Experience abounds in District 6 contest

Both candidates said the county needs to tighten its budget during the next two years.

“I do not see the county growing economically. I do not see the county growing in terms of population. So we have to learn to live within our means, and that’s going to be difficult,” Lautzenheiser said.

He said the board should work at the state and county levels to keep the county’s budget stable. He plans to concentrate on the state’s revenue sharing program and on funding for the E-911 program if he’s elected for another term.

Boje said she maintains a similar position toward budgeting.

“It’s time to tighten the ropes there and not spend anything,” she said. “I think we need to set the example on the Board of Commissioners for the county.”

[Read the whole story here at the Hillsdale Daily News.]

Somerset police chief dies

After 15 years as Somerset Township’s chief of police, Clarence Perry planned to retire this August and return to Michigamme, the Upper Peninsula town where he grew up — a four-hour drive from the Mackinac Bridge, practically enclosed in wilderness.

There he would spend his remaining years fishing, hunting and taking care of his four English Setters.

Other than an annual month-long trip to Marquette for a dog show, Perry’s job left him little time for those pursuits, his daughter Constance Perry said.

But heart troubles put an abrupt and unexpected end to those plans.

Fire department employees found Perry dead in his bed at 8 a.m. on Monday, about seven hours after he died in his sleep.

He was 65.

[Read the whole story here at the Hillsdale Daily News.]

Centennial passes without much fanfare

Vettel said he hopes to continue capitalizing on the benefits of technology while maintaining cornerstone traditions.

“To me there’s nothing like reading an actual book,” he said. “I love that feeling.”

He said the library also hopes to introduce new community programs for teenagers and adults.

Meanwhile, Lackey, Fallon and several other residents make up a Mitchell building preservation group, as they fear commercial development will vanquish the building they love.

“We just don’t want it being bulldozed or being sold off as apartment buildings,” Lackey said.

[Read the whole story here at the Hillsdale Daily News.]

Figure it out for yourself

The professors — Slezak and Ken Hayes — never lecture, but they lead the pupils along with even more questions during periodic check-ups.

Les Traxler, fourth-grade teacher at Gier Elementary School, said the inquiry approach challenges him and his colleagues too.

“I find that it really stretches you as a thinker,” he said. “It causes you to really confirm your ideas.”

But the inquiry process doesn’t always lead to validation, Hayes said.

“They come in with a lot of misconceptions, even after they’ve been teaching a long time,” he said. “Then they discover a few of them while they’re in here.”

[Read the whole story here at the Hillsdale Daily News.]

Songs you can’t forget

The trio formed a little more than a year ago, when Ginger Moore moved back to Hillsdale after living in Seattle. She sang in a similar trio there, so she asked her longtime friend Ellie Kaput to help her start a new group in Michigan.

A mutual acquaintance — Moore’s realtor — suggested Sue Cervini help them round out the trio, and after meeting her, Moore and Kaput asked her to join.

Now they rehearse twice each week and perform at fundraisers and other community events.

“It’s therapeutic,” Moore said. “We get to dress up, we get to get nervous.”

[Read the whole story here at the Hillsdale Daily News.]

Cognizance

The topic of ‘growing up’ is better left to linger with the angst of high school.

But living alone is teaching me new lessons.

I appreciate my family more, for instance. And lately I’m more cognizant of the passage of time, and the value of time with family members.

Michael Potts takes helm at 2nd school

Mike Potts, Jonesville Community Schools superintendent, will replace Luchenbill while maintaining his Jonesville position.

“It will be interesting to see what the next six months brings us,” Potts said. “Clearly the Reading board is a progressive board. Obviously what’s in the best interests for children is their highest priority.”

Potts said he expects budgeting issues to consume a large share of his attention, at least for now.

“(My highest goal) has to be positioning Reading schools to continue maintaining their traditions of excellence well, while maintaining financial security,” he said.

Luchenbill said he has confidence in Potts.

“I think Mike’s more than capable of doing an excellent job for both districts,” Luchenbill said. “I think Reading’s choice in bringing him in was a good choice.”

Move away from hormone adds to pressures on local dairy herds

In the early months of 2008, many of the nation’s major dairies forced their farmers to stop using a synthetic hormone that increases cows’ milk production, in response to consumers’ concerns that the hormone made the milk dangerous.

As some local farmers depended on the hormone for as long as 13 years, the conversion dealt a temporary blow to their milk output, from which they’re still trying to recover.

“You’re kind of at the mercy of the bottling plant if you want to continue to move your product,” said Mark Wiley, dairy farmer and president of the Hillsdale County Farm Bureau. “We’ve got to sell our product to consume, and if Kroger says they don’t want to buy milk that has rbST in it anymore, what do you do?”

The hormone, called rbST, increases a cow’s milk production by 3 to 5 percent each day, according to the most conservative estimates, and by as much as 20 percent according to more liberal estimates.

[Read the whole story here at the Hillsdale Daily News.]