New coach takes to the field at Potterville High School
Amy Jo Kinyon For the past two years, the Potterville High School Football team has opened the season with a new coach at the helm. This year, Phillip Heim will step on to the field and into the role. A nuclear pharmacist by trade, he has spent the past decade in...
Smokin’ success – local joint to open soon
Amy Jo Kinyon The creative juices began flowing for Jason Strotheide more than a year ago when he began working on building the smoker that now resides next to the small building at 501 N. Cochran in Charlotte. If all proceeds according to plan, Jason and his wife...
Vermontville, Bellevue lose true community pillar
Amy Jo Kinyon In each of our communities are pillars — those quiet sources of strength that can be depended upon at any time. These individuals are what make our towns unique. They truly care about those around them and work, often behind the scenes, to ensure...
Windwalker Underground Gallery plans to celebrate a year of open mics
They’ve laughed, been amazed, been moved and been inspired. When they started, their only goal was to provide opportunity. They had no idea who would take them up on that chance. What organizers of the Open Mic Night at Windwalker Underground Gallery have found since...
Voters overwhelmingly approve library millage renewal, increase
Voters in the City of Charlotte, and Carmel and Eaton township approved Tuesday, Aug. 2 a 10-year millage renewal and increase for the Charlotte Community Library by more than a 2-to-1 margin. The millage proposal received 1,985 “yes” votes, compared to 909 “no”...
First Chevrolet medium duty truck rolls off Spartan Motors production line
Spartan Motors played host to General Motors (GM) and Isuzu Commercial Truck of America executives this week as they celebrated the first of the new Chevrolet medium duty, gasoline-powered trucks to roll off the production line at the Spartan Motors plant in...
Potterville family helps change life for man with epilepsy
Amy Jo Kinyon Larisa Ballard and her family are minus one of their members. Recently, their youngest, Maddie left the nest and moved in with a new family. Maddie came into their lives almost a year ago and quickly became a part of the family. Now, Maddie has a new...
Local options abound when shopping for fresh food
From roadside stands to farmers markets, the newly coined ‘agritourism’ sector in Michigan is exploding. According to the Michigan State University Product Center, Michigan’s agrifood-energy system contributes $71.3 billion (total economic impact) annually, accounting...
CPS looks to teen expert to explore challenges facing today’s youth
In the last five years, Charlotte Public Schools students, staff and administration have mourned the tragic deaths of four students. Coupled with increasing academic rigor, and social media that openly exposes teens to more at an earlier age, the district is exploring...
Charlotte making a strong case for Main Street ‘Select’ community designation
Since forming as a result of Charlotte’s Project Rising Tide action plan, #CharlotteRising has been planning, building capacity and rallying community support around revitalizing downtown Charlotte. All of those efforts to this point were on full display Tuesday, July...