check out his blog at unitedstatesofamanchester.blogspot.com, and follow him on Twitter at @road2manchester.

Here comes the rain again

2011-05-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

As everyone is aware, our area has been getting a lot of rain lately. In the months of April and May about 70 percent of our days had rain. What's the deal? Chief Meteorologist Dave Rexroth from WXYZ explained on 96.3 FM this morning that we are currently experiencing La Niña, which is causing cooler air to come off the Rocky Mountains and create wet weather.
So, that's why it's been soggy this Spring. Unfortunately, Rexroth said we can expect the wet weather to continue until the beginning of July.
The heavy rain has wreaked havoc on local roads and basements, flooding both. We'll have to see if the next month brings more of the same. If you have any flood pictures, please send them to editor@manchesterenterprise.com.

Klager Elementary food packaging

2011-05-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

Manchester students and volunteers packaged 20,000 dry meals for Kids Against Hunger on May 19th at Klager Elementary.

Why there isn't any coverage of the True Value Hardware store fire in today's print edition

2011-05-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

Fire engulfed the True Value Hardware store Wednesday morning in Sharon Township. (Photo courtesy of Barry Allen)

Most people in the village probably (or at least I hope they did) ran to pick up a copy of the Enterprise this morning, expecting to see coverage from the fire at the True Value Hardware store Wednesday morning, which was rendered a total loss.

Unfortunately, you won't see anything in there regarding the fire, and I want to explain why.

The print product is produced on Tuesdays here at Heritage Media, and we try to have our content in for that by Monday night, although Tuesday mornings, in the case of Manchester Village Council meeting coverage. Since the fire took place after the paper had been produced and sent to the printer, we were rendered helpless to include it in the print product. There will be extensive coverage of the fire in next week's print edition.

However, that's the beauty of the internet. At manchesterenterprise.com, we've got a story, video and photos from the fire up before 2 p.m. the day of.

When news like this happens, we'll strive to have it online as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, our print product can't always catch up that quickly.

Preschoolers get groovy with tie-dye in class

2011-05-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

It may be 2011, but preschoolers at the Manchester Head Start program got a blast from the past this week.
Cynthia Barton-Spencer, a local Farm Insurance Bureau employee, volunteered her afternoon and spent it tie-dying with the preschoolers.
The kids seemed to have a lot of fun, at least when they're attention was on the activity at hand. Here are some additional photos from the afternoon, as well as the video posted on Heritage.com:

Where's my paper?

2011-05-12T06:28:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning, while getting ready for the day, I headed the kitchen anticipating seeing the front page of the Detroit Free Press on the kitchen table with some headline like "Game 7!" I had watched the thrilling Detroit Red Wings game six Tuesday night and was looking forward to the celebration in the morning paper.

I know the Free Press went to home delivery only three days a week quite some time ago, but Wednesday morning it was disappointing when I realized there would be no home delivery that day. Being in the newspaper business, I understand the Freep's need to change to more of an Internet-based newspaper, but I felt like metro-Detroiters missed out one a part of the sports history experience. Sure, I could have gone and bought the paper that morning, but it's not the same. There's something magical about waking up in the morning, and having history delivered to you.

As I said, I could have gone out that morning and purchased a hard copy of the paper. But I didn't. At the same time, I didn't look it up on the Freep site either. I knew what happened, I had watched the game. I didn't need to read the recap and seeing an image of the front page wouldn't have been the same. All I wanted was to feel sports history at my fingertips.

More photos from the first farmer's market of the year in Manchester

2011-05-06T10:13:00.000-07:00

Summer's almost here.
The Manchester Farmer's Market had its first Thursday yesterday, and had nine total vendors. Market manager Irene Stedman said while numbers were down this year, as summer goes on, more will show up, and with different goods.
Yesterday, vendors came with plenty of goods, including flowers, plants, freshly-ground coffee, refurbished wooden furniture and baked goods (the lemon bread at that stand is delicious, be sure to try it).
The market is open from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays until the second week in October. Here are some more photos from the day yesterday:

Radio station 102.9 will broadcast from Manchester Friday

2011-04-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Ann Arbor-based country radio station 102.9 W4 Country will be broadcasting from the Manchester firehouse Friday. The broadcast is for the station's weekly "Firehouse Friday" segment. The show starts at 6 a.m.

Men's Club Easter egg hunt: more photos

2011-04-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

Carr Park looked like an absolute minefield of eggs Saturday. One wrong step and you'd have hard-boiled egg all over the bottom of your shoe.

The annual Easter egg hunt by the Manchester Men's Club at Carr Park Saturday couldn't have gotten any better. The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, and several hundred kids were aching to venture into the park and pick up their share of more than 2,500 dyed eggs.

Not able to attend last Saturday? Here are some more photos from the annual event:

Also, check out the video from the event as well:

Getting Lansing's attention

2011-04-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

At the Manchester Community School Board meeting last night, the board discussed possible cuts for the upcoming year. Nothing was decided, ideas were just thrown out for discussion. Superintendent Shawn Lewis-Lakin presented the board with a list of possible cuts and said that when he approached employees for ideas, they ran into a common problem. He found many of the ideas they had for cuts had already been done in the last few years. Lewis-Lakin eventually compiled a list of possibilities, but his earlier problem highlighted how strained school budgets are and reminds us that these cuts take place every year.

One interesting saving scenario presented was for the district to eliminate school sports funding. School Board President Marlene Wagner said the plan would hurt the district more than help because students would use school of choice and transfer to schools that did fund sports. She said that if something like cutting sports was going to work, many districts would have to band together and all remove athletic funding at the same time. A council member then commented that if sports were cut, people would definitely contact their state legislators.

The fact is sad, but yet, probably true. In my years in the public school system, I saw people get more upset over sports related issues. Every year I saw students that didn't have desks due to overflowing classrooms and books falling apart, but students and even parents would get more upset about a coach being fired than any of the issues that affect every student.

Maybe Wagner is on to something. School districts need to get Lansing's attention. Maybe eliminating sports funding is the way to do it.

Waking up to snow in mid-April?? Really???

2011-04-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

You probably thought earlier this year that since Easter was so late, there would be no worry of the white stuff ruining your springtime. Then you probably looked out your window this morning. Nobody said those April showers that bring May flowers had to consist of just rain, right?

The chart from wunderground.com, screen captured at about 1:15 p.m. April 18, 2011. Notice there is no precedent for snowfall this late in the year.

The village received enough snowfall --Weather Underground is saying about 2 inches-- to cause the village roads to be slick and require some people to take out their shovels and get rid of the slush on the sidewalk. Data for today shows temperatures will reach a high of about 40 degrees, way below the average of 63. And that's 63 *degrees* for those who have forgotten that the thermometer actually goes that high.

The best part? The National Weather Service says the village has a 60 percent chance of more snow later tonight, with freezing rain in the morning. At least no ice or snow accumulation is expected.

The good news? Well, except for a chance of rain, the weather for Saturday's Easter Egg hunt in Carr Park looks like it could reach as high as 58 degrees. Hopefully that will keep that white stuff gone until at least November (knock on wood).

