Construction season is upon us; we've updated our cover photo to reflect it

With construction now fully in force throughout the village, we thought it would be time to update our cover photo here on the blog.

The trees have been removed, and the concrete is being cut up as a part of the streetscape project. The plan is for this phase to be completed by Memorial Day, which will work well for this year's parade.

We'll keep this photo up until more updates have been done, and a brand-new photo will look great once the downtown streetscape is completed.

We're also looking for new submissions for our Facebook cover photo. Right now, we've got one of the River Raisin on our cover, but we're always looking for new photos to feature. You'll be sure to see images celebrating the Chicken Broil, community fair and Riverfolk, too.

Remembering Hutaree

Whether it's sitting in a shack with a bloody butcher talking about Constitutional rights or simply entering a stranger's house, there are plenty of opportunities to feel uneasy as a journalist.
Uneasy might not be the right word for my experience with covering the Hutaree militia in Hillsdale County.
I was working for the Hillsdale Daily News at the time, and my editor Amy Bell and I set out to find the home where militia member Joshua Stone had fled following the initial arrests in Lenawee County.
Down dusty dirt roads we searched for the house, only knowing that the property was run down and the lawn was full of junk. It wasn't much to go on, considering the area.
We teamed up with the Channel 4 news from Detroit in approaching the house. When veteran reporter Roger Weber advised that I put my camera away initially, I realized the the very real potential danger in the situation.
As best we knew, we were approaching a known Militia hideout and had no idea who was there or how aggressive they were.
Thankfully, it was just an older man named Bob Dudley sitting at his house, who told us how Joshua arrived at his home and how we couldn't turn away his friend's son. He allowed the young man to stay overnight in a trailer on his property before the police arrived the next day.
Still, I will never get what Dudley said to me when we asked him why he believed in the idea of the militia: "I fully believe we are headed toward a civil war."
Members of the militia were acquitted from charges of sedition and conspiracy yesterday. The group's founder David Stone and his son, Joshua Stone, will remain on trial for lesser weapons charges.

M-52 construction starts tomorrow; how do you plan to retain normalcy?

Utility workers dig near City Street earlier this year. The
MDOT construction project begins tomorrow.

Tomorrow kicks off the first leg of construction through Manchester that will engulf the village until November. Originally, the project was to begin next week, so at least the project is beginning early.

MDOT will begin its construction throughout the village beginning at the east end by the Village Hall tomorrow. The downtown streetscape project, which will revamp the look and feel for downtown, will start shortly after (more to come on downtown later).

We know businesses are working hard to make sure they aren't forgotten, but what about area residents? What are you planning on doing to keep business-as-usual during the construction?

A strange vote at the Manchester Township Planning Commission

The Manchester Township Planning Commission seemed to
have an odd vote at last night's meeting. 

Last night's Manchester Township Planning Commission was filled with drama, accusations and walk-outs. This isn't out of the ordinary when an issue strikes at the heart of any community.

While the commission voted to approve the conditional use permit for the banquet hall on Tracey Road 4-2, the events right before that final vote (which effectively ended the meeting, as the board moved the rest of its agenda to next month and adjourned after many residents left very upset), were slightly interesting.

Confusion over what motion was made when the roll call made it to Lyle Widmayer, who also serves on the township's Board of Trustees. A motion to seemingly approve the permit was made by Trustee Pete Stumpo, seconded by Secretary George Daubner. As the vote went around the table, it got to Widmayer, who questioned what the vote was on. His claim was that the vote being made was for whether or not the commission would vote on the issue tonight, not to approve it. Even with planning adviser Andrea Bibby reading the proposed ordinance for approval, it was unclear to him what the vote was actually on.

Much discussion ensued, and then it seemed the previous motion was halted in its tracks along with the vote. That's something I've never seen before: a vote initiated by the body after a motion and second, and all of a sudden, it vanished during voting without a clear withdrawal.

Another motion was then made by Stumpo, this time to approve the conditional use. This went through like most motions do, and was eventually approved 4-2. But that lone vote continued to be on the floor.

Perhaps this means nothing, and perhaps there's something else here. I've just never seen a procedure for a vote taken like that at a public meeting, where the previous motion seemed to not be withdrawn.

Take a listen at the last few minuters of the meeting and see if you agree: