Mike’s Musings: Elected leaders- Do the right thing, eliminate earmarks
One of my often rants is the use of earmarks or pork barrel, as we used to call them, projects sneaked into the federal or state budget at the last minute, to benefit a particular constituency. It happens every year…
HISTORICAL NOTEBOOK
By Frank Passic HARNESS RACETRACK ONCE LOCATED HERE Have you ever wondered why there is a “jog” in the road on North Street headed east at the intersection of North and Clinton Streets? The reason is that there once was…
Albion Council Approves River Restoration Plan
By Maggie LaNoue Albion City Council voted unanimously on Sept. 15, to move forward with a river restoration plan that, if fully funded, would reshape Victory Park and the riverfront. The project will remove the Hannah Street Dam, fill in…
Albion Council advances road and sewer projects from Capital Improvement Plan
By Maggie LaNoue Less than two weeks after adopting a $70 million Capital Improvement Plan, the Albion City Council voted on Sept. 15, to actively fund several urgent infrastructure projects. Council approved $600,000 for the replacement of the sanitary sewer…
Antonio Greene requests change of venue for murder trial
By Elizabeth Ferszt Contributing Writer Defendant Antonio Treyvonne Greene was in 12th District Court Friday, Sept. 19 via video link in front of Hon. Robert Gaecke, for a Probable Cause Conference. Greene, age 22, faces charges of 2nd degree murder…
Ribbon cutting at Gardner House marks triple celebration during Festival of the Forks
By Maggie LaNoue Albion’s Festival of the Forks drew thousands of people downtown on Saturday, Sept. 20, filling Superior Street from Ash to Michigan Avenue with food vendors, live music, and the energy of a community gathering. The festival, first…
Mike’s Musings: Erika Kirk’s Greatest Act of Courage-Forgiving the Unforgivable
When tragedy strikes, our instincts often turn toward anger, resentment, and the pursuit of vengeance. That is human nature. Yet, every so often, someone rises above those instincts and shows us a higher way — a path of grace that…
Judge Thomas Wilson under judicial review
By ELIZABETH FERSZT Contributing Writer 4th Circuit Court Judge, Thomas Wilson, is now formally under judicial tenure review by the Judicial Tenure Commission of the State of Michigan. On Sept. 11, the JTC filed a formal complaint against Wilson, including…
Two dead after Wednesday morning fire
By KATHRYN PALON Contributing Writer Two people perished in a Tompkins Township house fire Wednesday morning. According to the Michigan State Police, troopers from the Jackson post were dispatched at around 10:20 a.m. to a residential fire in the 6800…
Downtown Rental Rehab Grants raise questions and opportunities
by Maggie LaNoue At its Sept. 2 meeting, the Albion City Council approved applications for Community Development Block Grant funding to rehabilitate three downtown buildings. The requests total more than $618,000. The properties include 217 S. Superior Street, home of…
Volunteers make Binder Park Zoo’s Corks & Kegs a success
By SYLVIA BENAVIDEZ Contributing Writer Binder Parks biggest fundraiser Corks and Kegs at the Zoo, held Sept. 6, brought out 60 volunteers from all over Calhoun County and even some from Jackson County to raise money for the care of…
AUSTIN BLAIR: Michigan’s radical Civil War governor
By Ken Wyatt Generations have come and gone since Austin Blair served as Michigan’s great Civil War governor from 1861-65. He once was a towering figure in Michigan history. But even great historic figures wane in the knowledge of successive…
Mike’s Musings: A Father’s Painful Choice Shows True Honor
Many of us are grieving the assassination of TPUSA founder, 31-year-old Charlie Kirk. Its unimaginable to me that in this day and age, a person debating students at an outdoor rally in Utah would be murdered.The assassin has been named…
Dam removal talk highlights long road to river renewal
By MAGGIE LANOUE Contributing Writer Blueprints showing the future of the Kalamazoo River in Albion, both the north branch and the south branch, took center stage at the Sept. 2 City Council meeting as a consultant outlined 43 pages of…
O’Rourke pleads not guilty by self defense in murder of Emarion Flowers
by ELIZABETH FERSZT Contributing Writer Joseph O’Rourke was at a pre-trial conference on Tues. Sept. 9, at 9 a.m. with Hon. John McBain. He has been charged in the killing of Emarion Flowers on May 16 at the Southridge Park…
Antonio Green in Jackson County Jail
by ELIZABETH FERSZT Contributing Writer Antonio Treyvonne Green, age 2), the only suspect in the July 27 shooting death of Mia Sims, age 18, was arraigned by Magistrate Christopher Dickenson on Sept. 4, on charges of Homicide—2nd Degree Murder; Discharging…
Jacksonburg and the great Erie Canal
By Ken Wyatt You could say that Clinton’s Folly led to the founding of Jacksonburg in 1829-30. Or, to use a more geographically precise descriptive, you could credit Clinton’s Ditch. History has been kinder, for we remember it as the…
Albion’s brick street gets protective treatment
By MAGGIE LANOUE Contributing Writer Downtown Albion’s red brick Superior Street, a symbol of the city’s history and identity, has been closed to traffic this week while crews carried out a maintenance process designed to preserve its distinctive surface for…
Mike’s Musings: How to decrease buggy accidents in our communities
It happens over and over, an Amish buggy is hit by a car or truck and severe injuries happen to thos in the buggy. Just last week the scene was Clare County, which by the way has had a half…
Mike’s Musings: Michigan’s School Funding Stalemate Is a Disservice to Every Student
Here we go again. Another budget cycle, another bitter fight in Lansing over how to fund our schools. This year’s stalemate feels particularly sharp, with both sides dug in and unwilling to budge. Meanwhile, the people who bear the brunt…
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