Sign of bad times?

2011-04-13T14:53:00.000-07:00

Within the past two weeks I've witnessed and heard about more larceny in and around my hometown of Westland than normal. Up until the end of March, I had been working at Hobby Lobby, a home decor/craft retail store. About a week after I left, a man was dressed suspiciously and kept hanging around the office door. He handed the Co-Manager a note that read, "Give me all of your money, or I'll kill you." The Co-Manager laughed and said no. The thief then headed toward the exit and grabbed a tote bag and filled it with merchandise on his way out.

This week, a nearby hardware/hobby store had an unknown man run into the store, break open several glass cases containing parts for remote control cars, planes, etc. and flee from the store with those items as well as several RC cars.

I was also walking into Kroger and noticed two younger men, maybe in their late teens or early 20's walking out suspiciously. As soon as they passed me coming in they took off running and shortly after another accomplice ran after them. The Kroger employees started to point out the window and yell that they had taken something.

This same day, I was in Kmart and over the loud speaker an employee called for security to monitor a specific camera. I can only assume they were suspicious of a customer stealing.

Saturday night I was in Ann Arbor and as we were leaving, we had to go around a large police blockade full of flashing lights. I found out later a man had been stabbed.

I've never heard of and experienced so much crime in such a short amount of time. A friend of mine recently wrote on Facebook that her child support debit card was taken from her car. When she reported it, the officer said, "People are desperate."

Is the economy really that awful that people are resorting to crime? I used to hear of incidents like this once in a great while, but now they can't be ignored. Is crime increasing because of the economy? If it is, should I be fearing more for my safety? What can we do to turn things around and feel safe in the communities we live in?

Manchester brochure out and distributed, take a look

2011-04-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

The brochure advertising Manchester is out and has been distributed to area businesses and welcome centers along the Michigan border.
The booklet, a full-color 12-page booklet highlights some of the best of Manchester, including a two-page spread on the chicken broil.
The brochure looks stunning and full of color, and captures the color of the town perfectly. Check out some images from the new brochure in the gallery below.

It all started with a tweet: The very real new cycle of news

2011-04-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

The news cycle has changed dramatically since I began college in 2006. Going to school, I looked forward to becoming an educated journalist, and writing stories (at that time, sports stories) and getting them published in a newspaper and seeing people read it all over town. Nowadays, many newsstands sit untouched, and people rather see what's going on online and on their smartphones. (Although, I'm quite happy Manchester still embraces the print product!)

There's no better way to display how the newscycle has changed then by how the events of Friday unfolded. While working in the Manchester District Library (come visit me, by the way, I usually am on the second floor Friday afternoons), I checked my Twitter feed, just see what was happening in the world. There, I saw a tweet from @RoyalOakPatch, the Patch.com website that covers my hometown, Royal Oak. It had said the Royal Oak School District had named its finalists for superintendent. The former superintendent, Thomas Moline, was retiring after serving the district for five years.

Royal Oak Schools names its superintendent candidates: http://patch.com/A-gsLSless than a minute ago via TweetDeckRoyal Oak Patch

Being curious, I clicked on the link. I started going down the list and stopped when I saw the name "Shawn Lewis-Lakin, Manchester Community Schools."

I did a double-take to make sure I saw the name correctly, and I did. I called our new copy editor, Tanya, who began last week, and informed her of the news. She then began working on calling Lewis-Lakin, and shortly after the Patch story for Royal Oak was online, the Enterprise had a full story up before dinnertime. As of April 4, it was the second most-read story on Heritage.com.

The most miraculous piece of all this, even to a 20-something-year-old like me, is that it all stemmed from a simple tweet. One person, in this case an editor, sent out a little message containing less than 140 characters and a link, and it stemmed into a story that could affect the Manchester community and its schools. In this Internet (and increasingly mobile) age, it can just take a simple tweet to spur front page-worthy news. And this is one of the best local examples I have found since starting at the Enterprise in January.

Lewis-Lakin's achievements are Manchester's as well

2011-04-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

Shawn Lewis-Lakin, the superintendent of Manchester Community Schools, is one of five finalists to be the next Royal Oak superintendent. While the prospect of Lewis-Lakin looking for employment elsewhere could be taken in a negative light, the honor that Royal Oak is bestowing upon Lewis-Lakin and Manchester Community Schools is nothing but positive.

For Lewis-Lakin to be chosen as one of the top five candidates out of 32 applicants, shows he's doing quite a few things right for Manchester Community Schools. With so many candidates to choose from, Lewis-Lakin obviously met, or excelled in, the majority of requirements for the position which included:

Proven experience in school administration; superintendent,
assistant superintendent or significant central office
experience preferred.
Doctorate degree preferred.
Demonstrated experience in budget development and
financial management.
Be able to communicate with a wide variety of constituents.
Consistently exhibits professional ethics.
A collaborative leader who is visible and accessible to staff
and community.
Demonstrated experience in improving student achievement.

Lewis-Lakin also finished second, by a 4-3 vote, for the Northville Public Schools superintendent position in December. The interest from both of these school districts enforces the fact that Manchester schools are in good hands.

Sure, Lewis-Lakin might be chosen for the Royal Oak position, or another in the future, but change is good. These other districts see Lewis-Lakin's potential, and while it may sting a little to lose him, it also creates the opportunity for someone else to step in with fresh ideas.

So, let's cheer on Lewis-Lakin as he interviews with Royal Oak. The opportunity is not only attributed to his success, but that of that district as well.

The smell of Spring

2011-03-31T10:15:00.000-07:00

David was kind enough to take me for a drive through our coverage area Tuesday. As we drove through Manchester, Sharon, Freedom, and Bridgewater with the windows rolled down, the scent of nearby farms fill the car. To some, the smell of animals and fertilizer would force their finger to the window up button. I'm different. I let the aroma linger.

The drive, especially the scents surrounding us, reminded me of my numerous drives from Westland to Adrian, where I attended college. I loved the the first time after Winter when I peacefully drove with the windows rolled down and encountered the familiar smell. There's something enchanting and cozy about rural areas. The silos and farm houses rekindle my love of Laura Ingalls Wilder's stories and often inspire me to pick up one of her books for a quick read. The drive reminded me of my college time when my future was unknown, but all possibilities existed. Some people like to stop and smell the roses. I like to stop and smell the farms.

2010 Census: The specifics for the Greater Manchester area and Washtenaw County

2011-03-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

For some people, last Tuesday was just that, a plain old Tuesday. But for some, including this reporter, it was like Christmas morning.
Last Tuesday was the day that detailed counts of Michigan's municipalities' populations was released by the Census Bureau. This data showed the population changes of everything from the City of Detroit, which got its population numbers decimated the last ten years, dropping to 713,777, to Pointe Aux Barques Township in Huron County, which only has 10 residents (How do they manage that?!?).
Census data, which was collected last spring, is vital to areas such as representation, growth and probably most importantly, funding. Funding for the next ten years is determined using census data, and a decrease in population can be devastating to a municipality's state-shared revenue.
Locally, numbers for the greater Manchester area varied. The Village of Manchester saw a slight decrease, going from 2,170 in 2000 to 2,091, a decrease of 79 people, or 3.6 percent.
The data was much different for Manchester Township, which saw an increase of people. The township gained 438 people, going up from 4,097 to 4,569, a 11.5 percent increase.
In Bridgewater Township, very little change in population took place, with an additional 23 people registering as living in the township. In 2010, 1,674 people lived in Bridgewater Township, compared to 1,651 11 years ago. Same thing applied to Sharon Township, with only a 3.5 percent increase, going from 1,678 to 1,737.
Freedom Township was the only township in the southwest corner of Washtenaw County to lose population, going from 1,573 to 1,428, a decrease of 9.2 percent.
Overall, the Greater Manchester area (the village and the four surrounding townships) had a population of 11,578.
The trend in the southwest corner of the county seemed similar to what happened across the county, except in smaller terms. More city populations decreased this cycle, and more people are living in outside townships. To see other municipalities in Washtenaw County's population, check out the map below and click on a marker.

Sharon United Methodist Church Lenten fish fry: behind the scenes

2011-03-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

While most people were enjoying the warm(er) weather last Friday, many residents were at the Sharon United Methodist Church on Pleasant Lake Road in Sharon Township prepping for the first Friday fish fry.
The fish fry dinner, which takes place each Friday during Lent (except for Good Friday) is a tradition predominantly done by Roman Catholic groups, since the eating of red meat and poultry is forbidden on Fridays during the season (Interestingly enough, it's a common occurrence year-round in Wisconsin).
Everyone knows fried fish is tasty, but what does it take to prep the meal? Here are some behind-the-scenes photos from the prep work done last week.

And the fish fry isn't the only Lenten meal taking place in Manchester this year. Each Thursday, St. Mary's Catholic Church will be hosting a loaded baked potato dinner at the church. What types of foods do you commonly eat during Lent?

Crazy Cash Night

2011-03-08T13:47:00.001-08:00

When I arrived at the American Legion Hall at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, I had planned to stay until the final ball was drawn and get a reaction photo from the winner.

One slight problem: the winner wasn't in attendance. Jerry Humitz, a Kiwanis Club member, had gone out and spent time with some family that came into town. Humitz was the first winner of the $5,000 main prize that wasn't there to collect his winnings since the first Crazy Cash Night more than a decade ago.

But overall, the night ended in success. Tickets Nos. 199 and 200 were auctioned off for $500 and $1,250, respectively, and plenty came and enjoyed dinner.

In case you missed it, here are some additional photos from the night. For a video showing the last ball being pulled, check it out here in the story.

14th annual Men's Club Chili Cookoff

2011-03-01T11:26:00.000-08:00

I'm not originally from Manchester, or any small town that features chili cookoffs. But Saturday's event, even though organizers said numbers were down (at blame was the state wrestling meet, Treasurer Bob Rhees said, which sent 14 Manchester wrestlers), was an impressive display of some awesome cooking, especially for a city kid like me.

By the time I left, which was about 6 p.m., the American Legion Hall was packed with people, and it smelled fantastic. The LaBlanc family from Onsted won the top prize of $200, with their southwestern chili recipe. Overall, a few hundred people showed up to sample only 11 cooks' chili. Here are some photos from the evening, which also featured a 32-person euchre tournament:

A look at other municipalities' takes on medical marijuana

2011-02-23T10:48:00.000-08:00

Hazy. Smoky. In a cloud. There are so many puns you can associate with when writing about the medical marijuana laws and municipalities, I thought I would get a few out of the way right off the bat.

The Manchester Planning Commission seemed to take a step closer toward recommending a medical marijuana ordinance for the village at last week's meeting. The commission had been charged with drafting its own ordinance and sending it to the village council for approval.

While discussions will continue at next month's meeting, it seemed the commission leaned on adopting a similar model to the one being proposed in Dexter, which would define a dispensary and not allow sales or consumption of marijuana inside the building (Dexter held a public hearing on the matter last week). It would also ban a dispensary from opening with 500 feet of a school. Manchester currently has a moratorium on medical marijuana facilities, although it expires this spring.

Village Manager Jeff Wallace said he has been contacted by people looking to open a dispensary in the village, mostly because of the opportunity to use larger barns for growing.

The subject of medical marijuana has caused such a headache for some muncipalities since voters approved the measure in 2008, that many are still hashing (there's another one!) out the details. Here's a look at some other Michigan communities that are or have wrestled with ordinances pertaining to medical marijuana:

Manchester Township: The area surrounding the village recently proposed an ordinance very basic in nature, requiring dispensaries be at least 1,000 feet away from schools. The township could also regulate how long a dispensary remains open.
Ypsilanti: The city in eastern Washtenaw County became one of the select few in Michigan that approved ordinances for medical marijuana, doing so at its city council meeting last week. It states that dispensaries that apply for licenses (which will begin after a 45-day waiting period) must be at least 1,000 feet from a school and 500 feet from another dispensary. It also requires a security plan in place and at least $500,000 in insurance coverage in case of a fire.
Chelsea: The city does not allow any medical marijuana dispensaries, as decided by the city council at its meeting Dec. 15, 2010. It became the second community within Washtenaw County to outright ban facilities, the first being Saline.
Royal Oak (my hometown!): The city voted last month to adopt the "Livonia model," which would effectively ban any dispensaries within homes in the city, although patients would still be allowed to use the substance. Similar ordinances were approved by Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills, which are currently being sued over the ordinances.
Walker: The city on the western side of Grand Rapids voted this week to extend a moratorium until Sept. 10, hoping the state legislature will have worked out better guidelines on the issue.
Bay City: The city commission in the town near the Saginaw Bay approved a moratorium for 180 days this week and has no current ordinances to deal with dispensaries.

Klager Snowflake Social and Basket Auction

2011-01-21T10:27:00.000-08:00

Manchester resident and freelance photographer David Jose took pictures at Klager's Snowflake Social and Basket Auction recently, which brought together Klager students and their families for the annual dance event. Check out some photos!

The Rundown: 2011

2011-01-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

Hello community! Copy editor Jana Miller here...

I wanted to take the time to update everyone on a fresh year in our community. I also wanted to introduce a new employee, staff writer and online coordinator David Veselenak. He will be helping me out in Manchester and his assistance will be much appreciated. For one thing, I now have an extra set of legs to run to all the various township and village government meetings which means a more comprehensive picture of what's going on in our community. Second, it means more time to do the fun things (like blogging!) that may have fallen below government/breaking news on the totem pole.

A lot has been happening, both in our office and in the community. Let's begin with Manchester Village, in which lots of developments took place at the end of the year. For one, there has been a lot of news about the proposed Rails to Trails bike and walking path through the Village. The status of that project right now is that an application is out for county grant funding to convert the railroad bed into a trail. A bridge (the second phase of the proposed project) is still being discussed. Council will be looking over a scoping document in the near future to see if it adequately solves certain concerns which were voiced at the public hearing.

Other Village developments include taking a look at Main Street Bridge repair/reconstruction due to deterioration. This isn't something that is an immediate problem, but will continue to worsen in the next five years. Council is looking into repairs now.

Council adopted a wood burner ordinance that essentially prohibits them within the village limits. To the council's knowledge, there are not currently any of these structures within the village limits. The ordinance clarifies the amount of land necessary to have one on the property. Practically anything can be burned in these things, which can cause some pretty heavy smells and smoke.

M-DOT confirmed a project through the village and downtown. It is part of the downtown enhancement project which is piggy-backing on some M-52 road and bridge work. The enhancement includes streetscape stuff like new lighting, seating areas, new trees and shrubs, trash receptacles, etc. It has been in development for going on three years and will likely begin in the fall of this year.

Sharon Township has a new township supervisor in John Frey. He replaced Rich Jones who resigned for personal and health reasons. There was a second resignation at the Jan. 6 meeting when trustee Bill Chizmar resigned for personal and health reasons as well. There is also activity at the county level concerning Sharon Township now that several residents have filed petition language twice. The first petition language was filed against Kim Yordanich, Chizmar and Tom Lavender. It was denied by the county board that reviews these cases because it was too vague. New language was filed on Monday morning and a second clarity hearing will be held to decide if the filers can start circulating a petition for a recall election.

Manchester Township is in a budget shortfall and may put an operating millage proposal back on the ballot this year. It appeared twice recently, once in November when it failed to pass by four votes, and earlier in August during the primary.

There are also problems with roads in all four townships, and the Washtenaw County Road Commission is reporting being short millions of dollars... which means it can't complete those needed projects. There has been lots of talk about the Waldo Road Bridge in Sharon Township which was closed, and there are no current plans on the Board's part to put up matching funds for its repair. A majority of the dangerous bridges in the county are in Sylvan and Lima Townships. There are also roads in Manchester and Freedom Townships which have had flooding issues in the past and it was voiced that road work was needed.

Manchester Village Council signed a new police services contract with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department in December. The cost of a police unit was agreed upon by the Washtenaw County Commissioners. Police services now take up well over the majority of the Village budget. Bridgewater Township and the Village share a contract with Lodi Township for a handful of police officers.

Stories about all of these events can be found on our website at www.heritage.com. To search for articles from further than six months ago, click 'advanced search' and change the date range before entering your key words.

I'm really looking forward to 2011. A lot of projects and stories which are close to my heart were put on the back burner while we had some staffing shortages, and I'm excited to have the time to return to them (and blogging!) in the new year. Some of the staffing changes included Chelsea/Dexter editor Daniel Lai (previously the Manchester editor) who left approximately a month ago to work for a new website. Ed Patino left a while back to work at a daily in Adrian, and now new staffers have been hired to replace both of those positions.

As always, my door, inbox and voicemail is wide open if you have a story you'd like to share. I can be reached at (734) 429-7380 or jmiller@heritage.com with any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas.

Happy New Year!

Oktoberfest Photos

2010-09-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

I know it was a few weeks ago, but I've had a few people generously send photos my way from that day's festivities. Most of the below images are courtesy of Tom Steele from the Jackson area. Two of them are from community member Janet Larson. Enjoy!

Health series project is on its way with feedback

2010-09-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

The project is under way! In a column of mine that was published two weeks ago, I asked Manchester community members to help me put together a major series on health in our community. I said it would focus on four areas: nutrition, exercise, mental health and safety.

So far I've heard from a handful of you and the following ideas, programs and health businesses were mentioned:
-Purchasing fresh, healthy produce from the Farmers' Market
-Visiting Andrews Chiropractic office in town
-Holistic help from a woman who works with Washtenaw County patients
-Massage therapy
-Fuel up to Play 60, a new healthy eating/exercise program at the middle school
-the food pantry and recipe resources at the CRC
-Exercise with Class workout center on Pleasant Lake Road

These are all great ideas and very helpful. I wasn't too surprised that all ideas so far are related to nutrition and exercise. Those are the two obvious areas related to health. But mental health and safety are just as important to maintaining a vibrant community.

When I say mental health, I'm not necessarily talking about just psychiatrists and psychologists either. I'm also talking about programs that keep people engaged, make them feel included in the community, give them opportunities and guidance, and create opportunities for local residents to get to know one another and make friendships. An example would be the countless Manchester fundraisers, Chamber events, or even sporting events. This is a category in which Manchester does extremely well.

When it comes to safety, that might be a challenging category to brainstorm as well. But when it comes down to it, life is more enjoyable when people feel safe and taken care of. For example, how well does the WCSO oversee Manchester Village and its surrounding townships? Does the Manchester Fire Department do a good job? Which townships have a neighborhood watch set up? These questions make a difference too... especially when comparing Manchester to other communities such as Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti.

For those who missed the column, I've included it below in italics. If you have ideas worth sharing with me, there is still plenty of time to do that! Contact me at jmiller@heritage.com or (734) 429-7380, or meet with me at the Manchester District Library on Sept. 26 at 2 p.m.

I’m not a huge fan of statistics—primarily because they’re always a huge downer—but every now and then one pops up that catches my attention. The one that currently has me worrying is the one that says our young generation is so unhealthy that children will be outlived by their parents.

Not good. Not good at all.

While I usually take these sorts of things with a grain of salt, nutrition and health are areas that I take extremely seriously. Some journalists have passions in environmental reform. Others are passionate about politics. I care about what Generation X, Y and Z are stuffing in their faces and how they’re staying healthy.

My generation, Generation Y or the Echo Boomers, happens to be part of the problem. The back end of our group, born in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, have deteriorating eating habits.

Most people are aware of the rising obesity rate in our county as well. But what is being done about it at national, state and local levels?

Campaigns and causes that have caught attention in recent years include the Girls on the Run program, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, the Childhood Obesity Task Force, and local snack programs.

So what does this have to do with Manchester?

I’d like to write an in-depth health series about Manchester. I want to know how, when and where different efforts are being made to better our community’s diet, exercise, mental health and safety needs.

Since I’ve been covering this community for almost a year now, I’m familiar with a few of the basics. I know about the major school programs and I can get in contact with administrators. I’m also familiar with some of the area groups and events that promote healthy living and exercise.

But what I don’t know is the small stories. What do you do to take care of yourself? What do you do to make sure your kids are eating right and exercising? Where do you buy your food, and what kinds?

These are the questions I’m really interested in. I can handle the specialist interviews and the nutrition research. But I also want to know which programs and incentives you’re aware of, if you take advantage of them, and why. I want to know if you think your choices are strong, and if you think you could improve. Then I want to help you find out how that’s possible.

This is primarily an experiment on my part to crowd source you, my audience. I think Manchester’s sense of community could make this project take off, and I think it could really benefit neighbors and friends.

My goal for the end result is to put together interviews and an in-depth analysis on the major areas that encompass health: diet, exercise, mental health and safety. If I do this well, and if you help me with your own ideas, the end result would be an incredibly informative profile on our community. Some parents might not be aware of the tools available to them. Some retirees might not know about a program they have special access to.

If you’re willing to help me brainstorm ideas, or you know about a program in the community that fits a healthy description, I’m asking you to do one of two things. Either meet with me in person to discuss ideas on Sept. 26 at 2 p.m. at the district library, or contact me via e-mail or phone.

In the end, Manchester will be better informed and I’ll be able to present a full picture. Let’s show the rest of the area what we can do. I look forward to hearing from you!

Jana Miller is the copy editor of the Manchester Enterprise. She can be reached at (734) 429-7380 or jmiller@heritage.com.

Fall events, entertainment and fun

2010-09-01T09:11:00.001-07:00

For those who read my column last week, you already know how I feel about fall. For those who didn't, just know that the upcoming season is like the perfect storm of awesomeness for me. I'll be baking pies, attending football games, wearing sweaters and sipping hot chocolate. Or, at least that's what I hope I'll be doing--I hear we're going to have another legitimate fall, filled with warm days. But that's OK, because that's what AC is for!

Of course, this will be my first fall covering Manchester. At this time last year I was a sports writer for Saline and Milan and fall meant being really busy all of the time at all the various athletic fields. Now fall means being really busy all of the time in my office or in Manchester's business district. I'm pretty stoked for Oktoberfest. My family has German heritage, so I'm looking forward to seeing Manchester's spin on the famous festival. I also spoke with a German foreign-exchange student on Monday about her plans for the festival. She is an intern at the Community Resource Center and is helping to add more German things, such as baked pretzels, history, and music.

I'm also looking forward to the rubber duckies. On pagination day at the office I spent the entire day with "Rubber duckie, you're the one..." stuck in my head, from Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street. It was so stuck that it ended up being the headline. In truth, I never had a rubber ducky toy as a child. I was simple enough that I could entertain myself with bubbles alone. Or a string... a string was plenty. But I appreciate the cultural significance. Sesame Street and Jim Henson were huge when I was a toddler. These ubiquitous little ducks have even been adapted to fit each holiday and season. So seeing all of those ducks flood down the river is going to make me "squee!!!" with joy and delight, to be sure.

Speaking of nostalgic things, the first U of M football game is this Saturday, and my mom seems to have lost our tickets. It's very, very disappointing and she thinks they were accidentally thrown away... but the reason I bring this up is because it means I will be watching from home instead of from the stadium. This makes me sad, yes, but now I will have an opportunity to cook my first batch of caramel popcorn with a side of mulled cider. This was a tradition of my father's. We would whip up a batch during halftime and be giddy for the next two quarters. It's delicious and warm and gooey... as opposed to the cooled, hardened kind. Bleh! I'm up for sharing, so here are the recipes I'll be using that day!

Caramel Popcorn
1 bag popcorn
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 stick of butter
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. corn syrup

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour over popped popcorn, stir, and serve!

Mulled Apple Cider
3 cups apple cider
2 cups dry red wine
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp. black peppercorns
1 orange, sliced crosswise
1 medium apple, sliced crosswise

Combine all ingredients in a medium pot. Gently simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Serve warm in mugs. Makes 6!

Engines purr at MIS

2010-08-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

My work colleague Lisa Allmendinger headed to the MIS track this past weekend for race weekend. I heard that many Manchester residents took the opportunity to head closer to Irish Hills as well. Here are a few of the moments she documented.

Beauty of the garden

2010-08-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

Manchester's Betty Curley had her garden featured on the cover of Better Home and Garden's "Country Gardens" magazine. There is also a photo spread inside the publication of her PLeasant Lake getaway. Betty was featured after winning the magazines cottage garden contest. Congratulations, Betty!

Fair auctions off top-notch livestock

2010-07-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

Fireworks, entertainment at Carr Park

2010-07-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

'Twilight: Eclipse' reviewed by Ryan Michaels

2010-07-07T21:11:00.000-07:00

Hey, I'm Ryan Michaels, a 13-year-old writing movie reviews for Heritage Newspapers. I've been doing it for two years, and enjoy it a lot. Here's my review of "Twilight."

"Twilight" was not made for me, I know that. It was not made with the thoughts or feelings of non-"Twihard" males in mind.

And, you know what? I'm totally fine with that.

Some 95 percent of all large movie franchises are geared toward guys, so to see a franchise made with females in mind is actually something of a breath of fresh air.

That said, the first two "Twilight" films were nothing to write home about. "New Moon," in particular, was pretty horrible. My main complaint with those two films is that you never got a sense of why exactly Bella and Edward are so completely in love, or never really got a sense of any of the characters' motivations at all.

So although I didn't expect (or want) "Twilight Saga: Eclipse" to be horrible, my hopes were admittedly not all that high for it, which makes me somewhat happy to say: "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" (henceforth referred to as merely 'Eclipse') is actually pretty entertaining, and is at the very least much better the first two installments in the franchise.

First off, the performances are much improved from the first two. Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner are much less awkward here than they were in the first two, bringing more charisma and depth to their roles, which ultimately elevates the film as a whole.

The film is a better blend of genres and elements than the first two. In "Twilight" and "New Moon," it was mainly romance with half-hearted attempts at humor. Here, the primary element remains romance, but the incorporation of action and humor feels much more natural and just works very well in the film.

These things aside, there are a fair amount of problems I had with "Eclipse." First off, a lot of the side characters' performances were very weak. Most of the side cast give very wooden performances, and are, simply put, boring to watch.

A lot of the dialogue is incredibly bad. A few lines, in particular, had me laughing out loud. And, as I said earlier, my main gripe with "Twilight" and "New Moon" was that the characters' motivations were often incredibly vague and were never really explained. Unfortunately, that same complaint holds true for "Eclipse," as well.

So overall, "Eclipse" was made for Twilight fans, and those fans will eat it up. Yet speaking as someone who isn't the biggest fan of the "Twilight" franchise, I was fairly riveted and entertained during "Eclipse." Bravo, Edward.

I give it three out of four stars.

Film critic Ryan Michaels, a student at Emerson School in Ann Arbor and two-time winner of the Michigan Press Association Better Newspaper Contest for his reviews, can be reached through mrogers@heritage.com.

Latest poll results are in!

2010-06-23T11:08:00.001-07:00

When do you start getting interested in the Primary Election?

Never: 36 percent

July, closer to the election: 23 percent

Just days prior to the election: 21 percent

After petitions have been filed: 21 percent

What qualities do you look for in a political leader?

Independent thinker: 55 percent

Rapport with 'regular folks': 17 percent

Experience: 17 percent

Agent of change: 10 percent

How did you spend Memorial Day?

Did nothing in particular: 51 percent

Attended community Memorial Day events: 21 percent

Attended a family picnic: 20 percent

Spent time at the pool or lake: 7 percent

What do you do about child care in the summer?

Family members: 40 percent

Summer camps: 32 percent

Daycare facility: 20 percent

Babysitters: 8 percent

What do you really do when there's a tornado warning?

Cautiously wait and see: 49 percent

Take cover in the basement: 31 percent

Ignore it: 11 percent

Take cover in a room without windows: 8 percent

Chamber, CRC goes golfing with community

2010-06-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

The seventh annual Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce and Community Resource Center golf outing took place June 16 at Pierce Lake Golf Course. Prizes were won, golf was played, and dinner was enjoyed.

Pictures from Pet Day in Carr Park

2010-06-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

Class of 2010 graduates take home several scholarships

2010-06-08T08:33:00.001-07:00

Both the valedictorian and the salutatorian took home $500 scholarships, as noted at graduation. However, many more students earned monetary donations throughout the year, some from colleges and others from local businesses and non-profits. Here's the list provided at graduation of the scholarship donors and their recipients:

Adrian College: Logan Zigila, Brandan Sklener, Claire Simpson
Alan & Carolyn Dyer Scholarship: Jamie Payne
Albion College: Emily Werner
Alma College: Emily Werner
Aquinas College: Brooke Fuller
Catholic Order of Foresters Scholarship: Matthew Johnson
Central Michigan University: Jordan Ridenour, Logan Zigila, Logan Caszatt, Emily Lobbestael, Brian Uhr
Faith Vlcek Wrestling Scholarship: James Hamilton
Ferris State University: Roxanne Rickert, Taylor Heldt
Helena M. Grossman Living Trust: Mary Kastanis, Holly Thorson, Amanda Barker, Stephanie Steele
Hope College: Amanda Barker, Stephanie Steele
Jackson Community College: Tracy Schaible
Junita College: Kathryn Brown
Kettering University: Lukas Weber
Kleinschmidt Scholarship: Megan Bossory, Matthew Johnson
Knights of Columbus Scholarship: Taylor Evans, Stephanie Ball
Lake Superior University: Roxanne Rickert
Lawrence Technological University: Brian Uhr
Lawrence University: Sarah Wagner
Lions Club Scholarship: Kathryn Brown
LoRen & Roger Trolz Scholarship: Tracy Schaible
Manchester Alumni Ackerson Scholarship: Logan Caszatt
Manchester Alumni Class of 1960: Stephanie Ball, Katelyn Horning, Roxanne Rickert, Tracy Schaible, Lukas Weber
Manchester Alumni Scholarship: Megan Bossory, Jordan Ridenour, Jenny Stautz
Manchester Alumni Valedictorian: Kathryn Brown
Manchester Athletic Booster:
Manchester Community Scholarship: Megan Bossory
Manchester Education Support Staff: Maicie Fruge, Heather Sweeney
Manchester Kiwanis Scholarship: Jamie Payne, Matt Johnson, Sarah Wagner
Manchester Manor Scholarship: Emily Lobbestael
Manchester Optimist Salutatorian: Ryan Paul
Marilyn Knouase Memorial Scholarship: Paul Dority
Marshall University Yaeger Scholar: Stephen Sheler
Mary Nosbisch Scholarship: Stephanie Ball, Roxanne Rickert, Mary Kastanis, Emily Johnson
MHSAA Scholar Athlete Scholarship: Matt Johnson, Kathryn Brown, Liz Timoszyk, Jenny Stautz
National Merit Scholarship Finalist: Kathryn Brown
Oakland University: Brandan Sklener
Purdue University: Emily Werner
Riverfolk Art Scholarship: Katelyn Lorinca, Myra Sandford
Robert C. Byrd Honors Award: Sarah Wagner
Robert J. & Kathleen A. Hagerman: Jamie Payne
St. Joseph Hospital Auxiliary Scholarship: Stephanie Ball
Tower Scholarship: Elizabeth Timoszyk
United Producers, Inc.: Katelyn Horning
University of Michigan Dearborn: Robert Carver
Washtenaw Community College: Stephanie Ball, Lauren Dalton, Maicie Fruge, Katelyn Lorincz, Ryan Lenhart
Worth Repeating, Inc.: Katelyn Horning, Taylor Evans, Ryan Paul, Claire Simpson

New poll results!

2010-05-19T18:54:00.001-07:00

Which summer festival are you looking forward to?
Ann Arbor Art Fairs: 30 percent
Chelsea Summer Fest: 30 percent
Ypsilanti Heritage Festival: 24 percent
Saline Celtic Festival: 16 percent
What are you doing with your tax refund?
Saving it: 44 percent
Using it on household expenses: 37 percent
Spending it on something special: 15 percent
Spending it on vacation: 4 percent
How much do you donate to nonprofits each year?
$1,000 or more: 54 percent
Under $100: 21 percent
$100 to $300: 16 percent
$300 to $500: 9 percent
What do you do when you have an hour of spare time?
Read a book: 36 percent
Read a newspaper: 34 percent
Play online games: 20 percent
Update Facebook page: 9 percent
What do you think should be a priority of WISD consolidates services?
Human resources: 42 percent
Money savings: 33 percent
Students outcome: 18 percent
Service quality: 6 percent

Manchester grad completes military training

2010-05-19T18:43:00.001-07:00

Air National Guard Airman Brent J. Long graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas recently. The airman completed an intensive eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force. He is the son of Jayne Long of Herman Road in Manchester. Long graduated in 2006 from Manchester High School and received an associate degree in 2009 from Ferris State University in Big Rapids.

"First for Women" editor looking for embarrassing summer stories

2010-05-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

First For Women is a magazine that reaches approximately 1.5 million readers. Inside this magazine is its regular "First Blush" feature story, which focuses on those embarrassing moments that seem too ridiculous to actually be real.

One of its writers, Hallie Potocki, recently sent me an email asking me to let our readers know that they're searching for those stories for the magazine's summer issues. Here's what she said:

It would be awesome if you could give your wonderful membership a heads-up that we are preparing our summer issue now and I’m on the hunt for mortifying warm weather melt-downs to share with our readers.

A couple of paragraphs describing the embarrassing situation, what happened, what was said, what was felt/thought… and how it was resolved, should do it. Some examples might be a swimsuit snafu, perspiration run amuck, vacation vengeance (surprising the guy – not your husband-in the wrong beach cabana with your au naturel self)... and so on... you get the idea.

What she needs in addition to the embarrassing scenario is a name (which can be changed if you prefer), you age, contact information, a brief description of the story, and an electronic photo to match a name with a face.

She's on a tight deadline, so if you have anything useful, email jmiller@heritage.com and I can send your materials on to Hollie.

Sheriff's Office offers free boating safety course

2010-05-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

Whether your interest is in fishing, sailing, canoeing or waterskiing, boating safety education is essential. The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office will be offering the Michigan Department of Natural Resources ‘Boat Michigan’ course. The first one-day course was held on May 1 and another will be held on June 5 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 4135 Washtenaw (LRC Building). This course is free with all materials provided. Upon successful completion, graduates will receive their Michigan Boating Safety Certificate. You must pre-register and can sign up by calling (734) 973-4713. Class size is limited, so reserve your seat early.

‘Boat Michigan’ is a fun and comprehensive boating safety course for those age 12 and older that covers topics such as: Know Your Boat, Before You Get Underway, Navigating the Waterways, Operating Your Boat/PWC Safely, Legal Requirements, Boating Emergencies, and Enjoying Water Sports with Your Boat.

Many insurance companies will offer discounts on boat insurance for taking and passing this course. In addition, successful completion of the course, which has been approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, satisfies the prerequisite to obtain a boating safety certificate from the Michigan DNR.

Michigan legislators passed Law that went into effect in June 2000 regarding the operation of personal watercraft (JetSki’s, WaveRunners, Ect.). This law requires that anyone born after December 31, 1978 who operates a personal watercraft on Michigan waterways must possess, on the vessel, a boating safety certificate.

For more information about this course, additional dates available or other services provided by the Washtenaw County Sheriff Marine Division, call (734) 973-4713 or visit us online at www.ewashtenaw.org.

Optimist Club Student of the Month: May

2010-05-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

The Optimist Club’s Student of the Month for May is Matthew Johnson, the son of John and Nancy Johnson of Manchester. He is currently a senior at Manchester High School.

Matthew is a member of Boy Scout Troop 426 of Manchester. He is a double gold palm Eagle Scout and Junior Assistant Scoutmaster. He is also the drum major of the Manchester Marching Band and a member of the Key Club, varsity quiz bowl, Drama Club, and National Honor Society. He is an altar server and choir singer at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

Matthew has participated on the varsity track team for four years and the cross country team for three years. He was a scholar athlete in both every years. He was the captain of the track and cross country teams his senior year. In cross country he was honorary All Conference and received the sportsmanship and coaches award. In the fall

Matthew is attending the University of Michigan to study mathematics and actuarial sciences.

This week's column: Lunch Bunch controversy teaches lessons

2010-05-12T21:05:00.000-07:00

Our society has struggled with racial debates for decades. It doesn’t matter what the specifics are. If race is involved there often is no right or wrong answer.

The same was the case this week for Ann Arbor’s Dicken Elementary School. Its administrators learned the hard way that racial tensions overshadow all good intentions and that the legality of equalizing measures is still—and probably always will be—a heated debate.

I know that this is a Manchester column and I know that Dicken Elementary is an Ann Arbor school. I still think it is a worthy topic, because what school doesn’t deal with race issues? What school doesn’t have outsiders or minorities or certain groups that perform differently?

The answer is none. Affirmative action within public institutions may have recently been made illegal in the state of Michigan, but the test score disparity between the poor and the rich is still there. In many districts in Washtenaw County, the test score disparity among races is still there too.

In Ann Arbor the MEAP results reveal a stronger performance average in white students compared to black students. The trend apparently has been there for several years in Ann Arbor, so the district went about trying to close that gap.

One of the results of those discussions was the formation of the African American Lunch Bunch. It was a club meant to close the achievement gap before students headed off to middle school.

Well those kids went on a field trip, and they went to see a powerful and successful black physicist at the University of Michigan. When the club’s students got back, their peers were unhappy and jealous. They wanted to go too, so they booed their classmates and told their parents, who in turn wrote angry letters and called media outlets.

I’m not writing about this story to debate whether this group breaks state law. I’m not a lawyer. I’m also not writing this to debate whether affirmative action is good or bad. I’ll save that little token for a separate blog post.

I’m here to point out that this situation is a very real reminder that we don’t have it all figured out. We’ve come a long way, to be sure, but we have a long way to go.
The club was disbanded, but the disparity still exists. So what should the various school districts do? Why is the disparity there? What can teachers do differently? What can counselors and parents do differently?

I still think we need to find ways to accomplish what the Dicken school administrators were trying to accomplish. They might not have done it in a way that is popular (or even legal, arguably), but that did something nonetheless.

My worry is always that blowups like this one will discourage districts from continuing to seek that progress and improvement. Whether we like it or not, those disparities still exist. And whether we like it or not, many of us do grow up with certain privileges.

For example, every year when I went back to school I knew a majority of my classmates would have the same skin color. I could guarantee that my teachers would look at me with a blank slate and that strangers wouldn’t judge me. That isn’t the case for all children, whether they’re Asian, African American, Latin, Middle Eastern, South American, and the list goes on.

Those are comforts that cannot be ignored and that require acknowledgement to level the playing field. Dickens Elementary is on the right track theoretically. Clearly these students need something that they’re missing.

That to me is the real cause for concern, not the field trip and not the angry parents.

Jana Miller is the editor of the Manchester Enterprise. She can be reached at (734) 429-7380 or jmiller@heritage.com. Follow the Enterprise blog at www.wireenterprise.blogspot.com.

High school alumni banquet set for June 19

2010-05-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

The annual Manchester High School Alumni Banquet will be held Saturday, June 19 at the American Legion Hall. All alumni are wel-come to attend the banquet.

Invitations to the banquet have been mailed to alumni. However, if you do not receive an invitation, please send your reservation by June 3 to the Manchester Alumni Association, P.O. Box 254, Manchester, MI 48158. The cost is $17 per person. Please make your reservation check payable to Manchester High School Alumni Association.

This year marks the 139th anniver-sary of Manchester High School’s first graduating class and the 133rd anniversary of the Alumni Associa-tion Reunion. This is a once a year opportunity for graduates to meet and mingle with some very special people, classmates and friends who have been privileged to graduate from Manchester High School. Special recognition will be given to the classes of 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, and 2010.

The alumni association is pleased to inform the community that it was able to award five graduating sen-iors with a scholarship in 2009. With help from fellow graduates, the association plans to award five more scholarships this year.

Donations to the very worthwhile scholarship fund from alumni and others can also be sent to the Man-chester Alumni Association. The support of alumni and the commu-nity has been very much appreciated by Manchester’s young men and women graduates.

Come and join classmates and oth-ers on June 19 and enjoy an evening of good food and reminiscing about wonderful high school experiences. The social hour begins at 5 p.m. and dinner will follow at 6:30 p.m.

Wolverine commencement had plenty of good/bad surprises

2010-05-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

This week there were two big topics that I chose to consider for my column this week. Those subjects were the statewide smoking ban that takes affect this week in local bars and restaurants and President Barack Obama’s visit to the University of Michigan spring commencement.

President Obama won.

I had the rare opportunity to cover the event for our newspapers. Chelsea and Dexter editor Daniel Lai (remember Danny boy?) and myself were commissioned to cover the event for our company. He was the writer and I was the photographer.

Leading up to the day I was pretty excited. I knew this was a big deal and a great opportunity.

I arrived promptly at 5 a.m. to gather my press credentials and start waiting in line for entry to the stadium. At about 6:11 a.m. it started pouring rain on me. Since there was still a massive thunderstorm looming over the Big House, they did not let us in at 6:30 a.m. when they were supposed to because apparently metal detectors don’t work during thunderstorms.

The thunder and rain lasted until a little after 7 a.m. But surprise, surprise! Someone lost the key to the media’s gate!

After another 20 minutes of waiting for someone to find the right key (which they never did, forcing us to enter through the gate next to us), we set our equipment next to the security area and made our way through the security lines. Once through, we stood next to our equipment to the side of the lines and waited for the bomb dog.

This is where security was disappointing. You would assume that when the President of the United States comes to town that people are going to take security pretty seriously. I definitely assumed that. Well, we all know what happens when people assume.

The most disappointing detail was that no one asked me for identification that day. The lady in the media trailer didn’t ask for ID when I told her my name for credentials and the people at the gate didn’t ask to see it either.

Secondly, the security lines that the press went through were so busy that no one was keeping track of which press members had actually been through the detectors and which were dropping off equipment. At one point, a security guard asked the woman next to me if she had been through the line yet. She said yes, and the man took her word for it.

I thought, really? Is that it? He’s just going to take her word for it? There was no way to identify which members of the media had been through the security check and which were standing around.

I was also not convinced by the aptitude of the so-called bomb dog. Frankly, he looked more like a sad, wet puppy looking for treats in his leader’s hand than a well-trained canine sniffing out traces of explosives. He didn’t sniff much, and the things that he did sniff looked more like potential places to urinate on.

Of course, all of these security weaknesses had nothing to do with secret service personnel. The individuals at the entrance were enlisted to help out with the 90,000 or more individuals that had to be ushered inside.

By stark contrast, the secret service man that I met that day was everything I imagined him to be. He was serious and never flinching, like the Buckingham Palace guards. His eyes were on a swivel while he took in every detail around him.

He’s the reason I couldn’t get into the graduate seating area to take pictures from different angles. He’s the one who banished me to the press bleachers for trying to take candid photos of students from within the crowd.

Good for him. He did his job. I felt safer knowing that he was standing next to me.
As for the rest of the day, it was everything I thought it would be. The student speaker was engaging and funny, and President Obama’s keynote address made me reminisce about his campaign.

For me it was a useful way to come full circle. I was a Wolverine student myself when Obama first went on the campaign trail. That was back in the day when Hillary Clinton stood a shot and Obama was “that senator in the primary from Illinois.” So it felt right to be in the Big House when he came to Ann Arbor for graduation.

When I was still a college student, his words moved people. When he gave speeches, I often saved them on YouTube. Now he is our leader, and the very same students that helped to vote him into office heard him speak of change once more.

Those were some lucky Wolverines.

Deputy Jeff Saren reminds Manchester of ordinance

2010-05-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

Deputy Jeff Saren is a nice guy. I've spoken with him several times and so far he has seemed to maintain a decent level of interaction with village and township residents via the new WCSO email list. The latest blast on that list was about spring cleaning and staying up to code with the village ordinance. See below.

On April 30, Jeff Saren wrote: "It appears that spring is finally here, and with that comes spring cleaning. Let’s not forget the outside of our homes as well as the inside. The Village of Manchester has an ordinance in reference to Blight. Below is a section of the ordinance, so let’s keep our village clean.

The storage or accumulation of junk, trash, rubbish, or refuse of any kind, except domestic refuse stored in such a manner as not to create a nuisance for a period not to exceed 30 days. The term JUNK shall include parts of machinery or motor vehicles, unused stoves or other appliances stored in the open, remnants of wood, metal, or other material or other castoff material of any kind whether or not the same could be put to any reasonable use; (B)(1) the term JUNK VEHICLES shall include any motor vehicle which is not licensed for use upon the highways of the State of Michigan for a period in excess of 30 days and shall also include, whether so licensed or not, any motor vehicle which is inoperative for any reason for a period in excess of 30 days."

Deputy Jeff, Saren

Washtenaw County Office of the Sheriff

Check out the results of our recent web polls

2010-04-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone participating in our online polls. Here are the results of our most recent questions.

Do you think Sgt. Tim Casey should be demoted from sergeant to police officer over the firecracker incident (in Milan)?
Yes: 55 percent
No: 45 percent

What does spring inspire you to do?
Get outdoors and exercise: 36 percent
Gardening work: 27 percent
Clean house: 20 percent
Home fix-it projects: 16 percent

What's your main dish for Easter?
Ham: 64 percent
Chef's Choice: 17 percent
Something vegetarian: 12 percent
Turkey: 7 percent

What kind of content would you like to see from your community this summer?
More youth sports coverage: 33 percent
Gardening content with expert advice and video garden tours: 33 percent
Local home tours with photos and video: 22 percent
A wine column by an expert with video: 11 percent

Works Bombs found in York Township

2010-04-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

The following information was provided by the WCSO regarding a pair of Works Bombs found in a York Township resident's yard. Educate yourself so you can handle these situations safely.

"On April 18 at approximately 8 a.m., WCSO Deputy Mansell was dispatched to Bemis Road in York Township for a possible explosive device. Upon arrival it was discovered the object was an unexploded “Works Bomb” in the front yard. After Mansell cleared it away from the residence it detonated itself within 30 seconds. After leaving this residence he located another 'Works Bomb' a couple doors down laying again in the front yard. Luckily no one has been hurt in these two situations; however please take this time to educate yourself and family.

The chemical reaction makes a volatile build up of gases and subsequently detonates the bottle with a great amount of force. Once the detonation occurs, the chemical substance that is in the bottle is actually boiling liquid.
The amount of force that is generated at the time of the explosion is enough to severe fingers and also delivers 2nd and 3rd degree chemical burns to the victim. The chemicals can possibly cause blindness and the toxic fumes can be harmful.

When you are out and about in your yards, please be mindful of these devices. If you’re picking up your morning paper, or mowing your grass, or if you let your children play outside; whatever your activities are, please use the following precautions.

If you find a soda bottle or any other bottles, examine it carefully before you touch it or get near it. If it shows signs of swelling, or melting in any way or simply just has liquid inside of it, DO NOT TOUCH IT! Call 911.

Both of the bombs listed above appeared to be slightly swollen, with a dark colored liquid, inside of it. This liquid could have easily been mistaken for left over soda.

In closing, please educate your children on the dangers and consequences of making these devices. It has become popular with the youth in the past few years, to do this as a prank, but there have been some changes to the law. Not only could it be deadly to the maker or the victim, but making one these devices is called, 'Possession of a Substance with Explosive Capabilities.' If it causes no damage, it’s a 15 year Felony. If it causes damage, it’s a 20 year Felony. If it causes physical injury, it’s a 25 year Felony. If it causes serious injury, the penalty can be 'Up to life,' and if it causes death, it’s Mandatory Life without the possibility of Parole. These are statutory guidelines only.

We have included a video link to show you what happens when the 'Works Bomb' detonates."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXS4TFnvg18

Lisa King, Sergeant

Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office

Manchester's First Steps program holding bake sale

2010-04-22T06:21:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, the local First Steps program was forced to close at the start of the month due to budget constraints. First Steps helps young children to interact with others and stay engaged during early development.

This is especially unfortunate given the fact that April is officially the "Month of the Young Child." Manchester's First Steps Washtenaw-Parents as Teachers Program is desperately seeking funds to restart the playgroup program.

So... why not a bake sale? The program will raise money through proceeds from a bake sale this Saturday at Manchester United Methodist church at 501 Ann Arbor St. in Manchester (beside Klager Elementary). It runs from 9 a.m. until noon.

Help the program to finish out the school year.